Chapter 4. Maybe it's Just a Dream

First of all thank you for the kind reviews and story alerts, please do keep reviewing, and let me know what you think

I've been trying to find the right direction for this chapter, and tonight it finally came out, maybe it's not what I expected but it's for me somehow mostly a filler chapter since I have good things planned for Chapter 5

If you find spelling or grammar errors please do let me know

I hope you don't hate me or Rachel now, her part was the hardest for me to write, but it needed to be there I guess... I promise everything will end up nicely, I'm just trying to show a little more of the characters during this stage of their lives

again I don't own glee or the characters

It was a beautiful day, it seemed like everything was falling in to a perfect place, even when he picked up Lauren, the car was still silent, he looked at the beautiful girl siting next to him, her hair down falling over her freckled shoulders, she was looking out the window, silent, peaceful and with a big smile on her face, he liked that, his goal from now on was making her happy

He reached out and turned on the radio, and looked over Lauren who turned her face and gave him the biggest smile, this one was only for him, so he smiled back widely, his fingers started to tap the melody along with the radio he lost himself on music and the road when it was announced "Now here with you Journey's Don't Stop Believing" this had to be one of those twisted tricks of destiny he thought, so he reached over to change the song when Lauren's hand caught his

"I like this song" she simply said, giving a little kiss to his hand and let it go, he really liked this song, but he haven't heard it in a few years, he simply blocked the song along with his memories, but it wasn't fair, so he finally for the first time in years he allows himself to enjoy the song, maybe this was a sign, he was moving on and it was a good thing...

A few songs after he looked over to find her moving her head up and down mouthing some words of the song now playing on the radio, and smiled, he wondered why she even was with him in the first place, he was really a pathetic excuse of boyfriend most of the time, if he was being honest this relationship worked because she wanted it to work, she always started the conversations, set up their dates and even planned this trip all on her own, he helped but it was always that, he only gave a little bit of himself and not the whole deal

"Did I ever tell you I used to play the drums?" he simply said out of the blue

"Did you?" she said surprised with a smile on her face

"Yes, since I was kid" he looked over to see the excitement of her face, it seemed like the first time in a long time he actually invested on their conversations

"Why did you quit then?" she asked trying to sound casual

"Well, when I moved on my own after university, they just didn't fit, so I just sold them" he said, it wasn't a lie but it wasn't the full truth either, he just wasn't ready to share that much, nor he was sure he would ever share the ever presence of Rachel in his mind influenced many of his choices in life, it just didn't seem fair to her.

Their arrival to New York went smoothly, they checked in on the nice hotel, hung around the room for a while and made their way out to have something to eat and do some tourist stuff, after a lot of debating they decided they wouldn't be taking the car anywhere, he wasn't thrilled to be stuck in traffic and neither was her, in order to enjoy of a peacefully trip they would either take a taxi or a subway.

The ever prepared Lauren already carried a map of the subway, he just let himself go letting her direct the way. It wasn't until they got off the train when he saw her, right there in front of him, he read through the poster to make sure his eyes weren't fooling they weren't her name was right there announcing what seemed to be her future debut on the Broadway scene, his heart jumped a little to the thought of her getting her dream, maybe all of it was worth it after all, he noticed he'd been staring at the poster for a long time when some lady past by him hitting his leg with her bag, and turned to see his girl too pre-occupied on the map to even notice his temporary loss of time and space.

He bumped in to her almost every ride, and every time he looked at those intense brown eyes he was just thankful he wasn't really bumping in to the real deal, he didn't know how he would react, or how he would ever explain her to Lauren, so he took his mind off it and just enjoyed his time there, smiled at the girl he could actually hold and eventually got used to the flashing image of the beautiful girl he'd been missing the last few years.

They finally settled for dinner in a cozy cafe down the 9th Avenue, it was a french place and it seemed like a good place for their first dinner in New York, they were assigned a table near the windows and indulged in some good wine, food and conversation.

Lauren excused herself while they were waiting for dessert when he saw her, this time on the flesh, he wasn't sure if it was a dream or real life, since his history with her became blurry, and he'd been seeing her all day, all around town, she was wearing jeans and a light top, she looked fresh and was wearing her signature smile, he could almost hear her laugh as she walked along with a man, her arm linked to him as they were walking along, he pulled the dessert menu up to hide his face the least thing he wanted was and awkward reunion, but his eyes never left the sight of her until she disappeared on the street, he could've sworn they made eye contact for a second... it's all it took

They were walking up to what it was supposed to be a good vegan restaurant when she turned around, she could have sworn she saw the one and only Finn Hudson on the little french cafe, then again it was probably her imagination, she remembered spotting him around New York or in many of her plays before it was all of course her mind playing tricks, but she wasn't going to let it win, so he ignored whatever message her brain was trying to send her and looked up to the guy she had actually a date with

As much as she hated to admit it this Kevin guy was a great catch, not only he was good looking, but he could make her laugh, and he was genuinely interested on what she had to say instead of just wanting to get in to her pants, she liked that, it was the first time in a long time she was legitimately interested on a guy.

But she decided to let herself go, Cam was thrilled with the idea of Rachel dating someone and no less a guy she thought her best friend deserved since the last couple of guys she got involved were some pathetic excuse of actors that turned out to be complete jerks, and after their third double date, Rachel was more than ready to fly solo.

It had been the nicest dinner she had in a while she thought as they were walking down the street to her apartment, she forgot how comfortable it could be with a guy around.

"We are here" she said stating the obvious pointing at the door

He looked at her with tender eyes "Thank you, Rachel, I had fun, I hope you had a good time too" he stated as he was trying to decipher the look in her eyes

"I did, it was wonderful" she reassured giving him a little smile

"I'll call you?" He said as leaned over and gave her a little kiss on the cheek

Suddenly it was like some strange power took over her when she gently tiptoed to place her lips with his it only lasted a brief second "Would you like to come in?" she almost whispered without even thinking, this was so unlike her, it wasn't like she wanted to sleep with him, and she only hoped she wasn't giving him the wrong impression "I'll make us some coffee" she simply said before he could even answer as she opened the door and he let himself in willingly

"Please sit, make yourself at home" she simply said as she rushed to the kitchen, she saw the bottle of wine she got from her parents the last time they visited and voiced out

"Actually, what would you think of some good organic wine"

"Wine sounds great" he smiled gently as she moved with two wine glasses and the bottle and placed all on the coffee table.

Things played nice at first, they talked about movies, plays, music and a little bit of work, but as the glasses went by they started to loosen up, they were in their second bottle of wine, and she wasn't thinking straight, she was now giggling at whatever he said, she doubted but gave in and leaned to press her lips to his for the second time of the night, it didn't take more for him to start kissing back, his hand running gently trough her hair as the kiss deepened, and before she knew it they were heavily making out on her couch, she didn't knew if it was the wine or her mind but for one second she could have sworn Kevin was switched for Finn, she broke apart breathing heavily

"It's everything ok?" he asked looking at her confused

She remembered the last time that happened to her, back in high school, when that boy was actually around, she blocked the memory of her mind

"No... um... you've got protection?" she simply asked, he pulled her close with a little nod as she let herself go

again please don't hate Rachel, I promise we are moving forward, next chapter should be much more enjoyable

Reviews are more than welcomed

fun facts:

I decided to make Rachel's debut on Broadway a brand new play, that's why the name is not mentioned.

I've never been in NY or its underground, I've used the London tube though and there's posters/advertisements of the musicals all over the place, since NY is known for the big Broadway scene I thought it made sense

I actually did some research on the restaurants they ate, they are both in the 9th Avenue NY, Finn and Lauren ate at "Le Grainne Cafe" while Rachel and Kevin enjoyed their meal at "Blossom" to be honest I have no idea if they are any good, if you do please do let me know ;)