The Dating Project

Chapter 7

I woke up early. I'd barely slept because I'd spent so long in the shower trying to get the flour out of my hair, and my mum had been quite worried, asking if everything had been okay with Finn. Aurora had made some very suggestive comment that I could've murdered her for, but our mum just laughed. She seemed in an extremely good mood, which I couldn't understand. Emma and Tilly were exhausting to be around. Tilly was always sobbing about her husband (who she just really needed to get a divorce from, quite frankly), and Emma was so overly positive. Yet, when she handed Mike and I our lunches, she was acting as happy as when she'd surprised Aurora and me with a Disneyland trip for our 6th birthday.

"Well, you better not keep your boyfriend waiting," our mum smiled at me. "Have a good day, you two."

I really disliked how everyone around the house had started calling Finn my boyfriend, but I wasn't about to call my mum out on it when she seemed this positive.
We said goodbye, both me and Mike looking confused. However, when Mike and I stepped out the door, it wasn't Finn's car - it was Becca's.

"What's going on?" I shouted to Becca, climbing down the steps. "I thought Finn was picking us up?" 

"Stuff happens." 
I took a look at the back seat, where a very depressed looking Finn was sat, looking aimlessly out the window. 

I got into the backseat, taking the middle seat so Mike could be next to the window. 

"You okay?" I asked awkwardly. This didn't feel at all right. Finn Lewis was sitting next to me, not joking around, not bullying me, not even looking alive. 

"Yes, don't push it, Lilah," he muttered. "Things come up, issues arise, we can't always stay exactly on plan. Look, all that matters today is that we now finally have something on our portfolio, so Miss Mason isn't gonna call us out in front of the whole class again." 

I nodded, not wanting to upset him further. He looked vaguely like he wasn't afraid to push me down the stairs if I did. 
There was general discussion in the car ride, but Finn barely participated, and my mind was too focused on trying to figure out what had happened to Finn that I barely participated either. 

Turning up to school wasn't any better. A girl who looked Year 11 came up to Finn and asked where Poppy was. Apparently she wasn't answering any texts or calls, and hadn't shown up to early morning choir practise. 
"She felt sick," Finn said quite rudely. "Probably best not to bombard her with messages." 
The girl looked startled, but agreed, and left our group. 

"Is today 'bully the younger years' day or something?" Chris approached us, having seen him snap at the girl. "All she did was ask her friend's brother if he knew where her friend was." 

Finn scowled at him. "A certain someone was at my house last night when I came home. It leaves a pretty bitter taste in your mouth for the next 24-48 hours." 

"Ah," Chris put aside the jokes and looked at him seriously. "Well, school will be a decent distraction, especially as you now have a pretty little girlfriend by your side!" 

If looks could kill, Finn and I would've murdered Chris where he stood. 

"God, you two are impossible," he shook his head, then turned to look directly at Finn again. "There's no point in allowing one person to ruin your entire day, especially when they're not even here. Try to forget about him for now, and realise it's a problem for when you get home." 

Silence. I felt extremely out of place, so I quickly ditched them and ran towards Becca. 

"What was that about?" Becca asked, looking over at Finn and Chris, who were still staring at each other in silence.