Book Two: KOTLC One-shots and More

Neverseen 25 (Keefe POV)

A/N: @Coolbird12309 requested this scene wherein Sophie visited Keefe's room in Alluveterre and found the manic notes all over his walls.

Keefe couldn't remember ever being this tired in his life. He hadn't slept properly--or hardly at all--since Foster had convinced him to join her in a window slumber party a few days ago. He wasn't sure how long he had laid there, pressed up against the window--which wasn't particularly comfortable--and constantly opening his eyes just to look at Sophie.

Once or twice, her eyes had been open and they'd made brief eye contact. But she soon fell asleep, and the change it made to her face was more than he expected. All of the stress and worry she carried around with her at all times had melted away. She just looked peaceful.

And the way she was looking after him...

His crush was growing wildly.

This girl was extraordinary.

But even with the way he was falling harder and harder for Sophie Foster, he couldn't hold on to that warm feeling she gave him. At least not for long. Not when she was crushing on Fitz and his whole world was caving in.

The fathomlethes...they'd brought a lot of random memories to his mind. Some he hadn't consciously remembered at all. Others that he hadn't assigned any importance to, yet somehow kept cropping back up.

So not even the pull of seeing her brought him out of his room apart from mealtimes. He had to give every spare moment to searching his memories and trying to make sense of everything.

The lie his whole life had been.

If his mom was going to lie to him...why hadn't she at least made it good?

That was the bitter thought he'd been drowning in when he heard a pounding on his door. It wasn't the first time one of his friends had tried to get him to open the door and talk to him, and he tried to ignore it at first. But then he heard Foster's voice call out, "I'm not leaving until you talk to me!"

And clearly she meant it, because she kept banging on his door. So finally, he opened it, and she ducked under his arm and strode into his room before he could stop her.

  "Um . . . wow," she whispered, taking in the sight of all of the scribbled notes on his walls, floor, desk, and even his bed.

Well...it wasn't like he was using it for sleep very much lately. Why shouldn't he have notes all over it? But he could feel Foster's shock as she took it all in.

  "So . . . you've been busy," she said slowly. "Did the fathomlethe make you remember all this?"

Keefe kicked a crumpled note under the bed. "It gave me a surge. But the rest is just me." Me and my majorly screwed up head thanks to my majorly screwed up life.

She crossed over to get a closer look at some of the notes on the wall.

Even though he was picking up no judgment from her, he felt defensive anyway. He kicked one of the crumpled up notes that was lying on the floor and said, "it's a lot to search through, y'know? Photographic memory."

She just nodded and turned to another wall, looking at where he'd placed some of his more recent memories.

He watched as she traced her fingers over one of the notes.

"Can I help?" She asked, finally turning her gaze to him instead of his notes.

  "I don't see how. It's all about what's in my memories, and lucky for you, you didn't grow up in that house." Keefe knew his bitterness was majorly coming through, but he wasn't sure he cared. It wasn't like everyone didn't know his own family business now, thanks to his mom. Besides...if anyone could handle his bitterness and anger and still stand by him...it would be Sophie.