Griffin wasn’t taken.
He was still with them, alive and mostly alright.
Of course, they weren’t fine, no matter how much they tried to ignore it, but Finney had to admit, it didn’t bother him to not talk about it.

A few days have gone by after the sleepover – as they had called it, because they just couldn’t tell Bruce’s parents, that they were supposed to be killed by the towns magician and somehow got thrown back in time and now planned to take revenge. Yeah.. telling someone that would make the others and him sound crazy.

A small piece of bread hit him straight on the forehead and stayed tangled in his hair for a few moments before it fell down onto the table.
Puzzled Finney blinked at it, before another one hit him.

Gwen, who sat across from him, threw them.
In the past few days, especially after they prevented Griffins kidnapping, the two siblings hadn’t really spent much time together, Finney was focused on the boys while Gwen herself spent most of her time with friends, or that was what she told him.

“Finney! Did Dad call?”
“No, not really.” It was true, in the past days – now nearly a week – his father hadn’t called once- Maybe, if he didn’t knew his dad would come back soon enough, he’d be worried. But he knew his old man would come back from the funeral, drink again and stay the same.
He always stayed the same.
Maybe he changed after Finney went missing, but he didn’t knew if he did or if he just beat Gwen to just her up about her dreams and Finney.

Gwen sighed, looked at her bread again. Finney again had made himself a bowl of cereal, but had gotten lost in thoughts.

Finney grabbed the spoon and filled it with the cereal and some milk, though the cereal had gotten soft and mushy now. He frowned.

Again this stupid burning glance in his neck.. Maybe he should ask the others if they felt like this- no. He didn’t plan on telling them about the call nor the real dream, because it was not important, he told himself. He didn’t want to worry the others while they had a much bigger problem running around town.

“Yikes..” he whispered before eating it. He still felt great being able to decide what to eat, even though he now was way more reluctant to throw thing away easily.

Gwen rolled her eyes and took a bite from her bread.
“It’s your fault, if you hadn’t been dreaming again you’d have time to eat it while still crunchy.”

“You are really annoying.”

“Thanks I know. But what is on your mind?” she looked at him again. Finney shook his head.
It was a lie, but he got to be quiet good at lying to others, or so he thought.

Gwen nodded and took another bite.
“Then you are still a bit tired.” she remarked, leaving Finney just groaning.

Gwen was special, not in the way her dreams were, but in a different way. She was smart for a nine-year-old and acted older than she was. She knew when others lied to her, but Finney still hoped she’d leave it be. Because he knew, that if she knew, she’d be all over his and his friends asses to either get them to talk to the police or to let her help.
And especially the latter was something Finney wanted to avoid.

“I just haven’t slept well, alright? What about you? Didn’t you plan on staying at Suzie’s again?” Finney took another spoonful of cereal without looking at Gwen.
Ugh.. mushy cereal wasn’t something for him.

“I thought about going to the library later today. I’ve heard about a few interesting books there. Donna had told me about them.” Finney looked up, an eyebrow raised.
“You have the same taste in books as Donna?” he asked confused.
He didn’t think his sister would have a lot in common with Donna, except maybe some fashion choices or what ever it was called.

“As her brother actually, she has mentioned him reading about something that interest me. Would you come along or are you hanging with your little group again?” she didn’t sound like she was mocking him, or intending it, but it still sounded so weird to Finney.

He had friends, friends that literally saved his live. He had a group of people who would stand beside him. Or at least that was what he’d do for them.
And Robin..Robin was part of that group.
Finney knew, he couldn't erase the memories out of Robins brain (or out of any of the boys brains but Robin was the subject of his thoughts right now), nor would he do it, if he could. As much as he wanted to tell himself, he wanted him to forget – which he actually kind of wanted, Robin remembered too much for Finney’s taste – but then again, he didn’t want Robin to do anything stupid and.. he felt so selfish for thinking like this, was it ice to not be alone with that knowledge.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Finney raised an eyebrow.
“You always hang around them. It’s just kind of weird seeing you hang out with others than Robin.” she shrugged and Finney sighed. Yeah it was a lot more noticeable than he wished it’d be.
“Yeah, but you really don’t need to worry about them. They are amazing friends.”

Gwen smiled. She looked like she enjoyed seeing her brother be so happy. Gwen should be happy like this.
“That’s great! But can I ask again how you met? I mean you’re friends with Vance Hopper and like the most popular boy in your school.” this always seemed to interest her. Finney knew, she always had been one to admire boys like Robin or Vance, boys that could fight back. She wanted to be like them.

“Haven’t I told you already?” Finney actually wasn’t too sure about that.

After the first questions arose, of why this group specifically came to be, the boys had agreed on some kind of story..
Griffin had just started sitting next to Finney and so they knew each other. Bruce knew Vance from the Grab’n Go and was actually tolerated by him, and Bruce knew Finney from baseball. Robin knew Vance from him beating up Moose and brought him to Finney to let his knuckles be bandaged. Paperboy, or still Billy in the minds of everyone else besides them, knew Bruce from delivering his papers or something like that, and so they came to be.
Of course this was a rather bad cover, but after a few threatening glances of Robin or Vance the questions would stop.
“But it’s still interesting, and you haven’t mentioned how you exactly met Billy.” her dark brown eyes were filled with curiosity and Finney really had a hard time to think about it.
“Bruce and Vance just brought him along.” he shrugged. He literally never had thought about explaining it different, and he wasn’t lying.
Paperboy was, as far as the others had told him, brought along by Bruce and Vance, after latter had attacked him.

With a nod, Gwen rose, glancing at the clock before looking at Finney.
"You're about to help Billy, right? Do you get paid for that?" she asked while she was cleaning up her plate.

Finney hadn't even noticed how Gwen had slowly adjusted to his routine, slowly slipping into it. And now she was cleaning up the house while he got ready to help Paperboy.

"Oh? I'm not getting paid, I'm just helping out a friend." In fact it might be a good thing to get paid, after all the money for the time her father was away was running out.

Gwen nodded again, then disappeared into her room.

Meanwhile, Finney finished his breakfast.

It was as if Gwen left the room with an icy yet searing chill.
Goosebumps spread out on his neck as that look that shouldn't have been there lay on it again.

Finney sighed.
He was just being paranoid. Surely that was the case, who wouldn't be when the man who had kidnapped you and wanted to kill you was still alive and walking free?He shook himself and sighed deeply again.

Then he got up, the plate and the bowl, in which there was still some milk but now no more soggy cereal, and brought it to the sink.

It felt like there were footsteps behind him.
He bit his lip. Why did that happen so suddenly? Sure, when Gwen was there he'd already felt the burn, even weaker than the past few days, but now it was so much more extreme.

"Gwen? If you're going to scare me then-"

Ring. Ring. Ring.
His blood froze.
He was frozen in his motion, as if he had suddenly turned to stone.

The telephone rang.

He held his breath, trying to breathe as little as possible. It wasn't a conscious decision, instead it seemed like it was just going to happen. It was beyond his control.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Again.
Why did the phone ring? Why the hell didn't Gwen say anything?

"Gwenny?" his voice wasn't really more than a faint note escaping his throat.

It was as if he could feel the cold and slippery kitchen tiles beneath his feet, even though he was wearing his shoes.
His clothes were uncomfortably tight. Way too narrow.
It was way too hot.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The ringing grew more urgent, confirming Finney's fear.
Gwen didn't say anything because she didn't hear it, right?

"Gwen?" his voice was uncertain, it was shaky and threatened to break.

RING! RING! RING!

It got louder.
Why the fuck was it getting louder?!

And then Finney felt it.

Hot and stuffy breath, breath that felt so much more like nasty and thick mucus than anything else, hit the back of his neck.

Right on his neck.

Finney stiffened.

"G-gwen, that's not funny." he ground out.
He knew how crazy he must seem, Gwen was in her room, maybe a few minutes had passed and yet he clung to the idea that it was her.
But kept him sane.

Anything else would only make it worse.

"Finney.."

It was like a thread had been cut. It shot through his body like lightning and without thinking Finney reached for the next best weapon he could find.

A fork.

His bowl and the spoon in it fell into the sink with a loud clatter, but he didn't care.

His breathing was ragged.
His eyes were painfully wide.

That was just a dream.

Breathe again.

He clutched it convulsively as if a fork was what could save him from the monster behind him.

He knew he couldn't possibly be, and yet he felt it so clearly.

RINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGRINGR!!

Finney just stood in front of the sink, frozen, clutching the fork like crazy.

He couldn't move.
His heart was racing.
He wanted to cry.

Ring! Ring! knock! Ring! Ring!

He heard footsteps, quick footsteps and yet he couldn't place them.

Gwen?
Some spawn from the hell of his mind?

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Finney!"

He flinched, it was as if a wave rumbled through his body and swept him away while his actual body was forced to stay still.

The ringing grew quieter.

The footsteps came closer.
"Finney damn it, can't you hear me? Billy's at the door for you!"

All of a sudden it was gone.
The tension.
the panic.
The breath on his neck.

It was gone.
Whatever he had just felt was gone.

He slumped in relief before processing Gwen's words.

"Billy? W- Ah, PB. Thanks.." he murmured to Gwen, giving her a slightly encouraging smile, but he saw the concern clearly in her dark eyes.

"Are you okay Finney? You look beat."

"Yeah, I'm fine.. I have to go. I'll take you to the library later, okay?"

He was aware of how drugged he was going to be, but was he just glad whatever episode that was was over.
Second, he knew that he was neglecting Gwen compared to the first time - he still had no idea what to call the timeline, or whatever it was, where everything went wrong and he didn't know what to expect - and hardly spent any time with her. It hurt him, he loved and missed her.

So he promised her that, and Gwen nodded.

"Sounds good. See you then."

------------------------------------------------------

"Why did you come here? Normally I go to you, it's safer." he didn't mean to sound reproachful, after all he wasn't. Maybe without the situation at the sink he would have been, but Paperboy had gotten him out of there indirectly.

He was already on the luggage rack while Paperboy cycled.
"I know it was stupid. But I had a feeling something was off..." Paperboy mumbled, not turning to Finney as he tossed a newspaper.

Finney's stomach turned.
"W-what do you mean?"

"I woke up, similar to the first time since you got rid of him. Except I've had my memories of everything since I first woke up and I felt awful. Like I was going to be stabbed or otherwise mauled or something like that. I know it was stupid but.. I don't know. I'm sorry." he mumbled while throwing another paper.

It was something Paperboy could always do, something like muscle-memory or so, and Finney was again left to wonder, what he could do like that.

He knew, Robin could still fight, if not even better.
Vance still was the pinball champion of Denver.
Bruce still was, as far as he was told, an amazing base-ballplayer.
And Griffin, well he was the most awesome friend they could ask for.

Like Paperboy, he rarely filtered what he said, but other than the paperboy, he always knew exactly what he said.

Finney pressed his lips together.
He hadn’t felt necessarily like his life was in danger (he did, but admitting it was a challenge, because the Grabber couldn't have possibly been behind him) but hearing that someone else had felt nearly the same that morning, made him shiver.

“Do you think the others felt it too?” Finney didn’t say, that he had exactly a situation where he felt like that. He didn’t need to answer. He didn’t want to.

The dark blond shrugged.
“Probably.. I’m not sure. I hope though they didn’t, ‘cause it was a shitty feeling.. Maybe I felt like that when I died.” Paperboy didn’t have a filter, but he didn’t choose it. He just spoke his mind without realizing that something could come across as disturbing or weird.

An uncomfortable shiver went through the boy and he nodded.

Paperboy might have been easy enough to keep from talking about it, but then there were four other boys who were far more assertive. And Robin, knowing Finney well, would surely spot in seconds if he was lying.
"You didn't tell me how you died."
To be honest, Finney had no idea how to respond to that. He knew that Paperboy could only remember the others correctly, not himself.
He had just warned him not to go upstairs, not to fall into that damn trap.
So that was the only clue Finney had, and to be honest he didn't want to know how all those boys died either.

All he needed to know was by whom they had been murdered.
And he needed to know that so they could get back at him together.

"Maybe for the best.. Player-erm.." He cleared his throat briefly, "Bruce and Robin's deaths sounded painful." he said honestly and Finney nodded.

It sounded so absurd that his Robin, the boy who was bursting with life and energy, who seemed to glow in the sun and had a radiance like no other who was so warm, should be dead.
However, he could remember how lost and desperate he had felt when everyone only spoke of him in the past.

"Don't say he was, he - is - my friend."

"He will curse the day he was born for it."

There was a comfortable silence between the two as they drove down the route.

Toward the end, things got tense again, and Finney found himself holding his breath again.

"Just try not to break one of his windows again."

“I still don’t know how that could have happened. There was nothing..- quiet.”

The grip on his handlebars slipped, and for a moment it looked like he was going to hit Finney with a newspaper. However, he let it go as they drove past Albert Shaw's house.

Something was different.
Finney's heart began to race, so painfully fast he thought his chest would burst.

The house looked normal as far as he was used to it.
Too normal.

The fence and the bars in front of the basement window were new. That was now covered by large and dense bushes.

Bushes that weren't there the first time and blocked the view of the basement perfectly.

It made Finney feel empty and at the same time panic.
Anyone who ended up down there would have no chance of being seen.
But that wasn't the only thing that was different than usual.

The van was already parked there, but there was no trace of the grabber.
The front door was wide open and a distinctly displeased voice came out.

"Max, you don't have to call every damn day just to make sure I'm okay. I can take care of myself."

He sounded irritated and angry, a dangerous mix.
Finney wanted to leave as soon as possible, but it made him sit up and take notice.

Max, that was his brother, wasn't it?

"Yeah yeah, of course I'd love to talk to you- no! No, I mean. No, you don't have to come visit me. I've got everything under control."

An irritated laugh and a panicked tone, Albert sounded almost desperate.

"Of course I would like to see you. Are you accusing me of not wanting to see you? I love you Max, but I don't have time right now. You know, right now I have a lot of birthdays or parties that I must occur." he giggled.
Then his voice got quieter, probably Max had hung up.

Paperboy had grabbed the newspaper, but his hand was shaking.

The figure of the man appeared, but before he could approach them, he stopped.
A sharp and high-pitched ringing pierced the early morning, making Finney jump.
Damn how he was beginning to dread the sound of phones ringing.

Finney nearly lost his balance from his start, but managed to hold on.

The footsteps went away again. The shadow disappeared.

"Max I swear to god- oh."
The voice was almost a shout, but he trailed off.
Finney looked at Paperboy, who finally managed to break his rigidity.

Paperboy threw the newspaper, it almost landed on the van but not all the way.

With that he cycled away.
Finney, however, couldn't help but wonder why someone had called him again so soon after.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back at their spot for a brief meeting, Robin sat down besides Finney.
Bruce and Vance were still in the school, but for different reasons.
Bruce at apparently practice while Vance had detention, surprisingly not for beating someone up but for “being rude to school personal”.

“You alright?” he asked quietly while Finney leaned against him.
He nodded slightly.
He wasn’t lying entirely, because with Robin things felt so much more alright. He wouldn't dare loosing him again.

Paperboy looked at them, while Griffin started to share the new rumor he heard in school.

“I’ve heard Mr Black has had a massive fight with his son, like in the school! And then he, the son, is now crushing the couch at a friend’s house. Though it was around detention-time, so I’m not sure if what I’ve over heard is true..” Griffin sat across from them on the ground while he was talking. Paperboy just sighed.
“How do you overhear all of this stuff?”
“If nobody sees me, then nobody's going to know I’m listening, so they don’t keep anything in while I’m around.”

“Mr Black has a son?” Finney closed his eyes while Robin sounded like he was thinking about who Mr Black was again.
“The asshole talking to you so long and looking at me like that?”
“Yeah, that Mr Black. Didn’t you have him in some lessons last year?” Finney opened one eye and looked at Robin. It was a bit of a weird position, though it was really comfortable.
“Finn, amigo, I remember the times with you clearly and the other stuff is hazy.” he reminded him with a warm smile.
His arm was rested on his shoulder, while Finney rested his head in Robins shoulder. He didn’t really care what either Griffin or Paperboy were going to say about it.

“We get it, you guys are-”
“Watch your words, diminuto.” Robin threatened, leaving Griffin rolling his eyes.
“I wanted to ask if you guys also had this weird feeling this morning.” it was clear, that he actually wanted to say something else before that.
And for a slight moment, Finney wished he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to have to deal with this.. it was surely just his imagination.

Paperboy nodded. Robins grip on Finney tightened slightly, but not to the point of being painful.
“I think I know what you mean. It felt like you were about to get mauled or otherwise hurt, didn’t it? I don’t know about the other two, but I’m pretty sure, that we all felt it.”
Robin groaned.
“Don’t tell me we’re not just back from the dead but also have some kind of connection. Finn, did you feel something like this?” Robin looked down at Finney, moving slightly in the process. With this he made it kinda uncomfortable to rest Finney’s head on his shoulder, so he raised it. Now both of his eyes were open.

“I had some kind op panic this morning, but I didn’t feel anything like that.” he answered halfway true, but couldn't look at the others.
Robin knew that he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but didn’t say anything and instead rested his head on his shoulder.
“So we felt like that because of you?” Finney rolled his eyes at Robins comment, though it was a fair question. Did they feel like this because he had some weird panic attack?
“You make it sound like I wanted that.”
“So that’s why you looked so pale when I picked you up.” Paperboy remarked again, without realizing that this was information the other two didn’t knew.
“You picked up Finney? Doesn’t he normally come to you?”
“I felt it so urgent, that I just needed to get to him. I don’t even really remember driving to him.” he shrugged again, leaving a heavily sighing Griffin.

“You have memory-leaks like no other.”
“At least I can remember my paper route.” Paperboy thought of it as a pretty good comeback, but almost everyone else – that being Griffin and Robin – chuckled at that.
Then Robin got serious again.

“Coming back to the paper route, was anything weird?”

Finn looked to the ground. He felt like his heart was in a tight grip, and none of the nice ones. But this one felt like absolute hell.
“He wasn’t outside, though the window is now fully blocked out.”
“And he was talking with his brother, the one he killed. Then he wanted to get out but something stopped him.”
“Yeah.. though I think he only had-has? Not the point.. one brother. After he had hung up, someone called again.” Finney mentioned.
Something was different.
Max hadn’t shown up the first time.
He only got here after five kids disappeared, or at least he guessed that from what the Grabber had said.
But maybe, maybe he wanted to for a long time. Maybe this wasn’t so different.

“oh? Didn’t hear that.. though I think they talked about his brother coming to visit him. Though he clearly didn’t like that.”

“Alright, we have the damn van not being in front of the school,-”
“The van wasn’t there? We saw it, it looked ready!” maybe he was getting too loud, but their spot being behind the school was quiet useful at avoiding being overheard.
“You two got here quiet early, but when I and Griffin showed up, the van wasn’t there. Maybe Bruce and Vance saw it, but honestly, I don’t think so.” Robin stretched, he wanted to try and ease the tension inside of him, but Finney saw it didn’t work.

Griffin swallowed loudly.
“So, the van isn’t there, we are somewhat connected, the Grabbers brother, whom he killed, could show up and he is changing things?” he sounded nervous, almost anxious.
Finney and the others couldn’t blame him.
He acted out of the ordinary. He didn’t act like they expected him to, so of course they’d freak out.
They could literally die.

“I’m taking Gwen to the library after school, on the way I’ll pick up some nails for the bats.”
“The knives would go- Oh maldito dios casi lo olvido! I’ve got two pocket knives!” excitedly, Robin sat up and started fumbling in one of his pockets before finding what he wanted.
"You just walk around with pocket knives?" Griffin tilted his head.
"We have a serial hijacker in our area, so I figured that would be useful." Robin explained and pulled out the two folding knives.

"Tío Toby almost didn't buy it for me, I had to promise not to use it in combat." he explained with a grin, that proud and stupid grin that's infectious, and held out a blue Finney.

"You can have this so you can defend yourself and Paperboy if the hijo de puta gets any stupid ideas on one of your morning routes."

Finney just stared at the knife.
His heart was beating fast, but not in a panicked or terrified way.
No, it felt so good.

"You just give Finney a knife? And what should I do?" Griffin exclaimed and stood up, hands on hips.

Paperboy laughed as he did so.
"He's always picking you up, and let's face it, handing Vance a knife is only going to end in someone getting something scratched on their arm. And don’t you have pepper spray?"

Finney, however, was only getting the edge of it all, just staring at the knife while it felt like a thousand butterflies were dancing through his body and his skin was tingling.

He gently took the knife from Robin's hand, lightly brushing his fingers. You were so warm.
so alive

"Thanks..I'll put it to good use." Finn smiled.

Robin smirked, ignoring the other two who started discussing who could even be trusted with a knife around here.

"I know, after all you were the one who made it. You are so much stronger than you think Finn, I know that."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taking Gwen to the library was actually something Finney really enjoyed.
It was quiet, and than when he went with Robin, he could actually look at the books in the shelves.

He sat at one of the desks, some books placed before him. They weren’t anything special in particular, mostly books for teens and some parts of fantasy, though Finney had managed to sneak one about weapons in there.
The pocket knife Robin had gifted him was still in his pocket, gleaming with a feeling of happiness when ever Finney let his hand slide in his pockets just to touch it. Maybe it was stupid and weird to feel like this, but Finn just liked this feeling.
He liked the feeling Robin gave him.

But there's one thing he'd love to trade in. Exchange for everything.
That burn, it was back.

Gwen had disappeared behind some shelves to look for this book and Finney had stayed behind. Normally this wouldn't have bothered him, but with a burning look that felt like it was burning holes in the back of his neck, it was a lot harder to concentrate.

He looked up tensely, unable to focus on the open book in front of him.

Gwen's pigtails, simple pigtails, nothing braided, he could make out while she was still hidden behind a bookshelf.

He lifted his head slightly to read which department she had visited.
spiritual..

Finney pressed his lips together.
Had Gwen had a dream? Did she want to see what that meant?
Why did she- okay, maybe Finney shouldn't be too reproachful about that. After all, he had a pretty big secret from Gwen. Although, he just wanted to protect her from that. He just wanted to protect her.

After a few minutes, which felt like hours to Finney, but didn't matter, Gwen finally showed up. The gaze only seemed to retreat slightly when she appeared.

A thick, somewhat recent book lay in her hands before she placed it on the table and sat down, facing Finney.

For a few seconds neither said anything, just looking at the other's choices.
It was kind of an awkward atmosphere, not in the sense that something embarrassing had happened, but that nobody knew how to start a conversation.
Then Finney broke the silence.

"And that's the book Donna's brother told you about?"
He couldn't read the title exactly, but knew it probably came from the sparsely stocked spiritual section.

Gwen nodded. In fact, then something flashed in her eyes.
"Yeah, I thought I could read it. Even if it looks pretty complicated.. never mind, I'll manage." She said.
Gwen had a certain confidence about her, she was self-aware, knew how she came across to others and how most would react to someone like her. Even so, she was still just a young girl.

Finney smiled, honestly.
"What is it actually about? The section you got it from is actually very sparsely covered."

Gwen's gaze softened a little, almost as if she'd been caught.
“Well.. it's about dreams and what they mean BUT it's not about the ones I have so don't worry." she explained quickly, but firmly and quietly. Of course you were quiet in a library, but that was even quieter than normal.
Finney raised an eyebrow.
That wasn't about the dream he had, was it?
"It's not about the dream I had, is it? I don't remember it and second of all, it was just a nightmare. Or did you have a dream?" he stayed calm and gentle, of course he didn't want to scare her, but he felt his body tense up.
He wanted to keep Gwen out of this. He wanted to protect her. She shouldn't be plagued by dreams that drag her into this and she shouldn't be beaten with a damn belt for just wanting to help.

Gwen's eyes widened, she shook her head.
"Really not. I'm just interested. Donna told me that dreams also just help to process things, when I asked how she knew that she told me that her brother found the book." she explained more precisely, but she didn't seem like she was hurt by this assumption.
Rather, she seemed tense.

Finney nodded.
"Sounds interesting, even if I don't quite understand it."

He looked back at his book, but had no real help for him there.

They couldn't just buy guns, that would be noticed and nobody would sell them anything. Especially if they sent Vance to buy again.

But, maybe they could build other weapons?
Finney got an idea.

When, what was now in the future, he was beaten up, Gwen had defended him with a rock. She hadn't killed his attacker or anything like that, of course, but with enough willpower, a stone-filled sock should be a good weapon.

Gwen didn't answer, just opened the book and began to read. The more time passed, the more frustrated she seemed.
"That's a very complicated description.. help." she sighed, letting her head fall onto the pages of the book.

Finney chuckled, although he understood the frustration. He hadn't quite found what he might have needed, but hadn't had any expectations for it, so he wasn't disappointed per se.
“Not found what you wanted?”
“Nothing that I understand, besides that dreams are weird to understand.” Gwen sighed.

Finney had to admit that it really hurt him to see Gwen so frustrated.
It reminded him of how she looked when she was trying to solve the cases. She had hardly slept and prayed every night and morning to God and Jesus to help her solve it.

"Hey, how about we just get some ice cream here? Robin got me something last time, we can share that. Sounds good, huh?" he smiled and closed his book.

Gwen lifted her head slightly.
You could always have Gwen with ice cream.

Although her eyes still showed a faint frustration, she nodded and closed her book.

"All right.. I'll get the bigger bowl."

Finney laughed, a little too loudly, earning him a glare from a librarian.
"Deal."
At home, with their father still gone, they watched TV and what ever was one, talked and laughed.
The ice-cream Robin had originally bought for Finney was split brotherly – meaning one got more than the other – between the siblings.

But again, as Gwen slowly fell asleep lying on the floor next to him, with the TV still showing some cartoon, Finney felt the glance creep upon him.
It made him shiver.

He looked at Gwen, trying to keep her eyes open.
He still worried she had had a dream she didn’t tell him about.
“You can sleep if you want, I wont go away. Or.. did you have a dream?”

Gwen didn’t answer, just looked at the TV.
Then she slowly nodded.
“It wasn’t one of those dreams, you know.. those with stuff that hasn’t happened yet. It was just.. you.” she explained, clearly sleepy.
How couldn't have Finney noticed how exhausted she looked?
He sighed and pulled her into a hug.

“Gwenny, there is nothing to worry about, alright? What.. what did you even dream about?” he asked patiently.
“You..your friends. You looked terrified. I- I think it was when you slept over at Amy’s and Bruce’s.” she whispered leaning against his shoulder.
Slowly Finney started rubbing her back.
She saw their reaction. She saw how they all reacted to the Grabber.
Hopefully she didn’t hear anything Griffin said..

“We just watched a horror movie. You know how Robin always acts big and though? After we watched some erhm.. horror, he had the glorious idea to tell each other ghost stories. We just were scared because of that, you don’t need to worry.” he whispered in her ear, feeling how she slowly fell asleep. Though she struggled against it.

“really? I was worried..” she didn’t quiet sound like she believed him, though right now was only important that she fell asleep. She shouldn’t need to worry so much about her brother..

“Yeah, really.. no need to be worried Gwenny, I promise.” he smiled.
It wasn’t necessarily a lie, because Gwen really didn’t need to worry. The older ones would deal with it..

Slowly Gwen fell asleep in his arms, not fighting against it as much as before.
She yawned.
“Night Finney.. I love you.”

“I love you too Gwenny.. Sleep well.”

Finney couldn't sleep just yet.
The glance was back stronger once again.
He felt it growing and it made him sick.

He slowly put Gwen down.
If it was like this morning, the next thing to come would be-
Ring. Ring. Ring.

Finney sighed and got up slowly and carefully so as not to wake Gwen.
He knew she didn't hear it ring. How so? Otherwise she would be awake and complaining.

He was dizzy, his steps felt so heavy, as if they were attached to the floor with wet concrete that was slowly solidifying.

Was that his subconscious again? His subconscious, warning him that the grabber was absolutely unpredictable?
This thought just made him nauseous. He wanted to break it.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

And yet he kept walking what felt like an endless path from the living room to the kitchen phone.

He took a deep breath, trying to get his breathing under control.

His hands were shaking and sweating as he picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he asked softly.

A sound came from the other side. Heavy breathing. He’d probably expected Vance’s voice again.
“The wolf is preying and waiting, his hunger growing stronger and stronger each day.
He wants to play.
Smiling to himself whenever the bunnies are walking away.
The cave is ready.
The last thing missing is another player.
Beware.”

Then it was hung up. Almost like something intervened.

Finney felt like he was going to collapse.
That wasn’t Vance’s voice. It was Griffin’s

He stared at the phone.
“G-griffin? What- what is that supposed to mean? Please-..” he begged, louder than he wanted to, but of course it was hang up. Nobody heard him.

Or so he thought.
“Finney? What- what are you doing on the phone? It didn’t ring..”
Gwen stood there, while he was facing away.

“I-it did.” not technically a lie.
“I would have heard it.”
“You- you are awake, so you must have heard it.”
“I was awake because you were”, she paused to yawn, “talking so loudly into the phone.. not because it was ringing.”

Notes:
Translations:

diminuto- tiny
Oh maldito dios casi lo olvido-oh god damn i almost forgot

I'm sorry for the late chapter, as I said I had trouble with motivation to write ^^" I hope this chapter isn't too bad^^" I'll rewrite some stuff when I get the chance ^^"

Till then, happy holidays!