A/N: LOL, someone said that I don't really update now so there wouldn't really be a difference now that I'm back at school. And unfortunately for me, you my friend are correct! I have been super busy, but that's no excuse. What I meant in my last author's note was that since I'll be moving back, I won't be able to update as quickly as I could've now (which isn't that quickly but whatevs hehe).
Anyway, thank you! You made me laugh because it's so true and I think your review was a nice wake up call you know? I suppose that gave me more motivation to write this asap! Not that I don't have any motivation now though. Just think of it as the motivation Rachel gets at the end of the Silly Love Song episode hehe. (Firework hehe so sad yet so good)
I don't want anyone to be unhappy or gimme some of dat sassy pants so here I am with a new chapter! This is for you Guest :) and everyone who's still with me! Thanks a bunch, loves! And whoa! Sorry for the long note hahaha
- Elise
P.S. Did y'all see Amber on DWTS?! So good!
"And Jennifer said she'd "keep you satisfied" if you took her to homecoming." Rachel wrinkled her nose in disgust, "She's very forward."
Finn shrugged as he followed Dustin's instructions. "She's just being honest."
Rachel rolled her eyes, "Sure, an honest-"
"One and two, three… four." Dustin nodded as he watched them dance around the room, "Good, but Finn remember your posture."
Finn straightened up and spoke softly to Rachel, "I like you in your heels, by the way. It's weird having you taller than three feet."
She mocked, "I like you in your button up, by the way. It's weird seeing you have no food stains on your shirt."
"My shirts don't have food stains on it!" He feigned offense and smirked, "Not like you could see my shirts from way down there anyway."
Rachel smiled with a roll of her eyes as they carried on their dance in the living room. The two had been talking quietly with each other since the beginning of their lesson since Dustin only offered comments once in a while to help them keep the rhythm. Dustin walked away to adjust the music and watched them from a distance. They were so caught up in their conversations and dance that they didn't notice the door open.
"Hey guys," Carole whispered. "Come in, but keep it down so you can still watch them."
Puck entered with a smirk and Mike entered with raised eyebrows. They hugged Carole before sitting next to a smiling Hiram.
"Is Rachel going to wear those heels for the dance?" Mike asked Hiram in a hushed tone.
He shook his head, "No, we'll let her buy a new-" Hiram stopped and grinned, "My little star has a date?"
"Yup, Karofsky asked her." Puck commented as he watched his two friends. He turned to Hiram, "Wait, is this for the Berry family gathering?"
Carole nodded and Dustin turned the music off. "I'm very pleased with your progress."
Puck and Mike clapped loudly causing Rachel's eyes to go wide as Finn's cheeks reddened. They had no idea that their friends were there.
Dustin grabbed his music and said his goodbyes. Puck and Mike helped push the furniture back to where it was and sat down on the couch.
"What're you guys doing here?" Finn asked as he dropped on the seat next to Mike. Rachel sat down next to Puck and took off her heels.
Mike shrugged, "We just-"
"Rachel, you didn't tell me you had a date to the dance." Hiram interrupted with crossed arms.
She shrugged as she played with hem of her dress.
"Why don't you go buy a dress?"
Rachel looked up at her father and smiled. She did just discover her new-found love for dresses so it's not like she wouldn't enjoy looking. "I suppose I can ask Kurt for help."
She walked over to her backpack and grabbed her phone. "Hey Kurt…" She started and laughed. Rachel explained that she needed his help finding a dress. He said that he would get off his shift soon and that she should meet him there. She kissed her father before taking the keys to his car and drove to the mall, leaving the boys at the Hudson apartment.
Carole went across the hall to help Hiram cook dinner as soon as she noticed the boys would be staying. Sometimes when the parents realize that the boys will be over around dinner time, they get together to make a dinner for all of them. Sometimes what the single parents prepare for their small families isn't enough for their children's hungry friends. She left them to play their games with a quick wave.
Finn turned on the game console, pressed eject, and put the disc in.
Mike resumed their conversation, "So what happened with Azimio earlier?"
Finn sighed. He didn't really want to talk about it. He got lucky earlier when Rachel dropped it and even forgot about it because they had their dance lesson. Maybe if he sets the game up faster they'll forget about it, too.
Puck laughed as he grabbed a controller and handed another to Mike, "You're lucky we got there when we did or he would've gone Death Star on your ass."
Finn chuckled lightly and pressed the colored buttons on his controller in silence. His two friends waited for him to reply. With a sigh, he started.
"He was just talking about Rachel and-"
"Again?" Puck asked as he selected their teams and levels. "Thought you were passed this big brother shit."
Finn avoided their eye contact and watched the loading screen on the TV. "I am. Well, I mean I thought I was. Azimio was just really offensive and wouldn't stop going on about her."
Their location finally loaded and all that was heard was the sounds of buttons being pressed.
"But you know, Rach did look really good today," Puck said as he pulled the right trigger of his controller.
Finn glared at the screen and shot Puck's character as soon as he saw him.
Puck didn't think anything of the kill and Mike shrugged. He kept his eyes on the TV screen as he spoke, "I wouldn't know. The only girl I have eyes for is Tina."
"You love her?" Puck asked as he launched a grenade towards Finn's area. It wasn't the expected response, but it didn't stop Mike from replying truthfully.
Mike smiled, "Yeah, I do."
The corner of Finn's mouth turned up into a lopsided smile, he couldn't help but be happy for his friend. "That's awesome, man. How do you know though?"
Mike shrugged, "I don't know… it's just this feeling I get."
Puck zoomed in on his screen and killed Mike's character with one shot. Finn whispered a 'nice' before Puck asked, "Care to explain? I mean, since you're the only one stupid enough to be a tied down."
Mike paused the game and turned to them. His eyebrows pinched together as he eyed his friends, "Are you serious? Because I will if you want me to. I don't need you guys making fun of me though."
Puck nodded and put his controller down. Finn slowly put his down as well and turned to Mike. Puck's sudden interest in the topic of 'love' made Finn curious too.
"Well, I guess…" He sat there pondering for a moment before speaking again. "Whenever she's around I'm happy. She makes me feel like I can take over the world. It's like I can do anything you know? Even crazy things like quit football and dance on stage or something."
Finn nodded along with Puck as they talked about a topic they didn't normally go over.
"And the little things she does makes me smile." He continued, "I wanna be able to take care of her the way she takes care of me. Like when she rubs vapor rub on my chest? It's-"
Puck made a face and Finn stifled a laugh.
Mike threw a pillow at them, "You guys asked."
"Sorry," Puck mumbled.
He reached for his controller and said one last thing before resuming the game, "And I really hate it when she mentions other guys or when she's with anyone else. I wanna be the only one for her. I think I'm better about that jealousy stuff now though because she always lets me know that I have nothing to worry about."
Puck smirked, "I bet she does."
Mike's words echoed in Finn's head. All of those things Mike mentioned are the same things Finn feels about Rachel. He leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.
"You okay there Huddy?" Puck asked as he tossed the controller on his lap, "I wanna go play zombie mode soon."
"Kurt!" Rachel couldn't help but squeal with excitement as she walked out of the dressing room, "I think I love this dress."
Kurt smiled, as they walked to the counter to pay. "Now, tell me more about this Karofsky fellow."
"I told you, Kurt," She smiled. "He's barely a friend. I don't really have any real feelings for him."
Kurt handed her dress to the worker and spoke as she scanned the tag, "My little diva, already using people to get what she wants."
"I'm not using him!" Rachel said with wide eyes and Kurt waved her off, "Oh calm down, I was kidding. I understand, he's just a date. Nothing special."
She smiled with a shake of her head and paid for her dress. With linked arms, Rachel and Kurt walked out of the store.
"So any other ideas on what I should try for a new hobby?" Rachel asked.
They had been throwing out ideas since she first started trying on dresses. Kurt's suggestions were helpful, but nothing seemed to fit her or her schedule. Designing her own clothes wouldn't work because she could barely style her practice clothes for volleyball, 'doing' make-up wouldn't work either because she barely put any on and when she did it came off later for when she had to play, and theatre wasn't good either because she shouldn't be spending her time trying to remember lines when she had to be remembering plays instead (not that she had the time anyway).
"Baking?" He asked.
She tilted her head at him as they walked arm in arm, "That's actually not a bad idea, Kurt."
Kurt stopped walking and turned to Rachel, his eyes wide with excitement. "Join the glee club!"
Rachel's face scrunched up with laughter as she threw her head back, "For a second I thought you were serious. Really funny, Kurt but I think baking is a fine idea."
She tried to link arms with him again, ready to continue walking when he stopped. He put his hand on his hip and huffed. "Rachel Berry, what is so funny about joining the glee club? I was in it."
Rachel stopped laughing and opened her mouth before closing it again. "I'm sorry, Kurt. Nothing's wrong with it at all. I'm just not so sure I can keep up vocally with the rest of the students. I've never sang before."
Kurt linked his arm with hers again and smiled, "It sounds like a great opportunity to try something new. Who knows? You might actually enjoy it and discover the real diva inside." He shrugged a little, "If it doesn't work out, go back to baking."
She bit her lip in thought. "I do enjoy challenges. I suppose I can ask Tina about the club tomorrow at school."
He nodded eagerly, and they walked to the exit of the mall. Once they stepped outside near the parking garage he unlinked his arm with hers and hugged her. "Well, I'm glad I could help, but I need to head back home and start dinner."
She hugged him back tightly and walked in the opposite direction. She stopped after two steps and turned to him, "Come over!"
Kurt turned around, "What?"
"Come over," She repeated. "Have dinner with me and my father. It can be my way of saying thank you. I'm sure he'd love to meet you."
He bit his lip before finally giving in, "I'd love to."
Kurt followed her home and parked in the open spot next to her. When Rachel walked into the apartment she was surprised to see everyone already there. The boys were at the table with Puck and Mike sitting next to each other and across from Finn. He had changed out of his button up and into a grey t-shirt. Carole was passing out plates and utensils when she looked up at Rachel. Hiram turned off the stove and smiled at his daughter.
Rachel placed her shopping bag on the ground near the counter and kissed him on the cheek.
"Do you always have so many guests during dinner?" Kurt joked as he followed her in.
Rachel smiled, "Kurt, this is Carole, Finn's mother, and this is my father Hiram. You remember Finn, Noah, and Mike, right?"
She went to grab an extra chair for Kurt and he nodded with a little wave. Carole smiled warmly at him as she helped Hiram put the food down. She sat at the head of the table, leaving the other for Hiram.
"So glad to finally meet you, Kurt." Hiram smiled and adjusted his glasses. "You've been very helpful and kind to my daughter."
Kurt waved him off the same way he waves off Rachel. He sat down next to Rachel who quickly began to gush about the dress she bought.
"Oh, Papa you will just love the dress we bought." She beamed and added, "It's pink and-"
"Great," Puck said as he accepted the bowl from Carole. "Look what you've done. Rachel's a girly girl now."
She rolled her eyes and helped toss the salad more, "I know it's shocking, but I'm actually very excited to go to this dance. I always attend the game, but I've never been to the dance."
Rachel smiled and served herself some of the salad, "And I'll be wearing a dress! Can you believe it?"
Finn smiled. Her excitement was too contagious to ignore. Rachel's phone started ringing and she glanced at her father. He nodded and she went to answer it.
The table was quiet with only the sound of silverware clinking on plates at the table.
Rachel walked to the counter and grabbed her phone, "Hello?"
"Hey, what's-" Her smiled slowly faded as she nodded. "Oh… O-Of course. I understand."
Disappointment coated Rachel's eyes as she looked on the ground sadly. She finished her phone call with a small frown. Everyone watched as she forced a laugh as she sat down again.
"I guess we have to return my dress," She tried to say it as nonchalantly as she could and took a bite of her food.
They all watched her with confusion. Carole wiped her mouth with a napkin, "But honey you were raving about that dress just a few minutes ago."
"Who called you?" Hiram asked with concern as Rachel played with her food.
"It was Dave. He said that he couldn't go with me anymore, and I'd hate for a beautiful dress like that to go to waste," Rachel tried her best to smile. "It's not like I wanted to go anyway right?"
Mike put his fork down, "Rachel, you just told us how excited you were. You know we could beat him up if you want."
A small but genuine smile appeared on her face, "It's okay, Mike. Thank you though."
"And we don't condone fights," Hiram reminded them and Puck sniggered. "Then you shouldn't ask Finn what he did today."
Hiram ignored the wide eyes of Finn and reached for his daughter's hand, "Bug, you don't need a date to go to the dance."
Rachel shook her head, "I'll look ridiculous without one. They'll just have more reasons to make fun of me."
Kurt placed his glass down and turned to her, "Although I agree with your father, who says you have to go alone?"
"Y-You wanna go with me?" She asked and Kurt almost spit his food out.
"Oh, definitely no," He shook his head. "I'm not stepping foot on high school grounds anymore, but Blaine, my boyfriend," He reminded her. "He could, or you know, I'm sure your boys would take you."
Rachel's eyes lit up as she turned to Finn and Puck. Carole and Hiram immediately agreed and the guys nodded along. The tense atmosphere was slowly shifting into the positive environment it once was just a few moments ago.
"I wouldn't want to make you guys look bad," She started and Finn shook his head. "You'd never make us look bad." He added more softly, "You're cool, Rachel."
She stared into his eyes, and Finn glanced down at her lips. He darted out his tongue over his bottom lip.
"So, who's going to take Rachel to the dance?" Carole, along with everyone else, was oblivious to the moment her son could've had (or was already having). She asked with a smile as she cut a piece of her meat.
"I'll take her," Puck looked up from his dinner and offered a smile. "It'll be fun."
Rachel beamed and Mike bit some of his salad, "It's settled then! We all have dates. Wait, what about you? Finn, are you okay?"
They all looked at Finn, but he shook his head. "I'm fine, just hungry. I'll have a date, don't worry."
Once they started fussing over Rachel and Puck, Finn tuned them out. He didn't want to hear how Puck thought it'd be a great idea for 'two hot Jews' to stick together. And even when they changed topics and Kurt started talking about something, he kept out of the conversation. He decided it would be better if he just kept to himself so that he could think. As an attempt to save himself from any interrogation, he would offer a light laugh and maybe a well placed head nod here and there. He at least appeared to be somewhat engaged in the conversations.
He tossed his meat around and thought about what Mike said earlier. He thought about what Tina said and what Puck said. He thought about everything, but it all came down to one thing.
He's falling for Rachel.
Or at least he has a crush on her. A crush that makes him angry when guys simply look at her, a crush that makes his heartbeat quicken when she laughs, a crush that with just one bat of her eyelashes makes his knees week, a crush that makes it hard for him to concentrate on anything else because she's all he can and wants to think about. A crush-
"Finn, honey?" His mom called out. "Did you say you wanted crushed pepper?"
He snapped his head up and shook his head immediately, "No-No I don't, it's okay."
She shrugged and they all continued talking. Finally, they finished dinner and Kurt decided it was time for him to back home. He thanked them for allowing him to join and hugged Rachel tightly before leaving. After a few minutes, Puck and Mike decided it was time for them to go as well. They went to hug Carole and Hiram and walked over to Rachel and Finn.
They gave Finn a strong clap on his back and Mike mussed Rachel's hair. She laughed as he did and tucked a hair behind her ear. Puck turned to her and winked, "See you later, date. I know it's not prom or anything, but I'll make sure to score a pink tie so we can match."
Finn held back an eye roll. Rachel grinned as she joked, "You better."
She stood up and put the dishes in the sink. Carole helped her clean up the table and then excused herself as she walked to her own home. Rachel watched as Finn plopped on the couch with a quiet sigh. He sat there staring at the blank screen of the TV, trying to convince himself that he's just appreciating the physical appearance of a girl and said girl just happened to be Rachel. No big deal. Mike's 'love talk' is just a coincidence.
She arched her eyebrow up in question before walking to her room to change. She came back out moments later in her large navy blue t-shirt and black sweat pants.
Finn groaned loudly and slapped his face into his hands. Who's he kidding? She's still beautiful. Nothing can change that. She could be wearing a garbage bag and have candy jewelry on and he'd still think so. He'd probably really like it actually, because he loves candy. And then he could throw away the string in her garbage bag clothes. If it got too dirty or something, he could just take it off of her and she'd-
"Are my old clothes that unbearable that even you can't stand to look at me?" She frowned slightly and looked down at her clothes.
Finn's eyes were wide as he struggled to find the right words. "N-No, I just can't." He looked around the room, "I can't find the controller. Remote. Clicker-" He stammered, "I wanna watch TV."
Rachel gave him a look as she handed it to him. She sat down next to him quietly with a dejected expression and spoke in a low tone, saying something she's never said out loud before, "I know I'm not as pretty as Quinn or as hot as Santana."
"Would you stop?" Finn turned from his seat next to her on the couch and stared her straight into her eyes. "You're beautiful."
His mouth was still open a little as he was in shock. He couldn't believe that he told her that, but he also couldn't believe that she didn't realize how much she was worth. His eyebrows were loosely pinched in disbelief.
Rachel looked up from the ground and stared back. She searched his slightly squinted eyes and wondered if he truly meant what he said. No one's ever called her beautiful before, except her papa or Carole, and the way Finn just said it - with so much intensity in his voice and stare - it made it hard to not believe him, but she knew it was nothing but a friendly compliment. She lightly laughed and shoved him playfully.
"You're such a great friend, Finn." She smiled at him and turned the TV on, "You're my best friend."
He felt himself frown a little but replied back, "You're my best friend, too."
A/N: So I know I said that review was what I needed, but I think I like the happy reviews better hehe. Lemme know what you guys think! :)
