fifty sokeefe kisses

(15) dared

"Don't stay up too late," Della reminded them.

Keefe just snorted. Fitz waved at his mom as she headed upstairs. "Don't worry, we won't."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Sophie asked, perched on the couch beside her friends. They'd spent most of the afternoon playing base quest, and in the evening retreated inside to cushion the Everglen living room floor with blankets and pillows for their group sleepover. But it was still too early to sleep, even if Alden and Della had already gone to bed.

"Well," Biana said, smiling devilishly, "who's up for a game of truth or dare?"

"Yessss!" Keefe cheered at the same exact time Fitz went, "Absolutely not."

"There's no way this is going to end well," Dex muttered. Sophie murmured in agreement.

"Relax," Biana assured him. "It's just the five of us. What could go wrong?"

"Let's recount what happens with 'just the five of us'." Dex held up his hand, ticking off his fingers as he went. "There was that time Sophie almost died, that time we almost died, oh, and that other time Sophie almost died again—"

Keefe whined, "Come on, man." Biana just pouted at Fitz. Sophie could practically see the gears turning in Fitz's head as he weighed the possible consequences, until—

"Okay, I'm in," he sighed. "But no telekinesis. No fire, no stripping, no destroying the house."

Sophie just shook her head. "You know there's no way we can guarantee the last one."

"Or the third." At Fitz's unimpressed glare, Keefe just shrugged and rubbed his hands together. "Who's up first?"

-

Biana gagged, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "That was disgusting."

Sophie cringed. Dex had dared Biana to drink a concoction of some hot sauce equivalent and a sweet green sludge they had found in the Vackers' pantry. She had no idea how anyone was able to stand the smell, let alone drink an entire cup.

But Sophie couldn't blame Dex for giving Biana the dare, though; thanks to Biana, he had been sitting in Fitz's lap for three rounds now. Despite their initial protests, Sophie had to admit they looked pretty cozy. Dex had slouched so far back that Fitz's head rested on Dex's shoulder.

"Now. It's my turn." Biana set the cup down and surveyed the room for her next victim. "Let's see... Sophie?"

Apprehension grew inside her. "Uh, truth?"

Fitz shook his head. "You've already done truth the past two turns. It has to be a dare ."

By now, Sophie was certain Keefe could sense her dread from across the room. She sighed. "Okay. Dare?"

To Sophie's confusion (and fear), Biana beamed, a sly grin spreading across her face. Dex looked just as startled.

He said warningly, "Biana—" 

"I dare you to kiss Keefe." Biana answered.

Keefe choked on his drink. Fitz leaned over to slap him on the back until he stopped choking.

"I..." Sophie felt relieved, at first. It was just Keefe, right?

And then she was overwhelmed by the realization that she would have to kiss Keefe. In front of her friends.

"NO no no, Biana, I can't do that," Sophie exclaimed, but she knew by the cunning look on Biana's face that there was no going back. She was dragged across the room to the couch opposite and plopped down next to Keefe.

Keefe looked as red as Sophie's face felt, but he gave her a small smile and an imperceptible shrug of his shoulders. This was bound to happen someday, he seemed to be saying.

Sophie turned to look at her friends. If Biana noticed the betrayal in Sophie's eyes, she didn't say anything. Fitz was vehemently avoiding eye contact, but snuck a glance at them. Even Dex seemed mildly curious, watching them the same way one might remain fixated on a train wreck, or a fiery car crash, or two dumb teenagers attempting to hide a relationship.

She looked up at Keefe. He stared back at her and raised an eyebrow. "Your move, Foster," he taunted. "Gimme a smooch."

She was so going to kill him later.

"Here goes nothing," Sophie muttered. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him. The sensation was all too familiar for something that felt completely surreal. It didn't help that Biana was clapping while Dex wheezed in the background.

It was nice, though. As Sophie pulled away,  Keefe leaned forward, trying to coax her into another kiss, before remembering the situation they were in and stopping. Sophie's heart pounded in her throat as she sat back.

The room was dead silent, save for Biana's slow clapping.

"That was... something," Dex murmured. His and Fitz's faces were bright red.

"Well. I did not expect that," Biana muttered.

"Wow!" Fitz awkwardly pushed Dex off his lap and stood up. "I guess we can call it a night."

The group murmured in agreement, shuffling off to their respective sleeping places on the blanketed floor. Keefe shot Sophie a concerned look. Are you okay? he seemed to be asking.

I'm fine, she transmitted. He bumped his hand against hers reassuringly before following Fitz to the other side of the couch.

Sophie curled into her sleeping bag on the floor beside Dex, ignoring his inquisitive look. She'd talk to him in the morning, she told herself. This was getting a little hard to handle on her own.