Wow! Thank you for all the reviews! Like I said, this is my first story, so I did not expect any sort of response at all. I was pleasantly surprised!
I am not going to introduce glee club, though the characters will exist and you will meet many of them. In this story, Rachel and Finn are not in glee.
I have a summer job and am taking a summer class as well so daily updates will not always be a reality, but I will try to post a new chapter at least twice a week.
"In history, you've heard of many influential leaders. Martin Luther King, George Washington, even Adolf Hitler - all individuals who, through their actions, created change and influenced groups of people. In your life, you have many influences. Your peers, your parents, a boyfriend or girlfriend -"
Finn listened to his history teacher, Mr. Bardon, drone on about "influence." Finn knew about influences. He may not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but he knew that an influence could be someone like Puck, who encouraged Finn to go along with his half-assed plans, despite how dumb they usually were.
Or an influence could be someone like his mom. That was a better influence.
"An influence doesn't have to be a person," Mr. Bardon went on. "An influence can be a passion; for example, music."
Finn loved music. He had received a set of drums for his ninth birthday (a hand me down from his older cousin Nick, but it was new to him), and for months he had taught himself how to play. His mother could not afford lessons, but his cousin would help him when he needed it and Finn found that he could release his emotions by pounding on the drums (effectively annoying his mother to the point where she threatened to take the drums away - in fact, she did take his drums away a month before his tenth birthday, but Finn found that Tupperware containers worked well as a makeshift drum and after effectively denting almost all his mother's Tupperware, she relented and relinquished the drums).
"Your assignment," Mr. Bardon finished, "is to look at your life and discover your biggest influence. It could be a person, but it does not have to be. Present an oral report to the class in two weeks dictating your findings."
The class groaned.
"Oh, it gets better!" Mr. Bardon grinned. "I find it interesting to look at the influences in the lives of others. It helps me to understand certain behaviors, and encourages a deeper appreciation of those who you may not have given a second glance to before. This is why you will be having a partner for this project - "
Finn tried to catch his teammate Matt's eye -
"-that I will assign." Mr. Bardon concluded, and protests rang out. Mr. Bardon raised a hand to silence the classroom.
"Get to know someone new. This is high school, guys. It's time to branch out. Both you and your partner will choose something that has influenced you, your decisions, and your character. You will work together to compile an oral report, where each of you will need to be prepared to talk about your own as well as your partner's biggest influence. Now, the pairings. Matt Rutherford and Mercedes Jones…"
Finn tuned out. He was not a very good student, but he needed a good grade if he wanted to stay on the football team and possibly get a scholarship. As far as his friends went, Matt did get decent grades and Finn did not want to get stuck with someone who would not be able to help him increase his grade in the class.
"Finn Hudson and -" Mr. Bardon consulted his sheet - "Rachel Berry."
Finn looked over with surprise at his new partner, who was looking rather ill at the prospect of being paired with him. Finn could not blame her. Even if he never took part in her discomfort, he was still there and never did anything about it. He would not want to be paired with himself, either.
But Rachel was a good student. And maybe he could get to know her a bit and convince his fellow football players (and cheerleader girlfriend) to leave her alone.
He gave her a small smile, and she ducked her head and looked away. Finn frowned.
Maybe this would be harder than he thought.
Rachel listened intently as her teacher, Mr. Bardon, described a new project. As far as influences went, her dads were the biggest influence on her life. They were her biggest supporters and her inspiration. Because of their orientation, Rachel had seen (though they tried to hide it from her) the hardships they had faced. Rachel used their determination and infallible strength to get through the many long days at school.
Music was also a huge influence on Rachel's life. From the time she was two years old, her dads had enrolled her in singing, piano and dance lessons. They never missed a performance. Rachel had recently created a myspace account and was deliberating if she should post her many videos on the site. They were currently being harbored on her hard drive, but that was quickly running out of space. Of course, if her classmates were to find her account she would have to deal with the many comments she could only imagine would surface, but it would be a good way to get her name out in the middle of cyberspace, where a talk-show host could find her account and invite her on the show and get her an agent and…
Rachel's imagination took over and she slowly let herself drift back to reality, just in time to hear Mr. Bardon announce "partner project."
Rachel squeezed her eyes tight and took a deep, calming breath. Partner projects undoubtedly meant that she would end up doing all the work (or close to it). Rachel was always one for control, but with her rigorous dance and performance schedule she knew she needed a partner who could do their share of the work while sustaining the grades Rachel had become accustomed to. And in this school, that amounted to… no one.
When Mr. Bardon went on to announce Finn Hudson as her partner, Rachel had to grip the table to keep from walking out of the room. Finn Hudson? Rachel did not know too much about Finn, but what she did know was not promising. He was the quarterback of the football team and dated the captain of the Cheerios, Quinn Fabray, who still found it funny to draw pornographic pictures of Rachel on the bathroom stalls.
Back in grade school Finn had been a part of her carpool. She knew he only lived with his mom, though she did not know anything about his father. She also knew that he was not the best student, which meant that again, she would end up doing all the work.
Finn caught her eye and smiled as Rachel frowned and looked away.
He was probably just trying to use his sleazy football player charm to get her to do all the work so he could gloat to his friends about how he was able to use Rachel Berry to get a good grade.
She would not let him get to her.
After class, Finn caught up to Rachel outside the classroom. He grabbed her elbow as she attempted to make a clean break.
"Hey! So about this project for Bardon -" He only got that far before Rachel interrupted.
"I know that you may care more about your friends than your grades, but I, for one, intend on not letting being paired with you influence my near perfect 4.0 GPA. If that means I have to do all the work I will oblige -" What the hell does oblige mean? Finn thought "-but do not for one second think that your name will go on this project if you do not contribute an equal share of the work."
With that, Rachel's mouth snapped shut and she strode forward; fortunately, Finn had much longer legs (though her legs were long, too, he noticed, and then tried to erase the thought from his mind because she was Rachel freakin Berry and it was just because she wore super short skirts that he noticed, anyway). He caught up to her easily.
"I don't know what half that stuff you just said means, but I just wanted to get going on the project," he said. "When can we get started?"
"I have a very busy schedule, but if you will meet me after school tomorrow at my locker we can walk to my house and begin there," Rachel started, then hesitated, "unless being seen with me would impair your social standing."
Finn did not miss the conflicting emotions that flickered through Rachel's eyes at that moment. She had offered him an easy out, but he was not going to take it.
"Tomorrow is good. See you then." Proud of himself for not taking the out she had offered, Finn trekked the rest of the way to his locker, where he pulled out the book for his next class.
Meanwhile, Rachel thought about what had just transpired in the hallway. Finn Hudson really cared about his grade? Or did he have an ulterior motive?
It didn't matter, anyway, she thought. She would get another A, Finn would get his grade, and then she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore.
Acting, Berry, she thought. You're an aspiring actress, and you can convincingly portray your acceptance of Finn Hudson for two weeks.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.