Running Away- finnpoe

Chapter 7

Finn sat numbly on his bed in the cell they had put him in, head in hands. Tears were streaming down his face and his heart was hammering in his chest. He had never felt more defeated in his entire life. What had he been thinking, following a stranger from a different planet into a starship, assuming he was special.

Everything he had been led to believe in the past day or so had been a lie. A mistake. So Rey had been right. There really was nothing special about him at all.

Finn could hear voices outside, and his heart felt like it could tear out of his chest at any moment. Memories of Rey's words from earlier floated around in his head.

They would think he was a spy, and they would terminate him.

When the voices got closer to his cell door, Finn stood up, but the world spun around him, and he collapsed back down. He closed his eyes for a moment to focus, but the tears continued to flow, and he began to quietly sob, with his hands covering his face. Finn was terrified. He didn't want to die.

"Take it easy on him." He heard a voice right outside the door say. "He's had a rough couple of days. Let me speak to him first."

There was noise for a moment as whoever was on the other side unlocked the door, and entered.

Finn's vision was blurry when he looked up, and he pushed himself as far against the wall as he could.

"Hey, hey." The person tried to comfort him. "It's just me. Poe." He reached out a hand to Finn. "What's up?"

Finn wiped his tears with his sleeve and looked up at Poe. He wanted to say something powerful, demand to leave, but instead he babbled, "I'm not ready to die!"

Poe raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" He pulled Finn to his feet and embraced him. "You're not going to die, silly."

With his arms still tightly wrapped around his friend, Finn looked at Poe, teary eyed. "But Rey said-"

Poe sighed. "I don't care what Rey said. You're not going to die. I didn't even consider it for a second." He gave Finn a squeeze. "Can I tell you what we've decided to do?"

Finn nodded. He released Poe, and the two sat down on Finn's bed. Poe gently took Finn's hand. "So." He said. "First option. We've already jumped to lightspeed, so getting you back to your homeplanet would be very difficult, but I can still try if you want to get back down there. Second option. You stay here with the Resistance, and you can help us out. In return, we'll give you food, shelter, and hopefully a few friends. You might even learn a thing or two. I could teach you to fly. So, what do you say? Go home, or get recruited?"

Finn thought for a moment. As much as he would miss Earth, he couldn't go back now. Not after everything he had caused. "Can I stay here?" He asked quietly.

Poe smiled at him. "Of course you can. Good to have you on board, Finn." He stood up. "Let's go. I can give you a quick tour, and then you might wanna get some sleep. You look shattered."

Finn smiled gratefully, standing up to follow Poe.

"But what about the Jedi?" He asked. "They said you got the wrong guy? So there's someone still on Earth who can use the Force?"

Poe hesitated. "We're not entirely sure. We're still trying to figure out how we went wrong. Personally, no, I don't think there's anyone on Earth we need to worry about. I reckon it was a spelling mistake with the planet. Either way, nobody's mad at you."

Finn smiled at Poe. He felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thanks, man." He said. "You don't know how scared I was in there. I thought I was about to die."

Poe laughed it off, but Finn still felt slightly unwell. He could only imagine what Rey would think once she realized he was here to stay.

Either way, Finn was finally getting the new start he had wanted. All he had to do now was not screw it up.