joe raised his dark eyebrows, "i don't know? whenever he's here, he's here." he stated matter of factly, placing the water bottle back on the wire rack of the fridge and making his way back to the couch. "natalia is at work until this evening and god knows how long sadie will be at caleb's, so go get ready. i want some alone time."
millie scowled, raising her middle finger towards him and starting down the hallway to sadie's room. she threw open the door, taking note of the messy bed and pile of stolen costumes and clothes.
she pushed them to the side, kicking them under the bed and throwing herself back onto the cheap mattress. letting her eyes roam over the ceiling, she began to slowly remember the night before. dancing, drinking, and finn saving her from jacob.
she sighed dramatically, standing up after only a few moments of silence to get dressed.
kneeling in front of the dresser, she pulled out a grey turtleneck sweater, and a pair of light jeans. she changed into them quickly, avoiding the cold fall air on her bare body for as long as possible.
once dressed, she stood in front of the full body length mirror and examined herself. the sweater fit loosely around her slim shoulders, a result of being worn too much and probably stretched out. the jeans baggy at the ankles, she bent and cuffed them. she examined herself in the light, displeased with the reflection in the dirty glass.
part of her mind wondered if she looked good enough for finn, while another part mentally scolded herself for even bothering to think of that. yes, he was obviously attractive to her, and yes, she obviously wanted to impress him. but she didn't want to fall as one of those girls who lived to impress others, she lived for herself and no one else. she had learned over the years that it was bad to let people see the soft side of you, the side that loves and cares and has feelings, because feelings get broke and emotions get twisted and manipulated into problems that shouldn't even exist.
she brushed off the thoughts, grabbing her own makeup bag and quickly wiping off the smudged black makeup around her raccooned eyes and pouting her lips at herself in the mirror. she put on her red lipstick, a lighter layer than normal, saturating her lips a light cherry red. running a few fingers through her dark hair, she separated the small tangles and pinned a few pieces back with thin black bobby pins, quickly becoming concealed in her mass of loose curls.
as if on cue, joe called out to her. "your date it here!" he shouted, millie banged a fist on her closed door in frustration, grunting and slipping on her black combat boots, tying them all the way up quickly and shrugging her leather jacket around her torso. she zipped it up to just above her chest, allowing the collar of her thick turtleneck to show.
giving herself one last look, she huffed and left the room, approaching the front door and scowling at joe. "he's not my date." she spat, glancing over at finn who's tall figure stood in the narrow doorframe.
he wore an outfit similar to hers, a thick leather jacket and light jeans with heavy leather boots. but this time, his hair was wild and untamed, not trapped under the maroon fabric of his favorite beanie and brushing against his skin with the chicago wind.
"just so you know," millie told him, covering up the hint of excitement that had begun building up inside of her, "i'm being forced into this." she gave joe one last dirty glance before stepping through the doorframe, by finn's side. the door behind her slammed loudly, almost shaking the concrete porch she now stood on. the air was cold as usual, stark and frigid as her light breaths cut through it with a thick fog.
finn turned to millie, grinning and starting down the steps of the porch. "you seem so damn suspicious to me i figured i'd take you out," he offered, "and plus the world seems to want us to know each other." he winked, his words came out with such confidence and pride that it startled millie, leaving her slightly confused on why he was so forward with her.
three
Start from the beginning
