Warning: short-ish chapter ahead! And I promise to work as hard as I possibly can - I'll probably update every 1-2 days.

Sophie could hear Fitz calling her name from behind her as she half-sprinted, half-blinked into the forest nearby the Everglen mansion.

But when she made it deep enough in she realized she wasn't alone.

It was...Biana Vacker.

Sobbing.

"Biana!" Sophie rushed to her side and wrapped a comforting arm around her friend. "What happened?"

"Sophie, I..." Biana's voice was cut off with another sob. "Linh just told me that she likes Wylie."

Sophie didn't speak. She just let Biana buy her head into her chest, gently stroking her hair.

"I like Linh!" Biana cried. "But she doesn't like me back!"

"What about Tam?" Sophie suggested, and then immediately regretted it. She was horrible at this stuff!

"Sophie, Tam doesn't like me. Or you. Or any other girls, for that matter," Biana sniffed tilting her head up to look at Sophie.

"You mean he's..." Sophie never really thought that any of her friends were actually gay.

"Yeah," Biana confirmed, sighing. "Life is so sad, don't you think?"

"It really is," Sophie whispered, rubbing her best friend's shoulder. The teal-eyed girl sat up and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"Can I tell you the truth, Sophie?" Biana asked.

Sophie took a second to hesitate before she nodded.

"Sophie...I used to like you, you know. As more than a friend. But I knew that you didn't like me back, and that you were probably straight as an uncooked piece of spaghetti, so I didn't bother showing my feelings...and then I made a horrible decision which somehow led me to change my mind and start liking Linh, instead...but she likes Wylie."

Sophie blinked a few times. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," Biana murmured. "But, anyway...Linh kissed me! While you and Fitz and Keefe were gone on that mission to find the Neverseen's leaping crystal or hideout or whatever. She kissed me!"

"Oh my god," Sophie breathed. "I really am oblivious."

Biana nodded with a tiny smile. "And the kiss felt so good...but she didn't even like me that way!"

"Oh." That was basically all Sophie could think to say – she really did suck at this stuff.

"I know..." Biana said, her eyes glistening. "Sophie, are things going to be weird now?"

Sophie was too tongue-tied to answer with words, so she nodded.

Biana sighed with relief. "Well, I'm glad. For a second I thought you were going to break off our friendship."

"I would never do that!" Sophie protested.

Biana smiled at her.

"Well, um..." Sophie said, remembering what had just happened with Fitz, "I'd better go."

"Okay. I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting," Biana said in a sad voice.

Sophie didn't move. "Biana, I know that this isn't going to sound like much, but I kinda like you too...you were always the one who respected every decision I made...and every part of me."

Biana smiled at her.

Before Sophie leapt away, though, she leaned in and quickly kissed her best friend's cheek.

They were both blushing once Sophie pulled away.

***

Grady smelt like ash again.

Sophie eyed him suspiciously – this wasn't the first time, so she was growing steadily more worried.

"Dad, why are you covered in ash again?"

The question caught him off guard, and he froze mid-step. "Um...no reason!"

Sophie rolled her eyes and turned away, knowing he wasn't going to tell her the truth any time soon.

But her nose still tingled with the smoky smell of ash as she fled to her bedroom, ready to sit and twiddle her thumbs until she fell asleep.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Mom!" Sophie said, surprised to see Edaline sitting on the edge of her bed, obviously waiting for her. "Sure..."

"Oh, good," her mother said, brushing some of her luxurious amber hair back and patting the spot next to her.

Sophie sat. And didn't speak. So much had happened that very day.

Tam had a meltdown at her house.

None of them managed to find any leads on the Neverseen's hideouts or cache passwords.

Then all of Sophie's girl friends came and talked to her about her alleged 'Serious Sophie Boy Troubles.'

The Council came and warned them to stop searching for Keefe again.

Alvar's condition got even worse.

Jensi and Sophie did some weird Enhancing trick that neither of them understood.

Fitz kissed her - and she ran away right afterward!

And to top it all off, Biana had just admitted that she used to have a crush on Sophie.

So Sophie told her mom everything.

And Edaline listened.

When Sophie finally finished her explanation, she was almost reduced to tears. She looked up at her mom, who she was surprised to see looked more than concerned. She looked like she wanted to help her.

But right when Sophie was about to hug her, she remembered what she was keeping from her parents.

The ones who loved her, appreciated her, the ones she could tell anything to.

And she'd never told them the truth about her real mom.

But should she tell Edaline? Or Grady? Was it really a good idea to tell them now, of all times?

Maybe she should just hold it off for a little longer...

Edaline was trying to gouge her expression – she could tell there was something Sophie wasn't saying.

Sophie didn't say what she was thinking.

Her mom leaned in and completed what Sophie was going to do. Sophie leaned into the hug.

Edaline stroked her hair gently, letting her sweet sugary scent wash over her daughter.

Sophie breathed it in, the scent relieving her of the ashy smell that had been lingering in her nostrils.

And that night, she actually slept.

Twelve straight hours.

She stretched her limbs as she woke up, feeling refreshed and energetic as the morning light shone through her window.

Sophie was going to try and get to Watchward Heath as soon as possible, but first she was going to check on her parents.

Edaline sent her a meaningful gaze, but Grady was too bleary-eyed and exhausted to look up as he half-heartedly picked at his food.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Sophie asked him quietly.

"Oh, um...I'm fine! Just fine! Perfectly fine!" Grady said, jumping half a foot in his chair.

Sophie's eyes widened, turning to Edaline's.

"I'm just going to go and do some training stuff with Mr Forkle and Jensi," she said, and she stepped into the light that her leaping crystal carried her through.

Yet again, she wasn't the only one on the hill outside Mr Forkle's office.

Instead of the two elves who greeted her yesterday, Mr Forkle was gone and in his place was Dex.

Jensi was still wearing the same white tunic and gloves today, but the accents on his clothes were the same blue as his eyes. And Dex seemed to have stepped up from his usual attire; he was wearing a forest-green long-sleeved shirt under his golden vest with matching pants, and he had styled his hair in a few haphazard waves which made him look even cuter than before.

When he saw Sophie staring at them, he waved, and turned back to Jensi. They had already been engaged in a hushed conversation, but the last thing Dex said to Jensi made Jensi's cheeks go red.

They quickly embraced each other and Dex leaped away right before Mr Forkle appeared.

Sophie tore her curious eyes away from Jensi and the space next to him where Dex used to be to face him. He wasn;t alone.

"Today, I thought, since we now know what happens when you two enhance each other, I thought we could do something a little different."

Jensi stepped closer to Sophie and Mr Forkle.

Sophie couldn't see who was behind the grey-haired elf, but their short, curly, dark brown hair was very familiar.

"So I brought in some help."

Mr Forkle stepped aside to reveal a very disgruntled-looking human, about twelve or thirteen, their smile widening as they saw Sophie in front of them.

"Sophie!"

They both collided in a sisterly hug, Sophie realizing how much Amy had changed even since the last time she'd seen her.

"How have you been?" Sophie said, stepping back from her sister.

"Okay," Amy said. "Though there've been some fires near San Francisco that look worrying."

Sophie held back her concerns. "So...how did you get convinced by Forkle to help me and Jensi?"

"He said I could see you, so I took my chance."

"Well, I'm glad you came," Sophie grinned. "Anyway, this is Jensi. He's an Enhancer like me."

"Was that you boyfriend?" Amy asked, addressing Jensi.

"Oh, no, Dex is just a friend," Jensi laughed awkwardly. "Nice to meet you."

Amy winked at him.

Mr Forkle coughed. "Let's go inside."

The egg-shaped office seemed so much more vast today, but maybe that was just Sophie's heart. "So, what are we expecting will happen?"

"Well," Mr Forkle said. "Amy is not an elf, therefore she will not gain powers such as the ones we have. However, I believe she might be boosted in strength and intelligence."

"Does that mean I won't fail my math test coming up?" Amy said hopefully, shaking her head at them when they looked at her. "Never mind."

"Amy, please stand right where you are. Jensi and Sophie, hold each of her hands once you've taken off your gloves and fingernail technology."

Sophie and Jensi hurried to do so, and formed a chain between them and Amy.

All three of them, even Amy, concentrated as hard as they could on the energy coursing through their veins. And slowly, very slowly, Amy's grip felt stronger and she gasped in awe.

"Woah! I really do need glasses! And I have crazy strength! And wow. So. Much. Information! I never knew how much I was missing out on! Is this what it feels like to be an elf?"

Jensi and Sophie exchanged a look.

"No, I think you're just abnormally powerful for a human your age," Mr Forkle said, amazed by what was happening. It took a second for Sophie to register the fact that Amy's and his minds were connected.

"Should we let go?" Sophie asked him.

"Hmm...I suppose so."

Amy was out of breath when she was free from their hold. "Woah."

"Come back tomorrow, and we'll do some more research," Mr Forkle said.

WC: 1642 words