Broken

Deadline

Shutting the door behind her, Ro trapped Keefe in his room. His dad was gone, no surprise. Off on some mission or something. Keefe didn't care, he didn't want to deal with him right now anyways.

"We need to talk," the ogre said, her purple hair glistening almost as much as her eyes.

Keefe sat down on his bed, the sheets still rumpled from before he was taken. He nodded to his princess bodyguard after he settled down. He really just wanted to sleep some more, maybe hibernate for a month, but she helped save him. He owed her that much.

She tackle-hugged him, nearly squishing his guts out in the process. "Can't...breathe..." he wheezed. She let go, letting him drop roughly back onto his bed. "Do you love me now?" he teased, waggling his eyebrows at Ro. He wouldn't tell her how much it meant to him that she cared, though. No, it'd go straight to her head.

She rolled her eyes. "We're not talking about my love right now, Mr. Loverman. Spill."

"What do you mean?" He knew what she meant.

"Please, I can read you like a book. What happened between you and blondie after she saved you?" Ro had a wicked grin on her face. That grin never failed to scare the living daylights out of him.

"Nothing," Keefe shrugged. It was definitely not nothing, but even if he tried he didn't have words to explain it.

"Stop being a teenage boy and just answer me!" Ro yelled. Her curiosity was making her grumpy.

"Nothing happened!! She asked me about when I was kidnapped and then we hugged for a while, and Fitz broke up with her, but she still probably likes him and-"

"Stop right there," Ro said, slamming her hefty hand over his mouth to make him shut up. He considered licking her hand to get her to remove it, but thought better of it when he remembered that she played with microbes for fun. "Fitz is out of the picture?"

"Well technically, but-"

"No buts, Loverman. This is your chance! You want Blondie, right? You love her?"

"Well yah, bu-"

"Then go for it! You have to tell her. She's clearly too oblivious to figure it out for herself. Just nudge her in the right way." He was getting sick of her interruptions.

"Ro, you don't get it! She just went through a breakup, I'm not about to throw myself onto her. She needs time to cope."

Ro sighed, giving him a glare. "Clearly you're not gonna listen to reason, so I'll make you a deal. Three days."

Keefe raised an eyebrow. "Three days?" She nodded. "Three days for what?"

"Three days to tell Blondie you like her. That includes the rest of today."

Keefe jumped to his feet, yelling, "Ro, that's ridiculous! I'm not doing that. I'll give her space until she figures things out for herself. When she's ready, I'll tell her."

"Oh, I think she's perfectly ready. It's you that's scared. Three days to tell her. If you don't, I will. And believe me, it'll be much better if it comes from you than from me."

Ro slammed the door shut after her speech, keeping watch from outside. Yell as he might, Keefe knew that the ogre princess wouldn't listen. His fate was sealed. Why she was so interested in his love life, Keefe didn't know. Now he just had to figure out what to do with these next three days.

***

Sophie was sitting in her room, squishing Ella against her chest. Her soft blue fur still smelled like Keefe. She buried her nose deeper into the fluff, inhaling deeply. Her heart flipped a little at the scent, and she found herself wishing that he was still there with her.

She had already thought through everything Keefe had told her about the Neverseen, and scheduled a time to meet with Mr. Forkle and discuss it all the day after tomorrow. Her brain refused to shut off, though, and now wandered back to her discussion with Fitz from earlier.

She felt guilty. He was the one that broke up with her, and yet she felt guilty! But she knew it was for the best. She had meant everything that she had said to him, even though it had been spoken in desperate anger. If he couldn't respect her wishes about what to do with her Match status, if titles really meant that much to him, then they would never have worked out in the long run.

Thinking about it, Sophie was still surprised at how little emotion she felt. Sure, she felt guilty. She didn't want to hurt him. But...rather than sad or disheartened, she felt free. This relationship had left her constantly nervous and on her tiptoes, wondering if she was doing something wrong. She loved Fitz, but dating him had been stressful. Maybe if he was willing to remain friends they could continue being close, but she never wanted to deal with that pressure again.

It wasn't even his fault. He had been raised in a family and a culture that valued titles and status. Sophie didn't care about any of that. Being forced to worry about it had left her feeling drained from a relationship that should've left her feeling full. It was a necessary end, and she hoped Fitz would come to the same conclusion.

The smell of Ella, or rather the smell of Keefe on Ella, distracted her from these thoughts. Her heart fluttered again. It was similar to how she used to feel thinking about Fitz, but altogether different. This was a happy flutter, accompanied by a slight nervous flip.

She pictured Keefe's ice blue eyes, his stylishly rumpled hair, his teasing smirk, and once again wished he was here with her.

Sighing, she leaned back onto her bed, her hair splaying out around her. Why can't I stop thinking about Keefe?? Even just the thought of his name sent a small shiver up her spine.

She bolted straight up in her bed, the covers flying onto the petaled floor as realization dawned through her, melting away the confusion. I...I love Keefe.

She'd always known she'd loved him, with his charming smirk and playful humor. She'd even found him attractive, but hadn't really let herself delve into those thoughts very much.

But here they were, making it clear to her that this was a very different, very real type of love.

Holy custard bursts, I'm in love with Keefe Sencen.

The thought burned through her, forcing a bright red blush across her cheeks.

No, no, there was no way. She liked Fitz, not Keefe. Fitz had made her heart flip, not Keefe. Sure, they weren't dating anymore, but feelings didn't go away that fast. And love certainly didn't take shape after just one day!

But no amount of reasoning could take back the fact that she had just uncovered. Maybe Fitz would still make her heart flip on occasion, but he'd never made her feel so purely whole and understood as Keefe had. She had convinced herself that she loved him because he was kind and attractive and altogether perfect, but her heart had never been completely into it.

It had, on the other hand, been completely into Keefe. She just hadn't seen it.

No, love didn't develop in just one day. This had been developing every day for the past few years. Every time she talked to Keefe, saw him, smiled at him, even just thought of him, this love had grown and festered in her heart, all building up to the moment when she couldn't deny it any longer. That moment was now. And she had absolutely no clue what to do with it now that it had come.

She couldn't tell Keefe. That was the one thing she was sure about. Sure he flirted with her, made her heart flutter, but he flirted with everybody. She couldn't rely on that alone to believe that he loved her back. Plus, she had just saved his life. What if he pretended to like her back because he felt indebted to her.

No, she most definitely could not tell Keefe.

And there was the Neverseen to think about. They had more important things to worry about than feelings and dating and relationships. So why did this all of a sudden feel like the most important thing in the world to Sophie?