Hello, loves! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving -well, the ones that celebrate it, since I understand that this IS an international website. I really think that my fingers just have a mind of their own sometimes, because they just turn my thoroughly planned out scene into well...what you're about to read. I think it came out pretty good either way, but seriously, my scenes just go off on their own and just seem to control ME! The nerve *scoff*. Well, I really hope that you like it!

Finn's P.O.V

Even the ghostly evening seemed to have been bewitched by her beauty, how gorgeous she looked that night. It was something that I had acknowledged ever since that first day, ever since we first met, yet had always chose to try to cloud away. Because there was always that fine line, that abnormality of having feelings for her. Still, looking back on that night, I remember that she was beautiful. But they were things that could be described, pin-pointed; Amanda was just something else entirely, a loveliness beyond words.

Her blonde hair was pulled back in a French braid that ran along the length of her spine to just above the bottom of her ribcage. I remember because it was all I could look at as she walked away, leaving me that sense of the loneliness and despair as if a part of me had just withered away.

"Charlie, what's wrong?" I asked. She had been acting strange all night, even more tense than the other dates in which she'd always seemed nervous and self-conscious.

"Nothing." She shook her head matter-of-factly, without emitting any desperation or falseness. Instead, she just seemed to perk up a little and turned to me with a grin, "Hey, you wanna do something fun tonight? You know something a little different."

I gave her a skeptical expression for an instant, trying to imagine what she could have possibly had in mind, but decided best to just roll with it. Nodding slowly, I replied with a humor-me kind of 'sure'.

Charlene smirked at me, not in a dominant manner but more of a celebratory feeling. There was just something missing in that smile though. "Okay, follow me." I swear, I knew that look, because it was the same one she always gave us on our missions when she was about to do something stupidly daring and borderline destructive.

As she turned on her heels and began to walk in the other direction, with a little spur in her stride, she took my hand lightly. I did feel sparks, but it was the wrong kind, the one that gives you a warning right before something bad happens. Oh, why do we always ignore those bright flashing lights that tell us to stop?

It was supposed to be the only night of the week that wasn't going to be all that frigid, yet the cool air nipped at the edge of my long-sleeved shirt; Charlene wore the jacket I had brought only after I insisted she put it on before she caught a cold. I think it fit Amanda better.

We had walked for a good half hour in pure silence before she turned back and flashed me that smirk of mischief upon halting in front of a tall gate. Carefully, she reached in the back pocket of her jeans and retrieved what appeared to be a key in the dim light of the tucked-away area. My hand felt just the same as she slid hers out so that she could fix the key into the lock of the door. And I can still tell you now that I can't remember the moon looking as disconsolate as it had on that day.

Without a word and without any argument, I followed her up the brick steps into the unknown, as the bright lights above blinded me momentarily. The thin heel of her shoes clicked against the stairs as we ascended, each of our footfalls so out of sync from the other's.

Dazed as I was when I found we had stumbled into a pool area I knew to belong to a community center not too far from her own house, she hardly seemed to care. But I knew for sure that the pool was closed after eight o'clock at night, something I wouldn't forget after an incident when I was a little kid.

I looked around and took in the sight that surrounded us. The patio itself was nice, wooden floorboards with a protective coating, long lounge chairs and tables. Even under the dark of the night, the water radiated up in a luminous blue.

"Woah, woah! What the hell are you doing?" So focused on the scenery, I almost hadn't noticed as Charlene kicked off her shoes and began to step closer to the pool, still fully clothed.

She turned around to face me and took a step in my direction, taking a light hold of my shirt. "Come on, Finn. Let's just do something a little risky." The giggle that followed didn't appear to belong to the girl in front of me who, while I knew liked to live off of the offbeat kind of fun activities, had never done something of this odd nature. At least never with me.

I resisted the slight pull on my collar as she tried to drag me closed to the water as well. "Char, come on, we're not doing this." Although I knew she was listening to me to some extent, the water was already up to her mid-calf, her jeans soaked up to that point. "Let's just sit down and talk a while."

When I pulled her out of the water and towards the nearest lounge chair, I thought I had some control over the situation. But as soon as I had us both seated, she had leaned forward, grabbing a firm hold of my shirt as she pulled me in and forced our lips to meet. Her warm hand slipped onto the back of my neck and I sunk into the kiss. It felt natural, like it was just the norm. The kiss deepened, and I felt her climb into my lap, fingers teasing through my hair.

The moment was warm, it was sincere. I couldn't think of anything but the color orange, blending into a bright yellow.

All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed by panic as I realized what was happening and pulled away quickly, nearly causing her to topple over in the process. I stared, panicked, into her baby blue eyes. They looked ashamed, scared, hurt.

"W-what? Did I do something wrong?" I could hear it in her voice, how it shook. She seemed so fragile in that split second I thought I could break her with the softest of touches.

"No, no. Nothing like that." I stated quickly, placing my hand on her knee before feeling the touch difficult and retreating. "Listen, Char, I didn't mean for it to happen like this…"

"I knew it wasn't working out. Neither of us feel it do we? There's just no spark there. I just wanted to see if it was there, but it isn't!" She put her head in her hands, a frustrated expression across her face. "I found someone else. And I guess I just kind of-"

"Knew the whole time that you were with the wrong person?" I asked gently.

The blonde girl glanced up quickly, surprised. "Exactly. How did you know?"

I leaned back with a sigh, "I feel it too. I didn't want to say anything before because it was sort of complicated, but I know now. And there's this other girl; we kissed about a week ago. I'm so-"

"I kissed someone too." She blurted out, interrupting my rambling –thank goodness. "God, it feels so good to be honest with you. He's…I mean I guess I always just knew I had feelings for him."

I nodded slowly, sitting up straight as she stopped to think over what she just said. As she gave a small shake of the head, a confirming gesture, we both fell to complete silence. It continued for a full minute, both of us staring at one another without a word.

"So what now? If this obviously didn't work out?" She gave a short, genuine laugh.

I shrugged, "We break it off, we wish each other the best. We start over. We stay friends, because honestly you're just an amazing person, and you're really not gonna find a friend much better than me." I gave her an arrogant smirk that made her roll her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan." She replied quietly.

I nodded faintly, standing and turning around to face away from her. After a short breath, I turned back around to face her. "Hi," I offered her my hand, which she shook carefully. "The name's Finn."

She smiled coyly, standing up. "I'm Charlene."

Maybeck's P.O.V

I looked up at Amanda from across the table. "That doesn't make me a bad person does it?"

She rolled her eyes halfheartedly as she set her sandwich down on her plate. "If it did, I would be a horrible person. You did it extemporarily; I was getting my flirt on all up in that joint!"

"I had paintings of her hanging in the back room!"

Amanda stopped and gave me a saucy look. I felt my face heat up with embarrassment at realizing what I had just revealed. "Well that's news to me. Quite the stalker, are we?" She laughed.

"Oh, shut it, Amanda. You're the one that's got a guy falling for her when they hardly know one another!"

Her mouth hung open as she glared back at me incredulously. "Like you and that blond are so close!"

"Her name's Charlene and we work together. I know her like the back of my hand! You've known Finn, what a few weeks now?"

"A little over a month, cheap shot. Get your facts straight."

"Oh, sorry, princess. That's such a long time, you must be soul mates." She smirked, a faraway look in her eyes. "Oh, my dear naive boy. You never really do know with love, do you?"
I scoffed, "Love, huh?"

She shrugged, "I know that you have something with her, and he and I have more chemistry than they ever did together. Like you didn't think from the beginning that they should break up!"

"I did. I just didn't think it would happen so quickly. You kissed him, I kissed her! It just seems so weird, like destiny kept throwing bullets at them. You know?"

Amanda gave a short giggle and shot me a knowing expression. "Trust me, I know." She started to clean up her lunch as she spoke. When she stood to throw away her paper bag, I dared to ask her a question.

"Don't you...don't you have a boyfriend?"

Then, she just completely stopped, frozen in that spot at the door frame for a good ten seconds. She glanced at me over her shoulder and whispered, "It's complicated."

As she began to walk back out to the front, I stood and followed her. "No, it's not. It's simple." I insisted, pulling her aside.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, okay? Just leave it." She hissed coldly, a tone she's never used with me before and I hardly appreciated.

"I know that he makes you feel like someone extraordinary. The days he's not here you fall real quiet a lot. And when he is, you're all smiles and sunshine."

"Maybeck, I really don't need you giving me advice."

"Mandy, the day after your date with your 'boyfriend' you didn't show up to work." I didn't even mention how she wore makeup on her neck the rest of the week and I heard her crying quietly in the supply closet more than once.

"What exactly are you accusing me of there? Because let me tell you that you'd better be careful of the next words that come out of your mouth!" She growled in a low tone, precarious of the children that sat around in the next room over.

"I'm not accusing you of anything. It's that boyfriend of yours that I don't trust. Why are you with him?"

"And who exactly told you that you were allowed to just butt into my love life like that?"
I sighed, putting my hand up in defeat. "No one. I'll back off. Alright?"

She glared daggers at me, pursing her lips angrily. "You are not my father and I definitely don't need you telling me what to do."

"Listen, Amanda, I heard you. I'm stepping down, okay?"

She rolled her eyes real quick as she stepped back out into the front room. "Quit acting like you know everything." I hardly heard her mumble under her breath.

So yeah, I know that the Farlene scene probably made it seem like he had more feelings for her than we all want him to, but I really do believe that relationships can be difficult and even if you are completely in love with someone like Finn and Amanda are, we can still think somewhere deep in our minds that we like someone else too. Also, like I said, that is NOT what I had originally intended. But whatevs, you'll have to put up with it because there are going to be some more shockers in the chapters to come. Have fun, fanfictioners ;)