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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/sue-bird-megan-rapinoe-uswnt

"What’s it like to have the literal President of the literal United States (of literal America) go Full Adolescent Boy on your girlfriend? Hmm. Well… it’s WEIRD.”

Sue Bird calls out Trump in hilarious and touching tribute to girlfriend Meghan Rapinoe. 👏👏👏👏

"Hi!! @S10Bird here. This is my WC Semis preview. Title was supposed to be “So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend (& 10 Other Things I Want You to Know Before the World Cup Semifinals)” but we ran out of space. My bad. Thanks for reading. GO @USWNT."

Hi!! Sue here. This is my World Cup Semifinals preview. The title was supposed to be “So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend (and 10 Other Things I Want You to Know Before the World Cup Semifinals)” but we ran out of space. My bad. Thanks for reading. GO USWNT.

(1) I’m back!! I was done, I swear!! No, really, I SWEAR. Last year I broke my nose, and then I wrote about it, and then I seriously did think that was going to be it for me in the writing game. I remember telling my editor here something like, “It would take the President of the United States going on a hate-filled Twitter spree trolling my girlfriend while she was putting American soccer, women’s sports, equal pay, gay pride and TRUE LOVE on her back, all at once, scoring two majestic goals to lead Team USA to a thrilling victory over France and a place in the World Cup SEMIFINALS, for me to ever even thinkabout writing again.” But I’m a woman of my word. So here I am.

(2) First of all, I’ve gotta get this on the record, if it’s not already clear: I’m SO proud of Megan!!

And the entire damn USWNT. That’s why I’m writing this article, mainly. So if you could do me a favor, let’s just take a second, for real, and appreciate this RUN my girl’s been on?? Like, take away all of the “extra” stuff — and just focus for a second on the soccer alone. Two goals against Spain. Two goals against France, WHILE A GUEST IN THEIR MAISON. I want to hit on a lot of other topics while I’m here, and trust me I will — but I just think it’s also really important not to forget what this is actually, first and foremost, about, you know? It’s about a world-class athlete, operating at the absolute peak of her powers, on the absolute biggest stage that there is. It’s about an athlete f*cking killing it.

It’s about Megan coming through.

(3) O.K. so now that that’s out of the way, I’ll answer The Question.

The one that’s probably most on your mind. And by that I mean: What’s it like to have the literal President of the literal United States (of literal America) go Full Adolescent Boy on your girlfriend? Hmm. Well… it’s WEIRD. And I’d say I actually had a pretty standard reaction to it: which was to freak out a little.

That’s one thing that you kind of have to know about me and Megan: our politics are similar — after we won the WNBA title in Seattle last season, no way were we going to the (f*cking) White House! — but our dispositions are not. And as we’ve been talking through a lot of this “stuff,” as it’s been happening to her, you know, I’ll be honest here….. some of it scares the sh*t out of me!!

I mean, some of it is kind of funny….. but like in a REALLY? REALLY? THIS GUY??? kind of way. Like, dude — there’s nothing better demanding your attention?? It would be ridiculous to the point of laughter, if it wasn’t so gross. (And if his legislations and policies weren’t ruining the lives of so many innocent people.) And then what’s legitimately scary, I guess, is like….. how it’s not just his tweets. Because now suddenly you’ve got all these MAGA peeps getting hostile in your mentions. And you’ve got all these crazy blogs writing terrible things about this person you care so much about. And now they’re doing takedowns of Meganon Fox News, and who knows whatever else. It’s like an out-of-body experience, really — that’s how I’d describe it. That’s how it was for me.

But then Megan, man….. I’ll tell you what. You just cannot shake that girl. She’s going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she’s going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it. So when all the Trump business started to go down last week, I mean — the fact that Megan just seemed completely unfazed? It’s strange to say, but that was probably the only normal thing about it. It’s not an act with her. It’s not a deflection. To me it’s more just like: Megan is at the boss level in the video game of knowing herself. She’s always been confident….. but that doesn’t mean she’s always been immune. She’s as sensitive as anyone — maybe more!! She’s just figured out how to harness that sensitivity.

And I think Megan’s sensitivity is what drives her to fight for others. I think it’s what drove her to take a knee. The Megan you’re seeing now? It’s the stronger version of the one who knelt in the first place. All the threats, all the criticism, all the fallout — coming out on the other side of that is what makes her seem so unfazed by the assholes of the world now.

I think in trying to help others, Megan has cemented who she is.

(4) A few 100% random and 100% unrelated facts, presented without commentary.

Donald Trump has never invited a WNBA champion to the White House.

In 2017, when South Carolina Women’s Basketball — coached by a black woman (the legend Dawn Staley) — won the national championship, they were not initially invited to the White House.

In 2019, when Baylor Women’s Basketball — coached by a white woman (also a legend, Kim Mulkey) — won the national championship, they were invited to the White House with no issues.

Stumbled across this cool website the other day. Check it out 🙂

(5) Alright….. yeah. It’s time. It’s definitely time.

We Need To Talk About Megan’s Pink Hair.

I’m actually just going to say this out loud, and put it all the way out there, since the Players’ Tribune is a space for honesty (plus there’s this whole Atlantic Ocean between us): The hair?? I was….. AGAINST it. Phew!! That felt really good to say. I was against it. I thought it was too impulsive and I voted no. (LOL not that I actually got a vote — our relationship when it comes to Megan’s fashion is based on what you might call a “modified democracy,” where we both give our opinion and then Megan does what she wants.)

But yeah, my feeling was — you’re going to the World Cup!! To do great things!! And hopefully, if all goes well, you’re going to be memorialized in all of these pictures that will be around for….. EVER! Plus, blonde hair is like — Your Signature Thing!! You look amazing blonde. We know that looks good on you. Pink? Megan, are you sure?Don’t you think you might regret this??

And Megan was just, like, Nope. World Cup. Pink hair. I’m in. Let’s get it. She got it colored the DAY before she left, without a care in the freaking world. I mean….. if you were ever wondering what the Rapinoe Lifestyle was about….. that’s it, truly.

(Also, I love it now? Now that’s it’s settled in and looks a little more purple. Don’t tell Megan.)

(6) Back to the France game for a second. A few thoughts here.

One, I’m not sure if you saw — but, my girlfriend?? She shrugged off the Rude Man on Twitter, and managed to play….. I’d say pretty well 🙂

Two, France!! They were incredible. I really hope some of them are reading this, because I just want them to know that. They stayed so damn tough, I thought, through the whole tournament — and that’s with the pressure of hosting the event, too. The way they persevered to make it a match, late, after getting down two goals early?? I mean, don’t get me wrong — I was 100% on MANIAC mode, cheering for our squad. Obviously. But I still hated that anyone had to lose.

Three, on the advice of counsel I’d like to issue a formal apology to everyone who was on the plane with me last week, and had to watch me fistpump like a bozo after each of Megan’s goals, and smash the REFRESH button on my phone like a….. well, also a bozo, after my bars started cutting out in the second half.

It won’t happen again except let me be clear it might.

(7) YOU GUYS: WHAT ARE PENALTY KICKS.

No, seriously — I could not imagine taking one??????

I think the more I watch soccer, and the more I find these ways to apply it to what I know about basketball, the better feel I get for the game. Like, for example, as a point guard, I have a pretty strong sense of floor-spacing….. and I think that ends up being extremely relevant for soccer. I’m definitely starting to “see the field,” you know? And I’m noticing the way that plays develop, and stuff. (They just kind of develop.)

O.K. so that’s my plus column.

My minus column? PENALTY KICKS. Like, I guess they’re kind of like free throws? Only if there was someone trying to BLOCK your free throw, and you had to use your foot (??), and oh yeah if you missed it you’d never forgive yourself and have it haunt you for the rest of your LIFE?? So what I’m saying is it’s not like a free throw at all.

I don’t want Megan to turn out to be an alien from another planet, but I’m just going to say the truth of how I feel right now: If you’re good at penalty kicks, you’re a f*cking alien from another planet.

(8) I had a long thing prepared here about the equal pay debate.

I was planning on “making some points” and “going in.”

But then I thought about it some more, and to tell you the truth….. I’m kind of done with that.

If you’re not on the right side of this fight, and advocating fiercely for equal pay — whether it’s in soccer, or basketball, or in any other industry, and across every intersectional boundary — then I just straight-up feel bad for you.

Because you’re sad, and wrong, and going down.

I feel that in my bones, increasingly, over these last several months — having seen my colleagues in the W show we mean business on a new CBA.

I feel that in my bones, increasingly, over these last couple of years — having seen our NBA counterparts start (START!) to stick their necks out for us, more and more, in solidarity and out of respect.

And I feel that in my bones, increasingly, right f*cking now — having seen these indestructible USWNT women stand up for themselves and (this seriously can’t be stressed enough) crack a LAWSUIT over the heads of U.S. Soccer while they go out and grind for a freaking World Cup.

Oh right and they literally are MORE PROFITABLE THAN THE MEN.

COOL!!!!!!!!!

TLDR: Pay us.

(9) They told me I should make some predictions!! LOL.

In the first semi, I’ve got those frisky lil AMERICANS taking down England, by a score of 2-0. I feel like we’re vibing right now, and the offense is really humming, so yeah — this one’s USA all the way. (QUICK NOTE ON METHODOLOGY: I may have just made the prediction that results in me getting a summer trip to Paris.)

In the second semi….. O.K., so, I won’t reveal my sources, but I heard this major scoop that the Netherlands might be a team people are sleeping on?? But then I guess on the other hand, you also have Sweden, who thumped us in the Olympics….. so that’s a “cool final” maybe….. I don’t know, I feel like these teams probably know each other really well. Like a classic neighborhood beef. How am I doing? Should I keep faking it here? Let’s go with the Netherlands, 2-1.

(10) Wait let’s do a story time.

I’ve been lucky enough to hear a few awesome stories about the USWNT in my day, so I feel like — since you’ve put up with my decidedly non-expert World Cup semifinal preview, and been so cool about it — I owe you one of them here.

I’ll actually tell you my favorite.

Alright so it’s halftime of the 2015 World Cup Final….. and of course, if you’re reading this, you know the score: 4-1 U.S. Carli has her hat trick, Lauren has one, and Japan has their one. And I think we’re all among friends at this point, so let’s just be real: It wasn’t even THAT close. It was over, dudes. World Cup? Over. Amazing!! Party!!

Except: these world-class athletes being these world-class athletes….. there is noooooo off switch in SIGHT. These women are in the locker room at half time, and they are taking it as seriously as if they were tied at one. People are talking strategy, going over plays, breaking down miscues — doing the whole bit, straight up, just biz as usual.

And then…..

And then there’s Megan.

She’s sitting there….. and she’s seeing everyone gameplan, and keep their game-faces on, and Do The Normal Halftime Thing..… and she gets it. Of course she gets it. But, like — still, you know?? Still. There is something inside of her that just….. CANNOT deal. Cannot deal with the ceremony of it all. Cannot deal with the bullshit. And she tries hard to fight it, tries not to say anything….. tries to stay somewhat relaxed.

But then at some point the girl just….. I mean….. come on.

She can’t help herself:

“WE’RE GONNA WIN THE WORLD CUP,” she blurted out.

“WE’RE. GONNA. WIN. THE. WORLD CUP!!!

WE’REGONNAWINTHEF*CKINGWORLDCUP!!!”

(11) So there’s this thing that I invented called Megan Goggles.

They’re hard to explain, but I think I’ve almost got it. I think it’s like….. O.K., so: Megan, she just does things sometimes. Do it….. then love it….. then — later, at the very end, if there’s time — worry about it. That’s her M.O. Me, on the other hand….. I’m nothing like that. I’m more of the worry about it first….. and then later, if there’s time, do it type. So the idea of Megan Goggles, I guess, it’s this idea of like — they’re this thing that I put on, and it helps me loosen up a bit?? And just open my eyes, and see the world from Megan’s Extremely Megan perspective.

And anyway, in the beginning of our relationship, I think I would use “Megan Goggles” as a sort of running joke — when we’d be doing that thing couples do where we play these almost cartoon versions of ourselves. In our case: free-spirit Megan and practical Sue.

Except now….. I wouldn’t be so practical!! So it would be like:

[Megan walks into the closet with some scissors, then confidently walks out…..]

[Sue puts on Megan Goggles…..]

Sure, Megan! Absolutely let’s call that t-shirt you just cut a hole in “a look.”

Or:

[Megan suddenly decides that she needs to dye her eyebrows platinum blonde…..]

[Sue puts on Megan Goggles…..]

Wait, Megan, nevermind — I take it back that it’ll look like you have no eyebrows! And I can totally see what you mean when you say, “Trust me, they’ll pop.”

And so on and so on — and it just sort of became this, like, shorthand experience. I’d put on my Goggles, and I’d be on this amazing vacation….. to a place where I was someone a little left of my own center. Where I was someone who thinks like Megan thinks.

And then eventually I came to realize the obvious: that Megan Goggles are a lot more than some cute running joke between us, about fashion choices or whatever — and that they’re actually this kind of skeleton key to Megan herself. Or, put another way: When I put on my Megan Goggles?? What I’m really doing, I think, is learning to understand her better — and, if this even makes any sense: I think at the same time, I’m learning how to understand myselfbetter as well.

But wait I’ll get to my point. I’m bringing all this up, and trying to explain this crazy (or I hope not that crazy!!) concept, because last Friday — in the lead-up to that USWNT game vs. France, and then during the game itself, and then after??

I swear, it was like the most amazing thing happened: It was like the entire country, all at once, for this one fleeting and improbable but also somehow very very very very possible moment….. PUT ON MEGAN GOGGLES.

It was like the entire country, all at once, said — Soccer? YES. Women’s soccer? YES. An openly gay superstar swagging out with two goals and batsh*t celebrations and leading us to a huge-ass win in women’s soccer? YES. That same openly gay superstar not just taking some preapproved, basic level of pride in her sexuality, but actually being the world’s biggest most kissable goofball queen and literally crediting her sexuality for those two goals and her batsh*t celebrations and our huge-ass win in women’s soccer? YES.

This is the American flag now, someone tweeted — and it’s a photo of my girlfriend, BEAMING ear to ear, smiling her BOOBS off on a football field, mugging for the camera, weird-ass dye job and all — just totally and completely over-goddamn-flowing with excellence? YES.

So anyway, look — I guess here’s my point:

I’m closer to 40 than 30. I’ve only been legally permitted to get married in the last handful of years. I’m a worrier, an overthinker, and — if it’s your type of thing — a 3x WNBA champion.

But on Friday? It was like for this one, perfect, fleeting, uncomplicated day….. I was everyone.

I was happy.

I was crazy.

I was PROUD.

I was pretending to know about soccer.

I was a little overwhelmed.

I was pretty damn American.

And I was in love with Megan Rapinoe.

Sue Bird, Seattle Storm

https://t.co/A2dJrBIzRh

#donald trump #u.s. news #politics #trump administration #president donald trump #international news #white house #us: news #must reads #us news #uswnt #uswntsoccer #sports #u.s. soccer #womens soccer #social news #soccer

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finn-nelson-for-the-win · 7 years

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Before the World Stops Turning: Pt.6

Hello my lovelies! I’m getting super excited for you all to see where this story is going, so despite scrapping the majority of this chapter that I had originally written, I typed as fast as my fingers would allow because I promised I’d have a new chapter for you all today and I wanted to stay true to my word.

This chapter did end up being longer than the prior two, but after this complete rewriting, it is only about 1/3 the length it was originally. I can’t say for certain just yet, but I have a feeling that Part 7 is going to be the really long chapter...but we’ll just have to wait and see. :)

If you’d like to be added/removed from my tags list for this fic or my Forever Tag list, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Everything I’ve written can be found right here!

I hope you enjoy this chapter! (As always, additional notes and random commentary I have will be at the end beneath the tags)

***

Twenty minutes…I’m twenty fucking minutes late to meet Rae at the coffee shop…

Finn sat at the table in Danny’s dining room with his head resting in his hands, struggling to hold back yet another groan of annoyance. Finn and the rest of Kings and Queens had been in and out of meetings with booking agents, producers, and their band manager, Steven, all day long trying to sort out the logistics of their plans for touring and working on their latest album this summer but Finn’s mind was elsewhere and his eyes had not left the screen of his phone for the last half hour.

Generally Finn did not mind these sort of meetings—which is why it was almost always Finn, Archie, and Chop taking the lead on planning what’s next for the band while Alex and Danny stepped down and played other roles as necessary—but the final meeting of the day with Steven was running much longer than anticipated and Finn was desperate to leave.

“Okay, well I think I’ve kept you lads here long enough and I can tell that Mr. Nelson here is desperate to be anywhere but here right now, so I think we can end the meeting right here for today. We still need to meet up again soon, but I think it will be best for us to pick up where we left off in a few weeks that way we can wait to hear back from the agents and producers you met with earlier today. Enjoy the rest of your day!”

As soon as their manager bid the band farewell, Finn leapt from the chair he had been sitting in and grabbed his cellphone and truck keys, rushing to his truck where it was parked in front of Danny’s house to go meet Rae at Charlie’s Café.

Finn: Holy Shit, Rae! I’m so sorry I’m running late! I was stuck in a band meeting and couldn’t leave until now.

Finn: I’m on my way now, though, and I should be there REALLY soon!!

He had only been driving for a few minutes when he heard his phone ringing where it sat on the seat beside him and he immediately grabbed the phone to answer the call without even checking who was calling.

“Rae?”

“Uh, no, haha…sorry to disappoint you buddy, but it’s me, Archie!”

“Oh, sorry Arch. I just texted Rae and I don’t know why I assumed…anyways, what’s up?”

“Don’t worry about it, Finn, I know you’re nervous for you meet-up with Rae. If I’m correctly recalling the time you agreed to meet with her, you’re already running a bit late so I hate to be a bother, but I think you might have forgotten something very important.”

What did I forget? I have my phone, my wallet, the tickets—

“Fuck! The tickets! How could I forget to grab the tickets? Okay, I’m turning back to get them now…are you all still at Danny’s house?”

“Yeah, Steven left a bit after you bolted out of here, but the rest of us are still here and some of the other guys are playing video games right now.”

“Ah, okay…well, I’ll be there in about five minutes!”

Finn found the nearest place to turn around and began driving back in the direction of Danny’s house, thankful for the lack of midday traffic on this side of town.

As soon as Finn pulled up to the drive in front of Danny’s house, he turned off his truck and jogged towards the front door when Danny opened the door before Finn could even knock or ring the doorbell.

“Archie told me you forgot to grab the tickets for the girl you’re meeting with to give the tickets to. Come on inside and I’ll got grab the tickets from the stack Steven gave us before he left today!”

Finn walked inside and towards the room where Alex and Chop sat side-by-side on the couch playing a first-person shooter game with aliens and Archie sat on the reclining chair watching.

“Chop! Are you fucking kidding me? You killed me again, you prick!”

“Sorry, Alex…it was an accident just like the last time…and the time before that…and the time before that…”

“Fuck off, Arnold! Just focus on killing the aliens and watch your back because I’m not above returning the favor with a little friendly fire.”

“Oh wow, Chop! You must have really made Alex mad for him to be calling you by your real name…” Finn added as he took a seat on the armrest of the couch beside Chop.

“Oh, he’s just mad because as soon as I throw a grenade he always seems to walk into the blast zone and I’m too far away to rescue his arse, so he dies. I’m sure he’ll get over it,” Chop added earning an annoyed grunt from Alex who was sitting on his right side, “Anyways, what are you doing here, Finney boy? Weren’t you supposed to have a coffee date with your girl like…an hour ago?”

“Yes, I was supposed to meet Rae almost an hour ago, but the meeting with Steven ran longer than expected and I left without grabbing her tickets, so I had to turn back. And even though I’m talking to you now, Chopper, don’t you go thinking that you’re forgiven for what you did yesterday!”

“What did Chop do yesterday?” Alex asked with an amused smile while looking between Chop and Finn as he waited for a reply.

“Nothing serious…Archie and I were at Finn’s apartment and the love of his life, Rae—you remember Rae from our show a little over a month ago, right? The one that Finn fell in love with at first sight and her mate Izzie cropped him out of our group photo—well she texted him because they’re supposed to meet up today so he can give her tickets to our next show and I might have stolen Finn’s phone while he was in the kitchen getting Archie and I some drinks and I was texting on Finn’s behalf like the good wing-man I am! Finn’s just being an unappreciative bastard!”

“Me? Being unappreciative? Well I’m sorry that I wasn’t happy that you took my phone and were texting Rae all flirty-like and sending her emojis and winking faces for no goddamn reason! She probably thinks that was me and that I’m some complete and utter freak now! It’s a miracle that she didn’t immediately cancel our plans to meet up today simply out of principle!”

“Simmer down, Finnley,” Archie began in an attempt to act as the mediator to ease the tension between his best mates, “in Chop’s defense, he wasn’t the only one texting Rae while you were out of the room.”

“Archer…are you serious right now? ‘Et tu brute’?” Finn replied with mock betrayal.

“Well, at least all your studying for finals seems like it’s paying off…I’m so proud that you used that reference in the right context, Finn! And yes, it is true. Chop only sent the last message, but I was sending all the other ones, which is why I asked about where the two of you were planning to meet.”

Before Finn had the chance to respond to Archie, Danny walked back into the room with Rae’s pair of tickets and handed them to Finn.

“Thank you so much, Danny! You’re a lifesaver!” Finn replied as he clapped his hand on Danny’s shoulder twice before standing up from the armrest of the couch and shouting his goodbyes to his band mates over his shoulder.

“Have fun, Finnley!”

“Go get her, tiger!”

“Tell Rae I say ‘hello’, lover boy!”

Finn heard Archie, Alex, and Chop call their goodbyes in return, but he decided against stopping to comment on what they said knowing that he was already running very late to his meeting with Rae.

Finn: Rae! I am so, so sorry! I’m a complete and utter idiot and I had to go back and get something, but NOW I’m heading over to the café and I should be there soon.

Finn: I know that I’m nearly an hour late right now and you have every right to leave if you haven’t already because I should have never left you waiting this long, but I should be there in less than 5min if you’re still there waiting.

Finn: I promise. xx

***

Finn walked into Charlie’s Café and scanned the tables to try to find Rae.

She’s not here…

Of course she’s not here! I left her waiting on me for over an hour…she’d be totally mad not to leave…

Wait…

Finn looked over to a small table on the far side of the café, a reasonable distance away from the crowds of students and professors that were waiting in line to place their orders before rushing to their next class or meeting, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

There she is…and she looks beautiful and…

“Perfect,” Finn said lightly under his breath before clearing his throat nervously and weaving his way between the crowds of people to approach the table where Rae sat.

“Hey, Rae! Sorry I’m so late!” Finn said when he was standing next to the table where she sat.

Rae was in the middle of taking a drink of her iced coffee when she looked up at Finn and nearly choked.

“Oh, hi! Sorry, you just surprised me a bit is all,” Rae replied when she recovered from the brief coughing fit, “I almost thought that you were going to stand me up, haha…but then again, no one ever mentioned who I should be expecting to meet me here, so I didn’t really know who I was even waiting on, uh,” Rae babbled in an awkward attempt to break the ice between them.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, Rae! My name is Finn…I’m the one who has almost complete control of the band’s social media, so you’ve been messaging and texting me for the last few days. I feel so bad that I completely forgot to mention that!”

“Don’t worry about it! So…you’re here to drop off the tickets I asked for..?”

“Ah, yes, of course!” Finn said as he pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the two tickets that he had hastily shoved into it as he rushed out of Danny’s house, “sorry…uh, here are your tickets.”

“Thanks, here’s the money…” Rae said as she traded him the money for the pair of tickets.

Finn saw Rae hesitate slightly as she appeared to be considering what to say next and he began to fear that he was imposing on her plans with his presence.

“I guess I better get going…”

“Do you want to stick around for a cup of coffee with me?”

Finn and Rae spoke at the same time and although he heard what Rae said without trouble, the two chuckled nervously and Finn gestured with his hand, prompting her to continue talking so he could be sure that he had heard her correctly and it was not just his wishful thinking.

“Oh, I don’t know, I was just thinking about how nice it was of you to go out of your way to deliver these tickets just to leave a few minutes later…so I was thinking that you could stick around and have coffee with me if you’d like to…if you’re not busy that is…”

Finn stood in place, processing Rae’s invitation and unable to make his brain communicate with his mouth effectively to accept her offer and he could see the exact moment that the feelings of doubt and embarrassment washed over Rae.

“You’re probably really busy, huh? Never mind. Just forget that I even asked,” Rae said as she began to stand up from the table.

“Wait! I’m not busy, I swear, and I’d love to have coffee with you!” Finn replied a bit too enthusiastically for his liking, which caused him to immediately blush as he pulled out the seat across from Rae and sat down.

“Okay, great!” Rae replied with a chuckle as one of the café workers came by to take away one of Rae’s empty cups and to take Finn’s order.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, by the way,” Finn said when the waitress brought his cappuccino to their table along with another coffee for Rae and the various pastries that Finn had ordered the two of them as his way of apologizing for being late to their meeting, “I’m fairly certain that I’m the only member of the band who wasn’t formally introduced to you and your friend after the last show. And I didn’t work up the nerve to introduce myself to you after I nearly tackled you to the ground and knocked your phone out of your hand before the show started.”

Finn’s shy smile and the blush in his cheeks returned when Rae laughed aloud and smiled widely in response to what he said.

“Likewise! I felt bad about walking away so quickly after we bumped into each other, but I was afraid to lose my friend in the crowd if she wandered too far away. And after the concert, when Izzie and I came over to chat with you all, it was utter chaos! So much so that you barely even ended up in the group photo we took because I guess you were rushing to get into the picture at the last minute!”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Finn replied sheepishly as he used his left hand to run his fingers through the short hairs at the nape of his neck out of nervousness and embarrassment, “the rest of the band saw the picture your mate posted and were convinced that I was cropped out of the photo intentionally. They had lot of fun giving me shit about that for a few days afterwards…”

“Finn! Oh no,” Rae replied, trying to show sympathy but struggling to hold back the grin that was spreading across her face, “Izzie and I didn’t even realize it ourselves until the next day and we noticed that the only part of you that made it into the photo was three of your fingers!”

“Really? I didn’t see any of me at all!”

“Yes, really! Take a look…” Rae replied as Finn pulled his cell phone from his pocket to bring up the group photo Rae and Izzie had taken with the band.

“Holy shit, you’re right! The lads are really going to get a kick out of this too…” Finn replied with chuckle and wide smile that made Rae smile in return.

“So, I’ll be honest with you, Finn… last night I was really regretting having agreed to meet with you, but I’m definitely glad that I went through with it.”

“I’m glad you did too,” Finn said with a shy smile, “and I’m really sorry if the texts that you got last night were part of the reason why you felt uneasy about meeting up. Chop and Archie thought it would be fun to take my phone and reply to your texts on my behalf.”

“Is that so? Well that’s unfortunate,” Rae paused briefly to see the confusion on Finn’s face and shoot him a quick smirk, “I found my conversation with them to be rather interesting. Your mate Chop is quite the charmer, although I’ve deiced to take the highroad and be a good friend to Izzie by not reading into his flirting too much.”

“Yeah, Chop is…well, Chop is indeed a charmer, but he’s a great guy underneath his quirky personality. Both he and Archie mean well, but they are two of my best mates and how they show their friendship with me can be a bit much at times, I suppose.”

“I know exactly what you mean! That’s great that you three are such close mates and are in a band together. How long have you three known each other?”

“Well the three of us grew up in the same area. Archie’s family and mine knew each other since we were babies, so we’ve basically known each other all our lives. And then when Archie and I were about six years old we were on a footie team together and Chop joined as well. We found out that he was new to the area and going to the same school as us and he became the latest addition to mine and Archie’s little dynamic duo. And the three of us have been inseparable ever since, which is why the summer before Archie and I decided to start Uni, the three of us started this band together and named it what we did. And the rest is history…”

“That’s so cool! I don’t think I follow though…why did you call your band ‘Kings and Queens’?”

“Oh, that! It’s after the streets that the three of us grew up on. Archie and I lived about three houses down from each other on Kings Road and Chop’s family moved into a house on Queens Street.”

Rae nodded in understanding and gave Finn a stunning smile that nearly made him choke on the sip of coffee he was taking during the short break in the conversation.

“Uh, so what about you and your mate Izzie? How long have you two known each other?”

“Well we shared a mutual best mate from when we were much younger, but I never actually met her until we were both about 16 or so. We became pretty close mates and when we both decided to go to Uni here in the city—and the mutual friend we had decided to go to school further away—Izzie and I grew to be much closer and now she is definitely one of my best mates.”

“That’s great! So what are you studying here at Uni?” Finn asked as he grabbed one of the pastries he had ordered and took a bite as he waited for Rae’s response.

“I’m double-majoring in English and Psychology with a minor in Music,” Rae replied pausing briefly when she saw Finn’s eyebrows raise in surprise, “but I’ve been debating adding on another minor or a third major.”

“Holy shit! That’s really impressive, Rae! You must be a really good student to balance all of the work that comes with such a full course load!”

“Oh! Thank you, Finn, but um, I’m not that smart,” Rae mumbled shyly, “there’s just so many different things I want to study and learn about that I couldn’t stand that thought of settling for just one area of study.”

“Well I think you’re a lot more intelligent than you give yourself credit for,” Finn replied with a smile when he saw how his compliment caused Rae to blush slightly.

“So, uh, you mentioned that you attend Uni too, right? What are you studying?”

“I do, yeah! I’m just finishing my third year here, actually. My major is Digital Culture with a concentration in Music. I’ve also started taking a few different economics and business classes, so hopefully I can add on a Business Minor.”

“That sounds really cool! So what exactly do you do as a Digital Culture Major?”

“Since my focus is in music, it essentially means that I work with different computer programs and types of technology to create music as well as learning the recording and production aspects of music. I started out studying business at first because I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I became interested in music production as Kings and Queens began gaining popularity and we began recording our own music and taking ourselves more seriously as a band about halfway through my first year of Uni.”

“Oh wow! That’s so cool! So you guys produce your own music?”

“Yeah! We have our own makeshift recording studio set up in Danny’s house and he does most of the work in that aspect, but I like to help out wherever I can. In fact, just the other day I was at Danny’s house recording guitar and vocals for a song I had an idea for! It’s still really rough, but I think it has some potential,” Finn replied with a nonchalant shrug.

“Do you write music as well?”

“Yeah, it’s normally me or Archie that write the lyrics that are later put into our songs. The other guys help a bit too, of course, but they generally like when we take the lead with that.”

“Huh, that’s interesting…normally the lead singers of bands play a pretty big role in song writing and lyrics.”

“Yeah, well Chop has the charisma and stage presence to be the band’s leading man, but he’s not always the most creative or poetic when it comes to writing lyrics. He prefers to just let me and Archie be creative and then he can stand up front and win the hearts of every beautiful girl in the crowd with his self-proclaimed ‘angelic voice and amazing dance moves’” Finn added with a scoff that led Rae to chuckle.

Rae reached for her iced coffee with a smile still lingering on her plush pink lips and took a sip before reaching for her cell phone where it sat face-down on the table to check the time out of habit.

Finn was watching her out of curiosity and he knit his eyebrows together in confusion when he saw her press the home button on her phone but the screen did not light up or respond in any way.

“I have a habit of checking the time on my phone quite frequently,” Rae explained with a small chuckle when she caught onto Finn’s obvious confusion, “but my phone battery was running low earlier while I was waiting for you to get here, so I had to power it off so the battery wouldn’t die completely.”

“Sorry again for keeping you waiting so long…it’s been a long day.” Finn replied with an apologetic smile when she reminded him of just how long she had been waiting for him to arrive.

“It’s not a problem, really. Why was today a long day?” Rae asked as she continued picking at the blueberry scone she had been nibbling on throughout their conversation.

“Oh you know…just a long day of band meetings, practice, and boring stuff like that…I’ll spare you the details because it’s all a lot less interesting than it would seem. That’s why I was late coming here: a meeting with the band manager ran almost an hour longer than it should have! Well, that, and I was so flustered about meeting you here and being late that I got halfway here and realized that I forgot to get your tickets, so I had to turn back and get them before finally coming here! Which in turn made me even later than I would’ve been.”

“Well, I think your day sounds much more interesting than my day, certainly! I still can’t believe that you forgot to grab the tickets before driving here, especially since the tickets were the only reason why we’re even meeting here today…well, perhaps not the only reason,” Rae replied with a smirk before grabbing her cup to take a final drink of coffee before setting the empty cup aside.

The screen of Rae’s cell phone lit up when she powered it back on and a series of text message notifications flooded in.

“I, uh, sent you a few texts when I was freaking out about being late because I didn’t want you to think that I had forgotten about our plans to meet-up,” Finn mumbled when he noticed Rae scrolling through the long list of message previews that were on the lock screen of her phone with a poorly concealed smirk.

“I noticed, although I’d say that there are a bit more than just ‘a few’ messages,” Rae teased, “I’ll read them all later to avoid causing you any further embarrassment.”

Finn looked away from Rae and tried to ignore the satisfied smile on her face at seeing how much her teasing caused him to blush.

Rae’s phone chimed loudly a few times and she looked up at him apologetically before picking up her phone from the table to read the messages she had received.

“Oh, sorry about that. I just got a few texts trying to make sure that I picked up the tickets without trouble and that you didn’t turn out to be some creep who kidnapped me or something…I guess I can see why they got worried, seeing as I’ve been at this café for nearly three hours already!”

“Three hours? Wow, I guess you’re right! We’ve been here talking for close to two hours now. I’m sure your, er, friend is pretty worried about you meeting up with some random guy!”

“Not likely. They were first and foremost wanting to make sure that I picked up their ticket because I promised that I would. Izzie is my best mate, but she certainly has a funny way of showing it!” Rae replied with a chuckle.

“Well, I suppose that I’ve monopolized enough of your attention for one day, Rae. I’m supposed to meet Archie at the library to study for one of the exams we both have later this week and I can’t cancel on him, as much as I would like to do exactly that if it meant that I could keep chatting with you.”

“No problem, I should get going now too,” Rae said as she stood up from her chair and brushed her hands over the fabric of her dress to smooth out the wrinkles that had formed from sitting down so long, “Thank you again for the tickets and for keeping me company while I drank my coffee!”

“Of course, Rae! The pleasure was all mine. Drive safe!” Finn called as he stood from the table and Rae began walking towards the door to the café.

Drive safe…are you fucking kidding me?

Way to go, Finn! You spend hours chatting with this amazing and beautiful girl over coffee and the best thing you can think of to say is “drive safe”

Ugh, why am I such a complete and utter twat!

***

When Finn walked into the library and found the table that Archie was sitting at as he tried to rearrange his pages of notes on the table, he was still struggling to wipe the goofy grin off his face following the last two hours spent having coffee with Rae, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Archie.

“Well, someone certainly looks like their day has taken a turn for the better since the last time I saw him a few hours ago. I’m assuming that your meet up with Rae went well?”

“Arch…it was, well she is—I mean, well,” Finn struggled for words as he pulled out a chair from beneath the table and took a seat, sighing deeply, “great…just great.”

“Wait, Rae is great or your meeting with her was great?” Archie asked with a cheeky smirk.

“Both,” Finn replied without hesitation.

“Huh, I see…well, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself. Now are you ready to spend the next few hours studying for this exam on Thursday?”

As soon as Archie began searching through the open documents on his laptop to find the Exam Study Guide their professor had emailed them to help them better prepare for the exam, Finn felt his phone vibrate a few times from within his back pocket and he pulled out his phone to see what notifications had come through.

RAE: Hiya Finn, so I just plugged my phone in to charge and read through all your text messages...

RAE: It’s sort of adorable how flustered your texts are and how much you were freaking out about being late. No worries though, I’m just glad you did make it eventually.

RAE: I had a lot of fun talking to you and getting to know you a bit more over coffee today, by the way. Maybe we could do that again sometime? Anyways, have a nice week and I look forward to seeing you perform again on Friday night! xx ^_^

The goofy grin that had faded significantly returned full-force as he read through her texts and he couldn’t help but linger on her message where she called him—or his texts, but he interpreted it to mean him too—adorable.

Wait a second! Did Rae just informally ask me out? Or at least ask to hang out with me again…?

Finn was about to begin typing his response to Rae’s texts when another notification came through on his phone from his personal social media account.

Rae_Earl1 followed you

@eveerez @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e @lurkernolonger @milllott @nutinanutshell @i-dream-of-emus @milymargot @vivammfd @bitchesbecrazy89 @arathewallflower@mallyallyandra @kneekeyta

A/N: So originally, this little meeting between Finn and Rae did not go quite so smoothly...Finn was still running late and Finn still forgot to grab the tickets at first, but it was going to all keep going downhill from that point forward for about 10000+ words...buuuuut I randomly became inspired while reading through and replying to Anonymous messages and reactions to the prior chapter while on my walk to work Monday morning. That inspiration led me toward the decision to move the story in a slightly different direction than I had initially planned and that meant rewriting or at least adjusting the events of some of the upcoming chapters that had already been written.

I basically deleted everything I had for this chapter and started all over again earlier today, but as I planned out some of the events that are coming up in the next few chapters, I decided that it’d be best if I added some flirting and Rinn cuteness in addition to a tiny bit of drama and silliness in the beginning of this chapter...not to spoil things, but shit is about to get sort of intense and even if you think you know where this is story is going, I’m fairly positive that you do not hahaha

So in the notes at the end of the previous chapter I mentioned that I’ve had this blog for over a year (I don’t remember which day exactly, but I know it was in the end of October and last Halloween was the first time I officially posted on here, so I’m going off of that) and I thought that was a good enough reason to do some revamping.

In addition to fixing some weird tagging on posts and updating my blog description, I also decided to create a page of some of my favorite fics that I’ve read recently, been tagged in, and/or reblogged over the last year in the event that you want to know what I’ve been reading and enjoying and if you ever want to check out some of my personal favorites. All those posts can be found in the “Fic Recommendations” section at the top of my blog or tagged with “my fic recs” in the tags of the posts. Do you have a favorite MMFD fanfic writer and/or fanfic that you think I should check out if I have not done so already?

Please let me know because I’m always happy to find new favorite writers and favorite fics! :D

Also, if you recall my last author’s note, I asked your opinions on whether you all would like to learn more about me since I have remained relatively anonymous for the past 6-ish months that I have been writing and posting fanfics on here...I was already mostly decided and ready to reveal my secret identity to you all, but the responses that I got sort of confirmed my plans.

In case you have not yet seen it, I posted something earlier today where I shared a few random facts about myself and also included a few recent photos of myself so you all could put a face to my name and my writing if you choose to do so.

Feel free to check it out if you would like to see what the oh-so-mysterious Sarah aka “Finn-Nelson-for-the-win” looks like or if you want to get to know me a little bit better!

I sort of like this thing I have going of posting on Saturday and Tuesday evenings, just because it works fairly well with my work/Uni schedule so I’m not neglecting my life responsibilities for the sake of fanfiction (although if I had a choice between the two, I’m sure we all know what I would pick), so with that being said: I look forward to hearing what you all think of this chapter and if you have theories for any of the drama and/or shenanigans that are coming in the next chapter(s), I’d love to hear them too! Stay awesome, my friends! :)

#My writing #finn-nelson-for-the-win #the concert series #Before the World Stops Turning #part 6 #mmfd #mmfd fanfic #my mad fat diary #my mad fat diary fanfiction

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