Knockout

Chapter Ten

You returned to your apartment later than you expected, walking in the door well after three in the morning. You cringed as the hinges squeaked, penetrating the silence of the apartment. Your brow twitched when you saw the dim warm glow emanating from the living room, casting a small light across the whole of the apartment.

Finn was situated on the couch, curled up into the far corner, dozed off on his perched arm. The creak of the door alerted him to your presence, his eyes shooting open. He blinked around the room disoriented by the sudden startle.

You continued inside, setting your purse and keys down on the kitchen counter. You expected Finn to go to his room but he didn't. He continued to stare at you, dark eyes holding unanswered questions.

"Where were you?"

Confusion flickered across your face. He never made a habit of asking where you'd been. "I was at a friend's house. Why?" You felt a smidge of guilt for being evasive, but he would only be upset if he knew.

"Ah... Which friend?"

Shit . He caught you.

"Um," you swallowed thickly, "Kylo's house." You suddenly found the grains in the wood floor very interesting.

Finn's eyes narrowed, a stern glare burning into your forehead. You could swear you heard the grind of his teeth from across the room. "Why?"

You rubbed the back of your neck, blinking dumbly. "He, uh, visited me at work because I'd been avoiding him, and then we met at his house to talk about stuff. About us." You trailed off towards the end, feeling insecure under Finn's intense gaze.

He took long strides to meet you where you stood rooted by the kitchen counter, his face so much closer to yours, his breath flared across your forehead.

You had to look up to meet his eyes again, the once friendly brown darkened with anger. "Please," he pleaded, grabbing your arm, " Please tell me you ended it with him. Once and for all."

You couldn't answer his question, just looking away and shaking your head 'no' ever so softly. His grip tightened as he understood what you meant, squeezing you to the point of pain.

You grimaced, pulling his hand off of your arm. "He explained it all to me Finn, and he's not as bad as you made him seem." You felt defensive of Kylo in a way you could yet to describe.

"Don't be stupid, Y/N."

You grit your teeth. "No, I'm not." You stepped away from him, angry now. "He told me everything. Yeah he made some mistakes, some bad mistakes but he's trying to be better. He deserves a second chance." You stared him down, keeping your face firm. Your eyes narrowed some, trying to keep your expressions rigid.

"You don't know who you're messing with!"

" God Finn! I'm a fucking adult. Who I am or am not spending time with is none of your concern. I am perfectly capable of making those decisions myself!" With that, you stormed off, shoulders shoving past his body. You rushed into your room, slamming the door behind.

The days following your fight with Finn were awkward but mundane nonetheless. The two of you avoided each other, keeping a large distance.

You made a point to stay in contact with Kylo, calling and texting frequently. He hadn't been able to meet again in person, he'd said something about preparing for an upcoming fight. He'd been training non-stop. You tried not to stress too much about it though, reminding yourself that neuroticism could be a death sentence for any budding relationship.

To compensate for the distance however, you'd made plans to meet for dinner and board games at his house on Saturday evening.

Friday morning on your way to work you received a text from him.