Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee, or any of the many lyrics in this story; only the plot and words.

"I run my fingers through your hair and watch the lights go wild. Just keep on keeping your eyes on me, it's just wrong enough to make it feel right...I'm captivated by you baby, like a firework show."

-from 'Sparks Fly'

This was originally going to be one chapter, but it just got SO long that I had to break it down into two. I'll post the first part now, and the second should be up very soon. Because I'm impatient, and love you all, I don't want to wait until the other chapter is typed before I can update. So, enjoy!

"Let me get this straight. You're going swimming...in November" Santana asked, smirking as she stared at Rachel.

"It's an indoor pool, and it's heated. It's not as ridiculous as it sounds" she defended. "We've been talking about going for a while, but never got around to it. Now we are."

Honestly, it sounded pretty ridiculous to Rachel too, but there was no way she was passing up any opportunity to spend time with Finn. Since his crossing party, she had been expecting things to change, at least a little; they hadn't. She had only seen him once since in the few days since, and that was at the group practice on Tuesday. She was starting to wonder if she had imagined what she felt that night, if the party atmosphere and her increasingly intense crush on him had tricked her somehow. All she knew was, she couldn't stop thinking about him; the way he felt holding her, the burn of his eyes staying trained on her, the scent of his cologne, his lopsided smile, she was a total goner.

"The Frat boy sure is good at getting his way with you, huh" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"He does not get his way with me Santana. We're friends, we agree to do things."

"Sure Rachel, whatever. How long do you think it'll be before you" she paused, making a circle with one hand then proceeding to poke the pointer finger of her other hand through it, moaning all the while.

"Santana" Rachel sighed, blushing as she held onto her old pink one piece bathing suit.

"I'm just saying, the dude obviously wants to screw you and I'm pretty sure you want it, so I'm a little confused as to why you're choosing to wear that" Santana said, her lip curling with distaste as she stared at the bathing suit. "You have a smoking body under that monstrosity of a wardrobe, you should show it off."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. I'm a lesbian, I notice these things and I'm sure your giant friend has too."

"No, I mean, do you really think he wants to...you know, do that with me?" she asked, looking down at her flip flop-clad feet.

"Judging by the way he was eye-raping you when I met him, and the things Brittany told me about the party, I would say yes."

"What would you do?" Rachel questioned, loosening her hold on the suit and noticing Santana's sigh of relief. "We've always been just friends, and now I have this huge crush on him, what if I'm wrong about the attraction?"

"Rachel, I think you've brought him out of his comfort zone. He's not used to seeing the sexy, flirty side of you, and now that he's seeing it, it's throwing him off. He might be in the same boat as you right now."

"Dr. Phil says progress can only happen when you get out of your comfort zone" Brittany piped in, finally coming out of the shower. "And he's right about everything."

"Thanks Brit, I'll keep that in mind" Rachel smiled.

"I think if you want something, you should go for it" Santana finished, smiling fondly at Brittany. "If I hadn't made the first move, I would've never found out Brittany felt the same as me, and we wouldn't be here now. You never know unless you try" she shrugged, snatching the suit from Rachel and tossing it.

She was absolutely right. "Do you have a two piece I could borrow?"

Rachel took a deep breath as she exited the girls locker room, holding the towel tightly around herself. The spacious, white room held two industrial sized pools, one showing that it was 12' deep with a diving board, and a high dive. She made a mental note to avoid that one, knowing that she wasn't a good swimmer, so that would be a death trap. She instead passed that one, in favor of the 3-5 foot pool beside it. She noticed that there wasn't anyone else in there, unless you counted the lifeguard sitting in the office in the far corner. She wasn't surprised, not many people found it very plausible to go swimming in November. Just as she sat down at the bench in front of the pool, placing her bag down next to her, she saw Finn coming up from the locker room.

He wasn't quite as modest as she was, clad in an aqua blue pair of swim trunks, his towel casually draped over one shoulder. She couldn't drag her eyes away from him. His muscular calves, the way the trunks sat on his hips. He wasn't overly muscular, he was toned, and his stomach had just enough roundness to be endearing.

"My eyes are up here" he called, pointing to them with a smirk. He approached her and laid his own bag and towel down beside her. "You ready to dive in midget?"

Rachel rolled her eyes, standing from her seat. She reached for the towel when he turned his back, unwrapping it from her body and folding it to lay next to his. When she turned back around, expecting to find him in the pool, he was frozen at the edge, staring at her. Or more accurately, at her body.

"My eyes are up here" she quoted back teasingly as she brushed past him to get into the pool. Her cool facade was ruined when she dropped into the water, it was like ice. "Ah!" she screeched, hopping back up out of the pool.

"Cold?"

"Freezing" she answered, her former flirtation dropped as she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I thought you said it was heated!"

"It is, you're just being a baby. That one might be warmer, we could try it first" he said, pointing to the death pool.

"Oh no, I'm not getting in that pool. I can't swim."

"What? Why would you come swimming if you can't?"

"I can float, and kind of doggy paddle" she defended, uncrossing her arms and watching as his eyes automatically flew to her breasts.

"Let's see" he grinned, grabbing her up by the waist and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Finn, don't you dare!" she squealed, knowing her fighting was useless as soon as he bent down to sit on the edge. He slid in effortlessly, sliding her down from his shoulder and holding her in place in the water. She thrashed around as the cold temperature hit her skin, growling since he was holding her arms down, stopping her from being able to fight him. Luckily, his close proximity meant that his body heat was soaking into her, so that helped. Just about a minute of the torture and she was finally at a comfortable temperature.

"Still cold" he asked, releasing her finally.

"I don't know, you tell me" she shot back, splashing water into his face. She giggled at his surprised expression as she started to move away from him. She really couldn't swim, so she was thankful the pool was shallow enough that she could bounce away in the water. His chuckle behind her let her know that he was making fun of her way of escape, but she didn't care as long as she got away. Until she reached the head was dangerously low, the water brushing against her nose as she reached the center of the pool, that being where it turned to 5 feet. She turned around quickly to find Finn hot on her heels, gliding effortlessly through the water.

Of course he would be an excellent swimmer too.

"Truce" she offered, giving him an apologetic smile. There was no way she could get away now.

"What's wrong midget" he asked stepping into the center, smirking at her when the water barely reached his shoulders. He reached for her, eyes locked on her like a hunter on its prey. He tried to pull her into the deep water and she scrambled to hold onto the side wall of the pool.

"Wouldn't you rather teach me how to swim?"

"Nope, this will be way more fun."

She bounced backwards as he advanced towards her, then she noticed the basketball goal at the opposite end of the pool. "If you keep attacking me, I can't show you my basketball skills" she said, nodding her head towards it. Finn followed her gaze, then looked back at her with a questioning brow.

"Your basketball skills? You're joking right?"

"Absolutely not. I'm really good."

"Well, last time you said you were going to show me your skills you meant it, so I guess I believe you" he commented, setting her cheeks aflame.

"Right, well, I plan to deliver this time too. As long as you know, I don't die trying to get to the other end" she said pointedly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Fine, climb on" he relented, turning his back to her.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" she said warily, eying for the first time the tattoo on his upper bicep.

"Come on woman" he said, rolling his eyes. She reached a hand out to him and he grabbed it, pulling her forward. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms lacing around his neck as she tried not to think about how close her private parts were to him.

"I never knew you had a tattoo."

"Don't really show it off. Special treat for the ladies" he smirked as he swam with her on his back, already almost to the other end. Rachel pulled her arm down from around his neck, bringing her hand down to touch the ink on his arm. "Weren't you listening? Special treat for the ladies; you touch, I better be getting something in return."

She rolled her eyes at his words and the tingles they brought her as she touched her index finger to the ink. It was a tribal arm band, wrapping around his arm with tiny musical notes laced inside. Music notes? She shrugged, filing that information away in her mind as she ran her fingers over the pattern.

"I warned you" he said, reaching around and pulling her from his back onto his front. Her legs stayed locked around his waist as he held her to him, his face mere inches from hers. "I hope you're ready to put out, do you wax?"

"Pig" she scolded, removing his arms from around her and sliding down his body, if a little reluctantly in spite of his crude manner. Finn continued to chuckle at her as she bounced away from him toward the plastic basketballs. She was thankful that she could stand now, but being carried wasn't all that bad either. Maybe she could find a way to get another piggy back ride later, she certainly planned on it. She grabbed the closest ball to her and turned around with a bright smile, holding it up in the air.

"Show me your skills Oh Mighty One."

Rachel rolled her eyes at his exaggerated tone, but proceeded to shoot. She bent her knees slightly, cradled the ball in her hands, and pushed forward, tossing it into the basket easily. "Score" she chirped as the ball bounced over to him. "Change please."

"Well I'll be damned, you can shoot" he commented, picking up the ball and tossing it back to her.

"My dads are big basketball fans, we used to play together on family game nights" she informed him, watching his face for a reaction. She had withheld this information purposely, not many people were as open minded as they should be. Over the years she had faced all kinds of ridicule from people putting down her fathers alternative lifestyle, it was infuriating.

"Dads?"

"Yes, dads as in plural. Do you a fault in that?"

"No, not at all. I've been burnt by that once, I learned my lesson" he said, holding up his hands.

"What do you mean" she asked, tossing the ball into the basket yet again.

"My step-brother is gay. I didn't really accept it at first, gave him shit about it. Then it turned into a big fight between me, him, and his dad and things got pretty ugly for a while. Eventually I came to my senses though, I was wrong. So no, I see nothing wrong with your dads, I think it's cool. Love is love, right" he shrugged, fetching the ball for her again.

"Yes, yes it is" she smiled, watching the water hit him as he moved through it. She knew it, she knew Finn wouldn't judge her. And he'd mentioned the existence of love, maybe there was hope for him after all.

"Mostly it just freaked me out at first because he had a crush on me. Looking back, I can't really blame him for that, I'm kind of irresistible" he smirked, fake passing her the ball and tossing it in himself.

"Oh God" she rolled her eyes. "I guess I can't argue with you there. I can barely resist my need to gag" she said, placing a hand to her throat dramatically.

"Well-" he started, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Good thing I have no gag reflex, I couldn't stand to be around you" she finished coolly, not missing the way his eyes bugged at her comment. She smiled to herself as she retrieved the ball, ignoring his dropped jaw.

"No gag reflex huh? How did you find that one out, finally start experimenting with the boyfriend before you cut him loose" he asked, finally finding his words.

"Um, no. I wanted to get out of school early one day in high school, and tried to make myself vomit. Didn't work, therefore I learned" she explained, tossing the ball from one hand to the other as he stared at her.

"Damn. Poor guy."

"Lucky somebody else" she shrugged, tossing the ball into the basket again, knocking it off the backboard. "Eventually anyway."

"Lucky somebody else" he repeated, fetching the ball for her. "So um, anyway, you're actually pretty good at this" he commented, clearing his throat. "Wanna play a game?"

"Heck no, you're much too tall for me to have a dream of blocking you, and I don't shoot well under pressure." Finn stalked toward her, narrowing his eyes.

"I want to play a game" he smirked, ducking down into the water as he came closer.

"Finn, Finn stop" she squealed, watching as his face dipped below the water. His hands came up, pushing his hair up into a 'Fin' poking up out of the water and she giggled to herself at the irony. She backed as far as she could get as he swam toward her, turning before she got to the deep part and backing away again. He swam slowly, stalking her as she bounced around, intimidating her. He came up for air with a loud cry, diving towards her and she squeaked, jumping backwards to get away from him. His arms were much too long for her escape, and he caged her to him effortlessly.

"Gotcha" he cried, lifting her up. "Where did you think you were going?"

"You looked like a shark" she grinned as she struggled in his arms.

"Sharks only hang out in deep water Rach, do you wanna go to the deep water" he taunted, pulling her up with a devilish smirk. She knew that smile, he did not have good things planned.

"No, Finn, stop" she squeaked, wiggling to get out of his embrace. He pulled her to his chest, holding her with one arm as he walked over to the ladder on the side of the pool. He lifted them both out, holding her to him as he walked over to the diving pool. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was doing, wrapping her arms around his neck tighter and burying her face in his shoulder as he stepped to the edge of the pool.

Before she could even scream, he tightened his arms around her, cradling the back of her head as he jumped into the deep pool. She kept her eyes closed as they fell, keeping her death grip around his neck with her arms and legs around his middle. Her heart pounded in her chest wildly until they resurfaced, her sputtering into the air, her hair matted to her forehead.

"Don't let me go, don't let me go, I can't swim" she panted, holding onto him for dear life.

"Relax Rach, I got you" he laughed, brushing the hair out of her face with one hand. "You're fine, breathe" he instructed, pulling back and taking deep breaths in demonstration. She followed his breathing pattern easily, it wasn't hard considering how close they were. She could feel him moving his legs beneath them, keeping them afloat and she focused on the movement to calm her. "Try this" he said, peering into her eyes reassuringly as he unlocked her legs from around his waist.

He then turned himself around, allowing her to hold onto his shoulders from behind. "Kick your legs, but not like, a ninja or anything. Try to mimic mine" he instructed. She looked down under the water, taking in the steady motion of his feet and started to move hers in the same way. When she did he started to swim forward, allowing her to kick behind him. After a few feet, he turned around again. "Good, good Rach. Now, I'm going to let you go, but I'm right here okay" he added when her eyebrows shot up. "All you have to do is keep paddling your legs like that, keep your breathing steady, and stroke your arms out" he said, moving one of his arms to show her the way. "You'll stay up, I promise. If all else fails, you can float on your back."

Something in his golden specked eyes gave her the faith she needed, and she nodded. She released him one hand at a time, keeping up the paddling of her feet until she felt steady. She beamed at him as she kept herself above the water, matching the proud grin he was sporting. "That a girl."

"I'm doing it, I'm not dying!" she squealed, taking the initiative to swim about a foot away from him then back.

"I see that Rach, you're doing good. Think you're ready to take on the diving board?"

She looked up at it, it wasn't all that high, but it was definitely out of her comfort zone. But then, comfort zones were exactly what she was supposed to be getting away from right? And Finn was here, he wouldn't let her get hurt. (The lifeguard hiding in his office off to the far side of the pool didn't matter, Finn was her lifeguard.)

"You know what, yeah I am" she answered, nodding her head in determination. She paddled her way over to the ladder and climbed out. "Stay close, don't let me drown" she warned as she stepped onto the ladder.

"Never."

She climbed up and made her way onto the platform, looking down at the pool. It really was a long way down there. She shook her head of the thoughts, and focused on the beautiful boy waiting, looking up at her with a lopsided smile. Her heart (among other things) clenched as she smiled back at him, and she took a deep breath, holding in the air. She closed her eyes, took a step backward, then launched herself forward, up and off of the platform with a high pitched squeal.

Rachel hit the water with a loud splash, and dove down, farther than she had expected. She fought and pushed, trying to make her way back to the surface with all of her strength, sputtering with relief when she finally broke through. Immediately she felt arms around her, holding her up as she caught her breath. Almost on instinct now, her legs wrapped around his waist, using him for support. She gripped his shoulders and tilted back, to shake her now tangled hair out. When she looked back down, his eyes were wide, before he looked up to her with a snarky smile.

"Um, Rach..." he pointedly looked down, darting his eyes away quickly. She followed his gaze down to find her right breast fallen out of its cup, it must have happened when she went under.

"Oh!" she squeaked, reaching down to pull it back into its respectful cup. She clapped her hand over her face in embarrassment as she felt the laughter rumble in his chest.

"Thanks for the peep show, really nice" he smirked, tickling her side. "If I didn't know better, I would think you were trying to seduce me."

"It was an accident. But I suppose we're kind of even for the peep show you presented me with the other night" she shot back before she even realized the words had slipped out.

"What?"

"I, um, nothing" she sputtered, attempting to disentangle herself from him to no avail.

"No, what do you mean" he pressed, holding his hand to the small of her back as she remained pressed against him. She looked down at where their bodies met, noticing for the first time how thing his trunks were.

"Well, um, let's just say slacks aren't exactly the best thing to wear to a dance party" she mumbled. He still looked confused, so she continued. "They were about as thin as these, so um, I could really feel you" she explained, watching as the comprehension dawned on his face. It almost looked like he was embarrassed.

"Well this is awkward" he said, pouting his lips to one side before he shrugged. "Oh well, I blame you for trying to seduce me" he said, releasing her sides and attempting to dunk her in the water. This time however, she was prepared for him. She pressed her feet into his sides, using the momentum to push herself up and shoved him down by the shoulders. In his surprise he completely let go of her, and she pushed him down farther before swimming away.

"I know your tricks now Finn" she giggled, dodging him easily as he dove towards her for revenge.

"I wouldn't say all that" he challenged. She only stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"Stop attacking me, or I'll call security" she warned, backing herself up to the side wall of the pool as he approached. There was no real threat behind her words even though she knew he wouldn't give up. The predatory look in his eyes told her as much, but she couldn't find it in herself to dodge him again. She wanted him to come after her.

"You wouldn't dare" he whispered, narrowing his eyes at her. "There's no security in here anyway, nobody to protect you."

"I don't need protecting, I'm a big girl" she countered, looking at him defiantly as he came closer. He pressed both palms against the sides of the pool beside her, caging her between it and his body. She looked up into his eyes as he gazed down at her, never blinking as his eyes searched hers.

"When did you get so tough?"

"Tough teacher" she breathed, giving him a small smile. She watched the water beads slide down his arms as he pressed himself closer to her, his breath mingling with her own from the proximity. His eyes bore into her, her gaze never wavering even as her heart beat pounded in her ears. Finally he shook his head, blinking his eyes as he pushed himself back from her and swam into the center of the pool.

She caught her breath as he moved, the blood rushing back to her head. She instantly missed the contact, and moved forward toward him when she heard another voice.

"Sorry guys, pools closing" the shady lifeguard announced, standing a few feet away from the edge of the pool.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at the man.

"We close early every day the week before Thanksgiving Break" he said simply, nodding to her as he turned on his heel. "We close in five minutes."

Rachel sighed as she stared after the man before turning back to find Finn already climbing out of the pool. The spell had definitely been broken. She too swam over to the ladder and climbed out. Finn was standing by their towels when she came up, he handed her own and she wrapped it around herself.

"So, this sucks" she pouted, tucking the edge of the towel in to secure it.

"I know, I completely forgot they close early at times like these" he said, drying off his face with his own towel.

"Well, there's always next time" she decided, hoping that he would agree. He nodded at her before picking up his bag of things, then handed her her own.

"Right" he agreed before disappearing into the dressing room.

Changed back into her normal clothes, she exited the locker rooms with her things. She really hoped it wasn't too cold outside, she was already freezing. She rounded the corner of the hall to find Finn sitting on a bench, seemingly waiting for her. How chivalrous of him.

"Hey."

"I figured you might want a ride back to your dorm, your bound to be cold" he said, holding up his keys.

"Thank you Finn, that's very chivalrous of you."

"I know, its weird. I gotta stop doing stuff like this" he teased, nudging her in the side as they exited the building and made their way over to his truck.

"I don't know, I think it's a good look for you" she giggled, hopping up and buckling herself in.

"So, what do you plan on doing with the rest of your evening?" he asked casually, starting up the engine and turning up his heat.

"Um, Brittany is spending the night at Santana's so I don't really know" she answered, toying with the sleeve of her shirt.

Finn nodded thoughtfully as he looked up at her again. "What about you, are you working?"

"Nah, I'm off tonight. I actually don't know what I'll do, it's been a while since I've had a free night."

"Well, you're welcome to hang out with me" she offered, struggling not to blush. "I mean, our play date did get ended prematurely, and neither of us have any plans so-"

"Yeah, yeah that sounds cool."

"We can watch some Netflix, play games, or whatever" she rambled on. "I think we have some drinks too, like beers and stuff, if you want. We can drink and just, chill."

He looked over meeting her eyes briefly with a smile. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Rachel looked away, turning her head to stare out the window so that he couldn't see her ecstatic smile. Her stomach was doing somersaults already at just the idea of Finn coming over to hang out with her for the night. She didn't know for sure if anything would happen, she could only hope. She chanced a look over at him again, and caught him turning his head quickly.

Caught staring again. Oh yeah, this was going to be an interesting night.

Thanks for reading! Part two of this chapter coming VERY soon!

Reviews are love!