Love is when you spend a lot of time with someone, and then they go away, and all you want is to be with that person again. You're crabby and short tempered with everyone else because all you want is that one person again.
-my brother (19)
Every Thursday, Rachel went to the Barnes and Nobles to pick up a few novels to read, since she went through them so quickly. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain outside today, so Rachel had to rush down the sidewalk with her shoes soaking wet and her bright blue umbrella above her whipping around. She splashed into puddles, almost falling onto her butt a couple of times, and by the time she opened the front door to the Barnes and Nobles, Her brown hair was stuck against her face. Rachel pulled off the hair tie of her wrist and put her hair in a messy bun, thinking that she must look absolutely terrible.
Rachel's boots squeaked with every step she took, making the people who were peacefully reading look up at the disturbance. Some of them gave her dirty looks as Rachel went over to the romance section. What? She couldn't help it if it was raining and she loved romance! She scanned the book shelves, taking out a few novels that seemed interesting, turning them over to read the backs of them. With a stack of books in her arms, Rachel directed herself to the science fiction aisle, which she sometimes found interest in. She was hardly able to see over the stack of books, just peeking over the edge of the top one.
At the science fiction area, Rachel spotted the next book to her newest favorite series about people turning into animals, but the shelf was far up. So far, in fact, that Rachel couldn't even reach it no matter how high she stretched her hand. She stood on her tippy toes, her fingers waving in the air, leaning on a lower shelf for support. The book was almost in her hands when Rachel heard a loud crash beneath her and looking down in panic, she saw that the shelf she had been leaning on had collapsed under her and the books fell into a large pile. That's funny; there weren't that many books so why did the pile look so big?
In a short moment Rachel realized why the pile was so huge; the pile shifted and she heard a groan. A man rolled out of the pile, rubbing the top of his head in pain. Rachel stood there, horrified at what she had done, immediately bending down to help the man stand up.
"I'm so sorry. I did not mean to do that! I didn't even see you there! I was just leaning on the shelf to get a book because I'm so short, and everything just fell! I'm sorry!" Rachel said at record speed, and the man stood up, still rubbing his head. Rachel took in his appearance as he did; he had short, brown hair that looked like it was pulled back with gel, he was wearing round glasses, had strong features, a crooked smile, and was wearing blue jeans with a red sweater. He was a very good looking man, if Rachel thought about it, with the slight touch of a nerd to him, especially since Rachel found him under a pile of books in Barnes and Nobles.
"It's no problem, really. Those kind of things always happen to me." The man said, giving her that crooked smile. Rachel looked down at him with pity; poor guy, he did look like the kind of person who would get stuck under a bunch of books.
"I'm sure that doesn't happen all the time. I mean, how many times do you come across a klutz like me who makes a whole shelf collapse just because she can't reach her desired book?" Rachel asks, starting to collect the mess of books and put them back on the shelf. Then man starts to help her too.
"Come on, I'm sure you're not that bad." He says, putting the last of the books back in their original spots. Rachel scoffs at that as he picks up his own books and she picks up hers.
"You think so? Let me ask you this, have you ever met a girl who accidentally pushed an expensive necklace into a toilet?" Rachel asked, and the guy raised an eyebrow at her, laughing. Rachel waited for his laughing to stop patiently, giving herself a small smile. Yeah, it did sound kind of funny when she said it out loud.
"You did not! Did you wear it again?" he asked, and Rachel found it odd that he was actually interested in her story. But she could already tell that she liked talking to this guy, so she went on.
"Well, it wasn't mine. It was my friend's ex-girlfriend's. She was bitch really so I don't feel bad for her about the necklace." Rachel explained, but she did feel bad for Finn. How could she brush the necklace that must have cost him a fortune right into a toilet? It sounded like something that should be in a comedy.
"Oh! So she kind of had it coming." The guy said with a knowing smile, and Rachel gave him a half smile, thinking about it. Yeah, Santana had it coming, but Finn didn't.
"I guess." Was all Rachel said, and the guy nodded at her for a second before looking up at the higher shelves as if he was looking for something.
"Which book were you trying to get?" he asked, and Rachel pointed out the one she wanted. He easily got it for her; he wasn't as tall as Finn was but more of an average height for a guy while Finn could be on a professional basketball team. He handed her the book, which she took gratefully, adding it to her pile. "I read that's series. It's a great one."
"Did you? I'm just getting into it, and I'm blown away about how great the writing is. I never knew science fiction could be so fascinating." Rachel said, and the man smiled at her again. "I'm Rachel by the way."
"I'm Alex. Do you come here often? I feel like I've seen you before." He asked, focusing more closely on her. Rachel tucked a loose strand of wet hair behind her ear, wishing Alex wouldn't look at her like that. She didn't look her best today, and didn't want Alex to think she always looked like this.
"Yep, I come every Thursday. I'm a bit of a bookworm like that." she confessed, feeling her face get hotter at the confession. That would turn off most guys, but Alex just seemed more interested in her at these words.
"I come whenever I can; I'm really busy with work." Alex told her, and Rachel wondered what his job was. It was obviously something impressive and big if it took up most of his time, and leaving a short amount of time for reading. Judging from the large pile of books in his hands, Rachel can tell that Alex was a big reader like herself.
"What do you do?" she asked, and Alex gave a nervous laugh, biting his lip, figuring out how he would explain this.
"I work with a blog site on the internet, maybe you've heard of it, it's called Tumblr. There aren't many of us who work there, but it's very popular on the net. Of course, it's not as popular as Facebook and Twitter, but we're getting up there. We have more blogs then WordPress, so that's a good thing." He explained, and Rachel nodded at him, distinctively remembering that he sixteen-year-old cousin has one of those.
"Yeah, I've heard of it. My cousin has one. She's made so many friends through it." Rachel said smiling, and Alex smiled back, clearly relieved that Rachel knew what he was talking about.
"So what do you do exactly for Tumblr?" Rachel asked, finding Alex's job to be very interesting. It sounded a whole lot more fun than working at Dunkin' Donuts, but Rachel would never be smart enough to work for a popular blog site.
"I'm one of the few people who come up with new features for the site. Every time we add a new feature, we take one off so the site doesn't become too crowded and hectic like Facebook. On Facebook, you have so many different games and programs that it gets out of control, and our goal for Tumblr is to keep it simple and easy to use." Alex told her, and Rachel kept nodding her head, absorbing all this new information. She had never met someone with such an interesting job before.
"Wow. So you must be like really smart." Rachel complimented, and saw that Alex's ears went red, and he looked down at his shoes. Rachel had never met someone so easily embarrassed before, not even her.
"A little I guess. What do you do?" he asked, suddenly not becoming too embarrassed anymore. Rachel pursed her lips. How stupid would it be if she told Alex that she worked behind a counter at Dunkin' Donuts? Rachel was actually thinking about lying to him about her job completely.
"I, um, I work at a Dunkin' Donuts for now, but my real ambition is to become an actress on Broadway." She said shyly, sure that Alex would lose interest in her. But to her surprise, Alex only raised an eyebrow, impressed.
"Can you sing?" He asked, and Rachel nodded her head at him before actually opening her mouth.
"Yeah, I can sing, really well actually." Rachel told him, and then she heard someone calling Alex's name. Alex turned his head in the direction of where the voice came from, and from behind the corner, a little girl with her brown hair in two braids popped out.
"Alex, can we go now please?" she begged, pulling on Alex's jeans. Rachel looked down at her with admiration; she had never seen such a cute little girl.
"In a minute Lily." Alex told her patiently, and then turned back to Rachel with a face that said he was sorry.
"I'm sorry Rachel, but I have to go drop my sister off with my mom. I don't know if you're into this or anything, but maybe we could go out for a cup coffee or something and talk about the book series or something like that." Alex said nervously, his hands folded together in front of him, biting his lower lip. Rachel thought it was adorable, and she gave him a big smile. Hey, he was cute, he was smart, and he obviously was close with his little sister. Hell, Alex was every woman's dream guy, why wouldn't Rachel act on it?
"Sure. Okay. Yeah, let me just give you my cell phone number." Rachel said, taking out a loose leaf of paper she had in purse and pen, quickly writing her number as Lily kept tugging on Alex's pants. Rachel didn't understand why Alex wanted to see her again; she looked absolutely disgusting from the rain and she had dropped a hug pile of books on his head, but Rachel wasn't going to turn down a cute boy when she saw one. After all, her and Finn were just friends right, so she shouldn't feel guilty about seeing Alex again…right?
"Thanks. I'll call you." Alex said as Rachel gave him the piece of paper and he put it into his front pocket, smiling at her. Lily was now pulling on his hand, and he let her drag him away, but not before he can yell a goodbye to Rachel.
"See you Alex!" Rachel said from her spot, waving at him as Alex still looked at her, Lily walking the other way. Rachel turned the opposite way to go pay for her books, but not before she heard Lily say something to Alex.
"Alex, stop staring at that girl!"
RARARARA
Rachel was sitting with Quinn right before she went to work, eating her lunch when the phone rang. Before Quinn could stand up and get it, Rachel was on her feet, hoping that it was Finn. She had visited him the day before at the museum where he promised to call today. They were going to make plans to see a movie, and Rachel eagerly picked up the phone while Quinn laughed in the background.
"Hello Finn!" Rachel said cheerily into the phone, and Quinn smirked over her meal. But the voice on the other line wasn't Finn's, it another voice Rachel had never hear over the phone before, much to her disappointment.
"Um, this isn't Finn. This is Alex, from Barnes and Nobles? I'm sorry Rachel, you said I can call." Alex's voice said, and Rachel's spirits died down a little. She was really hoping that this had been Finn, but still, Alex was so sweet so she was still excited to see that he had called.
"Oh! Hi Alex, and yes, I'm glad you called. I was just expecting a call from someone else." Rachel said apologetically, and at hearing the new name, Quinn perked up, looking in the direction of Rachel with a curious look on her face.
"If you want I can call later so you don't miss your other call from, what did you call him, Finn." Alex said, and Rachel shook her head, and then remembered that he couldn't see her.
"No, it's fine. Finn's probably calling later anyway." She said, and could hear Alex sigh out of relief. He so obviously didn't want to stop talking to Rachel, and that thought made her smile.
"Cool. So listen, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together tomorrow at around six? I was thinking we could go to this coffee shop I go to often and talk more about books…or whatever else you want to talk about. I can pick you up at your place." Alex said nervously. Rachel bit her lower lip in thought; tomorrow was the day that Finn said they would go to the movies, and she didn't want to let down Finn. But the thing was, Rachel already spent a lot of her free time with Finn, and she hadn't spent any time with Alex yet. Surely Finn would understand if she missed their movies to meet a cute boy for coffee. As long as she explained it like that, right…right?
"Sure, why not? I'll just give you the address to my apartment, and I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel said and told Alex her address, with Quinn leaning in more to hear more of the conversation. "Okay, thanks Alex. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Okay, bye."
Rachel hung up the phone, and put it on the counter, posting a note about her coffee date with Alex on the microwave so she wouldn't forget. She joined Quinn back at the table, picking up her fork to start eating her salad again. Quinn watched her with slight frown.
"So, who's Alex?" she asked, making Rachel stop eating, throwing a glance in Quinn's direction. She went back to putting a tomato in her mouth before answering.
"He's just a guy I met at Barnes and Nobles, a sweetheart really. I was trying to reach this book I wanted and I was leaning on this lower shelf for support when the shelf completely fell apart and all the books fell on Alex's head. Of course, I didn't see Alex there, but he was such a darling and he helped me put all the books away. And then we started talking, and I found out he works for a blog site called Tumblr and he has a sweet little sister named Lily. Oh, and get this, he thought the sapphire necklace and toilet story was hilarious." Rachel said with a smile on her face, and Quinn watched her, still giving her that small frown. Quinn thought she really liked Finn, what was going on here? Suddenly Rachel was over Finn and into this Alex guy? That didn't sound right.
"Wonderful." Quinn said in a voice that clearly said that she didn't think it was wonderful at all. Rachel didn't seem to notice her sarcasm though as she kept digging into her food.
"Isn't it? I looked absolutely disgusting too because it had been raining that day and my hair was stuck to my face and my shoes kept making sounds when I walked. I don't know what he saw in me!" Rachel rambled on, not even noticing that Quinn was hardly paying attention. "Tomorrow we're going to meet for coffee!"
"I thought you were going to the movies with Finn. You've been talking about ever since you saw him yesterday." Quinn pointed out, put out when Rachel said she had plans with Alex for tomorrow. Since when did Rachel ditch Finn to hang out with someone she literally just met? She didn't even ditch Finn for Quinn, but she did for this Alex dude? It must have been some sort of joke.
"I'm sure Finn will understand. He's very understanding like that." Rachel said, sounding like she was trying convince herself more than she was trying to convince Quinn. Quinn only smiled and nodded, knowing that this would only cause trouble for Rachel.
FRFRFRFR
When Finn had called right after Quinn left for work, Rachel had asked him to come over so they can talk about tomorrow. She didn't think it would be very nice to tell Finn she was canceling to hang out with him for another guy over the phone. Rachel was taking the pot of tea off the stove when she heard the knocking at the door, running over to let Finn in.
"So why'd you ask me to come over? Not that I don't love being here, but why couldn't you tell me whatever you wanted to tell me over the phone?" he asked as greeting, taking off that leather jacket he kept wearing and hanging it on the coat rack and walking to the kitchen. "Hey, are you making tea?"
"Yeah, it's ready if you want some." Rachel called following him, and taking the tea pot into her hands. Finn pulled out two mugs from the cabinet and put them in front of Rachel to fill up, putting tea bags into them. They both sat down at the table, and Rachel took a sip of her tea.
"So I checked the times for the movies and I was thinking we'd go see that new horror one that I talked about last weekend, remember?" Finn asked, stirring his drink. Rachel glanced up at him, feeling a little bad for leaving Finn for Alex. Yes, she remembered how excited Finn was to see that new horror movie that was coming out today; that's all he talked about that time they went out for lunch. Rachel was almost sick of hearing about it and how gruesome it would be.
"That's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about. Um, something came up and I'm going to have to cancel our movie tomorrow." Rachel said, and Finn looked up from his tea, a little surprised. To Rachel's surprise, Finn looked concerned.
"Why? What's wrong? Did something happen? Is Quinn alright? Are you alright?" Finn asked in a worried tone, leaning closer to Rachel. Rachel quickly shook her head at him, reassuring him that she was perfectly fine, as was Quinn. Finn let out a sigh of relief, glad to hear that Rachel was not in any sort of danger.
"Wait…so then why can't you go out tomorrow night?" Finn asked, this time fully curious with his eyebrows pulled together. Rachel shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wondering how she should put this.
"I have plans with someone else." She said simply, and then took another sip of tea to block her face. Finn eyes lit up at these words.
"Oh, you mean with Quinn? Well then that's fine, I understand that you have to spend time with her." Finn said understandingly, and Rachel hoped that he'll be that understanding when she tells him who she's really spending the evening with.
"No, Quinn has a date tomorrow." She answered, and Finn dropped his mug, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at her. Why did he think that Rachel's only friend was Quinn? She did have other friends other than just Quinn and him.
"Rachel, who are you ditching me for?" Finn asked slowly, and she could literally see Finn getting angrier. If he was this angry now, how would he feel when she told him that she was going out with Alex? But really, Rachel compromised with herself, why should Finn get mad at her for going on a date with another guy anyway? She and Finn were only friends anyway; they had made that very clear over the past few weeks. She was perfectly free to date whoever she wanted.
"It's just someone I met at the bookstore the other day. A boy, well actually a man, named Alex." Rachel said, not looking up at Finn. At those words, something stirred in the bottom of Finn's stomach. He didn't know what the feeling was, but it closed up his throat, making it hard to speak.
"Oh, really? How did you meet him?" Finn squeaked out, amazed by how young he sounded when he said it. Rachel didn't seem to hear his tone of voice though, only that he asked the question, taking that as if Finn was okay with it. She told him excitedly about her meeting with Alex.
"You won't believe how it happened Finn! I was trying to get this book that was on a high shelf because you know how short I am, and all the books beneath me collapsed, and fell on Alex." At this part of the story, Rachel started laughing, thinking it seemed so much funnier now. Finn only stared at her with an obvious frown on his face, but Rachel didn't see it. "Anyway, he was so amazing because he wasn't angry at all with me and he helped me put all the books away. And then we started talking about books and his job. Oh, did you know that he is works with a small group of people on a site called Tumblr? Have you heard of it, Finn? Oh, never mind, it doesn't matter. Anyway, Alex's little sister, Lily came up and pulled Alex away from me, but not before he was able to get my number. It was so perfect!"
As Rachel kept gushing about Alex, Finn only stared there and kept nodding his head, putting on a fake smile whenever Rachel actually looked at them. But when she wasn't looking at Finn and was too busy talking about Alex, Finn looked down at the floor with a frown, his stomach hurting a little. Why was this bothering him so much?
Rachel was his friend, she had become a good friend over the time, and Finn didn't want to lose her to someone else who could be a possibly good friend…or more. Just the thought of Alex's hands all over Rachel's body made Finn want to punch something. Someone else wasn't supposed to look at Rachel in that way as if they wanted to touch her everywhere, someone else wasn't supposed to put their arms around Rachel and play poker with her by using Starbursts, someone else wasn't supposed to take Rachel to bars, or bring her to see to see the Christmas tree in the making, or eat a homemade dinner with her. That was Finn's job. That was what Finn was supposed to do with Rachel. Not some guy named Alex who sounded like he was a goody two shoes.
"This Alex dude sounds like a geek." Finn said in monotone voice, making the smile on Rachel's disappear instantly. Her eyes stopped glowing, and she gave Finn, a hard cold stare. It was like someone had turned a light off inside her, leaving Rachel dark and cold. Finn actually found that he feared this new Rachel, but held his ground.
"And what, in your own words, does geek mean, Finn?" she asked him in hard voice, and Finn cleared his throat. He was not going to back down from this, not now at least when he had so much to say.
"A geek is someone who's named Alex, works for something called Tumblr, does nerdy things like hang out at Barnes and Nobles, has books fall over them, and has a little sister named Lily." Finn put out there, sounding so snarky that Rachel's felt like she could taste it in there. Rachel stared daggers into Finn, and thought that if looks can kill, this look would do the job. He almost shrunk when he saw her expression, but sat up straight, stirring his tea pointedly. To his great surprise, Rachel wasn't mad about the Alex part, it was another part; it was another part of what Finn had said that really set off Rachel.
"You know Finn, every Thursday I go to Barnes and Nobles to pick out books and read there for an hour or so. I guess, like Alex, I'm a geek too, aren't I?" Rachel said, her eyes narrowing on Finn. At these words, Finn dropped his spoon, looking up at Rachel with a horrified expression. That wasn't he meant, that wasn't what he meant at all.
"No, Rachel, that's not what I meant. You're not a geek, you're…Rachel." Finn said at a loss with words. Rachel wasn't a geek, Rachel wasn't a nerd, Rachel wasn't a loser; Rachel was Rachel. Rachel was amazing, Rachel was beautiful, Rachel was smart, Rachel was talented and funny and wonderful; Rachel was everything that was good. Why was that so hard to tell her?
"What did you mean then, Finn? Because it sounded like you were saying that I was geek." Rachel said, standing up and walking towards the counter, before Finn could give her an answer and blubber out that he thought Rachel was perfect, and nothing like a geek. Why couldn't he just say it right? "What are you even doing? You don't deserve this tea that I made! You're too much of jerk to have my wonderful tea." Rachel snapped at Finn, taking the mug he had in his hands, and slamming it down on the counter, tea splashing everywhere. Rachel didn't even notice it; she was too busy being angry with Finn. "You know what Finn? Get out of my apartment, you don't even deserve to even be able to walk on the same floor I walk on, Finn. Get out! Get out!"
Rachel pushed Finn to stand up, and he did, looking at Rachel like she had lost her mind. Maybe she actually had. Why was she getting so pissed at him? All he did was make one mistake, and let the word "geek" slip out, and Rachel was pushing him out of her apartment. Her hands were on his back, pushing him towards the door, and throwing that stupid leather jacket in his face. Finn caught it, deciding that Rachel had officially lost her mind.
"You can't be serious, Rachel. It was only one word, and I wasn't even talking about you." Finn explained as Rachel opened the front door, and tried pulling him out, but Finn was much bigger then Rachel and was able to stay his ground as Rachel pulled and tugged.
"Oh, I'm completely serious Finn Hudson! Get out of my apartment or I'll call the cops on you!" Rachel threatened, and Finn couldn't help but laugh at that as Rachel kept pulling on his jacket. Yeah, she'll call the cops! Sure she would!
"And what are you going to tell them? That there's a man in your apartment who's having a cup of tea with you?" Finn asked with a snort as Rachel started slapping him in the side of his stomach. He knew she was the abusive type!
"I'll them that you're- you're hitting me or something like that!" Rachel shouted, getting the attention of an old man who was passing by. He stopped to watch the two of them argue.
"I'm the one hitting you? You're the one who's attacking me you little monster!" Finn said, holding back a laugh. At the words "little monster" and the fact that Rachel could tell that Finn was stifling a laugh, Rachel's hit quickened up.
"I'll give a little monster you bully of a big monster! You are so disgraceful, and rude, and mean! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Rachel yelled, still hitting him to the point where it was actually starting to hurt Finn a little. Finally, Rachel was out of breath and completely tired, falling against Finn's body. Finn instantly put his arms around her to support her against his body, gently rubbing her arm like she had done with his shoulder. It seemed to calm Rachel for a moment.
"You don't hate me, and I don't hate you. I'm your friend, and you know it. You can be angry with me Rachel, but I'm still your friends." He whispered, bending so he could whisper in this in Rachel's ear. Her breathing steadied and Rachel stood there, wrapping her arms around Finn's waist, breathing in his scent. He was so nice, and perfect, that all Rachel could do was enjoy this moment of closeness. Then that sentence about the geek popped back into Rachel's mind, and she quickly pulled away.
"It doesn't matter that we're still friends. I'm angry at you and I don't want to see you right now." Rachel said calmly, crossing her arms over her chest, and looking directly into Finn's face. Finn bit his lip, and Rachel glanced at the old man who was still watching the pair with curious eyes.
"Fine, I'll go. But I'm coming over tomorrow." Finn said just as calmly, backing away from Rachel and pulling his jacket on. Rachel was about to tell him that he most certainly was not going to come over tomorrow, but Finn had already disappeared down the hallway and out of sight. Rachel huffed loudly and looked at the old man who was staring at her with slight smile on his face.
"Being in love makes you do crazy things." He said with a knowing smile, and with another frustrated huff, Rachel slammed her door closed on the old man.
FRFRFRFR
Finn knocked on the door once, twice, three times before Rachel actually made the effort to stand up and walk over to the door. She opened it, already knowing who it was, and saw Finn standing there; smiling down at her like everything was perfectly fine between them. Everything wasn't perfectly fine though; Finn had not accepted the fact that she was going out with Alex that evening and he also called her geek. Well, he didn't directly call her one, but he said hanging out at Barnes and Nobles made you one, and Rachel did that! Not to mention, it was rude of him to just come to her apartment when he was completely aware that Alex would be here any minute to pick her up. He planned this, and Rachel knew it!
"Hi Rachel, oh, you look pretty! Are you going somewhere?" Finn said cheerily, walking past Rachel and into her kitchen, Rachel rolling her eyes as he did. He knew where she was going; Finn was just playing games with her!
"You know where I'm going Finn!" Rachel said in a loud tone as she followed him. Finn had seated himself on one of the chairs, and looked at Rachel with a slight smirk on his face, his eyes shining.
"I actually don't. All I know is that you're ditching me; you're amazing friend for some guy you only just met and really know nothing about. For all you know, this Alex guy could be some crazy maniac who brutally murders smart and pretty girls that hang around bookstores with an axe." Finn said, throwing his hands up. Rachel stared at him blankly, wondering if he was serious. "Oh, by the way, I brought some Starbursts over as an apology for how I acted yesterday. They can also be seen as me forgiving you for attacking me yesterday right outside your apartment."
Finn held up a bag of Starbursts, shaking it in front of Rachel's face expectedly. He was looking at her as if everything in the world was dandy and the world was made out of sunshine and rainbows, and all Rachel wanted to do was hit something. Why did Finn look so god damn happy? Why wasn't he angry or jealous or infuriated like he was yesterday? Why was he all of a sudden very calm?
"You can't say that I shouldn't go out with Alex because I don't know him, and he could be a murderer. That's stupid, what about when I met you? You could have been some sort of serial killer who invited lonely girls to bars just to kill them in the bathroom!" Rachel said back, ignoring the bag of Starbursts in her face.
"That's ridiculous, Rachel. Why would I ever kill someone? Are you even thinking about what you're saying?" Finn said, removing the bag from Rachel's face and picking a red one out. Rachel stared at him, her mouth slightly opened. Was Finn kidding or something? Was Finn seriously being serious right now; the way he was acting only made Rachel want to hit something even harder.
"Why would Alex?" Rachel said back, but then a thought crossed her mind, making her temporarily forget about Finn and his theory of Alex killing women. "Oh no."
"What? What is it?" Finn asked, seeing the change in Rachel's face, and standing up so quickly that his chair fell back. He started to panic, wondering if something had happened to Rachel since she was very still and staring at the wall with a horrified expression.
"I forgot to ask Quinn what the story was going to be for me and Alex. Oh, I can't believe I forgot to ask her that!" she said after a silent moment, walking over to the counter, and banging her fists against the counter. How she forget to ask Quinn for her and Alex's happily ever after story? She needed those to give her hope! Why was this making her so mad? Rachel didn't even notice Finn follow her, a few inches behind her.
"Story? What story? Rachel, what are you talking about?" he asked, and for a second, Rachel didn't want to tell him. Why should she tell him? All Finn had done was get her angry! But she knew that she would tell Finn at some point in their friendship, so might as well tell him now.
"It's just this thing, that whenever I meet a new guy, Quinn makes up this story about what will happen to us. It's really just for my entertainment." Rachel explained, and Finn nodded his head, thinking that that would be something Rachel and Quinn did. Wait one moment….
"Wait, so did Quinn make up a story for the two of us when I first met you?" he asked, and at these words, Rachel turned around to look at him, noticing for the first time just how close he really was to her. She tried to breathe as she thought about his question. There was no way Rachel was telling Finn about the stories Quinn had made up for them. Not unless she wanted to be completely embarrassed. But Finn was waiting patiently for the answer, and Rachel just stared up at him, frozen.
"Nope, I guess she forgot then too." Rachel said quickly, pursing her lips together and hoping Finn would think she was telling the truth. Finn became disappointed at this news, wishing that he could hear some funny stories about him and Rachel from when they first met. What would the story be based on anyway; from when they met at the museum, or when Rachel realized Santana was Finn's girlfriend?
"Oh, well, that's too bad." Finn said, biting his lip. Rachel could only nod in response, staring at Finn's chest that was so close to her. She would only have to reach out, and she would feel his body. It was only a couple of inches away; maybe if Rachel did it very quickly, Finn wouldn't even notice.
She was about to reach out her hand when the doorbell rang. Damn.
There seemed to be a moment of silence after it rang; Finn and Rachel staring at each other intently. And then they were both bolting towards the front door, Finn in the lead. His legs were longer then Rachel's were and he was faster, so Rachel bumped right into him when Finn slid on the floor, stopping right in front of the door. Out of breathe, he swung the door wide open to look down at an average height man with gelled hair and dorky glasses, holding a bouquet of daisies. This was Alex? Finn stared at him in shock. He was even more of a nerd then Finn thought he would be.
"Hi. Is there a Rachel here?" Alex asked nervously, and Finn's eyes shifted from Alex's face to the flowers he was holding. Damn it, why didn't he ever get Rachel flowers whenever they went out? And who brought someone daisies anyway? Why not roses or tulips or something more romantic? Finn fingered the Starbursts in his pocket, thinking that that was the most romantic thing he had ever given Rachel before. Stupid Alex with his stupid glasses with his stupid daisies ruining Finn's friendship with Rachel!
Finn was about to tell Alex that no, there was not a Rachel living in this apartment and would gladly close the door in his face, when Rachel shoved Finn out of the way, beaming at Alex. Finn wanted to punch Alex in the face for even smiling back at her!
"Hi Alex, this is Finn, and he was just about to go." Rachel said, her eyes moving from Alex to Finn, the expression on her face changing to a hard glare. Finn rolled his eyes as Alex looked up at him.
"This was the guy you were expecting the call from right?" he asked Rachel, and Finn's head whipped around in Rachel's direction in shock.
"You mentioned me?" Finn asked in a shock tone, and Rachel let out a loud sigh, keeping her attention directed at Alex.
"Not on purpose." She said, not even looking at Finn. "Come on in Alex, I just have to get my purse and coat. And are those for me? Thank you so much; they're beautiful! You really shouldn't have!"
Rachel led Alex down the hall, pushing passed Finn. Finn turned around to see Rachel taking the bouquet of flowers from Alex's hands, admiring them and leading him into the kitchen where they disappeared. Finn followed them quickly, wanting to make sure Alex didn't try anything on Rachel when Finn wasn't looking. He watched with his arms crossed across his chest as Rachel had Alex sit down, and how he said something about hoping Rachel liked daisies because he didn't know what to get her. Rachel assured him that she did, giving Alex a sweet smile, and Finn's stomach hurt a little at the wish of her giving Finn that sweet smile. Why was Alex suddenly the focus of attention?
"We can go as soon as Finn leaves, which for some reason he hasn't yet." Rachel told Alex, turning to glare at Finn once again. He gave her a tight smile, Alex looking from Rachel to Finn in wonder.
"Can I use your bathroom before I go or is that asking for too much?" Finn said through his teeth, trying to keep his temper under control. Something about seeing Alex in Rachel's apartment, seeing him interact with Rachel, and give her flowers made Finn's insides boil with hatred. Why was he so angry all the time now?
"Of course you can, Finny." Rachel responded with a fake smile, and with his hands in his pockets, Finn walked down the hall and into the bathroom.
In the bathroom, he stared at himself in the mirror, trying to remember if he had used soap in the shower this morning. Yeah, he used soap so he smelled okay. Did he brush his teeth? Yeah, he brushed his teeth so his breathe didn't smell funny. Did he have something in his teeth? No, he didn't eat any foods that would stick to his teeth so his mouth was okay. Then why was Rachel treating him like he wasn't even her friend? Sure, Finn hadn't said many nice things about Alex, but he came over today, intending to apologize and make up with Rachel, and all it had done was make Finn even more frustrated than he already was. It wasn't fair; all he wanted was the Rachel from before Alex came into the picture! He wanted the Rachel who laughed with him, and made him feel good, and seriously wanted that necklace from Tiffany's! That Rachel wans't his Rachel anymore; Finn was slowly losing that Rachel to Alex. And there was no way in hell was he losing that Rachel to Alex now that he practically had her!
When Finn came back out of the bathroom, feeling a little more under control, it was to see Rachel sending Alex to wait by the front door as she found a vase to put the flowers in. Her head was under the sink, pulling out one of her nicest vases, when Finn spoke.
"Do you even like daisies?" he asked, and surprised to hear his voice, Rachel moved to stand up to see Finn, but only bumped her head against the cabinet. Finn instantly was by her side on his knees, rubbing her head. Rachel had her hand on her forehead, her eyes shut closed.
"Rachel, are you alright?" Finn asked, worried, removing Rachel's hand from her forehead to see a new blue bump forming on Rachel's head. Her eyes were still shut closed, trying to hold back the tears. Rachel could feel the closeness of Finn, but ignored it, trying to make the bump hurt less. Finn's hand touched her cheek, gently turning her face so he can see her better. There was so much worry and care in Finn's eyes that it held Rachel there, removing the ability to think. "I'm sorry. I should know by now to warn you that I'm near you before I actually speak."
Rachel didn't answer him, only gazed at him, a feeling forming in her stomach. They were kneeling on the kitchen floor, their bodies practically touching, and the only thing the either of them can do was stare at each other, getting lost in the other person's eyes as Finn gently rubbed Rachel's bruise. Finn might have been acting like a jerk ever since he found out about Alex, but he cared deeply about Rachel, and that was all that mattered. It was the voice down the hall that snapped the two of them out of it.
"Rachel, are you okay in there?" came Alex's voice, and suddenly, Rachel remembered what was happening and who she was, and she stood up and took a few steps away from Finn, looking at him with a strange expression. What had just happened there?
"Yeah, I'm fine Alex. Something just fell." She yelled back, still looking at Finn with that weird expression. Slowly, Finn stood up, gazing at Rachel the same exact way. Rachel took a deep breath before answering Finn's original question. "No, I prefer lilies, but it's the thought that counts."
Finn only nodded at her, and after a long, silent moment, Rachel moved to pick up the vase that she dropped on the floor and put the flowers in it, filling it with water. She placed them on the kitchen table, and then turned back to Finn, who was still standing still, watching Rachel closely.
"I have to go now Finn. I'm going to get some coffee with Alex. You should go now." Rachel said slowly, staring at Finn. After another painful, quiet moment, Finn nodded leaving Rachel in the kitchen, and quickly walking down the hallway. He pushed passed Alex, who was standing by the front door patiently, and Finn slammed the door behind him as he went, not even sparing Alex a look.
RARARARA
Alex was talking about the book, Rachel knew that much. And she tried to pay attention to what he was saying as she took another sip of her coffee, she really did, but Rachel's thoughts kept drifting back to Finn. What had happened between the two of them when she bumped her head? Rachel put her hand to where she had bumped her head. It didn't hurt anymore, and it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. It must not have been as visible as Rachel thought either because Alex hadn't said anything about it. Her hand moved from the bump to the cheek that Finn had touched, still able to feel his skin against her face. It had felt so good, like coming home or something. Rachel couldn't explain it, and now was definitely not the time to think about it. Not when she was out with Alex.
"I think Ned was a useless character though. I mean, how does being able to turn into a beetle help anyone? He doesn't even do anything!" Alex was saying, taking a gulp of his coffee. Rachel stared at him, trying to remember what was going on and what Alex was talking about again. Oh yeah, the book.
"I agree. He does nothing to help the team, especially when they come against the real animals. Remember when that happened in the third book? Ned was such a coward then; he literally threw himself under a rock in beetle form!" Rachel added to the conversation, not wanting Alex to do all the talking. She had to focus here. Alex was a great guy, and he deserved to be in the spotlight in Rachel's mind when he was the only one with her. Now wasn't a good time to think about Finn, and all the complicated feelings she had for him.
"Thank you! Finally, someone agrees with me that he doesn't deserve to be on the team! I don't understand why they don't just kick Ned off for good." He said, throwing his hands up. Rachel laughed at how dramatic he got about it, getting more into the conversation.
"I guess they can't because he's one of them, and he belongs nowhere else. The poor guy doesn't even know who his parents are." Rachel pointed out, and Alex nodded his head in thought, agreeing with her on that. The two of them abused Ned a little more before Alex looked at his watch, biting his lip.
"I'm sorry Rachel, but I have to be at work soon. There are some glitches with the inboxes on Tumblr today, and unfortunately, I have to be the one to fix it." Alex said, standing up and throwing his coffee out. Rachel did the same, not feeling too bad that Alex had to go and cut their time together short.
"That's fine. I understand how important work is." She said, following Alex out of the coffee shop. It had started to get colder, and Rachel wrapped her coat more tightly around herself. Okay, that was a lie; she didn't really know how important work was. Rachel worked at a Dunkin' Donuts for crying out loud, it wasn't some sort of important career.
"Do you want me to walk you home? I feel bad." Alex said, and Rachel shook her head at him, much rather walking home alone.
"No, no. You go to work; I don't want you to be late." Rachel said understandingly, and Alex touched her shoulder lightly. Rachel shuddered, probably from the cold, as Alex smiled at her. Despite the cold, Rachel forced herself to smile back at him. Alex was a sweetheart, not a crazy manic murderer like Finn had predicted.
"I'll call you, okay?" Alex said, about to turn around and head the other way. Rachel nodded fervently, only wanting to get out of the cold.
"Okay. Bye Alex." Rachel said, and Alex stood there for a second, as if expecting something, but then turned around and walked the opposite way. Rachel didn't even bother watching his figure disappear within the wind, only turning around and quickly walking home, her thoughts going right back to Finn.