DISCLAIMER: I neither own Glee nor the characters. They are the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. This is purely for fun. Enjoy!

Chapter Three: High School Blues

Getting ready for school the next morning was a challenge, to say the least. For a moment Finn had completely forgotten about their guest and thought that the beautiful girl brushing her teeth in his sink was a mirage, leftover from his dreams. He had to quickly stutter an apology and run back into his room before she noticed that he wasn't wearing any pants besides his boxers, and he refused to come back out of his room until he was sure that she was downstairs.

He just didn't know how to act around her, plain and simple. It's not like they had a lot in common, and she was here to learn the language and experience the culture, so she really didn't need any distractions. The language barrier was reason enough to keep his distance, but he knew deep down that he couldn't just avoid her and act awkwardly around her for the next eight weeks. Maybe it would be best to just keep his distance from her and patiently wait out the next two months until she went back to her own country.

By the time he was finally dressed and downstairs Kurt and Rachel had already left for school, wanting to get there as early as possible so Rachel could find her locker and get acclimated to her new school environment. Finn ate his breakfast in silence before driving himself to school, walking in just in time to see Kurt introduce Rachel to some of the other members of the glee club, who were all huddled around the new transfer student's locker. Rachel was the center of attention and she seemed to enjoy it as people asked her questions and Kurt served as translator.

She was wearing a navy blue turtleneck with a red pleated skirt and white tights. Her white beret was perched on her head and she had a thick white belt cinching her waist as her little Eiffel tower earrings bounced with every shake of her head.

In essence, she looked like a walking French flag.

"Feen!" She yelled, spotting him in the hallway and calling him over with a wave of her hand. "I make friends!" He couldn't help but smile as he approached his group of friends, and said hello to Tina, Mike, Mercedes and Artie who were all huddled around her. "Isn't it super?"

"Yeah," he agreed with a nod of his head. "We're all in glee club together." Her mouth dropped open in awe as she looked around the group.

"You sing?" She questioned as the rest of them laughed.

"Oh, girl, you have no idea!" Mercedes said with a wave of her hand.

"We're the best glee club in the region," Tina added. "Probably the state."

"Regionals is in four weeks. Are you going to join us?" Artie asked, and Rachel turned to Kurt for a translation.

"Regionals?" She asked, and Kurt quickly described the competition process. Her mouth dropped open in shock as she learned more and more about the singing club. "I will be there!" She said as the bell rang in the background. Her enthusiasm was infectious as the other kids smiled and said their goodbyes.

They had a few minutes left before they were marked late to class and the group began to dissipate, leaving Finn, Kurt and Rachel together in the hall. They started to walk down the corridor together when Santana suddenly came up from behind them and ripped the beret right off of Rachel's head, holding it up high and taunting her.

"Tough luck, French fry," she sneered as Kurt chuckled quietly to himself.

"Hey, give it back, Santana," Finn said, stepping forward and grabbing it from her hands. He passed it over to Rachel who uttered a shy 'Merci' in thanks. "Give her a break, it's her first day."

"Well, Dough Boy, If I wanted to give her a break I would have ignored her, but I figured I'd do her a favor and ease her into the way this school works." Rachel looked hurt and a bit confused as she looked in-between Finn and Santana for clarification. "Have fun in America, Cream Puff," Santana said sweetly to Rachel, swaying her hips as she walked away with Brittany. "Keep hanging around with Dough Boy over there and you two can open a bakery!" Rachel's face was pinched in anger as she watched the cheerleaders walk away, and shoved the hat back on her head with what sounded like a low growl.

"Mean girls," she whispered. "'Zey are partout."

"Hey, don't let them bother you. I get it from them all the time," he shrugged his shoulders with a smile but she didn't reciprocate as Kurt pulled her down the hall in the opposite direction from Finn's first period class.

"Come on, we're going to be late." Rachel waved goodbye to Finn and obediently followed Kurt to class. The only period that they all shared together was lunch, so Finn knew that he wouldn't see Rachel again until then. At least he had lunch and glee club to look forward to as the rest of the morning passed him by. He often caught himself wondering about Rachel, and how she was doing in her classes. Were people being mean to her? The incident with Santana was still on his mind as the lunch bell rang and he headed towards the cafeteria.

He spotted his group of friends immediately; they were all seated at their normal table, but this time there was an extra seat next to Kurt which Rachel now occupied. She looked happier than he'd ever seen her as the entire glee club surrounded her, and even Santana was there with Brittany at her side, seemingly docile for the moment. He approached the table and sat down across from Rachel with a smile.

"Hey guys," he greeted as he dropped his backpack to the side of his chair. His friends waved hello and he noticed that Rachel was in the middle of a conversation with Tina when Puck leaned over and clapped him on the back.

"Good going, Hudson. Who knew the French girl was going to be such a hottie?" Puck was speaking low enough that no one else could hear him in the noisy din of the lunchroom.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't plan on it."

"Yeah, but she's living in your house!" Puck peeked at her from the corner of his eye and grinned lasciviously. "Do you think she shaves? I heard French girls don't do that."

He elbowed his friend in the side. "Knock it off, asshole."

"I'm serious, dude! I saw it in this weirdo foreign flick with nudity, this lady's muff was like a bush!" Finn shook his head, trying to ignore him in vain. "They don't shave their pits, either. When you find out, let me know."

"I won't be finding out anything, Puck. She's a student and she's living with my family. That's it." He was seriously annoyed at the way Puck was talking about Rachel and he didn't appreciate it. Peeking at her from the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice how happy she looked, and how pretty her smile was as she grinned at her new friends.

He was about to open his mouth and ask her about her first day, when all of a sudden Miss Pillsbury approached the table, looking directly at him with a tentative smile. His whole body froze in fear as his other friends greeted her, but she turned her attention directly towards Finn as he instantly became the focal point of the group.

"Finn, may I please speak with you in my office?" Her smile was kind and warm, but it did nothing to alleviate the tension that wracked his entire body. Miss Pillsbury was a nice woman; he liked her and she was really good at giving advice and always had anti-bacterial soap when you needed it, but there was a reason why he didn't want to talk to her.

A really big reason.

"Um," he said, scratching the back of his neck, trying to think of something that could help him avoid the inevitable. "Do I have to come now? Can't I come after school?"

Miss Pillsbury shot him a knowing look. "We both know that you have glee club practice after school today, Finn. Follow me, I promise I won't bite." Everyone at the table was staring at him with various shades of amusement, except for Rachel, who looked confused and a bit sad. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed his backpack and stood up from the table, peeking at Rachel once before he left. He could almost feel her eyes following his back as he exited the lunchroom and followed Miss Pillsbury to her office.

It was a tense minute before she finally smiled hesitantly at him.

"Finn, I think we both know why I called you down here," she said kindly. Finn shook his head as his pulse began to race in anticipation.

"Um, not really," he lied, trying to push his problems as far away as possible. Miss Pillsbury gave him a stern look as she pulled up his file on her computer.

"Finn, the last time you were in my office was in November, and the boy I talked to back then is not the boy that's sitting in front of me now." He tried to look anywhere but her kind and helpful eyes as the guilt started to gnaw away at his indifference. His stomach felt sour when he thought about his last visit to Miss P's office and what they had discussed back then. "Can we please talk about the recruiter from Ohio State?"

"No," he said, defensively. That was something he really did not want to talk about.

"Finn," she said sternly. "In November we were filling out the application to Ohio State together. After the recruiter came and left, it was like you turned into a completely different person as far as school was concerned. You never even applied and you haven't come back to see me since then." She exhaled deeply before continuing. "I know that you were looking forward to playing football for Ohio State, but there are other schools out there that you can apply to."

"I don't want to apply anywhere else," he said gruffly, the disappointment eating away at him like acid.

"Well then I would like to know your ideas, Finn. What would you like to do next year?" The more she pushed him to think about his future the less he wanted to deal with it.

"I don't know," he admitted out loud for the first time. "I just. . . want to be happy."

Miss Pillsbury gave him a sad smile. "I know, Finn. I want you to be happy too, that's why I'm here. You have so much potential, I really want you to reconsider your options." He thought he was off the hook for the time being until Miss Pillsbury dropped a bombshell on him. "I already called your parents to let them know how worried I am about you, Finn. I want you to talk to them and see if you can work out a plan for your future together."

"You called my parents?" He repeated in horror. It suddenly felt stifling in the tiny little office as he thought about his parent's reaction.

"I'm concerned, Finn. It's January and the majority of your fellow classmates already know what school they're attending next year. College isn't the only option available, you know? Talk to your parents and see if you can work something out."

"Yeah," he grunted, "Can I get a pass back to lunch now?" Miss Pillsbury gave him a soft, sympathetic smile as he took his pass and left her office. What was the point in figuring out his future when he was destined to be a Lima loser for the rest of his life? He hadn't impressed the scout from Ohio State and football was the only thing he could ever call his own. He wasn't talented enough to get into a music program and his grades had always been shitty. All he saw in his future was a tire-shop, a beer belly and a life full of misery.

He arrived back at his lunch table just as everyone was throwing away their plates. Rachel spotted him and waved enthusiastically, trying to make conversation with him when all he wanted to do was disappear.

"Feen! Where you go?" Shrugging his shoulders, he just tried to shove as much food into his mouth as possible before the bell rang and he lost his chance to eat. She frowned at his lack of an answer and even though he felt like shit for it, decided to just ignore her instead of force himself to make conversation she couldn't even understand. She eventually turned away from him and chatted with Kurt and the girls while Finn closed himself off from everyone.

The cloud of depression followed him around all afternoon. He hadn't had any time to eat during the remainder of lunch so he was starving, and the only thing he could think about was the conversation he was bound to have with his parents that night. When they realized how badly he'd been procrastinating his future plans they were going to be furious.

In fact, he was so upset that his misery followed him all the way to glee club, which was his normal respite from the stress of the day. He spotted Rachel right away but couldn't be bothered to care. She was currently the center of attention as the other members of the group huddled around her in conversation and he sat all the way in the back in hopes that no one would notice him.

As far as the team was concerned, Mr. Schuester was thrilled to have Rachel attend the practice and ordered the team to perform their winning number from Sectionals for their guest to show her the true talents of the glee club. He just stood in the back and tried not to mess up too badly in front of her as she watched the group perform. At one point her jaw actually dropped open, and she covered her mouth with her hand as they went through the entire eight minute Jackson routine, along with the choreography. During his solo he had to avoid looking into her eyes altogether; her gaze was so intense it was almost distracting.

By the time they were done with the routine she was already out of her seat, clapping wildly and almost in tears.

"Bravo," she cried, the emotion plainly visible on her face. "Formidable! Super!"

"So what do you think of the club, Rachel?" Mr. Schuester asked. "Would you like to audition?" She nodded her head quickly as the other members sat down patiently.

"It is génial," she said, the smile on her face almost making her glow with happiness. "I sing for you now."

"Well, come on and show us what you've got," Finn sat all the way in the back and watched Rachel prepare herself as she stood in front of the club. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a second before opening them once more and beginning her song.

The sound that came out of her mouth almost knocked him right out of his seat.

He was stunned as he watched her audition for the rest of the group. Mercedes and Santana, the divas of the club, looked at each other with a clear panic in their eyes while Mr. Schuester looked like he had struck gold. Finn leaned forward to whisper into his brother's ear as she continued to belt her heart out and fill the room with the most amazing sound he had ever heard.

"Dude, did you know she could sing like that?" Kurt shook his head while Blaine reached into his bag for a tissue.

"No way. I had no idea," Blaine sniffled next to him and passed one to Kurt as well, who actually accepted it and blotted away the moisture from his eyes. "She's amazing."

"She's our ticket to Nationals," Sam said to Finn, lifting up his hand for a fist bump. Finn returned the gesture, but he could barely keep his eyes off of Rachel for even a second. Her voice hypnotized him and for a moment he forgot all about the pressures of school and work and life in general and just focused on the sound that came out of her mouth.

It was the most amazing sound that he had ever heard in his life.

When she finished her song with her arms stretched out, holding a note that made goosebumps erupt on Finn's skin, the cloud of depression that had surrounded him had all but dissipated as the rest of the club gave her a standing ovation. Santana refused to clap, instead rolling her eyes and stomping off as the rest of the group congratulated their new addition. Mr. Schuester welcomed Rachel to New Directions and gave her the team's schedule and other necessary information.

"Regionals is in about a month and you're going to be our secret weapon!" Rachel seemed ecstatic and Finn was relieved that the team now had another star to whip out during competitions.

Unfortunately, Mr. Schuester called an abrupt end to the practice after Rachel's audition and Finn was forced to face his demons as the members of the group started to leave and go home. He knew what was waiting for him when he arrived there so instead of facing the inevitable, he decided to put in an hour or two at the shop to keep him busy.

He walked out of the school with Kurt and Rachel, who were trailing behind him as he made is way to his truck. "Kurt, tell Burt and Mom that I'll be at the shop for a little while. There are things that I have to take care of." He went to open the door of his truck when a small, perfectly manicured hand grabbed his wrist and held him in place.

"Mais non! I make 'ze food tonight!" She said forcefully, her eyes stern as she placed the other hand on her hip in protest. Her face was scrunched up in aggravation and he couldn't help but smile at her unintentional cuteness.

"I'll be home by 6, Rachel. I promise." She didn't look like she believed him, but she eventually let go of his wrist. His skin was tingling from the contact as he hopped into the front seat and drove towards the shop.

He was probably going to be stuck there forever anyway, he better get used to it now.

He arrived home exactly at 6pm, running upstairs immediately in order to avoid his parents and their inevitable conversation. He threw his backpack down with a sigh and looked up at himself in the mirror, taking a deep breath as he heard Rachel's voice calling his name from downstairs.

This is it, he said to himself before descending the stairs to the ground floor. Rachel was balancing plates of food on her hands as she brought them into the dining room and the rest of his family was already seated and ready to eat. He took one look at his mother and wished he hadn't; she was staring at him with worry etched deeply into the contours of her face and kept whispering over to Burt, who also looked grim. Finn was too afraid to even look at his step-father in the eye as he started shoving some creamy kind of vegetable into his mouth. It was delicious, but he couldn't really savor the flavor when his parents were staring at him like they were about to pounce.

"I prepare my favorite plats," Rachel said animatedly as she placed more dishes down on the table. "And pour les desserts, I 'ave patisseries that I make myself!" She looked over at Finn, beaming with pride.

"It's really good," he said, shoving another forkful into his mouth as he caught his parents staring at him in his periphery. He gulped down the food nervously as his mother begin to speak.

"Finn, we got a phone call today from Miss Pillsbury," Kurt had an eyebrow raised in suspicion as Rachel's eyes bounced between Finn and his parents in confusion. His heart started racing and it felt like the walls were closing in on him. "When were you going to tell us that you didn't apply to Ohio State?" He saw a glob of food fall off of Kurt's fork as he stared at his step-brother in shock.

Finn shrugged his shoulders as he tried to remain as calm as possible. "What does it matter? I wasn't going to get in anyway."

"Finn," Burt's voice was stern and authoritative. "We want you to have every option available to you next year. Maybe after dinner we can talk about Community Colleges or internships."

He let the fork drop out of his hand. Rachel's food was delicious but he no longer felt hungry. "I don't want to go to a Community college," he said, sounding like a whiny baby in front of Rachel and Kurt.

"Well if you're reconsidering taking over the tire shop, then maybe a few business classes wouldn't be a bad idea," his mom added, and the mere mention of the tire shop made all of his control snap like taut rubber bands.

"I don't want to take over the stupid shop!" He screamed, standing up from the table and scaring Rachel so badly that she squeaked from her position next to him. "I don't want this life for myself! I don't want to stay in shitty Lima forever."

"Don't you dare talk to your mother that way!" Burt said, standing up as well. "We're trying to help you, Finn, but you have to want to help yourself too. Miss Pillsbury reached out to you, we're reaching out to you, and you're throwing it back in our faces."

Scoffing, he ignored the food in front of him and backed away from the table. His stomach was growling like crazy because he hadn't eaten lunch and now he was running away from one of the most delicious meals of his life because the pressure had become too much to handle. He was already embarrassed over fighting with his parents in front of Rachel, and he caught her staring after him with a worried look in her gaze as he called over his shoulder.

"Maybe I don't want any help," he said bitterly as he climbed up the stairs two-at-a-time. He closed the door behind him and locked it, falling face first on the bed and blocking out the conversations from downstairs with loud music.

It was hours before the family turned in for the night. Finn stayed in his room all evening long, without even saying goodnight to anyone or apologizing to his parents as his stomach rolled with pain. It felt like he could eat a horse, and he waited patiently until everyone else fell asleep so he could go downstairs and sniff out some leftovers.

The kitchen was dark when he went downstairs, save for the small light above the oven. All of Rachel's leftovers were already wrapped in airtight containers in the fridge, and Finn pulled some out and threw together a plate that he could eat cold. He was so depressed about his shitty day that he didn't even bother heating it up as he ate a majority of his feelings. A pale pink box on the counter-top caught his attention and he reached for it, opening it up to reveal the most perfect pastries he had ever seen in his life. They looked delicious and he quickly shoved one of them in his mouth, followed by another.

"No wonder Santana calls me a fat-ass all the time," he said to himself in the darkness of the kitchen as he popped another one into his mouth. Without a career in football, he was just going to end up like all the other Lima losers in town; unhappy, fat, balding and stuck in a job that he hated. "But these pastries are fucking fantastic."

"Fucking fantastique?" He heard a soft, feminine voice repeat his crass words. "Is that good?" Turning around quickly, he threw the pink box of pastries back on the counter-top and tried not to look like he had just eaten five of them.

"Um," he stuttered. "Yeah, I guess so. But you shouldn't use that word."

"Fantastique?" She repeated with her head cocked. "Or fucking?" His face blushed crimson as the foul curse word fell from her lips. She made it sound so sexy with her accent that he had to bite his tongue.

"The second one," he said, shuffling awkwardly from one foot to the other. "The food was really good, though." She nodded once in understanding and continued to stand in the kitchen smiling at him. It kind of made him nervous. "What are you doing awake? It's late."

She shook her head but didn't say anything, which confused Finn. Even when no one could understand her she was still always chatting and trying to say something, so her silence was making him nervous. "H-How was your first day at school?"

"I like school," she said softly. "I like glee club too."

"I'm glad," he said genuinely. "Your voice is amazing and it will really help us at Regionals."

"Merci," she said, a light blush staining her cheeks as she looked at him through hooded eyes. "You sing très bien." He blushed at her praise and tried to brush it off like it was nothing, when in fact the simple compliment made his heart race. "I know why you are sad," she said suddenly, and part of him wanted to jut retreat back up to his room but something kept him in place. Those big brown eyes of hers were probably reading his mind.

"What?"

"Kurt tells me. He says. . ." she seemed to struggle with the words. "You not know what to do after school."

"Ah," he said, feeling bitter that Kurt would betray his trust to a complete stranger. "Well, he's right." She nodded her head once and walked forward, trapping him between her tiny little French body and the hard, cold counter-top.

"Do you want to know un secret?," she asked, her eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"What is it?" He was so close to her that he could smell the flowery perfume that bathed her skin.

"I don't have plans, either," she said.

"Really?" He said, his hope flickering like a candle.

"Non," she said with a smile. "I have dreams, and I make 'zem come true."

"Oh. Cool," he said, losing hope once more. Even the French girl had ambitions to look forward to once she graduated. What did he have?

"You come with me," she said suddenly, and Finn did a double take at the tiny girl who had him trapped in his own kitchen.

"Yeah, right," he replied bitterly and she poked him in the arm sharply with her fingertip.

"Je suis seriouse!" She said, and even though he didn't understand what she said, he could almost feel her emotion crackling in the air. She meant what she said.

"Well, what are your dreams?" He asked, curious about her ambitions. If she was inviting him along for the ride he might as well know, but a knowing smile crept onto her face as she shook her head slowly.

"C'est un secret," she said, wiggling her finger back and forth playfully. He didn't understand what kind of a game she was playing, but he wanted to know the next move. "Bonne soirée, Feen," she said, finally backing up and giving him space. Winking once, she bounced back upstairs without another word, leaving him in the kitchen by himself, full of questions that no one but the French girl could answer.

"That girl might just be insane," he sighed, talking to himself as he opened up the pink box and shoved another pastry into his mouth. "But damn, she can make a good pastry."

Merci mille fois, mes amis!

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