A/N - I'm extremely sorry this chapter took FOREVER to come out. It was literally pieced together just a little here and a little there and my muse was not co-operating AT ALL (as evidenced by me finishing another story and starting a third before this came out). So I'm very sorry for the wait, and hopefully the chapter after this will be a bit easier to write. Thanks always to RelativeWind who was my beta on this story and very patiently waited for me to submit it, then turned around and got it back to me in a week's time. Hope everyone still following this tale (if anyone IS following it still) enjoys this installment. I thank everyone for their patience, especially those who sent me messages or reviews asking/demanding an update.
Disclaimer - See Chapter 1, if necessary.
What was I doing? It involved something with drums, didn't it? I can't remember. I don't really care right now.
Oh right, we're doing the metal show at The Double Deuce. We're trying to save Nora's job. We're raising money for the O.G.L.E.R.S. and…and…and….
Finn! Dude! My Man! Why the FUCK are you thinking about that shit when Rachel is grinding against you in the bathroom and has her tongue down your throat. FOCUS!
Right. Thanks Finn. Focusing all on the lady now!
Finn settled in and allowed his hands to roam anywhere they felt like on Rachel's body. And holy crap was that leather corset probably the hottest fucking thing he could possibly imagine her wearing or him feeling her up in. Never before had they done something like this in public…well, not really. One romp in the janitor's closet didn't count because although it was public, they were able to lock the door from the inside. So Finn was indeed surprised to come down from the roof, head to the side washroom, and then emerge from that washroom only to be pushed back forcibly and attacked by his small, feisty girlfriend who showed absolutely no hesitation in showing her affection. Before he even knew what exactly was going on, he was slammed against the wall as her lips barraged his and her tongue pushed inside his mouth, her moaning slightly and her body melding itself to his.
If he wasn't in heaven at this moment, he was sure he was only a level or two below it.
"Oh, Finn!" She hissed and gripped his shoulder and forearm as his large hand reached around the front to cup her breast while his lips and tongue sucked mildly on her neck's pulse point. He smiled against her skin as he massaged lightly, ensuring to stroke her nipple through the leather fabric with his thumb and forefinger and hardening it. She gulped and squeezed her hands against his skin and…holy shit! Did she really just lift her leg and straddle his to rub herself on his thigh while he did this?
If they kept at it at this rate, no mailman, mail truck or even the Pony Express would help keep things under control.
"Finn," she breathed against his lips as again their tongues battled for dominance in their romantic duel. "God, you were so sexy up there drumming." She nipped at his neck as her hand trailed down towards his crotch and she gripped him as tight as possible through his jeans, still dry riding his leg.
"Rach, I-" Finn paused and enjoyed the sensations for a few more seconds before reluctantly stilling her hand with his hand on her wrist. "I…I can't hold out long when you do that, and I-"
She stilled herself and regarded him with dark, dilated eyes. "What if I said you didn't have to hold out anymore?"
"Huh?" Finn's brain was not working properly, so he completely missed the undercurrent of lust and promise in her voice.
Rachel grinned impishly and slowly pulled out one of the key cards for the motel. "I thought we might want a bit more…privacy…is all."
Finn smiled as he looked at the key card, then returned and kissed her neck again. "Hey, we have a few hours before sound check. I'm all for our first making out in a motel room." He glided his lips over her collarbone and began to trace his way down towards her cleavage.
"I'm not talking about just making out, Finn." She leaned into his touch, her head rolling back as he skimmed his lips over her pulse point.
Fuckin' rights! He thought to himself and mentally pumped his fist in the air, while his actual hands began to explore Rachel's ass underneath her skirt. "Did I get you all hot and bothered, Rach? Need some relief?" His hand traced along her panties to her frontal nether regions and then lightly rubbed against her centre, causing her to whimper in response. "Needing some 'oral intensity' are we?"
Rachel giggled a bit at the pun referencing their two-time rival glee club. Suddenly she pushed Finn back against the wall with one hand on his chest, then before he knew it she was flashing a gold coloured square in front of his face. "Nothing oral about this...Babe!" She placed the small wrapped package in his head and then stepped forward to nuzzle his neck. "I trust you know how to use those?"
Finn groaned as he felt Rachel nip at his neck again, but reluctantly looked down at the item in his hand. His jaw dropped as he recognized it instantly.
A condom.
As far as he knew, there was only one use for something like this.
Well, only one use that wasn't a practical joke of some sort, at least. His eyes snapped up to hers as he searched for some sign that she was kidding about this.
Her entire facial expression was very serious. She wasn't pulling a joke here.
He swallowed as the weight of this entire scenario suddenly settled onto his shoulders. For her part, Rachel must have felt him tense up because she suddenly stepped away and regarded him solemnly. He opened his mouth to say something, but the sheer enormity of this moment caught him off guard, and he had to think about his words carefully before finally being able to say something. "Are...I mean..can...uh...I...well...are your really...?"
"Sure?" Rachel finished for him. She nodded and bit her lip a bit before taking a deep breath. "I've never been more sure of anything, Finn. I want you to be my first. It's always been you through everything. I'm...I'm sorry for making you wait so long, but I needed to be completely sure and-"
He didn't let her finish. Roughly, his hands shot out and gripped her shoulders as he pressed her to him and buried his tongue back into her mouth. The move caught her by surprise and he felt her tense for just a moment before melting into his arms again and brining her hands up to squeeze herself deeper into his kiss and embrace.
He froze and his eyes snapped open, the tone and intention in her voice definitely not missed by Finn this time. Was this real? Was she actually saying what he thought she was saying?
Slowly, agonizingly, he looked up into her eyes to ascertain if what she was offering was real. Again, she nodded, stepped away and turned towards the bathroom door.
He was still glued to where he stood with his eyes wide and his mouth dry. He'd dreamed of this moment almost every day since he'd first kissed her in the auditorium over two years ago. Lord knows he's been thinking about it an unhealthy amount of times in the last few weeks and had probably failed at least a couple of early morning quizzes when he couldn't think about anything else. Staring after her, he marvelled at how completely in love he was, and couldn't help but think that in this moment, he was the luckiest man on earth.
She glanced back at him shyly upon reaching the door, then pulled it open with one hand and held out the other to him. He grinned one final time before clasping her small hand in his trembling one.
XXXXX
They kissed and groped each other pretty much the entire way from the door of The Double Deuce to the steps of the motel. They climbed the stairs up to the second floor balcony walkway and stopped three times, their lips seeming to instinctually find each other's, their hands grazing very suggestively close to each other's intimate parts, and the anticipation building within them both. Finn couldn't help but smile as they finally got to the door of the motel room. He found it rather ironic and fitting it was room number 2-69.
Hmmm, something else we'll have to try, Finn thought to himself even as Rachel reached up and pulled him down for another heated session of tonsil hockey. Wait, could you actually play tonsil hockey if you didn't have tonsils? Didn't Rachel get them removed last summer?
Focus, Finn. It's not her tonsils you should be thinking about right now.
Right. Thanks, Finn.
"Please," Rachel gasped as his lips came down on her neck. "Please, open the door, Finn." She quickly pulled her card out and put it in his hand. He pulled away just long enough to nod and turned towards the door, the key card pushed in and removed slowly until the light on the door's lock clicked green.
Surprising him, Rachel's hand shot out as she grabbed the door handle and turned it quickly, pushing inside with her left hand as her right hand dragged him along by the lapel of his shirt. Soon, they were both a couple steps beyond the door.
"Oh, God! Harder, Puck! Harder!"
Everything seemed to be frozen in place for Finn as his very wide eyes suddenly fell on Puck and Nora already in the motel room in a very compromising position. Nora was on all fours on the bed, naked. Puck was standing directly behind her with his hands gripping her hips.
In a flash, both sets of eyes came up and noticed Finn and Rachel standing there.
"AAAAAAHHHHHGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Finn had absolutely no recollection who had screamed first or loudest, but suddenly Puck and Nora were scrambling to cover themselves up with the sheets of the bed, and Rachel quickly turning away to face the wall. For his part, he simply looked to the wall, one hand going flat against his temple to block out the view of his friends' tryst. He shuddered a bit, thinking that it was an image that he'd never, ever be able to get out of his head.
"AAAAAAHHHHHGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Okay, Finn knew that the second scream was definitely Rachel, who had unfortunately turned directly towards the large mirror on the wall beside her. Finn assumed she'd received a more than ample view of both naked Puck and Nora just before they'd managed to pull a sheet over themselves. Instead, Rachel turned towards Finn and buried her face into his chest, shuddering with disgust.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing barging in here like this!" Puck yelled out angrily glaring at his tall friend.
"Me? We have a key card for the room!" Finn responded in kind, his voice taking an edge of anger and frustration as he tried to console a whimpering Rachel. "How the hell did you even get in here?"
"We teleported, you dumb fuck!" Puck hissed angrily, slapping his hand on night table to grab his own key card and held it aloft for Finn to see. "How the hell do you think we got in here?"
"Guys!" Nora called out over both of their voices and held up a placating hand, her other hand securing the sheet to her shoulders. "No need to get pissed with each other. It was an accident. These things happen."
"No, these things do not fucking happen." Puck waved her off, earning a glare from her as well. "We came first. Literally. That other card was supposed to be for the room beside us!"
"Well, obviously the clerk at the counter made a mistake." Nora rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Fuck, Mo-Ho, people are human. Mistakes do occur. It's not like Finn and Rachel came in to watch live porno or anything. They probably had the same intentions we did."
"The horror! The horror!" Rachel wailed slightly, still shuddering in Finn's arms. "Oh, God, please erase that image of Puck from my mind."
"Hey!" Puck protested. "Many women have enjoyed that image and more. You should consider yourself lucky you got it for free, Berry."
Nora threw him an exasperated look. "Would you just shut the fuck up? Not every woman out there wants a piece of you, okay?"
"This from the girl whose mom I've already tapped? History begs to differ with you, Red." Puck replied proudly.
Nora shoved a finger against his chest threateningly. "If you want to continue to tap me, you will never again bring up what happened between you and my mother. Especially right after you've been boning me for the last seven minu-"
"Aaaannnnddddd, on that note," Finn pulled a still shivering Rachel by the shoulders back towards the door to outside. "I think we'll make our escape and get the key card situation sorted out. Talk later." Finn waved at them both as he guided Rachel out of the room and quickly closed the door, still hearing Nora and Puck arguing back and forth and heedless of them exiting the motel room. He shuddered a bit himself at having walked in on Puck and his new girlfriend getting jiggy with it, but with any luck he could shake it off in fifteen to twenty minutes. He didn't need it to be occupying his thoughts any longer than necessary.
Rachel leaned on the railing by the balcony, her face in her hands and her shoulders shaking as though she were crying. Alarmed, Finn walked over and began soothing her with his large hands rubbing her shoulders. "Hey, Babe, it's okay! Don't cry. It's fine. It's all fine. No harm done."
Rachel cried into his chest a bit before pulling away and wiping her eyes quickly. Finn's heart nearly broke at the disappointed and defeated look on Rachel's face as she started speaking rapidly. "But I had this planned out so well, and we were going to be alone, and have a few hours for this and it would be the two of us with our first time and no pressure or worries other than the show, and now I can't get that awful image of Puck and Nora out of my mind and it's all just….yuck!" She sniffled and shook her head. "It was like watching a bad porno film. Couldn't they at least have been under the sheets in a normal, loving position and not acting like a couple of carnal canines or something?"
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure Puck's half dog as it is, so it's probably a rather natural position for him."
She giggled a bit at the joke, even through her tears, and allowed Finn the rub her back soothingly as she held him with her arms around his waist. After huffing out a breath of annoyance, she looked back up at him, biting her lip. "Do…do you want to get the card switched for the other room and…"
Suddenly a loud, guttural, masculine voice came from beyond the door. "Holy fuck, Nora, please…God…yes!"
Rachel and Finn glanced at the door incredulously before she turned back to him. "I thought they were arguing!"
"Yes….yes…Jesus Puck…harder…harder...fuck yes!" responded a sultry female voice in the obvious throes of ecstasy.
"I…I think they made up. Or rather, they're making up right now…or making out or…yeah…uh…" Finn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he glanced down at Rachel. "I…I can't believe I'm about to say this, Rach, but I don't think I'd be able to…uh…get in the right mood knowing I can hear my best friend…you know…doing that!"
"No need to apologize, Finn. I completely concur. Becoming sexually aroused in the room right beside Noah and Nora engaged in such activities would be exceedingly difficult, especially when they don't seem able to control the volume of their voices." Rachel frowned a bit, then turned back to Finn and shrugged. "Well, I suppose we could go have something to eat, right? Or did you want to wait and invite Puck and Nora to go with us?"
"God damn it, Puck, don't you dare move your mouth away. Holy fuck…yes…that's…oh my God!"
"Fuck, Red, you taste so good! Fuck yeah… use your teeth a little, baby."
Finn's eyes shot to the door momentarily before he turned away and sighed. "I think they're already eating."
Rachel linked her arm with his and pulled them away from the front door of the motel, eyes locked on The Double Deuce across the street. "I've read online that the menu at the bar isn't bad, so let's try it. Hopefully it'll get the taste of bile out of my mouth."
"Might if they let us have a shot of something at the bar," Finn grumbled.
XXXXX
"I need your guys help."
Artie, Sam and Finn all turned towards the sound of the voice simultaneously, looking up from where they were making adjustments to the set lists. Finn glanced at the other two before shrugging slightly and turning in his chair a bit to face Puck more fully. "What's up, man?"
Puck sighed and rubbed hand over his Mohawk before leaning in and addressing them all solemnly. "Nora wants us to go on a date. Like, an actually date, date. You know, with nice clothes and dinner and talking and all that shit."
"What, she got tired of eating in?" Finn snickered as he dropped his head to the set list to peruse some more songs. Puck smacked him on the back of the head and glared, but said nothing.
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Women do tend to like that kinds stuff now and then, you know. Why do you need our help?"
"'Cause I've never actually...you know...been on a date." Puck swallowed. "What do I do?"
Finn burst out laughing, causing Artie and Sam to smile as well, all three of them nodding to each other in silent, unspoken agreement that their mohawked friend was pulling their legs and trying to kid them. After a few chortles, however, Finn turned back to Puck and noticed his best friend wasn't smiling. If anything, he seemed worried. Fin's smile faltered. "Really?"
"Well, yeah." Puck shrugged. "I mean, girls drop their drawers for me inside of sixty minutes, usually. I've never needed to give a girl a real date where I cared if they enjoyed themselves and stuff."
"As disturbing as that mental image is, coming from you, it oddly makes sense." Artie responded, his eyes staring off into space as he was lost in thought.
Finn waved aside his friend's concern with his hand. "Pffft. It's not rocket science, Puck. Take her to dinner and a movie. There you go; a date."
Puck frowned at Finn. "Fuck, Frankenteen, sure I could totally do that, but it's boring as fuck. I mean, c'mon, have you met Nora? She ain't gonna want that kinda shit. I mean, she deserves way more."
"Considering what her job is, I think anything that doesn't involve her removing her clothes in public would be fine." Sam pointed out.
Finn scowled at Sam before turning back to his best friend. "I get you want to give her more, but she still might be okay with something simple. I mean, girls don't always need fine dining and Broadway plays, despite what Rachel might have told you during the week you two dated." Finn added the last bit as an afterthought.
"And dates don't have to be expensive." Sam argued. "One time I just brought over some dessert and coffee for me and Quinn. We traded favourite movies. I watched The Notebook with her and she watched Avatar with me."
"Dude, that is so unfair!" Artie protested and cuffed Sam on the shoulder. "Avatar is, like, an hour and a half longer than The Notebook."
"Trust me, it totally didn't feel that way." Sam countered without humour. "And that you even know that off the top of your head scares me."
"So, in other words, do something half and half?" Puck asked them all. "Like, half what she'd like, and half what I'd like?"
"Well, that sounds reasonable, right?" Sam shrugged a bit. "Like, say, if she wants to go to a certain restaurant, then do that, and if there's something you want to do afterwards, then take her along with you."
Puck nodded as he thought about that. "That could work. Like, really and totally." He grabbed his cell phone and began punching in numbers, then held it to his ear and spoke into the receiver. "Ticket Express? Yes, I'll hold." His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he addressed them all while on hold. "I know exactly how to do this now. I'll take Nora anywhere she wants for dinner, and then I'll introduce her to one of my favourite shows."
"You...you're going to take her to a show?" Artie queried, his eyebrows going up in surprise. "I didn't think you really liked musical theatre."
"Musical theatre? What the fuck are you on about NASCAR?" Puck suddenly turned his attention back to the phone. "Hello? Yeah, I'd like two tickets to the Dayton Monster Jam, please."
Finn, Sam and Artie simultaneously groaned and buried their faces in their hands.
XXXXX
It was the middle of sound check when Finn noticed a commotion at the back of the club. He had just been given the 'thumbs up' by the soundman regarding his drum set up and microphone placement, and was listening to Sam start the bass guitar sound part when doors opened and people began walking in with cameras and microphones. He squinted a little to see who had come in, and was somewhat surprised to notice it was none other than Chrissy Snow, the same WOHN correspondent who had introduced and interviewed them all a few days prior at the television studio.
But if they were here with cameras and microphones, then that meant…
Oh no.
No. No, no, no, no…no!
His suspicions were confirmed when none other than Rachel Berry walked up to Chrissy and immediately shook her hand, talking animatedly and pointing to various spots in the bar where (Finn assumed) they were talking about camera placements and such. Swallowing, he leaped off the stage and bounded over to his tiny girlfriend just as Chrissy and her cameraman walked away and began setting stuff up in an open but non-descript space in the club. He called out to catch her attention. "Rach!"
The small brunette turned towards him with a large smile and warm eyes. "Finn, hi! Did you get enough to eat? Have your set-lists been finalized? How's the sound check going? We want this to go well, right?"
Finn did a double take, looking at her in confusion. Since when exactly had she taken everything over to the point she was managing the band, exactly? He quickly pushed aside his annoyance and glanced back at the camera and microphone that Chrissy and her assistant were working with. "What the heck is the news doing here, Rach?"
Rachel gave him a look which indicated she thought the answer was obvious. "They're following up from our songs the other night, Finn. You didn't really think they would just advertise such a publicized event one night and not at the very least give it some coverage on the news of the night it occurs, did you?"
"What?" Finn stared at her in disbelief. "They're….they're filming us for tonight's news, too?"
"Of course they are, Finn." She linked her arm in his and led him back over towards the stage, again speaking rapidly and forcing Finn to concentrate on her words. "This is a large charity event, after all. The O.G.L.E.R.S. and G.L.O.B.s are going to be here, as well as a number of professional athletes, all in support of the gay/lesbian rights in this state. It's practically a no-brainer as far as news coverage goes. Add into that the fact that we're all high school students organizing and performing in such a charity event, and you have news coverage material worth its weight in gold."
"Rach, we're playing over thirty songs tonight. Not all of them are quite perfect. What if we do one of the bad ones while they're filming?"
"It's simple, Finn. You just follow the same advice you gave me during our first Sectionals competition." She stepped up on her tip-toes, kissed him on the cheek, then took a step back and smiled genuinely. "This is you opportunity to shine. Don't screw it up."
Finn rolled his eyes. "Sure, Rach. It's just that fucking simple."
"Finn! Language!"
"You practiced that song at Sectionals since you were like, conceived! We haven't been practicing these songs since childhood, Rach. Most of them weren't even written back then."
"You worry far too much, Finn." Rachel smiled again. "Look, you guys have about three hours or so before you need to come back and be ready to perform. Why don't you guys make use of the time to catch a nap."
"A nap? What, are we suddenly two years old again?"
"Many adults take naps, Finn, especially when they have to focus all their attention and energy on something specific for most of the night. Like, say a band that has to perform until approximately two in the morning?
"Sure, maybe, Rach, but-"
"It would do you guys some good, too, considering how much energy I'm sure you put into the performance." Rachel continued her argument without acknowledging he'd spoken. "You want to be well rested, right? Studies have proven that naps can increase your mental alertness and physical dexterity as well as counter the effects of sleep deprivation. And you and the boys haven't been able to sleep very well in the last few nights due to your rehearsals, correct?"
Finn rolled his eyes a bit overdramatically (he always claimed he picked up that habit from her), but his mind was agreeing that this might indeed be a very good idea. And no sooner had he thought then he yawned and removed some dirt from the corner of his eyes.
"See? You boys are tired." She turned his around and began pressing him on his back to shoo him towards the exits. "Gather up the others, Finn. Go get a bit of sleep. It'll do you all a world of good and ensure you can all perform the three sets of the show with equal confidence and energy. The girls and I have to get the merchandise table set up and we'll make sure the kitchen has something prepared for you upon your return, okay? "
Deciding finally that she was right, Finn nodded at her and motioned towards the guys who weren't far away from where they were talking. "I'm gonna hit the sheets for a few, guys. Naps might do us some good."
Puck grinned at him as he bounded up beside his friend, grabbing his leather jacket. "Don't need to tell me twice. I fuckin' live for naps. It's why I always claim to have a headache at school."
Sam, Artie and the others gave them both weird looks. "Seriously? You guys think we're back in kindergarten or something?"
Finn rolled his eyes. He must have been tired because he really didn't have patience to explain everything to each of them the way Rachel had. "Look, it'll do us good since we've been up so late every night rehearsing. If you want more intel on how good naps can be, go talk to Rachel. I'm outta here. You guys comin' or you want to drink Red Bull all night?"
The other guys finally all nodded and began to finish up whatever they were working on to follow suit. After a moment of walking, Finn turned on Puck . "By the way, you're taking the bed you and Nora already enjoyed. I don't care how big a wet spot is there."
XXXXX
A splash of water smacked Finn in the face about an hour later, and the tall quarterback awoke with a start, sputtering and shaking his head in annoyance. He wiped the moisture out of his eyes and looked up to see Puck sporting a shit-eating grin while Blaine chuckled in good nature. "What the fuck, dude! You couldn't have just kicked my foot or something?"
"Now who's got the fucking wet spot, Finnessa?" Puck drained the last bit of water from the water bottle and flashed another smile as he re-capped the empty container. "Enjoy your pillow, Bitch, because I'm pretty damn sure Rachel isn't gonna want to sleep on it. And no fucking way you're getting a wet spot of any other kind dating her."
"Aren't the girls staying in the other room?" Finn asked, already pulling the pillowcase off the pillow and hanging it over the chair in the room.
For his part, Blaine was pushing the pull-out bed in the room's couch back into sofa. Being the shortest, it made sense for him to take the smallest bed. "Personally, I plan to sleep beside my beau tonight. With no parents, no teachers and no one else around to say otherwise, I don't see why you guys need to do the boy/girl thing."
"Gotta agree with Brokeback over there." Puck nodded to Blaine. "No way I'm cuddling up to your hairy ass when I could be groping my girl instead." Puck opened the door and he and Blaine walked through. "Meet you back at the club, Doofus."
"Yeah, whatever." Finn agreed, his mind already wandering far away to future events that night. He had to admit he totally loved the idea of sleeping beside Rachel all night, having her spooned into his body on the bed without the need to worry about parents or chaperones or teachers suddenly bursting in to disrupt them. Sure, they couldn't do much more than sleep given the two rooms would have to be shared, but the thought of snuggling Rachel all evening and falling asleep with the scent of her shampoo and perfume around him held a significant appeal.
Quickly he washed his face and gargled with some mouthwash, not bothering to brush his teeth since he'd likely be eating soon (he'd chew some gum later), then pulled out his black 'Pantera' t-shirt he'd found in some thrift store for only about seven dollars. It was a bit faded and had a small hole near the bottom of it, but nothing screamed 'rock-star' more than wearing the t-shirt for your favourite band. Unless that band was Air Supply or some other mellow crap most women adored. That probably wouldn't work so well then.
After throwing on his letterman jacket, he quickly made his way across the street and into the club. The sight that greeted him actually caused his eyes to widen and mouth to fall to the floor.
The club was decked out entirely in pink and black. There were balloons on every table imaginable, dangling in mid air and swaying lightly. The merchandise booth was set up to be obvious and yet out of the way. It was complete with a sales table and cage style display rack on which was far nicer shirts, hats, sweaters and singlet t-shirts than he would have thought possible. Each item sported the logos of either the O.G.L.E.R.S., G.L.O.B.S. or Assailment. Also along the tables were a few Cincinnati Bengals jerseys with signatures on them. He turned from the booth and noticed all of the female staff were decked out in pink baby-dolls shirts with the club's logo on the upper left side of the chest, and the male staff had black t-shirts with the same logo only in pink against the background. Streamers were hung from the walls and a few were dangling from the light fixtures, also all in either black or pink, and even the poles on the stage were covered in ribbon or tape, changing their colour from the traditional gold to black and pink stripes.
Then Finn's eyes fell to the stage.
No, no, no, no, no, no and ten to the millionth power FUCK NO!
He stared completely dumbfounded at the drum set sitting centre stage on a riser and adorning each drum and cymbal stand were flashing, sparkling, Christmas lights. The problem with said Christmas lights was that they were all PINK!
Finn quickly hopped up to his instrument to pull the lights off quickly, but they didn't budge under his initial and gentle tug. Upon closer inspection, he realized that they were all threaded through the tuning rods, and to make matters worse, they had been tightly cable-tied to each tuning rod. It would take Finn at least an hour, if not longer, to unfasten these lights as they were. Scissors were not going to work on cable-ties that tight, which meant his only option would be to unscrew each tuning rod, slide the cable tie off, and then re-attach the tuning rods to the drum.
Just like he initially thought. It would take a good hour or more to remove these lights. No way it took her that long to pull her clothes off the ceiling of her ballet studio's change room. This was grossly unfair.
He stood at his full height and bellowed. "RACHEL!"
"Oh, there you are Finn." A familiar voice from behind him said as he whipped around to find his girlfriend standing beside an equally amused Mr. Schuester, both of them seeming to have shared a laugh at the expense of both him and his instrument.
Finn nodded in polite acknowledgement to his teacher before turning back to the petite brunette. "What the hell is that!" He asked as he pointed to the sparkling pink lights on his kit.
Rachel followed the direction of his arm and finger to see what he was pointing at before turning back to him with wide, innocent eyes. "A drum set?"
"Not the drum set! I'm talking about what's adorning it and sparkling like a flippin' Christmas tree!"
Once again, Rachel's face took on an amused look, and she smiled while crossing her arm. "Why, Finn, your vocabulary is improving again. I didn't know you knew the meaning of the word 'adorn.'" She turned to Mr. Schuester. "See, he is paying attention in class. But that's neither here nor there, Finn. Right now, Mr. Schuester wants to talk to both of us privately."
Finn's ire over the drum-set immediately died down, but the hackles on the back of his neck instantly began to rise as he gazed questioningly at his teacher. "Privately?"
Mr. Schuester shrugged a bit and smoothed out his black blazer. "It has to do with how you guys left school the other day."
The tall quarterback rolled his eyes, but saw Rachel and Mr. Schuester already heading towards one of the back booths of the bar and Rachel gripped his wrist to drag him along with them. Finn didn't really see the point in having yet another conversation about this topic. He'd already spoken to his Mom about it, and she understood his reasoning. As far as he was concerned, this entire mess was more the school's fault that their own. They were the ones who threatened them with suspension, and when the group decided to accept that fate, suddenly it was yet again an issue? It was just circles inside of circles inside of circles, which wasn't cool unless you were talking about cream filled cookies or something. His head was starting to hurt just at the mere thought of it all.
The three of them sat down and Mr. Schuester pulled out a letter and passed it onwards to Finn and Rachel. "That's the letter that's been drafted so far, guys. And Figgins assured me he'd be ready to send it to each and every college all the seniors applied to if you didn't cancel the show."
Rachel immediately grabbed the letter and began reading it, while Finn barked out a laugh of disbelief. "Take a look around you, Mr. Schue. Everything's set and ready to go. We're not cancelling now."
The Glee club instructor pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "Are you sure, Finn? I honestly thought Figgins was bluffing with his threat to expel you all, but the secretary has assured me it's in the works. And though the colleges you've all applied to will decide for themselves whether or not to admit you, it would probably be pretty hard if you guys are expelled; no high school diploma and a damaging letter on file."
"Damaging?" Finn turned to Rachel, who cast him a slightly worried look. "What does it say, Rach?"
She breathed in deeply. "Basically it's a letter detailing how uncooperative and disrespectful we are as students, how we've been corrupted by the seedy underside of society and would be a bad influence on the other students attending a post secondary institution. It recommends we not be accepted for the academic year of 2012-2013."
Staring open mouthed at the letter for a moment, Finn quickly turned back to his glee club instructor. "This is a joke, Mr. Schue. A big, stupid, fucking joke."
"Language, Finn!" Rachel admonished quickly, noticing Mr. Schuester's eyes tighten a bit at the use of the expletive.
"No, this is crap! enough is enough!" Finn waved aside Rachel's scolding. "It's one thing if the school wants to pull this kind of shit on their own property because I can accept the fact that it's their building and you have to follow the rules. But this?" He tapped the letter from underneath. "Now Figgins is going to try and approach me, approach all of us, through Mr. Schuester on privateproperty? He's going to possibly try to ruin our futures because we're taking a stand on something?" Finn looked at Rachel. "Tell me this is illegal or something, isn't it? Am I wrong?"
Rachel pursed her lips as she re-read the letter. "I'd have to talk to my fathers to know for sure, but it does seem like Principal Figgins is close to violating the First Amendment."
Finn wasn't well versed in law or the Constitution, but he had seen The People vs. Larry Flynt before, so knew Rachel was talking about freedom of speech. He couldn't believe this relatively simple issue could escalate into something involving civic rights. Shaking his head in disbelieve, Finn turned towards his teacher. "Are you really on board with Figgins about this?"
"It doesn't matter what my personal feelings are, Finn." Mr. Schuester told him with an apologetic shrug. "I'm an employee of the school. As such, I do as I'm told, which in this case is coming to The Double Deuce to try and persuade you to cancel the show." He sighed a bit before continuing. "I understand your frustration and respect where you guys are coming from, but this issue is a huge deal. Figgins is concerned about how all of this will play out in the public. McKinley has enough issues to deal with and can't really afford yet another hit to its image."
"I don't give a rat's ass about McKinley's public image, certainly not when they're threatening us." Finn's voice had taken on an edge of defiance, something that Mr. Schue had obviously noticed since his eyes tightened and his shoulders tensed. The tall quarterback looked around the club, taking stock of the things that had been set up and the amount of effort put into this affair by not only themselves, but also the club, the O.G.L.E.R.S., the celebrities who had come from as far away as Cincinnati, the new crew and-
The news crew?
Finn smirked a bit before turning back to Rachel, who was discussing the issue with Mr. Schuester with much less anger than he could himself. "I gotta go, Rach. I just had an idea."
"Idea?" Rachel queried him with concern written on her face.
Mr. Schuester, likewise, showed alarm at Finn's sudden change of mood and insistence he leave. "Can't we just, at least, talk about this so I can get a clear answer first, Finn?"
"Oh, I'll give you a clear answer." Finn grinned at him. "One you can take back to the school and show everyone." With that, Finn hopped out of the booth without looking back, ignoring a protest from his teacher.
He quickened his pace and walked straight up to the news crew to face Chrissy Snow and her cameraman. She turned towards him and cast a questioning glance. "Hello...Finn, right? How can I help you?"
"You can turn the cameras on and start recording what's about to happen." Finn said without any further explanation. "Trust me, you'll like it." Before the WOHN reporter could ask further questions, he turned towards the stage where the others were still speaking with members of the crowd. "Guys! Let's go!"
Puck stared at him before glancing at his watch. "Dude, we've still got half an-"
"We're starting now!" Finn told him with finality before jumping on stage. Once he was up there and turned to face the gathered crowd, he heard cheers and applause begin to course through the bar. On cue, the other members of Assailment also ascended to the stage and took their positions by their respective instruments. The crowd at this point were now in all but a frenzy that the show was about to commence, and Finn grabbed the microphone set up for Puck and loosened it from stand it was on.
If Figgins wanted an answer from them, he was going to get one he'd never forget.
"Welcome to The Double Deuce!" Finn spoke into the microphone, causing a massive response from the crowd all on the floor, whistling and clapping their hands.
"We are the band Assailment. As most of you probably know, all of us attend McKinley High School right here in Lima. Well, for some reason, those in charge of our high school don't like the fact that we're doing this show. Actually, they don't like the fact that we're involved in any way with The Double Deuce, the O.G.L.E.R.S., or the G.L.O.B. Club. Now, we knew this coming into tonight's show, and we all agreed to put up with being suspended because we decided the show was more important that doing what our Principal wanted, which was to cancel the whole thing."
A chorus of boos and jeers rang through the bar, and Finn smirked a bit at having garnered that reaction and noticing it was being recorded by the television cameras. With any luck, this would play out exactly as he hoped.
"I just got a visit from my Glee Club instructor at school. He showed me, with written proof, that McKinley High is ready now to expel all of us because we took a stand and refused to give up our performance this evening. "
A gasp of outrage not only came from the audience, but also from Sam and Puck, both of whom were flanking him onstage. Quickly, Finn held up a hand to try and stifle some of the loud protests he was hearing from the audience and continued speaking. He was on a roll now, which was unusual given his lack of vocabulary and all, but the words were coming to him almost faster than his mouth could say them.
"I don't think it's fair that our school can try to scare us or ask us to not support a worthwhile cause like the O.G.L.E.R.S. I also don't think it's fair they would ask us to cancel a show we've worked hard to perfect for you guys, or give up a chance to have such a massive fundraising event. So tonight, right now, actually, we're going to dedicate this song as our answer to the school's demands.
"This song is the one the group of us decided on for a Glee assignment on metal. It won the Grammy award for best metal song back in 2006 and critics usually think of it as one of top metal songs of that decade. You could say it started everything for us. I think it's time to play it for you, and our high school, right now. So who wants to hear Assailment get started?"
Again, another massive roar from the crowd confirmed what Finn had suspected; it was time for the show to start. And he couldn't think of any better way than with the song the six of them had agreed on last week. Without waiting another moment, Finn handed the microphone back to Puck and quickly took his position behind his decked out drum set. Once seated and glancing at everyone to ensure they were ready, he tapped four beats together on his sticks to count in the song.
Puck's guitar flared to life as he hammered out the rhythm guitar introduction. After four bars, Finn nodded as Artie, he and Sam all joined in, starting the song in earnest. Soon all six of them were bouncing their heads along to the beat before stopping for a beat so Puck could scream out the first word of the song.
GO!*
The crowd erupted into cheers at the one word, and their reaction fuelled on their performance. The energy and timing the six had rehearsed now flowed effortlessly out of them as each guitar chord, drum beat, sampling sound and percussion rhythm blended to create the music. Puck nodded at Finn after exchanging a quick glance, and then assumed his position at the microphone to sing the lead vocal parts. Sam stepped up to his own mic to sing the backup secondary lines, and Finn smiled widely as each part of the song fell into place seamlessly, letting his own anger and frustrations course through him and fuel his drumming.
Stapled shut inside an outside world
And I'm sealed in tight, bizarre but right at home.
I'm claustrophobic, it's closing in and I'm catastrophic
Not again!
I'm smeared across the page and doused in gasoline,
I wear you like a stain, yet I'm the one who's obscene?
Catch me up on all your sordid little insurrections
I've got no time to lose, I'm just caught up in all the cattle.
Fray the strings, through the sheathes. Hold your breath. Listen!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!*
The band transitioned back into the introduction section, each of them banging their heads in time with the heavy rhythms and guitar patterns. Finn looked out to the crowd to notice the news crew cameras were still filming and the audience was either dancing or pumping their fists with the music; even a large portion of the staff had stopped their work and watched the show with rapt interest. The drummer smiled since he knew they'd only get a captive audience such as this if he and the guys were performing flawlessly. On instinct, he smashed through a fill on the drums to move on to the next verse.
I'm ripped across the ditch and settled in the dirt,
And I wear you like a stitch, yet I'm the one who's hurt.
Pay attention to your twisted little indiscretions,
I've got no right to win, I'm just caught up in all the battles.
Locked in clutch. Pushed in place. Hold your breath. Listen!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!*
The bridge of the song came quickly, and through the cheers and cat-calls from the audience Finn realized suddenly that his own vocal parts were coming up. He focused on the tribal drum parts between the snare and toms, and briefly thought about how this song was probably the most metaphorical one he'd ever performed to get across his true feelings on a subject. He laughed a bit at realizing he was thinking in terms of metaphors and how much Rachel's influence was changing the way he thought, but also felt oddly proud that he was able to think that way. Soon his cue was up, and he sang as he continued to keep the beat for the rest of the band.
My end, it justifies my means
All I ever do is delay, my every attempt to evade
The end of the road and my end,
It justifies my means
All I ever do is delay, I haven't time to evade
The end of the road.*
Finn hammered the drums in yet another complex fill that he executed perfectly, and then the entire band came in on beat one of the next bar all together. The effect of the music was accented by all the lights flashing brightly at the same time, synchronized with the music perfectly. The final vocals were sung by all members of the band to add extra meaning behind the words.
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!
I am a world before I am a man,
I was a creature before I could stand,
I will remember before I forget,
Before I forget that!
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah*
The song ended abruptly and the crowd's reaction was even more pronounced than it had been when the four of them first performed the week before. Finn looked up to see the rest of his band-mates in the same state he was; all of them were drenched in sweat, but there was a cold gleam of satisfaction evident in their eyes as the accepted the audience's cheers. Puck and Finn shared a look, and Puck nodded to the drummer as he moved out of the way so Finn could be seen by the sold out assembly on the floor of the bar. Finn smiled as he addressed both them and the video crew working for the news.
"I think our song speaks to our answer for Mr. Figgins and McKinley High. We won't be bullied, by anyone. So, who wants to hear more from Assailment?"
Another roar from the masses gathered at the bar indicated their approval, and Finn glanced through them all to the back of the bar where Rachel beamed at him while walking towards the news crew. She mouthed a silent 'I love you!' to him as she passed by his line of sight, and Finn grinned hugely and winked at her while he and the others resumed their positions and started the next song.
At that moment, he felt like he could conquer the entire world.
*Lyrics from 'Before I Forget', written and recorded by Slipknot.
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