Always There For You | A Sokeefe Fanfic | Book 1

Chapter 4: Keefe

Keefe reappeared at Candleshade and nearly gave dear old Daddy-o a heart attack. He went inside without acknowledging his father, taking slight satisfaction in the way he was heavily breathing after he got scared out of his skin. But only slight satisfaction. The real payback was coming. 

He hailed Sophie after his master plan was in action and told her to come over. He had poured a bit of his concoction into Ro's drink and kept the vial in his pocket. He had also set up some trip lines around the house with big puddles of his creation—Ultimate End, he called it.

If someone drank Ultimate End, they'd be barfing glitter for the next 24 hours, and knowing Ro's hatred for sparkles, Keefe knew the result was going to be amazing. She'd also be belching with poofs of glitter coming out of her mouth, and glitter-outlined farts.  Her skin color would be turned to glitter once the elixir settled. And the ruckleberries would make her so fat that she would create a Ro–shaped hole everywhere she walked. Keefe made sure that she would still be skinny enough to walk through the house and fall into all of puddles he'd strategically placed everywhere. All of these also combined in a way that Ro wouldn't leave the bathroom at all , and Keefe was 100% sure he'd find at least one speck of glitter in the room. Keefe excelled at alchemy, didn't he?

A loud ringing interrupted his scheming. He raced downstairs on the vortinator and found Sophie there, dealing with his father.

"Oh, yeah, that's my order," he said, taking Sophie's hand and dragging her up the vortinator and jumped off before it even stopped. "Ok, I got everything into place," Keefe told her as they got settled into his bedroom. He explained his master plan, and Sophie grinned wider and wider with each word. "Ok, I officially cannot wait any longer, and have to see it in action!" she squealed.

"See, but you have to wait until I can get Ro up here," Keefe explained.

"Did you say my name or something?" Ro asked, strolling into the room and scaring them both so bad they ended up jumping two feet off the bed. "Oh, hey, Blondie."

"Hey, Ro," Sophie said casually. Keefe loved the way she could make it sound like she was up to nothing when it came to fun, but messed up when they used to be facing the Neverseen. Keefe imagined Sophie's Mommy Dearest visits to go something like this:

Sophie: Hi, Gisela! I wasn't planning anything on taking you down!
Lady Gisela: *raises eyebrow* Are you sure?
Sophie: *stares*
Lady Gisela: Oh, so that's where Keefe's hiding! And that Vanisher, that Vacker girl, she's right behind you, right? And your Technopath. Thanks for letting us know he's building a super–destructive–ultra–bomb! Byeeeeeeeeee, bestie! *light leaps away to find Keefe*
Sophie: *sighs*

Keefe quietly laughed just thinking about it. Sophie and Ro looked towards him, but didn't say anything. They were discussing something about amoebas and slipping them into his dad's dinner. Keefe tried to pay attention, but his mind drifted to the way Sophie's hair fell over her shoulders when she leaned forward. The way the golden flecks in her eye glinted when the light reflected off of them. The way she looked cute when she had that crease above her brows when she was worried—mostly about him.

He was so busy daydreaming that he didn't notice when Ro left. He was pulled out of his daydreams when he found Sophie shaking him.

"Keefe. Keefe!" Sophie called. "I got Ro out of the room. She said she was going to check with Dimitar to see if she could borrow some amoebas, since it seemed like you guys used up her supply on your dad." Sophie laughed, and it sounded like many instruments ringing at once, in perfect harmony, at the perfect note.

Sophie nudged Keefe. "C'mon. Let's find somewhere to hide while we wait for Ro to get back."

Keefe said, "I have the perfect spot." He dragged her outside and into a closet right next to a big puddle of Ultimate End, so they could record Ro's epic fall with Sophie's iPod thingy. It was a bit cramped, so Sophie's knees touched Keefe's. Wherever they touched, it sent tingles up his leg, but if Sophie felt it, she didn't let on. Whenever it happened, Keefe blushed like crazy, and he was glad for the darkness.

Ro must've been having a long talk with her father about why Daddy Dearest needed amoebas, and the long silence turned awkward. Keefe tried his best to make small talk.

"So, how's Cognate training with Fitz going?" he asked, saying the first thing that popped into his head.

"It's fine," Sophie sighed. "Fitz still wants us to get back together, but yesterday I told him I already like someone else." Keefe swore he saw a hint of blush on Sophie's cheeks.

"Is there anyway you'd tell me who exactly this lucky winner is?" Keefe asked, feeling a little sad, but managing to hide it behind his usual teasing way.

Sophie shook her head vigorously. Keefe chuckled. "If you say so, Mysterious Miss F."

Sophie turned her head around to look at Keefe. "What about you? You need to have at least one crush by now." He shook his head just as vigorously as Sophie. She snickered. "See, I'm not the only one being mysterious!" He mentally sighed. She would know if she payed attention, but the Great Foster Oblivion didn't seem like it was going to come unraveling soon.

Keefe's head latched on to Sophie's words as soon as it caught up to them. Sophie said she had a crush on someone. And Keefe would feel happy for her if she ever got together with the mystery person, but he wanted to make sure she actually understood how much he liked her before she started dating. Then he'd gladly get out of her life, maybe even forever, as long as she was happy with her boyfriend and knew about his feelings for her.

He looked down and started playing with the hem of his tunic. He didn't exactly know how to breach the subject, so he started with the most common line: "Sophie, I have to tell you something."

Sophie looked over, concerned. "You used my first name. You never use that unless you're serious. Is something wrong? Why're you so fidgety? Are you feeling good?"

Keefe laughed, glad for a chance to weave a joke into this conversation. "No need for the wave of concern you're hitting me with, Foster. It's actually . . ." He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Keefe, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Sophie moved closer so she could put her hand on his arm, showing her trust to him, sending a silent message that he could trust her back.

But all Keefe felt was the new burst of tingles racing up from his arm into his head, finally giving him the courage to blurt out, "I—I like you, Sophie."

Then, before he could change his mind, he pulled her in for a kiss.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday! Weekends are my procrastinated–work–catch-up days. I was trying to finish off any remaining homework I had, so I could spend today updating. I tried to add more sokeefe fluff, so I hope you like it. Also, I want to say thank you to december_bluezz, Batman300_00_00, book-universe_4222, Sokeefe_da_bestt, tiana_percabeth111, and Skysvengeance for following me. You have no idea how excited I am to have 6 followers!

–Anonymouscuzwhynot