DISCLAIMER: I do not own, or claim to own, glee, any of the characters or songs mentioned in this story.


Well, by now you probably know I'm not a native speaker, but I'm just gonna mention it again and also repeat my plea to tell me about any mistakes I might make.

Also, have I mentioned how much I love reviews? All of them? Even if they just say "I like this!", they really brighten up my day, so ... You know what to do if you wanna make me happy!


New Adrenaline

Chapter 4

- How Come You Don't Call Me? -

The weekend passed without one single call from Jesse. Every now and then my cell phone would vibrate, causing me to jump up from either my bed or my chair, or storm out of the bathroom and run into several pieces of furniture just to fetch it from the bedside table and read a message that was either from a New Directions member or one of my dads. Then I would carelessly toss the phone back in its place and try to stifle the growing disappointment and frustration, telling myself that as a singer of national fame – which, of course, he was – he was probably very busy. Still I wished that he would just pick up the damn phone and finally call me, for Christ's sake.

Not surprisingly, I was not in the best mood when I entered McKinley High on Monday morning. All the kids bumping into me in the hallways did not exactly help, either, but at least I wouldn't have to watch out for bullies coming at me at any second when dozens of potential witnesses were crowded around me. Unfortunately, it turned out that such simple things as physically violent bullies would hardly be my biggest problem today, since, as I approached my locker, I noticed Finn standing in front of it. He was obviously waiting for me, judging by his searching glances up and down the hallway. He also was the last person I wanted to talk to right now.

I briefly wondered whether I could make it through at least the first lesson without the books stored in my locker, but eventually had to decide that there was no point in discussing a piece of French literature without having said piece of literature in front of me. My chances that he would just give up waiting for me and leave within the next few minutes were, as I knew, pretty bad because he knew that I never missed a day of school and I knew that he was stubborn and persistent enough to miss whatever class he had in order to wait for me if it seemed important to him. Apparently whatever he had to talk about was important enough, because I also knew that he rarely arrived at school earlier than a few minutes before his first class started and not half an hour in advance, as today. So I straightened my spine and walked over to my locker.

"Hi, Rachel." He greeted me as soon as he caught sight of me, giving me his slightly foolish grin. I knew him well, of course, given our strange relationship – I wasn't sure if we had ever been actually dating – so I recognized the gestures that had always betrayed his nervousness to me: his fingers plucking at his shirt and the facial expression, of course. His mouth was slightly open; his eyes almost empty as if he had withdrawn into some part of his mind where he was looking for the right words to say – well, whatever he wanted to say.

"Hi, Finn." I did not intend to sound as cold and distant as I did, but I couldn't help it.

"Look – I know you must be mad at me." He said, apparently not surprised at my tone and it was only then that I remembered that we had broken up only the week before. And I was not even mad because of the whole thing – including the supposedly indispensible search for his "inner rock star" – anymore, mostly because it felt as if all that had been years ago. Now, I could look at Finn without being heartbroken and see him for who he was: a truly good guy, surely, but other than that merely a mediocre singer and football player – not to mention his dancing. He also had never stood out of the masses because of his enormous intellect. Actually, I had to wonder how I ever could have thought that he was the ideal boyfriend for me.

"But please, Rach listen to me." He went on talking as I opened my locker, rummaging through the pile of books inside it. Then he took a deep breath, which, as I knew, indicated that he was coming to the point. "I think I've realized that I really want to be with you."

I closed my locker and turned around to look at Finn. "But I don't, Finn." I said, trying to keep the cold out of my voice. I did not want to be mean, but I also did not want to have to justify myself. "Look, actually I think you did me a favor breaking up with me. We were never meant for each other."

The sad look on his face made me feel guilty. I had not exactly given him reasons to keep his hopes down in the past. "Why would you ever say that?" He asked as if he couldn't make sense of the words I'd just said. "Are you seeing someone else?"

"Even if I were, that would be none of your business." I answered, hoping that this would erase his suspicions. I didn't know for sure, however, because all I could see in his eyes were hurt and sadness. Did he really have to give me a guilty conscience?

"Well, if you change your mind …" He said, smiling wearily. I managed to smile back just as wearily, trying to tell him all the things I couldn't put into words through my eyes. That it wasn't his fault and that I didn't want to hurt him on purpose.

"I won't." I said. "See you in glee club."

"Yeah, see you there." I heard him mutter some seconds after I had turned around and started to walk off to my French class.


When I was driving home from school, I thought about this week's glee task: choosing a song – any song – that showed how we felt. Granted, this was not a very creative task, but Mr. Schue had a point if you considered that expressing your feelings was the very core of what glee club should be about. I think I would have chosen Alicia Keys' "How Come You Don't Call Me" if it hadn't been for two reasons.

Firstly, I still did not want any member of the New Directions to find out about the fact that I was dating the Vocal Adrenaline lead singer. I had a feeling that they would not be thrilled about it, since we would definitely be competing against VA at Regionals.

Secondly, the first thing I saw when I turned into the street where my dads had decided to build a small house many years ago was a black Range Rover parked in front of said house.

What I felt when I realized that he had actually come instead of called was a mixture of joy and relief. Relief, of course, because I almost had feared I would never again hear a word from him after two days without a single call or even a text message. Maybe I should have been angry at him, but it was almost impossible because I was just so pleased to see him, actually sitting on the front steps and waiting for me.

He jumped up as soon as I got out of my car, rushing towards me and taking my hand which fit perfectly into his. Instantly, I felt warm again. "You could have called once during the last few days, you know." I told him, smiling.

"So you missed me?" He teased.

"Terribly." I admitted.

"Well, here I am. Do with me whatever will please you, mistress." He said, making pretence at sounding solemn. We both burst into laughter at once.

"Well, I suppose you could come in for a start." I said, fishing my keys out of my bag. "My dads will not be home for some hours."

He followed me inside and up to my room, where we sat on the bed next to each other. "I'm really sorry I didn't call. But coach Corcoran decided to have us rehearse 24 hours a day on the weekend after seeing you sing at Sectionals." He apologized, his eyes begging me to understand and not get mad.

"Ah, so now it's my fault." I joked.

"Maybe." He smiled. "Do you even realize how truly extraordinary you are?" He suddenly asked without any kind of preamble, putting his arm around my waist and pulling me closer. Immediately, the blood in my veins seemed to start to boil at the touch of our bodies and the compliment he'd just paid me. I snuggled against him, once again wondering how easy everything was between the two of us.

"I'm no more extraordinary than you are." I answered, returning the compliment. Then I leaned in to kiss him. It felt like an eternity until we finally parted, looking each other straight in the eyes. He looked as happy as I felt. This made my smile even brighter.

We spent the whole afternoon together, talking, laughing, watching Funny Girl, singing and, yes, making out until I had to tell him to go because my dads might come home at any minute and I did not want them to find out that I already had a new boyfriend when I had only just broken up with Finn. I had a feeling that they would not understand, either, just as the New Directions would not. Jesse would have to be my little secret, and I did not mind that at all.

Before he left this time, however, I made him give me his cell phone number so I wouldn't have to wait for him to call me, just in case "Coach Corcoran" decided to have them rehearse 24 hours a day again.


Oh, come on. You know you can't leave this page before you leave a review.