The next day I was standing right where I was expected to be with the blindfold in place when I felt someone come up behind me.
"Hey Ace, you ready?" Logan asked.
I started to respond but he yanked me away and I didn't bother to continue, knowing that he wasn't really paying any attention.
He helped me into a car; I assumed it was an SUV because I had to take a rather large step to get into the car off of the ground.
"Hit it," Logan commanded.
"Ah, not so loud," Finn groaned.
His voice came from the front of the car and I was disappointed that he wasn't sitting next to me but I was glad to know that he was driving, I trusted him.
"You're very auditorily sensitive today," a girl, Stephanie I assumed, said.
"Oh and your voice helps," Finn said sarcastically. I almost laughed, but held back.
"Is the blindfold secure?" Colin asked near my ear.
"Secure and in place," Logan said.
"Our anonymity's crucial Logan, crucial," Colin insisted.
Under the blindfold I couldn't help but roll my eyes.
Finn moaned from the front. It sounded more like an attention seeking moan to me, but whatever. I took the bait. "What's wrong with Finn?"
"Great job with the blindfold, Logan," Colin said sarcastically.
"I recognized your voices, Colin," I told him. It's not like I'm stupid. Of course, I did have a little extra help (I'd known who was in the car before I got it) but I would've figured it out on my own I'm sure.
"Could everyone keep it down, please," Finn begged from the front.
"Can we remove the blindfold now?" I asked, ignoring Finn.
"We're also hiding our destination," Logan informed me. Once again, I rolled my eyes under the blindfold.
"We had to leave at this ungodly hour," Finn complained. Now I was pretty sure that he just wanted me to pay more attention to him.
"It's four in the afternoon," I pointed out to him, once again taking his bait.
"He's got a thing about the sun," Logan told me, like it was a big piece of news.
"It's too bright," Finn agreed.
"So how come you're not wearing your gorilla masks?" I asked.
"She can see," Colin said woefully.
"I can tell because your voices aren't muffled," I told him. I'd felt the need to prove to myself that I could figure something out without the help of Finn.
"She's sharp," Stephanie commented.
"Who's the girl?" I asked. I knew very well who it was, but I had to keep up the façade.
"I've been told we've met. I've no memory of it," she explained.
"Oh, Gorilla Girl," I said as if realizing for the first time. I waited to see how she would respond to the nickname.
"Oh, well, isn't that a pretty nickname," Stephanie said.
"Oh, by the way, this thing's overnight," Logan said before I really had the chance to say anything else.
"Overnight?"
"Didn't I mention that before?" he asked, a picture (if I could see) of innocence.
"Oh, must have slipped your mind," I said, not really caring at all.
"That doesn't screw up anything for you, does it?" he wanted to know.
"No."
"No?" he asked.
"Nope," I said again. In fact, I was hoping to spend some time with Finn so it was a good thing actually.
"Hmm. Loose schedule. Good," Logan said. I felt a smart comment coming.
"We like our schedules loose, like our women," Finn said.
Like that.
"Clever," Colin said sarcastically from behind me. I almost chuckled.
"My God, it's early," Finn said yet again.
0000
"Rest stop time!" Stephanie said.
I felt the car stop and the doors opened.
"I'm not going," Finn moaned and I heard him hit his head off of the steering wheel.
"Ace, you coming?" Logan asked from outside the car.
"I'm fine," I said.
The door closed again and I assumed it was just Finn and I in the car.
"How're you doing love?" Finn asked.
"I just wish I could see," I sighed.
"Take off the blindfold…this will take them at least twenty minutes," he assured me.
I untied the knot that was holding the black cloth in place and blinked at the sudden light that hit my eyes.
"'Ello," he said grinning at me.
"Hey," I smiled back.
"You did a really good job pretending like you had no idea what was going on," he mentioned.
"I didn't really know what was going on…I mean I knew who was in the car but that's about it," I pointed out.
"Even so," he shrugged.
"So where are we sleeping tonight?" I asked.
"That I can't really tell you…but you'll be comfortable," he told me.
"Okay…will I be alone?" I asked.
"That depends…do you want to be?" he asked.
I studied his face, debating what my answer should be.
"I don't like being alone in scary places," I said as if it wasn't a big deal. I wasn't sure if he was getting my implication but it's not my style to just openly say things like that.
"Well you let me know if you're scared when we get there and I'll take care of the big bad monsters for you," he said laughing at me.
I rolled my eyes at him. "Shut up."
"I'm glad you came," Finn said after a moment.
"Thanks…I am too," I said.
We shared a smile and I couldn't seem to look away from his green eyes but then he started quickly. "Shit, blindfold, now."
I looked out the window and saw that Colin, Logan, and Stephanie were approaching, arguing about something.
I quickly tied it to my eyes sat there like nothing was going on.
0000
That night after I'd taken in the atmosphere, left a message for Dean, eaten the plate of food that Finn gave me, tried to get information and filled three and a half notebooks full of notes (half of one not using "e"'s!) I settled onto my bed.
I heard someone outside of my tent but I assumed that it was someone streaking due to drunkenness.
"Can I come in?" a voice asked. It startled me.
I knew it was Finn from the accent so I told him to enter.
He came in, looking surprisingly sober, and sat on the corner of the bed.
"How're you doing?" he asked.
"Pretty well…the group didn't give me much but that's okay. I don't need them," I told him.
"Well that's a good thing. How was dinner?" he asked.
"A bit salty," I admitted.
"I'm from Australia," he said as if it explained it.
"I had no idea," I said rolling my eyes.
"I haven't gotten to see you very much today," he said.
"Finn…we were in the car like all day together," I pointed out.
"Yeah, but we couldn't talk to each other so it was pretty pointless," he rebutted.
"I still don't see why we can't admit that we're friends," I said.
"I know…but someday, you'll know. And when you know, you'll be glad that I kept things like this for as long as possible," he said.
I studied his face and decided that it would do no good to argue. I nodded silently.
"What's going on tomorrow?" I asked.
"The main event. I can't say anymore, or I'll be castrated but don't worry…it'll be a lot of fun. I promise," he said.
I nodded silently again.
A grin crept onto his face. "Are you scared of these woods?"
"A little," I shrugged, not really thinking about it.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" he asked.
I chuckled. "Sure."
He pulled back the blanket and slipped onto the tiny cot.
The only way we could both fit was with me half on top of him and my head settled on his chest.
He wrapped his arms around me so that I wouldn't fall and kissed my hair.
"Good night Rory," he said.
I smiled and closed my eyes.
0000
A/N: I could offer a bunch of excuses as to why I haven't written anything but it doesn't really matter why. I'm sorry that it's taken so long but I've really had a hard time letting go of my older brother and everything. I'm hoping that my muse is back but I don't know, this chapter may have sucked and I'm sorry if it did…I tried my best.
Ryan's Note- Hey guys, like she said, we're sorry that it took so long. She doesn't know that I'm saying this (and she'll probably edit it out) but she really took Sean's death hard and she's just now starting to be herself again. She's completely recovered from the car accident (at least 95) and now it's just the emotional stuff that she's working on. Thank you all for the reviews and support during the last chapter. We're gonna try to get some more chapters out for this story and the others but I think it would help if we had your support. Let us know what you honestly thought of this chapter please. Thanks and God Bless.
