Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 14

Marella's P.O.V. 

"Alright, the first thing on the list says a comfortable outfit..." I read aloud. 

"A comfortable outfit?" Keefe repeated. "Where is that?" 

"Uh..." I thought about it for a second. We should probably try the most famous and common brand - they'd reasonably have all sorts of clothes there. "Just look for a large clothing store." Keefe shrugged.

 "Okay then!" He took off and raced to find a store while I tried to read the next item. 

"Stop being so shaky!" I complained. "I can't read a thing!" 

"How do I not be shaky while running?" Keefe asked. 

"Wait, I have a solution," I informed him. I reached into my backpack and dug around until I found what I was looking for. It only took me a few seconds to duct tape the scavenger hunt list onto Keefe's back. 

"What was that?" he asked suspiciously. 

"Nothing," I told him, grinning. It was much easier to read it now that the paper wasn't shaking in my hands. "Next is two types of candy. We can both choose one." 

"Can I get skittles?" Keefe asked. 

"That's a LOT of sugar. I don't know if you can handle it..." Keefe rolled his eyes.

"Since when do you care about being responsible?" 

"Never," I told him. "Alright, you can get the skittles. But if you throw up, it's not my fault." Keefe smiled. 

"Now there's the Marella I know and love." I laughed and we ran through the crowded mall, trying to avoid the random strangers walk around. Well, I was trying to avoid them; Keefe, not so much. At one point, I was pretty sure we passed Sophie and Fitz, both of whom looked extremely shocked, but I wasn't sure since we were going really fast. But the speed meant we arrived at a store quickly, probably before the rest of the teams. 

"Okay, we're here now," Keefe announced. "Where do we go next?" I looked around the store and spotted an aisle named, "Pajamas". 

"PJs are comfortable, right?" I asked for confirmation. 

"Very," Keefe replied, then started walking towards the aisle. "Which one do we get?" There was an abundant amount of comfortable outfits, all different and very stylish. I pointed to the light pink crop-top with the number "26" in a blocky white font in front. 

"Can you hand me that one?" I asked Keefe. He took the shirt and handed it to me. 

"Why is 26 in the front?" he asked after some time. "Why not 27 or 28?" 

"Um... I'm not sure," I replied. "But I do like this shirt." It was really light and made of soft, thin fabric. 

"Okay, but why 26? There are like a million different numbers to choose from!" Keefe pointed out. 

"Uh, well, I don't think a million would fit onto this shirt," I answered. 

 "Okay, but that doesn't explain why it couldn't have been 52 or 78." I figured there was no satisfying Keefe unless I gave him a ridiculous answer he'd believe.

 "It's 26 because only 26-year-olds can buy it," I informed him, a matter of factly. 

"Really?" he asked. "Are you 26?" 

"Yes," I told him. 

"Then you can get it!" I nodded and draped the shirt over his head. "Hey!" I smiled and bunched the shirt up into a ball and placed it so gently on his head again that he wouldn't feel it. 

"Okay, I got my shirt. Now for the pants..." I looked around before spotting some gray sweatpants. "Grab me one of those, will you?" Keefe obeyingly handed me a pair of pants. 

"Perfect!" I exclaimed. "Now we just need your outfit." Keefe tossed a random blue shirt and black pants up in the air and I grabbed them. 

"Is that all?" I asked him. 

"Yep! I'm pretty sure that'll be comfortable..." Keefe said. 

"Great! We got through that pretty quickly," I remarked. "Now onto candy." We quickly got through the check-out section and walked out, just as Sophie and Fitz walked in. 

"Nice to see you!" I greeted. Sophie sighed. 

"Did you know about this list? Do you know how much shopping is in it?" she asked. I glanced at the list. It did say a "fancy outfit", and then a "sporty outfit". 

"It's not too bad," I told her. "Just three in total." Sophie raised an eyebrow and cocked her head curiously. 

"Why is your list taped to Keefe's back?" Keefe's mouth opened in surprise as he tried to turn his head and look at his back. 

"What? What's on my back?" I placed my hand on his head so he couldn't turn it. 

"Nothing!" I reassured him. 

"Then why are you blocking my head?" Keefe asked skeptically. 

"Um... I'm not blocking it! I'm just... Holding it." 

"Why would you hold my head? My neck already does that." 

"Let's just go," Sophie whispered to Fitz. He nodded and they disappeared into the store. 

"Doesn't your neck get tired at times?" I asked Keefe. 

"I don't think so..." Keefe murmured, twisting his head to try and tell if his neck was tired. I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing. 

"Well, I'm holding your neck just in case it gets tired," I informed him. 

"Fine, hold my head then," Keefe told me. I patted his head before letting go. 

"It's okay, your neck is all rested now." Keefe scrunched up his eyebrows, obviously confused. 

"How can you tell?" he asked me. 

"Well... Is your neck tired right now?" Keefe shook his head. "Then it's all rested." 

"Huh," he said. "That... Sort of makes sense?" I grinned.

"I love these chats we have," I said. "Now, onto the grocery store!"