Thanks for all the positive feedback and reviews, I really appreciate it everyone! Thanks and enjoy :) I was thinking of doing a college AU fic for my next finchel story…what do you guys think? I dunno, I'm worried that with actual college I will have trouble updating ): Ugh I don't want to go back to school!
Warning (not really but whatever): this chapter probably has mistakes in it. I didn't finish it till late and its now midnight and I have goddamn school tomorrow. So IM SORRY IF YOU FIND MAJOR MISTAKES (grammar, spelling, missing words ;lsdfkjlfkgj whatever) I will go back and fix it later and re-upload a new fixed version if I have time. It shouldn't be too bad :/ long author's note—and now to the story!
0o0o0o0o
Chapter 21
Finn stirred on the couch, running a hand over his face. Someone was shaking his shoulder—gently but, geez didn't they understand he had been asleep?
"Finn? Finn."
"Rachel?" He mumbled softly, turning his head and opening his eyes.
His mom smiled back at him.
"Rachel?" She chuckled softly. It was too early for her 'knowing' laugh. He would have thrown a pillow at her but he had a feeling she was going to make pancakes for breakfast…and he wanted some. "Sorry to disappoint. Just me. What are you doing on the couch, hunny? Did you sleepwalk?"
Finn frowned, wondering why his mom wasn't yelling at him for a sleeping Rachel on his—he looked down at his chest, Rachel was nowhere to be seen. He sat up, trying to look for any trace that she had been there with him. Her phone wasn't on the coffee table, her bunny was gone and the TV was shut off.
Had—had everything that had happened with Rachel last night been a dream? But…how? It couldn't have been. It just couldn't. Not that he really liked the whole crying over Sam thing but—but that kiss? He couldn't have been dreaming that (he was pretty sure if it had been a dream he would have gotten pass second base).
He rubbed his face and looked up at his mom. "I, uh, I must have."
She smiled softly. "Alright, well as long as you're okay, sweetheart." She kissed his forehead and headed into the kitchen. "What time did you and Rachel get in last night?"
He bit his lip. "We were, like, twenty minutes past curfew. We were at the gift shop and Rachel found this lost girl in the toy section. We stood around waiting to see if we could find her parents."
His mom got a few things out of the fridge. "Well, I'm very proud of you, Finn. Some people wouldn't even waste their time."
Finn frowned. "No, I could never just…leave a kid stranded without finding their parents. That's…" He shook his head. "If my kid was lost, I would want good people to stay with him or her until they found us."
"Your kid?" She said with a smile.
Finn couldn't stop a blush from spreading over his face. "Well, not for a very long time mom." He assured her, standing up from the couch. "Obviously." He grumbled and moved towards the fridge, looking inside for the orange juice.
"Thought about…who these kids would be with?"
Finn frowned and poured himself a cup. "Uh…" Yeah, it was early and his mom was asking him heavy questions about babies—that was the best he could come up with.
"Rachel has very nice high cheekbones, well, overall bone structure. Oh! And she can sing."
Finn choked on his orange juice, successfully spilling some of it on his shirt. Why the hell was his mom talking about Rachel and his babies? Did she understand what he had to do to make those babies? He was pretty sure she did, seeing as how was proof pudding of baby making—standing right in front of her.
"Mom!"
She laughed. "What? I'm just thinking ahead."
How did she even know that he would be with Rachel that far into the future? He wasn't even with her now. Finn just shook his head, not even able to come up with a decent response before turning on his heel to head downstairs to his room.
He wasn't sure what the hell was up with his mom but he definitely wouldn't be re-telling that story to Rachel.
Finn slowly pushed open their bedroom door to see Rachel huddled on his bed, sleeping on her left side while Frankelton was tucked under her chin. He smiled softly and closed the door as quietly as he could so he wouldn't disturb her. He was almost honored that she had curled up on his bed instead of her own but then remembered she couldn't reach her own bed.
Rachel stirred when Finn stepped towards his suitcase, the floor underneath him moaning under his weight. He looked at her and bit his lip, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry." He said softly.
Rachel yawned, shaking her head. She ran her hand over her face.
"It's okay." She was groggy and her voice was rough with sleep. It was adorable. All he wanted to do was gather her up in those sheets and snuggle with her until she got sick of him.
Finn came towards her, sitting awkwardly against the bed. He was too tall to really sit comfortably on the bed with her in it—he'd just end up hitting his head against the bar of the bed above them. He sat down near her chest and turned so his side was leaning against the bed.
His eyes ran over her face and he couldn't help but give into the urge to push a strand of hair around her ear. "I have an odd…question."
Rachel smiled. "Okay."
"Did…did, uhm…"
Rachel giggled. "Did I fall asleep on you last night on the couch? Yes, Finn. I did."
Finn let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Thank God, I thought I was going crazy. When I woke up and you weren't there—"
"I woke up around eight and…I didn't want your mom to find us on the couch together. I didn't want you to get in trouble so I came down here and fell back asleep."
"Oh, wow, you're awesome. Thanks, Rach. My mom would have killed me if she would have found us together."
"Not that I couldn't have explained…" She looked down at the bed. "everything, I suppose."
He was still kinda glad she had woken up and vanished from his side before his mom could see. He knew what she was trying to do in the kitchen—she wanted him to admit his feelings for Rachel (like they weren't obvious anyways). But even though his mom was planning to buy footie pajamas for their un-born baby—he knew she wouldn't be cool with them sleeping on eachother.
"Did your dad text you this morning?" He hadn't meant to change the subject but she looked like something else was on her mind.
Rachel nodded. "He's getting worse." She swallowed, her voice growing softer. "I dunno if he's going to…"
"Hey," He put an arm around her and watched as she instantly turned into him, pushing her face into his chest.
This was new. Well…not new, exactly but…he hadn't felt her give herself over completely to him since they were dating. He hadn't felt her relax into him, trusting him to make everything better with a simple touch or kiss in such a long time.
He drew her closer, wrapping both of his arms around her. "We're heading home tonight. We can drop you off at the hospital."
She shook her head against him. "Kurt and Mercedes…neither of them know and I can't—"
They did know….because the entire glee club knew…because Finn kind of put together that bake sale that was happening when they got back from the beach.
"Right, okay." Finn said softly, running a gentle hand on her back. "I get it."
Rachel pulled back from him, curling her hair around her ear. "As soon as you drop me off at home I can drive over there."
"As long as you text me to let me know you got there okay."
She smiled softly. "Promise."
Finn smiled at her as his mom called all of them for breakfast—he wondered if Kurt was even awake yet. Maybe he could kinda…borrow (steal) his step-brother's portion of pancakes.
His heart stopped in his chest as Rachel kissed his cheek before getting up to walk out of the bedroom—she acted like it was the most simplest thing she'd ever done, like kissing him was natural to her or something.
Not that he was complaining.
Finn was determined to make today one of the best vacation days ever. He had to do this for her. One more day of blissful moments spent on the beach, laughing about ice cream or sandcastles.
He wanted her to be happy before he took her back to the crushing reality of Lima—and what was waiting for her when she returned home.
0o0o0o0o
Finn looked over the table of baked goods, trying to ignore his stomach as it growled. Maybe if he just tried one cookie…
No, no. He took a tally of what was available so he could start figuring out how much things should cost along with keeping track of how much they sold. He heard a bang and turned to the left, watching Puck swear as he picked up the case that a drum was in.
"Hey, be careful with that," Artie scolded him. "It's on loan from the jazz band."
That made Puck roll his eyes—he obviously gave two fucks about the jazz band. They didn't really have a stage set up but the parking lot was pretty big so they picked a corner where a bunch of trees were planted and decided to sing from there. Finn checked his watch as he set down a tin container to hold the money.
Everyone was helping to set up tables for people to sit at and relax while they ate cookies or something and watched them perform—everyone except Rachel and Sam…which, he wasn't sure how that made him feel. When they got back to Lima, school was weird to say the least. Sam had been avoiding Rachel like she had some sort of duck plague (or was it bird flu?) and Finn didn't want to press his luck on being with Rachel and force her to be friends with the guy. It wasn't his problem.
Or maybe he had been a little bit selfish…after all; if Rachel wasn't friends with Sam there was less of a chance of them getting back together. But he could tell when he sat with her at lunch that she missed him…or at least needed to talk to him to get things straightened out. And Finn had to let her—which killed him. Finn needed Sam's help in order to get this bake sale up and running.
So when Sam had approached Rachel after school on Friday (Finn totally wasn't spying on them from his locker down the hall or anything…) Finn just let everything fall into place. He was pretty sure Sam was apologizing; because his face looked like he had drowned a kitten (he'd never seen anyone look so guilty). He watched Rachel place a hand on his arm and squeeze it, giving him a small smile. He watched them walk down the hall together and leave. He had just stood there and watched it happen.
He had started to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, like snakes were crawling around in his tummy—because why the hell had he let the love of his life walk down the hall and out of school with another guy? Why had he let them make up in the first place? Because single or not he didn't own Rachel—he couldn't control her or tell her who she could or couldn't be friends with.
Finn had felt a little bit better when he got a text from Rachel after football practice.
Sam just gave me a ride home. We talked, it was nice but…I'm not getting back together with him. I thought you should know.
Finn had kept the text in his inbox to look at from time to time to make sure he hadn't dreamt that up or something. He had wanted to go over to her house, his mom had made cherry pie and Rachel loved cherry pie so he wanted to take her a few slices but he hadn't wanted to seem pushy. She needed space and he knew she'd text him if she needed him.
And that was exactly what had happened Friday night.
Rachel texted him to come over around eight-thirty. He rushed downstairs and grabbed his jacket and keys…only to be sideswiped by his mom.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"Oh, uhm…out?"
She raised her one eyebrow. "Hunny, I can see that. Where are you going? It's almost nine."
And once again he was late. "Yeah, I know. Rachel asked me to come over…"
"On a school night?"
"I won't be home past twelve."
"Eleven."
"Deal!" He smiled widely and held out his hand for her to shake.
She smirked softly and shook his head. She took his hand and squeezed it. "Behave Finn, I mean it. I know that house has no parent in it."
Finn nodded. "I promise."
He kissed her cheek and headed out, hearing her yell 'not a minute past eleven!' before he closed the door. He wasn't exactly sure why his mom was letting him go over his ex-girlfriend's house with no parents but it wasn't like he was going to complain. He got in his car and headed to Rachel's. Maybe his mom felt bad for Rachel, like, she knew she needed someone. Or maybe she trusted him to be Rachel's friend—and she could trust him. Both of him could trust him. He could totally think with his upstairs brain.
Finn turned into Rachel's driveway and pulled his keys out. He headed to her front door, not even getting a chance to ring the doorbell before Rachel opened up. She smiled softly at him.
"Hi."
He smiled back. "Hey…how'd you know I was here? You a mind-reader or something? Quick, what number am I thinking of?"
Rachel giggled. "I heard your truck pull into the driveway."
She opened the door a little bit more to make room for his large, awkward frame. He went inside and slid his jacket off, hanging it up by the door.
"Can I get you anything?"
"No, I'm okay. Is your dad home?"
Her face changed instantly. The smile she had had on her face faded in an instant—replaced with worry marks around her mouth and forehead and a frown that made him wish he hadn't asked.
"No," She curled hair around her ear and made her way into her kitchen. He slowly followed her and watched her move around the kitchen—it looked like she was making tea. "He's barely home at night. He comes home during the day to sleep and eat and work on some things for work but…as soon as I'm home from school he heads back to the hospital."
Finn frowned and ran his teeth over his lower lip. That meant Rachel barely got to see her father except when she was at the hospital. She was at school for most of the day when he was home and then he left as soon as she made it home from school. Rachel was home alone, a lot. Finn didn't like that. He especially didn't like that she had to sleep in her house all by herself. He watched Criminal Minds and stuff—he knew bad things could happen. It didn't sit well with him at all that she was alone at night, alarm on or not.
"I think you should come sleep at my house."
Rachel set the kettle on her stove and raised her eyebrows. She smiled softly and leaned her elbows on the counter. "What?"
"I don't…" Finn shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like the idea of you sleeping here by yourself."
"Finn I'm perfectly safe in my own home."
"Yeah," He mumbled. "That's what everyone thinks until something bad happens."
She sighed softly. "My dad would freak and your mom, I'm sure, wouldn't be very happy about it either."
Finn shrugged. "We have a guest room…or you could sleep in Kurt's room, like the sleepovers you guys have. Either way, it has nothing to do with me."
Rachel bit her lower lip. "I don't know…"
"Rach, you don't like being alone here either. I know that's why you texted me asking me to come over."
"Maybe I just wanted someone to watch Indiana Jones with." Rachel smirked and turned, taking her steaming kettle off the stove. She turned the fire off.
"You hate Indiana Jones."
"Yeah, but you don't." She said softly, pouring the hot water into a mug. She dunked her teabag into the water until it turned a light brown color.
Finn rounded the kitchen table and went over to where Rachel was standing. He took one of her hands off her mug and held it in his, gently placing a kiss on the knuckles.
"Hey." She sighed and let the teabag fall into the mug as she turned to look up at him. "You didn't have to pick something I liked…I would have come no matter what you picked to watch."
Rachel smiled softly. "Good…because I want to watch A Walk to Remember."
Finn groaned. He should have known.
0o0o0o0o
Finn came back in with a bowl of popcorn only to find Rachel curled up on the couch, fast asleep. He smiled softly and covered her with a blanket and set the bowl on the table. He ran his hand through her hair before walking back into the kitchen, taking his cell out of his pocket. He didn't have to be home for an hour and a half yet but he really wanted to call him mom and ask about Rachel. She probably wasn't asleep yet. Every Friday night she'd curl up on the couch with Burt and watch a really sappy movie.
She answered around the third ring. "Finn? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah…Rachel fell asleep on the couch. We were watching a movie."
"Oh, okay. How is she?"
Finn sat at the kitchen table and sighed softly, rubbing his forehead. "Sad. Scared." He shook his head. "Her dad is at the hospital every night and…and she's always home alone. I don't…I really don't like her sleeping alone in her house."
His mom gave a small chuckle. "You watch too much TV."
"Mom, I was wondering if she could stay with us…"
His mom sighed—he knew that sound, she was getting ready to give him a lecture and say no. "Hunny…"
"Mom, please. I'll call Mr. Berry and ask him myself but…what if something happens to her when shes all alone up here."
"Finn, I understand you care a lot about her but she's not in house on haunted hill. There are many neighbors around and from what I know about the Berrys I'm sure they are friends with everyone around them. She's safe."
Finn was starting to get angry. "You let Quinn stay with us."
"Her mother kicked her out of her house and she was apparently carrying your baby! What was I supposed to do?"
He rubbed his forehead. "Well, I don't see much of a difference! Her dad's never home, she might as well be out with no place to go."
"Don't be dramatic."
"Mom, please. We have a guest room or she can sleep in Kurt's room. If I ask her dad for his permission, can she sleepover?"
"For how long?"
Finn bit his lip in thought. He had no idea for how long—he hadn't really thought too much into this plan. He couldn't predict if Rachel's daddy was going to get better or worse…or if her dad would start coming home to spend the night with his daughter.
"A few days?" Finn's voice cracked.
He could literally hear his mom run her hand through her hair. She must have pulled the phone away from her ear because he heard her murmuring to Burt.
"Finn?"
"Yeah? I'm still here." He swallowed.
"Ask…her father and have him call me if he wants. I don't want this to sprout any arguments between us, you understand? If her father says no you have to respect his wishes. I don't want him thinking I know what's best for his daughter because I don't."
Finn nodded. "Totally."
His mom sighed. "Call me back."
"Okay, bye." He hung up and bit his lip.
Finn went back into the other room and sat next to Rachel's sleeping form. He needed to wake her up—she needed to be the one to call her dad to ask. And he kinda had to make sure she was even interested in doing this because when he had brought it up in the kitchen she had just looked uncomfortable and changed the subject.
He placed his hand on the small of Rachel's back and rubbed gently. "Rach? Hey, wake up."
Rachel shifted and sat up, rubbing her hands over her face. He chuckled softly as her hair stuck up every which way from being against the pillow. He tried to pat down some of the wild curls in her hair.
She smiled sleepily. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Falling asleep while we watched a movie." She yawned.
He smiled. "I kind of figured you were going to…you were drifting during the previews." He bit his lip. "Rach…did you just invite me over so you could sleep?"
She looked down at his lap. "What do you mean?"
"I know you haven't been sleeping well and I know it's because of your dad but…does it have anything to do with being in your house by yourself."
She sighed. "Sometimes. When the house settles and there's all these creaks and moans, I just…I feel like someone's breaking in or something." She laughed softly to herself. "I'm being silly."
"Not at all. I get that you feel safer with someone here while you slept. When I was little, sometimes I couldn't fall asleep until my mom sat on my bed with me. I, uh," He rubbed the back of his neck. "Was afraid of the dark."
Rachel laughed and looked up at him. "Aw, little Finn sounds cute."
He blushed and shook his head. "What, I'm not cute now?" He asked jokingly, making her playfully run her palm across his cheek.
"No, not at all!" She smacked his chest with a pillow.
"Ow! Geez, for little arms you have a lot of—" He laughed and avoided another swing of her pillow. "Okay, I surrender! Don't make me pick you up and tickle you."
Rachel stopped and smiled, inching over until she was sitting on his lap. Finn swallowed as her arms circled his neck. He tried to keep his lower half perfectly still—he didn't need to be thinking about those little shorts she had on and how many layers were between his bare skin and hers.
He cleared his throat. "Rach? What…"
"Shh…" She murmured, leaning her head closer to his.
Her lips slowly collided with his and he shivered as she ran her thumbs over the back of his neck. Was he dreaming again? Wait—the last kiss that had happened hadn't been a dream at all, it had just felt like one. Which meant…which meant he wasn't dreaming this time either.
His one arm circled her back as the other moved up, his hand cradling the back of her head. Finn pushed his lips into hers, deepening the kiss as much as he could. His one hand started shaking—for fucks sake, why was he so nervous? This wasn't the first time he had kissed Rachel.
She must have felt it or at least realized he was uncomfortable because she pulled back from him, her lips a tinted, sexy pink. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head and licked his lips. "Nothing," He admitted.
Nothing was wrong with her or what they were doing or the kiss in general (it was all so perfect). So what the hell was the matter with him? They were both single and Rachel had assured him that she wasn't getting back together with Sam—so why was this so goddamn difficult?
"I'm sorry." He smiled softly, leaning forward to press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm nervous or something."
She giggled. "Nervous? Why? You've kissed me before, Finn."
But it was…different somehow. "Yeah but…uhm, we're alone in the house and you have these goddamn short shorts on and…and you're on top of me."
Rachel's eyebrows scrunched in confusion until Finn raised his eyebrows at her. Her face lit up in recognition. "Oh." She crawled off him and tried to keep an amused (and flattered) smile off her face. "I'm so sorry, Finn. I had no idea I was affecting you in that way."
He sighed and smiled softly at her. "Yeah, you always do." He blushed softly and she let out a small giggle, ruffling his hair.
"It's perfectly natural, Finn. Don't be embarrassed."
He looked up into her eyes. "Do I…affect you that way?"
She smiled softly and bit her lip, eyes shining with something deep and dark. Arousal. "Definitely." She said softly, her breath shallow.
Finn shifted, his pants getting tighter at the sound of her voice. "Cool." He managed to get out, clearing his throat.
She smiled; pulling one of the pillows she had used to playfully smack him before over her waist. He took her hand into his and held it on the pillow.
"I called my mom and talked to her about you staying over. She said you could stay over a couple nights as long as your dad was okay with it…"
"Finn…"
He smiled softly and ran a hand through her hair. "If you don't want to, don't worry about it. I just wanted to give you the option."
Rachel smiled. "I'll call my dad…Kurt wanting me to sleepover sounds better than you wanting me too."
Finn winked. "But I do."
She giggled. "Stop!"
Rachel reached over and picked up her phone and called her dad. It was late but he figured her father would answer her call no matter what time it was—especially since he wasn't home. He watched Rachel talk on the phone; she'd get these small, soft smiles on her face that made his heart feel all…fluttery and heavy at the same time. He guessed the smiles were from her dad calling her 'peanut' or 'sweetheart'. She twirled her hair around her finger as she spoke to him, mentioning how the empty house was scaring her at night and even though there was an alarm, she was wondering if she could sleep over Kurt's house for a few nights. The smile on her face told him that her dad was saying yes. She hung up the phone and squealed, running over to hug him into the couch.
He laughed and caught her easily, hugging her tightly around her waist.
"My dad said yes! He just has to call your mom and make sure I'll be sleeping in a room that's either with Kurt or—"
"Just…not with me." He smirked and she smiled sheepishly.
"Yes." The smile never left her face. "Thank you, Finn."
Finn smiled softly and leaned forward to place a soft and gentle kiss on her lips. "You don't have to thank me…I didn't really do anything."
Apparently Rachel didn't feel the same way—because she leaned forward to give him another kiss.
O0o0o0o0o00
So…what were they? Were they really close friends who just, like, kissed and stuff? Did that make sense? Rachel wasn't into Sam or getting back together with him and…she gave him these looks sometimes—like she used to give him when they were dating. Finn felt his heart flutter every time. Her eyes connected with his and…it was like she talked to talk to him without saying anything.
Maybe they didn't have to be 'anything' right now. It was too complicated with Rachel's dad in the hospital and Sam taking her to prom (which annoyed Finn more than anything…who the hell was he going to take? Because he sure as hell wasn't taking Quinn). They were friends but they were definitely more than that.
Finn set up the last price card next to the cupcakes Quinn and Puck had made. He licked his lips. Damn he wish he had a dollar…they looked fucking ace. His stomach grumbled.
"Hello, Finn."
Finn jumped and turned around, looking down at the smiling brunette. Crap, what was her name? Emilia? Emily. It was Emily.
"Hey, Emily. Here to buy some cupcakes? They're pretty cheap and for a good cause."
She smiled shyly at him and bit her lip, twisting her hands. "Yeah! I brought some money. My mom said to buy anything that will induce sugar comas."
Finn chuckled. "Your mom is a smart woman."
She blushed. "I was…uhm, wondering if you had a date for prom? I heard you weren't going with Quinn anymore and…I know you like Rachel Berry but," She curled hair around her ear. "We've been in Bio the past two years together as lab partners so, do you think you'd like to go as friends?"
She was right; he'd known her for two years as a lab partner. She was nice and really pretty—long brown hair that curled under her shoulders and freckled skin with piercing green eyes. She wasn't the most popular girl in school—she was made fun of a lot. He'd see her by her locker in one set of clothes in the morning and then by Bio she was in another outfit, which only meant one thing: slushies. He didn't know if she had taunts just as bad as Rachel but he knew she came into Bio looking upset. She obviously had to deal with football douchebags just like Rachel.
He shifted on his feet, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He…wasn't really into going to prom at all—he didn't feel like staring at Rachel all night while she had fun with Sam.
"I dunno, Emily…I wasn't going to go, actually."
"Oh," She looked disappointed…and he felt like an asshole. He could tell that he was her final idea. No one had asked her, not even a friend. So she asked him. "I understand." She gave him a small, soft smile. "Thanks anyways, I'll see you in Bio."
Finn frowned softly as she turned around. He sighed. "Wait, Em." He went up behind her and touched her shoulder, making her turn around. "I'd be honored to go with you."
Her face lit up like a light bulb. "R-really?"
He smiled softly. "Yeah, just…as friends right?"
"Yes, of course." She looked so happy, not even worried that they were just going as friends. The fact that she was going with someone seemed to be good enough. "What color do you think?"
"Huh?"
"For my dress? Whatever flower you get me would be perfect."
He chuckled. "I think you'll look pretty in black. Or maybe a dark green."
Emily blushed. "Thank you so much, Finn. You have no idea how much this means to me."
He was pretty sure he did. "No problem, it'll be a lot of fun." He nodded. "I'll pick you up around seven? You can text me your address."
She smiled widely and nodded. "I'll be back in a little when the bake sale starts."
Finn smiled and watched her leave, breathing out. He didn't want to miss out on prom so, cool, he had a pretty date that only intended on being his friend. So he could focus on Rachel all he wanted and have fun with a nice girl at the same time. Drama free. Thank god.
Mr. Schuester came around the corner into the parking lot, a box of pies in his arms. Finn ran over and helped him with the box.
"Wow, these smell good. I didn't know you baked."
Mr. Schuester smiled. "I don't…this little secret that my mom baked pies for this bake sale will just stay between us, understand?"
Finn chuckled. "Totally." He carried the pies over to the table and set them down.
"How many people do you think are going to turn up?"
Finn bit his lip. They hadn't really told anyone at school other than teachers and the rest of the glee club put up flyers in their community—churches, elementary schools, groceries, hardware stores, and even the hospital etc. Anywhere to get adults involved, because the students of Lima High were not interested in helping Rachel—no matter how dire the situation. He was sure all of them would walk over her dying body for free gum. His fists clenched momentarily.
He cleared his throat. "I hope enough to at least get some money for Rachel." He sighed. "Even a hundred dollars could help."
That was another thing—it turns out you're not allowed to pretend you're raising money for a certain cause and then give the money to something completely different. And I'm too young to go to jail. Even if it was just a small bake sale in Lima (not a grand charity event in New York) they couldn't pretend they were raising money to save the wildlife or bees or some shit like that and then give the money to Rachel for her dad. They had to put on the flyer that the money raised would go to a sick parent in need that was part of the Lima Community. He rubbed the back of his neck. They hadn't put any names on the flyer so he hoped Rachel wouldn't put two and two together until the time was right.
At least Sam had her when most of the setup was being done. He didn't need her buzzing around his ear trying to figure out the hell all of this was for.
"Finn."
Finn turned and saw Quinn approach him, her large curled hair blowing a bit in the wind. "Quinn." He nodded softly.
"I was—"
"Before you can ask, I already have a date to prom so—"
"No, that's not it. I'm going with Puck." She nodded softly. "He asked me this morning."
Finn raised his eyebrows and looked at her—she looked…pleased. Not like she was trying to make him jealous or because Puck was her last resort but genuinely happy. Wow, he hadn't seen her look like that for a while.
"Oh, awesome." He glanced over at Puck before looking back to the small blonde in front of him. "What happened with Lauren?"
"They broke up." She ran her foot over a crack in the pavement. "I was wondering how Rachel was."
He stared at her. Really? Was Quinn, like, replaced with a robot that looked exactly like her because…this just seemed so out of character for her.
"Uh, I…well, as good as to be expected I guess."
"I heard Sam broke up with her."
He nodded softly, trying to busy himself with moving cupcakes around. "Yeah."
"So…"
"So, what?"
"So are you going to go for it? With Rachel, I mean."
Finn slowly turned to look at her. She smiled softly at him—this was so weird. Quinn didn't even try to be his friend when they were dating and now she was asking him how he felt? If he was going to go for and be with someone he loved? Did Puck give her some sort of anti-bitch potion?
"I dunno. I'm trying." He nodded softly and leaned closer to her so he could whisper. "With her dad and everything and she just broke up with Sam…it doesn't feel right."
Quinn bit the inside of her mouth. "When everything was going on with my mom…I know that…" She faltered; it was like whatever she was trying to say was hard for her to admit. "That was when I needed you the most. If Rachel is anything like I think she is…she really needs support right now. Especially from someone she loves as much as you."
Finn's eyes softened as he listened to what Quinn was trying to tell him. He looked up to see Sam's car pulling into the parking lot. He watched Rachel get out of the car, smiling as Sam helped her put her blue sweater on. He looked back at Quinn and squeezed her shoulder.
"I'll keep that in mind, thanks a lot Quinn."
He went past her as Rachel walked towards the parking lot. Her face lit up as she saw him and rushed over to where he was standing. He smiled as her arms went around his waist; he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, placing his lips in her hair. He breathed in the scent of her vanilla shampoo.
"Hey." She said softly, her voice vibrating his chest.
He smiled softly as she pulled back. "Hi. Did you have a nice time with Sam?"
Finn looked up as Sam passed Rachel, looking down at her with a soft smile. He licked his lips and watched him head over to where Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes were and looked at the prices for the cupcakes.
"Yes, it was nice. We got coffee and talked about prom."
He took her hand and started walking slowly with her towards the table of goodies. "Yeah? He excited?" He damn well should have been—he was taking his date (least the one he really wanted to go with).
She smiled as she looked down at their hands interlocked. "Yep," She looked up at him and bumped her arm against his. "I wish I was going with you though."
Finn smiled and looked down at her. "I wish I was going with you too. I found a date; well…she's not exactly a date. She's a friend from Biology and she asked me to go with her. I think I was her last resort."
"Oh." Rachel said quietly.
"Save me a dance though?" He asked, stopping and tugging her arm up. She giggled as he spun her in a circle.
"Definitely!"
Finn chuckled and put his arm around her as they headed to the cookie table.
O0o0o0o
Finn counted the cash in the tin box as the rest of the glee club ate leftover cookies and helped clean up the parking lot. If he was counting correctly, they had raised over five-hundred dollars…which was a lot more than he had expected to get. His hands were shaking as he put the money back into the tin and securely closed it before the wind could pick up and blow the cash away. He couldn't believe that the Lima Community showed up like it had to support the bake sale like that.
Rachel came over and sat next to him, touching his knee. "Hi."
He looked up at her and smiled. "So, how are the worker bees?"
She chuckled. "You better get over there before they retaliate since you're not helping."
"I'm the money counter!"
"Oh," She laughed. "Is that what you're doing over here? How much did we raise?"
"Five-hundred."
She gasped, making him smile. "Oh wow! That…that's amazing. I can't even imagine what that money could do for someone. Who are we donating it to? I don't remember if it was even decided. I just heard there was a bake sale…never got to see a flyer." She smiled softly.
Finn bit his lip…it was now or never. "Yeah, Rach. I have to tell you something."
She swallowed and looked nervous all of a sudden. "Oh, okay. Is it…something bad?"
"No! No." He shook his head and a little bit of relief flooded her face. "I uh, this money is actually for you."
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. He swallowed, looking over her face. She just…looked confused.
"What?" She asked softly. "How could the money be for me?"
"It was my idea to put together the bake sale. The flyer said it was for helping someone sick in the community…it was for your dad Rach, to help with the bills or…I dunno, I just needed to help."
He just couldn't take how much all this was affecting her—how much pain she was in, how it made her cry and unbearably sad and how it made her feel so hopeless.
Finn hadn't been able to look into her eyes until he finished explaining…when he finally got the courage to meet her eyes with his, tears had been rapidly gathering in her soft, brown, eyes. Her lower lip wobbled and panic started to fill his entire body.
"Oh, Rachel." He scooted closer to her to hug her but she put a hand on his chest. He looked around at his other teammates to see if any were looking over at them but they were all pre-occupied with something else. "I'm sorry, don't…don't be mad. I was just—"
"No, I'm not mad," She managed to choke out, tears starting over her lashes and plopping onto her blue skirt. Her breath hiccupped in her chest and he watched her continue to check to her right to make sure no one was watching her break down like this. "I'm…Finn, thank you so much, I can't—"
Tears over took her speech and her body folded into his. He gathered her into his arms and smiled softly as she cried into his chest, his heart touched at her tender and overwhelmed words. Her hands gripped his shirt as he rubbed circles into her shoulders. This wasn't exactly how he expected things to go—he hadn't wanted to make her cry but at least he knew these were good tears.
"Hey, no, shh. Don't. I wanted to do this; you don't have to thank me. Besides, it wasn't just me. The entire glee club helped too." As she pulled back he cupped her face, smiling softly at her. "You can thank them later when you face isn't all wet with tears."
She let out a soft laugh as his thumbs ran over her cheekbones. She brought her hands up to rest against his hands on her cheeks. He leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead.
"Let's get over there and get some cupcakes before Puck eats them all!"
She giggled as he gently yanked her up from her seat and held onto her as they walked over to the rest of the glee club.
O0o0o0o0o
Alright :) thank you so much everyone for reading and reviewing! I'm going to school tomorrow so I will update as soon as I always can! Thanks again and hope you enjoyed!