A/N Hello all. So it's been a while since I've posted a story, but fear not! This is a multi-chapter story - there will be 14 chapters in total - but it is more-or-less complete, so I will be updating weekly.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, and nor do I own this story (well I own the written version), this fanfic is based off a youtube fanvid (which is absolutely amazing, by the way) by courtsgleelove called "Rachel/Finn (Glee) - Dreaming With a Broken Heart" (I have permission from the video maker to use it)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before you read this story, I urge you to watch the video (unless you are on a slow connection, in which case try to get to a fast computer, because it's AWESOME). It truly is a very well made video, hence the reason I felt compelled to put it into words. My advice is to watch it once you have finished reading this chapter. Just go to youtube and add this onto the end of the link: watch?v=AXL7bX7rdeU
-Alphabet
Points of interest:
-takes place just after Regionals
RPOV
It is a Monday.
You are not one to begrudge days, since they do not have personalities, but you have never been partial to Mondays. Today is no exception.
This particular Monday, the Glee Club is called to the choir room during lunch because Mr Schuester has "very important news for all of you". As soon as the lunch bell rings, you pack up your mathematics books and make your way there. You are the first one, as usual, and you take the time to run through possible news that Mr Schuester might have. Mr Schuester has realised the error of his ways and is apologising for not giving any and all solos? Likely. Talent scouts saw you, Rachel Berry, at Regionals and want to offer you a scholarship to Juillard? Possible. The votes from Regionals have been recounted due to an uproar from New Directions fans and you were actually first, meaning that Glee will get another year? Probably not.
You do not have time to consider any more options, however, because the rest of what used to be New Directions has started to trickle in and take their seats. Last to enter the room is your curly-haired Spanish/Glee Club teacher, Mr Schuester, and he has an exponentially large grin on his face. Sitting up straighter in your seat, you fold your hands in your lap and cock your head slightly to the left; what could possibly have Mr Schue in such good spirits when the future of New Directions is non-existent? But you are not left to wonder for long, because Mr Schue opens his mouth, turning to face you all.
"Guys, I had a huge speech planned out to lead up to my news, but I just don't think I can hold it in any longer," he smiles and you lean forwards in your chair. He takes a deep breath and suddenly the words are tumbling from his mouth, "We've got another year."
For a moment there is silence. Then the words begin to sink in and you look around at your compatriots, who are having much the same reaction as you. Most faces are shocked, while some appear slightly suspicious, as though this is all just some ploy to get their hopes up and then crush them cruelly as part of some malicious joke.
"What do you mean we've got another year?" you ask Mr Schue, and the rest of the students look back to Mr Schue expectantly, wondering the same thing.
"We've had funding from a most surprising source, meaning that Principal Figgins has no problem with allowing Glee to continue," he grins madly.
"Um…where is the funding coming from?" Kurt asks softly.
"Coach Sylvester," Mr Schue grins. Then, upon seeing the sceptical looks on most of your faces, adds, "I know, I didn't believe it at first either, but I spoke to her and she claims that she needs Glee around to have something to ridicule! Now I don't care what the reason is, all I care about is that you guys get another chance to prove yourselves. You deserve this."
It's finally starting to sink in, and excitement is bubbling within you. You spin in your chair to see the excited looks on everyone else's faces and suddenly you are throwing yourself at Finn, who is sitting next to you, and embracing him in a fierce hug. You hear laughter around you as Finn's arms wrap around your shoulders and you see others in the club high-fiving, or, like yourself and Finn, hugging, each face sporting a sizable grin.
You are all so wrapped up in your celebrations, that you almost fail to notice the bell that has just started ringing. As you lift your head from your hug with Matt, wondering why lunch ended so quickly, you realise that it is the bell that signifies a lockdown, and after a moment of confusion, Mr Schue runs to the wall opposite you to turn off the lights and shut the door. Spinning on your heel, you find Finn's confused face and you hurry over to him. As you both sit down on the floor, when instructed to do so by Mr Schue, your hand finds his and he wraps his free arm around you.
Hoping that this is just a drill, you try to forget that the school usually runs one drill a year, and that you have already had this year's. The bell has now stopped and you are about to ask Mr Schue if the drill is over, but a loud shout from outside cuts you off. You did not hear what the voice yelled, but it soon comes again, "Come on Les! We have to hide! The cops are at the front fucking door!"
You wonder how long they have been here if the cops have already arrived, but you do not have much time to consider this, because suddenly the door is bursting open and two men are running in. The first thing you are struck by is how young they look - no older than 20 - and you wonder what they are even doing here. But the second things you are struck by are the large guns that each man possesses. You feel the arms around you tighten and look up to see Finn's scared face. You hope that perhaps they have not seen you, since you are all crouched uncomfortably in the darkest corner of the room, but they both stop short as their eye lock onto you all.
"Well what have we here?" one of them, the taller one, smirks, "Hostages?"
"Excellent," the other one grins. When he speaks again, he is addressing you and the rest of the group, "Ok, here's what's going to happen; you don't do anything unless you are specifically told to do so by one of us."
You press yourself harder into Finn and realise that tears are streaming down your face, but you do nothing to stop them, since you're too scared to make any sudden movements. Peering around at those you can see, you notice Kurt and Mercedes also holding hands and see that Kurt's chin is jutting out in an almost stubborn manner, but that his eyes are wide and he seems to be trembling and it occurs to you that he is trying to be strong for Mercedes. Mercedes, like you, has tears on her face and every now and then her body shudders with a soft hiccup. Directly next to you sits Matt. His face looks almost passive and you wonder why he isn't more scared, but then you notice that his hands are clenched tightly into fists and his breathing is soft and erratic. You slowly inch your hand over towards him and the moment your skin comes into contact with his, his eyes flick to you. As you cover his shaking hands with yours, he unclenches the fist and you thread your fingers through his. His eyes meet yours and you give what you hope is a comforting smile. He returns it. Since you are sitting closer to the front of the club, you cannot see anyone else, and so you turn back to Finn.
You don't know where you sit with Finn. He told you at Regionals that he loved you, but was that just in the heat of the moment? Can you even trust him? Looking around again, you realise that this is neither the place nor the time to be considering this. You notice that the two guys are peering out one of the windows and are conversing in low voices. You wonder whether or not they would actually shoot anyone, or if the guns are just for show. You wonder what they are even doing in the school. There is no cache of money for them to steal and they haven't made any demands. You think that perhaps they don't even really know themselves; after all, they do look very young. Suddenly they are walking back towards you and the rest of the group and it's as if they repel oxygen; meaning that the closer they get, the less able you are to breathe. They are heading for someone else - someone you can't see because your head is now determinedly facing forwards and refuses to turn even a little bit - but then you unwittingly let out a half-sob, half-squeak and their heads snap to you.
"You," the taller one jabs his finger at you and the other one wrenches you from Finn's tight grasp, "You look pretty scared. We're gonna show you to the cops, so they know we've got hostages. We're just gonna show you in the window so don't you even think about tryin' anything funny."
You feel like at any moment your knees are going to buckle and you're going to fall to the ground and be unable to get back up, but the guy still has a firm hold on your upper arm and is forcing you forwards, so you go with it. As you are nearing the window, you realise that you can hear sirens and a cacophony of sound that resembles a regular lunchtime in the cafeteria.
"Just...just lift her up," the one next to you says.
"Like...like this?" the one holding you asks as he sweeps you roughly off your feet and into his arms, bridal-style.
"No, are you fucking retarded? In the fucking window, so they can see her!" the first one yells and then you are being lifted higher.
When they hoist you up so that the police officers can see you, you see that the chaotic sounds are due to what must be every officer in Lima (which, admittedly, is not an exceptional amount) running around, setting up a perimeter and trying to get the rest of the school out. You see a lot of them staring directly at you and you realise that they know exactly where the criminals are. This thought, however, does little to ease your fears. One of the officers lifts a megaphone to his mouth and says, "We are willing to listen to your demands! Do not harm the hostage or hostages and we will consider your demands! Failure to comply will not end well for you!"
You think to yourself that the officer has probably never dealt with a hostage situation before, since this last sentence is likely to put the criminals on edge, instead of having the desired effect. You don't think you'd blame him, since this kind of thing isn't common in Lima, except that since you are one of the hostages, you do blame him just a little.
Without warning, the one holding you up seems to lose his footing and you feel yourself falling backwards. You hit the floor hard and the wind is knocked out of you. You hear someone - Finn, you think - shout your name, but then one of the guys points his gun at whoever it was, "Don't move! Don't you fucking move, or I'll shoot her!" and suddenly the gun is pointing at you.
You hear a gunshot and you flinch, but then you realise it was from outside. In the next split second, however, you hear a second gunshot and feel a searing pain in your chest. As you lay, gasping, on the floor, you see the face of the man that shot you and he looks oddly surprised.
"Jesus Christ man, we said we weren't going to shoot anyone! Holy shit man!" the other one is yelling.
Shaking his head slightly, the surprised look is wiped off the shooter's face and he turns to the shorter guy, "Shut up man! Just shut up and let me think!"
But he continues to yell, holding his head with one hand, "You shot her! Are you fucking retarded? Are you insane? Do you realise what - " but suddenly he is cut off when the a second bullet leaves the tall guy's gun and embeds itself firmly in his skull.
Falling to the ground heavily, his gun skitters across the floor, and you don't see where it goes. Your chest is hurting too much for you to think about anything else. You barely even bat an eye when a third gunshot sounds, but you do fear that it has hit Finn. With this fear at the forefront of your mind, you try to yell his name, but it sounds more like a wet gurgle. Opening your eyes, even though you didn't realise they were closed, you see that the tall guy is also lying on the ground, and you wonder what happened. You don't have much time to wonder, however, because suddenly Finn's face looms large over you and all other thoughts leave your mind.
He is pulling you into his lap and you are twisting your hands into the material of his shirt and attempting to pull yourself closer. He cradles your head with an arm and as he props it up, you notice tears running down his face and see that his mouth is moving. Straining your ears, you hear the most horrible sound that you think you will ever hear; he is sobbing. He is brokenly sobbing your name as he gently rocks you, as though you are a small child, "Rach…please, please don't leave me. Come on Rach. Don't leave me Rach."
You try to tell him that you are never going to leave him until the day he orders you away from his side, even though you still aren't sure whether or not he likes you. As in like likes you. But you find yourself unable to talk. As Finn holds you closer, you are able to see your chest and you see that you are absolutely covered in blood and you wonder how the blood spread so quickly. But then a sudden wave of lethargy washes over you and you find it difficult to even keep your eyes open. You feel someone else take your hand and you see Matt through hooded eyes. You aren't sure, but you think you can see tears on his face. Crouched next to him is Mr Schue and you are absolutely sure that you can see tears on his face.
Your vision begins to blur and grow grey around the edges and the more you try to focus, the fuzzier everything gets, until the only thing you can see is Finn's face, which is still directly above yours. You are vaguely aware of an awful metallic taste in your mouth and you try to get rid of it, but then you realise it is blood. You can feel it trickling sickeningly down your chin. As your eyelids grow heavier and your breathing becomes laboured, your eyes find Finn's and you try to smile at him, though you think it comes out as more of a grimace, and you manage to breathe, "Finn…" before your eyes close and you let the darkness consume you.
