Are We Out Of The Woods Yet? (Finley)

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Standing in a short line, about to go into a muggle haunted house, Jess could barely contain her excitement. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking over the crowd to see if the line was moving, though if it was, she would already know. She and Fin were going to her first haunted house ever! She was pretty sure it was going to freak her out in one way or another, but she honestly did not care. She was too excited for the chance to spend time with Fin and she was positive that nothing dangerous would happen. Besides, if anything were to happen, Fin would definitely take care of her. Like he always did. 

When the line scooted forward a few feet, Jess looked over at Fin, grinning. "I can't wait to get in there!" she exclaimed, figuring he would just be amused by her. She was too excited to even really try to contain her excitement. She tilted her head to the side curiously, "Have you ever been in a haunted house before Fin?" Talking while they waited to reach the front of the line was probably a good idea. It would help her contain her excitement a bit. It wasn't like it would be a long wait though. There were only three other couples in front of them. They'd be walking inside before Jess knew it. Still, she might as well talk with her boyfriend while she waited.

@finley

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Fin was surprised when Jess had suggested this, but he was excited for it. He knew that she wouldn't take the scary stuff as well as she thought she would, which meant he could have a pretty good laugh and, of course, physical closeness to her. He hadn't been to a haunted house before, but he was sure it wouldn't be that bad. It was run by muggles, after all. He would just have to focus on not following his instincts and punching the first thing that jumped out at him... that probably was frowned upon here. He had Jess to look after, so that would make it easy.

The moved forward in line, his arm around her waist, and she grinned up at him exclaiming how she couldn't wait to get inside. He grinned, chuckling a little at her excitement. "No, I haven't. I'm sure it's very spooky though," he teased. He was just happy they were in muggle territory... that made avoiding Elaine and other Purifiers much, much easier and therefore he felt safer being there. Not that Elaine didn't have eyes everywhere, but she was less likely to notice if he was out of her normal range. "I'm interested to see how high pitched your scream is in there," he joked, grinning mischievously at her.

@jessavette

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Jess was deliriously happy, which Fin obviously knew. He was smiling down at her, his arm around her waist as he laughed a little bit. She wasn't entirely sure if he was laughing at her or just laughing, but she was so excited to go into the haunted house that Jess couldn't care less. "So it'll be a first for both of us!" she exclaimed. Then she rolled her eyes as his teasing registered. "Yeah yeah, I'm sure it's not going to scare you at all ... which is probably a good thing if I'm being honest." Fin already knew how jumpy she got in movies, not even bad movies. He was definitely going to have fun with her in here, because Jess was almost positive she was going to get freaked out. That was supposed to be what was fun about these places though, right?

He teased her again about her scream and she elbowed him in the side. "Don't make me feel self-conscious. I'll just stifle it all and then you'd never know." Jess didn't really think she'd be able to hold back her screams, but if Fin could tease her about it, she'd definitely tease him back. The couple in front of them entered the house and the attendant told them to wait a minute before entering. Jess could feel her anticipation rising. "Fin!" she whisper-squealed, "I'm so ready for this!" Ha. Like she could ever really be ready to get scared out of her mind.

@finley

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She seemed thrilled that they were both going into this for the first time together, rather than one of them having experienced it before. Fin was glad, too. There wasn't a lot he really had done, though,as far as entertainment was concerned, so he was pretty easy to find new things to do with. She said she was sure he wouldn't be scared at all, which was probably a good thing. he grinned, nodding. "A very good thing. I've got a job to do," he started, leaning in to kiss the top of her head, "gotta make sure you get super freaked out so that you cuddle with me more than usual. Though... that may be a hard thing to do," he admitted, chuckling.

She elbowed his side as he teased her, "ow!'" he exclaimed jokingly, leaning his body slightly away from hers for a moment. She said she'd stifle it and he shook his head, "the more you stifle the louder the scream when you fail," he guessed. It was almost their turn and she whisper-squealed his name. He had an amused smirk on his face as he looked down at her. "Me too," he agreed.

Then it was their turn. They stepped in the door, and immediately entered a long, spooky looking hallway. They weren't with a group, so they went in alone, just like the couple before them. "It's so quiet in here..." Fin pointed out, sure something would spook them at any moment.

@jessavette

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Fin was obviously happy to be here with her, which only excited Jess more. She was trying to contain it a bit, since she knew once they got inside her excitement would turn into freaking out, but she couldn't help it.  Fin kissed her head, telling her he had a job and she twisted to look up at him curiously before rolling her eyes at him. "You're supposed to make it better, not worse you know," she chided, knowing that Fin would do both. He'd definitely egg her on and then help her make it through the whole thing. She wouldn't be able to do this without him. 

Jess laughed when he pretended that she hurt him and then made another face. "Okay ... maybe you have a good point there. I won't try to hold it in, but you'd better stay close while we're in there," she warned. She didn't think he'd tease her by leaving or pretending to leave, but she might as well throw it out there.

They walked in beside one another and Jess felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and goosebumps cover her arms. "Crap," she muttered under breath as she took a step closer to Fin, reaching for his hand. "Don't say that," her voice was harder than she meant it to be, but that was because of the nerves. 

They hadn't even taken ten steps forward when something jumped out at her and Jess screamed, jumping away from the thing and accidentally bumping Fin at the same time. She looked back in time to see the mechanism move back to its original place and glanced back at Fin. "Are you going to regret coming with me?" she teased in a somewhat shaky voice. Adrenaline raced through her and even though she definitely was freaking out, she did notice it was the good kind. She was having fun.

@finley

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She said he was supposed to make her fears better, not worse, and he shrugged. "Can't have the good without the bad. As I said, gotta make sure you're properly scared to get to the good part," he winked, then laughed. Fin never felt more comfortable than when he was with Jess. Good luck getting a wink out of him unless you were Jess, Elaine or Desirae, really. But with Jess it was all just... easy, almost effortless. She was like that, though. She always made the people around her feel comfortable and wanted. At least, that's what Fin had always felt.

She said she wouldn't try to hold her screams in, as long as he stayed close while they were in there. "Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't go that far. As fun as it could be to see you freak out, I would never do that," his tone was a little serious at that moment, because he was being honest. He wouldn't leave her, not even as a joke, especially somewhere that he wasn't familiar with.

When he mentioned the stillness of the room, she moved closer to him, chastising him for mentioning that. Then, suddenly, something jumped out and Jess did indeed scream. She bumped into him and he brought his hands up to catch her shoulders, smiling as they looked back toward the spooky thing as it reclined back into the wall. "What? No, no way. Come, my love - press forward!" maybe playing the 'knight in shining armor' would be more fun for her than letting her get too spooked. Really, he wasn't sure he could let her get too scared. That's not what he was there for, after all.

He moved her arm through his so their arms were linked, and marched on. There was a spooky whispering affect running through the air now - the voice of a small child saying things like, "my doll looks just like you... come play with me... it'l be fun... what pretty hair you have.." and Fin grimaced. "Okay that's freaking scary," he admitted.

@jessavette

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Fin was teasing her. Jess was almost certain of that when he said that she had to be properly scared to get to the good part. She made a face at him, "I'm fairly certain we'll get to the good part, even if you don't try and make it worse." Jess was being fairly honest. She was pretty easy to scare, and that was putting it lightly. She chuckled, trying to hide her nerves and prepare herself for what was to come. 

Suddenly Fin's tone was serious and Jess watched him, a smile sprouting when he said that he wouldn't leave her inside alone. She moved closer, going to her tiptoes and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before it was their turn to enter. "Thanks Fin," Jess whispered, ensuring that he knew how much she appreciated that reassurance. 

He held her shoulders when she jumped into him, encouraging her almost instantly to continue. Jess grinned when he called her "love" and followed him instantly. It appeared that Fin was realizing he didn't need to try and scare her. That would be fairly easy for the muggles running this place. "All right, here we go," she answered with a nod, her voice a little shaky, but her steps firm and determined. She could do this. 

The next thing she knew, their arms were looped together as they continued through the place. Jess leaned against Fin, hoping that he couldn't feel her slight shaking as they walked. It wasn't that bad yet, but that was part of the problem. The anticipation of being scared was almost as bad as the actual scaring. She swallowed, pulling herself closer to Fin as the creepy whispering filled the air. "Mmhmm," she squeaked when he said it was scary, looking from side to side. 

What she didn't expect was to feel something hot on her neck. She turned her head to the left to see a creepy doll standing beside her, the painted face only inches away from her. Jess screamed, "Fin, come on!" She shouted, pulling him forward and away from the person who she was sure just worked there, but she didn't want to be close to anymore. Now that she was looking, there were people dressed as dolls, lining the walls on either side of them. "Fin," Jess whined, unable to help herself.

@finley

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Jess said she was certain they would 'make it to the good part' without him making it worse and he grinned. For a moment he thought of Desi, and how she would have some sort of innuendo joke to make about a comment like that. He wasn't so into those kind of jokes, but it was always funny when Desi turned something totally innocent into something very, very not. He chuckled a little at the thought.

Jess lifted onto her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek when he said that he wouldn't leave her, thanking him in a soft whisper. "Yeah," he whispered back, his eyes drifting off a little as they often did when she was being so adorable that he couldn't believe he actually got to be with her. So... a lot of the time. He didn't deserve her, and she reminded him of that every day without even realizing.

She agreed that the creepy voice was scary, apparently unable to speak for the moment. Fin was looking to the right when suddenly Jess screamed. He whipped his head to the left just in time for Jess to start pulling him forward. He tried to catch a glimpse of what had spooked her but she pulled him away too fast. But then others started to show themselves, the creepy dolls lining the walls. They didn't move quickly, but just sort of tilted their heads to the side, or smiled, or slowly raised a hand to wave. Fin wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in front of him and continued walking without her back to his chest. "Hey, look at the bright side, at least dolls are usually breakable porcelain, right? A real haunted doll could just be smashed to pieces. And they're generally a lot smaller," he encouraged as they moved toward the next door, the one to exit this doll room.

@jessavette

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So Jess was definitely coming to the realization that without Fin she would never be able to do something like this. She really just wasn’t brave enough for it. Fin was honestly the only reason she wasn’t running through the place, screaming as she tried to find the exit. She couldn’t help but think that he was definitely going to regret coming here with her, even though it was her idea in the first place. Her heart was pounding and they were still just in the first room. Did that mean she was going to freak out the entire way through? Jess certainly hoped not. While she was kind of enjoying the adrenaline rush, she also felt embarrassed for how she was acting.

At least Fin wasn’t telling her there wasn’t anything to be scared of. She knew words wouldn’t help. Instead he wrapped his arms around her as they walked and Jess felt herself start to calm down slightly at his touch and knowing that he was there. Nothing would happen to her while Fin was around. She knew, even though they’d never talked about it, that he was probably much better at defensive magic than she was, even though she wasn’t necessarily bad at it. He started talking and Jess really listened, smiling at his words. Fin was definitely trying to help, and the great thing was that his words did help. Jess nodded, “Y-yeah,” she breathed. “You’re right. I j-just, one was right next to me. I wasn’t expecting it.” They got to the door and Jess took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. At least her heart wasn’t pounding so hard right now. “I-I think I’m okay now,” she told Fin, her voice a little stronger. She slid out of his arms, moving to his side and holding on to one of his arms instead. She didn’t want to have to go in first. Having Fin right next to her should help. Hopefully. “Okay, let’s go,” she said with a nod, trying to pretend she wasn’t as freaked out as she definitely was.

@finley

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Jess said she was fine, pulling away from him at the door to take his arm instead. "I could carry you if that's better," he teased, but his tone was gentle. He didn't want her to feel like he was ACTUALLY making fun of her. That was the last thing he would ever do.

He looked to the next door, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I have a feeling things just get more scary the further you go, so we have to prepare ourselves," he explained, placing his hand over hers on his arm. Then he turned back to her, raising an eyebrow, "ready?" he slowly pushed the door open, stepping inside and taking in a deep breath, ready for whatever was next.

And it didn't dissapoint. The room started out quiet, at first, but then as they walked in further they could hear a faint screaming. "Fin! Fin!" the voice called. Fin stopped, "crap."

Up ahead was a scene familiar to him. There was a girl, a blonde girl with a red dress, medieval style. She was tied to several chains and around her was an array of eyeballs in the walls, all watching her.

What were the odds that his haunted house would take inspiration from one of his mother's books? They weren't that popular. But someone must have been a fan because there was an actress playing Harriet, the girl from one of the stories. Fin cursed under his breath, knowing what would happen next. ”It's from a book. Harpies going to peel her skin off,” he sighed, ”let's go quicky,” he said, starting to pull Jess along, maybe a little roughly.

@jessavette

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Fin teased her and Jess turned back to him, lifting an eyebrow sarcastically. "I think I'm fine for now, but I will definitely keep that under consideration for later. I might need you to carry me out of here eventually," she admitted, smirking at the end. She had no doubt that he could, she just didn't know if she was actually going to want that this year. 

Jess swallowed thickly when Fin warned her before opening the next door. She nodded and wanted to speak, but her voice was gone again. Jess forced a smile, her hand tightening on his arm. She loved the tension of waiting to see what was coming, but it was also freaking her out. "Ready," she squeaked so high he might not have been able to hear her. Jess took stiff steps, following Fin inside the next room. 

She looked from side to side as they walked through the dark, quiet room. At first she couldn't hear anything, but then someone was screaming ... Fin's name? What, did they hear Jess screaming for him earlier? Her hand tightened around his arm in a sort of vice grip now. Fin stopped walking, saying crap and Jess glanced up to him. "How did they know?" she breathed, not understanding how they would know he was here. 

Fin wasn't looking at her. Instead, his eyes were transfixed on the scene in front of them. Jess looked forward, inhaling sharply at the strange situation. What in the world was this supposed to be? Her attention returned back to Fin when he swore, then explaining it was from a book and what would happen next. Jess nodded in agreement, but he was already pulling her forward, his hold on her really tight, not that Jess would say anything. They approached the next door and her curiosity started to take control for a second, since the only scary thing right now were the screams of the girl behind them. Jess would rather talk over her. "You've read that book before? How did you recognize that so fast?" The girl's screams grew more shrill and Jess moved closer to him, trying not to listen as they continued to walk quickly.

@finley

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She said he made need to carry her eventually and he chuckled, "darling, I'd carry you anywhere," he teased, but leaned down to kiss the top of her head. It was true, of course. He'd do anything she asked. If he'd do almost anything for his best friend Elaine then of course he'd do literally anything for the woman he loved.

They moved forward when Jess said she was ready, and then he heard her question how they knew Fin's name as far as the character screaming. He didn't answer that, yet. He just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. She asked if he'd read the book before, and how he had recognized it so fast. He didn't speak, just pulled her along incredibly fast. For a moment, he made eye contact with the actress playing Harriet, and she seemed mildly offended that they weren't sticking around to see her acting.

He pulled her into the next hallway and didn't turn back, finally slowing his pace. "I've read the book before because..." he wasn't sure how to explain, and when he paused a flurry of anomatronic bats flew over their heads. He jumped, startled, and instinctively swung his fist at one which crashed into the wall beside them.

@jessavette

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Fin said that he'd carry here anywhere, kissing her forehead. Jess smiled up at him, "I sure hope so," she answered back. She knew that Fin cared enough for her to at least help her make it through this place, but she also felt that it was more than that. So the idea of him being willing to carry her out wasn't a surprise at all. 

He pulled her quickly through the room, not saying anything to answer her questions and Jess followed him easily, watching him curiously. Was he ... actually freaked out? She couldn't tell, mostly because she'd never seen her like this before. Jess wasn't paying any attention to the actress, since she was focused on Fin's different behavior. What was going on with him? 

When they entered the next hallway, Fin finally started to talk, explaining that he'd read the book before. He didn't really get the chance to say more before something was swinging over their heads. Jess squealed, her heart jumping again. She watched, surprised when Fin reached up and punched whatever-it-was. Then she giggled, "Looks like I'm not the only one jumpy." Jess sobered quickly, "Sorry, what were you saying? You've read the book before?"

@finley

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She giggled after he punched the thing, saying that she wasn't the only one who was jumpy. He tried to smile, it was indeed funny, but he was still in shock over his mothers books being used to inspire the place. She asked what he was saying, which meant he wasn't off the hook from explaining. He started to walk again, slowly, taking her with him. "I know the other. That's why she was calling for "Fin". It's a character... based on me," he didn't look at her, his eyes fixed straight ahead. He was paranoid that whoever designed the haunted house would get even more inspiration from his mom...

"Actually there are a lot of stories out there based on me - some have my name, some don't. The author... well, it's my mother," he explained slowly, his voice strained and low. It was almost as if he was in pain and trying to talk so he didn't start screaming. Talking through gritted teeth, almost.

@jessavette

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Fin smiled back at her, but he was tense and Jess could tell that something was wrong, though she had no idea what it could be. He was walking slowly now, not looking at her and for a second Jess wondered if she said or did something wrong. What happened to the playful attitude from just a few minutes ago? Then he started talking, saying that he knew the author and that the character Fin was based on him. Jess looked over at him, but Fin wasn't looking back at her. Was having a character based on you a bad thing? She didn't understand, but she also didn't want to say anything that could upset him further.

His voice was low, sounding angry and tense and stressed as he continued to explain that there were lots of stories based on him because the author was his mother. The moment he said that, Jess realized that the fact that it was his mother was upsetting to him, but she didn't understand why. There was no way she was going to ask though. Instead she pulled her hand out of his and wrapped her arm around his back, giving him an awkward side hug. "I'm sorry," she muttered, mostly because she didn't know what to say but also felt like she needed to say something. He was so tense it worried her. 

@finley