DISCLAIMER: See Prologue.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Honestly, I have no idea what I can say to you guys right now. I cannot apologize enough for the wait on this chapter. It's been TWO MONTHS. I'm so, so, so sorry to have kept you waiting, especially if you're one of the readers who had really wanted an update. I can't explain how heavy my workload was – along with all my soccer practices and games – so I never had time to write. I'm not even kidding. This is the first weekend where I actually had some free time, but even then, it wasn't enough, which is why this chapter (which I'm dividing into two parts) is so incredibly short. It will definitely be longer next time, I can assure you of that.

I also had been planning on doing a Tony / Kristal scene at the beginning of this chapter, but I figured you guys might want some Finline. Of course, that being said, I haven't written with these characters in a really long time, and while I hope everything makes sense, I doubt that this part of a chapter will be all that good. I need your reviews for feedback, not just so I can have more reviews! PLEASE, I'm begging you. I think this will need all the help it can get.

Chapter Thirty-Seven (Part One)

Jacqueline, needless to say, was feeling incredibly nervous as she walked next to Finn on the beach. The real problem was, obviously, that he was shirtless. Not that she minded, exactly, even if did make her that much more nervous and prone to blushing, but it attracted the gazes of at least three different groups of girls as they walked along the sand.

Jacqueline was going to be honest, though — it made sense. Finn was attractive.

Not a big deal if other people recognized it.

Okay, well, maybe it was, and though Jacqueline understood that she was slightly jealous, she was trying to be fair. Finn wasn't looking at any of those other girls who were watching him — which was probably for the best, as one pair of younger girls were watching him with eyes lined with far too much eye makeup for their age, comparing him to some blond celebrity, no less. And Jacqueline, while one to get jealous over Kristal, wasn't going to be the one to freak out over something minor like this.

And, anyways, the girls looked like they were twelve. (She had checked, just in case.)

Finn's eyes, which looked brighter than usual, peered over at her. "Jack?"

"Hm?" Jacqueline turned slightly towards him, brushing a piece of windswept hair away from her face. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"No, I was just, ah…" He exhaled, obviously trying to steady his voice, and continued walking with his hands shoved into his pockets. "You just, uh…."

She smiled. "What?" Jacqueline asked playfully. Of course, almost right as she had said it, she immediately cringed inwardly at the way she was speaking. Was she flirting? No, she couldn't possibly be flirting… right? That wasn't her — this girl, who was getting nervous looking at Finn's toned arms and jealous of girls who were doing the same thing she was… She refused to let that be her.

God, she was probably making a fool of herself.

But if Finn had noticed, he didn't say anything, only saying in a bit of a lower tone, "You seem… different today."

"Sorry?" Jacqueline said, smiling but puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Ah, I dunno," Finn said, shaking his head. "Never mind."

Jacqueline's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Is something the matter?" She patted down her hair self-consciously, giving a small grin as she looked back over at him. "Do I have, I don't know, seaweed in my hair or something?"

Finn chuckled, but she could tell from the nervous way his green eyes were flitting around that something was up. "You're fine," he said, brushing the subject away. "So do you like it? The beach, I mean."

The way the topic had swiftly moved over from Finn's original statement of how she seemed different today had Jacqueline pausing for a moment before replying. "Oh, yes, I love it. I mean, I've seen it before — in pictures and books and in movies and all, I mean — but I've never been here. Or, to any beach for that matter."

"Yeah, Vanessa told me," Finn said. "We usually come here once or twice a summer. That's why I know the place so well."

Jacqueline felt her heart beat a little faster when she realized that Finn had been talking about her to Vanessa. She wanted to tell herself how bad this was, the emotions he was making her feel and how far in she was, but she couldn't help it. He was so sweet and nervous and….

She had to stop thinking about this. He still had feelings for Kristal, and he could break her heart without even a blink of an eye. He thought they were friends, and that was all they were supposed to be. Jacqueline just needed to get that fact through her head, even if she was trying to convince herself of the opposite.

"What do you usually do when you come here?" Jacqueline asked curiously, trying to get herself out of her head — that was a hard task, but nonetheless she had to at least try. "Like, I see Vanessa out there swimming and Lizzie's with the twins and all, but I was just wondering what you liked to do. I don't want to be, ah"—she faltered slightly, blushing—"keeping you from anything."

"Usually, I would swim," Finn said, giving her his trademark grin. "But I thought I'd give you the honor of my company."

"I'm flattered," Jacqueline said, grinning right back at him.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: What a disgustingly short chapter. Sorry about that, guys. All I ask is that you leave a review, saying how you thought Jacqueline's character was or if you liked that nervous sort of Finn thing or whatever. Criticize, please! I'm practically begging. Please believe me when I say that I'm not asking this so my review count will go up. I really just need to get back into the groove of writing things, and I think this will help me. Thanks so much. I really did miss you guys!

Again, not sure when next update will be, but hopefully it won't take two months. God, I feel awful even just saying that.

Love you all,

-Mimi