Once the clock struck 5:30, Rachel knew that the two hours of sleep on Finn's couch was all she was going to get. Sitting up, she rubbed her exhausted eyes and walked over to the kitchen. Finding a notepad and a pen, Rachel wanted to leave Quinn a note. She didn't want to just get up and leave, leaving Quinn worried in the morning.
_"Q, I'm really sorry for you having to find out that I left like this, but I just really want to go home and take a hot bath.. I promise that we will have our own sleepover soon, but for now I just want to be alone. Please understand. I really appreciate what you did for me tonight and I can't think of a better friend who would've done the same. I love you, Quinny bear.. I hope you have a great morning. Talk to you later. -Rachel_
_P.s, don't be mad. Sorry."_
Placing the note on the counter, Rachel grabbed her things and walked out of the door. Once Rachel got into a cab, she placed her head in her hands and tried to keep her sobs under a small tone, avoiding eye contact with the taxi driver. When she arrived in the front of her building, she ran up the stairs to her apartment, and once she got inside, she locked the door and slumped down on her couch.
After taking a hot shower and having two cups of coffee, Rachel was ready for a much needed sleep in her bed. So, once she hit her soft pillows, she fell into a very deep slumber.
By the time she felt it was time for her to get up, it was already 2:10 pm. Seeing the day totally useless, Rachel walked into her living room, snuggled under a blanket and spent the day watching movies. Once she got through her third movie, she decided that she would order in. She just hoped they would make deliveries in this frosty and wet weather. Calling the local pizza parlor, she placed in her order and waited patiently, popping in another movie.
Throwing herself into the movie, Rachel was glad that she did. She didn't want to think about Finn or anything that happened last night.
She honestly laughed at the hopeful girl she was yesterday afternoon. She couldn't believe she was so naïve to believe that a guy like Finn Hudson could love her back. She was just so shocked. She still didn't know who was at that bar last night, because he definitely wasn't her best friend that she knew and loved with all her heart. That person at the club last night was a total stranger to her and she hoped she would never have to come face to face with him. Even if it met cutting all contact from Finn.
She knew that she probably did overstep her boundaries a little last night, by calling the girl a slut and telling her to stay away from Finn even though it wasn't her place to tell her to, but she had always been protective of Finn, and sometimes it had nothing to do with the fact that she was in love with him. But maybe last night it kind of did. Rachel had to admit that she was a bit jealous of the girl, but that wasn't the whole reason she went off on her. Rachel knew that that girl was not what Finn needed in his life. Rachel could've sworn she looked like she rolled with the wrong crowd or was hung up on the wrong kind of things, like drugs and too much alcohol. Rachel was just honestly trying to protect Finn. She didn't want to be his mother figure, or boss him around, but she could understand if he thought of it being that way. She just wanted to stick to their deal they had made in high school. She would never be able to live with herself if Finn got hurt, physically or emotionally.
But the way Finn acted towards her. That was the most surprising revelation to her yet. It's like he just threw her away all at once. Like she was some sort of unwanted baggage to her for all of these years and he was waiting for the perfect moment to get rid of their friendship like he did last night. Rachel knew that she maybe did say a little too much, But Finn.. He was over reacting.. The things he said to her, the way he made her feel so embarrassed in front of that girl.. The way he looked at her while he said those things to her face.. The way he looked at her when tears were falling from her face.. The way he showed no remorse.. What was his problem?
Rachel had no idea how, but her heart broke and shattered into pieces with just one small conversation. She was so silly for believing that there was maybe a possibility that he could see her more than what she was to him already. But, last night she learned that that wasn't possible anymore. The way he denied that they were married, before she could even take a breath. It was like a reflex to him.. He wanted nothing to do with her anymore? Fine, he was now just as dead to her as she was to him.. And she was sure as hell not going to be the first to apologize.
Hearing her buzzer go off, she knew it would be the pizza delivery guy, so she told him to come up and opened the gate for him. Once she heard the door being knocked on, she paused her movie, and walked over to the door. Opening it, she saw someone. But, it wasn't the pizza guy. It was Finn.
His clothes were dripping wet, he was shivering, and he was holding a bouquet of flowers and a soaked teddy bear, with the words "I'm beary sorry", written on it. Feeling a bit of guilt seeing the state he was in, she almost asked him to come in. Shaking the horrid feeling from her system, she glared at him and slammed the door in his face. She wasn't going to let him win this one. Not after all of the cruel things he said to her last night.
"C'mon.. Please, Rach. Just please give me a chance." he shouted through the door.
Standing by the door, Rachel held her stomach as her face became hot. She knew the tears were coming, she just didn't know when they would make their appearance. Her gut felt twisted and she didn't want to move. She didn't want to open the door to Finn.
"No. Go away." she called back.
"Please, Rach. Just open the door. I want to explain. Please, I'm begging you. C'mon. I'm not leaving and it's freezing out in this hall. So, either you let me freeze to death or open the door." he said.
"You deserve it!" she shouted.
"I know I do. Just, please, let me in." he replied.
Finally, Rachel gave in. Flinging the door open, she looked up at him and rolled her now tear filled eyes.
"Wow.. You make me feel like crap and I still don't have the heart to say no to you." she scoffed, watching him walk up to her. Grabbing the flowers and teddy bear from his hand, she placed it on the kitchen table and stood in front of him, arms crossed and more tears building up in her eyes.
"Rach.." He began, but she stopped him.
"Don't "Rach" me." she hissed back. "You have no idea how I feel right now."
"Please, just let me explain." Finn begged.
"What is there to explain, huh? How you made me feel like a complete idiot? Or, how you hurt me? Finn, the words you said to me last night hurt!" she yelled. "You said you didn't want to be my friend anymore..." The tears made their appearance, in streams.
"I know. I'm so stupid and I shouldn't have even opened my mouth. I was stupid and drunk and I didn't mean a single word Rach. You have to believe me, Rachel. I would never ever want to say those things to you that I said last night and I promise you that I didn't mean a single word. Please don't cry, Rach. Please.." he said, walking closer to her.
"No. You don't get to do that. You don't get to just come in here and apologize, thinking everything's just gonna be okay. I was so humiliated last night... I thought I would be able to spend the night having fun with my friend.. You chose a girl you met in a one night hookup over me. The girl you've known since we were small children.. You don't know how much that hurt me, Finn. You don't know how bad I felt last night, walking out of there like a stupid idiot. You have no idea how long I cried last night. You have no idea, because you weren't there. I needed my best friend last night and you weren't there! You were the one who hurt me and I needed you! I needed you to tell me that everything was going to be okay and to wipe away my tears like you did for my break up with Jesse. You weren't there.. and this time you were the one who caused the damage..." she sobbed, and pushed him away as he sympathetically tried to hug her.
"Rach, i'm so sorry. I didn't know what I was thinking. I wasn't thinking clearly, obviously. I should have went after you, I know. I wasn't myself last night. I was drunk. And Mandy, she's nobody. I shouldn't have even been with her that night. Rach, I know I hurt you so bad.. I feel bad right now, and there is nothing more that I want to do than apologize to you in every way, shape, and form.. But I need you to listen to me and listen carefully. You are my best friend in this whole entire planet and I can't lose you. If you left my life for good, I don't know what I would do with myself. If you never forgave me I wouldn't be able to live with myself for the rest of my life. I can't look at you like this, knowing I did this to you. Please, I'm so sorry Rachel Barbra Berry and if you give me a second chance, I will prove to you that you aren't making a mistake. I will spend everyday of the rest of my life to making sure that i'm the best friend there is.. Just please, tell me that there's still a small chance for me... That there's a small chance for your forgiveness...
Looking at him, Rachel's heart ached at his expression. He looked hopeless and in a terrible state. His clothes were soggy. His eyes looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep. He looked exhausted, like he had been up all night. His tall, perfectly sculpted brown hair was now fallen and saggy. He looked freezing and sad. Rachel was pretty sure she even saw a few tears build up in his eyes. She then knew that no matter how hard she would try to fight the bad feeling in her stomach, Finn was telling the truth and that all he said that night really didn't mean anything. She knew that she had to say it to him. She just didn't know how. Finally, she let go.
Feeling a few tears fall from her eyes, she walked over to him. Getting on her tippy toes, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a warm embrace. She didn't even care that his clothes were wet.
"I forgive you.." she whispered into his ear, smiling when she heard a sigh of relief.
Picking her up in his arms, Finn gripped her tight, embracing this hug more than she'd expected.
"Thank you so much, Rachel. You'll never have to forgive me again, because I won't act stupid anymore. You won't regret it!" he exclaimed, picking her up again and twirling her around, as if she were weightless to him. Hugging him tight, Rachel smiled to herself. She never wanted this moment to end. She had just gotten her best friend back and there was nothing that she had to be sad about anymore.
"There is one thing I regret though.." she began.
"What?" he quickly asked, looking worried.
"Letting myself hug you in those wet clothes.. Finn you're soaked!" she exclaimed.
"I walked all the way from the flower shop." he confessed.
"Are you crazy? Do you know how cold it is outside?" she crossed her arms.
"I didn't care. I had to get here and there wasn't a taxi available fast enough." he said, with a crooked smile on his face.
"Well. First we're going to change you out of those wet clothes and then you're going to be getting lots of blankets because you're shivering and you could get sick." she smiled, walking towards her room, with him in tow.
"Wait? I appreciate the offer but I don't think pink is my color and plus, i'm pretty sure you don't wear my size." he said.
"I have an old t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants you let me borrow one day when I slept at your house. I just haven't found the time to return them." she smiled, digging through her drawers and handing the clothing items to him. "Now, get changed and I will make you some hot tea.. The pizza man should be here any minute and it's probably still raining. So, you know what that means.." she explained.
"What?" he asked, looking down at her with curious eyes.
"You're joining in on my movie night, and there's nothing that you can do about it." she giggled, watching him roll his eyes with laughter.
"Fine. Just, no more "Funny Girl". I've seen that movie far more times than I please." he laughed.
"Okay." she laughed, walking towards the kitchen again.
Once she heard the buzzer buzz again, she clarified that it was the pizza man. Once he got up the stairs, she paid him and received the pizza from him, giving him an extra tip for traveling in the rain.
Putting the pizza on the table, she set out paper plates and waited for Finn to come out of the bathroom. She really hoped he hadn't escaped through out the window.
After about 2 minutes of waiting, Rachel finally looked up to see Finn walking into the living room with just the sweat pants on. Gosh, why did he have to be so difficult around her.. It's like he knew about her secret love for him and was just waiting for her to burst at any moment. She knew that wasn't the case. She just really hoped she could get through the rest of the night without staring at Finn the whole entire time instead of the TV screen.
"So, what movie are we watching, Berry?" he asked, sitting on the side of her and pulling the blanket over his body.
"Your favorite... The Twilight Saga!" she laughed, knowing that Finn hated the movies since the day she dragged him to the movie theater to watch them.
"Uhhh.. Can't we like watch The Transformers or something?" he asked with a groan in his voice.
"No, we're watching this whether you like it or not. I have a very stressful day ahead of me tomorrow at work and I need a little Edward in my life right now." she giggled, knowing that Finn was rolling his eyes at the very moment.
"Fine. But don't expect me to pay attention to your rambling on about how much more awesome team Edward is." he said, crossing his arms as the movie started to begin.
"You're such a jerk." she whispered, before punching his arm and turning back to the movie.
Towards the middle of the movie, the whole box of pizza was gone, and Rachel was now shivering, seeing as though Finn was hogging up all of the covers. Holding her legs with her arms and clattering her teeth together from her shivery state, she tried to pay attention to the movie, but she just couldn't. She deciphered getting up and going to get another blanket from her room, but she pushed the thought back, not wanting to disrupt the movie.
As she shook more, Finn began to notice. What he did next made Rachel thank her luckiest gold stars that the only light they had was the TV screen. Because, she was pretty sure her cheeks were redder than fire from her blushing. Once he noticed that she was shivering, he pulled her close to him and wrapped the cover over the both of them as she laid flat on top of his bare chest. It was like she was in some sort of dream and she never wanted to wake up. She was so glad they made up.