all i want - rinney - ANGST (REWRITTEN)

cause you brought out the best of me, a part of me i'd never seen.

Finney Blake was starting his first day of third grade and he was scared. Really he was terrified but he didn't know if that mattered. Gwen was home sick with the flu so that meant he was on his own. He was picked on pretty badly the year before because he was considered a nerd or a loser or whatever they'd decided to call him that day. He thought it was stupid, why should he get bullied just because he actually knows stuff? He didn't really have any friends either. The teachers viewed him as this quiet and sullen boy who rarely smiled. He really only did when they talked about space or they had his favorite food in the cafeteria. But that didn't matter much when he knew there were boys out there hunting for him. On top of that, he knows some of the boys got bigger over the summer. He did not. He wasn't entirely sure what it meant but from what his dad said, it meant he was fucked.

He was right too. There were boys waiting by the gate for him, he didn't even know their names but there they were. He looked for a way to run around them but he couldn't find one and unfortunately, while he was looking the boys took notice of him. They started coming towards him so he did what any regular third grader would do, he dropped his bag and bolted. He decided he could probably get by if he faked them out. He started running to the left long enough for them to change direction, then he booked it to the right. He managed to get past them. Alas, once Finney reaches the school doors he realized there was one major flaw in his plan. His bag was still back where he left it and he couldn't go into school without it.

He decided to be brave and turned to look at where he left it. It wasn't there and neither were the boys. He kept scanning the schoolyard looking for an immediate sign of either one. Maybe they hid his bag and ran off? He was just about to step down to look when he saw his bag. It was being carried by a bloodied fist, attached to a boy about his age with a red bandana on. The kid saw him and grinned, giving Finney a view of his missing front teeth. Finney wasn't used to people smiling at him, but it was nice. He smiled back and the boy handed Finney his bag back.

"This is yours."

Finney nods and fully takes the bag from his hands.

"It is! How'd you get it?"

The kid proudly shows Finney his bloody fist.

"I watched em' chase you but you were so fast you lost em'! And when they came back for your bag I punched one! Right in the nose, there was blood and everything!"

The boy acted out the punch, swinging straight across the air. Finney laughs, maybe it was a little weird he was laughing at someone getting punched but he thought they deserved it. They always punched him, it was their turn. He was also just happy someone helped him.

"Thanks! No one's ever punched a bully for me before!"

A proud look stretches across the boy's face, coupled with an even wider grin.

"Well get used to it! I'm gonna protect you from now on! I'll be like your...like your,"

The boy thinks it over before seemingly thinking of the word.

"Your bodyguard! Like you're the president or something."

"If you're gonna be my bodyguard I gotta know your name!"

"Oh yeah! My name's Robin! What's yours?"

The boy sticks his bloody hand out and though Finney would normally hesitate before putting his hand near anyone's blood, he reaches back to shake it.

"I'm Finney!"

"Well, I'm gonna call you Finn!"

Finney hadn't really had a nickname before. He was excited to say the least. They walked to their class together after that, learning that their homerooms were right across the hall from each other. That walk became routine starting from that day and continuing on until the next week and then the next month, and then it was the end of the year. Finney was sad the year was over because he finally had his very own best friend. But he knew where Robin lived and they said they were gonna visit each other all the time. He let Finney talk about space and he let Robin tell him about the movies his uncle would take him to see. From the very day they met, they became attached at the hip.