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Chapter 26

"Where are we going?" Keefe asked when Sophie started to pull him towards them.

"To go say hi at least, Keefe. You know that I've been worried about Arina." she responded, still tugging on his arm.

"It's only been a day," he said. She stopped.

"Don't you care about Arina at all?" she asked, her face hardening.

"I do, Foster. But are you sure you wanna face crazy number one and crazy number two?" he asked, obviously referring to Fitz and Novaline.

"I don't care about them. Now are you coming or not?"

"Of course I'm coming with you." he replied, and pulled her the rest of the way.

"Arina!" Sophie exclaimed when they got close enough.

"What are you two doing here? Trying to take Arina back? Let's go." Fitz glared.

"Fitz, stop. Just let them talk to her. Go on, Arina." Novaline told him sternly, and nudged Arina towards Sophie and Keefe.

"Hi, Ari."

"Hi, Sophie! And Keefe," Arina said cheerfully. "Oh, and Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks Arina. But how has it been? I know it's only been a day, but I'm worried about you." Sophie whispered. 

"It's okay. But it's not as fun without you guys." Arina replied. "I don't like having meanie Fitz around all the time, though."

"What do you mean? I thought Fitz and Novaline had their own place." Keefe asked.

"They do. But they've been coming over every day to 'spend time with me' or whatever." Arina told them. "At least Nova is okay."

"What about her?" Sophie pried. 

"She's okay, I guess. Different from what I've heard from Biana."

"I guess she does seem different, huh?" Sophie thought out loud. "Anyways, what are you guys here for?"

"Nova wanted some jewelry, and Fitz dragged me along as well. Should have resisted him more, though." Arina muttered. "At least I got to see you guys."

"Can we go now?" Fitz complained.

"I hate to break up the reunion, but our parents are probably wondering where we are. It's been a while." Novaline interrupted. 

"But we didn't even buy anything." Arina said. "What was even the point of coming here?"

Novaline looked distressed. "I'm sorry, Arina. I didn't mean to waste your time." Sophie felt kind of bad for her.

"Whatever." she said. "I guess I have to go now. See you guys." Arina said, and latched onto Novaline's hand. Fitz joined the chain and they leaped away.

"Well, that was . . . unexpected." Sophie muttered. 

"Hey. Don't worry. We'll get her back. But in the meantime, you should pick out something!" Keefe said, and used both hands to point to vast amount of jewelry.

"I'm not feeling it today." Sophie replied. When she saw his disheartened face, she changed her mind. "I might as well pick something out, I guess." He brightened slightly. Wandering through the aisles, she finally settled on a simple jeweled barrette. 

"You want that?" he asked, and she nodded. They came to the front of the store and before she could pay, Keefe offered Melanie his green cube.

"Hey!" Sophie exclaimed as Melanie was carefully placing her item into a small box.

"You paid for our last date. And besides. It's your Birthday." he told her, and collected the box from Melanie. "Thanks!" he called as they were leaving. 

"What now? Or should we just go home?" Sophie asked.

"What do you want to do? It's your choice."

"Well, I kind of wanted to go to the Matchmakers again." she told him, causing his eyes to widen. "I'm just kidding. I know what the outcome is going to be." she said, and hugged herself. He joined in, squeezing her gently. A tear slipped down her cheek, because she knew her 'Unmatchable' status would never change. Because her her mother was Councillor Oralie. And her father . . . she had stopped trying to find him long ago, because it wouldn't matter. Unless Oralie left the Council for whatever reason, her mother's information would never be able to be revealed. 

"Come on. Let's get you home." he brushed the tear off of her face with his thumb. She slowly fished out her home crystal from her pocket and took his hand. Holding it up to the light, she stepped forward carefully and they reappeared in front of Biana's house.

"You think they're done setting up yet?" Sophie asked.

"Probably not, unless they asked the gnomes to help." he said. They walked into the house, and Sophie was disturbed by the silence.

"Surprise!" Everyone yelled as they jumped out of their hiding spots, and Sophie let out a yelp. 

"Happy Birthday, Sophie." Keefe whispered. Biana and Tam came up to them, and Biana strangled Sophie with a hug. 

"Happy Birthday Bestie!" she exclaimed, and Tam gave her a slight nod. "Come on! Don't you have anything to say?"

"Uh, Happy Birthday?" he said, but it came out more of a question. Sophie laughed.

"Thanks, Tam." she smiled, knowing he wasn't a very sentimental person. "How did you guys set this up in time?"

"The gnomes had to come and assist us." Biana said. "Now, it's time for you to enjoy your birthday." Biana nudged her towards the rest of her friends. Everyone smiled when they saw her and they talked for a few moments before Sophie moved into the next person.

Eventually, mostly everyone sat down at a large table and Sophie was surprised to see Grady and Edaline and Alden and Della. Also a number of the Black Swan members. "Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?"

"It's your Birthday, sweetheart. We wouldn't miss it for the world." Edaline told her, hugging her.

"And Biana may have told us." Alden said.

"Well, it's good to see you." Sophie said. Edaline gave a poised snap and a plethora of Elvin foods appeared on the table. They dug in, and everyone bombarded Sophie with questions. She attempted to answer them all, but it was in vain. 

"It's time for presents now, everyone!" Biana exclaimed. The small crowd quieted, and Biana presented Sophie with a medium-sized square present. Opening it slowly, everyone leaned forward in anticipation.  It contained almost everything ranging from makeup to candy. She took her time opening the gifts, and was pleasantly surprised with Dex and Marella's personalized gadget that also doubled as a stuffed animal. She didn't know how it worked, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

When it finally came to Keefe's gift, he presented her with a small, thin, package. Unwrapping it slowly, she opened it to find a painting of him and her, standing underneath the Panakes tree. He was staring at her so earnestly, and she realized it was when he promised her that he would do his best for her. Her eyes welled up and she tackle-hugged him.

"Not again, Foster." he said, but she saw his smile.

"Thank you, Keefe." she whispered. 

"Happy Birthday, Foster."

(A/N): Hello! Sorry for the late upload on this chapter, but school is about to start for me and we've been busy prepping. I won't be able to upload as much probably, so when I finish this story I'm going to take a small break. Thanks for the support!