You were in college working part time waiting tables I say can you believe it?
Left a small town, never looked back
I was a flight risk with a fear of falling
Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts
As we're lying on the couch
the moment I could see it
Yes, yes, I can see it now
July 1st, 2012.
Rachel Berry stared out of the window of one of the many starbucks in NYC as she wondered just what her next move would be. Since she was 3, she knew the only thing she wanted to do with her life was live in New York and be on Broadway, playing roles of characters she's grown up to love. Only a week after she finished school at McKinley High, she had everything packed and ready to go in her bedazzled suitcases and gold star boxes. (No-one believed her when she said a bedazzled suitcase was possible, and being Rachel Barbra Berry, she was determined to prove them wrong.) It's not that she didn't love Ohio, she was just eager to follow her dreams. Now she was finally in the big city, she realised just how difficult it may be.
When Rachel heard singing from across the room she slowly turned her head to see a tall, awkward waiter quietly singing the Rick Springfield classic "Jessie's Girl" as he walked towards Rachel with her Latte. She quickly turned around and went in to her bag to get her Wicked book, so it looked as though she hadn't been staring. When the boy, who Rachel had realised was actually pretty cute, reached her table and placed the drink down for her their eyes met and to Rachel, she could feel the chemistry instantly. She just smiled and lowered her head.
"Thank you...uh... Sorry I don't know your name. Shouldn't you be wearing a name tag or something?" The boy just smiled. Wow he was so cute. "My name's Finn. Yeah... I may or may not have misplaced it..." "Well Finn, thank you for my Latte. May I also say, and I hope this doesn't sound too strange, that I heard you singing as you walked over here, you're really talented." The way Finn smiled almost made her heart stop. It was like he was hearing that for the first time. Why wouldn't anyone tell him how great a singer he was? "I.. didn't mean for anyone to hear me... I've never been one for singing in front of people. But thank you... sorry, I didn't catch your name." Rachel now couldn't stop smiling. Could this be the start of something? She didn't know. But she hoped so. "You really should think about singing in front of people, Finn. Like I said before, you're really talented and, I'm Rachel Berry." "Well Rachel Berry, I have to get back to work now, but I'm finished in an hour or so, maybe you'd like to go for a walk or something?" After Finn said that, Rachel was sure this was the start of something special. "I'd love to."
After she'd finished her latte, she left her number with Finn and went to her new apartment to get a jumpstart on packing as she started school at a performing arts college in 2 weeks and she was nowhere near ready. However, the second she got in the door, she leaned against it, sat down and screamed and smiled. She'd never met someone like Finn before, I mean he wasn't the kind of person Rachel would usually date but she really felt something between them. After their date walking around central park it felt as though they'd known each other their whole lives. Rachel learned that Finn had always wanted to perform, but was afraid of what people would think. More so, he didn't want to disappoint his parents who had always seen him as the football player, not the singer. At this point, Rachel stopped him, took his hands and said "Look Finn, you should never be afraid to follow your heart and do what you want. If you want to become a performer, nothing should stop you and if your parents love you, they'll support your decisions." Finn leaned down and hugged her which made Rachel's heart skip a beat. "Thanks Rachel." As they pulled away from each other they just stared in to eacothers eyes. Finn slowly edged towards Rachel and she wondered if what was happening was even real. She closed her eyes and hoped that it wasn't. He placed a small kiss on her lips that made Rachel go weak at the knees. When she opened her eyes he was looking at her and smiling. "Best date ever" she smiled.
Over the next few weeks the two of them were inseparable. Whenever he wasn't working and she wasn't at school, they'd be together, either Finn would be helping Rachel decorate her new apartment or Rachel would be giving Finn singing lessons or helping him find some night classes Finn could take to help him gain his confidence and maybe singing in front of people more. They also spent hours watching old movies after Finn told Rachel he'd never seen the sound of music before. Even though when they did watch it they fell asleep on each other's shoulders. Lying on the couch, Rachel woke up and said in a whisper "this is the start of something special."
Do you remember we were sitting there by the water? Flash forward and we're taking on the world together
You put your arm around me for the first time
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
And there's a drawer of my things at your place
You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded
You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes
January 1st, 2013.
Finn and Rachel had only been together 6 months and yet it felt like they were both completely new people. Finn had gained so much more confidence and had even sung in front of Rachel's entire college class when she needed a duet partner and Finn wasn't having her singing with anyone other than him. So they sung one of journey's most romantic duets "faithfully" and the way their voices blended together was perfect. Rachel shed a tear at the end of it and she was sure she saw a tear forming in Finn's eye which only made her smile even more. It was official. Rachel Barbra Berry was in love with Finn Hudson. Even better, it looked like he loved him too.
For their 6 month anniversary, Finn planned something for them to do and he said he had something important to tell her. This all made Rachel really nervous, and that wasn't something she was used to. Rachel had never been this happy before, she didn't want it to end. Ever. Of course, knowing Rachel, the way she knew to make sure that didn't happen? To tell Finn she loved him. Rachel was so nervous that she spent about 2 hours finding the perfect outfit. When Finn came to pick her up at 7, she had found the perfect little white dress and her signature gold star necklace (gold stars were kind of her thing.) When Finn answered the door he had on the cutest black tux and suddenly, Rachel felt at ease again. It was impossible for her to be anything but happy when she was with him.
"Wow, Rach. You look amazing." Rach. He called her Rach. She'd never had a nickname before. Then again, she'd never gotten close enough to anyone to think about things like that as in high school she was always the one people called a diva and kept away from her because of her "crazy" which whenever she thought about it, brought a tear to her eye. However, she was with Finn now, and nothing else mattered. "Thanks Finn, you look rather amazing too." She smiled as Finn placed a small kiss on Rachel's lips which even after 6 months, still made her weak at the knees. "So where are we going?" Rachel asked as they were walking to Finn's car. "I can't tell you Rach, it's a surprise." "You know I hate surprises, Finn." Although, he was sure she wouldn't hate this one.
The whole of the car ride to their destination Rachel was guessing where they could be going "For the 10th time babe, we're not going to see Wicked." Rachel seemed slightly offended with the way Finn worded it but because he called her "babe" she forgot everything else. When they finally arrived, Finn put his hands over Rachel's eyes so she had no idea what was going on. "Just trust me Rach, okay?" Instead of fighting, Rachel just nodded and followed Finn's lead. When he pulled his hands away, Rachel was speechless. He had taken Rachel to the classiest restaurant in town, and had personally asked to have their table cornered away from everyone else just so they could spend it alone. Their table was lit with candles and Finn even found ones with gold stars. Everything was perfect. "Finn... I... It's perfect" she pulled his tie down so she could kiss him with more passion that she ever had. Finn was in no way complaining. "I love you Finn." She let go of his tie and just stood and waited for him to say something. She shouldn't have said anything. After Finn had processed it all he smiled and kissed her forehead. "I love you too Rach." It was official; Rachel never wanted to let Finn go. She was going to do anything in her way to make sure she never had to live without him.
He took her hand and lead her to the table and after they had enjoyed their perfect meal, Finn took Rachel's hand and she suddenly felt nervous again. "Look Rach, I know we've only been dating for 6 months but I feel like you've made me a better person. Before I met you, I was just the coffee guy who was afraid to sing out of his room. When I first saw you, I knew there was something special about you. I mean, I don't think I've ever met anyone with a bedazzled purse before... hell, I didn't know what bedazzled meant before I met you. Anyway, since being with you, I've changed so much for the better. You're courage and determination has inspired me to be better. Singing with you gives me the most amazing feeling ever, it's like we were meant to find each other. I love you Rachel Barbra Berry." Rachel has tears streaming down her face and as Finn pulled out a box from her pocket, she gasped. "I never want to lose you Rachel. So... Will you marry me? I know not right now because we're still young and everything, but just ..." Finn was cut off by Rachel's lips crashing on to his. When she pulled away Finn wiped the tears off her face. "I love you so much, Finn. Of course I will." And then Rachel Berry saw something she never thought she would see. A single tear shed by one Finn Hudson.
But we got bills to pay Do you remember we were sitting there by the water? Do you remember all the city lights on the water?
We got nothing figured out
When it was hard to take
Yes, yes, this is what I thought about
You put your arm around me for the first time
you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
you are the best thing that's ever been mine
You saw me start to believe for the first time
you made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
you are the best thing that's ever been mine
In Rachel's eyes, her life couldn't get any better. She was officially engaged to Finn and he was moving out of his parent's house, and in with Rachel. It was as though nothing could bring her down anymore. Rachel's fathers Hiram and Leroy had decided that as a present for her getting straight A's all though high school, that they would pay the rent for her apartment for the first 6 months of her living in NYC just so she could have some time to get used to the city but now, because it'd been 6 months, she realised she's have to get a job. At first she tried getting a job at Finn's work but they didn't need any new employees and Finn and Rachel both decided that because they were living together now, they would need some time apart. So she managed to get a job selling tickets at her local theatre. Because Rachel had both work and classes, whenever she was at home, she was always tired. However, her relationship with Finn was still as strong as ever because they believed that they could survive anything.
And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m. Braced myself for the goodbye
As everything was slipping right out of our hands
I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street
'Cause that's all I've ever known
Then you took me by surprise
You said I'll never leave you alone
However, things seemed to just get more difficult. Even with both Finn and Rachel working, times were still tough. The fact that they were barely getting by, and also that they were hardly ever seeing each other anymore, one night, it got to them both. They spent over 2 hours arguing about how they were both not trying hard enough to see each other but in their hearts, they both knew that wasn't the case. "I don't know what you want from me Finn, I'm already over my head in work with college and work, now when I come home, we're always fighting. I don't know if we can do this anymore." Rachel ran out crying and made her way to the theatre. The advantage of working there was that she had all access to the stage. And the only way Rachel knew to get over hurt was to sing about it.
Before she had the chance to get 5 minutes away from the house, she felt a hand on her arm. "Rach, please. Just hear me out." She tried to pull her arm away but a part of her knew this was her fault too so she walked back with him to the house. "Listen, Rach, I know this is difficult, we knew it would be! But like you said, we can get through anything. We met each other through fate. I'm not normally big in to all that kind of thing... but it's true. We can do this Rachel I promise." Finn went to kiss her forehead but pulled him down and kissed his lips. Just one sweet kiss, but it assured Rachel and Finn that thorough it all, no matter what, they'd always have each other.
You said I remember how we felt sitting by the water Hold on, make it last Do you believe it?
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time
I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter
She is the best thing that's ever been mine
Hold on, never turn back
You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter
You are the best thing that's ever been mine
We're going to make it now
I can see it
I can see it now.