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Chapter 13

"Could you guys not?" Fitz said, glaring at them.

"What?" Sophie asked. 

"Try to make me jealous."

"We aren't. We didn't even know you were here. And besides, that was all Foster." Keefe replied, his cheeks tinting pink. 

"What's it to you anyways, Fitz? We aren't together anymore. Why are you jealous? You've got a girlfriend already." Sophie asked, turning away from him. 

"Don't you dare disrespect me like that, Sophie." Fitz sneered, and grabbed her arm, spinning her around to face him. 

Sophie yelled, "Don't touch me!" as Fitz slapped her. Novaline appeared shocked as she grabbed Fitz.

"Fitz! What are you doing? You said we came over here to talk to them. You've taken this much too far!" Novaline exclaimed, and mouthed a sorry to Sophie and Keefe. She dragged Fitz toward the edge of the crowd and leaped them away, her auburn curls bouncing angrily. 

Once they left, Keefe immediately brushed his hand against her cheek. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. If anything, I'm more worried about this crowd." she replied, gesturing to the numerous amounts of people that had gathered around them. 

"We should get out of here. For real this time." Keefe said, and pulled out his pathfinder. 

"Where to now?" Sophie asked, and was disappointed with Keefe's answer. 

"I think it would just be best if we went to Biana's house. Hopefully our next date can be a bit less chaotic."

"Yeah." Sophie replied, and pulled out her home crystal. She grabbed Keefe's hand and pulled him into the light. 

They arrived at Biana's house and Keefe led her into the house, saying, "Your face is still a bit red. I know just what to make it better."

"And what's that?" Sophie asked. Keefe kissed her gingerly, causing her to flush. 

"Now it's even. Biana won't even know."

"Haha, very funny." Sophie said. "But on that note, I don't think we should tell her about what happened today. She's already mad at Fitz. I don't want her to be even more angry at him."

"Aren't you mad at him?"

"I am, but he's still Biana's brother. And he was our friend."

"I guess you're right. As you almost always are. But next, time, you should knock some sense into him."

"I've tried. It hasn't worked." Keefe laughed. "But you know what's weird?"

"What?"

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that Melanie and Novaline are sisters. They look pretty similar."

Keefe weighed the options in his mind before saying, "I guess that could be a valid option. But Melanie's never said anything about a sibling, let alone a sister."

"We shouldn't bother her with any more questions, though."

"Next week, do you want to go on another date?"

"I'd love that."

"Great. I'll pick you up at 6?"

"That sounds great."

"I'll see you then. But don't think I won't visit you throughout the week."

Sophie sighed, "What did I do to deserve someone as great as you?"

"If anything, Sophie, I'm the one who doesn't deserve you." And without another word, he kissed her cheek and leaped away. At that exact moment, Arina bounded down the stairs. 

"Sophie!"

"Arina?" Sophie exclaimed. 

"That's me. Anyways, do you know what next week is?"

"Umm, no? What's so special about next week?" Arina looked surprised that Sophie didn't know, but grinned. 

"Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about." she replied. Linh walked into Biana's house right on cue. "Anyways, do you want to watch me train with Linh today?"

Sophie was about to tell Arina that she would love to, but her imparter rang violently. "Hold that though. You can start. I'll come as soon as I can. Have fun."

Arina looked a bit disappointed, but followed Linh outside to begin her training for the day. Sophie on the other hand, glanced at the imparter screen and immediately picked up when she saw the caller ID as Councillor Oralie. 

"Sophie. I'm glad I was able to get ahold of you."

"Do you have an update about Arina's situation?"

"Well, yes. The rest of the Council members request that you and Arina come to the Seat of Eminence tomorrow to get her files and registry settled."

"I'll see what I can do. What time should we get there?"

"I think it would be best for you to come as early as possible."

"We'll be there at 8:00."

"Okay. I'll alert the rest of the Council."

Sophie said goodbye and rushed outside to find Linh showing Arina how to make water figures. An alicorn figure pranced toward her regally. 

"Sophie! You're here! You took so long." Arina called.

"It was only a few minutes. Now, carry on."

Linh and Arina continued in Arina's training, her figures becoming more and more profound. After around an hour of training, Linh ceased the training. "You've done very well today, as always, Arina. I'll be back in two days for more training, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Arina, say thank you."

"Thank you, Linh!"

"It was no problem. It was nice to see you Arina, and Sophie as well."

"Bye, Linh." Sophie said, and hugged her. "Arina, we have to head to the Seat of Eminence tomorrow."

"What for?" Arina asked, creating a water ballerina.

"We need to settle all of your files, and get you registered into the registry. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me."

"We can visit one of my friends after if you want."

"Ooh, yes! I've only met . . ." she counted on her fingers. "Biana, Keefe, and that meanie Fitz."

"You're going to love Dex, I promise."