a dangerous combination [discontinued]

~ T H I R T Y - F I V E ~

I'm doing the author's note at the beginning of the chapter! I know eXtRaoRdiNaRy. i'm just FULL of surprises ;)

"Riya," you say, "you're one of the most creative minds i've ever met!"

ah, thank you, young reader, and you are quite right. not many people have a more brilliant mind than i do (and no, fire, you are not one of those few people.)

enjoy the chapter! i have to say, this one is one of my favorites, even if it sort of is a filler

ily guys <33

- riya

Chapter written 6/1/20

Sophie glared daggers at Mr. Forkle and the Collective. She was sure they were doing this on purpose.

Yes, they had granted her a new mission, as Sophie had requested on to take her mind off the current drama happening around her, but they'd also supplied her with an accomplice.

And it was none other than the one elf she really didn't want to deal with at the moment.

In other words: Keefe Sencen.

The Collective had given her all sorts of reasons they had chosen him for, like "he's very experienced," and "he has a sharp mind, too," but Sophie wasn't buying it.

She was sure that they just wanted to see her suffer.

Screw it.

They had alerted Keefe shortly after, via Imparter, and now he, Sophie, and the Collective were having a warm, fuzzy, happy reunion.

Not really.

Sophie and Keefe sat on opposite sides of the room, determined to have as much space between them as possible, as Forkle explained their objective and rules.

They were only to observe, read minds if necessary, but observe the Neverseen, and, by all mean, avoid a confrontation.

Basically, they were now spies who didn't want to be caught.

Their gear consisted of small daggers, melders, obscurers, and other small weapons. Sophie made a mental note to tuck an extra home crystal in her boot, not wanting to be stuck in a situation where she had no means to get home by, just like last time. The two of them were to get up tomorrow, bright and early for their mission.

Sophie trudged upstairs to her bedroom, hoping to get some sleep for once. Just as she had thrown on some pajamas and was about to crash on her bed, a knock on the door startled her.

Sophie held back a groan as she opened to door. What she wasn't expecting was Keefe, standing there in the doorway.

He ran a hand through his hair, nervously almost, and took in her appearance. Sophie expected him to crack a joke about the imp onesie she was wearing, complete with little imp slippers on her feet, but he remained silent, staring at the ground.

"Was there a reason you came here for?" Sophie said, still waiting for him to say something. She couldn't pretend like she wasn't pissed at him either, as he had basically cut off all communication with her for almost a week. She still had no idea what had upset him.

"Um, yeah," Keefe mumbled. "I don't want us to....do this anymore." He gestured to the distance between them.

"Do what?" Sophie asked. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and yet she wanted to hear the words from his mouth. She wanted him to know how much he'd been hurting her.

"To--to stop talking." Keefe shuffled his feet awkwardly. (a/n I'm getting second hand embarrassment from writing this 😳)

"Why now, Keefe? What changed?"

Keefe said the next words so softly, it looked like he was only mouthing it, and Sophie had to ask him to repeat it again.

"Because I missed you, Foster."