Finn walked into his kitchen and was shocked to find Brittany sitting on the counter, swinging her legs over the side.

"Hey!' She said to him cheerfully.

Finn looked around for an explanation of her presence. "Um…Hey Britt… Not to be rude or anything but, like, what are you doing in my house?"

"I'm helping Kurt with his campaign." She said simply.

"Oh," A small, accepting smile came over Finn's face. Then suddenly, he was confused again. "Well, then, where is Kurt?"

"In his room, he's changing…"

"In that case, he'll probably be a while. Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks." She sighed. "I watched Titanic on TV last weekend, and liquids have been sort of freaking me out ever since."

Finn nodded. It sounded relevant.

If he was being honest, Finn would have to admit that he'd been thinking about Brittany a lot during the past week. He wasn't even sure of the reason. All he knew was that it was just too perfect that they were alone. He was finally able to say what he'd wanted to say to her since that day in the choir room, but had been too shy too.

"You know, it's really cool what you did," He said, his back still to her.

"What did I do?" She asked sweetly.

Finn couldn't help but smile as he turned around. "You chose the glee club. You could've sabotaged us like Santana did, but you didn't."

Brittany shrugged humbly. "I love you guys."

"I just know it must've been hard for you," Finn said softly. He stepped closer to her and impulsively placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know how much you care about Santana, and I know how hard it must've been for you to see her leave."

"Yeah well Santana's not the only one I care about."

Finn loved the way she spoke; like she was always so sure about everything; like all she knew how to do was say something exactly how she saw it, without trying to deflect.

"I'm glad…"

His hand was still on her shoulder, and he gently ran it down her bare bicep, staring appreciatively into her eyes.

"What's going on here?"

Their attention snapped over to the doorway, where Kurt was standing with a scowl on his face.

"Nothing…um…talking!" Finn snapped.

Kurt just shook his head, his eyes widening in annoyance. "Brittany, when you're done subjecting yourself to my brother's inappropriate advances, I have some ideas on how to fix this platform."

Brittany hopped down from the counter, and for a split second, she and Finn were standing chest-to-chest. Finn backed away quickly, suddenly uncomfortable with what Kurt was implying. He wasn't making advances on Brittany! He had a girlfriend. He wouldn't do that! He told himself to take a breath. It was a joke. Kurt was joking.

As Brittany followed Kurt into the living room, Finn watched them walk away. She was really great though. He was allowed to think that, wasn't he?

He must've had a dream about her, because he woke up the next morning and she was the first thing on his mind. He was thinking about the dance number she and Mike did at sectionals the previous year. God, she was a great dancer.

No, he thought, as picked up clothes off his floor and got dressed …She's not important. Sure, she's got a great body, and fantastic hair and the cutest smile I've ever seen…but I'm in love with Rachel. I told myself I'd keep my mind made up this year.

Rachel… He thought. His heart sank as he remembered that she'd be gone in a year. For a split second, he felt hopeless, like there wasn't really any reason to waste his time with her if she was just going to leave him. It wasn't the first time he'd felt like this since they got back from New York last spring. He told himself, as always, to power through it; to make the most of the time they had left. He pulled out his phone and texted Rachel.

Dinner tonight? He typed. He waited nervously for her reply.

Can't. I have to practice my audition songs. My future depends on it.

Frustrated, Finn threw his phone down on his bed. What was the use of trying if Rachel wasn't even going to cooperate?

When he went downstairs for breakfast, it appeared that his mom was trying to rub in his current state of mind. "Any plans for tonight?" She asked the boys.

"Rachel and I are going to start pulling options for our NYADA auditions!" Kurt said excitedly.

Finn tried to be inconspicuous about glaring at him. He didn't understand how his gay brother currently had a closer relationship with his girlfriend than he did.

"I'm not doing anything…" He said.

"But honey, it's Friday night!" His mom said, concerned.

"And my girlfriend would rather spend time with Kurt!"

"It's our future, Finn. It's important!" Kurt said tersely.

Finn swore, if he heard the word "Future" one more time, he'd punch someone.

"Why don't you call…" Carole Hummel trailed off, unable to think of a single person who Finn could hang out with. "…I mean, you must have someone you could spend time with."

"I'll play some X-box." Finn tried to put on a happy face. He hated when his mother worried about his social well being. "I've been craving some me time anyway."

His mom smiled at him sympathetically, and he could tell she wasn't buying his act of acceptance.

Finn got to glee club early that day. He was about to walk right into the choir room, but then he heard a pair of voices speaking lowly, and realized a private conversation was taking place inside.

"You'll be fine," A girl was saying sweetly. "You'll still have me."

Finn realized it was Tina speaking.

"But everyone I've been going to school with since kindergarten will be gone! And you only have a year before you leave too!" Finn recognized Brittany's voice immediately, and instantly felt sorry for her. "I'm going to get left behind while everyone goes into the future!"

That really tugged at Finn's heartstrings. It made him so sad, for one, because he empathized with her so thoroughly. And at the same time, he was comforted by the fact that Brittany understood what he was going through when no one else did.

He entered the room, trying to be coy about the fact that he'd been eavesdropping. "Hey guys, what are you talking about?" He asked, desperately wanting to be included.

"Oh, nothing…" Tina told him. He tried not to let his disappointment show. It hurt him that they didn't think he'd understand.

"Oh…" He dropped his backpack on the floor and fell into a seat. Maybe he just needed to be friendlier? Maybe they didn't view him as a real friend who they could talk with. He knew he hadn't been as open as some of the glee club members who shared their feelings liberally. He'd never wanted to talk about feelings before. Maybe he just had to make an effort. "So…what are you guys up to tonight?"

"Mike and I are going out for dim sum with his mom." Tina said boredly.

"I was just going to buy Us Weekly and read it to Lord Tubbington," Brittany said.

Finn hesitated. He had the urge to ask her to hang out. But would it be weird if he asked a girl to hang out alone with him while he was still dating Rachel? I mean, technically she and Kurt hung out alone all the time, so she couldn't really get mad at him. "I'm not doing anything either. We should, like, go somewhere…"

Tina and Brittany exchanged unsure looks. Finn instantly regretted it.

"What about Rachel?" Tina asked. Finn was sort of annoyed. It wasn't Tina he was talking to.

"Finn, are these the inappropriate advances that Kurt warned me about."

"It's just…I thought we were friends," Finn said embarrassedly. "And Rachel's busy, and I really just…want to hang out with a friend tonight." A friend who understands me…

There was a silence that seemed to last years. Then Brittany smiled. "Okay. We should play Ants in the Pants."

"…excuse me?"

"It's this game I have. It's these pants and you have to get the ants out. It's really fun. You should come over to my house after rehearsal."

Finn just nodded. He knew that it was good to have an activity to fall back on if his attempts at meaningful conversation failed, so he agreed.

Finn marched up to Kurt's locker after he'd said goodbye to Rachel that evening. He tried to ignore the fact that his brother was currently participating in a goodbye with his own significant other. Blaine was backed up against the locker, chuckling like a child as Kurt grabbed him at the ribs and planted kisses on the side of his face. Finn cleared his throat so the boys would be notified by his approach.

"Finn…!" Kurt jumped away from Blaine. "What are you doing…? Just wait in the car…I'll be there in a minute."

"I wanted to tell you to leave without me. I'm going straight to Brittany's."

Kurt froze, his head cocked and his face contorted in horror. "Blaine, would you excuse us for a moment?"

Blaine nodded awkwardly, still flustered from the prior heated moment with Kurt, and shuffled away.

"What in the name of Sondheim are you doing, Finn?" Kurt asked, his voice lowering.

Finn played innocent. Because he was innocent, wasn't he? "What do you mean?"

"Look…I know that you get yourself off to the constant emotional turmoil and indecisiveness that goes with jumping around from woman to woman, but do you need to think about how you're sabotaging yourself. Sure, Brittany's a good kisser. I won't dispute that. But she's not worth it Finn. If you cheat on Rachel, she's never going to forgive you. Especially not after the crap you gave her for what happened with Puck last year. And I promise you, you're going to want her back."

"We're just friends, Kurt." Finn crossed his arms defensively. "Just like you and Rachel are just friends."

"Yeah, well, what I walked in on yesterday was more than friendly..." Kurt spat. "Did you tell Rachel about your plans for tonight?"

"She didn't ask…" Finn said. And that was the true reason why he just happened to not tell her.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Well, Finn. All I'm going to say is that if Blaine had secret plans with a guy who was willing to jump the bones of anything that moved, I'd be more than upset."

"Well Rachel's not you. And I'm not Blaine."

Kurt gave sort of an evil smirk, that unsettled Finn. "There are more similarities than you think, dear brother."

He patted Finn on the shoulder as he walked away. "I'll tell mom you made plans so she doesn't wait up," He said. "As for your girlfriend…I won't involve myself in this one."

Kurt's words to him hung with him as he and Brittany entered her kitchen. All he wanted to do was shake the guilt he felt. It's not like he was actually doing anything wrong.

"I was going to make a frozen pizza. Do you like frozen pizza?" Brittany asked him, a bounce in her step as she made her way over to the freezer. Finn had to smile. There was a sort of youthfulness about her that was just adorable.

"Yeah, who doesn't?" He quickly realized that he needed to stop finding anything that she did adorable. It just made the guilt even stronger.

Brittany pulled the pizza out and set it on the counter as she pre-set the oven. "This is one of the only things I know how to make," She admitted sheepishly. "My mom had to teach me."

Once again, Finn could relate to her. "I can't cook either. I can make, you know, grilled cheese and spaghetti but that's pretty much it. Kurt's great though. He can make anything."

Brittany started pulling the plastic wrapping off the Pizza. "I know how that must feel. Lord Tubbington can totally draw better than I can."

Finn chuckled. "Yeah…it's rough."

They fell into a brief silence, and Finn realized how quiet Brittany's house was. "Hey, is anyone else home?"

"No, my parents volunteer on Friday nights. Why?"

"No reason," Finn's heart rate increased, suddenly worried that Kurt had been right. No. He was there to talk to her. He was there because he could relate to her. Suddenly, he blurted out. "So…what are your plans for next year?"

She was quiet for a moment. "Honestly…?" She asked, going over to a cabinet and pulling out a metal pizza tray. "…I'm not sure if I'm going to graduate this year."

Finn knew he'd probably stay in Lima, but he couldn't imagine having to stay at McKinley. His heart went out to her. "Oh…"

"It's okay though," She had this sad, optimistic smile on her face that broke his heart. "I'm doing my best. I know that. I can't regret anything."

"Yeah…that's a good way to look at it."

Brittany put the pizza on the tray. "I'll probably end up dancing somewhere…" She said. "I like dancing."

"And you're great at it," He reassured her.

"Yeah…?" Her face fell.

"What, is that not a compliment?"

Brittany sighed. "It's just, that's not all I am. I would die to be a journalist, Finn. But I'm not smart enough. I can't get into any of the schools, and I can't really write that well anyway…"

"Then why journalism…?" It wasn't meant to be a critical question. It was really just curiosity.

Brittany shrugged. "I like people," She smiled distantly. "I like knowing about people and talking…I want to help people know things about each other and, like, the world."

Finn was beaming now. He felt a weird sense of satisfaction. Somehow, deep down, he knew there'd been more to this girl than the ditzy slut everyone talked about. Hearing of her ambitions for the first time was moving. He couldn't quite explain it. "You should go for it then. It's never too late to go for what you want."

Brittany still looked sad. "For once I just want to be able to be smart, you know? But I'm not…"

"Well, that's okay, neither am I…"

"Yes you are, Finn. You understand things! I'm just the girl with the ADD and the dyslexia who everyone makes fun of."

"What…?" Finn had no idea that there was actually terminology for what Brittany had.

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you…" She said sweetly.

It was at that moment that Finn realized that she saw it too. They could relate to each other. They could talk to each other. As much as he wanted to ignore the impulse to have any physical contact with her, he couldn't help but take her in a hug. "Don't apologize. Just…don't."

Brittany secured her arms around Finn's back, and he found himself breathing in the scent of her hair. It smelled like sweet baby shampoo. "You're going to be a journalist Brittany…" He said sort of breathlessly.

"Thanks Finn," She said, still hugging him.

Suddenly, before he knew what he was doing, he reached up and stroked the back of her head. He took the end of a lock of hair in his fingers and started to fondle it absentmindedly. She didn't do anything to fight him off.

And his mind went blank. Suddenly he didn't remember where he was or what he was doing, or whether or not he had any reason to feel bad about it. All he knew was he had a girl in his arms.

They pulled away slightly, and she beamed up at him, and then he just went for it. Cradling her head in his hands, Finn kissed her hard. He swore she kissed back briefly before she pushed him away.

"You're nice, Finn," She told him. "Thank you…for being so nice…"

"You're welcome…?" Suddenly reality came back to him, and he realized what deep shit he was now in.

"I'll just make the pizza, okay?" She told him. "I'm hungry."

"Yeah…" He said, "Me too…"

As she pulled the oven open, all Finn wanted to do was run away. He didn't want to deal with the questions that were racing through his head. What had just happened? Was Brittany going to tell anybody? What did the kiss even mean? Why was she pretending like it was nothing?

But he stayed. He stayed and hung out with her for the rest of the evening, pretending like the kiss was something they'd both imagined.