《Monthly Camping Trip Log》


 Camping

    ¡°The stars are nice tonight.¡± Shaun said wistfully as he lay on the moonlight lit grass beside their tent, with his arms behind his head. He was looking up at the night sky¡¯s blanket above him with a smile. It wasn¡¯t his usual bright smile though, no. It was the one where his eyes gave away the problems he was currently facing. Or the ones he was thinking back on. Often this smile appeared on the nights like these, the boys alone together under the peaceful sky. ¡°Don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn nodded. He always agreed with Shaun when he was in this kind of mood, it was safer. Shaun struggled with stuff a lot because of his home life. His mother had never taken a liking to him, the words ''postpartum depression¡¯ had always been said about her when Shaun was brought up. It was just like she never clicked with him. It never seemed to her that he was her son. He was just someone sent to torture her. Along with his mother, his father had been a raging drunk. Empty bottles upon empty bottles had littered their house for years until Lisa finally moved out and Barry began taking himself seriously again. It hadn¡¯t been a great improvement at first, Barry still drank. Just not as much. He was starting to get into Shauns hobbies as well. Taking an interest. Shaun was confused on how Barry could be such a good dad now when he hadn¡¯t all those years. It hurt him more than anything else.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird isn¡¯t it?¡± Shaun asked. He was in a talking mood, which was thrilling for Finn who wanted nothing more than to go to sleep. It was well past midnight at this point and as much as Finn adored his friend, he wished he would shut up for one minute.


    ¡°What¡¯s weird?¡± He entertained him anyway.


    ¡°That they¡¯re so far away. The stars I mean. And how big the universe really is. How little we all matter.¡± He trailed off and left an uncomfortable silence. It was one of those moments where Finn had to carefully consider what he was going to say next. One more existential thing and Shaun would spiral, something shutting him down would only make him angry. There was a small range of things he could say that would go over well.


    ¡°I guess.¡± Finn hesitated. He was ninety-nine percent sure that he had come up with a sentence that would work. ¡°But don¡¯t we matter?¡± He noticed the confusion on Shaun''s face when he suggested this. He may as well have suggested that they should run away to Spain on the backs of dragons. He did consider it.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shaun asked. ¡°We¡¯re only alive for a short period of time in the scale of it all. How could those few moments really matter?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Sure, we don¡¯t matter in the scale of things. Nothing really does.¡± Finn could feel the conversation getting too existential, it was time to brighten it up again. ¡°But we matter now, y¡¯know? To the people we care about?¡±


    ¡°But do we? Like, if I died right now, you would forget in a while anyway.¡± Shaun shrugged with a saddened laugh. Finn frowned and rolled onto his side to face his friend. He looked at the far-away look in Shaun¡¯s eyes as he thought and spoke. It was a look that would have been a good one in a movie. Something about it was just so mesmerising.


    ¡°No I wouldn¡¯t. And you wouldn¡¯t forget me if I died.¡± Finn pointed out. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t forget you if you died because you¡¯re my best friend in the world. My only friend.¡± They both laughed. ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t trade you for anyone else. You¡¯re the best guy I know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just saying that.¡± Shaun said but Finn could tell by the grin on his friends face that Shaun didn¡¯t think he was just saying it to say it. They both knew that he meant it. Shaun knew that the opposite was the same for him as well, Finn was his best and only friend. He was glad that Finn was the same as him. It would suck if Finn had loads of other friends and Shaun had no one but Finn. Luckily that could never happen. The reassurance was nice.


    ¡°We all matter in some way. Even if we don¡¯t think so.¡± Finn said wisely. He hadn¡¯t meant to be funny when he said it but somehow it was. Shaun burst out laughing and Finn quickly followed suit.


    ¡°You should be a therapist.¡± Shaun poked him playfully on the arm with a grin.


    ¡°Oh sure.¡± Finn laughed back. ¡°I already am. You just don¡¯t pay me.¡±


    ¡°True.¡± He smiled and faced Finn. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Finn nodded. ¡°Just be glad I don¡¯t charge.¡±


    They were out camping, a hobby they enjoyed together often on the warm summer nights. This time they were up in the forest park campground with just their trusty tent and a few supplies. All around them were campervans with busy families or other random adults. It wasn¡¯t often that they stayed in a campground, normally they just found a nice piece of forest to hide out in for the night. It was getting dangerous around their town lately though, there had been quite a few missing people on the news. Because of this their mothers made them promise to stick to the campground where there would be others to keep them safe.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± Shaun murmured as he lay closer.


    ¡°Goodnight.¡± Finn echoed.


    It was a peaceful night, practically perfect in every way. The only thing they could complain about was the freezing cold but even then they had blankets and each other so there was nothing really the matter with that either.


    Shaun woke up earlier than Finn, as he always did. Finn was, as Shaun often called him, a ¡®lazy-bones¡¯. He never woke up before at least eight o¡¯clock. Shaun was the opposite, he never woke up later than seven. Right now it was probably about six forty. At least that¡¯s what it felt like. He had gotten used to figuring out roughly what time it was just based on how it felt. He was pretty good at it. Often he was within ten minutes of the actual time.


    He got out of the tent slowly and carefully, so as to not wake up the sleeping Finn. When he had taken in the nice morning, he decided to go on a walk. The walks this early in the morning were always better than the ones later in the afternoon, especially when alone. He knew he shouldn¡¯t go alone, safety and all that, but he didn¡¯t mind. He could defend himself anyway. Better than Finn could anyway, Finn was a bit of a wuss. Or at least he thought so. Sure, most people thought he was the wuss and Finn was the brave one, but they were just wrong.


    It started to rain halfway through his walk, to his dismay. It wasn¡¯t light rain either, it was a complete downpour. The tree that Shaun had run to hide under offered him little protection. It was a big tall willow tree, basically nature''s umbrella, but nature had decided to throw in wind as well. The leaves blew all over the place.


    ¡°Oh come on.¡± He sighed. He had hoped to be back at the tent before Finn woke up but the rain would probably wake him up now. Knowing Finn, he would freak out at Shaun being missing. More proof that Finn was the wuss in their friendship.


    After five minutes or so, with no difference to the state of the weather, he decided he had to brave it and run. It would be fun anyway, like running around outside as a kid. He remembered the time that his dad had been out at work, leaving him with Lisa. Lisa had grown tired of Shaun badgering her to play a game with him and she got mad. It was raining pretty hard outside, a storm warning had been issued, but she sent him out anyway.


    ¡°I need some time to myself.¡± She had said when she opened the door. ¡°Go play.¡±


    He was outside for the two hours until his dad came back and realised what had happened, then he got mad at Shaun for bothering her, then at Lisa for locking him out, then he got a drink and went to bed. Shaun laughed at the memory.


    ¡°Look mum, I¡¯m playing in the rain again.¡± He chuckled as he stepped out of the protection of the tree. He ran out and jogged, skipped, and danced all the way back to the tent with a smile on his face. It was the most fun he had had in a while.


    ¡°Where did you go?¡± Finn rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up when Shaun climbed back into their tent. It seemed as if he had just woken up. It was a wonder that the rain and wind hadn¡¯t got him up but then again, nothing ever really could. ¡°Swimming?¡± He laughed at the state of his friend. He looked similar to a drowned rat.


    ¡°No, just a bit of rain. I went on a walk.¡± He admitted. ¡°It was great.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s raining?¡± Finn looked outside in surprise.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t notice?¡± Shaun laughed.


    ¡°No.¡± Finn laughed along.


    They got on with the rest of their day; packing up their supplies, going on another walk, and talking about everything and nothing all at once.


    The walk they went on was just around their usual route, the one with the small glittering river. They liked this one because they could find animals along it if they went at the right time of day. This time they saw a few birds, a rabbit, and two squirrels. There were lots of dog walkers as well, which they both loved. Most of the time they were allowed to pet the dog, to their delight.


    Eventually it was the afternoon and it was time to go home. They walked back to the car park, bags in hand. There they saw the good old fashioned ford fiesta that Sandra drove. Sandra was Shaun''s step-mum, a kind woman who married Barry the year before. Shaun had taken a liking to her right away, she was that brilliant. She was so much better than Lisa had been. It was hard to trust her at first, despite his love for her. She was still trying to take a place in the family which she hadn¡¯t earned. His problem with her had quickly been snuffed out though, she had reassured him that she would do nothing he didn¡¯t want. Ever since then, things had been getting better. She also was slowly making Barry improve, he was almost completely sober.


    ¡°How was your night, boys?¡± Sandra asked as she took the bags and packed them into the boot of the car.


    ¡°It was good.¡± Shaun said as he jumped into the backseat of the car, followed by Finn on the other side.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Nothing scary?¡± She pulled a spooky face.


    ¡°Nope.¡± Shaun laughed.


    ¡°How about you sweetheart, what¡¯d you think?¡± She turned her attention to Finn when she got into the driver''s seat.


    ¡°Yeah it was good. I slept all morning, he says. Through the rain and everything.¡± Finn laughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to a word he says, Finn! Up with the birds as usual I assume then, Shaun?¡± Shaun never seemed to sleep. She began to drive, the radio playing pop songs quietly below the conversation.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Shaun grinned.


    ¡°We went on a walk.¡± Finn said.


    ¡°Oh lovely! Were you careful about the trolls?¡± Sandra asked.


    ¡°What trolls?¡± Shaun raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°The trolls! They live near the river.¡± She said earnestly.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t trolls in the forest mum, they aren¡¯t real. We¡¯re twelve now, you can¡¯t tell us baby stories!¡± Shaun liked to believe he was all grown up. In reality he was a wuss, and he knew that everyone liked to tease him about it. He would take every opportunity to try and prove that he wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Baby stories! They aren¡¯t baby stories, Shaun! Trolls are real! You believe me, don¡¯t you Finn?¡± She asked the other boy.


    Finn laughed and nodded.


    ¡°Tell us about them then!¡± Shaun¡¯s eyes lit up. He loved her stories.


    ¡°Alright, let me get out of the car park first.¡± She loved to build up the anticipation. The boys were silent as they waited. The radio was still playing but no one was really listening to it. It was just playing some boring new pop song.


    ¡°Okay, now, tell us!¡± Shaun cheered excitedly when they got onto the road.


    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± She laughed. ¡°So, the trolls. They live near small rivers in forests. Trolls are small creatures with green skin so that they can blend into the grass when they feel threatened. They take anything they think of as pretty; shiny rings, hairbrushes, bracelets. All that stuff. They aren¡¯t good though. No, no. They can be very bad.¡± She suddenly paused.


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    ¡°Bad?¡± Finn asked, eyes wide.


    ¡°Very bad.¡± She said gravely.


    ¡°Bad how?¡± Shaun asked.


    ¡°Well they take what they like. And sometimes they take people.¡± She said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°No!¡± Finn exclaimed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± She responded. ¡°They like boys mostly. Little blonde boys with brown eyes.¡± She looked at Shaun. ¡°And tall brown haired boys.¡± She looked at Finn. ¡°Do you know when they strike?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Shaun giggled.


    ¡°At night. They crawl around campsites looking, searching, for their treasure.¡± Her voice had morphed into a slow crawl of its own. It was terrifying.


    ¡°No they don¡¯t! They aren¡¯t real!¡± Shaun laughed again, though he felt scared.


    ¡°Yes they do! They especially like little boys who don¡¯t believe in them! So watch out Shaun, you could be next¡­¡± Sandra looked into the mirror at the two boys. They seemed petrified. She laughed. ¡°Got you boys!¡±


    ¡°No you didn¡¯t! We weren¡¯t scared!¡± Shaun leapt to his own defence. ¡°Right Finn?¡±


    ¡°Not at all!¡± He nodded.


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Sandra chuckled. ¡°Now Finn, honey, are we taking you to your home or ours?¡±


    ¡°I think mum wanted me home.¡± Finn said sadly.


    ¡°Aw.¡± Shaun groaned. ¡°No, stay with us!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. You got plans today?¡± Sandra ignored her son.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s my granny¡¯s birthday so we¡¯re going to her house.¡± He said.


    ¡°That¡¯s lovely. How old is she now? It¡¯s granny Dottie, yeah?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s seventy-three.¡± Finn informed her.


    ¡°That¡¯s very nice. Send my regards, would you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Thanks hun.¡± She nodded before singing along to the radio. In the backseat the two boys laughed.


    The rest of the drive was filled with Sandra singing and the boys talking away. The time seemed to fly by so quickly that they almost teleported.


    ¡°Here we are boys. I¡¯ll carry your bags.¡± Sandra turned around when she parked the car outside the small semi-detached house belonging to the Lowry¡¯s. She wanted to gossip with Grace. They had become fast close friends thanks to their son''s friendship.


    ¡°Sandra! How are you hun?¡± Grace grinned when she opened the door. She still had rollers in her hair and was still in her dressing gown but she didn¡¯t mind being seen in such a state by Sandra and the boys. It wasn¡¯t like they would care anyway.


    ¡°Not bad Grace, darling! Yourself?¡± Sandra stepped out of the car and hugged her friend with a smile. She decided to let the boys carry Finn¡¯s bags.


    ¡°You know how it is.¡± Grace grinned and folded her arms. ¡°How are the boys?¡±


    ¡°Alive and well.¡± Sandra said as she leaned on the doorframe. The boys came trudging over slowly, bag in Finn¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk slowly, that means we have more time together.¡± Shaun had suggested before they got out of the car. It was a plan they followed after every trip and it never worked, yet they attempted.


    ¡°Finn, what are you doing?¡± Grace looked over at the two practically tip-toeing across the lawn with a laugh. Sandra did too.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± He smiled sweetly.


    ¡°Hurry up a little sweetie, granny¡¯s waiting.¡± She pointed to her watch.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t ready yet.¡± He grinned smartly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart alek. In you go.¡± She said with a pointed look.


    ¡°Fine.¡± He groaned. ¡°Bye Shaun.¡± He hugged his friend before going into his house and up the stairs to his room.


    He liked his room. It was homely. He had clothes that he had yet to put away on his desk alongside his homework for the next day that he hadn¡¯t even looked at yet. He had a nice, soft, white rug in the middle of his room on his wooden floor. His duvet was a deep navy blue that he had had for about five years. His mum asked him every year if he would like a new one but he always said no. He loved it. He often had sleepovers with Shaun in here, one on the bed and the other on the camping bed on the floor.


    He went over to his white wooden wardrobe and pulled out a nice pair of jeans and a cool white t-shirt. This was his normal attire so it wasn¡¯t anything special. His mum always nagged him to dress up a little when going to his grannys but he could never think of anything nice to wear. It was easy for his mum; she could put a pretty dress on, curl her hair, and put some make-up on. Not for him or his dad. All they could do was wear decent clothes. Which he did.


    ¡°You ready Finn?¡± His dad called from outside.


    ¡°Yep.¡± He called back.


    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll leave in fifteen minutes. Do you want food before then?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll get some now.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± His dads footsteps retreated.


    The party at Granny Dotties was boring. If it could even be referred to as a party, which Finn didn¡¯t think it could. It was just Finn, Grace, Michael, Dottie, uncle Thomas, aunt Dolly, and uncle Bill. Finn was the only one there under the age of thirty-five and was very aware of it. The adults were all talking about boring stuff like bills, church gatherings, and Dotties shopping lists.


    ¡°The bill on the house, don¡¯t even get me started.¡± Uncle Bill rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Yeah the same with-¡± Uncle Thomas tried to speak but was interrupted.


    ¡°The bills at the club are mental as well.¡± Aunt Dolly nodded. ¡°How about you, Grace? Not too bad at your place?¡±


    ¡°No, Dericks got some big plans with it. He won¡¯t tell us but apparently it¡¯s not much.¡± Grace worked at a hairdressing salon downtown. Her boss was Derick Lougherty, a well-liked man in the area.


    Finn was nearly bored to tears. He was asked no questions and invited to join in with no conversations. He was desperate for any excuse to leave.


    Eventually the adults moved into a conversation of some interest, the recent attacks in town. There weren¡¯t many in the town, but there were lots in the surrounding areas. A few men, a handful of women, three or four kids. There were a few bombs, some with no one injured, some with a few injured, some killed. A few gun fights, same effect as the bombs.


    ¡°It¡¯s the Irish, keep coming here for no reason.¡± Bill shook his head. ¡°We don¡¯t go to them. If they¡¯d stop then all this could be over.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not true, Bill.¡± Dolly argued back. ¡°We aren¡¯t all innocent either-¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like-¡± Thomas tried to speak but, like always, was ignored.


    ¡°So what? Do you agree with them now? Is that it Dolly?¡± Bill raised an eyebrow. Bill was a pretty political guy and took every comment to heart. Dolly was somewhat of a hippie, she just wanted everyone to be friends. They didn¡¯t get along, hadn¡¯t since they were kids.


    Grace gave Finn the signal to leave the room. It was a signal that she often had to give when the twins were together. It seemed that Dottie had learned the signal too, or maybe just thought that she should take Finn out of the cross-fires as well.


    ¡°Finn, come help me get food sorted.¡± She stood up and walked over to the door. Finn looked to his mum for approval. Grace nodded and turned back to her siblings who, at this point, were two minutes away from hitting each other. None of the Sweeney siblings, apart from Grace, had brought their partners with them. Dolly and Bill were the twins, they were both forty-three. They had been close when they were toddlers, never going anywhere without the other, but it all went to disaster when Bill started to hang out with the other boys in school and Dolly hung out with the girls. Ever since then all they did was argue, each believing they were better than the other. Thomas was the black sheep of the family, he had been born when Bill and Dolly were eight and Grace was five, and because of that none of the children took a real interest in him. He raised himself in a way, Grace did spend time with him occasionally but he never enjoyed hearing about all the boys and friends in her life, he would have preferred to play pirates. Even now, the family took no interest in him. He didn¡¯t seem to mind though, he got on with life. Not that anyone knew what he was doing with it.


    In the kitchen, Dottie started taking food out of the fridge. ¡°Finn, get the bread please. We¡¯re going to make sandwiches.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He did as he was told and they got started with their sandwiches. While they worked they could still hear Bill and Dolly yelling, though now they could hear Grace and Thomas trying to keep them both calm. An indication that the twins had started to hit each other. Dottie shook her head sadly.


    ¡°They¡¯re always fighting.¡± She said quietly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn couldn¡¯t think of anything else to say.


    ¡°Ever since they were little.¡± A shake of the head. ¡°I could never get them to stop.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Still no words. Finn was beginning to wish he was back in the living room. That hell would be better than this one.


    ¡°Mum?¡± Thomas walked into the room. ¡°Where¡¯d you put the first-aid kit? It¡¯s been moved.¡±


    ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ll get it.¡± She sighed and shuffled off in the direction of the utility room. While she was in there, Thomas stood awkwardly waiting. He looked over to his nephew and gave an awkward grin.


    ¡°How¡¯s school?¡± The only conversation he could think to talk about.


    ¡°It¡¯s good.¡± Finn nodded, just as awkward. ¡°How¡¯s work?¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Thomas nodded as well, seeming desperate for his mum to come back so he could leave again.


    ¡°What happened in there?¡± Finn let his curiosity get the better of him.


    ¡°Dollys scratched him with her nails, those acrylic things. He¡¯s got a cut on his arm. Just making sure it doesn¡¯t get infected.¡± Thomas said calmly. He was well used to his siblings'' fights.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Finn wasn¡¯t so used to it.


    ¡°Here you are Tom.¡± Dottie returned and handed her son the small green kit. ¡°What¡¯s he done?¡±


    ¡°No, it was Doll this time.¡± He informed her. ¡°Just a small cut.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Dottie nodded. ¡°Food will only be a minute, try to get them settled.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡± Thomas gave a nod as he left.


    A few minutes later, everything was set up. The food was on the table, the knives and forks as well, the glasses filled with water beside the plates. Dottie turned to Finn with a smile.


    ¡°Go and get them would you?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Finn agreed and set off to the living room. When he opened the door he saw Grace sitting beside her sister on the big sofa, and no one else in the room. He addressed them anyway. ¡°Mum, aunty Dolly, foods ready now.¡±


    ¡°Alright Finn, we¡¯ll be in now.¡± Grace smiled before attending to her crying sister again. When Finn closed the door he overheard Dolly say ¡°He just never listens to anyone but himself. I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    The search for the other members of the family was short, his dad was in the bathroom, his uncles were outside in the front garden.


    When he went outside, he saw Thomas sitting on the bench watching his brother pacing around, cigarette in hand. Finn stayed quiet for a second, wanting to listen in.


    ¡°She¡¯s such a bitchy hippie.¡± Bill grunted as he drew from his cigarette.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Thomas nodded in agreement. Finn couldn''t see his face, but assumed that Thomas didn¡¯t actually agree. She was his sister after all.


    ¡°It¡¯s like she doesn¡¯t care about any of this. She¡¯s betraying our side-¡± Bill began to get worked up again. Thomas must have shot him a look because he calmed down again. ¡°She scratched me, look at this.¡± Motioned to the plaster on his arm. ¡°And then has the audacity to say I¡¯m hurting her?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Thomas nodded.


    Finn decided now was the time to let them know he was there. He knocked on the open front door and both men jumped to face him.


    ¡°Granny Dottie says food is ready.¡± He said timidly.


    Thomas stood up and put out his cigarette. He smiled at his obviously terrified nephew. ¡°Alright, thanks Finn. We¡¯ll be in in a sec.¡±


    ¡°Not if she¡¯s in there.¡± Bill grunted.


    ¡°Come on Bill, just try. For mum?¡± Thomas frowned at him. Bill sighed. He had always liked his mum more than his dad. He felt bad for his mum about the arguments. He could see how it hurted her.


    ¡°Fine. But if she starts an argument, I won¡¯t hold back.¡± He reluctantly put out his cigarette as well.


    Thomas laughed. ¡°When do you ever?¡±


    Finn awkwardly went back inside to the kitchen, followed by the two men. He found Grace, Dolly, Michael, and Dottie all sitting around the table. Dolly tensed when they walked in but Bill didn¡¯t say anything, just took his place at the head of the table. It had been a place reserved for his dad but ever since he died, Bill was the head of the house on his visits.


    There were no more fights for the rest of the evening, Bill and Dolly stayed calm. They didn¡¯t really talk to each other, just to the people around them. Finn wondered why they didn¡¯t try to be good to each other, surely it was sad to not be able to talk to each other? He kept his opinion to himself though, not wanting to start another argument.


    ¡°We should get home now.¡± Grace said at five in the evening, it had been four hours since they arrived there and each hour had been just as painful as the last.


    ¡°Already?¡± Dottie asked. ¡°Here, take some sandwiches with you, there¡¯s too many for me to keep them all.¡± She stood and shuffled to the kitchen.


    ¡°Mum¡¯s complimentary sandwiches.¡± Bill laughed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, you¡¯ll get some too!¡± Dolly giggled.


    ¡°No, I plan on dashing before she gets to them.¡± Bill joked.


    ¡°You tried that last year.¡± She pointed out with a grin.


    ¡°Practice makes perfect, eh?¡±


    ¡°Practising what?¡± Dottie asked with a smile as she walked in holding tinfoil covered sandwiches.


    ¡°Nothing, mum.¡± Bill smiled innocently, causing her to laugh.


    ¡°Well, bye then.¡± Dottie gave the Lowry¡¯s a hug each. ¡°Come back soon, you hear.¡±


    ¡°Yes mum.¡± Grace smiled.

 Birthdays

    The next months were as good as every other month. He went to school, he did his homework, he hung out with Shaun.


    School was as it always was, long, dull, boring, painful, hard, etc, etc. A building full of people his age who couldn¡¯t care any less about him or his existence and teachers who would rather be anywhere else. It sucked. The homework was horrible as well. It was only set to check a box, no one really cared about it; everyone hated it. Finn always left it to the last minute as well, making things slightly worse for himself. He couldn¡¯t wait for June to be over so that school would cut for the holiday. It was the best time of the year; just over two whole months off school? Incredible.


    Finn''s birthday was on the fifteenth of June, he was turning thirteen this year. His party was attended by a couple of people though not many. Finn knew that the ones that did show up only came for the party, not for him. He was okay with it though. He only invited them so his mum would think he had more friends than just Shaun. He knew it worried her somewhat. He didn¡¯t know why though. He was happy with just Shaun. Everyone else was too loud or too strange or just didn¡¯t like him.


    ¡°Here you go.¡± Jack, one of the loud boys, handed him a small wrapped box. Jack was the leader of the loud boys, always the loudest laugh, the meanest punch, the most obnoxious jokes. Finn detested him, though knew that if Jack came to his party, so would everyone else, pleasing his mother.


    ¡°Thanks Jack.¡± Finn smiled politely at the empty space left by the boy running off to the changing room. He hadn¡¯t expected conversation, but at least a smile back would have been nice.


    His birthday party was at a waterpark. He had been excited for it all year. It was great having a summer birthday. In June, everyone wanted to go to a waterpark. Sure, July would have been nicer, no school, but you take what you get. Besides it was a Saturday this year, he would get Sunday to chill at home after this.


    ¡°This is awesome!¡± Shaun smiled as he handed another small badly wrapped box to Finn. He had just arrived, Sandra had found Grace and they were chatting a few yards away. Finn gave his friend a hug as he took his gift.


    ¡°Did you wrap this yourself?¡± He asked with a small grin as he looked down at it.


    ¡°Yes. And I did it brilliantly.¡± Shaun nodded proudly with a sarcastic grin.


    ¡°I love it.¡± Finn hugged his friend.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t even opened it yet!¡± Shaun laughed.


    ¡°I love your wrapping skills.¡± He laughed along.


    ¡°As you should! Let¡¯s go, I want to go down the slides!¡± Shaun started to walk off.


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Finn frowned.


    ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± Shaun returned with a curious frown.


    ¡°No. I have to wait for everyone to show up to say hello first.¡± Finn groaned.


    ¡°Oh. That sucks. Why did you invite so many people anyway?¡± Shaun was confused. He hadn¡¯t asked up until that point because he didn¡¯t want to. He knew that neither of them had many friends and knew better than to point it out. But now curiosity had gotten the better of him.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t want mum to think I had no friends.¡± He explained.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Shaun related, Finn was his only real friend as well.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Ah well. I¡¯ll wait with you then.¡± Shaun said as he sat down beside Finn on the path.


    ¡°Thanks. It¡¯s really boring.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d imagine so.¡± Shaun laughed.


    The waiting being so boring just made the waterpark more fun. The dullness of sitting around made them even more ready to swim and mess around. It was great. Everyone went off and did their own thing really. Jenny, Pamela, Daisy, and Jolene went on the slides over and over again. Jack and Sam raced. Shaun and Finn went to the inflatable obstacle course. Larry, Nell and Owen mostly ran around from thing to thing. None of the other kids came over to see Shaun and Finn, but they didn¡¯t mind. They preferred it. If everyone else was around them, it would have been awkward.


    When the whistle blew an hour later, nobody wanted to leave.


    ¡°Do we have to?¡± Shaun groaned.


    ¡°Think so.¡± Finn laughed as he began to head back to the seat where the parents waited.


    ¡°Lets just hide. Then we can stay.¡± Shaun practically dragged his heels the whole way.


    ¡°We can come back another day.¡±


    ¡°No we can¡¯t.¡± It was quite expensive to come all the way out here. Dangerous too. The boys didn¡¯t pay much attention to the news but knew that for some reason some people got angry when they drove too far south.


    ¡°Maybe not. But there¡¯s always next year.¡± Finn reassured him.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Shaun sighed. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you get to do all these cool things for your birthday. October birthdays suck.¡±


    ¡°We can go camping for your birthday. That¡¯s always cool. And we can get cool Halloween themed things and tell scary stories.¡± He suggested.


    ¡°Yeah. Good point.¡± Shaun nodded and then grinned. ¡°We¡¯ll do that.¡±


    The rest of the birthday party was awkward. Hanging out with random people from his class that he would usually not even say more than a sentence to was difficult but he managed. He did breathe a sigh of relief when they finally left though.


    ¡°That sucked.¡± He groaned in his room.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t it.¡± Shaun laughed as he sat on Finn¡¯s bed. ¡°Guess we¡¯ll not invite them next year then?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not.¡± Finn laughed. ¡°Just you and me.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Shaun nodded wisely. You shouldn¡¯t have invited them in the first place.¡±


    ¡°I know. I just didn¡¯t want mum to think I had no friends.¡±


    ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have, she knows you have me.¡± Shaun laughed quietly.


    ¡°I know.¡± Finn nodded. ¡°It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want her to worry.¡±


    ¡°Would she worry?¡± Shaun was surprised, Lisa and Barry would never have worried. Sandra might but she had never pointed it out. Was that something parents normally worried about?


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn understood Shaun wasn¡¯t asking to be rude, he just didn¡¯t know. ¡°It¡¯s because she wants to make sure I won¡¯t be alone forever, y¡¯know.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that makes sense.¡± Shaun nodded.


    They stayed at Finn¡¯s house until late in the evening, recounting the day and drinking juice and tea. It was fun. With anyone other than each other, it would have been dreadfully boring, luckily they had been together for so long that even silence was interesting between them. That was very lucky because they often ran out of things to say.


    A week later they went camping again. It was virtually the same as the last time; Shaun slept early, Finn slept late, Shaun went on a walk, they both went on a walk in the afternoon, they went home.


    They set up their tent away from the campsite, same as the month before. They set up a fire again, and sat around it telling stories. When they ran out of stories they just sat and enjoyed the atmosphere.


    ¡°You gonna tell me about the stars this time?¡± Finn asked with a laugh.


    ¡°No.¡± Shaun shook his head.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Shaun said ominously. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about the moon instead!¡±


    ¡°Brilliant.¡± He laughed sarcastically. Shaun always loved the moon, it was his thing. He loved to share stupid little facts about it with Finn, and Finn listened reluctantly.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s a half moon. They are used in loads of religions. It¡¯s also related to life and death.¡± Shaun informed. ¡°It¡¯s super cool, I like it more than any other form.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Finn didn¡¯t know why anyone would have a favourite form of moon.


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    ¡°It looks awesome.¡± Shaun said simply.


    ¡°Fair enough. I like crescent moons.¡± Finn picked one at random.


    ¡°Most people do.¡± Shaun laughed.


    A little while later, Shaun fell asleep. Finn stayed awake a little longer, still not tired. He took care of the fire before going on a short walk around the area. He didn¡¯t go too far, just a short distance to look around. When he got bored of that, he too went to sleep in the tent.


    When Shaun woke up, Finn was still knocked out. Shaun guessed it was five in the morning. There would be many hours before Finn woke up. Shaun climbed out the tent quietly and carefully. Finn didn¡¯t even stir at the noise or motion.


    The walk wasn''t as good as the one he remembered from months ago, this time there was no rain. He got to enjoy seeing a few dog walkers dogs without Finn though, which was nice. He loved the golden retriever the most, it was six years old and called Max. Shaun wished he had a pet dog, but his dad hated pets. Shaun had a plan that when he moved out he was going to get a dog, preferably a black labrador, and they would be best friends.


    Then he went back to the tent and finally Finn woke up. This time they were picked up in the afternoon by Grace in her Ford Escort. It was always more awkward in Grace¡¯s car than in Sandras, though not for lack of trying. Grace tried to talk and be fun, but she just cared too much. She kept asking what they were doing, had they been safe, had there been anything weird, were they hungry, were they too cold, etc. It was slightly annoying.


    The months after were good. The summer holidays ended with the slow torture of the start of the school year. School was as boring as usual, the only excitement was Shaun¡¯s upcoming birthday. Though they had agreed to go camping, they had to change their mind because of the storm. Grace and Sandra put their foot down and simply wouldn¡¯t allow it. Instead they got to go to Shaun''s house for the day.


    It was more fun that it sounded, they got to share their favourite comics, run in the garden, and hang out with Sandra. They decided to bake today, to make Shaun a cake for his birthday. Neither of them were great at baking but it was worth the fun.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Shaun suddenly paused. The cake had been in the oven for ten minutes now and was about to come out.


    ¡°What?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Did we put eggs in that?¡± His eyes were wide and terrified.


    Finn froze as well.


    ¡°No.¡±


    They both lurched for the oven and almost burnt themselves taking the tray from it. The cake was more of a hockey puck than anything edible at this point. They set it on top of the oven and stared at it for a minute. Then they turned to each other and laughed.


    ¡°That went well.¡± Shaun giggled.


    ¡°Well we knew we weren¡¯t bakers.¡± Finn nodded with a grin.


    ¡°Should we start again?¡± Shaun looked at the cake.


    ¡°Yeah. I don¡¯t think this one can be saved.¡± Finn picked it up and carried it to the bin. ¡°Goodbye.¡± He said solemnly as he dropped it into the open brown bin.


    ¡°Our poor cake.¡± Shaun frowned and shook his head as he got the ingredients out from the cupboards again.


    They tried it again, taking a lot of care to ensure they followed the recipe to a T. They both watched carefully as Shaun cracked in the eggs. The cake was soon put into the oven and the timer was set. The boys were nervous but hopeful. Sandra walked into the kitchen and frowned.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± She asked. It had been over an hour and a half since the boys had gotten started and they should have been done by now.


    ¡°We had to start again.¡± Shaun concealed his laugh.


    ¡°Why?¡± She asked, eyebrows raised.


    ¡°Eggs.¡± Finn laughed with ptsd in his eyes.


    ¡°You forgot the eggs?¡± She laughed as well.


    ¡°Yep.¡± Shaun pointed to the bin. ¡°There is the victim.¡±


    Sandra took a look inside and laughed. ¡°It¡¯s certainly solid.¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of being a baker.¡± Shaun suddenly said. ¡°For a job, I mean.¡±


    The other two looked at him in disbelief until he broke.


    ¡°No way.¡± Finn playfully shoved him. ¡°You¡¯d poison everyone.¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Shaun agreed.


    Later, the cake was done and the boys took it out with baited breath. It seemed a miracle had happened though. The cake was brilliant.


    ¡°Did we actually do it?¡±


    ¡°I think so.¡±


    They decorated it happily, icing and sprinkles going all over the counter. Neither minded the mess though, they just worked on it.


    When it was finally done they called in Sandra and Barry.


    ¡°What?¡± Barry asked as he walked into the room. He looked down at the mess and grimaced but didn¡¯t act on it.


    ¡°We baked a cake.¡± Shaun pointed to it excitedly.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s done!¡± Sandra grinned when she saw it. ¡°It looks good. Is it edible this time?¡±


    ¡°We think so.¡± Finn laughed.


    ¡°This time?¡± Barry asked.


    ¡°There was a disaster the first time.¡± Sandra laughed.


    ¡°Eggs.¡± Shaun nodded cryptically.


    ¡°Eggs?¡± Barry asked.


    ¡°Eggs.¡± Finn copied Shaun.


    The rest of the evening was lovely, they ate cake, played a board game, and ended it with a movie.


    They both enjoyed board games. This time they were playing Monopoly, a game where Barry thrived. He was also the banker, but that was unrelated. Or so he said.


    "Barry there is no way-" Sandra argued, one of the many arguments.


    "I don''t know what to tell you Sandy, it''s just how much money I have!" He laughed gleefully. He had almost triple the amount of money that Sandra had, and Sandra was second highest. Finn had one pound, Shaun had one hundred and fifty, Sandra had three hundred, Barry had eight hundred and forty.


    "Bull!" She laughed as well, though angrily.


    "Finn, that''s fifteen now for rent. Thanks." Shaun said evilly.


    "I don''t have fifteen and you know it!" Finn sobbed.


    "Are you¡­" Shaun grinned maniacally. "Bankrupt?"


    "No, Finn, mortgage." Barry pointed out.


    "Okay." Finn handed over all his properties with desperation. "Take them."


    "Here you are." Barry cackled as he handed over a whopping fifty pounds.


    "Is that all? Really?" Finn looked on in disbelief.


    "Sorry man." Shaun laughed as he snatched fifteen pounds from his friends hands.


    "You have betrayed me."


    "We knew it would happen someday."


    "Cruel."


    Like all things up high, there must be a fall. The fall soon came for Barry.


    "And one hundred please, dad." Shaun asked with a grin. Barry had run out of properties to mortgage and had only twenty pounds left.


    "No." He said simply.


    "You have to." Shaun giggled.


    "No." He shook his head dramatically. "I refuse. I''m committing tax fraud."


    "You can''t commit tax fraud, Barry. That''s not in this game." Sandra rolled her eyes.


    "I have added it. It''s tax fraud time."


    His tax fraud strategy did not work, he was soon caught out and bankrupt. There were three remaining.


    "Finn, I''ll pay you two hundred for all your blue." Sandra said with a gleam in her eyes. Barry was sobbing silently beside her, tears falling into the bank.


    "No, do not!" Shaun begged. "If these years have meant anything to you, do not."


    "Sorry Shaun. I seem to recall earlier you tried to bankrupt me." Finn smiled a twisted, devilish smile. "I think I will take that offer Sandra."


    "No!" Shaun shrieked. "On my birthday too!"


    "Soon, you will be bankrupt too." Barry said wisely. "Soon."


    "I know." He grieved.


    Soon, the prophecy was fulfilled. Shaun became bankrupt. It was done with many tears from Shaun and psychotic laughter from the others.


    "And now¡­ war." Sandra grinned at Finn. They had been an unofficial team against Shaun and Barry, now they had to split up.


    "Come on Finn, it''s only twenty pounds." Sandra later giggled.


    "This is child cruelty." Finn handed over his final twenty. He was now virtually bankrupt.


    "Perhaps." Sandra nodded. Then she looked around. Barry was still sobbing into his bank, Shaun was trying to plot ways to kill them all, Finn was looking at his empty hands in defeat. "Could it be? Have I won?"


    "You know you won." Barry coughed through the tears.


    "Sorry hon." She laughed.


    "I want a divorce." He choked.


    "Careful, with my luck, I''ll get everything." She cackled evilly.


    This set him off again into fresher waves of tears. Shaun had begun trying to throw everything around the room while Finn restrained him.


    Eventually it was time to go home. To say Grace was confused when she saw the scene would be an understatement.


    "Hello?" She was almost afraid to ask.


    "Monopoly." Finn said, similarly to a soldier discussing his battles.


    "Oh."


    "Gracie! Hi! How are you?" Sandra came to the door, still cheery from her win.


    "Did you win the game, then?" Grace asked.


    "Oh, you know." She played with innocence.


    "Don''t listen to the witch!" Barry called from the living room. "She is a cheat and she knows it!"


    "I am not!" She laughed innocently. "I played the game and happened to win." She shrugged.


    Grace laughed. "And how did Finn get on? Taken out first I assume?"


    "Nope. He came second."


    "Oh right."


    "Good to know you have faith in me mum!" Finn was appalled when he got to the door.


    "Sorry Finn." She giggled. "You ready to go home now?"


    "Yeah." He nodded. "Mournfully so."


    With that they set off back home. On the way Finn told his mum all about the day he had had, especially about the cake. When he ran out of things to say, they listened to the radio instead. It was talking about some law or right going on in government, not something that interested Finn at all. Grace seemed interested in it though so Finn stayed quiet.


    "Dad''s at Kevins." Grace answered the unasked question when they walked in through the door.


    "Okay." Finn nodded. "I''m gonna go do some homework."


    "Okay." Grace waved him off before returning to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner.


    Later that night Finn stayed awake. He looked out his window at eleven o''clock and felt a draw to it. It wasn''t a rare call, he was always attracted to the outside, especially at night. He decided to open the window.


    His windowsill was big enough and strong enough to hold him, he had tried it many times before. It was his favourite place to be in the world.


    The moon was Crescent, his favourite kind. The stars were visible as well, there were no clouds at all.


    He dangled his feet, hitting them against the brick wall softly. He looked out at the world. It was always better from up here, he could see all the way to Mr Finney''s house. He loved looking out into everyone else''s back gardens, their climbing frames, bikes, and flowers. He liked looking into the windows and seeing who was still awake and who wasn''t. It was peaceful.


    After a while he clambored back inside and tiptoed to bed.

 Bite

    The next year was just like the last. They went camping almost every weekend, they had sleepovers once every two months, they went to school every weekday (and survived through the hellish conditions). It wasn¡¯t good and it wasn¡¯t bad. They were both perfectly content. It wasn¡¯t as if they expected much else from life.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost your birthday again.¡± Shaun pointed out as he sat on a log near their fire. They were out camping again. It was early May and about a month until Finn would turn fourteen.


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s going to be so good.¡± He smiled happily as he tended to the fire.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t inviting everyone again are you?¡± Shaun narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion.


    ¡°Not at all!¡± Finn laughed. ¡°Just us, like I said last year.¡±


    ¡°Good, good.¡± Shaun nodded. ¡°What will we do?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking of just camping? Something casual, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah that¡¯d be good. I¡¯d like that.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯d like it. It¡¯s about me.¡± Finn giggled and poked Shaun.


    ¡°I matter too man. We are basically the same person.¡± Shaun laughed and play hit him back.


    ¡°True.¡± Finn nodded. It was indeed true. They were the type of childhood friends who were each other''s shadow.


    ¡°I might go to sleep soon.¡± Shaun said after a while.


    ¡°I¡¯ll stay out here for a while. Catch you later though.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going on a walk are you?¡± Shaun asked. Where he loved early morning walks, his friend loved late night walks.


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    ¡°Just a short one.¡± Finn admitted.


    ¡°Alright. Stay safe though.¡± Shaun said pointedly before climbing into their tent.


    ¡°Yes, mother.¡± Finn laughed before putting out the fire and heading off.


    It was a beautiful night. The stars were out and there were no clouds at all. The trees were illuminated by their white light causing them to be a washed out sage colour instead. The grass was in a similar state and it was beautiful. The full moon finished the picture completely, it was really the finishing touch.


    ¡°Sorry son!¡± A man exclaimed when a dog suddenly jumped on Finn causing him to fall backwards. ¡°Jensen¡¯s very excitable!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I love dogs.¡± Finn said as he stood up from the animal which had jumped off of him and decided to circle him instead.


    ¡°Ah, who doesn¡¯t?¡± The man laughed heartily. ¡°Such fine creatures.¡±


    Finn nodded.


    ¡°What are you doing out so late then? Are you alone?¡± The old man asked.


    Finn suddenly became uncomfortable.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just trying to catch up with my parents. They''re ahead that way a bit.¡± He motioned to a small track off the path. ¡°I should go to them.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Stay safe though. It¡¯s a full moon. The wolves are out.¡± The old man said cryptically before laughing.


    Finn laughed as well before leaving. Wolves? They didn¡¯t live anywhere near wolves. And there had been no sightings either. So why was the man talking about them? Trying to scare him no doubt. Well, Finn was going to prove the man wrong. Finn wouldn¡¯t be scared. He was almost fourteen. He was basically a man now.


    He wandered around for most of two hours. There were no wolves. None had showed up, as predicted. His walk went on a lot longer than he had intended just for this reason. He wanted to prove to the old man that he wasn¡¯t some dumb kid that believed in monsters. The old man wasn¡¯t even there anymore but still. He had to prove it. Maybe he was proving it to himself now. It didn¡¯t matter. He was proving it to someone.


    It was very late by the time he decided to go back. He was halfway down the track when he heard a noise from the trees. It wasn¡¯t a big noise really, just a break of a twig. But with his heightened nerves it was enough to scare him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He asked the trees.


    There was no answer. He walked on.


    He had only managed a few steps by the time another noise came from the same trees. This time he was well and truly spooked.


    ¡°Shaun is that you? This isn¡¯t funny.¡± He asked. He thought back to the troll story Sandra had told a year ago and then told himself off. That was ridiculous. Trolls aren¡¯t real.


    No answer again.


    He walked on.


    He had only managed a few steps by the time he fell unconscious. The last thing he remembered was growling, pain, and the fall.

 Hospital

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Shaun asked as he sat beside Finn¡¯s hospital bed.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± Finn groaned sleepily as he blinked his eyes open. He felt as if he was on fire as he lay still, though had no idea why.


    ¡°Hospital. Your mum and dad are outside. Grace was freaking out too much and Michael had to take her out for a second to ¡®collect herself.¡¯¡± Shaun said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Why am I here?¡± Finn asked as he tried to sit up and then exclaimed in pain.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I was you.¡± Shaun laughed. ¡°You were attacked by a rabid dog.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Finn gasped. A rabid dog? That must have been the noise then.


    ¡°Yep. When you were on your walk. It must¡¯ve been a big dog too, look at the bite marks.¡± Shaun nodded.


    ¡°How did you find me?¡± He asked. He remembered that he had been on a pretty secret path.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. Some old man brought you back to the campground and was asking if anyone knew you.¡± Shaun explained.


    ¡°An old man?¡± Finn thought. He had seen an old man that night. He thought. Had he? Yes. He had. The man had had a dog with him. Maybe that was the rabid dog.


    ¡°Yep. Carried you the whole way. He was strong. Like buff ass old man.¡± Shaun grinned. The idea of an old strong man amused him.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Your scars are going to be pretty gnarly after that, Finn. Take a look.¡± Shaun motioned to Finn''s body.


    He wasn¡¯t lying. The scabs were awful. Horrible red and brown lines all over his chest and arms. One massive bite mark on his neck. Two bite marks on his thigh. Another on his left hand.


    ¡°How am I even alive?¡± He asked. He wasn¡¯t asking Shaun in particular. He just happened to be there to answer.


    ¡°I have no idea. The doctors didn¡¯t think you¡¯d make it for a while. You were pretty messed up.¡±


    ¡°Messed up?¡±


    ¡°Yeah man. You were in and out of consciousness for two weeks. It¡¯s your birthday in¡­ hang on.¡± Shaun counted on his fingers. ¡°Fifteen days.¡±


    ¡°Oh right.¡± Finn spoke slowly and unsurely.


    Shaun suddenly changed to sympathy. ¡°What are you thinking in there, huh?¡± He tapped him on the head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I don¡¯t know how this happened¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to know. And you¡¯ll be okay.¡± Shaun smiled kindly and then changed to a grin. ¡°Maybe we can still go camping!¡±


    ¡°Camping? I don¡¯t think I¡¯m up for it Shaun.¡± Finn wasn¡¯t surprised at his friend''s mention of camping, Shaun could get obsessive over his hobbies. Even in injury, he would prevail.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be grand! I¡¯ll take care of you! We can¡¯t not celebrate your birthday.¡± Shaun rolled his eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see what the doctors say and how I feel on Saturday. How about that?¡± Finn suggested.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Shaun cheered. ¡°I¡¯ll go get the doctor!¡± He stood and dashed out of the door.


    Finn laughed. His friend was easy to please.


    Grace and Michael came running in almost as soon as Shaun ran out.


    ¡°Finn!¡± Grace threw her arms around her son causing him to squeal at the pain. ¡°Sorry! Sorry!¡± She backed away with her hands in surrender. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to! Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright. I feel good.¡± He smiled. ¡°Sore where I got hurt but other than that, I¡¯m all good.¡±


    Grace was crying and clasped her hands together in a silent prayer. Michael came over and took a closer look at his son.


    ¡°Yep you look well. We¡¯ll have you out mowing the lawn in no time.¡± He nodded with a grin.


    ¡°Maybe not dad, thanks.¡± Finn laughed. ¡°I did have a question though.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± His dad responded.


    ¡°If I feel better by Saturday, and if the doctors say I can¡­ Can I go camping with Shaun for my birthday?¡± He asked with a hopeful smile.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Finn¡­ That¡¯s pretty soon¡­ You¡¯re badly hurt¡­¡± His dad thought aloud.


    ¡°I said if I was better by then.¡± Finn pointed out.


    ¡°True, you did¡­¡± Michael nodded and looked to his wife. ¡°What do you think Grace?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She frowned. ¡°You could get hurt again.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Finn said.


    ¡°You can¡¯t promise that.¡± She looked at him, eyebrows knitted together. ¡°And it will still hurt. You won¡¯t be in the best condition to go out in muddy ground with just someone your own age.¡±


    ¡°Shaun is very responsible.¡± Finn argued.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t know¡­¡± Grace frowned.


    ¡°What if you came along and stayed in the camp-park. You would be close and we would still get to go camping.¡± Finn bargained.


    ¡°Would you boys stay in the park?¡± Grace raised an eyebrow. They rarely did.


    ¡°Close to it.¡± Finn smiled hopefully.


    ¡°If you feel up to it then, then yes. But your dad goes with you.¡± She smiled and nodded. Secretly she crossed her fingers that he wouldn¡¯t be up for it on the day. There was still a chance.


    ¡°Got him.¡± Shaun returned with a doctor in tow. The doctor was a man who looked about forty-five years old and friendly.


    ¡°Hello Finn.¡± The doctor smiled warmly. ¡°I¡¯m Doctor Smyth, nice to meet you. How do you feel?¡±


    ¡°I feel okay.¡± Finn answered. It wasn¡¯t the full truth, but it wasn¡¯t a full lie either. He did feel okay apart from his cuts. And those would feel better in no time.


    ¡°And how are your cuts?¡± Doctor Smyth asked.


    ¡°Sore.¡± Finn answered truthfully.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m going to do some testing now, do you want anyone in with you?¡±


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    ¡°No, I''m okay.¡± Finn said.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Doctor Smyth nodded and looked to everyone else, silently suggesting they leave.


    ¡°You sure, Finn? I can stay.¡± Grace tried to convince him.


    ¡°That¡¯s okay mum. See you in a bit.¡± Finn smiled politely.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Grace said quietly as Michael led her out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t die while I¡¯m away!¡± Shaun laughed and left.


    Doctor Smyth was quiet as he ran the tests, other than when he had to ask questions. It was a very long and boring experience. Finn understood nothing that was going on and remembered none of it afterwards.


    ¡°Alright, thanks for your cooperation Finn. I¡¯ll tell everyone they can come back now.¡± Doctor Smyth stood up and left. In rushed Shaun, Grace and Michael once again.


    ¡°Did you ask the doctor about camping?¡± Finn asked his dad.


    ¡°Not yet, sport.¡± Michael laughed at his son''s enthusiasm.


    ¡°Can you? Please?¡± Shaun begged Michael. He was practically Michaels second son at this point.


    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll go ask.¡± Michael said with a laugh as he left.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed if the doctor says no, okay boys?¡± Grace said as she silently prayed that he would. ¡°There will be camping trips later, you don¡¯t need one now if it¡¯s not safe.¡±


    ¡°We know mum.¡± Finn said with a pleasant laugh.


    ¡°So long as you know.¡± She said simply.


    When Michael came back in, he frowned. The boys got upset.


    ¡°He said no?¡± Finn asked sadly.


    ¡°No.¡± Michael suddenly smiled. ¡°You should be fine by then. But it¡¯s all up to how you feel then. If you feel even slightly sick I need you to tell us, okay?¡± He said sternly.


    ¡°Alright!¡± The boys cheered.


    Finn still felt sore by Saturday, understandably. It was tolerable though. Unless he moved in the wrong way. Other than that, everything was fine.


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure you¡¯re okay?¡± Mr Lowry asked as he drove to Shaun''s house. Finn was allowed to go camping. ¡°It¡¯s not too late to back out.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m okay. Really.¡± He nodded from the backseat.


    ¡°So long as you¡¯re sure.¡± He smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice for you to get out of the house.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn smiled.


    ¡°Good. Not for me though. Hate camping.¡± Michael shuddered. He had only been camping three times in his life, all times with his dad. They had been the most boring nights of his life.


    ¡°You chose to come with us.¡± Finn laughed.


    ¡°No, your mum sacrificed me.¡± Michael laughed along.


    The rest of the drive was quiet. When they finally got there, Sandra and Shaun were standing at the driveway with his bags waiting.


    ¡°Finn!¡± Shaun grinned. Finn got out of the car to help with the bags.


    ¡°Heya Michael, how are you?¡± Sandra asked through the window.


    ¡°We¡¯re alright.¡± He smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t know why they¡¯re so desperate to go camping.¡±


    ¡°Me neither!¡± Sandra laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve told mine to look after Finn though, so you can relax.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll always take the best care of each other, eh?¡± Michael laughed. ¡°And relax? While camping? No way.¡± He chuckled and rolled his eyes. Finn and Shaun had dumped Shaun¡¯s bag into the car and jumped into the car. Michael could feel their eyes boring into his neck to hurry him along. ¡°Anyway I¡¯d better get them to their forest then or they¡¯ll be huffing. See you, Sandra.¡±


    ¡°See ya, Michael.¡± Sandra waved. ¡°Bye boys!¡±


    ¡°Bye mum!¡± Shaun cheered.


    ¡°Bye Sandra!¡± Finn waved back to her.


    It was late at night by the time they had got to the forest, so they just went straight to the campsite to unpack. It wasn¡¯t busy for early June, just a couple campers and a tent. Finn and Shaun didn¡¯t mind though. They liked this kind of visit more than busy times, it was quieter. During the busy summer months it was hard to find a spot and it was always full of loud children who were up playing all day and night.


    ¡°Hey Shaun?¡± Finn tapped his friend''s shoulder to get his attention. Michael was setting up his tent over by the car and Finn had had a sudden idea.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He turned to face Finn. He could already predict what was about to be said and was excited.


    ¡°Do you want to set up in the camp site?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shaun asked with a grin.


    ¡°Like, do you want to stay at the campsite or do you want to go to the hill?¡±


    ¡°Should we go away from your dad?¡±


    ¡°Just if you want to. If you don¡¯t then I¡¯ll stay here.¡±


    Shaun thought for a second.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go off, it¡¯s always more fun anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Finn celebrated. ¡°Hey dad?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Michael looked up from his tent. He looked stressed and very confused. It was like he was in a fight with the tent and was losing.


    ¡°Can we camp over there? Just a little off the campground?¡± Finn smiled hopefully.


    Michael frowned and thought it over. ¡°I guess. But be safe. I¡¯m here if you need me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Thanks dad!¡± Finn grinned.


    Shaun and Finn walked off to the top of a nearby hill and searched for a nice clearing. It was a peaceful walk. They didn¡¯t talk for most of the journey, occasionally Shaun would tell Finn some little detail about the plants surrounding them. That was one of the best parts of going on walks with Shaun, it was always informative. When they reached their private campground, the moon was beginning to come out and the stars were lit up clearly.


    ¡°Hey, look. It¡¯s a full moon.¡± Finn pointed.


    ¡°Oh yeah. Sweet.¡± Shaun smiled up at it. ¡°You¡¯re such a nerd with your space stuff.¡±


    Finn laughed. He did like outer space. It was just so cool. Something so infinite just out of reach? And the moon being so close that you could see it? Incredible. Shaun was more into it though, which Finn made sure to point out.


    ¡°The moon is so pretty tonight.¡± Shaun sighed.


    ¡°You gonna get all existential on me?¡± Finn laughed as he hoped the answer would be no.


    ¡°No. I¡¯m good.¡± Shaun smiled softly and they both knew it was true. He was good. Sandra had helped him by being the mum his birth mum had never been. His dad had been getting better lately too. He had been more present. Less work. Less drinking. Shaun still wasn¡¯t sure where he stood with his dad but he knew that at least now it was somewhere good. That was all that mattered.


    ¡°Good.¡± Finn nodded knowingly.


    Eventually they found a clearing near the river.


    ¡°The trolls will come for us.¡± Shaun laughed.


    ¡°Oh I forgot about that!¡± Finn lied. ¡°We should find somewhere else then.¡±


    ¡°What? Scared of some little trolls?¡± Shaun mocked.


    ¡°Nope! I¡¯m nearly fourteen now. I¡¯m scared of nothing.¡± Finn laughed.


    They set up their tent quickly and unpacked everything else. It was only ten o¡¯clock by the time they had finished, so they decided to stay up a little longer. Finn lit the fire while Shaun went off to look for logs to sit on.


    ¡°Got some.¡± Shaun said as he returned with a singular log in hand.


    ¡°Some?¡± Finn asked with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back for the other one. I¡¯ve only got two hands.¡± Shaun scoffed as he set it down before he left again.


    For a while into the night they just sat by the fire and chatted. Nothing really important was said. It was just nice. They spoke about school, Finn¡¯s upcoming birthday, how pretty the stars looked¡­ Just whatever came to mind.


    ¡°You hear what Jack did on Monday?¡± Shaun asked.


    ¡°No?¡± Finn raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°He swore out Mrs Johnson.¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± Shaun laughed as he nodded. Jack was a wildcard. ¡°She committed the crime of walking behind him.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God.¡± He laughed and rolled his eyes. ¡°Full on swore her out?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Any word you can think of, he used it.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. She just walked away.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°Sucks.¡±


    ¡°Funny though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Are you excited for your birthday?¡± Shaun asked after a while of silence.


    ¡°I guess.¡± Finn sighed.


    ¡°You guess?¡± Shaun looked round at him. ¡°Where¡¯s the enthusiasm?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just another day, y¡¯know?¡±


    ¡°Oh no.¡± Shaun gasped.


    ¡°What?¡± Finn looked around, startled.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re the existential one.¡± Shaun giggled.


    ¡°No I¡¯m not!¡± Finn laughed with him. ¡°It¡¯s just another day. I¡¯ll just be a little older.¡±


    ¡°Sure. You okay though?¡± Shaun said lightly, he was hoping Finn would say yes, he had no idea how to comfort people, even his best friend.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Finn nodded.


    At this point it was getting pretty late. Shaun was yawning every two minutes; Finn was timing them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go to sleep. You?¡± Shaun yawned at eleven thirty.


    ¡°Going to go on a walk.¡± Finn joked.


    ¡°Really?¡± Shaun looked at his friend in disbelief. ¡°After you got hurt last time?¡±


    ¡°No, of course not.¡± He laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll go to sleep too.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Shaun laughed along as he climbed into the cramped tent. Soon, they both fell asleep.


    At twelve, Finn woke up in agony.


    His scabs all seemed to be awake. And they were all enraged. They screamed and pulled and punched at him. The cramped walls of the tent were only making it feel worse. He climbed out as quickly as his limbs would let him


    When he was out of the tent, the pain seemed to get worse. It was as if the moonlight was suddenly burning. And burning with the power of the sun. He couldn¡¯t control his reaction any longer, he let out a shriek.


    Still Shaun slept on. He always complained about Finn¡¯s sleeping habits, but could sleep through everything in the world himself. Finn somehow managed to stand through the pain and stumble back into the tent. He shook Shaun so hard and fast that he woke up.


    ¡°What? Finn?¡± He sat up sleepily.


    ¡°Shaun. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening but something¡¯s wrong.¡± Finn was grunting between almost every word. His body felt like it was out of control. And on fire. Still the fire.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±  He asked as they both climbed out. He took a look at his friend in the moonlight and almost screamed himself. ¡°Oh my god.¡±


    ¡°Help me!¡± Finn managed to groan.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Shaun repeated, this time crouching beside Finn in panic.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± He grunted angrily. Now was not the time for Shaun¡¯s dumb questions.


    ¡°That¡¯s not very helpful.¡± Shaun yelped. ¡°I¡¯m going to go get help. Stay here!¡± He stood up.


    ¡°Where would I go?¡± Finn groaned then screamed.


    ¡°Not the time!¡± Shaun laughed before running off.

 What

    ¡°Finn?¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡±


    ¡°Get away!¡±


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

 Dead

    That was all Finn could remember when he woke up.


    Those words said by Shaun. Finn didn¡¯t know what happened between then and now. How could he? All he knew was he had been in pain, Shaun ran off for help and then he blacked out. That was it.


    He woke up lying on the ground by the opening of the tent on his back looking up to the morning sky. His entire body ached in ways it never had before. His limbs felt as if they had been pulled and yanked out of their sockets, his back felt as if it had been scrunched up like a paper ball, his head was hammering against his skull. All kinds of things. It just hurt. It hurt so bad that the pain from the rabid dog bites felt like pinpricks.


    He knew he had to get up. He had to get up to get help.


    ¡°Shaun?¡± He croaked out.


    No answer. Where had he gone?


    ¡°Shaun? Are you sleeping?¡± He asked, voice slowly returning to normal as he turned his head to look into the tent. Shaun wasn¡¯t in it.


    Finn struggled to stand. He managed it eventually but the pain was causing him to see white and feel faint. He fell to his knees again and decided to crawl. It hurt but a little less than standing. He didn¡¯t think he would even have been able to take a step.


    ¡°Shaun?¡± The tent was empty, so he must have ran off for help then. But how long ago was that now? It was bright now. Earlier than usual, yes, but still morning. He wouldn¡¯t have gone off on a walk and left Finn by himself when he was hurt. He knew that much.


    He kept looking around until he finally found footprints in the mud which he could follow. He crawled along them carefully and agonisingly slowly. Eventually he made it to the end of them but no Shaun. Instead there was a long line as if something had been dragged a distance. Finn looked to the end of the line. There was something lying there.


    No.


    Finn dragged himself over as quickly as he could. He slipped a couple of times but picked himself up again. He had to make sure it wasn¡¯t true.


    It was.


    Shaun lay face down at the end of the trail.


    ¡°Shaun? Get up.¡± Finn said slowly. It must be a joke. Shaun always did tell such dark jokes. ¡°You got me. Now get up.¡± He laughed.


    Shaun didn¡¯t move. Not even a laugh.


    ¡°I get it. You want me to make you wake up? Alright, I¡¯ll play along.¡± Finn pulled himself up onto his knees and placed his hands on Shaun¡¯s shoulder before gently turning him over. He soon wished he hadn¡¯t.


    Shaun''s entire face was destroyed. It was cut up beyond recognition. It was practically a gaping hole. His neck was bleeding as well. It looked as if something had stabbed it ten or so times all at once. But not with a knife. With massive teeth. His chest seemed to be a gaping hole as well but he could hardly tell with the mess of blood and organs laying on it. His arms and legs were strewn about wildly, bruised and cut up and even close to coming off in his left arm.


    Finn screamed.


    ¡°Help! Someone please help!¡± He screamed at the top of his lungs, voice cracking in desperation. Somehow in his panic he had forgotten that his dad was in the campground nearby. He felt like he couldn¡¯t leave Shaun. That would be the ultimate betrayal.


    Eventually some people did come over. A young married couple followed by their toddlers ran over to help.


    ¡°Do you have kids with you?¡± Finn asked when he heard them coming.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The man responded unsurely.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them see this.¡± He said darkly. He had had an hour or so between now and finding Shaun and had become quickly numb. He could feel it later, now he had to get Shaun out of here.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The man responded again and turned to his wife with a nod. Then he came over alone and stopped in his tracks. There were two boys, one almost faceless on the ground, the other tear-tracks all down his face clutching the dead one tightly. ¡°What happened?¡± The man was calm under pressure.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Finn said gruffly. ¡°I passed out last night and he was dead when I woke up.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to call someone okay? The police. Do you need an ambulance?¡± He asked, studying the boy in front of him carefully.


    ¡°I need to call my mum.¡± He said. ¡°And get my dad, he¡¯s in the campground.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Give me the number and I¡¯ll call for you. I¡¯ll get your dad as well.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Finn did as he was told.


    The man ran off, explaining the situation to his wife when he passed by her. She was horrified and longed to comfort the boy in the trees but stayed far away. She had to look after her own children first and a faceless dead boy would not be great for them.


    The man returned half an hour later with the paramedics, a detective, and his father.


    ¡°Finn!¡± Michael exclaimed when he reached his son. He immediately hugged him close. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Yes, what happened son?¡± The detective asked as he held his notebook ready.


    ¡°I passed out, woke up, and he was dead.¡± Finn said slowly. It was becoming overwhelming fast and he could feel his eyes tearing up.


    ¡°Dead?¡± Michael gasped. He held Finn closer.


    ¡°I need to get him to the hospital, you can talk to him there.¡± A paramedic woman said to the detective.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him in the ambulance.¡± Detective nodded.


    ¡°Alright. Is that okay honey?¡± The paramedic asked softly.


    Suddenly the tears spilled out of his eyes. It wasn¡¯t asked if he was okay but it was close enough. He wanted his mum. He wanted Sandra. He wanted Shaun. Shaun was gone though. He would never be there for him again.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s fine.¡± He said quietly. The paramedic patted his back sympathetically before helping him into the ambulance.


    The ride to the hospital sucked. The detective had a lot of questions and was keen to ask them all. His dad tried to help him out by asking the detective to give him a break but it was not working at all.


    ¡°And you said you blacked out?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. I was injured recently and I must have passed out from the pain.¡±


    ¡°Injured?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. He was attacked-¡± Michael tried to answer, to give Finn a break.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr Lowry. But I asked your son.¡± The detective said with a steely glare.


    ¡°Sorry, sir.¡± Michael gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll show you the scars. It was a dog. Rabies.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. Helen here will show me your injuries at the hospital. Do you remember anything weird happening last night? Any strange noises?¡± He motioned to the paramedic who was apparently called Helen.


    ¡°No, sir. It was just like every other time we went camping.¡±


    ¡°Alright. And do you remember any feeling? Anything touching you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Finn surprised himself. He did remember something touching him but he hadn¡¯t thought about it. Hands. He remembered hands holding him while he was passed out. He didn¡¯t know why though. He had assumed Shaun was trying to wake him up. ¡°Hands were touching me at some point. I don¡¯t know who or why.¡±


    And there were still more questions after that. The only break he got was when his mum eventually arrived with Sandra and Shaun''s dad, Barry.


    ¡°Where is my boy?¡± Grace demanded as she entered the ward.


    ¡°And mine, Shaun Woods?¡± Sandra asked, eyes teary.


    ¡°Mrs Lowry, your son is in room C with your husband. Please come with me, Mr and Mrs Woods. ¡± A doctor said.


    A mournful gasp escaped Sandra¡¯s throat. It wasn¡¯t particularly loud but it was heard by all.


    ¡°Finn!¡± Grace sobbed as she entered the room.


    ¡°Mum!¡± Finn cried.


    ¡°What happened? Why weren¡¯t you with them?¡± Grace cried and shoved her husband backwards.


    Michael stumbled but quickly corrected himself, his wife wasn¡¯t very strong. ¡°I stepped away for a while to let them hangout without an adult listening in-¡± He began to explain.


    ¡°And look what happened!¡± She argued back. ¡°Our son is injured and I don¡¯t even know what happened to Shaun!¡±


    The boys went quiet.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t badly injured. Scrapes and scratches.¡± Finn spoke up, though quietly and carefully. ¡°Shaun¡­ He¡­¡± His voice broke into sobs.


    ¡°Oh Finn!¡± Grace cried, forgetting her argument with her husband momentarily. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± He stuttered through his tears. Michael clenched his fists to stop the tears from coming out, Grace gasped.


    ¡°What?¡± She reeled back. ¡°Dead?¡±


    ¡°He was killed. He¡­ His face. Mum, he didn''t have a face.¡± He said slowly and carefully, as if vomit could come out instead of his words. Grace looked to Michael for confirmation, he gave one simple nod.


    ¡°Oh my God!¡± Grace exclaimed as she stumbled backwards into a chair.


    Then no one knew what to say. They could hear Sandra scream from a few rooms over. They heard her weeping when the door slammed open. They heard her storming closer. They saw her when she walked in.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    She was the picture of pity. Her hair was loose and wild, she hadn¡¯t taken the time to brush it. She wore her old faded pink pyjamas, she hadn¡¯t taken time to get changed. Her eyes were wide and her face wet. She threw herself down at Finn¡¯s bedside.


    ¡°Tell me Finn, please!¡± She begged. ¡°You have to tell me he wasn¡¯t hurt. He didn¡¯t suffer? Oh God please don¡¯t tell me he suffered!¡±


    Finn couldn¡¯t bring himself to lie to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    It was as if she expected this answer. She silently sobbed to herself as she rocked back and forth on her heels.


    ¡°Shaun¡­ Why him? He was just camping. He never did anything wrong¡­¡±


    ¡°Sandy. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Grace put her arms around her breaking friend. Sandra threw her arms around Grace and it seemed as if she would never let go. She didn¡¯t want to let go.


    The stay at the hospital was short and uncomfortable. Every day at one in the afternoon a psychologist walked into the room and wanted to ¡®talk¡¯. The doctors had assumed that Finn was traumatised from what he had seen, and he was. But it was too soon to talk about it. Especially to a stranger who wouldn¡¯t understand.


    He told her this one day. That she wouldn¡¯t understand. She just smiled.


    ¡°I might understand more than you know, Finn.¡± It seemed that she only doled out cryptic sentences. Her name was Miss Lollin, she was twenty-five years old, and had bright ginger hair that she wore in a loose bun on the top of her head. She wore strange clothes as well, bright rainbow coloured jumpers seemed to be her specialty.


    ¡°You don¡¯t though.¡± Finn argued back. ¡°My best friend just died. How the hell could you understand that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Finn grunted. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you do.¡±


    She gave him a face that let him know that she was pitying him. It was so patronising that he wanted to hit her. Each time she left he would celebrate.


    Eventually he was allowed to go back home. Miss Lollin came to see him off, much to his dismay. She wore a bright pink jumper with a white pleated skirt this time. The joy on her face at the idea of him leaving was mutual.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy for you Finn.¡± She smiled. ¡°Remember you can talk to me anytime you need to. Your mum has my number, just ask her for it when you need it.¡±


    Finn nodded despite having no plans to use that number. Infact; he might rip up the page it was written on.


    When the Lowry family were back home, no one really knew what to do the rest of the week. It was almost Finn¡¯s birthday but no one mentioned it. No one wanted to celebrate anything. Finn spent most of his time in his room, specifically lying in bed. Sometimes he would cry, sometimes he would yell, sometimes he would just lie there and think. It was hell. He couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°Finn, what do you want for breakfast kiddo?¡± Michael asked through the heavy wooden door one morning.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Finn groaned barely above a mumble.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been eating much lately. I understand everything is hard for you but you need to eat. I¡¯ll make some toast and you try to eat some of it, okay? Does that sound like a plan?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Thanks dad.¡± Finn¡¯s voice cracked. He felt bad that he wasn¡¯t just getting up and doing everything himself. He hated how difficult it was for him. He had had time to mourn. He should be over it by now. He didn¡¯t understand why he wasn¡¯t.


    Michael returned a couple of minutes later with a plate and a mug. The plate held toast and a banana, the cup held tea.


    ¡°I made some tea as well.¡± Michael said as he set the items down on his nightstand.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He smiled slightly as he picked up the cup. He didn¡¯t take a drink but held it close.


    ¡°Do you want me to stay or leave?¡± His dad asked gently.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He really didn¡¯t. He wanted his dad to stay. He didn¡¯t want to be alone anymore. He needed someone. But he also didn¡¯t. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. His best friend had just died. Neither of them had thought that it would ever happen. Even when they were going to be old men. But it happened. So much sooner than it should have.


    It was all awful.


    They got a letter in the mail from Sandra and Barry yesterday. Shaun¡¯s funeral was going to be on Sunday.


    ¡°Are you scared about the funeral tomorrow?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Finn admitted. He hadn¡¯t let himself think it but he was. He didn¡¯t want to see Sandra in that state again. He didn¡¯t want to see the coffin and know that Shaun was in there. He didn¡¯t even want the funeral to happen. It meant that Shaun was well and truly gone. It¡¯s finality hurt.


    ¡°Do you want to go?¡±


    ¡°I have to.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel like you owe it to him?¡±


    ¡°I do owe it to him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my best friend. I couldn¡¯t protect him. It¡¯s my fault.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t your fault Finn.¡± Michael told him as he sat down beside his son, who sat with his legs folded up to his chest.


    ¡°But I couldn¡¯t save him.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t your fault Finn. We don¡¯t even know what happened. It¡¯s okay to feel guilt but it isn¡¯t your fault.¡± It was the exact same thing that Miss Lollin had been saying but for some reason it made more sense when his dad said it. Felt more real.


    ¡°Why would he die dad? He didn¡¯t do anything.¡± He repeated Sandras question that had been playing in his mind.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s how things are sometimes, life can be cruel for no reason. He was a good kid.¡± Michael was close to tears. He had cared for the kid as well. He had felt like he was the boy''s dad sometimes.


    ¡°He was.¡± Finn teared up at the past tense.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you now. You know where to find me if you need me.¡±


    ¡°Thanks dad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Sunday afternoon was cold for a June day. The church was pretty. Its windows were gorgeous, beautiful rainbows decorating the entire building. It was a harsh contrast to the people dressed in dull blacks and greys.


    Sandra¡¯s wild hair had been tamed and twisted into a ponytail low at her neck. She wore no makeup and no hat, just a plain black dress and boots. A far cry from her usual bright and childlike appearance.


    Finn twisted his hands together as he went up the stairs to enter the building. His father and mother walked either side of him giving him silent support each step of the way.


    The service itself was terrible. The man speaking knew nothing about Shaun. Every word he said was wrong. It took everything Finn had to not stand up and yell at him. How could he stand there and spout rubbish about his friend? Shaun had been nothing like the guy being described. He had been kind and funny and nice and hurt and he had been incredible and he had been more than words could say. How could the man hope to sum him up in only a few paragraphs? How dare he try?


    ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Grace asked when they were outside again.


    ¡°That man had no idea what he was talking about.¡± Finn said.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Do you want to see the coffin lowered?


    ¡°Michael, that¡¯s very morbid.¡± Grace tried to say.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Finn said quickly. Of course he wanted to. He had to see it for himself.


    It wasn¡¯t anything special to look at. Just a box being buried. But it hurt. Finn found himself sobbing silently as he watched it. That stupid man from before still had more to say. It was still rubbish. Finn couldn¡¯t even bring himself to glare at the guy. He wanted to but he didn¡¯t care that much. He focused on Shaun.


    Shaun wouldn¡¯t have wanted to be buried. Finn knew that. Shaun was scared of tight spaces. He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to be put in an urn then either. He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to be dead. Or maybe he did. Maybe this was what he wanted. Who knew? Finn didn¡¯t. He started to laugh. It suddenly seemed funny. He only went camping because Shaun wanted to. He didn¡¯t really want to, his injuries hurt too much. He had been asleep when Shaun died. He died alone. No one knew what happened. No one ever would.


    ¡°Finn.¡± His mum whisper-hissed.


    Finn didn¡¯t care. He kept laughing. While he laughed he sobbed. It was certainly a sight to see. He didn¡¯t even notice the reactions of those surrounding him. A few elderly women were tutting and scowling at him, Shauns cousins were looking at him in shock and horror, Barry was looking at him with unbridled rage, Sandra was nodding.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take him away for a minute.¡± Michael quietly told everyone as he carefully steered Finn away from the group by his shoulders.


    They quietly and quickly walked back to the car, the only noise between them being Finn¡¯s continued laughter. Michael had his hands on his son''s shoulders leading the way. He feared that if he let go, Finn might fall.


    ¡°What¡¯s funny?¡± Michael asked when he had got his son safely sitting in the car.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He laughed. ¡°Everything.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I only went camping because he wanted to. I didn¡¯t want to. If I had stayed home like I wanted he would be alive.¡± He laughed again.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s hilarious, right?¡±


    Michael patted his sons back for a minute letting him calm himself down. When he reached a state that could be spoken to, Michael started to speak again.


    ¡°Do you want to go back over or do you want to go home?¡±


    Finn thought. He didn¡¯t want to leave Shaun. There would be nothing to do at home anyway, just lying in his bed again. But that sounded good. It was what he wanted. He wanted to bury himself in his covers and never emerge again. Shaun wouldn¡¯t have minded. He probably would have done the same thing.


    ¡°I want to go home.¡± He said quietly.


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll go get your mum. Stay here.¡± Michael nodded as he got out of the car.


    He was right. All there was to do was to lie in his bed in the dark. He was bored of it. Nothing else seemed appealing though. He didn¡¯t want to leave the house. He didn¡¯t want to read. He didn¡¯t want to draw. He just wanted to sleep.


    ¡°Finn, honey?¡± His mum knocked on his door around three.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He called.


    ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    She came in slowly, as if she was trying to get a wild cat to follow her.


    ¡°Finn, do you want to watch some tv with me? Something to do might make you feel a bit better.¡±


    Finn sat up.


    ¡°What will we watch?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He got up. Maybe he should spend some time with his mum. The bed wouldn''t leave. It would be there later. Maybe it¡¯s what Shaun would have wanted for him. He would have got mad if he knew Finn stayed in bed, no matter how Finn tried to comfort himself.


    His birthday arrived quicker than anyone wanted it to. It being the day after the funeral was just unfair and cruel. The universe knew what it was doing with that hit. It was just another reminder of what was gone. Just the year before he and Shaun had been messing in the waterpark together. They wouldn¡¯t be able to do that this year.


    ¡°Finn, honey, good morning.¡± Grace smiled when her son came downstairs. She knew that today would be hard for him but the fact he was out of bed was good. He hadn¡¯t been doing that lately.


    ¡°Good morning mum.¡± He gave a small smile and went to the cereal cupboard.


    ¡°How are you feeling today?¡± She asked nervously, not that she showed it.


    ¡°I feel okay.¡± He poured his cereal. ¡°I miss him.¡±


    ¡°I know sweetheart.¡± She pulled him into a hug. ¡°Do you think you want to celebrate your birthday or not? It¡¯s up to you. Whatever you think.¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± He said.


    ¡°Okay. If you''re sure.¡±  She hid the tones of disappointment.


    ¡°Thanks mum.¡±


    Finn went back upstairs and ate his cereal looking out the window. He always loved the view from the window, it was pretty. It showed his back garden which had his slide and swing set from when he was younger, the beach chairs that his mum always put out for a bit of sun tanning, and it had the trees around its edges shading them in from the rest of the world.


    He opened his door to go back downstairs to drop off his bowl when he tripped on a small pile of boxes. There were five cardboard boxes of all sizes littering his doorway.


    ¡°Presents.¡± He thought. ¡°She did want to celebrate then.¡±


    He set his bowl back down on his desk and transported the boxes into his room one by one onto his bed. He didn¡¯t open them though, he instead picked up his bowl and went back downstairs.


    ¡°Hey Finn.¡± His dad grinned when he saw him.


    ¡°Hi dad.¡± Finn gave the same smile he gave his mother earlier.


    ¡°Did you get your presents?¡± He asked eagerly.


    ¡°Thank you. I haven¡¯t opened them yet. I¡¯ll do it when I get back up.¡± He set his bowl down.


    ¡°Okay.¡± His dad smiled softly. ¡°Have fun.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He could think of nothing else to say.


    He didn¡¯t really want presents. It just reminded him that he would never exchange gifts with Shaun ever again. He did open them though. He wanted to please his parents and knew that if he didn¡¯t open them they would worry about him. It was a wonder they weren¡¯t already worried. Maybe they were. They didn¡¯t show it if they were.


    When he was done he now had two new t-shirts, a new pair of jeans, a couple of books, a new set of pencils, and new walking boots. His parents had dithered about the boots, it could set him off. He wore boots when camping and that wasn¡¯t exactly something he would want to remember now. But they decided to give them to him. If he liked them, that was good. If not, they could take them away and help him through it. A little bit of exposure therapy, they supposed.


    He decided to put on his new clothes to make everyone happy. Getting dressed was probably a good idea, he hadn¡¯t changed out of his pyjamas since the funeral. Or showered. It just didn¡¯t matter to him.


    ¡°Thanks guys.¡± He said when he walked down the stairs and found them in the living room. His mum gave a teary gasp when she saw that he was dressed and tidy. He even brushed his hair. His dad smiled and gave an approving nod.


    ¡°You like your presents then?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes, I love them.¡± Finn smiled again. It was more genuine than the ones his parents had been getting lately so they were pleased.


    ¡°Want to watch tv with us?¡± Michael asked.


    ¡°What are you watching?¡± Finn asked as he sat down.


    ¡°This little comedy show, it¡¯s very good. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard of it but-¡± Michael began to ramble.


    ¡°Michael, honey. He said he¡¯d stay.¡± Grace cut him off softly.


    ¡°Yes, sorry.¡± Michael smiled sheepishly and was quiet.

 School

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go if you don¡¯t want to, okay? You can come home at any time. Just tell the office I said it was okay.¡± Grace was nervous for Finn¡¯s first day back to school. Sure he had been okay lately. He had been leaving his room and talking to them. That was good. But everyone knew he wasn¡¯t okay. He tried to tell everyone he was but he didn¡¯t bother acting at night. Every night he could be heard crying. It wasn¡¯t loud, it was as if he was trying to stop himself. He probably had his head in the pillow. Neither Grace or Michael brought it up to him, they knew that he would tell them if he needed help. Or at least they hoped he would.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mum. Really.¡± Finn insisted. ¡°I have to.¡±


    ¡°Okay. If you say so.¡± She smiled tearfully and kissed his forehead. Normally he would have pushed him away out of embarrassment but after what happened he never rejected physical affection.


    School was as difficult as he had predicted.


    As soon as he walked in the whispers were all around him. The kids all stared at him with pity, suspicion, shock. It was hellish.


    ¡°Did you hear?¡± One whispered.


    ¡°Of course I did.¡± Another answered.


    ¡°I think he did it.¡± Yet another told their friend.


    ¡°No!¡± Their friend answered.


    ¡°Why is he back? It¡¯s so soon.¡± More people spoke.


    ¡°I know right?¡± More and more.


    ¡°Finn, welcome back. I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡± The teacher distracted him from the cruel curious children surrounding.


    ¡°Uh. It¡¯s okay.¡± Finn never knew what to say when people said they were sorry for his loss. It wasn¡¯t their fault, why were they sorry? How does someone respond? He found any variation of ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Usually worked well.


    Shaun had sat beside him in form class. The two of them at the back of the room together. It had been fun. When Finn sat down it all hit him again. It took everything he had not to cry. He couldn¡¯t cry at school. That was the worst thing you could ever do.


    The school day was awkward. All the teachers seemed to not know how to treat him. They decided that the best way was ¡®ticking time bomb.¡¯ This meant that they all acted as if he was going to break down at any moment. He hated it. He felt fine. He was fine. Shaun would have wanted him to be fine. So he was.


    The other kids didn¡¯t help. It was as if they judged his every move. He didn¡¯t seem sad enough to them. They thought he was a murderer. They didn¡¯t know what to say to him, not that they ever had before either.


    It was lunch time when he was finally approached by some of them. It was the crowd that followed him from primary school (Jack, Jenny, Daisy, Sam, and Nell) with a few of their new additions.


    ¡°Finn.¡± Jack, their ringleader, stopped him in the hall.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Finn turned to face the source of the noise.


    ¡°I have a question.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t, Jack.¡± Daisy tried to pull him away.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s an important question, Daze. We have the right to know.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Finn sighed.


    ¡°Did you do it?¡±


    Finn was silent in shock.


    ¡°What?¡± He managed to croak out.


    ¡°Did you do it? Did you kill him?¡± Jack asked. He was very cocky. Finn wanted to punch him.


    He couldn¡¯t speak. There was nothing to say. Or was there too much to say? He didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Jack!¡± Daisy shoved him. ¡°That was sick.¡±


    ¡°How could I know? He might try to kill one of us next!¡± Jack exclaimed and shoved her back. The others egged him on.


    ¡°You¡¯re so annoying.¡± Daisy glared. ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±


    ¡°Oh shut up Daze. You¡¯ll come crawling back tomorrow.¡± Jack rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Not this time.¡± She said coldly as she put her arm around Finn¡¯s shoulder. She led him off quickly.


    They got to a secret alcove under the stairs and she sat down on the floor. She looked up at Finn but didn¡¯t motion for him to sit or leave. The decision was his.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Daisy said to him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he would say that.¡±


    ¡°I can.¡± Finn laughed. Jack was very predictable.


    ¡°I guess you could, huh?¡± She frowned. She had always denied Jack¡¯s bad behaviour. She had a small secret hope that he wasn¡¯t as bad a guy as he acted, his latest stunt proved her wrong.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He sat down.


    There was a very awkward silence for a minute or two. Neither knew what to say to the other, the last time they had spoken properly they had been eight years old.


    ¡°How are you?¡± She eventually broke the silence.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Finn answered honestly. ¡°School sucks.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± She nodded. ¡°It does, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this y¡¯know.¡± Finn suddenly said. ¡°Take pity on me, I mean. I¡¯ll be fine. If you want to go back to your friends, that''s fine.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°They aren''t my friends. They aren¡¯t good people. You just saw what they¡¯re like. I don¡¯t want to be with them.¡± She explained.


    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you left them before?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°I never had a chance.¡± She sighed. ¡°It was either them, or no one. And no one wants to be alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°No one does.¡± She smiled but quickly frowned again. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about me and my problems. You need the most comfort right now. Not me with my stupid little problems.¡±


    ¡°All problems are problems.¡± Finn pointed out.


    ¡°Yeah but some are more important than others.¡± She counter-argued.


    ¡°Are they though?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Yeah. Mine will be forgotten in a few weeks. Yours is stuck with you forever.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡± He nodded. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°So, do you want to talk about it?¡±


    ¡°No. Not right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. But I¡¯m here. Just, y¡¯know. If you ever do want to talk.¡± She smiled and stuck out her fist for a fist-bump.


    ¡°Thanks Daisy.¡± He gave her her fist-bump.


    He made it through the day after all. It was difficult but his talk with Daisy helped him slightly. Just knowing that not everyone hated him. It wasn¡¯t much. One person out of the six hundred at his school didn¡¯t hate him. Not great stats. But it was more than nothing and that¡¯s all that mattered.


    When he got back home he was immediately greeted by his mum who seemed to be waiting in the hallway for him. His dad was waiting in the living room.


    ¡°How did it go, honey?¡± She asked as she kept her voice as calm as possible.


    ¡°It was okay.¡± He gave nothing away.


    ¡°Were the other kids nice?¡± She asked as she hugged him.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. And the teachers?¡±


    ¡°They were good too.¡±


    ¡°Okay, and-¡± Grace began.


    ¡°Mum.¡± Finn interrupted. ¡°I just need a break from everyone for a while.¡± He stepped away and towards the stairs. ¡°I¡¯ll be in my room.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you need¡­¡± She murmured to the stairs.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Michael came out of the living room and put his arms around her waist in an embrace.


    ¡°I think I annoyed him.¡± She said quietly.


    ¡°You didn''t, darling. He just needs some alone time. It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Michael kissed her softly in comfort.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She nodded until she believed it. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Visits Shaun''s grave


    He decided to visit the grave. He felt he should, since the last time he was there he laughed so hard he had to be removed. That had probably not been the best thing to do.


    ¡°Alright.¡± His dad had nodded, no questions asked. ¡°We¡¯ll go in the morning, okay?¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    The morning came around and both men were dressed and ready to leave at eight o¡¯clock. They told Grace where they were going but she didn¡¯t want to go with them. She hated graveyards, they were too spooky.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to yourself, okay? I¡¯ll be over at grannys.¡± Michael pointed to another grave on the other side of the yard.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    When Finn was alone he stood in silence and stared. The ground was wet from the earlier rain and the stone was darker than its usual colour because of it. Finn decided to read the headstone, he had intended to when Shaun was buried but became too preoccupied.


    Shaun James Woods


    Beloved son of Barry and Lisa


    Taken too soon


    It was all wrong. Lisa? Lisa shouldn¡¯t even have been mentioned. She was not his mother. Sandra was. Sure, she gave birth to him but that did not make a mother. Lisa had been horrible to him. And the ¡®taken too soon¡¯? It was true but where was the emotion? The anger? The sadness? This wasn¡¯t an old man who was supposed to die. This was Shaun. A child. Someone so full of life. Where was any of it? It was nothing. The stone meant nothing. Finn kicked it and then cursed himself when it hurt.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad isn¡¯t it.¡± A woman said from behind him. He whirled around quickly and saw Sandra. She was tidily dressed in a navy sweater and black jeans with grey trainers. Her hair lay wild around her shoulders, greying. The wrinkles on her face seemed ten times more pronounced than they had been only a few months prior.


    ¡°Sandra.¡± He came closer to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m not even on it. You see? I was that boy''s mother more than that other woman. But Barry thought it would be better to have her on it.¡± Sandra frowned and her voice cracked.


    ¡°How could he do that? Shaun knew you were his mum, not Lisa.¡± Finn said in outrage. ¡°He told me so.¡±


    Sandra choked back a cry.


    ¡°Thank you Finn.¡± She pulled him in for a hug. ¡°Sometimes it feels like we¡¯re the only ones hurt by this.¡± She whispered.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He agreed. He didn¡¯t really. He felt he was hurt the most. Shaun had been his best friend since they were little. Of course he was hurt the most. Him and Shaun were connected in ways that no one could ever understand.


    ¡°It feels like the world¡¯s stopped moving.¡± She admitted as she looked at her son''s headstone.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn nodded. This time he agreed fully. ¡°Everything feels wrong.¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s like I¡¯m not allowed to laugh anymore. How could I laugh after my own son¡­¡± She began to cry. Finn hugged her again to stop her from falling apart. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± She choked out.


    Finn said nothing but held her safe. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his dad begin to come over. Good. He didn¡¯t know how to deal with this. He¡¯d let his dad do it.


    ¡°Sandra.¡± His dad said when he made it over. ¡°Come here.¡± He put his arms around her in a hug.


    ¡°Hi, Michael.¡± She said into his shoulder.


    ¡°You okay here?¡± He asked gently.


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m okay.¡± She lied. Everyone knew she lied but no one said it.


    ¡°Okay. I have to take Finn home now, alright? Will you be okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. Goodbye Finn, goodbye Michael.¡± She gave each a watery smile.


    ¡°Is she gonna be okay?¡± Finn asked in the car.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Finn.¡± His dad sighed. ¡°I sure hope so.¡±


    That night, he didn¡¯t know why, he woke up outside in a field. It was the field owned by the Oswald family a few doors up. He didn¡¯t know how he got there though. He had fallen asleep in his bed securely the night before, and he wasn¡¯t usually prone to sleepwalking. All he knew when he woke up was that everything hurt.


    His limbs and head were the same as the night Shaun died. That worried him the most. Somehow even more worrying than waking up alone in a field with no memory of how he got there. It was scary. He had no idea what was happening with him. He wondered if this was a usual symptom of rabies.


    ¡°Probably not.¡± He thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure these aren¡¯t symptoms either.¡± He looked at his new cuts on his body. They were deep scratches on his arms and a couple of his chest, though they weren¡¯t fatal. Just sore if he moved them in the wrong way.


    ¡°It¡¯s weird that this has happened more than once.¡± He couldn¡¯t think of a reason why this would happen more than once. He had no reason to wake up in agony one night a month four months in a row. Ever since June this had happened every month. And all times with no recollection of how he got into that state. And both injured. During his flurry of thoughts and possible explanations, he remembered that it had been a full moon every time. In a way he thought that was it. But then he laughed.


    ¡°Werewolves aren¡¯t real.¡± He laughed to himself as he stood to walk back home. The walk home was painful but he couldn¡¯t not do it, he had to be home. Besides, he could clean his cuts at home with the first aid kit and he didn¡¯t want to get infected just because he didn¡¯t want to walk home. He didn¡¯t pass many people on his way home, if he had to guess he would say it was only about six in the morning. It was nice walking around at this time. Not that he would enjoy it often, it wasn¡¯t as good as sleep. Nothing was.


    When he got back home, he managed to sneak back in through his window and forgot about his theories. He must have just been sleep walking. Sure it wasn¡¯t something he did often, or ever did to be precise, but it must just be a new problem. Maybe it was brought on by the traumatic event of Shaun''s death.


    ¡°That can cause sleepwalking, right?¡± He wondered. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s it.¡± He decided to keep his new information to himself. There was no reason to tell anyone else, he could cope with it on his own. No need to worry anyone else. His parents were worried enough after everything. This was the last thing they needed.


    ¡°Good morning Finn.¡± His mum opened his door a few hours later. ¡°We were thinking of going out to breakfast, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll get dressed.¡± He sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily.


    ¡°Alright. See you downstairs.¡± She smiled softly at him before retreating. She was glad her son was perking up again, she never knew how to help people who needed emotional support, it was a mystery to her. She was excited for him to be okay again so that everything would go back to normal. She understood that she shouldn¡¯t feel this way, but she couldn¡¯t help herself. It was frustrating for her and Michael. Sometimes it would spark quiet arguments that they had to ensure Finn didn¡¯t catch wind of incase it set him off in some way.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Finn nodded as the door closed.


    Gets told hes moving house


    Their home was dangerous. It had been a year since Shaun was killed and nothing had gotten any better. In fact, it all got worse. There were bombs going off left, right and centre. There were people being killed often as well. It was bad. Grace and Michael were anxious to get out.


    ¡°Are we sure about this?¡± She asked as they sat up on the old leather sofa by the fireplace. Each had a wine glass in hand and they sat curled up together covered in an old fluffy blanket.


    ¡°Yeah. I mean it¡¯s like you said¡­ It¡¯s safer.¡± He said. His face showed a hint of hesitation as well, but not as much as hers. He was never as emotional as his wife, he didn¡¯t see the point in it. He knew how much the house meant to her though and despite his lack of sentimentality he still loved the house. It had been an important place to them both for many reasons. It was the place Finn took his first steps, it was the first house the pair moved into together, and it was the place where they had spent every holiday together for the past eighteen years. It was hard to give up.


    ¡°I know but¡­ I mean. There were so many good times here. And is it really all that bad?¡± She drank from her glass. She thought back to all the good times too. ¡°If everyone else can stay, surely we could too?¡± Not many neighbours had been moving away, it was a very stubborn neighbourhood.


    ¡°Grace¡­ I know this is hard for us but we have to think about Finn. Do we really want him to be around so much danger? Any day he goes to school could be the last. I know that our new home won¡¯t be completely safe. Nowhere is. But it will be safer for him. And for us.¡± She still didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Then what about Shaun? I know it¡¯s been over a year but do we want Finn to be in a place where he¡¯s haunted by the memory of him? I know I wouldn¡¯t want to be around that if it was me.¡± Michael said. He wrapped his arm around her. ¡°Besides, we can make memories in the new house as well.¡±


    ¡°No. Yeah you¡¯re right.¡± She cuddled in. Then she began to cry. It wasn¡¯t a dramatic cry with snot and drool and tears everywhere, it was a silent cry, just tears flowing and some sniffles.


    ¡°Oh Grace.¡± Michael held her closer. He reached for the tissues in his pockets. They were hard to reach so he had to lean back for a second to get them out.


    ¡°Where did it go wrong? Is this what we imagined for our future?¡± She sobbed.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not. But that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t go on.¡± He comforted her as he dried her face.


    ¡°I know. It¡¯s so stupid to cry but I just¡­ I don¡¯t think I can help it.¡± She wept.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Cry all you need.¡±


    When she was done, Michael kissed her softly and comforted her again. Then they went up to bed. In the morning they would have to tell Finn and neither was looking forward to it. They knew he would react badly to it, their town meant a lot to him, it was all he had ever known to live in and he had lots of good memories there also, and he had a friend buried here. It was going to be hard.


    ¡°Finn?¡± Grace knocked on his door in the morning.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He called. He had just woken up and was still lying in his bed.


    ¡°Come downstairs, your dad and I need to talk to you about something.¡± She managed to say.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He responded as he got up and wondered what it could be.


    When he came downstairs he saw his parents sitting together on the sofa. There was nothing in their hands, nothing on the table, just grim expressions on their faces.


    ¡°Finn, hi.¡± His dad greeted him with a smile. ¡°Come sit with us for a minute.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± He didn¡¯t know what was happening but had an inkling it wasn¡¯t going to be great. He sat down on the armchair because he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to be right next to his parents for this, it must be bad news.


    ¡°We want to move house. To a nice country town. It¡¯s further North.¡± Michael ripped off the bandaid.


    ¡°Why?¡± Finn asked. His heart had missed a couple of beats but he was hiding it. ¡®This must be a joke.¡¯ He told himself. ¡°Good one.¡± He laughed. ¡°You tricked me for a minute.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a joke.¡± Michael said calmly.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be safer, Finn.¡± Grace said with a convincing nod.


    ¡°Yes, and it¡¯ll be farther away from here.¡± Michael nodded as well.


    ¡°Why do we want to be far away from here?¡± Finn asked with a cold voice.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± His dad tried to think of the nicest way to say it. ¡°Here you have reminders of Shaun everywhere. We thought it would be good for you to get away from all those memories.¡± He saw by Finn¡¯s face that this was not the best thing to say after all.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± His voice was steely. ¡°Why do I need to get away from Shaun?¡±


    ¡°What your dad meant is that it might be painful to stay around all the memories of him. It might be better for you.¡± Grace tried to reach out and hold his hand, but Finn refused.


    ¡°Why? How could it be better? You keep saying it will be better but you aren¡¯t telling me how!¡± His voice raised in frustration.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get flashbacks as much.¡± His dad said. ¡°It will-¡±


    Finn interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t anymore. I feel fine. I don¡¯t understand why all of a sudden you¡¯ve just decided that I would be happy with this. I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°I know Finn and we¡¯re sorry.¡± His dad said calmly. ¡°But you need to trust us that it will be better. We wouldn¡¯t do anything if we weren¡¯t sure it was the best choice for you.¡±


    ¡°You chose to let me go camping that night.¡± He said bitterly. As soon as the words escaped his mouth he regretted it. The remorse and guilt on his mothers face, the anger and understanding of his dads.


    ¡°Finn¡­¡± His dad began.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it. Really. Oh mum, don¡¯t cry.¡± His mother was close to sobbing.


    ¡°Finn, we know you¡¯re still angry about that but that was too far.¡± His dad said with a tone of finality. ¡°We¡¯re moving house next month and it is the next choice for us all. Okay?¡±


    ¡°How will I visit Shaun?¡± He asked quietly. This was his main concern.


    ¡°I will drive you anytime you want.¡± His dad said.


    ¡°Okay. Okay.¡± He nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°That sucks.¡± Daisy agreed as they ate their lunch in the stair alcove. Daisy had kept to her promise, a year later and she still hadn¡¯t gone back to Jack and the others. She was actually a good friend. Not as good as Shaun, obviously. No one could ever be, but she wasn¡¯t terrible.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn sighed.


    ¡°And they just told you last night?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the worst part. If I¡¯d known I could at least have done something about it. Convinced them not to. But now it¡¯s too late. I have to go live in the middle of nowhere.¡± He groaned.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sad for you.¡± She rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her shoulders, a position they often took up.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± He smiled then frowned as he went on. ¡°It¡¯s just like¡­ No one else understands why I don¡¯t want to leave. They all think I should want to. To get away from all the bad memories and that but that¡¯ll just make it worse. At least I know how things work around here.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll miss you.¡± She said quietly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too.¡± He smiled again.


    He didn¡¯t get a chance to tell Sandra. He didn¡¯t see her much anymore. He wasn¡¯t sure he would want to. She was broken. From what he overheard from his parents, she was mental. She drank all the time, she never went to work, she had attempted her life. Just a lot of things.


    ¡°Mum?¡± He came to her late one evening.


    ¡°Yes, Finn?¡± She looked at him.


    ¡°Does Sandra know we¡¯re leaving?¡±


    ¡°Oh, Finn¡­¡± She struggled for something to say. ¡°I don¡¯t think Sandra cares right now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He asked. It hurt that Sandra didn¡¯t care about him anymore. He could understand why of course, but she had been like a second mother to him.


    ¡°She¡¯s not part of our lives anymore, Finn.¡± His mother tried to explain it nicely. ¡°That¡­ connection¡­ is gone.¡±


    ¡°Shaun.¡± He said quietly.


    ¡°Yeah, Shaun.¡± She nodded reverently. ¡°And since he¡¯s gone, Sandra¡¯s life and our lives just don¡¯t come together anymore.¡±


    ¡°Do you miss her?¡± Finn asked. ¡°She was your friend.¡±


    ¡°Of course I do. She was very dear to me. We¡¯ll both be okay though. She¡¯s going through something much worse than I am. I¡¯m only sad I can¡¯t be there for her through it.¡±


    Finn felt this told him nothing. He had hoped that Sandra would convince Grace to stay but clearly that was a dead end. There really was no out from this.


    ¡°Good night.¡± He stood.


    ¡°Good night.¡± She responded.

 Birthday

    The months leading up to June were as usual. With each day that passed, Finn could feel himself feeling better. It was only a slight change, but it was a change all the same. Sometimes the change went the other way, things got worse. These days were horrible. Sometimes those days lasted weeks.


    Not everything was as usual though. He had discovered something about himself that alarmed him immensely. He had somehow became a werewolf.


    It had all started when he kept waking up alone in empty fields. Then he started remembering the nights before and how he got there. But he wasn¡¯t himself in his memories. It was like he was some primal creature. Then he realised it was always a full moon on these occasions. Still, he had had doubts. Werewolves are made up by adults to scare little kids, they aren¡¯t anything real. But when he started waking up with scratches and bites that could only have been done by a wolf, he finally had to accept it.


    He hated it. He woke up next to a dead sheep twice, absolutely covered in blood. It was horrible. Finn could only thank God that he had never killed a person. He would hate himself forever if he did.


    It was now the summer holidays again. Finn was to be fifteen in a month. He still was friends with Daisy, he still stayed home most of the time, he still didn¡¯t go camping. He wondered how his life could have changed so much in only a year. This time last year he had been with Shaun. Now he was with Daisy, someone they both used to dislike for her relationship to Jack.


    ¡°A pretty girl, man!¡± A passing teen that Finn didn''t recognize on the street cheered. The two of them were out on a walk around the town to waste one of the many long summer days.


    "Shut up, Danny!" Daisy called after him.


    "Who''s that?" Finn asked when they were out of earshot.


    "Danny Owens, just some guy from the year above." She frowned. "He''s super annoying."


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± He nodded and shrugged.


    The walk was enjoyable. The two had grown close to each other, Daisy had fallen in love with Finn, though would never tell him. Finn didn¡¯t feel the same about her, that she was sure about, but she could enjoy the imagination for a little longer.


    ¡°Your hair is nice by the way.¡± Finn smiled at her as they walked.


    ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± She blushed as she began to fiddle with the few strands by her face. ¡°Nothing really.¡±


    ¡°I like the plaits.¡± He flicked one over her shoulder. ¡°You should do them more often. They suit you.¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± She laughed. ¡°Anyway,¡± She didn¡¯t want to go too far into her hope,  ¡°How have you been this weekend?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been good.¡± Finn nodded contentedly. ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°Same.¡± She agreed. ¡°What did you do?¡±


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    ¡°I hung out at home mostly. Went down to the cemetery.¡± He had told her everything about Shaun. Well, most things about him. Some things just felt private still, like their late night conversations and his family life. But other than that, she knew it all. And she was so good about it all. She listened and she seemed like she would have loved Shaun, had they been friends then. Finn adored that about her.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice.¡± She hummed. ¡°How was your visit?¡±


    ¡°Good. The people a few headstones over wanted to have a conversation until they saw which grave I was at and knew my name.¡± He frowned.


    ¡°People still think you did it?¡± She raised her eyebrows.


    ¡°Apparently.¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°I can understand why, I guess. I was the only one there with him, I could do whatever I wanted. But they always forget that I didn¡¯t want to hurt him. And it would have been impossible for me to hurt him to that extent. He didn¡¯t have a face.¡± Finn shuddered when he remembered that night. His memories weren¡¯t as sharp as they used to be, but they were still painful.


    ¡°That sucks.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    They walked on in silence for a little longer. It was a different kind of silence than Finn¡¯s old walks with Shaun. It wasn¡¯t quite as comfortable. It wasn¡¯t terrible though. He liked his time with her.


    ¡°It¡¯s your birthday soon, isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, in a week.¡± He nodded.


    ¡°Okay, thought so. I got you this.¡± She pulled a small wrapped box out of her purse. Finn began to laugh.


    ¡°Daisy! You didn¡¯t have to!¡± He took it happily. ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Finn pulled her into a hug, which she was delighted by. When they came apart, Finn opened the wrapping carefully.


    In the box was a watch, not incredibly expensive, but Finn had heard about it enough to know it wasn¡¯t cheap. He put it on immediately.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Daisy asked shyly.


    ¡°I love it!¡± Hee hugged her once more. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t have, it¡¯s too much!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing really¡­¡± She blushed. ¡°I wanted to get you something nice.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely nice. Thank you so much.¡±


    Eventually they reached the field that they normally took to on their journeys out in town. Here they sat down in the grass and did nothing of any importance.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to miss you so much.¡± Daisy said sadly.


    ¡°I know.¡± Finn instantly knew she was talking about when he was going to move house. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to call sometime, yeah? Meet up in the summers.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, totally.¡± He agreed eagerly, meaning it entirely.


    Soon it was time to go home, the stars were starting to come out. Finn sighed as he looked up. It was a crescent moon. He almost pointed it out until he remembered his company and stopped. Daisy wouldn¡¯t be interested in his dumb space nerd stuff.


    ¡°Goodnight Daisy, see you at school.¡± He gave her yet another hug when he dropped her off at her door.


    She reciprocated the hug and waved him off as he left.


    When he could no longer be seen from her porch, she went back inside and up to her bedroom. There, she could be alone with her thoughts. And her diary. In it she wrote about her night. She wrote about her feelings for Finn. She wrote about how she wished he loved her back. And it felt damn good to write it down. She couldn¡¯t tell anyone, no one cared about her stupid little thoughts. No one that she would talk to anyway. Other than Finn, but she couldn''t tell him that she had a crush on him.


    Finn was walking home by streetlamp with a smile on his face. He kept looking down at his new watch and thinking about Daisy. He really couldn¡¯t have asked for a better friend to come after Shaun. Then he felt guilty for thinking such a thing. Was he replacing Shaun? No. No one could replace Shaun. But he was still trying. He didn¡¯t mean to but he was. And he hated himself for it.

 Moving Day

    ¡°Finn, honey, it¡¯s time to wake up.¡± Grace shook her son awake.


    ¡°No.¡± He groaned sleepily, pulling the blanket over his head.


    She laughed. ¡°Come on. We have to finish getting ready and say goodbye to the house.¡±


    Finn remembered the significance behind the early rise now and felt even worse.


    ¡°Do we have to?¡± He asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.


    Grace paused for a split second with sadness in her eyes before smiling again, grief gone as soon as it had come.


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯ll be better.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°I just do.¡±


    ¡°I hate it when you do that.¡±


    ¡°Too bad.¡± She smiled. ¡°Come on, get up and get dressed. I think the movers are coming soon.¡±


    With that, his mum left the room. Finn sat and stared around him for a minute, taking it all in one last time. He saw the cracks in the wall that had been there since construction. He saw the door with the rusty handles that he had gone through every day for fifteen years. He saw the window that he climbed out of every full moon the past year. He saw the desk where he had sat with Shaun every study session. He was going to miss it all.


    He went to the desk and lifted the clothes that he had left out, all the rest in his boxes. He had decided to wear his black jeans and his band t-shirt, his favourite one. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to put his hair in a ponytail so just left it hanging loose around his face in its overgrown mullet.


    When he went downstairs the movers were already there.


    ¡°Excuse me son.¡± A burly man said as he walked past holding two boxes stacked in his hands.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Finn jumped out of the way instinctively.


    ¡°Finn! The movers got here early so we¡¯re going to get breakfast at a roadside cafe.¡± She looked unhappy, she did not enjoy roadside food businesses. ¡°You can thank your father for the food choice.¡±


    Finn could hardly watch the men careening around ruining the home that he had once felt safe and peaceful at. He hated the feeling that his childhood was being ripped away from him. There were so many good memories here; the first time that Shaun had come over, the first time he was allowed to stay up to watch the new years fireworks, the first time he had beat his parents at monopoly. All of it. It was gone just like that.


    ¡°You okay Finn?¡± Michael asked his son. He had noticed that Finn had been standing in one place staring at a wall for a while and was concerned.


    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± Finn nodded.


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure¡­¡± Michael looked at him for a second, thinking. ¡°Why don¡¯t you help me bring some boxes to the van?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that why the movers are here?¡± Finn groaned.


    ¡°Yeah but there are a few little boxes that we could bring. We¡¯ll leave the heavy stuff to them, don¡¯t want to break our backs, eh?¡± His dad explained.


    ¡°Oh okay. Yeah, where are they?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Over here.¡± Michael led the way to the small boxes containing utensils and clothes and makeup and all sorts of other small things.


    When all the boxes had been loaded into the vans Michael went off to talk to the movers again, just to let them know that they were off to get food and would be a bit later. While he did this Grace went over to talk to Finn.


    ¡°How are you holding up?¡± She asked him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think I''m fine.¡± He said. He was looking to the floor while he said it, unable to meet his mothers eyes. Her eyes were too full of comfort and hope. He couldn¡¯t lie to those eyes.


    ¡°You think?¡± She raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s just¡­ hard¡­ leaving behind so many things.¡± Finn admitted.


    Grace understood what he meant immediately. She had been the one to say that they should move but she didn¡¯t really want to. She had memories there as well as her son. This had been her and her husband''s first home together. Where their son had taken his first steps. Where they had spent the past years together celebrating holidays.


    ¡°Are we ready to go now?¡± Grace asked. She had to go through with it now or she feared she would back out.


    ¡°I think so. What do you think, Finn?¡± Michael answered.


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    ¡°Yeah I¡¯m ready to go.¡± Finn said nonchalantly but both parents noticed how he was looking at the house and knew better.


    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    Gets sent out to make friends, sees James and Daniel, doesn¡¯t approach


    The first night in the new house hadn¡¯t been terrible though it had been new in a way that Finn didn¡¯t like. He hadn¡¯t even got around to searching for a hideout for transformation nights. He thought the house was alright, it was bigger than the last house, it had a good view of the street from the windows and there was lots of space. He had found it hard to sleep though, surrounded by new stuff on new furniture. He had longed to be back home but knew he couldn¡¯t. Still he couldn¡¯t help it.


    The morning rolled round and Finn lay in his bed until well past eleven o¡¯clock. He just couldn¡¯t bring himself to get up.


    ¡°Finn!¡± Grace called from downstairs when it reached twelve.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± He called back from his bed. He wondered if he would be heard through the closed door but decided that if he wasn¡¯t he could just pretend he had been asleep.


    ¡°Come here please.¡± She yelled back.


    Finn finally pulled himself out of bed and walked down his stairs, climbing over boxes and junk as he went. He found his mum and dad in the kitchen eating lunch on paper plates.


    ¡°Morning, son.¡± Michael greeted, scarcely looking up from his toast.


    ¡°Morning, dad.¡± He greeted back.


    ¡°Finn, honey, I had an idea.¡± She paused but decided to continue. ¡°How about you go around town today? Meet some people who¡¯ll be in your class?¡± Grace asked.


    ¡°Uh. I don¡¯t know mum, I¡¯ll meet them all tomorrow anyway.¡± Finn didn¡¯t want to go out and meet people, it would just be awkward. He didn¡¯t want to be known as the loser who hung around people that he didn¡¯t know like a dog looking for scraps.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ but I think it would be nice to meet some people before then. It¡¯s already leaving it a bit late as it is.¡± She argued back softly. ¡°You don¡¯t want to have no one.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I guess. I¡¯ll do that after I get food.¡± He said with a sigh.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Grace smiled at her husband with her eyebrows raised.


    ¡°Have fun.¡± Michael grinned and nodded.


    After breakfast Finn went back up to his room. He went to his wardrobe and pulled out jeans and a t-shirt, his usual attire. He decided on his denim jacket with his boots as well, to add a bit of ¡®flair¡¯.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out now!¡± He called from the front door.


    ¡°Okay! Be good! Have fun! Be pleasant!¡± Grace yelled.


    ¡°Farewell!¡± Michael shouted.


    Finn went outside and was filled with doubt and despair. He hated the new town, the way the buildings all seemed the same, the way the people spoke, the way that everything was strange and new. It was awful. He just wanted to go home.


    He had been hanging around at the park for about an hour when he saw people about his age. They were two boys, one slightly taller with dark hair, the other shorter with light hair. He overheard them talking as they walked past.


    ¡°If we get Ollen for Chemistry I¡¯m gonna kill myself.¡± The taller one said.


    ¡°Bit far mate.¡± The other laughed.


    ¡°Seriously though, he sucks. I would rather have Kellen.¡±


    ¡°Old man Kellen? I think I¡¯d die then.¡±


    The taller one laughed. ¡°Yeah, fair. Let¡¯s go to the shop, I want a drink.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Then Finn was left alone in the park again. He swung on the swings and climbed the climbing frame completely bored out of his mind. He couldn¡¯t go back to the house for at least another hour though, then his parents would be upset. He was just thankful that no one was around to witness the new guy sitting alone at the park.


    He decided to walk around the town again. He saw a couple of pretty girls standing around the grocery shop and a few boys walking around talking to each other and a few elderly people walking back from church services or shopping trips.


    He had been out of the house for three hours and was bored to tears. He decided to go home, his parents would have to believe he had met someone after such a long time. If they didn¡¯t he didn¡¯t know what he would do.


    ¡°How was it Finn?¡± Grace asked when he came in through the door, as if she had been waiting for him.


    ¡°Good.¡± He answered.


    ¡°Meet any friends?¡± She asked anxiously.


    ¡°Yeah. There were these boys at the park that I talked to.¡± Finn lied.


    ¡°Really? What were their names?¡± She asked, eyes lighting up.


    ¡°Oh, there were so many that I didn¡¯t get their names. But I think a few will be in my class.¡± He grinned.


    ¡°Awesome! Oh I¡¯m so glad Finn!¡± She threw her arms around him in glee. Finally her son was making new friends.


    ¡°Yeah, me too!¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go unpack more.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Do you need help?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°Okay. See you later.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, bye.¡± Finn went back upstairs and set about unpacking boxes. Unable to keep his mind calm, he thought about everything.


    He wondered what the new school would be like, probably horrible. He wondered who Ollen and Kellen were and why those two boys didn''t like them. He wondered if he¡¯d like them. He wondered if those boys would be friends with him. He wondered what the work would be like. If he¡¯d meet someone nice. He hoped so.


    Finn quickly found himself crying. He dropped what he was doing and sat down on his bed. He looked out of the window without focusing and just cried. He wished he still had Shaun to talk to.

 Transformation

    The night was long and cold. It was the first transformation in the new town and Finn had neglected to find a place to do it. He had only remembered to find somewhere when it was too late, then he cursed himself for not looking when he had all that time to himself earlier. How could he have forgotten something so important? Finn ran around in a panic with the night air hitting him. He could feel the transformation beginning when he was still in town.


    It hurt trying to postpone the change, but he couldn¡¯t transform around so many people. It was just dangerous. There were a few people still wandering around the streets for some reason. Mostly they didn¡¯t notice him, but some of them did. They looked at him suspiciously, with curious glares. A teenage boy they had never seen before running wild in the middle of the night? It put them on edge, what if he was with the IRA? Did he have a bomb on him? It didn¡¯t look like it but everyone crossed to the other side of the street when he came close.


    Eventually he found a suitable place. He had found it just in the nick of time, half an hour later and he would have been caught out. The place wasn¡¯t fantastic but it was great for his situation. It was a hill about a mile from the outskirts of the town. On it, a small forest area which he had decided would be the best place to hide out; in that was a clearing about the area of four trees.


    The transformation was slower and more painful than usual; since he had tried to put it off. It always made it more difficult. He couldn¡¯t figure out why, it shouldn¡¯t make it hurt more. It was going to happen either way. Sometimes he entertained the thought that The Wolf was punishing him for trying to stop it. That always made him laugh.


    The Wolf was unsure of its surroundings when it woke. Instead of immediately running around as it usually did, instead it sat and stared. Only then did it begin to carefully roam around the forest. The Wolf seemed to realise quickly that it was alone. This made it go back to normal. So long as it was alone, everything was fine in its eyes. It began searching for a bird or a fox to eat. The Wolf could feel itself growing restless after almost an hour of searching.


    Thankfully it managed to find an abandoned flock of sheep just standing around eating grass or sleeping. It didn¡¯t think about what to do about them; The Wolf cannot really think. It just does. It jumped and struck one of the sheep, latching its jaws onto the creature tightly. The other sheep ran away immediately. It began to eat the sheep it did catch. It ate it quickly and eagerly with a primal grin.


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    When it was done it lay down beside the carcass. It was tired, the exploring had tired it out quickly. The transformation back was quick and painless.


    Finn woke up and looked around him in a daze. He soon noticed the deceased sheep beside him. The blood was everywhere. He stood up carefully, checking for injury and being relieved at finding none.


    The sheep looked like it had died quickly. He didn¡¯t know how he could tell that but it just made sense to him. The sheep in front of him was not one that had gotten chased or tortured, it had died quickly then been tortured after.


    Finn didn¡¯t know who owned the sheep and had no plans of finding out. He just left the scene, the owner would find it before he needed to use the space again next month. It would be fine.


    He was nervous as he snuck back home. It was a new area and he had no clue about the sleeping and waking patterns of the villagers. He didn¡¯t know who he would run into. It wasn¡¯t like he wanted to run into anyone either, he was covered head to toe in smears of sheep''s blood and his clothes were torn and muddy. He looked a right state.


    Unfortunately for Finn, it seemed like everyone was awake at this time. It was only six in the morning but there were at least seven people roaming around the town. It was difficult to sneak past them all; he almost got caught by two of them, but he managed.


    He climbed back up to his open bedroom window and landed on his bed. He knew his parents would still be asleep so didn¡¯t worry. He did need to get a shower though.


    He quickly tiptoed into the bathroom and started the painstaking process of removing the dried blood from his body. It always seemed to know how to get everywhere. As usual the shower turned red as soon as he stepped into it, the still-wet blood dripping off immediately. The dried blood required a lot of shampoo and body wash. Grace was not going to be happy when she noticed how much of it was gone.


    When he was clean he turned off the shower, cleaned up after himself, and crept back to his room. It was now seven o¡¯clock and his parents would soon wake up. He decided to not pretend to be asleep, they would see the shower still wet and wonder why. He decided to say he went out on a run to clear his mind before school and took a shower after.

 New School

    The first day of school was as terrible as he had imagined. The class was loud and all sorted into close-knit friendship groups that he knew would be hard to break into. He wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to. They all seemed so strange. Not strange in an offensive way but in the way that he didn¡¯t understand them at all. They spoke in different accents than he was used to, with different slang. He had grown up only an hour''s drive away but it felt like a whole different country.


    He had to wake up early, at seven o¡¯clock. He was less than happy about this, ever the  night owl. And to get up just to have to put on a bad uniform? Just cruel. And it was a bad uniform. He had to wear grey trousers, an off-white shirt, a navy and white tie, black socks and black dress shoes, he also had to tame his hair. He had to have it up in a ponytail with a black bobble, since boys weren¡¯t actually supposed to have long hair in the school.


    He met his form teacher Miss Finch. She was a short woman with a permanent frown on her pinched face. She wore a very old-school style for her age, a grey cardigan, a knee-length pleated skirt, and a frilled blouse. Her hair was styled in a bun which seemed to add to the strict look.


    ¡°Hello Finn. Welcome to our school. Here is your timetable for the year.¡± She handed it to him. ¡°Please go sit down over there beside Matthew. Make yourself known please Matthew.¡±


    The boy called Matthew put his hand up and waved. Matthew looked as though he hadn¡¯t slept in weeks, his eye bags were like massive twin bruises in his head. His skin was completely pale apart from that; it was like he was a ghost. His hair wasn¡¯t in a ponytail like it should have been according to the rules; it was instead hanging around his shoulders like limp, greasy, black curtains.


    Finn walked over and sat down beside him.


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Matthew smiled politely.


    ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± Finn smiled back.


    Finn looked around the classroom to see who he would have to deal with for the next few years. He saw the two boys he had seen in the park the day before, they were now sitting with the dark haired one on the table and the blonde one sitting on a chair in front of him. Finn saw a couple of boys who were obviously the ¡®popular¡¯ boys all jostling with each other at the back of the room, a few girls who were obviously the ¡®popular¡¯ girls sitting in a gaggle around a singular desk gossiping away, a few other kids who were obviously loners sitting at different tables reading or drawing or just staring off into space, and the rest who were somewhere in between. Lastly, he saw one of the prettiest girls he had ever seen. She had long brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes, she even managed to make the uniform look nice. She was sitting with another girl who had short blonde hair and was smiling as the pretty girl spoke.


    Form class ended without much said between Finn and Matthew. Finn had come to the conclusion that Matthew was one of the loner types, and didn¡¯t enjoy conversations much. Finn didn¡¯t mind though. He wished he could have had someone who wanted to talk, the silence just made the gap left by Shaun and Daisy bigger.  But he could make do. Beggars can¡¯t be choosers.


    ¡°There¡¯s the bell. Off you go.¡± Miss Finch said from her desk when the screeching rattle of the school bell sounded without looking up.


    The class quickly filed out of the door and off to English class. No one was excited for English class, most of them wished they could have abandoned the subject for GCSEs. The day was full of introductions for Finn and boring classes for everyone. Throughout the whole day, Finn didn¡¯t manage to have a good conversation with anyone or make a single friend so he dreaded lunch time.


    When lunch arrived Finn found himself sitting alone at a table as he expected. Well, not fully alone. He was surrounded by other loners who had no one. They didn¡¯t talk to each other and didn¡¯t even look at each other. The air was so awkward and Finn felt awful. He did not want to sit here again. It was hellish. He felt like they were judging him the entire time. Maybe they were. They didn¡¯t say anything at all which made it worse.


    The last classes of the day were no different than the other ones. Three words he would describe them as would be ¡®hell, boring, and lonely.¡¯ The teachers all seemed nice enough, though they weren¡¯t fun. It seemed like they were putting on an act for the first day back and would soon revert back to their usual dragon-selves. Finn found himself checking the clock every five minutes, desperate for the home bell to ring.


    When it was finally home time, Finn walked by himself. He looked around at all the other kids walking home like him. He didn¡¯t see anyone that he would want to walk up to and talk to so he walked alone. He wouldn¡¯t walk up to anyone anyway. That had never been his way of doing things. He didn¡¯t know how to make friends, he only ever had two friends; Shaun and Daisy. With Shaun, he couldn''t even remember how they became friends. Daisy became friends with him, not the other way around. He wondered what he should tell his parents since they would be unhappy to learn the truth about his day.


    ¡°How was your day son?¡± Mr Lowry asked as soon as Finn walked inside.


    ¡°It was good.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± Mrs Lowry asked.


    ¡°Yeah. My teachers seem nice. And so are my classmates.¡± He said.


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s lovely. Any new friends?¡± Mrs Lowry asked.


    ¡°Yeah. This guy called Matthew beside me in form.¡±


    ¡°Oh nice. You¡¯ll have to invite him over someday.¡± Mr Lowry smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, someday.¡± Finn gave an awkward smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to hang out in my room for a while.¡±


    ¡°Alright, have fun.¡± Michael grinned and waved him off.


    The next day, Finn woke up about ten minutes late and lay in bed for a minute before realising. When he did realise however his eyes widened completely and he yelled at the top of his lungs. He jumped out of bed and ran to his desk and grabbed his uniform. He threw on his shirt and ran to brush his teeth while still buttoning the shirt and in his pyjama bottoms.


    He ran around the house half getting dressed, half packing school books in his bag.


    When he finally managed to get out of the house, he ran to the school. He ran past a few of the villagers who looked at him weirdly and a few who cheered him on.


    He made it to form class fifteen minutes late, which the teacher pointed out.


    ¡°Sorry Miss.¡± Finn apologised as he sat down beside Matthew.


    ¡°Just try to be here on time tomorrow, okay?¡± Miss Finch sighed.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Finn said back.


    The teacher got back to giving the weekly announcements and Finn looked at Matthew.


    ¡°Hey. I, uh, saw you sitting alone at lunch yesterday.¡± Matthew said when Miss Finch was done with her speech. ¡°I was wondering if you wanted to sit with me and some of my friends at lunch.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ that would be cool.¡± Finn smiled. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No problem man.¡± Matthew smiled as if relieved that Finn accepted.


    The first class of the day was chemistry with Mr Ollen. Mr Ollen was a strange dude, he liked to talk rather than teach. All of the students were certain he wanted a therapist instead of students. Or so Matthew told Finn on the way to class.


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    ¡°Class. Hello.¡± Mr Ollen greeted at the door. ¡°I will call your name and you will go to your seats, yes?¡±


    The whole class nodded and a couple added comments of ¡®yes¡¯, ¡®sure¡¯ and ¡®whatever you say¡¯.


    ¡°Great. Daniel.¡± Mr Ollen began but waited a second before resuming. ¡°Daniel?¡±


    Daniel walked to the front of the crowd and made himself known. Mr Ollen looked at him with a frown.


    ¡°What kept you?¡± He asked, not really caring for an answer. ¡°Anyway. You go to the desk by the window over there. You see it?¡±


    Daniel did see it but decided to mess with the teacher for a bit.


    ¡°This one?¡± He asked, standing by a desk nowhere near a window.


    ¡°No. That one.¡± Mr Ollen pointed again at the desk he meant.


    ¡°Oh okay. This one?¡± Daniel stood at the desk at the very back of the class.


    ¡°No.¡± Mr Ollen said. ¡°That. One.¡± His voice got slower as he got angrier.


    Daniel either didn¡¯t notice or decided to make Mr Ollen completely mad. So he walked over to the desk closest to the door.


    ¡°This one sir?¡± He asked, smirking as his friends stifled laughter from outside the door.


    ¡°Go to the office Mr Armstrong. I had hoped you would act more mature this year.¡± Mr Ollen commanded through gritted teeth.


    ¡°What did I do?¡± Daniel asked, feigning confusion.


    ¡°You know damn well what you did. Now leave.¡± Mr Ollen looked ready to hit Daniel, rules be damned.


    So Daniel took his leave. ¡°Alright. Bye.¡± He said as he pushed back out through the crowd.


    Mr Ollen sighed and clutched his clipboard until his knuckles turned white. His eyes were clenched tightly and his mouth was pursed as though he had just eaten a lemon.


    ¡°Will all the rest of you behave? Or will the principal have a lot of new friends today?¡± He asked cooly.


    The class remained silent. Mr Ollen smiled again, although his eyes had dimmed down and his manner was less upbeat.


    He went through the list quickly and without fuss, though some students did voice their disappointment at their seats for a second before being shut down by Ollen¡¯s glare. Finn was put beside the pretty girl from yesterday.


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Donna.¡± The girl smiled when they were both seated.


    ¡°I¡¯m Finn. Nice to meet you Donna.¡± Finn greeted Donna with a smile that he hoped seemed friendly.


    ¡°Sorry about Daniel holding up class¡­ He¡¯s such a prick.¡± Donna sighed, playing with a strand of her hair as she rolled her eyes.


    ¡°Oh¡­ why are you sorry?¡± Finn was confused. Were Donna and Daniel close in some way?


    ¡°Oh yeah, you wouldn¡¯t know. He¡¯s my boyfriend so y¡¯know. I gotta keep him in line.¡± She gave the smile of someone who had been long-suffering. Finn thought that if Donna had to deal with Daniel everyday, she may be long-suffering.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Finn was unsure what to say. ¡°That makes sense.¡± He settled on after a second of thought.


    ¡°Ah well you know how it is, I''m sure. You must have had a few girlfriends before?¡± Donna asked, her hair still between her fingers.


    ¡°Oh no not really. I was never really in the whole dating scene.¡± Finn admitted.


    ¡°Really?¡± Donna seemed incredulous. ¡°Someone as handsome as you? Well, it doesn''t matter. You¡¯ll soon find a girl here.¡± She winked with a smile as Mr Ollen turned to the blackboard and began to ¡®teach¡¯ his lesson.


    There were more classes until lunch and each was just as boring as the last. There were more new people beside Finn and he spoke kindly to each of them but made no new friends. It seemed to him that Matthew was good enough for now. Besides, he had made it up to this point in his life with just one friend at a time. It was what he was used to.


    Lunch soon came around and Finn made his way to the canteen where he found Matthew sitting at a table with another boy. This boy had ginger hair and wore glasses that were almost twice the size of his head, making his eyes look massive.


    ¡®I may kiss goodbye to any hopes of being popular here.¡¯ Finn thought to himself.


    He grabbed a slice of pizza and paid before making his way to the seemingly nerdy table. Matthew greeted Finn with a smile and continued with his lunch before remembering that Finn and the ginger boy had never met before and ran them through an awkward introduction.


    ¡°Oh yeah, uh Doug this is Finn, Finn this is Doug. Finn¡¯s the new kid that sits beside me in form.¡± Matthew explained. Doug smiled awkwardly at Finn who gave back the same smile.


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± They both said simultaneously.


    ¡°So what do you think of the school so far?¡± Doug asked. He didn¡¯t really want to know the answer. It was just a polite thing to ask new students.


    ¡°Uh. Yeah. It¡¯s pretty cool.¡± Finn answered. Then they all turned back to their lunch and ate in silence as if it were a very awkward Christmas dinner with those relatives you barely know.


    Over a week-long period, Finn found himself falling in love with Donna. This was not ideal since Donna¡¯s boyfriend was a very head-strong type of boy who would start a fight over nothing. The excitement of trying not to get caught simply added more to the attraction to each other.


    They would often find themselves in lengthy discussions about musicians or books or artists during their break and lunch times, their friends became friends with each other, they became friends with the others friends. In only a couple of days they had become a friendship group of seven. It was hard for Finn to manage, but he was enjoying it. This was the social pleasure he missed out on for all those years.


    ¡°How was the weekend?¡± Hellie asked Matthew as Finn and Donna started talking to each other again.


    ¡°It was alright, yeah. Had to help mum with the shop for a bit. You?¡±


    ¡°Sweet. I had some weekend homework to do which sucked but got it over with. Apart from History, have you got it done?¡±


    ¡°No, sorry.¡±


    ¡°Ah it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll make something up.¡±


    Just then they both looked over to Finn and Donna. Finn had taken his hair out of the ponytail it was normally tied up in and was letting Donna plait it. It was a very intimate scene that Hellie and Matthew found themselves watching in silence.


    ¡°Ah shit.¡± Hellie whispered. Matthew followed her eyeline and saw Daniel staring from the other side of the playground.


    ¡°Yup.¡± He agreed. ¡°Think we should tell them?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Let¡¯s go find the others.¡± Others, referring to the rest of their friend group than just the four that had been gathered.


    ¡°Your hair is so nice!¡± Donna complemented as she ran her fingers through it.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Finn grinned.


    ¡°Do you put conditioner in it?¡±


    ¡°No. Just shampoo.¡±


    ¡°Lucky! Not many guys have such incredible hair.¡± Donna flirted.


    ¡°Really?¡± Finn acted surprised.


    ¡°Yeah. But women love a man with long hair.¡± Donna said playfully as she finished the plait.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say.¡± Finn turned to face her with a flirtatious smile.


    ¡°Yeah. Wish I had a fella with long hair.¡± Donna said with a soft smile.


    This line pulled them from their seclusion.


    ¡°Guess you¡¯ll have to tell Daniel that, huh?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Yeah. I guess.¡± Donna frowned slightly, so faint and so quick that it was barely noticeable.


    The bell rang for class.


    ¡°Time to go!¡± Donna smiled.


    ¡°Yeah. See you soon.¡± Finn waved as he left for his set class.


    By some twist of fate, Daniel was in Finn¡¯s set. He didn¡¯t show any signs of knowing other than glaring at Finn.


    ¡°Daniel with Polly, Finn, Hellie and Richard.¡± Miss Drewid called. She was pairing off her drama students for their performance.


    Daniel sighed and motioned for everyone who had been called to him to come over and sit in the empty seats beside him. They all did as they were told.


    They sat in silence as Miss Drewid explained the assignment. They were to write a script and perform it in their groups in June for their summer exam.


    ¡°Oh come on Miss.¡± Hellie sighed.


    ¡°Oh come on Hellie.¡± The teacher smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Right you have twenty minutes left, do what you can.¡±


    None of them really enjoyed the current drama topic. They were beginning to wish they had picked a different subject. Not fully but they were jokingly considering it.


    Over the course of the class they managed to come up with a few characters and a plot idea. It was going to be about a princess in the mafia; the princess by Polly, the mafia idea from Richard.

 Fight

    ¡°Finn Lowry.¡± Daniel called as soon as Finn walked into the classroom.


    ¡°Oh come on Daniel, not now.¡± Donna pleaded. ¡°He didn¡¯t even do anything, really!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening? I¡¯ll tell you what¡¯s happening you little dick. You¡¯re flirting with my girlfriend!¡± Daniel yelled as he got up in Finn''s face.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t.¡± Finn said, confused. As far as he thought, it didn¡¯t count if it wasn¡¯t reciprocated, which he believed it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t?¡± Daniel raised his eyebrows and rolled up his sleeves. ¡°This really how you wanna do this?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Finn backed away.


    ¡°Alright. Let me show you.¡± Daniel lunged forward and began punching Finn. Evidently he wasn¡¯t a good fighter, since the hits didn¡¯t even hurt. A few of the girls shrieked and a few of the guys started egging them on.


    ¡°Get him Daniel!¡± Someone yelled.


    ¡°Fight back, new boy!¡± The others chorused.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± James asked as he walked in and saw the gathering.


    ¡°James! Help! Daniel¡¯s fighting Finn!¡± Donna begged.


    ¡°Oh hell.¡± James complained. He walked over to the fight quickly. ¡°Daniel. Hey. Get it together man.¡± James said, voice full of authority as he put himself in the middle of the two.


    ¡°James. Get out of the way.¡± Daniel gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Why are you fighting him man? What did he do?¡± James asked as he looked at the bleeding Daniel. He looked in bad shape, his nose was bleeding and his eyes looked like it would have a bruise soon.


    ¡°He was flirting with Donna.¡± Daniel said, the anger in his voice gone. It had been replaced by defeat.


    ¡°Oh. Okay. Shit man.¡± James frowned. ¡°Come on. Let''s go this way. Let¡¯s go to the nurse.¡±


    James led Daniel out of the room while talking to him quietly and Daniel went willingly but not before casting a final glare to Finn.


    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Donna said to Finn when the crowd had disbanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Not really your fault.¡± He smiled.


    ¡°Are you hurt?¡± She asked as she examined his face.


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m just super-strong I guess.¡± Finn pretended to flex his muscles.


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Donna smiled and played with her hair.


    ¡°Right class, sit down please.¡± Miss Finch said as she walked in. She quickly scanned the class to do the register. ¡°No James or Daniel today?¡± She asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re down at the nurses office, Miss Finch.¡± One classmate piped up.


    ¡°Oh. Why?¡± She asked, still looking down at the register.


    ¡°Daniel''s nose started to bleed.¡± Donna answered.


    ¡°Just out of nowhere?¡± Miss Finch raised an eyebrow. She knew from the grapevines that Daniel was a fighter, it was more likely that he bust it in a fight rather than a random nosebleed.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± The students all nodded.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Well. If that¡¯s what you all say.¡± Miss Finch sat down at her desk. She was too tired to deal with Daniel fighting today. ¡°Nothing to say today. Just do what you want.¡±


    ¡°Good fight man.¡± Matthew whispered to Finn.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Finn nodded. ¡°You think he¡¯s alright?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter man. No one cares.¡± He laughed darkly. It was true that no one in the class really liked Daniel, he was too loud, annoying and rash. They all wished he would shut up. The only one in the class who could handle him was James. And that was probably because he couldn''t get rid of Daniel.


    The bell rang.


    ¡°To class kids. Bye.¡± Miss Finch waved them off.


    Finn was shrouded with classmates on his way to class today, a change from walking alone. All of them were talking about the fight.


    ¡°Where did you learn to fight like that?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop the fight?¡±


    ¡°Were you really fighting over Donna?¡±


    The questions lasted all day and even seemed to gain him some respect. People just came up and started talking to him now. It was much better than it had been, though he felt uneasy that he had achieved it through a fight.


    The school day finally came to an end and Finn walked home again.


    ¡°How was today?¡± Mrs Lowry asked.


    ¡°Good.¡± Finn said.


    ¡°Any new friends?¡±


    ¡°A few. People just talk to me now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s all working out now.¡± She smiled and hugged her son.


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    The next day was also started by Finn waking up late and having to rush around to get to class.


    He managed to make it on time, dodging lateness by one minute.


    ¡°Close one Mr Lowry.¡± Miss Finch rolled her eyes. ¡°Go sit down please.¡±


    Finn did as he was told. When he was seated he looked around and saw that James and Daniel were deep in conversation about something that seemed a mix of serious and, somehow, relaxed. Daniel''s face did have a bruise over his eye and it looked bad.


    ¡°Did you hear?¡± Matthew asked.


    ¡°Hear what?¡±


    ¡°Daniel broke up with Donna last night. Said she was flirting too much with other guys.¡±


    ¡°Woah. Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Oh wow.¡±


    ¡°I think he got jealous of you.¡±


    ¡°Of me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. They only broke up because Donna has a crush on you man.¡±


    ¡°She does?¡±


    ¡°Clearly.¡±


    ¡°But how? We¡¯ve only known each other for about a week.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter man. She obviously likes you.¡±


    Finn was surprised. He hadn¡¯t noticed.


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°Just pay attention to her man. She isn¡¯t very good at hiding it.¡±


    Finn decided to take his advice and look out for any signs. In English he caught her staring at him. In Spanish she blushed and looked away when someone said his name, in Geography the same thing. Then it got to Chemistry and he had to sit beside her.


    ¡°Hi!¡± She smiled.


    ¡°Hey!¡± He smiled back.


    ¡°How¡¯s your day going?¡±


    ¡°Good. How about yours?¡±


    ¡°Oh well, y¡¯know. It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    Donna went quiet for a second.


    ¡°Y¡¯know,¡± She said. ¡°Daniel and I broke up.¡±


    ¡°I heard. What happened?¡±


    ¡°He said I was cheating on him! The cheek! I¡¯m almost sure he was cheating on me but I never figured out the girl''s name.¡± Donna rambled.


    ¡°Well. Guess you¡¯ll just have to find a boy who¡¯d trust you then.¡± Finn flirted. A test.


    ¡°Yeah. You know someone?¡± She flirted back.


    ¡°Mr Lowry, Miss Spring. The lesson has begun, please stay quiet.¡± Mr Ollen complained.


    ¡°Sorry sir.¡± They both said.


    The whole lesson was spent by Finn thinking about Donna. So it turned out that she did have a crush on him. He couldn¡¯t understand why but he was happy anyway. He only hoped that he could make her happy if they did end up dating.

 A Question

    The days after the full moon had been rough. Mr Winters had been found by a young boy who had been out for a walk with his family. The newspapers had been running amok ever since. ¡®Corpse found by young boy¡¯, ¡®dismembered body found by child¡¯, ¡®slasher kills man (almost unrecognisable)¡¯ were all headlines of the next day''s paper. Finn was in the shop and couldn¡¯t help but read them as he passed.


    ¡°Horrible, isn¡¯t it?¡± His mum asked when she caught up to him again, shopping basket in hand.


    Finn was startled by the sudden noise and jumped. ¡°Oh. Uh, yeah it¡¯s terrible. Poor guy.¡±


    Mr Lowry shook his head. ¡°Awful. And after the sheep have been dying as well. Wonder if the murderer was practising on the sheep.¡±


    ¡°Michael!¡± Mrs Lowry scolded. ¡°Not here!¡± What she really meant was ¡®not in front of Finn¡¯ but neither of them said it.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± He addressed his mum. ¡°Maybe.¡± Finn nodded to his dad. ¡°That would make some sense I guess.¡±


    It had been a few days since then and now Finn was back in school. He also had an idea. He was going to ask Donna on a date. He was nervous but was very convinced that she liked him back.


    ¡°Morning.¡± He greeted Matthew.


    ¡°Morning.¡± Matthew said back. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± He then leaned in closer to whisper. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask Donna on a date.¡±


    Matthew pulled away and grinned. ¡°Sweet! Good luck man!¡±


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Finn grinned back.


    The school day trudged by not dissimilarly to the pace of a snail or a slug. Finn found himself eagerly waiting for the end of the day so that he could talk to Donna.


    They were walking to their last class of the day, Math, when Finn approached her.


    ¡°Hey Donna.¡± He said to get her attention.


    ¡°Yeah?¡± She asked as she turned to look at him.


    ¡°Can you wait for me before you go home? I wanna talk about something.¡± He was nervously fiddling with his hands.


    She smiled. ¡°Yeah, of course.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Alright. Talk then. Bye.¡± Finn awkwardly rambled as he backed off back to Matthew.


    ¡°So?¡± Matthew asked.


    ¡°She said she¡¯d talk.¡± Finn smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good sign.¡± Matthew nodded knowingly.


    ¡°I really hope so.¡± Finn was shaking with nerves as he watched Donna tell her friends something and them all smiling and talking excitedly.


    The class was long and painful. The teacher droned on about something that Finn didn¡¯t know, or care, about. Some algebra thing. Matthew promised to share his notes with Finn later, since Finn was so distracted.


    ¡°Hey Finn.¡± Donna said as she stood by his desk as he finished packing up his bag.


    ¡°Hey!¡± He smiled. ¡°Thanks for waiting.¡±


    ¡°I said I would, didn¡¯t I?¡± She said flirtatiously.


    ¡°I suppose so.¡± He spoke as normal, trying to disguise his nerves.


    ¡°Where did you wanna talk?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Somewhere private.¡± He answered. He did know that much, he just didn¡¯t know where it would be private enough. ¡°Do you know somewhere?¡±


    ¡°I know just the place.¡± Donna grinned.


    They were both so involved in their own business that neither noticed the way Daniel looked at them talking together. He stood only a few desks away, waiting for the home bell to ring like everyone else.


    ¡°Dan?¡± James noticed how Daniel was picking at the skin around his nails and was staring at something behind him.


    ¡°Huh?¡± He didn¡¯t look away.


    ¡°Daniel, you alright?¡± He reached out his hand to give a gentle shove.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Daniel exclaimed and finally looked to his friend. ¡°What was that for?¡±


    ¡°You were zoning out.¡± James shrugged. ¡°I wanted to know what you were thinking about.¡±


    ¡°Look over there.¡± He said simply.


    James did as he was told and looked to where Daniel had been staring. He saw Finn talking with Donna. The two seemed happy together, so focused on each other that they didn¡¯t notice him looking at them. And the way Donna looked at Finn was surprising as well, she looked at him as if he was the only boy in the world.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daniel replied.


    ¡°You okay?¡± James turned back around.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He shrugged. James could tell by his dejected appearance that he wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°How about this, we¡¯ll go out somewhere this weekend, just you and me. We¡¯ll go wherever you want to take your mind off it.¡± James suggested. He could already predict where Daniel would want to go, the beach. It was November and freezing cold, but Daniel adored the sandy shores and nothing could put him off it.


    ¡°Can we go to the beach?¡± He asked, eyes and face hopeful.


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d pick it.¡± James laughed.


    ¡°Glad to be predictable.¡± Daniel laughed as well, forgetting momentarily what was going on with his ex-girlfriend a few desks away.


    When the bell rang, everyone ran out of the doors. Donna led the way to the most private place she knew, the secret bench at the park. Despite being a bench that everyone knew about, no one ever went to it. No one but Donna and Daniel, when they had been dating. Ever since then Donna had claimed it as her own.


    ¡°Is this good?¡± She asked as her eyes twinkled. She could guess what was coming and couldn''t wait. It had been a ¡®love at first sight¡¯ moment when she first saw Finn. Ever since then she had been eagerly awaiting this moment.


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    ¡°Yeah. Um.¡± He stuttered. ¡°I wanted to ask you something. I, Um.¡± This was incredibly embarrassing. Donna looked at him, eyes egging him on, but that just made it worse.


    ¡°Can I ask something first?¡± After two minutes of this, Donna decided to put him out of his misery.


    ¡°Yeah sure!¡± He agreed shakily, eager for the extra time.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Donna smiled and took hold of one of Finn¡¯s hands. ¡°Will you be my boyfriend?¡±


    Finn froze. Donna smiled. Finn¡¯s nervousness was adorable to her. He was, in some ways, like a puppy.


    ¡°Uh. Yeah! Yeah, of course!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to ask you!¡±


    ¡°I guessed.¡± Donna laughed kindly.


    ¡°You did?¡± Finn was surprised. ¡°I thought I was good at keeping secrets.¡±


    ¡°Guess not.¡± Donna smirked.


    ¡°No. Maybe not.¡± Finn smiled back.


    Before either knew it, they were in an embrace.


    ¡°So? How¡¯d it go?¡± Matthew asked as soon as Finn sat down the next day. He looked at his friend''s face, the grin, the bright eyes, the blush. He knew the answer but knew that Finn would want to talk. Matthew didn¡¯t really want to talk, preferring silence, but he was a believer that you sometimes do things you don¡¯t want to do for people you care about.


    ¡°It went great!¡± Finn swooned. ¡°Well, not at first.¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I got nervous and was gonna chicken out.¡± Finn admitted.


    ¡°Oh no! So then what happened?¡±


    ¡°She asked me to be her boyfriend!¡± Finn grinned.


    ¡°Really?¡± Matthew asked, feigning surprise.


    ¡°Yeah! And then we kissed!¡± He was incredibly happy.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible man! Congrats!¡± Matthew clapped a hand on Finn¡¯s back with a smile.


    ¡°I know right!¡± Finn smiled.


    Miss Finch began her form class with a cup of coffee in hand.


    ¡°No announcements. Unless you¡¯re in choir. If you¡¯re in choir you have to go to the music room for practice at lunch today.¡± Her voice said in a drawl.


    While filtering out Miss Finch''s voice, Finn looked over at Donna who was even prettier than she had been yesterday. She had styled her hair up in a ponytail with a hairclip and with a couple of strands framing her face, she had painted her nails with a subtle yet mesmerising colour, and she had worn a little silver bracelet with her initials on a charm. Finn couldn¡¯t stop staring at her in awe as she giggled with Rebecca who sat beside her.


    When break time rolled around Finn went over to Donna and her friends. This time Matthew didn¡¯t follow, he instead went to hang out with Doug. Finn was slightly anxious at approaching Donna and her friends without being invited but remembered that he was her boyfriend and that was invitation enough to simply talk to her.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Finn greeted the group of girls.


    ¡°Hi, Finn!¡± Donna smiled and hugged him.


    ¡°Hey Donna¡¯s boyfriend!¡± Rebecca smiled at the couple.


    ¡°Yeah hi boyfriend!¡± The others chorused.


    ¡°Oh stop it guys! You¡¯ll just annoy him!¡± Donna scolded.


    ¡°No, it''s fine.¡± Finn smiled. ¡°Hi girls!¡±


    ¡°So¡­ How¡¯s being Donna''s boyfriend?¡± One girl asked.


    ¡°Uh. Pretty good?¡± Finn didn¡¯t know what answer he was supposed to give but thought that that one would suffice.


    ¡°Now come on! Just leave that for now!¡± Donna laughed.


    ¡°Oh fine.¡± Rebecca frowned.


    That¡¯s how Finn would spend all of his break and lunchtimes from there on out. He found it weird and wasn¡¯t comfortable with it all the time but understood that the girls didn¡¯t mean harm, it was just how they gossiped. And besides, he shared gossip with Matthew all the time so it wasn¡¯t really all that different, at least to him.


    ¡°Hey, Finn.¡± Daniel called from the doors as Finn tried to walk past him to get to class.


    Finn braced himself for another fight. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Daniel began to walk off down the hall in the opposite direction from the class.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± He asked as he followed.


    ¡°Skipping class.¡± Daniel answered calmly.


    ¡°Uh, why?¡± Finn asked, confused.


    ¡°Cause I don¡¯t wanna skip alone and James went off to class.¡± Daniel said as he spoke.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go to class?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Cause it¡¯s Ollen¡¯s class and he hates my guts.¡± Daniel complained. ¡°Just shut up and come with me.¡±


    Finn was not okay with the situation at all but decided that he should. Maybe it would be a chance to get on good terms with Daniel. He didn¡¯t really want to fight him again. He still felt slightly bad about the last time.


    Daniel walked them right off of school grounds and down to the park.


    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Finn asked again, breaking the silence.


    ¡°This way.¡± Daniel led the way to the secret bench. Finn tensed briefly as he watched Daniel sit down on it so casually. Daniel watched Finn¡¯s face for a reaction and sighed when he got one. ¡°I know about you and Donna going out.¡± He admitted.


    ¡°You¡­ do?¡± Finn asked.


    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s why I brought you out here.¡± Daniel said.


    ¡°Not because you wanted to skip Ollens class?¡± Finn was confused.


    ¡°No, that too. But I picked you and I picked here because I wanted to see if it was true. And it is.¡± Daniel went quiet.


    Finn didn¡¯t know what to say or do. It didn¡¯t seem like Daniel wanted to fight, but Finn stayed braced in case he did.


    ¡°Congrats man.¡± Daniel said quietly. He was acting strange, not like the loud, playful, confident guy he normally was. ¡°You got the girl.¡± He laughed gently.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Finn tried to speak.


    ¡°Nah man it¡¯s fine. She can make her own choices.¡± Daniel interrupted. ¡°Sit with me here.¡± He motioned to the empty space beside him on the bench.


    Finn sat down but was still slightly nervous.


    ¡°Did she tell you she thought I was cheating on her?¡± Daniel asked.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Finn nodded. ¡°She said she thought you were, but could never prove it.¡±


    ¡°Of course she did.¡± Daniel shook his head.


    ¡°Why would she say it? Is it true?¡± Finn was confused.


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t know why. I never gave her enough attention I guess. She always thought I was giving it to someone else.¡± Daniel sighed. ¡°She has some trust issues. Take care of her though, yeah? She¡¯s a pretty cool girl.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. She is.¡±


    There was a beat of silence.


    ¡°Sorry for fighting you a while back.¡± Daniel broke it.


    ¡°Sorry for fighting back.¡± Finn said. ¡°How¡¯s your eye now?¡±


    ¡°Still sore.¡± Daniel laughed, but not coldly, he actually thought it was funny. ¡°You¡¯re a good fighter man.¡±


    ¡°I guess so. I got into a bunch of fights back home.¡± Finn laughed too.


    ¡°Back home?¡± Daniel picked up on the way Finn had said it. ¡°You don¡¯t feel like here¡¯s your home yet, huh?¡±


    ¡°Not really.¡± Finn admitted, not really knowing why he was telling Daniel all this stuff. ¡°I know it¡¯s only been a month and there¡¯s still time¡­ But it¡¯s just like¡­ Everything is different and nothing feels right. And I don¡¯t know if it ever will.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I know what it¡¯s like.¡± Daniel rested his head on Finn¡¯s shoulder causing Finn to tense, though Daniel pretended he didn''t notice. ¡°I moved house when I was little, like seven, and everyone had friends back in the primary already and they all thought I was weird so didn¡¯t want to, like, include me. Everyone apart from James. That¡¯s why he¡¯s still my best friend. Probably my only real friend.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know.¡± Finn said back. He put his arm around Daniel¡¯s shoulder. He seemed like he needed some kind of comfort and he didn¡¯t seem like a threat anymore.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Daniel nodded.


    They were quiet a minute more.


    ¡°We should head back. Ollen¡¯s is over now and I don¡¯t wanna get caught.¡± Daniel said as he stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The two walked back off to school and managed to sneak in without getting caught.