A/N: I absolutely love ASP; it's one of my favourite novels of all time. And here is my contribution to the fandom. It's my first delve into ASP fanfic, though I am, by no means, new to ASP; I've read it at least ten times or more. I hope you enjoy this little piece.


It was a way to hide, and they both knew it—a way to escape from the jaws of reality.

There would be no 1944 Olympics; neither of them were idiots, nor were they delusional. They knew there was a war going on—knew people were being slaughtered.

One of them accepted the truth without thinking about it. The other pretended it didn't exist.

They would train for the Olympics, and Finny would continue (to pretend) to believe that this whole business about there being war was just so that the younger generation would never be able to eclipse the older.

Finny would refuse to admit there was a war, though deep within him, he knew. He knew from the reports of casualties. He knew from the number of guys who would leave Devon to enlist. He knew.

But he would continue to put up his front—to hide behind his mask—because he (couldn't) wouldn't live in a world that was tearing itself apart. He would make himself believe that the war was a conspiracy plot, if only to feel a sense of security;

if only to feel a sense of peace.