𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓
𝐒𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐬

Anxiety filled Aurora as she and Finn stepped off the train. Her heart beat rapidly and she looked around, breathing in the smoky air. Finn held both of their bags and began walking. "You coming?" he asked when realising she wasn't following.

Aurora glanced down at her feet then back up at him. "Yeah— yeah." She nodded quickly and crossed her arms over her chest to follow after him.

"Tommy called last night and said it's Micheal's birthday today. There's a party at the Garrison. It'll have started not too long ago." He said, leading her through toward Watery Lane. Rory didn't say much she just nodded. She was unsure how she felt to be back.

London had been such a nice change of atmosphere and she was so afraid of going back to her old ways now they were home.
But she was also incredibly excited to see the Shelby's again — and Isiah. It felt like it had been years since she last saw them. The sky was growing dark over them as they finally got to the house. Finn tapped his knuckles against it and they waited a few moments.

When it opened, there stood Isiah, his face filling with shock.

Rory gasped and she practically threw herself at him, her arms draping around the back of his neck. Isiah stumbled backward as he caught her and laughed into her shoulder. "When did you two get back?" He asked.

"Just now." Finn shoved past them, jealousy striking through him.

Isiah closed the door with his free hand before spinning Aurora slowly. "Felt like it's been ages since you were here." Isiah said. He put her back on her feet and she tutted teasingly. "Did you miss me?" She tormented, tapping his shoulder.

Isiah scoffed. "No, it was quite peaceful, actually." He joked.

Aurora rolled her eyes and took her back that Finn decided to leave on the floor.

"You're just in time for Micheal's party. I'll be leaving soon. Does anybody know you're home?" He asked. Aurora shook her head. "Tommy knew we were coming back but nobody else knows. Told him to keep it a surprise." She smiled.

Isiah leaned against the doorframe and hummed. "Where's he gone?" He glanced at the stairs to see if Finn was there and he wasn't.

Aurora shrugged. "He's been weird ever since he told me he had a girlfriend." Rory whispered. "But don't tell him I told you." She said.

The comment made Isiah think. Girlfriend? Surely not. Isiah knew Finn was madly in love with Aurora without him having to confirm it. How could he have gotten a girlfriend after being alone with Rory this whole time.

"That's a bit strange." Isiah hummed.

"Which— Finn having a girlfriend or him being weird about it?"  She scoffed.

Isiah grinned. "Both." He joked.

It began to settle in with Aurora that her best friend had gotten a girlfriend after they had shared a kiss — twice. At first, this news didn't bother her but it felt like it was starting to weigh on her shoulders and she didn't know why.

-

Isiah walked to the Garrison with Finn and Aurora and the moment they stepped into the snug, John jumped up from his seat and took Aurora into his arms. He lifted her off his feet and squeezed her tightly. "When did you get back?" He breathed.

"Just now," she smiled into his shoulder, taking in his familiar, comforting scent.

"That's the only time you're leaving without saying goodbye, d'ya understand? We thought you'd died or something. We expected to find your body in the cut." He rambled. Her eyes were wide. "Sorry." He trailed off before putting her back down.

"I think i'm here to stay." She assured him. John smiled and nodded, stepping aside to sit back down.

Arthur smiled at her. "You look well, Angel. You been looking after yourself? Oi, Finn, you best have been looking after her." Arthur pointed at his younger brother. Rory chuckled and nodded. "He did." She said.

Tommy looked at her with a certain proudness in his eyes as the Rory they once knew had returned. She had life in her eyes and a genuine smile on her lips. "Come here," he sighed as he pushed up from the chair and wrapped a singular arm around her. "Have you been keeping yourself busy?"

"I have, Tom." She said. He nodded. "Good. I knew you could do it, Rora." Tommy whispered, winking at her. She tried not to smile too hard. "I'm going to go back to school as well— gonna finish it all. Prove everybody wrong. I'll be the first Thorne to finish school."

Tommy's grin grew wider and his eyebrows raised as he hummed. "Is that right?" She nodded in confirmation and sat down with a joyful sigh.

"Here he is, look." Arthur said as the door opened again and Micheal entered with Polly. "Eighteen years old. You're a man today," Arthur grinned. "Give him a drink John boy—" He nodded toward the beer bucket.

"Here you go lad." John passed him the full glass.

"And after that, we will go find you a lady of the night." Arthur joked. "Arthur." Polly scolded harshly.

"Micheal," Tommy cleared his throat, handing him a box. " What's that?"

He opened the box, looking at the pocket watch. "So you are never late to work." Micheal looked back at Tommy. "Welcome to the business, Micheal." John said.

"Come on, let's get him drunk, whiskey!" Arthur shouted. "No whiskey, he's got work tomorrow." Tommy stopped, "give him only dark mild."

"A toast, to Micheal,"

"To Micheal!" Everyone repeated.

"Happy birthday, Micheal." Aurora said separately when they all calmed down. He smiled. "Thank you. It's nice to see you back home." He said honestly. "It's nice to be back." She agreed, all anxiety that she had the previous hour disappearing within seconds.

She soon noticed Finn's strange silence and sat beside him. "Are you missing your girlfriend?" She teased harmlessly. "No." He grimaced. She frowned. "No?" She asked with major confusion. "God— she must be awful." Aurora joked.

"Just— drop it, alright?" Finn snapped.

Aurora raised her eyebrows and slowly pursed her lips into a straight line. "Alright.." she mumbled, hesitantly getting up and finding somewhere else to sit.

John had seen the whole interaction and found his brother's behaviour to be a bit odd. When was he ever like that toward Rory unless they had argued that day? And as far as he was aware, they hadn't argued.

Some time had passed and Aurora, surprisingly, was not drunk. Finn on the other hand seemed to be drinking a lot more than he usually did. His hands were clenched into fists and rested on his thighs as he watched Rory and Micheal talk to each other. He didn't like the way Micheal was looking at her.

Except Micheal wasn't looking at her like anything. Finn just made himself believe that he was.

Finn stood up abruptly and Aurora glanced at him, watching him carefully. He blinked hard and shoved past John who had been stood by the snug door. "The fuck is up with you?" He hissed at his younger brother who ignored him and stormed out of the pub. Rory furrowed her eyebrows together and decided to follow after him.

It was like Finn at all to act in such a way.

"Finn?" She asked, holding the Garrison door open to find the boy stood out in the rain that had began falling lightly. "You alright?" She looking him up and down.

Finn rubbed his eyes before running a hand through his hair. "I'm fine— just go away!" He snapped harshly. Her arms fell to her sides and she looked at him with confusion. "Finn, what's happened? You can talk to me. You always talk to me." She said, inching closer to him and trying to grab his hands but he pulled away. "Stop."

Aurora had a baffled expression. "If i've done something—"

"Just fuck off!" Finn's voice rang out and her eyes widened at his tone. She felt her chest tighten ever so slightly at the way he had spoken to her. "Leave me alone, alright?"

"I'm—" Aurora took a sharp breath and backed away from him. "Im sorry." She spat out before walking away in a hurry. Finn realised what he had done and instead of calling after her like he usually would, he just turned back around and went into the Garrison.

Aurora felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment and her hair was starting to dampen from the rain. Her heart raced. "Oh no," she said to herself, a hand on her chest as she walked. It was happening again. It hadn't happened in so long. Aurora was trying so hard to control her breathing but couldn't. She found herself outside Mike's house.

At first she hesitated but eventually knocked on the door, knowing somebody was in due to the light shining through the window.

The door opened and the same innocent, blonde haired girl answered and automatically had a concerned look on her face. "Aurora? Is everything okay?" She asked. Rory couldn't get her words out. Charlotte pulled the girl inside gently and closed the door. "Mike's upstairs. I can get him if you want."

Rory just nodded and the blonde girl helped her sit before disappearing to retrieve her older brother.

Rory held her head in her hands as the panic within her was beginning to get worse. Her chest was tight. She heard two pairs of footsteps and Mike soon appeared with Charlotte behind him.

"What's happened?" He kneeled before her and lifted her head up. Aurora shook her head, unable to talk. She felt so ridiculous. Mikey searched her face for any sort of injury but found nothing. "Breathe." He urged.

"You can't just tell her to breathe, Mikey! Clearly she can't!" Charlotte snapped at her brother. He looked at her, not knowing what to do and then turned back to Rory.

"Look at me," Mikey whispered. Aurora did as he said and he took her hand, placing it against his chest where she could feel his heart beat. "Can you feel it?" He asked. She nodded quickly. "Good." Mikey nodded. Charlotte watched with curiosity. He then moved Aurora's hand to her own chest, his hand over hers. "Can you feel that?"

She nodded again.

He said no more and kept her hand there for a few moments. And somehow, in someway, she managed to control her breathing. Mikey smiled slightly and nodded. "See." He said. "It's alright."

Charlotte went to the kettle and put it over the stove to make the girl a cup of tea.

"Did something happen for you to do this?" Mikey asked, "I haven't seen you in such a state in quite some time. Did it happen in London?" He asked. She shook her head. "No, not really. This is the first time in a while." She admitted.

Mikey sat beside her on the couch and draped the knitted blanket over her shoulders. He didn't need to ask her what happened, he could tell she was about to talk.

"Finn snapped at me. And I don't know why. It was so... unlike him." She explained. "He's been weird all night. He told me to fuck off and leave him alone but— but I didn't do a thing. Well, at least I don't think I did."

-

John looked at his younger brother who sat with a foul expression across his features. "Where's Rory gone?" He asked, nudging the boy. Finn shrugged. "Dunno." He answered bluntly. John stood straight and pushed himself from the wall. "What d'ya mean you don't know? You were just with her."

"She walked off."

"Why?" John questioned. It was just them in the snug. Everyone else was in the main part of the pub. "You haven't upset her have you?" He asked. No answer. "God, Finn. Do you never learn? Aurora's sensitive. You know that."

"I can't do it anymore, John!" Finn snapped. John frowned. "I can't act like she's just my mate. I'm in love with her!" He admitted, not caring for embarrassment. He knew if anyone was going to judge him on such a matter, it wouldn't be John.

"So tell her." John got straight to the point.

"I can't. I told her I've got a girlfriend." Finn shrunk in his seat. John huffed. "Well that was stupid wasn't it? Go and fucking fix this before I smack you round the back of the head. Finn, I mean it. Go and apologise to her and tell her the truth. Rory doesn't walk away for no reason." John sounded slightly angry at the boy.

John was always going to protect Rory. Even against his own brother.

Finn began realising how harsh he had been with her and mumbled a few things to himself before jumping up from his chair and leaving the pub. The rain was now pouring heavily and he swore under his breath and began running. He ran past Polly's house and no light was on so he assumed she wasn't there. The next closest place was Mikey's house so that's where he went.

He banged on the door aggressively and eventually, Mikey answered.

Mikey looked down at him. "What do you want?" He hissed. Finn tried to look past him to see if she was there but couldn't. "Is Rory here? I need to talk to her." He rushed. Mikey crossed his arms. "About what? You've already upset her enough."

Finn shifted his weight from one foot to another anxiously. "Just tell me if she's there."

Mikey took a deep breath and before he could answer, Rory placed a hand to his upper arm. "It's alright, Mikey." She assured with a simple nod. Mikey looked at the boy with caution and slipped back into the living room.

"I'm sorry—" Finn breathed heavily, rain dripping down his face. "Ive lied to you. It's you, it always has been. There's no one else. There's no other girl." He spoke quickly. She tried to keep up and her mouth parted. "Why did you lie?" She asked whilst searching his face. Finn thought for a moment. "Because i'm in love with you, Aurora. And it's killing me."

It felt as though her heart had stopped. He was in love with her? How?

"That's impossible, Finn. Nobody could ever love me. Even Freddie said it." She scoffed. She tried to close the door but Finn grabbed her wrist. "Freddie was wrong. I love you. I think I always have. And I think that's why I pretended to hate you because I didn't understand how I felt." He admitted.

It was clear Finn Shelby was the more sincere brother of the four. It was always going to be that way. Even when he was a child it was clear.

Finn began rambling and Rory stepped out of the house, leaning up and kissing him to stop him from talking. His eyes widened before the closed and she gently cupped his face, feeling her clothes began to cling to her as they got soaked.

Finn's hand hovered over her skin as he was afraid to touch her.

She pulled back and he sucked in a breath, their foreheads practically leaning against each other's. "Polly and John were right. They always said it and I chose not to believe them." She whispered. "But now I believe it. I believe you." She said. Finn frowned. "You do?"

She nodded. "I do." She admitted. "And I think— no, I know that I love you too, Finn." She held back her smile as she couldn't believe she was saying such a thing. If it had been anyone else, she'd have cringed and wanted the floor to swallow her whole.

Finn let out a sigh of relief and nodded slowly. "Good, that's good." His awkward self crept back as he realised what had happened, what he had said. He had admitted a secret he had been holding onto for so very long. It was out now. She knew. There was no reversing this.

"I always knew Freddie was a bad liar." She joked, feeling a weight lifted from her shoulders.

Aurora had felt unlovable for so very long but now, now somebody had admitted it. They had said the words. They had told her they loved her. And not in the way the that Tommy and John loved her. But in a different, more genuine and intimate way.

And it scared her in some way. But she was glad. Relieved.

Admitting this to Aurora made Finn feel vulnerable but not in a threatening way. In a way where he wanted to let somebody in — have somebody understand him. She had always understood him. In her own little way, Aurora understood Finn.