INTERTWINED, kotlc

Five

Sophie winced as he led her outside, right behind the enormous theatre. "Why are we here?" 

"One minute," Keefe said as he ducked into a bush.

She felt awkward standing there alone, and she hoped it wasn't one of his ploys to embarrass and ditch her all in one. "Keefe!" She hissed worriedly.

"I'm right here!" He popped his head out. "Miss me?" He gave her a cocky smile and wheeled out a neon green bike. "Anyways, we'll ride this."

"Hold up— ride this old thing? We could wait for the gang, or— Also, there's only one seat," Sophie pointed out grimly, hoping he didn't mean what he meant.

"Oh yeah, Foster. Now you're thinking. Oh yeah," He grinned.

"Keefe, this is scary!" Sophie yelped. Keefe ignored her and pedaled faster, the wheels bumping from the pebbles on the sidewalk. She was sitting in the basket and had to come along with Keefe, wherever they were going. Keefe kept swerving to get a squeal out of her. 

"Are we there yet?" She moaned and covered her eyes as her hair whipped around in the wind. 

"Open your eyes! It makes it scarier!" 

Trees and cars whizzed by, and she got pretty startled when they hit a large rock on the sidewalk. 

"And we're here!" The bike screeched to a stop, and Sophie very gladly hopped out. "This is the best secret ice cream parlor in town! We can wait here or something, then go back and ride home with our friends. If you'd like."

He opened the door for her after leaning the bike against one of the walls. 

Sophie walked in, only to find that the parlor had creamy white walls with striking blue counters and a marble floor. There were hanging lights and a lush rug, along with posters that made it seem a bit homey. 

"How is this a secret place?" Sophie asked, raising her eyebrows in question. 

"People rarely come here. Seems like enough of a secret to me," He said, cocking his head to the side as if it were obvious. 

"If you say so." 

"Are you going to order or not?" A voice asked from the counter. 

Sophie looked only to see a girl with choppy black hair. Well, it wasn't fair to say black since it had strips dyed a bunch of colors. She had a nose ring and wore a bored expression. She looked to be somewhat older than them.

"Duh," Keefe strode up, Sophie following close behind. "Sophie, meet Ro. Ro, meet Sophie."

Sophie offered a small smile, but Ro didn't return it. 

"How long until you leave this job again?" Keefe asked as he peered down at the different flavors. 

"I'm leaving tomorrow, kid. Poof, you'll never see me again," She shrugged as she examined her bright blue nails.

"Ooh! Right, who's taking over again? And what's your new job going to be?" 

"No clue, but I'm going to work at a local cafe. Better pay. Now, will you two please order already?" Ro groaned. She seemed to dislike the job. Well, hate was a better word to put it.

"I'll take some blueberry ice cream topped with some pistachios, a bucket load of sprinkles, one of those waffle thingies, uh two marshmallows, a dollop of whipped cream, and top it off with a slice of banana, please." 

"So, the usual?"

"The usual?" Sophie sputtered. 

"Yeah, he comes over for ice cream a lot. That's how he gets his craziness. What's your order, girlie?"

"Um, just some vanilla with strawberry syrup."

"Okay." Ro walked off, humming to herself. 

"Isn't Ro the sweetest?" Keefe teased. 

Sophie shrugged, not knowing what to say. 

"Ice cream's up!" Ro walked back with their cones and handed them to them. 

"How much?" Sophie asked.

"Well, I'm here to cut a bargain," Ro smirked. She sure had a rebellious personality. 

Sophie wasn't fond of bargains or bets.

"Hit us," Keefe challenged. 

"Pay the normal price or get them for free if..." Ro cleared her throat and adjusted her striped apron. "Get them for free if you admit you two are in love." She put way too much emphasis on the last word.

"Love?" Sophie sputtered. "Ro, Keefe is one of my best friends!"

"So he says," She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Love? Blah Blah, love. How's that? Free, right? Uh, we're going now. Bye! Have fun with Bo!" Keefe grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the store as Ro started chasing them. 

"Gah! What's she doing?" Sophie asked as she hopped into the basket, not caring about how much it hurt. 

"Admit it!" Ro yelled as Keefe pedaled away. 

"Well, that was fun," He exclaimed. 

"While it lasted," Sophie muttered. "Which was about fifteen minutes." 

"We still have time to burn. Guess we couldn't stay there! Next stop..."

"No!" Sophie exclaimed as she finished off her ice cream cone. "I'm not going inside."

"It's fun! Well, not when you get it in your eye, but you've never been! You have to do this at least once in your life!" Keefe argued. 

He hopped off of the bike. "Then I'll lock this bike up in the bike rack, and you can sit here forever. Alone." 

"On second thought, I'll come inside," She said. She didn't want to be left alone on a neon green bike. That would be weird. 

Sophie followed him, her feet hitting the pavement lightly. 

"Sorry about Ro," He muttered.

Sophie didn't know what to say to that. But she didn't have to say anything once they made it inside.

"Hello," The woman at the counter waved. "I'm Flori." She had her long, brown hair tied into a beautiful plait. "Are you paying for two?"

"Yes, please," Keefe dug out his wallet as Sophie protested about paying. "I've got this one." He handed Flori a bill, and she nodded and took it.

"The suits are in that room," Flori pointed. "And the rest will be down the hall connected to it. There are signs to guide you."

"Thank you," Sophie smiled wearily as they hurried into the room and put the suits on overtop of their clothes. "This is scary, don't you think?"

"Nah, It's fun! You'll see." Keefe nudged her with his elbow and mused his hair. 

Down the hall, they went and grabbed their helmets and their squirters. 

"Let's go and whip those people's butts!" Keefe cheered. 

"That sounds a bit harsh." 

"It's not. We can be a bit competitive, can't we?" 

"Let's go, team Foster-Keefe! Let's play some paintball!" He pumped his fist and jumped up for emphasis. Keefe Sencen sure had that fighting spirit she didn't have. 

Sophie reluctantly followed him as he opened the door, revealing the arena. 

And there was one last thing she wanted to say before they went in.

"This is not going to end well."