Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee, any of the lyrics included in this story, Krispy Kreme (unfortunately), or Kevin Hart. Yes, I am obsessed with him too.

Sorry for the wait guys, time has just gotten away from me! But, here I am with a new chapter, enjoy!

"I'm gonna getcha it's a matter of fact. I'm gonna getcha don't you worry about that. You can bet your bottom dollar, in time, you're gonna be mine. Just like I should, I'll getcha good."

-from 'Gonna Getcha Good'

Rachel giggled as she laid back on her bed, knees propped up. The little picture of the tree falling, crying out for help in the middle of the forest was making her crack up. It was the third funny picture Finn had sent to her in the last two days. It had been quite a while since he had sent her anything like that, and it was a nice change for it to start back. She had a feeling she knew why of course, a little mohawked bird told her that Finn had been dropping her name quite often lately. It was progress, but she was still keeping him at a distance. She indulged him in an 'lol' or a smiley emoticon when he sent the pictures, but never held any worthwhile conversation with him, and she was still yet to join him for a game of pool. Instead she opted to play with Puck, Blaine or Tina. She could tell that the longer it went on the more miffed he seemed to get about it, and that only made her smile.

She sent him back a 'haha' and rolled over onto her stomach, debating on what she should do next. Her classes were over, and normally she would be eating right about now, but Brittany was being swamped with dance team rehearsals, so she wasn't there to join her. Obviously she wasn't going to run to The Playground and have dinner with Finn either, that was definitely not a part of the plan. So she opened her contacts and tried Puck.

Have you eaten?

It was only a few seconds before her phone buzzed with a reply.

Depends on how you mean ;)

Rachel rolled her eyes at the one track mind of her friend, but continued on.

Not even going there. I want dinner. Feed me.

Can't woman. Frat meeting in a little bit.

Rachel pouted slightly, there went those plans. She was going to starve.

Oh. Well that's unfortunate for me.

Actually, maybe not.

Her interest was definitely piqued. She chewed her lower lip as she typed, wondering how she could possibly benefit from them having a Frat meeting. Maybe they would be having a lesson on how to properly treat women, that would certainly be helpful. Not so much her growling stomach, but helpful nonetheless.

How so...

All of us are meeting in The Playground for the meeting. ALL of us...I think you should have some fun with that.

She smirked as she re-read his message, jumping up to check her appearance. She smoothed over her hair, straightened out her clothes, and grabbed her keys. She had heard Puck say that he thought Finn was jealous of their newly blossoming friendship, and he had even gone as far as to say that if he got the feeling that there was something going on between them Finn would 'kick his ass'. It was flattering, and gave her a really heady feeling, like he actually did care, so she could only imagine how he would react if she happened to run into Josh tonight.

"Hey guys" Rachel sang, walking into The Playground. She was instantly met a matching smirk from Puck, standing in the bay alongside Finn. Both boys walked out as she came over. She completely ignored that Finn happened to have on the gray shirt from that night, offering him a small smile as they approached.

"Sup munchkin" Puck said, walking out and slapping fists with her. "Here to practice?"

"Yes actually. I thought I would get in some practice and distract myself from my ravenous stomach."

"Wahh Wahh" Puck teased, poking her in the stomach gently.

"You won't be laughing when my stomach starts feeding on itself to fill the void and I die."

"Such a drama queen" he chuckled with a roll of his eyes. "Why don't you walk over there and get something to eat." He nodded his head toward the windows at the far wall connecting The Playground to Wings and Things, the small campus diner. Looking through the windows, she could see the crowded tables clearly. It always amazed her how full they were at all times, their prices were ridiculous, especially for college students. She usually ignored the existence of the small place.

"Treat yourself to some Wings and Things" he continued.

"See, I would, but the way my bank account is set up. I don't think I can afford it" she said, grinning at Puck while Finn's eyes widened.

"You didn't turn her onto Kevin Hart did you" Finn asked incredulously, looking between the two of them.

"Alright, alright, alright" Puck started, eying Rachel expectantly.

"You gon' learn today" she finished in her best imitation of Kevin Hart, bursting into giggles and slapping Puck's hand in a high five.

"Oh God, you've created a monster" Finn laughed, shaking his head at the pair of them. The door opened behind them as more of their brothers filed into the room. Her smile grew when her eyes landed on the brother she had been counting on seeing.

"Yo" Josh called, nodding at the boys before his eyes landed on her. He did a double take, then re-routed his steps to approach her. "Have we met, you look really familiar."

"We have actually, once. It was at a house party."

"Right, of course. It would make sense to dream up a face as beautiful as yours, but something told me it was real. I'm Josh" he introduced himself, extending a hand to her.

"Rachel." She reached her hand out, but instead of shaking it, he turned it over and brought the back of her hand to his lips to place a kiss. He really wasn't a bad looking guy, but he was a little too suave for her, he came off as fake. Not to mention she already had her sights set elsewhere.

"It's a pleasure Rachel, again." She watched from the corner of her eye as Finn clenched his fists at his sides, possibly from the affectionate act. At least that's what she hoped.

"So what are you doing with these two? One of my little brothers lucky enough to call you theirs" he asked, the end of his sentence punctuated by a loud half-choke, half-cough from Finn.

"Heck no, she's one of the boys, right bro" Puck announced, tossing an arm around Finn's shoulders. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at her brilliant friend, eying the tense set of Finn's jaw as he simply nodded.

"Oh. Well then where is your boyfriend tonight? Someone like you surely has someone wrapped around that pretty little finger."

She giggled at the flattering words, wondering if it was possible for him to acquire diabetes from all of the sugar on his tongue. She wasn't naive enough to fall for his smooth talk though, she was much too smart for that. She knew that's what he really wanted, the fact that he'd tried to talk her into following him home from that party on the first night they met wasn't something she had forgotten. Even so, he was serving as very helpful to her agenda, so she kept up her end of the banter.

"Unattached actually. Though I won't say that I don't have anyone wrapped around my finger" she teased, enjoying the questioning look she received from Finn and the look of pride on Puck's face.

"Ah, shopping around huh? Because I happen to be on the market" he grinned, giving her an appreciative once over. The way Finn tensed up across from her, and the slight narrowing of his eyes definitely made her want to flirt more, see how far she could push him, but she knew that would only be detrimental to her plan in the long run. She didn't want him to think she was some floozy.

"I'm not really looking for anything right now." It wasn't a complete lie. She had already found it, it was just a matter of attaining it. "Just having fun, enjoying myself and all."

"I'm just saying, I can be a world of fun...if you're ever interested."

"Is it six already? We better get this meeting started" Finn piped in loudly, casually taking a step forward to partially block Rachel from Josh with his own body. "You guys go ahead, I just need to um, check the bay for...stuff. Make sure everything is in order and all" he declared, placing a hand on Puck's shoulder and subtly pushing him forward.

"Shit, it is. Okay hurry up dude" Puck answered, taking mercy of Finn. He tugged Josh by the elbow towards the table the other guys occupied, starting a conversation about selling krispy kreme doughnuts to raise money at the next fund raiser.

"Uh, sorry about that" Finn said, flexing his tense hands out. "He's kind of, um, forward."

"It's quite alright, flattering actually" she shrugged. "Guess I was wrong about never seeing him again. I wonder if he really does remember me or he was just being flirtatious. I suppose it would make sense if he did remember me, he did seem quite fascinated with my taste.." she joked, knowing that would get a rise out of him. She watched his jaw grind before he turned his back on her, making his way over to the bay while she followed behind him. "Can you hand me some balls so I can practice?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll carry them out for you." He grabbed the nearest tray of balls and stepped out of the bay with them, signaling for her to follow. He walked purposefully toward the back corner table, the one farthest from view of the table occupied by his brothers. Oh Finn, he didn't really think it would be that easy, did he?

"Finn, you can just sit them here. This table is the most level" she said innocently, pausing at the table directly across from the group.

"Um, are you sure? I was just playing on that one earlier, it's...okay. The diamonds are really clear, and the felt is extra rich cause it's not played on often and-"

"I'm sure" she cut him off, taking the tray from his stubborn hands. "Go, you're going to be late for your meeting, Shoo!" She shooed him away with her hands gently, fighting not to giggle at his crestfallen expression. His pout really was too adorable, his lips puckered slightly, his brows dipping together. She smiled as he shuffled away from her, off toward the table.

Rachel walked over to the wall to grab herself a stick, laid it down on the table, and set about racking up her balls. She positioned herself over the table, making sure to poke her behind up, then drew back and pushed forward with as much force as she could muster. The balls spread beautifully, and she took a step back to admire her work. Looking up, she found that a few of the heads had turned at the loud noise, most wearing matching looks of approval. There was one red face however, bouncing looks from one boy shamelessly staring at her to the next. Her smile widened immensely as she decided on her next shot, bending again over the table, this time with her behind facing them. Yeah, it was a little cheap, but for all they knew this was her best shot. The double meaning wasn't lost on her as she stood from making the shot, discreetly looking back at Finn, his gaze never wavering from her.

She had just finished her fourth solo game when she heard soft clapping behind her. Turning, she found a smirking Josh standing there. She looked past him to see the rest of the boys still sitting absorbed in the meeting; well, with the exception of one very tall, messy haired brother.

"Aren't you supposed to be in that meeting" she questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's almost over. But it was mostly for the newbies anyway" he explained. "I'm seniority, so I'm really just here to supervise. Besides, I kept getting distracted...you seem to be really good at that."

"You've been watching me" she accused, arching her eyebrows purposefully at him.

"Couldn't seem to help myself. I figured you would be used to the attention, you certainly deserve it" he flirted, picking one of the balls out of the pocket to toy with.

"That's very kind, but-"

"It's the truth" he assured her, raking his eyes up and down her frame. "Maybe I could play with you sometime. You could team me a thing or two" he said suggestively, smirking at her. "Or visa versa."

"What kind of girl do you take me for? I don't just go around sharing my tricks with everyone." Unless you're Finn, she shamefully added in her mind.

"My apologies" he chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. "I have a hard time behaving myself around beautiful women" he said, drawing a small blush out to her cheeks. "Ah, you're blushing. Has no one told you how beautiful you look today?"

"Eww, that would be weird" Puck interrupted, walking over to them, Finn hot on his heels. She hadn't realized the meeting was over, Josh was serving as a good distraction. Not good enough though, as soon as she felt Finn stand next to her (a little closer than would probably be considered comfortable), she could feel that pull again. Everything in her cried out to shrink into his side, to stare up into his eyes, place her hand in his and tell him that he had nothing to worry about. That wouldn't get her very far though, so she ignored his dizzying proximity and turned her attention back to Josh.

"You know, that's actually what you said to me the night we met at that party."

"I think I do remember that, and I still stand by that opinion" he pressed, taking a step closer to her. Maybe she was imagining it, but she could've sworn she saw Finn twitch from the corner of her eye. "I'm surprised this is my first time seeing you since that night. You do go to school here, right?"

"I do. And I'm in here with these two usually" she added, nudging Finn in the side as he was the closest to her. "You would think we might have run into one another by now."

"Yeah, you would think so. Hopefully I'll be running into you again soon." She simply smiled in response, figuring that was the safest response to not lead the boy on, and not give too much away to let Finn know that he was in the clear. Josh returned her smile, still holding the pool ball in his hands. "Are you sure I can't persuade you into playing a game" he asked. She could almost feel the tension rolling off of Finn as he awaited her answer. Before she could think of her best response, he had spoken up himself.

"You were actually about to leave, right Rach? She's been starving since she got here" he supplied, putting his arm loosely around her shoulder to guide her towards the door. "Do you need a ride somewhere? I can't leave but I'm sure Puck could-"

"I thought she was going to Wings and Things" Puck grinned, trailing behind them with Josh.

"I'm actually hungry too, did you want to go together" Josh urged, ever persistent.

"Too expensive" Finn answered automatically, shooting him down as he continued to try and separate them.

"It can be my treat" Josh argued, stepping up beside of them and placing himself directly in front of her. "What do you say?"

Finn's grip tightened slightly on her arm, and she knew better than to push him too far. So she decided to play it safe, and let the chips fall where they may. "Josh, all of this is very flattering, really, but I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm sure you're a lovely person (lie), but I'm just not interested in anything other than friendship right now."

"I'm not asking you to marry me sweetheart." Immediately her mind was flooded with images of Finn sliding that fake plastic ring onto her finger the first day they went fishing, and her stomach did somersaults. It still hurt, to think of how good things once were, compared to the stress and complications that they were under now. "It's just dinner, dinner with a friend. Come on, are you really gonna turn down a free dinner" he challenged with a smirk.

"You know what, you're right" she nodded, sliding out from Finn's grasp. "I'd be glad to have a friendly dinner with you, as long as you promise no funny business" she said sternly, only cracking a small smile once he had agreed. "Bye boys, I'll see you tomorrow" she chirped, walking over to give Puck a side hug. She purposely nodded to a silently fuming Finn, shooting him what was hopefully not an amused smile before turning her back on him. If he didn't feel the need to say anything, then she sure wasn't about to back down.

"See you guys later" Josh called over his shoulder, placing a hand at the small of her back and walking them out.

Josh led Rachel to an empty table right along the wall before taking off toward the counter to order for them. She fidgeted in her seat slightly, not extremely comfortable with this little predicament, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She didn't necessarily feel guilty about having dinner with him, she was single, but he was by no means the kind of guy that she would approach regularly. The more he talked, the more she realized what a horn dog he was, and she didn't find that attractive at all. Finn, and even Puck might be womanizers, but at least they were usually upfront about it, not hiding behind too sweet words and over-flattery. She rolled her eyes to herself, and reached down when her phone buzzed against her thigh. She opened it to find a message from Finn himself. Of course he would text her.

I hope he doesn't order mozzarella sticks, they make him gassy.

She giggled aloud at the childish message, imagining the look on his face as he had typed it. It was too cute, she just couldn't resist responding.

Eww. Now I'm going to have to run if he returns with those.

You can come back here, and bring the food :)

What part of 'my ravenous stomach' did you not get earlier? There might not be a plate left when I'm done. He's surprising me with my meal, I hope it's a good one.

He's cheap, he might bring you back a kids meal. Especially if he's ordering based on your size.

She rolled her eyes, craning her neck to try and see into The Playground. She could just make out Finn, sitting in the bay, his laptop open in front of him. His attention was not on it however, he appeared to be doing the same thing that she was, his neck craned in the direction of the cafe.

Jerk. I don't know why I'm still texting you, I'm being extremely rude.

So? He's my brother, but he's a tool.

Rachel scoffed at the irony, fighting the urge to lash out at him. Turning her head, she found Josh approaching the cash register with plates of food.

In any case, my food is here, and I'm about to chow down. So leave me alone, do your homework or whatever you're pretending to work on in there.

Creeper...why are you watching me? And Josh isn't even there yet and you're pushing me away :(

You wouldn't know that if you weren't creeping on me, now would you?

Touche.

Huh, he didn't even try to deny it. Shaking her head, she looked up towards the mirror again, sticking her tongue out in his direction. She couldn't be sure if he saw it from the distance, but it made her feel good anyway. Josh finally reached the table, setting the trays (thankfully with no mozzarella sticks) down in front of her.

Well oh stalker of mine, I'm sure by now you know that my food is actually here.

She grinned, setting her phone down on the table as she smiled sweetly at Josh. He stood right next to her, trying shamelessly to catch a glimpse down her shirt as he sorted out their meals.

See any mozzarella sticks? Offer still stands, you can run it all over here.

None, we're good. Now leave me alone :p

She couldn't even feel sorry for being rude to Josh, the entirety of the time she spent text messaging, he kept his eyes glued to her body. She looked up to catch his tongue coming out to lick his lips and she frowned. By now she was used to being stared at by Finn, but that always made her feel beautiful and strong, not like a piece of meat to be devoured.

Fine. Come by here when Josh leaves, I have something to show you.

After the much too long not-date, when she had waved off all of Josh's offers to take her home and sent him on his way, Rachel made her way over to The Playground. She had no idea what Finn could possibly have to show her, but she was definitely curious to see. She pulled back the door and walked inside, stepping up to the bay to find him at his laptop.

"Hey" he called, pulling off his headphones and immediately standing.

"You said you had something for me...or did you lure me here under false pretenses" she questioned, narrowing her eyes in playful suspicion. His cheeks pinked slightly before he turned around himself, searching around to find whatever it was. It was adorable watching him flounder around, she had to keep her eyes off of the strong muscles of his back, accentuated perfectly in the gray t-shirt that still haunted her dreams before he turned again.

"Right, umm I found this in here, is it yours?" Finn held up a small powder blue jacket, lined with rhinestones, baring a Hanna Montana emblem on the top right breast.

"Seriously?" Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the obvious child's apparel.

"It's tiny, you're tiny; I figured maybe it would be yours, Oh well, guess not" he said, his words jumbling together in almost one breath. He tossed the jacket back onto the counter, dismissing it instantly. "So how did your date go?"

Ah, so this was his angle. He knew that jacket wasn't hers, he wasn't crazy, this was a trap.

"It was not a date Finn, it was just a friendly dinner. When have you ever turned down a free dinner?"

"I'd learn to if it was the school whore offering it" he scoffed, crossing his arms.

"Funny, I thought Noah held that title. Or you" she said airily, sticking out her tongue at his glower. He continued his relentless glower, and she finally broke under his gaze. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't be seeing him again. At least I hope not this time" she admitted, wringing her hands together. "He was, um-"

"A total tool, right" he deduced, a small smile sprouting on the corner of his lips.

"Of sorts" she relented, rolling her eyes. "I think I need a shower from the way he molested me with his eyes the whole time, and God forbid I mention the things he was steadily trying to persuade me into doing with him one day" she shivered slightly, reliving some of his more crude ''subtle' comments. "And the food wasn't even that good."

"You should have stayed here. We could have gotten pizza delivered or something, saved yourself all that trouble."

"Oh well, what's done is done now" she shrugged, turning away from the bay to make her exit. She wondered if this was it, he had gotten the information he wanted. Maybe that was all he needed, then again, maybe...

"Wait" he called, stepping out to follow her. "I still haven't eaten yet, it's not too late to order that pizza. You can hang out here if you want. We can shoot some games, make fun of Josh, hang out like old times" he said softly, stepping into her personal bubble of space to peer down into her eyes. "I'll even give you some of my pizza."

"I don't think so, I should get back to my room. I have an early morning" she added spitefully, mentally patting herself on the back.

"You can go have dinner with people you barely know, but you can't spend a little time with me" he challenged, reaching out to grip her elbow gently. "We used to hang out all the time, eat, play games, we did everything together...we were like best friends" he breathed, trying to catch her in his deep brown pools. "You barely talk to me now, and I can't even remember the last time we did something together."

"Who's fault is that" she challenged, hoping that her eyes reflected exactly how she felt as she finally leveled him. She watched as he shrunk back slightly, his hand falling from her elbow as he looked down at the ground in defeat. His brows scrunched together, and her heart ached to reach out with her fingertip and smooth the line, but she couldn't. Instead she sighed, shaking the thought from her mind. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow Finn. Hope you enjoy your pizza" she offered. Without giving him a chance to respond she turned on her heel, heading for the door before she changed her mind.

Thanks for the read & all of your reviews/support! Hope you're enjoying! I'll update as soon as I can!