A/N: Wow. Loooong chapter. Sorry! I dunno, maybe it's too long - I hope it doesn't put you off my story, especially since it's all in Rachel POV. She can be really hard to write! Crap. I'm making excuses... please tell me if the chapter is too (fill in the blank). But I PROMISE, next chapter is gonna be all (or mostly!) Finn. YAY! I luv him...sigh...
Also, thanks to gleekfreak123, Bluesdj, Finchelroxursox, MaroonFox, TEAMFINNMEMBER6178, and caityjane for reviewing last chapter! Each review really made my day :)
Anyways! Here it is!
Rachel POV
Absolutely everyone from my class is here. Even that creepy Jacob Ben Israel kid, who moved here from Ann Arbor. He makes me feel really uncomfortable most of the time, especially when he stares at me during science. In fact, he was so distracted by me once that he poured bleach onto his science project instead of water, and the whole plant died almost instantly. It was really sad.
But still. Everyone is here. And I am standing around with my two fathers in my cover-up and bathing suit waiting for someone to come say hi. That's not happening.
You see, for some reason, people don't really want to be best friends with me. Maybe it's because of my talent. I mean, I can totally understand if the thought of being constantly overshadowed by my abilities makes you want to steer clear of me. But that's utterly ridiculous! I'm not going to constantly brag about how well I can sing and act, and I certainly won't try to make you feel inferior if I spontaneously start singing in class or in the hallways, which I've been known to do. I'm a good friend! I'll make you cookies on your birthday and shower you with presents on Christmas even though I'm Jewish!
Do I sound desperate? Maybe I am. I mean, I have one or two friends who I talk to in class and sit with at lunch (and if I didn't have them, I'd seem like a big loser, which I refuse to let happen), but they don't ask me to hang out, and never jump at an opportunity to pair up with me for projects, which leaves me thinking that maybe they don't really like me.
However, that doesn't change the fact that I'm standing on the patio by myself while my fathers talk with other parents and everyone else has someone to talk to. I have to be brave here, right?
So, I walk over to Tina Cohen-Chang. She's one of the people who talks to me and lets me sit with her and Artie Abrams at lunch. Though I don't really agree with her sense of style, she's very kind and soft-spoken. Right now, she's standing near the pool next to Artie, who's sort of aimlessly wheeling himself back in forth on the bricks in his wheelchair. He's sort of nice to me too, though I can tell he gets irritated if I talk about Broadway or Barbara Streisand for too long during lunch. I can't help it though – why should I talk about anything else?
"Hi, Tina, Artie," I say confidently.
"Oh, h-h-hey, Rachel," Tina stutters. I can't tell if she's happy to see me or not, so I just go with the former and hope for the best.
"Are you guys excited for summer?" I'm trying really hard to have a conversation, but Artie just keeps staring off into the water, and Tina just keeps staring at him.
"Not really. School is the only place where people talk to me. Without it, I'm friendless," Artie replies cynically.
"That's n-n-not true. You have m-m-me, dummy!" Tina giggles, smacking Artie's arm and bringing him back to the present.
He laughs along with her. "You're right. Sorry, I've just been really bummed about leaving middle school. High school is freaking me out, you know?"
I nod my head in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean. I have no idea what sort of musicals they perform in high school. I mean, what if they put on High School Musical? I'll probably puke on the stage and then die."
Tina and Artie stare at me for a moment, and then we all break out in laughter together. Maybe I was wrong about this party. I think it could be a potentially enjoyable experience as long as I hang out with Artie and Tina.
-~:~-
Now, Tina and I are sitting in the shallow end of the pool, talking about the good old days. Believe me, I know I sound like an old coot, but the years we spent in elementary school really were the good old days. We've reminisced about the sandbox, the swing set, our third grade teacher Mrs. Murphy who brought us ice cream on the days before vacations, the mean librarian, Mrs. Stanley, who ended up marrying the even more mean fifth grade teacher, Mr. Morris, and all of our favorite field trips.
"But, I mean, I don't know why or how we got all split up. We were such a close class," I say, playing with my ponytail over my shoulder.
"Yeah, I-I-I know. Especially in k-k-kindergarten." Tina agrees with me about a lot of things, like the fact that Quinn Fabray needs a reality check, and how Puck needs all the air from his skull replaced with an actual brain.
"I just wish that our peers weren't so narrow-minded as to believe that popularity–"
"AAAHH!" Booosshhh! Tina and I look immediately towards the deep end, where Puck has just flooded the pool area with a massive cannon ball, soaking Quinn and her friends.
As soon as Puck surfaces, Santana Lopez, one of Quinn's followers, screams at him from her position in a lounge chair by the edge of the pool.
"Puck! You just got me soaked, you asshole!" Most onlookers would believe that Santana was really upset with Puck. But I know better, and can see through her paper-thin guise. She really just wants an excuse to yell at Puck so he can yell back at her and create some kind of sexual tension. It's ridiculous, but it works, much to my dismay. She's just too good with guys.
"Whatever, Santana. You know you look good soaked," Puck says in a disgustingly seductive way, waggling his eyebrows at her as she glares at him. "Finn, dude! You think you can beat that?"
My gaze immediately snaps to the diving board. Finn Hudson is standing there, shirtless and amazing and god-like, and I actually have a montage in my head. (God. I've been watching too much TV.) This is basically what it looks like:
When we were in preschool, Finn would constantly ask me to make sandcastles in the sandbox with him at recess, but he'd accidentally knock all my sandcastles over. If I cried, he'd pat my back and tell me that I could make some more.
In fourth grade, Finn broke the model of the solar system that I had spent three days working on for our group project, and then stayed up until midnight repairing it the night before it was due. Ridiculously, of course, he called me at 12:04 to let me know that it was done and that he was sorry, and in my sleepy stupor I hung up on him, but not before letting him know that it was all going to be okay.
In sixth grade, when we finally left elementary school and went to Lima Middle School, Finn was dared by some seventh graders to knock all of my library books and textbooks out of my arms as I walked to class on the first day of school. He did it, of course, but after his "friends" turned the corner, he helped me gather the books back together and whispered a hasty "Sorry" before catching up with them as fast as he could.
On the last day of eighth grade, Finn and Puck and a few other jock-jerks snapped rubber bands at the back of my head during last period because I told the principal about their plans that I'd overheard to skip class and go to the park on the other side of town. They had basically been on lock down the entire day, with all faculty members staring them down in every class.
"Yeah, dude, I'm gonna own you!" Finn yells as he runs the length of the diving board and jumps super high, landing with what is commonly known as a "can opener" in the water. I'm brought back to reality as the splash reaches Tina and me, and all I can do is stare at him as he comes back to the surface. Wow, his hair looks really good wet…
"R-r-rachel? Are you s-s-still here?" Tina asks me, waving her hand in front of my face, as if I had just been spaced out, staring at the most amazing guy ever. Which, for the record, I was not.
-~:~-
"Oh my g-g-gosh, it smells soooo good!" Tina says ahead of me. We're standing in line for the barbecue, and she's right. It smells reeeeeeeeally good.
After the diving competition between Finn and Puck, which did not involve me drooling over Finn's amazing, well, everything, Artie came over to us and complained that he was really hungry. I was less than willing to get out of the pool, of course, as it gave Puck and his jock-jerk friends a better chance of being able to push me into the pool. However, Tina was also starving, and I have to admit that I was a little hungry, too.
The food was your standard barbecue fare, with some salads and brownies, and of course, cheeseburgers and hot dogs. Normally, because of the rigorous diet and exercise program I have myself on to maintain my starlet-like physique, I would steer clear of the meat (and also because of my religion and only being able to eat clean foods), but, apparently, Puck's mom brought some kosher burgers and hot dogs, so I could eat those if I wanted to. And, though I'd never admit it out loud, my weaknesses in life are musical movie marathons on TCM and a big, juicy cheeseburger.
"So, Artie," I say, "what are you gonna –"
"Finn, stop it!" I hear an annoying voice squeal. I look to see what's going on over by the pool, where Quinn is trying to split up a water gun fight between Finn and Puck that's getting her soaked. She's trying, and failing, to pull the gun out of Finn's hands, and he is obviously basking in the attention from an obviously attractive girl who obviously likes him and obviously wants him to know without it being too obvious. Oh, listen to me. I sound like a broken record. But still. It disgusts me to watch her throw herself at him like that, especially since she can have any guy she wants without even trying. It's not fair that girls like her, with their snappy comebacks and shiny hair and tiny butts, get what they want all the time.
Wait a second. Finn looks like he's starting to get pissed off at her. I don't blame him – she's basically taking all his fun away, and it's not like he did anything wrong.
"Quinn, what's your problem? Chill," he says, looking down on her and effortlessly pulling the water gun out of her grip. Quinn starts pouting and accepts defeat by going back over to Santana and Brittany and the rest of them. And then, the unthinkable happens.
He looks at me.
Omigosh.
Well, it's actually one of those accidental looks where you just look up and connect eyes with someone. But that someone is me! He holds his gaze for longer than is comfortable, and eventually he gives me a smoldering half-smile. At this point, I would give up all my talent and wardrobe to know what he's thinking inside that wonderful head of his…sigh…
Crap. I think I just sighed out loud.
"It's really too bad, you know?" Artie's voice comes from behind me.
"What?" I say, back on planet Earth again.
"It's too bad that Finn went to the dark side. He could've been a genuinely nice person." Artie shakes his head as he says this, reminding me that before Artie's accident, he and Finn used to be the best of friends in elementary school.
"I d-d-don't think he's r-r-really ch-ch-changed that much, though," Tina says.
"Yeah, I think you're right, Tina. He can't have changed into a complete jerk," I insist. Underneath all the jockiness and cockiness, Finn is definitely still an acceptable person. Sure, it seems as though he's been corrupted by peer pressure, but I'm sure he's still the same kind person he's always been.
Right?
A/N: Thanks for reading! As always, don't feel obligated to review... I'd be the biggest hypocrite ever if I demanded a review from every reader! And also, if this chapter seems off or not-right in any way (as I'm thinking it is), please don't hesitate to tell me! Thanks a lot! - littlefish