KOTLC Sokeefe One-Shots, Alternate Endings, etc

Nightfall 74 (Keefe POV)

When Keefe walked into Foster's room, it was obvious she hadn't slept. Her eyes were puffy and she just looked exhausted.

When he asked her about it, she admitted that it had been a combination of nightmares, talking to Amy, and not being able to shut her brain off.

Apparently, Foster had tried to convince Amy that she had everything under control, but she didn't think Amy believed her.

In spite of the difficulty of the situation, he found himself to be slightly amused. She was so cute when she was worried.

And he couldn't help himself.

He did what he'd been wanting to do for ages.

"I'm sure she didn't. This"--he traced a finger over the crease between her eyebrows-- "doesn't make you very convincing."

Their eyes locked after he said it, and she seemed to lose her train of thought.

And he definitely picked up on some flutters.

He loved it when that happened.

This little bit of evidence that she was aware of him. Attracted to him.

And they had hours until they were needed. Hours of unimpeded time together, just the two of them.

Maybe, just maybe, he could encourage that feeling to grow.

All of this was going through his head as she got up and moved to go pet Iggy, clearly trying to regain her composure. Finally, she managed to gather her thoughts and asked him why he was so early.

He told her, with complete honesty, that he knew she'd need someone to keep her from going crazy.

Knew she'd need him, because who else calmed her like he did?

No one.

But also that he knew she'd be mad if he hailed Mommy Dearest without her.

Because who else, apart from Keefe, had a track record of taking over and doing things without her?

No one.

She seemed to hate watching Ro stab him so his blood would unlock the Imparter. Ro, however, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Just hearing his mom's voice made him feel slightly sick to his stomach, especially when she spoke so flippantly about the fact that Foster's human parents were facing untold horrors. All she cared about was getting her precious Archetype. And then had the audacity to insist that she somehow wasn't the villain—and then told them to kill Fintan.

Totally not a villain thing to say, right?

Ugh.

And then admitted she intended Keefe to help her run her own Nightfall someday, Keefe and his powerful Empathy.

So basically, Keefe thought bitterly, I have a dad who thinks I'm worthless and a mom who only thinks I'm worth something because she needs a powerful Empath for her creepy plans.

But he was not going to play along.

And he'd have to deal with his parental issues on his own time.

Foster had good parents who needed her—and her friends—to save them.

So after they ended the call, Keefe firmly told Foster that they were going to ignore his mom's plans for him until after they rescued her parents.

She was worried about him, he could tell. And he loved it.

He was worth something in her eyes. He mattered to her. He was going to hold on to that feeling.

"Well..." she said after a second. "At least we know Vespera's ability isn't something scary."

"Don't be so sure. My mom's never trained as an Empath, so she doesn't get it."

He stood, moving to her bookshelf, where she'd displayed the paintings he'd given her around her old human scrapbook. He loved seeing his work displayed in her room like that.

He hoped she thought of him every time she looked at the paintings.

"My empathy mentor warned me when she saw how strong my ability was--that there's a risk that comes with feeling too much and not having the right training. Our mind's natural reaction is to shut down when things get too intense--but everything is intense for an Empath. So if you're not careful, you can end up going...numb. You'll still feel what others feel. But you won't feel anything yourself. And it can mess you up, since emotions overlap when you don't know all the thoughts and memories that triggered them..."

And he went on to explain that both anger and giddiness both have same burst of adrenaline—heart racing, surge of shivers, etc. That many emotions can come across very similarly, and that an Empath has to try to take the time to figure out the why behind the feelings in order to correctly read which emotion it actually is.

"Not sure I get what that means," Sophie admitted.

"I don't totally either. But my mentor said if I don't watch myself, I could get to a point where I'd feel the same thing if I hugged somebody or  punched them in the face. And if Vespera let that happen to her, well...it would explain how she was able to do such horrible, creepy research and write about it like it was no big deal."

Keefe immediately felt the chill that this theory gave Foster, and rubbed his arms to fight away the goosebumps at the same time she did.

"Is it harder to be around me?" she asked, noticing what he was doing. "Since my emotions are stronger?"

His lips tugged into a smile. "Don't worry, you're worth it."

A thousand times over.

"Ugh--why didn't you tell me?" She stood, moving toward the door, as though trying to lessen the effect of her strong emotions with a few feet of distance.

He laughed. "Trust me, a few feet doesn't make a difference."

"Then you should stay away from me," she told him.

"Now you're being ridiculous."

She was cute when she was being ridiculous.

Staying away from her would only happen if she ordered him away.

He strode over to her, and she tried to back away but crashed into the wall.

She was cute when she was clumsy.

"I'm serious, Keefe."

She was cute when she was being serious.

"Oh, I know. But you're forgetting something, Foster."

He just couldn't help himself. He was close enough to reach out and gently tuck her hair behind her ear as he leaned in to whisper, "I like a challenge."

They were standing very close now, and she had once again gotten very fluttery. Hope, beautiful hope, rose up inside him as he felt the effect he was having on her. It's now or never, he told himself.

No more skirting around the issue.

His mind was working fast, heart pounding but also feeling strangely confident—he just had a feeling today that he wouldn't be rejected.

So he quickly decided to call her out on the fact that she was getting fluttery and losing her train of thought every time he got close to her. Tell her it was time to acknowledge what that meant.

And then...

He was going to kiss her.

And hope against hope that she'd kiss him back.

"Speechless again?" he asked, grinning as he leaned in to whisper, "You know, there's--"

A loud slam had them both scrambling back. Ro and Sandor both jumped to protect them, weapons drawn.

But it was just Mr. Forkle.

Worst. Timing. Ever.

But his spiral into bitter regret was cut short the moment Forkle opened his mouth.

They weren't going to Nightfall tonight.

They were going now.