7x23

Not being chosen to compete for the Resurrection Round had really thrown Finn for a loop. He supposed he should have been relieved since it took the pressure off of him, but not competing in the Resurrection Round meant that he had missed his flight and jeopardized both the team and his relationship with Piper for essentially nothing.

His girlfriend still wouldn't talk to him going into the third day of Dancemania, but he had to push his concerns about that aside in order to help Ozzy. Frankly, he was thankful for the distraction, and it was nice to spend time around Ozzy, who seemed to be the only member of A-Troupe who understood how Finn was currently feeling and vice versa.

If nothing good came out of Dancemania, at least Finn's friendship with Ozzy had grown a little stronger on this trip. That had to count for something.

Unfortunately, after an entire afternoon of helping Ozzy choreograph his solo for the Resurrection Round, Ozzy couldn't have been less confident in himself or his ability to beat Curtis from Hard Ice. As Ozzy trudged off to hair and make-up to get ready for the performance, Finn rubbed his hands together, letting out a deep breath. Ozzy was better at musical theater than he thought he was, but that didn't matter if he was convinced he had no chance of winning.

The team had to do something to boost his confidence, and they had to act fast.

"How's he doing?" Kingston asked, his voice dripping in concern as Finn joined A-Troupe in the green room.

"We don't stand a chance if we don't show him we believe in him," Finn answered bluntly, and Kingston grimaced, looking away guiltily. No one had exactly been jumping for joy last night when Ozzy was picked to represent the team in the Resurrection Round, least of all Ozzy's best friend.

The rest of the team was gathering around Finn and Kingston, looking concerned. "So what do we do?" Lily asked.

"We have to get #OzzyResurrected trending on social media," Finn told them, a plan beginning to come together in his mind.

"A hashtag? That's your plan?" Kenzie asked skeptically.

"No, he's right," Heath interjected before Finn could defend his idea. "#Ozzy'sGoingDown was trending on social media last night. If we could get the opposite trending, that could totally boost his confidence."

"Exactly," Finn said, shooting a grateful look to his friend.

"Okay, but how are we supposed to get a hashtag trending in the next hour?" Piper asked, shaking her head. Finn recognized the look in her eye. She didn't think this could work.

"I'm on it," Lily said, already typing away on her phone. "I have the most followers out of all of us after all."

"Where's Richelle when you need her?" Kenzie grumbled, sharing a disgruntled look with Summer.

"Do they have plain t-shirts in wardrobe?" Finn asked, interrupting the discussion of followers.

"Probably," Amy said, looking at him curiously. "Why?"

"I'll explain later," Finn said quickly before tapping Kingston on the shoulder and nodding his head towards wardrobe. Picking up on the nonverbal cue, Kingston immediately set off with Finn for wardrobe, Henry and Heath quickly following after them and leaving the girls to handle the social media hashtag.

"So what's your plan, bro?" Henry asked as they sprinted through the hallways of the Dancemania studio.

Finn quickly explained his idea of spelling out #OzzyResurrected on t-shirts, and the other boys agreed that it was a great idea. A lady in wardrobe sent them to a storage room where they found just enough large t-shirts for the whole team. When they returned the green room, t-shirts in hand, they explained the plan in full to the girls, and the team quickly set to work on preparing the shirts.

When Finn handed Piper her shirt, their hands brushed. She glanced up at him, holding his gaze for a moment, mouth opening slightly as if she wanted to say something, but then she simply turned away, moving away from him to join Summer and Kenzie across the room. Finn sighed as she walked away from him. He dejectedly flopped onto the floor next to Amy and Henry, who were drawing on their shirts with fabric markers that Nick had managed to find for them.

"She's not getting over this," Finn noted miserably.

Amy gave him a sympathetic look as Henry frowned. "She's still mad?"

"I don't know what to do. She won't talk to me at all."

Amy sighed, glancing over to where her best friend was blatantly forcing a smile at something Summer was saying. "Look, between you and me, this isn't just about you missing the flight or putting your phone on silent."

"She got mad because you put your phone on silent?" Henry interjected in disbelief.

Finn's brows knit together at Amy's words. "What do you mean?"

"She thinks you don't care about her," Amy disclosed, and he gaped at her.

"What? Amy, that's crazy!"

"I know."

"Why would she think that?"

"Something about forgetting dates and always being late," she told him with a frown.

Finn sighed, looking away in shame. Being late for things was a bad habit he'd had for a long time. The week leading up to Dancemania had been particularly bad between the brunch date he'd been an hour late for and the lunch date that he had completely forgotten about. He couldn't blame Piper for being angry at him for being late to those dates, but he'd never wanted her to come to the conclusion that he didn't care about her at all.

His gaze settled on her across the room, his heart aching. A life without Piper in it wasn't one that Finn was interested in living. He needed to show her that she had never for a moment stopped being important to him, but how could he do that? When he voiced his question, it was Henry who answered.

"You've gotta think about your relationship with her. Don't do something flashy with no meaning. Make it personal to her."

Amy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. What's her butter-tart s'more?" she asked, sharing a soft smile with Henry, who put a hand on her back.

"Her butter-tart s'more?" Finn asked cluelessly.

"What's personal to your relationship?" Amy clarified.

Finn pursed his lips, looking away thoughtfully. What was personal to him and Piper? Dance was how they had bonded, but that was true of any of his friends on the team. When he thought of Piper, he thought of movie nights in his basement, and popcorn with red ICEEs, and deep conversations late at night about things he hadn't talked about with anyone else. He thought about card games at Shakes and Ladders, and Fruity Moons, and debates about pineapple on pizza. He thought about long drives around the city, and dancing together at prom, and Big Fish, Little Fish.

Big Fish, Little Fish. Hmm, maybe he could use that somehow...

"You planning on finishing that shirt or not, bro? We're cutting it close on time."

Henry's voice pulled Finn out of his thoughts, and he immediately jumped back to work, saving his thoughts to ponder later.

A-Troupe changed into their shirts and covered them with their TNS jackets right before the Resurrection Round was due to start. They entered the studio as a team only a minute before Ozzy entered from wardrobe. He was looking pale and downcast as he took his place on the side of the stage, and Finn shared a look with Kingston. He sincerely hoped this plan would work, or they were all going home tonight.

When they unveiled their shirts as Ozzy took the stage, Ozzy's demeanor instantly brightened. He killed his musical theater solo, and Finn was bursting with pride. Even still, he couldn't look as they waited for Ozzy's score to be revealed. By some miracle, or perhaps pure talent, Ozzy beat Curtis from Hard Ice by two points, and Finn felt like he was on cloud 9 as he rushed onstage to celebrate with his teammates.

He had helped Ozzy win, and they were going to the finals. His debt to the team was paid off.

But that still left one thing to take care of: Piper.

Once the cameras had stopped rolling, the A-Troupers chattered excitedly onstage as Emily and Nick joined them in their celebrations. Someone brushed Finn's arm, and he looked down to see Piper rubbing her arm and avoiding directly meeting his eye. Still, she told him, "The t-shirts were a good idea."

He smiled slightly, hope surging through him as he thanked her. Was she starting to warm up to him again?

But then she walked away without another word, and his hope dissipated. Maybe not...

Ozzy distracted him as he threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly. Finn tore his gaze from Piper's retreating back to hug his friend, patting him on the back. "You killed it, bro," he exclaimed as they pulled away from their hug.

"I couldn't have done it without your help. Thank you. Seriously," Ozzy told him. His eyes were shining as if with unshed tears, and Finn was glad that at least he had done one thing right during this Dancemania experience.

"It was all you, man. You're better than you know."

"I owe you one, dude. Seriously, whatever you need. I'm on it."

Finn smiled wryly at that. "If you can help me figure out a way to win Piper back, I'll be in your debt for eternity."

He was only joking, but Ozzy's eyes lit up. "I'm on it! Whatever you need- romantic poem, choreographed dance, flower delivery boy- I'll do it."

His words sparked something in Finn's mind, and he grinned, crossing his arms and pointing at Ozzy seriously. "Actually, you might have just given me the perfect idea."

As the studio cleared out, he told Ozzy his idea, and his friend was very enthusiastic to get to work. As Piper started to follow Emily and Nick out of the studio, Finn pulled Amy aside and disclosed his plan to her as well. She grinned and promised to keep Piper from going back to the hotel. She squeezed his arm excitedly before following the rest of the team out to the green room as Finn turned back to Ozzy.

They had to work fast if he was going to win Piper back before the end of Dancemania.