Missing Moments

Finn's Not There for Piper

7x09

The only thing Piper had wanted today was for Finn to notice that she was wearing her hair down and maybe compliment her again. What she had not wanted was a vote that would ultimately decide on the best choreography for the Dancemania audition at the expense of their dance captain's feelings.

Did Piper think that the team had made the best decision for the audition? Ultimately, yes. Richelle's choreography was the obvious choice.

But was it worth the betrayed expression on Summer's face as she left Studio A in tears? No, that was definitely not worth it.

A-Troupe dispersed soon after Summer ran out on them. Piper had given a half-hearted congratulations to Richelle, taken one glance to where Amy was talking with Kenzie then another to where Finn was sitting at the cubbies with the boys and Lily, then promptly booked it out of Studio A. All anyone had wanted to talk about today was the fact that Finn and Amy as well as Kingston and Lily were dating, and Piper had never felt more alone.

Figures as soon as she accepted her feelings for Finn, he starts dating someone else, and so does apparently everyone else on A-Troupe.

Between all the talk of relationships and overthrowing Summer's choreography, it had been a crappy day. The only thing Piper wanted now was a scone from The Next Steep and a chai latte to drown her sorrows in. (She still didn't know why Finn and Amy had formed a bond over chai lattes of all things, but whatever. She didn't have any mental capacity left to worry about that today.)

While she waited for her order, she leaned against the counter, scrolling through the group text she was in with her siblings and cousins. All of her cousins were yelling at Leo about something, but that was nothing new. She hadn't scrolled far enough back to figure out what he had done this time, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to know. She would just ask James about it later.

"Pipes, there you are!"

She looked up as Finn strode across The Next Steep to join her at the counter. "Hey, can I get a green tea? And can you steep it at 175?" he said to Steve the barista as he sidled up next to Piper. The guy nodded, and Finn looked down at her. "They never steep it at the right temperature, you know."

"Mhmm," Piper hummed, raising her eyebrows as she kept scrolling through the cousin group chat. She'd heard Finn's rant about The Next Steep and their teas more than she could count at this point, and she still couldn't quite bring herself to care that much. Regardless of his strong opinions about the tea shop, Finn continued to give them all his money anyway. If he and Amy were serious about boycotting The Next Steep, they were both doing a terrible job so far.

"What's up? Why'd you run off after rehearsal?" Finn asked, nudging her foot with his to get her attention.

Steve handed Piper the scone she had ordered at that moment, and she held it up as if that in and of itself was supposed to answer his question. She proceeded to take a bite of it and was immediately filled with disappointment. It was dry. Of course.

Today really couldn't get any worse.

"Hey, my two favorite people!"

As Amy joined them, a bright smile on her face, Piper had to turn away to stifle a cough as she choked on her scone. Steve slid her latte across the counter to her, seeming more than ready for his shift to end as he gave her a look of disgust. Despite the rude look, she was grateful for the drink to down her disappointment of a scone. That was supposed to be her comfort food this afternoon, and yet, the universe continued to let her down.

"You good, Pipes?" Finn asked. His eyes were shining in amusement, and it was in that moment that Piper wished she could just go home, crawl into bed, and try again tomorrow.