Sokeefe - upside down

Ice cream and beach swings

*keefes pov, cause why not*

I knocked on the door,  fidgeting with my sleeve as I waited for her to answer. After only a couple seconds, the door swung open, revealing Sophie. Her casual outfit of dark jeans and a T-shirt made me feel too dressed up with my button up and dress pants.
"Ready?" I asked her, leaning on her door frame and crossing my arms
"Ready. Just need my purse" Sophie waved me in, darting back into the living room and returning a moment later with her mini purse slung across her chest.
"Shall we?" I asked, bowing before offering her my arm. She giggle and took it, leading the way out the door
"We shall!" She agreed. We walked to my car in comfortable silence, and once we got it I turned on the radio low, loud enough so it wasn't dead silent, but quite if she wanted to talk "thanks for doing this, by the way. You didn't have to..." she told me, her hand playing with her hair
"Oh, but I did. A promise is a promise, and I told you I'd get you ice cream" I reminded her.
"I know, but I mostly thought you were joking" she said
"Why would I ever joke about ice cream?" I asked her, and she smiled. We had a easy conversation until we got to the ice cream place, a small mom and pop shop that didn't get much business. It was on a pier, though, and I knew Sophie loved the ocean. When we got inside she ordered a chocolate scoop, and I got a regular vanilla cone.
"You don't have to pay, my treat, like I said" I told her when she reached for her wallet
"Oh, no Keefe. I can pay for it, it's okay" she tried to pull out her card but I gently put a hand on hers to stop her
"I insist" I told her, stepping in front of her and paying before she could refuse more. We strolled along the beach as we ate, not really talking. It was already sunset, and the golden glow of the sky illuminated her face in the most angel like way. I cleared my throat in attempt to clear my mind, but it kept wandering back to how pretty she looked.
"So, seen any good movies recently?" I asked her. I wanted to slap myself. Movies, really?
"No, not really. But I'm reading this book! It's really good so far, it's about this future world we're there's these two sides, the empire and the scholars, and it's a split point of view.....and I'm probably being really annoying. I'll shut up" she looked down at her sneakers and took a small bite from her cone, obviously downcast
"No, no, it's sounds really interesting! What's the names of the main characters?" I ask, in a small attempt to make her face light up like it did when she first started talking about it
"Elias and laia. There's also Izzi, Keenan, the commandment...." she started rattling off the summery of the books so far, and her whole face lit up once again. It was hard to keep up with all her fandom talk, but I tried my best. Eventually after a while we ended on the topic of Harry Potter
"You've never read them?" She asked me
"Well, no. I'm not a huge bookworm" I scratched the back of my neck, looking away
"You should! They're really good! Oh, you could be our missing slytherin. Me and Biana are Hufflepuffs, Dex is a ravenclaw, and Fitzy is a gryffindor. And you totally match a slytherin personality so far" she tells me
"Yeah? Well, I'll have to read them soon then" I tell her
"And then you can take the pottermore test to see which house you are. I own all the books, so I can't lend them to you. You should join in on our movie nights, too. That way you can watch all the movies, and I can have an excuse to rewatch them" she smiles devilishly, like it's actually some master plan she's going to pull off
"Movie night?" I ask her
"Yeah. Every Saturday night the gang gets together in one of the dorms, Dex sets up a projector, we make a huge bed out of blankets on the floor, and we watch like seven movies" she informs me
"Sounds like lots of fun. Is there pop corn involved?" I ask
"Oh my god, so much popcorn. Like you could literally drown in it" she giggles
"Sounds amazing. You sure fitzy wouldn't mind me being there?" I had to ask. I just had to. I know it's petty, but I hate the dude. It pretty obvious that both of us like foster, but she just keeps on being her adorable, oblivious self
"Oh, I'll make sure he'll behave. I seriously don't know what he has against you. You met and it's like he just decided to hate you" again, adorably oblivious.
"The feelings mutual" I grumble. I take a deep breath and look out onto the horizon, the picks and oranges of the sky reflecting in the ocean. The view is amazing, so I stop walking just to look at it
"Watcha doing?" Sophie asked me
"Looking at the third most beautiful view I've ever seen" I tell her
"I know what the second is, but you still haven't told me the first" she came over to me, leaning her head on my shoulder and intertwining our fingers. You, I want to say. You're the most beautiful thing I've even seen, I want to to tell her. But I know that'll scare her away, so instead I just clamp my mouth shut and turn my head away
"Hey, there's a swing over there" I point a little down the beach, where a large wooden swing is dangling from the bottom of the pier.
"Let's go swing!" She pulls away from my shoulder, but keeps my hand firm in hers as she rushed down the beach, pulling me behind. Once we get there we both realize that the swing is just a little too high for her to get onto while jumping "I'm too short! What should I do?" Instead of answering I grab her by the waist, flip her around and set her on the swing, her squealing in surprise at first, but giggling once she realized what I was doing. Once she was up, she looked down at me
"Thank-" she cut herself off as we locked eyes, and she saw me slowly leaning towards her. She leaned down too, and once we finally met in the middle our foreheads pressed together
"Foster, I've been meaning to tell you-" She seemed to snap back into herself when I spoke, and she pulled back lightly, looking out into the sea. The sun was all but gone, and the moon had started to take over. I didn't want to finish the thought.
"Yes, Keefe?" She asked me. Goddammit, why did I have to open my mouth? I shouldn't have said anything. But she knows how to tell when someone's telling the truth, I mean, she's studying psychology. She has to know, which means I have to tell her. Which means..... I have to admit I like her. Goddammit! Okay, deep breath. My thoughts all rampage inside for a split second before I continue
"Okay, well, you see... this shouldn't be this hard" I tear a hand through my hair, debating my options once again. I laugh nervously
"A lot of the time it helps if you just get it out there. Like ripping off a bandaid, you know?" She tells me. I back up a little, needing some space from her
"Well, then, I guess I should just out and say it. I... like you, Foster. Like, really really like you. And like more then a friend way. And, this time it's for real. I've made a lot of mistakes, and lead a lot of people on, but you're different. It's like I can really be myself around you and like we've know each other for years." I take another few steps back, needing space from the words. She's silent for a long beat before I just say "never mind, I shouldn't have said anything. Don't feel pressured okay? You don't have to hang out with me anymore or whatever. I'll give you a ride home and we can never talk about it, or ever talk again if you'd like" I pull out the keys to my car, turning to head down the beach before her soft voice interrupts my racing thoughts
"Keefe, wait" wait. That means there's a chance.
"yeah, foster?" I ask her, turning.
"I-I think-"

Sophie thinks you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out. Sorry, I'm just as evil as Shannon. Don't worry, I have a couple days off of school, and not too much homework, so you'll find out very soon. Also, anyone get my blatant an ember in the ashes reference? I actually am halfway through reading it, so no spoilers P.s happy Valentine's Day!