♤☆|Love can burn like a cigarette|☆♤

◇|Chapter twelve|◇

Finney's pov

-

I sat down at first period next to Donna.

"Hey, Finney. What's with the weird texts yesterday?"

I turned to Donna and tilted my head in confusion.

Donna quickly pulled out her phone and showed me the text messages that I had sent.

'Shit.' I thought to myself.

"Ohh... I woke up at about 2 a.m.. I was probably just drowsy when I sent that."

Donna chuckled. "Yeah, but at least I learned something new."

I chuckled, too. "Oh! Before I forget. Gwen made two sandwiches for me this morning, but I couldn't eat the second one. Do you want it?"

Donna debated for a second. "Did you already eat?"

I smiled and nodded.

She sighed. "Sure, I'll have it. I did forget my lunch, and I don't feel like going out."

I chuckled. "Good choice, the fast food around here sucks."

Donna giggled and nodded. "Tell me about it."

"Oh! Did you get the email about your second period being canceled?" Donna questioned.

I tilted my head in confusion. "No?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Apparently, the teacher couldn't make it, so it was canceled."

I rolled my eyes. "That's like the fifth time this year, and it's only the second month."

Donna nodded. "At least you get a period off."

I nodded in agreement before realizing something. "Wait, how did you know? We have different teachers."

"Billy texted me."

I nodded in understanding. 'Why?' I thought to myself before shaking the thought out of my head. 'Not really my business.'

I took out my computer and notebook and started jotting down the notes on the board.

-

I was walking around campus until i bumped into a hard surface.

"Ufgh!" I stumbled back a bit and eventually found my balance.

"Oh, sorry!" I looked at the person I bumped into, and my eyes lit up.

"Billy!" I smiled, and he smiled back. "Hey, Finn."

"Thank god I ran into you! I was so bored since the second period got canceled." I ranted.

Billy nodded. "Yeah, me too. There's not much to do."

I nodded. "Tell me about it. Cmon! Let's go get some shakes from Sonic."

Billy nodded.

-

We talked about anything that came to mind for the walk until soulmates got brought up.

"Yeah. It took me ages to find the others. But it was worth it." Billy shrugged.

I hummed. "I don't have any intentions to find my soulmate."

Billy tilted his head. "Why not?"

I sighed. "Just too busy. With my jobs and Gwen. I don't wanna get distracted." I ranted. "Or end up like them." I whispered the last bit under my breath, but Billy still heard it.

"Who?"

My breath hitched for a second. "Oh, just my parents. They didn't have the...healthiest relationship, per say.

Billy nodded and hesitated before asking. "...why?"

I didn't answer at first but eventually continued. "...They always argued. Didn't matter what time or place. Always yelling. They were soulmates, too."

Billy nodded. "Only arguing?" He asked. He didn't believe me. I knew that.

"...there was some other stuff, but it isn't necessarily important."

Billy hummed. "If you remember it, then it must've been important to you."

I nodded. "I guess. They did get a little...aggressive at times."

"How so?" Billy's eyes were filled with concern.

"Uh... mostly my dad. My mom was really nice, but my dad would often drink, and that caused him to get a little...violent."

Billy turned his head to me. "Towards your mom? Or you and Gwen?"

I hesitated. "...well... he would hit my mother sometimes. I would try to defend her and get in his way, but I didn't always succeed. My mom was really nice, though." I mumbled.

Billy stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "...Was?" He asked hesitantly.

I sighed. 'I was hoping he didn't comment on that.'

"Yeah...she...uh... died. When I was seven." I mumbled out awkwardly.

Billy's face was instantly concerned. "So that's why you don't want to find your soulmate?"

I nodded and looked at the pavement.

"It's understandable." Billy said.

After a few seconds of silence, Billy spoke up. "Can I... hug you?"

I was surprised but slowly nodded.

Billy wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me into his chest.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his shirt as tears filled my eyes but didn't leave.

"You can cry." Billy reassured me quietly.

And just like that, the watergates opened. Tears started to stream down my cheeks as I gripped onto his shirt like my life depended on it. I muttered apologies out over and over again, and Billy just shushed me while stroking my hair.

'This feels nice. It's like a warm feeling inside my chest. This is probably the most comfort I've felt since mom...' I thought to myself.

We stayed in that position until my sobs turned into sniffles, and I was left with a tear stained face and red eyes along with a red nose.

Billy cupped my face and wiped away excess tears. "There's no need to feel sorry for crying. It's normal, and you shouldn't feel a need to hide it. If you ever need to talk, just message me, and I can come over."

I nodded. "Thank you..." I mumbled and leaned into Billy's touch.

"No need to thank me. I'm your friend. I'm always going to care."

I nodded and stayed quiet before asking again. "Can I have another hug...?"

Billy smiled and nodded. "Always."

That's all the confirmation I needed before hugging him again in the same position as last time.

I loved Gwen's hug. Don't get me wrong. But this felt different. I liked being hugged instead of doing the hugging. It made me feel safe. And warm. I liked it.

'Maybe I should ask for hugs more.' I thought to myself before instantly throwing that thought out the window.

'No way. You don't need hugs all the time. You're not a child. Just enjoy this one. You don't need any more. They're just pitying you.' I mentally sighed, knowing the voice in my head was right.

'Just this once, I'll enjoy the hug.' I smiled. 'Just this once.'

-

1065 words

BINNEY CHAPTER‼️

Lowkey, this chapter is shorter than I planned, sryyyyy

After this book, I'll do another tbp fic. It'll probably be found family and rinney.

I'm just tryna write as fast as I can and get done with this book, soooo.... sorry if it feels rushed (cuz it is)

Only like nine more chapters of this book, tryna power through :3

I hope you enjoyed reading, and I'll try to update soon <3