14. Will
William Schuester was late for his Glee class. He was not an unpunctual person, but searching for the Sectionals' setlist took him a little bit longer than he expected.
"Come on, girls, we have to get this started," he called Rachel and Santana when he saw them in the hallway, not knowing what he was about to find. Will arrived in the choir room in a hurry and stepped back when he almost ran into his favorite pupil. Finn hugged Will, and the teacher had to stand on his tiptoes. "Guys! What are you doing here?!" He smiled at the kids right after kissing Quinn hello. "What a surprise!"
"This is for you, Mr. Schue," the blonde said as he gave Will another invitation to their wedding.
Will's eyes widened with every word he read. "Oh…" He couldn't express happiness or disappointment, even though he was feeling both of them. "This Saturday? But…" Will chuckled trying to release some tension. He saw Finn's face and he knew that the tall kid was expecting more excitement from his mentor.
"We are keeping the whole story until the vows," Quinn intervened.
The teacher took Finn apart. "Finn, what about Rachel?" he whispered so nobody else could hear them.
Finn couldn't reply. What would he have said? That he loved her? That he made a mistake? That he's actually making the mistake of marrying Quinn and he hadn't got the guts to leave Quinn one more time? "Everything's okay," he answered before rejoining the crew.
Rachel and Santana sat on their chairs. "Sorry, Rachel was indisposed. Last night she tried to grow a couple inches taller by drinking an entire milk jug. Obviously that must kick out eventually," Santana excused both of them.
"Yeah, I…" Rachel couldn't finish the allusion to her imaginary diarrhea, but in spite of the embarrassment caused by Santana's idea, she had an alibi to run out of the class in case she broke down again.
"How is it that you hadn't told us that you were singing another one of your solos in the toilet, Berry?!" Tina said sarcastically.
"We have to start rehearsing, kids, so let's start our Sectionals' songs off," Will said. He turned to Finn and Quinn, who had sat in the front row, "what are the chances of any of you two taking any Spanish class in the afternoon?"
Everybody laughed. "Sorry, Mr. Shue, New Haven's still waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Hudson," Quinn answered laughing too.
Rachel saw both of them holding hands in her face, their rings brushing one against the other as they played with their intertwined fingers.
"Homicidal instincts?" Blaine asked her.
"We'll talk later, okay?" Rachel gave Blaine a kiss on his cheek and a very warm smile.
"As I was saying, we need to start working on our songs for Sectionals. And given the fact that we have our drummer man…" Finn sat behind the drums at Will's command, "he's gonna make the announcement of our soloists more… intense. So, Finn, whenever you're ready."
Finn started drum rolling, but Tina stood up and grabbed the drumsticks, pulling them out of Finn's hands. "And, if I may, Mr. Schue, I really hope that you took my performance into consideration."
"Which performance, Tina?" Will frowned.
Tina bawled and tossed the drumsticks against the wall. She kept yelling and having a tantrum for like five minutes in front of her friends' aghast faces.
"Tina, please, c…" Will tried to calm her down, but the volume of Tina's shouts was too loud, sharp and… indescribable.
"Is she speaking Chinese?" Sebastian asked while frowning.
Some of them swore that the scene developed in slow motion while "O fortuna" was playing. Music sheets flying across the choir room. Violins being smashed against the floor. Even Brad ended up with his glasses broken after Tinazilla hit him.
"Take her to the courtyard and let the helicopters handle it!" Brittany shouted standing on her seat. "I have tranquilizer darts in my locker, distract her with something and I'll get them." She pushed Joe against the raging Asian. "Let Tina eat her, that'll buy me a couple minutes." And then she ran out of the class.
Quinn helped Joe up. "Are you okay?" she asked kindly.
Joe pushed her hand away and stood up by himself. "Yeah, couldn't be better."
"YOU!" Tina shouted and pointed at Rachel. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She threw herself trying to reach Berry's hair, but she missed and fell on a pile of chairs. She writhed in pain on the floor under the seats.
Rachel was petrified. "Did she just try to kill me?" She found herself in a corner behind Blaine, who was protecting her. "B-Blaine… you can…"
The boy blushed and let Rachel go as Finn laughed at him. "So Costner," he said.
It was awkward for a moment. Maybe Blaine overreacted, maybe Tina was ready to rip Rachel's throat out. "Maybe it was the most beautiful gesture someone's ever done for me," Rachel thought.
"Why don't you take her to the nursery?" Will asked to Sam and Rory. He had to blink a couple of time before digesting what just happened.
They, while carrying an unconscious Tina out, bumped into Brittany and a dart rifle, almost as tall as she was.
"Where the hell did you get that from?!" Quinn shouted hiding herself behind Finn.
Brittany frowned, not following why everybody was afraid of her gun. "Lord Tubbington was going through a phase and I needed some protection."
"And why do you bring this to school?" Will wondered while taking the rifle slowly from Brittany.
"Because my mom always tells me to have sex with protection, so… two birds with one stone."
Will kept blinking. "Okay, class dismissed, tomorrow we'll start with the songs."
Everybody left the choir room, but Santana. "Mr. Shue, can I ask you a favor?"
It was almost midnight when Blaine pulled his car up in the middle of the road, diverting the traffic. He put a few cones around it and opened the passenger door. "Are you ready?" he asked Rachel as he helped her out.
"Santana just texted me. She says that they have the other way closed off, so we'd better hurry up." She shut the door and kissed Blaine on his cheek. "You know I couldn't have done this without you, right?" She made a pause. "I love you."
He nodded and cupped Rachel's face. "I love you too. But we'll celebrate later, okay? Hurry up!" Blaine grabbed her hand and started walking quickly.
They joined Brittany, Santana and Sebastian. The three of them plus Blaine were dressed in black suits with black shirts. Will was setting the baffles when they came. Rachel winked an eye at him in appreciation of the help provided.
Rachel, in a white dress that shined under the streetlights, stood in the middle of the street, right in front of Finn's house. Her three friends and Sebastian positioned behind her.
"I don't know how much time we have till the police arrive, so we'd better get started," Will warned as he looked both ways. They'd closed the road so Rachel could sing in the middle of the street.
"Okay." Rachel took a deep breath, facing one of the hardest performances of her life. "I am ready." She grasped her pink crystal microphone and the song started.
[Woman in love – Barbra Streisand]
Rachel:
Life is a moment in space
when the dream is gone.
It's a lonelier place.
I kiss the morning goodbye,
but down inside you know
we never know why.
The road is narrow and long
when eyes meet eyes
and the feeling is strong.
I turn away from the wall.
I stumble and fall.
But I give you it all.
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
I am a woman in love.
And I'd do anything
to get you into my world
and hold you within.
Rachel:
It's a right I defend.
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
Over and over again.
Rachel:
What do I do?
Rachel saw a light that just got turned on in Finn's room. She felt her heart climbing up her throat, praying to every single God in the human mythology that Finn would be the one who pulled the curtains open.
Rachel:
With you eternally mine
in love there is
no measure of time.
And her prayers didn't fall on deaf ears.
Rachel:
We planned it all at the start.
That you and I
live in each other's heart.
We may be oceans away.
You feel my love.
I hear what you say.
No truth is ever a lie.
I stumble and fall.
But I give you it all.
Her voice echoed in the whole street. There were a few neighbors that came out of their houses with lighters and candles on, waving them in the air.
Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
I am a woman in love.
And I'd do anything
to get you into my world
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
and hold you within.
Rachel:
It's a right I defend.
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
Over and over again.
Rachel:
What do I do?
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
I am a woman in love.
And I'm talking to you.
You know how she feels. (Rachel: I know how you feel)
What a woman can do.
Rachel:
It's a right I defend.
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
Over and over again.
Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
I am a woman in love.
Rachel with Blaine, Brittany, Santana and Sebastian:
And I'd do anything
to get you into my world
and hold you within.
Rachel:
It's a right I defend
over and over again!
The whole neighborhood burst into applauses and ovations to Rachel, but, for once, she didn't care. The only hands she needed to be moving in that moment were Finn's through her hair, pulling her into a kiss. Nothing else mattered.
She started walking towards the house, very slowly. The light in Finn's room wasn't on any longer, so she waited for him to come out and… say/do whatever he wanted to say/do.
The black door opened and Finn walked outside meeting Rachel six steps away. "Longest six steps ever," according to the both of them.
"It was beautiful," Finn said in front of everyone's eyes.
Brittany and Santana were holding hands. Blaine was staring at the scene while Sebastian commented, "there are two options right here. A) You are the king of fools B) Your mother gave birth to the best friend ever. Let me know which one is correct."
It was true that there was a foolish smile on Blaine's face. He was in peace. He did it right. "A little of both."
Rachel felt a little bit awkward. "I've sung everything I had to say… the ball is kinda in your court." She looked into Finn's eyes and felt good. Everything that happened earlier that day was gone. Just a nightmare. Just a…
"Rach, I can't," and then Finn resurrected the nightmare.
She stepped back as she broke out into tears. "I…" Rachel turned around and ran back to the car.
"I LOVE YOU!" Finn shouted.
Her feet froze. In fact, she almost fell to the ground when she heard those three words. The impromptu audience gave Rachel a second round of applause. Rachel came back on her steps straight to Finn's lips, but he stopped her before their mouths collided.
"I can't, Rach."
"You keep saying that." The light in her eyes vanished once again. Why did she always have to lose everything good she had even if it only lasted ten seconds?
"Just know that I love you, okay? I do."
And with a sad smile and his eyes filled with tears, Finn came back into his house.
"This is not over, Finn Hudson, do you hear me?! This is not over!" Rachel yelled at the door she was hitting with all her might. "This is not over." She leaned on it and slid down to the floor.
Blaine knelt in front of her, cupping her face with his hands as he stroked her wet cheeks. Santana wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulder and pulled her closer. And Will walked back to his car, feeling their sorrow in his heart too. Four years living in a teen telenovela but he hadn't got used to an old-fashioned Finchel drama.