That Girl

Alex didn't talk to Finley for the rest of the week. He still sat with her at lunch, but just like the second time, he kept to his notebook while she kept to her iPod and whatever novel she was reading that day. (And yes, Alex noticed how quickly her books changed. It felt like she went through one or two a day. He definitely couldn't do that.) It was a somewhat mundane pattern but it worked for them.

"Them." That was a term that Alex did not mind using at all.

When he left on Friday for the weekend, he noticed her waiting at the flag pole the way she always did. Her eyes met his and he smiled, sending her a small wave. Finley had bit her lip, looking around to see if anyone was watching, before waving back. He bit back a laugh as he climbed into Jack's car. He wasn't sure why she wouldn't want anyone to see her wave at him, but he wouldn't question it. It wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

+

"Katie Levensworth asked me if we'd play at her birthday party next week," Jack asked, tossing Alex a beer before sitting down on the couch next to him.

"Okay?" Alex prompted, opening the bottle and taking a long drink.

"So are we cool with that?"

"Check with Rian and Zack first; I don't know if they have plans or not," Alex said with a shrug.

Jack nodded. "Well, they'll be here soon."

"Are we practicing tonight?"

"Obviously," Jack said. "Did you forget?"

Alex shook his head. "Yeah, sorry. I've been preoccupied lately."

"Yeah, with thoughts of Finley," Luka announced, walking into the basement and taking Jack's beer from him. She grimaced but took a drink anyway. "That shit is disgusting."

"It's a mans drink," Jack told her.

Luka scoffed. "Oh, please, you're as much of a man as I am," she told him, handing him back his beer.

Alex laughed.

"Hey, don't laugh at me!" Jack said, punching his best friend's shoulder. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"You're supposed to be on my side when your girlfriend accuses me of being obsessed with a girl that I'm not obsessed with!" Alex said before punching Jack's shoulder in return.

Jack shrugged. "Maybe I agree with her."

Alex's jaw clenched. He didn't get defensive that often--he usually just rolled with the punches. But when it came to Finley, he found himself getting rather defensive. "You guys are idiots."

"Yeah, we all know Jack's an idiot," Rian said, bouncing down the steps and high-fiving Alex over the back of the couch. "What's up, man?"

"Nothing much," Alex told him.

"Just teasing Lex about how he's obsessed with the new girl," Jack said, elbowing Alex in the side.

Alex shoved Jack, causing him and Luka to fall off of the couch. "They're idiots."

"Is that the girl Jack was telling me about?" Zack asked, stealing Alex's beer and taking a drink.

Jack nodded. "Yup, that's her."

Zack shrugged. "Good to know."

"Oh, hey, Katie Levensworth wants us to play at her birthday next Friday," Jack told him. "Should I tell her yes?"

Rian nodded. "Sure thing, bro, I'm in."

"Awesome," Jack said, reaching into his pocket before frowning. "Sweetie, where's my phone?"

"Did you lose it again?" Luka asked rolling her eyes.

Jack nodded.

"Text her later, bro. Let's practice now," Alex said, standing up and dusting off the back of his jeans.

"Coming from the man who forgot that we had practice tonight while in my basement," Jack retorted.

"Shut up," Alex snapped, picking up his guitar.

Rian laughed. "You really forgot?"

"Shut up," Alex repeated, running a hand through his bangs. "Are we going to practice or not?"

+

Finley worked out so much that weekend, she honestly thought that her legs were going to fall off. Well, they didn't, obviously. But that was how she felt. A few good things had come out of it, though. She now knew Baltimore a lot better than she did a few days prior. She also knew not the run around the park as too many kids from her school hung out there. She also learned that there was really no good place to run, so she just settled for doing laps around the neighborhood.

Not to mention she had finally convinced her father to let her get a punching bag. That definitely came in handy when she was frustrated or stressed out. Which, well, thanks to having some potential murderer stalking her and her father, was pretty much all the time. She had also decided to buy a couple of gym mats to keep in her room so she could practice her Tae Kwon Do more. She definitely would swear by exercise as a stress reliever.

She came to a stop about a block away from her house where there was a little corner store. She paused her music and removed her headphones before walking inside and purchasing a bottle of water. She couldn't believe that she had actually forgotten one when she left, but there really wasn't a practical way to run five miles while carrying a bottle of water. She stepped back out into the sunlight and took a long drink of her water before looking around. It was only three in the afternoon, and a Sunday at that, and she really had no desire to go home just yet. She walked slowly around the block before realizing that, yeah, Baltimore was boring and there was really nothing to do.

With a sigh, she turned on her heel and walked home. When she reached her front yard, she set her bottle of water down before starting on her stretches. She was fairly rigorous about following through with a particular work out pattern, and she always stretched after a run just to make sure her muscles weren't sore. As she leaned over to grab her toes, she heard someone whistle behind her. She straightened up, jaw set, and turned around, fully prepared to lash out when her eyes landed on Jack and one boy she did not recognize.

"Oh, shit, Finley, I'm sorry," Jack said, slapping a hand over his mouth.

Finley shrugged. "If it wasn't you, I probably would've punched without thinking."

"Like you did to Alex?" Jack asked.

"Holy shit, you punched Alex?"

Finley's eyebrows furrowed together. "Who is this guy?" she asked.

"Oh, this is Zack, he's in our band. He goes to Towson," Jack said.

"Hi," Zack said with a big smile.

Finley didn't smile back, instead her lip curled all on its own. She hated new people. She hated awkward introductions. "Cool."

Zack glanced over to Jack with wide eyes.

Jack shrugged. "So, um, sorry...about that."

Finley shrugged again. "It's whatever, dude," she told him before reaching for her water bottle and walking towards her house.

"See you at school on Monday?" Jack called out.

Finley rolled her eyes and turned around. "Clearly."

"Cool. Oh, hey, we have a show next weekend...if you want to go," Jack told her.

"A show?"

"We're in a band," Zack interrupted.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Finley asked.

Zack took a step back under her gaze. Yeah, he was not used to being intimidated by a woman. This girl was different. "It...usually does."

"Girls are easily swayed. How pathetic," she muttered.

"Well, it's at Katie Levensworths--"

"I have no idea who the hell that is. Nor am I sure that I want to," Finley told him.

Jack shrugged. "She's not an impressive person at all," he agreed. "But it's our first show in a while. You should totally go."

Finley raised an eyebrow. "I should?"

"Yeah, you know...meet some cool people, hear some cool music," Jack told her.

"Is this supposed to sway me?" she asked.

"Well, I know you hate people," Jack started before Zack interrupted with a laugh. Jack responded by elbowing his friend in the side. "So, what do you say?"

"I say I don't plan a week in advance."

Jack nodded. "Well, it's about three blocks away, on Elm and Chestnut. Friday at, like, seven or something. If you're interested."

"Good to know."

"You're welcome for the invite," Zack muttered.

"Excuse you?" Finley asked.

"Bad choice, bro," Jack said with a cough.

"What--"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Finley asked him.

"I'm Zack--"

"You're a dipshit," she snapped. "I don't appreciate someone being rude to me on my property. Especially someone that I don't know or care about. Do you want to apologize?"

Zack looked over at Jack, who simply shrugged, before looking back at Finley. "I'm...sorry?"

"Way to sound sincere, jackass. Let me explain something to you. I don't like people. I don't like new people. And your attitude is the reason why. You don't automatically meet someone and deserve their respect. You do not walk on water, and you are not better than me. So you will not speak to me in such a way. Understand?" she asked.

Zack nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry," he told her again.

"Thank you," Finley said before walking into her house and shutting the door.

Jack let out a quiet laugh when Finley was out of earshot and Zack punched his shoulder.

"Shut up, Jack!"

Jack smiled. "Dude, you looked like you were about to shit yourself!"

"Did you not see her yelling at me?!"

"She didn't yell!" Jack retorted. "Don't be a pussy, Phil."

Zack's eyes narrowed. "You weren't on the receiving end of her wrath. I am officially scared of her, and I'm not ashamed to say that."

Jack smiled, throwing an arm around his friend's shoulder as he started to walk back towards his own house. "I won't tell anyone, don't worry. I don't see how Alex isn't."

Zack paused. "Wait, that's her?"

Jack nodded.

"Damn. Well, I kind of understand... When she's not yelling, she's really hot."

Jack laughed. "Alex is determined to be her friend."

"Yeah, she doesn't seem like the type of person to have friends..."

"We'll see how it works out for him."