Keep the Faith (4 page)

I could imagine that. Finn isn’t much of a one for looking where he’s going.

‘I love all that stuff you get on the telly though,’ he said. ‘Did you see that programme with the kid who makes the snowman? Then he’s, like, an elf working for
Santa?’

He told me a lot more about this great film. I’m pretty sure that he fell asleep during one film and woke during the next. But it was nice listening to him talk about how much he loves
snow and presents and, well, pretty much everything really. He’s so nice.

Then we had a dance. I impressed myself with my multitasking by managing to shimmy my way over to the tree and sneaking a look at my teeth in a very shiny bauble. They were thankfully poppy-seed
free and snog-ready. Then we had a drink and Finn wolfed down some crisps. I was feeling a bit fluttery in the stomach again, so I just nibbled on a chocolate biscuit or six.

While we were in the kitchen, talking to Becky and Zoe (I did most of the talking – Becky and Zoe mostly gawped at my gorgeous date), there was the unmistakable
thud duh-duh-duh-duh
dunk
of someone falling downstairs. People were whooping and cheering so I assumed that the person who’d tripped didn’t need an ambulance.

‘Ow!’ came Westy’s voice down the hall. ‘Who left that slimy little devil there?’

I pulled Finn into the sitting room before anyone could point the finger at me.

Anyway, Westy could just as easily have been talking about Icky as my pickled onion.

Cam and Megs were in the sitting room so we sat with them. (Megs managed not to tell Finn that he’s too good-looking or anything stupid like that.) Then Lily made us all do some silly
dance her pen pal had told her about.

Soon it was approaching midnight and there still hadn’t been any kissing. I was starting to wonder if I’d got the wrong end of the mistletoe and that we weren’t really on a
date. Then I remembered my lecture to Angharad. If I wanted a snog then why shouldn’t I stride out there and get one?

At a couple of minutes before twelve someone turned off the music and switched on the telly. I managed to grab the tiny sofa in the corner for me and Finn. Most of the people in front of us were
standing up, trying to get a good look at Big Ben on the TV, so it was quite private really.

This was it. I was going to start the year as I meant to go on. The minute that clock started chiming, I was going to grasp the slippery pickled onion of destiny and snog that boy. Everyone
started counting down from ten. I took a deep breath. The clock struck; all around us people were jumping up and down. This was the moment.

Before I went for it, I’d planned to say Finn’s name to make sure I had his attention – I figured you don’t want someone swerving their head at the last minute. That
might result in ear kissing, and no one wants that. But I didn’t have to say Finn’s name. Everyone else was squeaking and squealing the New Year in, but Finn was looking right at me
with this big grin on his face so . . . I leant in. And he leant in too. I was so relieved that I almost laughed, but that could have turned into unpleasant spluttering so I got a grip. His lovely
soft lips pressed up against mine while party poppers were going off all around us. It was fantastic.

Or at least it was until I realised that sitting side by side on a sofa is not the best position for kissing. I tried to turn my body towards him, but it was hard to do without putting my knee
up on his leg and that seemed a bit forward. So, with my knees still facing front, I twisted my upper body as far as I could. It was not comfortable. That’s when it occurred to me that I
hadn’t been concentrating on my technique at all. My mouth had been kissing away without me. For once in my life, I was thankful that my lips have a mind of their own.

When I managed to forget about the rest of my body and live in my lips, it was amazing. It got quite passionate and mouths were opened. Finn tasted of Coke. Just as I was wondering what the
polite way to end a snog is, he slowed it down and finished with a sort of peck kiss. Like a snogging full stop. I may have been a bit blinky and dazed. Cameron helped bring me back to earth by
whooping in my ear.

He winked at Finn and said, ‘Having a New Year snog, are we? Hey?’

Finn put his arm round me and said, ‘Uh-huh.’

‘Oh right.’ Cam was obviously expecting more of a reaction than that, but Finn just grinned at him. ‘Er . . .’ Cam opened and shut his mouth. ‘Great. Carry
on.’

But we didn’t carry on. Finn had started playing with the streamers everyone was throwing about and I was trying to ignore the death stares of Cherry and her black-haired friend. They were
clearly feeling intimidated by my great beauty and impeccable taste in boys.

Megs, Lily, Angharad and me had a New Year group hug. Someone switched the music back on and it seemed like everyone in the house started dancing like crazy. Eventually, Finn tapped me on the
arm and yelled above the music, ‘Hey, Faith, Josh’s dad is picking us up soon.’

I said, ‘Oh.’ I wanted to chat about when I’d see him again, but I sort of wanted him to say that he wanted to see me again first.

‘Come here,’ he said. And pulled me out of the crazy dancing scrum and through into the empty dining room. It was dark except for the fairy lights on the Christmas tree. It was very
romantic. Finn said, ‘Your hair smells nice.’

Which is a super compliment.

‘What shampoo do you use?’ he asked me.

I hesitated because I didn’t think we had time for me to explain my haircare regime. It’s quite complicated. But then Finn pointed at some tiny baubles on the tree and said,
‘Do you think those are chocolate?’

We were standing facing each other, almost nose to nose, and since he didn’t seem to be that bothered about me actually answering questions, and since we were
FINALLY
in a
comfortable position for kissing, I decided to use my lunging powers again. I had already parted my lips, and we were just about to make contact, when there was a fierce ‘
Rrrrr
RRRRRrrrr
’ from under the Christmas tree and I flinched, teeth first, into Finn’s left eye. I’m ashamed to say that, instead of enquiring after Finn’s poor bitten
eyeball, I leapt on to the table before the vicious tree-dog could attack me.

Then I realised that there was no dog. Only Angharad and Elliot squished up in the shadow under the tree, where I hadn’t noticed them, making ferocious dog noises. Except they’d
stopped the barking and were now killing themselves laughing.

‘What the hell did you do that for?’ I asked.

Angharad and her tiny friend couldn’t answer because they were still laughing so much. Then Angharad inhaled a pine needle and it all got a bit hectic. Elliot started fumbling about,
trying to find his pocket first-aid manual, and Finn was still looking around for the imaginary dog, so it was left to me to get down from the table gracefully (actually, I landed on Elliot’s
toe) and whack Angharad on the back until the pine needle came flying out and landed in a spitty blob on Elliot’s arm. Fortunately, judging by the impressed look on his face, Elliot seemed to
take this as further evidence of Angharad’s long list of talents.

Finn woke up a bit and said, ‘Hey! That was you two pretending to be a dog, wasn’t it? Pretty cool.’

Josh appeared in the doorway and Finn really did have to go. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and said, ‘Happy New Year, Faith.’ And disappeared with Josh.

After that, I did a bit more dancing and had a bite to eat, but to be honest I hardly noticed polishing off the rest of the cheese and pineapple hedgehog. Or what was left of the biscuits. Or
the ice cream that I found in the freezer. Because all I kept thinking was that if someone kisses you, several times, in two different locations, on different days then it can’t possibly just
be a huge mistake, can it? There’s only one conclusion: Finn likes me.

When it was time to go, Westy gave me a goodbye hug that was so long and squashy that I was worried everyone would get to see all that cheese and pineapple again, whereas Ethan barely even
bothered to say ‘bye’, but I didn’t let that spoil my mood. While I was floating my way home (in Lily’s mum’s car), I asked Angharad, ‘Was it just me that you
scared to death with your Rottweiler impression?’

And she said, ‘Oh no, we were there for most of the night. I did what you said, Faith. I embraced my elfishness and I seized the moment with Elliot. I said, “Elliot, we’re both
quite small – do you want to hide under the tree and pretend to be a barking dog?” And he said he did.’ She smiled a big smile. ‘That was probably the best party of my life,
Faith.’

Which just goes to show that people are looking for different things in a night out.

‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Did you have an amazing time with Finn?’

‘Yep. He’s so sweet and tanned and nice. Also, a fantastic snogger.’

When I got home, Mum and Dad were still up with the sad old couple they’d invited round so that they could all be sad and old together. I allowed them to give me New Year kisses (Mum and
Dad, not the other ancient people – I don’t encourage that sort of thing, otherwise, before you know where you are, you’re expected to kiss any old blood relative) and then I went
to bed and thought about Finn.

Finn hasn’t texted me. He’s probably forgotten that I exist again.

Mum forced me to waste one of my last days of the holiday by insisting that I go into town and help Granny buy a cover for her phone. It took us most of the day to find her
one she likes (pink with crystals). She bought me lunch as a treat. (I think things must have been very hard in the olden days when my granny was young because I can’t think of any other
reason for describing a cheese roll as ‘a treat’.) When we popped to the loo afterwards, my phone went off. I thought that it might be Finn so I had a quick look; it was from Granny. It
said,
No paper in here, pass some over.

She was in the cubicle next to me.

This is what you get when you mix the elderly with technology.

School starts again tomorrow. Finn still hasn’t called.

Fortunately, I don’t need a boy to have a good time so I went to the cinema with Megs. We bumped into Ethan and Westy coming out as we were going in.

Westy said, ‘What are you going to see, Faith? If you need someone to hold your hand in the scary bits, I could come in with you.’ He grinned. ‘And if you’re going to get
a snack don’t bother with their popcorn – it’s mostly air.’

Westy gabbled on, but Ethan said nothing. He just gave me this long look and eventually said, ‘Hello.’

I don’t think anyone has ever made me blush just by saying hello before, but there’s something so intense about Ethan. Sometimes I feel like he’s looking right inside my head.
I hope he can’t really do that because I may have been thinking about what lovely dark eyelashes he’s got.

‘Are you two meeting anyone?’ Westy asked. ‘Or has Finn gone surfing? Or is it too cold for that?’

‘I think he’s gone mountain biking,’ I said. I didn’t really have a clue where he was, but I didn’t want to admit it.

Ethan turned away. ‘All this talk of sport is bringing out the pizza lover in me. Let’s get lunch, Westy.’

‘Don’t you like surfing?’ Megs asked him.

‘Nope, I’m allergic.’

‘What to?’ I asked.

‘Exercise.’

‘I see.’

‘Also, bright sunlight, wetsuits and dimwits who say “dude”.’

Before I knew what I was doing, I said, ‘You don’t like Finn, do you?’ because it was obvious he was being rude about him.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, I don’t know. Why wouldn’t I like the golden-haired, angel-voiced idiot-boy who gets all the girls?’

I gave him my best frosty silence. I’m not going to pretend that I’ve never laughed at Ethan’s rude remarks before, but I don’t appreciate him slating my sort-of
boyfriend.

Westy wanted to watch the film again with us, but Ethan clearly didn’t fancy it so Westy gave in and they went off to get something to eat.

Obviously, I wasn’t bothered.

Westy did invite me, Megs, Ang and Lily round to his house to watch a film with the boys on Sunday afternoon. I just hope Ethan keeps his insults and his impressive
eyelashes to himself.

I had to get up at the crack of dawn to go to school. I did ask Mum to write me a letter saying I’d be unable to do PE because the vegan rubbish she feeds me has left
me with weak bones that are liable to snap, but she said no. I tried to explain all this to our PE teacher, Killer Bill, but she said unless I had a note I had to play rugby.

I said, ‘Well, Miss Williams, I will struggle on with my noodle limbs, even though fast movements are torture to me, but you’ll only have yourself to blame when I attempt a tackle
and it causes my fibula to break. I expect the bone will tear through my skin and, once it’s protruding, I’ll probably slip and accidentally spear Lizzie through the abdomen with it,
pinning her to the frozen ground.’

Killer Bill just sniffed, but I noticed that Limp Lizzie avoided me for the entire game.

Actually, if I have to do PE then rugby is probably one of the least annoying options. Normally, in sport I’m always being told to put people down and not to be so violent. Those things
are completely allowed in rugby.

At least they are the way I play it.

I’ve got a text from Finn! He said he had a good time at the party. I said me too. We went back and forth for a bit and then he asked if we can get together tomorrow.
I’m meeting him at Juicy Lucy’s. I wonder which of my shoes are best for smoothie drinking.

I had a really good time with Finn today. He’s just so nice. At one point we both had our hands on the table, holding our smoothie glasses, and then somehow the backs
of our hands ended up touching. I had no idea that my hand had such a capacity for electric activity. I thought it might burst into flames.