Girl Bonding

Finn quickly walked from the tube station to the restaurant where she usually met her father. It was his favorite lunch spot and while it was a bit flashier than she liked, the food was really good. She walked in and smiled at the hostess.

"I'm here to meet someone. Should be a reservation under Kyle Marsh," she said. The woman looked down at something and then smiled up at her.

"Follow me, please," she said brightly. Finn sighed and pulled her purse strap up on her shoulder, following behind her as they walked to her father's usual table. He had done well as a solicitor - had his own practice with branches here and in the US, where he had met her mother. While one would think that made him arrogant and all, he was rather calm and warm. The exact opposite of Finn's mother. How the two had fallen in love in the first place, she would never know. And it wasn't a thought she tended to dwell on.

"Finn!" he said brightly as he stood, walking over to hug and kiss her cheek.

"Hey, Dad," she said, smiling in return then walking over to sit across from him. He sat as she picked up her menu, browsing over it, though she knew that she would get the same thing she always did.

"How's work?" he asked, having already decided what he was going to order.

"Good," she said, putting hers down as well. "Not super hectic at the moment, but you know how quickly that can change."

"Still on course for that promotion?" he asked.

"Hoping to," she said with a sigh. "Still gotta wait for an opening."

"You'll get there soon enough," he replied. "You always did do whatever it is you set your mind to." Finn smiled and nodded. The server walked up and they placed their orders.

"So… I got a new roommate," Finn started once the server had walked off. Her father raised his eyebrows.

"That so?" he asked cautiously. Finn sighed.

"I promise, this one is decent," she said.

"You said that about the last four," he replied, sitting up. "Really, Finn. I don't understand why you won't let me help you. Or at the very least, use your fund. There's more than enough in there to cover it. That's why I set it up, you know. So that you wouldn't have to worry about money. Ever." Finn sighed heavily and rubbed her temple.

They had this discussion nearly every time she discussed the roommate situation. And while she appreciated the fund - it did pay for her college, after all - Finn wanted to earn her own money. Use her own money to pay for things. Not rely on her dad's bank account to get her through everything

.

"I'd rather not," she said dryly. "It's for emergencies only."

"I think this warrants as an emergency. At the very least, consider investing it. Maybe buy a house or something?" he suggested.

"I'm not moving," Finn replied. "And I told you, I'm saving it for… something."

"You say that every time we talk about this, Finn. There's nothing wrong with using it," he said. "It's yours."

"No, it's yours," Finn shot back. "I didn't do anything to earn it."

"While I pride you on your determination to be independent, really Finn. It's getting ridiculous," her father said, sounding exasperated. Finn chuckled as she reached for her water glass.

"It's your fault, you know. Working your way up from the bottom. I want to be just like you," she said, a smile on her face. He chuckled and shook his head slowly.

"I suppose so," he said with a sigh. "Shouldn't have raised you to be so damn determined and hardworking." Finn rolled her eyes.

"Did a hell of a lot better at setting an example than Mom did," she said. Kyle rolled his eyes at the mention of his ex-wife. The two had divorced when Finn was in middle school. Her mother had come from an old money family and she had never worked a day in her life, choosing to live off her family's money and then her husband's money. After the divorce, she had married twice more and was now set to be comfortable for the rest of her life thanks to the divorce settlements and her inheritance. That is if she could ever learn to rein in her spending.

"So tell me about this new flatmate of yours," her father said. Finn smiled.

"Her name is Katie Bell. She's some sort of trainer or medic or something with a professional sports team," she said. "Seems very down-to-earth and reliable. And, I get a good feeling about her." Her father raised his eyebrows again. "I know, I know. But seriously, before all… that… I did have good instincts. And I think it's coming back. I really think Katie and I are going to get along well."

"If you think so," Kyle said cautiously.

"Seriously, Dad," Finn said. He chuckled.

"Fine, I'm sorry. Continue," he said, motioning for her to keep talking.

"Anyway, we have a lot in common, I think. Same tastes in music and movies. And she went to some posh boarding school, but doesn't come off as stuck-up or anything," Finn continued. "She needed a place because she just got out of a relationship and had been living with her parents. Lived with him before that."

"Seems like you do have a lot in common," Kyle replied. Finn paused in stabbing at her salad and looked up at him, then continued eating.

"Yea, unfortunately it's that," she said after she had chewed and swallowed. "But, she's really friendly. After she looked over the place we had a couple glasses of wine and just... talked about everything. I really think that we're going to get along."

Kyle studied his daughter as she continued on, talking about this new roommate. He couldn't help but think he saw a bit of a twinkle in her green eyes. Her smile was closer to the old one that he saw all the time before the break-up. Sure she had gotten better over the last year, but it had taken months for her to even venture out of the flat, choosing instead to cut herself off from everyone, himself included, for a rather long time.

But now she was happily chatting away in a fashion that was so reminiscent of before and he couldn't help but think that perhaps she was finally moving on and making a fresh start of things. Perhaps this new flatmate was a good thing.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Finn asked suddenly. Kyle sat up, blinking slightly. "You've been staring at me."

"It's nothing, just… You seem much happier," he said. Finn stared at him a moment before smiling.

"I feel better," she admitted.

"Then perhaps this Katie is a decent person and it'll work out," he said. Finn thought a moment before nodding.

"Yea, it will…"

Finn hummed to herself as she walked down the sidewalk later on. She had gone and done a bit of shopping after lunch with her father and figured since it was nearly dinnertime, she'd pick up some takeout for Katie, who was likely to be famished from moving in. She had also picked up some wine since she couldn't remember how many bottles she had at home.

She walked into the building and made it up the stairs, hearing music from the flat. It was one of Finn's favorite bands. Seemed they did have a lot in common. Chuckling to herself, she quickly made her way to the door and unlocked it.

"Katie?" she called out when she saw the lounge empty.

"In here!" came the response, though it sounded almost like a sob. Finn frowned as she quickly put her bags down and pulled off her jacket, rushing to the open door to Katie's room. She found the blonde woman seated on the floor, her hair up in a bun that was coming loose and surrounded by a load of wood, paper, screws and other items that Finn assumed was supposed to be furniture. There were several bags on the mattress and other boxes around the room. She was dressed in a hoodie with some sort of team logo on it - a magpie - and gym shorts.

Katie looked up at her, tears streaming down her cheeks as she held up more paper. Her cheeks were splotchy which clearly said she had been crying for some time.

"Why is this so goddamn difficult!" she shouted in desperation. Finn couldn't help but chuckle slightly as she walked over and dropped down, hugging her. "The man at the shop said that it was supposed to be easy!"

"Oh, sweetie. That's just a lie that they sell," she said, rubbing her back. She then sat back and looked around the disaster of the room, catching the half empty wine glass on the dresser. She sensed that this breakdown had to do with a bit more than just furniture. "Why don't you take a little break? We'll get some wine, eat some food, and then I'll help you put everything together."

Katie nodded and Finn helped her get up. Katie grabbed her glass and followed her back to the table, her eyes widening slightly as she saw all the bags. Finn had brought in a bloody feast, it seemed.

"Hope you don't mind, I got Chinese food on my way back," Finn said as she walked to the kitchen to get herself a glass, the bottle of wine and utensils. "Figured you'd be hungry from moving in."

"Thanks," Katie said, plopping down in the chair and reaching for the bags, pulling out various boxes.

"I didn't know what you liked, so got a bit of everything and figured we could share," Finn said, returning to the table.

"Oh, this is heavenly," Katie moaned after popping a crab rangoon into her mouth. "You are officially the best flatmate ever." Finn chuckled as she poured her glass and then reached for a box. Katie grabbed a set of chopsticks and started digging into another box of sweet and sour chicken.

"So… you want to talk about it?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Katie froze, the chopsticks halfway to her mouth. "Those tears aren't just about the furniture, are they?" Sighing, Katie dropped the chopsticks into the box.

"I told you that my boyfriend and I just broke up, yea?" Katie started, stalling a bit so she could figure out a way to tell Finn the story without mentioned quidditch or magic. Or without making her suspicious and start looking into teams or players. Part of her wasn't completely sure why she was opening up to her, but she needed to talk about it and Angelina and Alicia weren't there. Finn nodded, a red wave falling into her face that she quickly tucked behind her ear. "Well… he's this bigshot footballer on another team and when we broke up, it… sorta became… big news."

Finn frowned. That didn't sound too good. Though she never cared for the sport herself, she knew that it was really popular in the country. Made sense that some players had celebrity status. She didn't realize that Katie had dated one, though.

"It's still in some of the gossip magazines and well, when I was out shopping for furniture today, I overheard some people talking about it… and me… and… it was just," Katie stopped as she groaned and dropped her head into her hands. "It's bad enough just dealing with the break-up itself. And then to have complete strangers discussing it…"

"God, that sounds rough," Finn said, feeling genuinely sorry for the girl. She couldn't imagine having perfect strangers dissecting her personal life. "Why did you break-up… if you don't mind me asking?" Katie sighed and looked up at her.

"He was a wanker," Katie said. "We had been together for three years, moved in together. I thought perhaps we'd get married one day. But then the more famous he got, the bigger asshole he turned into. He ended things, saying that we had… run our course. Then the following week, he was seen out with another famous player - a woman. And yea… Apparently they had been seeing each other for several months before he broke up with me."

"Shit, Kates," Finn said, frowning. She looked down at the food a moment and then abruptly stood, walking back into the kitchen. She returned with two new glasses and a bottle of expensive-looking whiskey. Katie's eyes widened slightly. "Got hooked on it from my dad - he's really picky with his whiskey and all. Only gets top shelf. And I only bring it out for special occasions."

"This qualifies?" Katie asked, watching dubiously as Finn poured.

"By special occasions, I mean when I want to get drunk and either rant about something or forget about something," Finn replied as she held out the glass to Katie. She took it and sniffed it before taking a drink. While it wasn't as tasty as firewhiskey, she had to admit that it went down smoothly and she enjoyed it.

Finn sat down and took her own drink.

"First of all, he's a fucking idiot," Finn stated. "I know we just met and I'm still getting to know you and all, but you really seem like good people, Kates. So if he chose to leave you for some other woman because she's famous or whatever, then it's his loss and he's a fucking jackass."

Katie found herself chuckling, noticing that Finn had casually called her by her nickname twice despite the fact that they barely knew each other.

"He is a jackass," she admitted. "Granted, he was always arrogant. Even in school. God, I couldn't even stand him then."

"You went to school together?" Finn asked. "The boarding school? Was it some sort of sports school?"

"No, just… I hung out with a lot of other athletes and all," Katie said quickly. "I used to play, actually. In school. Then went pro after graduation."

"Wow… I didn't think you could get any cooler and then you just did," Finn said, grinning.

"It's nothing, really," Katie said, blushing slightly.

"Why did you quit? I mean, 24 seems awfully young to be retired," Finn asked.

"Oh, ehm… got injured my first season and didn't really have a choice," Katie said. "But it was all good and well. While I was recovering, that's when I discovered my love for sport medicine. Started training just after that."

"Suppose it goes to show that you never know where life is going to take you," Finn said with a smile as she sat back in her chair, swirling the liquid around in her glass.

"That is certainly true," Katie said.

"So… you train to become a medic and I take it somewhere around there that's when you met this guy?" Finn continued. Katie nodded, taking another drink.

"Ran into him at a party and well, we really hit it off. He seemed different. More mature. Changed," Katie said wistfully. "And I fell for him… he really can be quite charming…"

"All the shitty ones are in the beginning," Finn replied ruefully. "That's how they reel you in."

"Of course, my friends warned me," Katie said. "'Don't trust him, Kates. We all know how Roger Davies was in school… he'll never change…' I insisted that he was different. But then… I ended up being wrong…"

Finn sat up and reached across the table, patting Katie's hand.

"It's okay. We all make mistakes like that. Hell, I'm sure that I've dated at least three Roger Davies at this point in my life. I was actually engaged to one. Be grateful it didn't get that far," Finn said, sitting back and taking a drink. "Fucker ended our break-up conversation by demanding I give him the ring back."

"What?! No way," Katie exclaimed. "Was it a family heirloom or something?"

"Nope. Just thought that since we were no longer getting married - and he had paid for it - then he should have it," Finn said with a sigh. "I mean, I wasn't going to keep it anyway - planned to give it back or sell it - but still… adds an extra sting to the whole thing." She took a drink. "I'll lose it if I find out that he gives it to someone else…"

"That's… well, seems a bit odd," Katie said. "Re-using your ex-fiance's engagement ring." Finn just shrugged.

"Eh, not like I care anymore," she said, though the look in her eyes told Katie that she did very much care. She smiled slightly.

"You know what… fuck them. Both of them. Ryan and Roger," Katie declared, sitting up. "Fuck them. We deserve so much better than them." Finn stared at her a moment and then grinned.

"I like you, Katie Bell," she stated. She then held her glass up. "Yes, fuck them."

"To new starts and new friendships," Katie said, raising her glass to Finn. The two drank.

"Now, let's eat and then get to work on the furniture…"

Katie tossed her head back, laughing hysterically as Finn frowned at the two pieces she had just spent the last 30 minutes putting together. The two had continued working their way through the bottle, though only managed to get some of the furniture put together.

"I really don't think it's supposed to look like that," she managed to get out.

"Well, you didn't do much better," Finn said, shooting a scowl at her. Katie looked over at what she had been working on, which was still in pieces. Finn then started to take it apart while glancing at the instructions again. "By god, we are going to get this shit put together before we go to bed."

"Hope you don't have anything to do tomorrow," Katie said with a snort.

"Why the hell is this so complicated?" Finn moaned.

"Told you so," Katie shot back at her with a smirk.

"Har har, now get back to work," Finn retorted as she started over again. Katie chuckled as she started again. After another hour, the two women stood and smiled in triumph at the bookshelf they had managed to put together. They had even tested it out by putting a few things on it and it seemed to be holding together.

"Told you," Finn said, shooting a grin at her.

"Now… think we can manage those shelves?" Katie asked. Finn looked at the boxes, then at the bottle of whiskey and then back at Katie, a grin appearing.

"Oh yea, let's do this shit," she replied. They started pulling all the pieces out of the boxes, chatting about this and that. Katie glanced over at the redhead, finding that she was smiling herself. Finn suddenly stopped and looked over at Katie.

"What is it?" Katie asked.

"Nothing, just… I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Finn stated with a grin. Katie returned it with a nod.

"I think so as well."

I seriously love these two together… such great lady friends…