"so, wanna go to the fair with me after school today?" you looked over at finn from across your lunch table.
"oh. sure, yeah." he told you, distracted by his phone.
"who are you texting?" you asked him, curious.
"oh, no one." he quickly shut off his phone.
"finn." you looked him in the eye.
"yeah?"
"who was that?"
"no one. no one, i swear!" he said, raising both hands off the table.
you shook your head.
"come on, wolfhard. i know it's something. just tell me."
"god. fine. it's just... never mind. i can't tell you."
you had an idea.
"oh, my god! it's millie!!" you said, pointing behind him. he quickly turned around. you grabbed his phone from the table and unlocked it, revealing the texts. it was a conversation with someone named lexi.
"who's lexi?" you asked him.
"no one. just..." he responded.
"finn, tell me."
"okay, okay! she's my girlfriend!"
your jaw dropped.
"what? finn, since when do you have a girlfriend? and why would you not tell me?" you asked him, concerned.
"well, because... i didn't want you to get jealous."
you scoffed. "and why would i be?"
"cause, remember the 5th grade dance?" he asked you. that's when a flashback hit.
so, who's your date, y/n?
i don't have one. why?
oh. um, never mind. just wondering.
finn, why? do you have a date?
oh. um, well, yes. i do.
you watched a girl tap on finn's shoulder, signaling him to get ready.
oh.
"you cried for hours. i don't want that to happen again." finn told you, as you snapped back into reality.
"no, finn. don't worry about it. i swear it won't happen again. no secrets, okay?" you told him, although deep inside, you did in fact feel a spike of jealousy. you hated the thought of finn having someone while you didn't. but maybe it was something more than that.
"are you sure?" he looked worried.
"i swear." you told him.
♡♡♡
the school day passed, and you were going to go to the local fair at a boardwalk near his house. you jumped out of his car and walked over to the ticket booth.
"fifty tickets please," finn asked the cashier.
the cashier turned around, unrolling the spool of tickets, counting out five at a time.
"here you go. that'll be $23." you reached for your money in the back pocket of your jeans, until finn stopped you.
"i'll pay." he took out his wallet and slipped the money inside the ticket hole. the cashier handed him the tickets.
"you didn't have to do that." you told finn as you walked towards the cotton candy machine.
"well, too bad. i already did."
you rolled your eyes.
you made it over to the cotton candy machine, taking out your money.
"do you want one?" you asked finn.
"sure. yeah, i guess." he responded.
"i'll pay this time." you told him.
"no, y/n. you really don't have to."
"it's ten bucks!" you said, raising your voice.
"okay, okay."
"thanks." he mumbled.
"huh? i didn't hear that." you said, jokingly.
"thanks, y/n." he said louder.
"there it is. no problem." you said, hitting his shoulder playfully.
he scoffed and rolled his eyes.
you handed the cashier $10 as they spun the narrow paper cone in the machine. they handed you a pink and blue cotton candy. you gave finn the blue one and walked to the boardwalk.
you scanned your ride options.
"so, what do you want to go on first?" you asked finn.
"i don't know, surprise me." he closed his eyes.
you grabbed his wrist and took him over to the haunted house.
"open your eyes, bub." you told him.
"oh, no."
"oh, yes!" you screamed, dragging him along with you on the line.
you both tossed your finished cotton candies in the garbage. after waiting in line for what seemed like forever, it was finally your turn to go.
"come on, finn. let's go."
you both hopped into the cart and headed into the dark ride. the bar lowered on top of you and you clutched it tightly.
you heard finn breathe shakily.
"finn, are you scared?" you asked him.
"what? no!"
"okay. yeah, sure." you said sarcastically.
as the cart slowly moved, something popped out at you. you screamed loudly.
"oh, and i'm scared?" finn laughed, just before something popped out at him, too. you heard him scream. you laughed uncontrollably.
after finishing the ride, finn came out shaking, with you cracking up by his side.
"oh, finnie." you said, messing up his hair.
"y/n, i swear to g-" he got interrupted by a phone call.
"oh. wait, it's lexi." he stepped aside.
you pretended to be doing something on your phone while listening to their conversation.
"hey finn," you heard lexi say.
"hey, what's up?" he said.
"nothing, what are you doing?"
"oh. i'm at a fair with y/n."
"oh, her?"
"what? why? is there something wrong with her?"
"she's definitely trying to steal you away from me."
you saw finn look over at you. you quickly looked back down at your phone.
"what? no! lex, don't worry about it. we're just friends. i swear."
"well, why would you be with her right now?"
"um, because, that's what friends do?"
you liked the thought of finn standing up for you.
"okay then. well, bye finnie. i love you."
"love you too? bye lexi."
he walked back over to you.
you laughed. "you don't even love your own girlfriend?"
he shook his head and softly chuckled. "but listen, don't ever tell her i told you this, but she is honestly such a bitch. i- i still don't know why i'm with her. i guess i just hate upsetting people. i try my best to keep her happy. but she's always saying bad things about you. and i want to make you happy, too."
"aw, thanks, finn." you felt a tingly feeling rush throughout your body.
after going on almost every ride, leaving only four tickets left, you were ready for the last ride of the night.
"so, where to?" finn asked.
you pointed towards the ferris wheel.
"let's go." he grabbed your wrist and you both ran to the line.
it was your turn to get on. you handed the ride manager your tickets and went into the wobbly seats. before you knew it, you had made it all the way to the top. you held onto the pole tightly, shutting your eyes. you were alarmed by a sudden grip on your hands. you opened your eyes. they were finn's hands, right on top of yours.
what a night.
