Author's note: Hello, everyone! I just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone who had followed/favorited/reviewed this story. It really means a lot. If you haven't noticed, usually I try to update every Tuesday, but since it's only a month until school is out for me things have been a little hectic. So I just had to skip a Tuesday because I was little overwhelmed. Until school is over it might be every other Tuesday that chapters are posted, but this story will be updated because I have a lot in store for everyone, mainly Finchel. But I'm really excited to get another chapter out to all of you. I hope you enjoy it!
Luckily, Finn hadn't forgotten about his date with Rachel. However, that may have been because he had written it in front of his alarm clock, inside of his "Read Me Everyday" file, and on his computer. He had even used an entire pack of sticky notes to put reminders all over his place.
At first he didn't understand why he had left himself so may notes. But when he found a specific page now dedicated to Rachel in his file, everything started to make sense. However, he couldn't believe it was actually real.
Date with Rachel Berry at six tonight (1/17) at Ted's. DON'T FORGET.
Finn read that sentence again and again all over his apartment. All the reminders made him laugh. He must have either really messed up before or he just really didn't want to forget.
After Finn had showered and watched the news to see what was going on in the new world, his phone began to ring. Hurrying to answer it, he smiled when he saw Puck's name.
"Hey, man. What's going on?" Finn spoke.
"Oh thank, God. You're not completely losing your mind. Santana owes me five bucks," Puck said, causing Finn to lift a brow.
"Uh…yeah," Finn said, unsure of what Puck was referring to.
"Sorry, dude. It's just the first day of you having to find your file yourself instead of you having to call San…like you've done for everyday for the past four years. So we were kind of worried something would go wrong," Puck admitted.
Finn nodded to himself. "No…uh…that sounds reasonable. But everything is fine and I'm not losing my mind. Well, not completely anyway."
Puck and Finn shared a small laugh at Finn's words. It was nice to have Puck still in his life even after all these years that he couldn't remember.
"Oh, and I was supposed to remind you. You have a date with Rachel tonight at six. You're going to some place called Ted's," Puck said.
Finn let out another small laugh. "Yeah, I think I got that. My apartment is covered in reminders."
"Guess she's pretty important to you, huh?" Puck said, amusement in his voice.
A small smile crept across Finn's lips as he thought about Rachel. Even though he couldn't remember anything that happened with Rachel, he could tell that he really liked her. Not only because he had liked her since he had first seen her in high school. It was as if there was something in him that could still remember the feelings that he had felt for Rachel over the past few days, even if he didn't know why he felt them. He just knew from the instant smile, the quickening of his heart rate, and just the overall warm feeling that fled over him that he really liked this girl.
"Yeah, I guess she is," Finn responded, his smile apparent in his voice.
"Alright, man. San is hitting me to get off the phone. I'll be there at five thirty to pick you up and take you to the date, okay?" Puck spoke.
"I can't drive myself?" Finn asked.
There was a slight pause before Puck quickly cleared his throat.
"You don't have a car anymore…not since the accident, so I have kind of been your driver, or you walk. But Ted's isn't exactly close."
Well, that sucks. It sounds like I'm being babied or something.
Finn nodded. "Okay. But can you make it five fifteen? I want to make sure I'm there extra early, just in case."
Puck laughed. "You got it, dude. See you then."
"See ya."
Finn hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket. He didn't want to risk leaving it on the end table and somehow forgetting it. Keeping important things close to him at this point seemed like the better option.
Glancing down at his watch, Finn noticed that he still had five hours before his date and no idea how he was supposed to kill them. He had no idea what was in his apartment to do since he couldn't remember where anything was.
What would eighteen-year-old Finn do if he had time to kill? Homework? Hah, yeah right.
Video games.
Finn licked his lips as he looked back at his television, wondering if he even had a video game console or any games to play. That could be something else put in storage once he moved. He imagined his mom and Santana would say that he needed to grow up and probably even give his video games away. He really hoped that wasn't the case.
Puck had to pull through somehow, right? He wouldn't let them throw away my stuff.
Standing up from the couch, Finn checked in the cabinet next to television, but only found movies and two remotes that had the batteries taken out of them. He then moved on to the next logical place; his bedroom closet. However, all he found were shoes and clothes.
Come on. They had to leave me with something.
Next, Finn checked the hall closet, faced with a vacuum cleaner, a random board game, and a box of old pictures. He almost stopped to look at the box full of photos, but decided to continue his search for something video game related.
Glancing up to the highest shelf, Finn saw a black box and instantly reached for it. Pulling it down, a wide smile spread across his face as he found his Xbox sitting inside.
"Jackpot," he said before closing the hall closet and heading back into the living room.
Finn quickly set up the console and chose a game to play before sitting back on his couch. A content smile was spread across his face as he waited for everything to start up.
Once the game began, Finn instantly fell back to old Finn, the Finn that he knew. The Finn that could kick ass in Call of Duty as long as he had his machine gun of choice. However, it didn't take long for him to be completely lost within his game. Falling back into his old habit of repeating round after round and not paying attention to anything but getting a higher killing streak.
After who knows how many rounds, Finn rubbed his eyes a little and allowed himself to stretch as he waited for the game to load. However, he suddenly jumped when he heard a knock at his front door.
Getting up from the couch, Finn went to the door and opened it to reveal Puck on the other side.
"Jesus Christ, dude. You're not really going to the date dressed like that are you?" Puck asked, shaking his head.
Finn glanced down at his clothes before looking back at Puck. He was only in a t-shirt and jeans, which didn't exactly fit the usual date attire.
"No. I'm about to change. I was just…preoccupied," Finn said.
Puck looked passed Finn into the apartment, seconds passing before a large grin took over Puck's expression.
"Oh, dude! A little Call of Duty! I see you found the Xbox I stashed away for you," Puck spoke, moving passed Finn into the apartment. "The girls tried to toss it, but I saved it for you."
Finn couldn't help but laugh as he shut the front door. "Thanks, man."
"No problem. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn't protect my best friend's console?"
Puck took a seat on the couch and took the controller into his hands, waiting for the next round to begin.
"You go change. I'm going to teach these punks how it's done."
Finn smiled and shook his head slightly as he headed into his room, determined to find something more fitting to wear.
Once Finn was changed and Puck was finished "handing it to all the pubescent nerds," they managed to leave the apartment and head to the restaurant.
"I just want to say that I'm really glad that you're getting out there. Even if it is with Berry," Puck said, sounding somewhat sincere.
Finn looked over at his best friend, opening his mouth to say something, but Puck cut him off with a laugh.
"I'm only joking, man. I know that Berry was below us on the food chain in high school, but that's over now. Besides, I always thought she was sneaky hot."
"But you always gave me crap every time I was remotely nice to her," Finn said, raising a brow.
"Even if I thought she was hot I wasn't going to ruin my rep. I was the biggest bad ass at McKinley. I'm probably still the biggest badass in Lima. You're my best friend and I didn't want to see you get chewed up because you were exchanging smiles with my fellow Jew."
Finn shrugged. "I always liked her. Even though people were mean to her…I always thought she was special."
"Yeah, I could tell," Puck stated.
"You could? How?" Finn asked, slightly shocked.
"I'm your best friend. I could just tell," Puck said nonchalantly.
Finn let out a small laugh. "And I thought I hid it so well."
"Nah, your goofy smiles and feet shifting give you away for miles. All those times I tried to teach you to play it cool were just wasted," Puck joked.
"And I'm guessing I still haven't mastered it?" Finn asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"Not at all," Puck said with a smirk.
Laughing, Puck pulled up to an unfamiliar restaurant that looked somewhat promising.
"Did I choose this place?" Finn asked as he looked up at the sign.
"Nah, I think she did," Puck replied, pulling up to the curb for Finn to get out.
Well at least I know she likes the food.
"Alright," Finn nodded, but paused before he got out of the truck. "Uh…do you want to pick me up at like…eight?"
Puck let out a small laugh. "How about you text me if and when you want me to come get you?"
Finn nodded again. "Okay. That sounds good."
Opening the door, Finn slid out of the truck, turning to close the door.
"Good luck! You'll probably need it," Puck called to him before the door closed.
Finn shook his head as his best friend drove off.
Four years older, but somehow still the same.
That thought made Finn smile to himself. A little bit of consistently definitely didn't hurt him right now.
Walking inside of the restaurant, Finn asked for a table for two, giving the hostess Rachel's name and a quick description before he was seated.
As he sat at the table waiting the extra half an hour until Rachel would be there, Finn began to look through the menu. He was impressed with the options and definitely wanted to remember to come here again.
Pulling out his small notebook, Finn wrote down the name of the restaurant, wondering if he would ever even read this note again. There were so many small notes in the book and he wondered if he ever went back through everything. Probably not considering it seemed like it was filled with notes from years back.
As time passed, Finn began to slightly fidget. He couldn't help but feel like Rachel might not show up. Considering all the notes he left himself he had concluded that he must have forgotten about one of their dates. She could possibly blow him off for a form of payback.
However, five minutes before six, Finn looked up to find the hostess leading Rachel to his table. Instantly, Finn stood from the table to greet her, his mouth falling open as he stared at the beautiful brunette. There was no ignoring the way his heart began to instantly race as he saw her wide smile that pushed a dimple into one of her cheeks.
Wow.
Once Rachel was seated, Finn took his seat again, feeling his usual goofy smile plastered on his face.
Yeah. I'm definitely not capable of playing it smooth.
"Hello, Finn. I'm glad to see that you could make it," Rachel said, a hint of teasing in her voice.
Finn let out a small laugh. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
His comment caused Rachel's smile to grow wider.
"The hostess said you have been here for about half an hour…is that true?" she asked, looking at him through her lashes.
Finn nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want to be late or miss anything. I really didn't want to screw this up."
"Well, then you succeeded. I must say I am very flattered and impressed," Rachel spoke, opening up her menu.
Finn could only smile at her, still taking in the fact that he was actually on a date with Rachel Berry.
Suddenly, Rachel laughed, causing Finn to lift a brow.
"What is it?" he asked, nervous that he somehow had something on his face or in his nose.
"It's just that every time I see you, you look at me the same way every time. It's as if you can't believe I'm real or something," Rachel said with a shrug.
Dang. I am so obvious.
"I guess I can't," Finn admitted, watching as Rachel tilted her head to side.
"Explain," she said simply.
Explain? Seriously? I didn't even know I looked at you the same way every time. How am I supposed to explain something I barely know anything about? Think, Hudson.
Clearing his throat, Finn shrugged. "I guess each time I see you…it's like I'm seeing you for the first time. Over and over again. To me, it's like…" Finn paused, attempting to find the right words. "It's like experiencing something beautiful over and over again. I just get this breath of fresh air and I just think….'my life is better now.'"
Finn didn't realize that he was looking passed Rachel instead of at her until he let his eyes shift back to hers.
However, his own eyes widened after a moment as he realized everything that he just said.
That had to freak her out, right? Oh, God. I shouldn't have said all that.
"I mean, at least that's how it felt when I just saw you. I can't really speak for all the other times throughout the past few days, weeks, or whatever. But that's how it feels now…or er…I don't know. Maybe even back in high school. I'm saying too much, right? I really need to stop," Finn rambled on before shaking his head at himself. He had to be the biggest idiot of all idiots.
Suddenly, Finn heard Rachel giggle, causing his heart to skip a beat.
"No, you're not saying too much. Normally I'm the one who talks too much, but this is a nice change," Rachel spoke.
A weak smile fell on Finn's lips, but he still felt slightly uneasy.
"You didn't freak me out," Rachel said, shaking her head. It was as if she had just read his thoughts. "If anything, that was perfect. Because in so many ways you've already made my life better, as well as back in high school."
Finn's smile grew. "Really?"
Rachel returned his smile and nodded. "Really."
Letting out a deep breath, Finn followed it with a laugh. "Kind of serious for our uh…? How many dates is this?"
"Well, three is we're counting last night when you stood me up. But technically only two," Rachel said.
Finn's mouth fell open slightly. "I stood you up?"
Rachel shrugged. "Yeah, but it's not big deal. You forgot."
Finn sighed. "Story of my life. I hope you chewed me out for being such an idiot."
"I did, but you seemed to be more mad with yourself then I was. But you're cute so I thought I would give you another chance," Rachel said.
Finn smiled at her. "And I'm really glad that you did."
Suddenly the waitress appeared, taking their drink orders. Since Rachel had a "usual" at the restaurant she was all ready to order food. Finn managed to scramble something together as she ordered before the waitress took their menus and left their table.
"So, what about you? I don't know how much you told me during out last date, but I'd like to know what's going on in your life now," Finn spoke.
"There's not too much to tell. I work at the Music Go Round not far from your house. I still live in the same neighborhood basically. I'm just older and wiser now," Rachel informed him.
Finn knew there had to be more to her story. Parts that she could actually remember, unlike him.
"Weren't you supposed to go to some big theatre school?" Finn asked, remembering the day he had heard secondhand that Rachel had been accepted to some college that she was ecstatic about.
Rachel's smile fell as she nodded. "I was supposed to go to NYADA."
Finn raised a brow. "You were supposed to? But why didn't you?"
"You kind of asked me the same thing on our last date," Rachel said, her voice sounding slightly sad.
"Oh…" Finn trailed off, suddenly feeling guilty. "I'm really sorry, Rachel. I didn't mean to be rude."
"No, no. It's okay. You didn't know…it's not a big deal anyway. It's just one of those things that I kind wish I did, you know?" Rachel said.
"Then why didn't you do it?" Finn asked. "If you don't mind me asking of course."
Rachel let out a small sigh. "At the time I had some issues going on in my life that just kind of prevented me from going. I had a choice to make and I chose to stay in Lima."
"And now you regret it?" Finn asked.
"It's not that I regret it…I just sometimes wish that I could change my path now. I'm working at a music store when I really thought I would be on Broadway someday," Rachel said.
"You could still be on Broadway," Finn offered.
"Yeah, right," Rachel said flatly.
"No, I mean it. I remember hearing you sing a couple of times through musicals or Glee club stuff. You're really good," Finn spoke.
"Thanks," Rachel said, a weak smile falling on her lips.
"That's even an understatement," Finn said, reaching to place his hand over hers on the table. "You're amazing, Rachel. You're like this big gold star. So just…don't give up."
Now Rachel's smile widened a little more as she gave Finn a nod.
"Okay. Just as long as you don't give up either," Rachel said.
"Me? What are you talking about?" Finn asked, furrowing his brow.
"With your memory. I can tell that your short-term memory loss really bothers you more than your letting on, but it doesn't define you. Don't give up on looking for a cure or maybe just having the smallest memory," Rachel spoke.
Holy crap. She's even more amazing than I remember.
Finn smiled. "Deal. You don't give up on your dream and I won't give up on mine."
Rachel nodded. "Consider it done, Finn Hudson."
When their food finally arrived, Finn and Rachel fell into a conversation about Broadway. However, the conversation mainly involved Rachel talking, which Finn didn't mind at all. It's what he preferred. Seeing the way she lit up as she voiced her thoughts and opinions only made him smile.
After dinner, Finn paid and they walked out together into the chill January air. As they reached the sidewalk in front of the restaurant, they turned to face one another, exchanging smiles.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight," Rachel said, crossing her arms to try to keep warm. Finn had the sudden urge to take her into his arms and heat her up himself. However, he resisted in order to not freak her out anymore.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Finn nodded, feeling disappointment hit him as he realized he had to leave her.
However, after a moment went by, Finn realized he hadn't asked Puck to pick him up. He still needed to text him to let him know, which would result in him waiting in the cold for another fifteen minutes. Unless he went back inside, which he didn't really want to.
Great. I always manage to make myself look like an idiot in front of Rachel. Job well done.
"You okay?" Rachel asked, seeming to notice the distraught look on Finn's face.
"Uh, yeah…it's just that I was supposed to text Puck to come get me and I forgot," Finn said, beginning to pull out his phone.
"Come get you?"
Finn nodded, continuing to feel pathetic. "I don't have my own car since the accident so he kind of drives me around. It's lame…but, you know."
Finding Puck's name in his phone, Finn began to type out a message to him.
"Well, I could drive you home," Rachel spoke up before he could finish his message.
Looking up from his phone, Finn raised a brow at her.
"I really appreciate that, Rachel. But I don't want to be a burden."
Rachel nodded. "What I mean is…I could drive you back to my place."
Finn's mouth went dry as he stared down at her. His hands were still frozen over his keyboard and texting Puck no longer seemed like an option.
Am I really going to let Rachel Berry take me back to her place…? Hell, yeah.
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Finn nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good."
Rachel smirked up at him before taking his hands in hers and leading him into the parking lot.
When they reached her car, they both slid inside and buckled up before she pulled out of the parking lot. Finn couldn't help but feel his knee bounce as she drove, excited yet nervous to be going back to her place.
Rachel began to fiddle with the radio before she stopped on a familiar song. Finn could see the smile on her face from the corner of his eye, causing him to look over at her.
She began to hum quietly, which only caused a smile to spread across his face. How was it that she could make such a beautiful melody so easily?
She really is something special.
Before he knew it, the car came to a stop and she was turning off the ignition. Rachel smiled over at him as she unbuckled her seat belt, causing Finn to do the same.
Following Rachel up to her place, Finn couldn't help but admire how neat and tidy everything in her apartment was. It was like everything had a place and it was always in that said place. He really needed to follow whatever system she had.
Finn continued to look around, taking in his surroundings that all represented Rachel in a different way.
On one wall there was a framed portrait of Barbra Streisand, then there was a table with perfect white roses. Everything just seemed so perfect as if her house was straight out of some home catalog.
"Nice place," Finn said, doing another slow full turn to look around. "You have all these cool archways that you don't really see anymore."
He turned back to look at her, noticing the smirk on her face.
"And I like this photo," he said, pointing to the portrait of Barbra. "You are a lot like her and –"
Finn was suddenly cut off as he felt Rachel's lips hit his and her body pressed against him. It took him completely off guard, but he didn't have any complaints. He was more than happy to comply with her motives.
Kissing her back, Finn's hands wrapped around her waist as he tried to bring her closer to him. Feeling her tiny figure in his hands send a wave of arousal through him, causing him to want more.
Slow down, Hudson. You're just kissing.
"Couch," Rachel spoke between kisses.
Or maybe more.
Finn managed to move them over the couch without breaking his lips from hers. However, when they got there, Rachel pushed him down first before bringing herself on top of him, taking him by surprise.
She straddled his crouch, causing her skirt to hike up a little so the fabric of her panties was against his jeans.
Woah. This is moving fast. But this is all so freaking great.
Rachel moved her lips down to his as they continued to exchange heated kisses. However, Finn felt Rachel's tongue run along his lower lip, causing him to open his mouth for his tongue to slide inside.
As their tongues moved together, Finn felt Rachel move her hips, causing her to grind against him. A groan rose in Finn's throat as he admired the sensation, wanting to feel it again. Lifting his own hips, he pressed him up against Rachel, only wanting more. He was hard now and there was now doubt that she could feel his erection through their layers of fabric.
Rachel's lips broke away from his as she began to trail kisses to his neck, continuing to kiss him there as she led up to his earlobe and nipped him slightly. Another groan escaped Finn as he pushed his hips forward again, enjoying another arousal sensation.
He had thought about being in this situation with Rachel many times. It wasn't right that he had thoughts about Rachel like that since he had been dating Quinn at the time. However, it always managed to enter his mind.
Finn always pictured being able to kiss Rachel senseless and the satisfaction of being able to take off whatever animal sweater she had been wearing that day. He could do that now, minus the animal sweater.
Plus, Finn didn't know how fast or slow he was supposed to take this. Back in high school Quinn wanted to take things as slow as possible and hardly even let him touch her breasts over her shirt. It was a miracle that they had sex during the first semester of their senior year. However, now he was older and the rules of the game were different.
He knew that he wouldn't allow himself to have sex with Rachel tonight. That was definitely out of the question, but then what else could they do? Finn almost hoped that wouldn't go too far only because he still had too much to learn about Rachel before things became seriously physical. However, it was hard to talk himself out of anything when she was now moving her hips against him and her lips were against his neck.
Suddenly, Rachel pressed her lips hard into his again and Finn felt his heart skip a beat as a strange image flashed from behind his eyelids.
He could see the street that he lived on and the familiar color of Rachel's car. However, that was all just small details compared to the moment Finn took Rachel into his arms and kissed her, the same quick heart race hitting him.
Finn must have frozen underneath Rachel because suddenly he felt Rachel pull her lips away from his. She furrowed her brow as she stared down at him.
"Are you okay?" she asked, sounding confused.
"I remember," Finn breathed.
Rachel began to search his eyes, still looking lost.
"I remember our first kiss…when you kissed me just now I saw it all, and it was absolutely amazing," Finn said, his brain feeling like mush.
He had remembered something. Four years of never remembering anything and now he found a small crack of light in all the darkness. The thought made him laugh as he stared up at Rachel.
"You remember?" she asked quietly, disbelief coating her voice.
"Yes. I remember. I remember my heart racing and the way your lips felt against mine. I really remember it all," Finn assured her. He wasn't just making this up in his head. He honestly had remembered the moment as if it were movie replaying itself in his mind.
"Oh my God," Rachel said, her mouth falling open slightly. "Oh my God, Finn!" she said again, but louder. She leaned down and hugged him as best as she could in their position, causing Finn to laugh again.
"That's so amazing. I can't believe it," she spoke in his ear.
"Me either," Finn said, shaking his head.
A proud sigh left him as Rachel pulled herself away. A large smile was spread across her face as she beamed down at him.
Suddenly, Rachel climbed off of him and ran into her kitchen.
Finn sat up from his spot, laughing to himself as he watched her.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"A moment like this deserves to be celebrated, Finn," she said as she came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses.
She poured them each a glass before handing one to Finn.
"To you, for having your first real memory in four years. The official beginning to reaching your dream," Rachel said, tapping her glass against his.
"And to you," Finn spoke before she could take a drink. "For the beginning of your journey to Broadway."
Rachel gave him a shy smile as she rose her glass closer to her lips.
"And…for saying yes to being my girlfriend," Finn said, his heart crashing into his chest. He was taking a leap of faith due to his good mood and he hoped he wasn't ruining their moment. There was the chance of her saying no.
Rachel's smile only grew wider as she stared at him. Finally, she cleared her throat and nodded. "And for you getting yourself a girlfriend as amazing as me," she said hitting his glass again before taking a drink of her wine.
Did she just say yes to being my girlfriend? Holy hell.
Finn took a quick drink of his wine before placing his glass on the coffee table in front of him.
"I really couldn't do this without," Finn said, shrugging as he stared at her.
Rachel smile back before letting out a small laugh. "And you won't have to."
