Prologue: The One With The Two Camps.

i. Can you lie next to her, and confess your love?

September 2010.

It's the rehearsal dinner, but all he can think about is her. By all means, he should be focused on the speeches, the food, the surrounding company – anything. But no, instead, he has this lovely, gorgeous woman in his view and can't stop looking at her.

She catches him a few times. He averts his gaze rapidly each time, but he's sure she smiles a little, despite everything. Kurt is to his left, chin resting on his fist as he gazes at the beautiful bride-to-be. He has to admit, she is looking amazing – how can anyone deny that? She always does though, he concedes silently. His eyes flicker to Kurt again, and he doesn't think that the man is as focused on the dinner as he would like to seem. His eyes are glazed over and he sighs every few moments.

No matter. Finn glances down at the place placed in front of him, impressed even if he doesn't want to be. He's not supposed to want to be here. Or maybe he is supposed to want to be here? Oh, Finn's lost track at this point of all he's supposed to be doing. Nothing feels right... In all honesty, he just wants to leave before he feels further suffocated. A glance around at his friends, who are scattered around the room, provides him with confirmation that none of them want to be here.

Part of him feels sorry for the pending wife and husband to be, but most of him couldn't care less. Which is certainly something for Finn to say, as he's usually very conscientious of people's feelings. She says it's part of why she loves him.

Or why she used to love him. Whatever.

(He cares so much that it hurts to think about.)

Finn is determined not to glance at her again however, and if he does bump into her or talk to her, it's going to be entirely nonchalant. He begins to eat his dinner, and notices that Kurt is still staring into space. Finn nudges him lightly,

"Kurt, wake up. Don't embarass me."

The younger man rolls his eyes, "Like you care. Don't they look so happy?"

Finn doesn't even look at the couple. "No. Not really."

Kurt only tsks and turns to his meal, "Everyone needs to stop acting as if we're at a funeral. We're good at this – pretending all is okay." He then adds hastily, "Because everything is okay."

Finn can remember the last time he was at a rehearsal dinner, and the reminder sends a pang to his heart. He doesn't want to be here. He doesn't feel right here, and on top of that, it drags up memories he had laid to rest. A frown must have been on his face, because Kurt puts a hand on his arm, "It's okay to remember."

He shakes off his hand, "I'm fine." Finn mumbles quieter then, "It was a long time ago."

"It still happened. Anyway, is that really what's going on here, Finn?"

Silence between them as Finn thinks hard about answering. People around him continue to laugh and converse, oblivious to the two and their conversation. He can distantly hear Quinn's tinkling laughter, Rachel's chuckle and Santana's biting wit on a poor, unsuspecting victim.

Kurt sighs, "All this angst is killing me. Oh, finally – excuse me? Could I have a glass of your best champagne. Put it on the couples bill." He smiles widely.

"Why are you punishing them?" Finn asks in interest.

"Oh, Finn, that's not punishing. That's fun." He pats his hand patronisingly. "You failed to answer my question, but it doesn't matter. When my champagne returns I'm off to find someone happy to talk to."

"Thanks. And you mean you're off to get drunk. Don't pretend you're any happier right now."

He holds himself and replies haughtily, "I've no idea what you're talking about, my dear brother. Now, I'll return later when you're a little more pleasant."

Finn exclaims dryly, "Wow, thanks." And shovels a fork of chicken into his mouth as his brother gets his drink and leaves. Left alone, he wonders who he should go talk to or what he should do. He could leave. He doesn't want to hurt her feelings though...

His thoughts are answered for him as Puck grabs Kurt's seat and falls into it, a drink in either hand. Finn reaches for one, but his friend pulls it back, frowning, "Get your own, man. I need these to survive the night."

"Just grow some balls." He replies, irritated. He's sick of Puck's dilemma. It's rare that he's so crass out of the two of them, but not entirely out of character. When Finn gets angry or annoyed, it's not a safe place for anyone.

"Me? I was wondering if I should bring you a box of tissues, you look like you're about to cry all night."

"You're an asshole."

"I've been told." He replies wryly, looking anything but happy. His eyes are roaming around the room constantly, never stopping for a second as they pursue a certain person. She's not in the room anymore though and so Puck looks back at him, "I hate this shit."

Finn contemplates what he's saying for a moment. "Shouldn't we be happy for her? Pretend, at the very least? To my knowledge, she's always been there for us..."

"Shouldn't we be happy for her," Puck mimicks in a tone that is definitely not Finn's. He shoots him a dirty look, and spits a simple, "No." Silence that Finn has become familiar with tonight reigns again, but as usual between the two friends, it's not uncomfortable. Puck pats him on the back then, "Don't jump ship on me now, Hudson."

He doesn't bother with replying and instead his eyes find her again. She's mingling away, in her element, a bright smile painted on her face. He can't help but admire her politeness and how damn sophisticated she can be... Some may argue, but he thinks she's highly sophisticated.

Puck's eyes are also pointedly directed. Finn knows he always thought it would be them, even if the man proclaims forever being a bacheleor – Puck always wanted it with her. Finn can't find it in him to empathise. Not because he doesn't feel sorry for his friend, or think that his friend is entitled to feel as he does or right in feeling that way, but simply because he's given so much emotion already to his own problems that Finn feels he can't give anymore. He's been bled dry.

Seeing her mingle reminds Finn that they are being awfully rude (deep down, he knows that is both their intentions. For what reasons he isn't sure.) and nods to Puck, "Let's go find the others. Not look completely anti-social."

He approaches Santana hesitantly, but Puck takes a completely different route and slaps her on the bum, "Showing enough leg there, Lopez?"

"Quit it, Puckerman. I'm in no mood for you. I'm happy. See? This is what it looks like." She tells him, pointing to her serene smile.

He scoffs, "Bullshit. Where's Brittany, San? Haven't seen her since you-"

"Fuck you, Noah." She spits.

Finn knows it's his time to intervene, "Look, guys, there's no need for all this-"

"Shut up, Finn." It's said in unison, and he holds his hands up in defence quickly. It only takes a second for all of them to laugh. As the night wears on, and the drinks keep coming, he begins to feel relaxed. In the company of Puck and Santana especially, he can easily pretend that they're somewhere else. He's not too sure that they feel he same as him, but Finn doesn't really care anymore. Santana is making a catty remark about the groom's sister and her outfit when Mike approaches, the only one of his friends with a genuine smile on his face, "Hey guys, haven't seen you all night!"

"Well, that wouldn't be hard seeing as you're at the other camp." Santana tells him, looking displeased.

"The other camp?" He repeats slowly in confusion, glancing at the two men for help. Before either of them can give him that though, Santana breezes ahead.

"The other camp. Are you slow now? We've clearly split into two camps here, why else would there be three of us over this side and four of you over that side? Only one missing is the bride and golly gosh, wonder which one she'd pick..."

Mike's eyes flicker between them all, pity radiating as he tells them, "Don't be bitter guys."

Santana swishes her wine around in her glass dangerously, "Go back to your girlfriend." It's not said pleasantly, and Finn wonders what Mike did to warrant this treatment. He certainly has no bone to pick with Mike and doesn't want to create drama between them (though he now has an insatiable need to know what happened between Santana and him.).

"Drink later?" He asks his friend, letting it be known that they have no problem between them.

Mike pauses, as if thinking about whether or not to say yes – which baffles Finn – and then nods. "Sure."

Puck only nods in agreement, and as Mike walks away, Santana curses in Spanish, "You two are useless. Not a brain between you – traitors. I could have used some morale support!"

He shrugs, "I've no beef with Mike."

She throws her hands up in the air, spilling wine on the ground but ignoring it. "Unbelievable."

Puck winks at her, "Thanks babe." Some things never change.

It's late. Finn knows for a fact that rehersal dinners are not supposed to go on this long, but they've always been up for a party and a few drinks. It's good that there's still quite a few people left though, because he doesn't think he has the courage to talk to the 'other camp'. Kurt came back to him a while ago complaining about something or other (Finn wasn't listening) and then left again.

There's an atmosphere that's not supposed to be there at a wedding rehearsal. Friends are supposed to laugh and rejoice, regaling great tales of their friends escapades before they settled down and poking fun at whatever they can. They were supposed to all be sitting together, happy and content, wishing the bride and groom their genuine desires of a happy life for them. Finn just can't get on board with all of it though, and it seems none of his other friends can either. He wants to be more supportive, but all it stands for, all he has and had to give up is simply too much. He has anger; too much anger and it needs to be exercised.

There's an anger among all of them. A resentment, a bitterness that he's worried won't be resolved – he's sure he's not going to be the one to resolve things again. He hasn't got in him, but then, who does? Maybe Finn has to take one for the team again. These people are his best friends, and have been for many years now.

Part of him is ashamed of how he's acting. His friends are getting married, and yet, he can't even muster up a facade of approval or happiness. He should be putting their happiness first but it seems an impossible task. There's too much telling him to go the other way, too much rebelling against everything that couple stands for and everything that has been left broken in their wake. (It's not quite through fault of their own, but that doesn't matter, because Finn associates the trouble with them and out of his sheer, stupid stubbornness refuses to back down. It's not hard with the support he gets from Puck.)

He's sitting at the bar alone, wondering when he lost everyone, when one of his friends approach him.

Or, at least, Finn thought they were approaching him. However, it's clear that he's not in their plans as they get up onto the counter and tap their glass loudly. Finn's eyes widen, and he tugs on their leg urgently, "What are you doing?" He whispers frantically.

A hand swats him away. He'll never forget what happens next. Standing straight, chin held high, they begin to speak. They wobble slightly on the narrow counter, and he's worried they'll fall. They've had a few too many, but despite that, his friends mouth opens and with a voice clear, loud and percise it rings out in the room, "This wedding, is a sham."

Finn sinks back against his chair. Ok, so he wasn't expecting that.

(Sadly, most things do change.)

Alritey, so this is my new saga. A bit of an epic, if you will. I've over 80 pages written already and truly enjoy writing it so no chance of abandonment! And updates will obviously be quick seeing as I've so much written already.

The story will start about a year before this – I'll have better idea when posting the next chapter later today - and yes, it is based around the tv show Friends. However, unlike many other stories based on it, mine will not follow the storylines of Friends and stick to certain couples. Most ships will have moments, and I hope to keep you guessing on endgame ships. I've decided on some of them, but not all! There's a lot of characters to juggle, too: eight.. I hope this isn't a problem for you, I think I've handled it well, and really hope you enjoy it. There's a poll on my page for those of you who would like a say in the endgame couples.

Don't own glee, friends or Mumford and Sons "White Blank page." Yeah, I'll have two chapter titles, one from alike friends, and then one as a lyric. The lyric is just for funsies, the real chapter title and one ill refer to is the friends one.

All good?

Oh, and how Finn is the centre here? That rotates all the time and he is most definitely not the main characters. They're all main characters, though due to inevitable favouritism, some may get more storyline than others. I'm pretty sure it's mostly balanced though!

Any questions, feel free to ask. (No, ANs wont usually be this long.. haha) Reviews are MUCH LOVED :D

Thanks,

xCNx.