I don't own Glee or My Best Friend's Wedding.
A/N: If you know me at all then you know that I love anything to do with Julia Roberts - at least in her early years. It just seemed long overdue for me to write a fic based from one of her movies. Naturally, I chose my favorite one and this is what came out. I know this first chapter may not seem like Puckleberry is endgame but it is. Pairing will include Puckleberry, Fuinn, Klaine, Brittana, slight Finchel, and mentions of Quick.
Also note that this is loosely based off of the movie My Best Friend's Wedding. Loosely. The main plot points from the movie will remain but with a huge Puckleberry twist.
/
Rachel's heels thudded against the cold pavement as she made her way down the street. There was a reason New York City was known as the city that never sleeps. It's always busy with the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to get to their destinations and rarely does anyone ever slow down. You might be asking yourself what Rachel Berry is doing walking down a street in the dark in New York, especially when she's wearing a dress some might call provocative, but that question is answered as she quietly slips into a near empty 24/7 coffee house.
The aroma of the coffee and tea hits her nose and she can't help but smile. It's nearly midnight and her feet are killing her so when she sinks into her usual booth she can't help the sigh that escapes her lips. A cup is shoved across the table to her and she closes her eyes as she takes the first sip of her tea. Someone clears their throat loudly and when she looks up, she's faced with three sets of familiar eyes.
"We didn't think you were going to show up," Santana raised her eyebrows. "We've been sitting here for over an hour, Rachel," She sighed, taking a drink of her own coffee, decaf, of course. "Why'd you call us here anyways?"
Rachel nods and pulls her cell phone out of her purse before quickly calling her voicemail, turning the speaker phone on, and holding it out so the three people can listen to the message that she had received earlier today. She licks her lips and studies Santana, Blaine, and Kurt's faces as they listen closely to the message.
"I don't get it," Santana furrowed her brows together after listening to the short message.
"Is that him?" Kurt asked.
Rachel grinned and nodded. "It is. It's Finn."
"Who?" Santana asked.
"You see, back in college Rachel had the most epic twelve week romance," Kurt smirked. "She met him at this stupid keg party I dragged her, too. She didn't even want to go but I forced her to."
"What about you?" Santana asked Blaine. "Where were you during all thsi?"
"I was in California," Blaine shrugged. "I didn't go to New York with Rachel and Kurt," He nodded to his boyfriend, telling Kurt to go on with the story.
"She was standing in the kitchen with me with those huge brown eyes of hers, criticizing the music choice when this tall, gawky guy walked straight up to her and asked her to dance, lucky bitch," Kurt teased.
"Kurt!" Rachel admonished.
"I'm telling you, San, those eyes of hers have special powers or something," Kurt shook his head and chuckled. "We weren't there five minutes and the guy was practically begging to take her home. He was cute, too, even if he was at least a foot taller than her. Anyways, she said no because she didn't want to leave me by myself. The guy had clearly never been rejected before so I actually kind of felt bad for him. I told Rachel to go on and dance with the guy because there was no sense in both of us going home alone."
"I would just like to say that I did not sleep with Finn that night," Rachel interjected. "We waited a respectable amount of time before we engaged in intercourse."
"Second date," Kurt clarified and Rachel huffed, crossing her arms. "Don't worry, Rachel, I don't judge. That's two more dates than I would have waited to let the man take me to bed. I probably would have had sex with him right there in kitchen at the party if he'd asked me."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Like Kurt said, we were together for three months before we both graduated from NYU. He got this job offer in Chicago and when he asked me to move with him, I said no because I wanted to stay here for Broadway," She sighed audibly.
"Go on." Santana urged. "That can't be the end of the story or else this is the worst romance I have ever heard in my entire life."
"We're not even close to the end," Blaine chuckled. "But I'll let Rachel tell it. It's her story, after all."
"Right, so he said the worst part about our break up was that he felt like he was losing his best friend," Rachel smiled fondly, gripping her cup a little tighter at the memory. "I told him that I felt the same way and we've been best friends ever since. It's been a while since we've seen each other, though, almost four years."
"So why is he calling you now?" Santana asked.
"I don't know," Rachel shrugged. "It sounded important, though, didn't it? The message sounded like he really wanted to see me?"
Kurt nodded. "What happened the last time you two saw each other?"
Rachel chewed on her lip, thinking back, and then a smile broke out over her face. "It was that week he showed up at my apartment and told me I had one hour to pack a duffel bag before our plane for Tucson left," She laughed. "It was this completely spontaneous vacation and I was crazy enough to go along with it. It was amazing, though, and we spent most of the time getting lost while trying to find our way around. The last night we were there he made me promise that if we were both 28 and weren't married, I'd marry him."
Santana's eyes widened and leaned closer to Rachel, her elbows resting on the table. "Rachel, you turn 28 in three weeks. How old is he?"
Rachel met Santana's gaze and shook her head. "That's not what this call was about. I mean, do you think that what's he calling about? If he asks me… do I have to say yes?"
"You did promise the man," Kurt smirked and sipped his latte.
/
Rachel paced her around her bed for almost ten minutes the next day, her cell phone burning into her palm as she debated whether to call Finn back or not. She hadn't talked to him in almost a year and she hadn't seen him in almost four. The shrill ring of her cell phone sounded into the silence of her room, making her jump.
Her heart sped up for a second but she quickly calmed down when she saw that it was only Blaine calling. "Hello?"
"Call him," were his first words and it made Rachel smile that Blaine knew he so well. "I just know that you're driving yourself mad by trying to talk your way out of it. Call him, Rachel, before you change your mind. I know you want to talk to him."
"I'm just nervous, I guess," She sighed into the phone. "Are we sure that he even remembers that night in Tucson? It was so long ago."
"Call him," Blaine repeated and listened quietly for the next few seconds as Rachel breathed silently on the other side of the line. "Goodbye, Rachel, I'll give you half an hour to talk to Finn and then I'm coming over with Kurt to talk about wedding dress ideas."
Rachel smiled softly and heard the phone click dead before sucking in a breath, finding the courage to type out the number she knew by heart. It rang a few times, and each time the familiar sound rang into her ears she became more nervous.
"Rachel?" A familiar voice came over the line and her smile grew. "It's about time you return my call. I called you yesterday morning."
"Hi, Finn," Her voice sounded nervous, something both of them picked up on. "I've just been really busy. I'm not sure if you heard but I just finished a role of Broadway. I played—"
"Belle in Beauty and the Beast," Finn finished with a smile in his voice. "I heard. I've been keeping tabs on you, Rachel."
"You have?" She asked hopefully.
"You're my best friend, Rach, of course I've been watching how big of a star you're becoming up there in New York," He chuckled.
"Right," She grinned and they were both quiet for a few seconds. "After I got your message, I was thinking about that night Tucson. I have no idea if you remember but…" She trailed off when she heard him chuckle over the line.
"I remember. I think about that night all of the time," He told her. She pursed her lips and tried to slow her beating heart. "But that's not why I'm calling."
"It's not?" Rachel forced her voice to remain even and calm.
"I met someone, Rachel," His voice sounded far away as she tried to clear the fog in her head. How could he have met someone? "Her name is Quinn. I really think you'd like her."
"That's… great, Finn," She swallowed hard and let her eyes fall closed.
"I uh, I called because," He hesitated slightly. "I'm marrying her on Sunday."
Rachel's mouth fell opened and she really needed to sit down. She bent to sit on the edge of the bed but missed, tumbling to the floor with a clumsy thud. "Oh!" She gasped quietly and scurried to her feet again.
"Rachel?" Finn's voice was on the line again, this time in concern. "Are you okay? What was that sound?"
"Nothing," She gripped the edge of her dresser and took several deep breaths. "Finn, its Tuesday. You can't be getting married on Sunday? Don't you think that's a little sudden?"
"I've thought this through, Rach. I love Quinn and I want to marry her. It's one of those four day weddings so it actually starts on Thursday. Quinn's parents have some money so it's going to be pretty epic."
"How long have you even known this girl, Finn?" Rachel asked.
"Two months," He admitted lowly. "But I still love her so damn much, Rachel. She loves me, too, and we're getting married. I'd love for you to be there."
"I…" She rubbed her hand over her face and let out a silent shaky breath. "I wouldn't miss it."