Title: Taps
Author: timbereads
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, Glee isn't mine, not even Mr. Schu
Spoilers: For the pilot
Author's Note: This started out as a fic for a COMPLETELY different idea, something much seedier, but the first line was not a seedy line. I like this anyway. Anyway, a Rachel/Finn drabble and sort of a character study of Rachel.
One of her favorite sounds is the tip tap of heeled shoes on a freshly polished stage. She likes to incorporate that sound into every dance she choreographs, just to hear that patter across the floor.
"One two three four, tap tap tap tap. Jump spin tap snap slide tap drop." She turns expectantly to her peers with a flourish, as if to say, "ta-dah!" Their less-than-impressed silence is disappointing, but not unexpected. Her talent was wasted in the middle of Podunk, Ohio.
"Oh come on, guys! It's not that hard," she sighs as she brushes the hair from her face.
"I don't think it's the difficulty any of us are having a problem with," Mercedes snorts. "Will someone please get Ms. Fosse off our stage?"
"Bob Fosse's name should never be taken in vain!" she strains. Mr. Schuester steps up from his position in the audience.
"I think Mercedes might be right, Rachel." He holds up a hand to stop her onslaught of protest. "It's too…professional, I suppose. We need fresh, new dance moves. You understand?" She huffs and slumps into a seat in the first row.
Mr. Schuester slides off his shoes and demonstrates his ideas. The rest of the group enjoys the moves, but she refuses to acknowledge his tap-less dance. Without the tap-tap-tap of shoes on the stage, there is no dance. Tip tap tip tap, the rhythm of life goes tip tap. No one appreciates sound anymore.
She packs her bag and slips quietly out of the back of the theatre. Her steps echo through the halls, just the way she likes it, but not quite right. School hallways and auditoriums are not the same, she decides. The lights are dimmed and the waxed floors reflect the sunlight glinting in from the gym doors at the far end of the corridor. Her bag weighs heavy on her shoulders, full of extra books to keep her busy for a weekend alone in her room, with only her music and the scratching and tapping of the trees against her window to keep her company.
That's okay. She is used to alone.
She immediately notices when her footsteps are joined by another pair. Their taps mingle and mix as they bounce off the cement walls; she does not look over her shoulder, because she wants to keep an air of mystery. Also, she thinks she may have stumbled into a horror movie. But mostly the mystery thing.
She hears the tap of his hand before she feels it on the small of her back. Raising one eyebrow, she turns to look at him.
Finn glances down at his feet. He cannot meet her eyes for a moment, but when he does, she likes the gold flecks that mar the otherwise pristine green.
"Yes," she says finally, as if she had places to be. She doesn't.
"I…I just wanted to say that…um. I liked your dance better too. It sounded much nicer. One two three four, tap tap tap tap. I like that."
She couldn't help but grin. The heat of his hand on her back matches the heat on the back of her neck from a shy blush but she doesn't mind if he sees. He ducks his head again, smiles one more time then turns and jogs back to the auditorium.
Tap tap tap, the rhythm of life. The sound of sneakers echoing as they run from a smiling girl. The sound of the girl's heart in her chest. Tap tap tap.
One two three four, tap tap tap tap.