Hi! This is a fanfiction (Sokeefe) written by DressChimera and Luna. There will be a chapter out about every week or so, and any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks for reading, enjoy!
Chapter 1
Sophie hurriedly packed her suitcase, wishing she had started packing a little sooner. It was too late to fold the pile of clothes swiftly building up in her suitcase. Her insides were butterflies with excitement for the trip with her friends. It had been next to impossible to convince the council to let them go, and even harder to convince Grady. Yet somehow, despite Sandor’s loud protests, they were going to Kauai, a beautiful tropical island in the Forbidden Cities. Sandor and their other bodyguards would’ve been just a little too conspicuous. As if her friends wouldn’t be conspicuous enough, they all looked like movie stars compared to most humans.
“Hey there Foster!” Keefe called with a smirk, looking doubtfully at the mountain of clothes. “You alright there?”
“Ummm… Not really.” She admitted with a sigh. “Could you fold these clothes? I need to pack everything else.”
“Anything to get us out the door faster. You know even Biana packed faster than you? And she pretty much packed her entire room. What’s going on?”
“Well… I’m just worried. We’re not exactly going to blend in with the humans, and we have to take an airplane. If we teleported, we would basically give elves away to everyone around us by falling out of the sky.”
Sophie stuffed the rest of the things she needed into her suitcase and dragged it off her bed. She was about to start out the door when Keefe interrupted her leaving.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” He asked, waving a bright blue elephant in a Hawaiian shirt in the air.
Sophie turned around and exclaimed, “Ella! How could I forget you?” She grabbed Ella out of Keefe’s hand and ran outside, leaving Keefe standing in the middle of the room.
“You’re welcome!” Keefe called from her room as he started after her.
*****
Biana and Fitz glittered into view on the soft grassy lawn of Havenfield. As Sophie ran to greet them, she noticed the sparkly teal suitcases, there had to be at least ten. Walking closer, Sophie noticed the one large green suitcase hiding behind the mountain of shimmering teal.
“Wait- are those all Biana’s?” Sophie asked in disbelief.
“Yup. She decided to pack light for this trip,” Fitz remarked with a grin. Biana scowled, elbowing Fitz and knocking him back a step and into the suitcases.
“Hey I only packed what I needed and what Sophie needed. Let’s be honest she’s going to end up borrowing everything I brought for her,” Biana laughed. Fitz was saved from replying as Dex leapt onto the property. They exchanged quick hellos, and soon Marella, Linh and Tam joined them. Keefe walked up behind Sophie, putting his arm around her shoulders. Sophie jumped, not having noticed him creep up on her. Fitz’s eyes flashed with annoyance as the group awkwardly looked between Keefe and Sophie.
Just then, Sandor marched over, glaring at Keefe.
“Are you ok Miss Foster?” Sandor asked, shoving Keefe aside.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just didn’t hear him come up behind me. I’m kinda dumb like that sometimes.” Fitz stepped forward, staring into Sophie’s eyes intensely.
“You could never be done Sophie. Never forget that.” Keefe snorted in background as Sophie flushed and awkwardly looked away.
“Smooth, Fitzy. Smooth,” Keefe butted in.
“Do you think Sophie will like you more with those kinds of jokes? Because she doesn’t,” Fitz said with narrowed eyes.
“Uh Fitz you sure about that?” Keefe started to add.
“We should probably go now,” Sophie interrupted, saving herself from further humiliation.
“What’s the plan anyway?” Marella asked.
“Well, we’re going to teleport to a sort of hidden part of the San Diego International Airport, I would teleport us straight to Kauai but I’ve never been there. Honestly, it’ll probably be in some field next to the airport. Sorry, it’s going to be the most private place there,” Sophie said with a small cringe. Keefe shrugged in acceptance as the whole group groaned.
“Whatever you want Foster. Well, are we waiting for something or are we going?” Keefe declared. Together, the eight of them walked over to the cliffside, held hands, and jumped. Sophie felt her mind stretch as she imagined the airport, and the next thing everyone knew, they had landed in a small clearing several blocks away from the entrance.
The group walked toward the entrance of the airport. A group of people waiting in line for luggage tags stopped and stared. Tam brushed his bangs over his face as the rest of the group smiled, causing even more people to gawk at them. Sophie blushed in annoyance as more people stopped to stare at Keefe while he ran a hand through his perfectly styled hair.
They managed to get through the security line without much trouble, though they did stop Dex when they saw the strange gadgets he was carrying in his suitcase. Thankfully he was allowed to mail them home, well, to Mr. Forkle’s human house.
Sophie contemplated pulling them into a Starbucks to order some drinks before their flight took off, but the idea of her friends with caffeine made her keep walking. Soon, they reached their gate, and found some seats nearby. Sophie sat and flipped through some human magazines, enjoying looking at what had changed in the years since she had left. Meanwhile, Biana, Dex, and Fitz wandered off to look at different parts of the airport.
“Gate 8 now boarding, all passengers of flight 16b to Kauai please report to Gate 8.” The attendant repeated, their voice amplified by the speakers overhead.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Biana whispered to Sophie, looking doubtfully at the gateway.
“Don’t worry, it’s totally safe. I used to fly all the time with my family when I was younger.” Sophie reassured her friends, many of whom shared Biana’s concerns. Together, they walked to the jetway and boarded, ready to start a new adventure.
Chapter 2
As Sophie reclined her seat on the airplane, she reached into her suitcase and pulled out the airplane pillow she’d bought at the airport gift shop. On either side of her sat Keefe and Marella, who seemed to be pretty entertained by the tablet screen embedded in the seat in front of her. One row behind, Linh stared eagerly out the window, while Tam and Dex inspected their surroundings. Fitz and Biana sat across the aisle, next to a pretty human girl absorbed in her book.
Keefe leaned sideways and whispered to Sophie, “So.... what exactly are we supposed to do? This flight is like 6 hours.”
“Didn’t you bring a book? Or paper and pens to draw?” Sophie whisper-shouted back.
“Was I supposed to?” Keefe answered quizzically. Sophie let out a sigh.
“Here,” she said as she handed him one of her earbuds, “We can watch some movies on my iPod.”
“Cool, I’ve kind of always wanted to try this iPod thingy,” He said with a grin. Keefe leaned closer as Sophie shuffled through the movies. His hair brushed her ear, and she stiffened, sure her cheeks were neon red. Keefe just smirked, but she could see a tint of pink in his cheeks too. Somewhere in her peripheral vision she saw Biana giving them a thumbs up.
“So what movie should we watch?” Sophie asked, trying to ease away the embarrassment.
“I saw a movie that looked kinda good, it had two dogs eating pasta on the front! It looked weird but I think I need to watch it!” Keefe explained.
Shaking her head, Sophie pulled up The Lady and the Tramp. She had watched it at least ten times with Amy when she was a kid, but it had been years since she had last seen it. The intro credits began to play as the plane took off, and Sophie settled in for the many hours to come.
*****
The drink cart pulled up beside Sophie, Keefe and Marella’s seat, just as the famous pasta scene began.
“Do you want anything?” She asked Keefe as Marella ordered her drink, “It probably won't be as good as what you're used to but you’ll probably get hungry or thirsty later if you don’t get something.
“Ok, just get something you like, I’ll probably like it too.” He said, not looking up from the iPod. Marella smiled with her eyebrows raised. Sophie flushed bright pink in embarrassment.
“We’ll take two bags of potato chips, two bottles of lemonade and two chocolate bars,” Sophie told the stewardess pushing the drink cart. She handed Keefe his snacks as she opened the bag of potato chips. She glanced back at her friends to see how they were doing. Dex was tinkering, Linh was watching a movie about mermaids, and Tam was asleep, a few girls openly staring at him as he snored. Biana was reading a book and Fitz was talking intently with the human girl sitting next to him. Sophie felt a small twinge of jealousy in her stomach, but not as much as usual. That was strange, but something to think about later. She drew her gaze back to the movie, seeing Keefe looking at her. She looked at the screen.
“Oh no! I missed the pasta scene! Aww, that’s one of my favorite movie moments of all time!” Sophie mentioned.
“Do you want me to back it up?” Keefe asked with a small chuckle.
“Yes!!!” Sophie exclaimed a little too loudly. People around turned their heads as she whispered, “Sorry.” Keefe cracked up as she turned back to keep watching the movie. He stopped laughing for a second, staring at her intently.
Sophie blushed as she asked, “What?” Keefe smiled.
“You have potato chip crumbs on your face,” He said as he reached up to brush them off her cheek. She felt her heart flutter, the same way it usually did for Fitz. But why did she feel this way about Keefe? He was her friend, teasing and joking with her. Sure they were close and she could open up to him more than other people, but she liked Fitz. Sophie sighed. She hoped they would be in Kauai soon. This would be one confusing trip.
Chapter 3
Sophie was sure that her arm would be crushed completely by the time the plane landed. Keefe’s grip had been clamped shut around her arm with a grip of iron since the descent had had been announced. Even now she could hear him whispering words they weren't supposed to say under his breath. Across the aisle, Sophie could tell that the human girl was talking to Fitz and Biana, and she was glad that they weren’t freaking out like Keefe was. Dex was more interested than afraid, and she knew he would be full of questions when they finally landed. Tam was comforting Linh, but Sophie knew he was just as scared as his sister. Deep inside, Sophie felt something stir. It wasn’t fear, or jealousy, for once she didn’t mind Fitz ignoring her. What it was, she didn’t know, but she chose to ignore it, instead sinking deeper into the soft airplane seat and Keefe’s tight hold on her arm.
*****
The wheels touched the ground softly, as the plane screamed to a slower pace with an ear-shattering rumble. As the plane flew across the ground at a pace that felt way too fast to actually be slowing down, she could feel Keefe’s grip tighten even more on her arm, something she hadn’t thought was possible.
“Keefe it’s okay. The plane is stopping now. I know you're afraid but I really cannot feel my arm right now,” Sophie whispered.
Keefe’s cheeks flushed with a twinge of red as he whispered back, “Sorry, this is just weird. I’ll take being carried by beams of light any time.”
As a few heads turned, Sophie quickly replied, “As much as I would want that movie to be true too, it looks like were stuck with airplanes, right Keefe?”
“Oh… Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry,” he mouthed. Keefe swiftly nodded as people looked away again.
As the plane squeaked to a stop, the seatbelt sign disappeared. Sophie and her friends unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up on wobbly legs. They grabbed their carry-ons from the overhead storage and, very slowly, made their way to the exit in a single file line.
“Why is this taking so long?” Fitz remarked, turning back to look at his friends. “There’s no reasonable explanation for why we aren’t off the plane already.”
“Well, there's always one person holding up the line, it used to be the person having way too much trouble picking up their one suitcase. Right now though, it’s you.” The human girl smiled with a small laugh. Fitz blushed neon red as he picked up his bag and hurried out.
The party started to the baggage claim, the human girl still close behind. Remarkably, it didn’t take hours for all of Biana’s bags to arrive, and they were on the shuttle to the hotel in no time.
*****
Sophie was surprised to see that the human girl had also boarded the same shuttle as her group. Realizing she didn’t even know the girl’s name, she gave a quick wave, motioning for her to sit near them.
“Hi. Thanks for calling out Fitz back there, he really needed that. My name’s Sophie, what’s yours?”
She grinned, her eyes sparkling, “I'm Cora! Thanks for inviting me to sit with you, I kind of needed somebody to sit with. My friend canceled at the last minute, they had family plans. I didn't want to cancel the whole trip so here I am.” She winked.
Sophie laughed, she really liked this girl, “I'm always glad to have new friends, my friend Wylie actually did the same thing to us! These are my friends, Keefe, Dex, Marella, Linh and Tam. And you already know Fitz and Biana of course.” Sophie pointed to each person in turn. The shuttle rumbled along through the breathtaking scenery as their hotel came into view.
As they hopped out of the shuttle, Linh squealed, pointing at something just in view.
“Are those what I think they are?!” Linh asked, her voice several octaves higher than it was usually.
“Yep,” Sophie confirmed, amused by her friend’s reaction. “Those are chickens.” Without another word, Linh ran towards the flightless birds, leaving Tam with an exasperated look on his face, shaking his head at his sister’s behavior. They all walked over, and Sophie quickly explained the story of why the island was overrun by chickens. After that, it only took a couple more minutes to get everyone into the hotel to get checked in.
They said goodbye to Cora, planning to meet up for dinner. With one key each, the girls and boys separated to head to their double suites overlooking the gorgeous beach, speckled with palm trees and plants. Each suite had two bathrooms, two bedrooms, each with two beds, and a small living room and kitchen space.
“Why do I have to room with Bangs Boy?” Keefe whined. “Can't he switch with Foster?”
“You're not even sharing a room with him!” Fits reminded him, “You're rooming with Dex remember?”
“That's more like it!” Keefe exclaimed and stage whispered, “Were going to have to cause some trouble later.”
Dex snickered and whispered back, “I brought balding serums.” Sophie barely resisted the urge to groan and hit him over the head with a suitcase.
They took the next few hours to settle in to the hotel rooms and unpack. Sophie finished quickly, and sat down on her bed, listening to music. Marella lay on the bed next to her, taking a nap after having gotten ready to go. On the balcony, Biana stared out at the ocean, occasionally making comments about the breeze or the sunshine. Unsurprisingly, she had already changed into a cute pink bikini she had bought online with the help of Dex. Linh was in the process of changing, though she had needed to run down to the gift shop to buy a swimsuit. Across the hall, Sophie could hear the boys laughing, and knew that they were nowhere near ready to go to the beach.
Sophie strolled over to the boy’s suite. She knocked on the door, and was greeted by Fitz. “Hey are you guys almost ready for the beach?” She asked with a sigh.
“Yep, we're just waiting on Keefe. He's-” Fitz was interrupted as Tam clamped a hand over his mouth.
“He's doing his hair, you should go in and get him. Maybe he'll listen to you,” Tam explained.
“Okay....” Sophie said uncertainly and opened the door to Keefe’s room. Inside, she heard a cheesy pop song from her playlist blasting on the radio. She didn't see Keefe yet, so she ducked in more, just to see him styling his hair as he lip synced into his comb. He was in his bathing suit dancing, obviously not seeing her. He turned around opening his eyes, just as the song reached the highest note. He jumped back, dropping the comb. He flushed redder than she’d ever seen him blush before. Including when Lord Cassius had walked in on them talking.
“Didn't see you there Foster,” he mumbled, his eyes dropping to the ground in embarrassment.
“Yep,” she said nervously, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Keefe slowly looked up and met her gaze. He gave her a half smile, and she couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst out laughing, clutching her sides as Keefe joined in. They laughed for minutes, their laughs dissolving into giggles before finally stopping. “Soooooo,” she said awkwardly, “Are you ready now?”
“Yeah let’s go,” Keefe answered quickly, almost running out the door. Sophie followed him, a small smile tickling her face as they headed to the beach. She wasn’t sure why she felt so giddy, but something about laughing with Keefe made her feel warm inside. Nothing on this trip had gone perfectly so far, but this moment made all the hard things worth it.
Chapter 4
Sophie reclined in the soft white sand, relaxing to the sound of the crystal blue waves crashing against the shore. The gentle shade of a palm tree loomed over Sophie and Biana, who were sitting on the beach near their hotel. Everyone else splashed in the waves, Linh discreetly throwing arrows of water at Tam while Fitz, Keefe, Dex, and Marella pretended not to notice. Just then, Sophie notice a lone figure walking down the beach, looking around.
“Hey, we’re over here!” Sophie waved, calling Cora over. She scooted closer to Biana, making room on the towels they had haphazardly thrown on the ground.
“Isn’t it beautiful here? I’ve been coming here every year since I was a kid, and it never gets old,” Cora remarked, settling down next to her newfound friends.
“You have? You’re so lucky. This place is the best,” Biana commented, sitting up. Even in the hot midday sun, she still managed to look effortlessly perfect. “Any suggestions on what to do next?” Biana asked.
“Well, they have a lot of farmers markets and fun stores, and fancy restaurants you could go to with your boyfriend, Sophie,” Cora said wiggling her eyebrows, “Y’know the blonde one, Keefe right?”
“My… Boyfriend?! No, you’ve got it all wrong. Keefe isn’t my boyfriend. We’re friends. Just friends, nothing more. Friends. Yeah, just friends.” Sophie stuttered, her cheeks suddenly on fire.
“Just friends? Are you sure? He been staring at you a lot, and you guys seemed pretty close on the airplane. But if you say you’re just friends, then… okay.” Cora continued, stopping only when Keefe walked up.
“Did I hear my name? Because I also answer to Lord Hunkyhair,” Keefe smirked and flipped his hair for extra effect as water sprayed out from his tousled blond strands, shining in the sun.
“Uh… I’m gonna go get some human candy from the gift shop for us. Bye!” Sophie flustered and sprinted off down the beach, leaving her friends in the distance.
“Did she say ‘human candy’?” Cora questioned, breaking the silence that had formed in Sophie’s wake.
Keefe laughed, “You know Foster, always getting flustered and confused with her words, she probably meant Hawaiian candy. I have that effect sometimes.” Keefe stared off into the distance in a way that was probably supposed to be dramatic, even though he was only wearing swim trunks.
“Where did you get that scar?” Cora asked suspiciously, looking at the stab wound that Dimitar had given Keefe during their spar. “It looks pretty bad.”
“Ummm a....... car... accident. Yes, a car accident. I'm going to go help Foster with the candy search now. Bye,” Keefe said quickly as he ran off. Biana snorted, and tried to change the subject.
“Wanna come with us while we explore the town? I’m sure we could use the help getting Sophie to buy something, not to mention controlling the guys,” Biana said with a dramatic eye-roll.
“Sure,” Cora giggled, “I can show you all the best stores.”
A half an hour later, everyone met up in the girl’s hotel room. Sophie and her friends sat eating candy while listening to Cora as she went over the plan. “We’re going to go to a couple of different stores to shop, and then we’ll get a late lunch at my favorite place, and it’ll all be great. Ready?” she said expectantly, looking around at the group.
“Yep!” Sophie replied, standing up, “Let’s go.”
*****
The group strolled down the main shopping center near the hotel. Small boutiques and bigger chain stores were stationed on all sides. Clothes, swimsuits and souvenirs dotted the windows, drawing people in through the doors. Colorful awnings to shade the tourists swept across the large windows in front of each shop. As they passed a colorful booth, Cora squealed in excitement.
“OMG! They have shave ice here! I can't believe we forgot to get some earlier!” she called, her eyes wide. “You guys have to try some.”
Cora walked up to the ordering window, and quickly stated her order. “I’ll have on Tropical Twist please,” Linh came up beside her, and ordered the same thing, saying,
“That also sounds good for me.” After that, it only took a few minutes to get everyone else their shave ice. Dex, Marella, and Fitz all ordered single flavors; blue raspberry, root beer, and vanilla respectively. Biana and Tam ordered piña colada and tiger’s blood, which turned out to be watermelon, strawberry, and coconut. Sophie went up second to last, still trying to decide what to have. The cool shave ice sounded perfect for the hot Hawaii climate. Sophie could feel her mouth water as she saw the array of flavored syrups she remembered from when she was younger.
“Why did you get blue raspberry Dex?” Marella asked, “It doesn't even sound like a real thing.”
“That's why I got it. We could all use a little more weird,” he said with a wink. The group laughed, remembering the many times that had been said before.
“I think I’ll have a rainbow flavor. I remember liking it as a kid the first time I came here.” Keefe sidled up next to her, still looking at the menu. Once he heard Sophie order though, he quickly made up his mind, similar to what he had done on the plane.
“I’ll also have that. Rainbow sounds delicious.” Behind her, Sophie could hear Marella and Cora snickering. While everyone else chattered and laughed, she contemplated the events of the day so far, thoughts swirling in her mind. It didn’t mean anything that Keefe had chosen the same flavor, did it? He just though it sounded good, didn’t he? He had done the same thing on the airplane, but that was just a coincidence, since he didn’t know much about human food. And what Cora had said? Sophie couldn’t bring herself to analyze how that had made her feel. She locked up those thoughts in a corner of her brain to deal with later, like she had done with the others. She would deal with them when she had time. For now, they didn't exist. Instead, she turned back to her already melting shave ice, and vowed to just enjoy her vacation.