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Keefe was going to put an end to this.
It didn’t matter that Foster was never going to talk to him again– okay, that was a lie. It was going to hurt. A LOT. Thinking about the fact that he would never get to look into those beautiful brown eyes again, and feel the rush of emotions he always did when he was around her…
Enough. That was exactly why he was doing this. He had to protect her. He had to protect everyone else from the damage that his mom had already done- and was surely going to continue with once she found him again. Which was why he needed to go far, far away– somewhere she would never think to look for him.
Which is why he’d written his hastily thought-out letter, knowing that whatever he would put on the pages wouldn’t be enough of an explanation to get Foster not to hate him– there were only so many times he could write and rewrite the same inadequate explanation, so eventually he just hoped for the best and sealed it before he could change his mind.
And now, he was standing here, alone in her bedroom, ready to put the letter underneath Iggy’s cage, take his dad’s pathfinder, and start the newest chapter of his life in the Forbidden Cities.
Hey, at least he would be able to eat elf-shaped cookies and other silly human delicacies! It made him a little nauseous to remember that they ate animals, but hopefully he’d be able to find some vegetarian alternatives that tasted as good as the gnomish vegetables they cultivated back at home.
Perhaps he should steal some mallowmelt from the secret Foxfire cafeteria right before he left, just in case, and then…
“Keefe?”
His heart froze at the familiar, lovely voice that took up so much of his waking thoughts. For a moment he considered leaping away before she could say anything else, but he knew it was too late for that.
He turned around with a sheepish smile. “Hey, Foster.”
Sophie wore a blush pink tunic, matched with soft pink shoes, gray leggings, and simple gold jewelry that brought out the matching flecks in her eyes. She looked… angelic. Like always. Although, a bit of an angry one, Keefe noted, but considering he was standing in her room, uninvited, he supposed that was fair.
“I thought you might be a little happier to see me.” Keefe tried, knowing well that he was pushing it.
To his surprise, it worked, and her features softened.
“I am,” she admitted. “It’s… it’s much better with you around.”
A rush of emotions hit him with the confession, and Keefe wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry or grab Foster and swing her around in a big hug.
“I wish you hadn’t shut me out.” She said, taking a step closer to him. Keefe resisted the urge to blush, but he wasn’t sure how successful it was.
“I know.” He told her. “I regretted it as soon as I said it, but… I just wanted you to be safe. I don’t know what’s going on with me right now–” he gestured to himself– “and I think it’s better to stay from everyone until I do.”
“So let me help you,” Sophie tried. “The Black Swan gave me about fifty thousand abilities– and I’ve had to have them almost kill me to reset them when they malfunctioned. Twice. You don’t think I have some idea of what you’re going through?”
“None of your abilities can control people,” he argued. “And, your mom didn’t make you a creepy weapon to carry out all her evil plans.”
“Um, I can inflict, in case you forgot.” She reminded him. “Trust me, that’s scarier than anything you or your mom can throw at me.” She gave him a dazzling smile, and Keefe felt his heart beat a little faster in his chest.
She took another step closer, and Keefe’s heart kicked into hummingbird mode.
“I know you think it’ll be better to shut everybody out and run away again to try and protect everybody,” she said, making him wonder if she’d violated the rules of telepathy and read his exact thoughts, “but you know that we’re better together. We will figure this out. Team Foster-Keefe for the win, right?” She tried, and it was too much. Keefe reached his arms out and pulled her against him, holding her tight as he took all of her in.
“Thank you, Foster,” he whispered in her ear, and he couldn’t help but grin as he felt her emotions shift again, heightening and swirling in a feeling that almost felt like…
“Keefe, I have another reason for wanting you to stay,” she added, pulling away so she could rip the letter from his hands. “I don’t know what’s in this, and I probably don’t want to, considering I can put together the pieces and realize that you were going to just drop this off and leave without saying goodbye,” she added. “So… you should get rid of it before I change my mind and my curiosity gets the best of me.”
He nodded, and shoved the letter in his pocket before she could look at it for another second.
“Sure,” he replied. “What’s up? Did you finally realize that the Forklenator needs an epic pranking, and you can’t do it without my help?”
“No,” she smiled and stepped back towards him. “I… I don’t know how to say this,” she admitted, reaching her hand up towards her eyelashes.
Even without the telltale sign, Keefe could tell she was nervous- it coursed through her in waves, and it made Keefe glad he hadn’t stopped by for a mallowmelt trip before coming here, because it probably would’ve ended up all over her flower-pressed carpet.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, taking her hands. “Did something happen?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “And, I’m kind of embarrassed how long it took for me to realize it.”
Oh no. What if the Great Foster Oblivion was finally over, and she had realized his feelings for her? Was this about to be the most awkward conversation ever where she politely told him that she was flattered, but there was a pair of teal eyes that she’d probably stare into forever if she could?
“Listen,” Keefe started, dropping her hands and backing up, “I know that it’s not going to happen, okay? You don’t need to let me down gently, I–”
“Keefe, I like you.” She blurted out. “And I’m ashamed that it took me this long to recognize how much I care about you. And I’m sorry if I’m too late, and you’ve moved on, and I want you to know that this doesn’t have to change anything between us, and I’ll get over it, and–”
“Whoa.” He said, stopping her as her emotions overwhelmed him and had him almost doubling over. This couldn’t be happening, could it?
But Sophie didn’t seem to hear him, because she was still going. “And you’re such a sweet, funny guy who has always been there for me, and been so selfless, and I’ve been such a self-centered and oblivious jerk and idiot and–”
“Sophie,” He breathed, stopping her in her tracks and grabbing her hands before he could change his mind. “How could you say that? You’ve had such a crazy few years, and so many new, unprecedented things happen to you, and you’ve handled it better than I think anyone possibly could–”
“Because of you.” She stared directly at him, and Keefe wasn’t sure if he was dreaming when she told him, “You balance me in ways that nobody else can. I… I can’t thank you enough, Keefe, but I wanted to start by recognizing something that I should’ve a long time ago. It’s… it’s always been you. Even when you drive me crazy by not listening to me, or risking your life by doing foolish things, you- you make things easy. Clear. More fun than anything has a right to be. And… I regret that I was too focused on other things that I missed my chance– and that’s okay, I don’t want to like, guilt you into liking me again or anything,” she added quickly, “I just–”
There were so many thoughts pounding through Keefe’s head as he looked at the girl he’d had feelings for since the minute he saw her coming from the alchemy failure she’d had in her first year at Foxfire. “Sophie, you didn’t miss anything,” he promised. “Are you… are you actually saying all of this right now? I’m not dreaming? Because I feel like I’m dreaming. Can you pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming?”
Foster smiled a shy smile, and leaned in closer, so close that he could feel her breath on his cheeks as she whispered, “What if I did something else?”
She looked down at his mouth, then back up at him, silently waiting for approval, and Keefe took it like a lifeline. His hands found their way to her face, one holding her cheek and the other nestling in her beautiful blonde hair, and then his mouth was on hers, and they were kissing, and it was everything he’d ever imagined and more. He held her tighter as he felt her arms wrap around him, and he thanked every higher power imaginable for his photographic memory because this was something he wanted to remember until he was Ancient and had pointy ears and a grumpy disposition.
He pulled away briefly. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? Like, I’m not forcing you to do this with my new ability or anything, right?”
Sophie smiled so sweetly at him that he wanted to melt into a puddle of happiness as she said, ‘Not even a little bit.” And then she leaned up to kiss him again, and Keefe thought that maybe his life was complete, and everything else faded away as she completely overwhelmed his senses. Keefe never wanted air ever again if it meant having to pull away. He could spend an eternity doing this, he–
“You know, this ALMOST makes me want to forgo your punishment, Hunkyhair,” Ro’s familiar, smirking voice called from the hallway.
Sophie and Keefe jumped away from each other– not that it mattered, because she’d already seen everything she’d needed to see.
“It’s about time, Blondie.” Ro grinned. “It’s about time.”
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