The buzzing chatter of excited volunteers mixed well with the sweet fragrance of freshly baked and packed treats, creating an overall positive environment for everyone involved.

Well, for almost everyone.

"I just mean-- what the hell is she even doing here? Of all places?" The orange runt barked out, sprawling his arms in the air with exaggerated emotion. Ever since coming back from that damned museum last weekend, the teen hasn't been able to shut himself up. From his twin sister gabrielle black to his best friend August Gallagher -- no one in his immediate vicinity has been safe from his woes.

Finley set a crate full of wrapped goodies beside August before bringing his arm across his forehead, wiping the leftover speckles of sweat. "Honestly though... do you--" He threw himself to the left, nearly knocking into the other. "Do you think this might mean something? Like what if...no, I'm just being fucking stupid," He looked away again, his eyebrows bent downward, a frown drooping further downward. "Unless..."

It felt like targeted stabs to his chest the more Finn speculated about Ophelia. He wanted to snap at him to just forget about her, but he knew he had no right. His friend's erratic movements were getting dangerously close to knocking over all their hard work, so with a sigh he placed both his hands on Finley's shoulders to still him. His heart fluttered with the contact but he tried squashing the feeling out.


"You're not stupid Finn. Look... Do you want it to mean something?" Before giving his friend a chance to answer, he continued on, some of his true feelings forced themselves out despite himself, "I- well, I don't like it. She must know how hurt you were and she still has the balls to approach you out of nowhere? Plus, only an idiot would have turned you down in the first place, I mean you're the complete package right?" August felt his face heat up as he realized what he said and did his best to laugh it off. He hoped it was convincingly #nohomo and hated his uncontrollable mouth. He took a deep breath and steadied himself.


"Never mind that... In the end it doesn't matter what I think. Figure out what it is you want from her first, whether that's leaving you the fuck alone or talking things out; I just want you to be happy so I don't have to listen to your obsessive ranting for the next 10 years haha" he unconsciously tightened his grip, "You know I'm here for you no matter what, I'll have your back whatever the case may be."

Finley dragged his head back up towards his friend. When it came to Ophelia, he would become almost like an abandoned puppy - so full of hope, but so frightened of betrayal.

"...Do you want it to mean something?"

Yes. A Thousand times yes. All he wanted was to turn towards her, smile, and return to their days of walking around the city, talking and laughing about the stupidest shit they could think of. He wanted to lightly knock her on the head whenever she did something naïve and listen to her rave about flowers until 1am on a school night.

This wishful thinking clouded his ears from the ramblings from August. He would nod, maybe offer an "mhm", but would ultimately return to his forbidden thoughts about Ophelia. That is until he felt his friend's grip tighten.

"Yeah, dude, of course." He mustered a half-smile for him, but the internal pangs of regret still ate away at his insides.

The sudden feminine voice nearly shattered whatever was left of him. "..." Finley gritted his teeth. He wasn't ready to see her again -- to hear her again, and yet, here she was! Never late to ruin his day.

A strained smile and a pair of dim eyes turned towards Ophelia. 'Go away' his heart wanted to scream. 'Just take it and leave.'

And yet, despite himself, Finley walked over to the crates and picked one up. "...I don't see how you'd be able to carry this, so just tell me where to go and I'll do it for you."

-
Ophelia Reyes August Gallagher

The half-hearted smile that Finley offers him shatters his heart. He alone couldn't change his mood the way he knew she could once upon a time. And of course she is here, helping like the wonderful, kind, generous, and saintly person she is. Of course she steals his friend's attention the moment she opens her mouth. Of course Finn offers her assistance without a second thought. Of course August is going to be left to deal with his bitter feelings on his own, once again.

Even though his own conscious is screaming at him to not interfere, he interrupts. "Don't worry about it Finn, I can carry it and she can lead the way. I practically forced you to do this with me anyway, no need to push yourself." He forces a smile and he can't tell if his lie is convincing or not. He turns to Ophelia and finds he isn't quite able to meet her eyes. "That is, if you're alright with me lending a hand."

He wants to hate her, and looking at the two teens beside him; the ideal height difference between them, perfectly juxtaposed aesthetics, and a tension that could be easily cut with a knife; he thinks he might. But that would make him a bad person, wouldn't it? To hate someone so good intentioned and unassuming. So instead he hates himself for thinking, even for a moment, that either of them owed him anything. Hates and regrets that he opened his mouth and put himself in the middle when he's known his place was always on the sidelines. He chuckles to himself at the irony of having a crisis at a crisis intervention bake sale.

Finn's eyes flicked over to his friend, August, as he offered his assistance instead. It was the type of gesture to be expected from a solid guy like him. Knowing how he could be, he was probably trying to save Finn's ass from talking to Opehlia. More interaction meant more pain, which ultimately meant more rant sessions like today. He doubt his friend wanted either, and so, he willingly sacrificed himself to the guillotine.

Naturally, the whole situation evoked a grateful smile from Finn. All hints of pain had thoroughly drained away from his features, leaving behind his old self. His Ophelia-less self. "Push myself?" He laughed and rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, asshole. But if you wanna act all macho, go grab the other crate."

With that settled, Finley's gaze averted back onto the girl next to them. He tried to muster up the best straight face he could: furrowed eyebrows, a frown, dull eyes -- the whole thing. But he wouldn't be surprised if a glint of pain snuck its way in.

"Just lead the way, Ophelia."

-
August Gallagher Ophelia Reyes

His crush's genuine smile sent his heart briefly into the stratosphere. August rolled his eyes at Finn. "Alright, alright. Sorry for questioning your stamina O Great and Powerful One," He picked up the nearest crate and shot Finn a wink, "Still... If your arms get tired we can take as many breaks as you need." August sniggered and momentarily felt the tension ease between the three of them as they walked over their haul.

They mostly worked in silence while they unpacked each box, and August just felt thankful to be able to steal glances of Finn hard at work. Once they were done, one of the volunteer managers directed them to work sales at a stand all together. When would either of them address the elephant in the room? he thought. August nearly resigned himself to the pungent awkwardness, but he didn't want the rest of the day to be ruined. He courageously tried to break the silence.

"So, uh... how about the weather? Ah, shit, wait... I mean... Finn! Any new projects you're working on?"

Despite his calm expression and laidback laughs, Finley couldn't resist stealing a few glimpses from Ophelia. Her trembling lip, her redden cheeks, he noticed it all. Truth be told, if it weren't for August's persistent efforts to distract him, he might've been lost to her gravitational pull.

"Huh?" Mouth agape, the teen's gaze snapped back to his friend's call. The gears in his head took a second to click back into place, but when they did, his face instantly lit up with excitement. "Oh, yeah! I dunno if I told you, but my pops got me this sick Miata for Christmas. She's got a long way to go, but I'm shooting to get her up and running by next week."

For a moment, maybe due to his habitual nature, his eyes glanced towards Ophelia, as if to gauge her reaction. He used to always bombard her with his dreams of fixing up a car to take her around in, and so, a part of him grew curious if she remembered, or if she even cared. 'I'll need your help decorating it' he used to tell her, 'you know I'm hopeless with design.'

If their eyes were to meet, a tint of embarrassment would instantly flood his cheeks, forcing him to turn back to August.

Even in the awkward silence it was obvious to August that Finn couldn't keep his attention off of Ophelia. He couldn't find it in himself to feel anything but numb. It was his curse to be far too attentive to every little thing about the ginger, and it only made him more and more aware that he wasn't even on Finn's radar. His head was buzzing and full of fuzz as his friend enthusiastically answered his question. For once, he couldn't focus on what he was saying. When he realized Finley had finished speaking he responded in an uneven tone, "O-oh, um... that sounds nice."

He was an outsider here. Shouldn't he know that by now? A shiver ran through him at the subtle glance the two beside him exchanged. He couldn't stand being in the middle of their tension anymore.

"Hey, um... I'm gonna take a snack break before the next wave comes. You two... you two should talk."

He smiled sadly and kept his eyes on his feet. He gave Finley a weak thumbs up and walked away as fast as he could.

August's departure came without warning. One second Finn was off staring down towards the ground, avidly avoiding any temptation to steal another glimpse of Ophelia, and the next, his best friend was gone and out of sight.

'You two should talk'

Those words created a thick ball of mucus in his throat. Hesitant eyes frantically searched the ground and his lips twitched into an uncomfortable frown. But, before his awkwardness could manifest into words, Ophelia was the first to prompt conversation. "Yeah..." The word drooled out from his lips, slow and cautious.  "...I plan on painting her pink later. It'll be a pain in the ass, though."

But it would be worth it

Because it'll match that damned pair of fuzzy dice-- the way they planned it look all that time ago.