CHAPTER 57

That's exactly what he did. For the next year, Finn worked for the World Wildlife Fund. He travelled all over the world with the foundation to protect ecosystems and wildlife. He liberated white tigers in Siberia, caught animal poachers in Tanzania, stopped SONAR testing that caused dolphin and whale beachings in the South Pacific Ocean, to name a few. He travelled the whole world: South Africa, Nepal, Norway, Australia, Peru, Brazil, India, Uganda, Kenya, Colombia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, China and Indonesia, all in the span of a 1 year period. He made great friends along the way, people who gave him the opportunity to help make the world a better place. That was his true passion, he realised that year. Whether it be in the Army or in the WWF, although they were polar opposite jobs, what they both had in common was that he was providing a service that needed to be done and would make the world a better place.

Finn walked into his and his best friend, Cisco's, room and he opened his closet. All of his clothes were all neatly folded in the closet but Finn reached past them and into the very back. There, tucked behind his toques, scarves, gloves and cold weather clothes were pictures of his friends back home. He didn't use his phone for anything other than taking photos of nature so these photos were the only memories he had of his friends. He leafed through the pictures and smiled, reminiscing to when they were taken. He thought back to going to Six Flags with Puck for the first time when they were 6; he remembered his senior prom with Bella; he remembered winning Nationals with the Glee Club; he smiled at the photo of his Basic Training graduation with Katie and Dalton. There was a throbbing pain in his heart as he looked at the photos. Although he in no way wanted a reconciliation with his family, he missed his friends and wanted to be back in the country. He was only 21, turning 22 in a couple of months, so he had a whole life ahead of him. Finn was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice Cisco walking into their room.

"You're gonna go back, aren't you?" Cisco asked. Finn spun around and jumped in shock.

"Jesus Christ! Dude, you scared me!" Finn exclaimed.

"Are you gonna go back?" Cisco repeated. Finn sighed.

"Would you guys be pissed at me if I did?" Finn asked. Cisco's face furrowed with confusion.

"Pissed at you? Why would we be pissed at you? We just want what's best for you, and if that means leaving, then sad and miserable as it might be, that's what needs to be done."

Finn smiled faintly.

"Really? You guys would be okay with that? I would be like stabbing you in the back or anything?" Finn murmured.

"Of course not! We love you, man! Nothing you could ever do would be like stabbing us in the back! And besides, your contract was for one year and the year's up now. We're gonna miss you though."

"Yeah, man. I'm gonna miss you guys too! So much!"

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On Finn's final night in their WWF home base in Cape Town, South Africa, the whole group there gave him a massive send off. Finn had built an amazing friendship with 3 people in particular - a guy named Barry Allen, his roommate named Cisco Ramon and a girl named Caitlin Snow. The four of them were all young adults (18-21 year olds) and they were an extremely tight friend group. Every country Finn had visited, he had been right beside his three friends. When he tackled a poacher who they found in a game reserve in Kenya, they were right there to slap on the handcuffs. When he liberated a pack of tigers from a travelling circus in Bangkok, they were right there to help feeding and bathing the lions. The bond that they had made working together on missions all over the world was a bond they would never forget.

That night, they sat around the table and talked until long into the night but Finn knew he had to leave soon. His watch read 11 pm and his flight to Columbus departed at 1 so he stood up.

"Um… guys. I need to go now." He murmured. They all looked at him, extremely devastated to see him about to leave. They had all joined the foundation together and losing a member of their gang was like… it was like a brother was moving away. "Um… I need to say something to you guys and I'm going to try my best not to cry. As you guys know, I'm not the most emotional person in the world - I'm probably closer to the least - but the fact that I'm this sad to be leaving shows how much of an impact you guys had on me. None of the amazing things that have happened to me in the past year would have happened if it weren't for you guys. No one has been more like brothers and sisters to me than you guys."

"We know what you mean. You're like a brother to us too." Caitlin agreed.

"Yeah, and hey! When you make it as a singer, maybe you could get us free tickets to a show!" Barry exclaimed. Finn chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"Singer? Is that what you guys think I should do?" Finn asked. They looked at him, confused.

"Well, yeah!" Caitlin replied. "You're really talented, dude. It'd be a shame for that to go to waste. And you know, you're young, you're attractive, you're talented, you're energetic. You're everything a singer needs to be."

Finn thought for a while and nodded. Yeah! He would try to become a singer when he returned to the U.S!

"You know what? Why the hell not!" Finn remarked. "Yeah, I'll try my luck at the singing thing."

His friends cheered and patted him on the back. Finn then picked up his bag and prepared to leave but before he did, he turned to Cisco. Cisco was probably his best friend ever. His insanely positive, hilarious and optimistic attitude was half the reason Finn got better over the past year.

"Look, man. Let me just say something because once we get into this, I'm gonna get all sad and probably make some stupid joke." Cisco said. "I just want to say that I, um… I really love you, man. And I'm gonna miss you so much. And I'm so sad that you're leaving."

Finn smiled at his friend.

"Oh, you know what? Let's not say anything else. I love you too, man." Finn replied before embracing his friend. He then checked his watch and realised it was close to 9:30. "Okay, guys, I really gotta go now."

With that, Finn was gone, leaving his old life in the WWF behind him.

Ironically, the next day was the 5 year McKinley High reunion in Lima and for the first time, Finn was actually in the city. He didn't know whether he would be going to the reunion or not though. After all, nobody knew that he was in the city and he didn't want any unnecessary attention. He was still debating whether he should go or not when he checked into his motel that night and he collapsed on his bed in a dreamless sleep.

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"Yo, Kurt, where the hell is Finn?" Sam asked, suddenly, at the reunion the next day. The whole Glee club table inhaled sharply. Finn was an 'off-limits' topic to talk about in front of Kurt. After Finn left home for the second time, Kurt never really recovered. Finn was not only his brother, but also his best friend, and now he was just… gone.

"Um… I… I don't know." Kurt stammered, looking down. Puck and Santana exchanged a quick, surreptitious glance before quickly looking away again. They were the only two people who knew where Finn was.

"Hey, what was that?" Tina asked, looking at Santana and Puck.

"What?" Santana asked.

"That look." Tina stated.

"What look?" Santana said, nervously.

"You and Puck just exchanged a look!" Tina exclaimed.

"We didn't exchange a look." Puck stammered.

"Yeah… yeah, you did!" Kurt said. "You guys know where he is, don't you?"

Puck and Santana sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, um… he texted us a couple of times in the past year." Puck replied.

"Well, did he say where he was?" Mike asked, eagerly.

"Honestly, we have no idea." Santana responded. "All we know is that after he had a… dispute with his family, he went to South Africa and joined the WWF. I have no clue about how long he's gonna be there for, where in the world he is, and whether he's coming back or not. Kurt, I… um… I know it's not what you want to hear right now but during the couple of times I've spoken to him on the phone, he sounded… happy. Like he might not come back."

"Of course he's gonna come back though!" Quinn exclaimed. "I mean, it's Finn!"

"Will he though? I mean, in the States, he lost his college scholarship, he was arrested and convicted for murder, he was sent to a supermax prison for 3 years where he endured God knows what, not to mention everything he saw while fighting for the US Army. What does he possibly have to come back to?"

Suddenly, Bella stood up. She couldn't hear this any longer. She had never really gotten over Finn and it was killing her to hear that there was a chance that he might not ever be coming back. She walked over to the dance floor and looked around at her various old classmates. Suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Jacob Ben Israel standing there. He had always had a crush on Bella but never really figured he had a shot with her in high school. However, now that he had taken over his father's business and was extremely successful, he figured he could try.

"Bella Sutton. The girl that got away." He smiled. She smiled back politely at him.

"Oh, Jacob!" She exclaimed. "You look… almost exactly the same. How are you?"

"House in Stinson Beach and one in Maui and, of course, there's the chalet in Aspen." He boasted.

Bella raised an eyebrow.

"Um… I asked, 'how are you?'"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you asked me 'how many homes do you have?'" He replied. "So, I see you're here solo. Good news, I'm flying solo myself."

He smirked at her and Bella forced herself to be polite even though she was a little creeped out. Jacob just had that effect on people.

"Oh, um… good for you!" Bella exclaimed.

"Gulfstream G6." He replied. Bella looked thoroughly confused now.

"Pardon?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you asked how I was flying solo." He replied. Suddenly, someone else walked over to them. Another guy who used to have a crush on Bella: Azimio Adams. He hadn't changed at all since high school. He was still the motorcycle riding, skull-cracking tank he was back then, but Bella was thorough unattracted to him.

"Hey, Bella, is this poindexter bothering you?" He asked. Bella raised an eyebrow in surprised.

"Azimio?! Gosh, what a surprise!" She said.

"Bella, you look even better than you did in high school. And you looked GOOD in high school."

"Um… thank you." Bella blushed, looking down. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I came here to see you. You're the one that got away!" He said.

"Hey, I said that first!" Jacob exclaimed, cutting in. Bella was even more uncomfortable now. This was a very awkward situation to be in.

"So, anyways…" Azimio said, ignoring Jacob. "I'm playing Div 3 football, and I got a day job at Foot Locker. My boss is a real tool, he makes me buy him beer."

Jacob scoffed.

"I see you're still full of wasted potential." Jacob remarked.

"Hey… how did you know I was wasted?" Azimio asked, dumbly.

"And now I remember why I never dated either of you. Excuse me, I'm gonna go mingle." Bella said. Jacob grabbed her left arm.

"Great. I'll come with you." He said. Azimio then grabbed her other arm.

"No, I'll come with you!" He said.

"Uh, no, you won't, because she's with me!" Jacob snapped.

"No, bro. She's with me!" Azimio responded.

"Actually, guys. She's with me." Finn said as he strided into the auditorium, dressed in a navy blazer and black shirt that made his abs and muscles practically burst out. He looked nothing like he did in high school, nor did he act like it. He was an adult now.

"Finn?" Bella exclaimed, shell-shocked.

"Finn?" Jacob asked, just as shocked.

"Finn?" Azimio grumbled, also astonished. Finn winked at them and straightened his blazer.

"Yep. My name's Finn." He joked. "Now, if you'll excuse me gentlemen, Bella and I would like some time alone."

Bella smiled at him.

"Thank you." She said, and the two of them walked away together. Once they were gone, Jacob turned to Azimio.

"Can you believe she picked that guy?!" He exclaimed.

"Well, he was captain of the football team. And the Glee club." Azimio remarked.

"You can't compete with that, can you?" Jacob sighed.

Once Finn and Bella were safely away from Azimio and Jacob, they turned to each other and Bella gave Finn a huge hug.

"Finn, what are you doing here?!" She cried in delight.

"Santana texted me, she said you were in desperate need of an escort." He replied. Bella smiled.

"Awwww. You showed up to rescue me! Just like you did at the prom!" She smiled. "I am so glad you're here, you just made my whole year!"

"Thanks." He said. The two of them arrived at the table moments later and the Glee club almost passed out when they saw him. All of them - bar Puck, Kurt and Santana - hadn't seen Finn in 5 years so it was a massive shock for all of them. They barely even recognised him because he looked so different!

"Finn!" They all exclaimed, all giving him hugs. Finn smiled and hugged them back. One thing Bella did notice though is that Finn steered well away from Kurt. Although Finn was ready to be among his friends again, he didn't consider Kurt to be his brother anymore. Kurt was just another Glee club kid to him now, no closer to him than the likes of Mercedes and Tina.

"Hey, I missed you guys!" Finn grinned.

"We missed you too! Did you come all the way from South Africa? Santana said you were there for a bit." Tina asked.

"Yeah, I was in the WWF so I was in South Africa for a bit. Also a bunch of other places too. China, Brazil, Indonesia, Greenland, many others. 22 countries to be exact. Got to see some pretty beautiful places." Finn replied. "But nah, I didn't come all the way here just for the reunion. I, uh… I live here now."

Everyone's mouths dropped.

"You live here now?" Puck asked, incredulously. "As of when?"

"Well, as of two days ago." Finn replied. "I think I've spent more than enough time abroad. It's time for me to build a life here."

"That's awesome, dude." Mike replied. "Any idea what you're gonna do now?"

"Um… you know, my friends convinced me to give the music thing a shot so I think I may actually try that." Finn said.

"Ha. Good luck with that." Rachel muttered under her breath. Rachel was extremely bitter because despite taking singing and dancing lessons from the moment she could walk, she wasn't good enough to make it on Broadway and after 5 years, she had given up and was forced to move back into her parents' loft in New York and get a meaningless, dead-end entry job.

"Excuse me. I'm gonna go get something to drink." Finn said, standing up. He walked over to the back of the room, where there were drinks, and he grabbed a beer. Just as he was about to turn around and walk back down the stairs, he felt the presence of someone behind him. He clenched his jaw.

"Kurt." He muttered, gritting his teeth.

"Hello, brother." Kurt said, nervously.

"Don't call me that." Finn growled.

"Finn, how many times do I have to apologise? Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!" Kurt exclaimed.

"I know you are, but your apologies mean nothing to me. First of all, you believed that I had murdered Jessie St. James. Then, you choose not to tell me that I have a baby sister?! Family doesn't do that! And that's why we're not family anymore!"

"What, so you just don't have a brother anymore?" Kurt asked. Finn shook his head.

"No, I have two brothers. Their names are Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon and they both live in South Africa. You know, the ONLY reason I haven't changed my surname completely is that I feel like it would be disrespectful to my dad. It's the only tie I haven't severed with you, Carole and Burt. As far as I'm concerned, you're just another Glee Club member and Carole and Burt are YOUR parents/step parents. Not mine. Goodbye, Kurt."