#leyshrps

It was snowing and Brett was doing the most ridiculous thing in the world. He was building a goddamn snowman. Well, technically, he was supervision for Melanie as she struggled building one. The process was beginning to grow painful to watch. Arms crossed in front of his chest, he watched as Melanie failed at rolling snow into a ball, the corners of his lips pulled up in amusement. He realized why he agreed to it, watching her like that. Though, as he moved closer, he had no intention of helping her build the snowman. Bending over, he collected snow in his gloved hands, packed it up and threw it right at Melanie's back. 

Finn had never seen a woman so angry, and if the saying “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” were based off a single person, it would be Lea Briem.

His visit to Delaney’s dorm was supposed to be nothing more than a quick stop by to pick up his best friend for lunch, but when he heard the crash coming from the other side of the door, Finn took action. Lea’s screams filled his ears as he threw the door open and faced the familiar blonde he knew all too well and her supposedly, from what he gathered as of now, psychotic roommate holding a glass raised in her hand. And after a quick glance at both of them, he knew some sort of brawl went on from their tousled hair and scratch marks along visible spots of their skin. His first instinct was to jump in front of Del, hoping to block any blow coming from Lea.

"Hey," he started, holding his hands up in front of him as he caught Lea’s eyes with his own, "hey, it’s okay. Lea, put the glass down. No one has to get hurt." But apparently that was the wrong thing to say because she drew her arm back and hurdled the glass straight in his direction. Good thing he saw it coming, because he grabbed Del’s wrist in one quick motion and pulled her with him as he dodged the glass that quickly slammed into the wall, splattering into a million pieces.

"Holy sh-" but the words died on his mouth as she flew into action, throwing herself at a table that held four more glasses. "Oh no you don’t," he breathed before darting for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back before she could grab anything breakable. Because there was no way in hell she was throwing something again and putting Del in danger.

-

Finn never imagined that this day would come. He'd never imagine that he would look at Delaney Ryan, and tell her goodbye. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he bit the inside of his cheek, willing himself not to cry. He wasn't a child, and he wasn't going to act like one. His entire life, he's pictured himself beside Del, sharing his life with her as they both aged. Never once did he picture himself standing in the airport, with his luggage boarded and silence growing as he thought of what to say.

"So," he finally started, letting out a breath, "thanks for coming." He moved his head up and down in a nod, not yet meeting his eyes with hers. Finn knew if he did, he'd want to forget his entire plan. He'd want to say, "I just can't do it," and Finn knew that he had to. It was getting out of hand, the way Finn was so far behind on his life because he was so caught up in his love for Del. It wasn't right, and he had to move on. 

It was when his boss asked him for the fourth time if he'd be willing to move to California where a job position was open- claiming Finn would get a raise, and they'd even set him up with an agent to help him look for an apartment. He asked on the best day, because it was the day that Delaney's current boyfriend came to him to show him the ring he was planning to purpose to her with on their anniversary coming up. Finn smiled, of course. He told him it was incredible, and that he wishes him the best of luck in his proposal. And then his boss offered him a job in California, and he accepted.

So there he stood, in the airport, with his best friend standing next to him and a million words caught in his throat that he ached to say but knew he couldn't. And then he heard his flight being called over the intercom, and Finn squeezed his hands into fists. "This is me," he spoke on a breath, his voice scratchy. 

Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around Del for the last time, savoring the moment before he pulled back. His hands on either side of her arms, he looked at her- really looked at her. "I'll miss you more than you'll ever know, Del." His mouth pulled up in a smile as she mentioned seeing him at Christmas, and Finn had failed to mention that he wouldn't be coming back for Christmas. Finn wasn't coming back for a long time.