Rachel

"When is the last time that you talked to Finn?" Kurt asks as he sits down on the couch next to me.

"Earlier today," I say as I flip through my script for Spring Awakening once again. Opening night is in a week and I can feel my nerves slowly creeping in more and more.

"About what?" I can hear the curiosity ringing in Kurt's voice.

I shrug and keep my attention focused on my script. "If you're thinking that we have some sort secret relationship going on then you're mistaken. It's just casual conversation about my show, his students, how Quinn's getting along, or other matters that have nothing to do with us."

Kurt grabs my script from my hands, making me turn my attention towards him.

"Hey!" I whine, trying to grab the script from him.

"Can you quit pretending like you're not even fazed by everything that happened between you and Finn? It's not just going to disappear if you ignore it."

I let out an annoyed sigh. "What do you want me to do, Kurt? Sit here and tell you how heartbroken I am? I think we can both tell that it feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest without me actually verbalizing it."

"You told each other that you loved one another. That has to mean something," Kurt reasons.

I shake my head and look down at my hands. "It should…but it doesn't." I slowly look up at him again. "Sometimes things just don't work out, and the only thing I can do now is push away my feelings and be supportive of his relationship with Quinn. Finn and I know that we love each other and that we'll always love each other, but we also know that we need to accept the fact that we're not going to be together."

Kurt shakes his head. "Rachel, that's not right."

I look down again and shrug. "It doesn't have to be right, fair, or whatever. But that's the way that it is."

"But you and Jesse have been going out for the past four weeks and you know how much that kills Finn."

I close my eyes as Kurt mentions that I'm hurting Finn. "We're both hurting. It's bound to hurt. Quinn is having his baby and that kills me."

Kurt grows silent and I suddenly feel his hand on my back. I open my eyes again and sigh.

"We made an agreement that we would both just let go and be happy for one another. He'll be with Quinn and I'll be Jesse."

"But it's a compromise!"

I nod, giving Kurt a serious look. "It's a compromise that we're both willing to make."

Kurt presses his lips firmly together and looks down. "Stupid, Quinn. If it weren't for her then none of this would have ever happened."

"You don't know that. Quinn could be the reason that Finn and I both decided to be honest with one another. Plus, Finn was trying to use her to get over me."

"But he could have just had you!"

"He didn't know that," I state. "It's funny. Finn and I were willing to be so open with one another except when it came to our feelings for each other. I think we both knew…we just doubted ourselves and each other."

Kurt nods. "Love is complicated."

I laugh, "You can say that again."

"So what about you and Jesse? How is that going?"

"Good…great actually. We get along really well and we enjoy each other's company. I like him a lot."

"Have you two…you know?"

I swallow hard and slowly nod. "Uh…yeah. We have. It was sort of necessary…for the show. I mean, our characters have to explore one another's bodies, so we thought it would make sense for us to do the same. Just so we are more comfortable for the show."

"That makes sense," Kurt voices. "How was he?"

I smack Kurt's arm and smile at him. "Kurt!"

He stands from the couch and puts up his arms innocently. "I was just kidding! Anyway, from what you're telling me it sounds like I'll be able to see for myself."

I feel my cheeks grow warm as Kurt gives me a knowing look and walks off to his bedroom. His constant intuition is a blessing as well as a burden.

Throughout the next week I feel like a chicken running around with my head cut off. Michael informs us that we have already sold out for opening night and tickets are still going fast for the other shows throughout that week. Luckily I have already received my tickets for Kurt, Finn, Blaine, Mr. Schue, Emma, my dads, and even Quinn. Somehow Quinn and I have managed to keep things friendly between us and she hasn't even been taking shots or giving me dirty looks when Finn isn't in the room. Maybe she knows that she has won as well.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. This is our last rehearsal before opening night tomorrow. I want a strong dress rehearsal tonight. You all need to perform as you would tomorrow. No slacking off," Michael lectures us.

I nod to him as I straighten out the dress on my costume. The nerves that were growing a week ago are now higher than they have ever been, but somehow I'm still keeping them under control.

I feel Jesse slip his arm around my shoulder and his warm lips press against my temple. "You're going to be amazing," he whispers. I look up to him and smile, trying to believe his words. Having Jesse play the male lead definitely gives me some comfort, but seeing as this is my first Broadway show I can't help but be nervous.

"Okay, everyone take your opening positions, please! Kick it off with Mama Who Bore me, Berry."

Finn

"Thanks for coming, guys," Kurt says as he passes me and Quinn each a drink.

"Of course," I say with a large smile. "We wouldn't miss this for the world." In reality I wouldn't miss this for the world, but I figured I should include Quinn in the situation. Kurt and Blaine planned a surprise party for Rachel tonight in order to celebrate the opening of her show tomorrow. It's only a small get together really, but we all wanted to be here to honor Rachel's amazing accomplishment.

"I can't believe you got Mr. Schue and Emma to fly all the way here," I laugh, looking over to find Schue and Emma talking with Rachel's dads.

Kurt shrugs. "What can I say? I'm a miracle worker. Plus, Rachel gave them tickets to the show tomorrow which I wasn't even aware of."

I nod as I slip an arm around Quinn's shoulder. "Well, I know that Rachel is going to be ecstatic. I think some family and friend time is exactly what she needs to get her in the right mindset for tomorrow." Rachel has been calling me every night for the past week in order to talk about the show. I've never heard her so nervous about something in my entire life, even when she used to talk about how she wasn't ready for Broadway. She was afraid that she was going to choke and I knew for a fact that that wasn't going to happen.

Suddenly, Kurt's cell phone begins to ring and he hurries to answer it.

"Hello?...Hey, Rach!" Kurt grows silent and listens to Rachel. "Okay, I'll see you in a few then! Love you, bye." Kurt hangs up the phone and begins to move around the apartment to clean up a few things.

"Jesse and Rachel are on their way! She said they should be here in ten minutes! We need to hide coats and turn out the lights!"

We all quickly scatter and help in order to hide any objects that might give us away. Once everything is hidden, Kurt turns off the lights and we all hide as we wait for Rachel to come through the door.

Finally, we hear Rachel's key in the lock and the door open slowly.

"Kurt?" She asks, obviously confused.

"I thought he said he was home," Jesse says, equally as confused.

"Maybe he went out to grab something," Rachel suggests as she turns on the light to the living room.

We all take that as our queue to jump into action. All at once we all pop up from our hiding place and cheer in unison.

"Surprise!"

Rachel's face immediately lights up and she covers her mouth with her hands as she begins to laugh. Kurt walks over to her and takes her into a large hug.

"Surprised?" He asks with a large grin on his face.

"Yes!" She exclaims before turning to Jesse. "Did you know about this?"

Jesse smiles. "Of course I did." He leans over and presses a kiss on the top of her head, and I fight the jealousy growing inside of me.

One by one, everyone in the room hugs Rachel and tells them how proud they are of her. When it's finally my turn Rachel and I beam at one another before I take her into a big hug, lifting her off the ground.

"Thank you," she whispers into my ear before I put her down on the ground. We continue to smile at one another, but suddenly snap out of it when we remember everyone else is most likely watching us.

I turn to Jesse and offer him a friendly smile as I shake his hand. "Congratulations to you too."

"Thank you," Jesse says as he smiles back at me.

As hard as it is, I have grown to respect Jesse. I know that he'll never love Rachel as much as I do, but he will take care of her. Something that I'm incapable of doing.

The party continues and we all begin chatting excitedly about what has been going on in our lives and about the show tomorrow.

"I can't believe our little girl is going to be on Broadway, Leroy!" Hiram exclaims as Quinn and I sit with them. He has been saying the same thing for the past hour and a half, but it doesn't bother anyone. We're all excited for Rachel.

However, as the night wears on I can see worry begin to show on Rachel's face more and more. I'm sure she's about to hit that time of the night where she doubts herself once again and grows anxious about the show. I try to focus on the way that she smiles at Mr. Schue or her dads and seems somewhat at ease, but I know there is a part of her that is drowning in nerves.

"Tomorrow is the big day," Blaine says as he walks up to me, smiling widely.

I nod to him and return his smile. "That it is. I can't believe it's finally here," I shake my head in disbelief.

Blaine laughs. "We all knew it was coming at some point. I'm surprised this isn't her third Broadway show knowing Rachel and her perseverance."

I shrug. "She had a little trouble getting the confidence to reach for Broadway. I know it can be a little overwhelming for her at times."

As if on call, I suddenly hear Kurt's voice and I turn in his direction.

"It's okay, Rachel. Everything is okay!" He attempts to reassure her, but I can see Rachel shaking her head. She's panicking and I can feel my heart begin to race.

"No…no, no, no. It's not okay," Rachel says as she shakes her head. She's slowly getting more worked up with each word and now everyone is turning in her direction. "What if I choke?" She looks at Kurt, desperate to have some sort of answer. "What if they all hate me? What if I'm not ready?" She says as continues to shake her head and I can tell that she's beginning to shut down.

"Rachel…" Kurt moves toward her, but she only steps away from him.

"No! I can't do this," she says as her voice breaks and tears suddenly fill her eyes. My breath catches in my chest and I feel completely paralyzed as I watch the girl I love breakdown.

"I can't do this! I can't do this!" She begins to yell as she begins to sob harder. Her dads move towards her in order to attempt to console her, but she only steps away from them as well. "I can't. I shouldn't have agreed to do this show. I wasn't ready! I wasn't ready to be on Broadway," she cries as she hurries over to her bag and begins to dig through it. "I need to call Michael. I need to tell him that I can't do this."

Suddenly, Mr. Schue and Jesse are at her side, pulling her away from her bag.

"No!" She yells as she tries to pull away from them.

"Rachel, stop it! You're okay. You're just scared about tomorrow, but you're going to be okay," Schue tries to reassure her as Jesse and him try to get her to sit down.

Finally, Rachel escapes from their grasp and backs away. "No. I can't. I can't do it," she begins to shake and sob as she completely breaks down. Her hands suddenly go to her chest and she clutches the fabric of her shirt as she loses herself. I know that this is Rachel's telltale when she's officially lost it, which makes me spring into action.

I quickly make my way across the room to her, completely blind to everyone else around me. The only person I care about right now is Rachel and seeing her like this hurts too much to possibly explain.

When I reach her I gently grab her shoulders, relieved that she doesn't pull away from me. She is shaking hard under my hands and her sobs continue as she shakes her head along with it. "Rachel, stop," I say softly as I make her look up into my eyes.

She shakes her head and continues to cry. "I can't do it. I can't," she whispers as she stares into my eyes.

I put my hands on the sides of her face and begin to wipe her tears away. "Rachel, stop," I say quietly. "Stop, stop, stop." Without thinking I suddenly lean down and press my lips against hers, feeling my heart skip a beat as her lips gently push back into mine.

After a few seconds, which felt like hours, I pull away from her slowly and open my eyes, finding her staring up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Oh my God," I hear someone say behind me.

I keep my hand on the sides of her face as Rachel and I continue to stare at one another. Her lips are parted and she's breathing heavy, but I can tell that she is no longer losing herself. I furrow my brow and swallow hard before stepping away. I don't know what to do or say, but I know that I have just made things messy on both of our ends.

"I should go," I say suddenly, feeling my heart race as Rachel just searches my eyes.

I turn away from her and grab my jacket as I quickly head for the door.

"Thank you for the party," I say as I dare to look at everyone, seeing their shocked expressions. I hurry to let myself out of the apartment and down the stairs to the street. My mind is completely fogged, but I know that the stunt I just pulled was about to cause a storm.

"Finn!" I hear someone call from behind me and recognize the voice as Quinn's.

I continue walking down the street, unable to face her and all the ridicule she's about to give me.

"The least you could do is talk to me after you just embarrassed me back there!" She yells.

I turn to face her and try to keep myself calm as she stops right in front of me. I have no words right now. I have nothing to say to defend myself because there are no excuses.

"So you want to tell me what that was all about?" Quinn asks as she shakes her head at me. I can tell that she's hurt, but she seems so distant that I can't bring myself to console her. All I can do is tell her exactly what is on my mind.

"Rachel's my person," I state with a straight face. "She's just my person."