The Neverseen's Last Resort

70

Sophie

<   A/N- (lemme know if there are any plot holes plsss thank youuu)   >

"You good?" 

Sophie shook her head, pulling herself out of her head. Mr. Forkle had thought it'd be good for Sophie to "hang out" with her friends a little more before school started up again. However, only four of the nine Mr. Forkle had invited had actually shown up, those four being Tam, Stina, Keefe, and Marella. 

They all sat at the same pink tree where they'd met the evening before, As Sophie found herself back in reality, she saw that it was Marella who had spoken. Inhaling a steadying breath, Sophie answered, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." 

"Tired?" Stina jumped in, leaning against the tree. "How much sleep did you get last night?"

"Not much by the looks of it," Tam said, sitting wedged between the roots.

"Why?" Marella asked, and Sophie shrugged. Words were too much. Everything was too much. The nightmares still lingered nearby. Sounds were too loud, the sun was too bright, and people were to people-y. Her head still ached, and her legs were noodles beneath her. 

"Sophie?" It was Keefe this time, and Sophie faked a smile. She needed to be fine. 

"You keep spacing out, that's the fifth time I've said your name." 

"Really?" She took a step back, hand to her head. "Sorry. Tired." 

"Yeah, why's that?" Stina asked, repeating the question. The words echoed in Sophie's head, so distant she was almost convinced they hadn't been spoken. But they had. And Sophie needed to answer, lest the others think she was losing her mind. 

"I talked with Edaline a bit before bed. Vertina, too... ish." 

The world spun, the tree blurring into swirls of colors and the voices turned into distant echoes. Yet, they weren't distant at the same time. Close, but not. Sophie watched as the shadows in her mind morphed, taking the shapes of monsters. The same monsters from her nightmares, sending a chill running down her spine. Breathing grew difficult and she found herself unable to speak. She blinked, but no matter, the blurs didn't come into focus and the voices turned warped. 

Too much. Everything was too much. She couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't move. She was stuck, just as she'd been the night before. Trapped in her own mind, and her heart raced as she urged to be free. To escape. To--

"Sophie!" 

Freedom. The headache had returned, and Sophie clutched her head as everything steadied once more. The blue-blond blur cleared and became Keefe, who held her by the shoulders with a firm grip. His ice blue eyes full of concern, glittered in the sun. They seemed to be the only thing that made sense. Ice blue eyes shining in the sun; a green field of flowers with a bright blue sky above, birds singing and the breeze nice. They reflected the sun perfectly. Perfectly. 

"Hello?" 

Sophie nodded, "I'm fine." 

"You said you're 'tired'?" Tam asked, but before Sophie could nod, he finished with, "or losing your mind?" 

Stina elbowed Tam, her scowl turning soft as she looked at Sophie. "Maybe we should take you back to bed. You can sleep as long as you need, and we'll talk to the Forkman about Foxfire."

"No, I'm fine. Just groggy. Seriously, drop it," she added when Keefe raised an eyebrow. Sophie didn't need their concern. Not their pity, nor their worries. She. Was. Fine. She didn't have a choice. She needed to be fine, for everyone. Enough people were worried about her amnesia, they shouldn't have to lose sleep over Sophie's nightmares, too.