He told Quinn he loved her, she laughed in his face. Rachel asked him why he puts up with this. He said, "I love her." She watches him, day in and day out get rejected. Get heartbroken. Get crushed.
They're playing video games when she calls him. He pauses mid-game. Rachel huffs out in annoyance, but he can't tell, or maybe he just doesn't care. She hears him in the next room giggling. It's probably her. Quinn. Twenty minutes later he comes back. "I'm going out." He says. Rachel can't believe this.
The next day, she sees them. They're holding hands, smiling at each other. She tries to smile at him when he looks her way, and she does. Because he's happy, and that's all she's ever wanted. He tells her, "I think I found the one." completely out of the blue, on Friday.
"The one?" Rachel asks. He nods. "But you're still in high school." He tells her he doesn't care, before continuing to texts someone. Probably her.
Rachel avoids him for a couple of days. Soon days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and before she knows it, it's senior year. The lasts she's heard from Finn was junior prom, when he asked if he could get some punch. She remembers that year. He won prom king, and she won queen. She tried not to think of her breaking heart, while pouring punch for some deeb with braces.
She's sitting in glee when she gets the text. It's him. Finn. He asks if she could come over today. She's says yes.
He tells her he loves her. She laughs in his face. But not like her, Quinn. It's more of a nervous laugh because she can't believe this is happening. He tells her again, tells her how after seeing her at prom, pouring punch, looking absolutely gorgeous, his words, that he had missed her. That he loved her. Not Quinn. "It's been a year, Finn."
He nods. "I know." He leans in to kiss her, his lips lightly pressing into hers, before fully going in for the kill. Surprised, she stands still until he pulls away. She tells him she loves him too. He doesn't laugh.