Fate - A Sokeefe AU✅

Chapter 2 - "Just" Old Memories

Keefe:

"We're gonna be in a house with a bunch of girls?" I ask, whining.

"Yeah, dude. Why on Earth is that a bad thing?" Dex asks, nudging my shoulder.

"Because it's my sister and her friends. She's off-limits for my rules, and her friends are off limits for her rules. So if you guys try anything, I don't think you'll be let back in my house. Or Biana will beat you to a pulp. Don't doubt it. I've been on the receiving end of her temper."

"Must be a family thing," I mutter so only Dex can hear me. He snorts, and Fitz glares at me.

"Want to repeat that, wise guy?" he asks.

"I'm good. Let's get going!" I grin at Fitz, who rolls his eyes as he walks away.

We leave the school, and get into Fitz's car. I climb into shotgun, and Dex takes the back all to himself. He starts the engine, and I lean against the seat, watching the school shrink.

"So who are all the girls that are gonna be there?" Dex asks, and I can't help but smirk.

"Um my sister, obviously, Linh, the junior, and then Sophie and Marella, who are sophomores."

"Hey, I know Sophie and Marella! We were best friends in middle school," Dex comments. I always forget that he's a grade below Fitz and I.

Meanwhile I can't say anything. My brain fixates on the name.

"Sophie? Like, Sophie Foster?"

"Um, yeah, I think. Why?" Fitz asks, clearly distracted by the road in front of him.

"No reason," I mumble, but my brain takes me to a different time.
~~
"Really, Keefe? You suck!"

"Sorry, Foster! There are no rules in a snowball fight except one. Don't get hit!" He beaned her with another icy sphere, making Sophie shriek.

The pair was about nine years old, and fast friends. They'd known each other for four years, and had no intention of ever hating each other. The scene suddenly changed to a school playground.
~~
"Mine's gonna say, 'You're so pretty!'"  Ten year old Sophie would giggle as she and Keefe rose higher on the school swings.

"Yeah right. It's gonna say 'Who's this weirdo?' Mine on the other hand, is gonna say, 'Keefe, you're my hero!'" Keefe made his voice high pitched and swooned as he said it, just to hear Sophie giggle again.

"Your head is full of air, Keefe," Sophie declared, jumping off the swing. Keefe jumped off, and started to chase after her.
~~
"Our marks are coming soon, aren't they?" Almost twelve year old Sophie Foster asked. She was laying on her side in the tent they were currently occupying. Her family had gone camping, and Sophie had pestered for Keefe to come. When the time came, they'd move to separate tents, but right now they laid together as Sophie's parents did who knows what.

"Yeah, I guess they are." Keefe shrugged, his eyes connecting with his best friends. As they laid there in comfortable silence, breathing in the fresh air, Keefe realized something.

This girl wasn't just his best friend.

This was the girl who he prayed that her words would be inscribed on his arm when his birthday hit. This was the girl who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"Have you ever thought about what your soulmate might be like?" Sophie asked, making Keefe nervous.

"More than you could imagine," he muttered.

"What?" she asked, clearly not as blind as he'd hoped. 

"I said, have you imagined?" Keefe tried to cover up. Sophie squinted, but rolled on her back. clasping her hands over her stomach.

"Yeah," her voice went quiet, and Keefe felt his heart stop when she whispered, "I imagine he's the boy right next to me."

"What?" he asked, feeling his heart pick up again.

Sophie sat up, and motioned for Keefe to do the same. She didn't waste time with words, but kissed him instead.

It was an awkward first kiss, but neither of them seemed to care.
~*~
"It's almost midnight. Should we go separate them?" Edaline asked, sipping from her water bottle.

"I'll go do it." Grady rolled up his sleeves, which made Edaline nearly choke.

"Woah, Grady. Let me handle it. I don't want you manhandling the poor kid."

"Alright, Eda. But he better be in his tent by 12."

"Yes, Sir." Edaline saluted her husband, winking at him before heading to Sophie's tent. She zipped the flap open, ready to interrupt a conversation and get whined at, but found something different.

The two were passed out, on opposite sides of the tent. Edaline felt her heart warm, and she smiled. She couldn't kick Keefe out of the tent now. That would just be harsh. So, she simply backed out, and half zipped the tent back up.

"Why isn't Keefe getting in his own tent?" Grady asked with a raised eyebrow when Edaline came back.

"They're both asleep, and they're on opposite sides of the tent. It's not gonna hurt if we don't separate them."

"I knew I should've gone with you."

"Grady, they're kids, relax." She rolled her eyes at her overprotective husband.

"Mhm," he mumbled under his breath.
~~
"Hey, Sophie, can I talk to you?"  Keefe asked. It was only a couple of weeks before his twelfth birthday, a few months before Sophie's. She found it weird that he used her first name, but she didn't say anything about it.

"What's up, Keefe?" she asked, motioning for him to sit next to her. Keefe shifted awkwardly instead, and stayed standing.

"I don't think we should hang out anymore. What if we're not each other's soulmates, and we fall for each other. That just wouldn't be fair, wouldn't it? So, I'm going to start hanging out with Fitz. You should be friends with Marella and Dex. They're really nice. They'll accept you. Don't worry."

"Keefe," Sophie tried as he stepped away.

"I'm sorry, Sophie. It's the only logical thing." Keefe walked away, leaving Sophie heartbroken.

That was the last time they ever spoke
~~
"Hello? Earth to Keefe. We're here." Dex waves his hand in front of my face.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I got lost in my own head."

"I know. You had a blank stare on your face the entire drive. Didn't say a word. Freaked me out at one point."

"Where were you?" Dex asks as I take in my surroundings. We appear to be at Target, probably for a snack run.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"What were you thinking about so intently that you went to a different time?"

"Oh, nothing. Just old memories," I lie, climbing out of the car.

Yeah, Keefe. "Just" old memories.