Missing Moments

Piper Tells Finn About Her Dream

The Christmas Special

Finn felt horrible for Piper. Everyone on the team had gotten a Secret Santa gift except for her. When he turned to ask if she was okay, however, she had disappeared. He contemplated going after her but knew she liked to be alone when she was upset. He would give her some time to herself and then go find her. Just because Piper liked to be alone when she was upset didn't mean that was always best for her. She got so trapped in her own thoughts sometimes that Finn often found himself pulling her out of the negativity she drowned herself in.

Seriously though, how could Kingston have let Piper fall through the cracks like that? He'd had one job- to make sure everyone was assigned a Secret Santa. In hindsight, they really should have put someone more detail-oriented, like Piper or Richelle, in charge of the Secret Santa exchange, but Kingston had been the first to volunteer. At least now they knew to never put Kingston in charge of anything ever again.

The A-Troupers chattered excitedly about their gifts, cherishing their time alone before the former A-Troupe members returned from The Next Steep. Ozzy was enthusing about his game controller to Henry and Richelle while Summer sniffed the candle Piper had gotten her with a content smile.

"Oh, this is perfect! Exactly what I wanted."

She held the candle out for Amy to sniff when she noticed the way her friend was eying it as Finn told her, "Oh good 'cause Piper spent forever at that candle place in the mall picking it out." At least their half hour at Wicks Corner the other day hadn't been spent in vain.

Summer aww'ed at that, holding the candle close to her heart. "She's the sweetest. Hey, where'd she go anyway?"

"I don't know," Finn said, reluctantly meeting Amy's eye from Summer's other side.

"I'm sure she'll be right back," Amy said, glancing around Studio A and seeming a little too unconcerned for Finn's liking. He had thought the same thing when Piper had said she wanted to be alone before the (first) finals round at Regionals. He hadn't forgotten the feeling of panic that had surged through him when he realized Piper was missing right before A-Troupe was about to go onstage, and that was why he intended to go find her if she didn't return to Studio A soon.

"What do you think about your hat, Finn?" Amy asked, changing the subject.

Finn perked up at that as he enthused about his own Secret Santa gift. "It's awesome! Were you my Secret Santa?" Amy smiled and nodded, and he grinned. "How'd you know I like fish?"

"Um, I didn't? It's supposed to be a fin. You know, a fin hat?"

"Oh! Because my name's Finn!" he exclaimed gleefully as the dots connected in his brain.

Summer appeared to be holding back a laugh, her eyes shining with amusement as her lips formed a tight line. Amy didn't bother as a short giggle escaped her lips. "Yeah!"

"That's so cool! Very clever, Amy." Finn had pulled his hat off of his head to examine the fin on top of it again. He hadn't been excited about Amy re-joining the team, but who else would have thought to get him a fin hat just because his name was Finn?

Amy shrugged at that, tilting her head to the side proudly. "Well, it was actually Piper's idea, but I'm happy to take credit," she joked.

"Hey, Piper's not here. You might as well," Summer joked as well, tossing a hand dismissively and nudging Amy's shoulder with hers. Finn ignored them, smiling fondly at the hat. Somehow, it was even more special if it was Piper's idea.

Eventually, the girls moved to the snack table, leaving the boys on the benches to themselves. Ozzy was admiring his game controller for the tenth time with an expression that was the human equivalent to the heart-eyes emoji.