Missing Moments

Dancemania - Finn's Perspective (Part One)

7x22

"Bro, can we just go?"

Finn huffed in irritation and told Henry shortly, "No, I have to talk to Piper."

They were waiting in the hallway outside of the dressing rooms assigned to them by the show. Most of the team had already changed out of their costumes and gone back to the hotel, which was conveniently located in walking distance of the Dancemania studio. Piper had yet to emerge from her dressing room, however, and Finn wasn't leaving until she did.

After that performance, they clearly had a lot to talk about.

Henry shared an exasperated look with Heath as the younger boy asked, "Can't you just talk to her tomorrow?"

Finn clenched his jaw and didn't respond, and Heath sighed. Henry nudged the younger bro and nodded down the hall towards the door that led to the elevators. "Let's just go. We'll catch you at the hotel, Finn."

He simply nodded, glancing over at his friends as they left him behind. As an afterthought, Heath called over his shoulder that he would text him their hotel room number. Once they were gone, Finn let out a deep breath, resting his head against the wall behind him dejectedly.

The first day of Dancemania had been – to put it lightly – terrible. Missing his flight had messed everything up. The weather had delayed his and Emily's back-up flight. He'd barely made it in time to perform at all. He had nearly cost Piper the biggest opportunity of her life, and she was mad at him for it, and he couldn't blame her because he was mad at himself too.

And as if all of that wasn't enough, the tension between him and Piper had earned harsh criticisms from the judges and nearly gotten the team eliminated on the first night of the competition.

He never should have listened to Kingston and put his phone on silent. But in his defense, he wouldn't have had to if Piper hadn't gone overboard with those damn alarms in the first place. She was at fault here too, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

Finn waited a few more minutes before deciding this was ridiculous. He knocked on the girls' door before entering the dressing room. Piper was sitting on the couch, her arms crossed and a sour pout on her face that turned into a glare when she noticed her boyfriend.

"Finn, you can't just come in here. It's the girls' dressing room," she snapped at him.

Summer frowned from where she was sitting on the small make-up counter next to Amy, who was wiping her make-up off with a facial wipe. "It's not a big deal," she started to say, but her comment went ignored by both Piper and Finn.

"Can we talk?" he asked, looking at his girlfriend seriously.

Her jaw clenched, and she ripped her gaze away from him, swallowing thickly before saying, "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Piper—"

"Summer, are you ready to go?" Piper asked quickly, abruptly standing from the couch.

"I thought we were waiting for—"

"Come on." Piper had crossed the room and grabbed her arm, practically yanking Summer off of the make-up table and dragging her to the door without even a glance Finn's way as she swiftly stepped around him.

Summer sent a helpless look to Amy over her shoulder as Piper dragged her out the door. Amy rolled her eyes, shaking her head as the door slammed shut behind them.

Finn tried to keep his expression impassive, but there was a lump growing in his throat and not for the first time that night. The team had almost gotten eliminated because of his mistake, and now, Piper wouldn't even look at him. He slumped against the wall, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill over. He couldn't cry over this. He didn't deserve to when he'd brought it on himself.