A/N: Because everything is anti-finchel and nothing hurts.
This is an odd idea I came up with... IDK. Guess it's just my two cents from what I heard about the episode Yes/No… -shrug, shrug, shrug-
Also, possible inaccuracy… because I actually didn't watch the episode Yes/No… Lol… however, I did have to watch the proposal... multiple times on youtube for this fic... and that was a horrible time... but w/e. –shrug-
Also-also, I'm pretty sure of the OOC-ness here… oh to the well…
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Brad was a man of not too many words. He played on the piano for New Directions and… well that was pretty much it. Though he didn't talk much, he still wanted to help the Glee club students in any way he could, like trying to give Sugar a fair chance at getting into New Directions or somewhat helping Santana and Brittany with their questionable relationship last year.
They were all good kids, Brad could say that much. They were almost like a family. But sometimes, he noticed, love could bring out some terrible characteristics in these kids.
As a teacher, he saw the workings of teenage hormones and how it could break or make couples. He had his fair share of witnessing high school romances, whether they were epic or not.
Brad remembered back when the Glee club consisted of only Rachel, Mercedes, Artie, Kurt and Tina and Mr. Shue was desperately searching for a male lead. During the time, it saddened him that it looked like there was going to be no hope for the Glee club.
That was until Mr. Shue blackmailed one Finn Hudson into joining New Directions.
To Brad, Finn seemed to merely be a sweet, if not naïve, young man. However, he saw what Finn did before he became a Glee club member.
He cared too much for his high school reputation. He was a bully and it seemed that he would do anything to keep his reputation.
Though he was somewhat still concerned about his reputation, the piano player could see he was trying to change. He was trying to be a better person.
And then, somewhere along the way, Rachel Berry became completely enamored with the boy.
Now Brad did not care if Rachel wanted to seek out a relationship with the tall boy. After all the bullying she went through, the small girl deserved someone who could love her unconditionally.
But then Quinn Fabray, Finn's then girlfriend, came along and everything just went downhill for the three teenagers involved.
It took nearly two years for Finn to choose between the two girls and by the end of their junior year, Finn chose Rachel and since then they were going strong.
That was until their senior year began.
Though they seemed to love each other on the outside, there seemed to be so many problems that was happening to the couple that they weren't talking about with each other.
Brad had overheard so many things from the small girl, including a 'Things We Do Wrong' list made by Rachel herself and the Glee girls talking about their first time, a conversation that Brad really, truly, honestly and accidentally overheard.
There was also talk of their plans for the future one day. Rachel, of course since Brad had known her, dreamed of being a star on Broadway and would plan on attending NYADA with her friend and fellow Glee club member, Kurt Hummel.
Finn, however, was not sure what he wanted to do in life.
They differed in so many ways at this point and even though opposites were supposed to attract, there was something about these two together that just seemed so… wrong to the piano player.
Brad looks back, remembering the day when he saw Finn Hudson propose to Rachel Berry a couple of weeks ago.
When a person proposes to their girlfriend or boyfriend, there should be mutual love between the couple. However, marriage should never just be based off of love; there needs to be mutual understanding, respect and communication.
Rachel and Finn's relationship didn't have that though.
A few weeks ago...
"…Rachel Berry… will you marry me?"
The brunette stared at her boyfriend, stunned into silence. She stared at the black box with the small ring. The diamond sparkles brightly at her, almost as if the object itself was trying to entice the girl to wear it.
Rachel looked back up at Finn's smiling, expectant face. She knew she was supposed to be saying yes. This proposal would keep her together with Finn forever. They could finally make their relationship official, keep their relationship official.
Wasn't that what she wanted? Wasn't that why she was fighting for Finn with Quinn during her sophomore and junior year?
But now Rachel looks at Finn, for once, she really looks at Finn. Did she really want this boy to be her husband? Was she really ready for that kind of commitment? What about her dreams to make it big in Broadway? Was there a way to keep both her dreams and Finn?
Rachel pauses again. Why exactly was Finn proposing in the first place?
"R… Rachel, you still there?" Finn asks her. He had already closed the black box and stood up. The previous bright smile he had on his face was replaced with a small sad grin. "Y… you don't have to answer me now, Rach… I can wait…"
"…Finn… are you proposing to me… because of your dad…?" She drops the question.
The tall boy falters for a moment before leaning in to kiss his girlfriend in an effort to prove himself. Rachel pushes Finn away slightly.
"No… Finn, NO! Stop! …We need to talk."
Rachel thinks to herself for a moment. Talk… when was the last time Finn and her REALLY sat down and had a meaningful conversation with each other.
"Alright, what do you want to talk about?" He asks her, trying to hide his anxiety. 'We need to talk' were never good words to hear in a relationship.
"Us." Rachel answers simply.
Finn goes pale for a moment. "…Are you breaking up with me, Rachel?" He tries to laugh heartily, but it comes out as an almost nervous chuckle.
However, Finn stops immediately when he sees that Rachel isn't going to join in the laughter. "You're breaking up with me." He says again, though it sounded more like a statement than a question this time.
"…I never said that, Finn." Rachel answers calmly. "…I just think… we need to take a break…"
"A break?" Finn laughs out loud once more. "That's just probably your way of letting me down gently."
"No, Finn! Listen to me!" The brunette says desperately.
"No. You listen, Rachel. If you didn't want to marry me, all you had to do was say no… don't make up any excuses."
He jumps down from the stage and proceeds to leave, ignoring his girlfriend's, if he could still call her that, cries of his name.
"…You don't need me to make you feel special, Finn!"
Finn abruptly stops and turns around to see Rachel. She was still up on the stage, looking down at him. The football player could see her dark brown eyes shining with unshed tears.
"You don't… need me… to make you feel special." Rachel repeats, stepping off the stage to meet Finn.
"I know that… when you found out about your dad… it just… killed you inside, Finn. He was your role model and you wanted to grow up to be just like him… he was that one special thing in your life…"
Rachel takes a deep breath. She could feel the first few tears already streaming down her cheeks. "After you found out the truth… you told Kurt and me that… you felt that there was nothing special in your life."
The short brunette takes a few tentative steps toward her now questionable boyfriend before stopping in front of him.
"Then suddenly… I become that one special thing in your life…" Rachel looks down, not bothering to say anything else.
"Rachel… I…" Finn tries to embrace her but she continues to move out of his reach.
"Finn… I'm flattered, I truly am, that you see me as that guardian angel that lights your path and guides you through the darkness… but I can't stay that person forever." She finally brings his large body into a hug.
Finn brings his arms around the girl's waist, squeezing her body slightly as if she'd disappear once he let go. He meets her gaze once more.
"This is it, isn't it…" He states simply.
The tall boy drops his arms to his side backing away slightly from Rachel.
"I guess… it is…" She answers weakly.
Finn turns around once again to leave the auditorium, never turning around to look at Rachel. He stands by the exit for a few minutes before finally deciding to say one last thing to his now ex-girlfriend.
"Rachel… Thank you…"
Brad knew Finn and Rachel had broken up and gotten together multiple times in the past, but it seemed that Finn's proposal in the auditorium had caused their last and final break up.
Though they continued to sing together in Glee club, the two had agreed to lessen their duets together, resulting in other couples in New Directions to shine. Oddly enough, no one seemed to notice anything different between the two. If they did, they either didn't care or didn't bother to ask since the other couples were happy that they were finally getting duets.
Of course, as long as Brad was able to continue playing the piano for the Glee club, all was good in his world…
After Glee club had ended a few minutes ago, the piano player makes his way back to the auditorium. He had left some of the songs he had to play for New Directions on the stage.
As Brad makes his way to the entrance, he hears a familiar voice already on stage, singing. Rachel.
Knowing she won't mind him passing by, he walks inside quietly so he won't disturb the senior. The darkness in the auditorium helps hide his figure as he easily camouflages into the background.
"…So, what's up between you and Finn…?" Brad hears a second voice say. Quinn.
Rachel sighs out loud and sits down by the side of the stage, patting down the space next to her gesturing Quinn to sit. The blonde doesn't argue.
"Well to make a long story short, since I'm sure you don't want the details, Quinn… we broke up…" The brunette answers, not meeting the taller girl's gaze.
Quinn raises an eyebrow in mild surprise. "What happened…?"
"He… proposed to me…" Rachel says hastily, not wanting to drag out the answer for the other girl.
Hazel eyes widen at the statement, certainly never expecting an answer like that. Quinn pursed her lips in thought. "…Finn proposed to you…" She repeats back in disbelief.
"Yes… it was… sweet and I thought I loved him… but…" Rachel pauses for a moment.
"But…?" Quinn urges for the other girl to continue.
The shorter girl looks up at Quinn, seeing that the blonde was nearly pressed up against her. "He was proposing for all the wrong reasons…"
"What do you mean?" Quinn asks still confused.
Brad watches silently as Rachel repeats the events from the previous weeks ago to Quinn.
The two girls had a… complicated relationship, to say the least; they went from being high school rivals, though Rachel never really hated Quinn, to later becoming somewhat friends. Brad always had the suspicion that there was more to their unusual relationship than meets the eye…
"…How could I have been so stupid?" Brad hears Rachel ask. Whether it was to Quinn or herself, the sandy blonde wasn't too sure.
The taller girl doesn't answer and merely continues watching the brunette, expecting that the other girl had more to say. Rachel was standing again, pacing around the stage as she was ranting.
"I thought Finn was… the one… the one I wanted to continue a relationship with out of high school. I thought we would get married, have two point five kids and live happily ever after in New York." The shorter girl never notices Quinn's scowl at Rachel's interpretation of her fantasy future with Finn.
"But after our last break up… I did some thinking and I realized… that I didn't really love Finn… I loved that I was in a relationship and… being loved by someone, knowing that someone actually took the time to try and care about me…"
Rachel ends her rant for a few minutes, going back to her seat next to her 'somewhat friend'. Quinn scans over the brunette's posture. She was slouching slightly as she stared at the empty seats. Her arms were crossed over her chest, still somewhat in thought.
"Quinn…" She starts, grabbing the taller girl's attention once again. "I'm sorry about… stealing Finn from you…" Rachel says tentatively.
Unexpectedly, the girl hears Quinn chuckling softly at the apology. "You don't have to apologize about that. But… I should probably thank you though."
"…Thank me for what?" She asks.
Quinn gets up, stepping off the stage. "…For making me realize that I don't need Finn either…"
With a small smile, Rachel stares as the other girl leaves the auditorium. She goes back to the piano to gather her things, making sure to keep her music sheets organized.
"…Oh and Rachel?" The brunette turns around to see Quinn leaning against the exit, her head slightly turned to face her.
"Yes, Quinn?"
"… Even if you seem to be the most unlikeable person in this school… you're not a bad person. There are so many other people out there, Rachel… Any guy… or girl would be lucky to be with you." Quinn quickly leaves the auditorium, leaving a wide eyed Rachel back on stage.
Brad glances back and forth between the brunette and the spot where the other girl was standing, pondering to himself for a moment. You never know who you're going to end up with… or who you're going to fall in love with…
Rachel picks up Brad's missing sheet music from the piano.
You might finally find 'the one' in your first relationship or your second… third or so on.
She reads over the music before slipping it in her bag, planning on giving it back to the sandy blonde piano player tomorrow.
There are so many people out there that could be that guy… or girl… for you, Rachel.
The brunette sighs quietly as she runs her fingers through her hair, glancing at the exit from time to time.
But maybe… just maybe…
Biting her lip, Rachel makes a quick decision. She runs out the auditorium. "Quinn, wait!" Rachel calls out.
...Quinn Fabray could be that girl…
...To be continued…?
Idon'tevenknow...
I just want finchel to just be friends… a meaningful friendship is better than a meaningless romance...