Crown of a Prince (Finn Shelby)

25.

Ailbhe found it incredibly hard to work with Finn around. She found herself distracted by him constantly, his presence drawing her eyes and capturing her attention until she kept losing her train of thought and having to start her task all over again. Polly seemed to be back but her new carefree attitude where she told everyone she 'didn't give a fuck anymore' meant that she had no filter and she said whatever came into her mind.

She had already gotten it out of Linda that she had never done cocaine and made Lizzie confess that Tommy and her were getting closer again. Lizzie had admitted that she and Tommy weren't sleeping together but she missed him, wanted to be back with him. Polly had even deduced that Finn was a virgin. Ailbhe had been shocked to hear this, not believing it at first but the way Finn's cocky smirk fell and his cheeks flushed red, she knew it was true. Why? She didn't know. Finn had been free the past two years to do whatever with whoever but he clearly hadn't. Ailbhe couldn't help but wonder why and hope she had something to do with it.

"What has gotten into you? That's the third time you've miscounted that row" Lizzie whispered, looking across at Ailbhe's desk and noticing her frustration.

"Nothing, I'm just tired" she replied, too quickly to be believable and Lizzie knew her better than that.

"It's Finn isn't it?" Lizzie leaned forward, keeping her voice low so no one would hear them "What's going on with you two?"

Ailbhe sighed, putting down her pen and running her hands up through her hair. Her frustration had been building for days and she could feel it reaching its max.

"I don't even know anymore" She replied, looking down blankly at the page of figures in front of her.

"Polly asked me to get a girl for him because she found out he's a virgin" Lizzie told her, wanting her to hear it from her first and not as a funny story that night in The Garrison when it was too late.

Ailbhe felt her heart sink. And then a heat rush through her. She felt both devastated and furious that some other woman, a working girl would be touching Finn and thinking she was going to make him a man. It made her feel sick for a moment.

"That's nice" she replied, trying to keep her composure even in front of her friend Lizzie.

"Shut up Alv" Lizzie rolled her eyes, grabbing Ailbhe's hand "Why don't you talk to him? I see the way he looks at you, things can't be that messed up"

Lizzie was no fool. She watched people, after they had finished talking. She found that people were at their most vulnerable after speaking. If you watched them, waited for them to finish speaking and held on until others had looked away. That was when you saw it. The honesty and the real way someone felt. Even after a verbal battle with Ailbhe, Lizzie still saw how Finn looked at her.

Ailbhe paused, looking around to check if Linda and Polly were listening but they weren't.

"How does he look at me?" She asked, vulnerability saturating her tone.

Her brave front and 'I don't give a fuck' attitude weren't as real as she wanted them to be.

Lizzie put down her cigarette, looking across at the girl she had minded and loved like a sister since they met. She had grown up a lot in the last two years and she wasn't a kid anymore.

"Like you hung the fucking moon in the sky" Lizzie confessed, shaking her head and smiling.

How two people who clearly loved each other couldn't just say it and be together Lizzie didn't understand. Things weren't so simple when others were involved, she knew this first hand. For her and Tommy there were dozens of other factors and complications.