"She's been up in that bathroom for a while, kid," Mr. Leon said, nodding his head over to the stairs. He was in full dad mode now. "Go see if she's okay."
"You don't thin-" Finley stopped speaking and hustled to the stairs, taking them two at a time before knocking on the bathroom door. "Hey, August? You alright?"
August jumped at the sudden knocking, dropping her phone in the process Shit. She swept it of the floor and shoved it in her pocket, then opened the door to find Finley standing there.
“I’m okay,” she said, pulling the sleeves of the sweatshirt over her hands nervously.
"I was…just makin' sure," he said, blushing slightly. Was it weird that she looked cute, despite the fact she was wearing his mother's clothes? He pushed those kind of thoughts out his his head and walked back downstairs, returning to his spot on the couch. The Mac n' Cheese had gone cold, so his dad already picked up the bowl, clearing out more space on the couch in the process.
“Okay…” August’s voice trailed off as she noticed something. Was he blushing? The thought made her heart beat a little faster, but she made herself calm down before following him down the stairs. Finley’s a stranger; you’ll be gone by two days time.
Sighing softly, she plopped down beside him, a little closer than before, and curled up, placing her hands in her lap.
"I can switch the TV, if you'd like," he said, speaking a bit quicker than he had before as he reached for the remote. However, instead of grabbing it, he knocked it off of the couch. He quickly picked it up and handed it to August
His father noticed his son's behavior and chuckled, understanding what was going on. Finley knew it as well and his father's amusement brought that pink shade to his cheeks again.
August giggled. “Oh, um,” she curled his fingers around the remote and pushed his hand towards him. “You choose.”
A soft smile crossed her face once she noticed the red on his cheeks, hers also coloring. Dang it.
He pulled a small face as he pressed guide button down and began skimming the channels. At this point, he would've typically picked Cartoon Network and watch whatever was on at that moment, but chose against it since August was down there with them.
"Well…NCIS is on," he said, raising an eyebrow and looking over at her.
“Well, I’ve never watched NCIS,” August said, glancing up at Finley from the TV. “Is it good?” At home, she usually never watched TV unless she wanted to distract herself from her thoughts, but it eventually became background noise and she’d fall asleep to it. When she’d wake up, August would still be on the couch and her mother’s bedroom light would be on, and it’d make her a little sadder than before.
"Well, do you like police TV shows?" he asked, contemplating just leaving basketball on. "If not, that probably isn't a series you'd enjoy."
"Sure?" August shrugged, leaning back. "I usually watch kids shows anyways." Whatever show was on Disney or Cartoon Network she would watch.
(bump)
"Oh, Finley loves kids shows," his dad butted in, making his son blush slightly as he flipped back to CN and turned it on.
About 15 minutes later, his dad walked in with three bowls in his arms, all steaming with the Tortellini he'd just made.
"Here ya go," Mr. Richards said, handing August a bowl.
August took the bowl gratefully, but her smile dropped a little when she saw how much was in the bowl. Her stomach turned at the sight, but she managed to send him a smile and scoop up a big bite. She chewed it slowly, the wonderful taste slowly becoming sludge in her mouth.
Finley, in contrast, scarfed down the food by the mouthful, completely unconcerned with how he would be perceived by August. Sure, she was cute, but this was his house. Why should he modest?
"What do you think of it, August?" Mr. Richards asked, giving her a small smile.
August swallowed thickly, giving Mr. Richards a smile. "It's very good, I haven't had this good of pasta in a long time." She wasn't lying, it was good food. This time, she took smaller bites, hoping that her stomach didn't get upset while she was at their house.
August glanced over at Finley, laughing slightly on how he was devouring the food. He must've been really hungry.
