A/N: Awww thanks for the reviews guys! I do definitely see there is a severe lack of Rachel/Finn and that breaks my heart because honestly, Rachel + Puck is not what I love. Just watching Rachel and Finn sing "Don't Stop Believing" should be the biggest push for Finchel!

Disclaimer: Once again, FOX and Ryan Murphy own Glee. "Use Somebody" is owned by Kings of Leon.

Chapter Three: Use Somebody

As I walked out of the choir room after glee practice I felt like I had just had some 'vitamin D' because my heart was racing and there was this spring in my step. While I do not condone drug use, this was definitely a feeling I could get used to. I didn't even feel this way as I straddled Puck and, well, even though he could be an obnoxious, conceited jerk, he could kiss. I'm still holding Finn's iPod in my hand even though I have put all my other things away.

"Look at the cat who ate the canary..." Kurt says in his sweetly bitchy voice as he walks past me.

"I don't know what you are talking about Kurt." I say resolutely and turn my heels quickly but in my hurry to avoid a confrontation with my, well, gay arch nemesis, I ran directly into Quinn.

"Did you lose oxygen to your brain while you were serenading my ex-boyfriend?" she commented sharply at me before I had the chance to apologize, and I see something in her eyes that isn't quite jealousy but it's something I can't pinpoint.

"I don't know if you were paying attention," I pause for emphasis, "Quinn. But we do have a duet we need to have completed by Friday." I have a couple of more quips ready to fire, but somehow whenever I look at Quinn I just feel pity. Even though the nastiest words could slip out of that beautiful mouth, all I do is look down to that ever expanding baby bump and I can't help but hold my tongue.

She gently grabs the hand that is holding the iPod and turns it on. She goes to playlists and clicks on one titled 'Q+F.' "Good." she says assuredly, "He still hasn't deleted our makeout mix." She softly drops the iPod into my hand. I can feel myself begin to shake with anger when she puts her hand on my shoulder, "Aren't you tired of my hand me downs Rachel?" she says softly and walks away towards Puck who is waiting for her in the doorway.

I throw my shoulders back and put my chin up. I can see Quinn toss her long blonde hair as she looks behind her to see the bloody aftermath of the mental time bomb she just deployed. All I do is smile, and put on my headphones as I walk towards my locker. I quickly get out of the playlists menu and into the most played. I find myself skipping some songs but listening to others. I never saw Finn as an indie rock kind of guy. I figured he stopped listening to music made after 1989. Once again Finn surprises me.

My thoughts fall back to my altercation with Quinn. Was she right? Was Finn still hung up on her? What would happen if me and Finn did end up the way I often daydreamed about? Kissing, but not a clandestine kiss, one that wasn't haunted by Quinn, and by Quinn's baby.

I put the idea out of my mind. "Remember Rachel," I thought to myself, "He knows how you feel, you have shown him over and over. He can act on it if he wants."

I continued towards my locker, grabbing a few textbooks and begin walking home. As I'm walking down the main hallway towards the exit I see Artie and smile, "Rachel," he says, "I loved your rendition of 'You & I Both,' it was really powerful but sweet. It would be great for your duet with Finn."

I find myself blushing again, "Thanks Artie, that means a lot. I'm sure the duet you and Tina are going to present will be great!"

"Well, we haven't really agreed on a song yet, but here's hoping." He says and I smile. As I begin to walk on he stops me with a tap on my hand, "Rachel?" he says and I pause.

"Yes?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's nice to see you be modest, to compromise." he says carefully, "It's obvious you are amazingly talented, and while the whole school isn't going to appreciate it, well, just remember it doesn't have to be lonely at the top and if you keep being open to change and different people taking the lead, I'm sure glee won't be so combative for you." He looks away, and I see him lean back into the chair.

"Thanks, Artie. I'm starting to see that too..." I turn away, "I don't want everyone to hate me, you know?" I say quietly, "I've made some mistakes and I'll be the first to admit they've been selfish ones, but, I do want to change. Thanks. Thanks for being honest."

"You of all people deserve honesty, Rachel." He says and we smile at each other.

Maybe one day I will be able to go to glee and not get bitchy comments. I won't hold my breath but I can hope.

The day is clear, but frankly there could be clouds in the sky and I would not even notice when I think about Finn coming over. I look at the clock as I walk into the house and see it's 3:20, and I'm expecting Finn will be over just before six. It gives me enough time to make dinner and maybe put up a song up on my myspace. After planning out my evening, I put Finn's iPod on my dock in the kitchen, put on an apron and began preparing the meat sauce for some lasagna. By four o'clock I have the lasagna in the oven and have garlic bread ready to toast. I bring my laptop from my room to the kitchen so I can watch the oven and work on my U.S. History essay and finish up an English assignment.

Finn's iPod is still playing on shuffle and I hear this amazing song I know I've heard on the radio and can't help but play it again. It's called "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon. I google the song lyrics and fall in love with the song. I put it on repeat and begin to sing it as I typed away on my laptop. Once I finish my homework I decide that today, for once, I would not be putting up another Broadway standard. After checking the lasagna and ensuring it would not burn in the next fifteen minutes, I run back to my room with my laptop and begin setting up my webcam and microphone.

"Here goes nothing," I think as I press record, "It's not like he will ever see it."

My hands shake a little and the lyrics I printed out that I am holding flutter. I hope the comments are not even more hateful now that I'm going to be singing a 'mainstream' song. "I've been roaming around, always looking down at all I see." I'm so used to being alone, Artie is right, I do truly believe it has to be lonely at the top, "Painted faces fill the places I can't reach. You know that I could use somebody, you know that I could use somebody, someone like you. And all you know and how you speak, countless lovers undercover of the street. You know that I could use somebody, you know that I could use somebody, someone like you." I can feel myself grow self assured, and it's no longer the camera I am singing to buy that ridiculous boy that holds my heart, "Off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep, waging war to shake the poet and the beat. I hope it's gonna make you notice, I hope it's gonna make you notice, someone like me." The words ring a little hollow in my heart, the only people that watch my videos, it seems, are those spiteful Cheerios, "Go and let it out, someone like you, somebody, someone like you, somebody, someone like you, somebody." I can feel the thunderous music in my head fall to a hush as I sing the last lyrics, "I've been roaming around always looking down at all I see..." I murmur a soft "Thank you," and I press the stop record on my laptop. After uploading the video I return the kitchen to make the salad and toast the bread.

It's 5:45 when I hear the doorbell ring and I know it's Finn because my dads don't aren't getting home until seven or eight. I've already prepared two plates for them that are staying warm in the oven. I quickly walk to the door and smile when I see Finn's face looking at me from the peephole, "It's me, Finn," he says as I begin to unlock the door.

"Hey," I breathe out and he smiles.

"Hey Rach," he says, "Cooking?"

I look at what he is staring at, my bright pink apron, and I blush, "Yeah, I made dinner, my dads are running late today so it's just going to be us." I falter, realizing I never asked if he was even hungry, "Well, unless you have already eaten, I just assumed-"

"No, I haven't, and it smells great Rachel," and he gives me this knockout smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"Well then," I smile and close the door behind us, "Let's eat!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I guess it is safe to say I can add amazing cook to the list of things I never knew but love about Rachel Berry. After pouring me a glass of pomegranate juice ("The antioxidants are great for you," she says matter-of-factly, "but it stains so be careful," she says, gesturing to my white crew neck long sleeve) we dig in This is nothing like the Stauffer's lasagna that me and my mom will share for dinner occasionally, and now I am pretty sure it will be spoiled for me, forever. It's fantastic and I can't believe how comfortable I am sitting in Rachel's dining room eating dinner with her. I know my iPod is playing because I can hear Mick Jagger proclaiming that he can't get no satisfaction and I smile.

Rachel looks up at me questioningly, "I love the Rolling Stones," I say, "Jagger had it all!" She laughs.

"I can't say I disagree." she replies respectfully and begins clearing our dishes. I quickly jump out of my seat to help her and soon I'm pulling up my sleeves washing dishes as she dries everything and puts it away. "Well, let's get started Finn!" she says and I follow her up to her room. As we walk up the stairs I wonder for the fiftieth time how someone so small can have such long legs. It's like CGI or something.

Once again I'm overwhelmed by every pastel color ever created that covers every surface of Rachel's room. I sit on her super soft bed as she sits at her desk.

"So Finn," she asks, "Did you have any epiphanies at basketball practice about what we should sing?"

"Besides the one I had in the showers?" I think to myself, while racking my brain. I have her iPod in my hand again and as I find the song I that we both had rated highly and played highly. I smile when I notice an old beat up acoustic resting against her chest of drawers, and gesture towards it, "I didn't know you played the guitar."

She blushes, "Not nearly as well as I can play piano, I know basic chords and some chord changes but I need to practice really hard to add any other songs to my repertoire, I'm definitely no Artie." I smile and lean over her and do a search for guitar and drum tabs on the internet and print some out, along with song lyrics, "I think I found our duet!"