December
Finn watched as snowflakes fell lazily around him, gripping tightly onto the cup in his mittened hands. Its contents provided more warmth than his soaked-through socks or his puffy jacket did so he tried to absorb as much of the heat as possible.
Because of the job Finn had recently acquired at the local dog shelter, it hadn't been easy to fit together his and Millie's busy schedules. They had found some sort of rhythm after the third raincheck, but it still wasn't enough time with one another to satisfy the couple. That's why, when the first days of winter break rolled around, they were practically glued to each other.
Their friends didn't really mind how attached they were. The entire group had gotten used to writing their names down as FinnandMillie and would worry if one of them was without the other with little explanation. They were a packaged deal nowadays, and you had to work with what you got.
Finn smiled slightly at the view in front of him and blinked away the stray snowflakes that weaved themselves into his eyelashes. The view, of course, was Millie. She was gliding gracefully across the frozen lake that they had spent so much of the year at, eyes closed and arms opened wide.
Her mouth was agape only to let out a quiet laugh, but one that rippled through Finn's body nonetheless. Millie had always had that effect; leaving a trace of herself wherever she was and making positive that you felt her at all times. Finn peacefully admired how her hair flung around as she spun. It was pulled back into two horribly done braids (thanks to Finn's expertise) and splayed out above her chest. She had been letting it grow as long as possible because she wanted the moment that she chopped it all off again to be as satisfying as possible.
"Finnie! Come skate!" the girl yelled out to him. Finn's smile grew wider, yet meeker, as he didn't want to embarrass himself and end up with his face pushed into the ice. His love for her excitement got the best of him, though, and he quickly laced his skates up.
Stepping onto the ice for the first time in ages made him feel as if he was a newborn dear, stretching out his limbs and figuring out how to use them.
"You look so stupid right now, babe," Millie teased. He stuck his tongue out mockingly, finally making his way closer to the girl.
"Lemme hold your waist, I'm sure that I'm gonna fall over if I don't,"
Millie raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a watchful eye, "This feels like a strange trick to get me to kiss you."
Finn scoffed. "What? Why would I, Finn Wolfhard, a noble gentleman, do such a thing?"
She punched him lightly in the arm, making him pitch forward and start to loose balance. Now he really did have to clutch onto her for dear life, the fabric of her sweater serving as a life preserver as he bobbed up and down. Finn shot her a death glare as Millie pulled him up from the ground completely, brushing his hands off onto his jeans.
"I barely even touched you! You're the one with balance problems!" She said, arms thrown up in defense. Suddenly, one of her arms was being tugged down and she had fallen onto the ice.
"You're such a fucking dick!" Millie squealed. Finn smiled mischievously as he skated away easily. Turns out that a season on the hockey team could do more than just provide a new hatred for the sport.
"Sorry 'bout it, sugar," he quipped. "Try to keep up!"
He began skating furious laps around the lake, ripping up the ice with the sharp blades of his skates. They were tied much too tight and were probably at least a size or two too small but he nearly flew around while wearing them.
"I'll get you for this, Wolfhard!"
Millie pushed herself off of the ground with ease and focused all of her energy into reaching the boy. He was nearly two laps ahead of her and she had no intentions of loosing to him, of all people, in a race.
Off they went, giggling and red, chasing each other's tails around the lake. It was a close call throughout the entire "race," but by the end they couldn't muster any more power out of their legs to properly beat one another.
"I definitely won," Millie panted. The raven-haired boy was several paces behind her, tying the laces of his converse back up. He was quick to finish, though, and was soon hobbling next to her on sore legs.
"Believe whatever you want to believe, but it was obviously me who won," He shot her a sly smile before kissing her cheek lightly and slinging his backpack back over his shoulder. "Race ya to the car!"
Millie gasped as he sprinted ahead of her, surely about to beat her in a race for the second time that day.
"You suck, Finn! This isn't fair!" she called out. He merely turned his head slightly and blew a kiss in her direction, continuing to charge forward.
They were giggling, panting messes as they settled into their car seats minutes later. Finn hated driving the vehicle but his mother refused to let him take his bike as it got colder. "You'll get hypothermia and die, for Christ's sake!" she had yelled at him as he sat down onto his bicycle seat in the middle of November.
Millie didn't like the car very much either, though. She felt uneasy driving in whatever traffic they would face. It wasn't because she didn't trust Finn's driving, but more because she didn't trust anyone else's. Luckily, Finn had created the perfect playlist to keep her distracted from other car's driving habits, proving to be incredibly effective at holding the bubbly girl's attention.
She was currently singing- no, screeching -along to Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. It was one of her favorites on the mixtape full of nostalgic beats, so Finn was sure to blast it every time they were in the car together.
It was hard to tear his eyes away from the awkward way that she danced, but her safety was Finn's top priority. He kept his focus on the road ahead as they pulled through the wooded area, biting the inside of his cheek out of habit.
"Hey, babe?"
Finn could have sworn that Millie's voice was stolen directly from the heaven's above. It dripped honey onto all surrounding surfaces and hit him like a double shot of espresso nearly every time he heard it.
"What can I do for you, sweets?" he asked fondly. Their pet names had grown increasingly sappy as the months flew by. The pair had sworn to each other in the beginning that they would never become that couple, but it was natural. Neither minded it anymore, either.
Millie's fingers found their way between his own, holding him firmly as the world shook around them. "Are you okay?"
Finn frowned. She was staring at him curiously when he glanced over at him, studying his face.
"Why do you ask that?" he squeezed her hand in his.
"I don't know, you just seem a little distant today," Millie explained innocently. Finn had always thought that she cared too much about him for her own good, but she never stopped, even after he would complain about it.
"Just a stressful day at work, had to let Connie go,"
Millie nodded, understanding how important the dog had been to Finn. She was a Bernese Mountain Dog that had been brought to the shelter by an old couple that had found her lying outside of their workplace, alone and collar-less. After getting her exam from the veterinarian, they had discovered a malignant tumor in her spleen. Finn had been aiding in nursing her back to health and had created an incredibly strong connection. He had gushed about Connie repeatedly to Millie, even making plans to adopt her whenever she was well enough.
"I'm sorry, Finn. I know that must hurt a lot,"
He smiled sadly at her and mouthed a quiet "thank you" before returning his attention back to the long stretch of asphalt ahead of them.
This was a heavier day than he had wanted it to be.
***
Millie had opted for letting him sleep when they got home. After a long hug, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and then shut the door carefully. His mother sat inside of her own bedroom, watching the exchange from under her covers. She beckoned Millie over to her, to which Millie responses by resting awkwardly next to her nightstand.
"Thank you for keeping him distracted, dear," Mrs. Wolfhard said quietly. She gripped Millie's arm gently but in a way that made sure that she didn't leave yet, begging for the contact to stay.
Millie immediately took notice of the dark bags and tear tracks under her eyes as she looked at the older woman, her nose red and still sniffling. She must have showed her confusion on her face because Mary was quick to answer the unspoken question in Millie's mind.
"I'm fine, love. It's just hard to get through, is all."
Millie was only more confused at this response. What else had been happening lately?
"I'm sorry to ask this, but what's going on?" the younger girl quizzed. Mary looked shocked at her words, almost as if she had expected her to know.
But how could she? It wasn't like Finn had told her about anything that had occurred recently. She assumed that all that had been happening was the addition of his new job and Nick leaving for another semester of college earlier that year.
"Oh, Finn didn't tell you?" Mary asked, her head tilted. Millie nodded shortly as she stood, still in the woman's grasp, in confusion.
Her hand released Millie's arm hesitantly and she pulled away, recoiling into herself. She was visibly calculating the possible outcomes of whatever words she were to say, the letters practically running across her face. Like that of a fish, her mouth opened and closed repeatedly before settling into a straight line on her face.
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine, I'm sure that I'll be okay not knowing," Millie assured. She didn't want any extra stress on the poor woman with whatever had happened. Mary smiled sadly and placed a warm hand onto the younger girls.
"Oh no, sweetie, It's alright. I just have to collect the words before I say them," she took a final deep breath before letting the sentence slip out, "Today is the anniversary of the death of Finn's father,"
Millie felt her heart jump into her throat and then climb it's way back down into her chest. It clutched onto the inside of her body tightly, its claws puncturing whatever it could grasp. So Connie wasn't what had been affecting Finn all day, it was his father. She felt dumb for not knowing that it was such an important day. Millie had taken him all day for her own selfish reasons while Mary sat inside of the house and dwelled in her own sadness.
"I'm so sorry, Mary. Really. I shouldn't have left you here alone, and I wouldn't have if I had known," she ranted. Mary silenced her with an upraised hand, which was followed by open arms. Millie accepted her hug, breathing into the older woman and holding her tightly. It still felt like it was more for her than Finn's mother, so she only held her even closer to her body.
"It's fine. He needs you more than I need him, as horrible as it sounds," Mary laughed. It was a refreshing tone to hear from someone who looked so torn apart.
"Lesson number sixteen, pain is temporary," Millie said into her shoulder. Mary pulled away slightly, looking at the younger girl curiously. She had almost forgotten that Finn's mother had never heard of their lessons or really the reason why their relationship started.
"Oh, it's just something Finn and I do," she brushed it off. It had become so routine to share little pieces of happiness with one another that it was hard to not do it in moments like this. The lesson just felt so right at the time.
"You really are good for him," Mary whispered. Millie smiled at this, pressing her face into the familiar scent that all of the Wolfhard's seemed to share.
She only hoped that he felt the same way.
***
author's note:
whoooo boy!!! that sucked! literally least favorite thing i have ever written! there is no creativity! i am so sorry for making you wait two fucking months for this trash!!!
BUT i'm also back! and this time i literally swear to goodness that i am because the marching band season pretty much ended tonight and now i have timeee!!! ANDDD i only have one more entire chapter to write for this because i have been taking this time to work backward on the story!
OK I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR TOLERATING ME IM SORRY THAT I SUCK I PROMISE THAT THE STORY ACTUALLY GETS BETTER 💞💞💞
ALSO NOTE: I DECIDED NOT TO DO THE CHAPTERS SET IN EVERY TWO MONTH CHECK-INS ITS JUST RANDOM! PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE MONTH LISTED AT THE TOP OF THE CHAPTER BC THIS JUMPS AROUND A LOTTTT!!!!
-paige