Chapter 24 - Finn (Originally Published: 15 January 2016)
The morning mist was ice cold, freezing even the tent nearest the heat of the bonfire with the kind of frigid stiffness that made one's bones feel brittle. Finn curled in on himself, pulling his sleeping bag up over his ears. His nose was raw, and he had to wiggle his toes to make sure they were still there. If the weather wasn't already enough to keep him from slipping back into a comfortable slumber, the alluring scent of hot coffee wafting through the air certainly was. In the quiet of the morning, he could hear the crackling of a log as it burst open with heat.
He tried to rationalise staying in his sleeping bag, but the cold was too much. If he made a run for the fire, he would be able to warm up quicker. The trip seemed a dangerous venture in this temperature. Finn hugged his knees, mentally giving himself a pep talk - the cornerstone of starting any day - before throwing open the sleeping bag. Immediately, a barrage of icy needles attacked his skin, jolting his mind awake. He jumped up, disoriented by the sudden movement, and sprung from the tent he shared with his brother and Aeryn.
Finn took a deep breath of the morning air, chilling his lungs with a cleanness not easily found elsewhere. He smiled, feeling more alive in that moment than he probably ever had before. If there were some way to capture the atmosphere in a glass jar, he would take it with him, opening it at the beginning of every day.
The bonfire was going again, the ashes of old logs replaced with the bark of the new. Just off to the side of the fire pit was a neat circle of rocks, an enamelled steel coffee pot set inside. Finn watched Bongo sitting by the fire, poking at the logs with a long stick. He'd taken his jacket off, likely overheated by the new flame.
"Hey man. Is that coffee ready?"
Bongo looked up at him and scooted over on the boulder he'd been using as a bench to allow some space for Finn. "It'll be ready in a few more minutes. I can boil some water as well if you prefer tea."
He shook his head, taking a seat next to the older boy. "Coffee's fine. Thank you though."
A calm silence settled over them. Had they been in any other element, Finn was certain it would have been awkward, but here - where they were so closed off from the world around them - it felt normal. In fact, thinking about it now, the lake spot provided quite a bit of insight to Bonnie's boyfriend. The quiet boy fit perfectly in this tranquil place.
Bongo got up to grab two coffee mugs and a strainer from the bag by his tent. He opened the lid of the coffee pot and looked inside, seemingly satisfied by his findings. He then set the coffee mugs down and put the strainer over the top of one of them. Wrapping a cloth around the handle of the pot, he poured the black liquid into the metal strainer. "Do you need room for cream? I brought some of those mini container things in case anyone wanted any."
"Just a little bit, yeah," Finn said, watching him toss out the coffee dregs from the strainer.
Bongo repeated the ritual with the second mug, setting the strainer on a rock when he was done. He grabbed a handful of cream packages and tossed them to Finn, and then carefully passed one of the mugs over as well.
The coffee was decent. There were a few grounds in it, but with the warmth of the liquid now coursing through his body, he could care less about a few strays.
"Good morning, boys," Keila said, walking past them to where the spare mugs were set. Neither of them had even heard the rustling of a tent opening. "How'd you sleep?" she asked, preparing a cup of her own.
Finn held the mug with both hands, grateful to be rid of that cold chill. "It was all right. The cold kept waking me up, and I wish I'd had a pillow, but I can't really complain." He tapped his foot distractedly, looking around the glade. "Does anybody else ever come out here?"
"I don't think so," Bongo said. "We've been coming here since we were kids and I've never seen any other campers." He chuckled softly. "We actually used to have a rule about not sharing this space with anyone at all, but Marce brought up inviting Bonnie. I guess you lot are the only exception."
That made Finn smile. Although, at the same time it seemed rather odd. "So, no significant others or anything?" Keila and Bongo both shook their heads. "What about Ash?"
Keila laughed a loud, fake hoot that echoed into the distance. "If we'd shown Ash this place, he'd ruin it. Just like he ruins everything he touches."
Finn tried not to get frustrated with her. Whatever she thought of him was wrong, he knew, but exposing that the two of them were still friends could only get him in trouble. Especially if Jake overheard them.
"I'm still angry at him for what he did to Bonnie." Bongo stared into his mug. "If I hadn't walked in…"
"Hey, it's not your fault. Just be glad you did find them," Keila said, sitting next to Finn. "If you hadn't walked in when you did, who knows what would have happened?"
"I know what would have happened, and it makes me sick to my stomach," Bongo said, clenching his jaw.
Finn felt like he'd missed something. Okay, he'd definitely missed something. "What are you guys talking about?"
"Bonnie didn't tell you?" Finn shook his head, waiting for Keila to continue. "Nobody told you?"
"Told me what?" An insidious feeling crept up his spine, prickling his skin as it crawled. "No one's told me anything about Ash and Bonnie."
She set her mug down. "It was at your birthday party. When Bonnie and Jake came looking for you? After you and your brother left, Bonnie wanted to talk to me about Marce. I left her alone in Pat's room for two seconds, and the next I heard, Ash had cornered her and wouldn't let her go." She licked her lips, staring for a while at the fire. "You didn't think it was weird that Marce quit talking to him after that? That all of a sudden, we all quit talking to him?"
Finn couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. There had to be a million different reasons for why the quartet abandoned their friend other than the one he was presented with. Besides, he knew that Keila and Bongo had a history with Ash. They'd say anything to make him look bad, even if it wasn't true.
On the other hand, the story Ash had given him about meeting Bonnie didn't really add up either. I'll talk to him about it later. He wouldn't lie to me, he thought, afraid of what Bonnie would say if he'd asked her directly.
"I really love it out here," Bongo said, changing the subject. "It's just so easy to stop and reflect."
Finn agreed that it was nice, but he couldn't really find what was so special about it, what kept them coming back. "Is that what you come here for? To reflect on things?"
The question seemed to confuse him. He really acts as dumb as everyone says he does.
"I think what Finn means is, what do you like about this place?" Keila clarified.
"Oh!" Bongo's eyes lit up, delighted to share his thoughts. "Well, to start with… Everything." He took a swig of his coffee and set his mug down between his feet. "It's nice to be away from everything else. Cities are too loud, and the people there are too mean. Out here, I don't have to try to impress anyone. I can just be myself." He smiled when Bonnie crawled out of their shared tent to huddle up next to him, her eyes still closed.
Finn chewed his lip, trying to understand. "So you just like it because it's far away from everything else?"
"No." Bongo wrapped an arm around Bonnie, rubbing her arm to try to ease away the gooseflesh. "The world is a beautiful place, Finn."
Bonnie took Bongo's mug from its spot on the ground and sipped at the dark beverage. "What time is it? Does anyone know?"
"No," Bongo said, grinning from ear to ear. "That's the allure of this place. We don't have anywhere to be, and time doesn't really matter. It's the adventure that you share with your friends that counts."
Finn couldn't help but smile at that. The explanation resonated deep within him, and it was rather nice to see Bongo's slow emergence from the shell he'd made his home… but Finn did have some place to be.
"Good morning, everyone," Phoebe said, and Finn turned around in time to see her walking towards them, dragging a sleepy Marceline by the hand. He tried, to no avail, to tear his eyes away from the couple.
They sat together on the other side of the fire pit, secluded from the rest of the group. Seeing Phoebe now, Finn almost couldn't believe that just the night before he'd witnessed her at her most vulnerable. He'd seen her cry and shout and fall apart, and for the first time, he'd seen her for what she really was - human.
"Would you like some coffee?" Bongo asked politely, snapping Finn out of his thoughts.
Phoebe pulled her sweater tighter around her body, shivering from the cold morning air. "I prefer tea if you have it."
Bongo said that he did, and went about boiling another kettle of water.
Something settled over the campers that seemed to negate whatever positive mood was previously present. Everyone was back to doing their own thing in silence, trying to ignore the awkward tension still lingering from the night before. Finn thought they'd gotten over this. He thought they'd all accepted Phoebe, but seeing the pair of them being openly affectionate seemed to stir the pot of negative emotions all over again.
Bonnie was fully awake now, and from the expression on her face, she'd gotten up on the wrong side of the tent. She stole another sip of Bongo's coffee, looking at the couple as if they had somehow made her drink sour.
Finn rolled up his sleeping bag, fastening the two clasps that kept it from opening up again. "Is Phoebe still going to ride with us?"
His brother was taking their tent down, packing it back into the bag that held all the bits and pieces together when it was not in use. "You're still friends, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah… but I figured she'd want to ride with Marceline." He looked over at the couple. They'd already finished collecting all of their belongings, which they'd gathered into a neat pile.
Marceline and Phoebe sat on the ground facing each other, with their legs crossed, just talking. About what, he wasn't certain, but Finn felt a twinge of jealousy in seeing them so happy together. He'd convinced Phoebe that he was okay with everything, but the truth was that he and Marceline now, once again, despised each other. The shared experience of seeing Phoebe faint from her own meltdown was the only thing that kept them from tearing each other's heads off. No amount of anger was worth potentially causing her to fall ill again.
"I don't think it would make much sense to rearrange everyone just to put them together. The order works, man. I wouldn't even know how to go about doing that." Jake looked at him. "We're almost done. Why don't you go get Bea? They're down by the lake."
Finn found his friend standing by themself at the edge of the lake, looking out over the calm waters. They didn't seem to be affected by the shadowy unknown that lurked beneath the surface. Finn, however, felt more distressed the closer he got to the lake.
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Phoebe," he said when he was standing next to them.
Bea looked at him, and for the first time in what seemed like a long time, they smiled. "It's okay, Finn. Sometimes you just like someone so much and it isn't enough." They shrugged, tossing their hands up in the way that always made him laugh. "So long as you're friends and you get to see them be happy, it's okay, right?"
"That's a good point." He smiled, because it really was. So long as Phoebe was happy with Marceline, he could be happy for her. Sure, it sucked for him, but he'd just have to learn to deal with it. Luckily, in spite of everything, he still had his best friend. "I was thinking… When I get back from Ashley's house tomorrow, we should have a huge video game marathon. Does that sound like fun to you?"
Bea's good mood drained, visibly sliding down their face. "Finn… I know you're still friends with Ash."
"What? How?" He tried to figure out how they would know, trying to decide whether or not Jake also knew. Was it some kind of supernatural intuition? He'd been so careful…
"It doesn't matter how." They wrinkled their nose. "I'm not going to tell Jake, but please tell me that nothing bad is going to happen to you because of this? Promise me that you'll stay out of trouble."
Finn gave them his best reassuring smile. "I promise. I'll be all right, okay?"
Bea didn't seem convinced, but they left it alone. Finn was actually surprised that they didn't pursue the subject further, but then again, Bea had never been the most confrontational person.
"Oi, boyo! We're heading out, yeah?" Guy strolled over to them, his hands buried in his coat pocket. "I've got a request though. From Bongo."
Finn furrowed his brow, confused as to what Guy could possibly be sent to ask for. "Yeah?"
"Could you talk to your brother about switching Bea and Marce? Like, letting Bea ride with us instead? Bonnie doesn't really feel comfortable being around her right now, and I don't think Marce wants that either."
Finn looked at Bea. There were a lot of reasons why he didn't want Marceline around. For one thing, Jake wasn't too terribly fond of her. It would also make for a lot of awkward tension between everyone else. The concept of being stuck in the car with the couple made him uncomfortable, because as much as he wanted Phoebe to be happy, he still hated Marceline.
Finn tried to imagine things from Bea's perspective. They didn't like Phoebe, but they certainly got along with everyone in Bongo's car. The choice was ultimately theirs, but could he be the bigger person?
"It'll only be until we get to the restaurant," Guy said, hoping to convince him to say yes. "Keila's mum is going to take us home from there, so there'll be more room to move people around."
Finn could be big, he decided. For Bea. "It's not my place to decide where everybody sits. What do you think, Bea? If you're okay with it, I'll talk to Jake."
They tapped their chin, mulling it over in their head. "Yeah. I'm okay with that. We can both talk to Jake. I know he's not exactly going to be happy about it."
"Right-o. Thanks, Bea," Guy said. He mussed up their hair, and the three of them walked back to the campsite together.
Jake was loading all the bags he could carry onto his back when Finn returned. "There you are. Can you grab that tent for me? I don't think I can bend over without falling."
"Um… There's something I want to ask you." He nervously tugged at his ear. Bea was with him. He could do this. "Bea isn't too keen on Phoebe, you know, and I don't want to make them uncomfortable in the car… Plus Bonnie and Marceline aren't on good terms right now anyway…"
Jake narrowed his eyes. "What is it already?"
Finn felt bad for having to ask such a big thing of him. "Could we maybe let Marceline ride with us instead of Bea?"
"You know how I feel about her."
"Yeah, I do. I really, really do."
Jake shook his head. "I'm not going-"
"I want to do this," Bea interrupted. "Bonnie has been so nice to me, and I don't want her to have to feel uncomfortable. She regrets everything that happened last night enough to last her a lifetime. Please don't do this to her, Jakey."
He sighed, looking from Finn to Bea. "Fine, but only for Bonnie."
Bea hugged him, throwing their arms around his neck. "Thank you, Jakey! I'll go tell Marceline now." With that, they ran off.
"And you're okay with this?" he asked Finn.
"There's nothing I can do about it." He shrugged, picking up the tent bag and his knapsack. "Let's just get this over with."
The ride back into civilisation was daunting. Even though they were stopping at a restaurant only twenty minutes away, it felt like much longer for Finn who couldn't keep his curiosity at bay. He found himself watching the couple in the back seat with him more than his surroundings, completely unaware that they'd arrived at their destination until everybody was unbuckling their safety belts.
The other group was waiting for them inside, and the reunion was met with cheerful greetings and happy smiles. To outsiders, the group of tired, dirty teenagers must have appeared to have a close bond. With all the chatter going on, it couldn't have been possible to guess that just the night before a huge drama bomb had been dropped on them. Nor could anyone who did not know them realise that they were, in reality, two vastly different groups who'd banded together for the sake of one couple - like some kind of reverse modern day Romeo and Juliet. They were just as at odds with each other, Finn thought, as the Montagues and Capulets. He considered sharing this idea with Phoebe, but he didn't want to sound stupid if he'd made a literary joke that didn't actually make sense.
I really need to pay more attention in class.
Phoebe sat across from him, staring over at her girlfriend with stars in her eyes. Marceline wasn't even doing anything special - just folding her straw paper into as small a triangle as she could make it - but Phoebe seemed to admire her nonetheless.
In fact, now that Finn knew about their relationship - really knew - he'd started noticing the obvious signs. A small list of things that would normally go unseen: little touches in the passing of hands, subtle glances and untold demand, and mysterious smiles blooming like flowers in the spring.
He wondered if Bonnie and Bongo acted the same way towards each other, if they had the same kind of shy puppy love that Phoebe had for Marceline.
He glanced over at his friend, but Bonnie wasn't looking at Bongo. Just as Finn had been doing, she'd also been watching Phoebe and Marceline interact.
Finn felt bad for her. She'd messed things up with her best friend after trying so hard to fix them, and now Marceline's lack of attention towards Bonnie appeared to captivate all of hers.
Maybe she should just apologise.
"What time are you leaving, Finn?" Jake asked from his other side, bringing him out of his observation.
"Oh. Just after brekkie. Ashley's supposed to pick me up from here in about an hour." Finn saw the sideways glance that Phoebe shot him, and he wasn't sure, but it seemed like she somehow knew the Ashley guise was a lie.
Finn propped his feet up on the dashboard of Ash's car. He felt gross from the smudges of dirt all over his face, and the leaves he kept finding caught in his hair. It would have taken them both out of their ways if he'd gone home to shower beforehand, but he still wished he could have.
Either way, he was pretty sure that Ash could care less about personal hygiene levels - his own home was a pigsty, and that was putting it lightly. Finn just hoped that the people he would meet today wouldn't mind it either. Ash had spoken so highly of his 'special friends', and Finn desperately wanted their approval.
"Hey Ash… There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"There's something I wanted to talk to you about too." He clapped Finn on the shoulder. "Listen, the guys - Billy and Pat - they already think you're an okay kid, but not like I do. Not yet, anyway. And the others haven't met you yet, but they're kind of picky about who they hang out with. I want them to want to know you though. So, you've got to make them believe you belong in our crew right off the bat. Whatever they ask you to do - do it. Okay?"
Finn nodded. "Yeah. That's totally cool. I just need to know something first." He exhaled deeply, his cheeks puffing out. "Do you remember my birthday party?"
"Of course I do. That's when that arseface decked me out of nowhere." Ash rubbed his nose, recalling the memory with utter distaste. "What about it?"
"Well," Finn was afraid. For some reason, he was terrified of confronting Ash… but he needed to know that what Keila said was false. "I don't want to make things awkward between us or anything, but Keila and Bongo both said that you were harassing Bonnie at that party. I hope you know I'm just asking because I'm concerned, and I trust you to tell me the truth."
Ash rolled his eyes, looking away from Finn. "I never did that. I told you - Bonnie's the one who came onto me. She had a couple of drinks, and I guess she couldn't resist me." He ran a hand through his hair, disturbing it in places where hair gel residue was prevalent. "Those two would say anything to make me look bad. You know that."
Finn agreed that he did, although he was beginning to have his doubts. Ash had never done anything outwardly malevolent towards him, but he found it hard to fully trust someone who couldn't look him in the eye when answering an important question.
"Anyway," Ash went on, "it doesn't matter. Today's all about you meeting the gang. Focus, and just remember what I said - look cool. They're going to love you, man."
"Are you sure? To be completely honest, I've never considered myself cool." Finn crossed his arms, burrowing himself further back into the passenger seat. "All the friends I've ever had are my brother's friends. Everyone at school just thinks I'm obnoxious and weird."
Ash laughed at that. "You are pretty weird," was all he said. He didn't try to balance out Finn's weirdness with a verbal redemption through his good qualities. He was just weird.
Finn tried to write off the remark as nothing more than bad wording, but so much had happened over the weekend that he found it hard to justify Ash's comment. Perhaps he was just feeling sensitive after being drained of his usual optimism, but it bothered him immensely.
"Remember, Finn, don't disappoint me," Ash said, pulling into the drive.
The biting comment stung him more than he'd like to admit. Finn followed Ash up to the door, his shoulders slumped. Be cool, Finn. If you make Ash look bad, you've got nothing left.
"We're home!" Ash shouted, throwing open the front door.
"Hey Ash," came Party Pat's voice, but the person who rounded the corner was someone else entirely - a boy with black eyes, neat hair, and well-pressed clothes - the complete opposite of Pat. "We were just going over the plans while you were out," the stranger said. "Who's this?"
"Finn, meet Sam." Ash smirked. "As you can see, he's an expert at duplicating voices."
"An expert," Sam repeated in Ash's voice.
Finn stared in awe, totally floored by this bizarre ability. "That's bloody brilliant."
Sam smiled, staring at Finn with empty eyes. "You're the lockpick?" he asked in his normal voice, Finn presumed.
"That's him for sure." Ash slung an arm around Finn's shoulders, grinning proudly. "He's an ace at it. He'll show you later, after he meets the others."
Finn followed them into the lounge. Immediately he saw that the room had been rearranged since his last visit. There were corkboards scattered around the room, with pages upon pages of scribbles tacked to them. In the centre of the room, the recliner had been set in front of the coffee table to seat Billy, positioned so that he could look over everyone else in the room. It was about as ominous as the strange man's presence always felt, and when he locked eyes with Finn, it felt like something very bad was about to happen.
Pat was sitting on the floor next to Billy's chair, shuffling a deck of cards. They'd been playing a game, using real money as bets.
On the sofa, across the table from Billy and Pat, were two people. One of them looked to be about Finn's age, though he'd never seen them around school. The kid's long blond hair and soft features made them appear more feminine, even despite the thin, fuzzy moustache they sported. To their right, was a handsome man with strong, chiselled features.
"Boys, this is Finn." Ash said, pushing him forward as if he were on display.
The more attractive of the two smiled, showing off the most perfect set of teeth he'd ever seen. "Hello, Finn. I'm Gareth. This is Tiffany."
Finn said hello, reaching out to shake both of their hands. "So, uh… What are you guys playing?"
"Poker. You can join next round, maybe," Tiffany said. Ash had called Tiffany a boy, so that's what Finn went with. Though, Tiffany had a feminine voice as well, Finn noticed. He tried to push those things out of his mind. Thanks to Bea, he'd learned that not everything had to be so black and white. It was still a new concept to him, but he'd do a lot to make his friend proud.
"I'll be right back," Sam announced to the room.
Ash plopped down onto the couch next to Tiffany, toting a beer bottle he'd snagged from the kitchen. "So, Finn here's a cool guy. Way cooler than his brother."
"His brother?" Tiffany sat up straighter, intrigued. He eyed Finn, trying to decide if his features matched anyone else's.
Ash popped the cap off his beer bottle with a keychain he kept around his belt loop. "You'd know the guy if you saw him. Jake Mertens?"
"Oh really?" Something dark shone in Tiffany's eyes. There was something about this whole situation that felt wrong, sinister.
Finn was ready to go home. He'd made a mistake in coming here, he could see that now, but he was trapped until Ash took him back. "You know Jake?" He laughed nervously. "He's not as bad as everyone thinks he is. Actually, he's really lazy, but he cares a lot about his friends. I'm sorry if he's given you a bad impression before."
"Sounds like you're not all that confident in your own blood." Tiffany rolled his eyes. "What do we need this guy for again? He's a total amateur."
Ash elbowed the blond boy in the side. "Chill out. He's cool."
Tiffany and Gareth both laughed at that, like some inside joke that Finn was excluded from. It only made him more uncomfortable. He had to relax, had to look cool at whatever the cost. "Hey, Ash? Do you care if I have a beer?"
"Go right ahead, man. There's some newer stuff in there that you haven't tried yet. Give it a go."
Finn made his escape to the kitchen cautiously, trying not to raise suspicion. When he finally made it to the other room, he leaned against the wall for a moment to calm his nerves. If he just took deep breaths, maybe this crazy feeling would go away?
Sadly, it didn't. Come on, Finn. It's just been a weird weekend. You've got this. Nothing's wrong. Everyone likes you, and Ash thinks you're cool. He's your friend. Just go back in there and make them laugh.
"Finn." It was Pat this time - the real Pat. "Let me take you home, kid," he whispered.
"What? Why?"
Pat lifted his hat to run his fingers through his hair. "I don't think you should be here. I'm just looking out for you." His features softened, but the urgency was still evident in his expression. "You need to get out of here, and not come back 'round until after Christmas."
Finn regarded him sceptically, trying to deny the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, simply because he knew Pat was fond of Marceline. "Ash is my friend. I have no reason to run out on him like that."
Pat shook his head. "Just don't do anything they ask you to, man. You're a good kid. You don't deserve this." He sighed and opened the refrigerator, grabbing them both a bottle. "If you really think you can trust them, you should talk to Marce first. She's better than you give her credit for."
He snatched the beer from Pat, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Marceline being anything but despicable. "Why don't you stay out of my business? You don't know what you're talking about. You're too monged out all the time to even know what's going on around you. And Marceline especially doesn't know what she's talking about." He pushed past Pat, returning to the lounge where his real friends were waiting.
What did Pat know about looking out for other people? If he really cared, he would have stopped Marceline from hurting Jake. He was just picking sides, and for some reason, Marceline wanted Pat to keep him away from Ash.
Whatever had been bothering him before was eliminated from his system, erased by the anger he felt towards the girl who'd hurt both him and his brother. Finn had almost completely forgotten his negative intuition. Seeing Ash - one of his best friends - cheered him up instantly.
"Oh, hey, Sam's back," he noted, twisting the top off his beer bottle.
"Oh, hey, Sam's back," Sam mocked in Finn's own voice. It was eerie, but he didn't let it spook him.
Everyone else started laughing, and there was a big grin on Billy's face.
"Am I missing something?" he asked, looking around at everybody. There was something different about Sam. "Did you change your shirt?"
"Did you change your shirt?" someone in the doorway mocked back, perfectly. Finn realised then that there were two of them.
Ash snorted, laughing even harder. "Finn, that's Tom. They're twins."
He was astounded. Not one, but both of them had the remarkable ability of flawlessly recreating voices. "That was amazing," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else.
Ash set his bottle on the table and stood, walking around to meet Finn. "That's precisely why I wanted you to meet these guys. See, we all have our own cool abilities. We're like some kind of superhero clique, really." He gestured around the room, pointing to each of his friends as he spoke. "Tiffany's brill when it comes to science-y stuff. He makes his own explosives, after all. Gareth has such a grand face - he can charm anyone. Girls are practically hypnotised by his face alone." Ash chuckled. "You already know about Tom and Sam… and then there's you. You're the most important out of all of us."
Finn tried to back away from the scent of alcohol on bad breath. He looked for Pat, hoping to find help, but the other boy was no longer there for him. "I'm important? How?"
"Easy." Ash gripped his arms painfully, holding him in place. "You can pick locks better and faster than anyone I've ever seen before. And I have a plan for you. You see, everyone's gearing up for Christmas-"
"I'm not that great of a lockpick, really." Finn's tongue felt sticky on the roof of his mouth, his thoughts were a jumble of fear and the voice in the back of his head was screaming for him to run. "What if I can't help you with your plan? I have so much school work and the play and-" Finn saw something menacing flash in Ash's eyes, and it brought him back to seeing the older man overreacting to his anger. He froze, petrified by the thought of Jake and what he'd been through.
Ash shoved a long, pointy finger into his chest. "You have about a fortnight to practise your lockpicking skills." His face broke into a toothy smile, his teeth as crooked as the image he was now portraying. "You'll make time, Finn. Your good pal Ash needs you. And if you don't want to do this? Well, that's too bad… I know where you live."