BRANCE + RINNEY

finney-centric (2) !

Finn was happy, maybe a bit too happy, when the dismissal bell rang and students rushed out of the school, all giddy with excitement for the upcoming weekend. Even though he wasn't too excited for the weekend himself, he still found himself smiling at the thought of going home to a hopefully empty house.

Finn had managed, slimly, to avoid his friends after their last encounter. The last thing he needed was to break down and cry in front of them. He's sure he'd never live it down if he did.

Finn made his way to his locker and quickly grabbed his things from it. His eyes scanned the surrounding students, chest rising and falling in a slightly rapid pace as he was met with the sight of his three friends just down the hall from him.

With a quick shut of his locker, Finn took off towards the main part of the school, where, hopefully, his sister was waiting for him.

Gwen looked at her brother weirdly as he seemed to out of breath, right hand on his chest as he all but crashed into her the moment his eyes rested upon her smiling face. "Jesus Finn, are you alright?" The older boy nodded, tongue lapping against the roof of his mouth as he inhaled the outside air. "F-fine. Let's go."

The siblings picked up a light conversation as they walked towards their home though, since it was Friday, the two of them parted ways at the neighborhood gates.

"Be safe Gwen! See you in a few days. Love you!"
"You too Finney! Bye!"

Finn unlocked the door of his home with shaky hands, relief flooding through his veins and into the oxygen he breathed when he realized his father truly wasn't home.

Finn tugged his shoes off and placed them neatly by the door before making his way into his bedroom, immediately crashing face-first into his bed as it all but called for his embrace. A deep sigh escaped his mouth as the warmth of his blankets kissed his skin, the scent of cheap laundry detergent and copper wafting through his nose as he stilled his movements. Copper. Oh, he needed to wash that pillow case.

Finn sat up from his bed and stared at the laundry bin across the room. He'd change into pajamas before he washed. And so he did.

Finn, with his space-themed pajamas and warm, fuzzy slippers, carried the small laundry basket through his dimly-lit home and right into the laundry room. He flipped on a nearby light switch and squinted his eyes, the yellowish-white fluorescent lights above tickling his pupils as he glanced towards the two machines in front of him.

Finn dumped his basket of clothes into the opened washing machine, closing the lid of it for only a moment so that he could switch the dials of it to his preferred wash setting. Afterwards, he put a cup of laundry detergent in and started the machine.

Finn's body slumped against his bed after entering his room once again. The copper smell wafting from his covers had disappeared, now fully replaced with the scent of cheap detergent which, weirdly enough, comforted Finn.

Thinking back to earlier on in the day, Finn reached a hand up to his face and poked at it. Certain parts of it hurt worse than others but Finn hadn't thought much of it when he woke up this morning. Had he really looked that bad?

Back when he had washed his face, he had noticed a few cuts littering the space above his eyebrows. And there was that bruise on his cheekbone, swelled and purple. Maybe he did look bad.