What is this? A chapter over 1000 words? MADNESS! Great now I have that song from Final Fantasy X-2 stuck in my head. Anyways, Finn and Rachel finally come in contact for the first time in 10 years! Will things be happy, sad, tense? Well you could just read it I guess. Because this chapter is actually moderately sized for once I may not upload anymore today. We shall see. ANYWAYS... Enjoy :D

Disclaimer: It's amazing, but Glee does not belong to me.

Song: Pretending- Glee Cast (this one actually influenced something! The CHAPTER TITLE! *GASP*)


"That was fabulous, Rachel." Kevin told her proudly. She smiled back at him. He was the current Fiyero, so of course Rachel had been working closely with him for a while. Erin, the current Glinda, smiled happily next to him and nodded profusely. Rachel continued to wipe the last of the green makeup from her hairline.

"Thanks so much guys. I'm so glad I got to work with you." she said sincerely. She was sad to leave, she was, but she was also elated for the opportunity this was providing her. She finished the last of the makeup, and began to grab her things, so she could exit through the stage doors to the crowd of devoted fans who waited out there for over an hour to see the cast every night. For her last night at the Gershwin. Suddenly a knock sounded at her door.

"Ms. Berry? There's a man here who wants to see you. He claims Kurt Hummel got him a backstage pass and he won't go away. What should I do?" one of the stage hands called through the door. Erin raised an eyebrow. Rachel wondered who in the world it could be. She didn't want to be rude… but at the same time she was keeping the fans waiting. She turned to her now former co-stars.

"You two go on ahead. I'll be out when I take care of whomever that guy is." she said to them. They tried to argue a bit, but in the end agreed, and left her room, turning right. Rachel exited too, turning back to look at the room for possibly her last time ever. She took a deep breath, and closed it slowly, leaning her forehead against the cool wood of the door after it was closed.

"Are you always so dramatic when you leave a show?" said a voice to her right. Rachel froze. It couldn't be. His voice was a bit deeper, and gruffer, but it was still unmistakable to her, even after all these years. She didn't want to turn her head, didn't want to face him. She wasn't ready for this, she'd had no preparation. What would she do? She couldn't do this, she just… She took a deep breath, reigning in her swirling emotions. She reminded herself of the fact he had abandoned their friendship due to pettiness. She didn't have to be friendly with him; in fact it would be better… easier, even, if she weren't. Putting on a look of cold indifference, she turned toward him. She was lucky she'd had years of acting training, because otherwise she'd have been stuck starring like a wide eyed doe about to be hit by a car.

"Finn. What brings you here?" she asked coolly, trying to sound disinterested. Finn had a look of hardly contained awe on his face, but at the tone of her voice, and the look on her face, he became noticeably more deflated. And whatever resolve he'd had before had jumped out the window.

"I heard it was your last show tonight so I thought I'd… okay that's a terrible lie. Honestly? I'm here to beg forgiveness." he spilled. Rachel couldn't stop herself from looking momentarily shocked.

"Excuse me?" she asked, her voice a tone of disbelief.

"Look, Rachel. I'm gonna be honest and tell you I didn't even know you were this successful until about a month or so ago. And I got upset I didn't know, so I asked everyone in our old glee club if they knew, and of course they all do because even though it's been 10 years we're still all in touch. Well, except me and you. And I realized that there was no reason for that. When I stopped talking to you, I was jealous, and being juvenile and a total douche bag. I was angry you'd moved on from me so easily. But when a year went by, I was over it a bit. But I didn't call because I thought, 'What if she hates me now? What if she refuses to talk to me because I was such an ass?' and I decided that being a coward and playing it safe instead of taking a chance to regain our friendship was the much better choice. So then another year went by, and another, and eventually I deleted your number altogether and decided I didn't ever want to think about you again, because not only had I lost you, but I'd lost your friendship, which is a really valuable thing. And I succeeded in not knowing anything about you, up until a month ago. And when I heard all our old friends talking about how you'd always stayed in touch with them, some more than others, and had even almost gotten married without me ever knowing? I hated that I hadn't been a part of any of it. I can't stand that I don't know anything about your life anymore, Rachel. I'm not here to try to sweep you of your feet, I'm here to gain your forgiveness, and maybe even regain a place in your life as a friend." Finn gushed. Throughout this Rachel kept her expression guarded and unemotional, but she couldn't deny the fact that deep in her soul, he was melting a part of her that had long been frozen in ice. And she liked that. And it scared her that she liked it. When Finn finally finished his little rant, she didn't trust herself to speak. She thought it was incredibly sweet he had flown out to New York to give her an apology in person, but at the same time she felt the pain that she had felt when she realized he wasn't ever going to talk to her again. It was like a part of her soul had been torn off and she didn't know if anything he could do would ever fix it. But she wasn't going to be so cold that she wouldn't let him try. She wasn't that kind of person.

"You want to earn my forgiveness, you say?" she reiterated, summing up pretty much his entire speech in one sentence. He nodded.

"Yes, absolutely. More than anything." he whispered. Rachel gave him a stony glare, and held it for about a minute, making him squirm. Finally, her lip curled up ever slightly, which Finn caught, and his eyes filled with hope.

"Well, I'm afraid that's going to take a lot of time and effort on your part. But you can start by escorting me through the crowd of overzealous fans out there." she stated. Finn broke out into a wide grin.

"Of course. I've always wanted to try being a bodyguard." he joked. Rachel couldn't help but let out a faint giggle, before hitting him with another pointed glare, this one ever so slightly less accusatory and stony than the others had been.

"Hop to it then, bodyguard." she said, motioning for him to lead the way to the stage doors, laughing as he jumped when the large amounts of squeals and screaming came blasting through as soon as she stepped through the stage doors with him. She watched him stare at the moderately sized crowd, looking very intimidated.

"Having second thoughts?" she quipped, and for some reason her voice dripped with venom. Finn looked at her, and his expression turned from panic to hard determination in 3 seconds flat.

"Never." he replied.


So Kevin would be Kevin Kern, and Erin would be Erin Mackey, since those are the two I saw on Broadway January before last. Didn't want to make up people, so I just went with them. I think Erin Mackey's my favorite Galinda right behind Kristin, s'yeah. This isn't a Wicked fanfic Hawk, shutup about it jeez. Reviews are loved :D