Sophitz Forever

Chapter Four

So here is the next chapter! I don't know how many chapters I plan to have, but it will probably be more than thirty.

So here we go!

Sophie's hands shook as she sat down next to Fitz in her room. Normally, she was happy to even be around Fitz's presence, but today, she was exactly the opposite. She wished he would just leave. It would make everything so much easier. But she knew that this had to happen sometime. Just why today? The Matchmaker's Scrolls were coming soon, and what if he wasn't on there and she wasn't on his? If he knew her secret, it would make everything so awkward. Especially if he didn't like her. Well, of course, he didn't like her! Duh. But what was up with all of the secret glances at her? Oh, of course, he was just looking at all of her blemishes and trying not to laugh.

Fitz took one look at Sophie and sighed. Taking her hands, Fitz said,

"Sophie, you don't have to do this. As much as I want it, I don't want you to feel scared or worried about talking to me. Your Cognate," he added, as if he wanted to make her feel more guilty.

Sophie tried not to think about how soft Fitz's hands were as she said, "Fitz, I'm going to do this. There is no other time. I can't do this ever, but I've got to try, and it has to be today. If not, we won't ever be Cognates. Real Cognates. So I'm just going to do this. Just wait a sec."

Fitz sighed again. "Okay, but if I feel like we shouldn't do this, we don't have to. You don't need to tell me yet if you don't want to."

Sophie interjected, "Okay, let's just do this." Sophie slipped into Fitz's brain. It was full of tons of thoughts, but Sophie refused to look at any of them, respecting Fitz's privacy. She transmitted,

Ok. I'm in.

Ok. So, you ready? His voice was loud as always.

Can we just start small? Just tell me something random.

Ok. But...fine. I need to tell you something, Sophie.

You do?

Yeah, but I'm in your predicament. I really don't want to tell you. I know how you feel. I mean, I know I have to tell you, but I can't.

Is it that bad? I think that my secret is so much harder.

No. At least, I don't think so. I mean, you have a lot harder life than I do, but...I can't do this!

Wow, you're yelling really loud now.

Sorry. But I'm just saying...

Ok, let's make a compromise. I will tell you my secret, and then you have to tell me yours. No, wait. I will tell you my secret after you tell me yours. Sophie couldn't do it first!

Fitz blushed. Sophie had never seen him blush that much. His secret must be really bad or hard. Or whatever. Sophie felt bad, so she changed her mind. Fine, I'll tell you. I...I...

"Hey guys! The Council just left." Keefe's sharp voice cut into the air. "Oh, and Dex just got here."

Fitz groaned and chucked a pillow at Keefe. "Are you serious, man? We were just getting some work done! Finally!" Keefe stuck his tongue out at Fitz and walked away smirking. He yelled,

"Hope you get some more secrets told! Oh, and Sophie, I know his secret!"

Fitz flushed again. He turned to Sophie. "You were saying..."

Sophie stood up. "You know what? Let's do this tonight. I promise. Let's just go say hi to Dex. And eat lunch! Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I wonder if Edaline will make something for us." Great, now she was babbling.

Fitz looked dejected, but he stood up like a good sport and pointed his finger at Sophie. "We will be finishing this tonight. Oh, and I didn't get to tell you this yet. Alone. Personally. Happy birthday!" He gave Sophie a smile that made Sophie feel like melting through the floor. She gave Fitz a thumbs up.

"Thanks." Fitz put his arm around Sophie, but then immediately let go, as if he realized what he was doing. "Sorry."

Sophie wished he would do it again. She loved the feel of his strong arm on her shoulders, keeping her warm. But he had walked away, and was already at the bottom of the stairs. Sophie ran to catch up.

Dex was standing at the foot of the stairs. "Hey, Sophie! Happy birthday!" Dex held out a bottle-shaped gift, and Sophie hugged Dex. Maybe it was a little too tight, but she was excited. But as she was hugging Dex, she saw Fitz and Keefe's eyes on her, and Fitz was literally glaring. Sophie let go of Dex hurriedly and blushed. Tam cleared his throat.

"Is anybody hungry?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Sophie led her friends to the dining room. She called Biana and Linh with her and said,

"Edaline is outside, so I was hoping we could cook lunch together. How does that sound?"

Biana yelled, "No! Boys VS girls cooking contest!"

Linh and Sophie yelled together, "Yeah!"

Keefe came in. "What's all the ruckus? You blow something up, Foster?"

Sophie said, "No, Keefe. Biana just had a great idea! Boys VS girls cooking contest!"

Keefe's eyes grew wide and he yelled, "Um, Fitz? Dex? Tam? Help! I'm going to die!!!! I cannot be in the kitchen!"

Three boys came tumbling in. Sophie explained the idea. Everyone except for Keefe was in, so Biana nominated Keefe the judge. Keefe sighed.

"Wonderboy? I can't believe you betrayed me like this! UGH!"

Sophie said, "So here's how this works. The boys are in charge of appetizer #1, entree #1, and dessert #1. And girls are in charge of all of the #2s. OK. You can look through the cookbooks over there! Let's get started!"

Keefe made himself busy by going to the boys side.

"So, guys! What have we decided?"

Fitz cleared his throat. "Well, we were thinking about doing a salty appetizer, maybe some vegetables or something, a nice hot entree, and some custard bursts for dessert. Don't tell the girls now."

Keefe smiled and placed his right hand over his heart. "Never." He walked over to Sophie. "What have you got cooking up your sleeve?"

Sophie grinned. "We have decided to split the work. Linh is in charge of the appetizers since we are making soup and she has control of the water. You know. And Biana is in charge of the entree, which we haven't decided on yet. And I am in charge of the dessert, and of course it will be mallowmelt!"

Keefe said, "Great. You just made me extra hungry!" Then he turned to everyone. "Let the first annual cooking contest begin!"

So that's it! Let me know what you thought!