Disclaimer: Glee is the property of Ryan Murphy and FOX. I don't own the characters, but most of the storyline is mine and mine only.

College. It was supposed to be the turning point in his life or something. He couldn't remember the speech that the principal at his school and the vale…vale…, whatever the person who was picked to make the big fancy speech is called person, had made, but they had said something about college making you the person you want to be for the rest of your life. He wasn't someone with big dreams and hopes and wishes, he just wanted to play football, have fun and get through the next four years without working too hard and getting sick too often. Something told him that was too much to ask for. But he was going to do this. He was going to focus on college, he was going to make quarterback of the team and he was going to get himself a good job and make something of himself. His mother had cried the day before he had left and sat him down and told him that she was proud of him and that his father would be too, if he was still alive and then she had just leaned against him and sobbed. It was almost like he was leaving her alone and going off. She had Burt and his son, Kurt, and while he wasn't completely welcoming of them at first, he liked the Hummels. They brought something fresh to the house and in a way, Kurt was like the daughter his mother never had. He had made her feel better by promising to come home as often as he possibly could; after all he was only going to be a few hours away. in her fragile state of mind, Finn didn't want to remind her that he would have to change flights just so that he could be back home in Lima. She didn't need that right then.

"Dude, there are these girls on our floor that look like they're ready to have some fun."

"You've been saying that since we got the brochure for this place."

"Well, it's true. You haven't even taken a look at all the ass you can score here."

"It's been two days, Puck, control yourself."

"You're telling me to control myself?" Finn looked at his best friend and shrugged, arching an eyebrow, "What is this funk you've been in since you got home from that summer break with Burt and Kurt?"

"What funk?"

"The last party of the year and you've got Quinn and Santana and Brittany all waving their goodies in your face and you do nothing."

"We both know that easy is your type of girl."

"Quinn is not that easy. Besides, you've been with Quinn before, now you're suddenly not interested?"

"She's not my type and all she wants is to have some stupid token boyfriend when she goes away to college."

"She's everyone's type, dude, she's a girl."

"So why didn't you make something happen before we left?"

"Because she's all hung up on you and I'm not the kind of best friend to go hooking up with my best friend's sloppy seconds," Finn rolled his eyes and sat down on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair, "Noah Puckerman, you have my blessing to do whatever the hell you want with Quinn."

"Dude, seriously though," Puck tossed a football at him and Finn caught it surprisingly fast and nodded, "Was there a girl at this summer break?"

"I'm not hung up on a girl," Finn tossed the football back at Puck and growled, "Can we please stop talking about this and get on with the rest of our day?"

"Fine, but you do realize that if I find out that there was a girl and you're holding out on me, we're going to be exchanging punches, not words."

"I don't get why this is such a big deal!" Finn stood up again, rummaging through his duffel bag to make sure that all his football gear was tucked in there.

"You look like you got your heart broken and obviously it's not Quinn, because she's here with us and when you dumped that sweet piece of ass, you looked like you were the happiest person alive."

"Just drop it," Finn pulled the bag over his shoulders, letting the strap stretch across his chest as he grabbed the football on his table and pointed it at Puck, "We have football tryouts and I think we both need to focus on that because there is no way I'm going to be quarterback without my running back."

"Whatever, I'm watching you."

xxx

There was nothing fun about football tryouts. Back in Lima, Finn was the biggest kid anybody had seen. But here, in Chicago, he was probably small compared to the other people trying out. It even had Puck scared shitless and this is the guy that drove a Volvo through a 7-11. It was grueling with wind sprints every time somebody screwed up and an earful if you tried to do something other than what was yelled at you. Coach Bieste was a breeze compared to the man that towered over Finn and called Puck Fuckerman just to taunt and tease him. the senior varsity team just sat there on the bleachers watching the noobs work their asses off to get selected and it became very clear that there was no way that Finn was going to ever score himself the quarterback position. Not when the current quarterback was about two inches taller than him and as wide as Karofsky. After 100 more wind sprints to wrap up the tryouts, Finn found Puck with his head buried inside a dustbin, puking his guts out. They hadn't eaten much at lunch because they knew that tryouts weren't going to be easy, but this was not what either of them had signed up for. Helping Puck steady himself, Finn handed his best friend a towel and watched as the varsity team made fun of them on their way off the bleachers. Puck growled under his breath, except it sounded like he was going to throw up again, and Finn patted him on the back, "It'll get better."

"Yeah, when I'm dead."

"that was terrible."

"We're never making it onto the team now."

"Positive thinking always went over so well with you."

"Did you see the other guys on the team? They're twice as big as you, twice as fast as me and they plow into you like you're not even there!"

"Bieste did warn us about college football."

"Dude, that wasn't a warning. She said, and I'm quoting here, 'College football will hurt'," Finn looked at Puck as they followed the rest of the group back into the locker rooms, "That, my dear best friend, is not a warning."

"Look, we knew this wasn't going to be easy. We just have to work harder, practice more."

"How are you so fucking calm right now? Every single guy in here can beat the crap out of us without even breaking a sweat."

"I've got you for that. You and your fight club experience."

"Fight club, yeah, that will help me out here so much," Finn chuckled as Puck rolled his eyes and dropped his bag beside the locker with a strip of white plaster with his name written on it, "We're gonna have to watch each other's backs out there, Finn."

"We always have and we always will," Finn held his fist out to Puck, "Now will you please calm down so we don't look like we're scared of what we got ourselves into?"

"Fine." Finn sat down, unhooked the gear and carefully took it off, not wanting to pull any more muscles or cramp up any other part of his body. Every inch of him ached and it wasn't even the good kind of satisfying after too much sex ache or the kind of ache that he got after winning a good game. This was torture and Finn wasn't sure if he would be able to hold it together much longer. Pulling his ripped t-shirt off, he ran his fingers along his sides carefully, wincing as he grazed the bruises and cuts from being tossed around for four hours. He glanced over at Puck and noticed a big bruise on his left shoulder and shook his head, "We need to find a way to practice on our own so that the next time someone comes charging at us, we actually know what to do."

"We've been here for a whole two days, as you so politely reminded me earlier, we don't even know if there is a place we can practice."

"Not to eavesdrop, but there is a space," Finn and Puck looked over their shoulders at the new voice and saw a guy about Puck's height grinning back at them, "Jackson, from Indiana, nice to meet you guys."

"Finn and this is Puck," Finn shook Jackson's hand and smiled slightly, "We're from Ohio."

"You're the dude coach was calling Fuckerman," Jackson shook his head, not smiling or laughing, "I swear, Hitler would cry if he met the man."

"I take it you thought your coach back home was the devil and now he just seems like Jesus, huh?"

"You know it."

"great, we're all in the same boat," Puck gave Finn a small shrug and went back to getting his gear off as Finn kept his eyes on Jackson, "So, about this space…"

"Yeah, some of the other new guys who are from around here know of this abandoned football field that was used by some high school or the other a few years ago. They said that it's probably a mess because kids use it for wild parties or whatever, but if we clean it up, we can use it for practices when we're not being tortured like wild animals here."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

"At first, but once we have a place that we can use, this might not seem so bad."

"Dude," Finn arched an eyebrow as Puck welcomed himself back into the conversation, "This is never not going to be so bad. We're always going to be struggling to be something more on this team."

"Is he always this bright and sunny," Jackson smiled a little, rolling his eyes as he turned to Finn, "Or is it just me?"

"It's Chicago and the fact that he still hasn't gotten laid," Finn laughed as Puck punched him in the arm and for a minute there he completely forgot about the pain that was shooting up every part of his body, "He'll brighten up once he gets some. And maybe some beer too."

"Good, because we're all heading to O'Leary's tonight to do some brotherly bonding."

"Is that an invitation?"

"It's a 'you're coming with us' comment."

"Sounds good to me, might help numb the pain everywhere."

"That's what we're all hoping for," Finn glanced from Puck to Jackson as the new guy scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to him, "Here's the address, be there by 9 and you'll get a round on the Chicago boys, come there later and you're on your own."

"Okay," Puck took the paper from Finn and rolled his eyes, "We'll see you there."

xxx

Finn followed Puck into O'Leary's a few minutes before 9 and spotted Jackson and a few others from the team huddled around a table laughing and drinking beer. The group greeted them with high fives and loud cheers, calling for another round of beer as everyone turned around to look at them. It felt good to know that they weren't the only ones suffering from the football tryouts because while the gang present looked like they were having a good time, every time they moved Finn caught one of them wincing. He sat on a stool and leaned against the wall as the guys swapped football stories, followed by their list of conquests and it took Puck exactly six seconds to fit into the group. Finn laughed as he listened to Puck narrate one of the stories that seemed to be in his collection permanently. Sighing happily at the fact that he had beer, his best friend and a group of new friends, Finn let his eyes scan the bar. It was exactly what he thought college bars would be like. there were people everywhere, each table making their own amount of noise, guys and girls falling all over each other as they got a chance to relax for a few hours before repeating the process all over again the next day. The walls were covered in photographs and football memorabilia, antique pieces of crap that they didn't know what to do with and a dart board that seemed to be neglected completely. He sipped on his second mug of beer, smiling to himself as he watched the girls. Maybe Puck was right about college chicks, they seemed surer of themselves and they were most definitely hotter than high school girls. He thought he saw Quinn, Santana and Brittany sitting at a table with a group of girls, but everyone at that table was so drunk, he couldn't really be sure. He'd be okay bumping into Santana or Brittany, but if he did have a run in with Quinn, he wanted Puck to be there to help him get out of it as fast as possible. That relationship might have been pretty amazing at the start, but then she got weird and Finn knew that it wasn't what he wanted. He liked being popular (who didn't?) and he liked the attention the other girls gave him, but Quinn kept wanting him to be more than what he was. He couldn't, or so Finn thought, be more popular than being the quarterback and captain of the football team. He had led the McKinley High Titans to two high school championships, what more could he ask for? According to Quinn, there was more – prom king, homecoming king, this king, that king and some other unheard of before king. But he didn't want any of that, it was all so high school and as far as he could tell once you were out of high school, the fact that you were prom king or homecoming king meant squat.

"Hudson! Earth to Hudson!" Finn blinked as he looked back at the group, frowning as they stared at him with identical expressions, "What?"

"You got any horror stories about football camp or crazy ex-girlfriends?"

"I have one ex-girlfriend and she's crazy in every clichéd way possible," Finn smirked as Puck laughed, "And Fuckerman there already told you every football camp story there is to tell."

"So, what, you guys have known each other forever?"

"Since we were five."

"And you decided to come to college together?"

"If you're going to make a crack about us being in love and not wanting to be apart, save it," Puck narrowed his eyes at the group, causing all of them to chuckle, "He can't live without me. That's all."

"Sadly, that is true," Finn faked a depressed look and refilled his mug as the guys continued laughing. They were drunk, not at the point where they couldn't keep it together, but drunk enough to be laughing at the randomest of things. A few more rounds and if they talked about people dying, the guys would be still laughing, probably even louder. "Whoa, drunk hot brunette at five o'clock."

Eight sets of heads turned to where the girl was picking herself up off the floor and Finn realized that nobody was even helping her. there were a few watching her, but nobody was moving. Sighing as the guys made comments about her legs and her boobs, Finn set his mug down and rushed over to her and scooped her up into his arms as the bartender pointed towards the bathrooms. She was limp in his arms and if it wasn't for Puck running after him, there was no way that they would have made it into the bathroom without Finn falling over. He sat her down on the counter as Puck filled a glass with water and took a few minutes to catch his breath before pushing her hair out of her face, "Holy shit."

"What?" Puck handed him the glass of water and Finn splashed it in her face, causing her to jerk awake, her hands flailing for something to grab, "Whoa there, hottie. Easy."

"Where am I?" Her eyes darted around the bathroom before resting on Finn, a soft gasp escaping her lips as she reached out to touch his face, "Finn?"

"You know each other?" Puck nudged Finn out of his stupor and he nodded in response as he reached for her hand, "Explain, please?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I go here."

"Here?"

"I'm at DePaul."

"Not to interrupt this reunion, but what the fuck is going on?" Finn shook his head and looked at Puck, "Sorry, uh, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is my best friend Puck."

"Is that really your name?" Finn smiled as he kept his eyes on Rachel, trying to process what was happening as Puck cleared his throat, "It's actually Noah, but I really don't like that."

"Is it okay if I just call you Noah?"

"If you insist," Puck sighed heavily and Finn looked at him as he shrugged, "I'll be outside if you need me."

Once he was gone, Rachel tugged on Finn's hand, causing him to turn back to look at her, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm at Chicago U; I thought you were going to Europe?"

"My parents spent most of the money on their stupid cruise and I just went with my second option."

"New York was your second option."

"Fine, my third option," Rachel rolled her eyes and Finn nodded, swallowing hard as he tried to piece everything together, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just surprised to see you here," he gave her a soft smile, "And see you drunk at that."

"I met these girls in class that insisted on drinking tonight and you know how I feel about alcohol, but they dragged me out anyway and I drank a few tequila shots and I was go-" Finn cut her off with a kiss, feeling her hesitate before responding, her free hand moving through his hair to pull him closer. Inhaling sharply through his nose, Finn broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as he smiled, "Good to know that even when you're drunk, you talk too much."

"It's so good to see you, Finn," she brushed her knuckles over his jaw slightly and smiled, "I should probably get back to my room before they try and make me drink some more. I don't think I can handle anything that is golden in color right now."

"Here," Finn filled the glass with more water and handed it to her, "I'll walk you back."

"You don't have to, it's pretty safe," she licked her lips and frowned, "Right?"

"You're asking someone who has been here for exactly two days now, so I'd feel better if I just walked you back to your room."

"Who am I to argue when a hot football player with amazing hands and a talented tongue offers to walk me back to my room?" Finn laughed, shaking his head as he helped her off the counter and held onto her to make sure that she could stand on her feet without tipping over, "You okay?"

"I will be," she reached down for his hand and linked their fingers, "Shall we?"

"Absolutely."