Summary: Based on the movie, Beastly. Finn is Kyle, Rachel is Lindy, and Mercedes is Kendra. A lot of people gave the film a bad review, but I enjoyed it fair enough. You don't have to be familiar with the movie, but it wouldn't hurt to watch a trailer or read a summary. The plot will follow the movie's pretty closely.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 1:

"Uggghhh, I don't want to be here," Rachel groaned, watching as McKinley High's most popular junior took the stage.

"Hush," Kurt commanded. "I want to hear the beautiful boy speak."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I don't know why I agreed to this," she sighed.

"Because what else would you be doing?" Rachel almost jumped out of her skin when Blaine put his hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear. She playfully smacked at him and he just laughed and slung his arm around her neck.

He was, of course, right. She didn't have much of a life outside of school. She had few friends, which explained why she had reluctantly accepted Kurt's invitation to watch the campaign speeches. She didn't care much for school politics. It was mostly just a popularity contest anyway. The candidate who currently had the audience's rapt attention was a perfect case in point.

Finn Hudson may have been gorgeous… or whatever… but he didn't have the mind, at least not for the real work of politics. Sure, he played the game like it was a drum set and he was a regular Starr. But once the campaign was over, he could never meet the responsibilities of the position he was sure to win. He knew nothing about the issues. And that was why that smug little smirk of his pissed Rachel off so much.

"Is this thing over yet?"

"Almost." The answer came in a voice Rachel didn't recognize. Kurt was mesmerized by the show going on in front of him and Blaine's attention alternated between watching Kurt watching the show and just watching the show himself. Rachel looked around just in time to see Mercedes turn on her heel and slip out the door.

Rachel furrowed her brow before turning back just in time to hear Finn make another comment about his hotness and then lift his shirt slightly, showing off his toned abs. The roar of the crowd greeted his stunt, Kurt one of the loudest appraisers. Rachel flushed and shook her head. Ridiculous. Then she followed Mercedes' path out the door.

"Not having fun?"

For the second time that day, Rachel jumped in surprise. "I like shows as much as the next person… or no, rather, I like them a great deal more than the next person… in any case though, when I want to see one, I go to the theater." Rachel watched as Mercedes bit back her laughter. "Well, what are you doing out here instead of in there?" She asked a bit defensively.

"That boy needs to learn a lesson." Mercedes proceeded to graffiti several of Finn's campaign posters in gold, glittery permanent marker.

Rachel approached the posters curiously. She stifled a giggle, nodding her approval. Mercedes had inserted a "hell no" between "vote" and "for Finn."

"Hmmm… I think I liked it better before."

Rachel leapt, practically hitting the ceiling. When she returned to solid ground, she muttered something about unagi.

"Good color choice though," Finn added.

"I… I didn't do that," Rachel stuttered.

"Right. Who did then?"

Rachel looked up, but Mercedes had disappeared. Well, that was rude.

"Look, I didn't do it, okay?"

"It's no secret that you're not my number one fan."

"Do you even know who I am?" Rachel spat.

"Of course I do. You're Rachel Berry. You've never missed a day of school. You have a 4.0. You practically grew up on the stage… which is I why I don't get why you don't appreciate my theatricality."

Rachel was honestly stunned that he knew her name, let alone any details of her existence, but her stunned silence lasted only a second. "Theatricality has a place. It doesn't belong in politics."

Finn's self-satisfied smile only grew, which caused Rachel's frown to deepen. "Are you coming to the party to celebrate my victory?"

"I wasn't invited."

"This is me inviting you."

"Well, in that case, no thank you."

That seemed to catch him by surprise. "No?"

"Yes, no."

"What? Do you have plans?"

"I'm busy."

"Sure you are. You must be… what with all those friends of yours," Finn said, indicating the empty space surrounding her.

Rachel pursed her lips together, gave a short nod, and then stormed out in classic fashion.

"You certainly have a way with the ladies," Mercedes chuckled.

Finn grumbled. "I'm hot, rich, and popular. Usually it's not so much work," he shrugged.

"I guess that only works with the girls who are also hot, rich, and popular," Mercedes wondered.

"Or just the shal…" Finn caught himself. "What are you doing here?"

"Remembered who you were talking to?" Mercedes laughed. "I came back to add some finishing touches." She moved toward the posters and added a few gold stars like quotes around her "hell no's".

"You!"

Mercedes raised her eyebrows as if to say, "Who else?"

Finn decided he'd had enough of this witch. Mercedes had been more than vocal about her distaste for him and he was going to be more than public about his distaste for her. "Come to the party with me?"

"Excuse me?"

"My party… tonight. Be my date."

Mercedes nodded slowly, contemplatively. "Okay," she agreed.

/

The party was well underway when Kurt and Blaine dragged Rachel, kicking and screaming, into the fray.

"Get her a drink," Blaine said, shoving Kurt toward the tables.

"Get me out of here!" Rachel protested, stomping on Blaine's foot.

"You'll have fun. Just relax. Stop being so uptight."

Rachel was about to smash Blaine's other foot, when a hand grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around.

"Is that any way to treat your friends? Especially, when you have so few…"

She tried to pull away, but Finn had his arm securely around her waist, pressing her firmly into him. He began to dance slowly, swaying back and forth, taking her with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Dancing."

"Why?"

"Do you always talk this much?"

"Yes," she didn't miss a beat. "Now let go of me."

"What if I don't want to?"

"I didn't ask you what you wanted."

"That'd make you the first."

"Lucky you."

"You're kinda fascinating."

"And you kinda have hearing problems because I said let go." She ground out the last words forcefully, punctuating the last by kneeing him.

Rachel found Kurt and Blaine, said a quick good-bye in a tone that didn't allow room for argument then departed.

By the time Finn recovered, she was gone and Mercedes had just arrived. Perfect. At least this night wouldn't be a total waste. He was going to make an example of her. Mercedes waved his way and he motioned her over.

When she got within a few feet of him, he began, "You thought I would actually consider being with you?" He raised his voice, grabbing the attention of the room. "Look at you! Look at me." He laughed, taking all of his anger out on the witch in front of him. "I can't believe you thought you had a chance." As if to illustrate his point, a gaggle of Cheerios surrounded him, hanging on him.

"Oh-oh, hell no. I didn't come here to be with you," she shook her finger looking both amused and disgusted at the mere thought of it. "I know what you do to the girls you date. I came here to give you a second chance." Mercedes' eyes locked on his and for a moment he couldn't move. "Come find me when you want answers."

Finn stared in confusion as Mercedes waltzed out. Second chance? When was his first? Chance at what? Find answers? To what questions? He shook the freak's rant out of his head and let the music of the party fill it instead.

By the time he stumbled into his bedroom, his earlier encounter with Mercedes had been long forgotten. His dreams were filled with another girl, the petite brunette who seemed to harbor so much contempt for him. However, when he awoke and went to the bathroom to take a shower, the memory of Mercedes came roaring back to him and he rushed out the door in search of her, in search of answers.

He found her surprisingly fast. She was looking at flowers at a street shop. She called to him as he almost walked right past.

"Mmmhmmm. I've been waiting for you, pretty white boy."

"What did you do to me?"

"Me? I didn't do anything. Your exterior simply reflects your interior. You are as ugly on the outside now as you are on the inside."

"I'm hideous." Mercedes gave him a pointed look. "Change me back!"

"You have 1 year to find someone who will love you as you are or you'll be stuck like this forever."

"How am I supposed to do that when I look like this?"

Finn slid to the ground, cradling his tattooed head in his hands.

"Wow looks are important to you," Mercedes said smelling a yellow rose. "Well if the rest of the people in this world think just like you do, you're going to have yourself a heck of time." Mercedes looked at the slumped figure before her. "Find someone who can see better than you."

"Why are you doing this?" His voice betrayed his resignation.

"It's not a punishment, even if it feels like it. You have 1 year."

Finn dragged himself back to his house, to his room, to his bathroom. He could barely look at himself. Tattooed patterns in reds, blues, black and silver crisscrossed his face and skull, running down his neck across his shoulders and back, over his chest. Every inch of his flesh was marked by Mercedes' magic. Finn climbed into the shower and let his tears disappear down the drain.

He knew when his father got home that would be it. His father, the news anchor, had built an empire on his good looks and had many times extolled the virtues of appearance, telling him that how much people like you is directly to proportional to what you look like.

And he was right. When his father saw him, he moved Finn to a secluded house with the family's maid and hired a private tutor. His father never visited.

/

Finn folded in on himself. He didn't attend lessons. He took to roaming the city at night. One evening, about two weeks into his year-long sentence, he stumbled into Rachel walking the city streets, listening to her iPod, occasionally singing with it. He followed her for a while. He never approached her, never revealed his presence, but just being near her made him feel not so alone. He'd return to watch her several nights that week, curious about the small, sassy girl who'd twice turned him down.

Finally, at the week's end, he resolved to break himself of his addiction to the wordy brunette. He was starting to feel a little stalkerish. He didn't want his behavior to turn him into the creeper that his appearance suggested he was.

He took one last look at her and smiled. As he turned to walk away, her screams drew his attention. Instead of moving away, he found himself moving toward her, quickly.

He heard her shout something to her dad and then to a strange, thuggish man standing opposite them. He watched as her dad pushed her toward the thug. He watched as she hit, kicked, and bit at the man until he backhanded her and she crumpled to the ground.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he inserted himself into the conflict. He took out the thug from behind before the man even realized there was another person involved. Then Finn offered Rachel's dad a proposition he couldn't turn down.

The next morning, her dad dropped her off at Finn's secluded house.