I'm not sure why but I liked this chapter a lot. :P
A lot of the most recent reviews have been criticizing Rachel's decision to forgive Finn. I had no idea that would disappoint all of you so much! I'm sorry. :-( I assure you that Finchel will not be together straight away, so don't give up on the story just yet!
No Beth journal entry in this chapter. :3 I hope you guys don't mind.
Enjoy!
Rachel's POV:
I didn't get much sleep the night before Christmas Eve.
I paced around my room the next afternoon, taking in the events of the previous day. He kissed me. Kissed me!
My head hurt and my palms were sweating, nerves taking over my body though I had no reason for them to be. Everything felt uneasy. Everything I knew was becoming so unclear that my feelings were clouding my judgement. He kissed me, and I loved it. If it weren't for our history and my mess of feelings, I never would have pulled away.
The doorbell rang, interrupting my train of thought. With this, I stood up and made my way to the door. Looking through the peephole, I squealed, my worries being pushed aside. I opened the door quickly and threw my arms around my new guest.
"KURT!" I screamed, mid-bear hug. "What are you doing here!?"
Kurt giggled, his arms wrapped around me tightly. "I'm just coming to visit the family for the holidays," he told me, smiling. "I requested a night here, though, if that's alright with you."
"Of course!" I exclaimed, pulling away from the hug to bring him into my modest one bedroom home. "We can have a slumber party in the living room and you can do my hair and we can watch chick flicks just like we did in high school with Mercedes!"
"Ah, Rachel Berry," Kurt sighed happily. "It's been much too long."
Just then, my phone vibrated.
We need to talk about what happened in the classroom yesterday.
So much for forgetting.
"Who's that?" Kurt asked curiously.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
What's there to talk about?
"Ms. Berry, get your nose out of that phone and tell me!"
"Finn."
At this, Kurt's mouth dropped to the floor as another message rolled in.
The kiss, Rachel. Don't play stupid.
"Finn as in Finn Hudson, my step-brother, your ex-fiance Finn?!"
I nodded, still staring at my phone.
Fine. Let's talk about it.
"Rachel! What's going on?!"
I sat down on the couch, my legs feeling suddenly weak. "I'll explain."
"Please do!" He sat down next to me, hugging a pillow against his chest in anticipation.
I liked it.
"Okay, so you know how he's Beth's legal guardian now?"
Kurt nodded, signaling that he was aware.
"Well, Beth was getting into some trouble at school and..."
As expected. You did initiate it, after all.
"Stop texting and talk to me!" Kurt whined.
"Finn came in for a conference, and later I went over to his house, you know, just to smooth things over..."
I guess. How did you feel about it?
I'm still not sure.
Kurt gasped. "Did you two have sex!?"
"NO!" Rachel yelled back. "Absolutely not! There was a lot of screaming involved, though. It was really bad, for lack of a better word."
It's not a loaded question. Did you like it or not?
Rachel sighed, looking down at her phone.
"Rachel, continue."
"Oh, right. So then he felt bad, I assume, and he came into the school. I don't know how he knew I'd be there during break, but he did. And we talked a little, patched up some very large holes."
Of course I liked it.
"Aaaand?"
"He kissed me."
Kurt's mouth dropped to the ground yet again. "HE WHAT?"
"He kissed me."
Good. Now what do we do about it?
I don't know, Finn.
"And then what?!"
"That's it. We're talking about it now."
"Well, did you like it!?"
Rachel nodded. "I loved it, Kurt. It was like this missing piece in my life was finally filled and it felt so incredibly good."
Can we be friends?
"How far did you two go?"
"Oh, no. I pulled away. I can't put my heart through that again, Kurt."
"I understand," he said, seeming a bit disappointed. "Are you still seeing that therapist?"
I'd like that.
"On and off. I go when something big happens, so I've been there twice this week. She helps a lot. And even when she doesn't have valuable advice, she's still someone to talk to. Ever since senior year, I've felt really alone."
Perfect. Then our first order of business as friends is Christmas Eve. You're with Kurt right now, right?
Yep. Why?
"I wish you came to New York with me like we planned. It's a big, scary city."
"Well at least you have Blaine now."
"I love Blaine, but he's not my best friend."
I smiled slightly at Kurt. I was so lucky to have him.
Come back here and spend Christmas Eve with my family. I know you're Jewish but it's been a while since they've seen you and Beth will be there, too.
Picking up my phone, I showed Kurt the message silently.
"Do you want to?" he asked. "If you're not comfortable with it, I can go home by myself and come back after."
Rachel shook her head. "No, I want to go. It'll be fun. I miss your family."
Kurt smiled. "Good. Let's go."
Count us in.
I'm hoping you're all excited for a very finchel-y Christmas.
I mean, so what if Rachel's Jewish...
As always, read and review!
Thank you. :)
