Family Fun! (Bad End Friends)

Beach Day

"No no no no no! I don't wanna go! You can't make me!" 

Finn clung to the banister of the staircase, refusing to let go even as a branch wrapped around his ankles and tried to pry the ice prince away. Wirt rolled his eyes at the prince's behavior and raised his hand, commanding the branch to pull harder. "Finn, we can't leave you at home after last time. So, whether you like it or not, you're coming with us." Finn turned and stuck his tongue out at the lantern bearer then went back to clinging to the railing and not letting go. "I don't wanna! Why can't we go literally anywhere else!?" "You know exactly why we can't go somewhere else!"

Why can't they go anywhere else you might ask. Well, it's because our gang of delinquents are currently banned from the boardwalk, the town fair, three different arcades, and the laser tag arena, leaving very few places for them to relax and enjoy themselves. That however didn't stop Finn from throwing a huge tantrum when Wirt announced that they were going to the beach.

"C'mon Finn. If we don't go know, who knows how bad the parking lot will be," Marco said as he flew down the stairs and past the crying prince. When Finn didn't budge, Marco tried again, this time trying to appeal to the younger boy. "We could scam people if you want. The beach is full of suckers waiting for us to tri- I mean help them." Finn raised his head to consider it then went back to acting like a brat, much to the annoyance of Wirt. 

"I don't understand why we can't just leave him," Bipper said with an eye roll as he adjusted his summer hat and matching sunglasses (just because he's a demon, doesn't mean he can't be a fashionable diva). "We left him when he threw a fit about going to the pool." "Yeah, and he set the house on fire trying to boil a pot of water," Wirt pointed out, still trying and failing to get Finn to let go of the banister. Wirt decided to change tactics and, with a smug grin, he pulled out his phone. "Well if you want to stay, you'll have to get a babysitter. I wonder if Red Leader Tord is busy." Finn immediately let go of the staircase and ran into the car, making Wirt snicker. Works every time, the lantern bearer thought to himself as he packed the last bags into the car. Once everything and everyone was inside, Marco started up the car that they had stole- I mean 'borrowed' and began their 15-minute drive to the beach.

~~~

"A-Are we there yet? I think i-it's gonna take a while so we should just give up. I mean the p-parking lots probably full so no need to even come here. Marco that car just cut you off! Man, that's too bad, we should probably just go ba-" "Finn, I swear to God if you don't shut the fuck up I will come back there and make you," Marco grumbled as he waited for the light to turn green. Finn quickly shut up but that didn't stop him from freaking out. He hated the beach. The sand sticking to your clothes, the sounds of screaming children, the water. Dark blue water that tricks you by seeming calm then drags you under, stealing the oxygen from your lungs and leaving you to die. Your wet body floating underneath the waves, marking you cold watery grav- "Finn, quit freaking out! You're freezing the seats!" Morty yelled. Finn snapped out of his thoughts and the ice in the car quickly went away.

"Geez Finn, why do you hate the beach so much?" Frisk asked without looking up from their video game. Finn gulped and answered their question. "No r-reason. Just don't like it." Bipper, who could hear their conversation from the front seat, rolled his eyes and said, "it's because he hates water. He's always dreaming about it." "Bipper!" The demon shrugged and turned to face Finn. "What, I get bored. And your dreams are very entertaining." The ice prince grumbled about his number 1 fear getting exposed while Frisk offered him a comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry, there are lifeguards so no one is going to let you die." "Actually the hunky lifeguards will be too busy falling for me and Mabel so you're on your own." Frisk shot a glare at Star who was sitting right behind them and rolled their eyes, giving up on trying to relax Finn.

After a few more minutes, and Marco cursing out some lady who ran a red light, the gang made it to the beach and quickly secured a place for themselves. Just as expected, Mabel and Star ran off to go flirt with the lifeguards leaving the rest of them to set up. However, once the blankets were placed and the umbrellas were down, everyone ran off to do their own thing. Marco and Morty entered a surfing competition, Bipper and Frisk went in the water to see who could hold their breath for the longest, Wirt sat down on his chair and began reading, and Finn... Finn curled into a ball and hid under the lantern bearer's cape.

Wirt tried to ignore it but after the 5th time Finn screamed for Bipper and Frisk to be careful and not drown, he was getting annoyed. 

"You know, there are other things to do than go in the water. Why don't you make a sandcastle or something," Wirt suggested. Finn smiled and began work on his castle. He was nearly complete when a bucket of water was dumped on his head and he started freaking out, blasting ice in random directions. "Seriously Morty," Wirt said, glaring at the boy next to them. Morty just laughed and shrugged. "What every castle needs water for a moat. I'm just helping Finny out," he said before leaving to join Bipper and Frisk in the ocean. Finn rolled his eyes and quickly dried off, not enjoying being splashed with water. His gaze went back to the sea and he paled a considerable amount, going back to hiding under Wirt's cape. 

Wirt sighed and put his book down then looked at the prince currently cowering in fear behind his cloak. "Look Finn, I get it. Water is scary, out of everyone here I know how terrifying it can be." "You're not helping," Finn mumbled. "Ah, let me finish. Water can be scary but you can't let it control you. You don't have to go throw yourself into a lake but at least try and conquer your fear. 'Cause once you do, you'll realize there was nothing to fear in the first place." Finn gulped but nodded and slowly let go of Wirt's cape. "O-Okay. Yeah, it's just water. It's not like it can hurt me." With newfound confidence, Finn ran over to the ocean and quickly stopped right in front of the water. Okay, just one foot, you got th- "Hey ice-cube!" 

Finn jumped, starteld by the sudden sound of his nickname, and tripped over his feet, falling backward into the water. He blinked and realized that he was under the waves, and currently falling. Finn started flailing his arms around, cursing at himself for trusting the ocean. He kept flailing and thrashing when something grabbed onto his arms and pulled him up. "Finn, are you okay?" Finn looked over at Frisk who was helping him up and was about to answer but instead coughed up a bunch of water. "I-I'm *cough cough* good now." Frisk sighed, clearly relieved, and let go of Finn. "That's good. And look, you're in the water!" Finn looked down to find that Frisk was in fact correct and he was in the water, not drowning. "Wow, this is way less scary than I though-" "Boo!"

Bipper jumped up from under the waves, scaring the crap out of Finn, and laughed when the prince screamed and jumped into Frisk's arms. "Ha, you should have seen the look on your face! But hey, at least you're not acting like a complete baby and decided to give swimming a try." Finn relaxed, glad to know it was just his annoying friend and not some sea monster coming to claim his soul, then smiled and splashed around a little in the water. 

"Y-Yeah, this isn't so bad."

Yay, beach day! I personally prefer pools because I hate getting sand all over me, but hey you can like whatever. Thumbs up to Finn for facing his fear and getting in the water *happy trumpet noises*! Now he just has to conquer his fear of getting babysat by Tord (though to be fair, last time he was used as a target for Tord's army and accidentally got wasted after mistaking vodka for soda, so his fear is justified). I hope you enjoyed today's chapter and I will see you tomorrow. . . hopefully.