Forever, Foster (A Sokeefe Story)

Memories of Madness

Keefe couldn't wait to see Sophie. Or, really, more accurately, he couldn't wait any longer. At first, he had sat in the glory of being the one that Sophie wanted to see and talk too, but as he sat on a bench outside of the school he began to think twice. The note Sophie left had not been specifically drafted to Keefe, and as he thought more about it, it actually made more sense for her to leave such a note for a life long friend, Fitz.

Was he going to find Fitz talking to Sophie if he went? Now, instead of being excited, he was just anxious that he wasn't who the note was for. 

His phone read 8:17, four hours to kill.  Would it be weird to get her flowers? Yes. Chocolate? The next day was Valentine's Day so it wouldn't be that far fetched. 

Or what if she wanted to talk to him to tell him that she was in love with Fitz! He had only just met her, and as odd as it sounded, he almost felt like he had liked... loved... her for a long time. But how? He had never heard her talk. What made him so drawn to her besides the fact that she didn't wear makeup? Had he known her in a previous life or something like that? 

Apparently, time does not only fly while you're having fun, for at the rate he was worrying, 11:30 came around much quicker than expected. It turned out, though, that Keefe had been worrying about the wrong thing because as soon as he stood from the bench to go find her, he realized that Fox Fire Clearing didn't actually exist at their school. 

Great.

He didn't even know what a Fox Fire was! A fire with a foxtail? Keefe grabbed his phone from his pocket hoping that maybe Sophie had texted him. As soon as the home screen lit up, a notification covered the picture of his hair he had set as the home screen. 

It read: This is all really more important than you thought. "Fox Fire" is... code. So learn about it, then you'll know where to meet me. 

"Oh, great," Keefe mumbled aloud. He looked up Fox Fire and up came a bunch of pictures of... Mushrooms? Yes, apparently they were mushrooms that glowed in the dark. Keefe did know of a mushroom garden that had automatic lights that turned on at night. It was really dark now anyways and Keefe didn't really have any other ideas, so it was his best bet. 

And it seemed he bet on the right deck of cards because as soon as the mushroom garden came into view, he could identify Sophie's slender figure under one of the lights.

"Keefe!" She exclaimed, running towards him. 

He waved "hi," then realized, "You talked! How... what cured it?"

"A bottle of Youth."

"A WHAT?"

"No time to explain. Listen, I know I'm gonna sound crazy, but you have to believe me. We're actually elves and, um, you and I were kinda in love. The problem was that Fitz was trying to stop us from being together so I guess I created some sort of teleporter, " She said, motioning to around them. Sophie was very animated as she spoke and Keefe found himself nodding along, entranced by her beauty. "So, basically the way to get out of this mess is for us to, uh, kiss."

Keefe hadn't been listening very well, but he snapped back to attention at the last part. "Kiss?"

"I know, it's all crazy, and I'm not just doing this to get you to kiss me, this is real, we need to fix everything before Fitz sabotages it and does something insane to this... whatever you call it... experiment."

"Wait, how again did Fitz get into the... alternative world we're in?"

"I don't know, but it probably has to do with the fact that Fitz and I have a special telepathic bond. Again, don't ask, it really is a lot to explain. But I think when I saw him my memories got triggered, that's usually how it works."

"Okay, well I'm in. And even if this whole thing is a prank, I will have gotten to kiss a pretty girl." Sophie rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less and Keefe felt himself fill with pride. Keefe moved closer and rested his hand on the side of her cheek. 

"Whenever you're ready," He whispered. Sophie closed the gap and touched her lips to his. But they were interrupted after a second when something hard hit Sophie in the back. She yelped in pain as she twisted out of Keefe's touch. 

Light began to change and dance around the two. And then something odd happened. Sophie's leggings and shirt morphed into an old, worn, dress that looked like peasant attire from a fairytale while Keefe's clothing changed into princely velvets. 

Just before the light completely enveloped them, Sophie saw what had hit her in the back, a book. On the cover was a girl in a dazzling ballgown. She recognized it as a book she had read recently about a prince falling in love with a peasant girl in a dystopian society. 

It was called The Selection. And as Sophie realized what had happened from the glow of teal eyes, all she could do was whisper, "Uh Oh."

Comment below if you have read THE SELECTION by KIERA CASS!!!!