The Replay ✓

{05}

As weeks and months passed, the days began to blend in. Every day seemed the same to Finneas.

Wake up. Shower. Eat. Go to school. Come back from school. Eat. Shower. Sleep. Repeat.

But the repetition made it possible for Finn to focus on more important things. He began to forgive Brett for something he didn't even do yet and he began trying to make Audrey and Charlie get together.

Because if Charlie wouldn't date Alice, he wouldn't sit in that car and they wouldn't get hit by the truck on the intersection of 6th and 54th.

On Tuesday, November 13, Finn was late for school on the second time in his senior year, besides the first day of school.

When he went out of the house, he started running towards the school, making sure to turn left on the intersection where his mom turned the right way on the first day of school.

He heard a honk behind him and he turned around rapidly. He noticed Charlie's still undamaged car, the boy waving his hand through the window.

"Charlie?"

"Get in," said the driver with a smile on his face. "You don't want to be late on Brett's birthday. He's gonna think that you don't care about him anymore..."

Finn felt himself getting dizzy from all the memories that the car brought. He saw it right after the accident, along with...

"I'm not letting you drive me, Charlie."

Charlie and his car didn't budge. On the contrary, another honk came from the car. "Just get in. I'm not letting you be late."

"I'm not gonna be late, Charlie," countered Finn, knowing that he didn't sound persuasive. He still had about two miles left, and the class started in five minutes. But the weight of the diary in his backpack made him realize that he could never sit in that car again. Because if he sat in there, everything would become way too real.

And the thing he was trying to achieve was Charlie and Alice's death not being real.

"Just get in."

"There's no way I'm getting in your car, Charlie. Now or ever... Plus if you're scared about being late, you can go ahead and drive yourself to school. Just be careful with the intersections..."

"What are you, my mom?" he asked sarcastically and drove off.

Not long after starting to walk again, Finn saw Charlie on foot. Charlie ran up to Finn and they started walking side by side.

"Why are you here?" asked Finn after a few moments of careful consideration.

"You don't want to get in my car. So I decided that I would walk with you," clarified Charlie, making it sound extremely obvious.

"But why?" insisted Finn. He clearly didn't understand the other boy's intentions. 

"Can I ask you something, Finn."

"That's already a question. But yeah, go ahead."

"What's going on with you and Brett. There's clearly something wrong. Did something happen at the beginning of the year? Because that's when everything changed between the two of you..."

"There are just some things I'm currently going through. It's not Brett's fault, and it's not exactly mine either. They're just things I have to work through in order to finally be myself again," ended up clarifying Finneas, and he was proud of doing so.

"Alright. Just know that if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here..."

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked this chapter.