Everyone else had already left to board the bus, but he lingers behind stage, watching and waiting. Her small frame bounces up and down, gushing about the performance to Mr. Shue. Mr. Shue is laughing and has his hands held out in an attempt to stop her from jumping. She beams at him, and she is completely radiant.

Finn's lips curve into a small smile. She was always this way…always so damn cute. He briefly thinks back to their time together, and can't come up with a memory that doesn't involve her being adorable in some way. He knows there were times when he found her aggravating, but she was still so lovable. No matter whether they were in a fight or not, he always knew that everything would turn out okay in the end.

Well, except for this last time.

His eyes lower to the floor, and then eventually flicker back up to her. How did they come to this? They were so happy when they were together. She was his best friend, his confidant, the girl he was absolutely, completely, in love with, and he found her to be like, the coolest, most awesomest person ever. And now what?

Shit happened.

Shit that neither of them can take back. Stupid, stupid mistakes. He should never have lied to her about Santana, and she should never have made out with Puck. He cringes at the thought. She tore out his heart that day, and for weeks he would just lie in bed in boxers and a t-shirt with stains on it and wish he would never wake up. He never, ever though his sweet, little Rachel could do such a thing to him. But she did. You can't just forget stuff like that.

And yet at the same time, despite all of the betrayal and the days that he spent in misery and consuming nothing but grilled cheese, he knew she didn't mean it. He knew she didn't really have feelings for Puck. His mind tears through the past couple of months, of him avoiding her, of her sad, depressed looks. He told her on Valentine's Day that he couldn't be with her, and he was telling the truth. He couldn't physically be around her when he hurt so badly. So he turned to Quinn. The pursuit and familiarity he had with her seemed to sustain him for awhile; and for the most part it kept his mind of off Rachel and the emptiness that she left in his heart. Or something like that.

But now what?

Mr. Shue makes a motion that seems to try and encourage her to head out to the bus, but she doesn't take the bait. She continues to chatter, and Finn thinks he can hear the words "New York" and "Broadway" come from her mouth. He casts a worried glance behind him. Quinn is probably on the bus worrying about him, and she will not be happy seeing him walk out with Rachel.

But he seriously can't just ignore her, after she apologized to him in front of an entire audience. With hundreds of people. Who even does something as awesome as that?

Rachel.

He's not sure he has even digested what just happened. She wrote that song for him. Everything she said, all of that hard work, was so that she could apologize to him. He swallows, 'cause suddenly his mouth has gone dry.

And as Mr. Shue rests a hand on her shoulder, and points her in Finn's direction, he only is sure of one thing. That when she was singing, and he was hearing her words wash over him, he felt something. When she looked back to make sure that he was listening and their eyes locked, feelings for her stirred within him that he hadn't felt in months. And he's not sure that he's ready for them yet.

He has no time to think about it anymore because she sees him and stops. She casts her head down and wrings her hands. He can't believe it. She's nervous? After all of that she's nervous to talk to him?

"Hi, Finn," she says softly, her eyes trained to his feet.

He takes a step closer and her big brown eyes look up at him and suddenly he feels like his heart is in his mouth. "That was…totally awesome, Rach." He really wishes he is better with words.

Even so, a ghost of a smile appears on her face. "Really?"

"Yea, I mean…I don't know how you went from 'Only Child' to that, but…" She giggles, and he grins in response. His heart swells at the sound, and in the back of his mind he pictures Quinn glaring at him, but he's too happy to care.

He swallows, suddenly serious. "Rachel, you are so talented, so much more than the rest of us, and that song proved it even more. I know things haven't been okay with us, and they probably won't be okay for awhile, but I just wanted tell you, you know…thank you."

His words hang between them. She smiles slightly and nods. Her eyes are full of understanding. She gets it. And once again, he is in awe of her. She always has had the crazy ability to know exactly what he means even when words fail him.

They look at each other a long moment. "Come on." He turns and gestures for her to follow him, because once again he's thinking of the song and her and all that they've been through and he's getting kinda emotional again and he really doesn't want her to see that.

The serious moment passes, and suddenly she is next to him, beaming. "You know, I think you could write an amazing song too if you put your mind to it."

He resists the urge to snort. "Yea right. No, I'll leave the awesome songwriting to you, Rach."

He's used her nickname twice that night. They're beginning to feel comfortable around each other again.

They glance at each other and smile.

The healing has begun.