DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy!
Chapter Seven: Culture Shock
"Well, Finn, your transcript is all ready and your admissions essay looks pretty darn good to me. Do you have the audition video?"
"Right here," he said, passing the flash drive with his audition submission on it over to Miss Pillsbury, who took it with a smile. He was flanked by a parent on each side and his mother was gripping his arm tightly as he squirmed in his seat. "Do you really think I can get in?"
"I don't see why not," Miss Pillsbury said kindly. "I know it is a bit late to be submitting applications, but the worst they could do is say no and then you can try again next semester or even next year." He shrugged, a small feeling of dread creeping up on him.
"I guess it's worth a shot," he said as his parents stood up and grabbed their coats. His mother placed a kiss on his cheek before leaving.
"We're so proud of you, Finn. We'll see you tonight; I'm making your favorite meal for dinner. Have fun at glee practice." With a final wave they left, and Finn said goodbye to Miss Pillsbury before heading to the choir room for glee rehearsal.
Part of him didn't even want to go. It had been a few days since Kurt had caught Finn and Rachel together in the kitchen and his brother hadn't said a word to him since. Sure, Burt was still blissfully unaware of their burgeoning relationship, but Finn could see the anger in Kurt's eyes every time he glared at him. His step-brother sure knew how to hold a grudge.
Things between him and Rachel weren't going so well either. He was trying to keep things friendly with her but the more distance he put between them, the more he missed spending time with her. He missed her soft accent and the flowery perfume of her skin. He missed her laughter and the way she called him Feen, even though her English was getting better and better by the day. Keeping things neutral was much harder than he'd imagined, but he didn't want to mess up her time in America because he couldn't control his feelings around her.
He walked into the choir room and noticed right away that Mr. Schuester was missing. Mike informed Finn that he was holding an extra help session and would be arriving shortly, so he sunk himself into the nearest chair and tried to ignore the girls and Kurt, who were all huddled in a large group, giggling and gossiping. He could see Rachel in his periphery and tried his best not to stare.
"No, Frenchie! If you want to snag an American boy, you've got to follow the rules!" He could hear Santana all the way from across the choir room and the topic of their conversation intrigued him. Rachel wanted an American boyfriend?
Why did that make him want to kick the nearest chair?
"Rules?" Rachel repeated innocently.
"Yeah, the rules. Like baseball," Brittany added. Rachel's face scrunched up in confusion as she shook her head.
"I do not know 'zis baseball." Brittany giggled loudly as she and Santana shared a wicked grin.
"Well, dating and baseball both have this little thing in common called bases," Santana explained as Finn's heart dropped into his stomach. This was a train wreck about to happen, he could feel it.
"Bases?" She repeated.
"Yeah, first base is French kissing," Brittany said as Tina and Mercedes laughed at the confused look on Rachel's face.
"Quoi? I have never heard of 'zis French kissing," she said it like a curse word.
"It's when you kiss someone open-mouthed, and use a lot of tongue," Santana said. Rachel turned to Kurt for clarification, but even his explanation stumped her. Finn was eavesdropping without abandon now, but he noticed that all the guys were paying close attention to their conversation as well, so he didn't like too much of a jerk.
"Here, watch us," Finn's mouth dropped open in shock as Santana pulled Brittany in for a wild, passionate kiss, pushing her lips apart and shoving her tongue into Brit's mouth. They pulled away from each other slightly, so everyone could see their tongues caressing gently. Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat while the other boys were practically drooling. Rachel looked both intrigued and slightly intimidated.
"Ah, d'accord," Rachel coughed, peeking up and momentarily making eye contact with Finn before facing the other girls. "I see now."
"Yeah, and that's just first base," Quinn added while the girls continued to make out uninterrupted. "There's still second, third, and then you slide into home."
"Slide into home?" Rachel said, her head cocked to the side with confusion. Kurt translated Quinn's euphemisms for Rachel and she stared at her American friends like they were crazy. "Mais pourquoi?" She asked. "So many rules, c'est compliqué!"
"Why, what's dating like in France?" Tina asked as Rachel twirled her hair, deep in thought. She shrugged her shoulders and tried to explain as Finn payed close attention to her response. Maybe he should pull out a sheet of paper and take notes.
"You like someone, you kiss, you make the sex, and if you do not feel some'zing special you stay friends." She said in one long sentence as Finn's head began to spin. Dating in France was apparently quite straightforward as everyone looked around at one another in awe.
"That would never work with us," Mercedes laughed as she nudged Kurt in the side. "Almost every single person in this club has hooked up with one another and it always turned out messy."
"Hook up?" Rachel repeated.
"It means to fool around with someone without getting attached to them," Puck interjected. "If you're interested Frenchie, I can always show you how it works." Finn had to resist the urge to smack Puckerman upside the head as Rachel blushed and stared directly at Finn.
"Who 'ooks up?" Rachel asked, still staring at Finn while he felt his face burn in embarrassment.
"I've slept with almost every guy in this club," Santana said. "Some of the girls, too."
Puck ticked them off on his fingers. "Santana, Mercedes, Quinn. I'mma call up Sugar tonight for something sweet, if you know what I mean."
"Puck and I even made a baby together and we're still not dating," Quinn added.
"Mike and Artie," Tina replied. Rachel stared at her American friends and shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she continued to peek at Finn from the corner of her eyes. The conversation was starting to get awkward for Finn as she noticed how nervous Rachel was becoming.
"Too many rules," she said, shaking her head as a slight tinge of desperation entered her eyes. "I did not know."
"What's the matter, Frenchie? Have you ever dated before in France?" Santana asked, smirking evilly. "Have you ever 'made the sex' before?"
"Mais oui," she said, shrugging her shoulders while Finn had to keep himself from falling out of his seat. The glee club looked at her with various looks of shock and amusement while Finn struggled to calm his racing heart. The thought of Rachel sleeping with anyone made his stomach feel like it was filled with broken glass.
"Oh really?" Kurt crooned. "Do tell."
She shook her head with a frown. "It is a boy who works with mes papas. I did not like him, so now we are friends."
"That's it?" Santana said rudely. "Where's the drama? Where's the scandal?"
"En France, 'ze sex is partout," she explained while Puck and Sam were practically drooling over her. "It is not taboo, like in 'ze United States."
"Damn, I wish I lived in France," Puck muttered to Mike as Sam nodded in agreement. Finn stayed completely quiet during the entire exchange, his mind reeling from the influx of information he had just received about Rachel.
"So what do you think, Cream Puff?" Santana smirked at her. "Are you interested in finding a boyfriend here in the States?" All eyes were on Rachel as she became the center of attention once more, and he could see a light blush spread across her cheeks in embarrassment.
"A boy friend?" She repeated softly. "But I know many boys."
"No, no," Quinn said, shaking her head. "A boyfriend. Someone you kiss."
"Finn!" She said suddenly, pointing right at him as a beaming smile broke out on her face. "Finn is boyfriend. We kiss."
There was a beat of silence before the explosion commenced.
"You did what?" Kurt hollered, standing up from his seat and glaring directly at Finn with venom in his gaze. Finn put up his hands in innocence as Puck clapped him on the shoulder.
"Nice, bro. I knew you would tap that eventually."
"Ew," was Santana's response. "I've kissed Finn and that's nothing to get excited over." Rachel looked hurt as Kurt started to scream.
"I can't believe you!' Kurt roared, still glaring at Finn. "Do my father's rules mean nothing to you?"
"I didn't mean to break the rules, it kind of just happened," he shrugged, looking anywhere around the room except for Rachel and Kurt.
"Finn is my boyfriend?" Rachel asked innocently. Most of the girls shook their head while Finn just wanted to disappear.
"Not necessarily. If he doesn't ask you officially then you're still only hooking up." Tina responded while Rachel frowned. It suddenly felt stifling in the choir room and Finn was aching for an escape as Kurt continued to glare at him.
"Look at how confused she is now, Finn! I told you that this was going to happen and when Burt finds out. . ." He was about to elaborate on his threat when Rachel shot out of her seat, running up to Kurt and pulling on the sleeve of Kurt's sweater.
"Mais non! You cannot tell Burt!" She immediately switched to French, talking at light speed while the rest of the glee club struggled to keep up with the foreign conversation. For a while it looked like they were arguing, and it didn't stop until Mr. Schuester finally arrived at the rehearsal.
"Alright guys, let's get into positions," he looked around the room and could sense the tension in the air. Rachel and Kurt were sitting next to one another but they looked annoyed and both of them were suspiciously quiet during the entire rehearsal.
It was starting to make Finn nervous. Neither of them were ever this quiet.
The rehearsal was stressful at best. Rachel and Kurt barely said a word to anyone and the rest of the members kept shooting him weird looks throughout the rehearsal. He was terrified that Kurt was going to tell Burt and his mom about his relationship with Rachel, which was slowly deteriorating into nothing as the staunch house rules haunted him with every step he took. Maybe he should just pack his bags and stay with Puckerman for a few weeks; that would probably make everyone's life a hell of a lot easier.
By the time they walked into the house, he was pretty sure that Rachel and Kurt were never going to speak to him again. Rachel wouldn't even look him in the eye as she immediately headed upstairs.
"Kurt, man, we gotta talk." His brother turned to him with a sneer.
"I don't have anything to say to you, Finn. I'm so mad at you I could scream."
"Well could you do something instead of ignore me? What did Rachel say to you?"
"She made me promise not to tell our parents about the kissing," he hissed. "If you're going to be messing around with her, you better treat her right, Finn, because that girl thinks the world of you."
"Really?" He asked, amazed.
"Really," some of the hardness in his gaze melted away. "But she's here for 6 1/2 more weeks Finn. What do you expect to do with someone who only has weeks to spare?"
"I just like spending time with her," Finn explained. "She's smart and interesting and pretty," he trailed off, his mind wandering on thoughts of Rachel. "She makes me want to be better," he admitted, much to the surprise of Kurt. "I want to be better for her."
"So you really do like her," Kurt said, nodding his head. "Here I thought you were trying to pull a Puckerman and get into her pants, but you're falling for her, aren't you?"
"No!" He said initially, acting on instinct. The more he thought about it, however, the harder it was to deny. "I mean, I don't know," he sighed. "Maybe," Kurt shot him a knowing look. "Alright, kind of. Yes."
"Ah, the bliss of young love. Now I know why she was so adamant on keeping it a secret. She wants to keep you around, too." Kurt didn't look as furious as he had before, but the annoyance was still written plainly on his face. "Just don't let Dad catch you. I won't tell him about the kiss because I care about you two and I want you to be happy if your intentions are pure. However, if I find out that you're playing her, or if you're stupid enough to get caught, then I can't help you."
"I get it," Finn said with a nod. "Thanks, dude."
"Just don't hurt her," Kurt begged as he headed for the stairs. "I don't want to send her back to France with a broken heart and that stupid conversation with the girls has her all riled up."
"All riled up?" Finn asked before Kurt disappeared upstairs.
"Yeah. She thinks you don't like her."
He knew it was wrong; he was breaking the rules without abandon now that he had admitted the truth about his feelings for Rachel, and his feet moved of their own volition towards her bedroom, a strict no-boy zone as Kurt's comment rang in his head.
He didn't care about the rules anymore. They had a lot to talk about and he wanted to be the one to approach her first. He knocked on the door and she answered it with her eyes wide; obviously expecting someone else. She began to play with her hair nervously as she stared at him in her doorway.
"Salut," she said lightly.
"Hi," he choked out, his palms sweating as he wiped them on his pants. "Can we talk?"
"Bien sur," she said, smiling. Her hair was wrapped in a high bun, almost hidden by her signature beret, and she was wearing a flowing red dress that hugged every curve on her body. Just being around her was making him lightheaded and they hadn't spoken properly in what felt like ages. He could feel his control snapping like taut rubber bands.
"I want to be your boyfriend," he blurted without filter, shocking himself as the request passed through his lips. "I know that dating is different here in the US, but part of the reason why there are so many rules is because emotions can get messy. We take it slow here, step by step, until we make sure that it's right." He took a deep breath, confessing more to her than he'd expected to. He wasn't finished yet. "I'm not the kind of guy who hooks up. I kissed you because I care about you, Rachel. More than any other girl I've ever met, but you're going to leave soon and I'm already afraid to lose you when we're not even dating."
"I know," she said, her eyes sad. "I feel 'ze same." She reached out and grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers in his with a light squeeze. "I am happy when I am with you."
"But no one can know," he said urgently, looking around suspiciously to make sure that they were, in fact, alone. The coast was clear as he faced her once more. "I mean, the glee club will, obviously, but if Burt finds out about us I'll be sent away."
Her grip on his hand became tighter. "I do not want 'zat to happen." He lifted their linked hands and kissed the back of hers.
"So it's up to you, Rachel," he said, his heart pounding with anticipation as he tried to appear suave. "We can do this the American way or the French way, but it has to stay a secret." Her eyes grew wide when she realized the implication of his statement. He waited for her answer with bated breath.
"We are in America, non?" She said, her eyebrows rising in amusement. "Your way is slow, but I like it." A blinding smile spread across her face. "Now I will have an American boyfriend."
"Secret American boyfriend," he edited with a smile.
"Oui!" She nodded quickly, pointing to herself. "Secret French girlfriend." She frowned suddenly and Finn caressed her cheek.
"What's wrong?"
"Kurt, he knows," there was worry in her eyes. "He will tell Burt."
"No he won't," Finn assured her. "I talked to him already. He promised to stay quiet but we can't get caught, Rachel. I don't want to lose you yet."
"Do not worry, Finn." A loud slam alerted the two secret lovebirds to the presence of an adult in the house, so Rachel quickly stepped back into her room. Instead of letting him escape unseen, she pulled him into her room and locked the door behind them, breaking the two main rules of the house in one shot.
"Rachel! What are you-," he was cut-off as she pulled his face down by the collar of his polo, pressing her lips against his and making him forget the reason why he was so shocked in the first place. He wrapped his arms around her and crushed her into his embrace, resting his hands on her slight curves and letting them trail around to her lower back. Her lips were sweet as they parted slightly, and before he knew it their tongues were caressing softy as she sighed into his mouth.
She pulled away from him, her eyes twinkling, her whole being practically glowing with happiness as she pushed him towards the door. He leaned down to steal a kiss on her cheek, making her laugh as he crossed the threshold of her room.
"What was that for?" He asked and she shrugged with a smile.
"French kiss from French girlfriend," she said playfully before slamming the door in his face.
Merci mille fois, mes amis!
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