Boarding School AU (Finley)

Guest

Madison Bishop at 13

The news came crashing down on them like a tidal wave, and they spent the next three weeks doing everything they could think of to get their parents to change their minds - they begged, screamed, acted like angels, became the devil himself... Nothing worked, and, at the end of the last day of the school holidays (or, at least, what the government declared as holiday; the girls had been expelled towards the end of the first term from their 3rd school) their parents had carried out what both Melody and Maddie had thought was mere talk: they were shipped off to separate boarding school.

Being away from her twin was horrible, almost as though someone had stripped her naked. The new boarding school was coed, which made no difference to her; male or female, nobody was ever worth any of her time. But Maddie was not a master manipulator for no reason - she slowly worked the crowd, starting with the 9 other girls in her down, and, within the month, soon became the most gossiped about person.

While never really going for popularity, that was exactly what she was - or rather, infamous amongst the others as either a terror, or the 'funnest girl in school'. The pranks she came up with were never-ending, and she hardly ever repeated one unless specifically asked. Targeted both at teachers and students alike, nobody was safe but those who were lucky enough to be able to say that they were her friends. Truth be told, she never really did consider any of them to be that - they were more like people she didn't mind being with and those she did.

She was smart about the way she did things, using her innocent features (for which she could thank her mother) to turn the accusation against the accuser. Having mastered the art of spontaneously bursting into (fake) tears, she fooled many a teacher; all the staff talked about how sweet and likeable the young girl was. This made it particularly easy for her to get away with breaking rules, including one she deemed stupid - she never tied her long hair during classes, much to the jealously of other girls.

It had been almost 6 months since her parents had sent her to this horrible place - since the very start, Maddie hated it - and the girl was walking along the corridor, mentally placing the finishing touches on her latest prank. Having just finished lunch, her Wednesday classes had finished and she was free for the rest of the day.

Guest

Finley age 14

Finley wasn't a very interesting individual. His parents had simply done well for themselves, or well enough to get him in to boarding school, anyway. They travelled a lot, so really, he didn't know much, if anything about them. He'd always been brought up by nannies or teachers, and boarding school was no different. There was very little of a bond between the boy and his parents, but he knew that he owed them a lot, no less.

Like the school.

Finley loved school. He was quiet, and always on task. A high achiever, but not quite a nerd. He didn't really fit in to any social circles, which meant more often than not he was sat alone, out of the way of most people, minding his own business. Which meant, nine times out of ten, you could catch him off guard if you really wanted to.

Today, was absolutely no different. He was sat alone at one of the lunch benches, reading ahead for their English exams that weren't coming up for a very long time. He couldn't help it, however, because he liked to be ahead. It was also because he had his nose in his book that he really didn't see the infamous Maddie Bishop heading towards him.

Which, always meant problems.

Guest

Boredom was her middle name, for the very second that her latest adventure stopped, she grew restless. That was why she never let that happen; her mind was constantly on the lookout for opportunities to do something, anything, fun. And it was exactly for that reason that Madison immediately saw Finley Allen, face half-hidden behind a book. He was her favourite person in the whole school - to have some fun with. Studious and the exact definition of boring, Madison had immediately taken an obsession with making his life as miserable as she possibly could, although nothing she did would trace back to her; she wanted to be able to manipulate his feelings as well as his studies.

Playing with people was a trait she was good at, and she knew it. Taking a deep breath and plastering a large smile on her face, she walked over to the boy, gracefully sitting herself down, closer to him than she knew was comfortable. "Hey there Fen-ley," she greeted, her tone soft and flowery, purposely mispronouncing his name.

Guest

Finley had been on an exciting part of his book, thoroughly engaged in the whole book. Under a War Torn Sky was a very good book, in his opinion, but then Finley had always been wowed by the heroics of war. Wishing he was as brave, strong, handsome. Anything to be like these people, but he knew he was just going to be Finley and nothing more.

"Hey there Fen-ley,"

Honestly, Finley had jumped a mile at the sound of a voice that was much too familiar to him. Then he noticed just how close she was to his personal space. But he was frozen in place. "H-hi." He managed, his voice getting stuck in his throat to start with before he'd managed to actually push the syllables out. "M-my name is F-Finley, n-not F-Fenley." He told her gently, not wanting her to make mistakes with his name.

Carefully closing his book, Finley looked at the cover, waiting for an indication of why she was here.

Guest

As expected, the boy had jumped quite a bit, and her smile only grew. "Why so nervous, Fen-ley?" she asked, maintaining her soft tone. "It's not me, is it? Do I make you nervous?" she continued, making her voice tinted with fake worry and placing a hand on his knee. "I hope not." Maddie left it there for a few moments before removing it and folding it neatly over her own lap, letting her eyes travel to the title of his book. It had something to do with world war 1, or 2.. Or perhaps it was the Civil war. It was all the same to her, in any case, and she didn't much care for those books.

"M-my name is F-Finley, n-not F-Fenley."

A look of horror flashed across her featured, replaced once again by her smile. "I am so sorry, F-Finley. I always thought it was Fenley. I won't make that mistake again," she told him reassuringly, but pronouncing his name exactly the way he had - stammer and all.

Watching him carefully, she waited as he put down the book, frowning when he refused to meet her eyes. That won't do, she thought to herself. Reaching forward, she took hold of the edge of the book and slowly but firmly slid it out from under his hands and pretended to study it for a few moments before placing it down beside her - and away from the boy. "What's it about? It looks utterly dull. Surely you enjoy better things, F-Finley?" she inquired.

Guest

"It's not me, is it? Do I make you nervous?"

Swallowing slightly, Finley tried to ignore the hand on his thigh. Oh how he hated being touched... How he disliked the way she spoke to him in that moment. Why couldn't he just tell her to leave him alone so that he could get some peace and quiet?

"P-people make me nervous." Finley explained, still not looking at the girl beside him.

And her teasing a moment later made him sure he didn't overly like people. He couldn't help his stutter, he'd had speech therapy, but they couldn't make it any better. It would come with age, the man had told his parents, but only if he built his confidence. He'd tried, but doing something was never as easy as saying you would do it.

"What's it about? It looks utterly dull. Surely you enjoy better things, F-Finley?"

"It's about a p-pilot in W-World War T-Two, who gets s-shot down behind enemy l-lines." Finley explained, noting how she moved his book out of his reach. "I t-think it's a g-great book, and r-reading is one of t-the best ways to enjoy yourself." He replied. "P-please can you g-give it back, it was a p-present."

Guest

"P-people make me nervous."

Faking a look of pity, she let out a soft sigh. "That's not very good. We should try to make that go away, don't you think?" she offered in a compassionate tone, but at the same time, one that left no room to argue. "Why do people make you nervous?" she continued, mimicking what she saw Psychologists do on television. This is going to be an interesting project, she decided, more ideas already forming in her head.

His explanation of the book - or attempt at - made her want to laugh. His stuttering was so bad she hardly got a word he was saying, except that he apparently thought reading was 'cool'. "Oh Finley," she sighed, deciding on a new route to take to cause maximum fun. "You need to get out more." She pretended to think a few moments, ignoring his request for his book back, before giving her fingers a snap. "I got it! There's a party tonight, over at my dorm. Only special people are being invited, and I would like to personally extend an invitation to you." It wasn't true - there were no plans for a party - but if she gathered a few of her posse members and told them to make one happen, it would.

Standing up abruptly, she sent the boy a wink as she picked up his book and slipped it into her bag. "I will give this back to you tonight, after the party. It's at midnight sharp. I'll see you there, Finley!" With that, she walked off, without so much as a second glance at the boy, already starting to plan an invite list for the party she just decided would happen.

Guest

The question on why people made him nervous had made Finley wish he hadn't said a word. Looking away from his hands and Maddie to his bag, the boy wondered if he could just walk away. He didn't want to talk to a counsellor about it, and there was absolutely no way he was divulging such information to the girl beside him either. "It's n-nothing." He muttered softly, hoping she'd just leave him alone with his problems. Why would she care, anyway?

"I got it! There's a party tonight, over at my dorm. Only special people are being invited, and I would like to personally extend an invitation to you."

Finley was not privy to the parties that happened on campus. He avoided them actively. Well, he was never invited, but on the off chance he came across one, the boy walked away and pretended to not be there. Which worked, almost everyone was happy to ignore him. Everyone except Madison Bishop, it seemed. "I d-don't know, M-Maddie..." Finley replied, knowing he couldn't deal with that volume of people.

"I will give this back to you tonight, after the party. It's at midnight sharp. I'll see you there, Finley!"

With a soft sigh, Finley watched her going. He wanted his book back, so he didn't see as he had a choice in the matter, but that didn't make it any less annoying in that moment that he would have to go. This... well, it was quite annoying, if he was perfectly honest. Grabbing his bag, Finley headed back to his dorm room, waiting the evening out until midnight rolled around and he was stood outside Maddie's dorm. Raising a hand, Finley knocked on the door, waiting to be let in and hoping beyond anything that there wouldn't be a teacher around.

Guest

The arrangements had taken the rest of her day - and night, - the book stashed away in a secret hiding place she made behind her bedside cabinet. Calling together two of her most trusted followers, she told them of her plan and they shared a good laugh before quickly setting a list of people who were to be invited. Parties thrown by Madison Bishop were famous throughout the entire population of students, and to make her personal invite list was something worth bragging about, especially for those midnight feasts of hers that she limited to 20 people or so. In this case, she narrowed the list to a select 11 people, excluding Finley, whom she had listed as a 'VIP'; this meant that his name was included at the top of each handwritten invite, and whatever he wanted, all attending guests were to make sure he got, and he was to be treated with the utmost respect, at all times.

Signing each of the 11 postcard sized pieces of paper with a bright pink pen and adding a row of kisses at the bottom, she placed them in envelopes, writing out the names neatly in the same florescent pink and passing them to a few other of her posse to give out in discretion. The last thing she needed were party crashes - not that anyone dared to cross her.

After that was done, she set about the business with food. It honestly wasn't too hard to figure out the boy's favourites; all she needed to do was promise a few people invites to her next party or feast, and information came pouring in. Giving the list to yet another few people to obtain - how, she truly didn't care, as long as it was done - and set about making plans for after the party was over.

Finley, as a VIP, was told to arrive a good half an hour after everyone - so that his entrance would not go unnoticed - and by 11.30 pm, the others started arriving, bringing gifts of food and drinks, which nobody was allowed to touch until the guest of honour arrived. At midnight sharp, there was a knock on the door and an immediate silence feel across the chattering guests as Maddie moved towards it. Throwing open the door, she gave a satisfied grin as she saw Finley standing there and welcomed him in, stepping aside to let him enter. Letting the door shut behind her, Maddie took a place next to him, placing a hand on his back. "So glad you could make it, Finley," she said, sending a look towards the crowd, who echoed her at once. "Now the party can begin!" she added, pointing towards the food table in the corner. "Would you start us off, Finley?"

Guest

"So glad you could make it, Finley,"

Giving the girl a timid smile, Finley allowed her to steer him in to the party. Honestly, this was not what he'd been expecting, there were more people than he found comfortable, and they all... seemed to be here for him? That couldn't be right, surely, could it? He thought to himself, but they echoed Maddie, so he wasn't sure he could argue with that.

"Would you start us off, Finley?"

Finley wasn't sure what that meant, but when she put him in front of the buffet table, the boy took a handful of party sausage rolls. Putting one in his mouth, Finley looked towards Maddie, swallowing and then deciding to speak. "C-can I have m-my book back now?" He asked Maddie, he'd come to the party like she asked, and now he wanted to go again. Sooner, rather than later, preferably.

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