DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy :)

A/N: I love me some Jealous Finn! He's ready to chase after Rachel and do whatever it takes to get her back!

Hey Jealousy

Chapter Two: Man Diva

Finn sat in the very back of the bus that takes the team to their away games. He looked outside the window and the weather matched his mood. It was pouring rain outside, but not cold enough for snow. But it was still freezing, and windy as well. The weather was miserable and so was he. He was restless and annoyed and jealous and pissed off. He wanted to get to Carmel High and meet this little prick Jesse and see what the fuss was all about. Then he could clear all this jealousy and pettiness out of his head and go back to being Normal Finn. But he didn't feel like Normal Finn without seeing Rachel's bright, shining face smiling at him everyday. It wasn't worth it without the connection he felt to her. He was worried that if he didn't find a way to get Rachel back into his life, he would never be Normal Finn again. He shoved his earbuds into his ears and tried to let AC/DC scream the frustration out of his head. It did little to help.

When he got to the school, he headed with the team downstairs to the locker rooms. He changed and started to warm-up for the game. He noticed Puck at the far end of the locker room, doing his own thing. Every day the anger that used to encompass him in regards to Puck was slowly dissipating, but he still wasn't ready to start talking to him again. That would mean he was forgiven, and Finn had not granted him that pardon yet.

He sighed as he went upstairs to the gym. He shot some baskets to warm up and then the teams were called into position. He looked at the clock. He would be able to sneak into the auditorium during the half-hour intermission in the game. Then he could see this kid and know what kind of competition he had for Rachel's feelings.

The game started and Finn tried his hardest to focus only on the game and not how much he wanted to run down the hall to the auditorium and punch this Jesse guy. He was not on top of his game today, he allowed two steals and missed one foul shot that could have pushed them to the lead during the second quarter of the game. The buzzer rang for the break in the game, and Finn told Coach Tanaka he would be right back and ran for the exit.

He tiptoed down the hall. His basketball uniform was like a walking advertisement, not only did it say he was a stranger in this school but it had his name on it as well. He wanted to get in and out as fast as he could without being noticed, but it was hard when you were 6-foot-3 to do anything elusive. He got to the stage left doors and cracked it open as softly as he could. He heard singing inside, so he entered the backstage area and hid behind an old set piece. He found a crack in the side curtains and peeked his eyes through the thin cracks in the fabric. He made sure he couldn't be seen, and tried to look for this Jesse person.

Vocal Adrenaline was in the middle of practicing a fast-paced routine that Finn could barely keep up with. He forgot how damn good they were. They made it look effortless, like it didn't take hours of work to coordinate 24 bodies to move like that on stage. New Directions had half the people Vocal Adrenaline did and watching them made Finn feel like they would have to do triple the effort just to keep up. All of a sudden the team parted down the middle and one guy stepped forward to sing a powerful solo.

'There he is!' Finn wanted to jump out from behind the curtains and pummel him, but he held his ground. He instead, took this time to evaluate his competition.

He was tall, but definitely not as tall as Finn, he thought he had at least four or five inches on the dude. He wasn't a good judge of guys faces, but Jesse had a boyish quality to him that he guessed chicks would find charming. His hair was longer than most guy's and wavy. He could see why girls would dig it, but it personally wasn't his style. It looked like he worked on his hair for a long time to make it look a certain way, which Finn would never have the patience for. Which meant that he was high maintenance. OK thats one flaw. . .

Finn listened to him sing and felt an immediate blow to his pride. He was good. Even Finn had to admit it and he hated himself for it. This Jesse guy sure knew how to sing, which is probably one of the reasons Rachel liked him so much. He sounded effortless as he belted those high notes and he used his vibrato like an opera singer. Finn always thought himself a decent Male Lead, but now his ego was badly bruised. He sometimes sounded flat or off-key and Rachel used to have to work with him to make him sound decent when he was supposed to be the lead. This dude looked as if he needed no help at all. Jesse started to dance on stage and Finn was even more intimidated. He moved around the stage with such swagger, such confidence, it made Finn feel awkward in his own skin. Finn literally lumbered around the stage and had no previous training in music or dance. This guy looked like he jumped right out of a Broadway show.

Just like Rachel.

He realized why Rachel might like this guy so much.

He was everything Finn wasn't.

The song stopped and the team held their final pose, with Jesse dead in the middle, his hands high up in the air. There were smiles on their faces and they looked as if they just won the Super Bowl. When Jesse's hands came down, however, the team changed drastically. They all separated from each other and frowned while Jesse turned around, anger shining in his eyes.

"That was terrible! That was complete and utter trash! How do you expect me to work in these conditions when you all barely know what's going on! I'm a professional, people, I know what I'm doing! Tom you missed three cues and Denise was sharp throughout the entire bridge! Again! Again! Again!" He punctuated each 'again' with a loud clap. The team got into position again and restarted the song.

Finn sat there in a bit of shock. That guy was intense! A total Diva! A MAN Diva! Hee-hee. . .he laughed at his little joke while he watched the team perform the song again. Every time he saw Jesse do an over-the-top pose or run in the music he muttered "Man-Diva" under his breath. It made him feel better.

After the second run of the song, Jesse turned to his team and continued to chastise them on their lack of effort and professionalism. Finn sat there a bit offended for the members of Vocal Adrenaline, they were pushed really hard and they already looked amazing. He could barely stand this Jesse guy anymore and he had never even had a conversation with him. What did Rachel see in this guy? Sure he was a great performer, he had amazing stage presence and you could tell he was professionally trained. He could sing and dance, but he was competitive and a bit abrasive and a total diva. . . .

Just Like Rachel.

The realization hit him like a mack truck.

She liked him so much because he was literally the man-version of Rachel Berry. Confident, Competitive, Talented, Driven. . . .

He now knew the truth. He could never compare to Jesse.

Finn felt deflated, but the jealousy burned hotter in his mind because now he had even more reason to hate this guy. He was everything Finn wasn't and he had everything Finn wanted.

He was about to lose all hope and leave when he heard the doors open on the far end of the auditorium. He looked over and he saw Rachel walking down the aisle towards the stage. What was she doing here? Did they go on dates on weekdays too? Jesse noticed her from his position on stage and called over to her, "Hello, Dear! What a pleasant surprise." His voice was much more sugary sweet than when he yelled at his teammates. Rachel went onto the stage and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He burned with jealousy. Dear? He called her DEAR??!!

Rachel smiled up at him and held up a Tupperware container. "I knew you practiced until very late so I thought I could bring you some dinner, we could eat it during your break." Jesse bent over and kissed her on the lips this time. Finn wanted to rip his tongue out of his mouth.

"Of course you did! Why wouldn't you pass up a chance to have dinner with me?" He winked at her and smiled but she returned it shakily. Some hope flickered in him. She could see through his smarmy exterior, he could tell. Finn was never as conceited as this guy was. Maybe that was his opening!

In the hallways of the school he heard the buzzer ring that signified the start of the second half of his game. He wanted to stay in his hidden position and spy more on Jesse and Rachel, but he knew he had to get back. This time though he didn't have the luxury of music playing to hide his unstealthy movements. He tripped on the way to the door and knew the people on stage could hear it. He ran out of the stage left doors hoping he had escaped unseen and sprinted for the gym. He made it back just in time and the second half of the game began.

By the end of the third quarter, they were behind by only 2 points. Finn stood in an unblocked position by the net, completely open and in a perfect position to score. He looked across the gym and noticed Puck dribbling the ball and fending off the other teams defense, looking for an open guy. Puck's eyes passed over Finn and moved on to find another team mate to pass to. Finn was furious, he was wide open and right by the net! He knew he was going to have to break his silence towards Puck for the game, then he could go back to being bitter afterwards. He screamed across the gym.

"Puck you asshole pass it, I'm open!" Puck was still dribbling and he wanted to scream. He lost focus on the game when his peripheral vision informed him of the presence of a certain girl who he was slowly becoming obsessed with. . . .

He turned around to look at her, standing in the entrance to the gym, a frown on her face. "Rachel?" He muttered quietly. He raised up one hand to wave at her and she startled. She waved back timidly and he saw the first smile on her face since, well, he couldn't remember.

Hope swelled in his heart and he felt better than he did in weeks.

"Finn!" He heard his name being called and he snapped out of his Rachel-induced haze and turned his head back into the game. . . Just in time for Puck to slam him in the face with the basketball because he wasn't paying enough attention to catch it. Finn went down like a ton of bricks holding his hands to his nose. The referee blew his whistle and Finn was taken out of the game, blood pouring out from his nose and all over the shiny gym floor. They called for a break in the game to clean up the blood. He sat down on the sidelines and Coach Tanaka grabbed a towel and gave to to Finn to hold onto his nose until the bleeding stopped. He saw Rachel cross the gym and walk over to him.

"Finn? Are you okay?" He looked up at her and wanted to wrap her arms around her. He wanted to bury his bloody nose in her shirt and explain how pathetic and stupid he was for ever letting someone as beautiful and special as her go. . . .

But instead he shook his head and said, "I guess. My nose feels like its been broken though." He sounded pathetic and he knew it. But this was the first real conversation they'd had since before the Santana incident, so he was going to milk it for all it was worth. "What are you doing here?" He looked up at her and tried to give her the biggest puppy eyes he could muster up the strength to summon. His face muscles hurt a lot. Her face hardened up a bit and she wasn't falling for the puppy eyes.

"I came to see Jesse. Apparently you wanted to see him too. I saw you stumble out of the auditorium 007." She placed her hands on her hips. Shit! He was caught! She really wasn't going to go for the puppy eyes today!

"I think I have a right to know who my competition is, for, uh, Glee." He hoped he covered that slip up but Rachel got a knowing look in her eyes and he knew he was busted. Her face did soften up a bit though.

"Finn, what are you doing? I thought you didn't want us to be friends anymore." He shook his head violently and felt some more blood trickle out of his nose. He pressed the towel to his face harder and got a determined look in his eyes.

"No Rachel, I was being stupid and inconsiderate and blind. I want us to be friends again." Well he wanted to be more than friends, but talking and spending more time together was a start. "I miss you. I need to have a friend like you in my life right now. I'm still so messed up." She looked at him sympathetically and she placed a hand on his forehead to smooth out his hair from his sweaty, bloody and busted up face.

"We can be friends Finn. I would like that." The hope had returned in full force and if his hands weren't covered in blood, he would have hugged her. They had started out as friends in the beginning and she had still managed to find a way into his heart. He would do the same. Baby steps, Finn, baby steps.

"Great! Can you start by driving me to the hospital?"

Salut Mes Amis!

Finn is going to try and worm his way back into Rachel's heart! What will he do next time?

Until then. . . *sings* Don't Stop Reviewing!

Merci Mille Fois

The Minsk