Sophie didn't know what had come over her. One minute she was laying on her back, under her covers in her still surprisingly soft pyjamas, just staring at the swirly plants on her canopy. The next minute, she was up and hyper and getting ready, even though it was the middle of the night. Sandor hadn't even tried to stop her, just helped her pick out what kind of outfit to wear, and seemed to know that she needed to do something. She was just looking around her bedroom, trying to remember how everything in her old bedroom would have looked scattered around her room at Havenfield, and then she started making plans, and it suddenly felt empty. The only thing Sandor had asked was where she was going, and that was that. Of course, he'd come along, but Sophie had gotten used to it.

As she walked up to the spectral mirror, Vertina clicked to life, with a small smile on her face and a flip of her long black hair. Of course, her first words of the day were going to be snippy, but that was Vertina, and Sophie couldn't do anything about the mirror's special personality.

"Woah, you look like a mess. When was the last time you actually tried to conceal those under eye bruises?" she asked with a look of disgust on her face. Sophie had learned to ignore comments like those.

"The last time... was when I last stood in front of you. So if you want to do that math, feel free. I need help with hair. Out of my face, but still presentable," Sophie requested.

"Who are you trying to impress? Is it the brunette? Oh I hope it's the brunette," Vertina commented with a certain wispy look in her eyes, like she wished she could have a chance to impress someone.

"I'm not trying to impress anyone," Sophie started, looking down at her shoes like they were the most important items in the world. She stuck one foot behind the other, pointed, as she tried to cover up her horrible lie. But she wouldn't admit it to Vertina before she admitted it to herself, that's for sure. "I just want to look nice. And if, hypothetically, I was trying to impress anyone, it would not be Fitz. That's where that conversation ends," she arches an eyebrow at Vertina, making sure to get the message across that she did not want to talk about her love life. She had given up hope that Fitz might like her after seeing how long he had gone without ever actually finishing what he'd started under Calla's tree so long ago. She didn't even know if he remembered. Plus, he had started spending so much time with other people, she barely saw him anymore, mostly only when they were talking about the Neverseen, and every problem they have. So, not exactly happy conversations. There weren't many happy memories being made anymore. The last time she'd seen him, he'd taken off his cognate rings, and Sophie decided that maybe it was time she took hers off as well. But she did not want to muddle her good mood. Not when she was doing something impulsive. The first non-deadly impulsive thing she's done in awhile. The thought makes her feel normal.

And with that, Vertina was off with her intricate instructions for Sophie to follow, and she tried to weave her hair into the shape Vertina was describing, having to loosen it and tighten it and let it fall a few times before she was finally satisfied with the braid twisting from one side of her head, around the back, and diagonally down the other, hanging loosely over her shoulder. Her hair was now so long that it reached her waist, almost to her hips, when it was just straight.

Now, all she had to do was successfully sneak out, which she found was not too hard, what with the whole light leaping and teleporting deal. Teleporting seemed too loud for the middle of the night, and while she hated light leaping after her fatal incident with Dex and the almost fading away, she still had to do it. She ran up the stairs to the Leapmaster, trying not to be too loud, especially with Sandor behind her. She whispered out the name of her destination, and as quietly as she could, she leaped there, leaving behind no trace of her sneaking out.

When she and Sandor glittered onto a pasture, she tried to remember why this was the first place she had come. And when she remembered, she threw away the thought again, saving it for when it was really important, though she doubted it would ever be. She was here for one thing, and one thing only. Impulse.

As she walked up to the door, she had to mentally prepare herself for what she was doing. She knew that the parents of this house didn't live there anymore, so her ringing the magnificent doorbell wasn't too much of a worry for her. Almost immediately, the door opened, and there he stood, looking completely confused and slightly worried.

The one, the only, Keefe Sencen. It was the middle of the night, and he looked like he hadn't slept at all, but in a handsome and disheveled kind of way. His hair was still done messily, and there was no exhaustion in his eyes.

"What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night," he asked, tilting his head to the side. Sophie shifted her weight to her right side, and bit her lip before seriously hitting rock bottom.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you're also still awake this late and just get right to the point. My bedroom is empty, and I thought now would be a good time to decorate it. Take advantage of my birth fund, you know? Really just go all out," she explained, trying to read Keefe's response. While she may not be allowed to read his mind, she surely can read his body language. The way he looked at her made her feel crazy, but then his smirk came back to his face and he ushered her in, finally taking away some of the awkwardness Sophie was feeling just standing there, with the idea hanging in the air by a thread. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"And here I thought you just wanted to see me," Keefe teased, taking her hand and walking her toward the vortinator. The last time she'd been on this thing, she had almost thrown up. Seeing as it was the middle of the night and she hadn't eaten anything, she figured she'd feel a little less nauseous. She was so wrong.

On the way up, Keefe just laughed at her with that stupid smile on his face that Sophie could never translate. It looked like the one Grady gave to Edaline whenever she said something slightly ridiculous.

"Come on, you've had time to get ready, now it's my turn," Keefe said, pulling Sophie into his room. She'd only been there once, and he wasn't even there at the time. She hadn't seen it since he'd moved back in.

When she walked in, it was so much different than what it had previously been. The things he enjoyed were displayed on the walls, instead of hidden in his bookshelves and in his drawers. It looked like Keefe's room, instead of the room Keefe's parents wanted him to have. And while it seemed that living without your parents as a teenager could be a bit illegal and lonely, in Keefe's case, it was way more legal than actually living with his crazy parents.

Sandor lurked at the entrance and Sophie sat down on the bed while Keefe walked into his closet and pulled out a fancy looking tunic that she'd never seen him wear before. And when he started to take off his current shirt, she tried to look away, she really did, but she just couldn't. The blush that rose to her cheeks made her feel something like shame, and at that point she really did have to look away, and averted her eyes to the floor. She had to save herself the embarrassment of having Keefe read her emotions and call her out on it, but really, she was a teenage girl, and he was a generally good looking boy who she totally had not formed a crush on and definitely did not want to look at shirtless, because she was the Moonlark and was supposed to be focusing on much more important things, like the impending doom of the human race.

But he was really really cute. She could afford to be normal for one night. That's what this was about in the first place.

"I hope you know that I'm going to be buying my own stuff too. No way am I going to Atlantis and not buying something for myself," he told her over his shoulder. Once he buttoned up the tunic, Sophie finally looked back up to find that he was looking at her with a smirk. "Did you really have to look away? I'm not hideous, you know," he added. "In fact, I'm actually quite handsome, though I'm sure you already know that." Sophie rolled her eyes, trying to play off the fact that he was correct, for the most part.

"Elves are genetically beautiful, don't boost your ego any more than it has to be boosted," Sophie said, trying to hide the fact that she wanted to smile.

"Ah, yes, but not all elves are as well built as I am. Admit it, you think I'm hot," Keefe smirked at her, for at least the tenth time since she'd arrived.

"As long as you promise not to use it against me," Sophie wagered. Keefe only intensified his smirk. Whoops.

"That's all the confirmation I need, thank you," he said, making Sophie blush even more. Then he walked into his giant closet, for at least a minute or two, and came out with a different pair of pants on, and a light looking cape, pinned with a pendant he had made. A new crest completely separate from his family's. Two alicorns flying in an ice blue sky, with both sparkly horses encrusted with silver jewels. When he'd shown it to her for the first time, she had to admit that she'd almost cried, because she was just so happy he had finally separated himself from his horrible family. She also had to admit that she was kinda jealous. The design was absolutely beautiful.

He started walking closer to her, and held his arms out in a weird pose, his legs crossed at the ankles and smiling a lopsided kind of smile. Sophie finally couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face, and she hung her head and giggled at him. It was completely out of character, and she didn't know exactly where it came from, but she felt so completely carefree in that moment that she didn't pay that any attention, especially when Keefe started laughing with her and reached his hand out for her to take.

She twined their fingers together and they walked out of the room, onto the vortinator, and on a very dizzying trip up to the Leapmaster. It looked like Sandor hated the contraption even more than she did. And that was a lot.

After going through the horrible process of getting into Atlantis, Sophie wondered why she had decided to pick the middle of the night to do this, not even knowing if any places in Atlantis would even be open, but when she saw all of the lights and the places that were open, she sighed a great sigh of relief, and they walked into the first store they saw, Sophie completely pulling Keefe behind her, hearing his laugh of exasperation as she stopped and looked around for items she'd want in her bedroom. She hadn't really thought through the specifics of this, but figured Sandor could explain if she had a hard time. She hadn't accounted for the fact that Grady and Edaline would be waking up to see their daughter's bedroom completely redecorated overnight.

"So, what were you thinking of starting with?" Keefe asked, stopping with her, looking around as well. They'd ended up in a store full of sparkly things that reflected colours and rainbows onto the walls. She never really had been in the stores of Atlantis, always worrying about too much and never having time to shop for things.

"I don't know? That's what I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with," she told him sheepishly.

"I always do know you better than you know yourself. Come here," he said, pulling her over to the other side of the small shop. There was an array of small chandeliers that refracted light so bright, she couldn't look at it without squinting. And yet she couldn't stop looking at it.

"If you put this right in the center of your ceiling, it'll refract light above your bed and reach every corner of your room. Biana had one of these when we were younger, and I couldn't stop staring at it. Plus, it will light up your canopy, and hopefully help you sleep," Keefe explained, picking up the intricate chandelier and handing it to Sophie. She was expecting it to be heavy, but it was surprisingly so light, she felt like she could throw it in the air.

"Wow, it sounds like you've given this thought," Sophie teased, the hint of a smile on her face as she looks at the items on the shelves. Everything is covered in silver, refracting light here and there, making the whole place look sparkly.

"Yeah, I've thought about having one of these for my own room. I haven't been sleeping very well, either," he said, pulling Sophie along the isles, and to the register where Sophie grabbed her green cube from the pocket on her wrist. It was so small that she was surprised she hadn't lost it yet. She swiped it across the scanner on the counter, waiting for the tired looking guy across from her to give her a bag to put the chandelier in. Once he did, they were on their way to another store.

They shopped around for the next hour, not even realising that time was passing. So far, they had so many things that they could barely carry the bags, including picture frames, a camera that worked like a Polaroid, and some new books for Sophie to read. There was also an entire store dedicated to wall decorations, and while the things didn't necessarily scream 'Sophie Foster lives here!' they definitely would add a little bit of personality to her room.

"Where to next?" Keefe asked, tightening his hold on Sophie's hand. "I suggest somewhere that sells food, because I've been up for hours and I'm starving," he added, making Sophie realise that she was hungry too, so she nodded, and let Keefe lead the way.

"Why haven't you been sleeping well?" Sophie asked, admiring the crystal buildings surrounding them. The city was dark, with only the faintest hint of light from the balefire torches around, and through the bubble of the force field surrounding them. It felt nice to be walking around Atlantis for something other than the Black Swan or the Neverseen. This was just for them, and it was nice to feel normal.

"Eh, just all the stuff going on. I don't think any of us are sleeping well," Keefe said, turning to Sophie and resting his thumb under her eye, wiping away the makeup she had poorly used to cover her dark circles. As she looked up, she met his eyes and immediately pushed his hand away, looking down and fidgeting, wishing she could just get rid of the stupid circles for good.

But that wasn't really what was bothering her.

What was really bothering her was how easily Keefe was able to see through her. And why he wouldn't just end her misery and finally give her the rejection she'd long been expecting from him, the moment she knew she had an inkling of affection toward him. Of course he could feel it, so why drag it out longer? He didn't need to flirt with her and give her that stupid pretty smile and touch her face all the time, making her feel things that would never turn out the way she wants to. Because really, if he likes her, why doesn't he just say it? The only logical explanation is that he doesn't.

Keefe started walking again, no words about why she'd pushed him away, just silently strolling along the streets of Atlantis, hand in hand, until Sophie decides to speak again.

"Do you think we'll ever get a chance to be normal again?" she asked, taking a deep breath and holding it in, somehow hoping that Keefe would have all the answers.

"I think that's up to us," he said, tightening his hold on Sophie's hand, making her hold more firmly, as if he was all she had left, and if she held on tight enough, it would keep her standing on the ground.

"But the Neverseen-"

"Are choosing their own path. We have to choose ours. I know you were born into all of this, and I know you don't think you have a choice, but you do. You could totally use those awesome abilities of yours to pull awesome pranks, but you've chosen to fight instead," he said, making Sophie think about what he's said. "And not to say that that's the wrong choice, or a bad choice, but it's just the path you've taken. If you want to be 'normal'," he adds, with air quotes, "then you have to make your own normalcy. Like tonight. The last time I asked you about decorating your bedroom, you said you were too preoccupied with all of the good guy, bad guy stuff, and almost dying a bunch of times. In a way, you showing up at my house in the middle of the night to take me to Atlantis and decorate your bedroom is you kinda saying, 'hey, I'm done letting this control my life.' You're starting to let it go, and just be you."

Sophie had to think about that one for a few moments, but before she could answer him, he was guiding her into what looked like a very large convenience store, full of snacks and gnomish produce, and different types of drinks in refrigerators running floor to ceiling, at least twenty feet from one wall to the other. She has to step back to even try to see a whole fraction of it all.

Keefe beelines straight to an isle full of bags of dried fruits and vegetables, and the next isle over has the baked goods Sophie always loved. Custard Bursts, Mallowmelt, Indigoobers, even some things the humans had, like chocolate bars and cake and even gummy bears. There were potato chips, packaged meals, and basically everything Sophie suddenly wanted to eat. She grabbed bags from the shelves, not even knowing what they were, before plopping them into a basket Keefe had found abandoned in one of the isles. They both grabbed boxes of Prattles that would be enough for their entire school. She went to grab another bag before Keefe gave her a look.

"Trust me, you do not want to eat that," he said, giving her a smile before he grabbed a bag full of an array of sweets and throwing it in their basket. She put the bag away and stepped aside slowly, as if it were about to explode.

"You think we have enough?" Sophie asked, staring at their collection of food. Keefe nodded.

"I think we have enough to last us into next week," he said, paying for their heaps of food, none of which are even totally healthy. They walked out of the shop and to the tables outside, where there were umbrellas, even though it's never actually sunny underwater. The underside of the umbrella was lit up by small candles, casting a dim glow on the otherwise dark table where they set down their bags and take out the food. Sophie goes for the prepackaged meal first, while Keefe gets one of the boxes of Prattles.

Just as she starts opening the food, Keefe let out a choked sort of squealing sound, and jumped out of his chair.

"Holy flaredon poop, I got the other alicorn pin!" he squeaked out, holding the pin up like a trophy, as if he was trying to see through it. Sophie's eyes widened and she stood up to stand next to him, grabbing his wrist to get a better look at it. He flipped it over to the back, seeing the digital screen that stated the pin he was holding was number two out of two, and she gaped. Now, they were the only elves in the entire elven world that posses alicorn pins.

"That's amazing! I have the other one at home, too," Sophie said, sitting back down as Keefe pocketed the pin, taking extra care to button his pocket to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

"That just makes us really special," Keefe told her. Then he mock gasped, "or maybe we're soulmates!" he added with a wide grin, suddenly making Sophie's cheeks heat up.

"Or maybe you're just really lucky," Sophie said, starting to pick at her food. She hadn't really thought through the whole "unrefrigerated gnomish vegetable" thing.

"Oh, I know I'm lucky. Otherwise, I wouldn't know you," he said, making her blush even more. Suddenly the small candles on the umbrella were way too hot to be sitting under. She needs to stand up.

"Huh, my flirting really gets to you, doesn't it?" he asked, getting up to follow Sophie to the edge of the building. He stood in front of her, and tentatively put a hand on her shoulder. She has to take a deep breath before convincing herself not to push it away.

"No, it's not that, I'm just... tired."

"No, you're not," he said, trailing his hand down her arm to her hand, and he takes off her glove to twine their fingers. Immediately, his brows puckered together and he squinted his eyes. "You're stressed, and confused, but you're not tired. In fact, you're as wide awake as Silveny when she sees swizzelspice. So, what's wrong?" he asked, handing her back her glove. She stares at the ground, putting her glove back on her bare hand, trying to figure out what to say. It isn't the night for this. She just wanted to be normal.

"There's nothing wrong. And if there is, maybe I just don't want to talk about it," she said, trying to sound as nice as possible, even though she feels like her face and ears are on fire, and her stomach is so queasy that she doesn't even want to eat anymore.

"But why don't you want to talk about it? Maybe I can help," he said, tilting his head. Sophie laughed, a dark kind of laugh that isn't funny.

"You're the empath, shouldn't you know what's wrong?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest, hoping her stance helped convey her annoyance. Maybe she was just too fond of him to actually be so annoyed. Stupid heart versus head emotion theory.

"Well, yes, but I can respect you not wanting to talk. Just say the word and I'll drop this," he said, raising an eyebrow, looking at her with concern. She wasn't sure if she could ever 'drop this' seeing as they had just ripped the bandage off of a fresh wound. And somehow it's bleeding even more than it was before.

"I'll talk someday, just... not today. Today I'm not ready," she said, fully knowing what she had just admitted to. But Keefe didn't seem to be wanting to hold this over her head forever. He must have known about this longer than she had, seeing as he could read her subconscious emotions. And he hadn't said anything before.

"That's fine. Just know that I will be waiting. I'll always wait for you," he said, looking her in the eye with a new determination. The same determination she always saw when he was trying to protect someone. The same one that always made her trust him.

She tried to say something, tried to figure out how to breathe again. But instead, she just found herself wrapping her arms around Keefe's neck and buried her head into his shoulder, having to stand on her tiptoes because he was significantly taller than she was. She felt arms wrap around her waist, and hold on tight, so tight that she couldn't breathe. Or maybe that was because she was so nervous. Either way, she was sure that she wasn't breathing at all, because what they had just surfaced could never be put back under, could never be covered again. And yet it didn't feel strange. Didn't even feel any sort of obligation to bring it up again. It was a comfortable secret, that they would come back to when they felt ready.

"You know, I would love to stand here all night, trust me, I really would. But your parents are going to notice that you're not home at some point, and I think Gigantor is about to gut me deeper than King Dimitar did," Keefe said, making Sophie lift her head and laugh. She looked over to Sandor, who was lurking in the shadow of another umbrella, and she laughed harder. She had forgotten that he'd been following them the whole time, and she had actually let herself feel normal for a night. Like she didn't even need a bodyguard.

And then she realised that he'd seen everything.

"Lady and Lord Ruewen do not need to know about anything that happened tonight," he said, giving them a wink. Sophie smiled, silently thanking him before pulling away from Keefe and fidgeting like she'd never fidgeted before. She tugged out a loose eyelash, feeling a weight lift off of her heart and dissolve into thin air, leaving her elated. She hadn't realised her heart was heavy until it was light again.

"Come on, you need to get home. And believe it or not, I think I actually am tired," Keefe said, rubbing his eye. He looked like he could barely keep them open. Sophie laughed again, smiling fondly at him.

"It's times like these that I wish I were a conjurer," Sophie complained, staring at all of their bags. There were so many that it covered a five foot radius around their table, including underneath.

"I'll help you carry it home, but then I have to leave immediately. I do not want to face the wrath of overprotective Grady," Keefe said, something like humourous fear in his eyes. Sophie laughed at him, and started packing things up and picking up bags, trying to compact them all into as little things to carry as possible. Sandor helped too, and soon enough, they were all ready to head back home.

Going through the horrible process of getting out of Atlantis, Sophie found herself trying to hold onto Keefe's arm as they levitated out of the sunken city, with Sandor holding onto her shoulder. Keefe gave her a smirk as they finally stood on solid ground, and Sophie looked away, taking out her home crystal and leaping them to Havenfield. When they got there, the first strands of daylight were just starting to paint the sky, and Sophie looked into the house to see if anyone was awake. The room looked dark, and she heard nothing but the snores of the sleeping animals in the pastures, so she figured it was safe to have Keefe help her carry things up to her bedroom. As long as they were quiet.

"Okay, you have everything you could possibly need to decorate in those bags. Now please try to get at least a few hours of sleep," Keefe said quietly, putting both hands on each of her shoulders, forcing her to look at either his chest, his chin, or his eyes. Sophie chose his chin, just to be safe.

She hadn't even realised she wanted to sleep until he mentioned it, and she yawned, covering her mouth with her hand and leaning into him a little bit. Just a little bit.

But when he pulled her in for another hug, she rested her head against Keefe's chest as he held her close, and she breathed in, trying to remember the scent, as weird as that may be. Mint, with a hint of something flowery.

And when he pulled away, he smiled sweetly at her, and tilted her head up by her chin, giving Sophie no choice but to look at his eyes this time. Ice blue eyes that she couldn't get out of her dreams lately. Then, he leaned down, and while Sophie was nervous, she didn't move. She let him take control for once, and she closed her eyes, expecting to feel lips on her own, but instead she felt lips on her cheek. Short and sweet, and gone as soon as they touched.

"Sweet dreams, Sophie Foster. You deserve them," he said, and with that, he held his home crystal up to the light, and was gone within the second.