CHAPTER 47
"Yeah, actually. Please let him know that it's Jared, his recruiter, and that his paperwork went through. We would like to offer him an enlistment in the U.S Army starting August 1st, and he needs to sign the final contract any time in the next two months…"
Bella's head started spinning. She felt like she was about to pass out. Her face had gone pale, and her mouth had run bone-dry. Tears sprang to her eyes.
"OK, thank you. I'll let him know." She said, forcing herself to keep it together until she hung up the phone. Once she was off the phone, she started to sob. She couldn't keep it together - the love of her life not only wanted to leave her, but wanted to spend the next few years of his life getting shot at by some of the worst people in the world. At that moment, Finn walked into the room and when he saw Bella crying, he ran over.
"Babe! Are you OK? What's going on?" He asked, extremely concerned about his girlfriend, who was sobbing her eyes out. Bella's sadness suddenly switched to a burst of anger, and she stood up and slapped him hard across the face. The sound of her hand making contact with his face rang out like a bomb and echoed through the house. Finn, taken by surprise, stumbled back, confusion written all over his face. Upon hearing the slap, George rushed into the room.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, and then took in the scene. "What in god's name is happening?"
Realisation suddenly took over Finn.
"You know… I think… I think Bella found out about my next year's plans." Finn replied. Bella's eyes widened and she turned to George.
"YOU KNEW? AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Bella screamed, lunging at George. Finn grabbed her around the waist and held her back. Finn mouthed the word 'LEAVE' to George, and George didn't have to be told twice. He ran out the room, and then Bella turned to Finn.
"Are you serious, Finn? The Army? If you want to break up with me, just do it. Don't join the Army! Please." Bella begged and Finn's heart shattered. Seeing Bella so upset literally killed him.
"Babe, I'm not kidding. It's been in the works for the past month."
"A MONTH! Why didn't you tell me?" She cried.
"It's not confirmed yet. My recruiter should be calling in the next little while to confirm that I passed the application process. Wait, how did you find out about this?" Finn asked, confused.
"Your recruiter called. He said that you've been accepted. And you can come in to sign the contract any time in the next month. But you're not going to sign it! I won't let you!"
Finn sighed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, babe. I've gotta do this."
"You could get yourself killed Finn Hudson! And PTSD! Your own father suffered from it after serving in the Army!" Bella said in a panic.
"Bella, I could get hit by a bus in downtown Lima tomorrow. I'm doing this for the future. Our future."
"If you do this, we may not have a future. Finn, you're the most important person in the world to me. I can't lose you. You can apply to other colleges. You can apply for grants, and scholarships, and college loans. You could stay here in Lima and work in Kurt's dad's tire shop. Or you could come with me! We could get a bigger apartment. That would be so perfect!"
"And do what while you're in class or studying? I'm not going to ride your coattails for the rest of my life! I have to be my own man. I want to do something that makes me feel good about myself. I want to do something I'm proud of!"
"I'm already so proud of you. You don't need to go off to a war and get yourself killed or shot up," Bella begged as the tears increased. "How long are you even gone for."
"Not too long. Just until you finish college, so four years."
"4 YEARS?! I can't believe this is happening right now-ow-ow!" She sobbed. Finn could only comfort his girlfriend. He honestly thought that he was going to break and just give in to Bella's pleas. Bella sat on his lap, on his bed, sobbing uncontrollably into his embrace as he rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her down. He could feel his heart clenching in his chest at the sound of her heaving breaths, and his shirt was soaked with her tears. She fell silent, crying endlessly, collapsing into herself as he held her tightly.
He'd never seen her cry like this before. He had seen Bella scream, rage, storm out, and pout, but she never hysterically cried like this before. At least, not in front of him. He barely knew what to do. So he just held her and let her cry it all out.
"Shh, Bella, It'll be okay." He didn't think it was possible, but she started to cry even more. A harsh, sharp sob of hysteria escaped her lips as she clutched his shirt in her fists.
"How can you say that? How can you say that you going to the Army is okay?" She looked up at him and her eyes were bloodshot and liquid with tears. "You don't know that, Finn. I can't even begin to think about what could happen to you."
"Don't, Bella, I'm going to be fine." He rubbed her back in soothing circles that had little to no effect on her hysteria.
"You don't know that! Anything could happen Finn, it's war! You know how bad things have been getting over there in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It just keeps getting worse!" He knew deep down she was right; terrorist activity had been increasing steadily over the year, which was the main reason the Army needed recruits.
"Bella, I didn't get into school. You know that. I don't have any other choice."
"Of course you have a choice! You could find a trade, get a job, do something in Lima."
"I refuse to be stuck in Lima pumping gas and changing tires when I could be making something out of myself." He held her close to him, kissing her face in every spot he could reach. He kissed her temples and her hair. He kissed the tears that trailed down her face. He kissed her full, pouting lips, petal-soft and sweet like honey. "Bella, I'm doing this for us. For our future. I refuse to hold you back. When I get back, I'll go to school, and we can start a life together. You'll see. It'll all be perfect, I have it all planned out."
"But life doesn't always go as planned, Finn. We've been together for a while now, and you should know by now that you could never hold me back. I love you."
"I love you too, Bella. But I can't just sit by and watch all my friends move on without me. I have to move on as well. And then we can be together, I promise."
"I love you so much, Finn Hudson." She murmured into his now wet shirt.
"I love you too, baby. Don't you ever forget it."
"So when do you leave?" Bella asked, sniffling.
"August 1st." Finn replied. "I did it so we'd be able to spend the summer together before we both leave."
"That's great. I'm going to spend so, so, so much time with you until you leave!" Bella exclaimed. Finn laughed.
"I think I can live with that." He joked, and the two of them fell back on the bed, their dinner plans long forgotten.
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"Ok guys. You guys ready for today's rehearsal?" Mr. Schue asked during the next morning's rehearsal. Finn suddenly stood up. It was time to tell the Glee club. He had spoken to his recruiter in detail right after talking to Bella, and he had found out that he had officially been offered a spot in the United States Army, and when he came in to sign his contract, he would endure a final medical examination and be fitted for his fatigues. Because his enlistment was all but confirmed, he decided that it was time to tell the rest of the Glee club. He knew that Santana, Liam and Harry in particular would not take it very well.
"Um… Mr. Schue? Can I say something real quick?." Finn said. Mr. Schue raised an eyebrow.
"Sure, the floor is yours." He said, stepping aside. Finn nodded and walked to the front of the room. He then faced the choir room. Everyone but George and Bella sported faces of confusion.
"Guys, I have an announcement." Finn started, but was immediately cut off by the New Directions guessing what the announcement was.
"You got a scholarship?" Puck guessed. Finn shook his head.
"You got a record deal?" Kurt guessed. Finn laughed.
"Dude, I wish. No, I haven't been given a record deal."
"You and Bella got hitched?" Tina guessed.
"What? NO!" Bella and Finn both said simultaneously.
"You're pregnant?" Brittany guessed, decisively. Everyone fell silent and looked at Brittany. Finn laughed.
"Britt, you calling me fat?" Finn asked, looking down at his torso, which was completely shredded; not a gram of fat was there.
"No, I think that she genuinely thinks you could be pregnant." Santana said. "Britt, guys can't get pregnant."
"Wait really?" Brittany asked, stupidly. Everyone put their heads in their hands.
"Anyways, what was your announcement?" Quinn asked. Finn took a deep breath.
"Ok. As you know, I don't have much, well any, money to spend on college, and I didn't get a football scholarship. I don't want to be stuck in Lima for the rest of my life pumping gas at the side of the highway, so I've decided to take action. I'm getting out of here, and there's one way that I'll be able to do that. I'm enlisting for a 4 year stint in the Army, starting right after graduation. After I get discharged, provided I'm not killed in combat, the Army will pay for my college tuition so I'll be able to get an education."
Nobody spoke. They all had different reactions, ranging from admiration to worry, to full-on depression in the cases of Liam, Harry and especially Santana. Santana actually stormed out of the room, tears in her eyes. Brittany immediately stood up to go after her girlfriend, but Finn gently held her back.
"Britt, is it okay if I go after her, in a minute? It's my fault she's pissed after all."
Brittany nodded and sat back down. People started asking Finn rapid-fire questions.
"When did you decide to enlist?" Sam asked.
"Last month. You all were talking about college, and I knew that this would be a way out of Lima. I went to the town hall and spoke to a recruiter."
"When did you tell Bella? You've clearly already told her otherwise she would be a lot more pissed." Kurt commented. Bella and Finn laughed.
"Yeah, um… I told Bella last night. She handled it surprisingly well, given the circumstances. George is the first person I told though. I told him like a couple of weeks ago. Look, I'll answer the rest of you another time. I'm going to go find Santana."
Finn left the room and walked around the whole school, looking for Santana. She wasn't in any of the classrooms, the basketball court, auditorium, or anywhere else. Finally, Finn walked outside and checked the fields. He saw a latina Cheerio sitting high up in the bleachers and he walked up to her.
"Hey." Finn said, simply. He didn't quite know what to say, and he was hoping that Santana would steer the conversation.
"Why?" Santana asked. "Why are you joining the Army, Finn?"
A few tears splashed onto her Cheerios skirt. Finn put a comforting arm around her and he hugged her tightly.
"Santana, I'm sorry. This is what I want to do. What I need to do. The Army will give me a way out of Lima, and a way to earn a college education. It will give me a chance to fight for the States, and finally give me the opportunity to be good at something."
"I understand that, but the Army? Seriously? There's nothing else you could have done. I can lend you money for college. I've saved up quite a bit, and I'm sure I can borrow some from my family."
Finn smiled faintly at her.
"That's really kind of you, but I don't think so. I genuinely want to do this. And it's not like I'm going to be completely isolated from you guys. Sure there will be some rough days, but I'll still have a phone and I can talk to you guys. You're like my sister. I love you"
Santana gave him a crushing hug, and Finn felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulder. He had finally told everyone about his future. He was going to fight for this country, like a damn hero. But first, he was going to fight for the New Directions in the upcoming Regionals. That needed to be his main focus.
A/N
I am planning to, after I finish this story, write a sequel, which is a five years later story. It will contain the same characters but with huge plot twists. My question to you guys is should I just tack the story onto the end of this one, or should I use a new story and call it Part 2? P.M or review your recommendations.