CHAPTER 39
Bella was rooted to the spot in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes. She had dreamed of their reunion every night for two months and she had started to lose hope that he was coming home. But there he was, standing literally three feet away from her.
"Hey babe." He smiled at her. Bella finally got over her shock and she flew into his arms, kissing him fiercely. Finn groaned audibly in pain. At the end of the mission, he had flown to Virginia, for a debriefing with Lieutenant Brandt, as well as a couple of CIA agents. There, the medical stage had ascertained that he had three broken ribs, caused by three gunshots hitting his bulletproof vest, a fractured wrist, malnutrition, a concussion, and that didn't even include emotional scars and wounds. Finn had been through more action in that two month period than many experience in a lifetime with the military so he undoubtedly had major psychological issues. Finn suffered from PTSD and depression after he came back from his stint over the summer and it was awful and this time, he saw even more violence and killed many more people so he wasn't looking forward to it this time. Already, in the two weeks he had been safe, he had nightmares every single night. He was terrorised with thoughts that Khalid and Asif would come after his loved ones. Family. Friends. He watched them all die every night.
Finn forced those feelings deep inside as he kissed his girlfriend for the first time in two months. Tears streamed down Bella's cheeks as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him excruciatingly tightly.
"You're okay. You're here." She murmured to herself as she finally let go of him and looked him in the eye. He was clearly pretty injured and his eyes were filled with melancholy, but he was safe, and that was all that mattered! "I missed you so much." She whispered, more tears threatening to spill over her lashes.
"I missed you too." Finn murmured into her ear as he helped put the corsage - three white flowers - on her wrist.
"So… is everything okay? You know, with Asif?" She asked. Finn nodded.
"Everything's okay now. Nobody's going to come after us." He said, confidently.
"How can you be so sure?" She asked. Finn sighed and looked down.
"Trust me, they're all gone." Finn muttered quietly. Bella instantly understood. He had killed all of them, hadn't he? Bella didn't press him further than that. They then got into a limo with Kurt and Blaine, and they headed to the prom…
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Finn walked into the McKinley High gym, which had been decorated with a traditional Castle in the Clouds theme. The minute they stepped in, Finn felt all of the astonished eyes in the room on him. Nobody had seen him for two months and suddenly, he was there. Finn and Bella ignored them though. Instead, they walked to the corner of the room, where the Glee club were all astonished.
"FINN?!" They all exclaimed, their mouths agape. Everyone gave him a crushing hug. They were equally surprised that he was alive. Only one person wasn't too happy to see him though: Jessie. Although the two had never met before, Jessie knew that Finn was the previous male lead of the Glee club and he was also Rachel's ex - two reasons for Finn to be a knife in Jessie's life. After Finn had finished greeting everyone, Jessie stalked over to him. Finn raised an eyebrow. He obviously recognised the guy as the lead of Vocal Adrenaline but he had no idea what he was doing here.
"Jessie St. James. 3 time National Show Choir Champion. Perhaps you've heard of me." Jessie smirked cockily. Finn ignored his big headedness and he held a hand out for Jessie to shake. Jessie took it and pulled Finn to his ear.
"Listen, Hudson. You might have been the big man in the Glee club before, but you aren't anymore. I'm the male lead of the Glee club. Rachel's my girlfriend. Stay out of the way or we'll have a problem." Jessie clenched Finn's hand as hard as he could and he growled in Finn's ear. Finn didn't like Jessie touching his hand but he wasn't at all worried about the threats. Puck immediately noticed the tension and quickly stood in front of Jessie and gently shoved him off of Finn.
"Hey, don't ever threaten a Military man! Are you crazy?!" Puck exclaimed.
"Stay away from my girl and there won't be an issue." Jessie spat and walked away. Finn rolled his eyes at the hot-headed guy as Jessie retreated away from him. Moments later, Mr. Schue walked over to them and his eyes widened when he saw Finn.
"FINN!" He cried, cheerfully. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were at an exchange program in Paris!"
Finn was taken aback. Huh? Finn noticed Bella behind Mr. Schue, nodding at him. Finn forced himself to go along with the lie.
"Um… yeah. Paris. Well, I um… I started missing home too much so I'm back now."
"That's great, buddy!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're back. However, that does mean something…"
Finn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Huh? What?"
"It means, Mr. Hudson, that you don't get any free passes tonight. The rest of the Glee club are singing songs. You have to sing one too."
Finn groaned. He hadn't sang or even touched a guitar in two months and he was probably very rusty.
"Mr. Schue. I haven't sang or played since I left. Do I have to?"
"Yup. That's a condition of being in the Glee club. No excuses."
Finn sighed and nodded.
"Okay, fine." He eventually gave in. Mr. Schue smirked and practically shoved him onto the stage at the front of the gym. Finn picked up an electric guitar as opposed to an acoustic one and he stood by the mic. He decided, on the spot, to sing a fun, upbeat song. He was used to singing soulful, emotional numbers so he was drifting further out of his comfort zone. He started strumming the electric riff and began singing the fun number…
I like the way you talk
I like the things you wear
I want your number tattooed
On my arm in ink, I swear
'Cause when the mornin' comes
I know you won't be there
Every time I turn around
You disappear
I wanna blow your mind
Just come with me, I swear
I'm gonna take you somewhere warm
You know "J'adore la mer"
'Cause when the mornin' comes
I know you won't be there
Every time I turn around
You disappear
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
Nice to meet ya
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
Nice to meet ya, what's your name?
Let me treat you to a drink
I like the way you talk
I like the things you wear
I want your number tattooed
On my arm in ink, I swear
'Cause when the mornin' comes
I know you won't be there
Every time I turn around
You disappear
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
Nice to meet ya
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
One minute you're there
The next one you're gone
Been waiting for you
All night, so come on
You know what I need
You know what I want
You know what I need now
You know what I need now
Nice to meet ya, what's your name?
Let me treat you to a drink
Nice to meet ya, where ya been?
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
Let me treat you to a drink
(I got love for you, I got love for you)
Nice to meet ya
To hear the actual song, click:
watch?v=rJucyNZl3PI
Or search… 'Nice To Meet Ya Niall Horan James Corden Show'
At the end of the song, the people on the dance floor cheered. Finn Hudson was back, baby!
Finn stepped off the stage after he was done singing, and he walked over to Bella, who was watching him with a look of pure love and affection on her face. She had missed him so much. More than he knew. Hell, even more than she knew. Now that he was back, she never wanted to hold him tightly and never let go of him again. She kissed him as he walked back to her.
"That was amazing, babe!" She exclaimed. "Especially given that you haven't sang in 2 whole months."
"Thanks, babe." Finn required. He then realised how dry his mouth was and he cleared his throat. "Um… I'm going to go get some punch. Can I get you some?"
"Nah, I'm good. Thank you." She replied. Finn nodded and walked over to the punch bowl. One other person was standing there, trying to grab some punch, and it was none other than Rachel Berry. She smiled at Finn when she saw him and he nodded back at her.
"Hey!" She said, cheerfully.
"Hi." Finn murmured, quietly.
"You're here." She remarked, slightly shocked. Finn was instantly on edge. Last time he had seen Rachel, she had tried another hail mary effort at getting back together with him. Finn really didn't have the energy to deal with her. He hadn't slept in two weeks and he was exhausted.
"Yeah, um… Rachel, look…"
"Finn. Before you say anything." Rachel cut him off. "I wanted to say that I'm done trying to get you. I've known you for three years and I know, in my heart of hearts, you were not even a fraction as happy with me as you are with Bella. I want what's best for you and she is genuinely the perfect person for you. And besides, I'm also happy with Jessie."
Finn smiled faintly at her.
"That's great, Rachel. I'm, uh… I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks. And by the way, it goes without saying that I'm really happy that you're okay and safe. I heard what you went through down there was pretty rough."
Finn nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
"Thanks. It was."
"Oh, and uh… I know when exes say this, they almost never mean it, but we had a very special friendship before romance got in the way, not to mention that we were kick-ass duet partners!"
Finn chuckled.
"That, we were." He laughed. Rachel giggled and continued…
"It would be a shame to throw that all away. So would you like to at least try being friends?"
Finn smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. I'd like that." He replied. The two of them hugged. Across the hall, in the Glee club corner of the gym, Jessie and Bella watched their boyfriend and girlfriend embrace. Bella wasn't too fussed - she had full faith and trust in Finn - but Jessie wasn't so cool. Rage welled up inside him and he stormed over to the two of them. Bella's eyes widened in alarm and she hurried over to them.
Jessie ripped Finn away from Rachel and shoved him backwards. Finn groaned in pain as Jessie ended up shoving him directly on one of his broken ribs.
"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Jessie shouted. Finn sighed.
"Dude, chill. Look, we were just…"
"SHUT UP!" Jessie bellowed. "YOU AND ME! OUTSIDE! NOW!"
Finn rolled his eyes. At this point, the whole Glee club had gathered around them, creating a circle around them. Finn didn't have time for this though. He had been back in Lima for one day and he didn't want drama.
"I don't have time for this." Finn muttered and he turned around, ready to walk away.
"Hey! We're not finished!" Jessie spat. He grabbed Finn by the back of the shoulder and held him back. Finn stopped walking and clenched his jaw. He was one step away from going full soldier mode but he forced himself to keep his calm.
"Get. Your. Hand. Off. Me." Finn growled, menacingly, not even bothering to turn around.
"Turn around and face me like a man!" Jessie spat, trying to grab Finn by his jacket and turn him so they were facing each other. At this point, Finn snapped. He judo flipped Jessie and pinned his limbs down so he couldn't struggle. Finn punched Jessie once in the face and suddenly, he was transported back to the pits of Bangladesh. Finn was suddenly back in the Continental Hotel, and Khalid Asif was struggling underneath him. Finn didn't hesitate to pound his face with blows. Punch after punch after punch. Every time Finn laid a blow to the head of the man, the face changed to the face of a different man he killed. He watched as he broke skin on the side of one of the face's face as his cheek split open but he didn't dare stop. At that moment, he heard someone calling him…
Finn! Finn! FINN!
The last one seemed a lot closer, so close that he could hear who it was. It was unmistakably Bella. It forced him to be ripped out of his flashback and suddenly, he was back in the gym and he saw Jessie lying underneath him, only partially conscious. Finn leapt up in horror, stumbling backwards. Finally, Sue - the prom chaperone - made it over to them and dragged Finn and Jessie to their feet.
"THAT'S IT! YOU TWO ARE OUT OF HERE!"
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Half an hour later, Finn was sitting on a bench in the park, trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. He had just had a hallucination that he was back on the battlefield. That was scary as hell. Suddenly, he heard footsteps ahead of him and he looked up to see Bella standing in front of him. He smiled at her and she sat down beside him, leaning up against him. Finn immediately felt goosebumps on her arms due to her sleeveless dress in the cold air and he took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders.
"Um… Finn…" Bella started, taking a deep breath. "What happened in there? You had this… look in your eye. It was like…"
"Like I was back at war." Finn finished. Bella nodded. "Yeah, I'm not okay. Back there, Jessie grabbed my arm threateningly and I started hallucinating that it was Khalid. Then I punched him and it became Asif. Then another guy. Then another guy. Every time I punched him, the man's face would change to a face of someone else I killed."
Bella listened to him in silence, her hands holding his, comfortably, and her body leaning against him. Just her presence there made it a lot easier for Finn. It made him a lot calmer.
"The only thing that dragged me out of the hallucination was hearing your voice. If you hadn't called and shouted my name, who knows what I could have done? I'm dangerous, Bella. And day by day, I'm going to get worse. I won't know when it's coming, or who it's coming to, but I know it's coming…"