Greetings, Earthlings. This story is AU, but I think the circumstances are all pretty self-explanatory. Title is from the Goo Goo Dolls song "Let Love In." I've spared you the intra-story lyrics this time. I don't own the song or any of the Glee characters.

Thanks to Hailee for the prompt and Emily for betaing. Hope you all enjoy.

Rachel stood in front of the bathroom mirror, taking her hair out of the big hot rollers and arranging the waves so that they fell mostly around her shoulders with a few curly tendrils framing her face.

Her heart fluttered when she heard the doorbell ring, followed by cheerful conversation amongst the deep male voices.

"Rachel! Finn is here!" her Daddy called up from the living room.

"Be right down!" she replied, smoothing gloss over her lips.

She grabbed her sweater and purse and took a deep breath before beginning to descend the stairs, careful not to trip in her heeled sandals.

"There she is!" Daddy said, standing from the couch and walking towards the base of the staircase, Finn right behind him. He was wearing dark jeans and a fitted black polo shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders.

"Hey, Rach," Finn greeted her with his usual pleasant grin. "You look nice."

"Thanks. You too." She tried her hardest not to blush as she looked up at him. (She still wasn't quite used to how farshe had to look up at him since his growth spurt the previous year.)

"Well, you kids have fun tonight. And remember Rachella, home by 12."

"Thanks, Mr. Berry."

They started the walk to Noah's house in silence, and she noticed Finn actively slowing his stride so that they could walk at the same pace. For a split-second their hands brushed incidentally and she tried to ignore the shiver it gave her.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked after they'd walked about a block.

"Hmm?"

Finn snickered. "Rachel, we've known each other since we were 5, and this is the first time I've ever heard you go 3 minutes without talking. So, tell me - what's buggin' ya?"

Rachel sighed, kicking the ground a little with her next step. "I guess I just don't feel like I fit in with everyone who's going to be at this party," she said quietly. "Noah only gives me the time of day because his mother and my papa know each other from the synagogue booster club. And I'm sure he invited all the cheerleaders, like Quinn Fabray who hates my guts."

In response to that sneering comment, Finn chuckled. "Rach, you've gone to school with her for less than a week. How can you be so sure that she hates you?" Without waiting for an answer he playfully wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they kept walking. "Besides, I'll be there. I'll introduce you to the guys from football and the other cheerleaders and you'll be good to go. It'll be totally cool, I promise. Okayy?" he insists, giving her a little squeeze before withdrawing his arm.

"Okay..." she said, exaggerating her resigned tone, and he laughed.

At least she'd successfully deflected the conversation away from the issue that was really bothering her.

An hour later, Finn had gone off to play some drinking game with the other jocks, and Rachel found herself in a corner of the kitchen with Artie. They knew each other from their mutual involvement in musical extra-curriculars, not that they could engage in much discussion on the subject given the volume of the house party that was underway. Rachel had been nursing a wine cooler in the hopes that it would make the situation more tolerable.

"Hey, you! Dwarf from my history class!"

It took her a minute to make out the words being yelled in her direction.

"Me?" she asked, vaguely looking around. The shouter was one of the cheerleaders Finn had tried to introduce her to earlier.

"Yes, you and Wheels there. We're playing spin-the-bottle and we need more people. Chop chop!" She motioned for them to follow her before stalking out of the kitchen.

The sharp-tongued Latina (whose name Rachel hadn't caught) led them into the living room, where people were starting to assemble in a circle. Finn caught her gaze from across the room and gave her a little nod. She smiled and nodded back... until she noticed Quinn Fabray hanging off of his arm while carrying on a conversation with another blonde cheerleader standing next to them.

Rachel looked away as quickly as she could, surveying her surroundings and situating herself on the floor between Artie and Mercedes Jones.

She tried not to be nervous, but that was difficult. This was her first high school party and she'd never kissed a boy before so she had no idea what to expect.

"Okay party people, this is my house so I'm going first!" Noah shouted, quieting everyone down. He spun the bottle and it landed on Brittany (the non-Quinn blonde cheerleader). They shared a kiss involving a vulgar amount of tongue, earning catcalls from several people in the room.

"All right Hudson, you're up," Noah insisted, playfully shoving Finn towards the center of the circle.

Finn laughed nervously as his large hand (everything about him seemed so big lately) sent the bottle spinning around on the carpeted floor. Rachel felt her heart clench in her chest as the bottle slowed to a stop.

It was pointing right at her.

Finn's eyes trailed along the bottle before locking with her own.

"Go on, Berry, you've seen how it's done." She barely heard Noah's snide encouragement over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.

It felt like time had slowed to 10 percent of its usual speed as she scooted towards the middle of the circle, eyes still fixed on Finn's. Even after she straightened up on her knees and he sat back on his heels he was still several inches taller than her. Their struggle with the height difference made him smirk, and she giggled nervously in response.

Before she knew what was happening he was leaning down and pressing his lips against hers and they were so soft and fit along hers so perfectly and her first kiss was everything she'd ever imagined it would be. Time had come to a seeming standstill as Finn's mouth caressed her own, his tongue sliding along her bottom lip ever so slightly before he pulled away.

When Rachel opened her eyes Finn was staring at her from just a few inches away, eyes wide and cheeks pink. His mouth spread into a lopsided grin as they gazed at one another like they were the only two people in the world.

But then she heard Noah yelling that it was someone else's turn and saw Quinn rolling her eyes and the reality of the whole situation came back to her.

For the duration of the game she had trouble looking in Finn's direction, especially when he had to kiss that ice queen Quinn who made a big show of gripping his shoulder like she owned him.

Rachel lucked out in that the only other person she had to kiss was Kurt Hummel, who seemed entirely disinterested in the whole ordeal and dispensed of their obligation with a split-second peck.

After the game ended she became embroiled in a ridiculous argument with Noah over whether burping was a natural process versus an entirely impolite act that should be avoided in public at all costs. She gasped when she noticed that it was already 11:50, and she was at risk of disobeying her curfew if she didn't get home soon. She excused herself, bidding those around her good night before exiting the house.

"Rach! Rachel!"

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard her name being called by an all-to-familiar voice.

"What? Oh, hi, Finn," she said quietly when he caught up with her at the end of Noah's block.

"'Oh, hi'? That's all you have to say?" His voice bore equal bemusement and irritation.

"What else am I supposed to say?" she asked, feigning ignorance as she slipped her arms into her sweater, pulling it up over her shoulders and buttoning it in front.

"Don't you think we should... talk, or something?"

It's better this way, she told herself silently as they kept walking and she avoided eye contact with him. "Talk? About what? A silly kiss during spin-the-bottle?"

"Are you... are you saying it didn't mean anything to you?"

She noticed the hint of hurt in his tone but tried not to think about it.

"Finn, you're my oldest friend. You mean very much to me, more than some immature kissing game." Having reached the foot of her driveway they'd stopped walking, and she turned to face him. "It was a very nice kiss, but it's still just you and me. Do you understand what I mean?"

He chewed his lip uneasily. "Um, yeah. I guess."

Unable to look at his winsome face any longer, Rachel glanced back at her watch. "I really should get inside. Good night, Finn." She touched his elbow gently before she turned away.

"G'night, Rach," she heard him say softly, causing her heart to flutter as she let herself into her house and tried not to sob.

Thwack.

Thwack.

Thwack.

The next morning Finn lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, tossing his football up in the air and letting it smack down onto his chest.

The faint throbbing he was starting to feel on the outside didn't come close to the ache he felt on the inside.

"Finn? Honey?" his mother called softly as she opened his door, first a crack and then all the way when he didn't respond. "You okay?

"Fine." Thwack.

Finn kept staring at the ceiling, but out of the corner of his eye he caught his mother studying him cautiously. "All right. I'm going on a few errands. Call my cell if you need something.

"Okay." Thwack.

He'd honestly never thought about it before, him and Rachel being more than friends. They'd basically been best friends since the beginning of time. Or, at least since he and his mom moved in two houses down from the Berrys right before kindergarten. The arrangement worked pretty well since his father died and Rachel had 2 of them. And since she wasn't in touch with her birth mother he was always willing to share his mom, as part of the deal.

So they were always buds growing up and he never thought that would change. But it had changed, now that they were in high school and Rachel was wearing lip gloss and curling her hair and generally looking so pretty.

And the kiss. Oh man, that kiss. Just thinking about it made him feel like a helpless pile of goo. It had felt so new and strange and different and yet so perfectly right.

Except apparently it didn't mean anything to her.

Thwack.

On Monday, Rachel wasn't waiting for him on her front porch for their usual walk to school. Frowning, he rang the doorbell.

"Good morning, Finn!" Leroy Berry said cheerfully when he opened the door, before his face fell. "Rachel left for school around 20 minutes ago; something about getting to the choir room early to practice her scales. She didn't tell you?"

Finn tried to hide his disappointment. "Nah, but it's fine. Thanks, Mr. Berry."

She avoided him the rest of the week, going to school early for one reason or another and dodging him whenever they might have passed each other in the halls. After school he was busy with football practice and Rachel with her slew of music and academic activities.

Brad Miller, one of the junior linebackers, had been giving him a ride home after practice. "Dude, you want me to pick you up in the mornings, too?" he asked one evening while idling in the Hudson driveway.

Finn gazed longingly over at Rachel's house, noticing that the light in her room was on.

They'd barely spoken in two weeks.

"Sure, man. Thanks," he responded, slamming the door of Brad's car and trudging up the path to his front door.

Avoiding someone without seeming like you're avoiding him or her is hard work, Rachel's found.

Or maybe it's just hard when the person you're avoiding has been a fixture in your life for as long as you can remember.

It really didn't have much to do with the kiss, she rationalized on her walk to the music store after school one afternoon. She and Finn were in high school now, which had merely exacerbated their already dissimilar interests and predilections. He'd always been athletic and friendly and interested in the same things as most kids their age. Rachel, on the other hand, preferred classic films and Broadway soundtracks to whatever her peers wanted to watch and listen to, and she much preferred honing her musical skills to video games or purposeless socializing.

Now that they were older and had more freedom, of course she and Finn would spend more time apart pursuing their individual interests instead of attempting to entertain themselves at one another's houses under parental supervision. The transition was totally natural.

It was also natural that Finn ate lunch in the cafeteria with the other football players and cheerleaders, carousing and reveling as popular kids tended to do. Meanwhile, Rachel stole away to the music room to eat with the other kids trying to avoid being slushied by the jocks who deemed them freaks.

He deserved everything that high school had to offer for personable, handsome All-American boys, and she certainly didn't want to get in his way.

Having arrived at her destination she headed straight for the Broadway section. Although they likely wouldn't have enough people to field a competitive school glee club, she'd convinced the purported club advisor Mr. Schuester to stage a fall recital wherein interested students could showcase their musical talents.

Rachel felt safe assuming that Mercedes Jones would choose to perform something soulful inspired by Aretha Franklin or Dreamgirls, whereas Kurt Hummel was apt to go for a more over-the-top number a la Victor/Victoria or The Boy From Oz.

Thus, her best bet would be something from a classic Broadway musical. She started with Rogers and Hammerstein, but unfortunately nothing available amongst their works struck her as particularly inspiring. In her haste to move on to the Gerswhin catalog, she bumped into someone approaching from the other direction.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, reaching out to steady the stack of sheets she'd almost sent askew.

"Think nothing of it," answered a prim and proper male voice.

She looked up to find the speaker was a boy about her own age, with wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"O-okay," she said, taken by his confident smile.

Meanwhile, he looked down at the sheet music she held in her hand. "Porgy and Bess? Isn't that a little arcane for someone born after 1990?" he asked.

"I don't know. Is it?" she asked shyly.

"It certainly is," he said confidently. "Allow me," he added, taking her hand and gently coaxing her down to the section marked "Sondheim." Then he began leafing through the sheet music before pulling one out.

"Ah, here we go. 'I Know Things Now' from the classic satire Into The Woods. Much more befitting of a cherubically beautiful songstress."

Rachel felt face turning embarrassingly red at her appearance having been complimented by a random stranger.

"I'm Jesse St. James," he said then, extending his hand.

"Rachel Berry," she replied while they shook.

"Enchanté," he said charmingly, kissing her hand while gazing at her almost lustily. "Would you like to get coffee with me sometime? I'd be happy to advise you on your approach to performing the song."

Rachel bit her lip, a little nervous. She and Jesse had literally just met and he was being rather forward, relatively speaking.

Still, it seemed rude to brush him off, and she was flattered by his interest.

"Sure," she answered calmly. "How about right now?"

When he grinned in response, she tried not to compare his smile to a certain someone else's.

Sunday afternoon, Finn found himself in the Berrys' driveway, helping Hiram wash his car.

This is always something they've done together, so it wasn't just a ploy to try and run into Rachel... although that would've been an added benefit.

They had almost finished the chore when an unfamiliar car turned onto the block and approached, stopping in front of the Berrys' house. A moment later a kid who couldn't be that much older than him emerged from the car and approached the driveway.

"Mr. Berry? It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I'm Jesse St. James," he said, extending his hand towards Rachel's dad.

"Ah, yes, you're the fellow from the music store who Rachel can't stop talking about. A pleasure to meet you as well."

He cringed when Mr. Berry introduced him as "Rachel's childhood sandbox playmate", but shook Jesse's hand in an effort to be polite.

Just then, Rachel burst out the front door. She was wearing an orange dress and a brown sweater. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders like the night of Puck's party but this time instead of lip gloss she had on a reddish-brown lipstick that really made Finn want to –

"Hi, Jesse!" she exclaimed excitedly when she reached the driveway, interrupting his thoughts.

"Rachel, you look simply radiant!" Jesse returned.

Finn had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the overly enthusiastic comment.

"Thank you, Jesse, how chivalrously complimentary. You look rather dashing yourself." Rachel abruptly turned towards Finn. "Jesse and I are going to see a workshop of scenes from Sondheim's later works at OSU. Isn't that exciting?"

She looked so happy.

Finn managed a smile and a nod.

"Well, you kids better hit the road if you're going to make it on time," Mr. Berry suggested.

"He's right, let's go Rach," Jesse agreed, taking her hand. "It was nice meeting you both." He nodded curtly, Rachel smiled even wider and waved with her free hand, and they were off.

Finn finished washing Mr. Berry's car in silence.

"You should ask me to homecoming, you know."

Finn looked up to find Quinn Fabray standing next to his locker.

"Huh?"

"We're only freshmen so it's a little unrealistic to think that we'd win king and queen, but we can use this year to establish our popularity so that next year we make a respectable showing. We'll be shoe-ins junior year when you're the starting quarterback, and then senior year we'll repeat to critical acclaim."

Needless to say, Finn had barely thought ahead to what he wanted to eat for dinner that night, let alone to a dance three weeks away and all subsequent dances for the rest of high school.

Down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of Rachel at her locker, laughing with two of her new friends who he didn't even know, probably about something having to do with Jesse.

Quinn rolled her eyes in response to his distracted silence. "Santana was right, you are much dimmer than you look." She abruptly put her hands to her hips. "You do want to be popular, right?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah I do," he stammered, closing his locker and leaning against it in an effort to look cool.

Quinn smiled. "It's settled then. My dress is light blue. Please order the appropriate corsage."

Rachel smiled and took a deep breath before beginning to sing along with the instrumental background recording she'd found online. Jesse sat perched on the edge of her bed, drinking in her performance, and she eagerly anticipated his constructive criticism that would follow once she finished.

She'd performed for Finn before, but he never had anything more to say than "That sounded great, Rach." As much as she'd tried to get her longtime friend to understand and appreciate the nuances of performance and theatricality, it usually went over his head.

Jesse, by contrast, was a junior at nearby Carmel High School and a star performer in the school's nationally renowned show choir. She was envious of the career opportunities he would inevitably receive as a result of their success, but she cringed when hearing his tales of grueling vocal rehearsals and intensive dance workouts.

Moreover, she was excited to share in life experiences with someone who had similar aspirations. They'd only been on a few dates so far, but each one had been delightful and musically-inspired and she felt very hopeful about the prospects for their budding relationship.

After finishing her run-through of the song she exhaled gently, awaiting Jesse's comments.

"Good power overall," he began, his brow knitted in concentration. "The second verse should be inflected more winsomely, and the third one with a sinister tone." He gave a few more pointers as well. "But it shows promise."

"Thank you. I'd like to ask you something now, if that's all right," she said quietly, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"That depends what it is," Jesse answered, cocking his head slightly.

"Well, the McKinley homecoming dance is next Saturday, and, um..."

"Rachel Berry," he said in mock surprise, "are you asking me to accompany you to a school dance?"

"Maybe..."

Jesse took her hands in his. "It would be my pleasure," he responded before leaning forward to place a soft kiss on her lips.

Then he abruptly stiffened and nodded towards her iPod dock. "Now let's go through your solo again. Your high B-flats aren't quite flat enough and the cadence of the chorus must be improved before I leave here tonight."

"Yes sir!" Rachel shouted playfully while standing once again.

"Would you stand still, please?!" Quinn snapped at him as she attempted to re-tie his tie. "You're lucky that I know how to tie a proper Windsor knot, since apparently you're too stupid to learn it."

Finn gritted his teeth and tried to stand still for the safety of those around him, but inside he was fuming.

If Rachel were there, she'd tell him that he wasn't stupid, and that he should stand up for himse–

Hey, where the hell was Rachel? he thought, looking around the gym. His mom said she'd stopped by for hair and makeup advice the other day, so she was definitely planning on coming to the dance, probably with that Jesse jerkface.

Pulling away from Quinn, he made his way over to a few of the music nerd kids who Rachel had been hanging out with lately. A few of the girls whispered to each other nervously as he approached, quieting down once he reached the small crowd.

"If you're going to lock me in a port-a-potty please wait until Monday, after they've been pumped for the week," begged Artie from his wheelchair.

"Huh? Nah, man. I'm just looking for Rachel, thought you guys might know where she is."

"According to her Twitter it looks like she may have been stood up," offered Mercedes Jones, wiggling her iPhone a little for emphasis.

Without waiting for more details, Finn stormed toward the exit.

"Where are you going?" Quinn demanded, chasing after him.

"Look, I'm really sorry but I- I gotta go. Something came up. Sorry I can't go to this dance with you... or any other future dances."

Before she could say anything else he made off for the exit, walking quickly across the school parking lot. When he reached the road that would lead him to Rachel's house he broke into a slow jog, dress shoes be damned. Upon arriving at her doorstep he composed himself, taking a deep breath and exhaling as he rang the doorbell.

Hiram answered, sending him upstairs to Rachel's room with a knowing nod.

"Rach?" Finn said after knocking softly on her door. "Rach, it's Finn. Hope you're decent, 'cause, uh, I'm coming in."

He waited a few seconds so she had an opportunity to protest. When she didn't, he opened the door.

Rachel was sitting on her bed, a poofy pink dress on. Her makeup around her eyes was running slightly as a result of her tears and her hair was tied up in pretty ringlets.

"Rach? What happened?" he asked, trying to control the throbbing of his heart as he observed her distraught state.

"Jesse called to say that he didn't realize that the dance would be held in a school gym, and that he's on a lifelong boycott of school gyms because he hates sports."

Finn burst into laughter. "Rach? Seriously? That's not the most idiotic thing you've ever heard?"

She laughed too, through her tears. "It is pretty ridiculous," she agreed, sniffling.

"So," he said, leaning over to her DVD case. "What'll it be? Funny Girl? Annie? Newsies? It feels like a Newsies night if you ask me."

"Finn, you don't have to stay in with me."

"I want to," he offered simply as he loaded the DVD before joining her on the bed again.

"But what about the dance? And Quinn? And the natural order of high school which says that someone like you needs to—"

Before she could say any more, Finn leaned over and kissed her square on the mouth.

It was amazing. Even more amazing than during spin-the-bottle because this time they were alone and his hand came up to cup her cheek and his tongue slipped into her mouth and he inched closer to her on the bed.

"I don't care about the dance," he said breathlessly when they broke apart for air. "Or Quinn." He gave her another quick kiss. "Like, I don't hope she gets hit by a truck or anything, but she's been super mean to me and I'm just not interested. And I don't know what sort of 'natural order' high school has, but we've been in high school for six weeks, and I've known you basically my whole life."

Rachel's heart was pounding as she tried to catch her breath and comprehend what was happening. A minute ago she felt so utterly disappointed that her perfect-on-paper beau turned out to be nothing more than a self-centered prima donna. Now, though, the boy who'd always been there – who she'd foolishly tried to push away – was rescuing her in the best way possible.

"Aren't you scared?" she asked softly. "About what this means?"

"Yes. But I know we'll be okay," he answered. "It's still just you and me, right?"

Fin.