Chapter Text
“Oh my god.”
That was Finney Blakes initial reaction to being accepted with a full, FULL, scholarship to the prestigious Sylvanhurst institute, which has an acceptance rate of 2-5%.
“FINNEY, OMG, YOU GOT IT!!”
Gwen shouted as she jumped onto Finney making them both tumble, barely missing the computer by a hair. Her reaction clearly contradicted Finney’s state of shock as she shook his shoulders rather aggressively making him hit his head on the floor with a loud thud.
“OW! GWEN, WHAT THE HECK!”
His voice squeaked out before they both covered each other's mouths at hearing a small creak from outside their room door. They looked at each other from the corner of their eyes before going back to their calmer demeanors.
“God, my heart is beating so fast right now. I legitimately thought it would burst..”
Finney put his hand down and clasped onto his shirt. His shock was gone, now replaced by a well of joy and bliss.
He did it, He’s really getting out of here. Out of this dump they can’t even call home, he’s gonna be away from that sorry excuse of a dad, he’s gonna be away from all those stupid wannabe gangsters who think they’re cool because they have black lungs and cold hearts, he’s gonna be away from his… his sister.
His happiness screeched to a stop and his head turned towards his sister, who was already staring at him. Her eyes were filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite figure out.
“Gwen… Gwen are you gonna be-” Finney was cut off by a swift movement that pushed the air out his lungs and his ears were starting to fill with the familiar sound of sniffles. He felt the cloth on his shoulder begin to dampen; she was crying.
“Finney, I’m so happy for you but-.. Is- Is it greedy of me to not want you to.. leave? I.. don’t know what to do..” Her voice cracked as she pushed her head deeper into his wet shoulder.
Ah.
The emotion in her eyes was desperate longing. He isn't very good at expressing emotions into words but he was always good at reading how people feel.
She was sad he was leaving.
“Oh Gwen.. Gwen, no it isn’t. You’re stuck with that damn abusive boozer.. I really need this opportunity but if you really want me to stay I-” His sentence was immediately shut down when Gwen covered his mouth with her hand and her face lifted from his shoulder so fast he thought she would get whiplash. Her face was a mix of terror and bafflement.
“What?! I would never let you give up this chance! I can take him! I’m 15, I can take him. Now get your ass up and start packing!” Her voice was a mix of playful seriousness as she pushed him off the bed.
“Gwen, I’m serious though, You’re more important than any University and If you’re in this house alone with that-that man and you’re in danger, I’ll gladly flip off any college or University to be with you and give that man a piece of my damn mind.” Finney replied, he was serious, dead serious. If he even touched her with that stupid belt he would come flying back to gladly hand him his ass on a silver platter.
“Finney, we both know you can hurt a fly even if you tried. I appreciate the sentiment, though.” She chirped and a gleeful, bright smile graced her face.
“Ugh, whatever..” He flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling before brown hair filled his vision and a finger flicked his forehead.
“Ouch! What was that for?” He winced out and put a hand to his forehead, rubbing the spot where she hit.
“Finney! Get up and start packing.” She stood from the bed and flung open his closet door just to be met with two shirts and two pairs of pants.
“Finn, what the fuck.” She deadpanned and stood over him.
“Um, Language!? And we both know that there’s technically nothing to pack. PLUS, we wear uniforms at the Uni.” He sat up and stared at his closet before looking down at his feet.
She walked out the room and came back with a sparkling pink piggy bank. He stared at her confusingly before the wave of realization hit and he rushed to let the words out.
“Gwen, no nO DON’T-”
Smash.
They both stared at the mess of dried clay and cash and coins that scattered across the floor. She slowly bent down and picked up the cash and coins and he stared at her dumbfounded.
“Gwen! Why would you do that-”
“We’re going on a shopping spree!” She cheered as she dragged him downstairs and they tiptoed to the door.
“Wait- Gwen, Those were your savings! Why would you do that-” He shrieked when they left the house before being shut up by Gwens sharp smile, her eyes glinting in the mid-afternoon sun.
“Finn, I have a job, I’ll just get more and you should look good and I want you to look good and did I mention I have a job! Please! This’ll be so fun and I can pick out the outfits for you and-”
“OKAY OKAY! Geez, I get it, but still, I have my own money. I don't want you to waste it on me! You should be able to buy nice things and buy some good food and-”
“Shut up. I WANT to waste my money on you and I will. I’m not arguing with you.”
He sighed. He isn’t even worth the time or the money so he doesn’t know why Gwen does this for him.
They walked to the mall while Gwen’s chatter filled the air, her voice was like background noise as he drifted off into his thoughts.
He made it, he’s going to his dream University, he can finally be away from that man and he could achieve heights higher than Terrance could ever amount too and he would prove his worth and make his mom proud. He wondered what it would be like, how it would feel like, how he could change for the better and get Gwen out of that hellhole.
Would he make new friends? What if he gets in trouble with the teachers or what if-
“FINNEY! HELLOOOOOO!! Whatcha’ waiting for? Get in already!” Gwen’s voice echoed in his brain and pulled him from his stupor.
“Yeah-yeah I’m coming, Gwenny..” His voice turned into a murmur as he trudged into the mall.
Gwen grabbed his hand and squeezed, likely trying to see if he was okay, and when he squeezed back and gave her a smile, her grip loosened and she started to pull him to a store.
She dragged him into Rue21 and picked out a casual and affordable outfit for him to try.
He went into the dressing room and placed the clothes onto a small chair. It was pretty normal and simple; not very eye-catching which was exactly what he wanted.
The clothes in the chair stared at him; A pair of jeans with a simple white shirt which was clearly oversized based on his build.
“Finn, try this too!” She tossed another outfit over the cubby. The clothes landed on his head and a little umph slipped from his mouth.
“GWEN!” He whined.
“OOPS! Sorry,” She let out a laugh before continuing, “Get dressed I want to see, already!” her voice quieted down; She must’ve sat down somewhere.
He slipped off his clothes and put on the first outfit she had chosen for him. He turned and looked in the mirror, a small sigh left his lips. He looked.. okay? Well, I mean he looked fine, nothing special though.
He left the dressing room and he looked at his sister. Gwen eyed him up and down and, with her fingers, she gestured for him to turn around.
“Turn, I wanna see everything.” She voiced, stern and focused.
He followed the instructions and spun. She let out a small noise of acknowledgement before shooing him back into the changing room.
“Put on the other outfit and I’ll see which is better.” Her voice echoed through the door as he started to take the outfit off.
He folded the clothes and placed them on the chair while taking the other ones. The second outfit was much more flashy then the other one, much to his perturbation, he let his eyes burn holes into the clothes; A white button up, flared jeans that were tight on the hips (DID SHE GET THIS FROM THE GIRLS ISLE?????) and a belt that would definitely fall off his hips.
He slid into the shirt and pants and walked out the cubby once again. The shirt was, thankfully, long enough to cover his butt but if he bent over, let’s just say that someone might get a face full of cake.
Her face lit up as she clapped her hands together.
“That’s pretty good! Okay, turn around.” She beamed brightly at the sight and he reluctantly turned.
“Lift up the shirt a bit, stop pulling it down.” Gwen scolded and he felt his face start to burn and his hands started to get clammy.
He hesitantly let go of the fabric and felt extremely exposed under the watchful eyes of Gwendolyn Blake.
A wolf whistle filled the air and he had never turned around so fast in his life, definitely causing himself to get whiplash. He winced and rubbed his neck and she laughed loudly and brightly.
“Holy sh- I mean, heck , Finney Blake! I did not know you were packing that much!”
Finney’s face suddenly went three shades darker than before as he let out a shriek and covered his face in embarrassment.
“GWENDOLYN BLAKE! STOP IT RIGHT NOWWW!!!” He blushed and ran back into the changing room.
Her laughter echoed through the room and she curled in on herself, “God, Finney! You’re so funny!” She chuckled as she wiped the tears from her face.
Finney’s face burned with pure, unadulterated shame, mortification and utter appalledness. He rushed to change back into his own clothes and left the small room. Gwen had calmed down enough to talk but still let a small giggle slip from her pink lips.
“We are definitely getting that.” She smiled and led him to the cashier.
They walked to the cashier with them bickering on getting it and not. Gwen arrived at the cue and paid for both of the outfits.
“Okie dokie, So is that all-...” She went dead silent as she eyed the bottom of his pants.
“Lift up your pants, Finney.” Her voice was devoid of any playful undertones, completely replaced with earnest seriousness.
“What-” He blurted out before his hands moved to lift his pants up.
They both stared at his ankles and his socks.
“What happened-”
“FINNEY WHAT ARE THOSE?!?!?” She shrieked as she pointed at the shoes; busted up converse with holes and dirt stains.
“What? They’re my shoes?” he questioned and she thought she was gonna die.
“NOPE, NOPE, NO, THIS WON’T DO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, NO WAY, NO, NO, NO!”
Startled, Finney flinched back and held his hands over his chest. Gwen noticed she scared him and put a hand on his arm.
“Finney Blake, there is no way in HELL that I am going to let you go to the riches looking like you crawled out of a dumpster.”
Finney's expression changed from subtle shock to mock offense as he shoved her away with a laugh.
“Hahaha, very funny but I’m not letting you buy me new shoes. You already bought me clothes and-”
“Nope, not arguing.”
“No, Gwendolyn Blake, I am not taking your money. We’re gonna go eat, we’re gonna go home and we are going to relax.”
Gwen looked at him and pouted, why was he being so stubborn? He sighed and dragged her to lunch.
“Good god, the line is long…” She scowled as her stomach rumbled. He let out a chuckle and patted her head.
“How about you wait here. I’m gonna run home and get my money, okay?” He smiled softly at her and received a small smile back.
“Be careful, though. There’s these creeps that take kids and stuff off the street so here,” She took off a keychain from her belt loop; A sparkly pink pepper spray with little gemstones.
“Gwen, when did you get this-”
“It doesn’t matter! This ones for you to protect yourself from your bullies! Now, go home quickly so we can order the food.” She chastised him as she pushed him in the direction of the automatic door.
“Alright, alright! I’ll be back as fast as I can.” He placed a fast kiss on her forehead as she waved him off. He started bolting home, the houses passing by with the wind that hit his face.
When he was on his street, He started to walk but noticed a black van started to pull out from one of the roads. He paused and slowly took a step back while eyeing the Van slowly moving towards him. The man pulled down the window and slowly let his eyes fall onto Finney's body.
“Hello, peaches.” His voice was low and honeyed. Finney flinched back at the nickname and he gave the man a subtle glare, only for a second, before going back to his walk.
“Yknow, it ain’t very polite to ignore your elders, little boy.” The man's voice was gruff and he slowly opened his door and got out. He wore a black top hat and a black jumpsuit with a red shirt under. The sleeves of the black jumpsuit were rolled up as he strutted towards Finney.
His hands almost barely touched Finney before all his senses started to burn. Finney had reached for his pepper spray and sprayed it all over the man that loomed over him.
“Don’t ever talk to me again!” Finney screeched before he kicked the man in the balls and ran towards his door. The man fell to the ground clutching his family jewels.
Finney went into the house, grabbed his money as fast as he could, ran back out and seeing that the man was still on the ground, he jumped into the van and drove away but not without flipping the man on the floor off and blowing raspberries at him.
“Never pick the Blakes again, you sick son of a-” Finney’s voice faded into a scream as he drove into a ditch.
“AHHHHHH!!!” The sound of a loud crash followed and Finney jumped out the open car door before it engulfed in flames, though his leg wasn’t saved from the burn that he got.
Finney ran towards the mall as the predator watched his van burn. He ran to the food court and panted while he walked to Gwen. Gwen turned and saw him, her eyes went from happy to confused to concerned.
“Holy cow, what the hell happened to you? You look like you just jumped out of some sort of burning car?!” Gwen ran towards him, and did he really look that bad?
She dragged him to that washroom and he saw his reflection; his hair was completely messed-up, it sticking out in all directions. His shirt was ripped on his arm and he had a small scrap that started to bleed, just a bit though. His pants were relatively fine minus the bottom which was practically burned off and his leg had a burn that went from his ankle to the bottom of his calf.
“Holy shoot, you're right.. but I mean, I did actually jump out a burning van so,” He trailed off and she stared at him astounded and in utter shock. But when he fixed her the ‘Don’t even try to ask’ look, she backed off. They started fixing his appearance and used the clothes they just bought before they went back to order their food.
“Hello, what can I get for you two?” The lady that worked there gave them a bright, colorful smile that matched her appearance; Bright neon red hair, a colorful work outfit and multiple accessories. Gwen smiled and replied back with much gusto.
“I’ll get uhh, hm, A Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Curly Fries and a Strawberry Milkshake! Finney, what do you want?” She turned to him with a cheeky smile and pointed at the menu.
“I’ll get a salad.” Finney took out his wallet and was about to pay before Gwen grabbed his wrist and turned to him.
“That’s all? Finney, I’m gonna pay. Get some more food. Y’know what? He’ll get a Jumbo Jack, Curly Fries and a chocolate milkshake please.” Before Finney could argue, Gwen took her own money out and ushered him to a table.
“But Gwen I-”
“Finney, no. You haven’t been eating because dad hasn’t brought back anything but beer.” The term brought a sour taste to their mouths, and she went back to the counter.
“We’ll, that’ll be $13.45!” The lady gave Gwen a warm smile as she handed her the money. Gwen smiled back and sat down to wait with Finney.
“Gwen… um, I’m sorry That you had to waste your money on me-”
“Finney, stop. I wanted to and it’s not like you could’ve stopped me. You literally look like a stick and I refuse to let you turn into a skeleton and turn into ash.” She fixed him with a sad look before her name was called and she went to go collect the food.
She placed the food on the table and they started to eat while chatting about how they think the University will go. The conversation went mostly with Gwen excitedly chatting about how he’ll make new friends and if he has any bullies he can spray them in the face with the pepper spray and with Finney quickly shutting down any violent suggestions.
“Oh, Finn! Are you gonna get the supplies? They put it on the email they sent you.” Finney pulled out his flip phone and checked his emails. Looks like they did.. here’s the following supplies he’d need: Backpack (He had that, or well he had a messenger bag), Notebooks, Pens and Pencils, Highlighters, a Binder or two, loose-leaf Paper, Index Cards, a Planner, a Graphic Calculator, a USB Flash Drive and a Textbook.
“Finney, don't forget to buy a water bottle!” She smiled as they finished their food and made their way to the supplies store.
They went through the isles and got all the things he needed. They made their way back home and stuffed the items in the messenger bag. Gwen went into her room and came back with some pins and keychains to decorate his messenger bag.
“Wait- Finney, how’re you gonna get to the University? You’ll have to catch a flight and everything! Plus, we both know dad can’t and will not pay for anything that involves the both of us.” She tapped her index finger on her thigh, a habit she does when she’s nervous or blocked on something, and stared him in the eyes.
“Well, I did get a full scholarship so do you think they might have sent something in the mail to help?” As the realization hit them both, they silently rushed out of the room and out the house towards the mailbox.
When they made it outside and were in front of the mailbox, they both stared at each other buzzingly before opening their mail and storing through it, until an envelope caught their eye. The envelope read in a dark font: Official Notification of Scholarship Award
Dear Finney Blake,
On behalf of The Sylvanhurst Foundation for Academic Excellence (SFAE) , it is with great pleasure that I extend my heartfelt congratulations on being selected as a recipient of the prestigious Sylvanhurst University. Your exemplary achievements and unwavering commitment to excellence have distinguished you among a highly competitive pool of applicants.
As part of this award, you will receive a scholarship grant of $1000, which has been enclosed as a check accompanying this communication. Additionally, an official certificate recognizing your accomplishment has been included for your records.
Please find the award email attached to this letter for more Information. We encourage you to carefully review the enclosed documentation, as it includes important information about your scholarship and how to access any additional benefits associated with this recognition.
This scholarship is a testament to your exceptional promise, and we are confident that you will continue to uphold the values and standards that led to this honor. Should you have any questions or require further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or via phone at (555) 123-4567.
Once again, congratulations on this significant milestone. We look forward to witnessing your continued success and contributions to our fine establishment.
Yours sincerely,
Campbell Roy
Principle
SFAE
Ect….
“Wow, That’s a lot of money.” Her voice was filled with awe and amazement. They took the check and went back inside to order the earliest plane tickets for the United Kingdom. The soonest they could get would be in a week, and the University opened in a week and 2 days or on September 1st.
“Well, Gwen, I think we should spend as much time together as we can because I’m leaving soon.“ Finney’s voice was happy as he hugged his sister tight. They went to bed that night holding each other in a warm embrace.