First Date

The Gala

Excitement buzzed around the collection of elves under a starry sky. Tonight was Fitz's first gala, and the Vacker's lawn was crowded with five hundred girls from his matchmaking list. Girls in elegant dresses mingled with one another and paraded around, each of them squealing at the thought of possibly dating the Fitz Vacker.

Sophie sat at one of the small tables, observing the event from afar. She wasn't on Fitz's lists, since she was too young to be considered by the match makers. Yet Biana had given her an invitation since she didn't want to suffer a night of stuffy girls alone. Biana sat next to Sophie, adorned in a violet dress littered with sparkling diamonds. Her hair was done up in a breathtaking manner, with a crown delicately placed on her head. It was fitting - the Vackers were practically royalty in the Elvin world. Sophie felt so simple and plain next to Biana's stunning beauty - Sophie only wore a silk red dress and her hair was braided in the back (not by her own choice, but rather from Edaline's insistence). She also wore a string of pearls, with glossy white gloves to match.

Sophie's eyes followed Fitz as he waltzed around the crowd. Sophie felt a pang of jealousy every time he made a girl laugh or flashed his movie-star smiles to someone who was much prettier than her. It was hard for Sophie not to imagine Fitz getting married to any of them - images of the girls in wedding dresses at Fitz's side with smile from ear to ear flashed in her mind, and she felt a little furious at herself for being so ridiculous.

It's for his matchmaking list, Sophie silently reminded herself. He has to make acquaintances with everyone, and he should have fun doing so too. It would be wrong if he didn't make jokes or didn't win all of the girls over... although all of their hearts were most certainly his already. Sophie let out a long sigh.

"You okay?" Biana asked, her eyebrow raised at Sophie's mood shift.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sophie said, slightly embarrassed at her giveaway.

"Don't worry, your crush is safe with me," Biana said nonchalantly.

"I-I don't have a- that's not what-" Sophie started.

"Oh please," Biana laughed at Sophie's denial. "It's been obvious since day one. The only person you're fooling is yourself."

"Really?" Sophie could feel her face flushing red. She hadn't thought it was that obvious. Was it? How many people could tell? Could he tell?

"Are we making Sophie blush?" A familiar voice said from the behind. Sophie internally groaned.

"Whoah, Foster, your face is as red as your dress!" Keefe teased.

Sophie immediately buried her face in her hands. "Keeeeefeeee," She whined.

"Aw c'mon Foster," Keefe said, placing a hand on the table and towering over her. "I can feel your embarrassment from here. Did you really think I couldn't feel every little flutter your heart had whenever you were near him? Dead giveaway."

Sophie wanted to die because of embarrassment. She could feel her face getting hotter. After all this time...?

"Give her a break Keefe," Biana interrupted. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Dude, can't a guy just show up to his best friend's gala and talk to all the gorgeous girls without being attacked?" Keefe smirked. "There's so many of them, I'm sure Fitz wouldn't mind if I flirted with a few of them."

"Then get to it," Biana said coldly, shooing him away.

"Don't worry, I will," he said. "As soon as I put in a good word for Foster." Keefe gave them a playful wink. Sophie thought her head might explode at the thought of what Keefe was implying.

"No! Keefe! Wait-" Sophie burst out in protest. Unfortunately, she was too late. He had already disappeared into the bustling crowd. She watched in horror as Keefe popped up next to Fitz and whispered something in his ear. Her heart pounded as she watched Fitz shift his eyes until he found hers.

"This cannot be happening," Sophie said, turning away, a hundred percent certain that her face was tomato red.

Biana let out a small laugh. "Looks like he's coming this way." She rose out of her chair. "I'll leave you two to yourselves."

Sophie was about to beg her to stay, but before she could, Fitz approached her. Five hundred pairs of eyes followed Fitz's footsteps to the patch of grass before her. Fitz got down on one knee and looked deeply into her eyes. He looked like a prince who sprung out of Sophie's favorite Disney movies - his dreamy teal eyes melted her heart and his spotless white suit glowed.

"Sophie Elizabeth Foster," he asked. "Would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"

Sophie felt as if her heart were going to burst. He was everything she had ever wanted, from the first time she saw him in the museum in the Lost Cities. A smile rose to her face as she nodded. "I would love to," she said, barely containing her excitement.

Fitz beamed. "I'll see you tomorrow night around eight then."

"What will we be doing?" Sophie wanted to kick herself as soon as the question had escaped her mouth. Girls were already giving her looks - although she couldn't tell if it was pity for ignorance toward Elvin customs or envy for Fitz's invitation.

But Fitz just gave her a sly smile. "You'll see."

AN: Hey guys! This is the first part of a short fic I wrote for the tumblr's KotLC Secret Santa! I thought I might as well share it with you guys too! (If you need more Sophitz, be sure to check out One Moment on my collab account with PJOfanatix: InkheadPJOfanatix! )