~Hey everyone! Like my other story, I wrote this one a few months ago but haven't gotten around to posting it on here until now. Slack, aren't I? Anyway, this is just my Finn/Rachel speculation of the back 9 episodes, when I knew spoilers but didn't know exactly what was going to happen. I'm not going to upload it all at once though, because there are a couple of things I just want to change to make the story flow a bit more. There is going to be a sequel so stay tuned and enjoy! ~

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Glee.

Chapter One: You Say Good-Bye, I say Hello

The auditorium was fueled with a sudden silence as Rachel ran out of sight after the last notes of 'Hello, Good-bye.' Every member of New Directions stared after her; some bemused and some curious as to what had caused her to walk out on them.

But no one was as affected by her unexpected flee than one Finn Hudson, whose hurt and confused eyes did not stray from the spot where she had disappeared. As everyone else lost interest and looked up expectantly at Mr. Schue, who was so busy looking down at his desk deep in thought that he did not notice them, Finn's mind whirled.

Under no pretenses could he understand what had just happened. He had expected that after singing this song to her, after sharing that musical connection they had always had together again, she would definitely decide to be his girlfriend again. But he had been wrong. Very, very wrong. What'd he'd expected had not happened all and he had no idea how or why Rachel had resisted him so easily.

Their earlier conversation by the lockers flashed in his mind. As soon as Rachel told him she'd split with Jesse, he'd seen that silver lining and thought that, as soon as he told her he wanted to be with her, she'd take him back happily. He'd been hurt and confused when she said no, and felt her reason for saying no didn't really make any sense. She had never worried about their relationship causing drama for the team before and, Finn thought to himself, wouldn't not being in a relationship cause more drama than if they were? It certainly felt like it for him, now that he'd realised he wanted to be with Rachel but she didn't want to be him. There was going to be an awkwardness between them, now. Everything had changed drastically in the last 10 minutes, more drastically than when Finn had decided to break up with her. What a mistake. The biggest one of my life, probably. Man, I'm an ass.

He'd been confidant at the start of the rehearsals. Smiling at her and dancing with her like always, but as the song went on, Finn had realised that Rachel was not warming up to him like he'd expected. He began to feel desperate to get her attention, so desperate that he quickly grabbed her on the last notes of the song and held her to him. But just as he'd felt her attention leaving him, she pulled herself away from his embrace and soon after, fled the scene.

He didn't know what to think as she ran away from him. He had no idea what he was going to do now. He'd told her he wouldn't give up that easily, and he didn't plan to even know, but it seemed like it was a lost cause. How can I even talk to her again? How can I convince her to be with me? How can I show her I really want to be with her? What can I do now? He had no answers. None at all.

"Finn?" Mr. Schue's voice escalated into Finn's ears and he startled, looking around to see his teacher and his fellows all staring at him.

"Um… what?... I mean, yeah, that's good…." he mumbled vaguely, staring around at their faces, and hoping he could get away with not paying attention.

"Are you alright, Finn?" came Mr. Schue's voice again, concerned.

"Oh yeah. Sure… Sorry, but what were you saying…before?"

"It doesn't matter," Mr. Schue said, still looking concerned. "I can tell you've got a lot on your mind, so maybe you should just take a break for the night… As for everyone else, keep practicing and we'll get back to this tomorrow at rehearsals."

He got up from his desk and walked towards the auditorium doors as Kurt walked over towards Finn, while everyone else made a move to get off the stage.

"Are you sure you're alright, Finn?" Kurt asked him, concerned, putting a hand on Finn's shoulder.

"Yeah, man." Finn mumbled, giving him a small smile.

"I can tell something's up. You can talk to me." Kurt said, frowning still more.

"It's nothing… I just… I think I just lost…" Finn muttered and shook his head at the ground. When he looked up he gave Kurt his trademark smile. "It's nothing, dude. Thanks, though. Uh, see you tomorrow," he said before quickly turning away. He had to get home. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Rachel was at home, lying glumly on her bed with her stereo blaring and tears flowing from her eyes and lining her face with little rivers.

She felt conflicted, hurt, overwhelmed. Why had Finn started facing his feelings for her and showing her that he cared now, when she was with Jesse? Jesse, who was confidant, mature and had the same drive for success that she did? Jesse, who said he'd never hurt her, like Finn had, and had no problems with his reputation or social status. Jesse was good to her and she really liked him but…

He just isn't Finn, is he?

The voice crept into Rachel's mind and she angrily pushed it away with her hand like it was an annoying fly. She had to ignore her feelings for Finn. She had to. Finn had already hurt her enough times, how was she ever supposed to be able to trust him again, to even consider being in a relationship with him again? No. She had to stick with Jesse. He wasn't going to hurt her. And she'd already fallen for him, so how hard could it be to forget Finn and be with Jesse? They were perfect for each other, when she and Finn, obviously weren't, no matter how much she wished…

With a pained groan, she remembered how shocked she'd felt when Finn had told her he wanted to be with her earlier, when he'd shown her how he'd circled dates and put up her calendar in his locker. It was such as sweet gesture, so sweet that Rachel'd felt sick when she turned him down. Absolutely conflicted. Her heart had sped up in delight and in pain and her mind had whirled with thoughts. What should I do? But, what about Jesse… he loves me, he said he won't hurt me… But Finn… he wants to be with me…. a real couple…the dates on the calendar… But, no I can't give in to him now… what about Jesse? And she'd come up with the only excuse she could think of and it wasn't a very good one.

And then during the rehearsal, Finn looked so confidant and happy as he sang to her, acting with her like he always did, like nothing had changed between them. But it had. He'd really hurt her and she just couldn't forget that and go back to him, all forgiving… what would that solve? Nothing. How could she know that he really meant what he said? How could she know that he wouldn't hurt him again and again.

When he'd grabbed her at the end of the song, she'd felt even more conflicted. He'd never held her so tightly before and, with the feeling of his arm embracing her and his hear beat beating hard against her back, she had to force herself to pull herself away from him because if she didn't she feared she would never turn her back on him again. She'd just had to get away from temptation. She could not let herself give in to what her heart still wanted when her mind was so focused on anything other than that.

So, she'd run. And when she'd finally got home, she put music on and cried her heart out, everything still flying around in her head… Finn and Jesse, Finn, Jesse, Finn, Finn, Finn….Jesse…

Now, wiping her hands over her eyes and sniffling, Rachel sat up and took a staggering breath. She had to be strong. She couldn't let this get in the way of her dreams. She'd spent enough time crying over this and couldn't afford to do it anymore.

She picked up her phone, scrolled through the contacts and found the number of the person she thought would make her happy, make her forget about him.

Her true boyfriend and friend, Jesse.