rogue

twenty - two

I'm about to knock when the front door suddenly bursts open, revealing a grinning Noelle. She looks stunning with her hair up in a high ponytail and wearing a black t-shirt and skinny jeans. Her eyes flicker to our intertwined hands, and she squeals. "Finally," she whispers and reaches for both of us to pull us into an awkward hug.

"Uhm, hi," I manage to say and try to hug her back, but she's already stepping back to look at us intently.

"Mom," Finn groans and tugs me closer to his side. "Please, don't make a big deal out of this," he pleads.

"You can't expect me not to—" she begins, but Finn interrupts her.

"Mom, don't make this awkward." His eyes land on me. "Can you just let us in? Please?" Finn looks distressed and reaches up with his left hand to ruffle his hair.

She sighs, only now realizing how much of a big deal this is for us. She steps aside to let us in.

"You haven't told your parents?" Noelle asks me.

"Well..." I begin when I suddenly hear my mom calling out for me. And when I see her petite frame in her yellow summer dress, I can feel Finn tensing up next to me.

"Chloe," she repeats again and walks towards us, and Finn quickly lets go of my hand.

My eyes snap up to him, but his focus is on my mom.

"Hey, my baby." My mom whispers in my ear as she embraces me in a tight hug. "Missed you." Her voice sounds strained.

"Mom, it's only been a few weeks." I hug her back as tightly as I can. "But I missed you too." The words leave my mouth, and only now I realize how true they are. I really missed her. I've been so swamped in the past couple of weeks... I didn't really think of my parents that much.

"I know, I know," she says, her voice shaky. She releases me and turns to Finn. "What? I don't get a hug from you too?" She scolds him.

The corner of his mouth twitches as he leans down to embrace her in a quick hug. "Hey, Mill, I need to talk to you," he says, surprising me.

My eyes lock with Noelle's, who looks equally surprised.

"Finn," I try, but he waves me off.

"I would like to talk to you and Chuck. It won't take long." I don't know what he's doing. I should be the one telling my parents about us. I should be the one being honest with my parents.

"You don't have to do this. I should..."

"What is going on with you two?" my mom asks suspiciously.

"I will go and look after the food," Noelle excuses herself and hurries away, escaping the awkward situation. I wish I could do that too.

"We have to talk to you." I give Finn a stern look and take his hand.

My mom's eyes widen as she sees our intertwined hands. She nods her head a couple of times, and I can't really decipher the look on her face.

"I will go and find your dad," she says before she turns away and vanishes into the kitchen.

"Chloe, I—"

"No," I say and turn to face him. "They are my parents, I should be the one telling them. I appreciate that you wanted to do this on your own, but you don't have to. We're in this together - literally. So either I do it alone or... with you."

Finn's features soften, and he seems to relax a bit. "Together, then," he whispers and leans down to kiss my forehead.

Someone clearing their throat interrupts our little moment, and my head snaps to the two people who are staring at us.