I love you guys for reviewing:)
laylita83: I know! Fuinn is the only reason why I can't stand Finn at the moment.
gleelover95: Totally I'll come with you ;)
Mandy-twinkletoes: Haha thanks ;)
JAZZEH: Haha, don't be getting to excited Jas. It is a Rachel and Finn fic. :)
Long chapter, just to let you know.
As Finn steeped off the bus, being the last to do so, he looked up at his school that was lit up by street lamps near by. He thought about the last time he saw it. When he was on bus getting ready to go to regionals, gazing out of the window, thinking about the next time he saw his school he would either be happy, from winning and going to nationals, or a little depressed from losing yet again.
Finn chuckled to himself, he was miserable even though they won. He should be happy, ecstatic, that they are finally competing at nationals. Yet he still couldn't shake off that feeling, which loomed over him, surrounding every inch of him.
'Urghh I hate this.' Finn thought as he trudged towards his school, with the rest of the group. 'Why do I feel so depressed? W-It just feels like something is missing. That something isn't right. Like Rachel getting a ride with Jesse a- No! Finn stop thinking about her. Think about something else. Urghh, why bother? I can't force myself to be happy, I just feel fake and I hate things that are fake. Like Christmas trees. Wait I told someone tha- Rachel. I told Rachel about that. That real trees are better than fake ones because the smell. Rachel got it, didn't she? She got the whole point of real ones. She understood what they meant to me. She understood a lot of-Finn! Here we go again. Stop thinking about her, seriously.'
Finn mentally kicked himself as he clenched his fists. 'I have some serious problem. Just don't think about her. You have a girlfriend. Quinn. Remember? The girl who you first dated at McKinley. The girl who loved me. The girl who…cheated on me with my best friend. The girl who lied to my face saying she was pregnant with my kid. The girl who…who pushed the girl I love towards the same guy that she cheated on me, both of them. My life is just screwed. It's so complicated. I have an ex girlfriend who cheated on me with the same guy my first girlfriend cheated on me with. A girlfriend who cheated on me then lied about the baby, and then…planned on dating me again? I wish I could just go back, back to when my life was easy and manageable. Why can't I-'
Quinn linked arms with Finn's, interrupting his thoughts, as she rested her head on his muscular bicep.
"So what do you think we should do, you never answered my question?" the blonde asked her boyfriend, who felt her words vibrating up his arm.
"Huh?"
"I asked you whether we should do badges or cakes."
Finn only halved listened to his girlfriend, all he heard was '…cakes or badges?' he already knew what the question was without even hearing it fully.
'Cakes or badges? Do I look like I really care about cakes or badges? It's a stupid idea anyway. Badges are sharp and painful. They could just hurt someone. They're sharp objects that if mistreated, could damage someone. I mean yeah it is high school, but still. There are some people who don't realize the pain a badge can give. Like me. You pick up a badge thinking that you've already got hurt by it, and you got over it, so it can be that bad. Then when you do prick yourself with the needle end, you realize that the pain wasn't just a little pinch but more like someone stabbing you. You realize how much it hurts and then after, it still hurts and can even scar you. Badges are a stupid idea. Cakes just make you fat, though you can lose that weight. Not that a single cupcake could make you gain that much weight, but still. A cake isn't as dangerous as a badge. It isn't even dangerous. It doesn't hurt you. You just need someone skilled to make a cupcake. I mean someone who doesn't know anything about cupcakes could mess up the whole thing. You need someone who knows exactly what they are doing. I'm not so good at cooking so I guess I won't be making the cupcakes, I bet Jesse St Jackass knows everything about cupcakes. Seen as he knows everything.'
"Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"Well…?" Quinn asked, growing impatient for her boyfriend's answer.
"Ermm…I'll have to get back to you on that one."
"Jesse you really didn't have to do that." Rachel shyly smiled at her ex boyfriend as he opened the door for her.
"Well, after what has happened, I think it's the very least I can do." Jesse returned her smile, reaching his hand out so the brunette could hold it as she got out of his car. "Well…" Jesse started, attracting Rachel's attention. "I best get going then."
"Oh. Right…ermm yeah." Rachel looked at the group that had their backs against her, walking towards the school. Glee club. She lightly smiled as she watched her friends make their way towards the building. While watching them walking, Rachel noticed the tall teenager at the back of the group. Standing out like a sore thumb. Rachel stared at Finn, with a grin threatening to break free and spread across her face. That was until she saw a certain blonde linking arms with him, facing towards him and smiling. The grin that threatened to appear on Rachel's face disappeared. He had a girlfriend. Quinn began opening her mouth, probably talking about how happy she was that Finn was now his boyfriend. Rachel gazed down towards the floor before hearing a car door slam. She spun on her heels facing her ex boyfriend again. "Jesse?" she started as she etched her way closer towards his car.
"Yeah?" Jesse asked as he half smiled at the brunette.
Rachel noticed his smile, trying not to compare it to Finn's, but no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't help herself. The light shining from the street lamp, light half of his face, the other in complete darkness, revealing his Wannabe-Finn smile. She realized that Jesse's could never compete with Finn's. The quarterback's was just…just his signature smile. The Finn Smile. Jesse could never master the Finn Smile.
"I was thinking, well…it was nice seeing you today."
"It was?" Jesse asked, half teasing his ex girlfriend, half in shock that she thought it was nice to see him again.
"Yeah and I was thinking maybe you would want to-"
"Do it again sometime?" Jesse finished her sentence, as her cheeks were suddenly filled with a red tinge. "Definitely." Jesse grinned at his ex girlfriend before placing his keys into his car ignition. "Bye Rachel."
"Bye Jesse." the brunette waved Jesse off before spinning on her heels to face the back of her other ex boyfriend.
"You guys did awesome. I'm so proud of you" Mr Schue told the Glee club as he entered the empty building. "And guys we're going to nationals! I think it's safe to say that you guys have earned a well deserved rest." the director beamed at the teenagers in pride.
"Yes we did great but we shouldn't slack off now, Mr Schue." Rachel informed the rest of the group as she made her way towards the group.
"Ahh Berry so nice of you to join us." Puck grinned at the brunette as she walked passed him.
"Noah, your jokes are not funny."
"Never said they were babe." Puck winked at Rachel before receiving a thumping pain from Lauren's fist, in his arm. "Babe it was a joke." he told his girlfriend.
"Rachel when did you get back?" Mr Schue asked her as she filled in her name in the registry book before passing it on to Finn, who was waiting for her answer too.
"Just now. My friend dropped me off outside the gates as you were walking towards the school."
"And who is this friend?" Mercedes asked, raising her left eyebrow.
"Never you mind Mercedes."
Finn rolled his eyes, already knowing who it was, as he gave the book to Tina. "Did you have a nice time with your friend?" Finn unwillingly asked.
"Ermm…" Rachel paused; she hadn't talked to him since the parking lot, when she told him to leave her alone. "Yeah. It was nice."
"Ok, well guys I can't believe we won. Since we're waiting for your parents to pick you up, why don't we relax and enjoy the fact that you guys rocked!" Mr Schue told the group as he sighed in relief. "I'm just so happy."
"Mr Schue, as I was saying, writing our own songs and winning regionals is fantastic but-"
"There is no buts, we kicked ass." Mercedes interrupted as she held her hand up in protest. "Why are you always trying to put us down after winning? You're on the same team as us, Rachel. Don't forget that." as the last word passed Mercedes lips, the rest of the group, excluding Finn, agreed with her.
"Yes I know we are all on the same team guys." Rachel began, facing the diva.
"Unfortunately." Santana muttered, loud enough so she was the only one who could hear it.
"But Vocal Adrenaline beat us last time. Now I have no doubt about the talent in this room but in the back of my head, there is a voice telling me that we are going to lose unless we get enough practice as we can."
"Maybe you should go to get yourself checked out, if you're hearing voices. You could be going mad Rachel." Mercedes joked as Santana laid her hand flat so the diva could high five her.
"What-"
"Yeah, with Berry gone maybe Glee could be bearable and actually fun. Are you sure the voice isn't telling you to go away?" the Latino asked the Glee club co-captain.
"Hey guys come one, don't do that." Finn told the two teenage girls, who were laughing. "She's only trying to help, let her speak." Finn nodded at Rachel, as if to say, it was ok for her to speak now. He had sorted it.
"Thank you Finn." Rachel smiled at her ex boyfriend, which he returned.
Staring in horror, Quinn saw the smiles the two exchanged and quickly narrowed her eyes at the brunette before linking arms with her boyfriend and tightening her grip so he would know that she wasn't happy with what he was doing. A smug facial expression appeared on the blonde's face as she looked at Rachel to make sure she saw her touching Finn so she would know that he was already taken and that Finn is hers meaning Rachel should back off.
Rachel did pick up on this, but decided to ignore it and carried on with what she was saying. "I don't think we should take a break right now. We need to use all the free time we have to start preparing ourselves for nationals."
"All in favour of voting Rachel out for the third time?"
"You all voted me out before when I suggested that we should write original songs, but we won when we did. Not that I'm saying for one second that we wouldn't have if we hadn't, but we showed originality which gave us those crucial, all important, points."
"Ok, so you may have a point." Lauren started. "But do it after prom at least. Right now I think we all need to focus on what to wear or who to go with, rather than our choreography."
"Totally." Santana agreed. "I for one need to focus on planning."
"Don't you know what to wear?" Brittany asked as she faced the Latino.
"What? No. There's this girl who's going to wear the same dress as me. So I have to plan on my revenge."
"O…k." Mr Schue began as he clapped his hands so the group could face him. "Why don't we take a break, and start preparing for nationals after this week? After prom."
"Yep sounds like a plan." Quinn smiled at her director before resting her head on Finn's shoulders. "After prom."
As Rachel leaned against the back support of her chair the next day, trying to think of an answer for a question on her homework, she heard a noise coming from the opposite side of her room. Jumping from her chair, Rachel scanned her room to find the source of the noise, which sounded like something vibrating. Her phone. The brunette rushed over towards her bed, throwing the covers from her bed off, onto the floor, to find her pink gemstone phone vibrating, flashing a name. Rachel grabbed her phone to find it was a text message from her ex boyfriend.
Jesse.
Hey, is it ok if I come round?
Rachel smiled at her phone before quickly looking at her clock to check what time it was. Quarter past two. Her dads were out on their usual Sunday afternoon walk. They wouldn't be back for hours.
Yeah.
Rachel pressed the sent button and within seconds of her pressing it, she heard the doorbell ring.
'Was he standing outside my door?' Rachel thought as she leapt off her bed, rushing down the stairs. Running towards the front door where she stopped, brushed her clothes down, then unlocked her door and opened it, to reveal a curly brunette haired boy standing before her, with a sheepish smile spread across his face.
"Hey."
"Hi Jesse. Ermm…that was quick."
Jesse chuckled before gazing down towards his feet as his hands automatically fell into his pockets. "Well…" he began as he looked back up towards his ex girlfriend. "I was just in the area and I thought…"
"If you say so." Rachel smiled at the UCLA student before stepping aside. "Come in."
"So, can I get you a drink?" Rachel asked her ex boyfriend as he followed her into the living room. "My fathers just stocked up on grape juice, your favorite fruit juice."
"Ermm…no thanks. I'm not thirsty." Jesse told Rachel before sitting down on the cream sofa. "You redecorated." Jesse started to look at his surroundings, noticing the new wall paper.
"Yeah. We did it in the summer." Rachel informed her ex boyfriend as she entered the room holding a tray with two glasses and a plate full of biscuits on it. "We got bored of the plain light blue color, so my fathers let me decide what theme we should have and I thought vintage. So that explains the vintage wallpaper." Rachel placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the two.
"And the sofa?"
"My father's choice."
"Ahh." Jesse smiled as he gazed at the sofa. "May I say your father has impeccable taste?"
Rachel looked at her ex boyfriend being taken back al little by his comment.
"Rachel I said I didn't want anything to drink." Jesse changed the subject, noticing the second glass on the table.
"Well you should know by now that I always bring a drink out for my guests, regardless of what they say."
"Right. Of course."
"So…" Rachel started, breaking the silence that stiffened over the two. "You never got to finish telling me what UCLA is like."
"It's good."
"Good? Is that all you can say?"
"Well I don't really want to talk about it now. What about you? McKinley surely must of changed since I last stepped foot in it."
"Yeah it has. Kurt transferred to Dalton because of Karofsky and his merciless bullying toward him. Apart from that, nothing really." Rachel shrugged as she picked up her glass and took a sip.
"Nothing?" Jesse repeated in disbelief. "Really? Last thing I remember was that Finn was head over heals in love with you. Now he's dating Quinn?"
Rachel flinched at the mention of Finn's name. Jesse knew he was head over heels in love with her, before she did? He left school before regionals, so he surely couldn't have known that Finn said I love you to her. Meaning he knew. All along. "Nothing happened. We just grew apart." Rachel lied, trying to cover her face by taking another sip.
"Rachel, I know you're lying and it actually hurts me that you think that I have a low enough IQ to believe that."
"Well, I don't know what to say. It's the truth."
"Rachel, it's not. You know why? Because every time you see him you have this heartbroken facial expression set upon your face."
"Heartbroken expression?"
"Yeah, like the one you had when you saw me back with Vocal Adrenaline and we preformed Another One Bites The Dust in your auditorium or when I-" Jesse stopped abruptly.
Rachel didn't need him to finish off his sentence to know what he was talking about. The brunette nodded slightly before placing her glass back on the tray. "I-I-" The room then fell with the silence, which swept them once before. The two looking in the opposite direction to avoid eye contact.
This time it wasn't Rachel breaking the silence, but her phone, vibrating. Rachel automatically reached her cell to see it was a text from Mercedes saying sorry about the night before.
"Huh." Rachel smiled at her phone screen before putting her cell away.
"What?" Jesse asked as he looked at the smiling brunette.
"Oh nothing. It was just Mercedes apologizing for last night. She just disagreed with me about something. It doesn't matter though. We all decided to do it after prom."
"Prom? When is that?"
"Next weekend."
"Oh, and are you going?"
"I'm not sure. I want to go but then I don't have a date."
"So? Not having a date is not a valid reason to not go. Who cares if you don't have a date? Go stag. It makes more of a statement about you. That you don't need a guy to have a good time."
"You think?"
"Yeah. I mean if you really wanted a date then…I wouldn't mind but I personally think you should go alone. Not because I don't want to go with you but because I think that it will help regain some self-esteem you clearly have lost since I last saw you."
"Yeah?"
"Definitely Rachel. You deserve to go. Plus I bet you already have a dress picked out."
"Thank you Jesse and hey Mr Schue mentioned quite a while ago about wanting to dance at prom, don't ask me why, and so he needed someone to fill his spot singing while he did it. So…you could if you want to? That way you could see me in my dress." Rachel joked. "Seriously though, it would be nice to have you around."
"Yeah? I might just do that."
"Hey Finn." Quinn wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's waist on Monday, as she crept up behind him.
"Hey…Quinn." Finn forced a smile to surface, hating himself for feeling fake, as he turned to face her. "I actually wanted to talk to you abut something. I was wondering, you told me that Rachel was-"
"Nope, me first. I've decided."
"On what?"
"On our campaign. Keep up Finn."
"Oh right. Badges or cakes. That was the question, weren't it?"
"Yep, but I've already decided on it for you."
"You have?" Finn asked, confused at Quinn reply.
"Yeah. We're going to do badges."
"Badges." Finn repeated, thinking back on his thoughts about the badges and how they represented something more important that just a campaign strategy. "Great." the quarterback muttered, sounding as unenthusiastic as he possibly could.
"Yep, cakes were stupid. They make you fat and because it will be mostly girls who will vote for prom king and queen, no one would like cakes."
"I like cakes."
"But this isn't about you, so here you go." Quinn dumped a small box on him as she smiled. "You need to give them out. To everyone."
"W-wh-" Finn looked down at the small box in front of him then back at his girlfriend. "W-what the hell?"
"What? You have to give these got to everyone. Make sure you get everyone. That way we can be sure that everyone knows we are dating and running for prom king and queen."
"What are you going to do then?"
"Never you mind." and with that Quinn left her boyfriend, with a small box, on his own.
"How am I supposed to give people one of these things?" Finn asked himself as he lifted one of the small badges that had the two of their names in gold on it, above saying vote for. "Vote for Finn and Quinn." Finn read before throwing the badge back into the box. "It may be a small box but there is thousands in here-"
"Hey."
Finn spun around to see the person who disrupted his thoughts, to find a certain small brunette standing before him.
"Ermm…hey Rach." Finn placed the box of badges on the floor as his chest tightened at the sight of his ex girlfriend.
"Hey, what are those?" Rachel asked, gazing down towards the box Finn had just put on the floor.
Finn held his breath, trying to distract himself from the rapid increase of his heartbeat, hoping Rachel hadn't asked what was in the box. He really didn't want to tell her. He didn't want her to know. He didn't want her to see him campaigning for prom. Something Finn thought he would be doing with Rachel, not Quinn.
"Badges." the quarterback muttered only just loud enough for her to barely hear.
"Oh." Rachel looked back up at her ex boyfriend, who was looking at something behind her. "Listen Finn I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Finn shot his head up as the word sorry passed Rachel's lips. "For what happened in the car park on Saturday. I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it. I don't think Quinn is using you. I just said it in the heat of the moment and I've realized how foolish I was."
"Well, I don't think you need to be sorry. You just told me the harsh truth. Quinn is using me and I'm pretty sure she planned the whole Me-Getting-Back-Together-With-Her thing."
"Huh?"
"What? Oh nothing. Forget I said anything."
"O…k."
"Was there anything else you wanted to say?"
"Yeah…ermm…you know how Mr Schue wanted to dance during the prom?" Rachel started, trying to ease the blow.
"Yeah." Finn chuckled at the thought of his Spanish teacher busting a move on the dance floor. "Why does he even want to do that? It's like social suicide right?"
"I don't know what would possess a person to do that. Then again it is Mr Schue. You have no clue what he can do. Remember when he busted a move when singing to Bust a Move?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway…you know how he said he wanted someone to do his solo while he dances? Well…" Rachel paused taking in a deep breath. Her heart racing as she thought of how Finn would react to her news. He was sure to blow up in her face. Maybe she should remove the badges from Finn's reach before telling him. Rachel looked into Finn's brown eyes, how they were going to be filled with anger soon.
"Rachel what is it?"
"I asked Jesse if he would sing it."
"And what did he say?" Finn asked, growing more impatient at Rachel as she paused yet again.
'Here we go.' Rachel thought. 'He's going to hate me forever.'
"He said yes."
R-r-review:) Cakes and Badges metaphors ;) Questions, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome:)