Stars of Fire
Chapter One- The Movies
Poe and John were just leaving the mall. Poe had a hefty sum of four bags filled with useless clothes and John some fluffy coffee drink. John was another Rebellion pilot. He and Poe had met in battle, and, as a result of default, they became friends.
As they approached their car in the lot, they ran into Finn and Rey, who walked hand in hand. Rey, on seeing Poe, slapped Finn's hand out of her own. She quickly gathered herself and put on her Resistance face.
"Hey guys," she spoke, "what are you up to?" Poe shot a glance at Finn. He was embarrassed at Rey's reaction, but he managed to return Poe's stare. Poe jokingly winked and Finn silently chortled. John and Rey chatted over this exchange, but not much was heard by the two. They had bonded over their adventure. After their car crash, and Finns assumption of Poe's death, they had been more aware of each other than ever. But lately, Finns attention was occupied by Rey. Why would Poe care about that, or even notice? Finn swam his way into the conversation.
"Rey and I were headed to the movies, actually," he said, with Rey's eyes wandering to the floor, "d'you guys want to come?"
John began, "We don't want to intru–"
"Yes. We'd love to come," Poe interrupted. They all decided to drive in one car. Of course, Rey was driving. She asked John to sit shotgun, shoving off Finn. She'd do anything to divert attention from her love life. As they came to the car, Finn held the door for Poe. This only won him a flick on the forehead, as Poe walked around to the other side. They all piled into the car.
"That's a lot of bags," Finn said, eyeing the results of Poe's shopping.
Poe pinched Finns arm and said, "Well I'm down one jacket." Finn, as usual, offered the jacket back. Blush simmered on his cheeks and he faced his head to the floor. Poe refused. He liked seeing his jacket on Finn. It suited him, made his shoulders look strong. For some reason, Poe had a sense of pride when he watched Finn going around wearing his jacket. Finn was thinking about him, having him with him all day. In a way, it was comforting.
Poe was getting tired. He shifted his glance to the frosty window. Cars seemed to go in slow motion next to their rocket-fast car. In his peripheral vision, he noticed something. Finn was looking at him. Not intensely, and not in one place. His eyes just kind of roamed about Poe mindlessly. Finn was unaware he was being watched by his object of observation. This made Finn give a concentrated effort to sit high. He pulled his shoulders back slowly, and brushed his hair away from his face. His cheeks grew hot. Being stared at by Finn made him hyper-aware of how he was being perceived. Does he see his bad posture, or that he hasn't shaved his neck in a week? Can he tell I haven't washed this shirt since I last wore it?
After a few moments of this anxiety, Poe stopped. Why should he care what Finn sees in him? It doesn't matter. Poe brushed the topic out of his mind. He inquired quietly about seeing Finn and Rey off together so often.
"Oh that's nothing," Finn said, "she and I are just friends." There was disappointment in his voice as he said this. Something about this made Poe's stomach writhe. Finn really did like Rey, didn't he? Poe was confused at his own response. He stayed silent for the rest of the car ride, knitting his fingers together in thought.
About two minutes before they entered the movie theatre lot, Finn poked Poe in the shoulder.
"Asleep?" Finn shook his head. "I just about am. Would you mind?" He pointed his eyes down at Poe's shoulder. Poe shrugged and looked forward. Finn rested his head on Poe, sliding a little bit closer to him to do so comfortably. Poe's stomach writhed even more. Why was this so weird for him? He sat uncomfortably as Finns hair scratched his neck. They pulled into a parking space and Poe dashed out the door, Finn's head falling flat on the seat.
The group split up to buy tickets. Rey and Poe decided to get snacks.
"I haven't seen you in a while," she said, "got anything going on?"
"I wish. I've just been hanging with whoever is there."
"I'm there, and you've never asked me." Poe looked at her after she said this. Was she trying to say something? She held his eyes for a moment. Poe tried to discern some type of answer from them, but failed. Her eyes fluttered away. She pushed his should and laughed it off. He noticed as they stood in line that she let her arm brush against his. Her steps seemed deliberately close to Poe's. He thought nothing of it. It's Rey! There's nothing to be worried about. They grabbed some popcorn and met back up with Finn and John.
The movie theatre was nearly full. People were swimming through the chairs to find seats. There were only seats of two left. Finn offered to sit with Rey, but she quickly declined his offer. Finn scoffed, but, as expected, she didn't pay it any mind. She grabbed John's arm and hurried off to a pair of seats in the front. Finn shrugged and the remaining two walked to the first pair of seats they could find.
Poe's mind was in shambles. Why had things become so weird for him? Finn had been a good friend to him over their drama, and he couldn't have predicted such discontent. Was it because they hadn't seen each other in a while? Maybe they weren't supposed to be friends. They were kind of pushed together by the events that had ensued. That's it. They weren't really supposed to be as close as he thought. Just as Poe found this resolution, Finn mindlessly slipped his hand into Poe's.
Poe froze. He looked at Finn who was nervously fixing his vision at the screen. His hand was balmy and cold. As the theatre dimmed for the start of the movie, Poe wriggled his hand even tighter into Finn's grip. Finn exhaled, and laid his head on Poe's shoulder.0