CHAPTER 12

"You know who she is?" Quinn asked, astonished. "But you weren't even at the wedding."

"Actually, I kind of… was."

"What?"

"Well, after the newscast, I was so excited I decided to surprise Finn by going to the reception and I saw him…

The night before…

Santana walked into the building, a huge smile on her face. Her newscast had gone great, and she couldn't wait to surprise Finn! But when she turned the corner and peered into an otherwise deserted room, she saw Finn leaning in to kiss another girl. Tears sprang to Santana's eyes and she silently retreated out of the room, sprinting to the bathroom, where she let the tears flow.

"Oh, damn it!" Santana told herself as she sniffed back tears during her sobs. She NEVER cried and she absolutely hated it. "Oh, stop it! What the hell!"

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom swung open and Santana heard a faint knock on the door.

"Hello? Are you okay in there?" The girl asked, standing outside the cubicle. Through the crack at the bottom, Santana spied a pair of gorgeous brown high heels with snowflakes on them.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." Santana replied, her voice dangerously wavering. "Um… just allergies or something. I'm fine."

"Listen, do you… want to come and cry out here?" The girl asked, kindly. "I've been told I'm an excellent hugger."

"Oh, thanks. Um, but I don't actually cry in front of people or… cry at all, for that matter. Oh, man, it's gross! Does everyone snot up this much when they cry?"

"Hey, you're speaking to a fellow snotter." The girl replied. "So, why are you crying?"

Back to present day…

"Because you have feelings for Finn!" Quinn exclaimed.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Santana mumbled.

"Okay, what is wrong with the two of you?!" Quinn cried. "Seriously! He likes you and you like him. And j-j-just be together! Cheese Louise! Happiness is not that difficult!"

"Look, okay, yes. I cried in the bathroom and that… was weird. But that doesn't mean I'm in love with the guy. The fact is, I-I don't know how I feel."

"Yes, you do! Seeing him with someone else and crying about it? Guess what? That's how you feel! That is nothing but how you feel."

"Okay, fine. I have feelings for him. Happy?"

"Kinda, yeah." Quinn smiled.

"But it doesn't change anything. I still don't want to get married and he's still… Finn. What I should do is tell him who Rachel is so he can be happy."

"Or you could tell him that you're into him and then you could both be happy."

"I'm going to go find him." Santana said, picking up her bag.

"Well, wait! Which one are you going to tell him?" Quinn asked.

"I have no idea…"

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"And here's the most amazing part:" Puck said, bragging about his sexual conquests the night before to Sam and Finn. "Because I told her I'd converted all my money to India dollars, she gave me 50 bucks to take a cab to the airport. That's right! I just got paid for sex! I really should give this money to the Peace Corps. They've done so much for me lately."

Santana and Quinn walked into the bar and over to the booth moments later.

"Hey guys." Santana said.

"Hey." They replied.

"Um, Finn, can I talk to you outside for a second? What's up?" Finn asked.

"Um… I, uh, I have something to tell you." She said. Suddenly, as the began to walk away, Finn's phone rang.

"Oh… uh…" Finn said.

"Just get it." Santana said and Finn nodded and lifted the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Finn? It's Stuart. My lovely bride would like to say something to you." He said, before handing the phone to Claudia. Claudia's voice, significantly calmer, came through moments later.

"Finn…" She said softly. "I'm sorry I hung up on you earlier. My new husband, and the 3 vodka cranberries I just downed have helped me realise that sometimes, I can act like a crazy person. And I don't want my new husband to think I'm a crazy person."

"It's fine, Claudia. Don't worry about it." Finn replied. "Oh, um, Sam wanted to know where you guys got that cake. He can't stop talking about. He's absolutely obsessed."

Claudia laughed.

"The cake? We got it at this little bakery downtown. It's called the Buttercup Bakery."

The phone slipped out of Finn's hand and hit the ground. 'Buttercup'. Rachel's fake name. Her not being on the guest list. It all made sense now. She made the cake!

"She made the cake." Finn declared to his friends. "The Buttercup Bakery! She wasn't on the guest list because she wasn't a guest. She made the cake!"

"She made that cake? Finn, this is the girl! You gotta marry her! Today. She has to move in with us!" Sam exclaimed, excitedly.

"I'm going down to that bakery." He stated.

"No, no! Don't do it!" Quinn said.

"Baby, what are you talking about?!" Sam shouted.

"Yeah, all day long, you have been busting my apple-bag about finding this girl." Finn remarked.

"Well, I-I just think that maybe she's not that into you. And-and that's why she didn't give you her number." Quinn stammered, looking for an excuse but failing. "Santana? Care to chime in with anything?"

"Yes. Finn… Go get her." She said.

"Going! Getting!" Finn exclaimed.

"Oh, my God! I love this moment!" Puck commented. "You know why? You know why? 'Cause I'm going to say it, and this time, you're actually going to say yes. You ready? You ready to say yes? Finn, SUIT UP!" He yelled.

"Yes!" Finn replied. "Wait, no!"

"Oh, come on!" Puck yelled.

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Finn was sitting in the cab with his friends, extremely nervous. He hadn't been this nervous since he went to Santana's that night, so long ago, and he was having flashbacks.

"Well, this is it. Buttercup bakery." Quinn announced.

"Good luck, dude. Grab me a cupcake." Sam said. Finn didn't move.

"Finn? You still with us, buddy?" Puck asked.

"To our dying days, we'll remember everything about that night as perfect. Maybe we both need that. I mean, so many things go wrong in life but this is one thing that never will. It will always be pure unadulterated awesome. And if I walk in there, I'm robbing both of us of…"

"The meter's running, dude! Crap or get off the pot!" Puck exclaimed. Finn jumped out of the cab.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going!" He said, walking towards the bakery. Through the window, he saw her icing a batch of cupcakes. Finn smiled and opened the door, causing a little bell to ring. Rachel turned around and when she saw him, her face filled with relief.

"Oh, thank God!" She exclaimed rushing over to him and flying into his arms, kissing him passionately.