Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the plot!
Author's Note: HOORAY! YIPPEE! HAPPY DAYS! Here I am with an update! *roaring applause* I'm so sorry it took so long but thank you SO much for all your amazing support. You guys are amazing! ENJOY this chapter...it's for all of you!
"I feel stunning
And entrancing
Feel like running
And dancing for joy
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy..."
She looks out into the sea of spectators, clutching the zipper to her sweater tightly. She spots plenty of ex-Cheerios in the crowd who all seem to stare at her but before she can feel insecure, Kurt is dragging her up the bleachers and away from the girls. Blaine flanks her other side and Mercedes and Tina trail behind them, creating a human shield for her.
How long has it been since she's attended a McKinley basketball game? A year? It feels like ages.
There isn't a classification for how she feels at the moment. When Finn told her that there was a basketball game after school and she didn't have to come if she didn't feel like it, she knew she wanted to be there for him. But she never really prepared for the possibilities.
Awkward. Out of place. A bit insecure. The only word she can think of is uncomfortable.
She and Finn are stronger than ever, conquering a lot of things they hadn't the first time they were together and this is another thing they need to get past: sporting events. Tons of popular people are there and it's natural for her to feel uneasy. She just has to stay strong. For herself. For Finn. For them.
She wears his McKinley shirt with his name and number sported on it underneath her sweater but hesitates to show it for the school to see. The last time she wore her 'Team Finn' shirt, he had been mortified. She doesn't want to embarrass either of them again. But then again, he gave this to her.
"Aren't you gonna take your sweater off?" Mercedes asks, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She purses her lips for a moment in deliberation. "Maybe later" she murmurs, sinking down to a sitting position. "I'm a bit cold."
Tina and Blaine give her a weird look but Kurt only nods, changing the subject to the latest episode of America's Next Top Model. She sends him a thankful smile and he winks knowingly in return.
Scanning the crowd again, her eyes meet with the piercing -and now too familiar- green-hazel ones. Those eyes that had been puncturing her for the last two days. Any time Quinn would see her and Finn together, her icy glare would remain on them. It was extremely unsettling.
She's ready to stare the girl down but Quinn looks away first, turning to the girl next to her. And she's floored when she sees who it is.
Santana Lopez.
Suspicion and fear creeps down her spine as she watches the girls exchange whispers. Why would Quinn and Santana be talking? They're not friends. They hate each other.
They're up to something.
She feels queasy watching the ex-Cheerios, knowing that whatever they're going to do, it won't be good. And she's definitely the target.
"You okay, Rachel?" Tina inquires, gaining her attention. "You look petrified."
Gulping and tearing her eyes away from the two girls, she nods. "I'm fine, thanks."
Tina quirks her eyebrow in curiosity and exchanges a perplexed glance with Mercedes but she sends them a smile, joining in on the conversation and trying to ignore Quinn and Santana's eyes that prickle her back.
The buzzer sounds and she gets to her feet along with the rest of the crowd, cheering and whooping as the teams emerge from the change rooms, starting to warm up. She claps excitedly until remembering that she needs to remain in the shadows, slowing her hands. Spotting Finn among the gangly basketball players, she watches his eyes scour the crowd. A lot of girls wave at him, including Quinn and Santana, but he doesn't notice, his eyes finally finding her. She offers him a timid smile and wave and he beams brightly, returning the gesture eagerly as she blushes. Her fears melt away and she deflects all of the steely glowers, blowing him a kiss and giggling when he pretends to catch it. He gives her one more large, goofy grin and points at her before jogging away to warm up. She feels warm.
Kurt nudges her shoulder playfully in a kind of "I told you so" manner and she rolls her eyes, sending him a smirk. Sitting back down, she keeps her eyes glued to him as they are called in by Coach Beiste for a pre-game speech. He looks smoking in his basketball uniform, his shoulders broad and strong, his arms muscular and sculpted. Memories of their intimate day flood her mind and she feels her stomach churn with anticipation for the night they can replay it. Those Cheerios have never seen Finn the way she has. Santana never got to bask in the glory of his perfect body and his loving touch (Finn told her he didn't even get his shirt off when they had sex). Quinn has never kissed him or touched him like she has. She relishes in that fact. She got to touch his perfect body under that uniform. He touched her tenderly in a way no one else ever would. In your bitchy faces.
She can't help but smile smugly when she feels Quinn's jealous glare on her, twirling a strand of her hair on her finger and sending Finn a lustful and loving gaze. He leers back, his expression fervent and sexy. She wants to tangle her fingers in his thick hair and kiss him hard. But she has all the time to do so.
And Quinn can eat it.
(&)
She has a difficult time keeping up with the game, as she did with football as well, because it seems like every other minute the referee is calling a foul or something. She has so many questions but nobody she's sitting with really understands it either. The only thing she can decipher is that Finn is really quite good. Every time he gets the ball in the net (she thinks it's called a basket or something), he sends her a smile. She already felt awkward going in but Quinn and Santana are making her even more tense with the whispers, snickers and glances. But she's enjoying herself nonetheless.
The buzzer sounds again and she sighs, wondering what's supposed to happen now. Apparently it's half-time and McKinley's down by 2. Finn catches her eye and gestures for her to come down and she blushes, telling her friends she'd be back later, ignoring the knowing look Kurt gives her and the icy one Quinn does, skipping down the bleachers toward him.
"Hey babe" he greets softly, taking her hand and pulling her away from the buzzing crowd to a secluded area in the corner. Everyone's attention is diverted to the other team's cheerleaders who are doing their half-time routine so he quickly and greedily presses his lips to hers.
"Hi" she giggles, feeling her back press into the wall and his arms wind around her waist.
He leers, making her breath catch in her throat. His hair is ruffled and damp, the muscles of his arms slick and strong. He looks so sexy. "So, are you liking the game so far?"
"Yah" she answers with a smile. "I don't understand much but I like watching you."
"Well when we get the ball in the hoop, we get points.
She glares weightlessly at him, smirking. "I get that much, thank you" she says matter-of-factly. "But I don't understand how in basketball, this-" She taps his forearm. "-Is a 'foul' or something whereas in football, you get brutally tackled and the referee person doesn't call it a 'foul'. Why is that?"
"I don't know" he replies airily, his tone amused and affectionate. "Maybe you should write a letter to the NBA and the NFL and ask why they are allowing such astrology."
"It's atrocities" she says with a laugh before slapping his chest lightly. "And Finn Hudson, are you making fun of me?"
"No way, baby" he chortles, squeezing her tighter. "You're adorable, you know that?"
She glowers playfully at him as he kisses her pouting lips, melting her mock defences. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she opens her mouth willingly to his, swallowing his soft groan as her lower body presses into him. He tastes like Gatorade and Finn and she hums quietly, running her fingers through his damp hair.
Her blood is on fire and she forgets about where they are when his fingers slide the zipper of her sweater down. She grips his bicep hard, mewling in need as he pulls away. Frowning in surprise, she pries her eyes open to see his gaze focused on her chest. She's ready to blush and tell him to touch her but then she remembers that they're in a small corner behind the bleachers in a packed gymnasium where anybody could see them. That's when she realizes he's looking at the t-shirt under her sweater.
"I like this" he breathes, towing the material away to further expose the Hudson #5 on the shirt. "Why don't you take your sweater off?"
She feels her face get hot as she looks down sheepishly. "I-I...I didn't want to embarrass you" she admits.
"You could never embarrass me, Rach" he murmurs, kissing her delicately. She meets his eye to see honesty. "I want everybody to see that I belong to you."
"And I belong to you" she whispers genuinely, placing her hand on his chest. He smiles adoringly at her and she reaches up to meet his lips. "Thank you, Finn."
"No problem, gorgeous" he says, holding her closer.
Before he can say another word or resume their kiss, Coach Beiste is calling everyone in. He sighs in disappointment and annoyance as she giggles, caressing his face gently. "Go on, handsome" she purrs. "Go get your sexy butt back on that court."
He leers, slithering his hand dangerously low down her back. "Am I turning you on, baby?"
"Yes and if you don't go soon, I'm gonna drag you to the nearest janitor's closet."
He chuckles huskily, kissing her hotly and slowly, making her stomach flip and burn. "Funny" he muses aloud. "'Cause you're turning me on, too. You have no idea how badly I wanna give you a love bite."
With that, he takes her hand as they walk together into the public eye and she almost wants to slap him for being so irresistible. He leads her toward the bleachers and she's about to go back to her seat but he pulls her to him and kisses her hard in front of the crowd that roars. She feels like she might burst.
They break apart breathlessly and he whispers his love for her before pecking her swollen lips one last time, jogging back to his teammates that all clap him on the back and Coach Beiste who rolls her eyes in amusement. She watches him go in awe, frozen for a brief moment as her body tingles. He's too hot for his own good.
Floating back up to her seat, she greets the group brightly as they all smirk at her. She removes her sweater, displaying the grey t-shirt for everyone to see as she whistles and applauds as the team returns to the court. He beams at her and she feels on top of the world.
She can't resist meeting Quinn's eye that sears with jealously and anger and Santana's that are read as deriding but really contain rage. She doesn't understand Santana's angle, considering she's (obviously) in love with Brittany. But she has the feeling she'll find out soon.
For now, she can relish in their defeat.
(&)
The game ends with McKinley winning 64-59, Finn playing spectacularly by scoring the last few points to win the game. She had to tamper the passion in her congratulatory kiss at the end, considering Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes and Tina had been standing right there but it was still wonderful. They had gotten teased about being a rated R version of Troy and Gabriella but it didn't faze them. Finn just dipped her and kissed her firmly as their friends all groaned jokingly.
He's in the change room now so she sits alone by the door, humming to herself idly. She had bid farewell to the group mere minutes ago but Kurt still texts her, gushing about Blaine. She's so happy for them.
"Ugh...did you see that smug, stupid face of hers?"
She freezes, startled by the controlling tone and echoing familiar voice. Her suspicion and curiosity rises and she gets silently to her feet, slinking down the narrow hallway of the change rooms toward the court. Hiding behind the wall, she peeks to see Quinn and Santana standing in the centre of the court. He stomach churns.
"I know" Santana groans shrilly.
"One of these days I'm gonna punch that smug face of hers in" Quinn growls. "I'd love to see man hands with a shiner."
She resists the urge to snarl. She can't believe Quinn sometimes.
"Calm down, Barbie" Santana commands. "For a queen bee, you're severely uneducated in the field of keeping your cool. I thought you were gonna blow everything and burn holes through RuPaul's face by how much you were glaring at her."
"Shut up" the blond barks loudly, her voice bouncing off the walls.
"Be quiet" Santana hisses back. "You're even worse than I thought. Stop being so damn obvious about it. Treasure Trail's an annoying dwarf but she's smart. She probably suspects something already. I'm the expert here so listen to me."
"The only thing you have expertise on is how to cover up the fact that you're a closeted lesbo" Quinn says wryly.
"Shut up, bimbo" the girl growls lowly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You came to me with this so shut your big, fat mouth."
They glare at each other for an intense moment. She knew their partnership had to be tense. They loathe each other.
"Look" Quinn says with a huff. "The only reason I'm doing this is so that I can get Finn back and we can be prom King and Queen-"
"Maybe you should sing 'The ballad of Sara Berry' instead" Santana snorts. "You're insane and you're willing to kill man hands for it, right? I could see that happening."
"Shut up" the blond orders.
"Down on your knees before the queen" Santana sings mockingly. "You taste the silver, Quinn, you taste the crown. You thirst for blood from the roses in hand-"
Quinn shoves her -hard- effectively ending her deriding song. Santana's eyes spark with anger and she expects a full-on cat fight to break out but before Santana can strike, Quinn continues. "If we keep bitching at each other, RuPaul is going to get Finn and all the attention. Once I get Finn back and prom queen and you get all the attention and support back from the whole school, we can both resume hating each other but still running the school. Are we clear?"
"Yah, yah" Santana dismisses with a wave of her hand. "Just try not to ruin the entire song tomorrow...I'm the one with talent."
"Don't worry" Quinn says, her expression smooth like stone. "Everyone will still be able to hear your squawking and see your huge head."
"So Quinn's sanity was hung by a thread, her BFF's proclaimed her socially dead. Till then, at last, her boyfriend texted and said: 'I'm taking Rachel to the senior prom'..."
"Stop" Quinn whines dramatically. "My ears are bleeding!"
"Oh, my Gosh you're so funny, Quinn" Santana crows sarcastically. "I have a cramp from not laughing."
Their voices begin to fade as the depart from the gym, the echoes of their conversation ringing in her ears. Her stomach twists and her head hurts. She knows three things after that dialogue:
One- Quinn and Santana want to destroy her.
Two- They're going to sing something in Glee Club despite their detest of each other...they want to destroy her that badly.
Three- They are totally bitches...but she already knew that.
The realization makes her sick.
"I wish I could tie you up in my shoes
Make you feel unpretty too
I was told I was beautiful
But what does that mean to you
Look into the mirror who's inside there
Find the reflection you see to be so damn unpretty..."
AN#2: Ooh...suspense! What are Quinn and Santana up to? I love writing Quinn and Santana bitchy dialogue...not as much as writng hot and heavy Finchel but it's still fun! Ha ha
Song credits were: 'I feel so pretty' from West Side Story and 'Unpretty' by TLC...I think they're supposed to be in the actual show too as a duet between Quinn and Rachel but *shrugs* i dunno :P
THANKS FOR READING, PLEASE REVIEW AND LOVE TO ALL!