Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters from Glee or the song "Collide" by Howie Day which inspired this fic. If I did, they would somehow find a way to work this song into the show since I think it's very Finchel appropriate. That being said, let's get on with the show!

She rushed through the stage door mumbling prayers that rehearsal hadn't started on time. She hated being late; Rachel Barbra Berry was an obsessively punctual person and tolerated nothing keeping her from her demanding routine. The mere thought that she would be late because she walked into some giant playing with his IPhone was simply unacceptable.

She dropped her purse on the counter and plopped down in the chair on front of her lighted mirror. She rushed to fix her long brown hair up away from her face; thankful she had at least braided a portion before she left her apartment. Her hands were quick and competent as she secured the braids into a knot with bobby pins and began fixing her face. The makeup needed was a bit over the top, but she had it down to a science. She was spinning off her stool as she shoved her feet into her black character shoes, grabbing her dress and pulling it on as she walked to the stage. She slid to her mark just in time to hear her cast mate hiss at her.

"You're late! I was trying to stall; thankfully St. Jackass was more concerned with his hair and a missing percussionist. It's our final dress rehearsal for God's sake! Where were you?"

"Don't get me started San. I ran into some oaf who barely mumbled an apology." she stage whispered as she fanned her hands in front of her face."Thankfully, I'm skilled at getting ready on the fly. My years of quick changes for dance have definitely paid off."

"Whatever Berry; I just don't want to be here all night tonight ok?" Santana whispered back. "I've gots me a hot date tonight and I hate to keep her waiting."

"Then stop talking and get ready to work Lopez" the curly haired man in the back of the auditorium yelled.

With a roll of her eyes Santana turned her back to the audience and hit her beginning pose.

"From the top people" Jesse yelled from the audience gesturing for the conductor to cue the musicians.

Finn sat in the orchestra pit waiting for to be given the cue to begin. He had gotten to rehearsal a few minutes late, but hey they couldn't start without him, right? Besides it wasn't his fault some munchkin almost mowed him down and sent his music sheets flying from his messenger bag. He stared at the conductor intently, trying to put the incident out of his mind. The conductor gave the cue to begin and Finn began playing the songs which he'd been playing for months.

As he went through the songs he found his mind drifting a bit which was odd. He found himself thinking back to the munchkin that ran into him; she was so tiny but man her legs were endless. She had some braids running throughout her hair which was a weird look, but she had great eyes. Well, what he could see of them before she rolled them as she stormed away was great anyway. Big, brown and expressive; even is she was expressing frustration. He wondered where she was headed in such a rush. Normally when someone runs into you they stop and see if you're ok bit not this munchkin. She just took off again like he hadn't even been there. He hoped he ran into her again just so he could tell her that. He looked up to find the conductor staring at him like he'd grown another head. Finn heard the actor onstage repeat their line; shit he'd missed the cue for the cymbals! Pushing thoughts of the munchkin from his mind he went back to focusing on the music.

Four and a half grueling hours later, Jesse agreed to let the cast leave. Rachel and Santana had just exited the stage when she heard Jesse call her name again.

"Rachel? I was wondering if we could grab dinner tonight; maybe go over some of the blocking that you missed?" Jesse asked while winding his silk scarf around his throat.

"Um, gee Jesse I wish I could but um Santana just got dumped and I promised her a girl night" Rachel quickly pinched Santana before the Latina could protest.

"Hmmm, I thought she had a 'hot date.' Isn't that what I heard earlier?" He tilted his head to the side as he studied the duo.

"Cleary you misheard me. What I said was my hot date broke it off with me and I needed some girl time with Berry." Santana lied coolly, staring at Jesse just waiting for him to question her further. Instead, he righted his head and nodded sharply at them before beginning to walk away. Spinning around one last time, he looked at Rachel and said, "Tomorrow's the show. I wouldn't be late if I were you."

Rachel merely nodded and began dragging Santana away. "Thanks San. I just can't deal with him right now. I still hurt from what he did but I'll never let him see it." She spoke determinedly as they made their way to the lighted mirrors and Rachel began scrubbing her face to clear the makeup.

"Well, maybe if you had put out like Bernadette he would have kept you the lead instead of you being stuck playing her understudy." Santana spoke flippantly even though she seethed on the inside at the thought of Rachel being hurt. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what had upset Rachel more: the fact that Jesse dumped her or that he demoted her to a munchkin in the school's production of Wicked. Either way, Jesse St. Jackass was on Santana's shit list.

"It's fine Santana. It's one production-I'm sure he won't direct any more this year. I'll get the lead in the next one and people will forget that Bernadette ever played Elphaba." With her face clean of makeup and hair unbraided, Rachel had a softer, almost vulnerable, look to her face.

"Whatever. Do I really need to cancel my date for some girl time with you tonight? You sure don't seem to be yourself-you're late, you aren't upset about being a munchkin," Santana broke off as Rachel stared at her appalled.

"Of course not! I merely said that as an excuse to avoid Jesse for the night. I have a date with our couch and 'Funny Girl' tonight; then it's early to bed so I can blow the audience away tomorrow as munchkin number 4." She rolled her eyes and continued, "And I told you why I was late. Some idiot with his Iphone got in my way."

"Ooooh someone dared get in your way when you were coming to rehearsal? I'm sure you gave them quite the lecture." Santana teased as the two made their way out of the auditorium.

"I didn't say a word actually. I was too intent on getting here." Rachel replied. "We're still on for tomorrow right? Cast after party?"

Santana debated for a second but knew Rachel wouldn't go without her and God knew the girl needed some fun. "Sure Berry, it'll be fun. Who knows-maybe you'll even meet someone."

"I'm fine on my own Santana. The last thing I need right now is another boy in my life. Go have fun on your date-but don't stay out all night!" Rachel replied walking backwards to keep Santana in eyesight.

"Yes little mother. I'll see you in the morning." With that Santana walked off, leaving Rachel humming to herself as she walked to their apartment.

"Hey, Kurt? Have you seen my black t-shirt?" Finn yelled as he rummaged through his drawers. "Never mind, I found it." He stuffed the t-shirt in a bag that already contained a pair of balled up jeans and his converse tennis shoes.

"Remind me again why you're taking clothing? The orchestra is required to be in black pants and white shirt, correct?" Kurt said from the doorway as he picked an imaginary speck of lint off his shirt.

"Well yeah, but I promised I'd go to the after party. You're still coming with me right?" Slinging the bag over his shoulder, Finn looked at Kurt as he awaited the response.

"Yes, I'm still coming. I promised both you and Bernadette I'd be there tonight. She's so excited, though she still never did tell me why she got promoted to Elphaba the week before the show." Kurt spoke as he followed Finn through their small two bedroom apartment. "I'm still not sure why you want me there."

"Dude, you know why. She who shall not be named may be there. I might need you to run interference for me man." He rubbed the back of his neck as he reached the door. "I just can't deal with her bat shit craziness right now ok? I gotta go-I was late yesterday and Professor Pascaretti will kill me if I'm late for tonight's sound check."

"Go ahead and go. I'll wait for you after the show and I promise I'll protect you from Ir-"He stopped himself before he finished the name.

"Not another word Kurt. I'll see you after the show." With that Finn walked out the door and began walking across campus to the auditorium.

Rachel was incredibly proud of herself. She had made it through the show-flawlessly of course-without managing to trip or maim Bernadette to steal back the role that was rightfully hers. She was in front of her mirror again, applying a bit of make up to get ready for the party. As she skillfully applied her eye shadow she began conversing with Santana.

"We were great out there tonight. We had such a receptive audience; even if the lead was a bit sharp." Finishing one eye, she moved on to the next. "I'm just hoping she can get it right before the show closes next week."

"Please, Berry cut the crap. You're hoping Professor Herbart heard how bad she was and demands Jesse give you back the role." Santana replied as she shimmied into her dress for the after party.

"Well now, if she heard it and said that who would I be to argue with her?" There was a small smile on Rachel's lips as she thought of Jesse begging her to take the lead role back. "Are you almost ready? I want to get there and hear what everyone else thought of Bern-of the show." Rachel stood and grabbed her purse glancing at herself in the mirror one last time.

"If you could stop staring at yourself for five seconds you'd see I've been ready." Santana spun around so Rachel could see the short, low cut red dress she was wearing. "Now, if you would have let me dress you, you'd be listening to something other than everyone talking about Bernadette. You'd have guys eating out of the palm of your hand."

"For the last time, I like the way I dress." Rachel turned to face Santana. "The polka dots on this dress are very in right now and the navy blue accentuates my coloring. Now can we just go?" She pulled Santana out the door and towards the parking lot of the auditorium. The party was being held at Professor Herbart's house about 20 minutes off campus. They climbed into Rachel's Prius and turned up the radio, singing along to whatever came on. As they pulled into the street Rachel reminded her, "Hey, no ditching me tonight right? We're going to make an appearance but you said you'd leave whenever I was ready right?"

"Party hasn't even started and you're talking about leaving. Live a little! And of course I won't ditch you." Santana was already making her way up the sidewalk to the Professor's house. Rachel might have been short, but her legs were long so she had no problem catching up with Santana. They entered the house together, ready for an evening of fun and gossip.

"Seriously, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing here. I don't even know half of these people." He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at Kurt.

"Come on Finn, I can point out a half dozen people you know. " Kurt scanned the room and spotted a mutual friend of theirs. "Go talk to Naomi, Finn. See her?" He pointed to his left at a small girl by the beverage table. "She's probably looking for Red Bull-go make sure nobody puts anything else in her cup ok?" With that decided, Kurt wandered off to find Bernadette to congratulate her on her performance. She may have been a bit pitchy, but he'd never tell the little diva that.

Finn made his way across the room tossing out a few random, "hey's" as he went. The music playing was tolerable and he found himself tapping his fingers on his thigh as he made his way to Naomi.

"Hey stranger! Looking for the Red Bull?" Finn asked as he pulled the short girl into him for a one armed hug.

"Finn! I didn't see you come in. I found the Red Bull; I was looking for a cup actually. All I can find are these red solo cups." Naomi told him as she returned his embrace. "How are things? The orchestra sounded great tonight."

Finding no other glasses, Finn took a sharpie and wrote her name on a cup adding a smiley face to it. He poured some red bull into it, handing it to her as he nodded at her compliment. "Things are fine. Still student teaching and hoping I'm doing well enough that the district will hire me in the fall."

"Well that's great! And how are things with Kurt? Is he keeping his Ipod turned down so you can study without listening to his show tunes or Barbra?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"He's been great actually. Especially after-well, after she who shall not be named did what she did." Finn rolled his eyes at Naomi, expecting her to chuckle along.

"Finn, her name is Iris. If you can't say her name how can you begin to move on?" Naomi laid her hand on Finn's arm as she gently questioned him.

"I can say it. I just don't want to." He heard the music changing tempo but kept his eyes on Naomi. "It just still kinda hurts you know?" As he finished, he heard the most beautiful laugh. His eyes scanned the room quickly, looking to see who could have made such a sound. He recognized the song playing as Journey's "Faithfully" the second before their eyes met.

Naomi watched in utter fascination. She'd never seen Finn look at anyone like this before. It was like someone had turned the light in his eyes back on. His eyes had been dimmed since his relationship with Iris, but now, he was looking at that girl as if she were everything to him. The funny thing was the laughing girl stopped laughing as soon as her eyes met Finn and she couldn't stop staring either.

"Who is that?" Finn felt like he had been hit by a sledgehammer in the stomach. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl across the room and felt there was something vaguely familiar about her.

"It's Rachel. Rachel Berry? The diva who sings Barbra Streisand for every audition she goes on? The girl your brother can't stand-even though he admits she's insanely talented?" Naomi began to list more facts about Rachel even though Finn had clearly stopped listening.

She couldn't stop staring at the giant across the room. She just felt this weird connection to him and she couldn't bring herself to look away. He looked familiar to her but she just can't quite place him. She spoke to her companion, never breaking eye contact with the man across the room. "Tina? Who's that guy?"

"Which one? There's tons of them here." Tina asked, trying to follow Rachel's gaze. "Faithfully" continued to play, Steve Perry saying something about loving a music man as Tina replied, "That's Finn Hudson. He's the percussionist in the orchestra for the musical. I'm sure you've seen him around at rehearsals."

"Tina, if he's in the pit how would I have seen him? You know I don't look down while performing." Rachel continued her conversation as she and Finn stared at one another. "I must have seen him somewhere else before." She unconsciously bit her lower lip as she pondered where she would have seen him.

"Well the way he's looking at you is a little creepy if you ask me. If he wants to talk to you, why doesn't he just come say hi?" Tina tried to locate Santana in the crowd, intending to get her to come over and monitor the situation.

"Maybe he's just shy. I should go talk to him." Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear asking, "How do I look?"

"A little too easy if you ask me. Play hard to get for once for crying out loud." Tina said rolling her eyes.

"Rachel Berry doesn't play hard to get; Rachel Berry just plays to win." With a smile, Rachel started to take a step forward only to be stopped by Professor Herbart.

"Rachel dear, walk with me. I have something very important I'd like to discuss with you." Not taking no for an answer, the woman began to drag Rachel away as she continued to try and maintain eye contact with Finn.

He started to walk across the room to talk to her but Kurt grabbed his arm.

"Finn. We um, we should probably get going now." Kurt was pulling on Finn's arm frantically trying to get him closer to the door.

"Dude, I can't leave. I gotta talk to her." He turned Kurt so he could see Rachel, who was being dragged away by the vocal professor at the school.

"I see that, but unless you want to deal with her-"Kurt said pointing to the girl who had just walked into the room, "then we need to go. Now."

Finn finally noticed who had walked in. Iris was smiling for the crowd, fingers trailing up and down the length of some guy named Sam's arm. Finn didn't really know Sam all that well, he was in some modeling class with Iris so Finn had pretty much only seen him a handful of times. In his opinion, the guy's lips were too big to be on the face of a model, but Iris had tried to explain that Sam could be a body model-only using his hands, or better yet, his abs. However, Finn couldn't help but smile a bit. Maybe if she was focused on Sam, she'd leave him the hell alone.

His relationship with Iris hadn't always been bad. In fact, it started out great. She was modeling in an art class that Finn had taken one summer just for a filler credit and one thing led to another. Iris posed for the class twice, and by the end of the second class she had Finn's number. She texted him that night asking him on a date and he accepted. The first date went so well, he asked her out on a second. Then a third. By the fourth date, she had given him a monthly calendar, with pictures of her of course, so he could plan their dates accordingly.

But things went down hill after that. Iris was a bit of a control freak and was crazy jealous. She began texting Finn all the time, demanding to know where he was and who he was with. Hell, she had spies on campus that had taken a picture of him and a couple of his friends from the education department. She didn't like him hanging out with Naomi and Kurt so often. The last straw was when she called into the school he was student teaching at and demanding to speak to her husband, screaming at the secretary when she explained that Finn was teaching. The Principal gave him a stern talking to about how his "wife" had treated the staff. Finn broke it off then and there, but it didn't stop the crying phone calls or text messages. He'd blocked her number, but she just changed hers and continued to harass him.

"Shit. You're right. Let me just see if Naomi wants to go too, ok? I don't like leaving her here alone." Finn took off to find Naomi seeing her standing exactly where he had left her moments before.

"Hey. She's here, so um I can't be. Wanna get out of here with Kurt and me?" Finn was hoping she would say yes so he could hear more about Rachel. Unfortunately, it wasn't it the cards.

"No, I'm good. I drove with Melissa tonight so I'm just going to wait and have her take me home when she's ready. I'm having fun anyway." Naomi replied not quite meeting Finn's eyes.

"You sure? Cause we're just going to go chill?" Finn could feel Kurt beginning to pull on his arm again.

"I'm fine-go before she sees you." Naomi pushed him away, laughing at his expression of fake hurt since she wouldn't go with them. "I'll call you tomorrow or something."

"Ok, I'll hold you to it. Night little penguin." He walked away to the sound of her laughing at the use of his nickname for her.

Finn and Kurt raced to the car just as Rachel made her way back to Tina.

"Tina? Where'd he go?"

A/N: There you have it! I know no Finchel yet; but there will be some in chapter two :) The use of the song "Faithfully" is strictly because chasingyellowcarsfaithfully suggested it and the Iris character is based off of someone who once called me mean...