Stupid Finn.
Stupid Finn with his stupid hypocrisy and his stupid face with those stupid pretty eyes and his stupid perfect complection.
Stupid Finn.
After twenty minutes of crying in the bathroom, I make my way to Chemistry… twenty minutes late.
"Miss Mellark, just because you aced the test last week does not mean that you can show up to class whenever you want," says Mr Beetee, with his front facing the board.
"I know, Sir. I'm sorry, I just- wait, I aced the test?" I ask.
He turns to me and smiles, holding out my test paper.
"I heard you in the bathroom," he whispers. Seeing my face, he gives me another soft smile. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here." I nod, looking down at the floor, knowing the whole class is watching. How many other people heard me crying? "Don't be late again, otherwise I will have to give you detention," Beetee says a little louder for the class to here. I smile in thanks and he gives me a small wink.
Beetee was a friend of my mother's in school as he had to tutor her before her midterms. He's always kept an eye out for me and this is no exception.
I walk to my seat and realise that Finn has moved. I slump down in my seat and the first thing that catches my eye is Finn, sitting beside Marina. She's rubbing his arm and he's slumped down in his seat, looking considerably miserable. Jerk.
"Now, on yours desks are a series of splints. I would like you to hold each splint in the flame of your Bunsen Burner and note down what colour the flame turns. Then use your textbooks to figure out what chemicals each splint has been soaked in. You will need to work in partners. Begin." The class begins to move when Beetee gets our attention once again. "Don't forget to wear goggles. And try not to set your hair on fire." We all laugh and move again.
Then I realise- "Uh, Sir?" He looks up from his desk. "I don't have a partner."
"I thought Mr Oda-" I move my hand in a 'kill it' motion near my neck before jerking my thumb towards the window seat where Marina and Finn are currently making eyes at each other. He makes an 'O' shape with his mouth. "Well then," he says, buttoning up his lab coat and putting on his glasses before holding out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rodger Beetee, I'm your new lab partner. You are?"
I laugh and take his hand. "Orion Mellark, but you can call me Rye."
Even after my great Chemistry lesson, I'm still in a pretty crappy mood by the time I reach the bakery. I throw down my bag begin aggressively kneading bread.
"Well, I know why I'm angsty, what's up with you?" sighs Leo as he comes in for his shift.
"Finn. You?"
"Brianne."
We both sigh and I wait for Leo to launch into his rant. It's what always happens.
"Y'know what? You girls? You suck," he groans.
"Hey, what did I ever do?" I say defensively.
"You were born without a penis and with lots of feelings," he wags his finger at me and I slap it away, slightly amused. "Brianne was all hostile during our tutor session and didn't want to talk about anything other than Chem. Usually we end up off topic and laughing about something and its great but today everything just flopped." He sighs again and puts on his apron before going out front. From there, I hear him sigh another 4 times over 10 minutes.
"If you sigh one more time you're going to feint," I yell.
"I'm a man, I don't feint," he yells back.
"Let me rephrase that. I swear to god if you sigh one more time, I'm going to punch you in the face so hard that you get knocked out!" Leo laughs before agreeing completely.
"So, what's wrong with Finn?" Leo asks.
I rolling my eyes, I begin to retell him the entire story, only realising how hard I'm kneading the dough in my hands until Leo takes it away from me with a scared look in his eyes.
"Do you know what's wrong with you guys? You think that because you have a dick, you're all tough and mighty and that everything you say is right all the time. Newsflash: If you'd stop thinking that the sun shines out of your arse then maybe girls wouldn't cause you so much trouble," I spit, suddenly more angry than I've been in months. My nostrils are flared and all I can see if red. Red everywhere.
"Rye, you need to calm down. Just breathe. In and out, okay?" I follow his example and begin to take deep breaths. Once I'm calm enough to understand things logically, Leo suggests something. "How about tomorrow, we have lunch just you and me? Give you both time to cool off and you can help me figure out what to do about Brianne not talking to me."
I just nod once and we get back to work.
For the next couple of days, I leave earlier for school than usual. I would rather not be put in the situation where I have to walk within close proximity of Finn.
I called Maddie when I got home from the bakery that day to explain what I was going to do, so she didn't get offended.
"So, you're cool with it? I just don't want to start any arguments," I said sheepishly.
"No, I understand completely." She goes quiet for a while. "I'm worried about you, Rye."
I snorted. "Why are you worried about me? I'm fine!" I put a smile in my voice but Maddie was still quiet.
"Just… be careful with this whole thing with Leo. I know you like Finn and I know you're going to get hurt."
"Wow, thanks for the support," I replied sarcastically. "Hey, wasn't this your idea in the first place?"
"I know, but I'm beginning to think that you were right."
Shortly after, she hung up, leaving me in another sour mood.
I make my way to Math and sit down next to Brianne, who's doodling in her notebook.
"Hey," I say, after a moment of awkward silence. Usually she's the one to start the conversation. All I get in return is a silent nod. I sigh, agitated for the zillionth time this week and slap my notebook shut, turning to her. "Okay, what's up? What have I done?"
"Nothing," she responds curtly.
"Of course I have. I usually walk into Maths on a Friday morning, slump down in my seat and you'll say 'Hey, Rye. How's is going?' or 'What's up, Rye? Did you have a nice evening last night?' Yet this morning, I get nothing. Nada. Just a nod. Now, I'm pretty fucking sick of being the reason that everyone is in a pissy mood. I'm already dealing with Captain Melodrama from next door and his girlfriend, Princess Bitch-and-a-half, is giving me grief 24/7. You're one of the nicest people I know and I can always count on you to make me smile, but you're acting like you don't want to know me. What on god's earth have I done this time?"
Brianna looks at me in shock as I take a deep breath, finishing me rant. The corners of her mouth turn up into a small smile and she lets out a girlish giggle.
"Bree, stop it. It's not funny," I warn, fighting my own smile.
Before I know it, we're both in stitches, laughing until we cry. Once we've caught our breath, Brianne looks at me apologetically.
"I'm sorry. I'm just in a really bitchy mood this morning."
"May I ask why?"
"A guy."
I groan. "It's probably a full moon. All guys are acting like they have vaginas recently."
Brianne laughs again before sighing. "It's just… I have this really big crush on a guy that I've gotten close to recently and I thought that he liked me too, but then he got a girlfriend. But he never said that he liked her or even implied that he didn't like me. I was just playing hard to get and now…"
She doesn't have to finish. And I feel like complete and utter shit. It's so obvious that she's talking about Leo, and I'm the other girl. This fricking sucks.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I say genuinely.
"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault," she says with a faulty smile.
Oh but it is.
"Mum!"
I ran all the way home after seeing Finn leaving the school gates. I couldn't risk him catching up to me, or me following him home. It'd just be weird.
"In the kitchen!"
I enter the room and Annie is peeling some potatoes while my mother stirs some stew. Madge, Maddie's mum, is sat at the table reading a magazine. My father and Gale enter through the back door, talking about the new minivan the Hawthorne's just bought.
"What're you all doing here in our… tiny kitchen?" I ask, curious. I've never seen so many adults gathered in one place since Christmas.
"It's Friday today remember? Friday night dinner tradition," Annie answers with a smile.
My stomach feels like it just dropped to the floor.
The Odair's are coming over for dinner.
That means Finn is too.
Stupid Finn.
Hasn't been proof read. Sorry for the late update!
R&R please! :')