Page 52 of Lessons in Timing

“ArnmfuuuWAA ...”

“Right,” I tried, gently poking one of his forearms, “care to try that again?”

He lowered his arms, revealing a damp face. He took a deep breath and leaned his head back so all that was visible was his Adam’s apple. “I am such afreak!”

I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t, I sighed and sat up, rubbing my temple. “Look, Titch, I love adolescent meltdowns as much as the next bloke, but I’m going to need a bit more to go on.”

He straightened and finally met my eyes. “What the hell doesTitcheven mean?” he squeaked. There were actual tears now.

Oh, lovely.

I shut my eyes tight for a few seconds, then forced myself to reopen them and deal with the sniffling child in front of me. “Titchis like ...squirtorpipsqueak,” I admitted. This did not seem to rally his spirits. “It’s affectionate,” I added, a little desperately.

He sniffled and wiped at his cheeks with the heel of his hand. “Okay. Fine. I’m sorry I’m literally the worst person in the world.”

“I get it.” I laughed awkwardly. “If I were your age, I’d be distracted by Skyler too. And we’ve all embarrassed ourselves before. I’ve fallen out of plenty of chairs.” I patted one of his delicate knees. “I know it seems like the end of the world—”

“Shut up.” He flicked my hand away and crossed his arms. “I’ve met him before, okay? It’s more complicated than that.”

“Aye?”

“Yeah. He ... he rescued me last week.” Finch hunched in on himself defensively, once again avoiding my gaze. “And then I asked him out, and he said yes, onlyapparentlyhe thought I was asking him out as afriend, and then he spent half the time talking about this girl he left back home ...”

Oh.

Dear.

“I’m sorry.” I reached out again, then stopped myself. I wanted to ask if being Skyler’s friendreally was such a letdown, but I stopped myself.

Finch managed an unhappy little smile. “Yeah, me too. I kinda ran away after that. And I’ve been ghosting him. For four days.”

“Andthisis the first time you’ve seen him since?” I would’ve done a lot more than fall out of a chair. Poor Finch. PoorSkyler...

Finch nodded, still sniffling a little, but starting to laugh as well. “Itoldyou, I’mliterallythe worst person in the world.”

I shrugged. “But now you’ve seen him and made a fool of yourself. That’s the worst of it, innit?”

He snorted down at his lap. “I guess ...”

I could only hope Finch’s delusions wouldn’t ruin his and Skyler’s chances at a deeper connection. “Thisiswhat we do, y’know.”

He looked up at me. “‘We’?”

“Thepiners.” I grinned winsomely. “We’re born without dignity and we die without love. But you mustn’t let the ... thefantasykill the future.”

“Wow. That was corny.”

“I know. I am also the worst person in the world.”

“Thanks.”

“Aye.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes longer, then I coughed. “Well.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like me to drive?”