Okay, one shots are way too fun to pass up the opportunity again! First off, if you've never heard the song "Before We Come Undone" by Kris Allen, stop reading, go listen to it, then come back and read.
When it comes to where Finn and Amanda stand after the cruise, this is what I think happens (or at least this is how it should happen). But this is just my opinion. If you don't think this is how it all went down, that's okay too!
Enjoy!
Disappeared With The Sun
"You could break this silence with words we wish we'd never said.
But I can hear it like a scream. What's become of you and me?
Are we still inside this night or am I going crazy?"
Finn walked up to Amanda's door, nervous as could be. He had said so many things to her before the cruise that he regretted immediately. He hadn't seen her since Dillard's funeral a few days ago. And even then she wouldn't even look at him. But he could understand that, if he was her, he wouldn't have wanted to be in the same building has him.
The sun was about to set. If you're going to do this, do it now, Finn chided himself.
He knocked on the door and shifted his weight between his feet, a nervous habit of his. He had so many things he wanted to say, but he had no idea how to express those thoughts.
The door opened and Jess was standing there.
"Finn!" She immediately pulled him into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here! Amanda has been so annoying lately. She needs to get out of the house! She'll be so excited to hear that you're here!" She let go of him and turned back into the house. "AMANDA!"
"Jess, I—"
"Don't give me any nonsense Finn. You and Amanda are going to go out and have a good time and she's going to come back and not mope around the house anymore." Jess glared at him. Finn knew better than to mess with her when she gave him that look. Even though that's what he wanted more than anything, he had a feeling going out was the exact opposite of what Amanda wanted.
"Jess? What are you yelling about?" Finn heard Amanda say, but Jess was still blocking his view of her.
"Look who I found moping around outside!" Jess turned toward Amanda and pointed back to Finn. "He wants to hang out. And you're going."
Before Amanda could protest, Jess got behind Amanda and pushed her toward Finn. She fell into him and if he hadn't of caught her, they would have both tumbled down.
She looked up at him and his heart skipped a beat. She was still as beautiful as ever.
"Oh…uh…hi." Finn stuttered before letting her go.
"Finn? What are you doing here?"
"I…wanted to come and talk to you. About…well…you know…" Finn looked down in shame.
"Well you two lovebirds have fun!" Jess called out. "Finn, don't bother bringing her back until she's got a smile on her face. If that takes days, so be it. I know Nash'll be happy."
Jess smirked before slamming the door.
"I'm just trying to understand who I was, who I am.
But you are changing just the same.
So can you tell me who's to blame?
Could we put our weapons down, just to figure this out?"
Finn and Amanda decided Frozen Marble was the best place to talk. They started walking down the sidewalk in silence for a few minutes before Finn decided to speak.
"Amanda, can I just say how sorry I am for what I said the morning I left? I'm such an idiot. You're not the one to blame for what happened. I know you didn't lead the OT's there. I…I was angry and being stupid and…and I wasn't thinking. I know you probably won't ever forgive me for that, and I'm not asking you…but I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am."
Finn looked over at Amanda and saw her staring at him. That could either be good or bad, hopefully good, Finn thought to himself.
"I know you don't want to hang out right now. You probably never want to hang out with me again after the way I acted. But I'll buy you ice cream and walk you back to your house. It's the least I could do."
"Finn…I don't...I don't know."
Finn went back to staring at the concrete sidewalk as they walked. "I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't deserve it."
"Finn…it's not that I don't forgive you…"
"Then what Amanda?" Finn snapped at her, causing her to take a step back. Something he also immediately regretted. Another stupid mistake made by Finn Whitman.
"I…I know why you said what you did. Heck, if I were in your position I would have probably done more damage. And especially after everything you've been through in the past few weeks…I…I just don't know how you do it."
Finn turned to Amanda with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"
"You look like everything's okay! The whole last week of school you seemed as if nothing had happened. You looked like you had it all together. If my best friend had died in front of me, I would have been a train wreck."
"But I am a train wreck, Amanda. I can't stop thinking about him…or you…"
"Then why—"
"Now, pride is out the door…"
Finn stopped and turned Amanda to face him. "Amanda, on the inside I feel nothing. There are only two things I can think of. I can picture is yelling at you and watching you walk away in tears. And I keep seeing Dillard dying in my arms." Finn couldn't help the tear that ran down his face. He took a deep breath and continued.
"I kept it together during school for my mom's sake. I figured if I did that, maybe I'd start to feel things again. But I don't. I feel like the worst person in the world. Within two weeks I lost the girl of my dreams and my best friend. And both were because of my stupid decisions. If I could go back and change things, I would in a heartbeat! I would make sure that Dillard didn't take my place, so that I was the one that was sacrificed. I was the one they wanted anyway. Anything's better than feeling dead on the inside."
Amanda stared at him in disbelief. Finn wiped the tears off of his face.
"I came by your house today just so that I could tell you that I am truly sorry for all the pain I caused you." Finn took a deep breath. "I guess now that I've done that, I'll go now." He reached into his pocket, opened his wallet and handed Amanda five dollars. "Here's some money for ice cream."
"If you say that it's too late, those are words my heart can't take.
And this night is out to kill, and if we let it, it will.
Could we both forgive somehow? 'Cause I'm not letting you down now."
Finn started walking away from her and Amanda felt her heart break all over again—but this time for a different reason.
Not because Finn had yelled at her and wrongly accused her of things she had no control over. Not because he didn't trust her.
No, this time her heart started to break when she saw how depressed he was.
The boy she loved was depressed. He didn't see the value of his life anymore, which shredded Amanda's heart into pieces. They had had a fight over something stupid and he blamed himself for causing her any pain. He had lost his best friend—and he blamed himself, wrongfully.
And hearing that he wanted to go back in time and switch places with Dillard made Amanda want to cry.
Before the cruise, the one thing she was scared of was Finn not coming back at all. But seeing him this way was just as frightening.
Finn was planning on saying goodbye, and she was not going to accept that. It was time to make her move, before both their relationship and the day ended.
"Now, pride is out the door…
Watch out, here we go. There's no turning back, you know.
We can't keep going round, and round, and round, and round."
"Finn!"
Amanda took off down the sidewalk and ran towards Finn. Right when she got there he turned around and she pressed her lips against his.
At first, he didn't kiss back, but once he did, it was as if someone had started shooting fireworks.
Finn wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Finn pulled her closer as she deepened the kiss. Amanda knew that nothing in the world could be more magical than a kiss from Finn.
They separated, but kept their foreheads touching. Finn's enchanting, green eyes met Amanda's and her heart skipped a beat.
"I don't want you to go, Finn," Amanda whispered. "Stay, please. I need you."
"So does this mean you forgive me?"
Amanda nodded. "I know Dillard's death is hard to swallow, but we'll get through this together."
Finn nodded.
"I need you to promise me something, Finn."
Finn moved back just a little, but still held her with his arms around her waist.
"What?"
"Dillard died to save you Finn. He died so that you could live. You can't waste that opportunity, okay? You need to promise me that you're going to live your life in a way that will make Dillard proud." Amanda took a deep breath. "So that his death wasn't in vain."
Finn studied her and nodded. "I promise, Amanda."
"Good," She gave him a quick smile before giving him one more kiss. "So does this mean we're back together?"
Finn gave her a smile. She hadn't seen him a smile that warm on his face in a long time. "As long as you'll keep me as your boyfriend, I'm not going anywhere."
"Don't worry, Finn. I don't ever plan on letting you go."
Finn leaned in and kissed her once more before they started walking toward Frozen Marble, hand in hand.
Amanda couldn't wipe the smile from her face. They weren't over. They were going to make it through this rough patch. Instead of unraveling, their relationship was only getting stronger. She wouldn't be pushing him away anytime soon.
All the pain she had felt and all the doubts she had wondered about disappeared with the sun.
"Watch out, here we go. There's no turning back, you know, 'cause I'm not letting you down now."
So...what did y'all think? The only way I can know what y'all think is in a review. It's right below this here story...you should write one.
Unless you don't want to, then I won't make you. Either way, have a wonderful rest of your day/night!
