Finding Finley ✔

6

"Who is that and why do you look like you either want to murder her or vomit?" Darby asks, sitting a water bottle down on the table before taking a seat next to me. 

I watch as Hannah excuses herself from the conversation she's having and makes her way over to where Darby and I are sitting at a picnic table on campus. We'd just finished our run and were planning on taking advantage of the nice weather and study together. While Darby was buying the two of us some water though, Hannah saw me and now she is on her way over to interrogate me about Parker. 

"Little bit of both." I say to Darby as Hannah approaches, flipping her red hair over her shoulder before coming to a stop on the opposite side of our table. 

"Finley." 

"Satan." 

Hannah rolls her eyes and places a hand on her hip, "Have you seen Parker lately?" 

"Well, he does sleep five feet away from me." 

"He's not answering my calls or texts, and neither of you will answer the door when I come by so -"

"Wait, are you like, dating Parker or something?" Darby asks, cutting of Hannah's pointless rambling. 

Hannah turns her attention towards Darby, who seems to be both curious and amused, "And who are you?"

"Darby. Who are you?" Her smile is genuinely polite, but Hannah's is one hundred percent fake and I expected nothing less from her. 

Ignoring her question, Hannah looks back at me, "Tell Parker to call me." She sends one more look Darby's way before walking away. 

"She's a bit of a bitch." 

I laugh, "You have no idea." 

"So, who is she?" She asks for the third time, twisting the cap off her water bottle. 

"Her name's Hannah. We went to the same school our whole lives and she unfortunately used to date my brother." 

"And you hate her because?"

"I think I was born hating her." I honestly don't know the specific reason that I hate Hannah so much. I remember hating her in Kindergarten when she pushed me out of a swing, and I remember hating her in middle school when she tripped me while running in gym class. I remember hating her in high school when she started calling me Finley and being a bitch to me and everyone around her. I especially remember hating her when she dug her claws into my brother who always said that Hannah isn't that bad. 

"Deep rooted hatred, nice." She brushes her hair out of her face, "Are her and Parker a thing?"

"Parker isn't a thing with anyone." I roll my eyes at the thought of Parker actually having a girlfriend, or even something remotely close to a relationship - let alone one with Hannah. 

"I'll be sure to tell my roommate that." Shit. I forgot that Parker was also sleeping with Darby's roommate.

"I mean, it's not -"

"It's fine, Finn. Beth knows that she's not the only one. I just can't get her to realize that she can't change him." 

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"So he's always been a player?" I can hear the disapproval in her tone, and while I don't agree with Parker's lifestyle, I also don't judge him for it. Parker isn't a bad guy, he just likes to have fun - what's so wrong about that? He's always upfront with the girls he sleeps with and he knows that no means no. He's harmless. 

"Always."

"How long have you two been friends?" 

"For as long as I can remember. His dad died when we were in grade school, and I kind of had an idea of what he was going through, so I went up to him at lunch one day and we've been best friends since then."