After Lizzie was sure Landon was gone, she snuck down the hallway and up two flights of stairs. The halls were empty. Everyone was in class - everyone who had classes and schedules to follow, anyways.
It was an all-too-familiar path up to her old room - Josie's room now. Josie's and Penelope's.
Lizzie tried the handle, not at all surprised to find it locked. She was just about to unlock it with a spell when she heard a floorboard at the end of the hall creak. She looked up.
"Sorry." The pretty brunette smiled shyly and bounced on her tip-toes. "Didn't mean to scare you. You must be new. I'm Finch."
Lizzie shook her outstretched hand and offered her her own name.
"Nice to meet you." Finch kept one hand suspiciously behind her back.
"You're a werewolf?" Lizzie asked casually, steering her way towards the question she really wanted to ask.
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
Lizzie shrugged. "Good guess. How did you turn?"
"I - actually, I don't know … I've been a werewolf as long as I can remember." Finch leaned against the wall. "I know it's supposed to be some rite of passage here to share your story, but I - I didn't kill someone like everyone else."
"Oh." Lizzie tilted her head back, trying to keep her face casual. Finch didn't remember any of the digging she and MG had done in her mind. Their first meeting where they got off on the worst foot possible - gone. Every mistake Lizzie had made - erased. All the damage she had caused - nonexistent. She'd never felt so light and so free.
"You a werewolf too?"
"A witch, actually." Lizzie grinned and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder, leaving out the part where she was a siphoner and a Gemini.
"Ah. And are you are also an ex of Josie's?" Finch looked towards the door.
"Oh god no." Lizzie shook her head, curling her lip back in disgust. "She gave me my tour. I thought she might be a good person to go to with some questions about the school."
"Well, you're new. I guess I can cut you some slack for that horrible assumption." Finch laughed.
"And I take it you're an ex of Josie's?" Lizzie played clueless.
"Yeah." Finch finally took the hand out from behind her back, showing Lizzie a folded piece of paper. "That's … sort of why I'm here. I was about to leave a super embarrassing love note under my ex's door." She stood up straight. "You know what? I'm glad you were here. I'm going to take it as a sign from the universe. You have literally saved me the last of my dignity. The least I can do is buy you a smoothie?"
Lizzie thought about turning her down. The last thing she needed was to be getting involved with more people than she needed to - people like Landon and Finch. It would just make things more complicated. She was juggling enough lies already. How many fake relationships could she manage?
But a smoothie did sound really good. And this might be the only chance she would have for a while to get one. They weren't cheap and only the headmaster's daughters got them free - daughter, now.
"You know, lucky for you, I love smoothies." Lizzie caved. "I can't say no. Especially when you're buying."
"Oh you mean you're not one of these super rich princesses?" Finch laughed and led Lizzie to the stairs.
"That I am not," Lizzie said ruefully. She followed Finch down the narrow staircase. "I'm going to have to get a job to afford a new wardrobe and smoothies and - and tuition and, like, plants -" Every step down the stairs was a new thing Lizzie couldn't afford and she was gasping for breath before they even got halfway.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Finch turned and set her hands on Lizzie's shoulders. "You're spiraling."
"Sorry, I have this thing -"
Finch nodded along. "Yeah, like anxiety?"
"Something like that."
"I get it. Look, if you're strapped on cash, I know the grill is hiring. I can probably get you an interview."
Lizzie's jaw dropped. "You would do that for me?"
"Yeah of course."
"You don't even know me," Lizzie protested.
"So? I know what it's like to have no money and try to put yourself through school. I emancipated myself a couple years ago. I'm always going to help someone out of the same spot."
Lizzie stared at her for a moment, eyes blurring with tears and then she pulled Finch into a tight hug. "Thank you."
Finch's smile was wide, although a bit confused as she hugged the witch back. "Of course."