Euphoria

CHAPTER 17

    *FINN'S POV*

    I ran a hand through my hair again and inhaled. Here we go. Come on Finn. You can do this. I tugged on the collar of my shirt and then raised my hand to knock on the door.

    Knock knock.

    I bit my lip and then tucked my hands behind my back. Okay. We can do this. Breathe. I stood on the porch waiting for someone to open the door. After a long time, I was still standing there. No one….was answering. 

    I tugged at my collar again feeling sweaty and stuffy. I had come to Tinsley’s house, hoping to be able to ask Tinsley to prom. I had a sign and everything but….no one was answering. 

    I stood there for a few more minutes and then decided to go. Maybe tomorrow or some...other time. I bit my lip and then decided that one more knock couldn’t hurt right? I raised my fist to knock when I heard footsteps behind me. 

    I whirled around and my eyes widened. Tinsley? 

    She was standing on the sidewalk of her house, still wearing that skimpy outfit. Her eyes were wide and staring at me in shock. I looked at her then back at the door a bit confused. She wasn’t home this entire time?

    I opened my mouth to speak but she beat me to it. “What are you doing here?” I opened and closed my mouth. I probably looked like a fish. 

    “I could ask you the same thing.” She walked closer to me and laughed. I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at her in confusion.

    “This is my house. You do know that?” Oh. Right. She walked closer to me and in the light I could finally see her face more clearly. There were dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were sagging. She was exactly like me when she went missing for three weeks. Tired, worn out. 

    "Right. Sorry. Um. I- uh." I stuttered and watched as Tinsley raised a delicate drawn eyebrow at me. I bit my lip and calmed myself. Come on Finn. Get your s**t together. You came here to ask her. So go! With that, I said, "Icameheretoaskyoutoprom.Doyouwanttogo?" I said all together and watched as she stared at me in confusion.

    "What?" Her head tilted to the side adorably. I huffed a breath and said a bit slower, "I came to ask you to prom. Do you want to come with me?" 

    I quickly reached behind me and pulled out a sign. It was simple, a hand drawn sign with sushi and our inside jokes. I watched her expression change from confused to a smile. She gently reached out and touched the sushi I had drawn. 

    "I-I don't know what to say." She looked up at me and bit her lip. Then she rubbed her face. 

    "Are you busy right now?" I shook my head and watched as she said, "Here. Why don't you come in? I have to get out of this outfit and I'm sure you want to talk." 

    She opened the door of her house, not even taking out a key and walked in. Wow. Who doesn’t lock their door? I glanced at the door in wonder then followed her into the house. 

    When we got to the stairs she turned and said, "My brother is sleeping. Try to be quiet until we get to my room." I nodded and followed her, trying to walk on my tip toes, without making a lot of noise. 

    I followed Tinsley up the stairs as quiet as I possibly could and walked until we stopped at a black door. Tinsley pushed the door open and slipped in, waving at me to follow her. I stepped inside and she gently closed the door. 

    As Tinsley bustled around the room, I took the time to examine the room. On the left side of the room, lined a bed and on the right side were two doors. Tinsley walked into the first door with a heap of clothes and then came back out empty handed. I assumed that was the closet and the other door was the bathroom. Her bedroom walls were bare except for a Stranger Things poster and a first place medal on the right wall. It was so...small. My room had at least twice the furniture and twice the decorations. 

    I looked back at Tinsley and watched as she bustled out of the closet. She saw me watching and stopped long enough to say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were gonna come over. I would’ve cleaned up.” Then she continued throwing the clothes strewn over her bed into the closet. 

    “Umm. It’s okay. Really. I don’t mind. You should probably change though.”  I looked pointedly down at her and she looked down too. Realization seemed to dawn on her and she immediately blushed.

    “Right. Umm. Yeah. Excuse me.” Then she ducked into the bathroom with a spare change of clothes. “You can sit on the bed while I get changed real quick,” she said as she made her into the bathroom. 

    I made my way to her bed and laid down. Her bed was soft and comfortable and I almost fell asleep but footsteps from the bathroom made me jerk awake. 

    “Okay. I’m done.” I got up halfway and propped myself up with my elbows. Wow, I thought. Tinsley was wearing grey sweatpants and a tank top. Her hair was down and covered part of her face. I watched her make her way over to the bed and lie down beside me. 

    “Ugh. I’m sooo tired.” She let out a groan and rolled over on her side, closer to me. I held my breath and didn’t move. 

    “Um. What did you want to talk about?” I looked down at her, curled up on her side. She looked up and met my eyes. 

    “I thought you’d want to know where I’ve been. And I want to know what’s going on in that head of yours.” She bit her lip and shifted closer. 

    “You go first. I think I’d be able to explain more if you explain things first.” I gently laid a hand on her arm. She nodded then she started. Tinsley told me what happened from the beginning all the way to the end. She told me how she got the phone call, losing money, having to work, and fending for herself. When she got to the part of getting the phone call, her voice broke and I could hear her sniffles. I wanted to comfort her but I knew that would just confuse her even more so I refrained from doing that. 

    “I was riding home that night and-d the car rammed into me.” she told me of the accident, the scars, and then the bleeding in the cafeteria. I stayed silent the entire time she was talking but when she stopped, I immediately pulled her into me. Screw feelings, screw confusion. This little girl deserved some love. 

    “Oh Tinsley. I wish you would’ve told me earlier. But I’m here now, okay?” She snuggled closer to me and I pulled her into me. After a few more moments, Tinsley said, “It’s your turn now. I want to know if you actually like me like how I like you.” She looked up at me with her wide innocent eyes. 

    I bit my lip and inhaled a breath. Come on, Finn. It all comes down to this. Do NOT screw this up. 

    “I asked you out to prom because-”

They're finally gonna confess! Please don't hate me or the next chapter thank you very much. I'm going to upload another chapter tomorrow because it is shorter. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading and please like, comment, and follow! ~Hazel.