Some Sokeefe for the Shipping Soul

Out With The Old, In With The New.

Sophie stared at her boyfriend, his teal eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. She thought about how lucky she was to have him, Fitz, probably one of the hottest guys in her school, the guy who every girl had had a crush on at least once and went to bed thinking about. The guy who had literally discovered her in the human world and introduced her to her brand new life. The guy who gave her the most extravagant gifts expecting nothing in return. The guy who was a member of one of the most influential families in the entire Elven world.
She should feel grateful, happy even, right?

So why didn't she feel any of those things at all?

Every time they hung out together or went on their little dates, (If that's what you want to call the bodyguard chaperoned hangouts in the backyard under the Panake tree with Grady watching from the window and Edaline scolding him for watching and dragging him away, only for him to return to the window a few seconds later), she was constantly worried about how she should sit, how she should act. Whether or not her hair was falling out of the hairstyle Vertina had helped her with, if she was too distracted, what Fitz had said in the last few moments and whether or not she should laugh. If what she had read in 7 years worth of romance novels was correct, she was supposed to feel safe and comfortable around her boyfriend, she was supposed to feel like there was nothing she could do wrong in his eyes.

So why did she always feel nothing but bored and insecure??!!

Whenever she and Fitz when on their little dates, their conversations were always awkward and stilted, never flowing freely like they used to whenever they were just friends. Whenever she got gifts from him, they were always extravagant and definitely very expensive, but they were never from the heart. She had even accumulated a gargantuan pile in the back of her closet of all the gifts from Fitz that she would probably never use, and as she went into the closet every day to get dressed, she would glance at the large pile of trinkets and feel instantly guilty.

Every day she spent with him had her wondering where all of the attraction that had drawn her to him had gone, and wishing even a small part of it would come back, just so she could feel something, anything that wasn't boredom or insecurity whenever she hung out with him.

As she continued pondering their relationship, Sophie realized Fitz had been calling her name for a couple of minutes and finally looked up from the grass to find him staring at her in confusion.

"Oh great, you're back. What were you thinking about this time Soph?" Fitz said, stumbling over the name as his lips struggled to pronounce the unfamiliar word.

"Nothing much, and where did the nickname Soph come from?"

"I just thought that since Keefe had so many nicknames for you that we should have our own special one, you know like other couples do,". And that brought Sophie to the next point on her mental list of reasons for she and Fitz's flawed relationship. He was constantly concerned about she and Keefe's close relationship, making sure to try and one-up him in every way, as if cementing the fact in his mind that he and Sophie's relationship was actually working. He had even gone as far as to try and learn how to draw once he realized she had gotten two handrawn portraits from Keefe, not that he was succeeding, for his attempts st artwork still missed the mark quite a bit.
"We don't have to do it if you don't want to." he said finally, trying and failing to cover up his rambling with a fake laugh that sounded more like a cough.

"I'm fine.", Sophie said bluntly, turning to look at Fitz to try to give him a reassuring smile.

"No you're not, I'd know that look anywhere, you are still bothered by it."

"I said I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me," he said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. And that was the final straw for Sophie. Suddenly she exploded screaming out the words she convinced herself she would never say to him out loud.

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" Sophie screamed, turning to look at Fitz, anger clouding her judgement. It was then she realized that Fitz had gone silent, her bodyguards stationed a few yards away had gone silent, even Edaline had joined Grady at the window, staring with worried looks at her outburst.

"Can't do what anymore?" Fitz said worriedly, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Sophie sighed, realizing what she would have to say even before the words left her mouth, and hating herself for them.

"Fitz, I think we need to break up."

-End of Part One-