Peter and Wendy

Who: Finn and Lily
Where: Finn's Apartment
When: Afternoon

Finn had slept late today. His small flat was a mess of clothing and sheet music. The old piano that he'd scavenged from one of the town's old clubs that had gone over took up the majority of his "living room." Finn's bedroom was a little loft above the living room, that really only had enough room for a makeshift bed. The kitchen was clearly owned by someone who didn't cook. It seemed to be a amalgam of different knick-knacks and things that took up all the counter space.

Finn yawned and rolled out of bed. He pulled on an undershirt and slacks, and wandered downstairs. There was probably some bread in the kitchen, somewhere. He wished very badly for an apple, but sadly, he hadn't been to market in quite a while. It had nothing to do with a lack of money, but more to do with a lack of interest in food shopping.

Lily had gotten out of work early enough that she had time to stop at Finn's apartment before heading to the school for tutoring. She took a taxi to The Apollo instead of walking. It was just too windy to do that. She had a couple of books with her, two that Finn had requested she try find and hold for him and the third one on music she thought he might enjoy. Although it was the afternoon, Lily couldn't be sure that he was awake and so her knock on his door was a hesitant one, not wanting to wake him up if he was asleep. She knew he had work at the Kitten Club the previous night.

Finn heard the knock at his door as he was digging bread out of a pile of pants. He abandoned his search and walked over to the door. Opening it just a crack he peeked out. When he saw who it was he grinned. "What have you got there?"

She held the books out to him and only then realized how much her hands were shaking. How much she was shaking. "Can I come in?" she said quietly and felt a familiar heat from behind her eyes. Oh no, she was going to cry. Why was she crying?

Finn paused. Lily seemed extra quiet today. "Come on in." He said, swinging the door opened. He cocked his head, trying to read her face. Something didn't seem right. "Are you okay, Lily?" He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He wasn't terribly good at comforting people.

Lily shook her head slowly, tears gathering in her eyes. It couldn't possibly be because of Aaron, right? But... as Lily thought about it, Aaron scared her. Despite being so sweet and sincere, there was something that absolutely terrified her from that impromptu lunch meeting. She walked into the apartment slowly, looking around the crowded space. "Oh, Finn, I'm sorry," she hiccuped, her voice choked and wavering. "I'm sorry for seeing you l-like this."

Finn lead her over to a chair in his incredibly messy kitchen, pushing off the mass of paper that was a staple of most of his furniture. "It's alright. It's alright." He relieved her of the pile of books in her arms, and knelt next to the chair. "What's wrong Lily? Did someone hurt you?" Finn didn't live in a terribly bad neighborhood, but anything could happen in this city. He wouldn't have been surprised if someone had jumped out at Lily.

She shook her head. "It's silly," she sniffled, reaching into her purse to find a handkerchief. It was silly. She knew it was silly. "I'm just being stupid. I'm so sorry for showing up like this." But it was very clear that she was just scared. "I think he was hitting on me and then I left and for some reason two hours later..." She shrugged helplessly, feeling so guilty to bring this onto Finn.

"Who was hitting on you?" Finn stood up. He always felt very protective of Lily. She was so kind, and sometimes seemed more innocent than Finn himself. He didn't like the idea of someone hitting on her, not to mention someone hitting on her and making her cry. "Who is he?" His brow was furrowed.

"His name was Aaron," she said softly, looking up at him in slight alarm. "Um... Aaron... Blake... no." She bit her lip, trying to remember what he said his last name was. "Black. That's what it was. Aaron Black. Finn, he was so nice. He was. Very sweet and sincere and said that he liked me." She sniffled loudly and dabbed at her eyes, trying very, very hard to get control over her emotions.

Aaron Black. Finn knew the name, he'd seen the man around. And, he didn't think very much of him. From what he'd gathered, Aaron was big and dumb, two qualities that Finn didn't really care much for. "He said he liked you... and then what?" There had to be more. Though, Finn mused, it's possible Aaron liking her was enough to send her into tears. He wouldn't like Aaron to be after him, if he were a girl.

"That was it!" she choked loudly. "There was just something about him afterwards that frightened me." Lily looked away from Finn, ashamed of herself and her silly little fears. Fears that were unfounded because Aaron was so nice. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about this." She couldn't help it. She couldn't help the crying and she felt terrible about it.

Finn frowned. "Don't be sorry." He put his arms around her shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze. "I don't blame you for being frightened. He's a brute." Finn pulled himself up, and paced across the room. "I don't like the look of him." He cleared his throat, and walked back to the kitchen table, and sat down across from her, not bothering to clear off his chair. "Do you need me to beat him up for you." He grinned. He was clearly smaller than Aaron, but he liked playing with the idea that he could fight battles for Lily.

She smiled tremulously at him, sniffling to clear her nose and tucked her handkerchief away. "You don't have to," she told him, giving him a small, watery laugh. To be honest, judging by how much bigger Aaron was, Finn would be quashed like a bug. And Aaron had already seemed a bit... aggressive when they briefly talked about poor Bradley the serving boy. Jesse had probably a better chance of taking on Aaron. Not that Jesse would do that for her. Jesse probably thought she was an insane freak and she'd be stuck by herself in a bar until midnight on Saturday. Anyway... Lily smiled more genuinely at Finn. "How did your show go last night?" she asked.

He grinned. "Great." He dug into the pile of papers on the table, and pulled out some newer looking sheet music, with a lot of scribbles. Finn thrust it into Lily's hands. "I played this. It's brand new. I just wrote it recently." His voice seemed to be screaming be proud. His eyes were glowing and it was clear that he wanted nothing more than for Lily to be just as happy as he was.

"Finn, this is wonderful!" Lily took the sheet music from him, looking down at the notes standing out starkly against the paper. She quietly sang the first couple of lines, testing out the tune with her rough alto. Lily didn't sing much and hadn't read music in awhile and looked up at Finn for approval. "That how it goes?"

"Pretty much." He sang the rest of the lines, and smiled widely. "Originally it was a ballad, but then it just kept speeding up more and more, and it turned into what you see before you." It was refreshing to have a friend who had some idea of how to read sheet music. Finn loved the street kids, but there were things that he wished they knew, and he wished he could teach them. "I've been working on a lot of my own stuff lately."

Lily's eyes lit up and she leaned closer, eager. She always encouraged Finn to pursue his music, a talent that could really take him places. "Can I see?" While Lily was either loathe to, too nervous, or just plain not brave enough to sing in public for him. Dreams of being a lounge singer had all but fizzled away but she could at least pretend when Finn had his music out. "I'm so proud of this piece." She tapped the new sheet music. "It's really very good. Are you going to play it at the Drake as well?" She was so happy with his job there. More reputable people than who would probably try grab him up from the Kitten.

"Yeah, follow me." He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her into his living room, which was completely dwarfed by his piano. It was a very old instrument that hadn't known the kindest owners in the past. Finn had done what he could to repair it, but there were a few brassy keys, regardless. It was completely piled with books and sheet music. He pulled a piece from the top of the upright piano. "I was working on this the other day. It makes me think of you." He laughed. The piece was light and airy, with some hesitation, but still had the jazzy streak that was Finn's trademark. It clearly wasn't finished, but it did have a beauty to it.

She blushed while he played, ducking her head shyly and looked at the sheet music. "It makes you think of me?" she asked, clearly unsure and hesitant that someone would even consider her inspiration for a song or tie her to a song. "It's to pretty to be associated with me, Finn," she teased, pushing him playfully on the shoulder, still blushing.

"Shut up, of course you're pretty." Finn said in the bossy tone he sometimes took on when he was concentrating on something. "Plus, it sounds exactly like you. Just like your voice when you're talking about something that makes you happy." He started to transition in a jazzy section, slowly building up more and more momentum.

"Jesse told me I was pretty," Lily said hesitantly. She had spoken of Jesse to Finn before, how she had a crush on him and such. "I saw him the other day."

"Did you?" Finn couldn't help feeling protective of Lily, but he played it cool, transitioning into a very french sounding ballad. "What was he doing? I'm glad he hasn't gone blind." He grinned at Lily, trying his best to conceal his irritation. He just didn't trust men with Lily.

Lily didn't notice any of Finn's irritation, believing that Finn was completely sincere. "We ran into each other on the street and I ended up babbling about Jessica, you know, the one who got the promotion instead of me because she slept with the director? So he took me to the bar over on the corner and things were going so well, Finn." She looked at the sheet music, a wistful expression on her face. "I even got a date out of him but then I completely ruined it. So now he probably -- well, most likely, I mean I don't know how he couldn't -- thinks I'm a complete nutcase and I have no idea if he'll show up on Saturday night." She reached out and touched a few of the piano keys well away from his fingers, not depressing any, just stroking the cool ivory. "But he said some stuff that really... I dunno. Bothered me? I guess that'd be the right word." It did bother her and she'd been trying to change over the course of the week. Well, start some changes anyway. She wondered a little if she should be unloading her boy troubles upon Finn, but she hadn't had a chance to see Jenny and so Finn sort of became her surrogate girlfriend.

Finn couldn't help but perk up. "Bothered you?" He realized what he had done, and tried to play it off as innocent interest. "What did he say?" He stopped playing and patted the seat next to him on the bench, scooting over a bit to give her room. He couldn't help but play around on the keyboard with his left hand, but he barely made any noise.

She slid onto the bench beside him and picked up accompanying him with her right hand, the two of them playing independent tunes that went decently together. "In a nutshell? I'm thirty years old and submit to my grandmother when I could've been out of there twelve years ago if I decided to and that I need to, in another nutshell, carpe diem, and start acting my age. And he's right. At least about me acting a little more my age. I think." She plucked at the skirt of her new dress. "I went shopping yesterday with a friend and got a bunch of new clothes. Nice clothes. Things that can be... attractive." Lily gave Finn a surprisingly sly grin. "My signature color is red."

Finn had no idea what she meant by a signature color, and was caught off gaurd by the comment. "Red? Really?" He asked, trying to pretend to know exactly what she was talking about. He was even brave enough to say. "I would have pegged you as.... blue." That still felt safe. "Anyway, I don't think Jesse should be telling you what to do with your life. He's being as bad as your grandmother if he's doing that." He hated that old woman. He often left "presents" for her.

"I guess I just look better in red than in blue," she offered. "No... Jesse didn't mean it maliciously. And he wasn't ordering me to do anything... at least I don't think he was. But he brought up some valid points that I've been thinking about." She shifted nervously, still playing with her right hand. "And... maybe it means that I can get out of Gran's house." Not to mention she swore to herself not to pursue Jesse romantically. It wasn't fair to him and had the high chance of crashing and exploding in her face since he thought she was nuts.

"You could live here." Finn grinned, nudging her. "And I'd let you have the loft and everything. You would love it." He knew that she probably wouldn't, but he liked to tease. "Also, your grandmother is crazy. You can't help that. You are lucky that you ended up the way you did. I wouldn't have been able to stand it."

There it was. Not only had people said that she was attractive, but Finn. Sweet, silly, wonderful Finn cared about her and the person she was. "Why?" she asked softly, looking at him intently. Was that what Jesse told her? That maybe people were telling her they cared or that she was pretty or that she was worth something and she just wasn't listening? And Finn was pretty much honest with her when she asked questions, despite his exciting stories and general exuberance. He taught her quite a bit.

Finn was slightly taken aback, woken momentarily out of his almost constant haze. "Why? I... well, because I don't have the patience for people like that. Don't you remember how many times I ran away from my old family?" He laughed, but felt like he must be missing something. He cleared his throat. "You know how I am." He said, almost embarrassed.

She nodded, still looking at him with such a serious expression in her bloodshot eyes. "And me?" she asked quietly. "What kind of person am I?" She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Because I don't think I know, Finn, and it scares me. Am I really pretty? I don't think I am. I'm selfish and homely and pathetic. So how can you stand me?" Words that her grandmother had used. Lily had mentioned them all at some point in past conversations with Finn. And Lily didn't know what to do anymore. She was trying to change, but what if there was nothing to change. What if she would be better off jumping of the Sixth Street Bridge? She didn't know how to swim after all and maybe other people's lives, like Finn's, would be better without her.

Finn blinked, and his face turned to stone. "Lily." He said very quietly. She had only heard this voice a few times before, when he'd talked about Jamie. It was a mix of sad and extreme intensity. "You are a wonderful person. You are beautiful. You are kind. You are very sweet, and you are becoming, slowly but surely, very strong. If I hear anyone calling you selfish, or homely, or pathetic, I swear that they will wish they hadn't." He didn't like thinking about the sorts of things her grandmother said, but when he did it lit a fire inside of him.

Before she could realize what she was doing, Lily flung herself against Finn, clinging to him tightly as if he were a life preserver in some sea of misery that she was drowning in and while that description was perhaps overly dramatic, it's how Lily felt in the moment. Before this friendship with Finn, the only person who had ever hugged her was Emma, the housekeeper and even then, Emma didn't do it often nor for very long. None of the street kids that Lily had befriended over the years had allowed such "familiar" touching to happen, so when Finn allowed her to hug him, or if he held or hand or touched her shoulder, not only did it warm Lily with the fact that Finn trusted her, but the fact that, in times like these, she needed someone to hold onto, Finn would be there and so Lily clung to him like a little girl. She wasn't crying and later Lily would think she should have, but she felt safe and cared for.

Finn was surprised at first, but it wasn't the first time he'd been hugged. He relaxed pretty quickly and put his arms around her. He squeezed tightly, which had always been his way. Whenever he really hugged someone, it was as though he were a very little kid again, on Jamie's lap, hugging her as he worried about what he was supposed to do. He rubbed her back. "You are amazing Lilly, don't let anyone tell you anything different."