Page 77 of Filtration Play
“When the fuck did you get that?” Meg asked, her voice growing sharp.
Fin pressed a few fingers against their shiner. “Ah, this old thing? Just a gift from my dad yesterday.”
“Wow, babe, you’ve had a shit twenty-four hours.” Sloan was leaning against the wall, bracketed by his boyfriends Ezra and Kai. How everyone had been rallied in such a short time was a testament to how close this crew was. The idea that these people had adopted him into their fold? His chest squeezed tight.
“I’ll kill that fucker.” Parker squeezed the back of the couch. “Right after we find somewhere out to sea to dispose of Hera.”
“Look,” Fin said, all but brimming. “I saw what she posted. If I’m not safe enough to work at Whipped anymore—”
“Don’t you dare finish your sentence.” Meg’s voice grew even sharper, if possible. “If you’re suggesting even the slightest bit that I’ll listen to what that shithead said about you, then do you even know me? Fin, I’ve known you for years, and you’re one of my closest friends. I would never,evercast you out.”
Ollie reached an arm around Fin’s shoulder and squeezed them tight. To his surprise, they let him.
Pixie stared between the two of them and raised her brows. She and Eva were awkwardly wedged by the bookcase. “Are you two together-together?”
Ollie froze. Their situation was so new he wasn’t sure how to respond.
“Yep,” Fin said. “Gonna keep him for as long as he’ll let me.”
His cheeks flushed, and warmth flowed through his whole body. Hearing them claim him like that was everything he’d longed for. Apossession, a stake that made him feel so damn seen it was ridiculous. He emanated sunlight through his pores, such a dramatic difference from the lows he’d dropped to earlier.
A whistle came from Tristan. “Damn, I never thought I’d see the day.”
Meg’s smile was immediate. “I’m glad. He’s a good one.”
Her praise elevated him even higher, to the point he floated.
Fin’s stomach rumbled, and they cursed. “If we’re going to have an intervention, or whatever this is, can there be pizza involved? I’m fucking starved.”
“Is that all you consume anymore?” Ollie teased.
Fin elbowed him in the side. “Can’t beat the convenience of going downstairs for pickup.”
“Wait, if there’s going to be pizza, I want in on this,” Nolan said. “I’ve been running damage control all morning, so I haven’t stopped to eat.”
“And I owe you an apology, Fin.” Meg sat on the side of the couch beside them. “I should’ve handled the Hera situation more tactfully when I banned her. You didn’t deserve any of the backlash.”
Fin drew his brows together. “You banned her?”
Ollie’s chest sank. He and Meg should’ve let them know back when it happened, but everything had spiraled out of control so fast.
“Bitch deserved it,” Fin said. “I just feel like a dumbass for not seeing her true colors sooner.”
“She put on a good show,” Micah said. “We talked a lot whenever she came to the café, so to see that stab in the back this morning, fuck.”
“We closed the shop today to regroup,” Sloan said.
“I wondered how the Power Rangers assembled so quickly,” Fin said.
“That one texted me.” Meg pointed to Ollie. “He’s been keeping watch on you ever since you decided to disappear and scare us half to death.”
Fin’s hazel eyes softened, and they leaned in to press a kiss to Ollie’s head. “Thank you.”
“Babe, you haven’t checked your socials, have you?” Nolan crouched in front of Fin, pulled out his phone, scrolled through, and held the screen in front of them. “For the little bit of vitriol and shitty constant complainers outside our scene that Hera’s post garnered, there was far, far more support. So many people stepped in beside our crew to tell her she was full of shit, including about you.”
Fin let out a sniff and then glared at everyone. “You guys are just here to try to get me to break. Except I already had my breakdown in a gas station, and it was spectacular and mildly disturbing, so you’re not getting another one from me.”
Ollie’s heart thumped harder. As much as them running had hurt, a part of him had understood. They’d both hit critical mass at the same point, and they’d both climbed out of it in their own ways. What mattered in the end was the fact that they were here now. Fin had come back, and he had reached out when he needed to. Both of them had made steps forward, even if they fumbled along the path.
