Rachel laughed as she and Kurt left Biology, holding her books in her arms.
"I just don't get it, why are they even considering anyone else for Maria?" He asked as they walked towards his locker.
"Kurt, I know the role was practically made for me but they have to look at other people too. They have to let the other, less talented kids have a go as well. They're considering others for Tony as well despite the fact that you'll obviously get the part." She laughed and leaned up against the locker next to his.
"I guess so, it's stupid though. Everyone knows you'll get it. At least there's no goober babies here." He smiled at her and she laughed, rolling her eyes.
"God, that girl was such a bitch." She shook her head as Kurt shut his locker and they headed towards hers.
"I know! Those looks that she was sending you during Anything You Can Do? Ugh." He replied, smiling as Finn approached the pair.
He smiled back at Kurt and grinned down at Rachel, kissing her quickly. "I've gotta go, Coach wants us spending our free periods in the weight room." He explained and sighed when Rachel pouted.
"But you were going to help me with my audition song." She said, looking up at him sadly. Kurt tried not to laugh as Finn's expression melted.
"I'm really sorry baby, I know you'll kill it. I'll hear it after school, promise." He grinned and kissed her once more before running off towards the weight room.
"You guys are disgusting." Kurt mocked, leaning against the locker next to Rachel's.
"Oh shut up, what was that Finn and I walked in on the other day?" She teased, transferring her books into the metal structure.
"All hands were above the equator!" Kurt defended, raising his hands as if he was surrendering.
"You and your silly rules." She smiled, shaking her head. "You know, just because you're not fully ready doesn't mean you can't do other things."
"Rachel Berry! Is there something you're not telling me?" The diva explained, glaring when Rachel laughed.
"I'm not discussing that with you, Finn's your brother!" She laughed, closing her locker. She looped her hand through his arm and they continued on their way. They had planned to meet Mercedes by her locker to discuss what had been going on and plan their next sleepover.
"I'll just get it off Mercedes when you tell her." He winked and Rachel laughed. They were almost to Mercedes' locker when Rachel stopped dead in her tracks. "Rachel?"
She was staring at something on the other side of the hallway and Kurt followed her line of sight, swearing lightly underneath his breath when he saw who she was looking at. Shelby Corcoran was stood there, exiting Figgins' office with Sugar Motta and her father. The father and daughter were smiling widely, discussing something with the former Vocal Adrenaline coach.
"Hey guys! What's up?" Mercedes walked over, a smile on her face which wavered when she saw Rachel's expression. "Rachel? You okay?"
The touch of Mercedes' hand on her shoulder seemed to jolt Rachel back into reality and she let out a small scream, running away from the pair as fast as she could. They both saw her round the corner into the choir room before looking at each other.
"What was that?" Mercedes asked. Kurt gestured to the scene in front of them and she let out a gasp, looking between the woman and the spot Rachel had vacated.
"You go get Finn, he's in the weight room. I'm going to see if I can calm her down." Kurt ran after his best friend, shouting back to Mercedes who nodded and ran in the opposite direction. As she left, she saw Shelby looking into the choir room with a concerned look on her face.
"FINN! FINN!" She yelled as she burst into the weight room, various boys shrieking loudly.
"Baby, you can't be in here." Shane approached her and she side stepped him.
"It's important. FINN!" She yelled again and the lanky boy rounded the corner, a concerned look on his face.
"What's going on? Mercedes, what are you doing in here?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing.
"It's Rachel. Shelby's back and Rachel saw her in the hallway and she freaked out!" Mercedes explained, trying to catch her breath.
"Oh no. Where is she?" Finn asked, running out of the door.
"Choir room!" Mercedes yelled after him and then realising that she was stood in a weight room filled with boys, swiftly left.
Finn legged it through the halls of McKinley, getting a few weird looks from students and teachers as he ran by. Finally he reached the choir room and his heart broke at the sight in front of him.
Rachel was sat on the risers, curled up in a ball. Her head was ducked so Finn couldn't see her face but he could hear her sobs echoing around the room. Kurt was sat next to her but he wasn't touching her as the last time he'd tried, she'd shunted away from him. The boy looked up as his brother looked in and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Mercedes told you what happened?" Kurt asked quietly as Finn approached them.
"Yeah, she did." He replied, keeping his voice down. He bent down in front of his girlfriend and hesitantly put a hand on her calf, rubbing soothing circle with his thumb.
"F-Finn?" Her head popped up and Finn smiled sadly, despite the anger growing inside him directed towards his girlfriend's biological mother. Rachel's eyes were red and tear tracks mixed with black lines of her makeup down her face.
"Hi baby." He said quietly, moving his hand up to her knee. She looked at him and her bottom lip trembled again.
Quickly, he scooped her into his arms and changed their position so that he was sat on the riser and she was curled up in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and rubbed soothing circles on her back as she cried into his chest, her body shaking with sobs. He simply held her as she cried, rocking her back and forth slightly and kissing her hair when it got particularly bad.
Before Finn knew it, her body had slumped against his and she was fast asleep, completely worn out from all the emotions running through her small body. Kurt gave him a smile and looked at Rachel sympathetically before pulling his phone out. Finn kept her on his lap, stroking her hair soothingly when she hiccupped in her sleep. He knew she was having a bad dream because she was letting out whimpers every so often so he pulled her closer and tried to calm her down.
When he realised that wasn't working, he thought maybe she was too hot in his arms. So he went to lay her down on the risers but when he tried to pull away she whimpered loudly and held on tightly to his t-shirt, still fast asleep. He pulled her back onto his lap and tried to sooth her by kissing her hair which seemed to work.
The bell rang and slowly Glee members began to trail in, smiling at Kurt. They'd scheduled an extra rehearsal today seeing as everyone's free period's coincided.
"Ugh, did Berry's outfits get too much for her that she actually converted back to being a toddler?" Santana asked, glaring at the couple as she stood at the door.
"You're out of the Glee club Santana, go away." Mercedes rolled her eyes as she entered, knocking the girl slightly.
"Geez, just making sure Britts got here alright." The Cheerio rolled her eyes, gesturing to Brittany as she walked through the door.
"Yeah well, nobody wants you here because you're not a team player." Tina glared and the Latina shrugged, walking off.
Finn shook Rachel slightly, trying to wake her up. She whimpered again but her eyes flickered open, gazing sleepily at Finn. He smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. She adjusted to the light and looked around, her eyes widening slightly when she saw that the other Glee members were there.
"I slept through the entire period?" She asked, her eyes wide.
Finn nodded and kissed her hair as Puck walked in. "Whoa! Berry? What happened to you?"
She gasped and reached up to touch her face, the black makeup coming away on her hands. As she turned to ask, four packets of makeup wipes were shoved in front of her face by Tina, Mercedes, Brittany and Kurt. She smiled and took Tina's who was sat closet to her. Still sat on Finn's lap, she carefully removed the lines of black makeup which were running down her face and only moved to place the wipes she'd used in the bin when she'd finished.
"Thank you Tina." She said with a smile as she handed the packet back to the girl. She turned back to the seats to notice that there weren't enough chairs for them all. Finn was already sat on the risers and everyone else had claimed the remaining chairs. "Oh."
"Rachel, take a seat please." Mr Schue stated as he walked into the room, sheet music in hand. She sighed and plopped down next to Finn on the risers, feeling better as he threaded their fingers together.
As their teacher began to rant about the important of emotion behind a song, Finn leaned towards Rachel's ear. "You feeling better?" He whispered, kissing her neck quickly when he finished talking.
She nodded and gave him a small smile, leaning her head on his shoulder. He took this to know that while she was feeling better, she still wasn't back to her normal self who would be concentrating fully on Mr Schue right now and not letting her mind wander.
"Tell you what, it's last period so after Glee's over, we can go grab some sorbet?" He smiled as her face lit up with a smile and she nodded. He chuckled slightly and kissed her hair, chicks are their ice cream.
They spent the rest of Glee holding hands as they watched everyone else present their assignments. The two of them had presented yesterday and had received a standing ovation, of course. When the bell rang, everyone began to leave and Mr Schue signalled the couple over.
"I noticed you weren't quite yourself today Rachel. Is everything alright?" He asked as he stuffed papers into his bag.
"Yeah, everything's fine Mr Schue." She lied, squeezing Finn's hand tightly. He lifted their conjoined hands over her head so that his arm was around her shoulder.
"We'd better go Mr Schue, I promised Rach sorbet." Finn grinned and their teacher smiled at them.
"Have fun." He grinned at the couple and picked up his bag, heading into his office.
The ride to the mall was quiet but comfortable. Rachel sang along to the radio, her voice making Finn smile as he joined in on the songs he knew. When they arrived, he helped her out of the truck and she kissed his cheek in thanks, holding his hand as they walked into the mall.
They headed straight for the food court and then to the sorbet place the mall had. Finn ordered their usual and they headed down a few floors to a fountain that they often sat by. They sat on the rim of the water, Rachel's legs swinging as they didn't quite reach the floor. She grinned as he handed her the pot of strawberry sorbet. If there was one thing that could cheer Rachel up, it was strawberry sorbet. Well, strawberry sorbet and Finn.
"So, do you want to talk about it?" He asked, looking at her sincerely. She sighed and turned to face him.
"I just don't get it. First she tells me that she doesn't want contact with me because she's not ready to be a mom. Then, she adopts the child of two of my friends and now she's back in Lima with Beth, working at my school? It's just all these mixed signals and I don't know what she wants. I don't know whether she now wants to have contact with me or whether she's just toying with my emotions." Rachel ranted, looking down at her lap. She sighed heavily and Finn frowned, her sad face upsetting him.
"Hey, I know it's all really confusing but you're Rachel Berry." He grinned and lifted her head up with his hand. "My confident, ambitious, beautiful girlfriend who knows exactly what she wants and how she's going to get there."
She smiled at him slightly and when he wiggled his eyebrows, she let out a giggle causing Finn's face to light up. As he lifted his plastic spoon to his mouth, her mouth swooped in first, munching on the chocolate sorbet with a smirk on her face.
"Oh, you'll pay for that." He laughed, putting his sorbet down and reaching out to tickle her. She laughed loudly, her giggles attracting the attention of several shoppers. Most smiled at the young couple and continued on their way, smiling to themselves as they thought of their own first loves.
Finally he released her and she gazed up at him, a smile on her face. She rubbed their noses together in an eskimo kiss and he pulled her closer, kissing her lightly on the lips.
"Excuse me but I'm going to have to ask the two of you to separate." They turned to see a security guard stood there, a stern expression on his face. However, before the couple could apologise, an elderly lady approached, looking rather cross.
"Pardon me sir but these two lovely youngsters weren't doing anything wrong. If I were you, I would be concentrated on the turning R rated mess that is happening over by Victoria's Secret." She stated, gesturing to a sophomore couple that Finn and Rachel recognised from school who were heavily making out. His hand was just about to slip underneath her shirt and the security guard stormed off with a huff.
"Thank you." Rachel smiled sweetly at the lady and picked her sorbet back up.
"You're welcome dear. Some people are just ridiculous. I didn't see anything wrong with your display, if it even could be called that. Personally, I was very happy to see such a lovely display of young love. I'm Connie by the way. What are your names?" Connie smiled, looking at Finn and Rachel with a patronising but also nostalgic look.
"Um, I'm Finn Hudson." Finn smiled, awkwardly shifting in his shoes.
"I'm Rachel Berry." Rachel stated confidently, a smile on her face.
"Hiram and Leroy's daughter?" Connie asked, her grin widening at Rachel's nod. "Oh, I haven't seen them in years! Perhaps if they came to temple more often then I would."
"They're very busy, always off on business trips." Rachel explained, trying to defend her fathers.
"Oh, I know dear but it's a pity. Well then, I'll leave you youngsters to your fun." With another kind smile, she left and Rachel and Finn turned to one another, bursting into laughter.
Once they'd calmed down, they finished their sorbet, laughing about the lack of concentration they'd had in Glee. Neither of them could remember what song any of the three performances were.
"Can we go back to your house?" Rachel asked, as they walked towards his truck hand in hand. "My dads are away again and I don't want to be alone."
"Of course, although we could both go back to yours." He grinned, winking at her and she laughed, biting her lip.
"Tomorrow, I promise. It's just, I've missed your mom and I want to let Kurt know that everything's alright." She explained, climbing into the truck.
"Sure baby, although, I'm holding you to that promise." He laughed as he turned the ignition.
Rachel pulled out her phone as Finn drove, smiling when she saw that she had 6 texts. 4 of them were from Kurt.
Rachel, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you ever need to talk Love you diva – K
That woman's just a bitch who doesn't deserve you, you're a star! Love you – K
Give me a call when you've read these, I've got Funny Girl and Mamma Mia if you need a girls night – K
I know you're with Finn but answer your phone diva! – K
She laughed loudly and Finn gave her a look. She shook her head and smilied. "Kurt." She said simply and Finn nodded, knowing what his brother could be like. She dialled his number and he picked up on the first ring.
"Finally! Your phone is for communication, you know that right?" The diva asked and Rachel could hear the exasperation through the phone.
"I'm sorry Kurt, I left my phone in the car while we were in the mall." She explained, smiling as Finn took her free hand in his.
"The mall? You went shopping without me?" He gasped loudly and Rachel rolled her eyes.
"We didn't go shopping. Unlike you, I don't drag my poor boyfriend around every store in the mall." She teased, squeezing Finn's hand with a smile.
"Thank God." Finn muttered under his breath and she giggled slightly, squeezing his hand again.
"I do not drag Blaine around! He likes shopping! Anyway, are you up for girls night?" Kurt asked, the excitement in his voice evident.
"I'm on my way to yours now although I want to talk to Carole and spend some more time with Finn." She explained, grinning as Finn kissed her hair. She put her phone on speaker so that Finn could hear his brother's response.
"Okay, Finn can watch with us! I shall induct him into our posy temporarily in lieu of Mercedes." Kurt proclaimed and Rachel laughed at Finn's face.
"It's an honour bro. We're outside so you can hang up now." Finn laughed, turning the radio off.
"See you in a few!" Kurt's exclaimed and then the line went dead as he hung up.
Rachel checked the other texts only to see that it was just her dads. She quickly replied and hopped out of the truck, walking into the house with a smile on her face. So, maybe there was a few things that could make her feel better.