Chapter 19 - Finn (Originally Published: 11 December 2015)

Of all the terrible things in the world, there were two Finn hated above all others: the first was feeling left out, and the second - which he'd only just discovered - was new couples. Unfortunately, he'd been forced to endure both of these things as he waited for his ride to come pick him up.

He crossed his arms and leaned back into the diner booth. Across from him, Bonnie and Bongo slurped at the pink and white swirls of a tall milkshake through their two long bendy straws. They'd been talking about going to some lakeside camping spot that, supposedly, only Bongo and his group knew about. Bonnie's friends were all invited, which meant of course that Finn was as well, but the details were unimportant. He'd tuned them out a while ago. Bonnie giggled at something her new boyfriend said, absent-mindedly stirring the shared beverage with her straw. It had been Bonnie's idea to have a triple date, but now that they were all out together it seemed she was too absorbed in her own little world to notice anything else.

To Finn's left, Jake and Aeryn sat across from each other. Apparently they'd finally started dating while Finn was at his friend's house for bonfire night - the same night that Bonnie and Bongo had gotten together, he'd heard. When he'd gotten home, Jake was still coming down from the excitement of kissing the girl he'd been pining over for the last four years. Nervous and overwhelmed with emotion, all he could manage to tell Finn about the evening was "Aeryn. Me. Yes." So now, every time Finn wanted something, he would mock Jake by saying something to the effect of: "Snack. Us. Fix." or "Games. Us. Yes." It was rather amusing to see how red faced his brother would get, but truly he was proud of Jake.

Of course, Finn was happy for the lot of them. It just never occurred to him how grossly affectionate people could be. Maybe he was just being bitter; if today had worked out the way he'd intended, he would have had his own part in the sickening lovey dovey nonsense. Sadly, Phoebe hadn't been at school today.

That was just another unfortunate turn of events he'd experienced in the past twenty-four hours. It was mostly his fault, to be sure. If Finn could somehow grab a hold of his own wavering feelings, maybe he wouldn't feel like such a moron. The premise for a triple date was established before school, in front of all of them, so when Bea waited expectantly for an invite to join them they were met with disappointment. Not only had Finn openly announced his plans to invite Phoebe instead, leaving Bea with a face flushed from embarrassment, but he'd cancelled out on plans the two of them had already made. It was a jerk move, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was worth Bea ignoring him for the rest of the day. Now, not only had he been left dateless, he'd upset his best friend. It only made him feel more stupid to see everyone else having a good time.

Finn got up to purchase another drink. Between Aeryn giving Jake Korean lessons and the other two making goo goo eyes at each other, no one noticed him leave. If he had just invited Bea instead, even platonically, they would both be having a better time. Bea wouldn't ignore him or talk about boring stuff. They would want to make an adventure out of everything they did. That was Finn's favourite thing about Bea. The memory of a time when they'd gotten yelled at for abusing the self-service soda fountain at one of those big chain restaurants made him smile. He checked his phone, hoping for anything at all - a text from Bea that they weren't still mad at him, some kind of confirmation that his other friend was still coming to pick him up, or literally anything at all to keep him occupied while he played the humiliating role of fifth wheel.

Returning to the booth, he caught sight of a distinctly familiar figure walking past the window. Finn set his drink down and stormed out the restaurant door, enticed by what this encounter might bring.

"Phoebe!" She stopped and turned, surprised to see him. The tense feeling he'd been struggling with moments before seemed to alleviate when she smiled. However, the butterflies in his stomach never seemed to cease around her. He'd only recently gotten comfortable enough to hold his own in a conversation with Phoebe, but that smile… he could never get used to such a rare beauty.

She clutched the carrier bag in her hands, watching him for a moment. It always made Finn feel so small when she did that, like she was examining him, picking out his flaws. "Hello, Finn," she eventually said.

"You weren't at school today. What happened? Are you okay?"

She seemed to relax a little bit, no longer overcome with the shock of someone jumping out of nowhere and shouting her name. "I'm doing well. I just thought I'd take a day to myself."

He thought he understood. "Yeah. Play rehearsal is pretty crazy and all. Plus, you're probably in the top percentile at our school. I can't imagine how hard you study."

Phoebe shook her head, her mouth dropping open in an amused smile. "You overestimate me, Finn. I do my best, but my marks aren't perfect."

"Still better than me, I bet." That wouldn't have been a surprise; Finn was the worst at paying attention to things out of anyone he knew. "What's that?" he asked, gesturing at the bag she carried.

"A gift. For a friend," she answered quickly. Phoebe looked away from him, and he couldn't help but focus on her strong jawline, or the taut muscles in her neck.

Tearing himself from his trance, he followed her line of sight to the window. All of his friends were now watching them. They gave a little wave. "Oh, right. We're on sort of a group date. You weren't there today, but I wanted to ask you out." He took a deep, shaky breath. How he'd gotten through the explanation without cracking, he didn't know. "It's still not too late… if you want to maybe join us?"

Phoebe looked away from the group, uninterested in their friendly smiles. "No. I don't think that I should. Thank you, though." The tone she'd spoken in was unconvincing.

"Oh." Finn stared at his feet, suddenly disheartened.

"Perhaps another time. I'm just a bit… preoccupied at the moment."

"Yeah. Okay. That's fine." Finn shoved his hands into his pockets. Maybe he'd imagined the growing connection between them. He should have known better than to think he was worthy of her time.

She seemed to sense that he didn't fully believe her, because she added, "I have someone staying over at my house. I just stepped out while they were asleep to grab a few things. A sort of 'cheer-up kit', if you will."

"So, the thing?" Finn gestured to the bag again.

Phoebe nodded that it was for the aforementioned friend. "I have to get going before my guest wakes up. I'm sorry I couldn't stay and chat." Finn waved goodbye, but she didn't move to leave. Phoebe just watched him for a time, then with a deep breath she said, "Why did you join the play, Finn?"

"Honestly?" He tugged his ear, laughing nervously. "I did it to be close to you."

Phoebe's lips curled up in the smallest smile he'd ever seen. "I have to go now. Bye, Finn."

He shifted his weight to the other foot, watching as she continued down the street. Had he said the wrong thing? That didn't seem to matter; he was more reassured than anything. If it weren't for her mystery guest, she would have probably stayed. After all, she did imply that there was promise for another time.

"Did she not want to come in?" Bonnie asked when he returned to his seat.

Finn shrugged. "She has other stuff to take care of."

Aeryn dipped a chip into her little bowl of ketchup, swirling it around in the red paste. "She wasn't at school today, was she?"

Bonnie drummed her fingers against the table. "No. Neither was Marceline, for that matter."

"I don't think that's related," Finn said defensively. His friends all stared at him in startled bewilderment.

"You don't think what's related?" Bonnie asked.

The glass of a window may share the visuals of two different places, but not the secrets, he realised. They hadn't been there to hear about Phoebe's 'guest'; the outburst had come from Finn's subconscious.

"Nothing," he said, although he knew it wasn't just 'nothing'. The possibility that something had happened between the two girls still bothered him. Perhaps it was that Phoebe finally seemed to be giving him a chance that caused those fears to resurface. Either way, it didn't matter. Phoebe and Marceline hadn't talked to each other in quite a while.

"How is Marceline?" Aeryn asked, concerned. Finn and Jake, of course, knew the reason behind her sudden interest in the other girl.

"She's been feeling a bit under the weather lately." Bonnie frowned, looking down at the remains of her milkshake. "I mean, I don't know if that's just an excuse. She was perfectly fine Friday, and we had plans to do something together over the weekend, but she called me out of nowhere to cancel. I'm a bit worried."

"Because of me?" Bongo asked.

Yes, Finn wanted to say. It is entirely because of you.

Bonnie took Bongo's hand in hers, running her fingers over the lines on his palm. "It was just so random. I know Keila told her about us, and I think she's mad at me for not telling her first." She shrugged, looking away to hide the tears in her eyes… but Finn saw. "It's okay. I would be mad at me, too."

He looked at Aeryn, subtly gesturing towards Bonnie with a nod of his head and a flick of his eyes.

Taking the hint, she stood and placed a gentle hand on Bonnie's back. "I'm off to the ladies'. Care to tag along?"

Bonnie nodded and quickly followed her away.

Jake tapped the table to get Bongo's attention. He tolerated being around him, but when the girls weren't around to smooth out the awkward ripples Jake would put his walls back up. He was trying though, Finn had to give him that. "What about you? Haven't you heard from her?"

Bongo's voice seemed to get even quieter, anxious to get on well with Bonnie's friends, yet trepidatious because it was Jake. "Marce hasn't spoken to me at all. I went to her house this morning to pick her up for school, but Simon said she hasn't been home since Friday."

A painful thump echoed throughout Finn's chest. There was no way that Phoebe and Marceline's stories could just be coincidence. Even if they weren't, Phoebe had only referred to her guest as a friend. Nothing more. Regardless of what Finn tried to tell himself to reassure that Phoebe was his, his thoughts rang hollow. Thankfully he didn't have to dwell on it for long; his phone dinged to inform him that it was time to leave.

"I've got to go. Ashley is here to pick me up. Tell the girls I said goodbye."

Finn didn't want to leave Jake alone with Bongo, but if he stalled he might be expected to introduce his friend to them. That would be awkward.

The car was parked around the back of the diner. If anyone had seen it, they would have thought it odd, but it was inconspicuous enough to avoid catching the attention of his brother or their friends.

"Hey Ash," he said, tossing his backpack into the boot.

"Hmph." Ash nodded, his attention more focused on the cigarette he'd been trying to light.

Finn fastened his safety belt, waiting patiently for his friend to start driving. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Ash bobbed his head, although it was unclear whether it was to the music or Finn's gratitude. "Fuck," he muttered, flicking the cigarette out the window. "I left my fucking jumper in the car and Pat forgot to put the window up before it rained. That's a whole pack ruined."

Finn jumped at the unexpected sound of Ash punching the dashboard. Normally he would try to offer some reassuring words, but when he saw the heavy rise and fall of Ash's chest he decided that words could only hurt the situation. Finn was afraid to see Ash get mad at something that actually mattered.

After taking a few minutes to cool off, Ash started the car. The only way to get back to his house required them to pass by the front of the diner, right in view of Jake. Finn peered around the driver seat as they passed by to make sure no one saw them. The coast was clear, though Finn knew if Bongo hadn't been in the middle of snogging Bonnie he would have noticed the familiar vehicle drive past.

"Is that Marce's girl I saw in there?" Ash steered the car down a side street, staying clear of main roads just as Finn had asked.

Finn held his safety belt with both hands to give himself something to do other than fidget. His nerves were all crazy from worrying about being seen, but Ash's outburst and the heavy music weren't helping. "Bonnie? Yeah. Well, she's technically Bongo's girl now."

"Hmph." Ash ground his teeth back and forth, a habit Finn recognised as thought rather than anger. Although, right now he wasn't so sure what to think. "Do you think Marce knows that yet?"

Marceline had randomly cut ties with Ash, so it perplexed him that he would want to know if his ex-girlfriend had heard the news. His tone of voice made Finn wonder if maybe he still cared about her. "She does," Finn said, scratching his chin. "I don't think she took it well. She wasn't at school today."

Ash laughed uproariously. "It's about time she realised it was never going to happen. You know, I've met Bonnie before and she's completely straight. She tried hitting on me, but I'm still in love with Marce so I turned her down." He shot Finn a wink.

That didn't sound like Bonnie at all, but he did remember when she and Jake had turned up to Ash's party. Maybe something happened then that he didn't know about. Ash had so many stories about girls he'd been with. It wouldn't be too farfetched to believe that there was a certain charm he secretly had over women. "Maybe Marceline will finally come back to you, man. I know how much she means to you."

"Maybe," Ash grumbled. "She'll at least move on, probably. Maybe she'll settle down with some cute girl or something."

Finn gripped his seatbelt tighter, staring at the dusty vinyl of the dashboard. That's what worries me.

Vertical window blinds filtered the setting sun into strips, casting long shadows set into a picket fence. The blinds were probably the most stylish object in Ash's house, and they hadn't been something the boys had personally picked out. If Finn remembered correctly, the fancy vertical blinds had been stolen from a hotel some odd years ago.

He nudged his sleeping friend again, growing impatient with the lack of response. "I've got to get home. Wake up."

"What?" Ash rubbed both his eyes. "Why? What's up?"

It was hard to feel triumphant that he'd finally woken his friend; Finn had already wasted so much time and energy on the task. "I have homework to do and I'm going to need Jake's help with it."

Ash groaned. "What subject is it in?"

"Maths."

"Oh, dude. That's nothing. I can help you with that. Go grab your bag."

Finn was ready to go home. It'd been a long day full of frustrations, and he just wanted to blow off some steam by playing video games, but Ash was the coolest person he knew. He wasn't sure he wanted to risk losing his friend's respect over a bad day. He ran out to Ash's car to grab his backpack. It wasn't incredibly easy to come and go as he pleased anyway. Hanging out with Ash required some careful planning on his end. Finn counted himself lucky that Ash would still want to hang out with him despite the extra effort it took.

The snick of a bottle opening welcomed Finn back into the house. He found Ash waiting at the kitchen table, drawing shapes in the condensation dripping from a beer bottle. As far as he knew, it was Ash's first drink of the day, and Finn didn't want to ruin his good time by reminding him that he needed to get home at some point. After all, one beer didn't get someone like Ash intoxicated.

Finn sat at the table next to him and pulled his worksheet out. The first two questions were easy enough, but he was far too restless to concentrate.

"I'll be right back. I've got to use the loo." Finn set his pencil down and pushed back from the kitchen table. With so many guys living in one house, it didn't come at any real surprise that the bathroom was filthy. Whenever Finn had any sort of business to take care of at Ash's house, he would just hold it in until he got home. Unfortunately, he had refilled his drink one too many times at the restaurant earlier.

The age-old smell of vomit and urine coming from the bathroom made his eyes water. Holding his breath, he opened the door, fully prepared to power through it. However, if he thought that the experience couldn't get any worse, opening the door certainly debunked that notion. His stomach churned, warning him that if he didn't hurry then the odour of his regurgitated food would be added into the mix.

Finn wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but his mother had taught him better than to not wash his hands after relieving himself. Hairpins were scattered around the sink, but no soap. Rummaging through the contents of a cupboard produced a pump bottle of liquid hand wash. It was a small thing to be thankful for, but Finn's gratitude for not having to use a questionable bar of soap knew no bounds.

Towels hung ominously on racks, and some were tossed haphazardly into the floor. Finn didn't trust any of them to be clean, and deciding that damp was better than nothing, he wiped his hands off on his pants.

Upon returning to the kitchen, he found Ash in his seat, tapping Finn's pencil unrhythmically against a now empty beer bottle.

"You have about a million hairpins in there. Spill it. Have you got a new girlfriend?" Finn leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms, expectantly.

Ash's eyes were glazed over, glowing with an impish malice. "I don't, no. Those are for something else entirely." He popped the cap off another bottle of beer and tossed the old one into the bin. "Come on. I'll show you."

"I've still got to finish my homework."

Ash doubled back to the bathroom to grab something. "Don't worry, kid. I finished it for you. I remembered a lot of that stuff from when I was in school."

"Oh. Thanks." Curious now, Finn trailed after Ash.

The grass in the garden behind the house was still wet from the rain earlier that day. An old fence surrounded the perimeter, blocking off their view of the neighbouring houses. Finn crossed his arms when the wind blew, irritated with himself for having left his sweater inside. "What were you going to show me?"

Ash took a swig of his beer and set the bottle down next to the back door. He motioned for Finn to come closer, and then demonstrated some unknown goal by opening one hairpin into an 'L' shape. He then pulled off the rubber end with his teeth and spit it out to the side. "You're going to be bloody brilliant at this, Finn. I already know it."

Although what 'this' was, he still wasn't sure.

On the same hairpin, Ash folded the zig-zag end into a small handle. Where the rubber bead had previously been on the straight edge, he put it into the keyhole of the back door and applied enough pressure to bend it to a slight angle. On a second hairpin, he simply folded the part nearest the loop end forward.

Ash took Finn's hand and pressed them both into his palm. "This is a really useful skill for you to have if you're ever locked out of your house… Or anywhere, really." The remark came with a sly smile, and something about it gave Finn a bad feeling. Ash was his friend though, and this was a useful skill to know. Either way, he knew Ash would never lead him astray.

"I've sort of done this before," Finn said with pride. "If I don't want anyone to go in my room when I'm away from home, I'll just lock it from the inside and pick the lock with a paperclip when I come back." Looking down at his makeshift tools, he realised that this would be nothing at all like a bedroom door. "I've never done it this way though."

Ash shoved his hands into his pockets and gestured to the doorknob with his chin. "I don't have the patience or dexterity for this kind of thing, but I know how to do it. I'll guide you. First and foremost, the one with the bent loop is going to be your lever. You're going to want to stick the looped end into the keyhole and turn it as far as it'll go, but be careful. You don't want to break the hairpin off in the lock."

Finn did as he was told, patiently awaiting further instruction. One step in and this was already different from his paperclip method. Houses were meant to be more secure, of course.

"Keep constant pressure on that one. Don't let it go," Ash advised. "Now you're going to want to put that other hairpin in the keyhole above the lever. Make sure the bent edge is facing upwards. That's going to be your pick."

"Okay." Finn examined the 'L' shaped hairpin, making sure to place the angle upwards. It sort of reminded him of a video game he'd played, and now that he had something to compare it to it didn't seem so difficult.

"There's going to be a couple of loose pins. Can you feel around for them?"

Finn fiddled around with the pick, gently so as not to break it. He could feel a focused pressure point through the hairpin. Slipping the pick underneath, he found that it could be lifted. "Yeah. There's two loose pins. The third one is kind of stiff."

"Push it up until you hear it cl-"

Click. Finn glanced back at Ash, satisfied with himself. "Not bad, huh?"

"Wipe that smug grin off your face, mate. We're still not done here. You're going to want to find the next stiff one. It won't necessarily be behind the first pin. It could be any of them."

Finn nodded, focusing on his work. The next pin was two behind the first he'd opened. It was stubbornly set in place, but he managed to break it loose with another gratifying click. Once that one had been fixated, he breezed through the rest of the pins in quick succession. The lever that he'd been keeping pressure on suddenly turned, and the door unlocked.

"Bloody brilliant!" Ash jumped towards him, brimming with excitement. He yanked Finn to his feet in a hug and kissed his cheek. "I knew you would come in handy!"

"Okay. Calm down." Finn laughed, rubbing the moist splotch from his face.

Ash let him go and opened the door. "Do it again. I want to see how fast you can get it done without my help." With that, he closed the door and locked it again.

Taking up his tools, Finn got through the lock in no time at all. He opened the door, somewhat surprised to see both Ash and Billy standing there.

"I think he's ready to play with the big boys," Billy said, looking through Finn with those supernatural green eyes.

Ash slung an arm around Finn's shoulders, leaning in as if he were to divulge a secret. "Great job, kid. Billy actually thinks you're cool now," he whispered. "What do you say at the end of the month, you come stay the night here and we'll introduce you to some of our other friends?"

"That sounds great." Finn smiled in Billy's direction, purposely avoiding eye contact. "For now though, I should probably be heading home. Jake's going to start wondering who 'Ashley' really is if I stay out too late."

"Sorted. Party Pat's going to have to take you though. I'm a bit too smashed to drive at the moment," he said, waving his beer bottle for proof. "Billy and I need to talk as well. Pat'll be in the lounge, no doubt."

Finn didn't really want Billy to take him anyway. That dude was so creepy, and he wasn't sure if he could stand to be alone with the guy for the time it took to drive back to his house. "It's been fun, Ash. I'll see you guys later."

Ash grabbed a handful of his shirt before he could get far, and pulled him back again. "Do me a favour, buddy."

Feeling disoriented from being jerked backwards suddenly, he barely managed a "Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone that you're going to be with us at the end of the month. Not your brother. Not your parents. And especially not Marceline." Ash's dark words were heavy with the pungent stench of alcohol.

"Yeah, man. I wouldn't anyway. You can trust me."

"Good." He let go of Finn's shirt and patted him on the back, his voice returning to its usual tune. "Get on then, mate. You wouldn't want to worry anyone."

When he found him, Party Pat was sprawled out on the sofa, staring into space. "You alright, man?" Finn asked.

"If we're made of stardust and stars follow an inexorable pattern of gravitational pull - rising and falling in tune with the universe, does that mean that fate is real?"

The random question was disarming. "What?"

"Nothing. Never mind." Pat sat up quickly, wincing at the change in elevation. "What's up, little man?"

"Ash has been drinking, and Billy's a bit tied up right now. Do you think you could give me a ride home? Or are you too monged out to drive?"

"I'm good." Pat stood and stretched, letting out a long groan. "You live out by Marce, don't you?" he asked, scratching his back.

"Yeah. We live pretty close to each other. Is that too far for you?"

Pat turned him around by his shoulders. "Tell you what - buy me some food on the way over and I'll ignore how much petrol it takes to get you there."

The pair gathered their things - Finn, his backpack and Pat, his keys - before heading out to the little baby blue car in the drive. Pat took his seat, staring at the steering wheel as if it had been replaced with the controls of an alien spacecraft without his knowledge.

Great, Finn thought to himself, I'm going to die.

Still, he needed to get home. Asking for a ride from anyone else would get him into trouble. They would just bring up the ghosts of the past all over again. No one understood Ash like he did. Sure, the guy had a bad temper, and maybe he did keep dubious company, but Ash was a good person. Everything he'd done was for the sake of a girl he loved. If Finn couldn't respect that, he was a hypocrite.

The door handle to pat's car didn't budge. "I think you locked the door," Finn said, frowning.

The driver tore his attention away from the dashboard to squint at the door. "No, no. It's unlocked. You've got to sort of jiggle the handle."

Annoyed, Finn tugged it this way and that. The door remained unopened.

"No. I mean-" Pat groaned and came around the car. He handed Finn the keys. "Go sit down. I've got this." With expert proficiency, he opened the car door and sat down in the passenger seat.

Finn was still standing outside of the car. "Um."

Pat blinked his eyes a few times before looking up at him. He stared blankly for a long time at the keys in Finn's hands. "Where are we going?"

"You're-"

"Taking you home! Right. I forgot." Pat grabbed the keys from him and walked around to the other side of the car. "Let's get going then, yeah?"

Praying to whatever was out there that he wouldn't die in this metal death trap with a grown man called 'Party Pat', Finn climbed in and shut the door.

Surprisingly enough, Pat wasn't a terrible driver. Aside from knocking down his own post box on the way out, he'd handled the car like a normal human being.

As promised, Finn had him stop at a service station so he could run in and buy a few snacks - a couple of bags of crisps, some candy bars, and a canned coffee for each of them. It'd been awhile since he'd eaten, and looking at all the food collected in his arms made his stomach growl. I'm sure one bag of crisps isn't going to ruin my supper.

Pat was dozing off when he returned to the car, and any concern Finn had of whether or not he liked coffee had been exchanged with a concern for his own safety.

"Pat!" Finn lightly smacked his face a few times. "Come on. You've got to stay awake."

Party Pat awoke with a start. "I'm up! I'm up!" Immediately, his eyes were drawn to the mound of food that Finn had piled between their seats. "You're a saint, man." Pat grabbed a candy bar and tore it open with his teeth, taking a huge bite that nearly took the wrapper as well.

Finn watched, amused as Pat's eyes rolled back in blissful enjoyment. He seemed to chew in slow motion, savouring the flavour. When he'd finished his first candy bar, Finn handed him one of the coffees. "Here. Drink up. I don't want you falling asleep on your way home."

Pat took the can and opened it carefully, wiping the cream coloured splatter on his pants. He gulped down big mouthfuls, sighing contently when he was satisfied. "I like you, kid." Pat wiped his mouth on his arm. For a while, the sentence hung in the air like an unfinished thought. He tapped the top of the can before finally saying, "I also like Marceline."

"I don't really talk to her anymore, so if you want me to put in a good word for you that might pose a problem."

"That's not what I meant." Pat set his drink in a cupholder, turning to regard Finn with the most serious and sober expression he'd ever held. "I've known Marceline for far longer than I have Ash. I don't know, maybe I'm biased. But I don't think you should be too trusting of him."

Finn raised an eyebrow, confused about where this was coming from. "You don't trust your own flatmate?"

Pat stared out the window, contemplating his words. "I think it's living with him that's taught me that." In the blink of an eye he grabbed a bag of crisps, his face no longer set so seriously. "Have you ever tried these? They're great." The sudden shift gave Finn whiplash. Pat grabbed a handful of the seasoned treat and shoved it into his mouth, offering him the bag.

He looked down at the crisps, then back up to Pat. A bad feeling tortured his stomach, twisting it like a wet rag. "No thanks. I've lost my appetite."

Finn tossed his bag onto the floor in his room. He'd returned home later than expected, due to a few wrong turns - dubbed 'shortcuts' by the driver - and Pat obstinately proclaiming that he knew the way like the back of his hand. Although, it could be argued that Pat likely didn't know the back of his own hand all that well. Finn's family had been expecting him back for supper, so when he came home to his mum already washing dishes he was certain he'd get in trouble. Margaret only smiled and kissed him on the cheek, reminding him that his father retired to bed early on Mondays.

Finn's pyjamas were still strewn across the rim of his clothes hamper where he'd left them. It was always the most highly anticipated feeling, Finn thought as he donned his nightwear, to come home and change into comfortable clothing.

When he and Jake were kids, they would always be so excited for Saturday morning cartoons in their footed onesies. Finn chuckled quietly to himself, thinking back to how small he was as a child and how he had to buy his onesies from the little girl's section. "It just makes you cooler, because you're not afraid to wear pink like the other boys. It's just a colour, Finn," Jake would always tell him.

Dressed and ready to wind down the rest of his day, he tiptoed down the hall to his brother's room, cautious not to wake Joshua.

With the back of his knuckles, Finn lightly rapped on the door.

"Come in."

Jake was lying on the bed with his laptop sitting on his stomach. The glow of the screen lit his face as his eyes darted back and forth over digital words. He looked tired, but not overly so.

Finn plopped down onto the bean bag chair, always mildly amused by the tuft of audible air that blew out of it when you sat down quickly. "Are you busy?"

"Not really." Jake closed his computer and set it to the side. "I was just doing a bit of holiday shopping online."

"Already? Christmas is still a month away." Oh bollocks. A month isn't that long! What am I going to get everyone?!

Jake seemed to notice his sudden sense of emergency. "You don't have to get me anything, man. We'll just spend Christmas day playing whatever game mum and dad get us. That'll be enough for me." He counted their friends off on his fingers. "Bonnie gets too flustered when you buy her anything more than a cheap coffee or ice cream. Aeryn's gift will be from the both of us, but I'm paying for it. We're not even entirely sure if you and Phoebe are dating, but she's rich anyway, so anything she could possibly want she probably already has. You're better off making her something. That leaves you with Bea."

Finn would have to think about Bea's gift later. He wanted it to be special, so whatever it was would require a lot of thought. "What about mum and dad?"

"Hm." Jake chewed his thumbnail, staring intently at the wall in front of him. "I was thinking we could both pitch in to get them something nice. Either way, we can't talk about it right now." He gestured to the wall behind him, the only barrier separating them from Joshua at the moment.

Jake was better with gifts than Finn was. More likely than not, he already had the perfect thing in mind for their parents, but it didn't hurt to give it some thought just in case. They could bounce ideas off each other later. That wasn't what Finn had come for in the first place. "Do you want to go downstairs and play a game or something?" he asked.

Jake sat up. "Didn't you ask me to help you with your school work earlier? We should get that out of the way first. Where's your backpack?"

"Oh, no." Finn waved a hand dismissively. "I already did it at Ashley's house."

"Okay. Show it to me." When Finn didn't move, Jake added, "I just want to make sure it's correct."

"Fine," he grumbled. Finn struggled to roll out of the sunken bean bag chair. When it finally released its hold on him, he marched back to his room to grab the worksheet that he'd been assigned. Confident that his brother would be impressed, he handed it over.

Jake skimmed over it, his eyebrows doing an interesting dance. Finally, he looked up. Finn awaited praise for a job well done.

"Did you even try?" Jake flung the paper back at him. "This is rubbish."

He grabbed it out of the air. "What?!"

"It looks like you gave up after three questions. You didn't show your steps, just wrote down a bunch of senseless answers."

Finn stared at his paper, mortified. Ash hadn't helped him at all, just jotted down random numbers. For some problems, he'd filled in the blanks with letters.

"You're going to have to redo the whole thing," Jake said, shaking his head in disappointment. "I'll help you, because you obviously don't know what you're doing."

Karma had bitten Finn in the arse for trying to take the easy way out. He pulled Jake's desk chair back and planted himself in the seat.

The desk had been given to them by an old family friend, and it had been used more for a table than any actual work. Cups forgotten overnight had left rings behind in the wood of the desk, and Finn had to move the worksheet around to avoid the awkward bubbles the warped wood put in his paper. It was only twenty questions, and despite not being very good at maths, he was determined to get it done with enough time to still play video games with Jake.

Ten questions down, and his brain was fried. He chewed on the metal end of his pencil, trying not to let his tongue touch the bitter tasting eraser. It was a habit that he wished he could break, but it helped him focus. Only now, his mind had already drifted too far into the realm of non-scholarly thoughts. "Can I ask you something, Jake?"

"Go for it."

"Well, since Bonnie and Bongo are dating now, it probably means that we're going to start seeing Marceline around more often… Right?"

Jake put his book down and looked up, his jaw clenching visibly. "Assuming Marceline can get over Bonnie, yeah. And?"

"See, that's exactly it. I actually feel kind of bad for her because of the whole Bonnie thing. I don't really know how I'm supposed to act around her." Finn didn't want to tell Jake that he rather missed their friendship. Maybe it was talking to her again those few times in class that made him feel that way, but no matter how nice it'd been, the memory of what she'd done to Jake would come to the forefront of his mind. Thoughts and emotions battled endlessly inside of his head, making Finn conflicted at best. On one end of the mental arena were his memories of Marceline - how she'd never been outwardly mean to him or given him any reason to hate her, and how hurt she must feel over losing Bonnie to one of her best friends. On the other end, with the advantage of familial ties, was his own brother and every reason Jake had ever given him to hate his former friend.

Jake exhaled heavily. "I know, and I feel bad as well. She's still not someone I want to get close to, and you shouldn't either, but be civil. She's probably going through a lot right now." He stared at the cover of his book for a long time - an assigned reading project for literature class. "Aeryn has been talking to her though."

That gave him pause. "How's that make you feel?"

Jake tossed his book aside, laying his hands behind his head. "They knew each other before Marceline moved away. It bothers me, but I think she needs an old friend right now. I can't imagine she trusts Keila or Guy anymore considering they hid the truth from her. And for obvious reasons, she isn't going to talk to Bongo about it either."

Finn felt worse for it, but his brother was right. Even if she was going through hell right now, Marceline was still the wrong person to get acquainted with. However, Pat's words echoed in the back of his mind. Not wanting to consider that he'd misplaced his trust a second time, Finn forced himself to focus on his homework once again. "Hey, can you help me with this problem? I don't understand it."

The assignment had taken far longer than Finn thought it would. Neither of them understood the last problem, and they had to call Bonnie to have her explain it to them. Finn appreciated having resourceful friends, but he was knackered and disappointed. Playing games with his brother was something he'd really been looking forward to at the end of the day, but in his current state he didn't think he could stay awake through a title screen.

Making his way back to his room, he shoved the completed homework assignment into his bag and crawled into bed. His phone was sitting next to his pillow, tempting him to pick it up. Finn tried to convince himself that there was no one he could talk to at this hour. Subconsciously, however, he knew who had been in the back of his mind throughout the entire day.

Finn lazily slid his thumb across the touch screen and scrolled through his contacts to Bea's name. "Are you still awake?"

He'd almost fallen asleep by the time they replied. "Hi Finn! What are you doing up?"

"I was just thinking about you. That's all." He considered rewriting the message, but before he could talk himself out of it, he mashed down on the send button.

It seemed to take twice as long for Bea to reply. Finn worried that what he said could ruin their close-knit friendship, but when he saw the message he breathed a sigh of relief. "I was thinking about you as well. Sorry I left so suddenly after school. I wasn't feeling well."

"It's okay, Bea." He weighed his thoughts carefully, trying to coerce himself into putting his phone away and going to sleep, but the urge to continue texting them was far stronger. "I missed you a lot today. I wish you'd been there."

"Me too. I'm sorry to have to cut this short, but I have to go get ready for bed. I'll see you tomorrow at school."

Finn smiled. He decided to send one last text message before going to bed. "Bongo invited us to some lake in a couple of weeks. You should come. With me, I mean. Anyway, I'm off to bed as well… Goodnight."