I DIDN'T KNOW if it was indigestion or what but I couldn't seem to sit still at home. 

Like, there I was, casually minding my own business, trying to forget about him. Him-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named because I was trying to get him out of my thoughts, after all. You know, the dark-eyed, annoyingly charming guy who somehow had decided to take up residence in my poor little heart, and that too without rent. Like, how dare he?!

Well, my plan for the day was to mentally erase my little crush through proven lethal distraction tactics. Aunt Cheryl was out for the day running errands, so I had the house to myself, and I figured I would do something mundanely time-consuming like reorganize the clothes I'd hung in the closet in my room. Here was my calculation: 

[distraction + colour-coding my linty hoodies  = me forgetting about how Finn looked in that black jacket of his]

Smart, right?

...Spoiler alert: It didn't work. 

I found myself folding and refolding the same shirt over and over again, my brain happily (and treacherously) replaying that one time when Finn had caught me tripping over nothing and smiled that infuriatingly perfect smile. 

I was whipped. 

I put my clothes away, sitting tiredly on the cute pink barstool chair by the window. I suddenly missed Jolene and Renzo, too. If they were home right now, we would have gone out somewhere together, or we might have stayed home and played the world's craziest game of charades. You know what? Not even that; even if we were forced to sit silently together in the house, it would still be fun. I laughed to myself, imagining us sitting in different corners of the house and trying to communicate via bat-signal or something equally ridiculous. 

I then thought of Finn, and how it would be if he were here. Especially because I was all alone at home anyway...

Wait, what?! Ctrl, alt, and delete those thoughts, please.

One of these days I really was going to cartwheel myself into oncoming traffic because I couldn't handle what my brain was spewing at me.

But for now, I pulled my blushing self away from the windowsill seat and instead decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Fresh air and all that, right? Perhaps it would help. 

Feeling the slight wind tousle my hair and soothe my skin, I walked down the winding sidewalks and narrow streets. I ended up at Lillian's house, where she immediately roped me into staying for a while, and her family was happy to have me over. 

I met her sister, Alexa, who was practicing playing a now-familiar guitar. I smiled to myself at the memories I'd made, almost a month ago, was it?

One month, to develop a raging crush on a certain somebody and finally realize it.

Oh shut up, brain.

I pushed my thoughts away, focusing on Lillian's chatter. "You have got to see this," she grinned before showing me her latest sketch: something that looked like a cross between a unicorn and a dragon. It was actually very detailed, but I was trying to figure out which part was the horn and which was the tail when Lillian proudly pointed out to me her little figurines lined up on the coffee table. One of them was missing a leg, and for some reason —some crazy and absolutely far-fetched reason— it instantly reminded me of Finn's clumsy attempt at balancing three cups of coffee the other day in the train. I couldn't help but picture him fumbling, spilling coffee everywhere but then flashing that goofy smile that somehow had made the mess seem so charming. 

Something was wrong with me. I was looking at a toy with a missing leg, and for some reason, all that came to mind was Finn? Yeah, I definitely needed to search on Pinterest for concoctions to cure whatever possibly contagious illness I was having.

After spending some time with Lillian and co, which included looking around the house and Mrs and Mr Dunkley showing me their cute garden in their backyard, I headed back outside, a little gift baggie in hand from them. The folks were just too sweet, in the best way possible. 

While I was walking down the road again, I let my feet take me to Delight Pops... which I realized, after I'd already stepped in, that it was the place where I'd first met Finn. But of course. Though perhaps a good dose of sugar could help melt away this ridiculous crush. 

But after I'd met with Carrie, caught up with her about life stuff, and sat down to order a cherry cake pop, Carrie had launched into this story about Finn. Something about how he once bought every last lollipop she had because some kid cried when he couldn't decide which one he wanted. And then, of course, he gave them all to the kid. 

It was so sweet, sweeter than the cherry pop that I was having. I could imagine the scene perfectly: Finn's kind, dark eyes; his soft, encouraging smile; the way he would talk to the little kid; his own endearing childishness that could never make anyone mad for too long... 

And then I remembered I wasn't supposed to be thinking about him so I immediately shut those thoughts out. 

But it must have shown on my face because Carrie then gave me this all-knowing smirk. I guess I really was such an open book. Sigh.

"Sulking about a certain dark-haired guy, hmm?" she asked, grinning. 

I nearly choked on my cherry pop. "W-what? Nah, pfft, no way. Nuh-uh, nothing like that. I'm just here for the cherry pop, you know," I said. Somehow, I managed to convince her. 

I think. 

After spending some time at the store before peak hour had started and a crowd was starting to come in, I hugged Carrie goodbye, promising to keep her updated (on what?! ahem, surely it couldn't be what I was thinking, ahem), and headed back home. 

There, I decided to tidy up the place. Like... clean the washroom! Who thinks about their crush while scrubbing toilets?

Absolutely no one, right?!

Well, except for me, apparently. I was determined to scrub the toilet like I was erasing Finn from my mind, which, personally, I think was a pretty decent plan. But then... I couldn't help but imagine his reaction if he saw what I was up to. He'd probably smirk and say something like, "Wow, Cora, I never pegged you for someone who finds joy in toilet bowls. Is this your new hobby?" 

This was concerning. I couldn't even scrub a toilet in peace, could I? 

Despite my best efforts, everything reminded me of him. Like, no matter what I was doing, whether it be folding laundry, sweeping the floors, or even stuffing a giant pillow back into its case (which, by the way, is practically next to impossible)— he was stuck in my head like a pop song on repeat. I needed a better distraction, and one that didn't include cleaning supplies, maybe? Even then, let's just say I'd dropped something, I could practically hear his voice teasing me about my clumsiness. Sigh. Could a girl catch a break around here?

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Updates: (1) the house was spotless, (2) my period cramps were kicking in, and (3) I was still not free from the Finn-induced chaos in my head. I fell back on my bed, glaring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow, I promised myself. Tomorrow, I'd get over him. Maybe. Probably not. But a girl can dream, right?

___

A/N: You're not going to be ready for the next chapter ;)