Make Believe

Seventeen.

Weeks passed.

It was funny really, how life went on without a hitch. There was just this constant sort of weight hanging over us all. The only one who seemed to have forgiven everyone was Ross, who just tried to keep the peace.

We had all sat on the sofa, eating our pizza as we usually did, and Ross would chatter happily while a dark silence covered Finn and I. We would reply to his jokes and questions, but we would never directly talk to each other.

I think that Ross was getting sick of the constant quiet. He started to become quiet too, and the whole house became shrouded in silence.

As Mark and I walked down the street that evening, I felt his hand slip into mine. I just let him do it. He had been getting too close to me for ages now, so I thought holding hands was the easiest I would be let off.

"Thanks for walking me home." I smiled at him, trying not to roll my eyes.

"Lola," he said. "I think you're beautiful."

I gulped and nodded. "Thanks."

He chuckled. "Haven't you got a compliment for me?"

I looked him up and down slowly. "I... Your jeans are cool, I guess."

After saying that I could have punched myself in the face. Mark was going to flip out at that, and I was afraid. As I braced myself for worst, I just heard a laugh. An empty laugh. Mark slapped my ass, firmly but not aggressively. "You're a funny girl."

I tried to hide my frown. "Thanks."

We walked down the street, heading closer to my apartment door. I was so uncomfortable with him. He never used to be like this. Was it my fault?

I reached my door and opened it, my shaking hands grabbing for the cooling metal. "Hey, baby." Mark purred. "Don't leave me like this."

Just as he leaned in to kiss me, I felt a presence behind me. "Lola! Mark! What's up?" Finn said warmly. "Was I interrupting anything?"

Mark looked at me. "Well, actually-"

"No? Good." Finn took me by the arm and pulled me into the house. "Bye, Markie boy."

"Hey, what the-" Finn shut the door before Mark could finish his sentence.

I turned to Finn and grinned at him. "Thank you so much."

"It's what I'm here for." Finn sat down on the sofa, going back to giving me the cold shoulder. I sighed.

"Where's Ross?" I asked.

"Meeting some girl in town." He shrugged. "He was really excited about it."

"Was it Lia?" I frowned, my heart sinking.

"I don't know. All I know is how much of my damn cologne that kid used."

I laughed at that, walking towards the kitchen and sitting on the counter. It was odd not being as close with Finn as I used to, but there was nothing I could do to get our bond back apart from be nice to him.

"How was your day?" I asked.

He made a weird noise and turned on the TV. "Didn't do anything. I'm getting really sick of just being in the house."

"Me too." I shrugged. "I feel like I'm missing something in life."

Finn sighed and smirked to himself. "Good. I was waiting for ages for you to say that."

"What?" I frowned at him.

"Nothing, I've just been planning something for a while now. Something exciting." He chuckled.

"Does Ross know?" I asked.

"You're not getting it out of him." Finn raised an eyebrow. "I let him take a bottle of my beer to a party the other day as a bribe. He won't say anything."

I sighed. "Damnit."

"You'll find out soon." He laughed. "I'm just waiting for you to say something."

"Say what?"

"You'll see!" He bit his lip ring. "You'll see."

A/N: sorry it's late, I have so many exams to study for and I really want good grades so I can do an English course and be a better writer for you guys ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️