This is basically the farthest I've ever gotten with a fic EVER. I have two more chapters already done, so if there is demand, I'll publish those and continue. I love, love, love this pairing and these characters. Everything belongs to Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Fox, whatever. It's not mine.

Tina Cohen-Chang was crying.

Again.

Honestly, she had never been so angry with Michael Robert Chang. She had been overlooked in Glee Club for three years, and the one time she says something about it, she gets lectures from everyone else? Sure, Rachel was a senior, but why didn't anyone give her a chance when they were both underclassmen? Why didn't anyone stick up for her when Rachel threw a fit over 'Tonight'? Why didn't anyone ever acknowledge that they had won sectionals with her as the lead female vocalist this year? No one even noticed when she was gone and she honestly doubted anyone would care. In fact, she didn't think anyone would have cared today if Finn hadn't said anything.

Who did Rachel Berry think she was, talking to her as if she was a silly freshman? Rachel acted as if she, Tina, were being selfish when Tina was one of two (along with Artie) of the original members who had never quit the club. She was honestly tired of it. She never abandoned them to join the Troubletones, even though she was never granted with even being featured in a song, much less getting an entire solo in front of anyone besides the club. Those other girls had nothing to complain about. Santana had soloed at sectionals before, and Mercedes had certainly carried them through some competitions and was always acknowledged as one of the most powerful members of the club. Even Quinn and Sam had gotten to do a duet for sectionals, while her, Kurt, and Artie had never even been considered, despite their loyalty and talent. Even Mike and Puck were hardly recognized for never quitting.

So it was with rage that Tina played piano in the auditorium that day before heading to the mall for costume supplies. It was a mixture of ancient and modern, of classical and original. It probably didn't sound very good, but she just needed to be moving and she needed to get the anger out of her. The only way to do it was music, and she did not feel like singing at the moment. Every song was played with a passion she rarely felt, and the end of each song was met by the beginning of another; there were no breaks.

Finally, Tina gave up. The anger was still deeply rooted, and the music had only alleviated some of the pressure that had been building for literally years. She needed to sing, but she sobbed instead. It seemed as though all of the resentment and anger she'd felt towards the club was being released now; resentment towards Rachel Berry especially, the girl who got everything Tina ever dreamed of, including-.

"You're really good at piano," said a voice from the other end of the stage.

Tina gasped and nearly fell off the bench when she jumped at the noise. She hadn't heard anyone enter, but she had been playing pretty loudly towards the end.

"Thanks," she replied.

"How long have you been playing?" asked Finn.

She looked at the tall boy approaching her and felt a familiar stir in her stomach that she hadn't felt in years.

"About eight years. I started lessons when I was around ten."

He nodded. "I started playing drums around then, too."

"I know." She just stared at him, then finally blurted out, "Why are you here?"

Finn looked around nervously, as if afraid to say why. "Well, I was worried about you. I worry about you a lot, Tina. You know that."

Tina took a deep breath and tried to suppress the memories that were trying to fight there way to the surface of her mind.

"Remember middle school?" he asked her, and she laughed.

"Of course I do." She turned to smile at him and found gazing at her with a small, crooked smile. She blushed and looked down at the keys.

"I don't think I would have gotten through eighth grade without you. I don't think I could have had a better English tutor. I mean, it was kind of embarrassing at first, but then I realized that you're a genius."

She scoffed. "Maybe when I was in seventh grade, but I've been pretty average in high school."

"Don't lie to me. I know for a fact that you're the best writer in this school. Rachel always gets all huffy when you do better than her in AP English since you're a grade below her. I think even Quinn used to talk about it."

"Well, that's English. Unfortunately, you need other things to graduate, and I'm woefully average in everything else."

"Something tells me you're too hard on yourself. It's not like The Brainiacs got to nationals with anyone 'average' on the team."

Tina said nothing to this, unable to form words. The memories were coming back to her now, of the time she and Finn had spent together when she tutored him in English when he was in eighth grade and she was in seventh. Neither of them had been very pleased with the arrangement, but Finn needed help to pass and Tina didn't want to start high school with a record number of detentions under her belt for skipping and insubordination, which is what would have happened if she didn't agree to tutor as an alternative.

"What happened after I left?"

Finn sighed and sat next to her on the piano bench. "Well, Coach Sylvester said something ridiculous that I can't remember, and Mr. Schue was just kind of confused. Artie seemed to agree with you, though." Tina nodded, unsurprised that Artie was on her side. He usually was, despite their somewhat-ugly breakup. "Mike was just really quiet in the corner and Santana was just rambling about how she's been saying for years that Rachel gets too much attention and-."

"Well, it's not like Santana has never had solos before."

"That's what me and Sam said."

Tina turned to him in surprise. "Really? You agree with me?"

"Well, I love Rachel, but anyone who's paid attention for the past few years can see that you've been pretty unappreciated."

"Even Sam agreed?"

"Yeah. He got pretty fired up, actually. Kinda like he was just realizing it. I think a lot of them hadn't realized how long you've been around. Mike and Mercedes were giving Sam some dirty looks, though. I think Mike thinks he's got some competition," he nudged her shoulder and she turned to see him smirking.

"He's ridiculous. He called me selfish," she added, anger welling up inside of her again.

"Well, I wouldn't call it selfish,"

"Then what would you call it?" Tina demanded, beginning to feel her anger threaten to slip from her control.

"Not selfish!" he said hastily. "Just sort of frustrating since it's at a time when there's not really room to move or make amends until next year."

"Why, because Rachel messed up an audition?" Her voice was getting louder and Finn was visibly nervous.

"Well, to be honest, yes." She began to protest, but he cut her off. "Wait, Tina. I'm just saying that even though it's not anyone else's fault that Rachel messed up, why does her future have to be dictated by a bad day? If it wasn't our senior year, and if Rachel wasn't my fiancée, I would tell you to fight for that solo. But that's not the case."

Tina felt tears prickling in her eyes, and she began to feel hot from anger.

"It's not fair," she said, wincing at how childish she sounded. "I've been here since the beginning. I was never worried about being popular or my reputation. I just wanted to sing. That's all I wanted. I gave up on everything, and all I asked was to do the one thing I enjoy and Rachel took that away from me!" She sobbed now, and buried her face in her hands. She felt Finn wrap his arms around her, causing flashbacks of seventh grade to surface.

"Rachel took everything from me," she whispered, so quietly she wasn't even sure she said it.

Finn stopped patting her back and held her away so that he could see her.

"What do you mean, everything?"

Tina mentally scolded herself for letting that slip.

"It's nothing," she said, wiping away her tears and getting up to leave. "I have to go to the mall for fabric."

Finn touched her arm lightly. "Wait. Talk to me. Like you used to,"

Tina looked at him and finally felt the control on her emotions snap.

"Like you care!"

Finn backed away from her, shocked. "Tina, wha-."

"Oh, please, like you haven't ignored me since you passed eighth grade English. Like you didn't just leave me when you got what you needed out of me."

"Tina, please-."

"I told you everything, Finn! I thought you were my friend! And as soon as you got to high school, you just stopped talking to me and focused on football and Quinn Fabray!"

Finn stopped trying to talk and looked down at his shoes.

"And God forbid you acknowledge my existence when I start high school! God forbid you help me out around the school or at least try to stop your friends from throwing slushies in my face! And goodness, God forbid you at least try to become my friend again once you joined Glee!"

He looked up at her and she could see in his eyes that he felt awful. But she couldn't stop now that she'd begun.

"Jesus, Finn, once again, I was there for you. I got so happy when you showed up in Glee rehearsal that day because I thought you were changing. I didn't know you were there for fucking detention!"

"Tina, I tried,"

"How, Finn? How the fuck did you try to be my friend? You've spoken to me about just as much as you've spoken to everyone else!"

"Well, it's a two-way street, Tina!"

Tina stopped, shocked at his outburst. He was standing now, too, and he was staring at her with anger and sadness in his eyes.

"I know that I was an idiot freshman year, okay? I know that I was stupid and mean and vapid. I know that I shouldn't have pushed you away and I should've gone to see you like I used to. And don't even get me started on how much I wish I had tried talking to you sophomore year. But when I started Glee, you could have talked to me, too!"

"Oh, so it's my responsibility to talk to the popular guy? I'm supposed to take the chance of trying to strike up conversation when I could very well be slushied just for trying?"

"No, but it wasn't totally my responsibility either, Tina! Neither of us tried to get back to the way we were! I thought you hated me!"

"I called you every night!" Tina cried, tears escaping and sobs trying to break free. "I sent you e-mails and went to your first football game! And you ignored me! Like you didn't even know me!" She was full on sobbing and sat back down on the piano bench. She remembered that cold day when she'd cheered on Finn in his first game as a McKinley High School freshman. She'd walked up to him after the game, caught his eye, and felt her heart break as he turned away without even a nod or wave of recognition.

There was a very long pause and Tina could almost feel electricity between them from the yelling they'd just done. She looked up at him and saw that he was looking past her to the depths of the stage. He looked very much like he was trying not to cry.

Finally, he croaked, "I'm sorry." He went to sit next to her on the bench and Tina could feel him shaking next to her. There a sob and he said, "I'm sorry, I'm so, so fucking sorry," Now it was Tina's turn to hold him and she couldn't even bring herself to yell at him anymore. She remembered the night before his final English exam.

They had been studying at his house while his mom was on the late shift at the hospital. He was having trouble paying attention until Tina had finally gotten angry with him.

"You need to get a C to pass and graduate!" she'd yelled as he drummed against the table with his fingers. He'd stopped and turned to yell at her, making her jump,

"You think I don't know that? I'm not going to pass! I'm stupid! I'm going to be stuck in middle school forever!" He had then started crying, surprising her. She had held him, just like she was four years later.

"It's okay," she whispered to him now, trying to calm him down. She felt awful, but better, somehow. It was all out there. Well, almost.

"What did you mean, Tina? How did Rachel take everything from you?" He was looking up at her with wet, bloodshot eyes now and Tina knew that she probably looked worse.

"I really liked you, Finn." She whispered, feeling an enormous weight fall off of her as she admitted this secret she had never told anyone. "And I was going to tell you before you started high school, but I got scared. Then you stopped talking to me and you started dating Quinn and I knew I didn't have a chance," she stopped and took a deep breath. Finn was frozen next to her. "Then I found out Rachel and Kurt liked you and I just couldn't stand to even consider that you might want to even be my friend again, much less…more. Not while Rachel was an option and Kurt was one of my only friends."

She didn't dare move or look towards him. Finn's breathing was audibly changed, as though he were trying to make it sound normal. Though she stared at the keys, she could finally see him turn in her peripheral vision. She chanced a look and saw the most heartbreaking look in his eyes. He looked conflicted and confused and, worst of all, incomparably sad.

She turned back to the keys and began to ramble. "Of course, I got over it. I love Mike. I love him a lot and it's very obvious that you love Rachel. You-you asked what I meant, and at the time, I liked you a lot, so it felt like she t-took everything away from me. I don't feel that way anymore, of course, I d-don't imagine you ever did, and w-wow I thought I didn't st-stutter and I must be really nervous to actually be d-doing it-,"

To her immense surprise, Finn had taken her chin in his hand and directed her back towards him. She saw the conflict in his eyes again, but this time, there was something else there. Something like determination.

He leaned down and kissed her.

At first, she gasped and froze. After a moment, however, she gave in and pressed her lips against his, feeling his part slightly at her pressure. His lips were surprisingly soft and definitely powerful. Her seventh-grade-self was cheering inside, while her junior-year-self was freaking out with confusion and anger. He tangled a hand in her hair and she took his face in her hands and all of those voices floated away as she was captured in this moment with Finn and no one else.

It was like feeling her world click together. Where she had felt butterflies with Artie, there were birds of prey fluttering in her stomach, overwhelming her with feeling. Where her heart had beat quickly with Mike, it was now positively, utterly still with shock. She could almost feel Finn's heart beating wildly beneath her hand that was now on his chest. It was beating as if it were beating for both of them.

It seemed as if their bodies were moving of the own accord. Tina moved closer to Finn, straddling the piano bench and roughly pressing her body into him. He moved into the same position and pulled her nearly on top of him so that almost every inch of their bodies were flush together. His neck was still craned down to kiss her and she moved all the way into his lap so that their faces were much closer together. Their kiss was now hungry, both of them gasping for air and Tina's heart now beating absolutely frantically. Now she was pushing his button-down flannel off of his shoulders, unsure what she aiming for but feeling it was necessary nonetheless.

Finn's hand left her hair and began to trace circles on her back, almost dancing across her spine-

Dancing. Mike.

She pulled away violently, almost falling off the piano bench.

"What are we doing? Oh God, what are we doing?"

Finn seemed to wake up, too, and looked horrified.

"Oh shit. Oh fuck, I'm sorry, Tina, oh my God,"

"No, it was both of us-,"

"No, I kissed you,"

"It's okay, it going to be okay," Tina felt awful. She was rambling for real now, and so was Finn, but neither was absorbing what the other was saying. Tina realized she had Finn's shirt in her hand still and threw it at him with a small yelp, as though she were holding a smoking gun. He hurriedly put it back on and spent at least a minute trying to regulate his breathing, which had become rather ragged.

"Are you okay?"

"I have asthma," Finn managed to get out between deep breathes. Tina was shocked.

"What? But you're an athlete, and you sing and stuff,"

"It doesn't make me immobile," he said, a smirk playing at his mouth even through the heavy breathing. Tina was silent as he finally calmed down.

"I must have overwhelmed myself," he said, weakly. "I've never gotten an attack from being excited, but I suppose that wasn't too bad. I didn't need my inhaler. That's what I get for forgetting my Advair today." He let out a dry laugh.

"I never knew."

"Not many people do. Just my coaches and my mom and the school nurse do, I think. I don't even know if Rachel knows…" he trailed off at the mention of his fiancée. "Maybe we should go."

"Yes, we should," Tina nodded and hastily began to make her way to the exit before realizing she had left all of her things behind. She turned on her heel and found Finn a few yards behind her, holding her backpack and sweater. She took them from him, trying to avoid his eyes. She failed and ended up not being able to look away from him.

"'Bye, Finn." She said softly, still looking into his eyes.

"See ya," he managed to get out, even softer than her.

Neither moved for almost a minute. Finally, Tina slowly turned away and walked out of the auditorium and out to the parking lot where her car was parked next to Finn's old truck. Theirs were the only cars in the lost. She quickly got into the driver's seat, throwing her things into the back and turning her key in the ignition roughly. She saw him walk to his own driver's seat, pointedly avoiding looking at her. Giving him one last look, she turned to the pavement and drove away to make Rachel Berry look good.