She couldn't help but to smile as she walked through the entrance to the mall, smiling in spite of herself as walked the familiar entrance to J. Crew.
He's probably not even there, she chastised herself, trying to subdue her excitement, convincing herself she was merely headed to her favorite store for a simple shopping trip as she had so many times in the past. But the truth was, she was wishing desperately that Finn would be there. Carl worked during the week, and her days were quickly becoming long and lonely. She craved Finn's easy conversation and the interest he had in talking with her, and the thought of waiting to make her meetings with him more constant until the new school year began was making her extremely antsy.
She knew the grin on her face probably looked ridiculous as she stepped into the store, her smile waning slightly as she realized that Finn was not in his spot behind the crash register. She held onto the hope that he was elsewhere in the store, beginning to nonchalantly sift through items in the store, for once hardly tempted by the cheerful cardigans and inviting pencil skirts.
She frowned when it was apparent he was not in the store, reminding herself that seeing him was not the purpose of her shopping trip. But she bit her lip in frustration as she peered into the fitting room, hoping that perhaps he was manning it. As she sighed, looking a bit exasperated, the fitting room attendant approached her, smiling pleasantly.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" she asked politely.
Emma was about to decline her offer, but before she could stop herself, the words flew from her mouth. "Do you know if Finn Hudson is working today?"
"Finn?" the woman repeated frowning a little.
"Yeah, brown hair, really tall."
At the word 'tall,' her face lit up. "Yeah, Finn," she laughed a little. "He's a real sweetie. He's on his break right now, but I can tell him you stopped by if you'd like."
"Oh, um, that's fine. But thank you," Emma smiled, sighing a little as she left the store.
She walked aimlessly around the mall, not ready to return home yet. But as she passed the food court, a flash of red caught her attention, her stomach twisting a little when she focused her eyes. There was Finn, laughing with a pretty girl, a mass of curly red hair cascading down her back. He took a bite of his ice cream, the sweet treat leaving a white mustache on his upper lip. The girl giggled, reaching to wipe his lip gently, and as Emma suddenly felt depressed as she watched the two.
Just leave, she told herself, but as the girl said something, causing Finn to burst into a fit of laughter, Emma found herself walking determinedly toward the table, unable to reason with herself.
Finn stopped mid-laugh as his eyes widened at the last person he had expected to see, realizing she was walking straight towards them.
Emma suddenly felt very foolish as she reached the table, smiling at Finn and glancing nervously toward the girl. "Hey, Finn...I, um, was just passing by, and I thought I'd say hi."
"Hi," he repeated back, scooting a little bit away from Jessica as his ice cream dripped a little bit down his fingers unnoticed. "Yeah, I'm a...on my lunch break."
Emma continued to smile, fidgeting a little with her purse, making small talk though she suddenly felt like she was intruding. "How are you?"
"I'm good," he nodded, wincing a little in embarrassment as Jessica took his hand, wiping off his fingers with a napkin. "Oh I'm sorry, uh...this is Jessica. My friend. Jess, this is Ms. Pillsbury. She works at my school."
Emma watched a little uncomfortably as his "friend" cleaned up after him before snapping her attention to her face. She was pretty, a dotting of freckles across her nose, and her clear blue eyes shined with confidence as they met Emma's.
"Hello, Jessica. It's nice to meet you."
Finn smiled weakly as Jess laughed, nudging her shoulder against his. "Wow Finn, you must be really boring or a real troublemaker if you're this popular with all the teachers at your school."
"We ran into Mr. Schue yesterday at the movies," he explained to Emma.
Emma laughed a little uncomfortably, her giggles too high-pitched. "Oh, you know Finn. Such a troublemaker." She laughed again, her eyes flicking back to Jessica as she scooted closer to Finn, bringing her hand to the back of Finn's neck as she played with the edges of his hair.
"Yeah I think I have some idea," Jess replied, winking at Finn as he snatched her hand and pulled it back gently.
"She works at the Gap," he explained to Emma, attempting a smile. "She's home for the summer. From college."
"Oh," Emma muttered, unable to think of anything to say for a moment. "That's nice. Where do you go to school, Jessica?"
Jessica was clearly annoyed by her presence, though she looked a little wry as she examined her nails, her eyes flashing for a moment as she nonchalantly answered with a shrug. "Cornell."
"Wow," Emma answered, feeling annoyed herself. She let out a small huff as she glanced back toward Finn, who was intently examining a drop of spilled ice cream on the table top.
"I know right?" he nodded at the table. "I can't even spell Cornell." He winced as Jess laughed and smacked at his cheek playfully.
"And that's why you're so cute," she grinned, turning back to Emma. "Are your kids in high school too?"
"Excuse me?" Emma asked, glaring at the younger girl, her disdain for her only increasing.
"Hey," Finn interjected, pulling his cell phone out of the back of his jeans as he stood. "I think it's time for me to get back. You know, crazy sale today. Pants or something," he mumbled, looking down to brush a few crumbs off of his shirt. "Jess, I'll call you tonight okay?" Turning toward Emma, he smiled apologetically. "Ms. Pillsbury do you want to walk back with me? There's something I wanted to ask you about my schedule for next semester."
She was tempted to say no, her annoyance at it's pique. But as Jessica kissed his cheek quickly, disappearing into the crowd, she let out a small sigh. "Sure, Finn."
"So how you've been?" he grinned, excited to finally be alone as he weaved around a couple kids and a stroller as they walked away from the food court.
"Fine," she answered, her voice a little snappy. "So when did you two start dating?" she asked before she could help herself.
He frowned as he quickened his pace to keep up with her fast steps. "Um, a couple of weeks ago. It's not a big deal. You know it's just nice to have somebody to eat lunch with."
"Of course," she said, her cheeks turning a little pink as she felt her expression soften a little, sympathy settling in. He didn't want to feel alone anymore than she did. "She seems like she's a lot of fun," Emma muttered as politely as she could.
"I guess," he shrugged. "I don't really understand what she's talking about half the time. She talks faster than Rachel does."
"She's pretty," Emma muttered, looking down at her feet as she spoke.
"You think so? Well it doesn't matter anyway," he mumbled, frowning as he the store came into sight. "She's just bored and needs some entertainment for the summer. That's the only reason she asked me out."
She sighed a little, wanting to tell him he could do better, but she refrained. "Well, she's a lucky girl, getting to spend so much time with a great guy like you," she said instead, giving him a small smile.
"Thanks," he muttered, turning to her. "I wish more people felt that way. People I actually wanted to spend time with." His smile was small and hopeful.
"I'm sure they do...more than you think," she answered, biting her lip, catching his gaze.
"This is dumb," he grinned, feeling his insides melt and run together. "I want to be your friend. I mean I feel like I already am, but it's just weird to me that I can't use the word or anything and I just..." he paused a little as he felt his words begin to run ahead of him and saw her eyes widen in response. "I just need to shut up right now because I have said too much."
"Finn, I'm your teacher," she answered immediately, her throat a little tight. "I-I want that to, to you know, be your friend." She wanted it more than she should've, Finn's company making her happier than anything had in ages. "But Finn..." she sighed, unsure of what to say next.
"Yeah well I've had friends who are teachers," he interrupted, thinking about all the times Mr. Schue had taken him out to eat last year. "And you're not exactly my teacher," he stopped, thinking quickly. "And anyway, it's summer. We're just two people," he gestured between them. "Who have a really boring summer ahead of them. Unless you have this really fascinating secret life I don't know about..." he teased.
Her apprehension eased a little as she spoke softly. "I could use a friend," she admitted, smiling a little as she looked at Finn through her lashes.
"Me too," he replied, trying hopelessly to keep his grin under control as his fingers hid in his pockets. "And, you know, the second you get tired of me you can just tell me. It's not a big deal," he shrugged, thinking the opposite.
"I'm more worried about you getting sick of me," she joked. "I can't exactly keep up with people like Jessica."
"Good, because neither can I," he laughed a little.
"So, as my friend, would you like to do dinner when you get off from work?" Emma dared to ask, her stomach fluttering a little as she spoke the words, blushing a little in spite of herself.
"Yeah, I think I would...Emma," he added, testing out her name a little and smiling at the sound of it. "Will um, Dr. Howell wanna come or something."
She grinned, catching his eye again. "He's going out with some friends tonight," she told him. "So he won't mind if I go out with you tonight." She lied. She wasn't sure how Carl would feel about her developing a friendship with a student, and she felt a little hot thinking about explaining it to him.
"That's awesome," he nodded, feeling the urge to quit his job and just follow her wherever she was going. "It's really great you guys have such a laid back marriage."
She laughed, feeling a little uneasy. "So, um, how's seven?" she asked. "I guess I should give you my number..." she muttered, rummaging through her purse for a slip of paper. She quickly jotted her number down, taking in a breath as she smiled, handing it to him.
He put his prize into his pocket. "Thanks so I'll just call you when I get off and Jessica and I can meet you wherever. Your choice."
"If Jessica and you were planning to go out tonight, then I don't want to get in the way," Emma replied, keeping her irritation in check, missing the humor in Finn's tone.
"I'm kidding, geez," he chuckled, patting her shoulder softly. "But boy you really are not a fan are you? I'll keep that in mind."
She blushed hopelessly, stammering a little as she changed the subject. "So what kind of food do you like?"
"Oh you know me, anything's good. I care more about the company."
She smiled. "Well, I'll let you get back to work. I'll see you tonight, Finn." She waved as she left the store, unable to wipe the grin off her face.