Finn was sitting in his makeshift art studio staring at his first ever completed painting. It still amazed him that after the 20 or so unfinished paintings of Kayla Bird he was finally able to finish one. He stared at the face in front of him, running his fingers through his hair. There truly was just something inspiring about Megan Meade. He didn't know exactly what it was about her, but she truly did get him "all in a twist" as Doug would say. He sighed, setting the painting facing away on the floor. He pulled out a new canvas. After all, it was house rules he wasn't allowed to like Megan (not that that had stopped him). He was going to paint something that caused a little less heat underneath his skin. A tree. That would work. He would paint a tree.
Dipping his brush in some dark green paint, he was deep in thought on the first (and only) time he had kissed Megan. It was really no surprise he jumped and swiped a big, messy streak across his canvas when he heard his dad yell out the backdoor.
"Finn! Family meeting!" Mr. McGowan called out.
Finn grumbled, frustrated. He hated family meetings almost as much as he hated that he just ruined a canvas. Maybe he could leave this one for Caleb to play on.
As Finn walked into the living room, he found all of his brothers lined up on the couch in height order. Realizing this would leave him next to Megan, he silently cursed Evan for his tallness allowing him to sit several seats away. He squished himself against the side of the couch as much as possible in order to attempt to not touch Megan. Despite his efforts, he could feel the heat radiating just underneath his skin, his body reacting to their closeness.
John cleared his throat. "Boys, Megan, Regina and I have been talking about our situation. Regina has come to the conclusion-" he started, clearly uncomfortable. Regina shot a pointed look in his direction. He continued again "Regina and I have come to the conclusion that there is really no keeping you boys from your feelings." He shot a look at Finn and Megan. Finn made his best attempt at disappearing totally into the couch behind him. He didn't need any more attention.
Regina began, "It has become clear to us that our prior 'Hands Off Megan' Rule has put a hardship on some of you. It is not our place to stand in your way as it is our fault you are living together in the first place."
A small smile crept across Megan's face. She looked out of the corner of her eye at Finn who appeared to be as uncomfortable as possible. Her smile faded. Maybe this wasn't going to mean what she hoped it could.
"That being said, boys, there will still be rules. Although the hands off rule will be lifted, all boys attempting to put hands on Megan-" Regina was interrupted by a chuckle coming from Doug. She glared at him and continued. "Any and all boys that are interested in Megan will be subject to a certain number of new regulations. These regulations can change as John and I see fit as well. There will be nothing going on in this house that wouldn't be done in front of me or Caleb or anyone else. There will be no trips to each other's bedrooms unless doors remain open. You will all use common sense for the rest."
"Dinner now?" Caleb squeaked. He could hardly seem to keep himself sitting still any longer. Clearly he was bored.
Without a real response, the boys began to get up and trail into the kitchen. Finn waited patiently for Megan to follow before lifting himself out of his burrowed hole in the couch. His dad gave him a knowing look, and Finn shuffled into the kitchen as well.
Dinner was more awkward tonight than it was the first night of Megan's arrival. Evan kept giving Finn weird looks, and he couldn't tell if Evan was trying to be intimidating or encouraging. Megan had sat down as far away from Finn at the table as was humanly possible. She didn't look at him through the whole meal.
As everyone was finishing up, Finn offered to help his mother clean the table off, hoping he could avoid Megan for a little while longer. A very surprised Regina accepted his offer and promptly put Finn to work. Once he was finished scrubbing the dishes and putting them into the dishwasher, he grumbled his way up the stairs.
It wasn't that he wasn't excited or at least he would have been if Megan had given him any indication that she was happy about any of this. He sat down at his desk and pulled out his chemistry homework, knowing it would be terribly difficult to work through anything tonight. He heard a soft knock on the door. He sucked in a deep breath and said, "Come in."
Megan's face peered around the corner of his door. He motioned her inside and she shuffled inside, making a point of leaving the door open. She sat down on the corner of his bed, feeling awkward. "Hi."
He attempted a goofy smile. "Hey," he replied. He turned around in his desk chair and faced her.
Megan shifted slightly and finally made eye contact with Finn. He thought she looked hopeful, but then she looked back down. Was she here to tell him she wasn't interested? He groaned internally. "That meeting was…interesting."
He willed her to look at him. He wanted desperately to look into her eyes and see what she was thinking. She continued to stare at the ground. She looked terribly uncomfortable.
"It was." That was all he could say? He had to think of something to say. Think. Think.
"Finn-"
"Megan-" they both started at the same time. They both sighed a laugh. Relief washed over Finn as he realized that, no matter what happened here, they could probably still find a friendship out of it.
"You go," he told her.
She finally looked up at him. There was a heat in her eyes that he'd only seen once before. Right before he kissed her. She smiled. It lit up his whole room.
"I don't want things to be uncomfortable. You and I both know that after that family meeting everyone will be expecting things to happen. Things don't have to happen. I mean, they could happen. But only if you want it to happen…" She trailed off awkwardly.
She wasn't being weird because she wasn't interested! She was just not sure what he wanted! He practically whooped in his head and smiled at her.
"Megan," he started again. She looked so beautiful, so hopeful. He stood up and went over to her. She looked surprised. He continued, "I want it to…" he stammered. He wasn't sure what else there was to say. Her eyes shifted down towards his lips for just a second.
He wanted it. She wanted it. He knew what he had to do then.
He leaned forward slowly and kissed her. She sighed into his body and kissed him back more passionately than was probably allowed in front of Regina or John, but Finn didn't care. He just brought her body into his and felt her soften into him even more. After several minutes like this, he pulled away and touched his forehead to hers. She smiled. He smiled back.
Finn looked up then, startled to find Doug and Caleb standing in his doorway watching them. Doug handed Caleb a dollar and sighed. Finn stifled a laugh and looked to Megan. "Let's go for a drive."
Megan nodded. All he could think was how perfect his night was going to be now that he was truly allowed to be honest with his feelings for her. This was exactly what he had been waiting for.