THE LOOK ON Finn's face is nothing short of bafflement (perhaps with a hint of betrayal) when we pull up on Gia's driveway in Jay's blue sedan the day of her party.
"Gia lives at The White?" he splutters, eyeing us all like we just told him the Tooth Fairy wasn't real, or that the blue part of a two-colour eraser doesn't actually rub out ink.
"But you lot..." Finn continues, "you all... act as if it's a crime for anyone to even speak positively about The White, not to mention actually live here."
Jay's lips quirk in a smile as he turns off the ignition and lets the car fall silent.
"Yeah..." he says, propping his elbow near the window and resting his left hand under his chin. "Gia is a bit of a traitor, isn't she?"
"She moved here three years ago. Her parents are teachers so it's more convenient for them since it's much closer to the school," I explain. "She's still an honorary resident of the Peak 'cause she's lived there for more years."
"Don't think too much about it," Hayden tells Finn, reaching to the front seat to pat Finn's shoulder.
"Alright, let's go in," I say, opening the car door. "It's about midday now and we still have a lot to get done."
"It still amazes me how you say 'we' like you actually plan on helping," Hayden retorts from beside me, opening his door and exiting the car as well.
I know he's mostly joking so I don't bother to reply. While the boys start unloading all the stuff we brought with us out the car, I walk ahead to ring the doorbell.
Gia answers the door within seconds, grinning at me in delight. "Come in, come in all of you."
She swings the door wide open, beckoning us all into the living room with eager hand gestures.
"When did your parents leave?" I ask Gia as I settle into an armchair that's been pushed against the wall, while she continues to rearrange the rest of the furniture in her family's living room.
"Last night. They'll be back not tomorrow, but probably the morning after."
I nod.
Gia makes a rectangle out of her thumbs and index fingers, scanning the room through the gap in her hands as if she were holding a camera. She taps me lightly to get me to stand up, then proceeds to moving the chair to a different location.
Hayden and the guys lumber into the living room, each carrying a box full of snacks and other goods Gia requested for the party.
Upon noticing Hayden, Gia pauses and tells him, "In the centre of the room will be fine for now, thanks."
Hayden nods, dropping the package in his hand and going out the room again to get the final box.
With everything finally inside, Jay begins to unpack one of the boxes. "How many people have you invited?" he asks Gia.
"About thirty or so," Gia replies casually, "they're mostly from our grade, but I said they're allowed to bring guests. It's supposed to be a relatively small party." I notice Gia's gaze drift over to Finn. "I heard you went to Maddie's birthday, so you might recognise a few people."
"Let's hope I remember them all," he says jokingly, causing Gia to chuckle in response.
I shift to the floor to help Jay unload one of his boxes. Glancing up at Finn, I notice he now lingers by a glass cabinet by the entrance, looking at the Benedetti's family photos.
The quiet room is filled with the sound of glasses chinking as Hayden begins to take out bottles of nonalcoholic beverages and set them on the ground. Lifting one up, he asks, "No alcohol?"
Gia crosses her arms in front of her chest and shrugs nonchalantly. "You bring what you drink. I don't want to be held responsible for anyone." Her gaze drifts out the window as she presumably recalls a memory that causes her to frown. "My parents would kill me if this party got out of control."
I notice a small smile play on Hayden's lips as he sets the bottle down, but he suppresses it right before meeting Gia's eyes again to say, "Fair enough."
A faint blush dusts Gia's cheeks, causing my eyebrows to knit together.
"You know, I just remembered," she utters suddenly, "we brought far too many snacks from Italy. I was going to give some to all of you. I'll get it out now, so I don't forget it later."
Without another word, she leaves the room.
Am I missing something?
"Finn. Bro," Hayden says, interrupting the mental gymnastics I was conducting to try to figure out what was going on. "You gonna help or just stand around the entire time?"
Finn backs away from the cabinet, setting down the picture frame in his hand. With a playful look, he asks, "Is there a Medium Maria as well?"
Jay and Hayden instantly break out into sniggers when they catch on to the joke. Meanwhile I scowl, throwing a cushion in Finn's direction — which he promptly catches.
"How long have you been thinking of that one?" I snap.
Finn simply grins at me, walking over to return the cushion back to the couch beside me.
><{{{(•>
"It's too short."
I purse my lips as I observe the dress in Gia's bedroom mirror, smoothening the material out with my fingers. I could tell it was short fifteen minutes ago when Gia first thrust the dress at me, but now with it actually on, there is no question.
While pulling a face at the mirror, I curve myself around to eye the back of the dress. It didn't look bad... but still. With my backside still facing the mirror, I attempt a small squat but I quickly stand up again the moment the dress starts to ride up.
I turn to Gia with a flat look.
She bats her eyelashes at me, as if she isn't wholly to blame for this situation.
Once we were done setting up downstairs, Gia announced that I couldn't go to her party dressed the way I was and then dragged me upstairs to her room in a typical Gia fashion that will one day result in my arm getting dislocated. After some whining on my part, she allowed me to keep my shoes, admitting they were cute — but only on the condition that I let her do my makeup. Gia isn't really one for full face makeup, and my foundation colour is a few shades darker than hers so she couldn't even if she wanted to. For me, the choice was a no-brainer.
Or so I thought.
"Gi, there's no way I'm wearing this. It's too short," I repeat more adamantly, placing my hands on my hips.
An innocent smile stretches across her face. Gia takes a step forward, resting both her hands on my shoulders and rotating me back round to face the mirror again.
"That's precisely why you're wearing it," she says. "It'll be even shorter on me."
I narrow my eyes at her reflection in the mirror.
"Besides, you look cute in it," she adds. Gia continues to observe me until a pensive look forms on her face. "Though, I suppose you are right... It is bordering on being too short." She meets my eyes in the mirror. "You can wear a pair of shorts underneath if it'd make you feel more comfortable."
I roll my eyes, but agree on the compromise, stalking off to the corner of the room in search of a pair of shorts that wouldn't show under the form-fitting dress Gia has me wearing.
As I am changing, I glance to see what Gia is wearing. It's a similar cut to mine with a different design. Though a little bit more revealing, it looked great on her, accentuating her long legs. I have to agree, albeit very, very grudgingly, that the one I'm wearing would be much shorter on her.
Gia is 5'8", which I consider pretty tall for a girl, though she doesn't. "There are 6 feet girls out there, Harvey," she would always say in a solemn tone whenever I brought it up. "They don't make jeans for 6 feet tall girls." It's a fair enough point, so I usually let her have it and end the debate there.
"Alright, we're done," Gia says, clapping her hands together. She admires her handiwork, aka her makeover on me, the way I imagine Dr Frankenstein admired his monster: a mixture of pride and wonder, with a mild sense of naivety — not realising the horrors he had unleashed upon the world.
"Let's go back down," she concludes.
I follow after her reluctantly, grumbling all the way down the hall till we reach the staircase. "Why do we even have to wear dresses? There are plenty other acceptable party clothes. In fact, seeing as we organised it, even that doesn't really matter — I don't remember agreeing to this dress code."
"When your best friend buys you a gift, you are obligated to wear it at least once, unless said best friend shall cry for eight days straight and is entitled to give you the silent treatment for one of those days."
"Don't come crying to me if that rule comes to bite you in the butt one day," I warn Gia. She shrugs in acceptance.
As we start to head down the stairs, I tug at the dress hem to keep it from rising up. Noticing this, Gia slaps my hand away.
"Stop doing that," she cautions. "You look fine."
"I blame you for all this," I reply. "Plus, you make me look short next to you."
Gia comes to an abrupt halt in the middle of the staircase and backs up to stand on the same step as me. Raising a hand so it's level with the top of her head, she brings it towards me, repeating the motion a few times to help her estimate our relative heights.
"I think you've grown," Gia comments. "You look closer to 5'6" now."
I perk up. "Really?"
At that moment, Hayden appears at the bottom of the stairs, glancing up at the two of us. He does a slight double-take, his gaze lingering on Gia for a few more seconds before he comes to his senses and erases his head of any thoughts he was having towards my best friend.
Raising a dubious eyebrow, he says, "What are you talking about? Harvey is a midget."
A deep frown settles on my face as I walk down the rest of the stairs.
"Not true," I say. "There are tons of people shorter than me. The shortest girl in our year, Emily Guo is 4'11" — now that's short. And Sydney Fulayo. She's 5'2". Cruz — who is your friend, by the way, isn't even that tall. I think he's only an inch or two taller than me."
"The fact you made a list of people shorter than you only further exemplifies how short you are," Hayden replies.
"Says Mr 'I-Wear-Air-Maxes-to-Make-Me-Feel-6-Feet-Tall'," I retort.
Gia snorts and Hayden is rendered tongue-tied.
In a family full of giants, height has become a sore subject among those of us who are more... vertically challenged. Currently, I'm at the point where though Hollis is barely thirteen, I'm already battling him for second shortest member. It's a battle which I expect to lose within the next year or two.
It also doesn't help that our closest family friends, like Lancer and Jay (and I suppose Finn too now) are both at or above six feet as well. Even Hayden at 5'11" will probably reach his precious 6 foot by the end of the year — if not the summer — if Hunter is any indication.
"Enough of your haggling, you two," Gia says, pulling her hand away from her mouth, which she had used to conceal her giggle.
Taking a hold of my hand, she walks past Hayden, pulling me into the living room after her, where Jay and Finn are fiddling with the sound system.
She turns me towards them, like a car dealer presenting the latest car model to a potential buyer. Then she says, "Don't you think Harvey looks nice?"
Finn is the first to look up. Then Jay.
Interestingly, they wear the same expression on their face. It doesn't seem like disgust. Or horror. Or like they really wanted to say 'oh no, Gia! What have you done to your dear friend, Harvey?' but were too dumbfounded by my hideous appearance to utter it out loud. Jay blinks rapidly, the look of surprise on his face multiplying each time he opened his eyes anew. Finn's mouth had dropped open and he doesn't look like he's planning on picking it up anytime soon. I begin to feel self-conscious.
Seemingly realising Finn is a lost cause, Gia says, "Jay, go first."
"Um." Jay rubs the back of his head awkwardly, his gaze straying away. "You look..."
"Hot?" Gia supplies. "Ravishing? Breathtaking? Absolutely fu—"
I elbow her before she can finish her sentence.
Jay shuts up. Finn just continues to stare wordlessly.
A flat look appears on Gia's face. Her palms are back on my shoulders. She directs me towards the door, only to come in contact with Hayden. Her lips only thin further as she realises she is even less likely to get the reaction she wants out of him.
"Ugh. Never mind, you guys are useless," she says.
Fortunately, before she can go into a full spiel which would no doubt involve her lamenting about how her talents are not appreciated, the doorbell rings.
"Good thing," I say, "because the guests are here."
><{{{(•>
Avoiding all the drama at parties is a skill that takes many years to perfect. Fortunately, I'm a natural.
It's been over two hours since the first guests arrived, and Gia's house is filled with the sound of catchy pop music and chatty bored teenagers, grateful for a reason to be out the house — even if that reason was an unnecessary 'Welcome Back' party for a certain Italian American who simply went on holiday for a month and a half.
I've managed to avoid two different drinking games and a particularly graphic round of truth or dare, and Gia knows better than to force me to dance if she doesn't want to end up with broken bones by the end of the night.
I am left to my own devices, perched on a high stool that faces the passe-plat (i.e. the hole in the wall that connects the Benedetti's kitchen to the living room), blissfully unaware of whatever commotion may be ensuing in the neighbouring rooms. I rest my elbows on the flat surface, munching my way through a pack of bonbons which I throw into a bowl, while I watch the events unfolding in the living room.
"I just found out the Bleachers' word for you guys," a familiar annoying voice says, appearing at my side.
I twist my head sideways to raise an expectant eyebrow at Finn as he slides into the empty seat beside me.
"Poachers."
Finn has an almost pleased look on his face as he says this, baring his pearly whites at me as he props one arm on the serving hatch countertop.
My eyebrows draw together and the corners of my mouth turn down. "They still say that? No one's even poached at the Peak since the eighties. It is such an offensive, and honestly, inaccurate nickname."
Finn laughs at my reaction, an easy smile graces his features as he angles himself towards me. "Honestly, I just find the whole thing really interesting. This rivalry." His lip twitches when he sees the unamused expression on my face. "It's fun to see you get worked up about it too."
I never noticed it before, but Finn smells really nice today. Perhaps it's the cologne he's wearing. Warm and inviting and a little sweet-smelling.
I revert to looking out the passe-plat into the living room, just as Angela Mauer heads outside to take a call, leaving Hayden next to Gia on the couch. Popping another bonbon in my mouth, I say, "So is that what you've been doing all this while? Fraternising with the enemy?"
"Or making new friends," Finn replies. "However you want to see it."
In the living room, they're playing some sort of card game that required them to use a phone. When it's Gia's go, Hayden turns to pass the phone to her to let her read the instructions, but the moment their fingers skim, she accidentally drops it. I watch as Hayden dips down to pick up the device, passing it to her with an inaudible joke that causes Gia to laugh. Gia smiles shyly as she accepts the phone, tucking her glossy black hair behind her ear as she begins to read out her task.
Hmm.
Beside me, Finn leans over to pick up one of the sugar-coated sweets from my bowl. The action catches me by surprise and I instantly recoil the moment his hand accidentally brushes mine, shooting him an incredulous look.
If Finn notices this, he doesn't comment on it. His gaze is trained forward, observing the couple with the same expression I must have had on my face a minute ago.
With a bonbon en route to his mouth, he asks casually, "Does Gia fancy Hayden? I thought it was just a one-sided thing."
"I thought so too..." I murmur.
Perhaps Hayden's last confession didn't go as badly as he thought.
Finn's hand goes for my bonbon bowl again, causing me to quickly retract it before he has a chance to steal any more of my food.
Before he can complain, I place my hands on top of his, capturing his attention straightaway. With gleaming eyes, I lean forward and say, "Want to play matchmaker?"
><{{{(•>
"Harvey, stop acting too good for us and come over here."
Darren Bloom is an annoying quarterback and another one of Hayden's obnoxious friends who only knows how to be polite twice a year — one being Christmas, the other being my birthday because of a deal we made back in 8th grade. Usually his taunting would earn him no more than a glare before I stalked away to a quiet corner, but considering this too is part of my plan, I decide to play along and pass him a smile instead.
Jay budges over to the left, making room for me to sit in the circle beside him.
The game they want to play requires an even number of people, and I was the only person in sight who was not passed out or otherwise preoccupied. Someone begins to explain the rule of the game when Jay leans over to whisper:
"Finn says you have a plan?"
I tilt my head his way, murmuring back, "You think we can get a game of Midnight Murder going instead?"
Jay pulls back, raising an eyebrow in surprise. The corner of his eyes crinkle and a smile tugs at his lips as he realises what I intend to do.
Midnight Murder is essentially an extreme version of 'hide and seek' played in the dark, with the seeker 'murdering' anyone who their torchlight shines on.
It starts by everyone writing a secret on a strip of paper, and half of the players placing their secrets in a box, hat or any other container. The secrets are jumbled up, and then one by one, the other players who had kept a hold of their secret pick one up at random, selecting a partner based on who they think the secret belongs to. They then hand their own secret over to the partner. The process repeats until there are only two players left: one of them becoming the Medic, the other the Murderer — though none of the other players know which is which beforehand.
The game officially starts when all the lights in the house are turned off and the pairs of players run off to find a hiding spot. If you are found by the medic first, you are saved and can help save other people. But if you are caught by the murderer, they collect you and your partner's secrets and read them out to everyone else at the end of the round.
There are other rules, and the consequences for getting 'murdered' vary depending on the players, but Midnight Murder is a White Peak party tradition (and in my opinion, a must for any respectable social gathering) so most people here are already familiar with the game.
Leaning towards me again, Jay says in a low voice, "I'll see what I can do."
"Harvey. Jay. Pay attention," Millie Parker says in a chiding tone.
Jay straightens up, replying, "We've already played this game once tonight. How about we do something else? We haven't played Midnight Murder in a while."
The group breaks out into murmurs at Jay's suggestion. From the chatter, I can tell there are mixed reactions.
"I love Midnight Murder. I'm on a two-year murder free streak," someone says.
"That game gives me anxiety, I can never remember the rules."
"Last time I was the medic, someone attacked me from behind thinking I was the murderer. I still get nightmares."
"Why won't you ever let that go?"
Millie worries her bottom lip as she observes Jay, considering his proposal. "What are the consequences?" she asks.
Because most people usually choose dumb jokes, or weird, little known facts about themselves as their secret, Midnight Murder usually turns out to be quite fun. After a couple rounds, you end up learning something new about the other participants, making it a good icebreaker.
Among people you are well acquainted with, the real fun is in choosing the consequences for getting caught. The only thing worse than having your secret read out is being in possession of the murderer's secret in the event that you wrongly guessed the secret's owner.
To Millie, Jay replies, "The person with the murderer's secret has to do a dare decided by the group?"
Millie nods. Then after looking around the circle to confirm everyone else is in agreement, she says, "Midnight Murder it is."
><{{{(•>
After going over the rules and choosing our partners, the house plunges into darkness and everyone darts in different directions to find a hiding spot.
While keeping an eye on Finn, I tail after Hayden and Gia to figure out where they plan on taking cover.
"How did you get Gia and Hayden to be partners?" Finn asks in a low whisper.
"Cupid powers," I reply absentmindedly.
In reality, it involved making sure Gia and Hayden were on opposite sides when the people chosen to put their names in the box were decided. Jay, Finn and I fabricate secrets relating to the day Hayden last confessed to Gia, keeping them vague enough so either would think it was written by the other. After a good old fashioned bump-and-swap, where I got Hayden to exchange the secret he'd randomly picked up with the fake one in my hand, Hayden chooses Gia as his partner, assuming the secret belonged to her.
Because Jay and I end up on the same side, when it is my turn to randomly pick a secret from the box, I select Finn as my partner (despite the secret in my hand not being about him), bringing us to the current situation.
But explaining all that took much longer to say, and soon the Murderer and the Medic will be coming to hunt down the rest of us.
Finn and I follow Hayden and Gia up the stairs and the down the hall until they reach Gia's parents' room. We'd agreed to keep it an out-of-play zone in case the game got messy (which it occasionally did), but before Gia and Hayden can walk past and continue their quest for a good hideout, I brusquely shove them both into the room and shut the door behind them, barricading it with the first object I can get my hands on.
"What are you—" Finn's voice sounds alarmed as he watches me wrestle with the door handle.
"Get something to help keep this shut," I whisper-shout while struggling with Gia and Hayden to keep the door closed.
Finn complies, and after a moment he passes me an object. In the dark hall, it's difficult to see exactly what it is, but it feels like a pole, so I accept it and jam it into the door, keeping the door handle from twisting open.
The countdown continues to dwindle, but Finn and I linger in the hall. Gia and Hayden have stopped protesting now — probably realising I must be behind their imprisonment in some shape or form. I press my ear against the door. They are speaking to each other in hushed tones — and with any luck, it's about their awkward behaviour around each other.
As a bonus, earlier we swapped Hayden's real secret for one of our fabricated ones, just to ensure Gia also received a secret that would remind her of that day. We've no doubt created chaos for everyone else earnestly playing the game — but that's someone else's basket of eggs to worry about.
"MURDER, MURDER. MIDNIGHT MURDER!"
Finn and I look to each other just as the Medic and the Murderer chorus the infamous line, signalling the beginning of the hunt. Rays of light flash from the bottom of the stairs, alerting us that they have turned on their flashlights and are now on the move.
"Shouldn't we be hiding?" Finn asks.
I start to panic. "We need to go. Now."
The two of us hurry down the stairs, narrowly avoiding getting caught by one of the seekers.
We drop to the ground, taking advantage of the darkness to crawl our way out the back of the house into the Benedetti's backyard.
The seekers are more likely to search inside the house first, so I find myself able to relax again now that we're outside.
I release a sigh, turning to inform Finn, "It's okay. We're safe now."
I look up. Though all the lights in Gia's house are switched off, a dim light still shines from one of the windows. After a moment, I realise the room belongs to Gia's parents. Either Hayden or Gia must have turned on the torch on their phone.
"What now?" Finn asks.
"I need to make sure they're really talking to each other," I decide.
I tear my eyes away from the window, latching my gaze on a branch of the big cherry tree that lies parallel with the window.
Walking over to the tree, I ask Finn, "Could you give me a leg up?"
I glance back to find a baffled expression on Finn's face that causes me to roll my eyes.
"Don't you think you're taking this too far?" he questions in a disapproving tone. However, he nonetheless approaches the cherry tree, standing below the branch and getting into position.
"Is there such a thing as too far?" I say innocently as I place my hands on Finn's shoulders. I try not to think too much of our position as I place my foot in the centre of his cupped hands, and get lifted up high enough to grab the nearest branch.
"Yes," Finn replies. He looks up to watch me manoeuvre my way up the tree, but I notice he quickly averts his gaze a moment later.
"Relax," I tell him. "I'm wearing shorts underneath."
"That's not—"
"You should come up too, instead of dawdling about down there," I say. "There's no way I'm losing a game of Midnight Murder because of you."
With a sigh, Finn takes my advice, climbing up the tree after me. He accepts the hand I offer to help pull him up to the branch I'm on, and then quietly settles himself down by my side.
For a while we say nothing. We simply watch Hayden and Gia's silhouettes interact in silence, while I mentally evaluate all the decisions I've made tonight until this point. Yet another reason to avoid social situations: they slowly chip away at my common sense and within a few hours, all that's left is questionable-decision-making Harvey.
"I'm a little curious." Finn's sudden interjection prompts me to turn my head towards him. He continues, "I know you usually hate your brothers going out with your friends and vice versa. So, why are you so cool with Hayden and Gia?"
A few seconds pass as I think of an answer.
"It's precisely because it's Hayden and Gia."
Finn's head tilts to the side. He stares at me, confused.
"Gia and I have been friends for long enough that no guy can easily mess that up — not even Hayden," I elaborate. "And Hayden meanwhile..."
My gaze drifts towards the window where Hayden's silhouette is lifting his arms up and down. It seems like they're having an argument.
"Hayden's liked Gia for too long to intentionally mess things up with her. If they ever broke up, it would be mutual. Sure, it might be awkward for a while, but they'd get over it within a month or two and go back to being friends," I say. "If they didn't, they know I'd just laugh in their faces about it all the time until they finally did."
"Of course you would," Finn mutters. Adjusting his posture a little, he grudgingly adds, "But I guess what you said makes sense. I could see that happening."
"Simple and uncomplicated," I reply while watching the couple. "That's why I support them."
Finn says nothing in reply.
It's back to silence and creepily watching my twin battle it out with my best friend.
The argument seems to have gotten worse now that Gia has added her own angry arm-waving to the mix. For a moment, I wonder if I should intervene in some way, by throwing a rock or something at the window. But I quickly realise I needn't have worried, because the next thing Gia does is take a step towards Hayden, placing her hands on either sides of his head and pulling it towards hers.
Oh. Okay then.
Hayden stiffens for a moment before returning what I hope is a kiss and not some new, terrifying form of abuse. His arms drop to her waist, pulling her flush against him while he backs them into the window. Gia's back is pressed against the pane as he deepens the kiss, and that's when I decide to stop watching.
As okay as I am with their relationship, I'm definitely not a fan of watching my brother make out with my best friend. Or anyone making out for that matter.
"I guess it's mission accomplished?" Finn turns to me with an expression that seems to say 'I don't know what I was expecting, but it probably wasn't that'.
"Er, yeah," I say back. A moment passes as I stare at Finn. Then another. And another... And then it occurs to me to add, "I think we can go down now."
Finn breaks the stare, glancing down at the ground below. He nods.
As he clambers down the tree, I tune in to the noises coming from the house. Every so often you could hear a scream or a bloodcurdling yell, typically followed by the sound of laughter, each time a player is 'murdered'. Flashlights encircle the windows, dazzling beams dashing over the place as the search for the final few hiders becomes more frantic.
If no new players are found after twenty minutes of searching, the murderer is allowed to end the game, and the rest of the players are required to leave their hiding spots to avoid the game dragging out for too long.
With Finn back on the ground, I begin my descent.
When I am just a foot or so above ground, with my shoe wedged into a hole in the tree, the back door suddenly swings open and a beam of light shoots through the garden.
On instinct, I swerve to the left to avoid getting caught under the flashlight's unforgiving ray, pulling Finn along with me so we're fully behind the tree, out of the perpetrator's line of sight.
My action catches Finn unawares. Given that I wasn't exactly on stable ground myself, my abrupt move causes him to topple forward, barely keeping himself from crashing into me by flattening both his forearms on the tree bark, with my head sandwiched in between.
...And this is where being competitive gets me. Congratulations, Harvey.
Finn is close enough that I can hear his heart ramming loudly in his chest — but it's nothing compared to mine.
"Cruz! There's no point checking out there!" A voice calls from inside the house. "The garden isn't part of the search area!"
At that, the flashlight holder retreats back into the house, restoring quiet peace and soothing darkness to the garden.
Wait a minute, does that mean Finn and I are already disqualified? That sucks.
Peeking up at Finn, it dawns on me that me losing Midnight Murder should probably be the least of my worries right now.
Finn hovers centimetres from me, his tousled blond locks skimming my forehead with each breathy pant he takes.
"They're gone, we don't need to hide out here anymore," is all I have to say to get him to move, but I can't. The words won't come out.
Finn readjusts his arms by my head. He lets one fall to his side, but with the other, he leans in closer, never once breaking eye contact. My breathing quickly turns ragged. In, out, in. Come on, Harvey, breathe.
"Fi—" I begin to say, but the words get lost along the way.
Finn's gaze burns with intensity and it makes me feel like I'm on fire. It's wreaking havoc on my mind and I don't know why. Is it his eyes?
The way they darken they moment they meet my lips, narrow slits with a speck of blue, barely visible through his thick lashes as he drops his gaze downwards.
Maybe it's his hot breath. The way it tingles my skin with every inkling of space he sheds away, drawing closer and closer. It makes my heart to erupt, beating so hard it hurts, and somewhere in my muddled mind, I begin to worry it might just explode.
Everything about Finn is too close. His heart, his hands, his eyes, his lips. His mouth is too close. One wrong move, one slight misstep would cause his to brush against mine.
My breathing becomes more laboured.
Gia's house floods with light as multiple light switches are turned on at once. The game is over. It's time to come out of hiding to go back in. I don't move. Neither does Finn.
Finn's face is now illuminated half by moonlight, half by the phosphorescent glow coming from the house, and I can't stop myself from staring. Everything about him is too close but I can't bring myself to care. The light makes it easier to take him in. His rapidly rising chest, his tensed arm by my head, the stray blond curl hanging over his face, his mouth, his nose, his right eyebrow arched slightly higher than his left.
And those eyes. Those blueish eyes which have been so transfixed on my parted lips. They begin a slow, languorous trek upwards as his hot breath continues to fan my face. Finn's entire frame edges forward. He rises to just below his full height, dipping his head so his lips are level with my ear.
His lips are soft and supple as they lightly skim my ear, causing a shiver to run down my spine. In a throaty murmur, Finn whispers, "Is 'complicated' really such a bad thing?"
And then he pulls away. Taking a step back. Then another.
And another.
And another.
Until he is no longer concealed by the tree, and I am drenched in an ice-cold bucket of water called reality.
I watch as Finn walks back indoors with arms raised up in surrender, his silhouette bathed in the warm glow emanating from the house, while I stand with my back still pressed against the tree, willing my erratic heartbeat to slow. I do my best to reorganise my addled thoughts, but before long I find myself replaying Finn's words.
And my mind reels.
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A/N:
So that just happened.
*sips tea* ☕️
What possessed me to spend a full day inventing a new game just for the sake of the plot of this chapter, I will never know.
This chapter is over 6000 words long so I'm glad I split it into two after all. It also took a hella long time to write so I hope you enjoyed reading it.
I'm really not living up to my "2 - 5 days" estimate on update frequency written in the blurb, but I'm reluctant to change it to "3 - 8 days" in case I end up taking even longer to update and we don't want that.
Anyway. What are your thoughts on this chapter? I'd love to hear them!
Also:
Can someone please remind me how to breathe?! Because I'm fangirling hard rn. Asdfghjklipuyoiiffxtxxz!!
A big thank you to everyone who's been adding TULOHM to their reading lists and voting and commenting lately. Thank you so so much for 3K reads!!!
I hope to see y'all again next time :)
♕ Carmen ♕