My Moonlark

Part 3-Sophie's POV

"I'm picking up a lot of emotion here," Keefe fanned the air between them as he plopped onto one of the chairs. "Care to explain what's bothering you?"

Sophie took a bite of her butterblast. The explosion of flavour in her mouth did little to calm her inner turmoil, but it did calm her nerves a little. She resisted the urge to tug an eyelash. "I'm unmatchable, Keefe."

Comprehension dawned on his face almost immediately. His eyes widened in horror. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

Sophie hurried to reassure him. "Stop. It's not about that. I haven't laughed that much in months—I really needed it. But it got me thinking..." She trailed off uncertainly.

Keefe took her hand in his and started tracing slow circles with the bed of his thumb, which made it a thousand times harder to focus—her thoughts kept scattering as a warm buzz went through her.

"I'm unmatchable," she repeated. "I'll always be stuck with that title for the rest of my life."

"And I've always told you that it does not matter. At least, not to me." Shock crossed Keefe's face as he realised what he said, and he flushed. "I mean, it won't matter to whomever you finally choose to be with." He added meekly, staring fixedly at a point on the floor.

Sophie smiled softly. "There's no one else I' d rather be with, Keefe. It's always been you."

He looked at her, his eyes shining with happiness. "Thanks. "

Her shoulders slumped. "But in the future, I'll never be able to escape that title. And I don't want you to carry the burden of that title with me."

Keefe was silent for a while. When he spoke, his voice was hushed. "There are much worse titles to carry, Foster. I would choose being with you over a stupid title in a heartbeat. The only thing you should worry about is what you want. Forkle said he would reveal your biological parents in a few hundred years, right? If you'd feel more comfortable after registering, if you want to register after you receive that bit of information about your parents before you decide on anything else, that's completely understandable. I'm ready to wait till then."

Sophie knew he wasn't joking about that; she had a feeling he really would wait a few hundred years—or more—to be with her, if that was what she wanted. "Thank you," she whispered, feeling her eyes burn.

"Of course." He squeezed her hand. "Now, I know I've said that you're cute when you worry, but I don't think you've noticed that you're adorable in so many other ways. So stop worrying and let me see that adorable smile of yours, for a start."

Sophie rolled her eyes, feeling her lips twitch.

"There it is." He smirked.

For the rest of the hour, Sophie did exactly what Keefe had told her to. She pushed all her worries (or at least, most of them) into the farthest corner of her mind and tried to let her hair down. She stuffed her face with as many desserts as she could until she felt so full, she thought she might burst. She dipped her feet into the pool near her chair, squealing as the cold water seeped into her clothes. She started an epic splash fight with Keefe, which ended with both of them soaking wet and doubled over with laughter. She had even raced Keefe to the amphitheatre as they finally left the cafeteria, her heart lighter than it had been in weeks as she sprinted across the hallway.

Keefe was already there when she arrived, but her defeat did nothing to dampen her high spirits. Her smile faltered slightly, however, at the look on Keefe's face. He flashed a crooked smile. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"What's next?" she managed to keep her voice casual, though she was burning with curiosity.

He didn't answer, just pulled something out of his pocket. She recognised what it was in an instant, and what he wanted her to do in another. She held her hand out in front of her, backing away slowly.