He had always been there for her; held her when she cried, celebrated with her when she did something noteworthy, mourned with her when someone in his or her family passed away. Likewise, she was always there for him; supporting him, telling him that he could make it far as long as he tried to.

When he thinks about it, being without her would be a living hell. Giving up your best friend was impossible, yet people did it all the time after they graduated from high school. And the situation with her moving to New York was making things a hell of a lot harder on him.

He remembers when he first met her. She was wearing this little white dress, like one that he saw the girls at his church wear at Easter mass or First Communion, with a cherry red cardigan on top. God, she was adorable.

An eleven year old Finn Hudson turned around to face his best friend Noah Puckerman as they raced each other down the street. He was frightened to see that Puck was catching up, and doing so quickly. Finn needed to throw him off; he needed a plan that would guarantee him a win in this race. They had a total of thirty seconds to go before the mini cooking timer beeped in his shorts pocket and their sprinting time was up.

It was a game the two boys had always played. A more cool way of racing. Instead of having a set place or object you had to run to, they had a set time that you had to run. And whoever was ahead of the other won. They would run anywhere at any time; all they needed was one of those kitchen timers Finn's or Puck's mom left on the fridge to know when the food was done cooking and they could play.

Usually Puck was the champ since the kid had at least five inches on Finn, already getting ready to start growing due to puberty. Unfortunately Finn wasn't even close to hitting a growth spurt and it was embarrassing as he was the shortest kid in the entire sixth grade class. In fact, Finn had pretty much given up all hope on going through puberty in general. Maybe Puck wasn't a great person to compare to; he was quite unnatural. He already had bushes under his armpits and a crackling voice.

But right now Finn was winning. Whether it had to do with the pack of pixi-stix he downed before Puck came to pick him up or with his body adjusting to the usual running he always did, he wasn't sure. But he was excited and he was not going to let his friend beat him yet again at this stinkin' running game.

Finn's amber colored eyes glanced forward and he realized they were now on Main Street where the bakery and ice cream shop was. He was sure there were other things here as well, but… he never really noticed anything other than the delicious food stores.

There were a few people walking around and he was glad since he prepared to dodge the man who was coming straight to them, leaving Puck behind at least a foot. Finn picked up his pace and went into a dead sprint to the Lima Bean that supplied treats like donuts, coffee, and ice cream. It was parallel to his body, so at last minute he made a sharp turn to the door, thankful that it was left open to let the summer breeze roll in. He entered the shop just as the timer beeped before falling to his knees and fist pumping in the air.

"Nice job, Hudson," Puck grumbled a few seconds later having entered the Lima Bean. "You beat me one time out of the millions we've played this game. Order yourself an ice cream; I'll pay."

Finn shook his head, hearing the thick taunting tone Puck carried.

"No way. I'm paying for my own ice cream," He stated, walking up to the counter.

A young barista wearing a coffee brown apron walks up behind the register with a cheery smile. She has blonde hair and her name, according the name tag on her chest, was Frannie. The icy blue eyes reminded Finn of… Quinn Fabray. Oh yeah, this was Quinn's older sister.

"Hiya Finn and… ugh, Puck."

Clearly she remembered the boys from parties that were at Quinn's house.

"Hey Frannie," Puck stresses her name annoyingly, making the teen roll her eyes. "Lookin' mighty fine today."

"Could I get you anything?" She moves on in a disgusted tone.

"I want a small ice cream cone," Finn announces, reaching into his pocket for the change he had stuffed in there.

"Okay, seventy five cents, Finn," She holds her hand out.

He drops three quarters there and waits patiently for his ice cream. Puck ordered a sundae, so it takes longer to make. Wanting to go eat his ice cream before it melted, Finn went to a booth in the corner and started attacking the white custard with his tongue, loving the sweet taste. He was about to bite into his sugar cone when he saw her.

She walked in with both hands holding the strap of her tiny pink purse that matched her headband in her long, dark brown hair that went well past her shoulders. It was shiny and Finn bet his entire sugar cone that it smelt nice and was really soft to the touch. She had this big poufy dress on, like she was a princess or something. He confirmed that she must actually be a princess when he noticed the white gloves that she was wearing.

It was so unusual seeing someone dressed like this. She was completely formal, from her thick pink sparkly headband, to her red Marry Jane clad feet that matched the cardigan that was hanging on her small frame.

"Whoa, what're you looking at?" Puck interrupts Finn's observations.

"What?"

"You're checking that girl out!" He cries out in laughter.

"No I wasn't!" Finn's face burned red. "I was just looking at her! Shut up."

He hissed the last part to Puck since the princess had received her treat, strawberry parfait, and went to sit down. She sat in a stool at a small round table by the window that looked out the street. It was maybe two feet in front of Finn from where he was sitting and he could see her face now.

She was really pretty… Like cute. He always thought that Quinn, Brittany, and Santana were pretty, but never were they cute. This girl had a unique pretty face, though. Instead of a usual ski-sloped nose, there was this weird curve to it. It kind of reminded Finn of Puck's mom… They were Jellish. Or Hemew. Or maybe it was Jewish or Hebrew. He'd have to ask Puck some other time.

She had these full lips and a little chin, shapely eyebrows, and really big owl like eyes. They were almost as dark as her hair, but had hints of gold flecks that melted them, making her look even more adorable.

He felt his ice cream dripping on his hand, creating a sticky mess. Face palming, he ditched the cone and went to clean up. When he got out, Puck was sitting across from the girl. He clearly said something funny because she covered her face with her small hand and her cheeks pinked.

However, his assumption of something funny was way off base. When he approached the table, the girl was yelling at him.

"And for you to think that was appropriate really deems to be a deplorable action, Mr. Noah Puckerman!"

Her voice was light and feminine, but determined and steady. He has no idea what 'deems' or 'deplorable' means, but by the angered expression on her face, he can tell it's bad.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa baby. Calm down!"

"Do not call me baby," She huffs.

"Um… what's going on?" Finn questions awkwardly. The girl turns to him, her arms crossed over her flat chest.

"Are you friends with this Neanderthal?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Then I dislike you too."

And with that she left the Lima Bean in a quick stride.

Ah, first impressions, right? He thought that he'd never see her again. That was until school started that year, his first year of middle school- 6th grade.

Everything was different in the middle school. It only had three grades, yet it had its own separate building, which baffled Finn. Why did they do that? They could have fit them in the elementary, but whatever.

He had his own locker now instead of a cubby, which kind of sucked, but made him feel kind of grown up. He was taking hard classes, like geography and hard spelling. He would now start to learn how to be responsible. Well, at least the school would try to teach him responsibility.

Finn walked into his classroom here really early since his mom had to go to work and he didn't ride the school bus because… well, just because it was infested with losers. So he grabbed his school supplies for his first class, a pencil and a folder, and walked into the classroom. The teacher wasn't even present, but there was someone in the room.

Finn groaned silently, wishing he could have a few moments to himself. He sat down towards the back and obviously startled the girl who was sitting in the front. He could tell it was a girl by the long dark hair and the pale pink sweater she wore.

She jumped in her chair, turning around to look at the source of the noise with large brown eyes showing. He had to stifle laughter because her eyes were as big as the owl's that was printed on the front of her sweater.

Wait a minute…! This is the Lima Bean Princess! What is she doing here? She never went to his school before.

"Oh, hello," She spoke in the familiar voice he had remembered, the voice that had imprinted in his mind as he was star struck when he first saw her.

"You know, it's been proven by various studies that students who sit in the back learn less and do more poorly in school than those who sit in the front," She talks quickly.

Finn looks at her blankly for a while and she scrunches her face up, running out of patience.

"Okay…"

She turned back to face the front.

He had his opportunity with this girl right now and he was not talking? What, was he stupid? Maybe it's because he usually sits in the back! He jumps out of his chair and walks up to the front, sitting right next to her on the left. He grins when he sees her lips curl into a very large smile.

"I knew my words would have an impact on you! What's your name?" She questions.

"I-Uh…"

"Hey, wait a minute," She squints her eyes. "Aren't you that boy? The one that was at the ice cream shop with that God awful boy Noah Puckerman? The boy who looks like a skunk?"

"A skunk?" Finn questions amusedly.

"Well yes! He has just a strip of hair on his head. What is with that? Why can't he get a nice hairstyle like yours, for instance?" She glances at his freshly cut hair.

He blushes, "Yeah, I'm that kid. I'm Finn Hudson. But I'm-I'm not like Puck."

"Good. I guess I don't dislike you anymore Finn. Finn… hmm, I'm guessing that's short for Finnegan?"

"How'd you know?"

"Well what else would it be?" She questions with a bright smile. "I'm Rachel Berry, by the way."

"That's cool. You're new here then?"

"Yes. My dads' and I moved from Toledo," Rachel answers.

"Dads'?" He asks confusedly.

"I have two of them. Dads'," She explains quietly, hoping he doesn't judge her because of that.

"That's awesome!" He explodes. "I mean, I don't even have one dad, and you have two!"

"You don't think I'm a freak because of that?" Rachel questions hopefully.

"No, I think you're awesome because of that!"

She smiled brilliantly and shook her head, "Well, it'd be nice to have a mom too, you know."

"Yeah, I love my mom."

"How about this; I'll share my dads' with you if you share your mom?" Rachel offers.

He nods his head with a grin on his face, "Sounds like a deal."

And from then on they had been best friends. They started out as acquaintances, as Rachel liked to put it, but he always said they'd been best friends from the start. They were meant to be best friends. Like soul mates, but… friend mates. Whatever, he gets what he's saying. She was the best thing for him, the best thing to happen to him and he would never want to be apart from her.

But she would be leaving in less than a year to go to New York and try to be a Broadway actress. She'd always loved singing, dancing, and acting. And when she sang… everyone in the room was dead silent. It was so impressive and touching and… he couldn't get enough of Rachel when she sang.

He knew she would be a star just as much as she knew she'd be a star. She had things going for her.

But Finn didn't. He was mediocre in school, pulling C's and sometimes the occasional D would appear on his report card. Which is exactly why he knew how screwed he was when graduation came.

Realistically, he had exactly four months and ten days until she left for New York to attend NYADA, her school of choice and, of course, the most superior theater arts program in the nation. She even had to audition to get in and because of her tremendous talent, she hardly even had to show up for it to be accepted. On top of all that, she got in with a full ride scholarship.

Four months and ten days wasn't nearly long enough for him to get his shit together. Hell, he had an entire year to choose a college to go to and he still didn't have a place to go. Of course Rachel didn't know this, which is surprising since she can always tell when he's lying to her.

He thinks maybe she hasn't said anything was because she herself was afraid of the fact that her best friend was a complete and total loser. Let's face it; he had high school hero, life zero printed right on his forehead. He needed to figure something out and he needed to do so soon.

This is exactly why he's sitting in Ms. Pillsbury's guidance counseling office in a worn out squishy chair trying to sort through all the possibilities he had and what he wanted to do.

"Okay, Finn, what about something sports related? I mean, I know you're the football, basketball, and baseball star. I think your best bet is getting into a school with your athletic talents and-."

"No," Finn interrupts gently. "I-I don't want to be a professional sports player. Sure I play sports in school, but it's not me."

"Well, what is… you?" She lifts her hands in question, a serious look of curiosity on her face.

He always liked that about Ms. Pillsbury; she wasn't a very experienced educator, but she was definitely a welcoming and inspirable woman. She knew what she was doing when it came in listening to kids.

"I don't know…" He trails off, his cheeks burning red.

He really didn't. Well, he was afraid to admit what he wanted. He didn't want to be branded as a geek who wanted to… who wanted to do what he thought he wanted to do. Maybe he didn't even want to do that. Maybe he's just being crazy.

"You're thinking about something," She narrows her eyes. "Spill."

He lets out a loud sigh and squeezes his eyes shut.

"Nah… I mean… I wouldn't be able to do it-."

"Finn! Don't ever say that you wouldn't be able to do something! If you try hard enough, anything is possible. Now tell me what you want to do."

"I want to teach."

His eyes remained shut and he thinks that an hour passed by before she says something.

"Well… like teach what?"

"School stuff," He opens his eyes and shrugs. "Like… a music teacher."

There. He finally said it. He finally admitted to wanting to be a teacher, and of all things a music teacher. He was pretty much asking for death here, wasn't he? Seriously? Who becomes a teacher? That's just… wack.

But if he were to be honest with himself… he loved the idea. Of inspiring kids to do well in school like his own teachers have done for him? That's absolutely amazing. Like, sure he wasn't great a school, but his teachers definitely pushed him enough to want to get out of this shitty town. And look at Ms. Pillsbury! She just told him that he could do anything. That felt really good, too. He wants to make kids feel as good as he does. You know, when he's old and has to get a serious job and stuff.

"That's… that's amazing," She lets out a shaky laugh. "I would have never guessed! Well, we have many options for you then. You can go to pretty much any university to get your teaching license."

She gets up from her chair and walks over to her filing cabinet with all her college stuff in it. After a few minutes, she comes back with multiple packets of information.

"We have many options in Ohio for you. But I also threw in a few out of state applications. Like in New York," She looks pointedly at him.

He nods his head in understanding. She knows that he doesn't want Rachel to leave without him.

"Anyways," A smile, "I think this is it. But you need to hurry. Deadlines are in four days. I don't want to get your hopes up… but I think you'll get in to the school you want to. You may not have the best grade point average, but you have excellent recognition in the community and in the school with extra-curricular courses. Good luck, Finn. I will be looking forward to seeing your results."

He smiles brightly and stands up, feeling the rise of hope in his chest. Walking to the door, he stops when he hears her voice again.

"Finn," Ms. Pillsbury gently calls him.

He looks over his shoulder to see her.

"You'll be a great teacher."

His entire being explodes in happiness at the thought that she seriously thinks that. She's a teacher herself! That's got to be a good sign.

"Thanks," Finn breathes out before leaving her office with great pep in his step.

All he needed to do now was get into a New York college.

Easy peasy.

Apparently 'easy peasy' wasn't exactly the best thing to say. Because when he got two letters back from NYU and CUNY- Staten Island denying acceptance in a very polite and collected manner, he had a feeling that this wasn't going to happen for him.

He had avoided Rachel for at least a week now and tried to block her completely from his mind. Clearly that wasn't possible, but he needed to try to focus on getting into a school in New York. By the looks of it, it wasn't happening. After that priority came the part where he needed to get into a school in general before Rachel found out. She would be so, so disappointed in him if he ended up being a full time worker at Burt's Tire Shop.

He was sitting in his room, playing COD to express his frustration, and moping like crazy when his bedroom door bursts open.

He jumps up into a sitting position, for he had stretched out to be extra lazy while he played, and jerked his head towards the door to see the intruder, expecting to see his mother or Kurt telling him to come down to eat dinner or something. However, it wasn't either of those people.

He said her name before he processed anything else; the fact that his room smelt like dirty socks and moldy pizza, or that his only pieces of clothing are his sleepy shirt and boxers.

"Rachel," The name falls from his lips.

Suddenly everything registers and his eyes widen.

"Rachel! What are you doing here?"

He jumps up, trying to cover himself.

Rachel rolls her eyes, "Oh please, like I haven't seen you in your boxers before. Like I haven't seen you naked before."

He realizes that she's seen him in his boxers tons of times (okay, she saw his manhood various times over the years too because apparently they both have really bad timing and no limits as to when or when not to open a closed door) and shrugs before dropping back into bed.

"What's wrong with you?" She questions seriously, crossing her arms in front of her practically nonexistent chest, something she had been always insecure about which is exactly why she crosses her arms in front of her chest so much.

"I mean, look at Santana. She's just... she's got really large breasts and-."

"Yeah she does," Finn's dopey smile spreads across his face.

"And she gets reactions like yours for instance from guys all the time. While on the other hand, I'm positive you and Puckerman are the only two boys who have ever shown interest in me. And you only show friendly interest. And Puck... well, he doesn't count because he hits on anybody," She vents.

"Rachel, your boobs are cool," He shrugs, his thirteen year old self not knowing much censorship.

"What?" Rachel giggles, looking at him with wide eyes. She secretly hoped he was being serious though.

"Yeah. I mean, I stare at them all the time when we play board games or you make us study and stuff."

A smile is on her face, one that's grateful to have him in her life. He smiles himself, glad that he said the right thing. But a few seconds pass and Rachel finally gets some sense back before slapping Finn across the face.

"Don't stare at my chest, pervert!" Rachel screeched.

He remembered all random moments with Rachel. He remembered all moments with Rachel in general because she was awesome. He never wanted to forget them. After a few minutes pass, he snaps back to reality and finally speaks up.

"What do you mean?" He mumbles.

Scoffing loudly, she plops down next to him on the bed, stretching out on her back so she was lying along the width of the bed. He remains sitting upright for at least another minute, but she scoffs again and he lies on his own back so he was parallel to her.

"You've been avoiding me for a while now," She sadly says.

"Noooo."

"Yeaaaah," She copies. "I just… I'll be leaving so soon and… it hurts that you don't want to spend time with me."

This makes him snap back to reality.

"What?" Finn turns his head to look at her. Her eyes were fixated on his ceiling and he felt like a total douche bag because she totally had her 'about to cry' face on.

"Hey," He moves on, turning over on his side and placing a hand on her cheek to make her look at him. "I'm not avoiding you."

"Sure feels like it," She laughs, something she always does when she's upset and isn't comfortable. That makes him feel even worse.

"I'd never avoid you. It's just… I need to figure some things out for myself."

"What do you need to figure out?" She questions curiously with concern.

He sighs and shakes his head, "You'll be mad."

"You're not dating Quinn Fabray again, are you?" She gasps.

He chuckles. Rachel hated Quinn Fabray.

"No. It's about college."

"What about it? You're going to OSU?" Her voice sounds fabricated.

"No I'm not."

There. Now she knows that he lied to her.

And when she nods her head and says, "I know you aren't," in the softest voice ever, a very understanding tone, he has a feeling that she just might be okay with this.