A/N: This chapter is a bit short but I'm using it to prep for the next chapter which should definitely be longer and feature someone finally figuring out something is off. I think I'm leaning towards a Pezberry pairing at this point. I was hoping for a couple more reviews before I posted this but I appreciate the follows and the favorites! I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and playing around with the creepy stuff.
I have been thinking of experimenting with other POV's. Maybe of others noticing what is happening with Rachel or planning on intervening etc. I might try that next chapter depending on how this chapter goes.
Note: Only about a week has gone by in this fic. She broke up with Finn on Monday and it is now Saturday. I have been going day by day (sometimes two chapters to cover one day) to show how persistent the mystery person is being.
…
They spent hours at the mall laughing and enjoying themselves. They didn't buy very much, but they didn't have to. Kurt had picked out a couple of pieces that he thought would compliment Rachel's wardrobe and she had to agree that they were both professional and appealing. She had always wanted to start her career based on her talent and not for her ability to best highlight her body. She didn't see anything wrong with that but it wasn't something she was interested in showing off unless it was for a performance. That had maybe translated too hard into clothes that were…interesting. She could definitely see the merit in enhancing her look rather than changing it, though, and Kurt was good at figuring out how to do that.
When he wasn't trying to sabotage her, that was; she thought with a quiet laugh to herself.
Once Finn had figured out what exactly a mani/pedi was, he disappeared into the arcade for an hour saying he couldn't get one of those cause the guys would think he was gay. As he walked off, leaving Kurt with a hurt look on his face, the gay teen snapped 'As if that would be the worst thing in the world' and turned on his heel to enter the spa, daring the other girls to say a word.
None of them did.
Finn caught up with them again as they were leaving, chatting eagerly together like they hadn't just spent hours doing the same. None of them broke conversation to include him and he just followed along silently, listening.
Rachel felt like she was soaring. She couldn't remember ever enjoying a day like that. No one had made a single negative comment about her ego or attitude the entire time. Despite Kurt's comment about her clothes, she knew he only meant them as friendly teasing instead of the sneering jeers that they used to be.
The knowledge that she had real friends, finally, settled on her chest warmly. Even Finn's presence hadn't been able to put too much of a damper on her mood. Tina had been nothing but bright smiles,
standing between her and Finn protectively so that he never really got close to her. They had kept her engaged in the conversation and didn't exclude her or talk over top of her and it felt so comfortable and natural. How had she been missing this for years? She was glad they'd all grown up together and that it drew them closer instead of driving them further apart.
As they reached the front doors, headed towards the parking lot, Finn placed a hand on her arm. She paused, letting everyone continue walking ahead of them.
"Yes?" She asked him, looking down at the hand on her arm and then back up to him slowly.
He removed his hand hastily like he'd been burned. "Can we talk, please?" The pleading look on his face always crumpled her resolve so easily and she hated that.
"Are you coming?" Mercedes asked plainly, her tone leaving no doubt that she meant they better hurry.
"Yes, of course!" Rachel nodded her head and started walking again. "We can talk later, Finn." She promised him, not looking back to see his reaction.
She hoped he wouldn't take her up on that but she knew better.
…
Rachel left her friends in the mall parking lot and sat in her car for a minute, staring at the bags in the backseat. Her fingernails and her toenails were freshly painted and Kurt had picked out a wonderful silk under blouse for the pinstripe jacket she was loving at the moment. It had been a pleasant day, but it had felt like an entirely different world. Now, she had to go back home to an empty house and wonder if there was someone looking through her windows and watching her move.
She pulled her phone out of her purse and stared at it. She had put it on silent and shoved it in there, successfully able to ignore it for the entire day but since she was coming back to reality, she might as well look.
She had a message from Noah, a message from Brittany, and three messages from the unknown number.
Noah: 'Wats good babe? Party at urs? Plz say yes!
Brittany: 'Hi Rach! I know we just saw each other yesterday but we're new friends and I miss you already! Let's hang out!'
Unknown: 'Did you like my letter? Seeing you makes my heart race. I want to lie next to you when you sleep.'
'You are still hanging out with Finn despite the fact that you broke up with him? Can't stay away, huh? You deserve better. You deserve someone who worships you.'
'You look so beautiful when you smile without a care. I knew you would love my letter and picture. It brightened your whole day.'
Bile rose up the back of her throat, burning so badly that her eyes watered. They'd been at the mall. Whoever was leaving her these messages and letters (she refused to say stalker) had been there. Had been following her and her friends. Watching her. Her entire day felt sullied. Dirty. Spoiled by the unseen presence that she should have known was there.
Frustrated tears dripped from her lashes. With a muted scream through clenched teeth, she smashed her hands against her steering wheel, gripping so tightly that her knuckles ached, blanching starkly.
Shakily, she dropped her forehead until it was pressed against the cool rubber. All she could do was sit there with her eyes closed and breathe deeply. Over and again until her head stop swimming and she didn't feel so nauseous. It took a moment to realize that the tears were still streaming down her face, but eventually, she sat up and wiped them away. Her breath came in sharp shaky bursts but she managed to get herself calm enough to put her car into reverse and exit the lot.
When she got home, she gratefully sunk down on her couch and laid her head back on the cushions. She still had to answer Brittany but she only wanted to tell the girl yes and wasn't up for company yet. She would probably end up ignoring Noah's message, as she almost always did when he begged to throw a party at her house when her dads were gone.
Just as she was contemplating between turning the TV on for some background noise or going up to her room and going directly to bed, the doorbell rang. Her entire body tensed and for a moment, she couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe. There was someone right outside her door.
After a lengthy pause, a knock sounded, followed by another doorbell ring.
Rachel swallowed heavily and shot to her feet. Her hands were slick with sweat and before she knew it, she was standing in front of her door, staring at it with wide eyes. Should she open it? Did she pretend like she wasn't home? That was going to be pretty hard, considering her car was parked in the driveway. Maybe she should just wait.
"Hey, Rach? Are you home?" Finn called through the door, pounding on it again. "I came over to talk like you said at the mall."
Relief flooded her body followed instantly by a different sort of dread. She hadn't meant for Finn to come over to her house where she was alone. At the most, she had expected him to call her and have a mostly one-sided conversation. Not this. This was not good.
Smoothing down the invisible wrinkles in her shirt - a habit of anxiety - she pulled open the door and offered a small smile. "Good afternoon, Finn. I wasn't expecting you."
Finn frowned at her in confusion. "I thought you said we should talk later?" He asked. "It's later now, right?"
Rachel took a deep breath and tried not to sound irritated when she responded. "Coming over to my house unannounced for a serious talk isn't what I meant and I'm pretty sure you know that, Finn."
He just stood there looking lost.
She sighed and held the door open. "Come in. You're right, it's better if we just talk now."
She really didn't want to have this conversation alone with him. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Noah. 'Finn is here at my house to talk and my dads aren't here.'
The response was near instantaneous - Noah was good for that. 'Need me?'
'I will let you know. Thank you.' She wasn't really worried about anything, but Finn did tend to lose his temper and kick things and she didn't want any of her fathers' things damaged.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked him as he settled on the couch. It was always best to remain polite no matter the situation.
"Yeah, sure!" He grinned widely.
Rachel felt like maybe politeness was sending the wrong message but went to retrieve him a drink anyway. When she returned, she took a seat in a small armchair across from the couch. She tucked her feet up underneath her and leaned back, regarding him carefully.
"What would you like to talk about this time, Finn?" She asked as evenly as she could, hoping that her tone gave nothing away.
Finn frowned at her again and looked down at his lap. "You didn't come to the party last night," he told her.
Honestly, she'd completely forgotten about Noah's party. She'd been enjoying the only interruption-free night she'd had in a week. It hadn't seemed like anyone else had expected her to show up either, or was looking for her, because she hadn't received any messages about it the previous night. Not even from Finn.
"I was just really tired yesterday," she answered automatically. "I went to bed early after making plans with Kurt."
Was that why she'd had such a peaceful night the previous night? Was her mystery texter at the party having fun and not thinking about her? Maybe she should ask Noah to throw more parties…
"Oh." Finn's answer was short and he didn't quite meet her eye. "I wanted to talk about your song yesterday. I was hoping you would come to the party."
"My song?" She feigned ignorance but she knew where he was going with this. She really didn't want him to say it.
"Yeah. It was about how you're like…sad and anxious and stuff because you've been 'down this road before.'" He made finger quotes and gave her a pointed look. "I miss you too, you know? I know we keep going back and forth but I really do want to be with you again. I realized that last night."
"What do you mean?" Rachel drew her brows together and cocked her head curiously.
Finn blushed and shook his head. "Nothing. I just drank some last night and did a lot of thinking. I know I kept coming to you to apologize but never actually did because, to be honest, even though I was really upset - it was kind of a relief."
Rachel felt ice settle into her stomach. He was relieved when she broke up with him? She hadn't been relieved when she broke up with him. She had been angry, devastated, betrayed. Then she had been pranked (not stalked) and hadn't had a chance to fully process any of it. Sometimes she really missed him, especially when she needed someone to hold her. There was still a lot of anger and annoyance there, however, and it was like rose-tinted glasses had been stripped away. Any reminiscence of their time together was always overshadowed by, what she could now see, were slights against her. He didn't respect boundaries and their relationship wasn't healthy.
Instead of demanding that he explain himself, she remained stonily silent and stared at him, waiting for him to continue on his own.
He cleared his throat and looked away again. "The guys had been on my case, you know?" She knew how important popularity was to him. Like a safety blanket. "But then they were calling you a dyke for sticking up for Santana and saying you were probably screwing her and that made me really angry. I know I basically did the same thing to Santana and you were angry like I was; except you're not actually gay and she is. So it really wasn't the same thing at all, you see? I wasn't bullying like they were."
He grinned proudly at her like he'd worked out a puzzle and wanted her to see the light.
She sighed heavily. "Outing someone publicly is bullying, Finn. No matter your intentions, you purposefully put Santana in danger in order to one-up her and make yourself feel better because she's better with words."
"What do you mean I put her in danger?" Finn demanded, meeting her gaze angrily. "That's not what happened at all. I would never hurt Santana…like…hit her or anything," he mumbled and crossed his arms.
"Maybe," Rachel said with a nod. "But you aren't the only one that knows she's gay. You made sure that everyone knew. Especially the jocks here that hate gay people. Like Dave Karofsky who threatened to kill Kurt and made him so scared he transferred to Dalton until Santana, the girl you outed because you were angry, got Kurt back and Dave changed." She reminded him with a furious pinch of her lips.
Finn looked like he choked on a lemon for a moment. "Do you think someone would really try to hurt Santana? She's kinda scary…"
"Do you really think that matters to someone with hate in their heart, Finn? It didn't matter to you and you only lashed out with words and put her in that position." Rachel folded her hands in her lap, feeling disappointment weigh on her chest. She knew that she and Finn were never going to recover from this.
He seemed to recognize that too because his face fell. "You think I have hate in my heart?" He asked softly.
"I think that you are so scared of being ridiculed by people that you are quick to reject anything that could get you ridiculed by proximity." She told him plainly. "You were always angry that you couldn't make people accept the Glee club because for once you'd stood up and decided you wanted something no matter what anyone else said and you were going to keep it."
She sighed. He'd never fought for her the same way, to be honest. And she told him as much.
"You were really never that passionate about us. You laughed at jokes people made about me instead of defending me cause you didn't want them to turn their jokes on you and you wanted them to pressure me more to change and be more popular to make it easier on you." She was really picking up steam now.
"No… that's not -"
She cut him off. "You liked the fact that I was your safe bet. We'd always end up together no matter who you went off and dated. If it looked like I was moving on in the meantime, you'd suddenly be interested again so you'd keep my attention."
"Rach…" He trailed off weakly before composing his thoughts. "You know how much I care about you."
"I do know how much you care about your reputation and now it's free from me dragging it down ever again," she promised him. "You've always been quick to ask people to stop doing things that make it harder for you to be popular. You wanted Kurt to stop being so outwardly gay because people were calling you gay by association."
"I've changed! I stood up for him!" Finn defended.
"I do absolutely believe that you are capable of change, Finn. But I think you only do it to make people think better of you. It only happens when you need a big boost when people start being disillusioned by your charm."
"That's kind of mean…I think" Finn scratched the back of his head and frowned, looking down at his kneecaps. There were spots of red high on his cheeks.
"Maybe you don't mean to do it, but I don't think that makes it better." Rachel stood from her chair and moved towards the front hall, hoping he would get the hint and follow her to the door. "Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
He was quiet for a long moment. "Are you ever going to forgive me?" He finally asked quietly.
Tired tears pricked the corners of her eyes, burning hotly. She took a deep breath and turned to face him again. "I don't know. I think maybe one day we can be friends again but that's all. It's time for both of us to move on and grow as people. We're just holding each other back. There is so much more out there for you somewhere. There's no room to grow with me. I already know where I'm going, remember? Let's just let it go. No more holding on. Ok?"
Finn looked like he was about to cry as he stood and shuffled to the door. She thought he was going to leave quietly but as he opened the door and stepped outside, he turned to look at her with red-rimmed eyes. "I'm going to keep fighting for us." He told her sincerely. "We belong together. That's why we keep coming back to each other. I will give you time, but I won't give up."
All Rachel could feel was defeat. "Finn, please don't…"
He merely smiled at her sadly and exited the house, pulling the door closed behind him.
She stared at the closed door, her emotions swirling in her chest like a thunderstorm. Without thinking rationally, she pulled out her phone and made what was probably a very bad decision.
She texted Noah.
'Gather the glee club minus Finn. We're having a party at my house.'
He replied with enthusiasm. 'Hell yeah! Be ready 8 babe cause we're all coming over. No boring ass shit like last time either.'
'Noah. We will NOT be drunk all week!.'
'Just leave it to me, my Jewish-American Princess, we'll be fine. Don't wear that ugly ass dress you did last time. Shit was awful.'
'Ugh. Why are we friends?'
'Cause what would you do without me?'
'Be saner. Probably.'
'Ouch, Berry. Words hurt.'
She laughed out loud and tucked her phone into her pocket, feeling lighter than she had before. She needed a decent night in with her friends. It wasn't more than a couple of minutes before her phone was chirping again, though, indicating another text message. Her heartrate shot straight up and she panicked for a moment before reminding herself that it was probably Noah and she shouldn't worry.
It was actually Santana. A smile lit up her face as she eagerly opened the text message.
'How come Puck just invited me to a party at YOUR house? Why didn't you invite me yourself?'
Rachel gaped at her phone for a moment before blushing. 'Honestly? I figured the club would more easily agree if it came from Noah rather than me. We all remember how my last party went.'
Santana sent a text of laughing emojis followed by: 'You know we're all friends now. I think they would have come if you asked.'
Rachel couldn't help the warmth that spread across her chest. 'So will you be here then?'
'With bells on.'
'Oh good, I'll know it's you before you even get here.' She sent a laugh and smiled at her phone.
'Will Finn be there?' Santana sent quickly.
'No. Finn was not invited. We had a very discouraging conversation today and I just need something to take my mind off of everything. Hence the party.'
'Good choice. Partying is always a good distraction. How about I come over and help you get set up? I'll bring drinks and we can pre-game.'
Rachel stared at her phone in shock. Santana had just asked to hang out with her. Santana. Without Brittany begging her to agree. She almost forgot to answer but quickly sent a reply. 'That would be fantastic! Noah assured me it won't be like last time and I have been asked not to wear my vintage party gown.'
'You mean that green monstrosity with the frills? No one has managed to burn that yet? Impressive!'
'I'm not going to let you come over if you are going to burn my things!' She sent with a laugh.
'I will burn it all, try and stop me! Hahahahaha.'
Rachel was positive that Santana was teasing her and wasn't actually serious. It made her feel giddy. She never thought she would get to this point with the raven-haired cheerio. Friendship had seemed like a very distant hope but Santana actually seemed to enjoy her company once she tried.
'The party is at 8 so we should have plenty of time to prepare.'
'Cool. Text me your address and I'll be there in however long it takes me to get there.'
A pleased smile broke across her face. She wasn't expecting her to come over immediately, but that seemed to be her intention. So Rachel did as she was told and texted her address and Santana said her goodbyes, stating that she'd be over soon. Rachel couldn't wait.
She eyed the house that hadn't really been touched since her dads had left for their work trip. "Maybe a little cleaning is in order first," she mused, beginning to tidy up while she waited for Santana to arrive.
Santana arrived only fifteen minutes later, looking amused and carrying a duffel bag. When Rachel answered the door, the girl said: "Did you know you've lived like two blocks away from me this entire time? I could've walked here." Instead of saying hello.
Rachel giggled and offered to take the bag from her. Santana handed over the bag with a grin and cackled as Rachel nearly dropped it to the ground, not expecting the weight.
"What is in here? A body? Did you bring a body for us to bury in my backyard? It's very private you know. We have a fence that reaches the maximum legal limit. Mostly so people would stop throwing terrible things into our yard because my fathers are gay."
Santana placed her hands on Rachel's shoulders and squeezed lightly, an amused grin still crooking her lips. "Breathe, Rachel," she instructed. "That was so many words for no reason. There's no body. I definitely wouldn't bring it here to bury it if there were." She scoffed. "There's a couple of bottles in there plus some clothes that you're gonna try on until you make the same squealing noise you made during that Start Me up/Living on a Prayer mashup when you saw yourself in your outfit."
"You remember that?" Rachel asked with a smile, thinking back to their mash-up last year. It had been particularly spectacular and they had all rocked their outfits amazingly.
"Of course I do. We all looked smokin'. Me, especially." She shrugged with a smirk. "But no, seriously. I remember when Brittany tousled your hair in the mirror after I finished your makeup and even though none of us thought we liked you back then, we all saw your…I don't even know. We saw what was going to make you famous. You totally embodied it and the way you slide against that guitarist almost gave Puck a heart attack. That's a good memory." She laughed happily. "Plus that mash-up kicked ass."
Rachel nodded eagerly. "It did! We should see if Mr. Shue wants to do mash-ups at the Invitational. They are always a crowd-pleaser and this is our opportunity to shake up the competition."
"Whoa, easy," Santana said with a roll of her eyes. "We're not here to talk Glee. We're here to forget Finn and have fun. That means you get to pick the first bottle and we're gonna head up to your room and start getting undressed." She winked jokingly.
Rachel still couldn't help the blush that climbed up her neck and spread over her cheeks. "I can't wait to see what you brought," she murmured, motioning for the girl to follow her up the stairs.