Disclaimer: I do not have any relation to Glee or any of the writers on Fox. Purely fictional.
Rachel groaned as her alarm beeped for the third time that dreadful morning. She narrowed her eyes, in attempts to drone the noise away with her deathly stare. Much to no avail, she let out a breath of annoyance and stuffed her face back into the comfort of her pillows.
Finally after a couple more rings, the alarm on her phone silenced. Doing a victory dance in her head, Rachel oozed into the comfort of the dark morning and snuggled deeper in her blanket.
Not resigning to the fact that Rachel had won in the early morning battle, the Marimba tone echoed through her bedroom once again in a matter of seconds.
Sensing that she didn't have any other choice, Rachel dragged her body upright. Sleep was weighing her down and she had never felt heavier.
As she dropped her left foot on the ground, the brunette thought for a moment. Perhaps it was possible that she had gained a few extra pounds over the past five hours of sleep.
Trudging towards the adjoining bathroom, she fumbled for the switch. The flick seemed deafening and she cursed silently.
Who the hell wakes up at this ungodly hour?
"Wow, good morning." Finn greeted the brunette as she appeared before him. He took a minute to admire the way she looked. There was something different about her today.
Her eyes were reduced to slits, completed with the pursing of her lips. Aside the unfriendly face, she still looked gorgeous. Possibly even better looking that he had remembered.
She had reduced her nightlife makeup, and for the first time he realized that she had a really good complexion. Her hair was no longer pulled back, but fell nicely down, ending just below her shoulders.
Instead of the sexy dress and work clothes he had seen her in, this morning, she was dressed casually in a plain white tee completed with midnight blue skinny jeans. In her left palm was accompanied with a tumbler, which she was constantly sipping into.
It registered to Finn that at that moment, he liked this Rachel Berry.
"Good would have been at 10." She muttered with a tinge of exasperation. Taking another limitless drop of her homemade caffeine, she looked at him.
He had on a striped hoodie over a black graphical tee. Instead of the formal wear she was used to seeing, he was clad in jeans and a pair of Converse.
One thing she didn't understand was that despite his dressing down, he still looked just as much of a charming gentleman as she had last remembered him to be.
He chuckled and took a step closer to her.
She fussed her bangs with her fingers and stared back at him, finally getting used to the fact that she was up this early in the day.
"You're very much taller than I remembered."
He smiled softly and bit his lip to hide his nervousness. "Don't I get that a lot?"
Finally, as joy set in, she giggled and he started to relax at her laugh.
"Care to explain what the wrist guards are for?" She inquired before her morning coffee met her lips again.
"We'll save that for later. Let's take a walk shall we?"
"You woke me up this early for a walk?"
When he was unresponsive, his smile was the only answer that led to her surrender.
Sighing, she said, "Lead the way."
"So, how was your week so far? You look less uhm, frazzled."
She looked at him and smiled.
"Yeah well, I love my job. Really, I do. It just gets a little hectic in the office sometimes."
"Glad to see that it hasn't affected your sleep though." He replied teasingly.
"Oh I get ample sleep; all the time. Until some man at the bar decided to ruin it for me. I should have stuck with the relationship with my bed this morning instead of listening to the bitch of an alarm."
"Aw Berry, now you're making me feel bad."
"You should!"
He laughed light-heartedly and shoved his hands into his pockets. He led the couple towards a park bench and slowed down his pace upon approaching the wooden property.
They sat down, and the sky was still dark. Waves from the Hudson River crashed slightly against the barriers and she closed her eyes to absorb the unusual morning scene around her.
The smell of the 530AM cold breeze and leaves rattling on the ground was exquisite and something she had never really took note of. She had been to the Riverside Park countless times. But this morning had been a first for her to come in when it was still dark out.
The cool breeze eased her into a comfort zone she never really knew about. Maybe that was the reason why Finn Hudson could seem so calm and collected even in the midst of a crowded bar. She felt every tightened muscle relax into the view ahead of her of the Manhattan skyline.
In a weird way, she found herself considering the idea of taking morning trips down in the future. Then again, she'd have to conquer the loath she had for alarms.
"Feeling better?" Finn questioned softly into the still morning as though he knew what the environment was doing to her body.
She nodded slightly with her eyes closed. He smiled. Yeah, he could most definitely get used to this Rachel Berry.
As she stayed in this position for the next couple of minutes, Finn decided to look at her instead of admiring the beauty of where he was. He hadn't been down to the Riverside Park this morning in ages, but he saw himself getting back to the habit again soon.
Her hands were resting on her thighs; with the tumbler she had now stopped drinking from, in the middle of her cross-legged position on the park bench.
The way she sat made her look a little younger than she seemed from the previous nights. In fact, she looked like a little teenager when she did so. But Finn knew she was being in her utmost comfort zone by the way her shoulders droop into laziness. He started out with a half smile and slowly crawled further apart into a boyish beam.
"Okay Finn. I give. You got me up at 3AM to introduce me into this weird yoga-like place. And it's beautiful. But if this is the end of it, I might actually have to kill you."
"Then I guess it's time to take those wrist guards out."
Just when he thought that nightlife Rachel Berry was left behind and forgotten, that sassy character shone through her smile as she said,
"Now you're talking."
"Rachel, I'd like to introduce to you Shannon Bieste."
The tiny brunette was a little intimidated by the burly woman standing in front of her. She had curly hair that was cut into a roundish bob, which made her look tough. The woman was definitely shorter than Finn, but tall for the gender.
Still, being the gracious Rachel Berry, she outstretched her palm to offer a handshake.
"Hi Rachel, pleased to meet you."
Nodding in reply, she fell beside the step of Finn and looked to him.
"Coach, think you could help us out here?"
"No problem. Ever done this Rachel?" She looked at the tiny girl with a little gleam in her eye that seemed to creak the unfamiliarity between them.
"Not since I was a little girl."
"Ah well, then you wouldn't have a problem there. Or at least, I hope you'll be fine."
"I'm up for it." Rachel replied with a bit more confidence.
"You've got yourself a little daredevil here Finn." The older woman said laughingly before walking away.
"You sure you can do this Rach?" He asked, the nickname for her easily slipping through his lips.
She strapped on the wrist guards and bit her lip but recovered quickly.
"Don't be fooled by my size. You might be 6 feet tall, but this," Her hand travelled downwards from the top of her head to as low as she could reach, and continued, "Is a feisty pepper. Come on! Chop, chop! Let's get the show on the road."
He grinned at her confidence.
"Now that's my girl."
"Okay, Rachel. The Swing-A-Ring is quite simple. There aren't any rules, but to be safe. Trick to surviving this whole thing, let go when you're ready." Bieste instructed as the tiny brunette made her way towards her.
Rachel licked her lips and rubbed her hands together.
"Do you want me to go first? You could pick up a few pointers." Finn offered.
She shook her head with resolution. "I'm going to this my way."
Finding a position in the sand-pit, she looked up at the handles and said to herself under her breath,
"How hard can it be?"
Pulling herself up, she grimaced at the strength she had to use and started to rock her body forward. When she got the hang of it, she looked towards the two people watching her and presented a big smile of her face.
"Finn! Look! Look at me! I told you I could do it!"
He applauded at her childlike behavior. If anyone had different personalities that could reel his interest in, it was Rachel Berry.
From the confident woman she was a moment ago, the swinging rings managed to flip the innocence switch in her, transforming the grown woman back into a child simply excited by the achievement she gained in Swing-A-Ring fun.
Shannon Bieste laughed along at Rachel's satisfaction and watched with care as she made her way towards the end speedily.
Finally as she descended back to the ground, Rachel Berry did a little curtsy before running towards Finn who welcomed her with an embrace.
"Did you see how agile I was up there Finn?" She asked again, her large rounded brown eyes looking up for the seal of approval that she did a job well done.
He laughed and kissed the top of her forehead for assurance.
"You were amazing."
She nodded, pleased with his response. Then, she wiggled herself out of his arms and gave a slight nudge.
"Okay well, beat that tough guy!"
He walked towards the starting point and turned to give a confident smirk as he pointed to her.
"Watch and learn Berry."
She crossed her arms across her chest.
"Bring it!"
"Ow, ow, ow!" He held his lower thighs and sneered at the pain in his legs. Rachel and Bieste rushed to his side upon seeing the man drop himself to the ground.
The tiny girl put an arm around his shoulder and held unto his elbow.
"Finn? Are you alright?"
Shannon Bieste had already gotten to work, removing the sneakers from the man and rotating his foot.
He smiled weakly at the girl who inquired about his pain.
"That's definitely something to watch and learn about Hudson." She said teasingly, hoping that her joke could lessen the throbbing shots up his feet.
He scrunched his face up as Bieste increased her force in fixing the cramps he had.
Laughing at his horrid face, Rachel pinched his nose lightly and said,
"Look at you. And you said that I could pick up a few pointers in completing this."
"Hey! Its just cramps!" He argued back defensively.
"Uh huh." She said unconvinced that he would have been able to beat her anyway.
The woman at the end of his foot stopped rotating his feet and chuckled at the man.
"I'd say someone's getting a little out of shape."
Rachel giggled at Bieste's comment and helped the man up. His arm was draped across her shoulders and she struggled to keep up with his weight as he regained his balance.
"You alright Finn?" Rachel interrogated again.
He drew circles with his feet and shook the leg. Then, sending a thumb up, she was assured that he was.
"Come on Iron Man, why don't we take a seat first."
He shook his head and looked at Bieste who was watching the pair. Giving a slight nod, she retreated and walked away.
Still supported by the tiny girl in confusion, he said,
"It isn't over yet."
"Huh?"
"We still have one last thing to do before you're free to go."
"Finn! You're hurt."
"Like I said Berry, its just cramps. Come on, this way." He dropped his arm and held up his palm instead.
She shook her head and sighed, allowing him to lead the way.
Finn Hudson really did grasp the idea of perseverance to the core, for which, a trait she had come to admire about him.
Chapter 7 is here! I've decided to split the date into two parts, but I'm hoping that you're still excited about the next one! This isn't much of a cliffhanger, so before I update again, this is (hopefully) enough to tide you by until the New Year! Happy 2012 to all of my readers out there! I was having a really horrid day today, but the thought of all of you cheered me up instantly! :') It makes me feel really blessed that I've gotten to share every story I've submitted with the awesome Glee community this year. Best decision EVER!
And, also, tumblr has been filled with Cory's pictures from the Sydney Meet and Greet! AHHHH! To all the Sydney fans that might have been around to see him, you readers are a lucky bunch! Definitely missing Australia so much right now! Well, hope it was a rad experience! Then again, of course it would have been cause it IS Cory :') Have a lovely day anyway!
Finnchell, bananappancakes, supercyke and noro. YAY! Glad to see that you're enjoying the chapters so far! Thank you eternally for the compliments, I really do not know what have I done to have people as amazing as you reading this. Xoxo from me to you! :')
FInchel21, HAI! HAI! HAI! HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAPPY 2012! You are too generous with your words! YOU, my dear, have made my year! Thank you for your presence, I simply do not know how could I have not known you sooner.
PerfectFinchel and laylita83, Yay! You guys like the feisty Rachel Berry! And well, I love her confidence and outgoing nature as well! Definite contrast from New York's Sweethearts huh! I have fallen in love with your reviews because really you're giving me too much praise and credit for this little thing I've done. Any case, I love you so much more for that. Keep smiling and stay beautiful!
