Hey! Sorry for the delay, this chapter has been recalcitrant, and eventually required splitting for pacing reasons. The good news is that means the chapter after it is almost ready too. Thank you so much for all the reviews and for your continued appreciation of my work, it means more than I can express.

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, its characters, or WSU. I do own the plot and my words.

Rachel lay there for a while, her turmoil preventing her from returning to sleep. It also distracted her from noticing anything other than her own churned thoughts and feelings, so that the first she knew that Finn was indeed going out for his morning run, more than half an hour later, was his quiet "hey" coming from next to her. She started.

"You okay?" Finn asked softly, concerned. "You can relax, it's me." He came closer, gently resting his hand on her outstretched foot. She blinked up at him, pained. He frowned. "You're not okay," he said, his voice stiffening. "Did someone bother you? I know I should've –"

"No." Rachel sat up, touching his hand, trying to ease his mind while she covered up her own distress. Trying, too, to ignore the electricity she felt from his touch. "Nothing happened. Just a bad dream."

"Yeah?" He wasn't quite buying it, she could tell. "Nobody was here?"

"No," she said, stumbling her way into the lie.

His exhale in relief was noticeable. "Good." But his eyes lingered on her, still. She couldn't read the emotion in them, her confusion too great. "So what was it?" he asked, sitting in the chair next to her.

"Ah – what was what?"

"Your dream. Uh, I mean if you want to talk about it, it's okay if you don't. Of course it's okay. Just, you could tell me, if you wanted to." He finished with his eyes softly locked on hers. "I'd listen."

Rachel was sure she could hear her heart break in the silence that followed. "I – I don't really remember it," she stammered out. Better that than make something up. "It was, just, you know... unsettling." She pulled herself together. "Probably just nerves," she said, sitting straighter. "The Les Miz auditions are in a few days and I'm worried that my intermittently interrupted sleep is bad for my immune system and will compromise my voice." That at least was true. And while the couch in the lounge was getting more comfortable it was also getting less hygienic.

"Oh... yeah, that sounds bad." Finn paused. "Anything special I could bring back for you? Tea with honey or something, help you ward off the germs."

"That sounds lovely, thank you. And thank you again for yesterday, I had a good time."

"Yesterday?"

"The game. Thank you for the ticket. I'm sure it'll be even better when you're playing, but it was fun to watch. And I enjoyed meeting and spending time with Tina." She'd rehearsed that before, when it had been more of a future-double-date hint, but it spilled off her tongue even now.

Finn grinned. "That's great. And sure, no problem. Any time, if you want to go again."

He leaned in briefly, close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek; it was just for a moment, though. She flinched involuntarily, and anyway he was leaning away again.

"I'd, uh, better go." He stood. "Tea, right? And you're sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Quite sure."

"Okay. You'd let me know, though, right? If anyone bothered you?"

"Of course." She watched him go to the elevator. "Thank you," she called after him as the door closed behind him. Then, alone again, she sighed and flopped back down. It had been almost painful, how sweet and solicitous he had been. And worried if she'd been bothered – well, that was kind, but of course there was more behind it as well.

He's wondering if I know, she reasoned. If I saw Kurt. Naturally he's uncomfortable.

She wanted to retreat so badly, to pull back into herself and forget the sweet young man together with the hopes she'd had for them. Or tell him she knew. But no, she was her fathers' daughter. She knew how important it was for gay men and women to be accepted, to not have those around them pressure them to come out or treat them differently once their sexuality is known. Supportive. I have to be supportive.

She was Finn's friend, and she needed to stand by him, no matter how much that hurt.

Supporting Finn by being his friend, when she really wanted much more, turned out to very difficult for Rachel. She couldn't help pulling away a bit at first, unsure how she should act, not wanting to meet his dark amber eyes directly for fear she would sink into them and be lost. But she could tell he was concerned when he'd returned with her tea, and even hurt by her continued distance, so over the next few days she made a significant effort to seek him out, reassure him that she was still his friend.

She was glad to see Finn brighten when he opened his dorm room door one late afternoon, clearly happy to see her. He smiled even more when he heard her suggestion that they head down for dinner.

"I wasn't that impressed by the look of the listed specials but I'm sure they'll be better with company," she said. She could certainly use the company herself to take her mind of her Les Miz audition the next day, and spending time with Finn was a guaranteed boost to her self-esteem. Even knowing his preferences, she still felt her spirits lift whenever she saw his smile or heard his voice.

"Uh, yeah, sure! Just give me a few minutes, I'm kind of..." he led her into his room, where he had apparently been studying. "I'm not getting much of anywhere with Spanish drill anyway, I could use the break." He stacked his study cards on top of his open textbook, then turned to give her a smile. "And the company."

"Great." Rachel covertly looked around the room as Finn put his shoes on. The place did look pretty decent, for a jock dorm room. Mike's bed and desk lay opposite, made obvious by the pictures of Tina. All very neat, with a stack of Biology and Chemistry texts on the desk; Mike was in pre-med, she remembered Tina telling her, so Finn was lucky in having a studious roommate. Finn's own area was more messy, but she noted touches of style in his bedding and the accessories on his desk. She didn't know much about those things herself, but she was sure she'd seen the lamp and desk set in a magazine somewhere. They looked more comfortable on Finn's desk however, more used.

She was trying to be subtle in looking around, but apparently in vain. "Sorry about the mess," Finn said as he straightened.

She met his sheepish look with an encouraging smile. "This isn't messy," she answered, not coloring the truth that much. It wasn't, not really, not compared to Santana's side of her room and especially not compared to the glimpses she had seen of some of the other rooms down that hall. His standards must simply be very high, she told herself. Maybe he even kept it a bit more casual as part of his disguise. But no, the place looked like him, felt like him. "It's not like you were expecting anyone."

"Maybe I should." He paused. "Uh, anyway, dinner. Let's go." With that he escorted her from his room, and accompanied her down to the dining hall.

They chatted further as they ate, her filling him in on how her day had gone, him explaining why he was taking Spanish.

"I'm not planning to teach it, not really, but you never know. Might have to sub, anyway." He took another forkful of his meatloaf. "And some of the kids could know Spanish, and, y'know, use it."

"Use it? In other classes?" Rachel sat across from him, eating her vegetarian lasagna, enjoying their rapport. She liked how easy Finn was to talk to, even with what he was hiding.

"Not for classes. Just – insults, that sort of thing. Things can get out of hand if kids start talking and the teacher can't understand them. Or they think they can mouth off."

Rachel giggled. "But surely they're not teaching you that type of vocabulary in Spanish class."

Finn laughed in return. "Well no. But it should help anyway. And the more I can teach the better off I'll be, I figure, more able to get a job where I want to be."

"Where's that?" Rachel was curious. This was the first she'd heard Finn say anything about wanting to be anywhere.

He shrugged. "I don't know. They need teachers everywhere, right? And that's good, it means I can pick where I want to be for other reasons than just where I can work. People, or whatever."

People, she thought. Like a specific person. She looked over at him, seeing his eyes cast down at his tray, apparently finding the texture of his remaining meatloaf very interesting. But of course he would want that, if he could. And it would be so amazing, not just to have someone like him but also to be able to stay together because he could come with me to New York – Rachel shook her head sharply, trying to jar herself out of that scenario. Him. Kurt. It would be great for Finn to be able to go with him, to wherever he needed to be.

"You okay?" Finn's attention was back on her, attracted by her movement.

"Yes," she said, flashing a smile and picking up her last forkful of pasta. "I just thought I saw someone I knew. From, ah, the theater group." Rachel grasped for something to use as cover. "But no, that's not him."

"Oh, okay."

"He doesn't go here. I was surprised." She continued on.

"But now not so surprised. Since it's not him."

"Yes." She nodded. "So when's the next football game?" She changed the subject quickly, and they talked quietly for a bit longer as they finished their respective meals.

They went back up to their floor once they had finished dessert.

"Guess it's back to Spanish drill," Finn said as they exited the elevator. "This was great, I really needed the break. And the company. Thank you." He lingered with Rachel in the lounge, and she was reluctant to walk away. Her room was empty, Santana supposedly meeting with her study group on another floor.

"I could help you," she offered, before she even knew she was saying it. "With drill, anyway. I don't know much Spanish, but I can pronounce it, and I could check your answers." She bit her lip, aware that she was being far pushier than she had intended. "If that would help," she finished.

"Yeah, it really would," Finn replied enthusiastically, his grin wide and his eyes warm. "That would be great, Rach. As long as I'm not keeping you from anything."

"No, I'd love to help," she insisted, walking with him back to his room. "I have time, I got my work out of the way before my audition."

"But that's tomorrow, don't you need to prep? Or rest up?"

"I'm completely prepared. You'd be doing me a favor actually, it'll help me take my mind off it so I don't stress about it."

"All right. But only for a couple of hours, I know you need your rest." He showed her into his room, escorting her to make herself comfortable on his desk chair while he sat on his bed.

I'm just being a good friend, she told herself as she took the study cards from him, still feeling the echo of his hand on the small of her back, where it had been just moments before. I'm helping him. But deep down she knew that she wanted to get closer to him, even though it would only lead to frustration and future pain. She couldn't stop herself, Finn was simply very comfortable to be around, and too attractive for her to resist.

Finn walked out of Spanish the next day feeling very good about what he'd been able to do on the test. He'd been able to focus really well on his drill the night before, a bit surprising since he'd thought Rachel would be a distraction. And having her in his room, yes he'd been self-conscious at first, and then he'd liked how comfortable she seemed to be. And he'd be lying to himself if he claimed he hadn't wanted the circumstances to be different, for her to be sitting next to him so he could smell her hair, maybe feel the touch of her hand or the smooth line of her legs pressed to his, but...

Finn caught himself as he realized he'd daydreamed his way past the stairwell and halfway down the next hall. Again. He didn't have his class-change autopilot down yet, and once his mind was on Rachel he didn't think about lame stuff like where he was supposed to go next or anything like that.

Just as well she'd stayed in the chair as she drilled him the night before. And her focus had helped his, he'd found it very easy to go along with the energy and intensity she was putting into it, and he figured his brain had pulled some extra abilities out of nowhere to impress her. She was serious, and when he was with her he was more serious too. He certainly wasn't going to get distracted or fidget when she was helping him, and his back had behaved itself, the spasm gone for now. Then on the test itself, he'd kept hearing her lovely voice in his mind, reading out similar passages and helping him remember. It had relaxed and focused him on the test, as if her energy was still with him in the memory of her voice.

Finn hoped he would see Rachel again that night, to thank her and see how her audition went, but no such luck. He got up early for his run the next morning, but the lounge was empty, and he shook his head at his disappointment. Dumbass. Her not getting sexiled is a good thing. But he did really enjoy their early-morning meetings and bringing her coffee, and how her face lit up to see him. He liked the personal private connection that they had developed, and most especially he liked her.

The following morning, with the lounge still empty, he got coffee for her anyway and went to her room. It was time to stop hiding behind excuses, he figured.

Santana answered the door, opening it only a crack, and she rolled her eyes when she saw him. "Looking for your little pocket pal, Jolly Green?"

Finn did his best to suppress a frown as he bent down to talk quietly to Santana. "Is Rachel up yet?"

"Depends what you mean by up." Santana flung the door open, revealing Rachel sitting at her bed, then flicked her hair into Finn's lowered face as she turned to saunter back to her own bed.

Rachel's face lit up as she saw Finn. She was still dressed for sleep, wearing a pink tank top and cute pink shorts covered in lambs, and her hair was adorably messy. He thought she might be embarrassed to have him see her like this, since she was usually more covered up when she slept in the lounge, but apparently not. He did his best to not stare at her chest, though the material was thin and tight so... yeah.

"Hey," he said, holding out the coffee. "Haven't seen you in a while." He sidestepped as Santana brushed past him, headed for the shower. Santana was wearing some sort of slinky number, but he barely noticed, Rachel having an easy monopoly on his attention. Nipples. Uh... Eyes. That's better. But her legs... man. Gorgeous.

Those gorgeous tanned legs, and the rest of Rachel, came quickly over to him. "Thanks," she said, taking the proffered coffee. He shifted his attention quickly back to her face, relieved that she didn't seem to have noticed how blatantly he'd been checking her out. Or at least she didn't mind at all, because he didn't think he'd been at all subtle. She sipped. "It's hard to feel like I've earned it, I've been able to stay in my own bed these last few nights," she went on, giggling a little. "Though please don't let Santana know, it might encourage her."

"Oh you deserve it."

She smiled. "Thank you." She sipped again, still seemingly quite unselfconscious about being scantily dressed in front of him. He liked that. "How did your Spanish test go?" she asked.

"It's not back yet but I think I did really well. I remembered a lot from our study session, you really helped. How was your audition?"

Rachel preened a little. "Well I haven't heard back about that yet either, and there were a few others, but I'm confident I had them beat." She beamed. "It's so exciting, I could have a featured role in a real production soon."

Finn did his best to not focus on how her excited movements – moderated presumably to avoid spilling her coffee – were bouncing her breasts. Oh yeah. Awesome, Rach. He suddenly became aware of his own clothes, still the thin shorts and sweaty shirt from his run. Not that she ever minded but... he was feeling a little exposed, given his thoughts. "I'd better go shower," he said. "But I want to hear more later, if you're around tonight?"

"Sure."

"Great."

They saw each other again that night, at dinner in the cafeteria, and Finn was glad to hear how well her audition had gone. He was even happier at how they were comfortable again together and talking to each other; things had been a little stiff for a few days but they were better than ever. And he couldn't tear his mind off how he'd seen her that morning, hair tousled, legs exposed by her shorts, her tight tank top providing a lot of direction to his imagination. As she talked and ate, he found his attention drawn increasingly to her lips, looking so plump and soft, so perfectly kissable.

He'd never met a girl like Rachel before. He couldn't have, there weren't any others like her. The girls he'd known before had been nothing, sure they had been pretty and fun to be around, but not like this where the rest of the world faded away. Listening to the beautiful peal of her laughter at one of his lame jokes, seeing her shining smile, Finn thought he might never want to meet another girl again.

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