Between episodes 6x06 and 6x07

"So I have to get to the other ridge over here, right?"

"Yeah."

"So how do you do that?"

Finn watched as Ozzy tried to lead Commander Plasma from Legions of Lasers across the swamp and disappeared under the murky water. An error message popped up, alerting Ozzy that he had died (again). Huffing, Ozzy exited out of the message, and the game automatically sent him back to the reset point.

"You can't just run across the swamp. There's a secret ledge you have to find to cross it," Finn explained patiently, gesturing to the side of the screen where Ozzy should go.

"A secret ledge? Seriously?" Ozzy said indignantly, "That's not on any of the forums."

"Probably because most people don't die twenty times just trying to cross the Simeon Swamp."

Ozzy grumbled as he followed Finn's advice then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh hey! I found it!" His NPC ran across a small ledge to the other side of the swamp that had been the bane of his existence for the last twenty minutes, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Dude, you're a lifesaver. I've been stuck on that forever."

As a cutscene started playing, Finn glanced around Shakes and Ladders and noticed Piper entering with Amy. He immediately sat up a little straighter and ran a hand over his hair in case there were any stray hairs sticking up. (He'd straightened it that morning as usual, so there shouldn't have been, but he could never be too careful.)

The girls stopped at the counter, and if either of them had noticed him, they didn't acknowledge him. They were mid-conversation, and Finn debated going over to talk to them for half a second before deciding to just do it. There was no better way to get to know a girl than to put himself out there, right? That's what his brother Nate had told him anyway, and Nate had had a lot of girlfriends over the years, so he clearly knew what he was talking about.

"I'll be right back," Finn told Ozzy as he pushed back from their table.

"Whatever," was Ozzy's response.

As Finn approached Piper, he told himself to just play it cool. His attempt to ask her out last week had failed, but she had said herself that she was busy that night. Maybe tonight would be different. He was fascinated by her, and if he ever wanted to get to know her, he had to take every chance he had. What did he have to lose by asking her out anyway? If she said no, she said no, but at least he'll have tried, right?

"It sounds like they're a really great team," Amy was saying as Finn approached them.

"An acro team would be perfect for you," Piper admitted before adding in a lighter tone, "Too bad they can't have you."

Amy rolled her eyes playfully, waving a hand dismissively. "As if I'd ever leave the studio after my mom made me go to Gemini."

Piper grinned at that, but her smile hardened as Finn approached them. "Hey," he greeted them with a grin. Amy returned his greeting cheerfully, but Piper simply gave him a tight smile in response.

Never one to beat around the bush, Finn decided to just get straight to the point. "Piper, I was wondering if you'd want to hang out tonight?"

Amy's eyebrows shot up at this, a grin growing on her lips, as Piper pointedly avoided his gaze and reached for an apple from the bowl sitting on the counter. "I can't. I'm busy," she told him shortly, rolling the apple around in her hands as she reluctantly met his gaze with a hard stare and quirk of the eyebrow that dared him to ask her again.

Finn was never one to back down from a challenge, but he also knew that when a girl said no, she meant no, and he wanted to respect that (even if it meant being a little disappointed).

"Oh, that's okay," he told her quickly, sticking his hands in his pockets and starting to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet. Piper was giving him the same look she had in Studio One the other day, as if she was trying to figure him out and failing.

Next to Piper, however, Amy was grinning, clearly enjoying watching this interaction. "Well, I'm free!" she interjected, and Finn looked to her in surprise. "What did you have in mind?"

Now what was he supposed to do? He'd only been asking out Piper. Amy was cool, but he wasn't exactly looking to date her. Although that didn't mean they couldn't hang out as friends...

"There are these new batting cages that just opened. They're supposed to be really cool," he told her, easily matching her enthusiasm.

Amy's face lit up, and she practically jumped in excitement as she said, "I love batting cages!"

"Amy."

She looked to Piper, who shook her head in a far less subtle way than she probably intended to, whispering something to her through gritted teeth. Amy suddenly frowned, glancing back to Finn and saying in a monotone, "I hate batting cages."

Finn fought back a laugh, eyes darting between Amy and Piper. His gaze lingered on the latter before he gave a good-natured smile and shrug of the shoulders. "That's okay. It's supposed to rain tonight anyway."

"Well, that doesn't matter, right?" Piper said in a sarcastic tone. She quirked an eyebrow as she added, "You can play baseball in the rain. Just wear a helmet. Protect the hair and all that."

"That's true," Finn admitted, inclining his head toward her. "But lightning might be a problem if there are metal bats."

The corners of her lips twitched at that, and she told him, "Better wear gloves then." With that, she put a hand on Amy's arm and started pulling her best friend toward the door in an obvious effort to leave.

"Wait, we didn't order," Amy protested as Piper pulled her away.

"We don't need to spend any more money. Come on."

"Since when have you wanted to save money?"

Finn watched them go, feeling half-amused, half-disappointed. Piper didn't look back as they exited the shake shop, but Amy looked back to roll her eyes at him before chasing after Piper down the hall. They seemed like a fun duo, those two. And unpredictable. He wouldn't have expected Amy to jump at his offer to hang out when Piper turned him down. To be fair though, he was still getting to know the whole team, and he wasn't entirely sure if Amy had been serious or joking. (He was pretty sure she'd been joking.)

With a sigh, he rejoined Ozzy at their table. He figured his friend would have been so focused on Legions of Lasers that he wouldn't have overheard that exchange with Amy and Piper, so it was to his surprise when Ozzy looked up at him with a smirk.

"I didn't know you liked Piper," he stated mischievously.

Finn could have denied it, but he didn't really see the point. He did have a bit of a crush on Piper, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that. "Yeah, she's cool." He frowned at the way Ozzy was smirking at him and reluctantly asked, "What? Do you know something I don't?"

"Oh, no," Ozzy said, quickly shaking his head. "I just think it's fun to watch my friends pine over girls who they have no chance with."

"Hey," Finn interjected with a frown.

Ozzy went on as if he hadn't heard him. "First, Kingston and Lola. Now, you and Piper. Wonder who Henry's gonna fall for?"

"I could have a chance with her," Finn said defensively. Who was Ozzy to make that claim? "You're one to talk. Haven't you been pining over Richelle for years?"

"Who told you that?" Ozzy snapped.

"You did," Finn reminded him, and Ozzy looked away, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Did I?"

"You talk about Richelle constantly."

"Well, she's a beautiful piece of art that's too good for this world. How could I not?" Ozzy said with a pompous shrug as he looked back to his video game.

Finn simply raised his eyebrows, biting back another laugh. Sure, he had a crush on Piper, but at least he wasn't on the same level of pining as Ozzy was. (Not yet anyway... God, he hoped he never got to the same level of pining that Ozzy was on.)

"What's the best way to get past the sand dunes?" Ozzy asked, abruptly changing the topic.

Finn sighed. He had half a mind to leave Ozzy hanging after the comment he'd just made, but ultimately, he wasn't one to do that to a bro, regardless of how they might have offended him. He wasn't that kind of person.

"Okay, have you found the guy in the purple hat? You have to find him first, and then..."