ELI WAS CLEARLY JUST PISSED. finn didn’t mind rocking the boat a little and going head to head when necessary, but with family and family friends like the st.james’ she put it off as a last resort. it wasn’t her place within the dynamic of this particular set of family friends. the angsty, brooding, aggressive ones were reserved for trace and eli, and sometimes even wren. finn’s place was peacemaker, and sometimes, like right now, that extended beyond her own siblings. “it wasn’t like that.” the elder repeated, tone even, though her grip on her counter top tightened. “and that didn’t happen? you’re smarter than believing that sad attempt at journalism.” there was a bit more force in her tone, but nothing outrageous. dropping her head, she cleared both her throat and tried to clear her thoughts. getting angry would only add fuel to the flame that was eli st.james. still the leo comment stung. yes it was true, no eli didn’t know that, but losing her practical, respectable job, over a stupid, drunken misstep and being ridiculed for it by eli who sold drugs for a living? it was humiliating. finn could move past it though. she could rid the frustration from her mind and start again calmly. “i’m not being condescending, i’m just trying to get you to think logically about this.” she explained, looking up from the counter. as eli stalked closer and let julien’s name fly out of her mouth, finn was noticeably more on edge. with one hand leaned on the counter and her other on her hip, she tilted her head before shaking it at the brunette, “no… no we’re not going to play this game.” she said firmly, only a hint of anger slipping past her carefully built barrier, “you don’t bring my family into this because you’re angry with me.” finn told eli, almost as a warning. though she wasn’t yelling or outwardly angry, she was tense, and this was about as tense finn usually got. “eli, did you ever think that me doing things for myself once in a blue moon has nothing to do with you or ivy?” she posed. finn could take a lot, she could internalize a lot, but she wasn’t going to get shoved around like this. averting her figurative glance from the moral high road, she flew low for a second in hopes of getting eli to back off and added, “and i don’t say this to be disrespectful, but i just really want you to think if you’re in any place to lecture me about morality, specifically when it comes to the topic of relationships.”
Maybe Eli was a little brazen, but she was also keen and observant. The way Finn tightened her grip on the counter at the mention of her alleged sexual encounter with Leo was definitely not lost on the brunette. Something for her to mull over later. “Sure it wasn’t,” Eli said, adjusting her crossed arms and straightening out her shoulders as she stared at Finn, “and you know, that sad attempt at journalism tells the truth half the time.” She was aware that JBI Jr. was a bullshitter through and through, but sometimes his sources were accurate. There were certain things the muck raker got right and the whole situation with Finn getting fired? It was fishy. Why would she be fired over a lie? It didn’t add up. But whatever, that wasn’t really the point of their argument. Finn’s even temper was unsurprisingly just making Eli more annoyed. “You are being condescending. You’re talking to me like I’m a child even though what I’m saying is fucking valid,” she insisted, shrugging her shoulders as she furrowed her eye brows and squinted her eyes. As far as Eli was concerned, she was being logical...and her logic was that friends should be loyal and that blood was thicker than water. At the mention of Julien, there was a hint of a spark. A little bit of anger. Finally some emotion. “It’s not a game, Finny,” Eli promised, voice full of contempt, “and it’s not like I said anything fucked up or untrue. All I’m saying is that maybe you should check on him.” She wasn’t going to say more because quite frankly? Not the issue at hand. Eli was a big girl and she’d take her problems with Julien up with him at a later date. Right now—her focus was getting Finn to admit that this situation was shady and fucked up. “You only doing things for yourself ‘once in a blue moon’ is literally no one’s fault but your own so don’t try to bring that up like it has anything to do with me. No one made you a martyr. But for the record—this? Is not that,” Eli huffed, cheeks reddening at her frustration. “So answer the question. Did you really not think that was going to be hurtful towards Ivy? Or did you just not care? Or,” Eli thought, adding another option once it dawned on her as an actual possibility, “did you straight up not think of her at all?” When Finn decided to throw a match into a canister of gasoline by bringing up Naomi and Brooks, Eli rolled her eyes and borderline laughed in her face. “Wow,” Eli drawled, shaking her head as she really took in the sight of Finn, “that situation was completely different and you know it. But you know what? I don’t remember you complaining when my keeping Naomi distracted meant that you got to have some uninterrupted quality time with Brooks. But please, continue to act so innocent.” They were veering off course. This conversation wasn’t about Eli’s fucked up high school relationship. It was about Finn’s lack of compassion or care for her little sister. “I don’t even care about all this shit. Whatever, maybe I don’t have morals or whatever. But don’t act like you do because you fucking don’t. Not if you really don’t think there’s anything wrong with what you did.”
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