The Outsiders meet elves: A Keeper of the Lost Cities crossover a Sophitz story

Chapter 78 - Fitz

"Sophie, you okay?" Tess asked.

"I'm fine." Sophie said, stifling a yawn.

"You're not fine." Tess said, "You have dark circles, and you just look real tired." I feel awful. What kind of boyfriend doesn't notice when his girlfriend is working to exhaustion?

Johnny nodded his head in agreement. "Tess is right."

"It's hard to sleep." Sophie said, "I haven't slept without Ella, since I was five." I'm not sleeping either. Mr. Snuggles has worked his way into my heart.

"Ella?" Tess asked.

"A blue stuffed elephant, that's wearing a Hawaiian shirt." I jumped in. "I can't sleep either."

"We've become too dependent on stuffed animals." Sophie said, a small, sad smile on her face. It was becoming entirely too familiar, to see that smile on her face.

"I blame Elwin." I said, "If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have found Mr. Snuggles, who is awesome, by the way. I wouldn't give him up if I had the choice." Who wouldn't love to sleep with a sparkly, red stuffed dragon.

"Hey, don't worry." Sophie said, her eyes softening. "We wouldn't change a thing about our lives." Very true. Except for one thing.

"Speak for yourself." I said, full of anger at Alvar. "I wouldn't have let Alvar get so close to me. I wouldn't have let his betrayal hurt so much."

"I would've pushed more to get you to see Keefe's flaws." Tam growled, "The guy was sending so many signs, I can't believe nobody said a word. We'd still be able to use Alluveterre, if it wasn't for him." The shadows moved around the room, in angry jagged swirls. But he came back. I don't know if things will ever be quite the same between us, but he's back.

"You're angry." Tess whispered, "I get it. It's hard to let go of your mistakes. But you need to let go. You can't dwell on the past. As a greaser, I've seen firsthand, the damage the grudges we hold against the Socs can do." Bob. He died because of those grudges.

"Hey, what's with the long faces?" Dallas asked, ruffling Johnny's hair. "We rescued Jenny, none of us are dead, or dying-"

"You're not in the cooler." Tess added smirking at him.

"True, man." Dallas drawled, "Y'all haven't answered my question. What's with the long faces?"

"Stuffed animal withdrawal. Deep thoughts." Tam said, "Nothing you'd understand." Not nice.

"You're gonna get it." Dallas growled lunging at Tam.

"Hey!" Sophie shouted, "Break it up you two! We can't fight now, not when, when we already have enough problems." The sparkle in her eyes was gone. Sadness, worry, and fear replaced that sparkle.

What's wrong? I asked. What has you scared?

I just have a feeling that the Neverseen are going to do something. It's silly. They can't travel through time, because their Technopaths don't have an Enhancer to help them figure it out. Sophie's warm brown gaze met mine, and I wrapped her in a hug.

It'll be okay. We won't let them win. But we should train the greasers we can.

We should. Sophie agreed.

"Hey!" Dallas shouted, "I know you're doing that creepy mind talking thing! Stop!"

"We're not doing anything." I said, "We should try to train you guys, and help you learn about your abilities."

"Kinda like how Sophie taught me to transmit?" Tess asked.

"Yep, and I'll teach you some inflicting." Sophie said, smiling. "Tam can work with Tara and Zara. Linh can work with Evelyn. Fitz, you can help the Telepaths, because I'll also have to work with Darry on mimicking. I'll do my best, anyways." She grimaced. "Master Cadence likes to point out all the flaws with my mimicking skills, which aren't very good."