me, laughing while i type: you guys have no idea what is coming

~anna

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I BET YOU WEREN'T EXPECTING THAT!!

pining keefe is no longer my aesthetic. mustache keefe for life

i'm not even sorry

except that they're a bit blurry so for that i apologize but i do not apologize for making keefe the next mr. pringles

the next day

Keefe's POV:

We're back to pretending last night never happened.

At least, I'm pretending. I'm not sure if Sophie was dreaming or something when she confessed her love to me. If it was even me that she was dreaming about.

Dear God, I hope she wasn't confessing her love for Fitz in her sleep.

Sophie's POV:

Last night didn't happen.

If I pretend like it never happened then I can just ignore it for the rest of my life, right?

...he can't just ignore it, right? It's too big a confession for him to just ignore it.

Yep, he's ignoring it.

Keefe's POV:

I don't know what to say. We can't ignore this forever, but I just don't know how to start talking about the elephant in the room.

(Literally. Sophie's stuffed elephant is still in our bed, even in this universe.)

"So, about last night-"

(Great job, Keefe. What a great conversation starter. You're really good at this. Maybe you should go and strike up a conversation with the Neverseen while you're at it. I'm sure that would go over really well.)

Sophie sighs and looks up, not meeting my eyes. "It was late. I didn't know what I was saying, I don't even remember what I said. I probably didn't mean any of it."

And oh. Even though I told myself not to get my hopes up, her words still punch a hole straight through my heart. I didn't know that rejection would hurt this much.

"Okay," I say in a small voice, probably sounding a lot more pitiful than I mean to. "I'll go make Naomi breakfast."

Sophie's POV:

I need to get a grip. On my life, on my thoughts, on my feelings - I don't even know. I just need to get it all under control and move on.

But that was not what I meant to say. And Keefe's face -

I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think.

I thought that maybe, after I confessed - 

But I can't take back what I said. I can't rewrite the past, and I can't erase Keefe's heartbroken expression from my brain.

Does he maybe...? Could he even...?

Nope. No way. I am not getting my hopes up only to be crushed, in the end. I can't go and fall for Keefe Sencen because it will only end in disaster.

I know what Amy would tell me in this conversation. "Just tell him, Sophie. You only live once."

Well, I'll live out my one life all by myself, mourning all of my missed opportunities, thank you very much.

No I won't. Keefe won't let me live out the rest of my days in solitude.

I don't want to think about Keefe right now.

Thinking about Keefe will only walk me in another circle. And right now, I'm sick of circles. Can't life be square-shaped or something?

I'm not making any sense.

(Things would probably make more sense if Keefe was here with me.)

(I'm not thinking about Keefe right now.)

(Maybe if I pretend enough it will become true. Hey, a girl can dream, after all.)

Keefe's POV:

My hands are shaking enough to make me shatter three bowls and drop my spoon approximately a thousand times.

What even was the point of leaving Sophie alone with her thoughts? What even was the point of telling her that it was okay when it was so clearly not okay? 

"Daddy, are you sure you're okay?" interrupts Naomi from my internal monologuing, swinging her feet as she sits on her chair. "You look kind of..." She trailed off, obviously thinking hard about her word choice. "Horrible."

"Thank you, Naomi," I say sarcastically. "I didn't notice."

"Is Mommy mad at you?" she questions innocently. "You haven't taken her on a date in a while, you know," she warns. "She probably wants you to take her out."

"No, no," I protest. "I really don't think she wants a date right now."

"Daddy," Naomi tells me seriously, looking at me with earnest eyes. "I'm doing this for your own good. Mommy wants a date, and if she doesn't then she will keep being mad forever." She flops dramatically to the ground, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Do you really think she wants a date?" I ask, already knowing that I've lost this argument.

"Yes," says Naomi enthusiastically, nodding her head from where she's laying on the floor. "Plus, if you get out of the house then I can finally go out with Malik and Favian and try to find an alicorn!"

"Why would you want to find another alicorn? We've got four already, isn't that enough?"

"Oh Daddy, you're so silly sometimes," Naomi giggles, standing up on her tiptoes so she can pat me on the forehead. "Don't you remember when Mommy released them into the wild? The Council got so mad, you always said it was funny seeing Councillor Alina turn tomato red-"

"I'm sorry, she did what?" I ask, a bit in disbelief. Since when did Sophie - Oh wait. Alternate universe and all that. Never mind.

Naomi nods excitedly. "Mommy's a real badass sometimes," she says, all sparkling and innocent and it takes me a few seconds for her sentence to register in my brain.

"Malik, what are you teaching her?" I yell upstairs furiously. Naomi's innocence cannot be tainted, then who else will be there to reassure me that there's still some good left in the world?

"So, you are taking Mommy on a date then," asks Naomi, staring up at me with pleading eyes. "Please? Pleeaaase? I want to go catch an alicorn!"

"Alright," I relented. "Fine. Does Friday night work?"

"Thursday," Naomi agrees, nodding so fast I think her head actually blurs. "Favian!" she hollers, already turning around and bounding up the stairs. "We're going to catch an alicorn!"

I guess I'm going on a date with Sophie...?

y'all tHOUGHT that they would finally confess their love... haha i really love letting you guys down

i'm sorry but you're stuck with me for now, i promise the date will be exciting at least...?

another short chapter, sorry but that's what comes with the territory when we have more frequent updates!!

~anna

WORD COUNT: 1346

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