She isn't who she used to be.
Rachel Berry is now a sophisticated woman, even further beyond her years than she was before. She'd spent the last year in New York City, working alongside the most prominent and talented directors and actors through a rare scholarship opportunity that gave her experiences no one else her age could ever imagine. She got to live her dream for an entire year, and now she's coming home.
When Rachel first decided to enroll in the scholarship program, she often wondered if she was really ready to travel all the way to New York and be on her own there, and if her reasons for going were too irrational to go through with it. And she was scared of being lonely and not being talented enough, but as a strong, driven girl, those fears weren't enough to hold her back. She'd quickly regained confidence, and now that she was leaving, she wanted nothing more than to stay in the city.
But there was also a part of her excited to come home. She'd left a lot of loved ones—her dads, and Mr. Schue and everyone in Glee club. All of them had become a part of her family too, and she was glad she'd get to spend one last year with them before it was time to graduate, go back to New York, and say goodbye again, maybe this time for good. All she really left behind were her parents and Glee, but that's all home ever really needed, and that would always be enough to bring her back.
The cab drove past so many familiar places, and the closer she got to home, the better feeling she got over her return to Lima. Finally, the taxi pulled up to her house, and she quickly paid the driver and got out, moving as quickly as she could with her heavy suitcases dragging behind her. And it felt so good to walk through her front door again, walking into her real home for the first time in a year.
She's welcomed by a 'Welcome Home' banner, a cake and her two dads screaming loudly, and nothing could have made her welcome better. They spend the rest of the night together, singing around the piano, eating Vegan takeout and watching classic films like "Funny Girl" while eating popcorn. It's the kind of nights she often had with them, and she really missed those nights together when away.
Around ten her dads head to bed, but Rachel's still too excited with being home to go to sleep. Bored with movie musicals, she decides to walk to the one place she never thought she could ever miss but had, thanks to Glee—McKinley High School. Even though she was surrounded by talented performers for the past year, Rachel missed the simplicity and pure enjoyment of performing with the Glee club, up on that old, familiar stage or in that small classroom they'd meet in every day.
The entire school is empty and mostly dark, but the few lights that are on lead her down the hallway to where she wants to be. She feels strange being there again, and she instantly remembers how insecure and lonely she could feel there despite being surrounding by hundreds of people every day. She passes by her locker, and a cold feeling overcomes her when she thinks of that painful day she was there last, but as she nears Mr. Schue's choir room, her heart swells with gladness, and a smile's able to form.
There are a few lights on in the room, and she wonders if someone's inside. She peeks in and finds no one, though, so she walks into the room, taking a deep breath and sighing as she does; this too feels just like home. She approaches the piano, her smile never wavering, and she wipes her hand across the slick blackness as she circles around it, looking around the room. Her eyes suddenly spot a piece of sheet music sitting on its ledge, and she sits on the piano bench and starts plunking out the notes.
"That's a Finn Hudson original, you know."
Rachel's fingers freeze on the keys and the rest of her body tenses when she hears the all too familiar voice from behind her. She squeezes her eyes closed, hoping he's just a figment of her imagination, but she knows he's really there. Slowly, she turns around and puts on a brave smile. "Finn."
He looks different. Older. Wiser. Affected, but by what she can't be sure. She looks in his eyes, and she can't see the Finn Hudson she left behind a year ago, but she hopes he's still the same goofy, playful teenage boy he was before she left. She wonders if he sees her differently too; the look he's giving her as he waits for a better response is one he's never given her before.
Her mind suddenly registers what he's said, and she looks surprised. "You…you wrote this?"
His eyebrows lift as he nods, a smile just barely covering his lips. "Along with others," he says proudly.
"There are others too?" She smiles in amazement. "I never knew you wrote music…"
"I never knew I could write music," he chuckles. "But one day Mr. Schue was arranging a song, and I helped him and really liked it, so then he started working on writing with me. He says I'm pretty good."
"What's the rest of the group think of your originals," she wonders.
He shoves his hands in his pockets as he moves closer to her. "They kind of don't know about them…"
Her eyes furrow in confusion. "You've never let them listen to them?"
He squeezes his lips together and shakes his head. "Nope. It's kind of a private thing, you know? That's why I'm here so late. I come and write when I know no one else will be about to hear it."
"But why? I'm sure you've worked really hard, and I bet you are really good."
"Yeah, but I write about private stuff…private thoughts and feelings…" She wonders what he thinks and feels about, and then she tells herself not to hope it's her. "So let's hear you play it for real then…"
"Oh, uh…I don't really know how to play that well," Rachel admits through a laugh.
"Are you telling me you went to some fancy, important music school in New York for an entire year, and you still don't know how to play the piano? Even I can do that now, Rach…"
She scoffs. "Since when is Finn Hudson so brutally honest?"
"I learned it from thee Rachel Berry…" he quips.
"Thanks, Finn…" she retorts, giving him a bit of a nasty look.
"No, no, I…I didn't mean it like that," he quickly tells her. "I'm sorry."
A smile spreads across her lips. "There's that sweet, polite Finn I've always known…"
He smiles in relief when he realizes she's not really angry with him, and he decides to take a seat beside her at the piano. He seems at ease sitting next to her, though he's really not, and it makes Rachel feel anxious too but sort of in a good way. She can't deny that she missed Finn over the last year, and having him so close—feeling his warmth and seeing his smile again—is making her heart beat a little faster.
She looks up and notices him staring at her, and she bites her lip. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just…" He hesitates. "A part of me just thought you'd never come back," he admits.
"Well, the program was only for one year," she answers, being quite literal as usually.
"I just worried you'd forget about this place, Rachel…forget about Glee…and not want to come back."
"I could never forget Glee," she tells him with complete honesty. "It means a lot to me."
She can tell he has more to say, but he decides to move on. "We didn't Regionals again this year."
Rachel sighs softly and gives him a sad look. "I'm sorry…"
Before Rachel can think, she places her hand on his thigh and gives it a little squeeze to signify how sorry she feels, and though he immediately tenses beneath her touch, he doesn't pull away. Still, his reaction jolts her senses to life, and she's shocked by what she's done and quickly pulls her hand back into her own lap, giving him an embarrassed, apologetic smile as she does.
"Uh, that's a shame. I'm sure you guys worked really hard and deserved to win it."
"Nah, we didn't stand a chance without you with us, Rach. Your talent always carried us."
She looks down at her folded hands, saddened. "I'm sorry I let you all down."
"You were off with the professionals having an even better time. We understood."
She looks up at, a brave and firm smile on her face. "I hoped you all would."
"Did you like it there," he asks. A part of him wants to hear her say yes, selflessly wanting her dream to be all she's always imagined it to be, but another part of him is selfish and hoping it wasn't.
"Y-Yes. It only confirmed that that's where I should be and what I should be doing."
For the past year and even up until this moment that's what she believed with the utmost confidence and certainty. It's what she's believed all her life, until she met Finn, but she had faith in it again once he was out of her life. Now being with him, only after a few minutes, makes her question what her purpose is and what her future holds. He always was the only person who could change her dream.
"But I did miss it here," she wants him to know. "I missed singing with all of you."
"We missed you too, Rachel," he tells her, but he never admits that he missed her the most, and that's exactly what she'd love hear too. "Things were a lot…quieter around here too," he laughs.
She giggles a little. "I suppose my personality is a little more flamboyant than the rest of the group's…"
"I don't think your personality's gay, Rachel," he answers with total genuineness, and she laughs harder.
"The word doesn't really mean that, Finn. It means showy and colorful and…loud."
"Oh," he laughs out. "Then yeah, you're definitely flamboyant."
She didn't really like how that sounded but smiles anyway. "Well…I should probably be getting home, Finn. My dads don't know I'm here, and I don't want them to wake up and not find me there."
"Oh, yeah, I should go too. My mom likes me home by eleven." He pauses. "Do you want a ride?"
"That'd be great," she says. She doesn't mind walking, but she doesn't want to say goodbye yet either.
"Alright." He gathers up his music on the piano, and Rachel watches as he goes to put it in his bag.
On the drive to her place, things start off uncomfortably quiet, but then Rachel started asking about the rest of the group and how they are, which kept a conversation going. Finally, Finn's old car pulled up in front of her house, and Rachel pulled her seatbelt off of her, looking at him before opening the door.
"Thanks for the ride, Finn."
"No problem." He stares at her closely. "It was good seeing you, Rachel. Welcome home."
"Thanks, Finn. It was good seeing you too. And by the way, I expect to hear one of those songs soon…"
"I guess I could make an exception," he decides through a smile.
He did write every song for her, after all.
So there's the first chapter! I'm planning on having this one be a few chapters at least, and I hope you all stick with it. Thanks so much for reading! Reviews and such are appreciated :)