Sophie licked her locker strip, shuddering at the taste. "Pickles?" she exclaimed.
"Ugh." Dex stuck his tongue out, scrunching up his nose. "Someone please stop Elwin."
Sophie nodded, fumbling through her books when suddenly she let out a low curse. Dex glanced up at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "It's just—ugh, I left my notebook at—"
"Looking for something?" Something was dangled in front of Sophie's face—a blue notebook patterned with stars.
She grabbed it in surprise, but before she could turn around, someone slumped over her back. "You're welcome," Keefe purred into her ear.
Sophie shrugged him off hastily, suddenly very aware of Dex's curious gaze. "Thank you, Keefe," she muttered. "Where did you find it?"
"It was in my bag. I guess I accidentally grabbed it last night without realizing." He shrugged innocently, smirking at the rising blush on Sophie's face.
"Last night?" Dex raised an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. Sophie and Keefe looked up.
"Studying," Sophie said, at the same time Keefe answered, "Hanging out."
They exchanged a look. "A study hangout session," Sophie replied. Keefe shrugged compliantly.
"Foster and I are tight," he said, slumping over her shoulders again like a lanky cat. Sophie grimaced.
Dex just stared at them like they had suddenly sprouted antlers. "... Okay. That's fine, I just, I don't know." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You guys have been acting kind of weird lately."
Sophie tensed, opening her mouth to deny, but Dex cut her off and waved his hands in the air. "You know what, sorry, I'm just tired." He frowned. "Also, Keefe, don't you have a lesson on the other side of the building?"
"Yeah, Keefe," Sophie added, although she made no move to push his arms off her shoulders. "We're not in the same year, remember?"
"How could I forget?" He rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll be on time for once." Without warning, he let his head fall forward and kissed Sophie's shoulder with an exaggerated smack before sauntering down the hall where he'd come from.
Sophie closed her eyes. I'm going to kill him, she thought. She opened her eyes.
Dex was still staring at her with the same puzzled expression as before. "I'm not going to ask," he said resignedly.
"That's probably for the best," Sophie agreed, but when his back turned she couldn't help gently brushing her fingers over her shoulder, still tingling with Keefe's touch.
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