Team Foster-Keefe (A Sokeefe Story) #KOTLC #AfterUnlocked

Chapter 11

A/N: HELLO, MY LOVELY READERS!! Oh my gosh, it's been almost 10 days since I updated last, I'm SOOOO sorry! I came back from Texas today, and school starts again tomorrow since spring break ends- So that sucks! But yeah, I'll be updating on my usual schedule now, every 2-5 days! 

Sophie slowly walked over to the spectral mirror, inches away from coming within range of the sassy girl in the glass.

She took another step forward, and the mirror started to shift in vast colors, finally forming the pale skinned teen.

"Ugh, it's about time you came back to me! Look at your hair... Honestly, I'm starting to think you're a hopeless cause," said Vertina's familiar snotty voice.

Sophie looked intently at the mirror, seeing that her hair really was a mess. But it didn't matter right then and there.

"Umm, excuse me? Hello...?" complained Vertina.

"Oh. Um, yeah. Hi, Vertin-" Sophie started to say.

"Stop right there! Somethings up, you never say hi to me. In fact, you would have been scowling by now,  yapping away about some pointless stuff. Ah, see! I was right, there's the scowl we all know and love," teased Vertina, sharply. 

She wasn't lying. Sophie's lips curled into an impatient, and annoyed frown, which she had quite honestly been doing a lot lately.

"How much did you see the other day?" she questioned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"With Keefe and Grady, you had to have seen something," Sophie said, playing with the ends of her sleeves.

"Chill out, would you? That's a nice tunic, don't wear a whole into it," Vertina said, tossing her dark hair to the side. "Anyways, who's Keefe again? Is it that boy with the dark hair and teal eyes?"

"Uh, no- That's Fitz." 

Vertina cocked her head to the side. "Huh. Your voice seems to catch whenever you mention Keefe to me. I figured he was that Vacker boy you always used to swoon over?"

Sophie turned fifty different shades of red in that moment. "Um, I- what? My voice doesn't catch."

Vertina grinned a sickly-sweet smile. "Yes, it does. Oh- Wait! Is Keefe the one with the cute blond hair and ice blue eyes? The one who has that nice, mysterious smirk?"

Poor Sophie's cheeks seemed to get even redder, as she said, "That's him."

"Ooh, is there something going on I need to know about?" Vertina asked, smirking and twirling her finger around a loose strand of hair.

"Uh, no. Not at all. Anyways, why are we even talking about this?"

The delicate girl in the looking glass shrugged. "I don't know. You asked me something about how much I saw."

"Right. So, did you see anything?" Sophie asked, hopefully.

The carefree smile faded off of Vertina's face. "I..."

Sophie was practically itching with with anxiousness, as she thought Yes, Yes, Yes! 

"It's not my place to tell you..." Vertina carefully said.

Sophie stopped shifting in her spot and looked towards her, dead in the eye.

Cringing, Vertina said, "It would be a breach of privacy."

Sophie closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She turned away, begging herself inwardly not to throw something out the window. She took a few steps away from Vertina, almost out of range before she heard, "Wait!"

She turned around expectantly, a weary look on her face as she faced the colorful spectral mirror.

"Um.. I- Ugh. Whatever. I did see something. I saw that Keefe boy changing your imp's color, and murmuring something about 'promising him to keep you safe, and to bite anyone who got near you.' Then Grady came in, and he started plummeting Keefe with questions. Tried talking him out of leaving, too, I'm pretty sure."

When Vertina stayed silent, Sophie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Oh. Was that... all?"

Vertina's lips stayed in a thin, tight line, as she nodded, disappearing from Sophie's view. Somehow, she didn't quite believe there wasn't anything else. But she had learned enough for now.

She wandered to the nearest window, and looked outside. Sophie's mind pictured Keefe giving Iggy an elixir or two, making him look like the tiger-mermaid he currently was. She smiled to herself, but her expression softened as she imagined the worried lines on his forehead forming. She pictured his ice blue eyes, and her gaze locked onto them. 

Sophie stopped breathing as she kept her eyes on his, falling down into the endless layers of blue. Her stomach tightened, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

She started to pace, her thoughts a jumble in her head. What's going on?, she thought. She took a few deep breaths, as she walked over to her desk and looked at the handwritten letter from Keefe, that he'd left her with.

Sophie snatched it up, and looked at it, a single tear rolling down her cheek, falling onto the paper. She slowly brought it up to her chest, and hugged it, holding on to it like it was the last thing left.

A dagger shot at her heart, as she trembled, leaning against the wall. Her head was looking upwards, as she closed her eyes. When she looked up, she swore for a second she was back on the beach outside of Lumenaria, where the ruins stood, scattered around her. Sophie had looked up to see Keefe's beautiful blue eyes looking at her, panicked and concerned.

Her mind replayed a scene from another moment, when Keefe was talking to her at Havenfield.

"...What about you? Couldn't sleep after crushing Dex's fragile heart?"

Sophie kicked the side of her boot. "I didn't crush it."

Keefe's eyes looked at her, before moving a little closer. He gently said, "I'm just kidding. All you did was prove my dad's theory."

"Since when did you start agreeing with him on that?" questioned Sophie, curiously.

"Since Lumenaria, when you enhanced me."

Everything spiraled back to normal. When Sophie blinked, she was back in her bedroom. She remembered the intensity in Keefe's eyes when he'd told her this. The ends of his lips were facing up, making it seem like he was about to smile. 

That made Sophie's heart start to beat a little faster against her ribs. She let out a shaky sigh, as she walked over to her bed, where she lounged against the pillows, closing her eyes.

Keefe's ice blue eyes just wouldn't leave her alone though, and they followed her into her most peaceful dreams in a few days.

A/N: AAAH! Okay, so this is a Sokeefe story but I noticed there hasn't actually been too much of that in the story AT ALL before this, and I don't want you to wait any longer for it, so I'm going to start building up to when Sophie realizes she likes Keefe! Our oblivious little girl is finally going to realize her true feelings!

*pauses while i take a moment to fangirl squeal*