Thank you for the reviews and favorites and follows! I'm glad you all like it! Here is the next chapter with some Finchel happening. More to come!
Finn was just pulling into his driveway when his phone alerted him that he had a text message. He had to do a double take when he saw who the message was from. He opened the message, hoping that it wasn't just Kurt using Rachel's phone.
Finn, I don't know why it has taken me so long to finally get enough courage to text you but I feel like I am going crazy knowing I will see you but not knowing if you want to see me. I completely understand that you probably don't want to see me since you found out about Brody and I owe you an explanation. I want to see you and I think you deserve to hear this face-to-face but if you think it will be easier; I will talk to you over text. I have to turn my phone off now since the plane is taking off but I want to know what you want to do. Talk or text? I will hopefully talk to you soon. I truly am sorry Finn.
He ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to see her more than anything but he didn't want to ruin the trip for her by forcing this type of conversation to happen once she got to Lima. He knew he would have a while to think about it before he had to answer her but he wanted more than anything to see her beautiful face and hear her side of what was happening. He texted her back instantly We need to talk hoping that she understood that meant he wanted to see her face while they talked.
When he went into the house, he heard his mom talking on the phone. He looked through the mail and was opening up a letter from one of the colleges he had applied for when she came into the room. "Oh, I was hoping you were Burt. The Berry's called and they aren't going to be able to pick Rachel and Kurt up so we need to go pick them up from the airport. I'll just call him and see if he can run up there and get them before he comes home from the shop. It is out of the way but I don't know how else to get them."
"Burt had a back-up of cars. I was actually just coming home to change and then going to run to the shop. I will just talk to him when I get there." He stuffed the envelope in his bag and ran up the stairs. He changed his clothes but put the ones he had just taken off in a duffle bag so he would have them in case he ended up heading to the airport.
A few hours later he found himself standing in front of a screen looking at the list of flights that had landed. He found their flight easily and saw that it had just landed. He found an empty seat and sat down. He could hardly believe that he was here to pick them up. He knew they needed to talk but he hadn't imagined it happening almost as soon as she got back to Lima. He waited for what seemed like forever until he heard her laugh. He stood quickly; looking in the direction he had heard the laugh. He saw her and Kurt with their arms locked together laughing about something one of them had said. He checked his phone and saw that she had texted him back. He read it and took a deep breath. He took a moment to take her in. She was wearing ankle boots that looked like she was walking on toothpicks because the heel was so thin. She was wearing a deep blue skin-tight dress that accented her figure very nicely. Her hair was down in soft curls and her make-up was darker than he was accustom to. He missed her natural look but he couldn't deny that the girl he saw in front of him was attractive. He picked up his phone and called Kurt, never taking his eyes from the direction the two were walking.
"Hey! Where are you guys at?" Kurt asked cheerfully looking around in front of him.
"Turn around. Pretty sure I tower over everyone you should be able to see me." Finn watched as Kurt slowly turned around, pulling Rachel with him. He returned his phone to his pocket and watched silently as Kurt began walking faster, pulling a more reluctant Rachel behind him. He embraced his brother but never removed his eyes from Rachel. She took his appearance in as well, studying his face that now had facial hair beginning to grow. Kurt pulled away, breaking the intense study that was going on behind his back.
"Did you come alone or is dad here too?"
"Umm Burt is in the car. He didn't want to pay for parking so he just waiting for us in the front. I hope it is okay that I was here to greet you rather than your dad. I tried to convince him that he should come in and I could wait in the car but he was insistent that he stayed. Do you have a lot of luggage?"
"We just each have one bag so it shouldn't take us long to get it! Let's go get them so we can go home! I'm really excited to see everyone!"
Finn followed Kurt and Rachel as they walked to the luggage area. Kurt first pulled off Rachel's suitcase then his own. Before Rachel could grab the handle, Finn had taken it and Kurt's and began rolling them towards the door. She took this moment to watch him walk away. He had gotten much thinner since the last time she had seen him. His clothes clung to his frame. How she wished Santana could see just how good he looked now. There was no way she could call him Lumps the Clown now. His clothing looked like things she had seen some of the boys at NYADA wearing which surprised her almost. He looked more mature especially with the facial hair he was growing. She felt that familiar feeling deep within her stomach begin. It had been a while since she felt it but she only felt it when Finn was around. Strike 10 against Brody, she thought. He would never take my luggage or come all this way to pick me up from the airport or... She was pulled away from her thoughts by the sound of a car pulling up to the curb.
"There they are, our wonderful New Yorkers have decided it would be okay to come home for once!" Burt said as he rolled the window down. "How are the two of you? Our house sure hasn't been the same."
"I must say it is quite weird to be back in Ohio. How are you doing Burt?" Rachel smiled at the man who had become another father to her.
"I'm doing well. The doctors say I am doing alright. Now why don't we get in the car and do some catching up rather than just sitting in front of the airport?"
Finn had come up behind her and held open the door while she got in. Kurt was seated next to her. Burt got out and asked Finn to drive since he was feeling a bit tired. The ride back to Lima was full of happy chatter. Rachel and Kurt told about some of the crazy people who attended NYADA and Burt filled in stories about congress. Once in a while Finn would talk about New Directions and how it was going. When Kurt mentioned the competition he and Rachel had been in, the car went silent.
"Why on earth were the two of you competing? You two are best friends, I thought you learned your lesson after the whole Defying Gravity mess?" Burt asked as he turned to face the two of them.
"Well Brody mentioned the competition and Rachel and I were fighting so we agreed to it. Looking back it was really dumb of us but it actually helped us get through a lot." Kurt was trying hard to defend their decision but he could see the anger building on Finn's face.
"So you sang Bring Him Home which I am assuming Kurt won since I never heard mention of this from Rachel? And because that is Kurt's favorite song." Finn glanced in the mirror checking Rachel's reaction.
"Yes, I won but it doesn't matter. It actually brought us closer together because I couldn't even celebrate with her acting so upset."
"Why didn't Brody take care of that?"
Rachel spoke up before Kurt even had time to come up with a counter-attack, "Because I told him to leave. I didn't want to have him there to comfort me. I told him that when I get really upset I like to be alone."
Finn caught her eyes for a split second before returning them to the road. There was nothing for the two of them to say. Finn knew that was a lie. She did like to be alone at first but she also wanted someone there to hold her while she cried. Rachel knew that Finn was the only person to catch her bluff because he was the only person she had wanted to see after she had choked at her audition. She knew she would have some explaining to do but for right now she just wanted to get home so they could actually talk about all of this. She knew it wasn't going to be pretty, but it needed to happen.
Finn pulled up outside of Burt's shop to pick up his vehicle. As he stepped out of the car, Rachel's door opened as well. She walked to the back and pulled out her suitcase, handing it to Finn. Kurt was getting into the passenger's seat looking extremely confused.
"Don't worry Finn and I just need to talk. He'll be home soon but in the mean time I'll just have him drop me off. Thanks again Burt for coming to pick us up. I really appreciate doing that at such a late notice. Bye Kurt! I'll see you later."
Finn had already put her luggage in the back and was holding the passenger door open for her. She thanked him and slid into the seat. The last time she had been in this car they had been on their way to their wedding which didn't happen. She plugged her phone into his sound system and selected a song that she had just recorded a few weeks earlier for her vocal class.
Finn started the car and heard her voice loud and clear coming through the sound system. He knew this song. He had stood backstage watching her pour her heart into this song that she had written to explain exactly how she felt about him Junior year.
"I recorded this song a few weeks ago for my vocal class because we needed to record a song that showed emotion. No one else besides my teacher has heard this. I wanted you to be the first one to hear it."
Finn pulled out of the parking lot. "Why? Rach, I don't understand. Why do you want me to be the first one to know yet you are living with another man? I guess I just don't get it."
"Finn, we go somewhere to talk. Can we go back to my house?"
"Yes but I need to stop at the high school to check in on the Glee Club. Mr. Schue is back but they are having practice for the wedding. Can this wait just a little while longer?"
Rachel sighed, "Yeah that is fine. I just think we need to get this all out in the open sooner than later."
They pulled into the parking lot of the building that held so many memories. Finn turned the car off and turned to her. "Would you like to come in with me? I know the last two times we were here together weren't very happy but"
"I'd love to come in. I want to see everyone so it will be good. And Finn," she touched his arm trying to get him to look at her. His brown eyes captured hers in stare that she felt all the way through her. "I really am trying to get it right. That is why I really need to talk to you and explain everything to you."
He nodded his head and got out of the car. He walked around and opened her door. He gave her his hand to help her out since her shoes were higher than stilts. She took it graciously. His grip loosened once she had both feet firmly on the ground. She wanted more than anything to hold on tight but she knew she should't force it. He was hurt more than she herself completely understood. She let go and held on to her clutch. How she missed the feeling of his strong hands holding her up.