AN: Call me crazy...but I wrote another chapter. In two days.

CWs: S̶p̶o̶i̶l̶e̶r̶s̶ ̶  Magic, in a way. Uh, just the usual stuff you'll encounter in KotLC!

"Okay, so we were both wrong," I admitted. "Great. What else can't he do?"

"That is a very good question," Tabitha, who'd left off sketching, said. "I have no idea."

A million what-ifs coursed through my brain. I knew he wasn't human, so maybe that had something to do with it.

After all, in Lord of the Rings, elves had higher stamina and were more athletic and graceful when compared to humans. But LOTR got some things wrong. Ugh, I don't even know what to think.

"Earth to Lexi." Luke waved his hand in front of my face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

No, I'm having another existential crisis. Don't mind me.

"Are you going to have a rematch?" Matilda's eyes were wide with eagerness.

"Nah, Luke and I settled our score," Keefe answered. "He even invited me to try out for his team."

Luke confirmed what Keefe had said. I looked over at Matilda. She was in just as much shock as I was.

"I still don't get it," she mouthed.

I shook my head, mouthing, "Me neither," back. Then I resumed my attention to the scene in front of me.

The boys were eagerly discussing another topic. I desperately hoped we could play more above-the-ground freeze tag before I had to head home.

Thankfully, Tabitha had the same idea in mind. "Hey, boys, I understand you're having some deep discussion"—this she said sarcastically—"but I really want to play a couple more rounds before some of us have to call it quits for the day. Either finish it up or we'll start a girls-only round."

The boys begrudgingly ceased all conversation. Asher pulled out his phone and checked the time.

"Okay, so Lexi and Matilda usually leave at around six. That leaves us about half an hour before they have to go. Depending on how long the rounds take, I think we can get in a solid three rounds before we lose the girls."

•.¸¸.•'¨* •.¸¸.•*'¨•.¸¸.•'¨'

One week later, I was practically adjusted to the two new members of our group. It felt as if they'd always been there with us. Keefe and Tabitha had discovered they were both artists and now the two were always discussing different mediums and styles. Tabitha preferred colored pencils or digital anime-style art, while Keefe opted for paint and realism. I had to admit, I admired their talent. Mom had attempted to enroll me in art classes when I was younger. Needless to say, I'd failed miserably.

It was now mid-August, and soon, school would be starting. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it. I'd be starting my freshman year of high school, or secondary year 10, as it was called across the pond. Matilda was a grade behind me, and Asher, who was my age, would be attending a different school. I was back to square one—lonely and friendless, the weird American. Willow was also in another grade.

Year, not grade. Grade is American. Think positive, Lexi. You'll be able to do theater, which is great!

Right now, though, I had a mission. I needed to hunt Keefe down. I still had plenty of unanswered questions. And he'd promised he'd tell me more later. I hadn't been able to get him one-on-one, though. He'd usually been hanging out with the guys.

Well, not today. Today's the day. I need to know as much info as I can glean from him. He seems to be a secretive sort. Actually, sike. He should tell everyone everything. Well, if I can persuade him to, anyway.

So, off I went to the park. The day was sunny, perfect for spending my afternoon out of doors. Usually, I would've made a beeline for the swings (unless a round of above-the-ground freeze tag was in progress). But not this time. As soon as I sighted Keefe, I ran over.

"Hey, Lexi," he said when he spotted me. "What's up? You seemed pretty determined."

"Can you talk? Now?" I demanded. "I summon you to fulfill your oath."

He looked around cautiously before answering. "Sure. Where do you wanna go?"

"Same place as last time. Does that work?"

"Alright. Let's go."

We walked over to the same ramada we'd talked at the first time, almost a month ago. I had no idea what revelations lay in store. Revelations that would change my world forever.

Keefe was the first to speak. "So, what's going on?"

"It has been nearly a month. You promised you'd tell me everything. I guess now is a better time than never. Oh, and you should explain why you're running away, too, if that's not too traumatizing." A pouty edge crept into my voice.

"Okay, okay. Fine." He held up in hands in defeat "Just don't blame me if you have an existential crisis."

An existential crisis? How bad could this be? I read and watch fantasy all the time. Sure, I'd rather not get thrust into an adventure like what happens within the pages or on-screen. However, I wouldn't mind learning that fantasy isn't make-believe.

"What are you waiting for? I must know!"

He took a deep breath before proceeding. "Okay, so most elves are born with special abilities—maybe I should just call them powers, less of a mouthful. Anyhow, we can do anything from control the wind to create force fields to control shadows."

"Can you guys control fire?" I'd read about pyrokinesis before and thought it was the absolute coolest.

"Well, technically, we're not supposed to be able to. Pyrokinesis used to be accepted as much as the rest of our abilities, but then there was this accident, where Fintan, this super ancient elf guy, accidentally killed a bunch of them. After that, pyrokinesis got banned. Well, it was supposed to be banned. After the ban, two other Pyrokinetics ended up manifesting. One of them ended up being kinda nutso and evil. The other's pretty cool. She's one of my friends."

"And Fintan?" I prompted.

"The guy is a deranged psychopath, and the stupid Council doesn't realize it."

I stared in horror. Whoever the Council was, they definitely deserved to be called stupid if they were letting a maniac run free.

"Who's the Council?"

"The idiots who run the Lost Cities." Disdain was evident in his voice. "Well, with the exception of Oralie, Terik, and Bronte. Everyone else lacks common sense."

"Oh. Sounds just peachy. Anyway, moving right along, what are some pow—I mean, abilities—that you guys have?"

"There are Flashers, who can manipulate light, Shades, who can control shadows, Vanishers, who can turn invisible, Telepaths, Hydrokinetics, and honestly, a lot more abilities. All of them are pretty cool. We've even got mind control, although we don't exactly call it that."

For a fantasy-lover like me, that was quite literally a dream come true. Not that I ever wanted powers—the cons outweighed the pros.

My eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so using you for fact-checking my short story. It involves powers, and I want to make sure I nail the pros and cons. Can you tell me more about what life's like there? Maybe even some history?"

"Okay, how about history? That way, you'll get some context and then understand why our world is messed up."

I shrugged. "Why not?"

Keefe proceeded to explain history...except it wasn't just elven history. It was also our history. I found out that humans had gotten everything wrong. And by everything, I mean everything. The Pyramids? Elven-built. Atlantis? An actual city meant for elves and humans to live side-by-side in harmony. It failed. The elves and humans living in harmony bit, that is. Atlantis actually did sink to the bottom of the ocean and still existed. I told Keefe that I needed a drawing because there was no way on earth I could picture a fantasy city at the bottom of the ocean. Well, accurately, anyway.

And yes, I did have an existential crisis. Especially when I learned that certain fantasy creatures did exist, but not in the way I pictured them. Dwarves were the most dissimilar to my mental image. They weren't short guys with beards who loved mining (sorry, Gimli). They were furry creatures who didn't even vaguely resemble humans! The only similarity between my version of dwarves and the real version was that they both dwelled underground. I made a mental note to play "Diggy Diggy Hole" for Keefe so he'd get a basic idea of what everyone assumed dwarves were like. Also, I wanted to torture him. That song was an absolute banger, but also ridiculously catchy.

That existential crisis, though, was totally worth it. Keefe's sarcasm-filled history lesson was more entertaining than any history lesson I'd suffered through back home.

"I've melted your brain, haven't I?" Keefe teased as we headed back to the main group.

"Oh, yeah. But I'm up for brain-melting if you keep up the sarcastic running commentary with a fair dose of sass. It's super entertaining." I giggled.

He paused to bow dramatically. "My utmost honor, madame."

"Wait, you never told me why you ran away. What happened to make you leave your friends—and your lady love—behind?"

He groaned. "You're gonna drag that out of me, aren't you? And seriously, stop teasing me about Foster. She likes another guy. They were even dating! Not like I stand a chance."

"Keep on telling yourself that. She'll come to her senses. Now, tell me: what in the literal world happened?"

"Short or long version?"

"Depends on whether you're fine with me acting like a therapist—which, from the little I've managed to glean, you desperately need."

Keefe sighed dramatically before launching into his explanation. When he'd finished, I determined that once I actually had money, I'd buy him a giant Squishmallow. Or two.

Apparently, his mother, who was part of this evil rebel group called the Neverseen, had this whole creepy legacy planned out for him, which involved sending him into a coma with some untested elf-y chemical jazz. She'd made him sit on the dwarven throne, placed the dwarven crown on his head, and then had his Shade friend (or frenemy?) melt the stuff using shadows. When he finally woke up, he had the freaky new ability he'd mentioned during our first conversation. He also manifested as a Polyglot. Because he didn't want to hurt anyone, he ran away to the Forbidden Cities, or the human world. For someone who knew almost nothing about human life, he managed to blend in pretty well. None of the Playground Gang had realized there was something different about him.

"Honestly, I'm just glad you guys accepted me and are culturing me," he'd told me. "I know the Neverseen have a base here in London, so the more I blend in, the less likely they're gonna track me down and kidnap you guys or something horrible like that. And I don't want that happening to you ever. If my mother even tries to hurt any of you, I will personally make her pay. Especially if she goes after you, Lexi. You're the only person I've told, and you haven't once called me a liar or a psycho. You've just pretty much rolled with it. You're the closest I'll ever get to having a little sister."

Little sister? I like that. I'm gonna take full advantage of my new status and tease him a lot more.

When we returned, Luke announced our arrival to the rest of the group.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're back!" Matilda enveloped me in a hug. "That chat was at least half an hour."

"Hey, I gotta spend time with my adopted big brother!" I protested. "And that means teasing him mercilessly about his future girlfriend."

Keefe blushed. Asher snickered at his reaction.

"Hold up, future girlfriend? I didn't know you were that much of a shipper, Lexi." Tabitha raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I am such a shipper and romantic sap. We just have been short on tea. Anyway, he can't help but mention her a lot. But they're supposedly just friends." I said the last bit in a mocking tone.

"Oooh, I hear tea! What's the ship name?" Matilda perked up. "And that also sounds like Miraculous Ladubug, with Keefe still being in the Adrien Agreste stage."

"Yeah, sounds about right with the Miraculous reference. Anyway, Keefe has a crush on this girl named Sophie Foster. I'd call them Sokeefe, but Keefe might have a cooler ship name."

"Sokeefe has a nice ring to it." Tabitha nodded approvingly. "I like it."

"Ditto," Matilda agreed. "But I still wanna know the official ship name."

"We don't have one, technically. But I do refer to us as Team Foster-Keefe. Or Keephie. Or Keefoster. But Team Foster-Keefe is my favorite."

"Foster-Keefe it is, then," I decided.

Everyone else agreed, even the boys.

"You'll have to keep us updated, y'know." Luke smirked.

Keefe's embarrassed expression turned solemn. "That probably won't ever happen. I ran away, and I don't think she'll ever forgive me."

Dead silence crept over the group. Four pairs of eyes trained themselves on him.

"Wait, what? Why? What happened?" Tabitha was concerned, and rightfully so.

Oh, no. Keefe's gonna have to explain everything, and Tabitha and Luke are just gonna dismiss him or laugh him off. Asher, too. Matilda's probably gonna accept it like I did.

"Uh, yeah, long story short, I'm not a human. I'm an elf. And I ran away to keep everyone safe from my freaky new ability."

"Yeah, right. We believe that cover story. Come on, give us the truth." Tabitha sounded amused.

A disappointed look crossed his face. He'd told the truth, and just like I predicted, Tabitha's realistic-minded attitude kept her from believing.

"You don't have to lie to us, Keefe," Luke urged.

"What if he's not?" Matilda wondered aloud. "If I were running away, I wouldn't use a farfetched cover story!"

"I don't know. I wanna believe you, but at the same time, it seems insane." Asher shook his head. "It just seems so farfetched, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction."

"Seriously? Of course the younger kids believe me, or at least give me the benefit of the doubt, and my peers don't! You don't know half of what I've gone through! If I was going to lie to you, I would make up a normal-sounding excuse!" Desperation leaked into Keefe's voice. Beads of sweat lined his brow. "I guess sometimes, seeing is believing. I'll show you why I had to run away!"

Oh no, he's gonna use his new ability, isn't he? I clamped my hands over my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. Looking at Matilda, I repeated the action of covering my ears. I hope she gets the hint.

Matilda didn't think twice, hastily plugging her own ears. Just then, Keefe opened his mouth and yelled something. I let out a tiny gasp. If I'd read his lips correctly, he'd just said "numb."