The bell rings marking the end of the day for students, and Seth's heart leaps at the sound, getting up in a rush to meet his boyfriend. He's out of the classroom in a blink, going down the hallway and turning to go where Finn's locker is.
They have just begun dating, finally, after sharing shy glances and smiles for the longest time; between a handful of friends in common and a couple of classes they had together, Seth and Finn found themselves gravitating towards each other effortlessly. Though they did their best to keep the fact they were pining for the other in the low, their friends took on the task to give them a little push to help them when, in one of his friend's words, it was taking them too damn long to make a move.
Seth won't admit it, but he still gets butterflies in his stomach remembering the silly blind date they got set up with, and he couldn't be more elated with how things turned out. He didn't get to kiss Finn in their first date, although holding his hand for most part of it has been one of the happiest moments in his life and he wouldn't trade it for the world.
He looks around, searching through the students' grayed out faces for Finn, the hall seeming like an endless sea of bodies coming and going. Seth sighs, holding on to the straps of his backpack and swinging his weight on his feet while he waits, and he's too busy staring at the floor to notice Finn walking up to him until he sees his sneakers stop in front of his own.
Their eyes meet and Seth swears everything is brighter now that he sees Finn beam. He can't decide whether it's his big, beautiful smile or his blue, beautiful eyes what dazzles him; actually, all of Finn leaves him in awe, and he has to avert his eyes, blushing slightly.
"Been waiting too long?" He hears him ask, and Seth shakes his head, grinning wide.
"Nah," he answers.
In reality, Seth doesn't know how much time passed, and he guesses it wasn't that long anyways; even if he had waited for hours, he wouldn't have minded... Finn is worth it, so worth it.
They tear their eyes apart, not without effort, and Finn opens his locker. Before he, or Seth, can react, a notebook sheet rustles down to the floor, falling between Finn's feet, neatly folded in half. They glance at each other confused before Seth crouches to grab it, and he hands it to Finn, who reads it, his brow furrowing deep.
Finn blinks, looks at Seth and then back at the paper. "Well, I guess we don't exactly have a fan club."
Seth frowns and Finn extends him the sheet, showing him exactly what he means.
"You can try to make this thing seem cute, but the reality is you are nothing more than glorified eye candy. Seth deserves better. This won't last."
The nasty message makes Seth cringe, and his jaw tenses once he's done reading it, but the wave of rage that licks at him is washed away by fear, concerned that Finn might believe or be affected by this nonsense. He seeks Finn's eyes, worried sick like he has never been in his life.
"It's alright." Finn says.
And Seth examines his face, looking for something else behind his words, some sign that can confirm or deny Finn's statement.
Finn huffs a little laugh, taking the paper from Seth's hands. "Really, I swear, everything is fine. This is nothing, it means nothing." He goes on to rip the note in half, then again and again and again until he is left with a clump of paper bits. "It'll mean something when they say it to my face."
"Or mine." Seth adds, seething inside, ready to throw punches with whoever dared to write that.
It makes Finn giggle, and that calms Seth down enough for him to realize Finn is right: it means nothing, because it changes nothing. Even if the author were to confront them, Seth doubts either of them would bother to entertain their claims, although he's pretty sure the person would walk away unscathed.
Finn seems to catch on his thoughts, or at least sort of imagines what is going through his head, and he reaches for Seth's hand, holding it and intertwining their fingers. He slams his locker shut with his free hand and brings Seth's hand up to his face, kissing his fingers.
"Shall I walk you home?"
Seth snorts, because it's usually him who walks Finn home, and Finn smiles wide at Seth's reaction. "Sure, why not."
"See? You're prettier when you're happy." Finn is now too pleased with himself for lighting up the face of the boy he loves, and he's a giggly mess when Seth urges him to stop.
"Stop! I'm not pretty. I'm handsome, too hot even."
"Humble too, Mr. Rollins."
They walk out of school hand in hand, talking about everything and nothing at the same time; it's demure and pure and innocent, there's nothing else but them in the world, it has been like that since they admitted they liked each other, and Seth, sporting a toothy grin, can't help wondering, if it's like this now that they're just starting their journey, where will life eventually take them in the long path that will be their life together.
