And now, *drumroll Finn* the FINAL CHAPTER. Thank you so much for sticking with me throughout this story. Thanks to those who reviewed, put me on Author alert/favourite, put this story on alert/favourite, and just those who read, whether or not they enjoyed it. I hope this chapter does not disappoint. Song credit is "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" by Taylor Swift, obv. It is my FAVOURITE Taylor Swift song. You should listen to it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or Taylor Swift.
Here it is. Enjoy the final chapter of Long Live.
Even after three weeks, Rachel still couldn't bear to look at Finn. Yes, she had been harsh, and she had said some things that weren't very nice. But at least she was honest, unlike Finn. He hadn't talked to her since that day in the auditorium, and she had carefully mapped out her paths to her classes to avoid passing by his locker. She felt so silly for doing, but she just can't bear to see any evidence that he's not as torn up about this as she is, or worse, that he's moved on.
She watches from the corner of her eye as he makes his way to his seat, making sure that her expression stays neutral. Quinn gives her hand a reassuring squeeze, and whispers "I'm here for you" into her ear. Rachel can only nod, unable to speak. She watches Finn whisper something to Puck, who nods and looks over at Rachel. She can feel her eyes welling with tears- are they talking about her again? She slumps a bit lower into her seat.
"Okay guys! We did okay at sectionals, but Regionals is in a month, and we really need to up our game," Mr. Schue announced as he walked through the door- five minutes late, Rachel noted wryly.
"Now, does anybody-"
"Actually, Mr. Schue, I was hoping I could sing something." Everybody turned, startled, to Finn, who had quietly spoken up. Ever since the Should've Said No incident a few weeks back, Finn hadn't said much of anything, let alone ask to sing.
"Um, okay, but-"
"It's from our Taylor Swift assignment a couple of weeks ago," Finn interrupted again.
"Aw, HELL no," Mercedes shouted from the back. "I am NOT down with sitting through another song like Should've Said No."
Finn turned to her. "I promise you, Mercedes, this song is different."
"Great, Finn," Mr. Schue interjected, seeing Mercedes' mouth forming a response. "Let's hear it."
Finn walked to the front of the room.
"I think this song is pretty self-explanatory," he said, and then he flashed Rachel a heart-stopping grin, and it took her a minute to remember her promise to herself that she wouldn't go crawling back to him.
Friday night beneath the stars,
in a field behind your yard,
you and I are paintin' pictures in the sky.
And sometimes we don't say a thing;
just listen to the crickets sing.
Everything I need is right here by my side.
And I know everything about you
I don't wanna live without you.
I'm only up when you're not down.
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground.
It's like no matter what I do.
Well you drive me crazy half the time;
the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.
And I'm only me when I'm with you.
As Finn began the chorus, Rachel found herself beginning to walk forward, moving closer and closer to Finn as Quinn watched with a soft smile on her face. Before she even realized what was happening, she began to sing the next verse.
Just a small town boy and girl
livin' in a crazy world.
Tryin' to figure out what is and isn't true.
And I don't try to hide my tears.
The secrets or my deepest fears.
Through it all nobody gets me like you do.
And you know everything about me.
You say that you can't live without me.
Finn finally managed to get over his shock, and his voice joined Rachel's, their voices melding together like they always had.
I'm only up when you're not down.
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground.
It's like no matter what I do.
Well you drive me crazy half the time;
the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.
And I'm only me when I'm with you.
When I'm with anybody else it's so hard to be myself.
Only you can tell.
That I'm only up when you're not down.
Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground.
It's like no matter what I do.
Well you drive me crazy half the time;
the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true.
And I'm only me
Who I wanna be
Well, I'm only me when I'm with you
With you
Uh huh
Yeah
The song finished, and Finn and Rachel looked at each other, hearts pounding.
In the next minute, they were locked in a tight embrace, Finn's chin resting on top of Rachel's head, Rachel's face buried in Finn's chest. Neither one of them could bring themselves to pull away, to lose the only physical contact they'd had for weeks. Finally, finally, the barriers were broken- both the physical and the mental- and as Finn smelled Rachel's shampoo and Rachel inhaled Finn's cologne, they were both thinking the same thing:
We're going to be okay.
Long live, the walls we crashed through
How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you
And I was screaming long live
All the magic we made,
And bring on all the pretenders,
I'm not afraid-
Someday we will be remembered.
And there it is. I hope it didn't disappoint. You, my dear readers, can interpret the line "We're going to be okay" any way you want. It could be "we can be a couple again", it could be "we can be friends", or it could simply mean that they can now begin to heal. I say this because I kinda have a love-hate relationship with Finchel reunion fics, because the author's always do a great job, but I just want to see what happens on the show. So interpret that line the way you wish.
Also, I'm going to be taking a break from Fanfiction. I really just need to reconnect with the characters and rediscover my love for the show. So thanks for a great run guys. I might be back someday, but no time soon. I love you all!
gleek1