"9-0, you ready to head to South Beach and make that 10-0?" Dustin quipped at Finn as they began to shed their gear in the locker room after practice. "Because I know I'm ready to go eat seafood, preferable of the Dolphin variety." He hung his tongue out as he tossed his shirt into his locker.
"Yeah, yeah," Finn said and nodded as he sat down to take off his cleats. "I'm ready."
The more wins the team collected without a loss, the more attention they received, the more humble Finn got about it all. He didn't want to let himself get caught up in all the hype that was surrounding them - they were considered the hottest team in the NFL, and it was starting to seem like if he wasn't playing football he was talking about it with team mates, or reporters, or fans, or pretty much anyone who recognized him on the street. And he was getting recognized more and more as the days passed. His usual disguise of a baseball cap and sunglasses had stopped working sometime around win number seven, which was right about the time he and Rachel stopped trying to do anything in public and resorted to quiet dinners in his apartment. Or their apartment as he liked to think of it - he couldn't remember the last time Rachel went back to her apartment for more than a few hours unless he was out of town, but for some reason she still refused to actually move in with him. It was a discussion he planned to bring up soon without letting her get away with the usual 'if you win the Super Bowl they'll be no need for this discussion' blow off.
Aside from her reluctance to actually move in with him, Finn didn't have a complaint about how things were going with their relationship. She had become his saving grace, his quiet moment, the person who saw him as just Finn. When he was with Rachel he felt at peace. In a world where he felt like everyone wanted something - and most of them did - she was the one person in that crazy city that put him completely at peace. Their Super Bowl agreement may have started something to motivate him to win, but he truly believed that if he didn't have Rachel he wouldn't be playing the game the way he was and winning the games he was winning. Because in all of the noise, the buzzing of radios, the roar of crowds, the sounds of reporters' voices in his ear - in all of that noise all he needed to do was think of her voice, hear her voice singing in his mind, and it all went away. It all went away and he could think, and he could make smart plays on the field. He was pretty sure Rachel's voice had something to do with the reason why he'd thrown 14 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions.
"You've been really quiet lately, things okay? Song Bird still singing?"
Finn looked over and nodded as the half smile took over his mouth, "Yeah, everything's okay. Just a little overwhelming sometimes, a lot to take in and absorb. A lot of people pulling me in a lot of different directions. But…" he stopped and gave Dustin a slight shrug. "Things are great with Rachel, she's like my solace in all of it and…"
A voice stopped Finn mid-sentence as he looked over at the assistant coach who was motioning his way. "Hey Finn - you might want to come see this," the man said firmly as Finn and Dustin looked to each other before getting up and following him into the film room.
Finn looked around the room in bewilderment; several of his team mates were gathered there and everyone was staring silently at the television. "What's going on?" His voice seeped with confusion as no one said anything; they only motioned for Finn to watch the television. His eyes turned to the screen and as soon as the news broadcast came back from commercial all Finn could do was stare as his mind slipped into a state of panic and horror.
"Who is this woman and what does she have to do with the Jets' run for The Super Bowl?" The reporter asked as a picture of Rachel flashed on the screen. Finn felt his legs give as the man on the screen talked; it was noise, the loudest noise he'd ever heard. His mouth was completely dry and all he could do was stare - and pray this was some kind of horrible nightmare.
"Her name is Rachel Berry, a young up-and-coming New York based actress, and high school sweetheart of Jets rookie quarterback Finn Hudson. The two have been spotted together on numerous occasions throughout the city…" Finn's eyes grew wide as the screen flashed pictures of him and Rachel together, all of them with him wearing his baseball cap and sunglasses and her trailing a few steps behind him. How could people have been taking pictures of him and he not even have realized it? His head was officially spinning now.
"Our team sources confirmed that quarterback Hudson and Ms Berry reconnected shortly after his arrival in New York and have rekindled their high school flame. But what does all of this have to do with the Super Bowl? Well, our sources have also confirmed that the couple has agreed to get married if Hudson and the Jets win the Super Bowl. Talk about a high stakes wager, huh? Neither Mr. Hudson's nor Ms. Berry's reps could be reached for comment. But I believe I speak for all Jets fans when I say we all hope Mr. Hudson and Ms. Berry end up in a long happy union of marriage come February…"
Now there was anger seeping out of Finn's pores as he glared over to Dustin, the only person he'd told. "Was it you?" He asked in a harsh sharp voice as he stood up, "Tell me was it you?" Finn watched as Dustin looked back at him with a look of shock, shaking his head no.
He didn't wait for Dustin to speak before he looked around the room at his team mates and coaches, "Someone better fess up real quick," he said, pointing to the television screen, "who the fuck is the team source? Someone better fess up." He waited a moment for a sign that anyone was going to say anything but his rage didn't allow him to stay quiet for too long. "Someone better fess up really quick because whoever this fucking team source is, you're screwing with my life. Rachel's not a game to me, she's not some model I'm going to discard in a week, and she's not a photo-op to get my picture in another magazine, or my name on the news again." His voice was booming through the small room as he continued to yell. His voice was getting louder with each word, his face getting redder by the minute. "Whoever decided to open their mouth to the media about something that was none of their business, I hope you're happy, I hope you feel like you got your ten minutes of fame or whatever your motivation was. I'm done." He stormed out of the film room, his hands shaking with rage and his head still spinning from what he'd just witnessed.
There were a million emotions that he needed to process about what he'd just seen, but as he dashed out of the training facility there was only one thing on his mind: Rachel.