These Feelings Inside (How Deep Do They Go)

Chapter 4- Adjusting To Change

Sorry for the wait, hope you enjoy the update!

I'm gonna start putting warnings for the chapters, but brief mention of an injury, fainting, and censored swearing

When Sophie woke up the next day, it felt like the events of the previous day hadn't happened, like some distant dream. Her routine for getting up was normal, and she headed down the stairs.
 
"Sophie! Come see this!" Biana called out.
 
She walked over to where Biana was. Sophie looked at where she was pointing at. Keefe was sitting at the table.
 
Oh, I guess the whole siren thing did happen, didn't it?
 
Keefe picked up the spoon that had fallen onto the table, and scooped out some cereal. Their arm was wobbling as it moved the spoon to their mouth, then the spoon fell out of their hand, the cereal scattering across the floor.
 
They murmured a curse, before shoving their face into the bowl of cereal. 
 
"Uh, what is happening?" she asked Biana.
 
"I was hoping that you could explain," Biana replied.
 
Sophie fought back a laugh. 
 
I mean… I should have figured, considering their circumstances. It'd have to be hard to adjust to certain movements.
 
"Hey Foster," Keefe called out, looking up. A grain of cereal stuck to the side of their face.
 
When they saw her fighting back laughter, they crossed their arms. "Wow, excuse me Foster?"
 
She pointed to her cheek. "You've got cereal there."
 
"Oh." 
 
She went and took out her own cereal. She sat down beside them.
 
"If you're not gonna use a spoon, at least eat using your hands," she whispered.
 
They nodded slightly, then did as they were told. It was significantly less messy compared to when they were clumsily trying to use a spoon.
 
"Sophie, your friend's weird," Biana said.
 
"Excuse me," they muttered, picking up a grain of cereal and throwing it at her. 
 
She yelped. "I'm leaving!" She spun around and quickly left the kitchen.
 
"I'm surprised she didn't try and fight you," Sophie remarked.
 
"I'm sure I'd win the fight. It takes a lot of strength to swim for so long, y'know." They smirked, then raised an arm in the air to flex.
 
She rolled her eyes, not bothering to say anything about that. "Just… don't underestimate her, she's stronger than she looks."
 
"Fine, noted. So, would you like to explain to me what exactly my job is? I have a feeling that if I ask someone else, they're going to be suspicious."
 
"You'll be watching for the first few days," she explained. "People come to buy flowers, and it's our job to make sure that they get the right flowers and that they're cared for properly. That's the basics, at least. Mom and dad will mostly be at the back where the flowers that aren't yet on sale are growing. Fitz and I both work here, so we can both answer any questions you have. Does that  make sense?"
 
They grinned and opened their mouth, before they closed it, as if whatever they had planned to say wasn't a good idea. From the little bit that she knew of Keefe, it was definitely a good thing they didn't say anything else.
 
•~•~•~•~•~•
 
"Look, it's our first customer of the day," Sophie said. "Keefe, pay attention to what Fitz is doing."
 
The customer walked up to the counter, then asked for a bouquet to give to their partner to ask for forgiveness. 
 
"Can you get some white orchids? Blue hyacinths would work well too," he called out.
 
"What about pink carnations?" she suggested. "It would suit the situation."
 
"Oh, that would be great. Bring some of those too."
 
"Okay!" She moved to go gather the flowers that were needed, and Keefe followed her.
 
"So, what was that? It seemed like you two were speaking a different language."
 
"Different flowers are suited for different occasions," she explained. "So Fitz and I learned what the flowers mean, so we can give the right flowers for the occasion."
 
"So I need to memorize all the flowers?" they asked.
 
"None of us expect you to learn that quickly, but yeah, you'll get to that point."
 
"You'd be surprised as to what I'm capable of remembering," they said.
 
"I guess we'll see," she shrugged, deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to challenge them.
 
She finished getting the flowers, and putting them into a bouquet. She passed it to Fitz, who gave it to the customer.
 
"Wait Foster, how come Fitz is the one who sits at the counter and you have to do the hard work?"
 
"Oh, I definitely prefer my role. It involves less small talk with customers. Fitz likes that kind of stuff."
 
"If she wanted to switch, she'd just tell me, and I wouldn't mind," Fitz added.
 
Sophie glanced at Keefe briefly, their gaze lingering on Fitz. "Quit staring," she whispered, elbowing them softly.
 
"I was just looking at his heart," they whispered back. "It's not like I mean to stare."
 
What was so significant about Fitz's heart that warranted Keefe's attention? Then again, she figured that the presence of a glowing heart would naturally attract the attention of a siren, considering that they spent their time searching for broken hearts. 
 
"So what about Biana?" they asked, changing the topic. "What does she do?"
 
"Oh, she doesn't actually work here," Sophie answered.
 
"She just hangs around here? Is that a normal thing?"
 
"Yeah, pretty much."
 
"Okay, got it."
 
•~•~•~•~•~•
 
"Wow, so I did not realize that there were so many different meanings to flowers," Keefe said.
 
"You're learning pretty quickly though," Fitz told them.
 
Despite the fact that Keefe seemed to not be paying attention, they were good at memorizing information. At one point, a customer had come in, provided a brief summary of what they were looking for, and Keefe had remembered one of the flowers that suited the situation (someone wanted to confess to their crush). They'd managed to find the flowers needed, and while they weren't able to put the flowers together yet, it was still impressive.
 
Sophie suspected that Keefe would have been the type of person during school who was able to get high marks without studying.
 
"Foster thought I wouldn't be able to learn quickly."
 
"I said I didn't expect you to memorize everything immediately. There's a difference," she replied.
 
She took out a thorn from the rose that she was holding. She put a hand to her forehead, noticing that she was feeling a little warm- which was unusual, she was usually cold and rarely had fevers. When she got up, she'd go drink some water.
 
She continued to take out the thorns, and a wave of exhaustion hit her. A sharp sting on her thumb jerked her awake.
 
"Sh*t," she swore, realizing that she'd pricked her finger.
 
"Sophie, are you okay?" Biana asked. "You haven't hurt yourself like that in a while."
 
"Yeah, I'm fine." As she said it though, the room began to feel a little warmer.
 
"I'll get a bandage for you, okay?" Biana said. Then she left.
 
"Can you get some water too?" she tried to ask, but she could barely hear her own words.
 
Her vision began to blur, and the conversation between Keefe and Fitz sounded like mumbles. Her eyes closed.
 
"Sophie!" The yell for her name was distant, she couldn't see or recognize who had said it.
 
"I'll take Foster upstairs and let her rest."
 
"I'll come with you!"
 
"You have to take care of the customers!"
 
"Sophie's health comes first!"
 
"There's no point in arguing. You and Biana can tell her parents she fainted, I'll take her to her room."
 
"...okay."
 
She could vaguely register the feeling of being lifted, but she couldn't remember what happened after that.
 
•~•~•~•~•~•
 
Sophie woke up and everything was cold. She moved to get up, but her arm slipped. She blinked a few times to take in her surroundings, then realized that she was in a bathtub filled with water. She stared at her tail, not used to the fact that she'd appear as a siren when she was submerged in water.
 
"What happened?" she murmured, trailing a finger over one of the red scales, surprised by how smooth it was.
 
"Oh finally, you're awake," Keefe said.
 
"What happened?" she repeated. "Why am I in a bathtub?"
 
"Uh, because the tub can hold enough water for me to dump you in?"
 
"Wait what?"
 
"You were having withdrawals, and I learned that this room has that pipe thing that fills the tub with water. So I took you here to deal with it."
 
"Okay, hold on, what are withdrawals?" she asked.
 
"Sirens aren't able to come out of the water, and because we're both part-siren, we have to go in the water at some point."
 
"Oh, that makes sense." Then it caught up to her. "And you waited until now to tell me this?"
 
They laughed nervously. "Uh… I forgot you didn't know?"
 
She sighed. "Keefe, you have to actually tell me stuff. In order for nobody to be suspicious, we need to pretend that things are normal. Me fainting is not normal. How often do the withdrawals occur and how long does it take to deal with them?"
 
"Took me around twenty minutes to be fine. I can't tell you how often they happen, it varies from siren to siren, but what I can tell you is that you'll start feeling hot and thirsty, so watch out for that. That's supposed to be your warning."
 
"It'd barely been a minute, that doesn't count as a warning."
 
They shrugged. "Your body's adjusting to the change, probably."
 
"Ugh, great," she groaned. Why couldn't things just be normal? "Also, how long has it been?"
 
"Uh, about five minutes ish?"
 
"Oh crap," she whispered. "Where are my parents? I'm surprised they haven't come to see me yet. You need to distract them, they'll be here any moment now, I can't let them see me like this."
 
They must have realized how serious she sounded, because without any complaint- only a "Yes, Foster!"- they ran out of the room.
 
Sophie quickly got out of the tub, and cursed at the fact that her shirt was dripping wet. (At least her pants were fine, but it was probably because of the fact that her legs would transform). She grabbed a towel, dried herself off as much as possible, then jumped into her bed and pulled the covers over her.
 
Just as she did so, the bedroom door had opened.
 
Oh, that was perfect timing!
 
Both Grady and Edaline entered, looking extremely worried.
 
"We heard you fainted," Edaline said. "Is everything alright?"
 
"I'm okay," she replied, and it wasn't a lie. "I haven't been drinking enough water, and I didn't get enough sleep last night." Both were technically true. "I'll be back to normal before the day's over."
 
The both of them shared a look, then looked at her in disbelief.
 
"In fact," she added. "I'll be fine in less than half an hour, so you don't have to worry about me. I'll be back at the shop-"
 
"You're going to take today off and rest," Grady said. "I know you won't let me stop you from taking tomorrow off too, I don't want to see you working for the rest of the day."
 
"Fitz told us about what's been going on so far, and he's said that Keefe's been a great help during their training. The two of them are more than capable of handling the customers for the remainder of their shift, and they have us if they need help. So relax and get some rest. We've left some water and medicine for you to take. Fitz and Biana are also coming to check up on you."
 
"Tell them that I'll be fine."
 
"Too late!" Biana yelled. "We're already here!"
 
"Get some rest, okay Sophie?" Edaline said, tucking her hair so she could kiss her forehead.
 
Sophie smiled. "Okay."
 
It was only after her parents left that Biana and Fitz entered the room. 
 
"I know you're going to say you're fine," Fitz said before she could even open her mouth. "But rest, so you can get well sooner." His hand moved from behind his back, and she could see him holding a bundle of daisies and asters. "We love you, Sophie."
 
"I love you both too."
 
The two of them left the room, and she was hardly surprised when Keefe walked in afterwards.
 
"He's really caring, isn't he?" they remarked. 
 
"Yeah," she replied, her voice fond.
 
"Y'know, why aren't the two of you dating?" they asked. "It's clear he loves you."
 
"Have you been looking at his heart?" she asked. "Don't do that! And don't tell me, that's personal! Besides, it's not like he likes me romantically."
 
"I think he does. But fine, I won't tell you anything more about what I see in him. Any quick questions for me, or is that it?"
 
"No questions, but I will have to take you shopping later, you'll need a phone and new clothes."
 
"Biana could do that, couldn't she? I know you're fine, Foster, but I do agree with the others about you getting rest. It's a whole lot to take in. Besides, you and I are going to meet some other sirens tomorrow, so take today to relax."
 
Before she could ask about who the other sirens were, they left. With a sigh, she got back out of bed and went back to the bathroom, locked it, then laid in the bathtub.
 
•~•~•~•~•~•
 
"Sophie, what are you doing here?" Grady asked.
 
"I promise I'm not going to do work for the rest of the day, but am I not allowed to just sit and watch?" Sophie replied.
 
"Fine, but I'm watching you." He narrowed his eyes.
 
She was restless, she was just itching to do something, but she couldn't. Instead, she watched Fitz and Keefe work. They seemed to be getting along well, if Fitz needed something Keefe would get it easily, and Fitz would help them wrap the flowers.
 
"Keefe said that I'll be taking them shopping, right?" Biana asked. "New phone and clothes. Nothing else, right?"
 
"I think that should be it," she replied. "Thanks for doing it."
 
"Oh," Biana grinned. "I'll be having a lot of fun with them, I can already tell."
 
Towards the end of the shift, the shop door opened, and she was surprised to see Dex walk in.
 
"Dex!" Biana greeted, running over to hug him. "What are you doing here?"
 
"I came for a surprise visit, that's all. Who's that?" He pointed to Keefe.
 
"That's Sophie's friend, Keefe, they're living here for now and also work here," she explained. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you about them."
 
"A lot has happened here, hasn't it?"
 
Oh, that wouldn't even begin to describe what's going on, she thought.
 
"Hi Keefe, my name's Dex. I'm Sophie's cousin, and Biana's university friend. I live further away, so I don't come as often as the two of them do." He pointed to Fitz and Biana.
 
"Hey Dex," they said back. "You're Biana's university friend, you say? Is there something more to it than that?"
 
Sophie turned to gape at them. Excuse me? What part of reading someone's heart is too personal don't you understand?
 
Biana and Dex looked at each other, confused, then laughed.
 
"Seriously Keefe, makes you think I'm dating him?" Biana asked.
 
"You're the only one who went to hug him, that's all."
 
I'm seriously going to have another conversation about this, aren't I?
 
"He's my partner and I love him, but not romantically," she explained. "He's my queerplatonic partner."
 
Their eyes widened, and they looked confused. They quickly recovered. "Oh, that's cool."
 
"Besides, your heart was glowing pink. That usually means love." They'd said when they figured out her crush on Fitz.
 
"It's clear he loves you." They'd also said, and she knew that they were looking at Fitz's heart.
 
If they assumed that Biana and Dex were dating, that meant that their hearts were glowing pink. But they weren't dating, she knew that. So if Keefe had been mistaken about their feelings, wouldn't that mean that the same could apply to Fitz too?
 
She would be lying if she'd said that Keefe's words didn't give her hope. But it was clear now that strong platonic love appeared the same as romantic love. It meant that her feelings definitely weren't reciprocated.
 
She sighed, resisting the urge to groan. She just wanted the day to be over so she could lay down in her bed.