Disclaimer: Nothing, nadda, zippo!

Author's Notes: This Chapter would be… I think… the fifth rewrite. And I'm still not crazy about it, but it was my favorite among the partial pieces of the other four.

It's a little weird, and there is a little drama, sort of. ANYWAY. I have figured out there will be two more chapters. Next chapter is the party plus Finn/Puck/Quinn interaction (possibly some baby drama, any opinions, too over done? I haven't decided yet). And the last chapter is Cali's departure.

Thank you so much for the reviews. There will be tons of mushy goodness in the Party chapter for all of our little couples. Keep an open mind and Happy Readings!! R&R

"We're going to the party, though, right?" Rachel gave a weary look to Finn who was smiling brightly. She sighed and looked down at her book that laid on the caféteria table.

To say that the weekend had not been the most amazing weekend of her life, would be a huge understatement. Not only had Saturday been the best (and let's be honest, only) date of her young life, Sunday had been completely magical all on it's own. Finn had dragged her over to his house, and they baked a cake (which he and Cali had ate in the better part of half an hour) and watched several action (with romantic undertones) packed movies.

Cali had even gone over to Puck's at some point so that Finn and Rachel could have a little private time together. In all honesty, it had been the best weekend of her life.

Monday and Tuesday had even gone smoothly, the school was not throwing things at them or mocking them, and Finn was being strong and confident as he took her hand and kissed her cheek. And, sure, when she found out about the bet between Kurt, Puck, Matt, and Mike there was a little bit of turbulence and she made sure that they had to sing a Spice Girl's song in Glee rehearsal, but that was neither here nor there.

The only thing that seemed to be causing her any kind of anxiety about being with Finn was Brittany's party on Friday. The blonde's parents had decided that they were going to Aspen for the weekend and they were sending her younger sibling (twins, a boy and a girl) to her grandparent's house. So, logically, Quinn and Brittany thought a party was more then just calling their names.

Rachel shook her head, gently sweeping thoughts of wedding bells and disastrous parties from the central part of her conscious. She looked at Finn who was smiling brightly, his eyes lit and his expression hopeful.

Did he not grasp this would be the first party at McKinley High School that she had been invited too? Not as a joke?

"Finn, I mean, you can go, of course, but I don't," his eyes had taken on a more sad puppy roundness, his smile dimming with every word out of her mouth. "Finn."

"No, I know, it's just a party. But, Brittany's parties are always fun, and everyone is going, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, everyone. I mean, it would be awesome."

Rachel gave him yet another weary look.

"Hello, hello." The two turned as Kurt gently sat in his seat, his lunch bag being tossed on to the table. "Well, I'm pretty sure I have the perfect outfit picked out for Friday night. I can't get too far gone though because Saturday my dad wants to go over to my nana's house." Kurt shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You would think that after seventy years on this planet the woman would stop trying to do doughnuts on her front lawn." Rachel and Finn stared at Kurt. "It destroys the landscape and scratches up her under carriage."

Rachel shook her head. "Finn wants to go to the party."

Kurt looked at her and then the tall boy who was smiling at her innocently. "Well, it would be social suicide not to go."

"See Rach." The brunette turned an gave a look to Finn and then gently nudged Kurt. Neither boy seemed to understand the severity of the situation.

"I think you're just being nervous." Kurt offered. "You'll be fine. We should go shopping after school, find you the perfect outfit!"

"Nothing too hooker-ish, ok?" Finn commented, only to suck his lips in as Rachel's head spun to face him. "I mean, I really liked that corset dress thing, but, I mean--"

"Finn," Kurt was shaking his head, his hand on Rachel's elbow. "Shut up."

Finn quickly nodded his head at the soprano and jumped up, "I'm going to go and get a soda."

Rachel turned back to Kurt as Finn made a mad dash to the lunch line.

"I don't want to go." Her voice was sad and almost pitiful.

Kurt pouted and nodded his head. "That's so sad." He gently patted her elbow. His eyes shifted towards the middle of the cafeteria and then back to her. A smile graced his lips. "We'll take my car after school. Ok?"

---

Cali walked with Puck to his eighth period class her nose buried in a book. Puck was eying her, shaking his head, and making sure she didn't go barreling into anyone or thing.

"You're such a nerd." He laughed as her hand shot out and smacked him. "Well, you are!"

"Shut up. I'm trying to read this in preparation for my class back home."

"I really think you should just stay here for the rest of the school year. And then the summer. And then possibly Junior year as well."

Cali looked up from her book giving a small smile to Puck who had narrowed his eyes and made sure not to make any kind of visible contact.

"Aw, you're going to miss me!"

"Shut up."

"That's really sweet." Cali nodded her head, stopping directly outside of his door. "Noah Jeremy Puckerman is going to miss me."

"I just think it's stupid that you only came for a few weeks. You should have just stayed at home. You could have had, like, a million parties."

"Think of all the sex." She waggled her eyebrows as he pretended to gag.

"That's gross."

"You're having more sex then a rabbit."

"Not recently I haven't." He gave her a sharp look. "I'm just saying it was stupid."

"I wanted to see you guys, and I promise I'll come back for the summer. Except I'll stay in a hotel. I'll kill Finn by the time Tuesday rolls around."

"You're always welcomed to stay with me." Puck gave her a smile, gently punching her in the shoulder. Cali shook her head.

"I'll keep that in mind." She looked around the hallway, her eyes landing on a specific blonde, pregnant, girl.

"Hey." Quinn's voice was full of sleep, her eyes barely hanging open. Puck patted her head, his hand running down the soft strands, resting on her back.

"You ok?"

"I'm exhausted." She shook her head. "I'm skipping eighth and going to nap in the nurse's office."

"I can skip too and just take you over to Brittany's house. We can skip Glee." Puck's hand began moving in circles.

"I'll go with you!" Cali smiled brightly as the two turned and looked at her. It was as if they were acknowledging her for the first time.

"Cal, you don't ha--"

"I can spend time with you two!" Cali threw her arm around Quinn, leading her away from Puck's classroom. "It'll be bonding time!"

Puck shook his head. "You want to make sure we don't do anything stupid."

Both girls turned and looked at him.

"You already knocked her up, Puck. How much more damage could you actually do?" Cali's voice rang across the hall as Quinn simply gave him a look as if he was stupid. Puck looked around at the various students looking at him. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. A certain level of defeat hung around him as he made his way, slowly, behind the two.

---

Puck walked into Brittany's living room, where Cali sat on the ivory sofa, her nose still pressed into the book.

"She fell asleep."

"That didn't take long at all." Cali looked at her watch. "Fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, I know, one second she was babbling about Glee and the next she was snoring." He flopped down next to Cali, curling himself against the corner of the couch. "Seriously, why did you come with us?"

"Well, other then I would get an excuse to bail out of class, I wanted to try and talk to you about Finn."

"I'm not talking to him Cal." Puck shook his head. "I told you I've tried. You need to break through Finn's defenses. Leave me out of it."

"You slept with his girlfriend Puck. I know, I get it, I understand, and I'm not lecturing you or continuing to punish you, or whatever. I'm just stating that, well, maybe you need to try harder."

Puck gave her a doubtful look. "I'm not doing anything. Quinn is at a decent enough place with the whole thing. I'm not riling her up about it."

Cali rolled her eyes. "You two have been friends for years!"

"And I fucked it up." Puck shook his head. "You want to resolve this, you need to get Finn on board to forgiving us." He leaned deeper into the couch. "And if you really want to resolve it, you need to get Berry on your team."

"You're both morons." Cali mumbled, turning and bringing her book back up to her face.

"That's fine. Just don't make it worse, ok?" Puck shook his head. "Because you're just going to get yourself into trouble."

---

"You're going to look smashing." Kurt gave Rachel a confident smile. Brittany and Tina were bouncing behind them. "Cheer up."

"I've never been to one of these parties. What if I make a fool of myself? What if Finn realizes that I don't fit into his social order of sorts?" Rachel shook her head. "It's not going to be pretty."

"Look, we will all be there. You're going to look gorgeous, and you'll be dripping from Finn's arm. Don't worry." Kurt gave her a wink, turning to see Brittany and Tina going over a list of random things Quinn had decided she needed.

Rachel's ring tone broke across his thoughts, forcing the soprano to look down at her purse. The brunette shoved her hand into her purse, dragging out the glittering phone.

"Hello?" She quickly raised an eyebrow. "Oh, hey." Kurt gave her a look, leaning closer to her hear. He growled as Rachel shoved him gently. "Um." She sighed. "I don't really know. I don't think I want to--" She was cut off, her body stopping in the middle of the vast mall hallway. Kurt had stopped a few steps ahead. Tina and Brittany had paused themselves, their attention on Rachel. "I get it, I do, but I still don't--" Her head began shaking. "Cali, ok, ok. I'll try and talk to him." Rachel mumbled a bye and snapped her phone shut. She looked at the two girls and then Kurt.

"What, pray tell, was that about?"

"Cali wants me to talk to Finn about talking to Puck and Quinn about everything. Apparently Puck has attempted to make amends, but Finn has been avoiding him. Puck told Cali that if she wants whatever rift between the two boys to be resolved she has to convince Finn."

"Wow." Tina shook her head. "How are you going to get Fin to talk to Puck and Quinn?"

"I don't know." Rachel stated, folding her arms, her shopping bags rattling together. "We don't really talk about Puck or Quinn. And he still gets tense when he's in really close range to them. Especially when they're being sweet to each other." Rachel shook her head. "He is not going to appreciate me telling him to go talk to Puck."

Kurt looked up in thought. "You know. Maybe you can make it an ultimatum."

"What would I give him in return?" Rachel threw him a look.

"My party!" The three turned to Brittany who had flung her arm into the air. Her smile was bright, her feet bouncing against the marble flooring. "You said you were really nervous to go, but I know Finn wants to go, so you can tell him that he has to try and talk to Puck and you'll go to the party."

"That seems awfully underhanded." Rachel stated, looking at Brittany.

Kurt smirked. "It's perfect!"

---

Finn stared at Rachel, his eye squinty and his mouth shut in a tight line. She had called him up while she was still at the mall, asking if it was ok if Kurt dropped her off. Guilt coursed through her veins like blood as he excitedly told her it was no problem.

Now, however, as his ears turned the slightest shade of pink, Rachel figured it was, in fact, a problem.

"Look, don't get mad." This was, about, the seventh time she had said that phrase.

She felt overly guilty and had an abundant amount of shame sitting on her chest. Saying Puck and Quinn's name or even suggesting that he talk to them, was like a slap in the face. She had to remind herself that she hadn't actually done anything physical to him.

"Where is this coming from?" He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, my annoying friend Cali."

"No." Rachel calmly shook her head. Finn stared at her. "Well, yes, maybe, a little bit. That's not the point." Rachel straightened herself in the kitchen chair, poising her hands in front of her. "Finn, darling, I think it would be good for you to reach out to Puck and Quinn. It's almost been two months. I mean, you can barely do group performances."

"So?"

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "I want you to at least try and talk to them. Don't you think they've been punished enough?"

"Why are you so into this? Wouldn't it be better for you if I didn't talk to them?" Finn folded his arms, his head shaking, his thoughts barely keeping up with the words flowing from his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Rachel's shoulders shrank, her voice dropping low, her glare falling from her face.

"Isn't that why you told me? So I would know the truth and get mad at them and not talk to them anymore? Not talk to Quinn anymore?"

Silence fell over the kitchen, both teenagers were breathing deeply. Rachel sighed, gently moving her hands onto her lap.

"No, Finn, that is not why I told you. I figured you would be upset by the news, who wouldn't be, but I did not have the pure intention of you never speaking to Quinn Fabray ever again. Maybe, it might have been, if I had known sooner then the fifteen or so minutes prior to telling you, but not when I did tell you. I told you so you could know the truth." The brunette stood up, dusting her skirt. "I think it would show great growth and maturity if you could find it in yourself to reach out to them. What they did was cruel and wrong, but they're only human. They're also our friends. They could use your support in this whole mess. Because, no matter what, Quinn is still only sixteen and pregnant and Puck is still only sixteen and trying to take care of it all."

Rachel turned toward the exit of the kitchen. She looked at Finn who was watching her silently.

"And, just for the record, I came to you with the truth. I didn't manipulate you for my own personal gain. I didn't lie, and even though I knew it would hurt you, I made sure it was a hurt that would better your life in time. Unlike you who spent your Glee career using me like a yo-yo."

And with that she had disappeared from the kitchen and from the house.

Finn swore and hit the kitchen table. Every time he thought he was getting ahead of the game he found himself in last place.

---

"Why would you involve Rachel?" Cali barely made it in through the door before his voice filtered across her brain. She turned and looked to see Finn standing in the doorway of the hallway. "Why would you do that?"

Cali clicked her tongue, shutting the door. "Because she's the only one that's going to knock any kind of sense into you."

"So you send poor innocent Rachel into the battle zone?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cali scoffed, walking past him towards the small office/guestroom at the very end of the hall.

"We got into a fight because you are just so gun hoe on me reconciling with your precious Noah."

"Oh, give me a break." Finn followed her, taking up most of the space in the room. "He is your best friend, Finn. I know that he hurt you, really badly, but you should be happy that it's not you in his position!"

"Had he not involved himself there would never have been a position!"

Cali placed her hands up. "Did you ever think that maybe you're lack of compassion could be causing them more stress and guilt then they deserve?"

"They cheated, on me!"

"You kissed Rachel, twice, while you were still dating Quinn."

"I didn't get her pregnant!"

"I bet you wish you could have tried to get her pregnant though!"

Finn shut his mouth, staring at Cali with wide eyes. The small brunette shook her head, running her hand down her face.

"I just think you should talk to him, and her." Cali added as an afterthought. "You can't just throw away ten plus years of friendship. You have to miss him?"

"Oh, yeah, let me tell you. The constant name calling, talking about sex, talking about girls like their pieces of meat. I don't know how I pass my days!" Finn threw his hands into the air, walking out of her room towards his own room.

Cali followed him, wincing as he flopped into his bed and glared at her.

"You didn't have to involve Rach."

"What happened?"

"I lost my temper and said some stupid shit." He stated, his shoulders falling. Cali resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Shocker."

"You're a horrible person." His temper seemed to have deflated, his mood manageable. Cali made her way over to him, gently sitting next to him on the bed.

"Noah was there for us, Finn. He use to beat up anyone, anyone, if they so much as looked at us wrong. He always had your back in a fight or a potential detention moment. He took a lot of the credit for a lot of the crap we pulled because you're a softy."

"Things change Cal."

"Ok, well, yes, I heard about the paint gun fiasco and the constant teasing of your sexuality and manhood. But, for the record, that is who Puck is. You don't survive the crap he survived and come out whistling Dixie. None of us do." She nudged Finn. "You guys are not going to stay in Lima, Ohio for the rest of your lives. You're going to need each other."

"He slept with Quinn. My girlfriend."

"Yeah, ok, but, for the record," Cali's hand patted his back. "Quinn isn't really innocent in this whole mishegoss."

"We talked about you using made up words." Finn noted, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"It's not made up, it's Yiddish. It means craziness." Cali rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that maybe if you reach out to them, you'll start feeling better about all of this. You can move on from it."

There was silence for the better part of five minutes. Finn sighed, defeat twisting with the air. He dropped his head, his chin hitting his chest.

"What about Rachel?"

"I can't solve all you're problems you putz." Finn glared at Cali who simply smiled and shrugged.

---

Rachel placed her books into her locker, her lips pressed together and Mercedes standing to the side, her fingers gliding over her cell phone keypad.

"Can you believe him?"

"Girl, you should have slapped him." Mercedes shook her head. "I am so disappointed with Finn."

Rachel made a noise in agreement. "He's such a baboon."

"He's a moron, that's what he is!" Mercedes rolled her eyes. "You know what. You shouldn't talk to him, and then, at the party, you'll look completely to die for, and he'll be apologizing like crazy."

The brunette looked at Mercedes, cocking her head to the side. "I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"Rachel, really?" Mercedes gave her a hard look.

"Fine. But I don't like this."

"Well, you're in a relationship now. You're going to have to do a few things you don't really like." Both girls looked at each other, bursting into laughter. Mercedes sobered faster, nudging Rachel as Finn walked down the hall.

"Hey Rach." His face was grave. "I, um, I wanted to apologize for last night." He pulled out a shabby looking bouquet from behind his back. "I didn't really have time to get a really nice bouquet, but I thought they were pretty. Like you." He gave her a bright smile.

Rachel's eyes softened, causing Mercedes to clear her throat loudly. The brunette shook her head.

"Finn, I think we both need some time to think about what was said. Because I don't know if I can handle you thinking I purposely sabotaged your relationship with Quinn for my own personal benefit." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later. And I expect to see you at Brittany's party, nine o'clock sharp."

She turned and walked away, Mercedes following behind her. Both girls swung their hips, flipping their hair.

"Well, that was mildly entertaining." Finn turned and looked down at Kurt. "Kudos."

"I'm a little confused. What happened?" Finn looked at his bouquet. "It was the flowers, wasn't it?"

Kurt stared at the flowers and then at Finn. "Is that was this is? Ah." He cleared his throat. "I think what just happened here was Rachel's agreement to Brittany's party. As well as a casual pass of the ball being in your court." Kurt gave the boy a smile and a quick pat on the arm. "Put on your armor Hudson. This is a battlefield."

Kurt began walking off, causing Finn to look back down at his flowers and then up towards the direction the three had walked in.

"Wait?" He began following Kurt, flowers in hands. "What happened?"