You can blame the World Cup for this one.
Dedicated to SleepE_Kitty, the best football fan I know. Who needs sports commentary when I've got your tweets?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Rachel Berry had no problem being late to the party.
Correction: Rachel Berry had no problem being late to her graduation party.
She's been dreading it from the moment her dads planned it.
Not that she didn't have a problem being the center of attention, she's been used to that for years. It's just that she knew that all of them are going to ask her the question.
The infamous "what are you majoring in?" question.
Oh, she can already see the disappointment in their eyes when she tells them "I'm currently undecided."
So was she prolonging this inevitable exchange by "practicing her footing" on the field? Yes. So sue her.
Having finished practicing twenty minutes prior, Rachel Berry sat on the bleachers and stared out into the field, the hot sun beaming on her face. It didn't bother her one bit. She's spent twelve years with the sun as her spotlight, the field as her stage.
Sighing to herself, she picked up the black and white ball, eyeing it carefully, proud of all the wears and tears. "At least I still got you."
Deciding there was no use in stalling, she stood up, tucked the ball in her arms, and braced herself for the upcoming interrogation.
So maybe it was a bit rude to arrive at the party an hour late, still dressed in her sweaty practice uniform, but all she had to was flash her dads her perfect smile while making a comment about seeing improvement and she had them eating out of her hand. Perks of being an only child.
Most of the guests were adults anyway, she noticed, friends and coworkers of her dads. She frowned when she noticed that none of her teammates came. She shrugged it off immediately. It's lonely at the top, she reminded herself. She'd take being a winning captain over a social captain any day. And she did, as evident by the giant trophy her team brought home.
Besides, she didn't need them. All she needed to get through was a cup of her Daddy's famous punch and a slice of her Papa's pie. Walking over to the desserts table, she smiled as she saw the Berry's trademarks presently proudly. Wouldn't be a party without them.
"So what are you majoring in?" her smile dissipated as she heard a voice from behind her. Three minutes and forty seconds in and she'd already been asked. Not that she was counting.
"Well, I'm actually undecided," a voice said, stealing her answer. Huh. Turning around, she saw the question directed to someone else.
Someone who was undeniably tall, fit, and handsome. Someone with a smile that can make even an athlete's legs go weak.
This party suddenly got a lot more interesting.
Who was this guy and why was she at her party?
"It's a good thing this boy has a promising sports career ahead of him," another voice came into the picture, one she recognized right away. Congressman Burt Hummel had become close friends with her dads as they often advocated for homosexual rights together. So Mr. Undeclared was his guest, she inferred. And an athlete. Looks like they would have much to talk about.
"Oh, I don't know about that. Only time can tell."
He was humble too. She liked that about him, she decided. Rachel watched as the Congressman made another remark about his scholarship, and she was thoroughly impressed. She wondered what sport he played. Volleyball? He was very tall, with muscled arms… very toned arms… Rachel forced herself to stop that train of thought before it could go any further. Perhaps he was a basketball player? Either way… she was drifting again, she knew, but this man intrigued her. A lot.
She watched as the conversation ended as the woman who asked the question and Congressman Hummel were whisked away into another conversation. Perfect.
Deciding that it was time for Mr. Undeclared to meet Ms. Undeclared, Rachel set down her drink and walked over to him, his eyes catching hers right away. He shot her that smile of his, and she nearly melted to the floor.
"So undeclared, huh?" she asked him, and she suppressed a giggle as he slowly scratched the back of his head.
"So you've heard," he replied, still smiling, and this close, she could see his dimples. She never knew just how much she liked dimples until then.
"Did she give you that look?"
"The look of disappointment? Oh yeah. And I don't even know her."
At that she laughed. "And my dads were wondering why I didn't want a party."
"Ah. So you're Rachel Berry," he said.
"The one and only. And you are…"
"Finn Hudson. Stepson of Congressman Burt Hummel, he invited me and my stepbrother Kurt, who's somewhere around here. We both went to McKinley. You?"
"Carmel," she said simply.
"Cool. So, you're undeclared too?" he asked, more in confirmation. She nodded.
"Seems like it's one of many things we have in common. I'm an athlete too," she told him.
"Really? Not that the sports uniform gave it away or anything. Or the plaques on the walls." he said, and if he weren't still giving her that smile, she would have run away out of embarrassment. She could only imagine how messy her hair was, or worse, how unpleasant she must have smelled. But Finn didn't seem to mind, so why should she?
"Well, I, for one, take great pride in my sport."
"Don't all athletes?" he said in a low, rather husky voice.
He was teasing her.
She liked it.
"I don't know about that," she teased back. "As once the captain of my team, I'd say that I had the right to love the game more than anyone else."
So she liked to brag while she was flirting. How else was he supposed to learn more about her? And she might just learn more about him…
"And as once the quarterback for the football team, I'll have you know that everyone wants to win. Some people just might want it more than others."
Rachel stood there shocked. She had got the answer she was desperate to know, yet her mind couldn't be more... disappointed. He was one of them. He played that sport. But still, the way he looked and spoke to her, he couldn't be too bad, right?
"I take it you play soccer?" he continued through her silence. But that was it.
He had said it.
He said the "s" word.
She hated that word.
"It's football," she grumbled back, ignoring the surprised look on his face. "I play football. The real football. Not the petty, sport you play, where you rarely even use your foot. A sport, which, I should mention, is only a big deal only in one country. I happen to play the world's most popular sport. So no, I do not play "soccer," I play football. So excuse me, but I have more important things to attend to tonight," she turned away, walking towards the direction of her stairs, suddenly deciding that she did, in fact, need to change.
"Wait!" Finn called back, and for a moment she felt guilty. She nearly stopped before she reminded herself that she was first and foremost, a football player.
She was sick of the fake "football" players strutting around like they were the kings of the sports world. She was tired of them stealing all of the sports funding, leaving her to scramble as much money as possible just to make ends meet. Those athletes made her life a nightmare.
It's no wonder, she thought to herself, that the beginning of her interaction with Finn felt like a dream.
It was too good to be true.
Forty minutes later, Rachel headed back down after a quick shower and change of attire. She decided on simple, petite dark blue dress that went down to her knees coupled with her best diamond earrings, simply because it was her party.
Finn had nothing to do with it. Not at all.
In fact, she wasn't even thinking about him. And she wasn't purposely trying to avoid him. Nope. It wasn't like she was keeping an eye on him or anything. It was pure coincidence that she and him were currently on opposite sides of the house.
"Ah, you must be Rachel Berry," a voice said to her, catching Rachel off guard. She looked up to see a friendly face sticking his hand out to her. "Kurt Hummel," he said, and immediately Rachel shook his hand.
It wasn't often that a girl meets Finn Hudson's stepbrother. Oh, and the son of a Congressman. That too.
"Hope you're enjoying the party," she says, noticing the way he was evaluating her attire with just the look of his eyes. "You're Congressman Hummel's son, right?" she asked.
"The one and only. I'm actually here with my brother too,"
"Brother?" she asked, merely just to make conversation. Not because she wanted to talk about Finn.
"Stepbrother, technically, but he's always been more of a brother," Kurt groaned. "That boy sure is something."
"What do you mean by that?" Rachel asked, curious. Perhaps she was right in walking away from Finn Hudson.
"He thinks that he has to watch over me when we both go to Ohio State this fall just because he's two months older than me. Two months! He's always been taking this big brother thing way too seriously. I'm eighteen for god's sake. I can take care of myself."
Oh. Well Rachel found that… kind of sweet of Finn.
"I'm going to OSU, too. Undeclared," she volunteered, sparing herself from hearing the question yet again.
"Ah, so is Finn. I'm majoring in theatre."
"Nice," she said. She liked Kurt. He didn't judge her major- or lack of one- and he knew Finn. Not that she cared, of course. She just needed a friend, and he seemed friendly enough.
"Speaking of the devil," Kurt began, "here comes Finn right now."
Turning a bit, Rachel found her heart thud louder and louder as he approached. God, the man looked good just walking. Sneaky player, catching her off guard.
"Hey Kurt," Finn said, wrapping his arm around his brother. "You going to introduce me to you new friend?"
The nerve of that man.
"Finn, Rachel. Rachel, Finn," Kurt gestured. "I'm surprised you didn't know, this is her party."
"Really now," Finn smiled at her. "So sorry about that," he stuck out his hand. "Finn Hudson."
So he was going down this route. Two can play this game.
"Rachel Berry," she shook his hand, ignoring the jolt of sparks that exploded from their exchange.
"I heard you play football, that's really cool," Finn said. Oh, the man was trying to woo her back. She smirked at him before realizing that she hadn't removed her hand from his. Immediately she drew her hand back.
Dammit. The man made her blush.
"Finn plays football," Kurt volunteered. Oh poor Kurt, he didn't know.
"Actually I don't. Not the real one, at least."
Good call Hudson.
"Okay so I'm sensing something really strange here, so I'm going to go. Nice meeting you, Rachel. Looks like I'll be seeing you around."
With that, Kurt walked away, leaving her alone with Finn.
"Look, I'm sorry," Finn said as soon as he was gone. Taking a step closer to her, he grabbed her hand. Oh, he was good, she'd give him that.
"I didn't know the proper name, okay?" he continued. "I'm afraid I was taught like most other Americans to call football soccer. Don't blame me, blame society," he finished, shooting her another smile.
She really should triple her leg workout routine.
"I guess I may have overreacted," she admitted, biting her lip, her hand still in his. "But," she began her tone more serious, "that doesn't change the fact that I don't like football players."
"It's a good thing I'm not a really football player then," he teased.
"You know what I meant," she frowned, yanking his hand away from hers. He wasn't helping his case.
"There's something here," Finn gestured between them. "Something weird. Something great. A connection. And I'm not willing to let it go so easily."
For once she was silent.
"Ten weeks," he continued, taking her hand again. "Just give me ten weeks to prove to you that this football player is worth it."
"Why ten weeks?" she asked softly, still not giving him an answer.
"Because," he said in that low voice of his. "We start college in ten weeks."
"So you were eavesdropping."
"Maybe. But you've been purposely trying to avoid me all night." He did have a point.
"Fine. Ten weeks. But I'll have you know that I am very, very stubborn, and competitive."
"Good. You better bring your all."
Football versus football. Berry versus Hudson.
It was on.
She had it all figured out.
She'd allow four weeks for the first half, a week for halftime, another four weeks for the second half, and the last week as additional time. Strategy was important.
Much to her dismay, Finn was already in the lead.
It's been two weeks since the clock started, and he had already won points for picking the right movie, taking her to the park when the weather was perfect, tasting all of her new baking recipes, and for just being a gentlemen. Leave it to Hudson to keep chivalry alive.
Today he just happened to take her favorite ice cream store, lucky guess, she supposed. Or maybe he too was strategizing. She found the thought of that rather... endearing. Just a little.
"So, what are you having?" Finn asked her. A sweet, but rookie mistake. The ball was in her territory now.
"I'll have a scoop of the cherry chocolate chip," she told the worker behind the counter. A nice, defensive move on her part.
"I'll just take a rocky road and here," Finn said before handing the worker cash. "Here, for the both the scoops."
And just like that, he scored. She should have known better than to doubt the ability of the quarterback.
"You're incredible," she said to him as they sat down. He was.
"That means a lot coming from you," he replied sincerely, making her smile. She certainly wouldn't disagree.
"So tell me," Finn started. "How did you get into football." She appreciated his use of the proper name.
"I started when I was six. Daddy wanted me to get involved in sports, and so I joined a team. But, the problem was that I was too good compared to everyone."
"Why am I not surprised?" he said, amused.
"It's true," she giggled, taking his free hand with hers. "It's why my dads got me my own coach, internationally-known Coach Sylvester. Man she was… something else. In fact, she was the one that rightly told me to refer to football as football. I've learned a lot from her."
"So do all football players call football, well football?" said, his thumb stroking her palm.
"No. Only the best," she smiled, squeezing his hand before taking a bite out the ice cream cone held by her other hand.
"So what position do you play?"
"Midfielder," she mumbled before swallowing. "Which is," she cleared her voice, "without a doubt, the hardest position on the team."
"I can imagine. Got to be both offensive and defensive."
"Double the work, none of the glory," she shrugged, she wasn't wrong.
"But you're captain," Finn acknowledged.
"True, but between you and me, no one really liked me," she said, feeling the urge to confess that to him for some strange reason.
"It's because they're jealous," he argued, making her laugh.
"You haven't even seen me play," she pointed out, finding herself stroking his palm this time.
"Well then, I guess we'd have to change that someday," he said, in the husky voice he probably knew she liked. Good move.
Suddenly, Rachel found herself licking her lips. Just to get the chocolate, of course.
"It's a date."
"Thanks for the ice cream," she said softly to him as they approached her door, her hand in his.
"Thanks for the company," he said as they reached her front door, turning to face her.
Moments like these were here favorite, where all he had to do was look down with his perfectly shaded light brown eyes and just look at her, Rachel Berry. She liked seeing herself in his eyes.
"Are you sure you really have to go?" she whispered. She was going to miss the guy. He wasn't horrible to look at. Quite the opposite, really.
"I wish I didn't, but someone's got to take care of the shop while Burt's in DC."
"Oh, well you got to do what you got to do," she said, the disappointment obvious. So she was a little disappointed. No big deal. Hanging out with Finn made the game more interesting. More excited. Being with him was exhilarating. So it's only natural that she'd miss the thrill.
"Yeah," he frowned and looked down for a second, before picking his head back. "But I should be free on Thursday," he said, more excitedly. "Maybe you can show me your moves then," he smirked, making her laugh.
Perhaps she could show him a couple of moves right then.
Grabbing the back of his shirt collar (and enjoying the way his eyes widened), she went her tip toes and tugged his mouth down to hers. She smiled when Finn eagerly responded back, his arms quickly wrapping around her to pull her closer. For as tight as he was holding her, she was surprised at how… tenderly he was kissing her. Soft and sweet...affectionate. As far as first kisses, this was as gold as it could ever get. Reluctantly, she pulled her head back but neither loosed their grip on the other.
"That, Finn Hudson, is how you score a goal," she said as she bit her lips, her heart throbbing, especially with the way Finn was raising his eyebrows at her…
Immediately, Finn dove down to kiss her like she knew (hoped) he would. His kisses were harder this time, not that she minded. Rough matches always meant meaningful victories. She expected nothing less than a battle when it came to kissing the quarterback, and with the way their lips were currently pressed against each other, that's exactly what she got.
"And that, Rachel Berry, is called a two-point conversion," he said, breathless, as they pulled apart, his forehead coming down to rest against hers.
She was more than willing to try again before his watched beeped.
"And that's my cue," he sighed. "I'll call you tonight," he said warmly, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. She knew he would. He always did.
It's later on that she realized that she kissed him first. That's a good six points for her. She'll give Finn those two points that two-point conversion.
Fine, so did her research and added some of Finn's football rules into the mix.
Kisses as good as those deserved way more than one point.
"So all I have to do is kick the ball into that goal?"
"Yes," she giggled, still not over Finn in a sports uniform. He looked adorable with the knee length shorts and the extra long socks. She'd have to take a picture of him when he wasn't looking. "Although technically, you should have the entire ball pass the goal line, but since you are a beginner, we'll just say hit the net."
"Sounds easy enough," he said, his foot resting on the ball and his hands on his hips. Oh she'd love to show him just how "easy" it was.
"Kicking it in isn't the hard part," she walked up to him and pulled his face down, smiling as she heard him inhale sharply. "The hardest part," she whispered in his ear," is to get the ball past me." With that, she released her grip before patting his behind twice. He was asking for it.
And she knew very well where his eyes were as she turned around and walked toward the goal. Over the past couple of weeks, she'd learn to read Finn's eyes very, very well. So while she thought Finn looked cute in his current uniform, she knew very well that Finn thought she looked hot in hers. Another advantage for her.
"Any day now," she called from the goal.
"Go easy on me, Rach," he smiled. Oh she was at his mercy.
"Not a chance," she smiled, and with that, Finn began to kick the ball toward her.
She nearly fell over laughing.
He was awful. He was a fast runner, she'll give him that, but the man couldn't kick a ball to save his life. And when he did, he nearly tripped over the ball.
She put herself together when he came close, getting ready to catch the ball as he kicked the ball… right over the net.
This time she did fall over laughing. "How could you hit it over?" she gasped for air in between her laughs. "You were a foot away!"
"You made me nervous," he said sheepishly, helping her up before wrapping an arm around her as her laughter died down.
"I'll tell you what," she said, curling her body around his. "How about I help you out?"
"Who are you and what have you down with Rachel Berry?" he asked, wrapping the other arm around her too.
"I'm not going to go easy on you if that's what you're implying," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But I will give you… a little motivation."
His ears perked up. "What kind of motivation?"
She smiled, taking a step away from him before he pulled her right back.
"What kind of motivation?" he said again, his voice rough and raw. Oh she had him hooked right where she wanted him.
"A kiss per goal," she said simply, taking note of the way Finn's entire face lit up. Sucker.
"Deal," he released her quickly. "Come on, let's go."
She laughed at his enthusiasm, and ran to the goal. Okay, so maybe she was a little excited too. Only because she was going to crush him.
"I'm read-" she began before Finn started kicking again, only this time he kicked the ball faster, less clumsier, and dare she say it.. more like a professional.
He must have practiced.
She didn't know whether or not to be pissed that he had her fooled, or to be touched that he went through all that just to kiss her. But she knew this: she was impressed.
The man was good, she would just have to be better.
He came up to her quick, but she was quicker. She expertly managed to kick the ball out of the dangerous territory whenever he came close. The cycle lasted for a while, and Rachel was surprised at just how determined he was to score.
He was coming in close to her again from the left side. Turning her body at an angle, she went close to him, ready to kick it as far away from the goal as possible.
It all happened so fast.
Right when she went to kick the ball, he curved it to the right, making her miss the ball and hit Finn's shin instead.
She stopped to apologize yet he kept right on, taking advantage of the unguarded goal and kicking the ball straight into the net . She had to give it to him- he was as stubborn as she was.
"Yes!" he screamed, both his hands in the air, but she was more concerned about his shin.
"Finn, I'm so sorry-"
"Don't worry about it," he cut her off. "I'm used to injuries, and besides," he came up to her, placing his arms on her hips, "that goal was worth it." She laughed, more than ready to kiss him.
But then she reconsidered. She wasn't done yet.
Leaning in, she gave him a quick peck on the lips. One that ended as soon as it began.
"That's it!" he moaned, before noticing her raised eyebrows. "Not that it wasn't great, it was awesome. It's just that I just scored a pretty damn awesome goal, and… hold on, you did it on purpose!"
She sure did.
"The deal was one kiss per goal. You scored a goal. I gave you a kiss. I don't see the problem," she shrugged, not missing the way his eyes darkened. If she played her cards right...
"Let's switch," he grumbled, making her try so hard to hide her laugh. "I'll be the goalie, you try to score. And the deal still stands."
She knew it. "Done."
She couldn't help but smile as Finn took the ball from the goal and placed it right in front of her.
Rachel didn't even wait for Finn to walk back to the goal before she kicked it straight into the goal.
"How about that?" she said before jumping into Finn's arms. "Now pay up."
"Hmmm…" he smirked at her. "Judging by that goal, I think-"
She cut him off by placing her forehead on his. "I swear, if I have to score a hundred goals today to get you to kiss me, I will."
Suddenly his lips her on hers, his hands getting tangled in her hair. It was both power and sweetness poured into one, scorching kiss. With their lips moving together, she felt something she's never, ever felt before. Something passionate yet fuzzy and free. She'd gladly score a thousand goals just to have Finn kiss her like that again.
"I thought I had you, but you, Rachel Berry, deserve all of the awards."
She did, didn't she? Well, Finn wasn't too bad himself.
And well, Finn may or may not have left the field with more red marks than just on his shin.
Long story short, she proudly scored a lot of goals.
She was drooling. She was honestly drooling, and it was all his fault.
If she'd know Finn Hudson would look this hot tossing a (fake) football, she would have asked him to do it weeks ago.
She was at his annual Fourth of July party, and when he invited her, he warned her that it was tradition for him and the guys to toss 'the old pigskin' at every party, but nothing could have prepared her for that.
The flexing, the muscles, the cocky smile… it was almost too much to handle.
She could only imagine how hot he must look during a game, uniform complete with jersey and all.
Nope. She couldn't take it. Excusing herself, Rachel went over to the cooler to grab herself a bottle of water.
With the way things were looking, she's pretty sure Finn just easily gained 21 points, just for looking good.
It wasn't fair, but she wasn't going to complain.
"Looking for something?" she heard a familiar voice.
"Mrs. Hummel…" Rachel said, "I was just looking for some water. Oh look, there it is! Silly me."
The woman didn't look too convinced, but there was no way she was about to tell her that she's was busy thinking about her son in rather… inappropriate ways. Not the best way to get on her good side.
"Please, call me Carole," the woman smiled. Rachel had met her a couple of times before, but this was the first time she talked to her without Finn or Kurt around. Needless to say, Rachel was terrified.
"Thank you so much for having me over, Carole," Rachel smiled politely, trying to control her nerves.
"Thank you for the infamous Berry punch and pie! Finn and Burt weren't kidding, that stuff is amazing," Carole smiled back, making Rachel relax a little. She sat down on chair nearby and gestured for Rachel to do the same. She could easily see where Finn got his kindness from.
"Yeah, my dads were pretty upset that they couldn't make it." It was true. Her dads were currently celebrating the holiday with friends out of the city. Took a lot of convincing, but she managed to sway them into letting her spend it with Finn. But she's pretty sure they had a word with Burt when they dropped her and the food off, just a hunch.
"There's always next time. But if I'm going to be honest with you, Finn is ecstatic that you came," Carole said, a mischievous gleam in her eye.
"Really?" she bit into the hook. She couldn't help it.
"Oh yes. He even woke up early to help Kurt set up. He might have been even more nitpicky than his brother today," Carole laughed before looking Rachel in the eye. "He really likes you, you know?"
Rachel's heart stopped. Deep down, she knew Finn liked her, but hearing it from another person - his mother no less - made it seem even more real. And that made her… happier than she could have ever imagined. Finn liked her.
"So Rachel," Carole began, knocking Rachel out of her trance. Rachel felt guilty for wandering off in her mind, yet satisfied look in Carole's eyes made Rachel think the woman didn't mind at all. "Tell me more about yourself."
"Oh, I'm a…" Rachel began, before reconsidering her words. "I'm a soccer player."
She had a make a good impression on his mother, okay? She was pretty sure Finn's mom didn't want (or need) to hear her speech on how soccer was truly football and how American football wrongly stole the name. Not a good way to get on her good side, she knew. Winning over Finn's mom was worth at least fifty (yes, fifty) points in her book, so really, a quick name change was no big deal.
"Soccer huh? Do you like it?" Carole asked, amused.
Rachel was puzzled, and she didn't know why. Did she like soccer? She had never been asked that question before. The sport was her entire life, so why was it so hard to answer such a simple question?
"It's all I know," Rachel answered honestly.
Carole nodded in understanding, which Rachel appreciated.
"Finn and Kurt told me you're going to OSU. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Rachel smiled, she was proud of herself for being accepted into a college.
"What do you plan on majoring in?"
That question. She was hoping to avoid this question, especially with Carole. "As of right now, I'm undeclared," she said steadily, looking at Carole, waiting for the look of disappointment to flash on the woman's face.
It never came. "Good," Carole said, stunning Rachel.
"I'm not used to hearing that kind of response," Rachel admitted, her level of adoration for Carole skyrocketing.
"I just think it's so unfair that society makes you choose while you're so young, when you don't even know who you are and what you like. A bit of advice, Rachel - and I told Finn the same thing as well -at least for your first two years, besides from your general education classes, take electives you would have never thought to take. Take the most random ones, and see if you like it or not. Broaden your horizons before you decide."
Rachel had never thought about that before. The thought that there was something else out in the world for her, something besides soccer (er... football), scared her. But it also... kind of excited her.
"You're not talking about me, are you?" Rachel heard Finn's voice, making her smile instantly. Funny how he always did that to her. Finn took a seat on the armrest of her chair, quickly giving her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush. PDA in front of his mother? He was bold.
"Of course we were," Carole laughed. "I was just telling Rachel about the time you begged to wear my heels to the fair so you could reach the height requirement."
Rachel burst out into laughter while Finn's jaw dropped. "I was eight!" he defended himself.
"Poor baby," Rachel cooed, stroking his hair. Finn playfully glared at her before sliding on to her lap. "Finn!" she shrieked. "You're crushing me!"
"That was the plan," he said, still he moved partly off her lap and into the little bit of empty space left on the chair. Now somewhat free, Rachel took the opportunity to sit in his lap, smiling as his arms went to wrap around hers. She wrapped her arms around his arms and looked up to smile at him. He smiled back at her, and oh how could she not give him a kiss right then and there? She pressed her mouth to his, kissing him roughly. Payback for sitting on her lap.
"So soccer, huh?" he whispered in her ear before giving her a quick kiss on her neck.
"You were eavesdropping," she sighed, scooting backwards, closer to him, tightening her grip his arms.
"It's a specialty of mine. Besides, you were talking to my mom. Could you blame me?"
Crap.
She had forgotten that his mother was still sitting right next to them. Bravely, she looked up to see both Carole and Burt looking at them, the former with a giant smile, the latter with raised eyebrows.
So maybe making out in front of Finn's parents wasn't the best thing to do, but it was pretty bold on her part. All in all, she's pretty sure she deserved at least sixty-five points. Minimum.
Later that night, Rachel found herself sitting alone, under the sky alone. Finn had gone off, something about preparing the fireworks, so she took the time to enjoy the night sky. The serenity was soon interrupted when she felt someone take a seat next to her.
"Berry, right?" he said, and she recognized him right away.
"That's Rachel Berry, and you must be Noah." She's heard a lot about Noah Puckerman, Finn's best friend, also on the football team.
"It's Puck."
"No," she shook her head, "it's Noah."
"Dang, you are stubborn, I can see why Finn likes you so much," Noah said, making Rachel think. For one, she was not that stubborn. Secondly, that's the second time someone close to Finn told her he liked her.
"And I like Finn very, very much," she finally admitted, and it felt great saying it aloud.
"Do you now?" Noah questioned, making Rachel upset. She was a millisecond away from giving Noah here a piece of her mind when he continued.
"Look, Finn's my bro, we tell each other everything. So I know all about your ten week agreement or whatever. I also know that Finn likes you more than he's ever liked anyone, and that' s probably not going to change. So let me ask you again. Do you really like him? Because as far as I'm concerned, he likes you more than you like him. And if that's the case, then by the time this ten week agreement thing ends, Finn's going to end up heartbroken."
That made her angry. Furious. How dare this football player question her affections for Finn.
"I'll have you know that Finn means the world to me. He's the first person I think of in the morning and at night. I love falling asleep to the sound of his voice and waking up to a 'good morning' text even though I know he wakes up early - just to text me- and then falls right back asleep. He's the one I call during random times of the day because frankly, I miss him. I love hearing about all his crazy stories because despite the craziness, he always finds a way to make me laugh. Finn's… he everything to me. These past four weeks have been the best of my life…"
It's then that she realized. "I love him," she said, more to herself than to anyone.
"Then prove it," Noah said, before standing up and walking away, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She loved Finn.
Clasping her hand over her mouth, Rachel laughed.
She had done it. She had fallen in love with a football player. And she couldn't be happier.
"What's so funny?" she heard Finn's voice, making her smile brighter than she ever did before. Boy did she have news for him.
"Nothing," she answered. She wondered for a second if he overheard her conversation with Noah, but judging by the look on his face, he had no idea.
As soon as he sat down next to her, she tackled him down, and kissed him. Her mouth moved hungrily against his, her hands in his hair. It felt right, kissing the man she loved so much.
"Wow," he said as they pulled apart, but she wasn't done yet. She pressed her lips to his again, just hoping he would feel even just an ounce of what she felt for him.
"Rachel Berry," he said when they finally broke apart, holding her close to him. "You never cease to amaze me."
"Finn… I…" she began. She had never done this before, told someone she was in love with them. She didn't know where to begin. Suddenly, something shiny caught her eye. "What's that?"
"Oh. I got you some cherry chocolate chip ice cream," he smiled, pulling out the ice cream and the shining spoon.
He had remembered.
"I thought it might help me case when I asked you."
"Asked me what?" she asked him softly.
The first firework went off.
"Rachel Berry," he pulled her into her lap, much like the position they were in earlier, and held her close. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
In that moment, she didn't care about the fireworks. She didn't care about the cherry chocolate chip ice cream. She didn't care about football.
She only cared about Finn.
And how he managed to steal her heart in only four weeks.
Finn was the perfect boyfriend.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned at her silence.
Yes, something was very wrong.
Four weeks were up. The first half of the game was about to end, and she had already failed defensively. And she was glad, happy that she had fallen in love with Finn. It just put her in a bad position.
Because Noah's words kept running in her head: "Because as far as I'm concerned, he likes you more than you like him. And if that's the case, then by the time this ten week agreement thing ends, Finn's going to end up heartbroken."
She was not going to let that happen.
It was time for her heart to be on the offense.
She was going to show to Finn that she was worthy of him.
"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Finn," she said honestly, turning to look at him. "Nothing would make me happier."
His smile said it all.
The clock was still running but the positions have changed.
Six weeks.
Six weeks to prove that she was going to show that she was the best girlfriend ever.
She was determined to win.
Thank you for reading part one, part two is on it's way.
