Hollywood's Golden Runaway

(3 2)

"Well?" He pushes and I take a deep breath of the cigarette between my fingers as I think of what to say. All the hairs on my body are standing on end and I don't think it's because of the cold. Finn is basically dancing on the tips of his toes in his anxious state. He always did used to fidget when he was nervous. Before football games he would fidget so much some people thought he was having a seizure. The memory incites a smile but I suddenly remember where we are now when I catch him move again.

"Yeah, I am," I finally reply, "but it's okay, because I'm with Liam and you're with Olivia, so I guess everything's worked out perfectly." I can't help the bitterness that spills out as I speak. My answer seems to dumbfound him and he stutters his response,

"I-I'm with Olivia, what?" A sombre expression rapidly overcasts his face as he realises what I'm referring to. The day in The Haunt when Olivia was draped over him. He lowers his voice to a whisper as he instinctively moves closer to me, "Sally, I'm not with Olivia." He says it like the words are poisonous and the very thought of being Olivia disgusts him to his core. They disgust me, that's for sure. I just don't know why. Before I can work out why, he tries to defend himself,

"I met Olivia that day because she called me saying that she knows that you're you. Salem, not Isabella. So I arranged to meet her at The Haunt to try and convince her otherwise. Then she told me that she had seen the pictures of me coming out of your trailer, which I won't lie made me panic a little, but I just kept up the story you gave to the press. Salem, she's adamant. I don't think she's going to rest until she outs you completely. She's been in such a fucking tailspin these last few years and in a really unhealthy way. She dropped out of college, like, two weeks into freshman year when she realised that she wasn't as popular as she was in high school and couldn't get away with the crap she pulled there. She was ostracised by her entire class, so she quit and came straight back here."

"Oh no, am I meant to feel sorry for her?" The words fall out of my mouth before I have a chance to stop them. Finn pulls his head back in surprise at my biting comment, but he doesn't deny it. Despite my interjection, my head is spinning with the information that Finn is giving me right now. He really tried to protect me from Olivia and my heart sings but my head won't tell me why. I feel like my head is quickly falling into the tailspin that Finn is describing. With my mind preoccupied with the torrent of information and feelings being presented to me, Finn continues with Olivia's story,

"Anyway, as soon as Olivia moved back she picked up her job waiting tables at Mailalino and frankly, became obsessed with me. The night you left, I made it clear that I wanted nothing to do with her anymore, with anyone actually. But I didn't even want to see her. She found out I was working at The Haunt though, and she wouldn't stop showing up, trying to get my attention. She was finally starting to back off before you came back and as soon as she realised that you could be you, it's like she had a whole new reason to get my attention. That day in The Haunt, I tried to convince her that the only reason she's obsessed with you is because she feels guilty for what happened. I don't think she bought it though. I've only spoken to her to try and protect you, Sally, honestly. The last thing I want is to be part of the reason that you lose everything you've worked for."

God, why can't he just be the asshole I've pictured for the last five years? His voice is impossibly gentle and brimming with unadulterated care. Until I came back, there wouldn't have been anyway that someone could have convinced me that Finn is the caring, sweet, and desperate man in front of me right now.

Unable to think of a response, I mindlessly finish the cigarette between my fingers to give me something to ground myself in, since the rest of my head is fucking mess. As always, he sees right through me, sees right through my blank expression to the whirlwind of my thoughts. So, he tries to lighten the mood, like he always used to do when things were difficult,