Word Count: 1488
For a while, Finn's kitchen welcomed the sounds of pens gently scratching against paper (with the occasional curse and more vicious actions of scribbling out a mistake) and the low hum of music coming out of the speaker a few meters away on the kitchen island.
This didn't last for long, not that either of them could be surprised; with a small ball of energy and an opinionated and talkative redhead joining today's study session, they knew they wouldn't be getting much done. There's an English exam the following day – it isn't all that important and neither Millie nor Finn were too concerned (for different reasons, Millie's being that she'd been studying for a few days before and felt prepared whereas Finn, well... he just didn't really care enough about a weightless test), but oddly enough both Noah and Sadie felt compelled to study for once; ironically on an exam that wasn't very important.
After the pleasant silence, where it seemed as though all individuals were being productive enough – even if Noah had got up to use the bathroom three times now, returning from his third visit and sitting back in his seat, an obnoxious cough escaping his lips.
Millie blinked hard, trying to ignore his rather loud attempt at attention which has received a subtle eye roll from Finn who's eyes peered up momentarily before snapping back down to his work.
"Well," it was Sadie who had broken the silence. Pen down, arms folded, "you may be wondering why I've gathered you here today." Noah had a small smirk playing on his lips from the fact Millie and Finn had both given in and diverted their attention from their work to the distracted teens in front of them.
"Um," Finn was at a lost for words, "but-" mouth gaping, eyes squinted – confused. "This is my house?"
"Finn, please be respectful," Noah insisted, glaring at him seriously, trying to disguise an undertone of playfulness. "Millie, what's the date?"
Millie sighed deeply, rolling her eyes with a full awareness of the direction of this conversation, "Noah, I swear to God-"
"Fine then," he paused, turning his head to Finn, "what's the date."
Finn looked between Noah and Millie a few times, occasionally glancing at Sadie, "the 17th?" His words were slow and cautious, he knew what they were doing and was confused as to why Millie wasn't on board.
"Would you look at that?" Sadie spoke sarcastically, placing both elbows on Finn's dining tables and perching her head in her hands, "seriously though, we need to plan something for your birthday, Millie."
Millie glared at Noah, but there wasn't a humorous undertone like his, surprisingly the words that left her mouth sounded more exasperated than filled with rage, "Noah, I told you I didn't want this to be a big deal. You guys just come over and hang out, we can order a pizza or something." She smiled, trying to shut down their efforts kindly – plus, the idea was growing on her anyway.
"It's your 18th Millie," Finn said quietly, praying she wouldn't get annoyed at him for not backing her up, he wanted to make sure his girlfriend was spoilt on her birthday.
"Finn!" Millie groaned, raking her hand through her hair as she pressed her eyes closed, covering her face with her hands and sighing heavily, she felt bad for declining their efforts. And maybe it wouldn't be too bad? "Whatdidyouhaveinmind," she mumbled frustratingly, but it was inaudible and muffled through her hands pressed on her face.
"Sorry?" Sadie questioned, furrowing her eyebrows as she tried to decipher what she'd said.
Millie brought her face up, her hair messier than it was before, "What did you have in mind?" It was clearer this time, causing the three teens to smile and her compliance.
"Let's throw you a party!" Sadie was bursting with excitement as she blurted out the idea, Noah agreeing.
"No way," Millie chuckled, not wanting to spend her birthday at yet another high school party.
"Fine," Sadie whined, chewing on the end of her pen as she tried to think of other ideas, "well, we'll go shopping during the day, as usual, right?" The question may as well have been rhetorical because the answer was obvious. Millie wouldn't miss this tradition for the world; blowing all her birthday money in one go? Nothing better. Sadie loved it too, her parents giving her money to spend (not that this was out of the ordinary – who parents happily gave her money whenever she wanted; no questions asked).
"Yes, of course," Millie assured her, smiling warmly. She'd already had her eyes on a few things in the recent months – one being a pair of light pink vans. She'd gone to get them after Christmas, hoping they'd be on sale. They weren't, and thus, far too expensive for her then. The three other teens at the table smile optimistically, hoping they are finally getting somewhere on the birthday front. Their smiles are replaced with frowns with Millie's next request, "can't I just have a quiet night though, as usual? You know, hang at home. With you guys." Millie was becoming fond of the idea, thinking out loud, "you guys can pick food. I can show Finn and Noah what I bought, you can too, Sadie. Maybe I can clear out some of my clothes to make space..." Her voice trailed off.
"No way!" Noah protested, shaking his head violently. "There is no way in hell you are having a quote-unquote quiet one or your 18th. If you don't want to do much, that's fine. But can we at least do dinner or something? Like out. At a restaurant." Finn nodded in agreement, not wanting Millie's 18th to be anything but special and memorable.
"Yeah, like Italian or something nice. Is that still your favorite?" Finn's gaze was now focused on the nervous girl beside him, chewing on her nail and pondering her options, a small tugged on her lips at his comment. When they were younger, Millie had a downright obsession with Italian food; especially pasta. Any kind, any sauce.
"Always."
"Cool, it's settled. Shall I call them and make a reservation?" Sadie's eager voice filled the room, already pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and unlocking it. She didn't wait for an answer before continuing, "nevermind, I'll just look it up. How many of us are there, again?" She was counting the number of people on her fingers, "six, right?"
"Lilia?" Noah asked, unsure about whether she and Gaten were on not speaking terms or if they'd worked it out and even got back together. As far as he was aware, Lilia was annoyed at Gaten for not giving her a good enough reason for ending things (she wasn't wrong, he'd made up an excuse that he was too busy for a relationship and wouldn't tell anyone the real reason).
"Nope, she hates his guts at the moment. Not a good call," Sadie responded, fingers dialing the number on her phone before her small body jumped up and left the room to make the call; Noah following closely behind.
For the first time in a number of minutes, the room was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Finn's hand reaching for Millie's which was carefully flipping through the pages of her notebook which were covered in neat print writing, an array of colored highlighting on every page. "Is everything okay?" His voice was gentle. Inviting.
Millie hadn't even realized she'd been frowning, forcing a smile which wasn't completely unnatural. She squeezed his hand reassuringly, "yeah, this time of year is just a bit hard." Finn maintained eye contact with the brunette, silently urging her to continue. "It's kind of just a reminder of my dad not being around. Never calls. Never writes. Not that he has, so I can't be surprised," she laughs coldly, shaking her head slightly. "It's fine, I just always feel bad because I know mom worries about money and spends more on me than she should." She inhales sharply before shaking her head once again and shrugging her shoulders, "nevermind though. Thank you for doing this."
"It's okay to be upset, Millie," Finn chose to ignore the 'nevermind', wanting to make sure she wasn't digging herself a hole, "just please don't let it ruin your day, and don't refrain from talking to me about these things. I'm always–"
His words were interrupted by Sadie and Noah bounding into the room again, grinning widely, "it's all booked!" Sadie chirped, hopping back into her seat. "7 pm Saturday the 19th!" She beamed, peering at the two.
"Great!" Millie cheered, fake excitement in her voice which was only noticed by Finn.
Although, she had to admit she was looking forward to the night and is grateful to be spending it with her friends.
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SORRY NOT PROOF READ. HI. BYE.
