The Sun Never Sets on Sokeefe

The Healing Center

          "What happened?" I asked, still blinking the sleep out of my eyes as Biana appeared.

          "I need to tell you something," she took a deep breath, but the, but the Healing Center's doors swung open before she could say anything. Elwin was leaning against the doorway with a relieved grin on his face.

          "You can see them now," He said, and we rushed inside immediately. Linh was laying on the cot, still fast asleep, but she looked much better. The color had returned to her face, and all her cuts had healed.

          "I gave her a sedative so she could finish healing," Elwin explained. "But by tomorrow she should be back to normal."

Only then was I able to look away, but my gaze was instantly caught by someone else. Keefe was sitting up on his cot, his hair slightly squashed to the side. He was still a little bit pale, but other than that, he looked back to his normal self. I knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving, though.

          "Are you okay?" I asked, fighting to get the words out. He gave me a shaky smile, and I made my way over to the cot.

          "I'll tell Tam that Linh is okay," Biana said, before rushing out of the room.

          "What happened, Keefe?" I whispered, sitting down on the makeshift bed. He didn't make eye contact with me as he mumbled.

"Elwin said that I had a panic attack. Apparently I got too freaked out by the idea of my dad being basically dead, and my brain decided to shut down for a moment. I don't know why I even care this much though. It's not like he was even a good parent."

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. "He was constantly criticizing me, and telling me that I had to be better. I hated him so much. So why I feel this terrible about it?"

I grabbed his hand and told him, "It hurts because you aren't your dad. Even though he was awful, he was still your dad, and you cared for him. You already lost you mom, you didn't need this added to you to. But you still aren't alone, you have me."

He looked up and I saw his eyes were red, but he still managed to flash a small smirk.

"Is that so? How do I know this?" He voice was teasing, and I felt myself blush a little.

          "Would you really like me to tell you?" I asked, playing along with his game.

          "No," he whispered, and I felt my face fall a little. "It would be better if you showed me."

He leaned forward, his eyes locked on me the entire time. He stopped, an inch away from my face, and stayed like that for a second. Then I leaned forward and closed the distance. A few seconds later I heard a very familiar squeal.

"You guys are so cute! I'm so glad my ship has finally sailed!" 

Keefe and I whipped around to see Biana standing in the doorway. She looked as if she had been given a million of the pinkest, sparkliest dresses to ever be made. I snuck a quick glance at Keefe and saw that his face was bright red. 

"Have you guys been dating for a while? Or is this the first time you kissed? I want all the details!" She squealed again, before pulling me into a tight hug. 

          "Biana wait," I gasped for air as my lungs slowly got compressed. "We haven't even talked about...this. Give us five minutes, then I'll tell you everything."

          "Fine," Biana pouted. "But I'll be waiting right outside the door."

As soon as she left, Keefe and I stared at each other awkwardly. 

          "Soooo," Keefe was the first to break the silence. "What do we do now?"

          "Um," it felt like my face was on fire. "We'll, we should probably talk."

          "Yeah..." We stood there for another few seconds before he blurted out. "Sophie, you know that I like you, and I'm pretty sure you like me-cause who wouldn't."

He flashed a quick smirk. "So I was wondering, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

I took one look at his adorably nervous and exited face, and instantly knew my answer. "Of course, I would love to."