They lay down in the field, the blades of grass tickling their exposed necks and arms. The sun, though no longer at its brightest point, still covers everything in a vibrant, yellow glow. It's near the end of summer, and they're enjoying their last few days of freedom before their senior year starts. The air feels crisper, a silent reminder that the days of tanning by the pool and running through sprinklers are over, instead to be replaced by snug coats and worn textbooks. It's been a good summer, and they both agree that the best way to end it is to spend it together.
"That one looks like a rabbit," he points out, tracing the outline of a passing cloud with his finger.
She counters with, "it looks more like a duck to me."
He tilts his head, squinting. "Yeah, I could see that." Soon enough, the cloud drifts away to be replaced with other abstract shapes. Finn rolls onto his side some, body facing her. He starts to pick at the grass between them, unusually silent. She turns her head, cheek pressed against the ground.
"What are you thinking about?" Rachel asks quietly. She can always tell when something is on his mind, as he can with her. It's a skill they acquired after knowing each other for so long, and after dating almost one third of that time.
It takes him a while to respond. "This year. And how we won't have a ton of classes together."
Rolling so they're both laying face to face, she reaches for his hand and gently squeezes. "We'll still see each other all the time. In Lit, in Glee, lunch… I promise. It'll take some effort, but we'll see each other." She's good at the comforting thing. Finn, on the other hand, is worse at it. There was this one time that Rachel was really upset over her pet hamster dying, and he hopelessly rubbed her back and brought her a glass of warm milk with honey. For some reason, it didn't work as well on Rachel as it often does when Kurt does it for him.
Finn brings her hand to his chest and holds it there. "Yeah. I guess you're right. Besides, I just have to get used to the fact that you're not going to be around as much anymore. And this time next year," he trails off. She'll be in New York. Though he hasn't told her yet, he secretly hopes to get into NYU. Realistically, it'll take a lot of luck.
She can't argue with that. Of course she'll be gone. That's what they agreed to when they started dating again. It does make her a little sad, though. Suddenly, Rachel tugs on a piece of grass in front of Finn's nose. Only when he gets a better look, he realizes it's not grass – it's a clover.
She eyes it curiously, wrinkling her nose. "Nevermind. It looked like a four leaf clover," she groans, about to toss it. He stops her, picking it out of her hand.
"Look, it is," he insists. He counts out three solid leaves, but the fourth is questionable. It's split down the middle of one of the other leaves. "That's lucky, right?"
She's about to point out that it really doesn't look like a four leaf clover to her, but instead she decides to humour him. There's really no harm in letting him think that. "Yeah, it's lucky. Hey, maybe you'll have good luck all year," Rachel says cheerfully, smiling. She's pleased to find him smiling back.
"I hope so. I'll take all the luck I can get."
As it turns out later that year, his luck materializes in the form of an acceptance letter.
