Forgive me if I'm young or speaking out of turn

But there's someone I've been missing

And I think that they could be

The better half of me

They're in the wrong place trying to make it right

But I'm tired of justifying

"Come Home"-OneRepublic


True to his word, Finn was perfectly civil to Rachel. That was a small consolation in Rachel's eyes though. The fact that he'd said they'd never been friends nearly broke her. She didn't understand how he could think that, let alone say it. After that, Rachel threw herself into the competition, deciding that would be a healthy outlet for her frustration.

Since there were six groups that had to perform, Will had decided to split up the performances over two days. They'd drawn straws to see who would go on what day. Sam, Brittany, Lauren, Santana, Quinn, and Tina had all gone on the first day.

By far, Quinn and Tina had done the best out of everyone that day. They'd chosen to do an energetic rendition of "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson that had roused everyone's spirits. Lauren and Santana hadn't even made it through their number. They'd stopped halfway through to argue over the lyrics before giving up.

Sam and Brittany had done a nice job as well but it wasn't particularly memorable. Rachel couldn't even remember what song that they had performed; only that it was some song that she didn't recognize. Rachel left that day confident that she and Puck had a great chance of winning. The only group she was even remotely worried about was Finn and Mercedes.

Even now, they looked fully confident. They were dressed similarly in dark pants and button down white shirts. Rachel and Puck had decided against costumes as well; really, they just hadn't had time to decide.

Choosing a song they both agreed on had been hard enough. Seeing as how neither seemed willing to back down, they'd conceded to go in another direction entirely. Puck suggested "Need You Now" and Rachel had reluctantly agreed. It was a good song but it would be difficult singing it to Puck.

"So, who wants to go first?" Will asked, looking for volunteers.

No one raised their hands.

"First for what?" Brittany asked with a look of confusion.

"We should go ahead and go." Puck whispered to Rachel.

"No, we're going last, remember? That way we are the freshest on his mind when he decides who gets the solos." Rachel hissed.

Before Puck could reply, Artie and Mike asked to go. They did a jazzy little number with Artie playing the guitar and singing while Mike mostly danced. Decent, but not good enough Rachel privately thought as she clapped for them.

Even better, Mercedes and Finn volunteered to go next. Everything was going exactly as Rachel planned.

"Finn and I will be doing 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' by" Mercedes announced.

Rachel started to get a little worried as they sang. They were really good and somehow, she'd gotten Finn to actually dance willingly. When they finished, the applause for them was the loudest so far. That just left Puck and Rachel.

Rachel took a deep breath as she stood up to get in front of everyone. She still wasn't completely sold on doing this song but it was too late to do anything about it now. Puck flashed her a brief smile as they waited for Brad to start playing. The first few notes played and Rachel closed her eyes while she waited for her cue. She opened her mouth and began to sing.

"Picture perfect memories,
Scattered all around the floor.
Reaching for the phone cause, I can't fight it anymore.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.
For me it happens all the time."

Puck's husky voice melded with hers for the chorus. All of Rachel's doubts melted away as she heard how well they sounded together.

"Its a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control and I need you now.
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now."

Rachel's voice tapered away, leading into Puck's solo. She snuck a peek at the crowd and was pleased by the look of enjoyment on Mr. Schuester's face.

"Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door.
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.
For me it happens all the time."

Rachel's voice joined his once more as they really started to get into it. The rest of the song went as well as it possibly could. To get into the proper emotion of the song, she imagined herself singing it to Finn. From there, it was easy. They finished to a loud round of applause.

"We did awesome." Puck told her, satisfied.

Rachel just beamed

"You guys were all great. I mean it." Will said, clapping again.

"So who won?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Well, everyone did such a wonderful job but I'd have to say that three groups went above and beyond." Will started.

"Quinn and Tina, congratulations." Will smiled, gesturing to them.

Rachel's face fell as they celebrated. This wasn't going like she'd hoped it would.

"Mercedes and Finn, absolutely amazing." Will continued, looking in their direction.

Mercedes beamed and Finn gave her a half hug in relief.

"Last, but certainly not least, Rachel and Puck. That was a moving performance." Will finished.

"But who won?" Mercedes asked.

"I couldn't decide-" Will admitted before the rest of his words were drowned out with loud groans.

Rachel was both peeved and disappointed as she stared at Will in shock. On her left she heard as Puck grumbled his displeasure while to her right, Tina looked a little upset.

"Now, that doesn't mean that it's over. The three final teams will perform again and from there, a guest judge and I will pick a winner." Will explained.

Rachel still wasn't happy and judging by the looks of the other "winners', they weren't either. It wasn't much longer before they were dismissed but most of them hung back. Rachel saw Finn standing by himself as he got ready to go and decided to go and congratulate him.

"You and Mercedes did a wonderful job." Rachel said kindly as she approached him.

"Yeah, well not good enough." Finn replied without turning around.

"I wish he would have just picked a winner." Rachel sighed.

Finn didn't answer. He didn't even bother to look at her.

"Finn?" Rachel said, trying to get his attention.

"Look, I'll see you around Rachel." Finn told her, his tone distant and impersonal.

Finn seemed to be holding firm to his no friend's thing but this was different. He was acting so cold and hurtful for no reason. He wasn't mad anymore; he'd told her that himself. Looking back, Rachel would pinpoint that exact moment when she began to give up on Finn.


A/N: This chapter was by far the hardest to write. So glad it's over lol. Even though no winner was chosen, this is the end of the contest in this fic. But it's definitely not the end of the story. Next chapter is the main turning point where Rachel makes a major decision. Stay tuned to see what comes next!