AN - Hi this is my first ever fanfic, it started out as a one-shot but by the time I had finished this section I decided I would make it a little longer. Any reviews are appreciated. Dedicated to one of my amazing idols Cory Monteith.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of the characters.

Finn's POV

I sat down on the couch and relaxed turning on the TV to some random sports game, too tired to change the channel. I had spent all day at my new job as a teacher at the local school, teaching Kindergarten. I was two weeks in and everything was going well, apart from the fact that I came home completely tired out, as it turns out looking after around 20 little kids all day not as easy as it originally sounded. Although it came with a bright side, since they were so young they didn't do any exams or homework, so when I finally got home I didn't need to mark anything, I just had to figure out what to do with the kids the next day. With this already done I was taking some time to myself, contemplating ordering take out, when Puck strolled out of his room looking ready to leave to do god knows what. He took one look at me and said,

"Dude watching TV again, come on you live in New York city and you spend you nights watching telly, live a little bro. Why don't you go out tonight"

Puck had moved with me to New York for some reason, he hadn't really explained apart from LA hadn't worked out so he was going to try New York, and he wanted his best friend by his side (or as his wingman as he had put it whilst trying to persuade me to let him move in with me). I had finished college a couple of months ago, with a teaching degree specialising in music. I started to look for a job and found there weren't very many, especially ones in the arts. Until I found a job going in New York, it was to teach Kindergarten, even though I wanted to teach in high school so I could run my own show choir, but it was a job so I applied. After all the interviews they offered me a job and helped me get my apartment, luckily it was two bedrooms so Puck could move in with me, because even if I didn't want to admit it I kinda wanted one of my best friends with me in the big city. Even though my brother lived here, he lived with Rachel, and although we were on good terms again, seeing her all the time if I wasn't with her would be torture. So I hadn't necessarily told Kurt yet, and had warned my Mum not to tell him until I wanted him to know. He would kill me when he found out, but it was the less painful option. Part of me thinks that, although I would have never admitted it even to myself, I moved here so I could have another chance with Rachel, if we both lived in the same city and had figured out what we wanted to do with our life's, there might not be as many problems, and we would finally get a happily ever after. But I was yet to get in contact with her, as I was still getting used to my new job, living in a new city, and having Puck as a room mate, which meant there was another random chick here every other night.

"Sorry but I'll pass, I don't want to be awkwardly standing there while you hit on some girl, in an overcrowded, loud bar, when all I want to do is sleep" I replied.

"All you ever want to do is sleep" He muttered sarcastically.

"You try looking after 20 little kids all day, five days a week and tell me you don't want to sleep"

"Fine whatever, don't wait up then I suppose" He said with a hint of sadness trying to guilt me into going with him.

"I'm not going with you" I replied adding a sense of finality to my voice, I had figured that sometimes talking to Puck is like talking to the kids in my class.

"I never asked you to come with me, I just said you need to get yourself out of this apartment"

"Why wouldn't you want me to go with you?" I was genuinely curious, particularly when I noticed that he looked a little too dressed up for the clubs and bars of New York.

"Because I have a date" He replied quietly.

"You have a what!?" These were the five words I would have least expected to come out of Puck's mouth.

"A date, I know that doesn't sound like me but, I can't explain it okay this girl she's different". He had a shyness to his tone, and I could swear I could see a small blush on his cheeks.

"She must be if she got you to go on a date"

"Okay I need to go now as I don't really want to talk about this, and I'm going to be late. Just consider getting yourself out of here dude, go meet some people, and you know maybe some girls. I know your no Puckassarus but you could get some practice"

"I don't need any practice" I said defensively.

"Yeah man you do, all that time we were at college you never had a single girl, when was the last time you, you know?", when I didn't reply after a couple of seconds he carried on, "Oh my god it was Rachel wasn't it? Dude you definitely need the practice"

"What if I don't want the practice" I muttered not thinking he would hear. He heard me anyway though.

"You're still pining after Rachel aren't you". Although Puck wasn't the smartest person in the world, sometimes he could genuinely be a genius.

"I don't want to be with anyone else"

"Then why haven't you got in contact with her?"

"It's complicated". But if I was honest with myself I was scared that she might be with someone else, someone better than me, someone more deserving of her love. She never mentioned anyone else, but I didn't think she ever would, its not exactly something you talk about with you ex fiancé. I was scared she didn't want to be with me anymore, that she had lost faith in us. I had told her a couple of years ago that we were endgame, I still believed that, but did she?

"I really have to go, but we are so gonna have to talk about this though bro, you need help"

"Wow this girl must be different if she got you to go on a date, and now you want to have talks" I hoped teasing him about his date would get him out of the door faster, so we didn't have to talk about the problems of my love life, or the person who was missing from it.

"Funny Hudson, really funny, if that's what you're teaching your class I feel sorry for them, see you later". He called as the front door shut.

After he left the apartment seemed really silent, and empty. With nothing good on TV, and not being completely ready to fall asleep yet, I finally decided to take Puck's advice and go and see what New York's night-life was like. After having a shower and getting changed, I left the apartment before I could change my mind. I walked down the streets of New York taking everything in, it was definitely different when compared to Lima, Ohio. I walked past some bars, that didn't look very appealing, and I had already decided against any clubs, as I didn't like them when I was with other people, let alone on my own. One of the many down sides of being unable to dance. After walking a couple of blocks I finally found a bar that looked okay, MacLaren's Music Bar. I entered and I liked what I saw, a small not overcrowded bar, that was playing good music and had a small stage and karaoke machine set up in one corner. I rarely ever came to bars, but this was the type I liked. I walked over to the bar and ordered a beer, paying the bar keeper, and took in the atmosphere. That was until I felt a familiar petite hand tap my shoulder. I turned around and let out a small gasp when I saw the person in front of me. It couldn't be.

Rachel's POV

I got into the apartment feeling tired from yet another audition. Since I had graduated NYADA a couple of months ago, I had had one small role in a summer production of Grease. Ever since then it had been one audition after another, with a couple of callbacks but I had been unable to actually get a role yet, which was becoming very frustrating. I knew that I would have to work hard to become a star on Broadway, but it was starting to become really tiring. I decided that one night off was what I needed, a nice night in with my best friends Kurt and Santana. If you had told me a couple of years before that I would say that Santana Lopez was one of my best friends I would have thought you were crazy, but over the past couple of years we had become really close, and she was a really great person, if you ignored the insults. Which had become more teasing, unless we were having an argument, and I had kinda become used to them. I had just sat down at the kitchen table with a small bowl of fruit, when Kurt and Santana walked in from their rooms, looking too dressed up for a night in. Great there goes my plans I internally moaned.

"Your back finally, I would ask how it went but we need to leave soon and you obviously need to get ready so hurry the hell up, and you can tell us when we get there"

"What do you mean I need to get ready, and where are we supposedly going?"

Kurt was the one to reply "We're going out, and you can't say no, you need to let loose a bit, get out of this apartment. You're always either here or at an audition, I bet you can't even remember what the night life in New York is even like"

"Fine but I'm not going to any clubs"

Santana made a face that told me that had been the plan, "Great, thanks man hands, you've just ruined my plan for tonight"

"Sorry, but I've been on my feet all day, I don't want to spend my night dancing to music loud enough to burst my eardrums"

"Ever the drama queen", Kurt interrupted before an argument started. "But fine we will just go to a bar instead. Actually I just heard of a bar not far from here, it's a music bar. We could go there"

"So it's a karaoke bar?" Santana questioned.

"No, well not really I heard it does have karaoke though just only if you absolutely want to"

"And where did you here about this place?" Santana asked, I could understand why. The last time Kurt suggested a place that he had heard about from work, we had ended up getting lost trying to find it, standing in a queue to get in and then once finally inside realising it didn't really match up to the hype. We had eventually headed back home and watched a film instead.

"From work but trust me it will be good this time"

"It better, dwarf what do you think?" Santana threatened playfully, whilst turning to me.

"Well it doesn't sound that bad, and if its close at least it won't take that long to get home" I was sort of hoping it was bad so that I could get home quicker but I wouldn't tell them that.

"Fine then that's where we are going, now go hurry up and get ready"

I took a quick shower and picked out a outfit – a little black dress with red heels, did my hair and make up and I was ready to go. We took a taxi to the bar simply named MacLaren's Music Bar and walked in. As we sat down at a table, I looked over to the small stage in the corner where a couple were in the middle of singing 'You're the one that I want', (not very well). It immediately reminded me of Finn, and I was taken back to our first glee rehearsal. Our first duet, where I had freaked him out with my craziness. I always had a soft spot for that song. I had been thinking of Finn a lot more than usual lately, wondering how he was, what he was doing, if he was with anyone else. We talked occasionally, but it wasn't the same. It was no where near talking to him when I was wrapped up in his arms, I have never felt safer anywhere else and I felt like I could tell him anything. Listening to the ending of the song I realised that I wanted to see him, talk to him in person, and possibly, maybe get back together. I knew I still loved him, I always had, and I truly believed him when he told me we were endgame. But did he still believe that? Its not something you can randomly ask on the phone,
'oh by the way do you still believe we are soulmates or have you moved on'. I hadn't been with another guy since I broke up with Brody, I didn't see the point of leading some guy on if I was in love with someone else. Kurt and Santana had attempted to persuade me over the years to try dating but I refused, until they eventually gave up. The song had finished and the couple bowed before walking off the stage, some classic rock started to play through the speakers that I faintly recognised. Probably from riding in Finn's truck in high school, as his radio was set to a station that played 99% classic rock. As I got lost in my memories of Finn, whilst still paying faint attention to Kurt and Santana's conversation, my eyes started to scan the room. I noticed a man at the bar who even from behind looked very familiar, he was obviously tall, even though he was sitting down. It couldn't be, could it? No I would know if he was in New York, its probably just some stranger, and because I am thinking about him I only think its him right? It was official I had finally gone crazy. But I had to know for sure, so finishing the rest of my coke (I had an another audition in two days, I was not going to drink alcohol), and just mentioning a brief "Be right back, just gonna get another drink" to Santana and Kurt, I got up and walked to the bar. Checking behind me to make sure my friends weren't watching I slowly tapped on the man's shoulder. It felt so familiar, my heart and instincts were screaming at me. He turned around, and my heart skipped a beat. It was Finn. Finn was sitting right in front of me in a bar in New York.

AN 2 - Thanks for reading, next part should be uploaded soon.

Ps As I said at the beginning this is dedicated to Cory. I love Cory, Finn, Finchel and Monchele and I still can't believe he's gone. I found out on the 14th in the morning not long after I woke up, and I can't describe the feeling. I never understood how people could get upset about the death of someone they never knew, but now I understand it (I really wish I didn't though) you form some kind of connection that can't really be explained, and their death does affect you, not as much as if you knew them, but it does. I can't help but feel for the pain Lea has been through, and is still going through, I watched her performance of 'Yesterday' and literally cried from start to finish, I have no idea how I'm going to watch the tribute episode. Although I miss Cory, I've found that he can still make me smile, watching old interviews of him can still make me laugh, and I know that even though he's not around anymore, I think he would be happy that he could still make his fans smile at his goofy sense of humour. I've read on some other fanfics that people have found writing helpful to them, so I thought I would give it a try. I like the fact that we can still keep the character that Cory worked so hard to bring to life alive, and give Finchel the happy ending they deserve, the one I'm pretty sure they would have got. If your still reading this thank you, I know I've waffled but I just felt like I had to add this on at the end.

Life's too short to be serious - Cory Monteith 1982-2013