It'd been two days since I ran out of the school, leaving Rachel and the others standing in the hallway. Part of me was worried about how much homework I'd have to catch up on, but for the most part, I didn't care. I had other things on my mind that were far more serious than Spanish class or glee club.

I can't believe this is happening to me.

I wiped at my eyes, clearing the tears away. How could Quinn seriously lie to me? Especially about something as big as that! Cheating on me was one thing, but hiding the fact that the baby wasn't mine...

I should have never trusted her. I shouldn't have even dated her! What is wrong with me?

I sat up and leaned back against my headboard as I peered out of my bedroom window. It was dark outside and had to definitely be past eight o'clock. I had been sleeping and crying the past two days away, only leaving my room to get something to eat or to use the bathroom. I didn't want to see or do anything.

About an after I had left school that day and had locked myself in my room, Rachel had apparently been knocking away at my front door. I say apparently because this is what my mother told me; she said that Rachel had wanted to check up on me and speak with me to make sure I was alright, but I told my mom not to let anyone bother me and to tell anyone who came over that I was busy.

Speaking of my mom, I practically broke down right in front of her after I rushed home. She now knew about the huge secret I'd been hiding even though it turned out to be a complete hoax. Thankfully she didn't yell at me. She just held me and tried to comfort me to the best of her abilities, but I really couldn't be soothed at the moment. I just wanted to be alone so I hid away in my room.

Rachel hadn't only stopped by that one time though; she actually ended up coming over about three times a day, but I continued to refuse to speak to anyone so I didn't get to see her. She'd left small hand-written notes on my front door, sent me texts which I didn't respond to and even brought my homework for me from school. Even though I was ignoring her, I was grateful for the attention. It felt nice knowing that she cared.

I flipped open my phone and read through her most recent text messages that she had sent me.

Hi Finn, just checking up on you again. I wish you'd text me back to just let me know you're okay! - xoxo

I dropped off some Spanish notes for you. Your mom said she'd give them to you when you wake up or at least unlock your door. Please don't stay cooped up in your bedroom, it's unhealthy. - xoxo

I really miss you. - xoxo

I sighed and tossed my phone onto my bedside table.

I should at least text her back, she deserves to know I'm alright instead of worrying about me. I'm not worth her time.

I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking like that. I wasn't worthless and Rachel had proven that. Sure, maybe she didn't exactly say that I wasn't worthless, but she definitely did show me. Besides, she wouldn't want to hang out with someone who was worthless so that meant I was something.

I looked over at my digital clock that sat on my desk. It was close to midnight... would it be to late to go over to Rachel's house? I knew that her dads didn't like her to have company past ten at night, especially guys, but I really felt like I needed to see her. I was sick of sitting alone in my room with nobody to talk to, and I knew that Rachel was someone I could trust.

Before I knew it I was out of bed and slipping into my jacket. I didn't even take the time to argue about the reasons why I shouldn't show up at her place at such an hour. All I knew was that I was miserable, bored with being alone, and that I missed Rachel more than anything in the world.

RACHEL'S POV

"Finn?"

"Hi, Rachel."

I was shocked to see the messy-haired, sad-eyed boy that stood in front of me on my doorstep at a quarter to one in the morning. The one that I had tried to contact for the past two days to no avail. His nose was bright red and his eyes were watery. I just wanted to pull him into a hug but I kept my distance. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I really wanted to see you," he almost whispered. "I'm sorry for showing up so late,"

"It's okay. I understand."

"But I missed you."

I couldn't help but give him a small smile. "I missed you too."

He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Can I come in? It's uh, kinda cold out here."

"Of course, of course," I stepped aside, allowing him to walk in. "How stupid of me to forget to invite you in. I guess I was just surprised that you had shown up. I wasn't expecting you at all."

Finn just nodded, seeming unsure of the current situation. "Yeah."

"Here, let's go to my room before my fathers wake up to all the commotion down here," I ordered as I grabbed at his jacket sleeve and pulled him along with me through the house and up to my room. I would have hated for one of my dads to see that there was a boy in my house so late at night; it would have not blown over well with them.

When I shut my bedroom door behind us, an awkward quietness ensued. I was unsure of what to say whilst Finn looked nervous and uncomfortable. I hated moments like these.

"I uh, I'm sorry. You know, for sort of ignoring you." Finn suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"Really, it's okay, Finn. I understand that you probably didn't want to speak with anyone after what happened on Tuesday-"

"No," he interrupted as he walked over and stood in front of me. In my bedroom light I could see his bloodshot eyes. "It's not okay. You've just been looking out for me, wanting to make sure I was alright. It wasn't right for me to just ignore you like that. I don't deserve for you to check up on me."

I found myself unconsciously reaching for him. My hands cupped his face as my thumbs rubbed back and forth against his jaw. I could feel the slight stubble of his barely-budding facial hair. "I care about you, Finn. I check up on you because I want to make sure you're alright."

I could see the tears forming in his eyes. "I care about you too."

My stomach found itself doing flips. I knew that he meant it in a friendly way but I couldn't help it. The way he said it made me feel as if it could have meant more. "What's on your mind?" I asked as I pulled my hands away from his face and sat down on my bed. I patted the seat next to me and he sat down.

He let out a huge sigh and hung his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"About Quinn?"

"No, Quinn and I are through. That I'm sure of."

"Then what do you mean?"

"My future. College. I'm... my money is gone. I gave it all to Quinn. Everything."

I let a hand rest on his shoulder. "Don't you remember our conversation about scholarships? You still have a good chance, Finn. Especially at that one for Julliard."

"I haven't even submitted an application for that. I haven't submitted an application for anything except that football scholarship-"

"There's no doubt you'll get that one. You're amazing at what you do."

Finn forced a wry smile. "Thanks, but... even if college works out for me, that's... I don't know. It's not the only thing on my mind right now."

"What else, then?"

He went to say something but his breath hitched in his throat. He wiped the back of his jacket sleeve across his eyes. "My dad. His chair. It's... it's gone"

I blinked and furrowed my brows. I knew the story of how Finn never really got to know his father, but I had no clue what he was talking about at the moment. "I don't understand, Finn."

And just like that, Finn had put the waterworks on.

"The only thing that I had of my dads' that really mattered to me was his recliner," he explained through his tears which he was trying to furiously wipe away. "I had to sell it so that I could give the money to Quinn. You know, that one that's in my living room right in front of the television? That's it. I mean, mom and I have some boxes of his old stuff down in the basement, but like, my dad used to hold me in that chair. The only picture of us is him holding me in that stupid recliner and now it's gone."

Seeing him cry like this made me feel as if my heart was breaking. "Finn..."

"I know it's stupid to cry over a dumb chair but like, that's all I had!"

"Finn, it's not stupid," I assured as I wrapped my arms around him. He leaned his body into my own, burying his face in the crook of my neck as he wrapped his own arms around me. I could feel his hot tears on my skin. "It's not stupid at all."

He said something but I couldn't understand what it was between his muffled voice and his sobbing. We sat there for what felt like hours but in all reality was only about five minutes, him crying and me rubbing his back and whispering soothing words into his ear. I really didn't know what I was supposed to say to make him feel better, but I tried.

Sooner or later, he pulled away. He was a mess.

"I don't want to go home," he said softly. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

I couldn't imagine how he felt, finding out that a baby wasn't his, having his college money used up and losing such an important physical memory all in less than a week or two. Even though my fathers had strict rules against boys sleeping over, I couldn't say no.

"Of course you can," I said as I stood up from my bed. He stood up as well and removed his jacket, tossing it onto my chair that sat in the corner of the room. After removing his shoes he crawled onto my bed, leaning against the headboard. I wanted to address the fact that he didn't even ask if he could sleep in my bed with me but I let it go. He'd had a rough time lately, and besides, it's not like I wouldn't secretly enjoy the fact I'd be sleeping with him.

Upon joining him atop of my comforter, an idea hit me. "You know how duets are tomorrow?"

He frowned. "I know, we're not ready at all."

"I was just thinking, why don't we do a song that can maybe try to explain how you feel about what Quinn did to you?" I suggested. "I have an extensive music collection on my iPod; I'm sure we'll find something there. We could spend an hour or two practicing quietly before heading off to sleep so we could be ready for tomorrow!"

Finn seemed interested. "That sounds good, actually. Are you sure it'd be safe to practice though? Even quietly... I mean, what if your dads wake up?"

I shook my head. "Don't worry, they wont. Between Daddy's snoring, the fan that they keep on while they sleep and the fact that their room is on the first floor on the other side of the house, we'll be fine. Now c'mon," I reached over to grab my iPod from it's dock. "We don't have all night!"

Two hours later, Finn and I were too busy laughing to even attempt and fall asleep. We'd chosen a song and had finished practicing, leaving us both in much more upbeat and chipper moods. Finn had discarded his morose demeanor and replaced it with one of pure happiness, which I was incredibly grateful for. I hated to see Finn in a bad mood, but apparently our less than orthodox duet practice (which was filled with laughter and jokes as well took time to sing along to songs that had nothing to do with our assignment, mind you) had fixed him right up, if at least momentarily.

We were settled into bed, the only light in the room coming from the moon that was in clear sight from my bedroom window. Finn was pulling the blanket up to cover his shoulders which in turn caused the blanket to partially cover my face. I laughed and pushed the blanket downwards, earning a grunt from Finn.

"Hey, I was using that!" he laughed as he attempted to cover himself up once more. I pushed the blanket off again.

"You're covering my head!"

"It's not my fault you're so short," he sneered. I rolled my eyes and punched his arm. "Ouch! Sheesh, for someone so short you've got quite the punch!"

"Do you want to sleep on the floor?" I warned.

"I was just kidding," he smirked. "I like that you're short. It's cute."

I laughed. "And I like that you're insanely tall. It works for you."

He smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah, I like my men tall." I winked.

"Is the guy you like tall?"

"Hmm," I pretended to think. "He's about exactly your height."

"Oh," Finn frowned. His eyes seemed to glaze over in the moonlight, as if he was contemplating something.

I wondered if I had said something wrong because once again, a bit of tension filled the room. We were both silent for a good few minutes before Finn spoke up, tearing me out of my thoughts.

"Earlier you said that you cared about me..."

"Yeah?"

He sat up, resting against the headboard. I mimicked his actions. "I care about you."

I nodded. "I know, you told me that already. Thank you."

He shook his head, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "No, that's... that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean?"

He sighed, his eyes focusing on my own. "I really care about you... like, as in more than a friend."

I was in shock. Had I heard him right? Did he just say that he cared for me more than just as a friend? "I-I don't get what you-"

"I like you," he cut me off. "Actually, I've liked you for a while. I just didn't know how to tell you. I couldn't tell you—not when I was with Quinn." He chewed his lip for a moment. "Do you remember that time when you left the glee club and I begged you to come back?"

"Yes, you told me that I was a good person to have around."

He nodded. "Yeah, that uh, that was only half of the truth. The reason I chased after you like that was because I actually planned on telling you how I felt about you, but... I chickened out. I couldn't admit it so I ended up being stuck with Quinn, and now look at where I am."

I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of Finn's mouth. It was like I was dreaming.

"So... you like me?" I asked, hoping for reassurance. He nodded sheepishly as he palmed the back of his neck.

"I do. I really do." he answered. "Like, you don't even know how much I like you. It's nuts. You're just-you're just perfect. There's not even another way I can explain it, but with you liking this other guy I'd imagine I don't have a chance in-"

"Finn, the guy I'm interested in is you." I accidentally blurted out. Finn's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "I've tried to hide it to the best of my ability all this time, but it's the truth."

Finn's hand reached out for my own, grasping it tightly. "Does this mean we can be together? You'll give me a chance?" he asked as he attempted to move in and close the gap between us. As much as I didn't want to, I shifted away from him and pulled my hand from his own. His hopeful expression fell.

I drew in a deep breath. "You have to believe me when I tell you that there's nothing that I'd love more than to give us a chance at being together, but right now... right now is just not a good time."

He furrowed his brows. "Why not?"

"Finn, you've been put through a lot lately. The last thing you need is to rush into another relationship." I explained.

He shook his head. "I really like you though, Rachel! I mean, I've wanted to be with you for like, ever now. I think this is exactly what I need!"

"Please Finn, if you honestly like me as much as you say you do, you'll wait. Just for a little while at least," I told him. "I really do hate to put us on hold, but I don't think I'd be able to handle it if it turns out that I'm just some sort of rebound for you. So please, just... wait."

Finn looked at me with an expression of both understand and slight pain. He sighed. "Okay. I'll wait."

I smiled, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. I felt a pair of lips press against my neck, causing a surge of pleasure to run throughout my body. I pulled away, only to notice Finn wearing a mischievous grin.

"Finn!"

"Too soon?"

"More like unexpected."

He laughed and pulled me towards him. We settled back down into bed, this time with his arm wrapped loosely around my waist as I snuggled into his chest. This probably wasn't the best thing for us to be doing, especially after I'd just made it clear that I wanted us to take things slow, but I couldn't care less at the moment. My dreams had more or less just come true and Finn smelled like a mix between the outdoors and some sort of cologne. I couldn't resist.