Glad to see we still have readers wanting more! A note - I fully understand that not many people like Marley, but I do. That was my choice as a writer, and if you don't like it, and you MUST express it, please do it in a civil fashion. As you know, Finchel is the endgame of the story, and we have LOTS of things planned for them. Marley and Jesse have a short-lived presence in this fic, so please stay with us. You'll understand why they're in here at the end of this chapter, hopefully.

6 months tomorrow without Cory. It breaks my heart to write this, so much as saying it in my own mind. I'll never forget what it felt like to read the news as it came out, right on my screen. It feels as if it was yesterday…

But the writing community continues to preserve his memory, and I couldn't be more grateful to be among many, many writers who want to remind everyone if we keep someone's memory alive, they are never truly gone.

- Jenny & Carolina

Disclaimer: Characters + Glee are not mine.


Rachel groaned, flipping through several fashion magazines. The current created by the pages made a pile of papers fly off the table and onto the ground. Kurt gasped at the sight, seeing no reaction from Rachel.

"Are you kidding? What's going on with you?" he asked, getting up and picking up the papers. Still, she continued to look through the magazines.

"Where the hell is the lily?" she asked desperately, leaving Kurt confused. A few seconds later, his eyes widened.

"Don't tell me that you're talking about the one he gave you when you two met. A-And why the in the world would you put it in a magazine?"

Rachel ignored him, searching through the pages until she found it – a flattened, pressed lily. A few of the petals were gone, but overall, it was in decent shape. She held it to her chest, taking a deep breath. Kurt, still confused, stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You better explain fast, because only twenty-four hours ago, you hated Finn Hudson."

"I never hated him," she replied quickly, opening her eyes and looking down at the flower. "I just.. really miss the Finn I used to know." Kurt saw the hurt in her eyes, pulling her around into a hug. "He's still in there, you know. The fact that he wants to be your friend so badly should be at least some proof of how much he cares."

"He met someone last week," she said quickly, making Kurt back up.

"What's her name?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know, but there's something off about her. She doesn't look right for him."

"You haven't even spoken to her," he said, which gave him a glare from Rachel. "And I'm just a little curious.. what is right for him?" He crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk.

She paused, huffing. "No. I swore to myself that I wouldn't be involved with Finn again. Now.. while we would appear to be an attractive couple, I refuse to fall for him again."

"Did I ever say 'you'?" he said again with a knowing smile, closing the magazines that were sprawled out on the table. Rachel stayed silent, clutching the flower tightly. She wasn't sure how she felt about Finn anymore. Some days, she despised him. He was controlling in his job, calling out orders like he was the king of the city. He had no tolerance for mistakes, and his rigid rules made any slip-up a nightmare. But after hours, he was kind, funny even. He cracked jokes with his employees and friends, showing true compassion. It was the flip-flop nature that made Rachel so hesitant about him. He was her friend now, but she was careful about letting herself go head first into anything more.

"Do you think he wants to be with me?" she asked silently.

Kurt didn't reply at first, wanting to take this slowly. "I see the way he looks at you, Rachel. I've never seen him like that before, except in high school. He's a lot happier when he's with you."

That made Rachel's mouth curve into a smile, biting her lip. But it fell when she remembered Jesse. They weren't anything past friends; after all, they had only known each other for a week. But he made her comfortable, and he enjoyed the same things that she did. He seemed like a male version of her, which actually sort of creeped her out.

"I think the better question is.. do you want to be with him?" Kurt said, interrupting her train of thought.

"Kurt, I already said - "

"Think about it, Rachel. Just think about it." He put a hand on her shoulder before grabbing his things and leaving the dorm. Santana was just walking in as he left, with a confused expression on her face.

"What the hell happened in here?" she said, her eyebrows creased and her arms over her chest. Her expression remained ignorant until she saw the lily in Rachel's hand. Walking forward, she let her arms rest against her sides.

"Is that?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I'm lonely."

"I hardly think a flower is going to help with that problem," Santana said with an unamused tone.

"No, it's not," Rachel said, "but it's a good start."


She walked into Callbacks, seeing Finn at the main bar. Flattening out her skirt, she walked towards him with a smile. "Hello, Finn," she said as she greeted him.

"Uh, hi Rachel," he replied in a confused tone, surprised by her enthusiasm.

"I thought that I'd come in early, you know, to maybe get a head start on my hours?"

He checked his watch. "You know, I can't pay you overtime yet."

"Oh, I'm not asking for overtime. Consider it a favor," she said with a smile before picking up her apron, wrapping it around her waist, and going to prepare the tables. Finn stood, confused as to what was going on. The more he thought about it, the more perplexing it became. Over the past few weeks, Rachel's attitude had been going back and forth. One minute, she was the happiest person, dancing with Brittany to the music. Other times, she was grumpy, snapping at him at every minute. Was it him? Or was there someone else on her mind?

After all, he had seen her talking to someone last week after karaoke. Finn wasn't gonna lie; he felt a tinge of jealousy in his heart. How couldn't he? He once had feelings for Rachel, and things like that didn't disappear that quickly, especially when they were deep feelings like the ones he had for Rachel. To be honest, he was pretty sure he still had feelings for her, but this time, it was far more complicated. They were friends now. That alone took Finn long enough to get her to agree on. Convincing her to have a romantic relationship with him? Consider that downright impossible.

Before he could approach Rachel, Marley slid into a nearby chair. "Can I get a soda, please?" she asked, sliding the money across the bar to him. He grinned, happy to see her.

"Marley, there's no need," he began, before she interrupted him. "Just take it, Finn. You've done enough." Giving in, he put the money into the register and took the order himself, putting the soda into a glass. He gave it to her, leaning over the table.

"So, how was class?" he asked, watching as she took a sip of her soda. After swallowing, she shrugged. "It was alright. My professors are getting back into the swing of things. I can't say that I'm really happy about my grades, but for the amount of sleep I'm getting, I'd say they're decent," she replied before taking another sip of her soda. "Sorry, I'm really thirsty," she said with a soft laugh.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rachel saw Marley talking to Finn, and immediately she felt a pit in her stomach. A part of her wanted to go over to the bar and rip the drink away from her and push her off the chair, but – Rachel, no. That's very violent, and unnecessary. – She contained her emotions by scrubbing harder on the table. Finn didn't belong to her, and he could do whatever he wanted. She was the one who made the decision that they would stay as friends. And besides, she would be breaking her own promise to herself.

Finn glanced quickly at Rachel working, watching her scrub diligently. Something must be bothering her; it was customary for her to do that when she was nervous or agitated. Marley continued to talk to him, but kept her eyes down at her drink, giving Finn the pass to stare at Rachel. Okay, that was pretty rude, but it was hard not to stare at her when she was bent over in her short skirt. Tensing his jaw, his eyes looked up and down her legs, his face getting really warm.

"Finn?" Marley asked, her eyes wide.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think so?"

"Oh, y-yeah, definitely," he replied, having absolutely no idea what she had been talking about. By the time he looked back at Rachel, she had gone somewhere else.


Going into the back room, Rachel searched for a bottle of wine, scanning through the list for a particular kind. She pursed her lips, frustrated and lost. It wasn't often that she went back here. After all, it wasn't her job. Kyle was in charge of inventory, but he was off for the day.

"Need help?" Finn asked as he rounded the corner with a smile. Her head snapped around, a bit frightened by his sudden appearance.

"No, I'm fine," she replied quickly, pretending like she knew what she was doing. Finn glanced down at the list and then back up at the shelves, taking the bottle down. She sighed as he handed it to her, grinning softly.

"Thanks," she said to him, tucking it under her arm as she checked it off on the paper.

"Are you busy? There's actually someone I think you'd like to meet," he said suddenly, making Rachel freeze in her spot. She knew exactly who he was talking about, and frankly, she wasn't interested in being friendly with her.

"Please?" he asked again, and Rachel couldn't say no to the face that he was giving her. Following him towards the bar, she saw Marley sitting down, now with a small salad in front of her.

"Marley, I'd like you to meet Rach," he said with a grin.

The young brunette extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Rach," she responded with a friendly smile.

"Rachel," she said as she shook her hand, correcting her. Only Finn was allowed to call her that. Biting her lip, Marley awkwardly pulled her hand away before grabbing her fork.

"How long have you been working here?" Marley asked Rachel.

"Oh, just a few months," she explained simply. "It's become my second home."

Finn raised a brow, wondering what she was up to.

"Finn and I actually knew each other before, but stumbled upon each other here by accident," she explained further. Marley nodded with a weak grin. "That sounds nice. I bet you get like.. employee discounts for being his best friend."

"I don't make exceptions, no matter how well I know my employees," Finn cut in, trying to foil Rachel's plan. She was up to something, and he didn't like it. Marley seemed more uncomfortable by the minute, and he was about to question why Rachel was acting like this, but he knew well enough that when Rachel had something to say, she didn't let anyone or anything get in the way.

"Perhaps not, but it does give great raises. With this job, I'm free to buy actual dinner instead of living off ramen like a typical college girl," Rachel added with a laugh, which appeared fake and made Finn cringe quickly.

"You know what? I just had the best idea! We should all go out to dinner together! Consider it a double date!"

Finn froze, his heart beating rapidly. Rachel, what the hell are you doing? He prayed that Marley said no, but his hopes were quickly squashed.

"That sounds really nice, actually," she answered, looking from Rachel back to Finn with a small smile. She was such a nice girl, and he was really beginning to like her, so he didn't want to come off like a jerk. That was already covered with Rachel.

"Please?" Rachel asked, looking up at him, her eyes looking knowingly into his. He sighed heavily, running his hands through his hair.

"You said it was a double date. Who are you going with exactly?"

"His name is Jesse. I met him last week after karaoke. He really is such a charismatic guy. You'll love him," she boasted, loving the jealous look in Finn's eyes. It was working. Her plan was working.

Finn wanted to scream. Jesse? That was the guy who was talking to her? Not even knowing the guy, he wanted to rip him apart for so much as holding her hand or kissing her cheek. As much as he wanted to say no, he figured he could use this to his advantage. He could make Rachel jealous. Okay, so that wasn't fair to Marley, but Rachel was killing him here.

"Fine," he said, giving in. Rachel clapped her hands quickly, satisfied. Phase 2, complete.

"Great. How about Delmonico's? 7 o'clock?"

Finn almost choked on his own breath. "Delmonico's? You mean that super expensive restaurant? Rachel, I don't know if I can afford that bill," he explained.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure Jesse can pull the bill. He comes from money," she added with raised brows. Finn blew out a breath, feeling like a large weight was just lifted off his shoulders. Marley gave him a sympathetic look before eating another bite of her salad.

"I don't know if I have something nice to wear to that restaurant," Marley added, pushing around a piece of salad in her bowl.

"Nonsense. I'll have my friend Santana come by and you can borrow one of hers. Everything will be fine. Just give me your room number, and it'll be all set."

"I think I'll take care of that, actually," Finn said, interrupting her.

I don't want her destroying Marley's dorm.

Giving it a few seconds thought, Rachel nodded. "Fine. But you better not wrinkle it on the way to Marley. I won't hear the end of it if you ruin one of Santana's dresses," she said with a sigh.

Marley sat awkwardly, looking in between Finn and Rachel.

"I'll take care of it. Now will you please go take some tables?" he asked.

"Promise to come tonight?" Rachel asked, her eyes pleading for the answer she wanted.

"Promise. Now go."

Satisfied, she went off towards the filled tables to take orders. Finn sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm really sorry about that," he said to Marley softly, apologizing for Rachel's behavior.

"You two have history, don't you?" she asked, still looking down.

"How'd you know?"

"She looked like she wanted to kill me," she said, rolling her eyes quickly.

"No, she's just… to be honest, I don't know what's going on with her lately. But.. will you still come tomorrow night?"

She looked hesitant, shrugging. Finn put one of his hands on hers. "Please? It could be fun."

Marley looked up at him with a nervous expression, biting her lip. "Can I have a pen?" she asked. Finn raised an eyebrow, but nodded. He went to the drawer and pulled one out before handing it to her. She took it in her hands, taking out a piece of scrap paper and writing 'D 342'.

"That's my room number. I'm in the main building," she explained. "You know, to drop off the dress?"

"Oh, yeah, totally," he said as he slipped the paper into the pocket of his shirt.

"Great. I'm actually gonna get going. I have a few things to catch up on."

Finn nodded, seeing her get off her chair. Out of the corner of her eye, he could see Rachel watching.

"Wait," he said quickly as he leaned forward and kissed Marley's cheek, smiling at her. There, in the background, Rachel could be seen with a look of horror and embarrassment on her face.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he added as Marley walked away, blushing.

Storming over once the young brunette had left, Rachel slammed her hands on the bar.

"What the hell was that for?" she said, mortified.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied, putting the bowl and glass into the washing bin.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Finn Hudson," she said through gritted teeth, noticing Brittany watching from behind. She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting.

"Look, I don't know what you're up to, Rachel, but it's not gonna work," he told her, "Two can play the game." He crossed his arms over his chest, proud of himself when he saw her, left with no defense.

"You'll see," she said as she turned around, hiking up her skirt and walking away. His eyes were planted on her ass, his lips forming into a smirk.

You see, Rach, it's not over yet.

Rachel couldn't believe that he was about to ruin everything. This was supposed to make her look good, not him! Why was he so unbelievably frustrating?

Brittany pranced over; stepping in front of the table Rachel was working on.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, a tray of glasses in her hand.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Rachel replied quickly.

Everything would be fine, as long as the plan worked.


"You want me to do what?!" Santana asked. "Hell no! No one's touching my dresses!"

"Santana. I need this to work."

The Latina huffed, angry. "And what are you going to wear?"

"This," Rachel replied, holding a bright, low-cut, red dress. Santana raised a brow, impressed.

"You think this will work to impress him?" Rachel put it over her clothes.

"If it doesn't, he's crazy."


There is it! I hope you enjoyed! Get ready for some teasing! ;) Also - I have two or three fics in my back pocket. Would anyone want me to post them?

- Jenny & Carolina