Chapter 14 - Finn (Originally Published: 6 November 2015)

"Bonnie's late for lunch again," Finn observed. No one at their table acknowledged him. They ate their meals as if he had been an outside noise that they didn't care to hear.

It didn't take a genius to realise where she'd been sneaking off to every day. Ever since Jake had finally told his traumatic story, she'd been showing up fifteen minutes late, pretending that there was nothing out of the ordinary about that. It put Finn off quite a bit. He thought it was really messed up that she forgave Marceline after everything she'd done to Jake. They couldn't just ask Bonnie to stop talking to her though; she and Marceline had known each other for practically a lifetime. Finn knew that Bonnie's dodgy antics bothered Jake as well. It was written plainly on his face every time she finally turned up.

Phoebe had quit showing up to lunch as well, Finn noticed. Ever since the party at her house, she'd been hanging out with Marceline more and more. Finn found that he could somehow forgive her more than he could Bonnie, though. Phoebe and Jake weren't friends, and he didn't even think she knew about the incident.

Phoebe wouldn't be friends with Marceline if she found out though. I know she's a good person.

"Are we doing anything for Halloween?" Aeryn asked.

They hadn't made plans, but usually every year they would dress up and hang out in town. It seemed almost pointless to state the question when nothing different ever happened.

Jake suddenly realised something as he glanced at Bea. "Hey, you've never been with us for Halloween."

Perhaps it's not so pointless to make plans after all.

"What do you normally do?"

She licked her lips, looking to the side. "Hm. I don't know. Usually my grandpa and I just tell each other scary stories, but I don't mind doing something different for once. Maybe we could start a new tradition?"

"That sounds lovely, actually." Aeryn put a bite of food in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "We could all get together and watch some scary films or something.

Bea perked up in her seat, smiling brightly. "We could dress up and have spooky snacks as well! Like candies made to look like body parts, or fruit juice that we can imagine is blood!"

Aeryn chuckled at Bea's enthusiasm. "Do you think your parents would let us come over for that?" she asked, turning to Jake.

"I'm sure they will." He looked up from the fixed point in the middle of the table that he'd been studying. "Here she is."

Bonnie sat down next to Finn, giving everybody a little, nervous wave. "Sorry I'm late. What's going on now?"

"We're talking about starting a new tradition for Halloween," Bea said, cheerily. She always seemed especially happy when Bonnie was around.

"Oh… I might already have plans." Bonnie shifted nervously in her seat.

Finn lowered his eyebrows, looking directly at her. "You're really going to hang out with her instead of us?"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes right back at him. "Okay, you little turd. I'm not hanging out with Marceline for Halloween. I was… going to hang out with Bongo."

That seemed to come as a surprise to everyone, even Aeryn, who probably knew more about Bonnie than all of them combined.

She twiddled her thumbs. "Would it… maybe be okay if he came along with us?"

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, Bonnie? Please tell me you don't fancy Bongo. He's so weird."

"He's not weird!" she said, defensively. Bonnie's eyes unfocused slightly as she gazed at something pictured only in her mind, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile. "He's actually very sweet, and… kind of cute."

"Bonnie, no-"

"Jake, you said yourself that Bongo had nothing to do with what happened to you." She stared at him, unblinking. "So, can he come or not?"

Jake looked around the table at everyone else, waiting to see if they had any objection. When no one spoke up, he exhaled dramatically. "Yeah, I guess he can. I just hope you know what you're doing, Bonnie."

She got to her feet and walked around to hug Jake tightly around the neck. "Oh, thank you! I promise you won't regret it. You might even grow to like him."

The bell rang only fifteen minutes later, giving Bonnie no time to eat lunch. She and Aeryn were planning to go out to eat after school anyway.

Bea had looked rather uncomfortable ever since Bonnie's startling confession, so Finn pulled her to the side to ask what was wrong.

"I don't really want Bongo to come."

Finn jerked his head back, surprised. "Why not? I thought you liked him."

She crinkled her nose. "I do. He's really nice to me. I just don't think he's right for Bonnie."

"You don't think they would be a good couple?" She shook her head. "Why? Who do you think would be good for her then?" Finn asked. He couldn't think of a single other person who Bonnie might be paired with.

Bea looked at him, and then away. "No, never mind. I don't know. I have to go to class now."

"Okay. I'll come find you afterwards so we can walk to maths together." Finn waved goodbye as she trotted off to join Bonnie.

The music and art rooms weren't very far apart, so it wouldn't be very hard to find her again.

Bongo, huh?

Finn thought about the other boy and Bonnie together all through music class (it was a free day), and he still couldn't manage to see them as a couple. Even after hanging out with the guy, Bongo was a total mystery to Finn. He was just this really quiet dude who was somehow incredibly popular.

Maybe he was a little jealous that even though Bongo was totally weird and shy, he was still better at sports than Finn, he had more money, and now he even had a girl that fancied him.

When the bell rang for them to change classes, he realised that he'd thought about it for an entire period.

Way to go, Finn. Now you're the weird one.

He grabbed his stuff and headed out the door behind his classmates. Bea was waiting for him by the music room. Looking around, Finn could tell that Bonnie had already gone.

The two of them walked to their next class together. Finn was pretty sure they'd passed Bonnie and Marceline talking in the hall… but it would only make him angry if he double checked.

"You should forgive her," Bea said randomly, affirming his previous suspicion.

As they sat down in their usual spot, Finn just replied with the shake of his head. Thankfully, the other girl had taken it upon herself to change seats - away from Finn and Bea - once she got back from her suspension.

"I don't know why you're still friends with her," he said, glaring at Marceline as she walked through the door.

Bea didn't say anything to that. She had taken out a blank sheet of paper and was doodling on it.

"You know, she's the one who brainwashed Ash," he said, bitterly.

Bea finally looked up from her doodle. "I can't really see Marceline doing that. Besides, Bongo told your brother it was all Ash's fault."

Finn shook his head, gritting his teeth together. "Like hell it was Ash. Marceline probably made him say that. Listen, I know him really well. He's my buddy. I know he only did what he did because he loved Marceline so much. He was just blinded by his feelings."

His friend hunched her shoulders, looking down at the paper again. "I find that really hard to believe, Finn. Marceline is a really nice person. I don't even know Ash, but no one has ever really said anything nice about him aside from you. How do you know he isn't just lying to you?"

"Billy backed him up on this. I trust both of them more than I trust her," he sneered, saying it with such disdain.

Marceline seemed to sense that they were talking about her, because she glanced over at them, but quickly looked away.

That's right. Don't even bother.

Bea looked between the two of them and sighed. She put her head down, and didn't say anything else for the rest of maths class.

By history, she seemed to be in a much better mood. Of course, they couldn't talk in that class. Ms. Pearl wasn't that bad of a teacher though, she was just annoyingly dutiful. Finn hadn't really liked her at first, and he didn't know what changed; she just seemed to be a nice person underneath it all.

As the day progressed, he was beginning to get more nervous about going to the auditorium after school. He'd managed to distract himself enough to forget about it all day, but the moment of truth was drawing nearer - today was the day that they would find out who had been accepted to help in the Christmas play. It'd been a week since the auditions, and Finn was nervous about his own. He hadn't done very well - when tested with the sound booth, he accidentally made a microphone too loud and the shrieking feedback made everyone cover their ears, crying out in pain. His trial as a stagehand ended in him tripping constantly in the dark and almost knocking over a backdrop, unable to follow the trail of glowing tape that had been stuck to the floor to guide everyone to their places. The look Leslie had given him when he re-emerged from the dark stage made him fear for his life. The last position he tried out for wasn't so bad. Doing spotlight only required him to stand on a raised platform in the back of the auditorium and swing a giant light around. There were only five settings on the light itself, so it was easy enough not to muck it up.

Finn looked over at Bea, and smiled. The afternoon light coming through the window shone on her face in a way that highlighted her features rather nicely, even though it nearly blinded him.

Bea had also auditioned, despite having no interest in doing anything with theatre. At first she only came along for moral support, but he'd convinced her to try out so that if they both got accepted, he'd actually know someone else on set. Finn also promised to keep Leslie away from her, and that seemed to be the deciding factor in her auditioning.

When class ended, the pair gathered their stuff and walked together to the auditorium.

He held the door open for Bea, and they found a seat in a row labelled "H". There were a surprising amount of people present; he hadn't realised that many people had even auditioned last week. Though, after a moment of reflection, he supposed they could have come before or after he arrived. The chattering echoed throughout the auditorium, and there was so much going on that he couldn't seem to get a grasp on any single conversation. It all sounded like noise to him.

The theatre teacher came out from backstage, and an immediate calm overtook the room. He inspired such obedience that no one seemed to even be breathing. Finn certainly wasn't, but it was more out of nervousness than intimidation.

Mr. O'Neill picked up a stack of paper booklets that had been sitting on the edge of the stage, and looked up and down each row of seats at the people gathered there. "Today I will be announcing which students have been accepted for a tech position. When I call your name, come up and get your personalised version of the script. Those of you who have not been called upon will be asked to leave immediately afterwards."

The students who were a part of the acting cast all stood behind him on stage in an outward facing semi-circle. Finn recognised some of them, particularly the pretty redhead standing in the middle of the group. He'd never felt so nervous before, and he thought his heart was going to literally leap out of his throat. Each subsequent name O'Neill called only made him feel more out of sorts.

"... Marybeth Rae."

Bea looked surprised that she'd been called on at all, but she stood and stepped over the feet of the people in their row to reach the director.

Finn was proud of his friend, but it was beginning to seem less likely that he'd get a script of his own. O'Neill was down to the last few booklets, and there were still about a dozen people in the room waiting to hear their names.

"... Peter MacMillan… Arthur McManus… and Finn Mertens."

He jumped to his feet, shouting a cheer of triumph that only seemed to irk the director. He stepped on a few toes as he made his way to the front of the room, apologising as he passed.

When he received his script, the top right corner said 'spotlight' in wavy handwriting. He'd been hoping to get an actual stagehand position, but he was thankful for anything at all. Working on the play would give him plenty of time to get closer to Phoebe.

Returning to his seat, Finn shared a celebratory fist bump with Bea. Cute girl aside, it was going to be a lot of fun to work with his best friend on this theatre production.

Mr. O'Neill stood with his back straight, chest out, and his hands clasped together behind him. His hairline had been receding for decades, and his thin framed glasses seemed to only add more years to his appearance, but there was a sort of stern energy about him that didn't seem to have wavered despite his age. "Those of you who did not receive a script, please show yourselves out. For the remaining few, you'll find that your copy of the script contains all the necessary cues you'll need to memorise. Please study this as you would a school assignment. Today we'll be going over it once with just the acting cast so that you may get a firm understanding of the play. Next Friday, you will begin rehearsing it with the cast." He waved a hand at the actors on stage. "Come on down and meet your fellow crew members."

The actors came down the stage on the set of steps closest to the group, except for Phoebe who descended on the other end of the stage and stood further away from everyone else. She seemed to be examining the room, analysing the people who'd been chosen. Bea didn't move to meet with the other students.

"Aren't you going to say hi to everyone?" Finn asked.

She shook her head. "These are all Leslie's friends. I'll just stay seated. I'm sure I'll meet them in my own time. I just don't really want to yet."

"That's understandable. Do you mind if I go?"

She said that she didn't care.

"Okay, well… There's Phoebe. I'm going to go say hi." Finn jumped out of his seat, squeezing through the groups of actors welcoming the new production crew to make his way to the one girl standing off to the side.

"Congratulations, Finn," Phoebe said when he reached her. She put a hand on his arm, and it felt like fireworks were going off inside of his chest. "I'm going to enjoy working with you."

He smiled stupidly back at her. Was this real? "Me too. I can't wait to start."

"Places, people! Rehearsal begins in five minutes!"

She pressed her lips together in a tight line, and looked in Mr. O'Neill's direction. "That's me, then. I suppose I'll see you afterwards."

Finn faked a smile; he only wanted a few more minutes to talk to her. He was expecting her to just turn and walk away then, but she was still standing there. Was he supposed to say something?

"What's your friend's name? The tall girl?"

He tilted his head to the side, thinking that surely she didn't mean who he thought of. "Bonnie Bauers?"

Phoebe's face twisted as if she'd eaten a lemon drop. "She's friends with Marceline, isn't she? They seem rather close."

"Yeah. I guess. They've been friends since they were babies or something." Was this grounds for conversation? He knew that Leslie was the gossipy type, so maybe… "Hey, did you see when they came to school yesterday? Bonnie was wearing Marceline's clothes. It was really weird."

Phoebe nodded. There was a slight twitch in one eye, before she narrowed them. "I've got to go," she said, her jaw clenching visibly. Then she turned to take the steps up to the stage, and disappeared behind the curtain.

Finn wasn't really sure what had just happened, or why Phoebe was so interested in who Bonnie was. She seemed rather annoyed, maybe even upset, when Finn brought up that Bonnie was wearing Marceline's clothes the day before.

He returned to his seat where Bea was still waiting for him. "Did you see that? She totally touched my arm."

Bea rubbed her hands together nervously, swallowing a few times before she finally spoke. "Finn, I don't think that you should… I don't think Phoebe's really interested."

It really put him off that she would say that. He'd already heard it so many times from everyone else, Phoebe included. He just thought that his best friend would be more supportive than that. If Phoebe knew who he was as a man, she'd return his feelings. He was sure of it. Still, everyone doubted him. "What do you mean?"

She wrinkled her nose. Bea looked as if she was too afraid to tell him, but she said, "I don't think you're really her type."

"What does that even mean? I'm so sick of everyone fucking telling me that." He crossed his arms, slumping down in his seat. "Why does everyone think that? What? Am I not cool enough? Am I not a hot dude?"

"No, I don't think it's that. I think Phoebe just likes… er…"

"What? Spit it out already."

"Girls."

Finn did his best impersonation of a fish as he tried to get his mouth to work properly. He gave up on words and just laughed, throwing his head back. "Yeah, right. Why would she like girls? She could have any guy she wanted."

Bea pursed her lips, her brow furrowing. "I don't think that's how it works, Finn. Sexuality isn't a choice."

"Maybe you're right about that, but Phoebe's not a lesbian. What would even give you that idea?"

"I just have really good intuition when it comes to these things." She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a hair tie, twiddling it between her fingers.

"You don't think Phoebe and Leslie are dating do you? They're always together." It was a joke to him, obviously. Leslie was boy crazy, and Phoebe was too popular and too attractive to be anything but straight.

Bea didn't look at him. "No. Phoebe likes someone else."

"Oh, so you know who it is then?" Finn asked in a mocking tone.

She finally looked at him, her face flushed. "Can you stop being so mean to me?" She huffed. "It doesn't matter who she likes. That person doesn't like her back the same anyway."

"Sorry." Finn did feel bad for teasing her. "I just can't see Phoebe being… that way. How can you even tell when two people like each other?"

"Look in their eyes. There's something different about a person when they're madly in love." Bea twisted the hair tie between her fingers, making a sideways eight. "I'm not really sure how else to explain it, but there's a little light in their eyes. And when they see the person they love, that light gets brighter."

Finn thought about it for a moment, unsure of how you could see any sort of thing in a person's eyes. Maybe he'd try it with Jake and Aeryn since he already knew they liked each other a lot.

The curtains on stage drew back, interrupting his thoughts. He opened his script, and glanced at all the cues written in red ink on his page. Finn tried to visualise himself doing the spotlights as he watched the rehearsal play out.

The Christmas play was exactly what one would expect - a cheesy story about a character finding cheer just in time for the holidays. By no surprise, Phoebe had landed the leading female role. He found it hard to believe that she was the same person. The girl he knew was stoical and nearly expressionless - he couldn't even think of a time he'd ever really heard her laugh. At least, if there was a time, then it was so subtle that it was easily forgotten. The girl he watched on stage, however, was full of energy and joy. She laughed, and sang, and danced around. Finn couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her, and even when she was not at the centre of attention she was still in character.

Finn was so absorbed in the play by the time it ended, that he'd completely forgotten to read over his parts. He turned to Bea. "Do you want to come over this weekend and study the script with me?"

Without looking up from her own booklet, she nodded. She turned the page before she finally set it down. "That was really cute. I cried a few times at the end."

"What part did you get?" Finn asked, realising he hadn't checked in with her in all the excitement of being involved.

Bea smiled apologetically. "I'm a stagehand. Sorry. I know that's what you wanted."

"It's okay." He shrugged. "I'm just glad I got a part at all. I was sweating through my shirt when O'Neill was calling out names." He looked over Bea's head at a familiar figure walking down the aisle, carrier bag in hand.

Suddenly there was a sour taste in Finn's mouth. Why the hell is she here? His eyes followed Marceline as she walked across the auditorium to meet Phoebe. Marceline handed her the carrier bag - of what, Finn couldn't tell - and then they stood talking for a short while.

Phoebe must have still been calming down from her role in the play, because when she looked at Marceline she didn't have that blank stare that he always saw her with. She was smiling up at the other girl, biting her lip to keep from laughing at something that Marceline had been saying.

Bea touched his arm. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked, looking at her.

She tilted her head to the side, squinting at him. "Because of Marceline and Phoebe?"

"Yeah, it's kind of annoying that they're friends, but I'm not going to tell Phoebe about what happened and risk her thinking I'm mental."

One of Bea's eyebrows slowly rose, disappearing behind her blonde hair. "Huh?"

Finn shrugged, trying to think of a better way to phrase what he meant. "I'm not going to get in the way of two gal pals. I know girls are partial to each other."

Bea just made an exasperated groaning sound. "Okay, Finn. Sure."

He wasn't really sure what had gotten her knickers in a bunch, but he knew she would just dodge the topic if he asked. When he looked over again, Marceline was gone. "I'll be right back."

Finn waved at Phoebe to let her know that he wanted to talk, and walked sideways until he was out in the aisle. "That was bloody brilliant! I was so surprised to see you in action."

"Yeah." Phoebe's eyes were incredibly glazed over, and her emotionless expression had returned.

The air between them felt cold, not necessarily hostile, but unwelcoming. "Okay," he said, rubbing his arm. "I'll see you later, I guess."

What even happened just now? Finn asked himself. He grabbed his bag off the floor and shoved his booklet inside of it. Bea looked up at him, still sitting. "My brother will be here soon to take us home. We should go wait outside for him."

"Okie dokie." Bea grabbed her bag and, with a little help from Finn, got it over her shoulders. "I have some allowance saved up. Do you think you and Jake would want to get pizza or something? I'll cover you both."

"We can pay for our own, but sure," he answered distractedly. His mind was still trying to work through what had just happened with Phoebe.

Jake's car was already parked out front. When his brother saw them coming closer, he started the engine. Finn opened the back door for Bea and then sat in the front next to Jake.

"How was it?" Jake asked.

Bea leaned in from where she sat in the back, setting her chin on the shoulder of Finn's seat. "We both got parts! The play was really cute as well."

"Very cool." Jake smiled at her, then he looked at Finn. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, man. I'm just thinking." He feigned a smile, although Jake knew him well enough to see through it. "Bea wants to go for pizza, is that okay with you?"

Jake eyed him for a time, trying to read whatever he kept hidden just under the surface, and then put the car in drive. "Sure, we can get food. There's actually a deli that I've been meaning to try, and it's probably cheaper than pizza. Would you guys rather go there?"

"That sounds great," Bea said. Finn didn't really care where they ate. He was just hungry and confused.

Jake kept trying to talk to him, but he just couldn't be bothered to come up with a response. Why did Phoebe look at Marceline like that? Was it because… No, he put the thought out of his head. Or, at least he tried to, but it was hard not to see the way that Marceline and Phoebe acted around each other. But Marceline couldn't possibly be into girls either - she dated Ash! He supposed he could bring it up to Bonnie. She knew Marceline better than he did, and maybe he could ask her if she knew anything about Phoebe as well, but he'd need more to go off of than just a random theory.

Jake turned on the radio to fill the void as they drove. The host of the station was in the midst of telling the audience about an upcoming event that he would be at; nothing Finn cared about. As the host faded out, a familiar twinkling of piano keys cut in. He and Jake had grown up on their dad's music, on long car rides filled with sing-alongs - he knew what his brother would be plotting even before the singer began.

"I think Finn needs some cheering up, what d'ya reckon?" he asked, looking at Bea in his rear-view mirror.

Finn couldn't see her very well from his own mirror, and her response was nearly drowned out by the music, but he heard her still. "Yeah, he's a big grumpy butt. What did you have in mind?"

Jake nudged Finn with his elbow, a grin spreading from ear to ear. He didn't sing often in front of anyone else, but he started belting the words out alongside the music. It didn't take long for Bea to catch on, and the two of them sang together - completely off-key. They were having so much fun though, and it made him smile despite his weird mood.

Finn laughed when Bea squeezed herself between their seats, sitting on the edge of her own. She beamed with infectious joy. These uninhibited moments were worth more than any foggy memory of a party, or the unrequited feelings for a girl. This fun feeling would be what he remembered late in life. He only wished he had realised it sooner.

The sudden epiphany made him want to sing, and dance, and kiss the sky. He turned to his brother and his best friend, who were both looking at him as well, and they sang together - all of them, completely off-key.

"That's my brother!" Jake laughed as the song faded away and clapped him on the shoulder, giving a little squeeze.

Bea was still watching him, then she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad you're feeling better," she said quietly.

Finn's jaw went slack. He was totally shocked that she would do that. "Yeah… Thanks."

She withdrew to her spot behind his seat, out of view. Finn touched his face. It probably meant nothing, he knew. Just a friendly peck on the cheek. It made him feel warm and fluttery, nonetheless. No girl besides his mum had ever kissed him before, even in such a small way. Even though it was just Bea, it was still a wonderful feeling.

Jake glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, the far side of his mouth turning up in a smile.

"Boys, it's time to do laundry. If you have any dirty clothes please bring them down!" Margaret shouted after them as they went to their rooms.

Finn gathered all the clothes off his floor, darting back and forth to grab articles that seemed to magically appear, and wadded them into a big ball that he carried downstairs with both hands. "Here you go, mum."

She kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Finn drummed his fingers against the washing machine, waiting for her to finish pouring liquid detergent over the clothes. When she turned to him, he asked, "Is it okay if our friends come over for Halloween? We were just going to hang out in the basement and have a scary film marathon."

"Who's invited?" she asked, pointedly.

"It's going to be me and Jake, Bonnie, Aeryn, Bea, and uh… Bongo."

His mother stopped what she was doing and turned to eye him with a sceptical look. "The boy who's friends with that girl?"

Finn didn't like Bongo, not really… but Bonnie did. She was one of his best friends in the world, and he was willing to take a bullet for her if it made her happy. "He's a good guy, and Jake said he wasn't involved in that thing. I think you might like him, even."

Margaret clicked her tongue. "I'll talk to your father about it, but no promises."

He kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks, mum!" Their dad would be okay with the idea if Jake put in a good word for the guy. It was his mum who was always the harder one to convince. Finn almost felt like he had won this battle already.

The screen of his phone was lit up when he returned to his bedroom. He closed the door behind him and laid down, checking to see who had texted him.

Ash Williams - 2m ago: What are you doing, kid? Wanna come over for a bit?

"I wish I could, but I've got to study. I got a part in that play I was telling you about," Finn texted back.

He reached into his backpack and grabbed the little booklet, then laid back down. Holding it only brought back his feelings for Phoebe. Sure, he'd had an eye-opening revelation about the meaning of life, but the heart wants what the heart wants. He put the script down, staring up at his ceiling for a bit.

There was no denying that he still fancied her, but it didn't make his stomach twist in knots to think about her anymore. At least, not right now when he was miles away from wherever she might be.

He touched his cheek. There was definitely a feeling there when Bea kissed him, but he knew it was likely only because it had never happened to him. Finn had never had any kind of feelings for her before. She probably didn't have any for him either. It was just a friendly gesture, he kept telling himself.

His phone buzzed, and he checked the message from Ash. "That's awesome, dude. I'm so proud of you. Clear up some time this weekend though, because I miss my favourite little punk."

That made him smile. "Sure thing, bro." He touched his cheek again. "Hey Ash? Can I ask you for some advice?" Then he hit send.

He didn't want to get into reading only to be interrupted by another reply, so he waited patiently for Ash to get back to him.

"Sure. What's up?"

"How do you know whether or not you like a girl?" He erased it, watching each letter disappear as his cursor reversed direction. Finn would eventually figure that one out on his own. "How do you know if a girl likes you?"

Ash's reply read, "It depends. She'll act differently around you than anyone else."

"Is it worth it to date your best friend?"

While he waited for a reply, there was a tugging feeling at the back of his mind. "Hey, I think this girl I know likes Marceline."

Ash replied to both of the messages at the same time. "It's never worth it to date your best friend. When things go bad, which they will, then you won't have a best friend either. And I'm not surprised. Marce has been with more girls than I have. Is it Bonnie? I'm going to laugh my arse off if it's Bonnie."

A sudden chill came over him.

"Is it Bonnie?"

He reread the message over and over again before finally sending off his reply. "It's not Bonnie, no. How do you know her? I didn't know Marceline wasn't straight."

Finn's heart was racing as he waited for a reply. He didn't really know why, just that the new information was shocking.

"It's not obvious? Marce is totally in love with Bonnie. Literally everyone who knows her can tell."

"I couldn't," he said to himself.

Bonnie deserves to know.

Finn pulled up his contact list and selected her name. His door opened just as he put the phone to his ear.

"Are you busy? We should play a game," Jake whispered, trying not to interrupt Finn's call.

He held up a finger over his mouth to shush his brother. "I'm calling Bonnie. Can you believe that Marceline wants to date her?"

Jake's eyes went wide, then in two long strides he swept across Finn's room and slapped the phone out of his hand. Bonnie's voice came over the receiver, barely audible, just as Jake hung it up.

"What was that for?!" Finn looked at his brother in disbelief.

The phone buzzed and Bonnie's name displayed over the screen. Jake jerked it away before Finn could answer. "What exactly were you going to do? Tell her?!"

"Yeah, duh. Bonnie deserves to know. You don't even like Marceline anyway!"

"It doesn't matter whether or not I like her!" Jake yelled back. "It's not your place to out her like that. You should know better than to get involved when it's none of your business!"

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry," Finn grumbled. Seeing his brother get worked up over someone he hated made him feel bad for almost telling Bonnie. He hadn't meant it to "out" Marceline, he just wanted to tell her so… he actually wasn't really sure why he felt the need to tell her. "I'm sorry," he said, sincerely.

"It's okay, man. Just don't do it again. I don't care if it's the worst person in the world, that's some heavy stuff." Jake sat down and slung an arm around Finn's shoulders. "You're still my little bro, and I still love you. Now, do you want to come down and play some games with me?"

"Of course I do." He tapped his feet, staring at the ground in front of him. "Hey, Jake?"

"Yeah?"

Finn stood and turned to face him, edging backwards closer to the door. He exhaled dramatically, waiting until his hand found the doorknob. Then he looked up, smiled, and yelled, "Winner picks the game!"

He threw the door open, jogging down the stairs as quick as he could. Jake was on him in moments, trying to race past without tripping over his brother. When they reached the bottom platform Jake managed to get in front of him, zooming down the stairs to the basement before Finn could even catch up to him.

"Man, I never win anything with you," he panted, holding his side.

Jake was already turning on the PS4, skimming through their library of games. "It's okay. You can still pick the game, since I'm nice."

"You won, so it's your pick. I don't mind playing whatever you want to play." Finn plopped down on the sofa next to his brother.

A loud notification sound played from Jake's pocket. "Huh. That's weird. No one ever texts me except Aeryn, and she's out to eat with Bonnie." He fished around in his pocket for his phone and checked the message. "It's from Bea."

Finn leaned over. "What's it say? Is it about me?"

"Monday morning, please meet me in the school gymnasium," he read aloud.

Finn furrowed his brow. "Why does she want to meet you in the gym?"

"Not just me. It says it's a group message. She sent one to you and Bonnie as well. Aeryn too."

Finn sat back on the sofa, trying to make sense of the request. What could be so important that she needed them all together to talk about?

He wasn't going to worry about it. Whatever it was, everything would be all right. At least that, he was sure of.