Misfit |KotLC AU|

|Temporary|

I really didn't like this chapter...

::

Turns out, they had a calendar.

Well, not really. It was more like an unofficial schedule for the summer.

Like, the thirteenth of every month, was known as "Temporary."

Temporary as in "temporary tattoo." The group gathered in Keefe's apartment and drained him of his good ink.

Basically.

With one of his pens, Sophie drew a simple star on the inside of her wrist. She smiled, then she pressed her lips to it.

Keefe watched her, looking up from Linh's tattoo on her arm of the water dragon. He laughed as he continued drawing.

"Wow, Sophie," Tam commented. "Very artistic." Biana elbowed him from her seat in his lap.

"Yeah, I took classes in kindergarten."

Dex leaned over to her. "Does it mean something?"

She nodded. "A lot, actually. My old neighbor taught me about astronomy when I was younger." She smiled. "I haven't forgotten about him since."

The rest of them all smiled too. As Keefe finished off each of their tattoos, they all told a story:
With flowers blooming up her hand and fading into flames, Biana told of how she once promised to never get married, then she met the love of her life,  and (with an unnoticed glance at Keefe) she kissed Tam sweetly on the lips. With a yin and yang, Tam simply said he loved his sister. With an intricate design of a crown, Fitz said he was the son of a king, and that he would do great things in the future (as Biana snorted). Dex said Mark Zuckerburg was his hero, and Keefe had drawn a smiley face on his forehead (because they weren't bullies). Sophie didn't ask for another tattoo.

Keefe had never been more betrayed in his life.

But they kept on telling stories (that one is made up, Keefe. You never rode in the Batmobile. (Though that is fairly possible)) over the most vegetarian pizza ever in the universe and the five meat special (for Sophie and Keefe).

"So Sophie, Foxfire?" Tam asked.

She nodded, and with a full mouth she responded, "the fungus of America."

"It literally is," Fitz agreed.

"Let's see how may times Foster gets sent to the infirmary," Keefe grinned.

"Not as many as you," Tam mumbled.

"Wanna bet?"

Tam thought. "Twenty bucks."

Keefe narrowed his eyes. "You're on."

(For future reference, Tam lost. Terribly.)

"It can't be that bad," Biana said. It was going to be her first year too. "Or dangerous."

There was a pause.

"The science teacher once melted a doorknob and poured it onto my hand," Keefe finally said.

Sophie, Biana, and Dex all stared at him in horror. Fitz and Tam were laughing. Linh was shaking her head.

"Oh my..."

"Amazing!"

"Keefe screams like a girl."

Keefe glared at Linh, who had cheese falling from her lips and was smiling innocently. He smirked. "It gave a whole new meaning to 'brass knuckles'."

Sophie pulled out an eyelash.

********

Once they were all out the door, Sophie plopped herself into one of his sofa chairs. "Keefe."

"Yeah?"

"Will you draw something for me?"

He looked up from his place on the floor, where he was cleaning some ink from the wooden tiles. "Hmm, sure." He walked over to her. "Where?"

Sophie paused, then tapped her neck. "Here. A bird—like a Raven or something—holding a rose in its beak."

Keefe sat on the armrest of her chair, and after a moment, he moved her blond hair to the side and Sophie suddenly felt the sharp tip of his pen against her skin. It moved smoothly, and goosebumps raised over her neck when he placed his hand there.

"So what's the story behind this?" He asked.

"My foster family had a daughter before me," Sophie began, closing her eyes. "One of their flesh and blood. Her name was Julie Ruewen. She was a dancer, went to Julliard and everything. Her most popular role was as the Black Swan, which wasn't really a swan, but an angel that lead her Savior in the form of a rose trail. They used this design as her trademark. On her last show, her fiancée set their house on fire, and they were both killed."

Keefe paused, and Sophie tipped her head to the side.

"I want to remember her for as long as I can. My parents lost everything when she was gone. I'm going to fill that hole for them, no matter what."

Then Keefe pulled the pen away, and he inspected his work before smiling. He kissed her neck once, lightly.

"Thank you."

It was only temporary, this. She already knew. But as long as she had it now, it would feel like forever.

********

At home, Sophie inspected her neck. The bird was beautiful, looking like it might actually fly off her skin. Rose petals fell from its mouth.

She smiled.

Julliard is a famous art-dance school. (I think. It was in a book!)