Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Finn's mom asked for the third time, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead.

"Yes, Mom, I'm fine," Finn said, rolling his eyes as he ducked out from under her touch. "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Well, maybe I should—"

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore!" he insisted impatiently. "Go back inside and finish your coffee, I'll be fine."

Finn clomped down over the steps, turning once and motioning for his mother to go back inside. When she finally slipped back inside Cameron's house, Finn jogged around to the far side of the garage and up the stairs to the apartment above. Once inside, he plopped down on the sofa and flipped the television on, relishing the freedom and solitude of being home alone.

His mom had made a great dinner—grilled steak, potato salad, baby carrots, and banana cream pie for dessert—and hanging out at Cameron's house was cool, but it was kind of nauseating watching the two of them together. It was obvious that they liked each other—even Finn could see that, and he was twelve!—but both of them were either unable or unwilling to make the first move.

Finn hadn't intended to eavesdrop earlier that day at Cameron's other house. He and Brandon were playing hide-and-seek, and the window above his hiding spot was open, so he couldn't help but overhear the conversation inside. He'd thought it was pretty cool of his mom to say nice things about Cameron's house, even though it was really old and kind of a dump. But then he'd been pretty sure she'd ruined the credibility of any compliment coming from her when she'd started spouting off about 'fate' and 'destiny' and all that crap, but Cameron didn't seem to mind, because he invited them over for dinner just the same. Finn had had to swallow a groan when she actually said 'no', because it was laundry day of all things, but Cameron had persisted, and had somehow managed to change her mind. Finn still thought the joke about the quarters was kind of lame, but his mom had laughed like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard, so maybe Cameron knew more about girls than he let on...

Finn finished flipping through the channels but there was nothing on worth watching, so he snapped the TV off. In his bedroom, he switched on the clock radio and flopped down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as the faint strains of rock music blended with the dewy air from the partially-open window. He wasn't really as tired as he'd claimed to be, but faking a stomachache would've had his mother hovering over him here, instead of back at Cameron's house where Finn knew she really wanted to be, even if she didn't know it herself. And it had been way obvious at dinner that Cameron wanted her there, too.

Who knows? Finn thought, folding his arms behind his head with a wry smile. Maybe they'll actually make eye contact tonight!