peaches | fillie

twenty-one

"You're late," Millie whined, gesturing at her watch. Finn chuckled, pulling his bike further up her driveway.

"I'm starting to feel some déjà vú, peachy," he said quietly through his grin.

She stood hesitantly on the porch step, afraid that something could have changed within the months she hadn't seen him for.

She had missed him like hell, but she knew that her leaving was the only way for him to get the best education he could in the short amount of time he was in California. She also knew that she would have been bored and jealous out of her mind, spending hours alone in that small town. Her leaving was for both of them.

Now that they were reuniting again, she didn't know what to expect. Finn eyed her cautiously, eyebrows raised. His face had softened a great deal since when she first met him seven months prior. Millie didn't like the idea that she had "changed" him. It sounded like she ruined him, or forced him to be the way she wanted. She knew that the change she brought was good, but it still worried her that it wasn't what he wanted.

"Are ya gonna hug me, or just stare at me?" he joked, arms outstretched. She smiled slightly, hopping down the steps and launching into his embrace. She felt tears stinging at the corners of her eyes; she hadn't seen him for so long that it hurt.

While his apparel had changed and his voice had dropped further, the way her arms felt around his body didn't alter. His smile still had that foolish glint to it and his freckles hadn't smeared. He was still Finn, still the boy she loved, just elevated.

"I don't think I could've lasted another minute without you, Wolfhard," She told him, breaking away from his hug. She hopped onto the bike behind him and gestured for him to proceed down the street. He grinned wildly as she nestled her chin against his shoulder and began to pedal to the school.

***

As Millie walked down the hallway of the stone school building, she heard someone calling her name. Finn and she had parted ways when they entered the door, saying goodbye with a quick peck on the lips.

She turned her head toward the voice and saw Sadie sprinting to her. The pair had become closer since Millie had come back from California, having frequent sleepovers and gossip sessions. Millie didn't know why she was ever skeptical of Finn's friends, Sadie was almost like an angel and (from what Sadie said) Caleb was one too.

"Mills!" Sadie screeched. Millie chuckled, tucking a piece of short hair behind her ear and running to meet her new friend.

"First day of school, how we feeling?" the redhead asked the shorter girl, tugging her into a tight hug.

"I mean, it's school, so I'm not sure how great I'll be later, but I'm actually really good right now," she grinned, "Finn is back, I'm wearing my favorite skirt... Things are looking up, Sads!"

Sadie chuckled, beginning to pull her down the hallway toward their first-period class.

"That skirt is really cute." She confirmed. Millie beamed; Getting fashion approval from Sadie was like winning a Grammy.

***

Millie decided that it was later and that she was not as great as she had been that morning.

But, after braving through all of her classes for the day, she was finally trudging down the sidewalk back home. Finn had to meet with the school counselor to go over the details of his college applications, Gaten and Noah had left before her, and Sadie was trying to figure out when field hockey tryouts were. That left Millie to walk back to her neighborhood alone.