This summer wasn’t going to be easy at all, he knew that much already. Some of it would be the same as always—his fights, his work with the gangs, and occasional drug dealer, making money the best way he knew how. That would never change. Finn also knew what to expect from his mother, knowing that she was bound to irritate him on a daily basis. He’d have his friends around, but they were going to get into some bullshit situation, as they always did. It seemed like tempers were always higher in the summer, as more conflicts seemed to start then. But now, with Mila, he knew this was going to be a hell of a lot more complicated. Although he had never seen her around, Finn knew that they ran in the same neighborhoods. If he saw her around, it was going to bloody distract him, at least if this caring bullshit really did continue to stick. He could only hope that she didn’t want to bother coming to the fights or any other shit that happened over the summer months—but he doubted it. There wasn’t that much bullshit to do around there; it was what made the fights that big of a damn draw. If there wasn’t a fight going on, people were smoking, drinking, getting high, fucking or spending their time in other pointless damn ways. Granted, that was how he spent his time, so who was he to bloody judge? He would be doing a lot of that if he had to distract himself from Mila being around, after all.

“Your uncle is a bloody ponce,” he grumbled, not really knowing what else to say on the matter. At least if the man cared about Mila, Finn could let this shit go without thinking her father was going to bloody kill her. But no, he had to be an asshole and unreliable, just like the shitheads he’d dealt with his entire life. As he had almost expected, though he had been hoping she had better control over asking ridiculous questions, Mila followed up on his vague answer. He took a drag of his cigarette before replying, wondering why they both hadn’t ended this arrangement before they got this deep into it, “Had three—won them all. So I’d say they went pretty well,” he answered, shrugging. What else did she really want to know about them? If she lived in the area, she’d probably heard about them at some point.

This summer was going to be absolutely horrible, that was a definite guarantee. There was absolutely no way around that, not that she would try anything to get out of going home. Even if it had its downfalls for being her home, it was still much better than the school…at times. Sure, she hated being with her uncle…and the fact that her father was going to be around was pissing her off, but she would handle. Running away from her problems had never been a characteristic she had developed, though she supposed if she wanted to survive longer, it should be. A part of her was curious about these fights that Finn took place in, knowing that her father had been a champion just like Finn. No, she could never go to the fight, she noted, as it would be incredibly difficult for them to just ignore each other, which is what they were supposed to do. As long as she could help it, she would stay away from the fights…or at least, stay in the shadows. Luckily for her, no one at the fights knew who her father was, as if they had, Finn would have heard her name by now.

Mila smirked at his words, agreeing with the statement. Though, she would prefer her uncle over her father any day. Her father was trying to spin some shitty tale that he missed her and wanted her to be a part of his life again. It was a load of rubbish and she wasn’t raised to be an idiot. In fact, she supposed she had more in common with her deadbeat father than she liked to admit.

Mila was now torn between hating herself for caring about Finn or for just letting it run its course, certain it wouldn’t be much longer. Even so, they gave themselves a timeline. Who else would they waste their time shagging now anyways? Even the blokes at this school seemed to get needy so that only spoke volumes of how the girls would be. “Yeah, thanks for that. I would have hated to lose my cash because you flaked out,” she smirked, really wishing she had brought down a firewhiskey, or something. Sure, she didn’t go to the fights, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have her own sources…and casually asked about how Finn was doing. That really wasn’t all that bloody wrong to do as everyone asked about Finn in that area, lucky for her.

Summer would bring about a hell of a lot of money for him, clearly. Since he was gone the majority of the year, it was the funds that he made in the summer months that kept his mum in their apartment while he was at school. Who the bloody hell knew what she got up to there when he was gone? Finn didn’t even really want to bloody know, as he knew well enough what she did when he was there. He knew that from what Mila knew about her, she wondered why he didn’t just kick her the hell out, which was a logical thing to fucking think, really. He’d have a lot more money if he didn’t pay rent on an apartment that he wasn’t even in for nine months. But family loyalty was incredibly irritating, and he knew that she’d be dead if she had to do anything on her own. Christ knew that she wouldn’t have it in her to do anything to get money, as all she did was lie around and do drugs at this point. Annoyingly, he couldn’t just kick her out because it was as good as killing her, something that he certainly didn’t want on his conscience—what little one he had, anyway.

His conscience would excuse killing Mila’s awful damn family, though, as apparently they deserved it. Of course, he wouldn’t… but it was still a tempting thought when his mind moved to just how shitty they were. He didn’t even know all that much, and still hated them. It was an affect of this caring thing that he was used to by now. A smirk grew across his face at her words, and he raised an eyebrow at her. Really, he wouldn’t even be surprised if she had been at the fights, as they were always crowded enough that it would have been hard to notice her unless she wanted him to. Though, he really felt as though he would have seen her, so he didn’t think she had actually gone. “Well it’s good I never flake out,” he stated, still smirking. At this point in the fights, he actually had to let the majority of the fighters get some hits in to make it look more evenly matched. If no one ever bet against him, then they wouldn’t have much of a fight at all. Every so often there was someone who didn’t suck, but it had been a long time since he’d faced a challenge in the circle. More than likely, summer would bring that, as people from other circles liked to come together to pit their undefeated fighters against each other—and that was always a bit more interesting.

They were the two people who were the least likely to have a relationship actually work out and yet, now they had the relationship that made the most sense. It was like every bloke knew she was off limits now, not that she was even trying to put herself out there anymore. They had an agreement now, for whatever reason they decided to develop that. What was slightly irritating to her was the fact that she didn’t even desire to sleep with these other blokes anymore, perfectly content in whatever it was she had with Finn. After years of them both being referred to as the fuck-ups, it seemed, things fell easily into place. It made sense for them to come together, even if she would never actually admit that. They both had their shit going on in their lives and they both actually understood what the other was going through, for the most part. Nearly everyone else at this school as so caught up in scoring high on their next bloody test, that they really hadn’t a clue what the real world was even like. They seemed to take everything for granted at this school, but she supposed she couldn’t hate it all that much. It was her out from the real world for only a little while and that was more than enough.

Her life was stuck where it was. What Mila couldn’t understand was why Finn worked his arse off for someone who didn’t give a shit about him. His mother was absolutely horrific, and she really didn’t deserve even an ounce of goodness that Finn displayed. A part of her wanted to meet the woman to put her in her place, but that would constitute seeing Finn over the summer…which was definitely not in their agreement. Merlin, it sounded like they had a fucking contract for their damn relationship. Mila shook her head of her thoughts, a short laugh escaping at his words. “Cockiness doesn’t suit you well, babe,” she muttered, putting her cigarette out into the ground. Really, it bloody did suit him well as he at least had something to be cocky about. He hadn’t lost a damn fight. Just like her bloody father. He could never know the identity of her father as at the rate they were going with this caring shit, he would actually give a damn.

As far as Finn was concerned, everyone in this school was deluding themselves. They didn’t have a clue how the real world worked—hell, the professors didn’t know either. He had had to grow up learning shit the hard way, along with everyone else he knew. Magical ponces got handed everything even more so than the rich in the Muggle world. All that they to do was wave their wand and their problems were solved. It was pathetic, and he would gain a measure of entertainment from any of them trying to survive on the streets without their ridiculous sticks to protect them. Hogwarts provided Finn with food and with somewhere to sleep every night, which had sounded good when he was eleven and homeless. Of course, now he did have an apartment at home, albeit not much food, and he didn’t even know why he had continued to come back to this place. It did make him more of a commodity when he was home for fights and other work, though, which was a bonus.

If he hadn’t started this shit with Mila, he probably wouldn’t have come back after the Easter holidays. He didn’t give a damn about any of his classes, and he wasn’t staying in the magical world after graduation, so he didn’t see the damn point. With their agreement ending this caring bullshit coming up fast with the end of the year, his reasons for remaining there were officially down to one—warm food every day. That was why he was pretty bloody sure he wouldn’t be returning after this summer, but that would be some shit he’d deal with later. “Not cocky if it’s true, babe,” he said, still smirking. Mila would know what he meant if she ever saw him fight, but he really didn’t bloody want her anywhere near that—and it would be breaking their arrangement anyway.

Summer couldn’t come bloody fast enough. The professors were actually starting to think that they could force a bunch of kids to actually do anything. It was amusing, really. Well, it would be if it weren’t so annoying. Even skipping classes seemed to be more of a hassle now, professors breathing down their necks to actually attend. Still, at least she and Finn had their own incentives going to classes. Going to classes meant that they were on a floor where they could cross off a room or two from their list of places to shag. It all worked out, really. The professors got what they wanted and she and Finn got what they wanted. They had a bloody great agreement, she noted, making things for this year at least seem interesting. The fact that this year was interesting made her regret the next year from occurring as she really didn’t want to have to deal with the dullness that it would provide. Hell, maybe she’d luck out and meet someone similar to Finn…but even that sounded bloody boring s she’d clearly only compare him to Finn. Well, shit, she thought to herself, irritated that this caring bullshit affected more than she thought, even making the next year sound dull.

A part of her was nervous for the summer, an emotion she hadn’t felt in the longest of times. Being nervous simply wasn’t something she felt often and yet, here she was, actually dreading the end of the school year. It wasn’t like her father was the best ponce to see, especially since she hadn’t talked to him in years. She supposed she really should start burning those letters he sent to her, but she kept them for the time being. Luckily, Finn hadn’t seen the others as that would have been a bloody disaster. If only he never saw the first letter she received, this mess might be a bit better. “Don’t know how you still have people willing to fight you at this point. They must have all hit their heads one too many damn times…so I’ve heard, of course,” she shrugged carelessly. It was irritating that the statement sounded like she was complimenting him, at least in her way, she supposed. This was just bloody frustrating.

What he found ridiculous was that the pair of them were even in this situation to begin with. They were the two least likely to give a damn about anyone at this school. As far as he was aware, they both knew bloody better than to care about others. It was bloody survival of the fittest, and having someone around that they were bloody worried about or some shit would only be used against them. It was why this shit really did have to end at the school year’s conclusion. Not just because it bloody had to, but also because neither of them could go home and be caught up on the other. People would use that to their advantage, and too many bloody people knew Finn and while he had the loyalty of most of them, the rest would chomp at the bit at the chance to take him down. That was just the way of his neighborhood, and he was used to that shit by now. It didn’t normally matter, because there was no way to get to him—they knew that his mother was around, but no one would attempt using that bitch against him. He provided for her because it was the right thing to do and even he had a bit of a conscience; but she wouldn’t be his downfall, that was for certain. But anyone finding out about Mila would be a problem, which was why this shit had to stop before it got to that point.

He was unsure if she realized that was why it was so important that this ended, though it was also because this caring bullshit was just irritating and he didn’t like that he had no bloody control over it. Finn was sure she had her own reasons for them needing to be fucking over, probably having to do with her uncle and father; but he was starting to think he really should have someone check up on that to make sure nothing was going on that bloody shouldn’t be. “Ponces like to think they’re different than the last one I beat,” he said, shrugging. Everyone was cocky, thinking that they actually stood a chance. It was just work to him, whereas everyone he went up against thought it was something bigger than that—granted, in the grand scheme of things, winning gave someone more than just money, and that was what everyone bloody wanted. The respect, apparently, which did come in handy, “They think they’re bloody impressive, or some shit.” Finn added, offhandedly, and he did get some level of amusement to showing them that they weren’t.

If someone had told her at the beginning of the year that she would have a chance encounter with Finn Harlow and that not only would they shag that night, but it would lead to a relationship of sorts where they shagged only each other whenever they were in need, which was more often than not, she would have thought them bloody mad. There was absolutely no way that she would find herself caring about anyone as that was not a wise decision in the slightest. She had thought herself incapable of giving a shit about anyone, too selfish for her own good. She supposed she had cared about her mother, but she was also bitter against the dead woman as she failed at keeping her safe. Her mother failed at being a mother; why the hell would she waste her time caring about her too much? Caring was a weakness and she was taught to avoid anything that could be a weakness. She tried to follow that the second she realized she actually did care about Finn, pushing him aside and trying to shag some other bloke. Apparently, Finn then realized that the caring disease spread to him too, annoyingly enough.

It would be a bloody shame if her father found out about her shagging Finn more than just a one night stand whenever the hell he wanted it. Her father had known of Finn and already thought he was a prick, though he didn’t care enough to meet him. He was done with the fights, finding other ways of earning money…supposedly. However, Finn was a threat to his title, which was something that Clyde had a hard time saying goodbye to. Staying out of it was already going to be an issue, but the second he found out that Finn was someone Mila cared about, he would probably want to kill him…eventually, at least. Weaknesses were simply unacceptable. “And to think their best fighter is a freak that come to this fucking shithole,” she grinned, looking about the grounds. "Was it a surprise?" she asked carelessly, referring to magic.

They had done a hell of a job at shagging places in this school that others never would have even thought of. It certainly made all of the complications of actually giving a damn worth it, but it was good that they had an expiration date on this arrangement. Caring about others was something that he had never wasted time on in the past for a damn reason. Maybe in the confides of these ridiculous walls, it was less dire, but having a weakness like that is what got people killed. They needed to end it because of that, but also because he was sure she was just as sick of giving a shit about him as he was about her. He chuckled darkly at her words, knowing that if people bloody knew where he was all year, they’d probably laugh their asses off and he’d be lucky to get in another fight in his life. Hell, that was the best thing that would happen, the worst would be them trying to bloody kill him for being such an abnormality. Magic was bloody ridiculous; it was the easy way out, and it was a waste of time, really. “Who would have fucking guessed?” He stated, scoffing. No one would fucking believe it, that was for certain. Luckily, no one asked him questions that he didn’t want them to—it was the benefit of being in the position that he was in. Finn could come and go without anyone really outright asking him about it even if he was curious.

Really, he bloody wished that she’d stopped herself from asking a question, because he knew that he’d answer it. They were apparently really awful at stopping themselves from asking about the other, even if that meant getting deeper into this caring mess. Asking questions had started this shit off, all those months ago. If he’d never grabbed that letter of her hands, Finn wouldn’t know or care about her shitty father; and if she hadn’t done the same thing a few weeks later out of joking retaliation, then she wouldn’t know about his mother. Now, they kept figuring out more and shit, and it wasn’t helping the situation in the slightest. “Guess my dad was a wizard,” he replied, shrugging. That was all his mother had riddled out once she had realized what was going on. She said it made sense, or some shit, but it wasn’t something they had ever bloody talked about to excess—and they hadn’t spoken of him in years until this term with that bloody ridiculous incident. “She didn’t figure that shit out ‘til I got that ridiculous fucking letter,” Finn added. What he didn’t mention was that they had been living on the streets at the time, and that the only reason he’d even decided to go was the prospect of a bed and food. That time, he had been lucky to get enough food a week that a normal person would have in one meal. Sometimes he thought it would have been a hell of a lot easier if he had just ripped the damn letter up. Bloody magic.

Mila remembered meeting Finn for the second time, thinking he was a fucking dunce like the rest of the school. It hadn’t been until later into that meeting that she realized that she had actually recognized him vaguely as someone she had held a one night stand with. Not wanting to leave the room as leaving meant running into the rest of the idiots of the school, Mila had decided to stay, pulling out one of her firewhiskey’s. She really didn’t know why she did, but she tossed him the other and then they shagged, because that was how they bloody did things. That was supposed to have been the end, in a sense. Well, they had agreed to shag until they tired of each other…which should have been a bloody week’s top. Somewhere between shagging, being professors’ worst nightmares, not giving a shit about anyone, pretending to be more just to irritate annoying bitches, and some more shagging, she realized she was starting to care about him. Apparently, it was bloody vice versa, as well. They absolutely had to be finished by the time summer rolled around. It was like some fucking sick magical joke to have the two people least likely to give a shit, to give a fucking shit.

They were already together too fucking long…it being practically forever. They were treading through terrible waters, and it was like they just kept going deeper. It was as if some of the times they shagged wasn’t even because they necessarily desired it more than anything, but that they were desperately trying to not bloody talk, already knowing too much shit about each other. Mila listened to his response but didn’t give much response, keeping her own expression careless as usual. Letting out a laugh, Mila shook her head in amusement. “A hell of way to break the fucking news,” she muttered, amused that apparently sending someone a bloody letter would do the bloody trick to break something so big. “Why’d you come?” she asked, berating herself for the words leaving her lips.