PRE-WARNING: THERE WILL BE MENTION OF ALCOHOL.

Sophie did a double-take when she saw Keefe sitting down at the bar. Why would he even be here?

Without even thinking, she approached him. After a few steps she realized what she was doing, but instead of stopping, she trekked on. Sophie would risk getting found out if it meant helping a friend. She couldn't just ignore her new friend who was obviously in a melancholy mood.

As she got closer, she decided to whisper, "Hey."

Keefe's head shot-up from his hands as fast as lightning. She looked at his face and his eyes were puffy and blood-shot from crying. He also looked extremely pale and sweaty. Keefe could never look terrible, but he looked way worse than he had earlier that day. Something had definitely happened.

"What are you doing here Foster?" Keefe asked, but his words were a little slurred. It was probably from the amount of alcohol he had consumed, judging from the 2 empty beer bottles on the counter next to Keefe.

He probably wouldn't remember anything anyway, so Sophie gave him the lamest excuse ever. "One of my friends wanted to meet-up here. Now, why are you here, and why are you drunk? I mean, I don't know you very well, but you don't seem like the type to go to a bar and get drunk for fun."

A silent tear slipped down Keefe's cheek and he choked when he tried to speak at first. "I-it doesn't matter." He had the saddest look on his face.

"Come in Keefe, you can tell me anything. I swear I won't tell anyone or anything like that. Please just trust me," Sophie pleaded.

Keefe's voice turned sharp. "Look Sophie, I don't want to talk about it. You can't fix me like I'm a messed-up grade. I just need to be alone."

His words were like a slap to the face, but Sophie knew the worst thing to do in this situation was to leave him alone. Screw Black Swan training. Forkle could just tell her whatever important thing he was supposed to say after she dealt with Keefe. He was more important than her stupid gang.

Sophie turned Keefe's chin so his face was facing hers. "Look, I know what it's like to go through this sort of stuff. My life isn't as perfect as it seems. And what I know from my experiences is that it's the worst thing to be alone. You always need a friend to help you and talk you out of bad decisions, so please just talk to me." Sophie put in her best pouty face to try and get Keefe to tell her what was going on, but his expression remained firm.

He turned away and gritted his teeth. "I said I just need to be left alone. I've been alone my whole life, so I know how to handle myself."

"Do you want me to threaten the truth out of you?" Sophie asked with a stern look.

Keefe smirked, finally. Sophie let out a huge sigh at the sight. Maybe Keefe wasn't going through anything super bad.

"You don't look too threatening, Foster." His smirk grew even wider as Sophie attempted to glare at him. "You're cute when you're mad." Keefe stated and Sophie blushed.

The stupid alcohol made Keefe make her blush even more. Ugh. Why did she chose to help this boy again?

Instead of complaining, though, she pulled out one of her blunt training knives, and in an instant it was against his throat. Keefe screamed in surprise, but no one looked their way.

Sophie then whispered menacingly in his ear from behind. "Am I threatening now?"

Keefe squeaked out a quick yes and Sophie laughed. She removed her knife from his neck and slip it into one of her many pockets.

"Why do you even have a knife?!" Keefe questioned with fear.

This time Sophie smirked. "Nope, you don't get an answer to that until you answer my question."

Keefe looked down at the floor before he began to tell the whole story. His words were slurred, but Sophie could still understand every saddening word she heard.

     A sob escaped Keefe's lips. "My sucky day all started when I came home. Well, that's how all my sucky days start, but today was different. My dad didn't lecture me about anything. He just sat in a chair in the living room, staring at the wall. His face was completely void of emotion which freaked me out so much. Usually his face conveys every though he has, but today he was a statue. After a few hours of him just staring at the wall, he finally moved. And. . . He came over to me. H-he t-told me that my mom had left. She just left me to the miserable company of my father. Apparently, she thought some gang was worth more than her only son." Keefe started to break down in tears.

     Sophie scooted onto the bar stool with Keefe and held him together. His sobs rattled her body along with his and his tears soaked her hoody, but she didn't care. In that moment all that mattered was Keefe.

     Sophie quietly told Keefe that he didn't need to tell her the rest as he opened his mouth to continue, but he finished telling her everything anyway. "And, I thought my mom was the good parent. My dad has always been The Bad Parent. My mom at least showed me some mercy when my dad would go off about something. But now, my dad is the good guy. It's just incomprehensible. So, thinking that forgetting would fix all my problems, I came here like I normally do after a big fight with my dad. I always have a tendency to make reckless decisions when I, in a bad mental state. One beer led to another. I don't know what happened." He paused and let out a breath. "Thanks for coming here Sophie, even though you didn't know I'd be here. If it wasn't for you, I'd be completely wasted." She blushed at his sincere thanks. Then, everything he had said suddenly sunk in.

     Sophie didn't respond because the gears in her brain were turning. Keefe had spilled some important information. A plan started to form in her head. It was probably going to end up with both her and Keefe dead by the end, but if she knew what she was doing, it was going to be worth it.