KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Alternate Ending: Nightfall 28

Still, Sophie couldn't stop herself from saying, "Please don't lead her on."

"Never. Why do you think I don't flirt with her? I even go out of my way to flirt with everyone else around her so that it'll be more obvious, you know?"

"Yeah," Sophie said, fighting a strange, prickly feeling.

Finally--a solid explanation for why she was always subjected to so much Keefe-teasing.

She'd known there had to be one.

But for some reason...it stung.

Two big blows to her pride in two days.

She might as well come clean to Fitz and get the trifecta of humiliation over with.

"Hey," Keefe said. "I--"

He paused.

"You what?" Sophie asked, hoping he would change the subject and distract her from her humiliation.

"I didn't mean..." Keefe looked like he was blushing slightly. He took a step closer to Sophie and reached for her hand.

He was trembling.

"I'm sure you just feel hurt because Dex wasn't blown away by the kiss yesterday," Keefe said with an attempt at a smirk. "But you should know, every time I've flirted with you, I've meant it. It's not just for Biana's sake, not with you."

"You don't have to say stuff like that just to boost my ego," she assured him, blushing.

"I'm not." He inched a little closer and looked at their clasped hands. "Why do you think I'm shaking?"

Sophie shook her head slowly, confused. "I don't understand."

"I wasn't going to say this yet," Keefe told her, letting go of her hand and turning away, running his hands through his hair agitatedly. "I don't think you're ready to hear it. But I don't want you ever feeling hurt because of me, or like I'm...like I'm not drawn to you."

He turned back to look at her. Her disbelief must have shown on her face—or in her emotions—because he told her, "I'm serious. Listen. Just a minute ago when we were talking about how I got a reading of your heart emotions in Lumenaria—I wasn't going to say anything because I don't want you confused. I know that you have feelings for Fitz."

Sophie knew she must've turned bright red. Was it obvious to everyone, or just Keefe since he could read her emotions? "Great," she mumbled sarcastically.

"I haven't said anything to anyone," he promised her softly. "But I don't want to talk about Fitz right now anyway. I want to talk about us."

"Us?"

"That's what I saw in Lumenaria. Your head rarely acknowledges that you might be interested in me—it's too preoccupied with someone else. But your heart...I was there, Foster. That's no guarantee of anything, but still...it gave me hope. Like maybe someday..." he sighed, and the hands he brought up to run through his hair were shaky again. "Sophie, I...I chose not to say anything because I know who you prefer right now, and I didn't want to confuse you or pressure you. But then you were standing there looking and feeling hurt, like—like you thought I must only use you to show Biana I don't reciprocate her feelings, and I just couldn't let you feel that way."

Sophie stared at him. She was caught completely off guard. She couldn't think of how to respond—or even come up with a coherent thought.

Keefe chuckled softly. "I guess I should be relieved that all I'm getting off of you is shock and not disgust."

It took a second to find her voice, but then she asked, "you're serious? Are you telling me that you like me?"

How many times since they met had she told herself that cool, popular, cute boys would not be interested in her? How many times has she convinced herself that it wasn't possible?

She had refused to even entertain the idea of Keefe. She already felt her crush on Fitz was hopeless, so any feelings for Keefe were forced down, ignored. Lurking in the shadows, forcibly kept out of the light of day. Not acknowledged even in her own mind, because she could only handle so much rejection.

But how could she continue to ignore it if Keefe was confessing his feelings for her?

All of this realization hit her like a thunderclap, so that by the time Keefe stepped closer to her again and whispered, "that's exactly what I'm telling you," she knew it was time to open her eyes to reality.

Now Sophie took a small step closer to him. "Keefe," she whispered back, a smile spreading across her face.

Any uncertainty or nervousness Keefe was feeling must have disappeared when he felt Sophie's mood shift. Almost before she knew what was happening, Keefe swiftly closed the remaining space between them and wrapped his arms around her. Right before their lips met, he whispered, "finally."

Sophie couldn't believe what was happening.

Yesterday, she was hopelessly crushing on Fitz, sharing the world's most awkward kiss with Dex and proving there was no spark between them. Today, she was standing in her living room, arms wrapped around Keefe's broad shoulders and marveling at how incredibly different this kiss was.

Yesterday, she told Dex his next kiss would be perfect.

Yesterday, Dex scoffed when she told him she didn't think she'd be kissing anyone else for a long time. Who'd have known he was right when he implied someone else liked her? Apparently, Dex had seen what she had not.

And kissing Keefe was so different than kissing Dex. She knew it had nothing to do with skill and everything to do with mutual affection and attraction.

She couldn't deny, anymore, the feelings for Keefe that she'd pretended to ignore for so long.

With Dex, it had been awkward, scary, timid. But Keefe? He was strong. Steady. Confident. If she hadn't known better, she'd have guessed this was not his first kiss.

Eventually, Keefe pulled away, looking at her in wonder. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he marveled, moving his hands from her back to firmly grip her waist. "That wasn't just a test like with Dex, was it?"

Sophie giggled. "No, but even if it had been, you definitely would have passed."

Keefe smiled sweetly at her, bringing one hand up to her face, caressing her cheek. "Sophie," he whispered. "I'm sorry if I've left you confused."

Sophie shook her head. "This feels...different. Let's just enjoy the moment before we have to leave." And with that, she leaned into him, kissing him again.

Perfectly content to stay in his embrace indefinitely.