Hi everyone! I told you I'd be better at updating this! I'm happy with how Chapter 3 turned out and I'm already at work on Chapter 4, where Finn goes to college. Please review if you want me to continue!
Oh, and who else is excited about the Finchel spoilers? And the Season 3 spoilers in general?
Chapter 3: New Roommates, New Look, New Routine
The van was packed and Rachel's parents and sisters were in the car, ready to make the eleven-hour drive to Princeton. They were leaving at five in the morning, but Finn had still come to Rachel's house to say goodbye.
Rachel was just standing there staring at Finn. She didn't want to leave. Summer had gone by too fast. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she wasn't ready for college. The separation would likely be too much for her to handle.
"Rachel, we really need to go now," her dad Leroy called from the car.
"Hang on, Daddy," Rachel called. She looked at Finn and just began crying. "I don't want to leave you."
Finn didn't say anything. He pulled Rachel into his arms and held her tight. "This isn't goodbye. We'll talk as often as we can. We'll spend every moment of our breaks together."
"Every moment?" Rachel asked, looking up at Finn.
Finn nodded and tucked a strand of Rachel's hair behind her ear. "Every moment." He got a tissue out of his pocket and wiped her eyes. "Remember what I told you at graduation, Rach. This isn't the end of Finchel. It's the end of the beginning."
Rachel forced a smile. "I remember that."
"Rachel, say goodbye to Finn. We need to go," her other dad Hiram called.
Rachel groaned. "Guess I have to go now." She threw her arms around Finn. "Goodbye Finn. I love you."
Finn kissed Rachel on her forehead as he held her tightly. "Goodbye Rach. I love you, too. Text me as soon as you get there."
Finn and Rachel released their grip as Rachel got in the car. As her dad began driving away, she looked out the back window and waved to Finn until the car turned the corner.
Then she began crying again.
"Don't cry, Rachie," Beth said, putting her arms around her sister.
"I'm going to miss him so much!" Rachel sobbed.
"I know you will, honey," Shelby said.
"But Rachel, to help you adjust better to college, try not to call or skype him until you've been there a few days," Leroy said.
"Yeah," Hiram said. "Studies have shown that when someone has severe homesickness, contact with those from home can only increase it."
"I don't want to go to college!" Rachel shouted. "I don't want to leave home! I don't want to leave Finn! I don't want to sit in long boring classes! I don't want to be with a bunch of people I don't know! I want to stay here!" She buried her face in her arms as she sobbed harder.
x
Rachel felt a nudge in her shoulder. She opened her eyes, realizing she'd slept for most of the drive to Princeton. They were now there.
A girl with hazel eyes, strawberry blond hair with bangs and freckles was sitting on the couch in the common room. When Rachel came in, she jumped up and ran over. "Hi! I'm Amanda!" she said almost too enthusiastically. She ran up to Rachel and hugged her.
"I'm Rachel," Rachel said, forcing a smile.
"Yay!" Amanda shouted, high-fiving Rachel. "We're sharing a bathroom!"
"Cool," Rachel said.
"She seems nice," Hiram said as they headed to Rachel's bedroom.
"Yeah, I guess," Rachel said.
"Want us to help unpack, Rach?" Shelby asked.
"I can do it myself," Rachel said.
"Maybe it would be easier for us to leave now," Leroy said.
"We love you, Rachel," Hiram said. "Have a great time here."
"Bye Mom. Bye Dad. Bye Daddy. Bye Beth," Rachel said, hugging her parents and sister. "I love you."
"We love you, Rachel," Leroy said as they left. Rachel watched as her family left. She sat down on the couch in the common room with Amanda to wait for their other roommates.
"So, Rachel, where are you from?" Amanda asked.
"Ohio," Rachel said.
"Ohio. I'm from DC," Amanda said. "What are you studying?"
"Music," Rachel said, fiddling with her hair. Normally she would have gone on and on about her talent, but nothing was normal about now.
The door opened and a girl dressed in all black with a nose piercing and long hair with two pink streaks came in. Amanda jumped up again and ran up to this girl, throwing her arms around her. "HI!" she shouted. "I'm Amanda!"
"I'm Lila," the girl mumbled, looking annoyed. She looked at Rachel.
"And I'm Rachel."
"So, I'm living with you two," Lila mumbled.
"Aren't you excited?" Amanda shrieked.
"Sure," Lila said. "Mom, Dad, let's go put the stuff in my room." She walked down the mini-hall with our parents.
"She needs to lighten up a little, don't you think, Rach?" Amanda giggled.
"Yeah," Rachel said. While she wasn't hyper and giggly like Amanda, she certainly wasn't as... well, emo as Lila either.
Rachel and Amanda heard loud screamo music coming from Lila's room as Lila's parents left. "That's definitely not my style," Rachel said to Amanda. "I like Broadway musicals."
Before Amanda had a chance to respond, the door opened again. This time it was a blond girl dressed in all pink. Rachel was sure this girl had a breast enhancement. "What the hell is that?" the girl said.
"That's our other suitemate's music," Rachel said.
"Well, I'd much rather be listening to Justin Bieber," the girl said. "I'm Rebecca, by the way."
"I'm Rachel," Rachel said.
"I'm AMANDA!" Amanda shouted, running up to hug Rebecca.
"Boy, aren't you excitable?" Rebecca's mom said.
"YES!" Amanda shouted. "I'm SO excited to be here!"
"Guess what?" Rebecca said.
"What?" Rachel asked.
"Tonight, we're going shopping and we're getting the spa treatment at one of the best salons in New York City," Rebecca said. "New York's the only place that's supposed to give Beverly Hills a run for its money. I'm from Beverly Hills, you know. It'll be a good roommate bonding experience."
Rachel rolled her eyes. Rebecca had managed to mention in EVERY e-mail they'd exchanged that she was from Beverly Hills. It was through that how she REALLY began to regret all the bragging she'd done about her talent when she was a kid.
As soon as Rebecca was done unpacking, she dragged the three girls downstairs to head to New York for their shopping and spa treatments. The drive from Princeton to New York City in Rebecca's car was about an hour long, but it felt like forever. Rebecca was blaring Selena Gomez music, while Lila wailed about how she didn't want to go shopping or to a spa. Amanda was just asking where they could go to dinner. What would it be like living with these girls all year?
The first stop was the salon. Lila refused to participate. Rachel had never had a facial treatment before, and she made up her mind right away that she didn't ever want one again. The lotion itched and burned her skin and eyes. Some of it even leaked into her mouth and it tasted like glue. Despite the fact that the brow wax took much faster than when she and her friends did each other's at home, it hurt a lot more.
The manicure Rebecca had forced her into was just dumb. She didn't even pay attention. As she watched them do her nails, she felt an ache for her girlfriends back home. None of them would ever make her do anything this stupid. She made a mental note to get nail polish remover as she headed for the hair stylist's chair.
Sitting in the chair, Rachel stared into the mirror. She'd had the same long, dark wavy hair her whole life. True, she'd had bangs for part of her junior year and highlighted her hair for a few months senior year, but maybe now that she was in college, it would be time to try a new look. Growing impatient, the stylist asked Rachel if she'd made up her mind.
"Um, I'd like to try it short," Rachel said.
"How short did you have in mind?" the stylist asked.
"Maybe a little above my shoulders," Rachel said, trying to picture herself with short hair.
"You know, if you cut twelve or more inches off and let us donate the hair to make wigs for cancer patients, we'll do it for free," the stylist said.
Rachel sighed. This salon was expensive and the manicure and facial had already cost a lot. She wasn't sure if she was ready for a new look, but if they'd do it for free and it would go to a good cause, it was a win-win situation. Plus, everything else was changing, anyway. She looked at the stylist. "Okay, take twelve inches off."
x
"Rachel, you look so cute!" Rebecca shouted. Rebecca had just gotten a wavy perm and Amanda had gotten caramel highlights, but Rachel had made by far the most drastic change. Her hair was about an inch below her chin, barely even fitting in a ponytail.
"Ready for shopping?" Rebecca asked, linking arms with Amanda and Rachel.
"I guess," Rachel said.
"Let's go!" Amanda shrieked.
Shopping was even worse than the time at the salon, if possible. Rebecca fully assessed Rachel's wardrobe, threatening to burn all her clothes that had an animal on them. Instead, she brought Rachel to J Crew, H&M, Forever 21, Black & White, Dillard's, Nordstrom, Macy's and other stores she'd never heard of, buying a bunch of sleeveless shirts and short skirts. Rachel could not buy ANYTHING without Rebecca first approving it. Rebecca was taking the fun out of New York, but as they started leaving the mall she dragged Rachel into a store called Afterthoughts.
"What are you doing?" Rachel gasped.
Rebecca smirked. "The last step to the new Rachel."
"I think a haircut and new clothes are enough," Rachel protested.
"This is a good idea, trust me," Rebecca said.
Suddenly, Rachel figured out what Rebecca was doing. When Quinn had talked Rachel into getting her second ear piercing at Nationals last year, Rachel had been terrified, but at least Quinn, Brittany and Santana had been with her. Rebecca wanted Rachel to get another piercing and Rachel wasn't sure if she was up to it.
"This is my friend Rachel," Rebecca said to the clerk. "She'd like to get her cartilage pierced."
"Cartilage?" Rachel whispered. "Rebecca, we did not discuss this!"
"Don't panic, you'll look great," Amanda said.
"Why isn't she making you do this?" Rachel asked.
"Because I already have just about everything pierced," Amanda said. "Come on, Rachel."
Rachel sighed. "Fine."
Rebecca cheered and before Rachel knew it, she had a third piercing in her ear lobe and a piercing in her cartilage. Luckily, Rebecca decided this did it and the girls were on there way back to Princeton soon.
When they got back, Rachel finished setting up her bedroom. She hung up posters from her various favorite musicals, but what really caught her eye was the photo board she'd created, decked out with photos of her with her dads, with her mom and sister, but mostly of her with Finn, at prom, at graduation, at the beach, on the holidays, just hanging out, at Glee competitions. There were photos of her with her teammates. All of them with their Nationals trophy. The seniors on senior night. Rachel, Finn, Sam, Quinn, Kurt, Blaine, Jake and Kylie the night they met the President of the United States at Nationals. So many good memories. Now an entirely different routine was taking the place of the life Rachel had known and loved for seventeen years. Everything changed, and so quickly. Instead, she'd be taking classes with no one she knew. There would be less structure and she probably would get lost on campus easily. Her parents said they knew she'd become a capable young woman, but she wasn't so sure. Maybe she wasn't quite ready for college.
But ready or not, she was here.