AN: Thanks again to my beta, Sam or sdl90 as you may know her :).

She was just so tired of juggling her double major. This semester she was stuck juggling 18 credits not even including her theater workshops and the spring musical, and now, her fathers expected her to pretend to date Finn Hudson when she didn't even have enough time for a real boyfriend.

Her final workshop on Friday ended at 5:30 which gave her just enough time to run back to her apartment and get ready for dinner. Earlier in the week she'd checked to make sure that Finn had made a reservation, and he'd assured her that he had at a place called Finelli's. He'd told her that it was an Italian place and to dress "Business casual… like dark jeans or something. Nothing too fancy—unless-uh—you want to wear a dress—because you look really good in dresses." She had to admit that his bumbling had been a little adorable.

But for all its charming cuteness his rambling had left her at a loss of what to wear. She wanted to still look good without really inviting any advances from him. Rachel had had a hard enough time making him go away the first time around, and she had no interest in breaking his heart again. There was no way in hell she was ever actually going to date him again because it hurt too much just to look at him and remember. Part of her still wondered what life would be like if she'd been honest with him. Maybe things would have worked out.

Life couldn't be planned around maybes though. Rachel let herself into her shared apartment with Santana throwing her keys onto the table and peeling off her shirt as she walked. Santana was busy on campus until 6:30 so she had the apartment to herself until Finn came to pick her up. Turning on her music she started to meander around the apartment, shirtless, looking for the top she wanted to wear. She found it on the back of the couch with a note pinned to it from Santana. I knew you'd want this one. You have this, chica. You're stronger than you think. She had to smile because her roommate knew her more than anyone.

Rachel slipped on the silky silver and black printed top loving the feel of it against her skin. It was her favorite shirt—a little silk number that she'd gotten in Paris last spring when her daddies had agreed to pay for her and Tana to go to France. Being neglected did have its monetary perks. Rachel ambled back to her room looking through her closet before picking a pair of her dark navy skinny jeans and some killer heels. Santana liked to call them "fuck-me" stilettos, and while Rachel didn't really appreciate the vulgar nature of that name, she did enjoy the added confidence and height boost.

Finally, she made her way into the bathroom. Rachel looked at herself in the mirror taking time to study the too large curve of her nose, the small bump of her breasts, the way her lips looked small and pale over her teeth because she'd been too rushed to put on make-up this morning. She quickly found her red lipstick swiping it along the curves over her upper lip, and then smoothing it along her lower lip before rubbing them together. Better. She looked more alive now.

She lined her eyes with black liner—just enough to make her already large eyes look even more dramatic, and she was ready to go. All in all, she'd had just enough to get ready before she heard Finn's steady knock on the door. Running out of the bathroom and nearly tripping on one of Santana's books she quickly pressed the power button on the iPod dock before grabbing her keys, clutch, and jacket.

:.:.:

Christ, he was nervous. More than nervous. His palms were sweating against the steering wheel as he drove to her building. This was going to be it. He'd finally get to go on another date with her for the first time in years. There was no way she could back out of this. Part of him really felt bad about this entire arrangement, but a bigger part of him wanted answers. He'd been chasing the confusing mystery of Rachel Berry for years, and he still hadn't figured out whatever had triggered her initial disinterest in him.

At first, they'd hit it off. They wouldn't go anywhere without each other, and he'd really thought that they'd found something special. Until she just stopped returning his calls. When he finally showed up at her dorm with a bouquet of flowers, it was too late. Something had gone wrong, and he no longer had Rachel Berry.

To his knowledge no one else had had her in this span of time either. Rachel's double major kept her busy, and he'd never heard any tales of her dating anyone, which only added to her mystery. Maybe she was actually a lesbian, but she didn't want anyone to know? She was roommates with Santana Lopez, but if that was the case, then why wouldn't she just tell everyone. It wasn't like her gay dads were going to judge her for it.

That couldn't be it though. At least, she'd done a damn fine job of acting attracted to him if she was a lesbian. The sex had been awesome. Even if it was only once and highly inebriated.

He just couldn't stop thinking about having sex with her. Like, it was physically impossible for him to not remember flashes of that night randomly. Something inside him had changed that night. Rachel had opened him up to something that he hadn't even known he could have, and then just as easily she'd ripped it away.

It didn't do him any good to dwell on what had gone down when nearly four years later he still hadn't made any progress figuring out her motives behind cutting ties with him. Finn pulled into a space in front of her building shaking his head like he was trying to dispel the thoughts that kept reappearing in his mind.

Rachel lived in a pretty nice walk-up that he was about a hundred percent certain her dads paid for. He just couldn't picture Princess Berry doing any work other than her schoolwork, and that kept her busy enough. He never saw her with less than twenty pounds of books in her oh-so-stylish Prada book bag that her daddies also paid for. He wasn't really one to talk about parents paying for things because of his prep-school upbringing and what-not, but Finn at least still remembered what it was like before his mom married Burt.

He'd grown up in this shit little town in upstate New York, and then one day when he was eight his mom came home with some new guy, and his life was just different from then on. Burt really was a great guy, and he'd paid for Finn's education, but that didn't mean that Finn got things handed to him on a silver platter like Rachel did. But then again, he was well aware how imperfect her life really was.

The house is thumping with the base beat of the stereo, and everything is too warm with the heat of bodies pressing in around him. He's never really been one for parties, but this is fun in its own way. Someone comes up behind him pressing a little too closely as he refills his cup at the tap, and he's about to yell at Puck because dude! Personal space! Except it isn't Puck.

He's seen her around before. A girl who is way too tightly strung with the schedule that means she's in more classes than should be legal. Rumor around campus is that she's actually a mental patient because she's just that hyper. Something about her expression throws him off though. "Refill?" he asks gesturing to the keg.

She looks at him for a moment that seems to last too long. Her large eyes seem to get even bigger, and they glitter with promises that he's not sure he can help her keep. He thinks that she's finally about to say something, but she just nods. He fills up her red plastic cup, and she takes a swig wincing at the taste. Leaning up she whispers in his ear. It's almost too quiet to hear in the thrumming activity of the party, but he leans low enough that her hot breath brushes across his cheek, "Do you want to get shit-faced with me?"

His throat goes dry because how the fuck do you respond to that? She pulls away licking her lips in a way that should be illegal. "Come on, Finn. I know you know how to show a girl a good time. That's all I want right now." Through his half-drunken haze a phrase from thousands of TV shows comes to him. Ulterior motives. But he's too far gone, and she's too sexy for him to care.

"I—I don't even know your name," he chokes out.

She leans toward him again her lips far too close to his skin, "Rachel," and she brushes her lips against his cheek leaving it with a slightly sticky imprint of lip gloss. She has his heart hammering and his mind racing.

A sweaty palm takes her hand in his, "Well, Rachel," her name sounds perfect on his lips, "Let's go get shit-faced."

Their first night together could have gone a thousand different ways. Her dads could have been at her show. He could have stayed in his room instead of going to the party. But fate apparently has a sense of humor. He knocked on her door, all the while, thinking about that first night. Tumbling into his room with a bottle of Jack.

Rachel opened the door looking hotter than should be allowed for someone who apparently didn't want to be with you. "You look—uh—really nice, Rachel."

She locked her door before turning to him and flashing one of those megawatt smiles of hers. "You look quite… handsome yourself, Finn. Now let's get this over with."

"You really know how to make a guy feel special don't you?" He said it under his breath, but she seemed to pick up on it as he helped her put on her coat.

"Oh what? Big playboy Finn Hudson is upset that he has to go on a date with little old me? Typical." He rolled his eyes at her. Finn really didn't want to fight, but something about her attitude was just rubbing him the wrong fucking way.

He started walking down the hall not looking over his shoulder as he spoke to her, "You're the one who ended it with me, Rachel. You're the one who won't even tell me what the fuck I ever did wrong."

:.:.:

Finn was standing at her door wearing a button down shirt and slacks and looking like some kind of GAP model. She had to catch herself because really he did look kind of… delectable. So she had to lay on the disdain a little more thickly just to remind herself why this was such a terrible idea.

And then he had to open his fat mouth about her never telling him, and she was reminded all over again why this would never work out. Ever. He started walking away not even looking back to make sure that she was coming with him. She just couldn't find a way to explain that it wasn't his fucking fault. It was all her fault. It always would be.

"Look. We have to pretend to like each other for six months so let's just not bring up the past. It doesn't matter anymore anyway." She ran to catch up with him in her insane heels, and already she was regretting dressing the way she had.

Finn turned to face her as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't get you, Rachel."

She looked down at her feet dropping her hand from his shoulder, "That's the point, Finn. Now let's just go to dinner." He shook his head at her, but sighed in a way that she took to mean that he'd given up, at least for the night.

They drove to the restaurant in anything but a comfortable silence. Neither of them said another word until he pulled her chair out for her, and she had to say thank you. "This is… really nice, Finn. Thank you for doing this for me."

"Yeah well, you're supposed to be my girlfriend, and I'm actually a pretty decent boyfriend when I get the chance to be."

She glared at him for having the audacity to say something like that, "Drop it, Finn," she said turning to glare at her menu.

"Drop it like you dropped me?" She flung her menu on the table causing a satisfying clinking of porcelain and silverware. Rachel bit her lip trying to push back the burning feeling of tears that had started at the back of her throat. "Fuck. Are you crying? Shit. I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I said drop it."

"Consider it dropped."

As far as first dates went, it sucked.

AN: As far as third chapter went, this was actually pretty good ;).