by S. K Munt
‘Yeah well, she tried to rub her outfit in Finn’s face and-’
‘Like she even could!’ Bonnie cried, fluffing Finn’s skirt and grinning up at her. She hadn’t worn her glasses that night, so though Finn knew she was probably half-blind as a result, she looked stunning, especially seeing as how her own fine hair had been cooked into wild curls, same as Cara’s had been. ‘You look so pretty!’
‘Your mum made this for you, didn’t she?’ Mischa asked, and when Finn nodded, her smile broadened. ‘Suave as! I knew she’d save the day!’
Finn snorted gently. ‘Well, I love it, and yes, my mother, my neighbour and Paige have come together to act as the best fairy godmothers ever today!’ She then raised an eyebrow at Mischa: ‘But if you think I’m going to thank you for selling my dress to that-’
‘No!’ Mischa chuckled, then grabbed Finn’s hand, squeezing it before tugging on it. ‘No, I don’t expect that. But I do expect you to come dance with me right now! And don’t even act like you don’t want to! I know this is one of your favourite songs so-’
‘It is,’ Finn said, wondering if she’d ever feel this warm on the inside ever again. Paige’s camaraderie, Mischa’s excitement to see her, the way Bonnie was smiling shyly at her and the way Mila was nodding and grinning, like she was keen for Finn to join her on the dance floor too- it was almost too much friendliness for Finn to take after having gone so long without any at all. But she loyally wriggled her hand out of Mischa’s grasp and stepped back up one step, closer to Paige. ‘But I promised Paige that I’d go-’
‘Nah it’s fine,’ Paige said, patting Finn’s shoulder before propelling her back down the step. ‘We can talk to my family any time- but this music’s only gonna be playing for another hour so, let’s dance while we can, hmm? We’ll catch up with my lot after.’
‘But I can’t!’ Finn protested. ‘Principal Van Der Merwe is my ride home, and he told me to meet him at the fountain at ten sharp so as soon as the music stops, I’m gonna turn into a pumpkin!’
‘We’ll give you a lift home on the boat,’ Paige said, still prodding Finn down the steps. ‘We’ll just meet the Principal at the fountain with you and explain that we’ll drop you off at the Pen’s dock before we head back out to the Shards, okay?’
Finn wasn’t so sure that was okay, but they were already halfway back down the steps anyway, so there was no point in protesting. And even if she had, they were drawing too close to the speakers on the foyer floor for Paige to have heard her anyway. Still, there was one more thing that Finn wanted to say before talking easily became impossible again, so just before they stepped onto the dance floor, Finn reached out and grabbed Cara’s wrist, saying a silent prayer that this attempt to wish the Queen Bee a Happy Birthday would go better than her last one had, two years before as she said:
‘By the way: Happy birthday Cara!’ she smiled brightly. ‘You look lovely! Are you having fun?’
Cara’s brows lifted in surprise, but her lips twitched in the ghost of a smile. ‘Thanks. And yeah… I guess,’ but her eyes darted tellingly up to the alcove. ‘It’s been a crazy night though- so crazy, that I keep forgetting that it is supposed to be my birthday party, you know?’
‘I know,’ Finn made a face. ‘I’m sorry he stole your thunder like that. Not that I’m not thrilled about Miriam becoming our queen…’ she held up her palms, releasing her. ‘I just think it might have been cooler if he hadn’t done it on your sweet sixteenth.’
Cara’s best feature was her blue eyes, because they were almost obnoxiously round and wide, and because the blue hue was so dark that they were practically navy, which meant that when the sun hit them, they often gleamed the way Manga girl’s eyes gleamed in comic books. Had the rest of her features been in proportion to her eyes, the way Bonnie’s and Mischa’s were, she would have been lovely looking, especially with that golden mane of hair her crowning glory, but sadly, her jaw, teeth, nose and chin were all small and weak, which threw off the balance of her face, especially when she scowled or pouted like she did then.
‘It’s okay…’ Cara mumbled, shrugging. ‘I mean, it’s not technically my birthday until Tuesday so…’
‘I know,’ Finn said, patting her shoulder. ‘I’m just saying… you’ve been very gracious about sharing your birthday with all of these momentous occasions for the last two years, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed, okay?’
Finn knew better to expect a thank you from Cara, so she turned away and followed the rest of the Hive onto the dance floor before Cara could disappoint her by failing to offer one. Still, she did risk one last look over her shoulder, and was thrilled to see that the ghost of a smile on Cara’s face had become slightly more spirited when, for the first time ever, she fell into line behind Finn.
*
The band had been impressive, but the DJ (who did not hesitate to remind them that he was from South Broadsound every chance he got) was possibly the most charismatic boy Finn had ever encountered in her life, even from half the room away. He was much too old for her to contemplate developing a crush on, but he was cute, funny and had a voice like velvet, and he was such a chatterbox that he actually called to mind memories of Paige’s young cousin Reeve, who’d impressed her in a similar fashion two years before. Also, he’d singled Finn out, and had been referring to her as ‘Tiny Dancer’ since the second track, which was exhilarating, and made her feel nostalgic about the amazing night she’d had, even while she was still having it!
There was only about ten minutes of the DJ’s set left when he announced that he was gonna play the hottest track from his youth, and every girl in the room went collectively berserk when he spun out the opening bars to Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies,’ screaming so hard that both Gem and Finn ended up pressing their hands to their ears and grimacing at one another before they began to laugh.
‘If you know the song, you know who we need to see dancing to this!’ The DJ cried. ‘So if you’re not a single lady, you’re benched! Sorry, but we do need the single men to see what their options are!’
Finn and all the other girls all turned to look at Bonnie, who cried: ‘That’s not fair! Aaron’s barely left the smoking area all night!’
‘Doesn’t mean I can’t see you!’ Aaron cried back, and they all looked up and laughed when they saw Aaron leaning over the overlook and dragging his finger across his throat, while standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of other guys. The girls laughed, and after throwing up her hands in a melodramatic fashion, Bonnie left the dance floor with Whitney as a few other girls rolled their eyes before shuffling off too, no doubt to pacify jealous partners of their own. Finn resumed dancing, doing her best not to make eye-contact with the guys in the crowd that were now watching the dance floor with renewed interest from every given point, but she couldn’t help but shoot a look in King Amory’s direction and grin when she saw Miriam flapping her new rock over the edge of the bannister to the beat of the song while beside her, Princess Abigail giggled.
Oh… how lucky it is that he put a ring on it, before this song could be played! Finn thought as she laughed joyfully with the others. And did the girls know that she was going to be wearing gold and dress accordingly? Because she’s never looked more like a queen bee lording over them, than she does right now!
That feeling of being in a fever dream only heightened with every beat of every song, but when the disc jockey signed off for the evening and then hit the switch for the castle’s regular lights to come back on, Finn found herself blinking rapidly, as though waking from a world that was both too bright and too dull all at once.
It’s over! She thought, shadows spreading through her chest like an ink blot. And I’ll probably never know a night like it again!
Finn wasn’t the only one coming down hard off the high, because she could already see the looks of confusion on her entourages’ faces as they looked around, like they couldn’t work out how they’d gotten there, or what they were supposed to do now. Some were still joking and laughing,
but a hush had fallen over the majority of the room- one so heavy that she could actually hear one of the Tutelas ask the other Tutelas if they were supposed to start shooing people out.
Knowing she had to get to the fountain quick, Finn turned to Paige to ask where she was meeting her parents, and then froze when she heard her name called out joyously for the fourth time that night.
‘Finn Monroe!’ the male voice bellowed, and Finn turned slowly, trying to track it with her eyes. ‘Finn Monroe- Tiny Dancer!’ Finn’s eyes landed on the only guy on the balcony who was cupping his mouth and looking her way. He grinned when he saw her- then thrust a finger at her. ‘Stay where you are, got it? I’m coming to you!’
‘Holy crap…’ she heard Mischa mutter then, while Finn watched the boy weave his way down the steps to her. ‘He is cute.’
‘Does anyone know who it is?’ Cara asked.
But Paige snorted. ‘You guys are joking… right?’ Finn was about to ask Paige to let her in on what the joke was, but the boy was only five or six feet away from her by then and closing in fast, and he was so handsome that Finn’s tummy tightened. She didn’t know who he was or what she’d done to earn the intimate way he was beaming at her, but when he spoke, he rocked her world so hard that for a moment, she might have believed that another comet had struck!
‘Don’t say it!’ the boy exclaimed, chuckling and shaking his finger at her. ‘Don’t you dare ask me if you should know who I am again, Finn Monroe...!’
Oh my god! The boy’s husky voice immediately called to mind images of glittering black dust and smoke smothering her while the entire world seemed to crack open and shatter like an eggshell around her, yet Finn’s lips parted in a reflexive smile when she remembered the way he’d pulled her out of that black dust too, holding her until the world had stopped shaking. It’s him! It’s really HIM, isn’t it?
‘Oh, come on, Reeve Hayes…’ Finn breathed, her smile widening again in response to the way his beautiful green eyes lit up then. ‘Like I could actually forget the boy who gave me his wonky stone heart?’
Reeve laughed then and wrapped his arms around her in an embrace so fierce that he actually lifted her feet off the floor, surrounding her with his earthy scent and making Finn wonder if she’d ever feel her feet on the ground again, and if maybe Maya had been onto something when she’d said that Finn was probably going to meet her Prince Charming that night after all!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘I can’t believe it!’ Reeve pulled back but clasped her elbows, shaking her a little. ‘I can’t believe you’re actually here!’
And I can’t believe that your face is as singular as your voice is! Finn felt like Reeve had just reversed the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet on her! Were you this cute then? Or is this a puberty thing?
‘Really?’ Finn asked out loud, doing her best to explore this handsome boy’s face without being too obvious about it. ‘Why? You’re the one who lives out in the middle of nowhere!’
‘Yeah I know, but Paige said she was going off to hunt you down over two hours ago, so when she never came back, I figured you must have given it a miss!’ He feigned a glare in Paige’s direction. ‘But evidently, you’ve been here the whole time!’
Oh...! Finn thought, wrenching her gaze off of Reeve’s fox-like, bright green eyes so she could stare at Paige in horror. Is this the relative that was ‘dying’ to see me? And here I was thinking she was exaggerating, because Hadley’s never given a fig about me!
‘Sorry cus,’ Paige chuckled, holding up her hands. ‘But in my defence, I couldn’t get her up those steps without her getting stampeded. Besides, Finn is way more at home on the dance floor than she is in a smoking area so…’
‘Oh, she’s definitely at home on the dance floor!’ Reeve shook Finn gently again, re-claiming her focus, and Finn felt her mouth go dry at the way his vivid green eyes were now dancing with mischief. ‘I’ve been enjoying the proof of that for the better part of twenty minutes!’ He winked at Finn. ‘Nice dress by the way but next time, for all of our sakes, choose a shorter one, hmm?’ He leaned in to whisper huskily into her ear: ‘I’d like to see what the legs are doing, to get the hips moving the way yours do!’
Finn had never known if she actually believed in love at first sight, even with all of the books she’d read waxing lyrical about that very thing, but everything inside her shivered at his words, and she knew that if he hadn’t been holding her elbows, then she probably would have slumped to the floor in a dead faint as a result of lust at first sight. Okay from that, and possibly from hunger.
‘You are such a bad flirt, Reeve!’ Paige complained, protectively pulling Finn out of his grasp and back against her. ‘Do you need me to remind you that your date is here too or-’
‘Nope! Because he’s just doing his wingman duty, by breaking the ice for me,’ a second male voice said softly then, and Finn’s tummy flipped when yet another gorgeous teenage boy slid between Finn and Reeve, blocking her view of the latter. ‘Hey…’ the guy said, extending a hand to Finn, as her lips parted in shock. ‘I’m Bailey Burnett, and you are the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in my life.’ He clasped her limp hand and squeezed it. ‘Can I have your number?’
Finn stared at the new arrival mutely, wondering if they were all playing an elaborate prank on her, or if she actually had passed out and was now dreaming up this entire scenario. But: Reeve is here with another girl?! were the words that flitted through her mind first, before a tidal wave of pure, palpable regret crashed over her and washed every other thought she’d been about to have away. She tried to shoot Reeve a look that would articulate the question: ‘Do you have any idea how unfair it is to smile at a girl the way you just smiled at me if you don’t mean it?!’ but Bailey was so tall and so close that all she could see of Reeve now was his red hat.
‘Okay boys, back it up! Can’t you see you’re overwhelming her?’ Paige leaned over and said: ‘Finn, you remember my cousins, right? Bailey and Reeve? Sorry, they’re not usually this full-on.’ She paused and then joked: ‘Okay that’s a lie- Reeve is always this full on, but Bailey is usually shy, so even I’m like: What…?!’’
‘Call me smitten!’ Bailey declared, eliciting giggles from the girls around them. ‘That, and low on time to make her smitten back!’
Holy crap! Finn thought, wondering if she’d ever feel anything but stunned again, or if this was for life now. There was so much electric energy flowing through and around her that she couldn’t help but think that if she was ever going to turn into an Enigma, than this would be the moment. Is he for real?
Finn swallowed hard, finally lifting her gaze to meet Bailey’s straight-on and blinking when she realised that this was the boy that all the Hive girls had gotten so worked up about, all of those years ago at Cara’s party. She could definitely see why, because he had clear skin, full lips that had parted in a smile that showcased perfect teeth and big brown eyes that were wet and shiny like a puppy dog’s… and yet she couldn’t understand why he was suddenly so interested in her. Or why, despite the fact that she had his attention, her eyes were still instinctively darting Reeve’s way, needing another hit of whatever it was she’d felt when she’d first locked eyes with him.
Yes, he’s a doll, but he’s here with someone! Finn forced herself to look at Bailey again. So focus on the one that’s clearly interested in you!
‘I actually uh... don’t think we’ve met before…’ Finn finally said shyly to Bailey. ‘I’ve heard of you but-’
‘I live on the furthest Shard out, so no, I didn’t visit Paige on the mainland as often as my other cousins did.’ Bailey smiled his glossy smile, but before he could continue, Reeve slapped him on the shoulder and said:
‘Okay man, I did my bit and got you an introduction! But there’s no time for small talk, so if you want to actually impress her, you’re probably going to have to do better than asking for her phone number cos last I checked, all the phones are dead.’
‘Right! Duh!�
�� Bailey smiled bashfully and stepped closer to Finn, holding up his hands. ‘Sorry, I ramble sometimes. What I meant to ask was….’ But his expression grew puzzled and he stage whispered back to his cousin: ‘Wait… what was I gonna ask again?’
‘If she’ll go out with you!’ Reeve stage-whispered back, making all of the girls that had crowded in on them giggle again.
‘Yeah, but go out where though?’ Bailey hissed, and even Finn laughed. ‘It’s not like I can take her to the movies!’
‘You sure about that?’ Reeve drawled. ‘Why don’t you pull out your phone to Google it and double check?’ which earned a lot more laughter from their audience, and a scowl from Bailey.
‘Ugh! Let me settle this before the Tutelas chase us outta here!’ Paige cried, drawing everyone’s attention her way. She squeezed Finn’s shoulder, and Finn wondered if she could feel Finn’s heart thumping through the point of contact: ‘Finn, how about we ask your mum if you can come out to the Shards with us for the long weekend? If she says yes, then you can just chuck some things in a bag and come stay with me until Monday, when we’ll send you on the barge back at lunch. And if she says no, then Bailey will have to settle for writing to you until you’re smitten back, hmm?’
What? Finn thought, shocked by the quickly fired proposition. She wants me to go to the Shards with her now? Tonight? But I can’t… can I?!
‘I love that plan!’ Bailey said, as Reeve grinned and nodded.
‘So do I!’ Jade Cobbler-Ray cried then, stealing focus. ‘And if Finn’s mum says no... can I come?’
‘No, take me- it’s my birthday!’ Cara exclaimed, and when Finn saw Aaron Bragg appear on Cara’s other side then, wearing a disgusted expression, Finn ducked her head so that her rippling hair would fall over her flushed face while everybody else laughed. The idea of breaking up the monotony of her life by spending an entire weekend with Paige out on the Shard Islands was a thrilling one, but she was also scared witless at the idea- not just because she’d never spent that much time with boys before, but because she could only imagine how people like Aaron would gossip about her if she did.
