Chapter 10

He noticed that her façade changed slightly. She kind of stiffens at the subject of her past relationship being brought up. She still manages a small smile when she catches his eyes, though, and he takes that as a very good sign. Like, at least she's a bit more comfortable around him now than last night, right? Right.

Central Park is surprisingly a bit empty. Albeit this fact, he offered to take her to a more private place.

"Hey, we could go somewhere more secluded, if that's what you would prefer," he tells her gently.

She agrees, and then the next thing they know, they're inside his apartment.

The space is astonishing; full of things related to music. There are also pieces of art everywhere: posters, pictures, paintings, some instruments, CDs, song books, etc. "Wow, your apartment is way bigger than mine," Rachel says with a smile as she looks around, following Finn towards his colossal (but very clean) kitchen.

He smiles slyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, Kurt kind of picked this place out for me." He opened his fridge to get a carton of apple juice out.

"Apple juice or coffee?" he asked while pouring himself a glass of juice.

"Coffee would be wonderful." She sat at the stool beside his kitchen counter.

"Then coffee it is." He took a small drink at his glass then put it down to set the coffeemaker.

He leans his back a little to the sink, winking playfully at her when he caught her gaze. She blushes, looking down while biting her lip to hide a grin.

After a few, the coffee is set, and Finn asked softly if she wants to start her story now as he pours the dark brown liquid into a mug (that has a small note marked on its handle; is everything here scripted with music?).

She nods her head, thanking him when he handed her over her coffee. He settled on the stool beside her, turning his body a bit to the right so that he's fully facing her beautiful demeanour.

She contemplates for a moment, seemingly deliberating where to begin. Finally, she spoke, "Do you remember last night?" she enquired.

"Yes," he grins. "How could I forget the best night of my life?" His grin widens when he saw her blush again.

She emits a giggle and slapped his arm lightly. "Yes, one of my favourites, too, but that's not the point, Mr.! This is supposed to be a dramatic situation, isn't it?" she mock glares at him.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," he amends. "Continue, Madame," he teased.

She shakes her head with a smile. "What I meant is," she began when she sobered up, "do you remember last night, how I told you about me moving here in New York partially because of the idea of love?"

"Yes," he nodded slowly.

"Back in Columbus, I had this friend of mine. Best friend, even," she tells him with a hint of sadness laced with disappointment. He reaches out to grasp her hand in his, intertwining their fingers and giving it a small squeeze. Rachel smiles at the form of heartening.

"His name is Adrian," she continued. "We were best of friends since we were about four years old," she adds. "And then when we were ten his family moved here, and mine heard, so we moved here, too. Mine and Adrian's parents are close, too. So when we moved, I was so delighted, because at least I'd still be with Adrian— only this time, in my dream city. It all seemed perfect.

"We lived across each other's apartment; I remember that, because every day I would go to theirs or vice versa." She managed a smile at the memory. "It turns out that New York is his dream city, also.

"We went to the same school in High School, of course. And at fifteen I found out that I like him, because we were just very compatible. I have mistaken my infatuation to be love, considering my immature age.

"So at sixteen, he surprised me when he asked me out, and the fool of me agreed, so the next thing we know, I'm his girlfriend and he's my boyfriend.

"We were happy, for awhile. We went to the same University, you see, just like you and Quinn."

He chuckles. "Cliché, huh?"

She nods her approval. "Quite." Then she continued to the main part, "When we were at junior year in college, we decided to test out fate and audition for something off-Broadway. Adrian love musicals, like me," she says, "and he could really sing.

"So we auditioned, not expecting anything. I thought we both did great."

"You thought?" he repeats in question.

"Yes, I thought. The director apparently doesn't agree with me," she says solemnly. "So I got accepted, and the offer was pretty big."

"And Adrian wasn't?" he asked. She looks at him in confusion for a moment. "Accepted, I mean," he clarified.

"Oh. He wasn't. He took the situation badly. He was so mad at everyone, but to me the most, so he broke up with me."

"That's absurd, you didn't do anything," Finn protests.

"Exactly," she says, "He thought I didn't do anything to help him. He insisted that I only thought about myself and when he got rejected, he thought I didn't do anything to get the director to reconsider." A tear slips on her cheek. "So when he knew that I accepted the role, he moved out. Asked his parents for money and moved out of the city. He hated me; he erased all the connections I could have of him.

"I was devastated, for awhile. But then when I came to my senses, I realized that I don't love him. I was infatuated with him, but never in love," she declared. "So I decided to carry on and move on in life. A few months later the show I was in moved on Broadway, and I have been Rachel Berry, the famous Broadway actress."

He chuckles. "Wow, you had quite a journey."

"I know." She can smile now; she is visibly appreciative of the fact that she now has someone she could trust with that certain information about her. Aside from Santana, Finn is the only friend of hers that she's told about her past relationship with Adrian.

"You really are perfect," he told her honestly.

"You're only saying that because you want to make me feel better."

"No," he disagrees. "It's true."

She leans in with a shy and slightly nervous smile, and he starts leans in, too, and their lips brush lightly at first, then firmly next.

Both felt sparks.

TBC.

Also, check out my other stories if you have time!

Working on another fic which is a bit angst-y. Deciding on whether or not I should ever post it; what do you think?

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