A/N: Hey guys and gals, first of all I just wanted to give a big thank you to all my readers and all of you who follow and review and like my fic. You all seriously mean so much to me, as does every like/follow/review. SO just thank you all so very much. It means to world to me and I appreciate every last one of you.
I also want to apologize for the huge gaps between posts. I thought I'd have more time once I graduated, but this isn't high school and eugh, so I'm sorry. The next chapter, oooh there will def be some smutt coming up very soon. Promise.
Also in case this wasn't clarified or really stated before, the chapters from chapter one to the last few are all small snippets from the Finchel past, so it's not like 'day one, day two, day three' and so on, it's 'ooh this and then this' but it is all in chronological order, ya know? Anywho I'm done rambling, thank you all again so much. I hope you have a wonderful day
From: Rach*
Received at: 11:56am
Cnt make our date 2day
He looked down at his phone; jaw set and eyebrow raised. He scanned the brightly lit LED screen over and over until it went dim, then completely black and into hibernation mood due to lack of use. It certainly wasn't every day he received a text message from his girlfriend of such low caliber. Her normal extensive and properly punctuated sentences took up all 160 characters, if not more, and she never not finished without her trademark signature of 'xo Rachel*'. Today though, Finn must have woken up in some alternate universe or the twilight zone or something out of the ordinary because this – her text- it was not normal and Rachel Barbra Berry would not have sent this. Even if held at gun point with her future Broadway career on the line, she would have at least put her famous metaphorical star, because after all metaphors are important.
With a groan Finn tossed his phone back onto his bed as he stood up and began pacing. Finn was never a pacer until he started dating Rachel; after being around someone long enough you begin to pick up some of their mannerisms' and habits' and Finn, well he was lucky enough to have picked up pacing. Walking from one side of his room to the other, he started muttering to himself, hands waving around as he thought about how this day couldn't get any weirder; muttering being something he picked up from Kurt.
Was she sick? Was she dying? Was she sedated at the hospital and someone else had sent the text for her in attempts to throw Finn off the trail of what was really happening?
At the thought of Rachel lying alone in the cold hospital room, IVs in her delicate little arm, her entire body hooked up to barely beeping monitors as she drifted further and further away from the land of the living and closer to her untimely and premature demise, Finn's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. It was then he realized that he was still at home and his pajamas nonetheless. He needed to be sitting, or standing, vigil at her bedside. Turning abruptly Finn headed towards his dresser, stripping as he went. The sooner he got dressed the sooner he could be with Rachel. Pulling open the drawer and grabbing the first clean shirt he saw Finn hurried over to his closet and was dressed in under 5 minutes, and it only took that long because he had no idea where his mom had put his jeans after she'd washed them yesterday.
Making a beeline for the door, grabbing his phone and wallet, stuffing them into his back pockets as he went, Finn pulled open the door only to be greeted by the smiling face of his step-brother.
"Good morning Mr. Hudson!" Kurt sang lightly as he smiled up at his brother.
Finn nodded and made a weak attempt to side-step past the shorter boy but when Kurt's hand reached up and pressed to his chest, Finn stopped and sighed. "Seriously Kurt, I don't have time. It's cool and all, having like conversations over breakfast and stuff, but I have to go." With an annoyed smile, Finn again attempted to side-step past his brother, but Kurt's arm stayed in place, keeping the teen from his destination. With another sigh, this one seemingly angrier than the last, Finn whipped around to face Kurt, "Dude I have to go make sure Rachel's not dying in the hospital right now!" His hands waved around his head as he spoke, his frustration with Kurt growing as the younger teen just laughed at him.
"She's not dying." Kurt brought a hand up, placing it once again on Finn's chest, "She just… She needs her space. You know what they say 'too much of a good thing can make you sick'. But no, trust me Finn; Rachel needs space right now, maybe all week. So just let her be." With a nod, his work with Finn obviously done, Kurt turned and walked down the hall, the small heels of his designer boots tapping on the wood.
For a moment he stood there in his doorway. Shocked, confused and maybe even a little jealous. Kurt knew something was up and he just wasn't telling Finn. Why else would he have told Finn to back off and then just walk away? But what got to Finn the most was what Kurt had said about Rachel needing space. If anyone knew Rachel it was Finn, and he was pretty damn sure Rachel couldn't get enough of him. Not like he was trying to be cocky; Finn just knew how much Rachel loved him, he knew how important their relationship was to her and while she was doing better at being a not so controling-all-up-in-his-business-24-7 type of girlfriend, she still wanted to be with him, and they had had a date after all. She never missed their dates. So what was up with this space shit? That wasn't Rachel. Nodding to himself, Finn thought back to his twilight-zone theory, reconsidering how very plausible it might actually be.
Maybe he'd done something and just not realized it. Finn began thinking back on the past few weeks; he hadn't missed her birthday, or her ferrets' birthdays' for that matter, they'd spent the fourth of the July together and he'd even eaten a gross vegan hotdog with her, it wasn't their anniversary, and he didn't think he'd said or done anything offensive. Sure, maybe he'd turned down a Funny Girl movie night with her and her dads' but that was only because it was his grandma's birthday and she had been totally cool with that. Regardless, he had to have done or said something to upset her and now she had told Kurt and Kurt was telling him to back off.
Heading down the stairs and calling out a goodbye to whoever was in the kitchen, Finn knew what he had to do.
And while he wasn't too excited about having had unknowingly messed up, at least his worries about having woken up in the twilight zone or worse, Rachel being in the hospital, were safely put to rest.
-x-
Lima Heights had a very limited selection of grocery stores. There were two or three big chain type grocery stores. The kind that came with their own website and maybe even their own special rewards and membership program, but they would also over price everything and the only real savings that could be done was if you had copious amounts of coupons. The rest of the grocery stores, however, were all small mom and pop type shops that had been in Lima for longer than Finn had been alive. The down side was it was harder to find generic unhealthy snack type foods that Finn, or any growing teenage boy, liked to snack on basically 24/7. The upside was however, that with all these mom and pop shops some of them were catered to a very specific demographic of consumers. Consumers much like Rachel who ate only a very strict vegan diet.
Her favorite vegan conscious grocery store was this hole in the wall shop in Lima Heights Adjacent. Until senior year, Rachel would have to go from store to store to pick up food and snacks and Finn hated having to drive all over town because it literally was an all day adventure that shouldn't normally take more than an hour, but then her unnatural and still questionable friendship with Santana Lopez happened and now she only needed to make one stop.
It all happened when Santana had found out that Brittany was failing her applied algebra two class. Any other class and Santana wouldn't have cared if her girlfriend passed with an A or an F but passing three years of math was a graduation requirement and the way it was looking there was no way Brittany would graduate, ever. So the Latina had swallowed her pride and approached Rachel for help one afternoon after Glee. She'd explained to the littler teen how Brittany was failing and how she knew Rachel would be able to help the blonde bring her grades up. After what seemed like an obvious lie to be nicer and show her a "secret place I know you'll just love", Rachel was still very hesitant and skeptical. It wasn't until Santana had looked Rachel in the eyes and said please that the brunette gave in and agreed to help Brittany.
When Santana was actually nice to Rachel as promised everyone was surprised. When Brittany passed math no-one was surprised. Since then the two girls were close, almost as close and Rachel and Kurt were. And that place Santana had promised to show Rachel was where Finn was headed now.
Really Truly was a god-sent all vegan grocery store and the only place in town, or anywhere that he knew really, that had Rachel's favorite dark chocolate flavored vegan ice cream. If anything could simultaneously make her feel better/forget why she was upset/get her talking it was a spoon, the carton in her lap and Funny Girl playing on mute in the background and Rachel already had two of the three.
The drive to Lima Heights Adjacent was certainly a drive as it was past the school and on the other side of Lima, sitting just on the city limits. Normally, Rachel would be chattering away in the space next to him and the drive would seem to go much faster, but with just his broken and static-y radio playing, Finn felt like he'd been driving for hours rather than the usual twenty-five to thirty. Flipping on his blinker and pulling into the parking lot, Finn made a few rounds before he spotted a very familiar looking silver car and pulled into the empty lot next to it.
If he was right, Santana would be lurking the isles of the grocer and wherever Santana went, Brittany was never far behind. Santana no doubt knew something and while she certainly wouldn't be the first, or the last, to tell Finn anything about what was or wasn't going on, Brittany would the second you got her talking. Smiling his cocky half smile Finn practically raced into the store, his earlier ice cream mission momentarily put on hold until he found the ex-Cheerios.
The owner, or at least who he thought was the owner, greeted him happily as he pulled open the glass door and rambled off about how the fresh produce was having a sale. As Finn listened to the older man, he glanced around the front of the store and the three cash registers before him but with his luck found no-one. Hands deep in his pockets, Finn made his way down the first isle, mindlessly looking over the bread and cereal selections, before heading to the fruit isle but still no sign of either girl, just a few elderly women who all eyed him like he was up for sale as well. Not wanting to be approached by the women closest to his left, Finn sighed in relief when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, the muffled lyrics of Don't Stop Believin' calling out to him. Heading now towards the meat, Finn pulled out his phone, praying to grilled cheesus it was Rachel only to look down sadly at the LED screen as it flashed "Kurt".
Hitting the ignore button and shoving his phone back into his pocket, Finn continued to search the store in hopes that he hadn't missed the two girls' yet, but with no luck in sight he let out a small sigh and headed towards the frozen desserts isle. As he walked past bath products, magazines and soda's Finn wondered why Kurt had called him, probably to try and stop him from going over to Rachel's.
Kurt was far from dumb. Once the younger brother had finally realized Finn wasn't at home, he was sure Kurt had probably thrown a small hissy fit at how Finn had blatantly ignored him and called him immediately to yell at him and demand he come home right then and there. Finn's phone buzzed from his pocket again, but without Journey this time, and he didn't have to pull it out and check, he knew a very angry and very explicit voice mail was waiting for him. Not like Finn really cared what Kurt had to say about him going to see his girlfriend. Nothing anybody could say would stop him; so why was the younger boy even bothering?
Turning into the cool isle Finn's thoughts of Kurt faded as he heard a very familiar giggle.
Standing with her weight on her left leg, hip locked and fully stocked grocery basket in hand, Finn watched as the Latin girl pushed her hair back behind her ear before sweeping her thumb over her lower lip brushing away any misplaced lip gloss. A few steps in front of her, a blonde girl had her face pressed to the freeze door, eyes scanning the ice cream snack bars before her.
"San, what one do you think tastes better, party cake or Oreo cookie?"
Santana laughed at the blonde turned to frown at her girlfriend, obviously torn between the two choices. "Britts, it doesn't matter. We're not eating this crap, dad is. Besides, I wants to make it to BreadStix 'afors all the tables in back are taken." With a small sigh, the shorter girl stepped forward and pulled open the freezer door, looking for the vanilla ice cream. So that's why Santana had known about this place, her dad must be a vegan.
Ice cream carton in hand Santana pulled back and as she turned to put the final grocery item in her basket, Finn's eye met hers and he smiled softly at the two before calling out a hello and making his way towards them. Brittany jumped in place slightly and swayed back and forth, waiting for him to get close enough to hug, while Santana just stared and smiled back, "Well hello there Finnocence."
"Hey Santana." He called out before turning to Brittany and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close as he hugged her almost in the way a father hugs a child, "And hello Brittany. Someone looks excited today." The two parted and Brittany eagerly nodded. This was too easy. Brittany looked ready to burst; all he had to do was ask her about ice cream, mention Rachel and bam he'd know exactly what he'd done wrong. "I saw you looking at the ice cream," Finn turned to the freezer, "Did they have dark chocolate?"
Santana spoke first, obviously cutting Brittany off before her girlfriend had the chance to say anything, "Oh don't even play that game with me. I know what you're doing. Trying to play it all cool, like you're just here to get ice cream like you live around the corner or some shit. I know you're only trying to find out why B cancelled on you last minute." He looked over his shoulder, watching Santana as she waggled her finger at him as she continued her little rant. What was with everyone today? "Look, there's this thing called 'girl code' and I'm not breaking it. B doesn't want company today; respect that, go back home and play your video games."
"Yeah Finn, that's mean. Rach is like, not having a good day today." The blonde rocked on her feet, hands toying with her skirt, eyes cast down to her shoes. "And I know she probably doesn't even want you to see her. I called earlier and asked if she wanted me to come over and give her tummy sweet lady kisses to make it all better, and she told me she didn't want anyone to see her when she was all fat and bloat-y." Brittany finally looked up and over at Santana, "You wouldn't understand but I do and so does San and Lord Tubbington and even he thinks it would be a bad idea for you to go see her."
Finn turned around, frowning as he faced the two girls. "Why does everyone seem to know what's wrong with my girlfriend but me?" He mumbled. His shoulders dropped and he let out a small sigh, "It's not cool. Being the last to know everything that's going on around me and all sucks."
He didn't think they were going to break up, she wasn't pregnant and he was sure she hadn't cheated on him again, but still; they had to communicate and right now they weren't. He wasn't even trying to get any other information out of the two girls. Finn honestly and truly was getting upset and overall hurt over the fact that his girlfriend, the girl he loved, the girl he was with, the girl he'd do anything for, was withholding information. It was BabyGate all over again and it was beginning to get to him. What had he done that had been so wrong the Rachel couldn't even talk to him about it?
Noticing the concern in his eyes and the way he had that stupid kicked puppy look about him, Santana sighed, "She has enough ice cream at home, we made sure of that last week when we were here. So don't even bother buying that, on the other hand, in the produce section up front, they're selling little premade containers of watermelon. Get her one of those. It'll help more than you think." With a raise of the brow and a small smirk, Santana reached for Brittany's hand and pulled away without as much as a goodbye.
-x-
Finn tapped his foot nervously as he ran his free hand through his hair. Five minutes, he'd rung the door bell five minutes ago and she still hadn't answered. It would be different if she hadn't been home and he'd been standing here pacing around on her front door step like an idiot, but Finn knew she was here. Not only had she left her window open –something she only ever did when she was home—but he could hear her. Well, not her, but he heard someone moving around inside and it sure as hell hadn't been her ferrets. They stayed in their cages, and while Rachel had thought it cruel to keep both locked away, the one time they had been let out the two had all but ruined half of her at the time wardrobe. So yeah, it defiantly Mrs. Snuggleton or Valerie Bertinelli making those noises. Had she seen him and just chosen to not answer the door? Had she really not heard the door bell ring?
Another few minutes passed and Finn was done. Rachel was obviously still mad and obviously still didn't want to talk to him, or even be around him. With an aggravated sigh the teen turned and began to head down the driveway and back to his truck when he heard the door open up behind him. He stopped but didn't turn around, waiting for her to make the first move and say something. Back straight, hands clutching the container tighter than he probably should, Finn licked him lips.
"I was in the bathroom when you rang. By the time I made it downstairs I had to turn around and go get my phone. My dad called, to check on me and you know how he gets when I don't answer the phone. I'm sorry I made you wait."
Without even having to look at her Finn knew she was smiling at his back. Maybe not her 100-watt smile she wore on stage and when she was being the brave and strong overachiever people knew her as, but her small shy little smile. The one she wore when she knew she'd done something that wasn't necessarily wrong but certainly unexpected and was trying to get out of any real punishment, an eye roll aside. Letting out a little laugh, Finn turned to his girlfriend.
"It's cool," He took a few large strides stood before her, finally taking in her appearance. As opposed to normal Rachel Berry attire, today she was dressed down. Her long hair –that now reached her waist, was pulled back into a high ponytail. Her normal sweater or button-up and cardigan was replaced with just an old Led Zeppelin t-shirt she'd taken from Finn back in the spring, or maybe winter, and skirts be damned, her blue cotton shorts were covering practically nothing.
He knew he was staring, "Ummm, I got you this." Finn blurted out. He pushed his arm forward, holding out the watermelon for her. "Santana said you'd appreciate this more than ice cream."
Rachel smiled up at Finn as she took the container and lead the tall boy into her house, shutting the door once he was safely in the foyer and slipping out of his shoes. "That was sweet of you I really do appreciate when you… wait you were getting me ice cream?" Setting the container down she turned to him, brow raised.
Finn shrugged awkwardly under her gaze. "I mean, yeah I was. Ice cream always gets you talking and after you canceling on me and then having three people tell me to stay away from you I figured I needed to talk to you and you wouldn't have done that if I just called up and asked. Besides, you hate talking on the phone unless it's right before bed."
Her smile dropped and the two fell back into silence. "You just don't understand!" Rachel huffed out finally, arms crossed definitely over her chest as she shifted her weight angrily from one foot to the other.
"I don't understand because you won't tell me!" He barked back. What was she doing here? Pulling some shiesty shit like this and trying to blame it all on him. "I'm your boyfriend Rachel, and if we want this- us- to work, you can't keep stuff from me. I thought we agreed on no more secrets. I thought we had an understanding. I tell you everything Rach, everything. Even shit you don't wanna hear." After pausing to take a breath, Finn sighed as he realized how loud he'd gotten with her. He didn't mean to yell, he didn't want to fight with her, but she knew just how to push his buttons, even still, he'd over reacted. Looking down at the girl with his puppy-sad eyes, Finn's hand reached out to rest on the juncture of her shoulder and neck, thumb tracing the soft skin there as an unspoken apology. "I just want you to be 100% honest with me Rachel, even if it's about stuff you think I don't wanna hear. Sure I might not like hearing everything you have say but I want to. I don't want there to be things about you that other know that I don't."
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, ready to spill over any minute. Licking her lips, she looked away, their feet suddenly becoming more interesting than the hurt expression before her, "I'm on my period, and... I just started using a new birth control a few months ago. The doctor told me it would be more efficient than the one I had been on, because I mean... we're getting older and closer and sex is bound to come up more as time goes on and you know I'm always one to be prepared. It's just; this new one isn't helping with my cramps or my flow. Actually, I feel like it's making them worse." She finally looked back up at him, watching him bite his lip for a minute before continuing, "And right now I'm having a heavy flow and I'm cramping so horribly, and I'm all kinds of crazy and I didn't want my cycle to ruin our date and I thought... I just thought if I canceled it, it would make things better and..."
Finn let out a small laugh as he pulled Rachel tightly to his chest. His hands ran up and down her back in slow soothing motions as he felt her grip his t-shirt, "Rach, I don't care if you're… you know… doing that." He whispered the last word as if someone was actually around to hear them, "It wouldn't have ruined our date. Nothing can ruin our dates. Well no I mean, if like something really bad happened yeah I guess our date might get ruined, no. I mean… as long as we're together, that's all that matters."
He heard her sniff and felt her arms slowly let go of his shirt, only to snake around his waist, pulling the two of them closer together. "I just put in Funny Girl, do you want to watch it with me?" Oh yeah, he was totally forgiven.