CHAPTER 23
Following his discharge from the hospital a couple of days later, Finn didn't go to the hotel that Burt, Carole and Kurt were staying at. He needed to get away from everything, and everyone, so he decided to use some of the money he had earned from his successful mission in the Army over the summer to buy a plane ticket to Hawaii, where he had friends living following their tour with the Air Force. Finn knocked on their door and a moment later, a bewildered looking Dalton Morrison and Katie Brooks answered the door. They lit up when they saw him and astonishment was etched across their faces.
"F-F-Finn? What are you doing here?!" Dalton exclaimed. Finn ran a hand through his hair.
"Um… long story. Short version is in 24 hours, my girlfriend dumped me and my house burnt down. Look, I know this is a lot to ask but can I stay with you guys for a week or two?"
Dalton smiled and swung the door open wider, grabbing Finn's bag from him and leading him into the house…
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"So you guys are engaged? That's awesome! And really soon. Haven't you only been dating for 6 months?" Finn remarked. The three of them had gone out for dinner that night and were sitting in a restaurant, catching up. Apparently, Dalton and Katie had both decided to get permanent jobs as Weapons Engineer Technicians at the Army Base in Hawaii and they moved in together in the process.
"What can I say? When you know, you know, right?" Dalton replied.
"So when did it happen?" Finn asked.
"About a month ago." Katie beamed in reply, showing him her ring. "We went out for dinner, then a walk down to the isolated spot on the beach and that's when Dalton popped the question."
"That's great. I'm really happy for you guys." Finn smiled.
"Thanks, Finn. So what have you been up to?"
Then, Finn filled them in on everything that had happened to him over the past 6 months since they had last seen him. He told them about the mission in August, and then transferring to Dalton, then transferring back to McKinley, then getting together with Bella, then the fire, all culminating with their break up less than 48 hours ago. Once he had finished, Dalton and Katie were speechless.
"Wow… that's a lot. And especially for someone so young." Katie murmured.
Finn shrugged.
"It's just my life. I've gotta live with it." He replied. "Makes me miss the Army days. It was so much more… simple."
"Well, you could always re-enlist." Dalton remarked. Katie glared at her fiance.
"Dalton, shut up. He's not re-enlisting." Katie snapped. "Well, Finn, I'll tell you what. You can stay with us for the two weeks you're here and we're going to make you forget about all of your troubles back home. And first order of business…"
She stood up and walked over to the front of the restaurant, which contained an open mic, and she murmured to the man sitting by the stage at the front of the restaurant. He smiled and nodded. Katie walked back to them moments later.
"What was that all about?" Dalton asked, curiously. She smirked at the two men.
"Wait and see." She replied. A couple of moments later, the man by the stage stood up and faced the people sitting in the restaurant.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention!" He announced. "The next person to sing for us, singing Fix You by Coldplay is… Mr. Finn Hudson!"
Finn glared at Katie.
"Seriously, dude. Seriously? You had to?"
She grinned at him.
"Go on. Get up!" She exclaimed. Finn shook his head.
"No, no, I'm not singing." He muttered but Katie and Dalton dragged him to his feet and over to the stage. Sighing in defeat, Finn walked over to the stage and grabbed a mic. The soft backing track started a moment later…
When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face and I
Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face and I
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
To hear the actual song, click:
watch?v=8a54m5f96qc
Or search: "Fix You Kurt Hugo Schneider"
At the end of the song, everyone clapped and Finn smiled to himself. Katie had clearly chosen the song more carefully than it appeared. The song reflected his feelings perfectly and when he sat back at their table, he felt a million times better.
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Two weeks later, Finn walked into McKinley High feeling much, much happier. His short vacation in Hawaii had done wonders for his mental state and he went back to Lima with a smile on his face and a much brighter outlook on his life. To make matters even better, while he was away, Burt had purchased a house and him and Burt were planning to renovate the empty house together and Kurt and Carole were in charge of decorating.
Finn walked into the choir room and everyone gasped when he walked in.
"Hey guys!" He smiled cheerfully.
"Finn! Where on Earth have you been?!" Mercedes exclaimed.
"Yeah, and why are you so tan?!" Tina asked.
"I was, uh… in Hawaii." Finn replied.
"Hawaii?" Everyone asked, astonished. "Why?"
"Well, after what happened with my house and everything, I needed to get away for a little bit so I went to Hawaii to get my head right. I caught up with a few friends, went skydiving, dirt biking, scuba diving, wakeboarding, and so much more. It was a lot of fun but I'm back now and I'm ready to get to work."
"That's awesome, Finn!" Mr. Schue said. "So, this week's assignment is easy: you are going to be singing a song about LOVE."
"Oh, Jesus." Finn muttered, frustratedly, under his breath, quiet enough so nobody heard him.
"Love? So this is a duet project?" Rachel asked, excitedly, glancing sideways at Finn. Finn rolled his eyes. Mr. Schue shook his head.
"No, Rachel, it's not. It's a solo assignment but that doesn't take away the fact that I want to see passion. I want to see fire. I want to see uniqueness. You've got one week. Dismissed."
As the group stood up, Rachel shot to her feet and faced the group.
"Listen up, guys! My dad's are out of town for the next week so part at my place tonight!"
Everyone cheered.
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That night, the whole Glee club went to the 'party' but it was not what they had expected. Scratch that, it was exactly what they had expected from Rachel…
Finn walked into the eerily familiar house with Kurt and Blaine and Rachel smiled at them, her eyes lingering on Finn for far too long.
"Kurt! Blaine! Finn! I wasn't expecting you guys." She remarked.
"Kurt's been blackmailing me that he's going make the new house look like the inside of a barbie's dollhouse and I can't let that happen so I'm here." Finn murmured.
"And I'm totally off the clock tonight, Rachel. I'm not a Warbler. I'm just Blaine. I'm not even wearing my uniform." Blaine said.
"So, this is your dad's oscar room?" Kurt asked. Rachel nodded.
"Yes. They transformed our ordinary basement for our famous annual Oscar party!" She exclaimed.
"Is that a stage?" Blaine asked, pointing at the front of the room. Rachel nodded.
"I like to give impromptu performances for our neighbors sometimes." Rachel replied. The party was dead. There was no alcohol and everyone was sitting around the room looking insanely bored. Both Rachel and Bella were looking at Finn with looks of longing on their faces. "OK, Let's go over the rules. Everybody gets two drink tickets to keep things from getting out of hand. We're serving wine coolers today. That is our specialty drink. That's actually all we have. Okay, everybody, cheers!"
The group all stood up and walked towards Rachel.
"Great party, Rachel, but we've got to run." Artie said.
"Yeah, dinner reservations." Tina lied.
"But, but, but we haven't even played Celebrity yet!" She exclaimed. This party was crucial to her. She needed to get Finn drunk and hopefully that would cause him to profess his inevitable feelings for her. "Why is everybody leaving?"
"Because this party blows." Puck replied. "Look, if you want everyone to stay, you have to let me break into your dads' liquor cabinet. No one's gonna get buzzed off two wine coolers. I'll replace it before they get home."
Rachel thought for a moment and eventually nodded.
"Let's party!"
An hour later and everyone in the party was wasted. Well, everyone but Finn. He decided not to drink. He had had a fair few drinks in Hawaii with Dalton and Katie and he didn't want to get drunk with all of his friends. After all, at least one of them had to stay sober and responsible, right? Finn stood at the corner of the room, watching his friends make complete fools out of themselves and Kurt walked over to him.
"You're not drinking?" He asked.
"I'm still trying to impress Blaine. Can't get too sloppy. Clearly, he doesn't have the same concern." Kurt replied, pointing at his drunk new boyfriend who was dancing like a maniac with a red solo cup in his hand. He stumbled over to them and put an arm around Finn's shoulders.
"You know, it's so cool that you and Kurt are brothers! Like, brothers! Wow! You're so… tall!" He exclaimed. Finn and Kurt both laughed.
"You having fun, Blaine?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah! This is the best party ever!" He shouted.
On the other side of the room, Bella was drinking her feelings away. Her misery after her break up with Finn became a hundred times worse when he came back to McKinley, happy. He had clearly found a way to move on and it was killing her that she couldn't do the same. Suddenly, Rachel sat down next to Finn. He took a deep breath and turned to her.
"What?" Finn snapped. He still hadn't forgiven her for what happened last year.
"Finn… I need to talk to you… I just… look, what happened last year… you have to let me explain.." Rachel said.
"Explain what? You didn't trust me. You cheated on me, with the guy who you knew would hurt me most. Anything else?" He spat.
"Finn, I still love you, okay? I was an idiot and I was scared. I didn't know what to do… or think. I just… please." Rachel begged, on the verge of tears. Finn looked around and shook his head.
"No." Finn replied. Rachel tried to hold his hands and Finn got angry and yanked them away.
"STOP IT! RACHEL STOP!" Finn yelled. The room went quiet and everyone turned their attention to Finn and Rachel.
"You cheated on me… CHEATED okay… it took me every ounce of breath I had to make sure I could actually go on living because of what you did to me..." He growled. "Look, I'm gonna go. See you tomorrow."
With that, Finn walked out of the house and into his car. Once he was gone, Bella walked over to Rachel.
"I don't get it. How could you cheat on him? Finn's like the sweetest person in the world!" She snapped.
"It was a mistake, Bella, and I take it back. I take it all back. You need to help me, please! Please help me get him back! I'm just so lost without him." Rachel murmured.
"And how does cheating on him show that you're lost without him?" She remarked. "And are you seriously asking me, Finn's ex-girlfriend, to help you get him back?" Bella asked.
"Bella… you don't understand." Rachel stammered.
"No, Rachel, you don't understand… I also still love Finn. I made the biggest mistake of my life, breaking up with him. I freaked out and I screwed up. I'm the one for him, not you." Bella snapped. Rachel's face dropped.
"What? Bella, you can't do that!" Rachel exclaimed.
"Why not? You're not together anymore, and you've proven that you don't deserve to have Finn love you. I'll tell you this, if I get Finn, I'll never let him go. Not again, not like you did." Bella said and walked away. Rachel watched her leave and tears poured down her face.