Rachel and Finn sat across the table from each other, staring into each other's eyes deeply, not conversing much. Rachel had one elbow on the table with her chin resting in the hand of that arm. Her left hand was occupied with holding Finn's. Finn was holding her hand with both of his as they looked with dreamy eyes at each other. Flirting was also to be found under the table with Rachel's feet occasionally brushing against Finn's. Rachel let out a sigh through her smile.
"You look beautiful tonight," Finn said, marveling at her stunning gold dress with sequins that caught the light of the lamps hanging overhead. He was wearing black dress pants with a black button-down shirt and a red necktie.
"Really, do you think so?" Rachel said, looking down at her outfit to see if she agreed with him. I better look good, Rachel thought. She'd spent nearly an hour picking out the right outfit and making sure that her hair was perfect. She would hate to disappoint Finn. "You look really handsome, too."
Finn smiled and crossed his arms on the table. They almost didn't notice the waitress standing next to them; they were once again busy getting lost in each other's eyes. "Sir?" the waitress said, trying to get Finn's attention. He looked up at her a few seconds after she spoke.
"What?" he said, taking his eyes off Rachel and raising his eyebrows, wondering why this women disturbed them.
"Are you two ready to order?" the waitress questioned as she pointed to each of them with her black pen and smacked on her chewing gum loudly.
"Oh," Finn said, picking up his menu. He'd forgotten to pick out a dish to order. Apparently, Rachel forgot as well because she, too, opened up her menu to the list of dishes.
After a few moments of standing there, waiting for the couple to decide on what to eat, the waitress said with a sigh, "Uh, yeah, if you're not ready to order, I can come back in a few minutes…"
"No, that's okay. I think we're just about ready," Finn said, hurrying to decide on something. "Yeah, I'll have the Monte Cristo sandwich. And a Coke, please."
The waitress scribbled his order down onto her notepad with a pen, then turned to Rachel. "And for you?"
"Uh… I'll have the Caesar salad and a lemonade," Rachel replied, looking up at the waitress to see her write down her order as well.
"Alrighty," the waitress said, finishing up writing on the notepad. "I'll be right back with your drinks."
"Thank you very much," Rachel said with a smile as the she and Finn handed their menus to her.
Rachel waited a few seconds and then peered around the corner of the booth to make sure that the waitress was out of sight. "Finn," she said to get his attention off of whatever he was staring at outside through the window next to them.
"What's up?" he asked, turning his attention on her.
"There's something I need to talk to you about," Rachel said, hushing her voice down so that nobody would listen in on their conversation.
This could either be good, or bad… Finn thought as Rachel leaned over the table. I'd much prefer that it's good. I've heard that bad things often happen when a girl tells you that she needs to talk. "Did I do something wrong, or…?" he asked, confused.
"No, no," Rachel said with a shake of her head. "It's not about you. Well, it kind of is, but it's mostly about Quinn."
"What's wrong with Quinn? Is she pregnant again?" said Finn with widening eyes and trying not to be too loud about it.
"What? No, just shush and let me talk. Okay. You know how you and Quinn were a couple, like, before she started really showing her baby bump? I think she still might have feelings for you. I mean, I can understand why she might have a crush on you and everything because you're just adorable," (this earned a blush and smile from Finn), "but I think she might have more than just a crush on you. I think she really wants you."
"What are you talking about?" Finn was confused. "I thought she made it clear that she and I were over. Why are you bringing this up anyway?"
Rachel sighed. "It's not just about you and Quinn. What I really want to talk to about is that I think it has something to do with me too."
The waitress appeared at the table holding a tray with two drinks placed on it. "Lemonade for you…" she said, placing it in front of Rachel, "and Coca-Cola for you," and she put the Coke on the table in front of Finn. She threw a couple of straws on the table. "Your meals will be ready shortly," she said with a fake smile. It was easy to tell that she had been working for a while and wanted to get out of there already.
"Why do you think that you've got something to do with what Quinn wants?" Finn asked after the waitress was out of sight.
"Well, you remember earlier today when we were sitting in the hallway outside of the choir room?" she asked, and Finn responded with a nod. His eyebrows were scrunched together at the middle, meaning he was concentrating deeply on Rachel was telling him.
"I think she's got something against me. And I don't mean I think that she dislikes me. Oh, no, it's way more than that. I'm about 99% positive that she hates me, detests me with a true and fiery passion. 99% is a lot, Finn!" Rachel explained. She looked at a table to her right and noticed that a baby was staring at her. I hope he can't understand me, she thought. And I sure as hell hope he doesn't know Quinn. If she found out that I was talking to Finn about her behind her back, she'd have my head. Or worse… my throat. I would never be able to sing again…I could never be on Broadway! Oh, god! … What the hell are you thinking, Rachel? A baby couldn't understand what you're saying, much less tell Quinn about it. Pull yourself together!
"Rachel…?" Finn asked, waving a hand in front of her face to bring her out of her stupor. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"You were kinda freakin' out there for a second," Finn said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you were having a heart attack, or something. You looked like you were hyperventilating."
"What?" she said, flapping one hand. "Rachel Berry does not freak out. Okay, maybe I did freak out a little after Don't Rock the Boat, but there's no denying that it was horrendous."
"What are you talking about…?" Finn said. He was pretty confused, just like he always gets when Rachel starts rambling on about random things. Half of the time, he hardly understood what she was talking about, with her show tunes trivia and whatnot. Finn tried to focus back on the subject.
"Anyway, I really need to talk to you about this," Rachel said, placing her palms on the tabletop. "I'm kind of worried about it, Finn. Like, not just a little bit. A lot."
"Come on, Rach, why are you worrying?" Finn tried reassuring her by grabbing her hand. "You know Quinn's changed ever since she had that baby."
"At least, that's what everyone seems to think," Rachel was staring off in the distance as she said this. She remembered Quinn walking next to Puck, and she looked back at her and Finn as they sat together. "When we were sitting the hallway, I looked up to see Quinn and Puck walk by. Quinn turn her head around to look at me, and you. First she stared at you with a kind of sorrowful look in her eyes. Then her gaze went straight to me. She was shooting me the dagger look."
"Her and Puck seem really attached. I don't know why she would have feelings for me all of sudden. Okay, so Quinn used to be kind of a bitch to a lot of people at the beginning of the year, but she seems different now. I don't know. Her and Puck seem really happy together, y'know?" Finn was trying to deny in his mind the fact that Quinn might actually still have feelings for him. He didn't want anything to come between him and Rachel. Not right now. Things were finally going great for him and he didn't want anything ruining this. "Are you sure you're just not overreacting?"
"Like I said, almost 99% positive. Think about it, Finn," Rachel said, leaning just a little closer and lowering her voice. "She could have gone to Puck to make you feel jealous. Why do you think she got so upset when you found out it wasn't your baby? She was scared to death of losing you."
Finn looked down at the table, trying to process what Rachel was telling him. "Now that I think about… I did see her watching me today. She was watching out the door of the choir room, looking at us."
"See?" Rachel was sure of it. She absolutely knew that Quinn has and has always had cruel intentions.
"I just don't see," Finn began, "why she'd start showing these signs now. I mean, she didn't try to make it very apparent all those other times."
"Want to know what I think?" Rachel asked, but didn't wait for him to answer. "I think she's getting fed up with waiting for you. She was trying to make you jealous hoping you'd come crawling back to her. And just think of how much she's lost… her popularity, her spot as captain of the Cheerios, her parents for a while, her… virginity, and now you."
"I don't care how much Quinn feels for me," Finn said, leaning further over the table. "I don't have any feelings for her in return. She lied to me. That really hurt, you know? But it doesn't matter. All I know is that the only person I have feelings for is you, Rachel."
"Entrées are here!" the waitress called in a peppy voice as she approached Finn and Rachel's table. "You had the Monte Cristo," she mumbled to herself, setting the dish in front of Finn. "And Caesar salad for you," as she also placed Rachel's meal on the table."
"Thanks," Finn said with a smile.
"Don't mention it. Oh, I almost forgot." The waitress reached into her apron pocket and fumbled around with her fingers. She pulled out her hand which held two after-dinner mints. "Enjoy your meals, children."
When the waitress had gone to help another party, Rachel laughed and said, "Children?"
"Yeah," agreed Finn. "But she's like, 60. She probably considers everyone who's younger than her children."
Rachel picked up her fork and stabbed at her salad, picking up some lettuce and tomato on its prongs. She brought the fork to her mouth and began chewing. Finn picked up the sandwich with his hands and chomped down on it. He's so adorable when he eats, Rachel thought. They stared at each other while they ate.
"You like it?" Finn said, nodding to her salad.
"Oh, yeah," Rachel said between bites. "Very good. What about yours?"
"Yup, the perfect amount of powdered sugar. Delicious," Finn said with a smile.
Rachel sipped her lemonade, then set it back on the table. Her salad was almost completely gone now, and Finn was almost finished with his sandwich as well.
"Finn…" Rachel said, fidgeting with her hands underneath the table and looking down at her plate. "I'm sorry to bring this up again, but I'm really worried about Quinn. I mean, she's always had something against me, you know."
"Don't worry, Rachel, really," Finn said calmly. "You got a little something…" He reached over and wiped off a little bit of salad dressing from her cheek with his thumb. "Got it." He smiled at her.
"Oh, god, how embarrassing," Rachel said, grabbing a napkin and wiping her face to make sure nothing else was there.
"Nah, it's fine." Finn reassured her. "You're even more cute when you've got salad dressing on your face."
Rachel giggled. "How does that work?"
Part 2
Brittany entered the restaurant looking confused. She turned around and looked back through the glass double doors to see Santana Lopez, motioning with her hands, telling her to keep going. Brittany went back outside and approached Santana.
"I forgot where to go," Brittany said meekly and blinking.
"Brittany, it's not that hard," Santana said and placed her hands on Brittany's shoulders. "Okay. I'll explain it to you one more time. You walk in, find out where Rachel's sitting, find the waitress, and tell her to bring the envelope to Rachel. Now go!"
"What was the first thing again?" Brittany asked, shaking her head.
"Ugh, just go," Santana said. She turned Brittany around and gave her a push on the back to get her to go back inside.
Brittany waited for another couple to open the door and then followed them inside. She approached the hostess, who was standing at the podium, helping the couple who had entered before Brittany. When the hostess returned from showing the couple to their table, she asked Brittany, "Can I help you, miss?"
"Um… are you the waitress?" Brittany asked as she held the envelope at her side.
"No. I'm the hostess, and I'm here to show you where you'll sit. How many are in your party this evening?" the hostess said, picking up a few menus.
"Oh, I'm not having a party right now. Can you give this envelope to somebody?" Brittany said and held out the envelope to the hostess.
"Actually, I have to stay here," the hostess responded and took the envelope. "But, I can give it to a waiter or waitress and make sure it gets to whoever it needs to. Who do you want to receive it?"
"That girl, Rachel, over there," Brittany pointed to Rachel and Finn, who were sitting in a booth at the far corner of the restaurant. "But don't tell her I was here."
"Okay… I'll make sure she gets it. Is that all you need tonight?" the waitress questioned as she placed the menus back into their holder. She was pretty sure Brittany wouldn't be sitting down to dine in her cheer uniform.
"Yeah. Kay, thanks, bye." Brittany turned to exit the restaurant, but she stopped at the door. She attempted to pull the door open. She turned around and said, "your door's broken." Brittany continued pulling until the hostess came out from behind her podium to help her.
"Honey, you have to push, not pull," said the hostess. She pushed the door open for Brittany. "Can't you read? The door says 'Push.'"
"No," Brittany said before walking out. "Not really."
Santana was waiting for Brittany on a bench directly outside the restaurant. "So? Did you make sure that Rachel got the message?" Santana asked as she stood up from the bench.
"No," Brittany said. "The lady said she'd make sure she got it, so I left."
"Brittany!" Santana said, crossing her arms. "We need to make sure that the message is delivered directly to Rachel. Follow me…" Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and led her to the back of the restaurant where there were a few pine trees. They got behind one so that they could see Finn and Rachel through a window. Santana pulled out a pair of mini binoculars.
"Do you see anything?" Brittany whispered, squatting next to Santana.
"Uh-huh," Santana said with a smile. "The waitress is giving her the envelope right now… they're talking to the waitress… now opening the envelope…"
Brittany leaned over Santana's shoulder to see what was happening. "Now what?" she whispered. Did you see her reaction?"
"Yup," Santana said, taking the binoculars away from her eyes. "Mission accomplished. Come on. Let's get out of here before someone tries to rape us out here."
"I thought you liked forceful sex," Brittany whispered to Santana on their way to her car.
"Not with weird old guys. And only when I'm the forceful one. I told you that like a thousand times already."
