How It Should Have Been: Sokeefe AU

Episode 24: (Sophie's POV)

"Go ahead and go," Marella waved her hand. No plants exploded this time. "And take your head out of the clouds and look for the signs, will ya?"

Sophie nodded, even though she had no idea what Marella was talking about. She left the Healing Center and held her crystal up to the light.

She took a deep, calming breath as she glittered away.

Sophie shuddered.

The way the plant had exploded... Every time she closed her eyes, she could imagine that same power exploding through a body, ripping apart organs and shattering bone.

That wasn't possible, though. No one had the ability to destroy animals, elves, humans, or any of the other species.

Right?

Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, only to see a body- she didn't know whose- splattering red blood everywhere.

Why was this bothering her so much?

She didn't care this much about Grady's mesmerizing, or Linh's hydrokinesis, or even Tam's shade abilities. Even shadowflux, while extremely creepy, wasn't as scary to her as Marella's new ability.

A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Who is it?" she called through the door, expecting Edaline's soft voice to answer.

But instead, a deeper, decidedly male voice answered. And it wasn't Grady's. "May I come in?" Fitz asked through the door.

Sophie shot bolt upright. She was suddenly aware that her hair was a mess, her plain beige and yellow tunic splattered with dirt from her visiting Marella. Her makeup was probably smeared, and her room, while not a disaster, was definitely not as clean as it could've been.

"Um... hang on a sec!" she responded, a little too late, throwing things under her bed and rushing in front of her mirror, hurrying to straighten her tunic and finger comb her hair. There was no time for anything fancy, but she wanted to at least look presentable, especially since Fitz probably looked like a fairy prince from one of those human stories.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance- or at least deemed it good enough- she told Fitz he could come in. She avoided looking up. She didn't want to meet his eyes. Sophie was still mad at him, but she didn't want to know what she'd feel if she looked him in his perfect, sparkling teal eyes.

"Sophie..." Fitz started. And stopped. At his hesitation, Sophie finally found the courage to lift her head.

She had been right.

He did look perfect, like a magical prince from a story.

He was wearing a blue and gold tunic, tight around the shoulders, exhibiting how broad his chest was. His legs were clad in black leggings, just tight enough to show off his muscled calves and thighs.

His hair was styled to perfection, slightly mussed with a cute swoop in the front. And his face... Sophie didn't want to look at his face. She was afraid of what she might find there. So she focused on his feet, which were shuffling towards her.

"Sophie... I am... so sorry," Fitz told her. "I never meant for this to happen. I thought... I don't know. I thought that you would agree, and I just wanted us to be together, and on each other's match lists."

There: a spark of anger. It blossomed underneath all the relief at his apology, all the hope that they could be happy, the happiness that he was here, Fitz was here, and maybe they could be okay.