keefe

                                    

                                          
A/N i know. i knowwwwww. i haven't updated since may, and i can't promise that i'll update very soon after this, or even at all. but i found the time to write a quick chapter, and i'm getting kind of excited about this story again!
                          
also, thanks so much for 29k on The Best Match! tbh i wrote it a longggggg time ago when i was in a bad place, but i'm glad you guys enjoyed it so much!
                          
WARNING: this chapter VERY BRIEFLY mentions alcohol and drugs, but doesn't go into any detail. i would also like to point out that these characters are in high school, which is NOT a pg place. i want this story to be realistic, and while this story will be very tame, it is T rated for minor language such as damn and hell, and for brief references.
                          
as always, thx so much for reading and here's the chapter :) :
                          
I rub my eyes as I slump in my seat. First period chemistry is no doubt my least favorite class. And now I have to deal with all this Sophie stuff too.
                          
	And just as I think about her, she sprints into the room, narrowly missing the bell, and practically jumps into the chair next to me.
                          
	I rub the back of my neck. "Um... hey."
                          
	"Hey."
                          
	Ms. Galvin starts talking, but I'm not listening. "So... uh... how are we supposed to do this?"
                          
	Sophie squirms in her seat. "I-- I don't know. I guess we just act like a couple?"
                          
	"What's that supposed to mean?" I hiss, trying not to catch the teacher's attention.
                          
	She shrugs. "I don't know. You're the one who's had girlfriends and stuff. The infamous Keefe Sencen, you know?"
                          
	"For your information, it was just Linh's friend, and it was freshman year. All we ever did was hold hands sometimes and kiss," I say defensively.
                          
	"Well, rumor has it you did a lot more," she says, raising her eyebrow. "That's what Stina said."
                          
I'm kind of hurt that she thinks that low of me, but I suck it up and give her my best smirk.
                          
	"Nothing Stina Heks is true and you know it." I say playfully. "I mean, the other day, she insulted my hair. That's unforgivable."  Stina Heks is the gossip and overall mean girl of Foxfire High. Over the years she's developed a group of incredibly rich, fake friends she loves to terrorize our school with. They're all slightly terrified of her, but they're just as bad as her.
                          
	She loves spreading rumors about people, ruining people's lives left and right. In sophomore year, some girl who had wronged her got expelled for some dumb false rumor of vandalism, when it was actually some idiot from her clique of terror.
                          
	"You have a total f-boy haircut," Sophie says, rolling her eyes. "You brought that one on yourself."
                          
	"Come on, Foster," I say, using my nickname from back when we were friends, back in eighth grade. I can tell she remembers, because when I say it, she blushes and looks down. "You gotta admit, my hair's good. Even better than Fitzy Boy's over there."
                          
	Sophie raises her eyebrow, gesturing toward the back of Fitz's head in front of us. He's one of the only people in class bent over his work. "Fitzy Boy? Really?"
                          
	"There's Fitzy Boy, Fitzer, Fitzy... I heard Dex call him Wonderboy once," I say, grinning. "Wait, sorry, am I not allowed to insult him because you're supposed to be his one true love or whatever?"
                          
	She rolls her eyes at 'one true love.' "Trust me, Dex insults him enough. He has some interesting opinions on Fitz."
                          
	"Oooh," I say. "Does he have the thing?"
                          
	"What thing?"
                          
	"You know, when you totally resent Fitz for being a golden boy in a golden family in a golden house with a golden life?" 
                          
	"That's pretty accurate. How would you know about that?"
                          
	I look down. "Hey, it's not fun to be second best at everything."
                          
	She doesn't respond that, and I can tell that Sophie's uncomfortable. I squirm in my seat.
                          
"Whatever. Anyways, we need to just set some ground rules, you know?" Sophie says, fidgeting with her sleeve. "Like a backstory. As far as everyone else knows, we haven't talked since like eighth grade. Don't you think it's a little sketchy that we're just, you know... together all of a sudden?"
                          
	"Okay," I say, putting my hands behind my head and stretching my legs. "How about... I dm'ed you 'asking for homework questions' because I thought you were cute, and we just started talking?"
	Sophie smiles. "Yeah, that works. How'd you come up with that so quickly?"
                          
	"Dunno. I guess I'm just creative like that." I flash her a smile, and look away. I'm a little embarrassed, because the truth is, I almost asked her out that way in sophomore year, but I chickened out. It's like it never happened.
                          
	I didn't tell anyone, because I haven't told anyone I liked her, not even Fitz. Especially not Fitz. 
                          
	He likes Sophie. He hasn't told me, but I know he does. Every now and then I catch him looking at her table, with her and Dex and Marella all talking. Sometimes I see him staring at her and her friends in the hall, an admiring look on her face.
                          
	We both look, and we catch each other looking, and then we glance away and don't talk about it ever again. I feel bad for liking her, because Fitz has gone through a lot, and he deserves something good in his life, something stable. She could be good for him, and Sophie definitely likes him. The Vackers are a perfect family on the outside, but they're breaking at the seams, thanks to his brother Alvar. Last year he did a lot of dumb crap, and it tore them apart.
                          
	He joined this gang called the Neverseen, got involved in drugs and alcohol, and scammed their dad Alden out of a lot of money. I used to look up to him a lot, when we were younger and he was the 'cool older brother', and it was a punch in the gut not only to Fitz and Biana, but to me too.
                          
	Fitz really struggled with it, and ever since I've felt bad for resenting him. I mean, I've always felt bad about resenting him, but now more than ever, because now his perfect life is a facade. They're still rich, and their dad is still running for city council, but other than that... they're really struggling.
                          
	I feel like I should support them, but sometimes it's hard. I know that my life seems perfect too, with great friends and a big house and and a shiny car, but nobody knows what's going on with me either. But they seemed so happy, and they still do. Even though they're all reeling from what's going on with Alvar, they still have each other.
                          
	It's hard to watch, to be on the outside looking in on their life.
                          
	And suddenly I want to be with Sophie, and feel good, and supported, and even though it's selfish, feel like I have someone that Fitz doesn't.
                          
	So, casually, like it's no big deal, I sling an arm around Sophie's shoulder, and scoot my chair closer to hers, and whisper quietly in her ear, "Hey, Sophie?"
                          
	She grins, and whispers back, "Yeah?"
                          
	"Ready to be my fake girlfriend?"
                          
	"I'm fake ready."
                          
Sophie smiles, and suddenly, my world's gotten a lot more complicated.