ALWAYS, kotlc

first kiss

"You doing okay?" Sophie asked, pulling out an eyelash- her nervous habit -as she studied Keefe with worried eyes.

His blonde hair was mussed up more than usual and his eyes were sunken with dark circles.  Despite this, he tore a hand through his precious hairdo as he slammed a few textbooks into his locker and offered her his best smile.  "Yeah."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, blocking him from exiting the room and brushing her off.  "Tell me what's up."

"Nothing....?" The words trailed off into a question as Keefe realized he really wouldn't be able to lie his way out of this.

"Fine," he conceded. "But... let's go somewhere else, okay?  I don't want to....?"

"Okay," Sophie said quietly, not wanting to know why her heart was pounding so quickly or why her cheeks were heating up so quickly like boiling water.

They made their way out of Foxfire and finally settled down in one of the beautiful grassy fields.  Sophie ran her hands through the damp grass as she crossed her feet and raised an eyebrow at Keefe. "Want to tell me now?"

"It's... nothing out of the ordinary," Keefe said quietly, staring at her hands as they ran playfully through the lush greenery.

Sophie groaned.  "Your dad?"

"Yeah, and his Empath lessons," Keefe grumbled, reaching up to tousle his hair.  "For some reason he thinks the Foxfire mentors aren't pushing me hard enough or something."

"Are they?" Sophie asked, trying to give the conversation enough fuel to keep going.

"Not really," Keefe admitted, wrinkling his nose. "But that doesn't mean his lessons teach me any more."

There was an awkward silence that passed between them.  Sophie was dimly aware of the sun slipping quietly below the horizon like it didn't want to bother disturbing them.  She took a deep breath, pulled a hand free and took it in Keefe's.

"Keefe," she told him, her voice barely a whisper. "Look at me."

Keefe looked up, and then stared down at their fingers intertwined together in between them. He sighed and brushed his other hand over her fingertips.  "We can't do this," he said finally, pulling away.

Sophie's heart sank like a metal anchor. "Why not?"

"Fitz." That one word that changed everything. But hearing it with such sadness in his tone made her heart shift.

That boy had everything- he had parents who loved him, girls who giggled and adored him in the halls- and then there was Keefe.

He was just as good as him- and better. So she looked him in the eyes and pulled his hand back as she told him, "I don't want Fitz. I want you."

Keefe's eyes widened as he clinged to her fingertips like they were the only things keeping him from slip sliding away.  "But-"

"No buts," Sophie whispered, taking his other hand and pressing her lips against his.....