Hey guys! This is my first real attempt at a published fanfic, so please check it out! Constructive criticism welcome, I worked very hard on this. More episodes to come!
Sophie flopped onto her bed after a long afternoon of working in the pastures. Seriously, how did Verdi get that dirty? At least Keefe was stuck doing it with her- no way was she letting him sit there and crack jokes any longer while she worked. So now here they were in her room, gross and dirty and covered in Verdi drool.
“Whew,” Sophie sighed. “That was fun.”
“It was! I mean seriously, that time Verdi knocked you over into the pile of-”
“KEEFE.” Sophie stopped him from finishing the sentence. She knew exactly what he was going to say, and that reminded her- she really shouldn’t be on her bed. She got up, telling Keefe he could use Grady and Edaline’s shower downstairs. He protested, saying he wasn’t that dirty, but Sophie shot him a look that sent him trudging down the stairs.
Sophie grabbed a change of clothes- a red tunic and light gray leggings that just happened to look really good on her- and went in her huge bathroom. As she showered, she wondered whether or not the real reason Keefe didn’t want to shower was that none of his hair products were at Havenfield. Sophie hadn’t seen his collection, but Tam had said that Keefe had more than him… and Linh loved to tell about how many different bottles of elixirs were in their bathroom. If Keefe visiting was going to be a regular thing, she’d stock up on his favorites.
When Sophie hopped out of the shower, she was still thinking about Keefe’s hair- how it always looked messy, but also styled at the same time. It’s color almost matched hers. They were so similar- unless you counted personalities. Keefe was effortlessly hilarious, snarky, and sweet. He was so fun to be around… why was she thinking about this?
Sophie took her time getting dressed and drying her hair… and, alright, putting on a little lip gloss, but there was still no sign of Keefe when she stepped out into her room. She peeked outside and asked Grady, who was standing outside his door, if he knew what was taking so long.
“I don’t know- the water stopped running a while ago. He is probably doing his hair. I swear, That Boy spends more time on his hair alone than I spend getting ready to go on an assignment!”
“To be fair,” said Edaline, who had just peeked around the corner, “you probably could spend a little more time on how you look.”
They laughed, and Sophie marvelled at how far they had come as a family. Yes, Grady still called Keefe That Boy, but at least he wasn’t kicking him out of the house. Of course, they weren’t together or anything… Grady might have some things to say if they were.
All of a sudden, Keefe threw open the door and flashed his trademark smirk.
“Missed me that much, huh?” He laughed, looking at the crowd around the door.
Grady scowled and threw him a warning look as he marched around Keefe to take a shower of his own. Edaline gave them an apologetic smile and slipped back down the hall, saying something about leaving them alone.
“Umm… that was awkward. Parents…” Sophie mumbled.
“Aww, I don’t mind,” Keefe smirked. “They’re better than mine.” Then, seeming to realize he had made the moment serious, he went on quickly.
“At least they left. Not that I don’t like them, but…” He listened to make sure Grady’s shower was running, then laid his arm across her shoulders and led her back up the hall to her room. “I’m sure not complaining about the alone time.”
Sophie blushed- which she had been doing a lot of lately. She’d thought Keefe was flirty before, but this? He had gone to a whole new level after… Fitz. More specifically, the breakup. Sophie quickly shook away the thought, not wanting to think about that. She had almost succeeded when they reached her room. Slipping out from under Keefe’s arm, she quickly changed the gross blanket on her bed, and fussed with the rest of her room, cleaning up her practically nonexistent belongings.
“It’s okay, Foster. You should see my room” he said, laying a hand on her arm to stop her fussing, and guiding her to the bed, where they sat down.
“I have” slipped out before Sophie could stop herself. Keefe’s room had been very nice, if a bit messy. It could also use an airing out.
“So you remember. My dad calls it the ‘Disaster Area.’”
“I liked it,” Sophie said shyly. “Except… it could use a little effort.”
Keefe laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But I don’t have time for that, what with, you know...”
At that moment, a yell- that sounded more like a roar- came from downstairs.
“KEEEEEFFFEEEEEEE” growled Grady loudly. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
Sophie looked at Keefe and sighed. “I hope you have the elixir to fix whatever you put in his shower.”
“What fun would that be? Besides, green spiky hair isn’t that bad. Just ask Fitz!” He paused for a moment, uncomfortable, then continued. “And if the animals think his head is a treat, well, how was I supposed to know?” He finished innocently.
Sophie facepalmed and tried to cover her giggle. “You should probably go fix it… with a very sincere apology… if you ever want to be allowed back here.”
“Yeah… not gonna be doing that…”
“You are ridiculous,” Sophie laughed, sighing exasperatedly.
“And that’s why you love me! But seriously, we should probably leave before he comes upstairs and grounds me into a pulp.” Before Sophie had time to respond- or even think- Keefe pulled out a home crystal, tightened his grip on her hand, and pulled them into the beam of light.
“Keefe! You need to take us back! I left my home crystal on my dresser!” Sophie said angrily.
“But we’ve only been here half a second!”
“Which is way too long! What about when Grady finds out we’re gone?”
“Relax, Foster. Aren’t you even a tiny bit curious why I brought you here?”
Sophie was, actually. They were standing on the path that wound up to… The Shores of Solace? Keefe hated his father’s house! So why were they here?
“You did say you wanted to clean my room, didn’t you? And what a perfect opportunity!” He opened the door, ignored his Lord Cassius’s questions, and pulled her into his room. He spread his arms wide, turning around slowly. “Here you go!”
“Wait, what?”
“Clean away! I’ll be here, providing helpful comments.” He grinned.
Sophie groaned. “You are ridiculous! Why did you bring me here? It can’t be because you want your room clean.”
“Naw, you’re right. I just figured you would, and since you’ll be spending a lot of time here…”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m pretty sure Grady’s not letting me into Havenfield ever again.”
“Good point. But is that really the only reason?”
“Nope, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already told you how cute you are when you’re mad at me, so…” During the conversation he’d moved closer, and it took Sophie a moment to realize he’d called her cute. Right on cue, she blushed.
“Still surprised, huh? It’s like you don’t believe me.” He stepped even closer.
Sophie scrambled for something to say, panicking. “Well, you’re cute when you’re trying to make me mad, so…”
Did she just say that? About to die of humiliation, Sophie mumbled “I mean…”
“It’s okay, Foster. I know you think I’m cute. You’re just shyer about saying it than I am.”
“When are you ever shy?” slipped out.
“Hardly ever, I guess. Only when it comes to you. I hold a lot back, you know.”
Sophie found that hard to believe.
Keefe hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath. “Look, Sophie…” He took another breath. “Do you trust me?”
Sophie was surprised he’d used her first name. “Of course I trust you, Keefe!”
“No, I mean really trust me. I know I’ve made a bunch of stupid mistakes, and you always say you’ll never hate me, but…”
“Keefe.” Sophie took another step towards him, so close their bare feet- they hadn’t put their shoes back on- were nearly touching. She could feel his warm breath on her cheeks.
“I promise you, no matter what you do, I would never- could never- hate you. In fact…” Now it was Sophie’s turn to pause.
“I love you.” She wasn’t sure who had said it. Maybe her. Maybe Keefe. Maybe both of them. Either way, he reached up for her face, and they were both leaning in, and…
“Miss Foster? Your adoptive parents hailed me, looking for you,” came a voice suddenly. Lord Cassius opened the door and leaned into his son’s room as the two scrambled apart.
“Oh sorry, am I interrupting something?” he asked, clearly not sorry.
Keefe growled in his throat and slammed the door in his father’s face, kicking the door, the wall, the floor…
Sophie was hiding behind her hair in the corner of Keefe’s room, pulling out a loose eyelash, completely humiliated.
“I should…”
“Yeah. I… I guess so. But come back another time, okay? You haven’t cleaned my room, remember?” he offered a shaky smile.
“How could I forget?” Sophie patted her pockets, then remembered- her home crystal was at Havenfield. “Umm… how am I going to get home?”
“I have a spare crystal here somewhere…” He opened a couple of drawers, then pulled one out. “Here.” he said, handing it to her.
Sophie raised the crystal to the light, glancing over her shoulder. But when she saw Keefe, frustrated, shoulders slumped in disappointment and humiliation and facing away from her, she lowered it. Instead, she pulled her Imparter out of her pocket, sending her parents a quick message saying she’d be home soon. She tucked both items into her pocket and stepped back towards Keefe. He turned around, surprised.
“I thought you had to go home.”
“Won’t kill them to wait a couple more minutes,” she returned. Then, not even hesitating this time, she stepped closer, stood on her tiptoes, closed her eyes, and leaned in. She didn’t need to cross the last inch. Keefe placed one hand on her waist and the other in her hair, and kissed her.
For a moment, Sophie couldn’t even think. This was nothing like her kiss with Dex. It was warm and tender, and she could taste the custard bursts they’d shared earlier that afternoon. Time slowed down, and when she finally pulled away and opened her eyes… he pulled her so, so, close and kissed her again. This time neither one of them pulled away for what must have been several minutes, but for once Sophie wasn’t counting the seconds. They eventually had to break the kiss, but they stayed only inches apart with their eyes locked.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time,” Keefe said eventually.
“I think I have too. I just didn’t know it.” And with that, he kissed her again.
They both knew Sophie really did have to leave now, but neither one wanted to end the moment. Sophie definitely didn’t want to leave him here. So Keefe kissed her one last time, pulling her crystal out of her pocket and raising it to the light for her. He let the light pull her away, not taking his eyes off hers until she was gone completely.
*** End Of Episode 1 ***
