acquaintances { fionn whitehead }

t h i r t e e n

I was currently sat in between Jack and Tom on Harry's couch. We all decided to hang out again before we returned to filming. The boys were trying to guess which state I was from, Fionn being the only one who knew. They all had one guess each. I was surprised Tom, Barry, and Jack didn't know since they had seen my sweatshirt a few weeks ago on the boat.

"Texas?" Barry guessed. I nodded my head no.

"Colorado!" Tom yelled.

"No."

"How many states does America have? Goodness!" Jack questioned. I laughed as they continued to guess.

"Fionn why aren't you guessing?" Harry said looking at him.

"Mate I already know." He laughed, the rest of the boys looked at him, Tom gasping.

"And you haven't told us? Traitor!"

"Hey don't be mean to him!" I defended, still laughing.

"Give us another hint?" Harry asked.

"The only hint I could think of will give it away" I said getting up. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water from the counter and walked back.

"North Carolina!" Harry yelled. I looked at Fionn.

"You told them didn't you?" I gave him a stare.

"They threatened me!" He said as he held up his hand. I walked over to where he was and ruffled his hair.

"Never thought you'd betray me." He laughed.

"Don't mess up my hair!" He defended.

"Oh? Like this?" I ruffled his hair again, even messier than last. I saw him get up so I started running away. I ran into the kitchen and could hear footsteps behind me. I ran around the island where Fionn had me in a pickle.

"You can't mess up my hair and expect to just walk away." I would try to run one way, then the other but couldn't get by. He started running to the right so I ran the opposite way. I managed to escape the kitchen and run up the stairs but know not before I heard Harry yell. "Don't hurt yourselves!"

"Get back here!" Fionn yelled still chasing me. He was barely climbing the stairs when I ran into a bedroom and hid in the closet. I squatted down trying to catch my breath. I then heard a door creak and held my breath. The closet doors suddenly opened and I got up and tried to run away but Fionn got a hold of me.

"Oh no, you're not getting away this time." He said as he started tickling my sides. I laughed and tried to escape.

"Please... Fionn... cramp.." I laughed as I tried to catch my breath.

"Not until you say that I'm the greatest."

"I'm... the.. greatest." He started tickling me even more. I felt my legs against the bed and I fell back, Fionn still tickling me.

"Fi-Fine.. you're the greatest." I laughed. He stopped tickling me and rolled off.

"Now was that so hard?" We laid side by side and tried to catch our breaths.

"I hate you." You giggled.

"Oh you love me." He smiled a cheeky grin. I looked at him and he stared back at me. For a moment we laid there in silence, just our breaths filling the air. I felt like he was going to start leaning in so I quickly sat up.

"We should go back downstairs." You suggested. He sat up and followed you down.

"We could hear you laughing from a mile away!" Barry exclaimed.

"Fionn attacked me with tickles." I grabbed my water and took a sip. We sat on the love seat where we were last time we were here. The tv was on and the boys were watching a soccer game that was on. I glanced at Fionn as he paid attention to the tv. His cheekbones stood out and his freckles were even more adorable than usual. His glasses resting perfectly on his nos- NO Rosie! I needed to stop thinking about him in that way. I need to make sure we stay just friends.

I still hadn't talked to him about our kiss. He hadn't brought up the topic either. Maybe it was nothing, maybe we were just two people caught up in the moment.

A very beautiful moment.

**********

I called Izzy over the next night to talk about my problem. I was sat on my couch as she paced back and forth in my living room. I had just told her about my situation.

"So you like him, but you don't want to.. Why?"

"Because I'm only here for a limited amount of time and I'm going to end up heartbroken in the end!" I tried to explain. Izzy stopped in her tracks and walked over to me and bent down, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Stop pushing him away!" She said shaking me. "I've seen the way he looks at you and you at him. And by the sound of it, you already act as if you're in a relationship. It's love."

"That's nonsense." I told her. She groaned and took a seat next to me.

"So are you just going to avoid him from now on or what?" I didn't want to, I still wanted to be friends. He's wonderful. I didn't want things to change between us.

"How do I tell him? We haven't even spoken about the kiss!" I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"You're going to have to talk about it at some point."

She was right, but I couldn't build up the courage to bring it up.

"In the end, things will turn out the way they're supposed to. You can't fight fate." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks Iz." I looked at her. "For everything."

"You're welcome Rosie." She stayed a bit longer but then left. That night I had a hard time falling asleep, but once my mind still haunted me.

I had a dream that I told Fionn that I didn't like him as more than a friend. He was heartbroken and disappointed, and refused to look at me. As time went by we stopped talking and one by one the boys did too. I was left with no one.

I couldn't tell him. I just had to stop getting so close to him. No matter how hard it will be.