~*~Chapter Four: Just The Way You Are~*~

Day 65

Oh you know, you know/I'd never ask you to change

"Just The Way You Are" - Glee Cast Version

Finn's POV -

So Tina and I had been having sex for a while and yeah, I don't know exactly how, but um...It got more awesome like every time. She could do this thing with her tongue when she would go down on me and yeah – that – was way more than awesome. Like I'm not sure a word has been invented for that yet.

ANYWAY...I don't know why but one night after we had sex (her parents – they're both doctors – and were away on some conference thingy), we climbed onto her house's roof to look at the stars; like we were doing right now and it just like hit me.

I was in love with her.

Flashback

We were both laying down and she was turned into my right side with one of her legs wrapped around my calf since I was so much taller than her and her head was laying across my chest while one of her arms was draped over my stomach and her fingers kept creeping under my shirt and tickling me, which made me squirm.

And each time I squirmed, I would laugh and then she would too and it only made me want to pull her closer.

I was stroking her hair and she let out this little yawn and stretched in a way that made her look like this really cute kitty that was waking up from a nap and my stomach got all twisty like I was riding a roller coaster; except it didn't make me want to throw up, it felt good.

"If you keep doing that, I'm gonna fall asleep." She warned. "And then you'll have to carry me back inside my room and that's going to be pretty awkward for you, Frankenteen. Unless you wake me up, but then I'll be a total bitch and go all girl ninja on your ass. So I guess," Her voice dropped and she looked up at me with hooded eyes warm with intent. "You'll have to make sure I stay awake, won't you?"

End Flashback

"Finn?" Her voice snapped me out of the memory and I gave her a sheepish kind of smile as I looked down at her. "Sorry. I kinda zoned out. Are you cold or something? Do you wanna go back inside?"

A nervous sort of sigh fell from her lips and she pushed herself away from me so she could sit up. Immediately I missed the warmth of her soft body against mine and I was like seconds away from pouting. I know it's a total chick thing, but I couldn't help it. She just felt so good; all small and soft and warm curled up against me.

She ended up sitting in what I called her "yoga" pose (she tried to get me to go once, but um, yeah I'm even worse at yoga than I am at dancing, and that's saying something), and I could feel my tongue slip from my mouth to lick my lips.

Since she was only wearing this off shoulder it was so old it was grey, not black Led Zeppelin T-shirt, her "yoga" pose, gave me the chance to see all of her creamy shapely legs and even some of her thighs, but I was more interested in her knees.

Dude, her knees? A voice that sounded an awful lot like Puck's entered my head. Those sexy Asian gams of Stutterfly's are on display and you're thinking about her fucking knees? What the hell is wrong with you Franken-Finn? And to think, you're my main man and all. Dam. Guess I gotta go make Trouty Mouth my new boy. He at least thinks about Berry's boobs. You make me sick, you know that, man?

"God, your knees are hot." I whispered, ignoring the imaginary Puck's angry rant.

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows shot up and her eyes went wide. "My knees?" She asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "You think my knees are hot?"

I could feel all the blood rushing to my neck and face as I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh, yeah?"

"Are you asking me if you think my knees are hot?" Her voice was shadowed by giggles that were hinted at by her brown eyes being all bright and shiny and my stomach was doing that twisty thing over and over again. "Or are you telling me that you think my knees are hot?"

"I'm telling you I think your knees are hot."

This time she did giggle and this happy, bubbly smile crossed her perfect lips and she leaned in really close and told me softly in a way that sounded almost like she was singing, "I like the way you look when you get all proud of yourself. It's totally cute."

My heart swelled and started beating a little faster as I felt her lips press into mine. I didn't have a chance to make the kiss last before she pulled back and started messing around with her hands, which made me really nervous; especially when she kept looking down at her lap and not at me.

After she just told me I looked totally cute, there was no way she was breaking up with me...Was there?

I swallowed shakily and tried my best not to break out into a full on sweat. But I could totally feel myself starting to sweat.

"Have you gotten your college acceptance letters in the mail yet?" She was still looking down at her lap when she asked.

"Uh..." I started to say something, but my throat (that was suddenly dry) closed up and I had to take a big, long gulp to combat the lump that was slowly forming inside. College was something we hadn't talked about, and to be honest, I was sort of avoiding it on purpose.

It kind of made me feel like I was with Rachel all over again.

Cause she was going to be this big Broadway star and move to New York once high school was over and um, Tina, well she was a Brainiac (that was the name of McKinley's academic team) and I wasn't. She probably got accepted to all these great schools and I was looking at Ohio University, The University of Toledo, The University of Cincinnati, Cleveland State and more of the same.

Not that they were bad schools or anything; cause they weren't.

I just knew she was getting letters from better schools and yeah, my stomach was getting all twisty again, but not in a good way. As I waited for her to say something or my mouth to start moving, I felt like I was going to throw up.

While she spoke, she raised her head so she was staring into my eyes, but instead of just folding and unfolding her hands she was messing with the Pirate Hello Kitty necklace I bought her and somehow my stomach managed to be all twisty and sink at the same time. "I got accepted to Stanford."

I didn't know a lot about Stanford besides the fact that John Elway and Andrew Luck went there, but there was one other thing I did know; it was her dream school. During, like, one of the first days we were hanging out, she told me all about it.

It was the first time I noticed how cute she got when she was all excited and stuff.

It was the first time my heart started beating a little bit faster around her.

I don't know if I had planned to tell her I loved her tonight or whatever, but suddenly I was re-thinking that idea. If I told her, she might think it was because I wanted her to stay and I didn't want her to go to Stanford. It was in California and I didn't have to be a Brainiac to know that was on the other side of the country.

"Are you going to stay anything?" Her voice was so small that if I was sitting next to her, I wouldn't have heard her at all.

I didn't think my stomach could sink any more, but then I looked at her face. She looked sad and her lips were cast down and her eyes were kind of glossy and she kept blinking and I don't know why, but I got the sudden urge to sing.

So I reached out for her and pulled her against me as I bit the inside of my cheek from feeling her shake slightly and with my lips pressed to her ear, I started singing the first song that came into my head.

"When I see your face...There's not a thing that I would change...Cause you're amazing...Just the way you are...And when you smile...The whole world stops and stares for a while...Cause girl you're amazing...Just the way you are..."

She pulled back and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and asked, "What does that have to do with me going to Stanford? Shouldn't you be singing like – I don't know – something from the Say Anything soundtrack?"

"I don't know; that was just the first song that I came in my head. But, like, don't think I'm saying all that to get you to stay. Cause that's not what I'm doing. I swear! Like on my original copies of my comic books and my PS2! Anyway...Um, you know how I said earlier your knees were hot? Well, that's just like – you know – the tip of the iceberg. You know what I mean? Everything about you is hot and way awesome. You're like amazing, Tina. Seriously."

"You're babbling." She pointed out and I could feel myself getting red again.

"Do you remember when we were laying up here when your parents were away on that doctor conference thingy? And we...um...We you know..."

"Had sex?"

"Yeah." I licked my lips nervously as I stared into her big brown eyes and I was really starting to sweat as I tried to put my thoughts into words.

"Before that, when we were just laying up here and you were all curled up against me and I was stroking your hair and stuff, I kept thinking about how pretty you are and how much I like your smile and how I wanted to memorize everything I ever did to make you smile just so I could see it all the time. And um, I thought about how soft you feel and how cute your laugh is and how I like it even more when you giggle. And then I started thinking about your hair and all the different streaks you put in it, but how I like it best when it's just black and then I thought about how much I liked touching your knees and how I like kissing the little birth mark on your right boob..."

I swallowed thickly and before I could stop myself, I told her, "What I'm trying to say is...All that stuff...It made me realize that I love you, Tina."

I didn't give her the chance to say anything, I just kept on talking. "And – you know – there's not a thing that I would change about you. Like how smart you are. You were a Brainiac at McKinley and even though I didn't know what that was until the whole "Night of Neglect" fundraiser thingy Mr. Schue and Ms. Holiday had us do, that's super awesome that you're that smart. I like that you're smart and into books and all that. It's cute and it's just so you. And I love you."

"Y-you...Y-y-you l-ll-love me?"

"You don't have to say it back or anything. I just...I couldn't keep it inside anymore, you know? So um, I didn't."

"I want you to kiss me right now and then I want you to tell me you love me again."

That wasn't what I expected her to say if – you know – I expected her to say anything at all, but um, I was never going to turn down the chance of kissing her, so that's what I did. I kissed her harder and softer and warmer and more intense than I had until then and she kissed me back the same way.

Our tongues tangled and then I pulled back and I told her I loved her again and then just before she kissed me again, she whispered in a voice that almost made it seem like she was singing, "I love you too," and then we were back in her room, on her bed having sex before I blinked.

Afterwards when we were all tied up together in the purple of her sheets, she busied herself with making all kinds of drawings on my chest with her fingers as I kept squirming and trying not to laugh. Her parents were at some cocktail party and wouldn't be back for awhile, so I at least didn't have to worry about being quiet.

"Stop." I told her, but she just shook her head before she reached over and linked our fingers together.

"You usually sing to me and I like it when you do, but I figured this time I'd return the favor, Frankenteen."

Her voice was soft and kinda husky as she sang a song I didn't recognize, but it was one I would remember (though, I didn't know it at the time, duh) for along time afterwards.

(Just to stay like this

In the give of your lips

In the dim of your half-light dawn

Pinned below your undertow

When everything meant everything again) ("Sing Me Sweet" - by Matt Nathanson)

(A little bit of something

Maybe just a way home

Way home, way home)

(Sing me sweet

Sing me low

Say you'll never let me go

Sing me sweet

Say you'll never let me go

Never let..."

Song used "Sing Me Sweet" by Matt Nathanson