~*~Chapter Six: Birthday Awesomeness~*~
Day 23
I'm gonna steal your heart/Gonna steal your heart away
"Steal Your Heart" – by Augustana
Finn's POV –
I wasn't good at like planning stuff.
I'm – you know – more like a fly by the seat of my pants kinda guy.
Kurt plans stuff and that's why I was asking him to help me do something nice for Tina's birthday.
I had stuttered a lot, my hands and arms sort of flailed around before I finally plopped onto my bed and looked into his grey eyes and asked, "So you'll totally help me right, man? Cause if you don't help me I'll have to ask Puck since he's my bro and all, and um, I think he'll just say buy some wine coolers and lube and yeah…"
He arched a sculpted brow and flicked imaginary dirt from his fingernails before narrowing his eyes at me in a way that was totally intimidating even though I was like a foot taller and probably outweighed him by like 20 pounds.
"And you're asking me because? Don't you know you're supposed to be asking Mercedes to do this sort of thing for you? She is Tina's best friend, Finn."
"Yeah, I thought about that, but she'll ask me all kinds of stuff like why do I wanna do something nice for Tina's birthday, when did we start hanging out, if I like her," I could feel my cheeks and neck getting more and more red as I stammered. "And um, to be honest, Mercedes kind of scares me. Like what if I say the wrong thing? She might beat me up! I mean seriously how is Mike not a walking bruise when it comes to maybe slipping up or whatever? Have you seen the way she hits him sometimes?"
"And you don't think I'm going to ask you all of those questions?"
I bit my lip for just a second and I looked at Kurt hopefully as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't."
"Well, that's too bad because I am going to ask you those questions. And I'm not going to help you woo Tina until you tell me when all of this – whatever it is – between you two started."
"Woo?" I sputtered, my eyes going wide as panic rushed through me. "I d-don't … That's not what I'm asking. I just want to do something nice for her. She t-told me that she didn't want a big p-party for her birthday and you got mad about it, but she shouldn't not celebrate her birthday, you know? That's like Un-American or something, right? But I don't want to make her like me like me or anything like that."
"You're a very unconvincing liar, Finn. So," He sat on the edge of my bed, crossing one leg over the other and placing both hands in his lap silently he was telling me he wasn't leaving until I spilled my guts. "Start from the beginning. How exactly did you and Tina start," He unclasped his hands to use air quotes, "Hanging out," and then put them back in his lap.
"I don't know." I knew that wasn't really an answer except it kind of was the answer. Like I didn't know when we started hanging out; we just kinda did.
Though, I guess technically or whatever, we started hanging out the night of graduation.
I could feel my lips twitching at the sides as I thought about that night; how I saw her tattoo, how she told me she likes looking up at the stars, how her small hand felt in mine and the shiver that went through me when her leg brushed mine as we laid on the grass.
Yeah, that night was awesome.
"Uh…I guess we started hanging out the night of graduation?" I supposed to be answering Kurt, but my answer came out more like a question, which he called me out on.
"Are you asking me when you and Tina started your strange foray into friendship? Or are you telling me it was on the night of graduation when her intriguing Gothic sweetness was suddenly heightened by the buzz of the beer you were drinking, the humid summer air, the twinkling stars and the hollow yellow glow of the waxy moon and she had pulled you in like never before?"
"What?"
Kurt sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "You noticed her boobs for the first time, right?"
After he said that, it was like everything clicked in my head. "Yeah!"
Before he could say anything, I said a lot more. "But it wasn't just that I noticed her boobs."
At the look of disbelief on his face, I defended myself. "Seriously! I'm talking about more than just Tina's boobs, man! Like I saw her tattoo – you know the stars on the back of her neck and stuff – and she told me about how she likes to go on her roof and look at the stars sometimes. And then a couple weeks ago or whatever we ran into each other at the park and we were gonna go get ice cream but it started to rain and we hid out in this bookstore she goes to all the time…"
"The Reading Tree," Kurt interrupted and I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! That's the one! And the old Asian dude who runs the place made us tea so we wouldn't freeze and die and then she started reading to me from this book she likes a lot called Lady Chatterley's Lover, but I made her stop cause it was sexy and stuff and then she picked out Treasure Island and she read to me from that and it was nice. She's nice."
"Nice?"
Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and I noticed how my hand was kinda shaking. "Ugh! Okay, fine, she's more than nice!" I shouted just wanting this to be over.
"Tina's cool, man." I admitted, lowering my voice. "I feel bad that I never noticed before, but um between Rachel and Quinn like how could I? But we're hanging out now and I like it. I…" My voice was quieter when I said, "I like her."
Kurt nodded and a slow smile came to his lips and his eyes kinda twinkled, which told me he was so on board for helping me. Fist pump!
"You didn't spend your entire first paycheck from the garage on comic books and video games, did you?"
"Why do you have to say it like that? Just because you think comics and video games are soul sucking or whatever it is you say, doesn't mean they're not awesome. Cause they so are. But no, I haven't spent any of my money yet. I saved it," My whole face was getting super red again as I admitted, "Cause I thought you'd eventually corner Tina into having a party and I wasn't showing up without a present and stuff."
I held my breath as I waited for Kurt to laugh or make fun of me, but instead he patted my knee with his hand and I said, "I have the perfect and I do mean perfect idea for what you should get Tina for her birthday. Just don't screw it up, Finn. If you do, I'll sic Mercedes on you."
The next day which wasn't Tina's birthday – that was still two days away – we were walking to the Reading Tree and I was surprised I hadn't thrown up yet. I was totally nervous.
I knew Kurt said his plan was Finn-proof and all, but I had this weird knack for screwing stuff up; like the time I broke Rachel's nose during junior year after Mr. Schue made us go to booty camp to get better at dancing.
"Are you okay?" Tina asked her brown eyes looking up at me. "Because honestly Finn you look like you're going to throw up. You're all pale and I can feel your hand shaking every time it brushes against mine."
"I um…I…" I didn't know what to say, but thankfully my stomach kind of rumbled and I breathed a sigh of relief saying, "I forgot to eat breakfast today. I was all nervous about asking Burt for the day off so I could hang out with you and stuff and I just forgot. He's like my step Dad and all so I don't want any of the guys thinking he gives me special treatment or whatever."
"You asked for the day off to hang out with me?" Her eyes blinked and a soft kind of pink crept into the apples of her cheeks as she bit down on her lip. "Wow." She murmured.
"Y-you sh-shouldn't have done that! What the hell is wrong with you?" Suddenly her voice was louder and she shook her head at me before punching me hard – like Mercedes hard – in the shoulder.
I tried not to wince; cause like what kind of dude winces after a girl hits him? Even if it was – you know – as hard as Tina just did. Rubbing the spot where she punched me, I looked at her from under my eyelashes – kind of like the way she looks at me sometimes – and I told her, "I know you didn't want to do anything crazy for your birthday, but I had kind of been saving my paycheck from the garage in case Kurt like took your toe socks hostage or something until you had a party, and um I still wanted to get you a present."
"You're not buying me a book, are you?" She questioned, arching perfectly shaped brow.
"Maybe." I answered as I held the door open for her.
As we walked inside, Mr. Phan immediately came up to us and though he was talking super fast I still managed to figure out what he was saying, "Oh! Tina and Tina friend you are just in time for Story Time in the Children's Corner. Hurry, though, you know Story Time doesn't wait for late comers."
"Awesome." I nodded as I grabbed for Tina's hand and lead her to the back of the store where the Children's Corner was.
"Story Time? My present is Story Time?" She wondered, her eyes glimmering and her voice shadowed by giggles.
"Sort of." I shrugged as we sat down in the circle with parents and little kids. "Now be quiet. I wanna hear the story."
She laughed and nudged at my shoulder before the reader – Alison – told us to introduce ourselves with an adjective that matched the first letter of our first name. I was Fumbling Finn, which made everyone laugh but most importantly made her laugh and she was Terrific Tina, and then she showed everyone the book…Goodnight Moon and I could hear her gasp from right next to me.
"How did you…" She wondered, her voice the kind of breathless that made my stomach twist. Her eyes drifted from mine and she kind of messed with her hands and then she leaned in and kissed my cheek and a spark, like, surged through me as she murmured, "Thanks, Frankenteen. This is awesome."
After Alison was done reading the book, she took out this old record player and told everyone to stand up because it was time to sing and dance to the "Goodbye Song," and then Tina turned to me and held out her hand expectantly.
"Don't just stand there, Fumbling Finn," She said as she swayed her hips from side to side (whoa!). "It's time to sing and dance to the "Goodbye Song."
With her hand in mine and our fingers linked together, we spun each other around and laughed and wiggled along with the kids and their parents until the song was over and we were the only ones left in the back of the store. It was then that I looked at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were big and bright, her lips were stretched into this big smile and her hair was tumbling all over her shoulders from the way she had been shaking her head.
She looked so pretty. Like seriously pretty.
"This was a pretty great birthday present. Don't tell Kurt cause he'll swear up and down on Chanel or Marc Jacobs or whatever that it just can't be true, but this was better than any party."
"There's one more thing, though," I told her and she clapped her hands together and hopped up and down like a little girl, which made her look so cute as she chirped, "We're getting ice cream?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No, we're not getting ice cream. Or maybe we can later cause I'm still kinda hungry from not eating breakfast, but um right now…You're getting a book."
She blinked at me and said slowly (sounding sort of like me when I was trying to figure stuff out), "I'm getting a book?"
"Yeah. That's um, your birthday present. I'm buying you a book."
My heart became suspended in my chest and my throat closed up as I waited for her to say something, anything. Her heart shaped face softened and this small, but soft kind of smile came across her lips as she whispered, "You're buying me a book?"
She giggled and her voice grew louder as she asked, "Seriously?"
"Seriously." I nodded and before I knew it, she took off like a rocket that was a swirl of purple lace (from the tutu skirt she wore) and magenta from the streaks in her hair.
I caught up with her and I figured she would be she would be looking around forever, but she quickly found her book and in this shy kind of way she approached me. Her eyes were hidden behind her long lashes and she sort of stuttered as she showed me the book. "It's A Separate Peace by John Knowles. The main character re-reminds m-me of y-you."
"R-really?"
"Yeah." She licked her lips and my stomach was doing that twisty thing again from the way they glittered and looked all kissable and soft.
"H-his name is F-Finny and his life was ruled by inspiration and anarchy, and um, he prized a set of rules. They were his own, though, not those imposed on him by other people. It was kind of like when you joined glee club." Her heart shaped face was thoughtful and pretty as she looked up at me with her big soft eyes that had my stomach flip flopping. "You were the quarterback of the football team, but you were determined not to be part of the status quo. It wasn't easy and sometimes it sucked, but you did it anyway. You were a total gleek from day one and that reminds me o F-f-Finny."
"Cool."
I kind of understood what she was saying, but a lot of it went over my head. But really all that mattered was that she liked her book.
I paid for it and then we ended up (after getting ice cream; strawberry cheesecake for her and triple chocolate chunk for me) at her front door. She held her book close to her chest and rocked back and forth on her heels as she murmured, "You didn't have to walk me home."
"Burt would have like shot me with his shotgun if he found out I didn't. He's big on like being a gentleman and stuff. Sometimes – even though he had a car and all – he would walk my Mom home from their dates and she would be all happy and stuff. I thought walking you home would make you happy cause, um, you have a nice…I mean, I…I like your smile." I babbled as I fumbled through the last part and she giggled before she leaned in close and told me, her breath warm against my cheek, "I like your smile too, Frankenteen."
I didn't know why but everything inside my head was screaming at me to move to the left. If I did, her lips would be touching mine and suddenly that's all I could think about; wanting her lips to touch mine.
And so I moved to the left, and it happened.
Her lips were still and I panicked thinking she would go all crazy girl ninja on me for making a move and we wouldn't hang out anymore, but then I felt it; the soft but obvious pressure of her lips against mine and I moved my own, and then we were kissing.
Her lips tasted like a mixture of lipstick I would see her put on and the strawberry cheesecake ice cream she just ate and something that was just Tina, and yeah, it was beyond awesome.
She pulled back first and through hooded eyes, she looked up at me and my heart was beating like crazy as she reached out to brush some of my hair back and murmured, "See ya later, Finny," and then she retreated back into her house.
I stood there unable to move like I was entranced or something by the way her tutu skirt flounced and brushed against the back of her thighs and how her hips swayed to like this rhythm and it was so hot. Running my fingers through my hair, I felt myself growing warmer and warmer and my jeans were just a little tighter then before and as I walked home, I kept thinking; mailman, mailman, mailman.
