Disclaimer: I do not own Meagan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys or any of its characters.


The sun was rising over the trees outside the small cave where we had spent the night. My back was aching slightly from being against hard ground for so long and it was so cold I could barely feel my toes. That's the weird thing about this beach, the weather is about as unpredictable as Finn. I rolled over and found that I was lying down by myself and Finn was nowhere to be seen. I rolled over once more and sat up, stretching my arms in the air while doing so. Turning my head to the mouth of the cave, I saw that Finn had lit a small fire. When he saw that I was awake, he smiled.

"Good morning."

"Morning."

He pulled out a bag of marshmallows from his backpack and offered them to me.

"Feeling hungry?"

I smiled as I nodded and walked over to him to sit by the fire. He opened the bag and gave it to me. The sweet taste of the sugar exploded on my tongue, and I realised that I was actually really hungry from not eating dinner the night before. I chewed slowly, listening to the sound of the breeze which was starting to warm up as the sun rose higher into the sky. Pretty soon the fire died down and the bag of marshmallows were empty. We were surrounded with a quiet silence, with the exception of the rustle of the leaves in the breeze and the song of the morning birds.

"Finn...last night...when we...kissed...I-"

"We should be heading back to the beach house. They're probably really worried."

He stood up, grabbed his bag and headed out of the cave. He seemed distant and I wasn't even sure if he knew where he was going but I followed him anyway, trusting that he wouldn't get us lost. Not that I would have minded getting lost with Finn. He walked ahead of me, pushing branches and tree ferns away from his face, always holding them long enough to stop them from hitting my face. It was a chivalrous gesture, one that I might have appreciated more if he would actually consent to looking at me. Pretty soon the bark and decayed leaves of the mini jungle type enclosure was replaced by the yellow-white of the grainy, sandy shore. We were closing in on the front porch of the beach house where Aimee and her parents were probably still fast asleep. It was only the early hours of morning, probably only 6 or 7 o'clock. Finn tried the door. It was locked. The weather was getting warmer so Finn and I stripped off our jackets and he placed his bag on a chair on the porch.

"Walk with me?"

I nodded. He strode past me and walked ahead of me again, making his way down the stone steps leading to the sandy shore. Just as before he didn't look back, expecting me to follow him. And as before, I did.

We walked. The sand gave in beneath our feet and before long two sets of footprints marked the sand. It felt as if we were reliving the past because just as before I ran into Finn's chest once again. He was standing there looking at his feet and I was looking up, hoping to catch his took my hand and looked me straight in the eye. He didn't look away from me, just looking as if he could see right into my soul and as if he could read my mind. I looked away, the intensity of our gaze was just too overwhelming. He couldn't know the real reason why I wanted to go out with him in the first place. He's going to be so hurt when he realises that I didn't go and talk to him on his first day just to 'get to know him' and that I had ulterior motives: to further my reputation. But you really like him now. That wasn't something you were counting on, or even expecting.

"So...what did you want to talk about?"

I detected a hint of a blush on Finn's tanned cheeks which were glowing in the morning light. I waited, not wanting to ruin the moment. My palms were getting sweaty in his and my cheeks were turning redder than a ripened tomato.

"Megan, I know that ever since I came to our school I've been given the reputation of a 'bad boy' and a social outcast, and I know I seem to keep to myself and I value my alone time, I really really like you and I know about your reputation, and how you're the most popular girl in school. I know that you're the kind of girl that jocks drool over and I know you could never like me but-"

"Finn I-"

"Let me finish, please."

"O...Okay."

"You have no reason to like me or even accept what I'm about to tell you and I understand completely. I never really do or say things like this and even though I have fears and doubts I think that the risk is worth taking."

He pauses and takes a deep, audible breath. He looks me straight in the eye and I see a flash of decisiveness and confidence in his eyes.

"I like you Megan. As in I really really like you. I want to be the one to hold your hand when we're strolling down the sidewalk. I want to be the one to hold you in my arms whenever you feel that you need someone to comfort you. I want to be the one you think about before you go to bed. And I want to be the one you think of first when you wake up in the morning. I want to be with you. Whatever it takes, whatever it involves. I want to be yours and only yours."

He is breathing heavily by the end of his confession, as was I. My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt as if my heart was about to explode. It felt as if my eyes should be filled with tears and yet I knew that my cold, indifference was showing. I wanted so badly to express how I felt about Finn to him but I had been hiding behind a mask of selfishness and indifference to others and that mask wasn't one that was easily removed. A short while after his breathing slows down and returns to its usual pace. His heart, however, was still beating so hard, so fast, so loud that I could hear it thumping in his rib cage.

"S-s-say something...please?" he stammered.

I knew it must have taken a lot of courage and effort on his part to be able to throw away his pride for two seconds to be able to confess his feelings to me with such emotion. And I didn't want to hurt him. I wanted to be as brave as him. I wanted to be able to speak for myself and say what I wanted to say. I wanted to be able to feel, really feel and not have to be embarrassed about what I was feeling, or who I was feeling it for. After experiencing this startling revelation, I felt the tears collect in the pits of my eyes and I knew then what I was to do. I looked up at Finn with tear filled eyes, but they weren't tears of sadness or sorrow. They were tears of joy. He looked uncertain and shocked at the sight of my tears, then taken aback at the sight of my smile. But he smiled back at me as I closed my eyes, stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his. It was a small, subtle kiss. Or at least it started out that way but pretty soon it started to heat up. My arm snaked around his neck and his around my hips. Our legs gave in and we fell into a tangled mess onto the sand, but that didn't slow, nor distract us from out current activity which was keeping our lips very busy. His hand was soon on my cheek which then slowly moved to my neck as he slipped a finger underneath my bra strap. I knew what I wanted to happen but I'll never know what could've happened for right at that second Aimee herself stepped out onto the front porch of the beach house. She was standing there, stretching and taking the the vitamin D from the morning sun barely ten steps away from us. It's funny how every time I follow Finn willingly on our little walks, we always stop not too far from where Aimee is. I felt myself growl in the back of my throat as Finn pulled away but he motioned towards where Aimee was now taking lithe little steps towards us. Clearing his throat Finn sat up and pulled me up next to him. Aimee caught the sight of us sitting together on the beach and stopped in her tracks. She noted my messed up hair and Finn's rumpled shirt and realisation kicks in and I could see a mischievous glint in her eye. She's going to play this as her entertainment. I chuckled to myself. This was classic Aimee. Let her have her fun. I might actually get entertained by what she has planned.

"Hey guys! Whatcha up to?"

She practically bounced down to where we were sitting and plopped herself in between where we were sitting.

"Nothing.." Finn coughed.

I laughed. I took Aimee's hand and pulled her up so we were both standing.

"Finn I'll catch you later okay?"

Without waiting to hear his reply I dragged Aimee off towards the house, leaving Finn sitting there alone, dumbstruck on the sand.

"Okay so what exactly are you up to?"

She grinned at me.

"Just wait and see, this is for your benefit as well as mine."

"What are you..?"

"Just trust me. Keep walking forward and don't look back."

"O..kay?"

I did as she instructed me, both of us walking towards the house and further away from Finn. Even when we were already inside the house and the door was safely shut, both of us still walked on straight ahead, up the stairs to the landing just outside the three doors; one leading to Finn's room, one to the room Aimee and I shared and one that led up the stairs where the rooftop was slightly flat, perfect for sitting out and enjoying the scenery. Aimee led me into our room. She plopped herself into her bed, picked up her brush and started combing her hair.

"Walk over to the window for me?"

I did as she asked, not entirely sure of what I was supposed to be doing.

"Is Finn still on the beach?"

Funnily enough he was. He was still in the exact same position that he was when we left him there on the beach, except for the direction of his head which was now facing the bright morning sun and its reflection on the clear blue waves.

"Yeah, he is."

I heard Aimee chuckle. As I turned to face her, I saw that she had replaced her brush for a pair of binoculars which were now sitting in her hand. She walked over to me and lifted them to her face. She smirked.

"Now if I know that face I'd say..."

"What? Say what?"

She had trailed off in thought, but I was still curious as to what she was thinking about.

"You'd say what?" I prompted.

"Okay you're going to need these."

She handed me the binoculars and walked over to her bed. She lay down and picked up her soccer ball, which she then started throwing against the wall and head butting it when it rebounded back to her. She continued doing different soccer drills, only with her head and the wall not with her feet and another player.

"So, what are these for exactly?" I said, gesturing to binoculars which were now in my hands.

"Oh you'll see. Just look to the beach."

I did as she said.

"Watch Finn."

I found Finn on the beach and nodded.

"Okay now tell me, is he sitting there smiling or sitting there with no expression on his face?"

"No expression."

"Okay within the next five minutes he's going to get up and start jogging."

"O..kay?"

I found that hard to believe but I listened to what Aimee was saying. And sure enough, as if on cue, Finn got up and started jogging down the long stretch of beach.

"Next, he's going to jog up here and take a shower."

Confused, but still curious I followed Finn with the binoculars and without a doubt he ran up the stone steps and I heard the wooden door slam downstairs and his heavy footsteps trudge up. I heard Finn stop outside on the landing outside our rooms. He then quietly closed the door to his room and within minutes the water from his private bathroom's shower was running.

"So what exactly is going on?"

I was really confused, firstly about how Aimee could predict what Finn would be doing, and secondly how any of it was relevant or important in any way. Why exactly should I care about any of this? What's going on?

Aimee got up and made her way out the door.

"Hey, where are you going?"

She turned her head to face me with a smirk on her face.

"Ten minutes."

"Excuse me?"

She winked at me and walked out the door, quietly closing the door behind her. I waited and listened to Finn's shower water continue and then die down after a few minutes. There was quiet. I looked to the small star clock hanging on the wall of our room. Eight minutes since Aimee left.

I watched the clock tick. The sound of a door opening, then shutting quietly came from outside, muffled by my own door. I heard the shuffle of feet on the landing outside my door.

Nine minutes since Aimee left.

I watched as the seconds hand ticked closer and closer to the 12, marking the ten minutes. What was about to happen, I wasn't sure. Why Aimee had that look on her face when she left, I had no idea. But what I did know is that whatever was going to happen when the ten minutes were up, it was going to drastically alter my relationship with Finn.

But whether it was in a good way or a bad I wasn't sure.

Ten minutes.

There was a knock at the door. Then a clearing of a throat.

"Uhh Megan? Can I come in and talk to you for a bit?"

I stood up and made my way over to the door. I placed a hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it.

Breathe Megan. Just breathe.