The First of October // Finn Wolfhard x Reader

• 2 : Coffee on a stormy evening •

The boy and I had arrived at the nearest coffee shop just ahead of the storm, that sneaked glances just over our shoulders. Thunder soon pervaded the air. Lightning stomped the earth. Wind rattled the now empty trees, and the carpet of autumn's petals had taken off into the air, and left the ground bare.

"So-" the boy began, stopped, took a hold of his coffee cup and took a small sip before exhaling, and lifting his gaze to me. "What's your name?"
I lifted my gaze up to the boy in return, my eyes as clear as a drop of summers rain, and I moved my blonde-white hair off to the side of my face.
"//Name//." I said. "//Full name//."
"That's quite a name, //name//..." The boy nodded as though he'd known my name all along, although seconds later he looked as though he was pondering at the name, as he was staring beyond me.
I noticed this and spoke up, "Indeed. And you are?"
"Finn Wolfhard."
"That's fitting for a boy like yourself. Unique." I said, he agreed silently.
The cold sky stared at us as though it were contrite for being. I quivered, suddenly aware of the storm. I turned to the window slowly, and sniffed the air, "Tell me about yourself, Finn."
Finn sighed, by this sigh I could tell the boy had told the tale of his life all his life to every person he had came across.
"I am a city fool, really. I've looked at the world for almost all my life and never looked away, now I'm fifteen and I've done twenty years taking in the trash and taking in the laundry of the world. Though my mind is unaware, my body is aware to duck, weave and bounce away from the frequent knock out blows that come and go every now and again." He lifted his bothered coffee up to his now bothered, freckled face.

Out in the world, not much happened. But here in the night, here in the land bricked with oak leaves and anything may happen, always did. Listen and you'll hear a million folk firing cannons, sharpening guillotines. Breath in and you'll feel the scent of spices from far countries. These noises and smells are invisible, yes, but this boy and I had the gift of ears, noses and tongues.

My hand, pale as always, approached the boys, carefully as I noticed his gaze shifted, his eyes saddened. I put my hand on his, then took a tight hold of it. We sat now, face to face, a girl with hair of the autumn leaves, and a boy with hair of the autumn night sky, a girl with a winter-apple face, a boy with a summer-apple face. I smiled at Finn. Finn smiled back.
The boy with the summer-apple face, trickled with freckles ran the fingers of his free hand along the side of his empty coffee cup, now not even a coffee cup at all. As of now it was simply just a cup.

The boys eyes became easy again. "And then what are you, //name//?"
"I am alright. I'm not above stealing the occasional stationery kit from a family member, and I'm not above purposely forgetting to pick my trash back up if I don't get it in the garbage can the first time. But anyway, it's not that. It's just, I know this is how I'll be all my life; I'll get hurt, bruised, cut and always wonder why it happens to me. But you, now, you seem to know it happens and you never ask why; you just know. You see it happen from start to finish and your wounds heal without you having to think a thought or question something that is, for you, answered obviously. I've always looked beyond the world or over to one side. You know every part of your shadow, I'm surprised to see my shadow following me, but I guess that's that." I take one last taste of the coffee the boy bought not too long ago, and I looked down into the emptiness of the cup, and examined its nothingness.

Finn took in every word I said and nodded. "Though I'm unable to answer the questions your mind may ask every now and again, together we can prevail over the dark, just by standing and breathing together."
My face heats up and I look across to the window, as clear as summers rain to let the heat condense in the cool, soft breeze from inside the store. I sigh. "This storm doesn't seem promising at all when it comes to clearing up to become an empty sky once more, it's as though it will never end. My journey home is going to be a series of stressful events."
He took both his hands and pressed his thumbs against one another. He looked down for a minute, then, looked back up to see me looking directly back at him. "Heck, I would invite you to stay here with me and watch autumn take place whilst we wait for the storm to finish but, with the lighting fizzing down drainpipes now I don't think that would be such a good idea. Would you care to stay in my company for a while in my apartment? It's just across the way, and if need be you can stay until the storm has blown away."
The bell attached to the top of the store door rang.

After a minute or two of debating back and forth, to and fro over the boy's kindness we finally came to a conclusion. The door to the coffee shop closed.
Finn let the wind refit his clothes, his skin and his hair. I let the wind ruffle my clothes, my skin and my hair. Then I said, faintly, "Thank you, Finn." The boy responded with a smile that remained silent, yet expressed everything he felt.
The wind flew the boy away, and a similar kite attached to the boy swooped to follow.