Something in the Way - Finn Wolfhard

I Need To Help Him

Millie was back home at her house. Her parents were at work, so it was just her and her two siblings, Charlie and Ava. Her other sister, Paige, was still in London for work so she couldn't make the move with them. At least Millie still had her other siblings with her. Charlie even told her that he would go to college right in town so he wouldn't be far when that time comes. Ava would be around for a while, considering how she was only 5. Millie would be the one leaving her someday.

The girl was currently in her bedroom with Charlie, playing on her 3Ds. They were playing MarioKart on it and Millie was struggling to get in first place. Charlie was rooting her on to beat the level, mostly because he wanted a turn. Millie got in second place though. She groaned in defeat.

"Great. I lost against a computer!" She said, annoyed.

Charlie put his hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I told you not to pick Mirror Mode when you haven't even completed 150cc yet!" He said.

Millie rolled her eyes at him and playfully punched him in the shoulder. She then handed her 3Ds over to him so he could have a turn. She just happened to look out her window to see Finn there at his window. She had no idea that she lived next door to him. She gave him a small wave and a smile, but his eyes widened as he quickly closed the curtains. Millie looked away from the window and frowned to herself. She wanted to go talk to Finn, but she wasn't so sure if he would talk to her. She still decided to take the risk.

"Charlie, I'm going outside for some fresh air. I want to look around a bit," Millie said, getting up from the bed.

"Okay, Don't wander off far!" Charlie said, pausing the game.

Millie nodded. "You can keep playing but do not play under my name! I actually want to try it without you playing!" She said.

Charlie just chuckled. "I won't, Mills. Be careful okay? Because if you get hurt, I'm getting the blame," he said.

Millie rolled her eyes and smirked. She put on her jacket and left the house and walked over to Finn's. She walked up to the front door and rang the bell. A few minutes later, a woman answered the door. She eyed the girl over as Millie started to talk. "Hi, my name is Millie. I just moved to town. Are you Finn's mother?" She said.

"No I'm his aunt," the woman responded. Millie didn't catch this, but she mumbled under her breath, "Unfortunately."

"I was just wondering if he was here? I talked to him during school and he seems like a nice boy.  I want to get to know him better," Millie said.

Finn's aunt shook her head. "I can't do that. He's busy and doesn't want to be disturbed," she said, slamming the door in Millie's face. She was confused greatly as to why Finn's aunt was acting rude to her. She just shrugged it off for now and started walking back to her house. But as she walked to her house, she looked back up at Finn's window. She could see him looking down at her with a sad look on his face. She gave him a small smile back. Then she noticed him turning away, but he was still at the window. Millie waited for a bit before seeing him turn back around and holding up a piece of paper. From what Millie could tell, it said, "Meet me at the school tomorrow. Early." Millie nodded and he nodded back before leaving the window.

She wondered what he needed to talk to her about.

...

Early in the morning, Millie got up and got ready for school while not waking up her family. She had to go meet Finn there early before other kids came. She packed up her stuff and made her lunch before walking over to the school building.

When she got there, she could see Finn sitting on a bench. Millie walked up to him and waved at him. "Hey Finn!" She greeted. Finn looked up and waved back as she sat down next to him. "So, uh, what did you want to talk to me about?" Millie asked.

Finn shrugged. "I want to get to know you," he said in a small voice. "It might not sound important, but, you're the first person who's ever been nice to me."

Millie smiled at him. "Well, uh, there's not really much to tell about me. I'm from London, I have two parents, three siblings, two older, one younger. I love video games, science, my friends, my family. My favorite show is Riverdale and my favorite movie is either the original Ghostbusters, Star Wars, or the Shining. I love Adele and I listen to her all the time. I love just music in general," she told him. "Sorry, I can just ramble a lot. My brother likes to joke that I have a problem."

Finn nodded. "Cool," He said.

Millie looked at him for a couple of seconds before asking, "Finn, I have a question. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I've heard a rumor that you were in a mental institution. Is that true? Don't be mad that I asked that." Finn shook his head. Millie nodded. "Why do people make fun of you anyway?"

Finn shrugged. "Because of my anxiety. I act weird," he said, looking down. "I don't like talking."

Millie shook her head in annoyance. She really hated people who judged others for having anxiety or something like that. She looked back up at Finn, noticing something under his sweatshirt hood. It looked like it was something bad, so she removed his hood for him to get a better look and what she saw brought her shock. Finn had a swollen black eye and a couple of cuts on his face. He looked like he was beaten up by thugs.

"What happened?! How did you get these marks?!" Millie asked, worried. Finn's eyes widened as he quickly tried to cover them up with his hood. "What's wrong? You can tell me!" She said. Finn just shook his head at her and looked down. Then the two saw kids starting to arrive at the school, realizing that the school day was just beginning. Millie ran into the building and Finn slowly walked in, not looking at anyone in the eye.

Millie went to her locker, remembering that for first period she had social studies. But the teacher said she wasn't going to be there today so it would become an extra study hall. She had no work to do, so she grabbed her private notebook out of her locker before heading off to class for the day. Millie sat down in her seat and started writing down a list:

"Things That Finn doesn't Deserve"

She made sure to include bullying and being picked on at school. She also put in social anxiety as well along with having no friends, besides her. Millie wasn't so sure if they were friends yet, but she hoped so. Other things she added in was no parents from what she could tell. But then she added in him being beat up by students and maybe even possibly his aunt. From what she could tell of what she saw of him yesterday, he had no black eye. Then he somehow has one today that he shows up to school with.

Millie didn't know what could be going on, but all she knew was that she needed to help Finn.