This was just a drabble I wrote on tumblr for Abbey (itllberomantic) but people wanted a second part so I just figured I'd post it here as well. Enjoy!

It wasn't planned. Not even in the slightest. If there was a way to change how she was feeling, she would. But every time their eyes connected, every time he said her name, she melted. Her knees would go weak and a blush would form on her skin. She was always his favorite student and she knew it. Then again, he never really did anything to hide it – always helping her, praising her, giving her the solos even when she wouldn't request them. He told her time and time again how amazing she was, how perfect her vocals were. At first Rachel thought it was just a simple crush, a little infatuation that she had that would soon go away. But as they spent more and more time together, working on set lists and preparing for their latest school musical 'Grease', she knew it was going to be something more.

A small part of her thought that he had a small thing for her too because sometimes when they were alone, he'd make little remarks; brush his fingers against a part of her body. It drove her insane as she tried to think of why'd he'd do all that, why he'd pick her when there were so many other girls in the school so much prettier than her.

Normally, Rachel spent nights at home doing homework and preparing her solo for the weeks assignment but since she has her audition for NYADA in a week, she wanted to get as much practice in as possible and what better place than the school auditorium to perfect it? Mr. Hudson surprised her at first. She wasn't aware that anyone else had been in the school. He had given her a spare key to the space if she promised to only use it when she wanted to practice.

A clap echoed throughout the large space causing her eyes to grow wide. Her heart was pounding, almost like it was about to come completely out of her chest. Squinting, she noticed a tall figure standing towards the back. Placing her balled up fists on her hips, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"You should never sneak up on someone like that, Mr. Hudson. It could cause you bodily harm." She said in a sharp tone. He must of known that if he had been closer, she would have probably swung and punched him or even kicked him where it'd hurt.

"Ah but you see Miss Berry, I'm all the way down here while you're all the way up there. So therefore I'm safe." Came his easy response. She could practically hear his smile, a small one forming on her own.

"Fair point well made."

Rachel watched as she made his way towards the stage, running his hand over each seat as he passed.

"You know, I remember when I went to high school here. The number of songs, musicals, performances, I've done in this place astounds me. In case you didn't already know by the trophies, I was part of the team that took it's very first nationals in God knows how long. I also helped the football team win it's championship game. The big man on campus. That was me, who I was."

When he stopped talking, Rachel looked at him with a confused expression. Was that all he was going to say because she was seriously lost. Was he trying to tell her something or was he just reminiscing? Once he reached the stage and walked up the steps, Rachel looked up at him, taking a few small steps towards him.

"Mr. Hudson, I don't understand?"

"It's just, all of it goes by so fast, ya know? Like prom is Saturday, then there's Spring Break and as soon as you get back, you'll be preparing to Nationals and graduation. So I guess I wanted to tell you to remember to stop and take it all in every once and a while. I know how you can be, I've seen you in Glee. You go a million miles an hour when you should just sit back and enjoy the ride. The real world and college aren't going anywhere."

After convincing him to watch her performance one last time, the two made their way out towards the parking lot. But in the hall, Finn stopped, causing Rachel to turn around and face him.

"Mr. Hudson?" She asked, quirking her head to the side as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"Will I be seeing you at prom, Rachel? I'm chaperoning this year, gotta make sure coach Sylvester doesn't kill anyone."

His question surprised her. Opening her mouth, she quickly closed it again as she tried to think of what to say. Why was he asking her this?

"Actually, I'm not going. I don't have a date and I refuse to go alone. It doesn't matter how many time Kurt asks me, I won't budge on that."

"Really? Isn't there a guy you'd like to go with?"

And again his question surprised her. Taking a minute, she pictured in her head what it'd be like to have been in high school at the same time as her teacher. Picturing them at their senior prom, dancing below the dimmed lights, holding each other close. It would have been perfect and it was something she wanted so badly. Too bad she was seventeen and his student.

"There is this one guy I really want to go with. But…he's not available."

Biting her lip, she examined his expression carefully. Sometimes he was hard to read and this was definitely one of those times. He looked a cross between upset and unsure. Like he was trying to put the puzzle pieces together. It took a few minutes before either of them said anything as they stared at one another.

"Well, from my experience, you never know until you ask. He might surprise you."

"So I shouldn't give up hope?" She asked quietly, as she peeked up at him.

"No way," he breathed, "Show him what he's missing out on."

-x-

Hair, check.

Make up. Done.

Nails, perfectly pink.

Dress, beautiful.

Rachel wasn't sure what she was doing but something in the way Mr. Hudson looked at her in that hallway told her that she had to come tonight. Plus, there was no way she was going to miss the way he looked all dressed up. Sure, he wore ties and stuff in school but this was going to be completely different. This was a school dance.

Spinning around, she looked over her reflection with a soft smile. Sometimes it astounded her how Kurt could transform her to look like someone she wasn't. Or maybe she was but deep, deep down. Hearing the doorbell, Rachel took a deep breath and glanced one last time towards herself before grabbing her bag and heading out to the living room.

Her fathers had talked to their friends from work trying to find her a date so that way she wouldn't be going alone. She hated it. Part of her felt like a charity case and that was not alright. But once she got to the bottom of the staircase, she saw her date standing there dressed to the nines, looking up at her like the world around him stopped.

"Hey, Jesse." She said softly with a small smile playing on her lips.

"Wow." He breathed causing Rachel to laugh lightly.

They took a few pictures in front of the fireplace before leaving for the dance. The car ride was awkward and a little tense. Rachel wasn't sure what to say because they never really spoke before except at their respective parents work functions. When the silence became too much, Rachel was happy to see Jesse reach for the radio before turning it on. As the soft music began filling the car, Rachel sang softly to it.

It was only a few moments later that she heard Jesse joining in, just as softly, and their voices blended well together. Smiling, she turned to look at him to see the exact same smile on his face.

"You're good." He said.

"Not so bad yourself, Mr. St. James." Rachel replied before turning her attention to the view in front of her. Before she realized it, they were pulling into the parking lot and Jesse was at her door, helping her out of the car. A sudden on slight of nerves hit her and part of her wanted to stay in the car and hide from the rest of the student body. But Jesse was a good date and he gently pulled her hand into his own as he led her through the passageway of red and white balloons.

Rachel looked around as they continued on their journey to the gym. Everything had been decorated, most with just balloons and glitter but here and there were stars lining the tops of the lockers, making it look like a shooting star in the night sky. With a smile playing on her lips, Rachel pushed through the tinsel that hung from the doorway and made her way inside the gym. Everything was beautiful – for a high school budget.

-x-

Dancing with Jesse was hilirous, Rachel couldn't stop laughing even if she wanted to. He was constantly doing something silly, causing her head to fall backwards as she laughed at him. Just as another slow song came on, Rachel fanned herself and motioned towards the side of the makeshift dance floor. "Thirsty." She called loud enough for him to hear.

With a nod, the two started towards the punch bowl, as Rachell tried to control her laughter. It wasn't until she got there that she remembered why she had come in the first place. Sure, Jesse was being an amazing date, possibly becoming one of her best friends but when she looked up and saw a pair of warm, honey eyes looking down at her, her laughter died on her lips.

"M-Mr. Hudson." She stuttered for a moment, her eyes wide as she took in his appearance. He looked good, incredibly good actually. His suit was dark matched with a dark tie while his shirt was a crisp white. Smiling shyly, she tucked a stray hair behind her ear before looking towards the punch.

"May I?" She asked, gesturing towards the bowl.

When no response came, Rachel looked up to see him starring at her with wide eyes.

"Mr. Hudson?" She whispered quietly.

"Uh, yeah. Right. Sure. Punch." His words came quick causing Rachel's laughter to start again.

Just as she was about to say something, she felt arms wrap tightly around her center. It was abnormal because until now, Jesse hadn't shown any sort of signal that he had romantic feelings towards her.

"I could hear that beautiful laughter from across the room." He said softly before looking towards the man standing before the two. "Ah, you must be the one in change of the drinks." Jesse said before grabbing a cup from Finn's hand.

Rachel looked up at Jesse then to Mr. Hudson as she bit on her lower lip.

"Mr. Hudson, this is my date for the night, Jesse St. James. My father's thought they'd be kind and set this up for me since I was going to be coming alone."

When all he did was stare at the two, Rachel grabbed a glass and began moving away.

"Thank you for the drink, Sir." Her words were soft, almost like velvet as they floated towards him.

-x-

She wasn't sure what she was doing but the look in Mr. Hudson's eyes was making her feel very weird. Every time she'd rest her head against Jesse's chest as they'd dance, all she could picture was it being her teacher. How their height difference would put her head right around the area where she'd be able to hear his heart beating against her ear.

When the DJ mentioned it being the second to last dance of the night, Rachel pulled away from Jesse.

"I'm just going to go freshen up. I'll try and be quick."

And she was. But as she was on her way back towards the gym, she passed the choir room and noticed Mr. Hudson pacing inside before he sat in one of the chair in the front row; her chair. As his fingers ran through his hair, Rachel stepped cautiously into the room – her heels making more noise than she wanted.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Hudson?" She asked before looking out the door and shutting it behind her. Stepping further in the room, she looked over his huge frame practically pulled in on itself. Frowning, she sat next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You look very pretty tonight, Rachel." He spoke so quietly that she almost missed it.

"Thank you." She replied as a deep red blush began forming on her chest before traveling towards her cheeks. "May I ask why you're in here looking like you're about to kick a chair or something?" They were very close, almost to a point where he could probably lose his job. They talked whenever they were alone working on arrangements and sure it was weird at first but he seemed to really care about his students.

"I see you have a date. Looks like the guy you wanted to ask actually surprised you." Came his response. Rachel wasn't sure what to do. Turning towards him, she tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously.

"I didn't ask him. I'm just a pity date because my fathers didn't want me to attend this alone. The person I wanted to ask, he uh, he wouldn't have gone with me. Not that he really could but…"

When Mr. Hudson looked up with wide, confused eyes, Rachel smiled a little sadly and shrugged. "We're just friends. If that. We're forced to see each other when our fathers have these family picnics at work. But this is the first time I've seen him outside of that."

"He really seems to like you."

"I don't think so." She scoffed.

"You don't realize how beautiful you are, do you?" He asked in a soft whisper.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Rachel looked at him with wide eyes as she shook her head. "I'm not – I'm not beautiful, Mr. Hudson. I promise."

"But you are Rachel. You don't understand how much I sometimes wish we were the same age. I would have taken you to this stupid dance even though I hate them. I would have done it to see you smile."

Rachel knew they were entering dangerous territory but there was no way she'd let this conversation end here. Hearing the faint sound of the music playing, she stood and looked down at her favorite teacher.

"May I have this dance?" She asked sweetly, holding her hand out for him. And to her surprise, he laced his finger through hers. As he stood, he pulled Rachel's tiny body up against his own.

As they danced, Rachel refused to look anywhere but his eyes. They were soft, melting, almost and they pulled her in, making her wish that they could be the same age if just for one night. When the next song began to play, she rested her head against his chest, feeling his muscles beneath his shirt. With his cheek resting against her head, Rachel sighed.

"I told you he'd surprise you, Rachel." He breathed.

"You really did, Mr. Hudson." She replied with a smile as she looked up towards him.

"Finn. Just call me Finn, okay?"

"Alright, Finn."

After looking at each other a little while longer, he slowly leaned over and pressed his lips softly against hers.

Teacher of the year, be damned.

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