It was the night before the school dance. Michelle was having dinner at the Finnegan house, much to her chagrin. She figured she'd have to meet them eventually (and Fin met her family already), but she didn't know if they'd be as friendly as her fella. Sure, she knew her maths teacher, Fidelma, was friendly, but now one of her students was dating her son. Plus Michelle didn't exactly have the most pristine reputation at school.

There was also Fin's younger sister, Filomena (sometimes called Mena by her friends), who was a couble grades below Michelle, so she'd seen her around some. They'd never had any conversations, but she hung around that uppity bitch Myra Callahan, so that was cause for concern because anyone who hung around Myra was typically an uppity bitch too.

Michelle and Fin were the first at the house, so they killed some time in his room. She'd never been in a fella's room before, besides the one Grady and James slept in at the house. Fin kept the place tidy, there was a large shelf with tons of different books.

"Ye really seem to buzz off on Stephen King, hi," Michelle attempted casual conversation.

"Aye, he's written some cracker stuff," replied Fin. "Ye ever read him?"

"Well, I've only read Misery, which is cracker," she admitted. "Seen a few of the movies based off his books, and those were pretty class."

"Oh, aye, a lot of 'em are," he agreed.

"The film version of Misery was fucking cracker!" Michelle exclaimed enthusiastically. "When Annie Wilkes has Paul Sheldon tied to her bed! Then sledgehammers his fuckin' legs! Intense shit!"

"Aye, it really is," Fin agreed with a chuckle.

He couldn't help noticing Michelle's attention going back to the bookshelf, looking intently at the titles some more.

"If... um... ye ever wanna read one of 'em, ye're more than welcome to," he said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Ye sure?" she asked when genuine surprise.

"Aye, o' course," he replied. "I wanna... um... be able to share my interests with ye."

Something about Fin's words really warmed her heart. Michelle wasn't used to lad treating her so politely. Of course, she'd never gone out with one long enough to really get to know them. Even so, he was always so excited to see her, and she was always excited to see him.

"So, what other interests do ye have, sides books?" Michelle asked.

"Well... um... music," Fin shrugged.

"Like what specifically?" she asked.

"P-performing... um... music," he fumbled.

"What? Like, ye're a musician?" she asked suspiciously.

"Well... um... not exactly what ye'd call a professional," he smiled shyly. "But, I've... um... been playin' the piano since I was wee. Plus... um... been playin' guitar fer 'bout 5 years now."

"Stall the fuckin' ball!" she exclaimed. "Why the hell are ye only now tellin' me 'bout this?"

"Well... um... I haven't really told anyone 'bout it b'fore now," he shrugged.

"Am I not yer girl?" she smirked.

"Ye are," he agreed with his own smirk.

"Well, yer girl wishes to be serenaded," she chuckled.

"Erin teach ye that word?" he teased.

"Fuck off! But... aye, she did so," she admitted with a blush.

Fin grabbed an acoustic guitar from his closet, sat on his desk chair, and positioned the instrument. Michelle sat at the foot of his bed, a site that gave him an audible gulp. He was still a teenage boy, and Michelle was undeniably beautiful. The most beautiful girl in Derry as far as he was concerned. Even though he felt stupid thinking it, he really did get lost in her stunning eyes. She no doubt noticed him catching peeks of her figure, which was impossible to hide, no matter how many layers she wore.

And now, here she was, as his girlfriend, sitting on his bed, waiting to hear him perform a song! The Fidgety Ginger Fella snapped himself back to reality, cleared his throat, and began strumming. The song he chose was "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley.

Wise men say

Only fools rush in

But I can't help falling in love with you

It's a song Michelle had heard plenty of times. Honestly, who hadn't heard an Elvis song dozens of times? But, this felt very different from the other times she'd heard it. Maybe because it was being sung directly her, by a fella that fancied her. And by Christ did he have a smooth voice! It wasn't as deep as Elvis's voice, but still masculine, with an Irish twang in there.

Shall I stay?

Would it be a sin

If I can't help falling in love with you?

It was mental to her that of all the fellas in Derry, she was going out with Finbar Finnegan. A fella who showed interest in her beyond her looks. Obviously he was attracted to her physically, she's a massive ride after all. But, he was easily so sweet to her without even trying. Still, this should be the last fella Michelle would fall for, based on her history.

Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be

But, that's exactly what was happening. Michelle was falling for Fin. She was falling hard. More and more she was starting to understand why her other friends were always so happy around their significant others. She suddenly found herself singing along, which caught Fin off guard. He stopped singing at first, but continued to play.

Take my hand

Take my whole life, too

For I can't help falling in love with you

He'd heard her sing at the Stars in Your Eyes charity event that one time, so he knew she could sing. But this was slower and more melodic.

Like a river flows

Surely to the sea

Darling, so it goes

Some things are meant to be

In that moment, Fin couldn't see himself with anyone else, and he had a feeling Michelle felt the same way. He started singing again, their voices perfectly in tune.

Take my hand

Take my whole life, too

For I can't help falling in love with you

For I can't help falling in love with you

Fin slowly placed his guitar down, his eyes never leaving Michelle's.

"Wow," she said. "That was... that was fuckin' class."

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Ye... um... ye sounded amazin' yerself."

No other words were spoken as Fin walked over to Michelle, cupped her face with both hands, and kissed her. It started off slow and tender, but it soon grew hungry and desperate. The two fell back onto his bed, both making satisfactory moans. Fin began kissing Michelle's neck, while his hands started exploring other areas of her, causing a shiver to run all through her. He'd gotten significantly better at this compared to when they started.

Things heated up further, as one of Fin's hands slid under Michelle's shirt, causing her to have another satisfied moan. She wanted to feel more of him too, so she stuck a hand under his shirt. He wasn't exactly athletic, but his stomach was flat, and she could feel a hint of muscle there. Fin's hand slid back to Michelle's abdomen, then slowly started heading south towards her skirt. The anticipation was absolutely killing her!

"Finbar! Filomena!" Fidelma's voice hollered from downstairs. "We're home! Dinner'll be ready soon!"

The young couple's eyes went wide enough to give Erin a run for her money! Fin shot up, fell backwards off his bed, and landed flat on his back. Michelle immediately checked on him.

"Holy shit!" she exclaimed. "Ye alright!?"

"Aye," he groaned. "I don't think anything is broken."

"At least ye didn't land on yer knob," she chuckled.

"Christ, but that would've been a nightmare," he joined in on the laughing.

"What the hell are ye two doin'?" a teen girl's voice suddenly asked.

They turned to see Fin's sister, Filomena Standing at his doorway. She basically looked like a younger version of her mother, black hair included, but no glasses. She was standing there, arms crossed, with a big smirk on her face.

"Jesus, Mallon," she chuckled. "I knew ye was bold, but I didn't think ye'd ride Finbar with his bedroom door wide open.

"Fuck off, Filomena!" Fin exclaimed, getting up and slamming his door shut.

The young couple laughed a bit more at the events that just transpired.

"I... um... s'pose we better be gettin' down there now," said Fin with a warm smile.

"Aye, probably," agreed Michelle, smiling back.

They made their way downstairs, where Filomena was already sitting at the table. The younger Finnegan was still smirking, annoying both of them. Flynn has just put his coat up when he noticed his son and girlfriend. Fin had inherited his ginger hair from the Finnegan patriarch, he also wore glasses like Fin and Fidelma, but he wasn't as tall, plus he had a bit of a belly. He was slightly balding, with a thick, bristly mustache.

"Ach! So ye must be Michelle!" Flynn greeted with a friendly handshake and smile. "Flynn Finnegan!"

"Pleasure to meet ye," Michelle shyly replied.

"Our Finbar talks about ye all the time, so he does," Flynn continued enthusiastically.

"Really?" Michelle asked with a smile.

"Jesus, Da!" Fin exclaimed, turning red.

"Well, what fella wouldn't talk about his girl?" Flynn went on. "Specially one so lovely?"

Michelle was marching Fin's blush now. She wasn't used to parents complimenting her.

"That's enough now, Love," Fidelma chimed in. "Let's have dinner now.

Dinner started off quietly, the only noise coming from people eating.

"So, Michelle, how did ye meet Finbar?" Flynn asked to break the silence.

"I work at Dennis's Wee Shop," answers Michelle. "Fin visits there regularly."

"Constantly perved on ye is more like it," Filomena chimed in smirking. "Guessin' ye took pity on 'em, eh Mallon?"

This remark caused Fin to spit out some water he was drinking.

"Filomena!" Fidelma exclaimed. "That's incredibly rude!"

"Ach! Catch yerself on, Mammy," Filomena shrugged. "We're all thinkin' it. Right, Daddy?"

Flynn slowly looked at his wife, who was giving a very stern look. Then he looked at his daughter, who was smirking. Finally he looked at his son, who was looking a bit downtrodden.

"Finbar is a good lad, so he is," Flynn answered, making his son smile a little.

"Exactly my point," said Filomena with a chuckle. "Finbar's a right goody two shoes, he is."

The youngest Finnegan sister then looked at Michelle, who looked ready to pounce. She didn't want to embarrass her fella, but also she knew she had a temper, and she knew Filomena knew that too.

"Fer yer information, Filomena," Michelle began slowly. "I'm not with Fin outta pity. I'm with him because I like him."

"Finbar isn't the type of fella ye go with Mallon," the younger Finnegan child went on. "Ye're always mouthin' off at school how ye like massive rides. Nobody's callin' Finbar here that, 'cept our Ma."

"Filomena!" Flynn exclaimed.

"Did ye know she took two fellas to a dance once, hi?" Filomena chuckled at Fin. "They didn't even know. Then she n' her eejit friends doused Jenny Joyce in tomato juice."

"That weren't us!" Michelle exclaimed, having a very hard time keeping herself in check. "We was tryin' to stop that mental case, Mae Chung!"

"Ye callin' another girl mental when ye hang out with Orla McCool?" Filomena chuckled some more. "Course, only a mental case would date a murderin' ex Provo!"

Michelle was fuming harder now. It was bad enough that Filomena was attacking her and Fin, but now she was also attacking her friends and family! She was just about to say something, when Fin shot up from the table, his chair falling over.

"That's enough, Filomena!" he exclaimed. "I won't be hearin' ye mouth off like that about my Michelle, I won't! She's the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

Michelle blushed at that remark.

"She n' her friends are extremely kind and loyal!" he went on. "An' her brother is a good man who made a mistake! Ye just keep yer fat hole shut!"

Everyone at that table was quite surprised by Fin's declaration. His family had never heard him shout like that, it reminded Michelle of when he first admitted his feelings to her. She was thinking he was massively sexy right now! But she knew she needed to keep her lust in check. She composed herself a little and grabbed Fin's hand. He felt an immediate calm wash over him from this simple gesture.

"Ye best be apologizin' to the both of them now, Filomena," Fidelma spoke up in a much sterner tone than Michelle had ever heard from her math teacher. "Or ye won't be goin' to that dance tomorrow."

"Are ye serious!?" Filomena exclaimed.

"Aye, extremely so," answered Fidelma.

"Sorry," Filomena said through gritted teeth.

"Ye get to yer room now," said Flynn. "Ye're stayin' there the rest of the evenin'."

The youngest Finnegan child let out an audible groan and stormed upstairs to

"Ach, Michelle, I am so sorry Filomena said such awful things to ye," said Fidelma.

"Nothin' I haven't heard b'fore," Michelle replied in a rather somber tone.

"That doesn't excuse it," Fidelma retorted, grabbing Michelle's hand from across the table. "An' those wains at school shouldn't be sayin' bad craic about ye. Filomena especially shouldn't be saying such things to the girl Finbar fancies."

The Finnegan matriarch gave her eldest child a loving smile.

"Finbar's gonna be embarrassed by me sayin' what I'm about to say," Fidelma chuckled slightly. "But, this the happiest we've ever seen him."

"Jesus, Ma!" Fin exclaimed, blushing brightly.

Michelle just smiled.

"Aye, it's true," Fidelma went on. "I'll admit that when I found out ye and Finbar were together, I was a wee bit... unsure about how to feel."

Michelle and Fin had a slight chuckle in response to that.

"But... now I can see I had no reason to worry," continued Fidelma.

"Aye, I couldn't agree more, hi," Flynn chimed in.

"Right!" Fin exclamation as he stood up from his chair. "It has been... a... um... crackin' evenin'! But... um... I think it's time I take Michelle home now."

"Oh, aye, she'll no doubt need an early start gettin' ready for that dance," Fidelma agreed with a smirk and a wink.

Michelle didn't know her boring maths teacher had this side to her, not that she was complaining.

"Glad I could meet ye, Mr. Finnegan," Michelle said shaking his hand.

"Same to ye," Flynn replied with a warm smile. "Hope we can do it again soon, preferably with less drama."

The drive back to Michelle's house was silent, neither really sure what to say. They both let out long sighs as soon as they parked in front of her house.

"Well... um... that evenin' certainly could've gone better," Fin awkwardly chuckled.

"Ye kiddin'? That evenin' was fuckin' class," Michelle smiled.

"I fail to see how," he replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Sure, the shit with yer sister wasn't ideal," she admitted. "But the stuff in between was grand! Ye serenadin' me. Us havin' a crackin' snog! Then ye stood up fer me."

"Well... um... I wasn't gonna let anyone say bad stuff 'bout ye," he said while blushing.

"Ye really talk about me all the time to yer parents?" she asked, her tone unusually vulnerable sounding.

"I gotta imagine most fellas talk about their girls," he replied with a gulp, now looking down.

"An' ye're really the happiest ye've ever been?" she went on.

Fin lifted his head up and looked directly at Michelle, her stunning blue green eyes filled with hope and affection.

"Of course I am," he smiled warmly. "Hope ye are too."

Michelle replied by getting on Fin's lap and giving him a deep, passionate kiss. It was probably the most intense one they'd had at this point. Both were panting as they parted lips, looking at each other intensely as they leaned on each other's foreheads.

"Why the hell do ye always have be so fuckin' sweet?" she groaned.

"I'm... um... sorry," he replied in a confused tone.

She slid herself hack into the passenger seat.

"It's just really fuckin' annoyin' how ye can say all this sweet shit!" she exclaimed. "Meanwhile, I just run my mouth an' talk about what a ride ye are!

"Ye think I'm a ride?" he asked with a smirk.

"That should be pretty fuckin' obvious at this point, ye fidgety ginger fuck!" she exclaimed.

"Right... um... of course it is," he lightly chuckled. "That's sweet... in its own way."

"Ach! Catch yerself on!" she exclaimed.

"Aye, it really is, Michelle," he replied. "Maybe to someone who doesn't know ye, yer words might come off a wee bit strange. But... um... I do know ye. So I know ye're bein' sweet in yer own way."

Michelle stared intensely at Fin for who knows how long. He wasn't sure how to feel about it, but it wasn't unusual for him to be nervous. She then let out a long sigh.

"I got somethin' I wanna say to ye," she said in an uncharacteristically soft tone.

"Aye, what is it?" he asked.

"I... um," she chuckled at how she was sounding like her fella in this moment. "I love ye, Finbar."

There it was. She said it. Those three not at all wee words. Fin's eyes went fairly wide, like a deer in headlights.

"I know it's a wee bit fast to be sayin' that," Michelle admitted. "Really fuckin' fast! It's been what? A month since we started datin'? Ye probably think I'm fuckin' mental sayin' it so soon into our relationship! But... by Christ it's how I really feel! I started realizin' it when ye was singin' me that song! An' I really knew it after ye stood up for me to yer sister!" She started welling up some "I'm also the fuckin' happiest I've ever been since I started seein' ye! I think about ye b'fore I go to sleep, n' as soon as I wake up! It's like I can't fuckin' breathe sometimes! God, I hope I didn't just fuck things up!"

Michelle shut her eyes tightly trying to hold back tears. She then felt Fin's hand on hers.

"Look at me," she heard him say.

She opened her eyes and saw him misty eyed and smiling warmly.

"I love ye too, Michelle," he replied.

"Really?" she asked with a slight crack in her voice.

"I was... um... also scared it was too soon to say it," he confessed. "But... um... I've been feelin' that way for a while now. Although, I didn't expect ye to say it first."

"Ye're not upset I said it first, are ye?" she asked nervously.

"I don't think there are rules to who says it first, hi," he chuckled.

"Can ye say it again?" she asked, still sounding nervous.

Fin cupped the sides of Michelle's face, leaned in closer, eyes completely locked on one another.

"I love ye," he said softly.

"I love ye, too," she replied just as softly.

They then shared a much more tender kiss compared to most of their others. Yet this one felt the most meaningful out of any they'd previously shared. When they were done, they rested on each others foreheads, sighing satisfactorily.

"I best be gettin' inside now, hi," she said with clear regret in her voice.

"Aye, probably," he agreed, regret in his voice too.

Like usual, Fin got out first to open the car door for Michelle, then walked her to the front door.

"See ye tomorrow," he said warmly.

"Aye," was all she said in reply.

They shared another quick kiss.

"I love ye," she whispered.

"I love ye, too," he whispered back.