A/N: So many views !!!! I cannot thank you guys enough!! I still can't wrap my head around it. You guys are SOOOOOO amazing!!!!
"Awww they look so cute!"
"Should we wake them up?"
"Oh my god this is so adorable, I can't take it."
"Yeah, I feel bad waking them up."
I heard someone vigorously push the door open.
"Too bad I don't," an all too familiar voice said. "KEEFE SENCEN, YOU LITTLE--"
"I'm up, I'm up!" someone jolted up from my lap. I opened my eyes to see everyone's eyes widened with the surprise of Keefe's voice. Even Grady. Keefe quickly covered his mouth with his hand, his own eyes widening. Biana ran over and tackle-hugged him. Everyone joined in. Keefe peaked his head out of the mountain of people and glanced at me. He mouthed 'help me'. I had to smile at that and instead of 'helping him', I joined in on the hugfest. I felt someone's cheek brush against mine.
"Thank you so much for last night. And I'm really sorry if I ruined your pants. I'll get you new ones," Keefe whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my cheek.
I let out a small chuckle. "No need. And thank you for taking that wall you use to cover up your emotions, down. You can trust me."
"Looks like Sophie and Keefe are having a private convo," Dex noted. "Care to share what you were talking about?"
My cheeks flushed, turning bright red. Appreciatively, a strange buzzing saved me from answering.
"It's my Imparter," Biana clarified. She held it out so that it showed everyone.
"Hey Tam. What's wrong?" she said.
"Nice to see you too," he said sarcastically. "Wait. Is that..."
Keefe gave him a shy wave. I could see tears brimming Tam's eyes. He pulled his silver tipped bangs in front of his eyes, hiding his face. Keefe's face paled, but he covered it up with humor as usual.
"You know, it's times like these that make me wish I had a pair of scissors with me to chop off those bangs, Bangs Boy. I told you, I will never stop making fun of your bangs," Keefe said quietly, trying to break the tension in the air. But it was wrong. He didn't let down his wall. Didn't let people see his true self. But I didn't have the heart to argue. The corners of Tam's lips twitched with a smile and he let go of his bangs.
Tam cleared his throat. "Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I have news that may be good or bad, depending on which way you take it."
"Okayyyyy... so tell us," Dex pressed.
"So the Collective and us did some digging and we found out that the Neverseen are planning to attack Sophie's human family on a certain day. Next Thursday. So you guys have to come up with a plan by then. We'll keep passing any new information to you guys. I gotta go now, so bye." The Imparter screen went black.
"Well that was... helpful," Biana noted.
"I should probably call Amy and Fitz so we can make a plan together," I decided taking out my Imparter. "Show me Katie Smith." Amy's face appeared on the screen.
"Hey Sophie. What do you need?" A groggy Amy said.
"Good morning to you too," Sophie dead-panned. "Anyway, we need you, Fitz and Fanny to come over here. We just got some information from Tam."
"Okay, we're on our way," Amy replied.
Within 10 minutes Amy, Fitz and Fanny are at the hotel room.
"How'd you get here so fast? Never mind, let's fill you guys in," I said.
I explained our Imparter conversation with Tam. By the time I was done, Fitz looked a little hurt. But I couldn't focus on that. I had to keep my parents safe. I went to the table in my room where a mini notepad and a pen laid. I titled it "Plans to stop the Neverseen". I pressed the pen down on the paper, as if I was going to write something. But nope. No ideas came into my mind. I raised the pen from the notepad and turned around. "Any ideas?" Keefe flashed his trademark smirk but didn't say anything, although I could tell he was itching to.
"Actually... yes. But only if you guys are okay with it. Especially Keefe," Dext said, giving Keefe a worried glance. I raised my eyebrows. "So what if we use Keefe as bait or a distraction so--"
"Nope. Not happening. Absolutely not. Just no. Not in a million--" I started.
Biana put a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe let's give him a chance to explain, okay?" I took a couple of deep breaths and closed my eyes. Then I gave a small nod.
"So, as I was saying," Dex continued, "we use Keefe as bait or a distraction while a group of us goes to Sophie's parents' house. Chances are that Lady Gisela will go to where Keefe is and she'll bring one of her little minions. So maybe one or two people can go with Keefe. And this would make it easier for the rest of us so we can have more people taking as many Neverseen members to Forkle. "
"That... actually is a pretty good plan," I begrudgingly admitted. Dex flashed a grin filled with pride. "But Keefe, are you okay with this?" He gave me two thumbs ups and a grin so wide that I almost believed him. Almost. I saw right through that act. This was his mother they were talking about. His evil, horrible mother that he must have nightmares about every night. And now we were sending him to face her with only one person and risking his life on something. No. I couldn't let that happen. I walked up to Keefe and sat next to him. I grabbed his hand. Fitz shot me a glare but I shooed it off. "It's okay if you don't want to. None of us will blame you. I mean... this is your mother we're talking about. We can just as easily come up with another plan." Keefe gave me another thumbs up with a grin. "Seriously Keefe, talk to me. And yes literally," I looked into his ice blue eyes. "Please."
Keefe tore his eyes away and sighed in defeat. "Yes, I'm a little scared to face my mom. But hey, what else is new?" He gave a light chuckle.
"Don't turn this into a joke. Tell me what you're thinking. What you're really thinking," I coaxed.
"Okay fine," he said quietly. "I'm very scared to face my mom after last time. I don't care if she hurts me. All I care about is if they hurt you. Knowing her, she would keep me alive just to let me watch her kill everyone I Iove, one by one. And I couldn't live with the guilt. I could never."
I squeezed his hand, "Would it be better if I came with you instead?"
"No, I couldn't let you do that. It's your fami--"
"You have done so much to help me. And yes, you have hurt me alot but as I've said time and time again, I will never hate you. You've done way more to help than hurt. You've sacrificed so much for me. And this time, it's my turn. Now tell me Keefe, and tell me the truth: Would it be better if I came with you instead?" I asked.
Keefe closed his eyes and swallowed hard, "Yes. Yes it would."
I squeezed his hand even tighter and gave him a smile, "I guess I'm going with you then."
A/N: 1264 words.
