Finn sighed as he kicked Puck's ass on Call of Duty once again.
Rachel had gotten back from camp late the previous night and he'd wanted to see her the next day but she told him she had plans. Plans with his brother.
"But baby, I haven't seen you in like two weeks!" He'd complained the night before.
"And I haven't properly seen Kurt in about four weeks Finn!" She'd retorted.
"Will you at least come and say hello?" He'd pouted but then stopped, knowing that she couldn't see him.
"Of course baby, I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, my beautiful star."
He sighed as he thought about their conversation the previous night. He just wanted to see his girlfriend, was that really too much to ask?
There was a knock on the door and he heard Kurt's loud footsteps as he rushed to open it. Finn swung his own bedroom door open in an attempt to hear their conversation.
It started with a lot of squealing and what Finn assumed was them hugging one another.
"Oh my goodness! You look good, Miss Berry!" His brother exclaimed and he heard Rachel giggle.
"Of course that's the first thing you say Kurt." She laughed and Finn heard the front door swing shut.
There was a moment of silence and Finn sat down on his bed.
"Oh for heaven's sake Elle! Ten minutes and then I expect you down here for a Vampire Diaries marathon. You are way too good at puppy eyes." His brother's voice drifted into his room and Finn grinned. The last part was definitely true, that girl had insane badgering skills in the form of cuteness.
Finn heard her crutches clicking on the wooden stairs and he grinned when she appeared in his doorway, her own kilo-watt smile on her face. She looked like an angel in her knee length white dress and holding herself up on her crutches.
"Hi!" She grinned as she entered the room, quickly plopping herself down on his lap and letting her crutches drop to the floor. He grinned and pulled her close, burying his nose in her neck and just breathing in the scent of her.
"God, you're beautiful, I missed you so much." He mumbled, holding her tight to him.
"I missed you too, I love you." She grinned, her fingers running through his hair and her lips kissing up his neck. She nibbled on his ear and he quickly lifted his head, crashing his lips onto hers.
As they pulled apart, eyes gazing into each other, Finn's hand reached out to tuck a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. "I love you so much." He commented, his hand running through the long locks on top of her head. She grinned and sighed contently, leaning her head back into his hand. "How's your ankle?"
"Good, it doesn't hurt that much when I try to walk anymore although the doctor said I shouldn't be doing that just yet." She sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"That's good. Come on, I'll carry you down the stairs." He smiled and gazed at her, taking in her beautiful face. Lifting her into his arms, he realized how light she was. "Babe, you need to eat more."
"I eat more than enough Finn." She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her down the stairs. Kurt was in the living room so he carried her in there and plopped her down on the couch next to his brother.
"One best friend." He smiled, ruffling Kurt's hair resulting in a glare.
"How many times have I told you not to do that Finn?! Do you even know how long it takes to perfect this every morning?!" He exclaimed, his hands flying to his hair in an attempt to right it.
"Whatever little brother. Let me know when you need your crutches, baby." He grinned and kissed Rachel quickly before leaving the room, knowing that Kurt would kick him out of he tried to stay.
A few hours later, he wandered back down to grab a drink. He peeked through the glass door to the living room to see Kurt and Rachel munching popcorn, their eyes concentrated on the TV screen. He chuckled slightly and continued into the kitchen, pulling a Kool-Aid out.
"You good to stay over tonight?" His brother's voice drifted into the kitchen and Finn perked up.
"Of course, although I don't have anything with me." Rachel's angelic voice sounded. Finn tried not to smile at the tone of her voice; she made it sound like it was a huge problem.
"You left some of your stuff here the last time you slept round. For my inspection? I forgot to give it back. You can just borrow something of mine to sleep in." Again, Finn had to stop himself from laughing. Only Kurt would inspect his girlfriend's clothes.
"Oh, invite Mercedes! I haven't seen her in ages!" Her voice sounded so excited and Finn found himself grinning again.
"Oh good idea! We may need to go to the shops though, I don't think I have sufficient sleepover supplies." Again the worry in his brother's voice made Finn chuckle. These two could have their own TV show.
"Let's go then. Hang on, I need my crutches."
"FINN!" His brother's voice attacked his ears at its high pitch and loud volume. He headed to the living room and saw Kurt smirking while Rachel sent him an apologetic look. "Can Rachel have her crutches?"
"Please?" The brunette added, rolling her eyes at the relationship between her best friend and boyfriend.
"Course, hang on, I'll just go grab them." He sent a wink to Rachel before running up and down the stairs. When he returned, he held the metal sticks out to his girlfriend who smiled at him and took them. He turned around to head out the room when Kurt spoke again.
"Finn, we're heading to the shops and then Rachel and Mercedes are going to stay round." Kurt stated, looking at his brother expectantly.
"And you're telling me because…" Finn trailed off, winking at his girlfriend when she giggled.
"Well, I can't lift Rachel into my car and with her ankle she can't get in and out by herself." The diva explained, his tone indicating that this should have been obvious.
"Oh alright, hang on. You guys want your shoes?" He said, walking towards the shoe rack by the door. He pulled on his converse and picked up Rachel's little white ballet flat.
"The black ones please Finn." His brother called and Finn looked down at the shoe rack.
"Which black ones? There's like eight black pairs!" He exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing at the amount of shoes in front of him.
"Ugh! I'll get them myself!" The diva exclaimed, appearing in the hallway.
"Whatever dude." Finn laughed and walked back into the living room to see Rachel giggling at their exchange. He held up her shoe with a smirk and knelt down in front of her, slipping it onto her foot. She giggled again and he smiled, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear.
"Alright Cinderella, Prince Charming, let's go." Kurt's voice came from the doorway and they turned to see him smirking at them.
They picked Mercedes up on the way to Walmart and Finn was glad he'd volunteered to drive as the three divas gossiped away. He pulled into a space as close to the front of the store as possible.
Rachel decided she'd stay in the car rather than a whole lot of hassle transferring her and her crutches.
"I'll stay with you." Finn smiled, slyly winking at his girlfriend who smirked.
"You two better not be making out when we get back!" Mercedes threatened jokingly as she and Kurt climbed out of the backseat.
"Ugh! Don't put ideas in their heads 'Cedes! It's my car!" Kurt complained as the two headed for the store. Finn and Rachel looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Are we really that bad?" She asked, smiling at him from the passenger seat.
"Baby, I think we're worse." He grinned and she giggled, her hand reaching out to turn up the radio.
"Oh! I love this song!" Some Jason Derulo song was now blasting out the speakers of Kurt's car and Finn laughed as Rachel sang along, dancing in her seat as much as she could. When the next song came on and he knew the words, he joined in and it turned into an in car dance party.
"Oh dear God, this is worse than them making out!" Kurt exclaimed as he and Mercedes climbed back into the car, their arms filled with bags. He reached in between the two in the front to switch the radio station.
Lady Gaga was now playing and Finn chuckled as the three were singing at the top of their lungs. He rolled the windows down and pulled out of the parking lot, headed back to his house.
It was a few hours later when his mom arrived home, her arms full of shopping which Finn rushed to help carry. Walking past the living room, she grinned to see her step-son and his friends.
"Hi Rachel, Hi Mercedes." She smiled warmly at them. Finn took the last bag of groceries from her and she thanked him before stepping inside the living room. She sat down on the sofa next to Rachel and enveloped the girl in a hug, kissing the top of her head. "How was camp?"
"Amazing, it was really fun to just sing for two whole weeks. I missed all of you though." Rachel smiled, taking Carole's hands.
"We missed you too. Finn moped for the entire two weeks and even Burt was complaining that he, and I quote, 'missed your pretty face'." She winked at the girl and they both laughed. "How's your ankle?"
"Better, although I still have to wear this thing for another two weeks and then I get a boot." She explained, lifting the leg encased in the cast in the air with a sigh.
"Well at least we know you won't be standing on any more stalls too quickly. You girls staying the night?" She asked, standing up and looking at Mercedes with a smile.
"If that's all right with you Mrs Hummel." Mercedes smiled sweetly at Kurt's step-mother.
"Of course it is, I better get started on dinner then. A lot of mouths to feed." She winked and turned around, almost walking straight into Finn. "And this one eats for five!" She smirked, passing her son.
"Way to get in there on the parent front Ray." Mercedes laughed, scooting closer to Rachel who smiled. Finn settled on the arm of the sofa next to her, wrapping his arm around her. "Seriously though, you guys are close."
"Yeah, Carole's great." Rachel smiled, resting a hand on Finn's thigh. "She's been amazing when my dads have been away. I think I've spent more of the summer here than I have at home!"
"I wish Sam's parents liked me that much!" Mercedes laughed, smirking at Kurt who rolled his eyes. "They think I'm corrupting him!"
"Elle's just good with parents. Mrs Puckerman's practically in love with her." Kurt teased, having heard from Finn about their visit to Puck's house. He was also trying to distract Mercedes, he knew what Carole and Rachel's bond meant to the both of them.
"I've known Debbie forever!" Rachel defended but she laughed along with her friends.
"That just kind of proves the point Rach." Finn grinned, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. She huffed at him, turning away but Finn knew she was trying not to laugh. He ran his hand down her side and wiggled his fingers slightly. She burst into giggles and turned to glare at him.
"Oh Lord above! Finn! Out, now!" Kurt shouted, shooing the taller boy out of the room, much to the amusement of the girls. He chuckled and headed into the kitchen where his mom was chopping up vegetables.
"They kick you out? What did you do?" She asked with a smile on her face.
"Kurt did, I was tickling Rach." He chuckled and took a seat at the island. Carole laughed slightly and grabbed a bell pepper from her pile.
"What have you been up to today?" She smiled, her knife scoring through the vegetable.
"Call of Duty and Kurt insisted I tag along when they went to Walmart. It was fun though, turned into a dance party." He smiled and jumped slightly when his phone went off in his pocket. Pulling it out, he saw he had a text from Rachel.
Sorry baby, Kurt's currently lecturing me about proper sleepover etiquette… x
He laughed and his mom looked up confused before seeing his phone. "That sounds like fun." She said, continuing their conversation.
"Yeah it was." He grinned before replying to Rachel.
Don't worry baby, wasn't your fault. Have fun with that ;) x
"So what are you making?" He questioned, looking at the mountain of vegetables.
"Veggie chilli, easier than cooking something different for everyone." She smiled and began to load it all into a large pan.
"Sounds great Mom." He kissed her cheek and headed back up the stairs, seeing if Puck was up for another game. He continued to text Rachel until she stopped texting back. He was hallway through a game when her voice drifted into his room. She was singing, but she's wasn't just singing some Lady Gaga crap, no. That was her song, Get It Right. Why was she singing that?
He signed off and headed down the stairs, letting her beautiful voice wash over him.
"What can you do when your good isn't good enough
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions
Keep making a mess of things,
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right, to get it right?"
Standing in the doorway, he caught her eye and winked. She and Mercedes were stood on the small stage area Kurt had insisted his dad built. They were behind a microphone and Mercedes' arm was looped around Rachel's waist, keeping her in place as she stood, her casted leg off the floor.
"Can I start again, with my faith shaken?
Cause I can't go back and undo this
I just have to stay and face my mistakes,
But if I get stronger and wiser, I'll get through this"
Mercedes joined in on the backing vocals and Finn glanced around the room. His mom and Kurt were sat on the sofa. His mom had tears running down her face and she was holding Kurt's hand tightly, staring with an expression of wonder at the girls on the stage.
"What can you do when your good isn't good enough?
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take for me to get it right?"
He smiled at her, leaning against the doorframe. He just listened to her. Her voice was so beautiful. She was so beautiful. He loved her so much.
"So I throw up my fist, throw a punch in the air,
And accept the truth that sometimes life isn't fair!
Yeah, I'll send out a wish, yeah, I'll send up a prayer
And finally someone will see how much I care"
She hit the high note and Kurt gave a little clap which made Carole chuckle. Finn watched his mother as she grinned so proudly at his girlfriend. He loved how they were so close. Rachel loved his mom, she was always baking cookies and brownies for her and she hugged her tightly every time she saw her.
"What can you do when your good isn't good enough?
And all that you touch tumbles down?
Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things,
I just wanna fix it somehow
But how many times will it take?
Oh, how many times will it take, to get it right?
To get it right?"
He remembered what a crappy time this had been for her. She was still getting tormented at school; slushies to the face nearly every day and constant verbal abuse in the hallways, sometimes from the people she considered friends. He was treating her horribly too. Forgiving Quinn when what she had done was ten times worse than Rachel. He was so angry with himself.
When they finished, they both jokingly curtsied whilst laughing. Mercedes jumped down but then stopped and turned back. "Oh sorry Rae, hang on."
She moved to jumped back onto the 'stage' but Finn decided to walk in at that point. "I've got her Mercedes." He grinned and the other girl shrugged, collapsing on the sofa next to Kurt. Finn smiled at his girlfriend and swept her into his arms, carrying her bridal style. The sofa was full so he settled on the armchair and set her on his lap.
"That was so beautiful Rachel." Carole grinned at the girl, wiping her eyes off.
"I've always wondered where that came from. Like I know what it's about but where did it come from? Why were you doubting?" Kurt asked, looking at his best friend.
"It was Quinn." Rachel said quietly, fiddling with her nails.
"Say what?" Mercedes asked, sitting up and staring at the petite brunette.
"When we were supposedly writing the song, I asked her if she and Finn were back together. She went off on some rant about how she was going to be some successful real estate agent and Finn was going to take over Burt's tire shop. She said that I live in some schoolgirl fantasy and if I keep looking for a fairytale ending, I'm never going to get it right." Her head was downcast as she spoke and she continued to fiddle with her nails. Finn and Kurt shared a worried glance over her head and Carole was seething.
"That little bitch!" The mother exclaimed and all of the teenagers' head snapped to her. She went bright red and gave them all an apologetic look.
"Mrs Hummel!" Mercedes smiled, nudging the woman to let her know that they didn't mind.
"Sorry, it's just, that girl aggravates me so much. Ever since I first met her, she's gotten under my skin. She appears all sickly-sweet and oh so charming but underneath that façade, she's just some scared little girl who can't help but dig her manicured nails into everything. She used to make all these little comments about Finn under her breath, whenever he messed up in the slightest and she was never supportive. That whole little fantasy she has in her head? That just proves that she wanted to drag Finn down. And who is she to be deciding who Burt is giving his shop to? It seems like she's the one living in a schoolgirl fantasy." The mother ranted, gazing round the room at the teenagers who sat there with their mouths open in amazement.
All of a sudden, Rachel shuddered in Finn's arms and turned into his chest. Finn held her tightly, rubbing her back as the tears fell. Her body shook with sobs and Finn's t-shirt was getting soaked. Carole caught his eye and gestured for him to bring her over. He did as he was told and went to place his girlfriend in the small gap between his mom and brother. As he went to do so, Carole caught his arm and shook her head, gesturing for him to place the girl on her lap. Kurt and Mercedes vacated the sofa and pulled Finn into the kitchen, all of them sitting at the island. They could hear Carole whispering words of comfort to Rachel.
"Shh, honey, it's alright." Mercedes could see the older woman stroking Rachel's hair and the diva was crying into Carole's shoulder.
After a while, the crying lessened and Rachel wiped her eyes, moving off Carole's lap. "I'm sorry." She said, running her fingers through her hair.
"Honey, there is nothing to apologise for. That little blonde is just jealous. She's jealous that you're going somewhere and that she's going to end up staying in Lima her entire life. I'm suspecting that wasn't the only incident there's been from her?" The mother asked, holding the girl in a hug.
"No." The diva admitted, sighing. "She's been leading the campaign against me for years."
"Well sweetie, she's just jealous. Finn loves you, I can see that as well as anyone. He lights up any time he hears from you, let alone when he actually sees you. Whatever it was that he felt for Quinn, it wasn't love, no matter what they told each other. Alright? Now let's see that beautiful smile." She tapped the brunette on the nose and she instantly smiled, giggling slightly.
"Thank you Carole." She blushed and Carole grinned, hugging her again.
"No need to thank me, you know I've always wanted a daughter?" She grinned and helped her into the bathroom.
When they exited, Rachel's face was clean and she was smiling. Carole went to stir dinner and Rachel hobbled over to her friends, smiling sheepishly.
"Come here, diva." Mercedes grinned, opening her arms for Rachel who laughed and accepted the hug. They both shrieked when Kurt joined in from behind them and all three burst out laughing.
"Who's laughing in my house?" A booming voice sounded through to the kitchen and Burt soon appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "Oh it's you lot, I suppose that's alright."
They all laughed as Burt kissed Carole in greeting and hugged Kurt and Finn. "Rachel and Mercedes are staying the night." Carole explained, gesturing to the two girls.
"Hey diva." Burt joked, smiling at Mercedes and hugging her. "Rachel! Did Carole tell you I've missed your pretty face?" He grinned, lifting her off the floor.
"She mentioned it." Rachel laughed, gripping Kurt when she was placed back on the floor. She grinned and looked at Finn who was gazing at her happily. Yes, she'd spent more of her summer here than at home, but it was a pretty great place to be.
