~After Sophie left, Fitz walked back to his room and sat on his bed. He honestly didn't know what to do now. All Fitz could think about was how close they were, her tears, and her smile. It was bad timing since he had just learned that the Neverseen had attacked his cognate's human family, but without her, he just kind of felt... weird, like something was missing, and he didn't know why.

"Hey Fitz, can I ask you something?" Biana appeared in his doorway suddenly, wringing her hands nervously.

"Uh, yeah, of course. Sorry, I don't mean to sound rude, you just caught me off guard. What is it?" Fitz gestures for her to sit.

"What were you going to say to Sophie earlier when I barged in?"

He took a second to think back to just after he had given Sophie the dress. He had been about to say, "for the record, I think you're the prettiest girl in the whole world." Thankfully, Biana had interjected and prevented him from giving her an awfully cheesy compliment. Fitz wasn't about to admit that he was going to say something so cliché, so instead, he awkwardly responded with, "that's a good question. I don't remember."

"Oh come on, you've got to remember! You were saying, 'that takes guts. For the record...' then I cut you off. What were you going to say?" Biana started flashing him puppy dog eyes.

"I already told you, I don't remember."

He had started to turn away and pull open a book when she appeared next to him, closing it in the person process. "You're lying. I know you remember. You were just thinking of what you about to say."

Fitz frowned, "if you just manifested as a telepath, then you seriously need to know the rules."

"HA! So I was right, and no, I'm not a telepath. There are three things I know very well in this world. Vanishing, you, and the entirety of the romance department."

Blinking, he replied, red and baffled, "wha-what? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You like Sophie, don't you?"

The words hit him like a slap in the face. 'You like Sophie, don't you?' It all made sense now. Fitz liked Sophie, like, more than a friend and cognate. Why hadn't he realized it before? More importantly, how did Biana know before he did? He shivered inwardly.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Biana demanded and sat next to him, her face slightly fallen like she was trying to process it still.

"Well- um- Are you okay?" Fitz changed the topic hastily for more reasons than one.

"Yeah, it's just a little weird, ya know? My brother likes my best friend? You have to admit that's a little weird." She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked away.

Fitz took in a shaky breath, suddenly nervous, "are you okay with me liking her?"

"Yes! Of course! I would totally support you if you guys even dated, I'm just a little worried about being left behind, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Sophie is the first person who became my friend because she wanted to. Not because she was trying to use me to get to you. That makes her super special, like, sister special."

Dumbfounded, Fitz stumbled on his words, "People didn't- people- what? No! They didn't use you to get to me... did they?"

"Yeah, they did. Maurca, Lisette, Bethany, Harper... all of them." Biana looked up and smiled at him, "don't worry, they don't matter anymore. I've got way better friends now who care about more things in the world than make-up, clothes, jewelry, and boys."

Fitz didn't say much for a while before pulling Biana into a hug. "You know, I was just talking to Sophie today about how you two found a sister in one another. It made her really happy." Fitz could feel Biana smile against his shoulder, which made him do the same.

"So you realize if you hurt her, I'll spit the fire of a thousand suns at you." That caused for him to suck in his breath and let go slowly as his sister laughed at him. "Oh relax, you'll probably get married after we get out of school, so you'll be safe from my wrath."

Fitz blushed, "okay, okay, enough. It's your turn."

Biana raised an eyebrow, "how do you mean?"

"You like someone too. You've been drawing hearts in the window condensation again."

"I always do that, that doesn't mean anything!"

"Fine, I'll have to guess then. Is it Dex? Tam? That guy from the restaurant? Keefe?"

Biana only laughed and waved him off, "you're hilarious. There's no way on planet earth that you'll ever find out. The only person who knows if I even have a crush is Sophie, and she is sworn to secrecy." Confidently, she crossed her arms with a smirk.

"What's to say that she won't tell her cognate?" Fitz teased.

She only winked and stuck out her pinky. "Sisters before misters!"

"Oh yeah?" Fitz raised an eyebrow, "well, cognates before- ...before... " He got quiet, unable to think of a good rhyme. Defeated, he finished "You get the point."

Fitz counted the seconds (a pass-time he picked up from Sophie) until Biana stopped laughing. He got to 378 when his sister triumphantly replied with, "HA!"

"What's all this laughing about?" Alden asked with a smile as he walked into the room, "did Biana break another one of your records, Fitz?"

"Even better! He couldn't find a rhyme for 'cognate'!" Biana was thrown into another fit of laughter. Fitz was not amused.

"That's so easy though!" Alden laughed, "there's- ...there's..." he cleared his throat, and Biana laughed even harder.

Finally, she shot up, "I'm going to go tell mom!"

Fitz immediately stood, "don't tell her about-"

"I will!" Biana interupted as she ran out.

Alden frowned, "what don't you want your mother to know?"

Red faced, Fitz mumbled, "that I like Sophie," but it came out as more of a "thal eye lice soam feyf."

"What?"

Fitz tried again, "flamph fie mice Sophie."

"What about Sophie?"

Though they couldn't see Della, they could hear her squeals of excitement becoming louder. "Darling, isn't it wonderful? Fitz likes Sophie! She probably likes him too, I mean, he's quite the catch, which means she'll officially become a part of our family after all!"
Fitz blushed deeper, embarrassed, "MOM!"

Alden closed his eyes with a small smile, "my dear, I think you're jumping a little too far ahead, but I do agree. There isn't a better young lady I could ever think of to hold the affections of my son. Congratulations, Fitz. Now, excitements aside, I'm hungry. Does anyone know if dinner is ready yet? I'm dying for the quentil root roast-loaf that Gelise said he planned to make!"

"Gelise is making quentil root roast-loaf?!" Fitz exclaimed, changing the topic gratefully, "he only makes it three times a year!"

"Yes!" Della clapped her hands together gleefully, "I helped him pick the quentil root myself! It was incredibly facinating. I can't believe how much it sparkled when it came out of the ground."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go see if it's ready." Alden announced.

"If not, we could at least set the table." Della smiled, "I'll go ahead and see. You boys go help set the table for everyone." With that, she disappeared down the hallway, the sound of her footsteps indicating how far she was.

When she was gone, Fitz looked up at his father. "Thanks for the save, dad."

He laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, leading him out of the room, "anytime son."