Halfway through the late Wednesday Glee rehearsal that Mr. Schue had scheduled after football practice, Finn found himself focusing on two things other than the song they were supposed to be learning. The more obvious thing to him was the fact that Tina was singing lead with him instead of Rachel because Rachel wasn't at the rehearsal. No one knew where she was but then most of them didn't tend to have much to do with Rachel Berry outside of Glee. Frankly though, he'd rather be singing lead with his girlfriend, Quinn rather than Tina but who was he to question Mr. Schue.

The second thing that had Finn's attention was Kurt. Well more specifically, he was noticing the effort Kurt was putting into not paying attention to him. Finn had thought that maybe Kurt had been avoiding him yesterday, but as their paths really didn't cross much, the Titan quarterback hadn't been sure. When it had continued into today though, Finn was more convinced Kurt was avoiding them as they still had Kurt's half of the Glee assignment to finish. Giving Kurt's attitude about integrity and doing the assignment over saying they had done it, Finn found that strange. He had expected Kurt to be asking him when they were going to finish the assignment. Instead, the other teen hadn't said one word to him and today he noticed that Kurt wouldn't even look in his direction.

So instead of really paying attention to his singing, he was sure he missed a few words already, he was trying to figure out why Kurt was avoiding him. He assumed it had something to do with Monday afternoon. Perhaps Kurt thought he was mad at him because his mom had found out about the baby. If that was the case, the teen's assumption was way off. Finn actually found it was a relief that his mom knew so that he didn't need to face the situation alone. He knew she wasn't happy about it, after all she had spent thirty minutes giving him a lecture about safe sex, but she was being supportive.

"Earth to Finn."

Mr. Schue's voice brought Finn out of his thoughts, and the Titan quarterback realized that the music had come to a stop. Glancing around, he found that most eyes were on him. Kurt was busy pretending to study his sheet music.

"Sorry," Finn said sheepishly, instinctively knowing that the reason they had stopped was because of him.

"Everything okay?" Mr. Schuester asked, genuine concern evident in his voice.

"Yeah. It's fine. I just got a lot on my mind today, is all," Finn replied, not about to go into his thoughts in front of the whole Glee Club. "I'll pay better attention," he promised.

"Okay, then. Why don't we just start the number from the top," Mr. Schue told the group, looking toward Brad at the piano to start the music.

Finn did his best to pay attention during the rest of the rehearsal. Once or twice he would find his mind wandering and he quickly gave himself a mental shake. When the end of rehearsal finally came, Finn snatched his backpack up from the floor, determined not to let Kurt disappear without talking to him. The action proved necessary as Finn noticed Kurt was already heading toward the door by the time he got to his feet.

"Hey, Kurt, wait up," Finn called, half wondering if the other teen would go right on ignoring him. To his surprise though Kurt stepped to the side and stood next to the choir room door.

As he approached him, Finn noticed a slightly fearful look on Kurt's face leading him to believe that his theory about Kurt thinking he was mad at him was correct.

"Look, Finn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rat you out to your mother," Kurt said quickly when Finn approached him.

"I know that, dude. I'm not upset about that," Finn replied.

"You're not?" Kurt asked, looking up at the taller teen with a quizzical look.

"No. It was an accident and besides it turned out for the best. My mom's not happy about the situation but she has been supportive. It's a relief really."

"Good," Kurt said, visibly relaxing at the news.

"So, I was thinking, we still have to finish our assignment. I'm free now if you've got the time," Finn suggested.

Kurt nodded. "I know Mercedes said she and Puck were heading to the auditorium to do the assignment, so why don't we head to my house. I can use the piano for the music as I'm not sure I've got a copy of the song."

"Okay," Finn said, relieved that they were heading somewhere off of school grounds. As late as it was, most of the other students, including his teammates, should've already left but he really didn't want to take any chances.

The two left the choir room, and started walking through the almost empty halls of McKinley High with Kurt leading the way.

"So, have you picked a song to sing?" Finn asked, as Kurt pushed open the door leading out to the courtyard. Cutting through the courtyard was a more direct route to the main entrance of the school.

Admittedly, Finn was a bit afraid of the answer to that question. He might be naive but he was sure Kurt had a crush on him. After all, he'd had girls flirt with him before and Kurt acted just like them at times, staring at him in class with a dreamy look. It was kind of creepy really. He just hoped no one else noticed it.

"Well, I thought of and disregarded several selections," Kurt replied, glancing over his shoulder briefly at the taller teen following him. He wasn't about to tell Finn that the reason he had disregarded the songs wasn't that he didn't like them but that he thought they would make Finn uncomfortable. Well, no, that wasn't quite true. He knew they would make Finn uncomfortable. Kurt had no doubt that if he started singing "I Honestly Love You" that Finn would sprint for the nearest exit. Still, he did want a song that expressed how he felt about Finn on some level. "I finally decided on Mariah Carey's "Hero". I thought the song would adequately fulfill the assignment."

Finn was quiet for a moment as he let the song choice sink in. "You really think of me as a hero?" Finn asked.

It was a question that never got an answer as Finn ran into the back of Kurt who had suddenly stopped.

"Dude, why did you stop like that?" Finn asked, after he was sure neither one of them were going to fall.

Kurt didn't reply. Looking down at him, Finn realized the counter tenor had gone completely white. In response to the question, Kurt pointed at the sight that had caused him to stop walking.

Finn let his gaze travel in the direction Kurt was pointing and immediately felt his stomach turn over. He wasn't usually a queasy person but then this wasn't a sight he had ever seen before or ever wanted to again.

There on the ground, at the bottom of the steps was the lifeless body of Rachel Berry. The single hole in the middle of her forehead told Finn that there was no need for the paramedics. They did however need to tell someone.

Getting over his shock, and wanting to get away from the sight, Finn grabbed Kurt's arm. "Come on. Let's go see if Mr. Schue is still in the choir room," he said, pulling Kurt in the direction of the door they had just come through.

Kurt let himself be dragged along, his eyes focused on the still body of Rachel Berry until it was out of his line of vision. Even then Kurt felt like it was an image that would never go away.

In the solitude of the cheap hotel room she was staying in, she took the time to reassess her plans. The brown haired teenager hadn't been in her original plan. She had come to Lima looking for her old teammate Carole Leery.

Shooting Jordan Todd had felt right somehow. She couldn't help but feel she had finally gotten some justice in her life after everything she had gone through. That first taste of it though had left her wanting more. Suddenly, she wanted to seek revenge on those other girls who had made her growing up years so difficult.

Using a computer in an all night Internet Café an hour outside of Quantico she had done some research and started making plans. Alexis Scott, the girl who had stolen her spot on the team, had found her way to Baltimore. The girl now had a successful career as a journalist for the city. As for Elizabeth Harper, the precious valedictorian, she had returned to their hometown after getting her law degree. It hadn't taken her long to become a judge for the small court that served Glenshaw and the surrounding area. It seemed only fitting that the girl who determined what was just for others got a taste of justice herself.

The hardest one to trace had been Carole Leery. Her former soccer captain had graduated two years ahead of her. She recalled from an article in their school paper, written by Alexis no less, that Carole had gone to the University of Cincinnati following graduation. Without the assistant of her favorite hacker, she had found tracing her movements after that difficult. She had found some mentions of Carole Leery in some school related articles for her freshman year. After that, it was as if Carole Leery no longer attended the University of Cincinnati.

That didn't sit well with her. There was no way an over-achieving, teacher's pet would simply drop out, or flunk out of college especially with the awards and achievements of her freshman year. Then it dawned on her that perhaps her name had changed. Not all goal-oriented women chose their career over the idea of having a family. After all, she hadn't.

It had taken her longer than hoped, but she had finally figured out that Carole Leery had married a fellow University of Cincinnati student, Christopher Hudson. After the birth of a son, Christopher had dropped out of college and joined the army. Carole had finished school and got a job at Lima General Hospital. As far as she could figure, the former soccer captain still lived in Lima, despite the death of her husband to a drug overdose in Cincinnati in 1994. However wishing she had the skills of her friend didn't get anywhere and she was unable to track down further information on her third target.

Still, after taking care of the first two tasks, she had come to Lima. Simple math told her that the son would now be in highschool. She had no trouble making herself seem like she belonged at the school because if she could make the media believe what she wanted then talking her way into and through a high school was child's play.

The conversation with Rachel Berry had started out innocently enough. It wasn't hard for her to spot the self-assured, conceited, win at all cost attitude that had cost her so much in the past. A few well-told lies playing to the girl's ego and she had Rachel Berry giving her all the information that she needed, including how to find one Finn Hudson, which would lead her to her target.

Killing a high school student hadn't been part of her plan, but the more time she had spent with Rachel Berry had convinced her that the brunette was just like the rest of them. She may not have done anything to her personally but how many dreams had this girl already shattered on her search for stardom. Didn't she owe it to other girls like herself, to save them from her own fate?

Finishing the conversation, she'd realized they were alone. Making a split second decision, she had pulled her gun and disposed of Rachel Berry just like she had Elizabeth Harper and Alexis Scott. Just as she would Carole Leery Hudson. It was how things had to be.

Now though, the police would be on alert following the teens murder. The good thing was, she knew how they worked. The bad thing was, speed was of the essence now. If only she could get lucky and find Carole Hudson alone like she had her first three targets. She didn't want to take down any innocents in her search for justice but she couldn't leave any witnesses either.