Chapter Ten: The One With The Stupid Argument.
x: Why did you have to go and make things so complicated?
It seems that the week flies by as Finn finds himself again on a Friday. Except, the thing is, this Friday is slightly different to the others; Rent roles are being revealed. He's not too sure of what he'll actually get, just that he somewhat expects Roger. Rachel had gotten him on board here by flashing him Roger and if he doesn't get that role – well, Finn doesn't know what he'll do. He won't like it though that's for sure.
Class seems to tick by today, more so for him than the students. He can't even concentrate properly on teaching and so simply gives the kids something to work on. Finn's a little astounded by how much he cares about what he once called a 'stupid play'. In reality, he shouldn't care – and this brings him to why he cares.
At first, Finn debates his love for music as a teenager as he played the drums and sang in the Glee club. When picking his future career, he had considered trying to break into music. He soon realised that he didn't have the passion others have, nor the talent for that matter. Even so, this could have been where his anticipation is derived from – but no. Finn has no inclination to continue music or try to make a living out of it, or even go onto star in another play.
The extra cash entered his mind, but Finn's never been one to crave for money and he certainly doesn't now. He even took a cut from Rachel so that he's receiving the bare minimum for his work here, making this reason very quick to rule out.
Finn's eventually brought to the reason he doesn't quite want to acknowledge. Rachel or Jesse. True, this whole anticipation could just be Finn wanting to beat out Jesse. Because by god he does. But is he that much in competition with the man? Finn hasn't talked to him since they first met and hasn't had a chance to, either. (He still dislikes him though.) Undoubtedly, he wants to beat out Jesse, but there's something more.
Rachel. Which, he supposes, is linked to Jesse. (It's the reason he doesn't like how Jesse is so impressive.) He realises that he wants to impress Rachel, he wants her show to be a hit and he wants it to be partly because of him. Maybe it's a hero complex, wanting to be her knight in shining armour, but he can't help the way he feels. This is as far as Finn is willing to delve though. (Any further and revelations he's not willing to accept could be forced to be acknowledged.)
Nonetheless, when the bell rings, Finn ushers his class out the door and locks it promptly behind him. There's students from his Glee club about the upcoming sectionals and their song choices, but he briskly tells them that he's in a hurry and it will have to wait. He has Rachels in his club, too.
It's only when he's at home, sitting on one of the armchairs in front of the tv (while glancing at his mobile on the small end table beside him) that he wonders why he was in such a rush. Finn's not even sure when he'll be called, and he assumes it will be the director as Brittany and Rachel are too close to him. Unless all that doesn't matter, and one of the girls will just knock over and tell him.
As he's mulling this all over once again, Puck walks in, whistling loudly. Finn turns the chair around to look at him, tilting his head as he observes the man going through the fridge obliviously. "Where've you been?"
Puck jumps slightly, then continues his rummage of the fridge, "Listening to Kurt and Brittany argue about campaigns," He replies, taking a cold slice of pizza and sitting down on the armchair next to Finn. "Pretty much hell, let me tell you. Got home from work early – quiet day, you know – and was bored. Turns out being bored would have been better than that."
"I see.." A thought strikes him, "Did Santana give you those tickets?"
A dark look crosses Puck's face immediately as a scowl appears, "No." It's said petulantly, like a child.
Finn claps him on the back and chuckles, "Can't win everytime."
"We never win them!"
"Looks like you'll be joining Mike in hating Blaine, eh?"
Puck shakes his head, "Nah. Besides, he won't be there for all that long. It's Santana."
He doesn't say anything, just nods. Puck is speaking the truth; no one lasts long with Santana. No has lasted longer than Blaine already, but it will probably be short-lived. (Deep down, Finn reckons Santana will never be interested in settling down long-term with a man.) Although he has certain problems with Blaine's tendency to take over a room, Finn finds that he likes him. Blaine's always been perfectly friendly to him, and he's nice to Kurt – which not all of the girls boyfriends have been. Finn see's no problem with the man. Why would Mike? He wonders. Puck is a lot more arrogant than Blaine, Finn thinks with a glance to said man, and he takes centre attention plenty too.
"Why doesn't Mike hate you?" Finn questions aloud.
Puck throws aside the empty pizza box and takes the remote, "What kind of question is that? Why would he?" He looks at Finn, "Seriously, dude, who wouldn't want this?"
"That is exactly why Mike shouldn't like you. I mean, if he has a problem with Blaine."
"Why do you care? The fuck has gotten into you?"
Finn feels his temper flare a little, but pushes it aside and shifts his position. He takes a minute to think before replying, "Waiting for the roles of Rent has got me worried, I guess."
Puck rolls his eyes, "Just go ahead and ask Rach out again."
"It didn't work last time."
"So?"
"So... It would be like me saying, 'hey, go ask Quinn out.' Or Santana, for that matter – granted, Quinn was more of a relationship, Santana more of a fuck buddy."
Puck grins wolfishly, "Yeah, those were the good days." He comes back to the situation then, "But we both know it's completely different. I'm not pining after anyone..."
There's a lingering pause then, in which both Finn and Puck think hard about what to say next. They're treading dangerous topics that usually don't get said all that much – being serious, said in jest all the time – and that's when the phone rings. Puck sends him a smirk, "Good luck peter pan."
"It's Rent, tool." It doesn't come out as mocking as he had planned, because he's grabbing the phone and rushing to his room, leaving Puck alone in the room. Puck doesn't spend a lot of time on his own; if his apartment is empty, he heads over to the girls, or else one of the men are home. (He's not exactly troubled by a lack of alone time, Puck's a social creature.) As he sits in peace watching reruns of Baywatch, he wonders why he doesn't demand more solitude. It's not that bad.
Of course, it's short-lived. Quinn strolls in, Kurt on her tail, with an exasperated expression on her face. She slumps down into the chair Finn vacated, while Kurt takes a standing position in between the two. He places his arms on his hips and pouts at her. "No." Is her reply before turning to Puck, "Were you in work today, slacker?"
"Eh, yeah. I'm a working man Fabray.."
"Every now and then," She smirks, and he chuckles. Kurt clears his throat and both of them look at him, Puck questioningly.
"What?"
"Quinn won't be my campaign manager." He groans, hoping Puck will support him on this. He should have known better, really.
"Isn't that Brittany's job?" He asks confusedly.
Quinn nods, "Yes. It'll break her happy little heart, Kurt, and also – I don't want to do it! I said no, and no is my answer."
"Fine." Kurt spits back, and as he turns to leave, Finn opens his bedroom door. Consequently, all three are turning that way and shrink back at the man's expression. He's sure as hell not happy, Puck thinks. His eyebrows are set in a frown and he's doing that squinting thing he does when angry. Fists are balled at his sides.
It's Puck's turn to clear his throat, "It, eh, didn't go well?"
Finn shoots them an angry glance, "She cast Jesse as Roger." Kurt, Puck and Quinn exchange looks; uh, oh.
It's not much later as they all sit in the girls sitting room, scattered across the couches and floor. That is, all except for Rachel and Brittany who are still held up at the theatre. Quinn glances uneasily to Puck beside her, and then leans in to whisper, "This isn't going to go down well…"
"Hell, no." Puck looks at Finn, who is listening to Kurt harping on about the good points of playing Collins. Puck figures it would be wise to wait to mock him on playing a gay character. Hey, he's all for 'love who you want', but the opportunity is too much to pass.
"Rachel's not going to like being undermined."
He rolls his eyes, "It's not being undermined, it's just complaining."
"But he thinks she's wrong…" Quinn trails off. She meets Santana's eyes and notices that the girl doesn't appear at all interested in what is occurring – not that it's particularly exciting, mind you – but it's a different uninterested expression to what she usually wears. Usually, Santana looks bored. Now, she appears distracted. Quinn makes a mental note to ask her, because she knows Santana is never going to willingly seek her out and tell her.
(She wishes she would.)
"Since we're all having this big meeting for serious reasons," Mike announces, half-mockingly, "I have something to say.."
"Did you order an Asian bride?" Santana questions coolly, "Because otherwise it's not exciting or serious at all." She pauses but before anyone can reply, adds thoughtfully, "And you could probably use one."
He grits out an annoyed, "No." Inhales deeply. "My parents want me to marry soon or move back.."
"So?" Quinn frowns, looking around at the others in confusion, "Am I the only one who thinks that's ridiculous? You're not eighteen."
"They've got no hold over you, Mike." Finn tells him, wondering if his friend has let numbers go to his head.
"They're my parents."
"Dude, they're out of line. Sort your life out."
"Thank you, Puck." The conversation is becoming increasingly difficult for Mike, and he regrets ever bringing up the topic. He felt he should tell them, but obviously it would have been better to wait even longer. Lately though, he thought they'd notice he'd been gone visiting his parents more, on the phone to them and just generally missing a lot more. (It hurts him a little that they didn't question a lot). As an anger builds in his bones that isn't really like him, Mike lashes out, "Just because some of you are perfectly content with cutting your parents off and pretending like they don't exist, doesn't mean I'm okay with that."
There's a hushed silence that follows almost instantly after his words – mouths snap shut as they're about to interrupt, while others mouths fall open in shock. The moment the words leave his lips, Mike wants to be sucked into a black hole. He didn't mean to take it that low, and it was out of order. He risks a glimpse at the person it refers to the most.
"Out of line, man." It's rare that he hears Puck sounding so serious and threatening, and it worries him a little.
She rises from her chair and approaches him with a deadly look in her eyes, "Don't talk shit about what you don't understand, Mike." She hisses and then goes to her room, the door slamming shut loudly after her. It seems to echo multiple times behind her, and then there's that silence again.
"Rachel would be able to take control here," Finn says sadly, "But she's at that stupid theatre."
"You need to apologise." Kurt tells Mike flatly, "And I'm not sticking around for it. Finn, come on. There's no point confronting Rachel when you're like this anyway." Kurt turns on his heel to face Puck and snorts a little, "And you're certainly not staying. I value Mike's life, and so you're coming with me."
"Can I just ask you never to place 'coming' and 'me' in the same sentence again, please?" Puck groans and follows them out the door. Mike doesn't miss the dirty look he shoots him before closing the door softly behind them.
Santana turns his head towards her, and suddenly her face is just inches from his, "Unnecessary jab. I don't know whether it was meant for me or Quinn, or you just felt like ruining everyone's day – but I would like to know what the fuck has gotten into you. Who are you anymore?" She stands back and shakes her head, the unadulterated anger melting from her eyes, "Go to life rehab or something, you're pissing me off." Santana's gone then, into her room, door shut. He's alone.
He can't help but wonder if it's symbolic in any way.
She glances up apprehensively from behind her bangs, mouth poised to respond as she sings, "I've got baggage too.."
Jesse turns his head, as if torn with what's happening, "Should tell you.."
"Okay, now the beeper is going off here and there's a moment of stillness." Artie tells them, waving his arms from the seats in front. Rachel has been highly impressed thus far and finds herself suitably satisfied with how she hired him. Brittany sits beside him, but is quiet today for the most part as there is not a lot of choreography to be handled. Being honest, there's not a lot of choreography in the whole play, but Rachel wanted Brittany on board. Still does. Beyond it being nice to have a familiar face, she adds unique elements to everything she does and Rachel wants something different but spectacular. "Can you feel the moment of realisation, that you are both suffering a damning fate?"
She nods, unwilling to admit she's exhausted after the past six hours. In the back of her mind, she's also keenly aware of the party she still has to organise for a client and how she's falling horribly behind. The apartment is a mess, too. Brittany spontaneously decided to paint her and Santana's room – they're still cleaning up the aftermath, meaning the four of them have to share Rachel and Quinn's room. She almost groans at the thought of going back to a house with absolutely no solitude. (She doesn't know how Brittany and Santana do it, but finds that asking could give her answers she's been ignoring.)
The rest of the evening goes by in a blur, with her watching on through others scenes and avoiding Finn's eyes as studiously as possible. She hasn't had a chance to talk with him yet, but according to the others, he's not exactly happy.
Rachel believes it to be purely luck that she's avoided him so well before, but figures that this is the end of the road. They're going the same way home – although he's driving – and there'll be a period in time at the end in which they'll be able to talk. She dreads it a little. Most of her is ready for a battle on the other hand and perfectly poised for a fight. She's not going to be ridiculed for not being biased. Jesse, to her absolute chagrin, is better than Finn. It just comes down to that, and if Finn has a problem with that, maybe he needs to re-examine it. Or his head.
As Artie calls it a day, she breezes into the back and past her best friend. Rachel can't fathom why she's acting so strange. (Only she can. She doesn't want to fight with Finn, which is what will happen. In reality, she loves him far too much to get into a deep argument that will last days.) She rapidly grabs her bag and coat, but knows she's been too slow when she hears the recognisable thud of his footsteps behind her. She knows it's him before he speaks. Then, in a tone that is so unlike him, he calls out firmly, "Rachel."
Suddenly, Rachel berates herself for being such a coward. This is not the person she is. She turns swiftly around and raises her eyebrows, "Yes, Finn?"
He clears his throat, but remains silent for a few seconds. He hesitates slightly, but then tells her more than asks her, "Ride with me home.." She only nods and continues to gather her things once more, during which time Finn speaks again, "We need to talk for obvious reasons. Maybe I'm blowing things out of proportion, but I thought you needed me and I thought you had my back. But what—"
"Had your back?" She fires, whirling around again to meet his eyes. "What do you think this is Finn? It's not playground rules, you know. I do what is best for the play, and that was Jesse."
"You said you needed me."
"I did." She pauses, "I do. But not like this… If you can't play your part, I understand. Just tell Artie in time to get your understudy."
His eyes narrow in the way they do when he's thinking hard, and right now, it feels like he's studying her. (Not like how he used to, with wonder and awe in his eyes in the light rays of the morning through her window.) Rachel gets uncomfortable under his eyes and raises her eyebrows for him to reply. He doesn't, and so she scoffs and begins to walk out the door.
"I don't think I can be around you right now."
"If you can't behave professionally and act like a mature adult, then that is for the best."
Her blood is boiling, and her temper is so fired up that Rachel's prepared to lash out at whoever speaks to her next. Or god forbid if someone bumps into her on the walk home, because she feels like Mt. Etna about to blow. She can barely believe what just happened; how could Finn be so immature? He's taking it too heart far too much, and she doesn't understand just why he's getting so strange about all of it. Part of her wonders if he even does.
Sorry for the wait again folks! I'm definitely updating tomorrow because I love the chapter :) Thanks for reading, and especially thanks to the recent reviews. They've been great! Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Don't forget to vote in my poll on pairs! Quick is in the lead atm, with Finchel coming in second.
Disclaimer: Do not own Glee, Friends or "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne. Also, will try and update LWGYH soon for those following it.
CN.