ɢʀᴇᴇɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ

e x - b e s t f r i e n d s ?

Linh

Linh's imparter rang, startling her and making the water sphere she'd been creating splash apart. She scowled as it soaked her boots, and then grudgingly picked up the imparter. "Hello?"

"Linh?"

Biana's voice made Linh snap to attention. "Hi, Biana, what's--hey, stop!" Linh rushed across the room to hold the top of her murcat's tank down. Her mischievous pet had been trying to jump up and knock the top off. "Sorry, that was my murcat. What's up?"

"Could you come over?" Biana asked. "Sophie just registered for her matchmaking scroll, so..."

"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot about that," Linh mumbled, guilt twisting her chest. Ever since her twin had gone off with Lady Gisela, Linh had been absentminded and forgetful about everything. "I'll be right over."

"Thanks, Linh. She seemed really stressed, so I'm hoping we can help her."

Linh whirled from where she'd been teasingly tapping her finger on the glass of her murcat's tank. "Oh no, is she okay?"

Biana sighed and shook her head, her dark waves swinging gently back and forth. "I don't think so."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Linh told her, worry making her brow crease. "I hope we can help her."

"Me too," Biana sighed. "See you soon."

~~~

Keefe

Keefe warily lightleaped to Everglen to meet Fitz. Fitz had asked if he wanted to go to Atlantis together, and  Keefe had agreed, though he was pretty confused. Why Fitz was suddenly reaching out now was beyond him.

Ever since Fitz and Sophie started dating, Fitz and Keefe had gotten even more distant than they already were. And Keefe hated it. Relationships weren't supposed to ruin friendships.

And it really didn't help that Keefe liked Sophie too.

Keefe sighed as he materialized in front of Everglen's massive gates. Hopefully, this...outing would go well, and he and Fitz could go back to what they were before--best friends.

Then Keefe saw a flash of blond hair materialize next to him.

"Oh, hey, Foster," he said, trying to swallow down his feelings like he always did whenever he saw her now. "Here to meet your boyfriend?" Maybe that's why Fitz asked Keefe. Maybe it hadn't been a one-on-one thing.

Keefe wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Especially when Sophie stumbled back a little, her gold-flecked brown eyes wide. "K-keefe. Hi."

Keefe raised an eyebrow, staring at her. "Uh...you good?"

She nodded, a little too quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. But thanks for ask--"

"Wait, back the T-Rex up!" Keefe suddenly exclaimed, eyes wide. How had he forgotten?! "You registered for your match, didn't you?! How'd it go?"

Sophie stumbled back another step. "Uh--actually, I--um, I mean, it went well. Really well! I've gotta go see Biana now, though, so..."

"Hey." Keefe moved closer. "Are you okay, Sophie? Really."

"I'm fine," Sophie insisted, though Keefe could clearly see that she was close to tears. "I'll--I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Keefe's brow furrowed. "Uh...okay." He looked at her closely. "Foster...if you need to talk, you know I'm here, right?"

"Right," Sophie hurriedly agreed, and then rushed into Everglen's gates--which had finally opened--without so much as a goodbye.

Which wasn't like her at all.

Had something happened between her and Fitz? Keefe frowned, but there wasn't much he could do. For now, he just had to worry about getting through this Atlantis excursion. Which he was now assuming Sophie wasn't going on. And since she'd said she was meeting Biana, he guessed she wasn't going either.

Great. So this was gonna be one-on-one, unless Fitz randomly invited Linh along. And Tam couldn't come either...

Nope. Keefe wasn't gonna think about Bangs Boy, not right now.

Keefe took a breath, steeled himself, and then walked through the gates to meet his potentially-ex-best-friend.