A/N Hey guys, Abby here with my first solo drabble! Woot woot! Hopefully you're all as excited as I am! I'm a huge fan of this chapter. Caroline and I would like to thank all of you guys who reviewed, subscribed, or favorited this story. Also, I got quite a few Author Alerts or Favorite Author and even though it's not as easy to do so I would love it if you guys would do the same for cArLySTAR15. I don't deserve all the credit! Just go to her profile and click the little !

III.

Convience

The door of Lima Convenience jingled as Finn walked in. It was nine-thirty, and the store was surprisingly empty. There was the Indian guy behind the counter and some nerd standing in the freezer aisle who appeared to be comparing the nutritional value on two types of milk.

Finn walked to the back of the mart where the slushy machine stood, standing like a crown jewel on the dirtied counter that was otherwise unoccupied save for a small trash bin and an assortment of Doritos. He rolled his eyes, but secretly he thought it was cute that Rachel had jokingly asked him for a slushy, and after being teasingly harassed by Finn (She got to have a slushy of sorts almost every day during the school year, and now she wanted to interrupt Criminal Minds by making him go get her one?) she had kissed him on the cheek twice and then acted like he was a saint. Ah, the things he did for that woman.

He stood in front of the slushy machine and tried to remember what flavor Rachel had wanted. Not blue, she hated how it changed the color of her tongue. She didn't like yellow either, but why he couldn't remember. So that left red.

He paid for the slushy and left. He hoped she didn't mind sharing- he had realized at the last moment that he was a little thirsty, so he got a large and two straws. He started walking over to his car, which was parked a little ways away.

"Hey Hudson, why you need two straws? One for you and one for your imaginary girl friend?" A voice said behind him.

"No, it's for Rachel. She wa-" Finn stopped talking as he turned and saw who was talking to him:

Azimio Adams. For once, he was alone, but that didn't stop him from being extremely intimidating as he said, "Oh, Rachel Berry? That preschooler- I mean, slut?"

"Shut up, Azimio. Shut up."

"Who's gonna make me? You? Too bad your gang of misfits isn't around to help you now!"

"I swear, if you insult me one more time I will-"

"What? What you gonna do?" Azmio taunted. But before Finn could respond, there was a sharp pain and blackness for a moment.

Surprised, Finn clutched his face. His eye felt like it was being stabbed with multiple needles dipped in acid. He turned to the larger boy looming over him in his WMHS jacket.,

"You flippin punched me in the face!" He cried.

"Hell yeah I did, lover boy!"

And thats when Finn lost it. He tackled Azimio to the ground, and punched his nose until it bled. Then he ran to his car and started the ignition. He pulled out of the parking lot, and looked back in the rear-view mirror. Azimio was on his knees, soaking up his blood with his shirt and giving Finn the finger. Finn took a deep breath, but kept driving until he reached Rachel's neighborhood. He pulled over in the cul-de-sac and checked to see if he was bleeding. He wasn't, thankfully, but his right eye was already swelling up and starting to bruise. His shirt was torn in one place, and his hair was all messed up. Rachel was sure to notice.

Finn walked in, and Rachel twisted around in her seat to greet him. He watched as her face went from being happy to surprised to worried to frightened to angry. "Who did this to you?" She said, her small fists balling as she stood up. "Tell me Finn. Tell me what happened."

And Finn did. He started off planning to leave out what Azimio said, but once the word vomit started it wouldn't stop. As soon as he told her what Azimio had called her, she just shook her head sadly. "Finn, I know you're upset. Thank you. But really, I'm used to it by now. And we all know that Azimio's an idiot anyway."

Finn grinned. "That's what I love about you, Rach."

" That's it?" Rachel asked. But before Finn could answer, Rachel leaned in for a kiss. But right when her forehead brushed the spot right above Finn's eye, something was wrong. Finn grimaced and sucked in a sharp breath. "Ow," He said wincing. "Ow ow ow. That really hurts."

Rachel looked worried. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean too- I mean, I thought-"

"Shh, babe, it's okay. It's not your fault."

"Still, I feel bad. If I hadn't wanted the stupid slushy, none of this would have happened. I'll go get you some ice."

"Thanks,Rach. And no, really, it's not your fault."

Twenty minutes later, Finn and Rachel sat curled up on the couch watching Tivo'ed America's Next Top Model reruns. Finn held the half-melted ice pack to his eye still, hoping the swelling would go down by tomorrow morning. He didn't want his mom to see and ask questions. Questions required answers, and Finn did not want to have to give his mother answers.

Eventually, Finn kissed Rachel goodbye and left. As he let himself into his house, he was relieved to find that his mom and Burt were out and he vaugley remembered Kurt saying something about sleeping over Mercedes'. He took off his shoes and padded down the dimly lit hallway and into his bedroom. His old dresser drawers were half-open, and dirty pairs of boxer were strewn about the room. Books were piled up haphazardly on shelves and his bed was unmade.

And that was why Rachel never went to his house.

He went back downstairs again, and after making himself a sandwich, he went to bed.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Just as he was starting to doze off, his phone buzzed. He looked drowsily towards where it was perched on his nightstand. The picture Rachel had taken of herself wearing her gold star earrings, smiling a huge smile, and wearing an adorable plaid skirt popped up onto the screen with the caption ONE NEW MESSAGE. He opened it.

Hey. Just so you know, the slushy was really good. How did u know red was my favorite?

Finn laughed. Typical Rachel.

He quickly texted back.

Ur welcome Rach. Glad it was worth it. :)

Then he switched off his phone, rolled over, and went to sleep.

A/N Hey hoped you guys liked this chapter! Boy am I a speedy updater! Please review and don't forget to subscribe to cArLySTAR15!