peaches | fillie

twenty-six

November

It didn't take long after pulling up against the curb for Sadie to spot Finn sitting on his porch swing, rocking back and forth gently. She smiled softly at his calm aura before rolling down the window and yelling out to him.

"Wolfhard! Get your ass in gear! We're gonna be late!"

Finn jumped at the sudden noise, flicking his head toward the car quickly. He tugged his leather jacket closer to his body before hopping up, beginning to scramble down the stone walkway.

"I doubt that we'll be late, Sads, we have ten minutes before we're supposed to be there," He said as he climbed into the passenger seat. Finn admired the car internally, feeling the leather seat beneath his clothed thighs. Sadie had received the car on her sixteenth birthday, splitting the cost with her uncle, David. Since then, they had created so many memories just driving around at late hours and finding little shops that no one else knew about. Finn hadn't realized how much he missed doing that until now.

"We wouldn't be late if it was just you, but we're getting Caleb, too," She shot back, craning her neck to peer out of the back window.

Finn nodded stiffly, "Caleb. Right."

The two weren't on bad terms anymore, but there was still a tension between them that had remained without discussion.

Well, there was a tension from Finn. He had never fully recovered from the things that Caleb had said about Millie, even after such a long time and a heartfelt apology from each of them. It just didn't seem like enough to bring their friendship back completely after the hiatus they had experienced.

Sadie glanced at him warily as she turned onto Widecker Street, recognizing the faraway expression on his face while following the rows of houses with his eyes until the car finally came to a stop in front of Caleb's.

"You better not be a douchebag, or I'll bring back all of my old violent habits just to take you fucking down," She grumbled, stepping out of the car and skipping up to the other boy's house. Finn noticed how quickly her mood had changed at the sight of Caleb walking outside. How her smile immediately grew and her eyes scrunched up at the corners. He sighed, pushing a hand through his untameable curls.

Sadie was his best friend, and if Caleb made her happy, then he needed to grow the fuck up and learn how to be his friend again, Finn decided. He snapped his head up at the sound of one of the back doors closing. Caleb now occupied the seat behind him, smiling widely and patting his back in greeting.

"Hey, man, long time no talk!"

Finn let himself grin back at the boy, pushing aside all of his worries and observations about their friendship and actually enjoying the company of someone who had once been so close to him again.

***

It was a brisk November afternoon, one that bit fervently at Finn's exposed ears and face. A batch of leaves crunched under his converse, his shoelaces dragging across the pavement. A smell of turkey and cinnamon carried itself through Millie's neighborhood, growing stronger the closer they got to her front door. By the time they had approached it fully and felt a warm rush of air while it swung open, the scent was almost overwhelming.

"Welcome, everyone, to our celebration of Friendsgiving!" Millie announced with a grand gesture toward the inside of her house. She bounced excitedly at everyone's reactions. Seeing her friends bright faces and hearing how they all cheered brought a warm feeling to her chest, remembering exactly why she had planned the event.