Biana POV

"What do I say! She's going to think I'm weird if she randomly gets a text from an unknown number!" Biana ranted.

"Biana," Fitz interjected, "Sophie's going to think it's weird one way or another."

Glaring at him, she continued her ranting. "And to her we met like two days ago, so once I tell her it's me, she'll probably think I'm even weirder! And on top of that, she never actually gave me her number, so that's even creepier."

Keefe butted into the conversation, "I mean, it can't be as creepy as when Sophie got followed, yesterday." Everyone stared at him, until the room burst into chaos.

People shouted and yelled at Keefe, one of those being Biana, Della's eyebrows were knitted with worry, and Grady looked like he was just about to break something.

Tiergan broke the noise with an ear shattering whistle, and waited until everyone who sat within the room was silent.

"Keefe," he started, a stern look in his eye, "Where did this happen?" All eyes tracked Keefe and his every movement.

He took a quick glance at Dex, something unspoken going on between the two of them. "Well, we really don't know most of what actually happened, but-"

"We?" Tam interjected. "Who was with you?" Glaring at the boy halfway hidden in the shadows, Keefe answered his query.

"Dex. We were walking out of a candy shop, when Sophie came sprinting around the corner-"

"She wasn't sprinting," Dex intervened, Keefe glaring at him. "She was like, speed walking at most." 

"Oh, okay. If speed walking means sprinting, then of course she was 'speed walking'." Keefe replied, using his fingers to create air quotes around the words.

Dex, looking oddly bored, struck again. "No, it actually doesn't. It literally just means speed walking."

Keefe, looking quite enraged, and clearly not budging, opened his mouth to argue back, but was cut off by Biana's voice.

"Will you two stop? We're trying to figure out how Sophie got followed! And you two aren't making it very easy!" she snapped at them, frustrated.

Keefe pushed Dex off the edge of the sofa, clearing his chances of another interuption. "She looked pretty spooked by something, so of course, being the best friends we are, asked her what happened."

His expression dropped drastically, as if reliving the moment. "She didn't answer, but..."

"Yeah? What happened?" Biana questioned, thinking of several things that could've happened, while Keefe's eyes darted around the room, his skin tone multiple shades paler than usual.

"I-" the words seemed to be stuck in Keefe's mouth, unable to escape and tell the simple story. Dex, recovered from his push off the sofa, decided to tell it for him.

"Gethen." Biana's heart dropped, feeling the desperation sink in. Gethen had been following Sophie. He knew where she was and that meant the Neverseen did as well. Biana wasn't going to put her best friend's life in danger to save her own.

Time was a sinking ship, the hull had already gone down, and it wasn't long until the rest of it went for good.

Sophie POV

Sophie and Maylee sat cross legged on opposing desks, another unused one between them where they each slammed down a card, both hoping to out do the other. Maylee threw down a six of hearts, Sophie a queen of spades.

Laughing at Maylee's failure, she collected the cards and straightened them into a neat stack. While Sophie slipped the deck into the box she glanced up at her friend sitting parallel to herself.

"So, how was the Calculus quiz?" Maylee was looking to pursue Technology Engineering, and although she was ususally a full time procrastinator, she took quizzes and exams very seriously.

She sighed, dangling her legs off the desk, "It went okay."

"Soooo, is that a good thing, or...?" Sophie let the question hang in mid air until Maylee decided to answer her. She pursed her lips, pausing for a moment.

"I got an 81%," she reported. The corners of Sophie's lips turned upward, and she scoffed.

"And that's not good enough for a freshman in a class with all juniors, is it?" she teased.

Maylee rolled her eyes, heels tapping the bottom of the desk below her. "Math is my thing, Soph, 81% isn't good enough."

Sophie exhaled, hopping off the desk and slinging her backpack over her shoulder, waiting for Maylee to follow.

The pair strolled down the concrete halls of the prestigious university. With holiday break a day away, Maylee's party was one day after. She mentally prepared herself for seeing the group of blue eyed tourists.

Sophie headed for the library, parting with Maylee who was going back to the dorm for a break. Waving goodbye to each other, Sophie relaxed herself as she padded up the stone walkway leading up to the now familiar regal building.

She stayed there for an hour an a half in a dimly lit corner at a small round table, studying for the up-coming unit assessment in her required marketing class.

Soon enough, Sophie's fingers were sore from writing and her mind was tired of studying, so—even though her nine page study guide was sitting unfinished on the library desk—she stood up and wandered over to the fantasy shelf.

Her eyes scanned the author's name and title of the the colorful spines, taking it all into her photographic memory. A particular book with a deep red spine, twisted with gold caught Sophie's eye, and she stopped abruptly to run her fingers over the detailed leather.

She didn't know how the book had come to be in the specific section of the library, considering the lack of title and any other identification. No author, no library sticker, no decimal code, just a plain, leather book that looked as if it would fit into a fantasy book—not the fantasy aisle.

Sophie slid the book out of it's place on the shelf, turning it to look at the cover. Practically gasping, her honey brown eyes soaked in the breathtaking sight.

The leather surrounding the book was slightly weathered, giving an even more eerie feel, you could feel the texture and age of this book. And as Sophie continued to look around the cover, she realized the book seemed fairly new, maybe a year or so old? Maybe even newer.

The most astounding aspect of the leather bound wonder was the silouette of a bird. Sophie couldn't find the right word to describe the being, with it's widespread wings and peacock like tail. The majestic animal was sewn into the book in silver cloth, contrasting against the shimmering gold lining, it seemed muted.

A unexpected thump shook Sophie out of her daze. Spinning around, her eyes met a shining royal blue.

The boy from the movie theater stared at her, his face alarmed. He hastily picked up his book from off the library floor, swiping his dark hair away from his face.

"Sorry," he uttered, looking like a caged animal, and Sophie could tell his only intention was getting away from this place.

"No problem..." she replied apprehensively. "I didn't know you went here."

"What?" he spoke.

"Here? As in this school? Columbia..." Sophie was getting more and more suspicious by the second.

For a second, he looked flustered, embarrassed, even.

"Uh- oh yeah. Yeah I do." He couldn't seem to meet her eyes again, like he wasn't supposed to be here.

"I'm Sophie," she knew she was probably just being paranoid, but Sophie definitely wasn't ready to tell him her last name yet.

The mystery boy nodded slightly, "Ruy."

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! School has now consumed all of my free time and I haven't had the motivation to post more chapters, but I promise that doesn't mean this story is ending! I also want to make sure to tell you guys that this story WILL be picking up and jumping into action very soon!!

~bubblekissed