Missing Moments

Finn Reflects

7x08

Finn was relieved to get home that night. Between school, dance rehearsal, planning a date, and going on said date, it had been a very long day. A good day. An exciting day. But a long day.

When he walked through the front door, it was to find his stepdad watching a baseball game on TV while working on something – probably paying bills – on his laptop. Mark waved as Finn walked through the living room and into the kitchen where his mom was currently beating a batch of brownie batter. He was fairly certain the brownies were for some party or bake sale happening at his little sisters' school the next day and that the twins were supposed to be helping her, but they were nowhere to be found.

His mom looked up as he entered the kitchen and smiled. "Hey bud," she greeted, turning off the beaters and leaning the mixer against the side of the bowl. "How did it go?" There was a hopeful, excited smile on her face as she turned to face him, and he was positive that she had spent the whole night tracking him on Find My Friends and wondering how his first real date was going.

"It was good. She's a lot of fun," Finn answered before giving her a quick summary of his date with Amy.

After somehow managing to get the two-person bike down the stairs of the lobby and earning very judgmental looks from Cleo and Kenzie in the process, Finn and Amy had ridden to the park near the studio to enjoy their picnic. Piper had packed their basket with her Aunt Kathy's chicken salad sandwiches, potato chips, and Nonna's famous shortbreads. They had spent the evening talking and laughing, and Finn kept thinking that there was a reason he hadn't been able to get Amy off his mind lately.

It was honestly astounding that they hadn't immediately hit it off when she'd first come back to The Next Step. Amy was energetic and bubbly. Her laugh was unbelievably contagious, and they had realized tonight just how many of their passions that they shared.

Finn liked Amy a lot. He liked spending time with her, and she was undeniably pretty. She was definitely someone that he could see himself falling for one day.

His mom seemed happy to hear this. As she poured the brownie batter into a pan, she told him, "That's great. And Piper? She was excited for you two?"

"Uh, yeah! She was great! She practically planned the whole date," Finn answered, scratching the back of his head and pointedly avoiding his mother's gaze.

He'd told her all about the date with Amy, but the one thing he couldn't tell her was that he'd also spent most of the date thinking about Piper. Something told him his mother wouldn't approve of that. She knew how much he had liked Piper in the past and had encouraged him to move on when it was clear that Piper didn't feel the same way.

"I want to meet her, you know – Amy. You'll have to bring her over at some point."

"Yup," he replied, not trusting himself to say anything else. With a nervous laugh, he grabbed a banana from the basket on the counter then said, "I've got to go study. Big test tomorrow. You know how it is."

His mom was observing him curiously, her brows suddenly furrowed. "Uh-huh..."

With a wave of the banana, Finn hurried out of the kitchen and took the stairs two at a time before either of his parents could question him further. He'd played that off well. Hadn't he?

Once in his room, he kicked the door shut behind him and leaned against it, letting out a deep breath. What a day, he thought to himself as he peeled the banana and took a bite of it. He sat on the edge of his bed and finished off the banana in a few bites before tossing the peel in the wastebasket and flopping backwards onto his bed. He needed to think, and he did that best on his own without the distractions of other people.