For/Ever

FINN (POV)

I usually loved birthdays. They were usually spent with Rachel. These birthdays usually consisted of lying on the couch, eating popcorn and watching another rerun of Funny Girl.

David, my grandfather, had a surprise for me this afternoon which I was not very enthusiastic about.

It was most likely going a boring army seminar or lawn bowls.

I woke up to an wrapped present left by Puck with a note "Gone out. Happy Birthday Man!" I smiled as I opened it. A silver framed photo of our last picture of the glee club together as a family at the train station. The caption written underneath it was "WMHS Glee Club Forever!". I put it beside my desk, next to a picture of Rachel and I.

My phone buzzed, with a text message form David "Happy Birthday. Meet me outside of Breadstix in ten minutes."

My heart flipped. Maybe Rachel was there. She had to be my birthday present. I dressed up in my tuxedo, just hoping that Rachel is my surprise.

Breadstix has so many memories of the people I left. My double date with Brittany and Santana, my many dates with Rachel and Sugar Motta's Valentines Day Party (after our very awkward Hudson-Berry family dinner) I smile to myself and spot David in the crowd. Much to my disappointment was in jeans and an old t-shirt. Obviously he didn't want to meet my fiancée.

David nodded to me at I walked up to him.

"Your dressed up.'" He motioned as he looked me up and down. "Hoping that girl of yours' was here?"

I sighed "Yeah. I'm guessing she isn't my birthday present."

David smiled "Nope. I've got something better! Tickets for Wicked in New York!"

Disappointment waved over me "Wicked? As in the...musical."

Dave nodded "Yes, Finn. A musical. It just so happens that it is your late grandmother's favorite musical and seeing it would make me very, very happy."

I agreed reluctantly "Fine, whatever you say."

What a great start to my birthday.

(Train Ride)

I slept for most of the way to the 'Big Apple'.

For once since our parting. I didn't dream of her. I woke up, anxious that I had moved on.

I pulled out my photo in my wallet and smiled at our photo together.

She looked gorgeous in that photo. She always looked gorgeous.

(New York)

David said that I could have some time on my own, as he likes to put it "Get over that fiancée of yours" He knows this was her city. Paris was no longer the city of love to me. New York was and always will be.

Just like always, it was amazing. I went and sat at the fountain that the glee club danced around when we went to Nationals, three years ago. How time flies.

I walked through Central Park remembering how I finally had the guts to text Rachel to finally ask her out again.

Her dreams were to head to New York. She then altered them and decided to marry me. We would have lived in New York together.

I wondered what we would be doing now probably decorating our little shoebox apartment to make room for all her trophies and awards. She would have hung her broadway posters up, framed, in our room. The white walls would have been over-run by pictures and broadway music would always be playing no matter what time of day. I wonder if we would have bought a pet, maybe a cat and after a long day been able to tell each other about work, or NYADA.

She would tell me what dance routine she was working on, who her new friends were and the people she hated.

We would have been married by then. Maybe Santana or Kurt would have visited us and exclaimed of how well we were doing in New York. All this amazing, near-reach fantasy ruined by my foolish dreams that I had since lunch. She had those dreams since she was two! What was I thinking?! Even though I didn't get into the actors studio that I auditioned for, I would have easily found something to do here.

I put my head in my hands and let all my emotions run free. Anger, Disappointment, Loss, Pain. I wanted her to hold me and tell me everything's going to be fine. We would sort out our dreams together. Even Kurt had his dreams in New York. Every senior of glee has fulfilled some part of their long life dreams. Except me. I was at square one again. Only this time, I didn't have an my soul mate to help me up when I fall.

David found me eventually and we headed to the theatre, scanned our tickets and received our playbill. "Wicked" it read. I flipped through it not bothering to read the actors and actresses. Rachel always told me that she needed a role in Wicked, or in Les Mis. I smiled at the thought of seeing her on stage where she belonged.

We took our seats, second row from the front, but being so tall I hoped everyone could see behind me. I sunk down in my seat.

The lights dimmed and the stage curtains went up.

I saw a nervous, nineteen year old girl wearing her signature gold star bracelet.

It was her. My beautiful fiancée.

Rachel.

RACHEL (POV)

Opening night. Anxiousness swept over me. I wished Finn was here tell me I was a star and to watch from the wings. Usually I would adore opening nights.

The flowers thrown on the stage, the marriage proposals from guys in the audience. Tonight, there was only one person that I wanted there. Finn.

Luckily for me, While juggling my days at NYADA and my practices at night for the stage, I didn't have much time to think about Finn, but the nights I couldn't sleep. I would just sit there crying in my NYADA dorm. All by myself.

Finn was so kind to me. I was always the one who was self-centered, jealous, unfair especially when it came to glee club, solos...and roles on Broadway.

I fought so much for this role. Another girl from NYADA, Harmony was auditioning for this part too.

At first, only a handful of girls were auditioning on the first day. Harmony and I were the only female NYADA students auditioning, apparently Elphaba, is "not their role" They would rather someone bigger and better. I got called back but so did Harmony.

It narrowed down till it was me, Harmony and another girl from a talent school in California. Just my luck, Californian girl didn't make it, so it was just Harmony and I. Our final audition song is "Defying Gravity" in which I had luckily sang in glee club for a competition against Kurt.

My agent called the following day and gave me the exciting news.

I had received the part.

I was officially playing Elphaba in Wicked.

Santana came to visit me. she brought the memo of "everyone is good in glee, and that they wished me luck". She mentioned nothing about Finn.

I hoped that all our friends were okay without me. I decided that after we have closing night, I wanted to go to Sectionals in Lima to support the team for Sectionals.

The stage crew mentioned to me that it was time. This was it. My dreams, my hopes. Everything lead to this one moment.

I was Rachel Barbra Berry. Future Star. Just like Finn said.

I looked around at my cast-mates who were giving me a thumbs up from stage left. I could see the lights dim from the side of the curtain and the orchestra starting to warm up in front of me.

All that I had dreamed of was leading up to this one moment. Broadway.

Focus Rachel. Focus. Remember your lines. Sing your heart out.

The red velvet curtain lifted up. Eager faces of the crowd waited for me to sing the opening number.

My eyes locked on to someone familiar, who looked just as shocked as I was. He couldn't be here.

My heart dropped to the floor. All this time, I had grieved him not being beside me. He was here.

My emotions began welling up inside of me and I realized I had stood on the stage, looking at him. The crowd waiting for me to open my mouth and sing.

I stood there dumbfounded. He was here. My one and only.

Finn.

Note: I had this sitting in my folder for about a year. After Cory's passing which affected me greatly, I decided I was finally going to upload it in dedication of him. I wanted this to be the first thing I posted on fan-fiction, so here it is :)

This is for you Cory...