The Story of Finneas - [COMPLETED]

6.

I remembered the first time I performed with Finneas. It was raining that night, so Sizzles was crowded with all the people waiting for the rain to stop. Finneas and I were just talking about our childhood hobbies while we ate Joe the Bartender's famous chips and salsa on our usual seat by the bar.

"I wasn't bad at all at swimming, you know. My teacher wanted me to be an athlete, so I even competed in a few competitions. I was pretty small for a seventh grader—I guess puberty hit me a little bit later—so that was a big deal. All the other kids who were good at swimming were like tall and lean," Finneas continued his story after sipping his beer. "How about you?" He glanced at me curiously.

"I think I've always been holding an instrument since I was little. My parents wanted me to learn piano since I was 6, so I was a pretty big nerd throughout my childhood," I smiled. "I tried other instruments too, such as flute, cello, and—as you already know—I discovered guitar in high school and have been sticking with it ever since."

I thought Joe the Bartender was busy making drinks, but apparently he overheard our conversation. "Wait, you can play the guitar?" He was staring at me with a rather enthused expression. "That's great! Would you be willing to play here? Chris, the guy who usually plays here, had to move back to his parents' farm in Kansas. So we have no other performers right now, and performers are good for the customers, y'know what I mean?"

I remembered Chris. He was a blonde guy with a ton of piercings on both of his ears. I remembered seeing him perform most of the time when we were hanging out here. I took a glance at Finneas. I was just about to refuse Joe's request, but I noticed that Finneas was intrigued.

"Alright, I'll play, but only if Finneas sings with me."

Finneas quickly turned to me, and Joe turned to Finneas. "You can sing too? Whoa. You two are gonna be the greatest duo here, since y'all hang out together a lot, so you already have that chemistry thing going on. Alright folks, if you're willing to go on stage tonight, the next rounds are on me!" Joe said cheerfully. He pointed to the stage—if you can really call it a stage. It was just a couple of wooden planks with two microphones, an acoustic guitar, and big amplifiers on both sides.

"What—Brooke, are you nuts? I can't sing in front of all these people!" Finneas shifted closer to me, absolutely panicking.

I smirked. "Finneas, listen to me," I turned my body so I was facing him. My eyes locked with his blue eyes. My face was getting warm, but I ignored the feeling. "I put aside my shyness so that you can perform on public. It's such a waste to not let them hear your voice."

"But-"

"Believe me," I assured him once again, this time with a warm smile. I grabbed his hand—it was big and warm like always—and pulled him towards the stage. He hesitated, but he walked along eventually.

Joe the Bartender raced towards the microphone and tapped it lightly a few times. "Good evening, folks. As you all know, we've been out of performers since a few days ago. But now, please welcome our new performers, Finn and Brooke!"

He bowed, and immediately the audience clapped. They seemed eager to hear us play, and that made me even more nervous. To be honest, I have never performed in front of an audience. I'd always practice alone, letting just a few people hear my playing.

Finneas took a glance at me and smiled, and I knew he was nervous as well. He sat on the wooden stool in front of the microphone, and threw a charming smile to the people in front of us.

"Good evening, lovely people. It's my first time performing in front of people, and frankly, I'm afraid," Finneas said, making the audience laugh. His voice was a little bit shaky. "Since we haven't been practicing much, we only have one song to perform. This lovely woman beside me is Brooke, and I'm Finneas. Please don't throw tomatoes at us," he finished his little speech, and the audience chuckled.

We stared at each other, and Finneas gave me a small nod. I started playing the notes to the song we created together in my apartment. His voice was a little bit shaky at first, still good nonetheless. I could see the audience getting carried away in the music; in his voice. All eyes were focused on us, and it was a weird yet satisfying feeling to be stared at like that. I could feel Finneas easing up through his calmer tone and breathing.

The song ended, and there was a few seconds of silence before the audience cheered. I was shook, since I didn't think we'd be getting such a great reaction. Finneas and I stood up at the same time, and our eyes met. He had the biggest smile ever and it triggered me to smile too. He held my hand and we bowed shortly before getting off of the stage.

"Oh my God!!" We both yelled in excitement, jumping up and down. He opened his arms wide, and I moved closer to hug him, which he also did at the same time. I froze when his hands held my face and he leaned in until our lips touched. It all happened so fast, and I didn't even have the time to kiss him back. My eyes opened wide and I saw him making the same exact expression as he broke the kiss.

"I'm sorry," he ended the silence that went on for way too long. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He rushed outside through the back door and I saw him pulling his hair in frustration.

I looked over to the bar and Joe was standing there, almost as shocked as I was. He made a gesture telling me to go after Finneas.

The back door of Sizzles leads to a rather dark and gross alley. There was nothing but dumpster—which was empty, thankfully—and a small space between bland-colored brick walls. I found Finneas just standing there, facing the wall. He had his hands in his pocket. He must've heard the door closing behind me and he turned over.

"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice and a seemingly sad smile. His eyes were watery, and I carefully approached him. I still didn't know what to say, so I was just staring at his face. I just kept thinking about that kiss and his reaction, and how I'll never be able to forget that.

"I'm sorry," he repeated what he had said previously.

"It's okay, really," I assured Finneas, who was staring at his shoes. "Are you okay, though?"

He went silent for a few moments before answering, "I... don't know."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know why I did that."

I sighed. I obviously felt hurt, but I didn't like seeing him like this. "I'm sure it was just because you were overwhelmed with emotions and, heck, maybe adrenaline too. It's okay, Finneas."

I pulled him into a hug. His body was a bit stiffer than usual, but he eased up as he leaned his weight on me. He was quite heavy, but I didn't mind. He didn't say anything when we finished hugging, but I could see a tear flowing down his cheek. I couldn't see it clearly because of the bad lighting, but I was pretty sure he cried.

"Finneas..." I whispered his name and wiped off his tear gently. He managed to show a crooked smile and exhaled loudly.

"I'm such a crybaby. I'm ashamed." He wiped his face with his sleeve and put his hands back into his pocket, like he always does when he feels uneasy.

"You're a human, so crying is only natural. It doesn't make you less of a man. I can't say I know what you're thinking right now, but I just want you to feel better."

I was trying to make eye contact, but he avoided my gaze. "Thank you," he finally said. "I think I'm gonna be here for a while. You should go in, it's getting cold."

I hesitated, but he nodded. "I'm going to get better, I promise. Can you save another bottle of beer for me?"

He smiled once again and I thought leaving him alone was the only thing I could do. Nagging him to tell me what he's feeling was certainly going to be annoying, so I smiled back weakly and went back inside.