care about you [completed]

Happiness

Finn is in a surprisingly good mood, and from the playful smile on her face as they stand outside the cubbys, so is Pipes.
"Hey,"
"Hi," Her smile is everything. It's like every part of her is glowing.
"So…"
"So," She smashes down the anxious thought of facing the team, "I guess you're my boyfriend now." He laughs.
"I guess so." He bites his lip.
"It feels good."
He does a quick room scan. No one there. He leans down and kisses her, and he can feel her still smiling as she kisses him back. He tucks her hair behind her ear, and you know what? Piper was right. He feels really damn good.

"Oh!" 'No, no no no no no no. This was not happening. Not possible.' As she pulls away, Piper is freaking out internally. Big time. 'Why?'
Richelle did not mean to walk on Finn and Piper. She was just coming to rehearse. She reminds herself of Summer's advice. Supportive, right.
"You guys, um, you guys are…cute together." She tried, at least.

Piper feels her cheeks burn. She fiddles with her hair, twirling it around her finger. This was awful. Awful.
Finn would never admit this to Piper, but he thinks it's hilarious that Richelle walked in on them. And then tried to save to situation by calling them "cute."
"Thank you, Richelle." He winks.
Piper is shocked. He just, did he just wink? How is he not panicking?  'He' s Finn'she reminds herself, she could use some of his chill. He shoots her a worried look, but she sends him a half-smile in return.
Richelle smiles. She's pretty proud of herself. That wasn't so bad.
"We should rehearse." She walks into the studio and the three of them start warming up.

☆

Amy was nearly almost happy again. And you know what, that was good enough for her. It wasn't really,  her emotions were so bittersweet, but keep positive, right?  Henry jogs up to her as she enters the studio. She was mad at him yesterday. He brought up a lot of emotions in her. But he also forced her to face them.
"Hey. How you doing?" He sounds sincere.
"I'm okay, you?"
"Good, yeah. Listen, Amy-"
"Henry, it's okay. We're good."
"Good." He smiles and she returns the gesture. They enter the studio and she sees Richelle. And Piper and Finn. She takes a second to collect herself. 'You love Piper. You're happy for them. You love Piper.' Henry must be a mind-reader because he says,
"It's difficult. I know. But you know, deep down, you want to be happy for them. So,  you have to try." He remembers seeing Ty kiss Amy. He felt so angry. He pats her arm in support. She gives him an appreciative look, and they start warming up.
"Hey guys!" 'Amy will need a friend.' Summer's words are sticking with Richelle.
Did Richelle just say hi to her, Amy, cheerily? Oh, ok then.
"Hi," She sits down next to Richelle, "How are you all?" Her eyes find Piper's and they exchange a look. A look that somehow manages to say "It's okay. I'm okay." on Amy's part and "I don't deserve you." on Piper's. Everyone says that they are fine. Soon, everyone filters in, and to Amy's surprise, it's a normal rehearsal. No one is being weird. If anything, people are being extra lovely to her. She's grateful.

☆

Piper is elated when Amy looks at her. A tiny, tiny part of her thought that she wouldn't associate with her in front of the team. The rehearsal goes really well. Her and Finn head to The Next Steep afterward.

Finn puts his arm around Piper as soon as they get there. His last memory here isn't exactly a positive one.
"I wanna take you on a date." He remarks as they sit down with their tea.
"Oh?" A date. A date. Another social formality for Piper to be horrible at.
"Pipes, a date is supposed to be enjoyable." Piper marvels at how well he can read her.
"I know. I wanna go." He grins.
"This Saturday?"
"It's a d-" Yikes, that was terrible. A good kind of terrible. Finn was seriously rubbing off on her.
"Oh, that was bad, even for me!" They both laugh. So hard that they don't even notice Lily slide into the chair opposite them.
"Hi guys."
"Hey Lily. How you doing?" Piper looks at her kindly. Lily had done some pretty awful stuff before, but Piper believed religiously in second chances. A fresh slate. And so far. New Lily was a blast.  Finn waves. He hasn't really talked to Lily since she joined the Next Step in a new start.
"I have an exciting proposition for you two." Lily smirks, she's excited about this, "A double date."
"A what?" Piper is taken aback.
"A double date." Lily repeats, "You and Finn, me and Kingston."
Finn doesn't hate the idea, in fact it sounds cool,  but Piper might. He looks to her. Lily notices the way he looks at Piper, and she thinks that it's adorable.  Initially, a double date sounds like the worst thing ever to Piper. But, she was trying new things and being chill now. And she really did like Lily.
Next Saturday?" She suggests. She wants her first date to be just her and Finn. Finn nods.
"Yes!" Lily squeals, "Amazing! I'll leave you two alone now." She skips as she heads out.
"I'm surprised." Finn raises his eyebrows, "But it does sound fun."
"I'm trying new things. I didn't want it to be our first date though."
"Oh good, because I've got an amazing first date planned."
"Really?" He kisses her gently. She will never get tired of kissing him.
"Of course. I gotta go. I love you." His eyes smile.
"I love you too." She has to revise her earlier statement. It feels wonderful having a boyfriend.

Piper pulls out her phone and dials fast.
"Riley. How do you go on a first date?"

☆

Amy walks into The Next Steep. She sees Finn kissing Piper and changes her mind.
"Sorry." He's standing behind her, apologetic look and all.
"I'm fine," She says, "Just not hungry anymore." Henry raises his eyebrows, obviously not believing her, but she pretends not to notice. Finn sees them ask he walks out. He doesn't care that Henry is standing right there,
"You good?" He smiles at Amy.
"Yeah, thanks." Amy tries her best to ignore both the awkward tension between them and the hurt bubbling up in her throat. She gives him a small smile and nods. Finn addresses Henry
"Hey, bro." Henry glares at him, but Amy gently taps his arm and he replies,
"Bro." Henry doesn't say it like a greeting though, more like a threat. He deserves that, Finn thinks, and forces down the instinct to retaliate. He thinks about Piper, instead, as he heads home, and their date.

"Was that necessary? What about 'try to be happy for them.' If I'm going to, so are you."
Amy gives him a pointed look.
"I'm sorry, I just feel so mad at him."
"You don't have to be. He feels really bad, Henry."
"He should." She raises her brows, and he changes his tune, "Okay, okay. I'll try to be better to him."
"Good."
"How are you and Summer?" Amy shifts the focus onto him.
"We're broken up…?" He seems confused.
"Yeah, I know but it was pretty recent. And the dancemania decision, I bet that didn't exactly help your relationship."
"We agreed that we weren't a good fit," He explains, "And I guess we decided to be friends? That was before dancemania though. I miss her."
"I know the feeling."
"You miss Finn?"
"I miss Piper. I mean, we made up and all, and she's my best friend and I love her, but she has a sort of fairytale romance now and that doesn't leave much time for Amy." He can't help but smirk.
"Are you talking about yourself in the third person?"
"Not the point." She mock sighs, but she's smiling.
"Hey," he says more seriously, "I have time for Amy. A lot of it."
"Well, I have a very busy schedule but seems to me like I have some time for Henry too."
She's almost happy.

☆

Saturday

"Woah." Piper's at Riley and James's apartment, standing in front of a wardrobe of the most beautiful dresses she's ever seen. After she'd called her to ask for advice, Riley had invited her over before the date.
"First step to a first date: wear something that makes you feel gorgeous. It will help you be more confident, plus it makes the date more romantic."
"These are your dresses."
"My dresses are your dresses." Piper felt so special. It was like she had a personal dating guru, and that was something she seriously needed.
"They're all so incredible!" She exclaims.
"Let's try some on!"

The first dress she slides into is royal blue. It has a satin bodice and tapers in at the middle. The skirt is made of many layers, the top layer being a hand-crafted mesh, emblazoned with silver butterflies. She's breathless as she glances in the mirror.
"I look…magical." She feels it too.
"You look breathtaking, Piper. But, there are many more dresses for you to try!" She chuckles. Piper doesn't think she'll love anything as much as this dress, but she was wrong. The next dress, dark purple, off the shoulder and flowing skirt, she loved just as much. The next was black with silver streaks, and she felt devilishly beautiful in it. Riley's phone pings as she tries this one on. She has a sly grin as she reads the text.
"How about yellow?" She suggests.
"Yellow?" Piper screws up her eyes. A yellow evening dress?
"Yellow washes me out."
"At least try one."
Riley hands her a mustard yellow dress, with a high neckline and layers of lace. It fits to her body and surprisingly, when she looks in the mirror, she looks elegant. She feels dazzling as well. But she's still not sure.
"Piper, it's stunning on you."
"I love the blue dress." She says because she really does.
"The blue one, huh? Not the yellow?" Riley seemed to really want her to wear the yellow dress. Maybe she looked bad in the blue one?
"Do I look awful in the blue one?" She asks.
"No!" Riley reassures her as she puts it on again. Instantly she feels confident. "I just wanted to try all of our options. You look earth-shatteringly gorgeous in the blue, Piper. Why don't we just add…?" She slips Piper into a stylish white blazer. "Perfect." Piper gives a little twirl. Her smile is big, and it covers more of her face as she pictures Finn's when he sees her in this dress.
"Your first date! Piper, on a date!" Riley proclaims.
"Shut up!" Piper tries to sound serious, but she's just as excited as Riley is.

You guys are kidding, 900+ reads and 90+ votes! I'm crying for joy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! And comments on the previous chapter had me smiling so much! Hope you enjoyed this part!