a/n: finchel. well, it normally isn't what i go for, but my one main point of interest is the whole rachel-going-to-nyc and finn-staying-in-ohio thing. i just find it quite cool to write, and what can i say? i was inspired! i wrote this sitting by the most beautiful lake, staring at these huge mountains and listening to darren criss. my life was complete. please, please review and tell me what you thought? :)

disclaimer: i don't own glee, finn, rachel, or kurt. i wish i did.

spoilers: not many, really, just 2.22 (New York) for rach wanting to go to new york and finn staying in ohio.

dedication: written for, and inspired by, my brother, who spent the entirety of our summer holidays catching grasshoppers in rural france.

i remember a time

{long ago}

school was out

and it was the kind of summer that seems to

stretch on f o r e v e r

.:the grass was parched, yellow:.

(before the Emerald Dreams guy)

&&Mom h a d to work&&

so i spent the entire holidays

-squatting in the front yard-

c a t c h i n g grasshoppers

.o0o.

sometimes, down-time at the garage

[when i'm not busy]

i t h i n k of you, and i t h i n k that you're

not so d i f f e r e n t

from those greenyellowbrown grasshoppers

(even though you'd get offended at that)

there was a technique to catching them, see.

.o0o.

you had to creep up quietly

close your hands over them

cradle them gently

and for a while, they'd be s t i l l inside your hands

{enjoying the ride}

but then they'd get r e s t l e s s

{jumping around eagerly}

(trying to find a way out)

.:and you had to open your hands:.

and let them fly away.

.o0o.

^when kurt comes home for christmas^

i ask a f t e r you, and he looks at me like i'm

d a f t

(which i normally am, but not about this)

'are you c r a z y, finn? g o after her!'

{but it's not that easy, is it?}

i don't b e l o n g in new york,

you don't b e l o n g in ohio

you're a s t a r

i'm just that guy fixing cars and getting n o w h e r e

and it hurts less if i don't come to visit

.:so maybe:.

(just like with those grasshoppers when i was seven years old)

i h a v e to

open up

and let you

fly away.