Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews on the first chapter. It's definitely nice to keep the Finchel story going in my own way, especially with Season 6 coming up (I'm not happy with the spoilers we've gotten... I just want Finchel back!) But hey, at least we have fanfic to keep Finchel going! Enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 2: Back To School
Rachel couldn't believe that her third year of college was starting today.
The alarm went off, and she looked at Finn, who was asleep next to her. Today was the first day at Columbia as well, and Rachel and Finn had decided to go out to breakfast together before Rachel would meet up with Kurt and Blaine to go to NYADA.
As Rachel began getting dressed, Finn snuck up behind her. "Boo!"
Rachel smiled and kissed her husband. "Morning, sexy."
"Ready for your third year of college?" Finn asked.
"Yeah, it's crazy," Rachel said. "What about you? Are you ready?"
"I think so," Finn said. "Hey, I have a favor to ask."
"You know I'm always happy to do favors for my husband," Rachel said.
"I was thinking on Friday, maybe you and the others could come to my glee club and perform for them, maybe even with them," Finn said. "Seeing people who'd won Nationals - it might give them some inspiration."
"That sounds great," Rachel said. "Ready to go to breakfast?"
"Yeah," Finn said. "I'm ready."
Hand in hand, Finn and Rachel walked to a little restaurant nearby for breakfast. "So, what are you taking again this semester?" Rachel asked.
"College Writing II, American Politics, Evolution, Issues in Evolution, Social Problems and Issues in Education," Finn said. "Honestly, I just can't wait to get the general requirements out of the way and just take education classes."
"I know what that's like," Rachel said. "I'm just glad I don't have to take any classes with Cassandra July anymore."
"Well, look who's here," a voice said as Finn and Rachel sat down. Rachel turned and saw Sebastian.
"Hello," Rachel said, trying to be polite.
"Hey," Sebastian said. "Still in New York, Finn?"
Finn smirked. "Yes I am. I made the Dean's list at Columbia last year, I'm going to be director of a glee club this year AND - " He held up his finger and then held up Rachel's. "We're married."
Sebastian looked shocked. "You went through with it?"
"Yeah," Finn said.
"So did Kurt and Blaine," Rachel said. "You'll see them at NYADA later today."
Sebastian looked even more shocked. "Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you guys around."
"Yeah, you will," Finn said before turning to Rachel. "I hope he doesn't cause trouble for you guys at NYADA."
"We won't let him," Rachel said. "Besides, I think Lucy, Jesse and Brody are cautionary tales as to what can happen when people take things too far with messing with us."
"That is true," Finn said. "We always get to the bottom of things."
"Yes we do," Rachel said.
x
"How was breakfast with Finn?" Kurt asked as Rachel arrived at NYADA and sat next to him in the roud room for the debut.
"It was good," Rachel said. "Now that school's back in session, I'm going to miss getting to spend so much time with him." She looked at Kurt and Blaine. "I'm jealous you two get to spend so much time together."
"Hey, you'll see him when you get home," Blaine said.
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"Hey guys," a voice said. Rachel turned and saw Harmony. "So, are you ready to have the best singer from McKinley glee club history at NYADA with you?"
Rachel tried to think of something to say. She'd thought Harmony had toned down a bit by the end of the year, but apparently not. "Nice to see you."
"Oh, you too," Harmony said. "Hey Rachel, what were the dorm rooms like when you lived here?"
"I didn't last very long," Rachel said. "My roommate was sleeping with the whole school..."
"Yeah, I don't like my roommate, either," Harmony said.
Before Rachel had a chance to respond, Carmen came in. "Welcome to the 2014-2015 school year debut. First year students will get the opportunity to sing publicly twice: today, and at the winter showcase, if they are selected. Let's start today off with Rachel Berry."
Rachel knew what song she was going to sing today. She'd written a song that she sang to Finn while on their honeymoon, and today, she was going to share that song at NYADA. "Hi, I'm Rachel Berry. I'm a junior, and today I'm going to sing a song I wrote called What Is Love." She handed the sheet music to the pianist and began singing.
Done chasing, why you chasing?
Something else
I can't take it anymore
Done lying for the truth to...come out of your mouth
When the answers scream loud
You play the role
I play the lead
We strike a pose
I was too blind to see
This ain't what it seems
What is love?
What is love?
When you don't know who you lying next to, to you anymore
What is love?
What is love?
You don't know what love is till you love somebody, bad enough
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love? Love...to you
It's madness, like an earthquake
They chase your soul
Then you're left with all destruction
You're frozen and you don't change
Who's gonna save us now?
Cause I can't stay this way for long
You play the role
I play the lead
We strike a pose
I was too blind to see
This ain't what it seems
What is love?
What is love?
When you don't know who you lying next to, to you anymore
What is love?
What is love?
You don't know what love is till you love somebody, bad enough
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love? Love...to you
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love?
What is love? Love...to you
At the end of the song, Kurt and Blaine were both clapping on their feet. Rachel looked at Carmen. "Good job," Carmen said simply.
Rachel smiled as she went back to sit with Kurt, Blaine and Harmony. "I bet Finn would like that," Kurt said.
"He loved it," Rachel said. "I sang it to him on our honeymoon."
"Awww," Blaine said.
The debut songs were great. Kurt performed Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again and Blaine performed No Time At All. Harmony performed Gimme Gimme, and Rachel had to admit, this girl was pretty good. The final person to perform was Sebastian. He sang One Direction's Best Song Ever, and neither Kurt nor Blaine looked happy to see him here.
"Why did they take him?" Kurt hissed.
"He's sexy," Harmony whispered.
"He's gay," Blaine whispered back.
Carmen dismissed the students, and Kurt dragged Rachel and Blaine out of the roundroom, clearly hoping to avoid Sebastian.
x
Today was Finn's first official day with the new glee club.
Today, auditions were going to be held, and he had to admit, he was nervous. Luckily, he had some help.
All eight of the other alumni living in New York had come along to help with auditions and perform a number they'd put together for the kids. Luckily, nobody had to work today and everyone was done with classes by the time it was time to start rehearsals.
"Are you excited?" Rachel asked Finn as they waited for the students to arrive.
"Yeah," Finn said. He was excited.
"You should do a musical with them this year, Finn," Artie said. "I can help direct it."
"I'd like that," Finn said. Why hadn't he thought of that?
The door opened, and the kids Finn had met the other day came in. "Wow Frankenteen, that one's even taller than you," Santana said.
"Yeah," Finn said.
A girl Finn didn't recognize came up to him. "So, you're the new director?"
"Yeah," Finn said.
"I'm joining the glee club," the girl said.
"You have to audition first," Caitlin interrupted.
"But I'm awesome!" the girl said. "I don't even need to audition."
"Look," Caitlin said, approaching the girl. "We are going to Nationals this year. Finn's said he's going to turn this group around and we need to see if you're good enough."
"Finn's right," Finn heard Kurt whisper to Rachel. "She's exactly like you in the old days."
Finn knew he had to be in control. "Okay, okay. You can audition. Let's wait until everyone else gets here."
More kids began arriving - but to Finn's disappointment, only one other prespective new member arrived. There were fifteen kids in the glee club already, but only two in the whole school were thinking to audition?
"All right," Finn said. "So, for those of you who don't know, I'm Finn Hudson. I'm a sophomore at Columbia and I'll be your director this year. I have lots of great ideas for this year and I'm sure we're going to go to Nationals..."
The door opened and three boys and a girl came in. "Hi," the girl said. "We'd actually like to audition."
"Okay, great," Finn said. "So, first of all, I brought some friends along with me today. This is my wife Rachel, my brother Kurt, my brother-in-law Blaine, and my friends Sam, Artie, Tina, Mercedes and Santana. The nine of us were in glee club together in high school and when I was a senior, we won the National championship. They're going to be coming to help me from time to time, and we put together a number for you guys today to show you what we can do. Before we start though, let's see some auditions."
The three boys (their names were Andy, Paul and Garrett) and their female friend (her name was Rebecca) auditioned first, performing Boys Like Girls' Two Is Better Than One. The other girl, named Eva, who'd come in quietly performed Somewhere Over The Rainbow, and then the girl who thought she was too good to audition introduced herself as Ariana and performed last.
And she had one of the worst voices Finn had ever heard.
This girl... Finn didn't even know what to think of her. She was singing Katy Perry's Roar, and her voice was squaky, her tone was off... Finn had never heard anything like this.
However, he couldn't turn her down. He'd let in the other kids who tried out... but they'd been good. Still, he couldn't just leave one person who tried out in the no pile. At the end of the song, Finn forced a smile. "You're in."
Caitlin jumped up. "Finn, she's not good!"
Rachel stood up. "Don't underestimate Finn. He can make her good."
"Really?" Caitlin asked. "Because I don't want to finish high school without a Sectional title."
"Finn is going to lead you guys to a Sectional title," Rachel said. "He's not only going to lead you to a Sectional title, but a Regional title, and a trip to Seattle for Nationals."
"Really?" asked a boy named Kevin. "Well, if you guys are so good, show us what you can do."
"Okay," Finn said. He got out his drum sticks, Sam and Artie got their guitars, and Kurt sat at the piano so they could perform the number they'd prepared.
Rachel: I was left to my own devices
Many days fell away with nothing to show
Kurt: And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above
New Directions alumni: But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
Artie: How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
Mercedes: We were caught up and lost in all of our vices
In your pose as the dust settled around us
Sam: And the walls kept tumbling down
In the city that we love
Great clouds roll over the hills
Bringing darkness from above
Finn: But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
Blaine: How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
Eh-eh-o eh-o
Rachel: Oh where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?
Kurt and Blaine: Oh oh where do we begin?
The rubble or our sins?
New Directions alumni: And the walls kept tumbling down (Tina: oh where do we begin?)
In the city that we love (Santana: the rubble or our sins?)
Great clouds roll over the hills (Tina: oh where do we begin?)
Bringing darkness from above (Santana: the rubble or our sins?)
Finn and Rachel: But if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
Nothing changed at all?
And if you close your eyes,
Does it almost feel like
You've been here before?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
How am I gonna be an optimist about this?
New Directions alumni: If you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?
Eh-eh-o eh-o
The high school kids clapped at the end of the number, and Finn looked at them. "It's been years since we were out of high school, and we can still sound like that together. You guys can sound like that, too." He wasn't sure though. These kids didn't seem to have the confidence, and except for Caitlin, none of them seemed to want it that badly.
"Well, when's our first performance going to be?" a boy named George asked.
They wanted to perform already? Finn wanted to get an idea of whose voices sounded good with whose before they started performing publicly. Now he felt like he'd disappointed them. "I'd really like to get to know you guys first," Finn said. "But a performance is a good idea... maybe it could help us get some new members..."
"Yeah," Caitlin said. "The club that always wins Sectionals has like 50 members."
Fifty members? Could Finn even manage fifty members? "Well, we only had sixteen when we won Nationals," Finn told the group. "No matter what, I'm sure we'll do well. How about we all do a song together now? We do have some first rate people to sing with."
x
"You were really good with the kids today," Rachel told Finn as they got ready for bed.
"You thought so?" Finn asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"It's just... do you think I can do it?" Finn asked.
"I know you can," Rachel said.
"Well, that one girl... she's completely tone deaf," Finn admitted. "And Caitlin... she's such a diva."
"Hey, you got me to stop being such a diva," Rachel reminded Finn. "She's going to be a team player by the end of the year."
"You think?" Finn asked.
"I know," Rachel said. Before they had a chance to continue their conversation, Rachel's phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was Rupert. "Hello?"
"Rachel, this is Rupert," Rupert said.
"Hi," Rachel said. She knew who this was.
"Listen," Rupert said. "I just got a call from Broadway executives - and they want a Funny Girl tour."
A tour? Wow, so they were going to do a few shows out of town? "Wow, that's awesome," Rachel said. "When's it going to be?"
"Well, it would be starting soon," Rupert said. "And I was wondering if maybe you'd want to play Fanny in the tour."
So she would be taking a break from being the understudy and have the opportunity to play Fanny full time for a little while? "Wow, that sounds great. How long is the tour going to be?"
"About two years," Rupert said.
Two years.
Now Rachel needed to think about that. If the tour was a few weeks, she'd do it for sure. But two years? She was still in school. She wanted to focus on her education. And she was newly married. She didn't want to get married and then disappear for two years right away.
But this was her dream role. Even if Marissa left the main production, there was no guarantee that Rachel would be the one to take over the part. If Rachel decided to join the tour, she'd be able to sing these songs she'd been singing since childhood her whole life.
Still, she wanted to finish her education up. If she went on the tour, she'd have to reapply to NYADA, and leaving wasn't going to look good. And she'd just gotten married and wanted some time to be home with Finn.
"Can I have some time to think?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah," Rupert said. "Just let me know."
Rachel hung up the phone. She would need some time to think.
x
A new era was starting at McKinley High as well.
This would be the first year that New Directions would be run by a new director - and nobody knew who it was. Mr. Schue was out in LA with his wife and son, working with the glee club at the high school there. Ryder, Marley, Kitty and Jake sat in the choir room, waiting for the new director to arrive. "It's too bad we can't have Finn again," Ryder said.
"Yeah," Marley agreed. "I just hope they got us someone good."
Jack and Kylie came into the choir room. "They found someone quickly... I guess that's a good thing," Kylie said.
"Yeah, but we don't know who it is," Kitty complained.
"Hopefully somebody good," Jake said as the sophomores came in.
"Still no director," Jack told the remaining members of the glee club.
"Well, it's a strike against them that we're all here before they are," Kitty said.
"Hey, no matter who it is, we'll manage," Ryder said. "We can find new members. The four of us had to find you guys last year."
"Have you heard from Rachel lately?" Marley asked Kylie. "How's Finn doing with the glee club in New York?"
"It's an adjustment, I guess," Kylie said. "He didn't know these kids beforehand and it's his first time working with a group completely on his own, but Rachel thinks he's doing well."
"That's good," Ryder said. "I'll have to call Finn sometime soon."
The door opened, and two blond women walked in. "Hola classe!" the taller woman said.
The group exchanged looks. They'd seen these women before - but where? "Hi," Ryder said. "I'm Ryder Lynn, the male lead and co-captain."
"And I'm Marley Rose, the female lead and co-captain of the New Directions," Marley said. "May we help you?"
"You sure can," the shorter woman said. "I'm April Rhodes, and this is Holly Holiday. We're your new directors."
x
"Really?" Kurt asked as the New Yorkers were eating dinner at the three bedroom apartment. "April Rhodes and Holly Holiday?"
"That's what Kylie said," Rachel said.
"I just hope April doesn't give them any alcohol," Tina said.
The group laughed. "Well, at least they found someone," Sam said. "It'll be weird if Finn's glee club, Mr. Schue's glee club and the New Directions all face off at Nationals."
"You mean WHEN," Finn said. He knew he was going to have to be confident, so he might as well practice it at home.
"Yeah, when," Rachel said, putting her arm around Finn.
"I appreciate you guys coming in with me today," Finn said. "It's different, working with kids I don't know."
"Hey, everyone has to start somewhere," Blaine said.
"And those kids really seem to like you," Sam added.
"I hope they do," Finn said. It was normal to be uneasy at first, at least he thought so. And he was going to do what he could to get those kids to Seattle for Nationals.
Chapter 3 preview: Rachel talks to Finn about the possibility of going on tour. Finn's glee club has their first public performance, and Finn turns to a familiar face for advice on running a glee club. Someone tries to move into the New York apartment.
SONGS: What Is Love by Lea Michele and Pompeii by Bastille
10 reviews unlock Chapter 3!
