Missing Moments

Piper and Finn's First Date

7x16

Piper had never been nervous to go out with Finn before. They had gone to the movies together plenty of times, but only as friends – never on a date. As she triple-checked her appearance in the mirror, straightening her top again and ensuring her make-up looked perfect, the doorbell rang downstairs. She let out a shaky breath, spritzing a bit of perfume and running her fingers through her hair a couple of times.

It's just Finn. There's no need to be nervous. It can't be that different from going to the movies as friends.

She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder, but on her way out of her bedroom, she paused and turned back to grab a jacket. The theater was always cold, and she had to make sure all of her bases were covered tonight. This was her very first date, and it was with Finn. It had to be perfect.

"Piper!"

Her mother's voice called to her from downstairs, and she called back that she was coming, pausing to check her appearance in the mirror one last time before hurrying down the stairs two at a time. Finn was standing in the entryway, chatting away with both of her parents.

"Dancemania, eh? Piper said you're a big fan. You must be excited," her dad was saying.

"Oh, I'm stoked! It's the opportunity of a lifetime for sure." Finn's enthusing about the show came to a halt when his gaze fell on Piper. "Oh, hey. You look beautiful."

The words made Piper's heart flutter, and a blush crept up her cheeks as she reached the bottom of the stairs. Finn had complimented her appearance in the past, but he had never called her beautiful before. It meant a lot to her coming from him, but it also felt so foreign to hear such a sentiment coming from her best friend.

This whole dating thing was certainly going to be an adjustment.

"Thank you." Piper bashfully pushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she forced herself to meet his eye. "Um, you look nice too."

Finn was dressed in a short-sleeved button-up shirt over a t-shirt with jeans, and Piper immediately felt better about her decision to wear her white crop top with jeans. She and Amy had spent forty-five minutes on FaceTime earlier, debating what she should wear and ultimately coming to the conclusion that all of her dresses seemed too fancy for a movie.

"What time does your movie start?" her mother asked curiously, hands on her hips as she looked between Piper and Finn.

"At 7, so we should really get going if we don't want to miss the previews," Piper answered quickly, already pulling the front door open. The sooner they could escape, the less she had to worry about her parents embarrassing her in front of Finn.

"Be home by midnight," her dad instructed as she and Finn walked outside, and Piper simply nodded, grateful for the fact that they were extending her curfew by an hour and a half for her first date. They must have liked Finn if they were willing to let her stay out that late with him.

"And keep your hands to yourselves!" her mother called as an afterthought, earning a groan from Piper and a chuckle from Finn.

"She lives to embarrass me," Piper grumbled as they walked to his car.

"Pretty sure that's, like, the first rule of being a mom," Finn replied lightly.

He sped ahead of her, unlocking his car and pulling the passenger door open for her. He held his hand out to her with a cheesy grin as he said, "M'lady."

Piper rolled her eyes at the cheesy gesture, but there was a smile on her face as she took his hand and stepped down from her sloping front yard into his car. She checked the time on her phone as he ran around to the other side and climbed into the driver's seat.