- Friday, November 3rd -

"Oliver?" I grab his arm to stop him from walking further. He just finished one of his exams and he's pretty surprised that I'm talking to him.

"Cris?" He frowns, pulling the strap of his backpack over his shoulder. "What do you want?"

"I need your help." I smile awkwardly, ignoring glances from his classmates.

"With?" He pulls me away from the classroom and towards a cubical study room, closing the door behind us. "What's wrong?"

"I was talking with Finn this morning and we had a small fight and then he said stuff and well, I want to surprise him."

"This story doesn't make any sense at all." He keeps frowning, impatiently waiting for me to explain.

"I didn't want him to get the idea I am with him for his body, which I am not. But he kinda got the wrong idea, thought I don't like him at all..."

"Cris." Oliver groans, rolling his eyes. "Finn is really insecure and he's been used by a lot of people. His parents didn't fight to keep him with them, just let him leave because they don't like the fact he's gay. Off course he's doubtful about your intentions. Mostly because you guys haven't spoken for months after you left him on his own..."

"Can we not focus on that part? Because I love him to death, you know I do. I don't think you would've helped me last week if you didn't believe I do."

"I believe you do." He doesn't seem very happy about it, but at least he isn't telling me to fuck off. "What is it you want to do?"

"I want to surprise him at his house. I already talked to Jason and he gave me the key to the house. But I can't have Finn to go home with me right away so I'm gonna tell him that I'm busy for the night. I bet he'll go to you and ask you to hang out with him."

"And you want me to?"

"Well, no." I chuckle, still feeling awkward that I'm asking Oliver to help me. "I think he's going to be pissed when I tell him I'm hanging out with Sam tonight and he needs to vent the anger, but I need him home at six. Can you... I don't know, keep him busy until six and drop him off at home?"

"I think if you tell him you're busy for today, he'll want to go out with me tonight."

"Tell him you can't. I really need him to be home at six."

Oliver closes his eyes for a second.

"I'm not good at this." I admit. "I need your help, okay? But I need time to prepare some things before he gets home."

"I'll tell you what." He crosses his arms, leaning against the wall, staring at me with an annoyed look. "How about you tell him you're busy for now. I'll ask him to help me with some difficult shit I need to study for next week's exams and drop him off at six?"

"That would be perfect. Thanks for helping me here, I owe you big time."

"I'm only doing this because I care about Finn and he's crazy about you. You have the benefit of the doubt for now. Until you prove me otherwise."

"Whatever the reason is, I still owe you."

"You bet you do." Oliver nods. "Not just for today, but for last week too. And for giving you some alone time with Finn that led to you two finally getting into a relationship."

"Like I said, owe you big time." I smile at him. "I really want to make him happy again. I just need your help because he seems to trust you more than anyone."

"That's because I never left him when he was struggling. He's still struggling by the way. You haven't seen him on a bad day yet. And when that happens, you can prove to me you're serious about him."

"I think he's having a bad day today." I murmur, thinking back of how this day started; with a fight and Finnley in tears, about to spill to me how he really feels.

"Oh, no." Oliver shakes. "Today is a regular day." He takes in a deep breath. "I'll let you know when he's having a bad day."

"Won't I notice?"

"Oh, you will. But since you thought this is a bad day... You're wrong. He's just a little off balance, coming down from... let's say he had a week-long sugar rush because you guys had sex and now he's coming down from that rush. Let him adjust to regular life and realize you're still there on a bad day and you guys will last for ever."

"Right, okay. If you say so..."

"I know so, because I've been there on his bad days and if he would have had a bad day today, he wouldn't be in school."

"Thanks, Oliver..." I mutter, feeling a bit ashamed because I was supposed to be Finn's best friends, but instead, Oliver had to be there for him because I wasn't.

* * * * *

When Finnley asked me if we would have dinner at his, or my place, I answered that I was going to eat at Sam's place and probably hang out with him for the night. That I wasn't planning on going out either and then Finnley just stared at me for a few seconds, his facial futures showed some confusion at first, before he just send me an angry glare, turned around and walked away from me without saying anything. Damn, it was hard to fool him only to be able to surprise him right now.

I went all out tonight with the romance; I made sushi – which is definitely his favourite food according to Oliver – with Sam's help, I sprinkled rose paddles in the bedroom and I lighted tons of candles to set a romantic atmosphere. I dressed up a bit, not too much because we would stay home anyway, but it's the cherry on top of the cake to dress up and look good for my boyfriend.

I finish the table settings right before my phone starts buzzing in my pocket, indicating I got a text.

Oliver:

We're on our way (17:53)

This better be worth it (17:53)

He's been crying because you sort of ditched him (17:54)

I hate it when he cries so fix it, or I'm gonna kill you (17:54)

Auch, I didn't want him to cry. I just wanted some time to set everything up for tonight. How can I ever surprise him if we're together almost 24/7? Not that I mind to be together that much.

I pace up and down the living room, checking if the candles are still okay, checking in the bedroom to make sure I'm not setting the house on fire. I check the time, try to figure out if I forgot about anything; but I think I have everything covered. Jason is over at Liam's and Stan's place, going out with them, not returning home until tomorrow to give us some time alone. Nathan knows I'm here, Oliver is bringing Finnley over right now. Music.

I hurry over towards my laptop, putting on some cheesy music Nikki and Vera helped me to pick out.

Yeah, lots of people are in on this plot, just for me to be able to show Finnley I love him this much. He knows romance was never my best asset. I never took girls out on dates, I never made the night special whenever I took them home with me. I hope Finnley will realise I did this all for him.

The front door slams shut, making me jump in my spot because I didn't expect Finnley to be home already.

"Jace?" Finnley sounds highly irritated, which makes my heart drop for a second because I know it's because I told him I wouldn't have time to do something with him today. "I thought you said you wouldn't eat at ho..." He stops dead in his tracks as soon as he enters the living room, staring at the scene with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape.

"Jason is out for the night." I chuckle at his shocked state, while he drops his backpack on the ground beside him.

"What's this?" He eyes me suspiciously. "What did you do to Cris?"

"You made him fall in love with you, head over heels." I walk up to Finnley, grabbing his collar to pull him closer to me. "You made him want to fight to keep you by his side."

"And you were the one always yelling romance is dead and it's not about small gestures, but big deeds."

"Well, since I'm not romantic, this is a pretty big deed, right?" I pull him in for a gentle kiss, which he answers instantly with a couple of small pecks on my lips.

"So, we're alone?"

"I'm all yours tonight."

"I'm all yours for the rest of my life, so what's one night?" He seriously answers, staring at me with a frown, making me doubt if he already forgave me for pretending to ditch him for the day. Then he laughs out loud, pulling me in a hug, kissing my cheek. "I appreciate the effort."

"Good, I hope you're hungry, I made dinner."

"Oeh, I'm very hungry, what's on the menu?"

"I made it myself, with a little help from Sam because I had no experience, but I made all of it." I lead him towards the table, gesturing for him to sit down, before I head into the kitchen to grab the large plate full of self-made sushi.

"Did Oliver know about this?" Finnley calls after me. "And Jason? And Sam?"

"Huh, I think everybody knew except you. I asked a lot of people to help." I chuckle, placing the plate in the middle of the table. "Bon appétit, mon chéri."

"You made these yourself?" I can tell Finnley is holding back a laugh, which I get because they are pretty amateuristic.

"With a lot of love and a lot of wasted food. And extra with Surimi because I know you love those."

"You're the best." He chuckles, taking the chopsticks I offer him, ready to dig in. "Thanks, Cris." He mutters after a while. I know you're not the romantic type, so I appreciate you doing this for me."

"I'd do anything for you, even if I'm not the type." I shrug. "You know, I don't mind being romantic for you. I guess before I just never had a reason to do things like this."

"Good to know I'm special." He looks me straight in the eye. "I love you, Cris, I really do. And the fact you did this means a lot to me."

"Well, the night isn't over after dinner." I smile, grabbing his hand, kissing his fingers one by one. "This is, after all, our one week anniversary."

He feigns to be shocked, covering his mouth with two hands. "Oh my god, I can't believe you remember our anniversary." His eyes are wide, right before we both start laughing. "Seriously though, we should celebrate it, since it's the longest I've ever been with someone."

"So, you never officially had a relationship?"

"Nope. Never officially. I mean..." He shrugs. "For a while I only slept with Nathan, but we never officially dated, went out or did stuff like a couple. And Oliver and I never got together either. Although we did do stuff that a couple would do I guess. But he was never..." His face flushes while he casts his eyes down. "Can I ask you a stupid question?"

"Off course."

"What did you really think of me when you found out I was still... renting myself? The night you stormed off? Did you really think of me as a cheap whore?"

I shake my head, feeling sad all over again for the things I yelled that night. "My heart broke when I found you with that stranger. I was mostly really hurt and mad because it was killing me to watch from up close how you were breaking down and I felt like I couldn't do anything about it."

"I really was breaking down, huh?" He smiles carefully. "I really lost myself, Cris." He murmurs. "I was long broken before that night."

"And I pushed you over the edge..." Because I do know that night he took an overdose of meds and alcohol. "Did you do it on purpose?"

Finnley stares at me for a while, before he slowly nods.

"And you did it because I called you all those horrible things?"

"Is this really the right time to talk about this?" He avoids looking at me by now, staring at the food, playing around with a leftover surimi roll.

"Well, my intention was to be together and make sure we won't fight over small things again. Like, misunderstand each other. I think in order for me to understand the way you think, is to know why you did certain things."

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"I want to understand you, Finn. I want to know what I can do to help."

"You can do this kind of things more often. I'm a sucker for romantic gestures."

"Finny," I chuckle, getting up and offering a hand for him to take. He puts his hand in mine and I pull him up from his chair. "Stop stalling, okay?" I hug him, taking in his typical sent. "I want to know all of you, the way you think, what your bad habits are, because I love everything about you and you'll always be perfect to me."

"Let's make a deal." He mutters, putting his arms around my neck. "We just relax, have our little home-date tonight. No sad conversations or hard topics to talk about. And tomorrow I'll answer your questions; all of them."

"Promised? No excuses?"

"Well, it's a Saturday, so we'll have to go to soccer. But after that we can sit down and talk. I promise to answer your questions."

"Okay, sounds good to me. I don't want to push you to tell me things you don't want to, but I..."

"...want to understand." He nods and smiles. "I'll answer as much as possible. But only if we cut it right now, and go on with our little date."

I smile and nod, pulling him in for a kiss.

"So, what did you have in mind after dinner?"

"Hmm." I sway us from left to right a little, moving on the music. "Not much."

Finnley frowns. "Not much?"

"I wanted to spoil you, with your favourite food, romantic gestures from me... In the bedroom." I whisper with a husky voice, causing Finnley to grin, meeting me in the middle to share a kiss.

"Hmm, so..." He whispers after pulling back from the kiss. "Spoiling me, you say?" He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively to which I chuckle, before I lead him towards his bedroom. It's dimly lit by the candles; there's less in here because I wanted to keep it cosy. "Just eh, I'm gonna blow out the candles in the living room, you know, just in case..." I mutter, running back to blow them out as fast as I can. When I turn around, Finnley already took care of the candles on the dinner table, smiling, before we kiss our way back into the bedroom.

Time to spoil him a bit.

A/N A heads up: the next chapter (26.5) is a mature chapter! If you aren't comfortable reading smut, please skip to chapter 27; you won't miss important things for the story.

Anyway, if you're still here with me because you like this story so much that you've read all these chapters, please consider sharing that with me by commenting/voting/sharing! It would mean a lot to me ^^