Chapter Text
Keefe Sencen
New York City looked best during Fall, when everyone was wearing stylish coats and black boots, light grey mittens and carrying dark brown leather briefcases, always rushing out of their taxis to get to the office in time.
Keefe watched the people from his apartment on the twentieth floor, noting how small they looked when you were over two-hundred-and-forty feet high. They were ants, scurrying to get from one place to the other in a certain amount of time. His eyes tracked a woman in a beige coat running through the traffic, presumably shouting apologies. Keefe lost sight of her as she ran into one of the many large buildings, and he huffed out a breath.
His photoshoot started in an hour; couldn’t the universe give him something useful or—at the very least—entertaining to do? His breath fogged up the shiny glass. With the tip of his finger, he started drawing rather detailed stick figures. Two boys and two girls, standing close together and smiling.
A pang of jealousy hit Keefe. Of course Tam, Linh, and Marella got to spend their days going to school like normal teenagers at Exillium Academy, learning things with teenagers their age while Keefe was forced to learn advanced classes from tutors his parents hired to spend eight hours a day at their lonely manor.
He knew it was stupid: what seventeen-year-old boy wanted to spend his weekdays going to some high school when he could pose for photoshoots and star on talk shows? Keefe often bragged about it, telling people that his life was the definition of amazing and full of exciting parties.
Keefe was very skilled at certain things, and bluffing was one of them. He didn’t lie; he bluffed.
The first rule of business, his father had taught him from an early age, is knowing that lying and bluffing are two very separate things. Bluffing is an art one learns after practice—for instance, I need to sell a house quickly but the couple that wants to move in does not want their next door neighbor to have a dog. They ask me to check it out, and I do. Cassius raised an eyebrow at Keefe.
You bluff, Keefe replied from across the dining table. Tell the couple that the neighbor doesn’t have a dog.
Cassius shook his head and clicked his tongue. You are missing a key step, Keefe.
Keefe furrowed his brows together, trying to remember. You tell the couple that the neighbor doesn’t have a dog, but you never specify which neighbor you talked to?
Cassius smiled a smile that had sent a thrill through Keefe. It was rare when he got to see pride on his father’s face directed right at him. It felt good. Good job, Keefe. It’s not lying if you find a loophole. This information will come in handy when you get older.
And come in handy it did. Keefe bluffed every day to many people. He was quite good at it, keeping his lips lifted in a sincere smile directed at whoever it was that he was talking to and saying that the poses were natural, or that his hair was natural. Technically they were natural, if you didn’t count the huge amount of products Keefe put in his hair every morning or how sometimes they had to take a photo over and over because Keefe’s smile was too tight and he needed to loosen up.
The only person he could never seem to bluff to—and get away with it—was Tam, his best friend. He had tried it countless times when he first met the boy five years ago, but it never seemed to work. Tam always saw through it.
At the time Keefe thought his skills were fading and felt personally insulted whenever Tam would call him out for it. But as time passed Keefe learned to get used to it. Tam was the only person Keefe never bothered to bluff to and, therefore, the only person Keefe thoroughly trusted with his deepest secrets.
Just then his phone rang, the sound startling him. He would be lying if he said that these short phone calls were not the highlight of his long, boring days. His thumb mindlessly pressed the green accept call button on muscle-memory.
“Keefe!” Linh’s bright and bubbly voice caused a small smile to lift Keefe’s lips. “Put us on facetime—hurry! Professor Rohana is in such a bad mood today and if she knew that we were sneaking to call you she would be furious.”
“Yeah, Hunky Hair. I cannot risk earning another detention in Rohana’s class or I will self-explode.” Marella said, her familiar snarky tone the only reason Keefe ever seemed to roll his eyes. His friends were in desperate need of learning what the word patience meant.
He navigated the facetime button and pressed it, grinning from ear-to-ear as his three closest friends’ faces appeared on his small phone screen; their faces pressed tightly together, all of them trying to get into the eye of the camera. “It’s nice to see you guys, too.” He said it in a sarcastic way, but he truly did mean it. He was still waiting for Tam to say something, but his best friend usually waited until Linh was done rambling.
“We just wanted to wish you luck for your photoshoot,” Linh chirped helpfully. Her silver-blue eyes were lined with her signature mascara and eyeliner, accentuating her beauty even more. She had curled her long black hair, too, and added more silver dye to the fading streaks on the ends. Keefe noted that a little more would not hurt, but he bit his tongue and kept on smiling.
Marella looked closely at Keefe, seemingly inspecting him. “Your hair is more shiny than usual. Do you have any fancy dinners planned after the photo shoot?”
Keefe shook his head. “Nah, Cassius and Gisela booked me for a talk show around three o’clock later.” He had begun referring to his parents by their first names when he had turned thirteen, and since then things had been…easier. Like he had finally started accepting his parents as more his business managers instead of the loving people his mind had created at a young age.
“Sounds boring,” Tam drawled from the corner of Keefe’s phone.
Keefe brightened at his voice. “Oh, it is, Bangs Boy. Terribly boring. You guys should ditch and come spend my remaining—” he glanced at his watch—“fifty minutes of freedom with me.” He transformed his face into an expression of pleading. Tam merely scoffed at that, rolling his eyes.
“I would happily leave this school to come and hang out with you, but we have a test next period.” Tam sulked, his features similar to Linh’s except Tam was taller and, well, a boy. Keefe often compared him to one of those famous K-pop artists.
Linh buried her face in her hands. “Stop it, Tam! Don’t remind me!”
Marella’s blue eyes—the same icy shade as Keefe’s—sparkled with amusement. “So, Hunky Hair, up to anything even slightly exciting this morning?”
Keefe pretended to think about it, tapping his pointer finger against his chin a few times. “Does watching traffic from your New York apartment and wallowing in heavy despair count as exciting?”
“Oh, shut up.” Marella said with the flick of her wavy honey-blonde hair. “You get to sleep in until nine o’clock every morning while the rest of us are forced to wake around six just to get dressed, eat breakfast, and make it to school on time. You have the life, Keefe. I do not want to hear you complaining.”
Keefe felt his smile become a little too forced. It was his bluffing smile—It was second nature to him by now so it came fairly easy. “Well, not everyone is lucky enough to live the life of Keefe Sencen.” His eyes flickered to Tam’s, and he saw the way the other boy frowned. The simple action sent warmth coursing through Keefe because Tam knew. Tam was the only person who knew.
Keefe still was not quite used to people seeing through his mask, but it helped sometimes when he felt like breaking down and drinking away his sorrows. He did not mind whiskey, but no matter how many times he drank the alcohol he could never get used to the way it burned as it traveled down his throat.
Linh offered him her signature cheerful smile. “Later tonight we can all come over and watch your interview! Do you know what the interviewer is going to ask you about?” Linh frowned, deep in thought. “And what news channel?”
“Inside Edition, I would think.” Marella sighed. “I cannot believe Hunky Hair is the one that’s famous when the three of us exist. Linh and Tam, you two guys could be literal K-pop idols whereas I could be a freaking popstar who immediately goes on to the big ranks after only releasing one song.”
Keefe could not stop the outburst of a laugh. He immediately clamped his mouth shut—his mouth was such a traitor. “You are completely right, Marella.” Keefe said quickly, writhing under Marella’s narrowed eyes. It wasn’t that Marella was a bad singer, it was just that sometimes she sounded like a dying rat trapped in the sewer, slowly starving to death. Obviously Keefe had never told her that for the fear of getting all of his amazing and lush blond locks of hair shaved off while he was asleep.
Tam snorted, which led to Marella turning her sights on him instead, leading to the familiar sound of the two bickering as Linh desperately tried to keep them quiet or else they were going to get caught. The two did not listen, though, and kept right on at it until an unfamiliar female voice came in.
“Mr. Song, Ms. Song, and Ms. Redek, what is going on here?” The voice was full of authority and Keefe saw the exact moment all of his friends’ faces turned pale. Linh stuttered out apologies, Marella crossed her arms and started pouting, and Tam just had on his poker face, but the way his eyes briefly flickered down told Keefe he was a bit ashamed.
“Good luck!” Keefe said in a sing-song voice before he pressed the red end call button. Oh, he was so going to tease them all about it later. His eyes wandered to the window again and noted how the rain had started to pick up. Keefe always did like the rain, how it was always so calming on tiring days.
He really did wish that it rained more often. It was a nice distraction from the amount of jealousy he held inside of him. He would probably sell his entire apartment building just to be able to go to school with his friends. He caught his reflection in the window and just…stared.
Sun-kissed skin, lean frame with broad shoulders, strong jawline, ice blue eyes that matched Cassius’s, golden-blond hair meticulously disheveled so it was framing his face in a way that—according to Gisela—made all of the girls go crazy. He was wearing simple black pants and a white dress shirt, the top button undone.
Keefe glowered at his reflection, wanting nothing more than to smash it into pieces. He looked too perfect, too flawless. Too far from the truth. He just wanted to pull on the single pair of sweatpants he owned—courtesy of Linh—and his batman sweatshirt that Tam had gotten him for his sixteenth birthday.
He…he wanted to go somewhere where he could be himself. Where he could paint when he wanted to and make jokes and not have to appear on talk shows every hour of every day. He wanted to be a normal teenage boy with a pair of loving parents, a dog, and his own car instead of a limo.
Keefe tore his eyes away from the window and turned, looking at his large apartment. White furniture, wooden floors, marble counter tops. The entire living room/dining room was spotless even though he had been living there for the past four months. It still did not feel like home.
His phone rang once again and a familiar number flashed across his screen. With a heavy sigh, Keefe answered. “Father.”
“Keefe.” Cassius’s voice was the opposite of warm and welcoming. “The limo is outside waiting for you. The shoot was rescheduled for a little earlier so your mother and I need you to get here fairly quickly.”
Keefe internally groaned and hung up the phone before his father could demand anything else, which Keefe knew he would. He slipped on a pair of boots and a warm black jacket he had received from a photoshoot the month before. With one last glance around the empty and cold room he unlocked his door and rushed to the elevator.
“Your father and I have been discussing a rather…difficult matter.” His mother said as she scrolled through her phone on the limo ride back to Keefe’s apartment. The photoshoot had gone surprisingly well, and they only had to do a few re-takes instead of ten to fifteen like usual. The talk show was rather boring, but afterwards he got to sign autographs and take pictures with fans so it wasn’t the worst thing ever.
Keefe sat in the middle of his parents, both of whom were only giving him half of their attention. Keefe did not mind though because he was in a heated texting argument with Marella about whether cakes or cupcakes were better. Obviously cake was the right choice, but it seemed as though Marella had hit her head hard when she was an infant.
“Oh?” Keefe’s eyes flickered to Gisela, her signature bun looking so tight that it pulled at her skin in a way that he could not possibly fathom as anything other than painful. “About what?”
“Where we should send you to school for the remaining semester.”
The one-worded answer made Keefe perk up instantly. “Are you finally going to send me to Exillium Academy with my friends?” It was no secret to his parents that Keefe longed for a normal life with normal kids his age. He had made it quite clear on his thirteenth birthday when he had locked himself in his room when his parents had refused and shouted at them about how terrible they were as parents. Needless to say, they hadn’t even flinched, and that had seemed to make it all worse.
“No.” The one-worded answer made Keefe’s mood turn sour. “Exillium Academy is only the second best school in America, Keefe. Your father and I refuse to send you there with the…less fortunate children.”
Keefe crossed his arms and started to scowl. “But you are going to enroll me at a school, right?” He could not keep the desperation from his voice.
“Yes. After a lot of research I have decided to send you to Foxfire Academy in Louisiana. It is a rather amazing place, full of wealthy and important people that will help you climb the ranks just like your father and I did at your age. Your father has already set it all up. You will begin two weeks from now, giving you plenty of time to pack and go shopping for supplies.” Gisela said it as though she were pitching a business proposal, but Keefe did not care.
He was going to go to school. A real school with uniforms and football teams and people his age who shared his interests. He was going to wake up early and drive his very own car and eat lunch with—
Wait. Who was he going to eat lunch with? Surely Tam and Linh and Marella were supposed to come with him. “Mother,” Keefe said hesitantly. “This all sounds wonderful but what about my friends? Will they be able to come as well?”
Gisela spared him a glance. “I am not responsible for your friends, Keefe. However, I am responsible for your education and your future. I will have your father email you the details later tonight.”
The limo rolled to a stop in front of Keefe’s large glass apartment, the concrete in front of the building dark from the rain. “Thank you, mother.” He looked over at Cassius, who had not said a word during the entire conversation. “I appreciate it, father.”
“Don't make us regret this decision.” Cassius's signature oily voice made Keefe want to rip his own ears out. He hated his father's voice, always so snotty like he knew better than everyone else. Keefe used to think he did, but now he wasn’t so sure.
“I won’t,” Keefe promised as he climbed out of the limo. He slammed the door behind him, giving the driver a hand to let him know that Keefe could handle it himself. He straightened his posture and put on a nonchalant expression in case there were any photographers lurking nearby as he made his way into the building and to the elevator, going up nineteen floors until it finally stopped on the twentieth one.
He was grateful for the privacy when he unlocked his door and shut it behind him, flicking on the lights. They were far too bright for only seven o’clock at night but Keefe had grown used to it. After all, why settle for less when you could have more?
He had learned that piece of advice from his mother, but Keefe preferred the one about bluffing from his father the most. It came in handy more often than not.
His phone buzzed from a notification, but unlike his other emails from modeling companies and requests for jobs upon jobs, this one was actually interesting. If only it had been sent from someone other than his father.
Keefe,
Here are the details of your living arrangement for the remaining Foxfire semester: You will be a guest in the Vackers house where you are expected to be on your best behavior no matter what. Alden Vacker has three children, two of them who attend Foxfire Academy. They have agreed to show you around. Mister and Missus Song have both agreed to send their children to Foxfire as well (you can thank your mother for that), along with Mister Redek’s daughter.
They will be in charge of their own living arrangements, though. You will be the only one living with the Vackers. Don’t make a fool of yourself or your family. If you do, I will not hesitate to withdraw you and book more modeling jobs and twice as many talk shows until the day you die.
Sincerely,
Your Father
Keefe just stared blankly down at the email, not sure whether to be happy about the change of events or depressed. He settled for happiness and called his friends, inviting them over and ordering pizza. That night Keefe celebrated his new-found freedom and thought that maybe—just maybe—he could take a break from bluffing for the time being.
“Oh, Hunky Hair,” Marella patted his head. “Now you won’t be a lonely boy anymore, huh? Although the lack of beauty sleep you will be getting probably will take a toll on your mental health.”
Keefe looked at her, mouth full of cheese pizza. He swallowed hard. “What are you talking about? I am not lonely!”
Marella raised an eyebrow, doubtful. “Tam isn’t the only one who can detect whether you’re bluffing or not.” The way she said bluffing made it seem like she was heavily implying another word but refrained.
“Shut up.” Keefe glared at her. “Eat the pizza I so graciously bought you and thank me for it since I am the rich and famous one here.”
Marella punched his arm, glaring. “Never.”
“Hey,” Linh cut in with a hopeful smile. “Don’t we all want to watch Keefe’s interview? It starts soon.” She was right; it was almost seven-thirty. Linh pulled her hair back in a loose braid, the silver streaks mixing with her natural black ones.
Marella stared at Linh and nodded. “Yeah. Sure. Of course.” Her cheeks tinged pink and after not-so-subtly sticking her tongue out at Keefe’s not-so-subtle smirk, she went and flopped down on the large L-shaped white couch in the middle of the room, facing an equally large TV. Linh followed her, asking if she could braid Marella’s hair when she was done with her own until Marella finally agreed.
Tam leaned against the kitchen counter next to Keefe, eating only the pepperonis off of his pizza. “Are you excited to finally experience the life of an academically burnt out teenager?” His lips tilted upwards with a smile that people rarely ever got to see on Tam Song’s face. Thankfully, Keefe was not one of those people.
“Extremely excited.” He could feel his lips do the same as Tam’s. “You can teach me how to put in a locker code and wear a school uniform and take extremely detailed notes and maybe even teach me how to drive a car.”
Tam laughed at the last part. “I would not trust you with driving, Keefe. No offense or anything but I don’t feel like dying so early in life.”
Keefe glared at him but it was a playful one. “Shut up, Bangs Boy.”
“Guys, come over here!” Linh turned around enthusiastically. “It’s starting!”
For the rest of the night the four of them ate pizza and watched Keefe’s—rather spectacular—interview with one of Inside Edition’s interviewers. That was when Keefe realized, with a content smile playing on his lips, that he never wanted the moment to end.
Sophie Foster
When Sophie first heard the news, she had been sitting on Biana’s bed, painting her nails a deep pumpkin color, the color of the thin cardigan she had been wearing. It was a rainy Autumn day, the leaves the color of the comforter on Biana’s bed.
“It’s called a bed reset,” Biana informed her the day before with a proud little smile. “You should try it sometime: my mom says that it is very therapeutic. Your room could use a small reset—it’s not like it would hurt anything.”
Sophie wanted to point out how much work it was, changing the bed sheets and dusting her shelves, organising her desk. But she had refrained, knowing that her protests would only make Biana argue with her further.
Sophie had always loved Autumn: it was by far her most favorite season. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and her birthday were all held during the beautiful season. It was never too hot out, nor too cold out, and if she got lucky enough it would start to snow a bit early on, before Christmas hit. The Autumn Dance that was held the day before Autumn Break at Foxfire also played a large part in the magic that the season brought.
The rainy weather calmed her as she finished the final touches, laying her hand out on Biana’s desk to let the polish dry. She admired her work, pleased with herself when she realized that none of the polish got on her fingers.
“Sophie,” Biana stepped out of her closet, the size of Sophie’s old living room. “What do you think of this dress?” Biana held a flowy orangish-brownish dress in her hands. The material looked comfortable and warm.
“Are you thinking of wearing that to the Autumn Dance?” Sophie was only joking; obviously Biana was going to drag her out shopping for new dresses the weekend before the dance. Still, it was worth the look of horror that crossed Biana’s face.
“No! Oh my Gods, could you even imagine?” She mindlessly twirled her long chocolate-brown hair around one finger. “Mom would absolutely kill me and dad would probably go on some lecture of how I need to present the Vacker legacy appropriately or something like that.” She rolled her unnatural teal eyes and Sophie was reminded of how she always used to compare them to her plain brown ones.
“Right. Of course.” Her gaze flickered to the large window, lost in thought. She wondered if her sister and parents were watching over her right now, smiling from the Heavens. The thought always did seem to make Sophie feel better. “Do you have any idea who you’re going with to the dance?”
Biana shrugged. “A ton of guys have asked me already but I really just kind of want to enjoy myself, y’know? Drink some punch and dance with you and Dex. Maybe try and kiss Donovan Morrison. He’s actually sort of cute in a stuck-up jock way.” She smiled, raising a suggestive eyebrow. “What about you?”
“I told Fitz I would go with him.” Sophie felt her cheeks burn as Biana’s squeals filled the room. “It isn’t like that! We broke up a year ago, remember? It didn’t work out. He just wants to go as friends and I agreed.”
Biana grinned from ear-to-ear. “Sure, my dearest best friend.” After a few minutes of intense eye contact—Sophie refused to be the first to look away—Biana sighed. “Actually, now that I think about it, that wouldn’t be a terrible idea. You and Fitz could go together and me and Dex can go together. It could be, like, a platonic double date.” She smirked. “Or at least Dex and I would be the platonic ones.”
Sophie thought about it—except for that last part. She had been asked by guys, too, but none of them really stood out to her. Fitz had asked her with that charming smile of his—you know, the one that made her fall for him in the first place—and she couldn’t not say yes. She really didn’t want their relationship to shatter, even though she wasn’t sure what their relationship was, so that was the main reason why she had agreed.
That and the way her heart still fluttered when he looked at her a certain way. It wasn’t as strong as her early teenage years, but it was still there. Sophie wasn’t sure whether she hated it or loved it. She definitely wanted to hate it.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “That sounds good.” She busied herself with lightly blowing on her nails, wanting them to dry faster than they already were. “So how are you going to ask Dex? Buy him flowers and chocolates with a card that reads: will you do me the honor of escorting me to a dance or something romantic?”
Biana snorted, tossing the dress on a chair in the corner and walking over to her bed, sitting on the edge of it. “Buying a card, flowers, and chocolates is the bare minimum, Soph. You know what isn’t the bare minimum, though?”
Sophie slumped in Biana’s desk chair. She had watched enough romance movies with Biana to know where her best friend was going with this. “Sneaking out of your house late at night to throw a rock at your crush’s window?”
“Exactly!” Biana clapped her hands together happily. “I really have changed you for the better.” She eyed Sophie’s nails. “Oh,” she said with a proud nod, “I taught you well. Much better than when you first tried painting your own nails.” She shuddered as though the memory haunted her dreams. “I should be a beauty teacher.”
“Yeah,” Sophie agreed. “You should.”
“So.” Biana looked back at the dress she had tossed on the chair. “What do you think of the dress? I was thinking of wearing it to Atlantis tomorrow—something casual. With light brown boots and maybe white tights underneath? Because of the cold.” She started to debate loudly over which coat she would wear and what scarf would look best, but Sophie was only half listening. She hummed in acknowledgement every now and then, signaling for Biana to continue.
Sophie kept looking out the window, kept thinking about Autumn Break and the Autumn Dance, and then her mind flashed to how Fitz had asked her to the dance. She subconsciously tugged out an eyelash, thinking of the way the fair skinned boy had walked up to her and started to nervously scratch the back of his neck.
Will you go to the dance with me? The way his teal eyes flickered from side-to-side was the only way that Sophie could tell he had been nervous. Fitz Vacker was, to put it mildly, perfect. Everything he did from the way he walked to the way he talked was done with such perfect precision that you would think he was an incredibly good-looking robot. Seeing Fitz nervous had triggered something inside of Sophie, a kind of warm lovey-dovey feeling she immediately squashed down.
Been there, done that. No need to relive the past.
Yeah, Sophie smiled without even really thinking about it. Of course.
Fitz’s timid smile had turned into one of relief. Oh my gosh, thanks, Sophie. I’m so glad we can still be there for each other as friends. He had then hugged her, which only left Sophie more stunned. Her and Fitz hadn’t hugged since their break-up when they were fifteen. Fitz’s arms around her had become unfamiliar after that.
“Hello?” Biana waved her hand in front of Sophie’s face. “Earth to Sophie Foster?”
Sophie blinked, breaking free from her thoughts. “S-sorry.” Her cheeks reddened. “I was just thinking about calculus.” Biana raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth to call Sophie’s bluff when a knock interrupted her.
“Come in!”
A maid appeared in a simple black dress and white apron, duster in hand. Sophie had not bothered to learn her name; the Vackers fired and hired more maids than Sophie could count. The perks of being extremely rich. “Miss Biana,” the woman fidgeted nervously with the duster. “Miss Vacker wants you to meet her in her wing.” Her dull green eyes landed on Sophie. “She said to leave Miss Foster here.”
Biana sighed. “Mom probably just wants to go over some things for the dinner party she is hosting next week.” She stood, her lavender dress falling in soft waves around her figure. “I’ll be right back, Sophie.” Biana breezed past the maid and the maid took a step back, startled.
“You’ll get used to it.” Sophie offered the maid a small smile, clearly referring to the beauty and glamour of all the Vackers. She went back to staring out the window, barely paying any attention as the maid shut the door behind her.
A good thirty minutes later the door was getting flung open and Biana stood there, breathless. “Sophie, guess what!” She was squealing once again, cheeks flushed with joy. “Ohmygosh you will never believe what mom just told me!”
Sophie, suddenly intrigued, tried her best to match Biana’s energy. “What?”
“Keefe Sencen is staying with us after Autumn Break! His parents talked to my parents and they mentioned wanting to enroll Keefe to an exceptional school. Dad offered for him to live here and his parents agreed!” Biana had barely taken a breath as she rushed to get the words out.
“Keefe…Sencen?” Sophie felt the name roll off her tongue, and if names had flavours she was sure Keefe Sencen’s would taste like a sour lemon. “You mean the guy who visited during the summer we were fourteen?”
Biana nodded vigorously. “Yes. The extremely cute one with the artfully messy blond hair? Eyes blue enough to make any girl drop dead because of how swoon-worthy they are?” Biana smirked, wiggling her brows suggestively. “The one who you wouldn’t shut up about for those two weeks.”
Sophie felt as though her life were flashing before her eyes. She thought that she would never have to see Keefe again—she had hoped she would never have to see Keefe Sencen again. He was so rude when they were younger, always picking fights with Sophie while the other kids around them had practically drooled at his feet.
“You’re kidding, right?” Sophie could not keep the pleading out of her voice. “Biana, please tell me this is some cruel joke.”
Biana’s smile dropped. “No, I promise this is no joke. I thought you would be happy with this change of events. It’s Keefe Sencen, Sophie. One of the youngest male models to ever reach extreme fame. He’s a celebrity.”
“Money doesn’t make up for his lack of manners,” Sophie pointed out. Biana had to remember what a pain Keefe was for those two long, torturous weeks. He had constantly complained about how it was always raining in Louisiana and how New York was just beautiful that time of year. Not to mention he had pushed Sophie into the lake before she had even changed into her bathing suit.
Even two whole years later he still made an appearance in her mind every once in a while. He was on the page of the magazines the girls at Foxfire read—including Sophie’s—he was almost always on the TV, modeling for brand commercials or starring on some late night talk show that millions watched.
“Oh, come on, Sophie. He was clearly flirting with you that summer. I remember that I had gotten so jealous I had dared him to push you in the lake that one time and—”
Sophie stared at her. “That was you who dared him? Biana, what the hell?” She glowered over at the sheepish girl.
“I know and I promise you I felt so bad afterwards. That’s why I bought you a new pair of sunglasses the next day.”
“I thought you bought those out of the kindness of your heart!”
“Nope. Sorry but I bought those out of the guiltiness of my heart.” Biana laughed at her own slightly-funny joke. “Anyways, mom wants to wait to tell Fitz during dinner and she was wondering if you wanted to be there for his reaction.”
Sophie pretended to think about it. “I can’t. I promised Grady that I would help him with the animals later.” She fished for her phone. “I should probably see what time he plans on picking me up.” It was already seven-thirty at night. The Vackers ate dinner at exactly eight o’clock. “I’ll call him.”
Sophie dialed her adoptive father’s number. He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Soph, how’s Biana’s going?” After eight years of living with the Ruewens Sophie had gotten used to Grady’s constant worrying, though he had stopped his are you in danger questions a long time ago. “Are you in danger?” Never mind.
“No, dad, I’m fine.” Sophie rolled her eyes. “I was just wondering when you’re going to pick me up. The Vackers eat dinner in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be there in less than fifteen minutes. Silveny needs a good ride when you get home, the poor girl misses Greyfell pretty badly.”
Silveny was a rather majestic white horse with more grace than Sophie had. She had recently made a new friend—emphasis on the friend—with a silver horse named Greyfell. Greyfell had been taken away yesterday morning because of something with his foot that was beyond Edaline—Sophie’s adoptive mother—and Grady’s control. He was supposed to be back by tomorrow, but Silveny did not know that.
“Okay,” Sophie agreed. “I’ll be there. Love you.”
“I love you too, Sophie.” Grady hung up the phone.
Sophie stood up and stretched, glancing once more out the window before turning to Biana, who looked disappointed. “I’ll send you a video of dinner,” Biana told Sophie. “I’ll even send it to the group chat so Dex can see it.”
Sophie leaned forward and hugged her best friend. “I’ll turn my notifications on. I’d better get going, though.”
“Want me to walk you to the gates?”
“No, I’ve got it.” It took the average person to get from Biana’s room on the fifth floor, to the main floor, out the doors, down the long driveway, and to the large regal gates at the end of the private driveway a good twenty minutes, but if Sophie ran she could make it in fifteen. “I’d better get going.”
“Tell Grady and Edaline I say hello.” Biana smiled and pulled away from Sophie. “Oh, and we are so gossiping about this whole Keefe Sencen situation later.” Her sincere smile turned to a secretive one that Sophie refused to think too much about.
As Sophie laid in bed that night she tried very hard to block all thoughts Keefe Sencen from her mind, but that became even harder when her phone started buzzing from her bedside table. The bright screen in the dark room made Sophie’s eyes water as she scrambled to turn down the brightness.
Biana: omg guyssssss guess what
Dex: What?
Biana: wait
Biana: sophie are you reading this??
Sophie groaned as she sat up, massaging her temples. It was nearly midnight and she was so not in the mood to start texting back-and-forth until two in the morning. That had happened one too many times and had drastically ruined her sleep schedule the year before. She braced herself, starting to type.
Sophie: Yeah. What’s up?
Biana: fitz found out. i took the vid like i promised
Biana: [Video]
Sophie clicked on the clip, watching with mild interest. Biana’s video-taking skills were to be admired; zooming in on Fitz’s face right as the news hit. The frame barely shook when Biana started laughing at her brother’s appalled expression.
“Not him!” Fitz groaned as his jaw practically dislocated from his face. “Keefe Sencen is practically the devil’s spawn! Do you know how many times I found spiders in my shoes or had water balloons thrown at me whenever I went outside to play during that summer? Plus, the dude would not stop harassing Sophie! It was insane.”
Alden, forever calm and collected, spoke up. “Now, Fitz, his parents are our friends. We offered. That boy is very successful; you could learn a thing or two.”
Fitz’s jaw clenched and Sophie felt a pang of pity for him. “Right.” Fitz stood, teal eyes narrowed in the direction of his dad. “I’m almost eighteen anyways, might as well move out a little early. So glad that you’re trying to replace me, dad. It really means the world to me.”
“Fitz, sit down.” Alden didn’t raise his voice but there was an edge to it. “We are going to talk about this like rational adults.”
Fitz did not sit back down. “No wonder Alvar left,” he crossed his arms. “We barely even know Keefe! You rarely ever meet with his parents besides at charity functions or dinners. This is reckless. He could be planning to steal our money for all we know.”
“Fitz.” Della’s cut in, exasperated. “That boy is seventeen, only a few months younger than you. We are going to treat him as our guest, with nothing but smiles and manners. Do you understand?”
“Mom—”
“Do you understand?”
Fitz looked back at Alden, hesitating. “Sure.” His anger from before was gone, replaced with that look he got while thinking deeply about something. The look gave Sophie the chills. “If you will excuse me, I am going to get ready for bed.” He stalked off.
Just like that, the video ended.
Dex: Wow
Dex: I didnt know wonderboy had it in him
Biana: things are so tense at home rn
Sophie: I feel bad for Fitz
Sophie: He wasn’t wrong when he said that the whole thing is reckless
Dex: Ikr. I would offer to let wonderboy stay with me if he wasnt a complete dick
Biana: he isnt a complete dick!! and ik sophie it does seem a little weird. i think his parents might be paying mine but idk i dont want to ask without making things more tense around here. fitz still hasnt come out of his room and its been like three fcking hours!!!
Sophie did not know how to respond to that. Should she text Fitz? Ask him how he was doing? No, her brain told her. Then he would know about the video Biana took. She did not want to get Biana in trouble with Fitz—Biana looked up to Fitz too much for that. Sophie decided to just sleep on it for the time being.
This was a problem for tomorrow morning, not midnight.
Sophie: I’m really sorry, Biana. Maybe try to talk to him? Idk but it might help
Dex: Just make sure to wear extra padding in case he goes crazy!!
Biana: dex stfu
Biana: sophie thx i’ll try to talk to him in the morning.
Dex: Ok. I better go to bed now. Dad said something about having to open the shop a little early tomorrow and I need my beauty rest ;)
Sophie: Lol. Good night guys!
Biana: night!!!!!
Dex: Sleep tight :))
That night Sophie dreamt of certain blond haired boys and screaming matches between fathers and sons. To put it mildly, Sophie awoke with a feeling of dread settled uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach.