TW: Bullying, cussing

Swiftfire = Ember
Owlstorm = Finley

Summary: Finley finds Ember crying after someone said some harsh words to her, so he comforts her.

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Finley stretched, groaning slightly as he made his way down the hallway.

Ughh why is school so tiring?

He let his arms fall to his sides as he made it to his dorm, reaching for the key in his pocket.

Fishing it out, it fell to the ground at Finley's feet. He stared at it in disappointment.

Why.

He huffed and reached down to get it, grabbing it and standing back up.

As he turned towards the door, Finley paused, hearing a noise.

What in the world?...

He turned towards the direction the sound came from, the dorm across the hall.

Noticing the door hadn't been fully closed, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

The dorm across the hall belonged to his sister, Juniper, and her roommate, Ember.

Sure, it was normal to hear noises from other dorms, it was a college for goodness sake. Ember and Juniper did have their moments being loud, as any pair of friends would. But this one sounded like......crying?

Finley stared at the door, debating wether he should go check or not. They wouldn't mind, right?

I mean, we grew up together! They wouldn't mind me checking on them, I'm Juniper's brother after all... and Ember... well I'm Ember's friend.

Abandoning his dorm, he softly walked over, pausing again when he heard a muffled sob.

Now even more concerned, Finley looked through the slight opening, not seeing much.

Gently pushing the door the rest of the way open, Finley looked around as he took a step inside. He was in the kitchen, which was deserted, the light over the stove casting a dim light throughout the room.

Juniper's car keys were nowhere to be seen, but Ember's were, looking as if they had been tossed on the counter.

Juniper doesn't seem to be here... so it must be...

Ember's backpack had been abandoned by the doorway, Finley nearly tripping over it.

Hearing another sob, Finley looked up sharply. It was coming from the living room, which was open to the kitchen.

Squinting in the lack of light, Finley almost didn't notice Ember on the couch, sobbing into a pillow.

...Ember

He wandered over to the couch, hesitant, scratching the back of his neck.

"E-Ember?" He said, mentally face palming for how awkward he sounded.

Way to stutter in front of your crush... Finley mentally scoffed.

Ember jumped, sitting straight up, looking around until she saw Finley.

"What're you doing here?" She said in a thick voice, looking back down at the pillow, her dirty blonde hair falling back in her face.

"The door was open... and you sounded like you could use some company..." Finley said, smiling sadly, placing himself on the couch next to Ember.

Ember sniffled, looking away from him.

He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, examining his hands.

The two sat in silence for a few moments.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Hesitantly, Ember looked at Finley, tears brimming her eyes. She wiped them away with a sleeve and pushed some hair behind her ear.

Finley watched her, ready to listen.

"It's not that big of a deal, just some asshole saying shit about me."

She looked back down at the pillow, playing with her hair with one hand.

Finley tilted his head.

"What did he say? It must be a bit of a deal if you're crying."

Ember said nothing, and Finley spoke again, afraid he had said something wrong.

"But I'm not saying crying is a bad thing because everyone does it. You don't do it that much, but that's not a bad thing..." He trailed off, realizing he was rambling.

Ember smiled sadly, her amber eyes not meeting Finley's warm brown ones.

"Oh you know, I'm an ugly piece of trash that won't amount to anything in life, stuff like that..."

Ember laughed sadly, tears spilling down her face as she tightened her grip on the pillow.

"He made sure to emphasize on ugly. The girl with him even said I need to wear more makeup."

Finley clenched his jaw.

Those douchebags!

"Sounds like he deserves to get his ass beat. And she's the one that needs more makeup to cover up that ugly personality." He growled, his chest burning.

Ember laughed half-heartedly, making Finley smile. He leaned back against the couch, playing with his hoodie strings.

"You know those words aren't true, right? I bet their asses are jealous on how much shit is coming out of their mouths." Finley chuckled.

"Y-yeah..." Ember sniffled. "Their words still hurt though.

Finley's smile fell, looking back at Ember.

She had loosened her grip on the pillow, messing with a loose string on the seam. Her hair was messy, and her eyes shone with tears.

"Hey..." Finley murmered.

Ember didn't meet his gaze.

Hesitantly, he reached out and cupped the side of her face, gently turning it towards him.

Ember tensed up at the sudden touch, eyes wide, but relaxed when she met Finley's warm gaze.

Dropping his hand and taking a deep breath, Finley spoke.

"In my opinion, you are the most beautiful girl who I've ever laid eyes on. People who tell you otherwise are full of crap. Nobody can compare to you. "

Ember smiled slightly, looking down at her hands.

"You don't have to compliment me Finley-.." She was cut off as he put a finger on her lips.

"I'm not finished." He said, with a slight grin.

Pulling his hand back and pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, he spoke again.

"Even when your hair is messy and unbrushed, you look amazing. "

He let his knuckles trail down the side of her face, wiping a tear away with a thumb.

"Your eyes glow in the sunlight, making them look like melted gold."

Ember was smiling now, cheeks tinted pink.

Finley smiled too, closing his eyes.

"A-and your smile makes me stutter and gives me butterflies."

Looking back at Ember again, he felt himself blush at her smile.

"You have something beautiful inside you, it's hard for some people to tell,  but it's there. You may not see it, but I do, all the time."

The pair sat in silence for a few seconds before Ember spoke.

"Anything else you'd like to say, Romeo?"

Face burning red, Finley turned away, pulling his hand back from her face and putting it on the back of his neck nervously.

"N-no."

"Good."

And suddenly she gripped fistfulls of his hoodie, pulling him towards her and their lips met.

Finley froze for a second.

Holy shit she's kissing me...

Once the realization hit and the shock passed, he relaxed, closing his eyes and melting into it.

After a few seconds (or hours, Finley couldn't tell), she pulled away from him, the pair too stunned to speak.

Opening her eyes, Ember gasped softly, seeing Finley's shocked expression.

She pulled away from him, releasing her grip on his hoodie as she stuttered.

"Oh god...did I-?"

Finley blinked.

"I'm sorry.....I just got caught up in all of that... if you wanna leave I underst-..."

In a single movement, Finley leaned forward, cupping Ember's cheek in his hand, and cut her off with another kiss.

A few seconds passed, then her arms circled up around his neck, hands clasping together behind his head, as she hummed slightly.

Finley smiled into the kiss, eyes closed, pulling her close.

After a minute or so, they separated once more, needing to breathe.

Ember, eyes closed and dazed, smiled, her arms limp on his shoulders.

Finley opened his eyes slowly, a stupid grin on his face.

I kissed her.

Wait.... what happens now?

His face burned red again, suddenly embarrassed.

"Y-you feeling better?" He croaked, voice hoarse.

Ember opened her eyes, smiling softly.

"Yeah..."

I should probably get outta here...

"Ok then!" Standing up suddenly, he strided across the living room, through the kitchen and to the door, leaving a bewildered Ember on the couch.

"Sorry I have to go, I just remembered I have a test to study for tomorrow! And Juniper might be back any minute, so I better scramble while I can, you know how she is..."

Ember crossed her arms, an amused expression on her face as she raised an eyebrow.

Finally grabbing the doorknob after several attempts, Finley opened the door.

"Anyways, nice chatting! See you later."

He shut the door quickly, whirling around and pressing his back against it with a sigh.

He touched his lips, blushing as he relived the moment in his head.

Holy shit...

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Author's Note: This made me wanna cry, wtf. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! It's like midnight right now and I have school tomorrow ha ha. Don't forget to vote!

~Swift.