Bewildered (Finn Harries)

Chapter Eleven

*A few months later*

It was nearly Christmas and Finn and I have maintained our friendship. The thought of telling him how I felt crossed my mind numerous times however my cursed tongue twisted at every attempt.

I sat in the lone coffee shop sipping from a cup of ginger tea to help my sore throat as I reviewed my recent written essay. The rectangular shaped phone buzzed above my sheets as it rotated in a circle. “Hey Finn, I’m in Starbucks.” After his brief approval I gathered that he was on his way over.

Not too long after I hung up, Finn walked through the front door. “Hey!” “What you up to?” He slipped into the sofa on the other side of the table awaiting my response. “Just checking if everything’s good to hand in.” “Do you want me to check it over?” I handed the booklet over in fear of the criticism, chewing on my bottom lip anxiously as his eyes scanned through the first few pages. “No, it seems good.” He smiled as he handed it back. “Let’s hope so.” Worried, I put the back into the plastic folder.

“So, what are you doing for Christmas?” I cupped my hand under my chin trying to divert myself from the tension of how good or bad my essay was. “Nothing special” he replied as he sat back. “Going back to London and spend the time with the family I guess. What about you?” I sighed. “Well, my family has gone to Canada to spend the season with my Aunt Margret and I don’t have to time to go there and back whilst at university so I guess I’m going to stay on campus.”

A frown formed on his forehead and squinted eyes which soon transformed to a bright smile. “Come stay with me!” Confusion spread all over my face. “Wha… I… how... what?! No Finn, no, I can’t! I don’t even know your family. You don’t know if they’ll mind or not.” “They’re my family, trust me they won’t. Anyways, Dad and Emmy are visiting Gran in New York and my mum will only be there for two days so Christmas will only be you, me and my brother Jack and New Years is a blast with Jackamo.” “See, I don’t want to ruin your get together with your brother.” “Oh stop it Gemma!” “Finn!” We quarrelled until Finn concluded to his final resort. “Look I’ll prove it. I’ll Skype Jack tonight and ask him then if he has a problem.” “But he won’t say no to my face if he’s as generous as you’re being now.” “You don’t have to be in the shot. We’ll pretend you’re not in the room and you can be with me the whole time so you know it’s not staged.” I was left with no other option but to appease to his request as he made it clear that he would take me home for Christmas.

“Come meet me in my room at 7 o’clock tonight and I’ll prove you wrong.” I sighed and dropped my head into my arms. After a small pause I picked up my eyes to see Finn still awaiting a response. “Urgh fine! But I’ll only come if your brother Jack doesn’t have a problem with it.” At that instant Finn grabbed his bag, pressed his lips softly on my cheek and stood up to leave. “I’ll see you at seven then.” My face flushed bright red and my eyes stretched wide open. Wow!

*

19:00

The door burst open at my first knock. There stood Finn with his finger firmly pressed against his lip; ushering me into the corner of his room.

Finn’s P.O.V

“Who was that?” Jack asked as I sat back in my seat. “No one; people are weird here. Anyways, tell me how you’ve been buddy?” I watched Jack bounce up and down, wearing a monkey one piece, in his seat through the computer screen. “It’s really boring without you mate. I mean, it’s good, don’t get me wrong, but… it’s not the same.” He let out a small sigh as we let the silence fill the void. “Yeah… I know…” I let out a small grunt clearing my throat. “I… it’s… it’s not is it?” Jack and I never admitted that we were close but it’s hard to keep that a secret now we’ve been away from each other for a few months. I scratched below my eye, again coughing to kill the awkwardness. “Well, we’re going to be back for Christmas on the bright side.” Jack jolted of excitement – he never seems to grow up.

“Oh, that reminds me Jack…” I looked back to see Gemma smiling, admiring our conversation with her hand cupped around her chin as she stood in the corner. I could have sworn she was about to cry. A small smiled formed on my lips. “Would you mind if a friend comes home with me for Christmas? She’s staying on campus so I thought it would be nice if–“ “She?” “Did you also hear friend?” Jack sat back in his chair tapping the tips of his fingers together and continuously raising his eyebrows in a machiavellian manner. “Shut it chappy! What villain sits on Skype in a monkey outfit?” Jack burst in to laughter.

“Yeah, that’s fine man! Wait…” My smile neutralised to a simple concern. “What?” “Is this girl the one you can’t stop–” “On that note, I must be going!” I stood and crouched down to still remain in the video frame. “What… I…” “Bye Jack! I’ll call you tonight.” And with that, I cut the call.

Taking a deep sigh of relief, I turned to face Gemma who now stood with her small arms crossed and her mouth gaped wide open. “YOU DIDN’T LET HIM FINISH!” “He didn’t need to.” A gulp of fear clogged in my throat as my eyes pondered the room. “Yes he did! Who was that girl? And what about her?” She outburst. “And why do I not know about her?” Shit. “Umm… This is something else.” I pushed past her and rummaged through my cupboard.

Gemma’s P.O.V

“Finn, I want you to tell me right now!” My foot tapped continuously on the floor as my arms remained crossed. “Gemma, it’s nothing, stop being so fussy!” He continued to fluster through his clothes as he pulled out a white t-shirt. “If it was a big deal I would have told you by now. It’s nothing.” “If it’s nothing, tell me.” I remained adamant to find out what Jack was talking about. Is there another girl in his life? I knew he was too good for me.

Finn stripped off his navy shirt frustrated and stood in front of me with his bare chest exposed. “Gemma, let’s just forget about this. It’s nothing, trust me!” He started to slip one arm into the white t-shirt. “I…” His bold orbs paused at me as he dropped the shirt to a side and moved closer. My eyes widened as I swallowed at his approach. We were now so close I could almost feel his body lean against mine. Finn’s voice softened to a whisper as my heart started to pound against my chest and my breath was getting heavier as I constantly took dry gulps. “It’s nothing.” My eyes drowned in his as we stood only millimetres apart. “Now think about packing because you’re coming home for Christmas.” A cute smile spread across his face as he backed away to put the t-shirt back on.

Without uttering a word I nodded and left the room.