I've been rushing a little to get this done, so there may be a few typos! Thanks again for all the reviews / favourites / alerts. You guys are awesome!

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Rachel isn't aware of much as his lips hit hers. She struggles to think straight, to imagine what Quinn would be saying to her now – probably something along the lines of her being an idiot for letting him do so. And she knows why. There's a plan. A strict, non-changeable plan which has just been thrown out of the window and Rachel has half a mind to pull back and slap him. Unfortunately, the other part of her mind, the more audible one at this point, disagrees with that.

Maybe it's the few glasses of wine that she had to ease her nerves, or that she's actually enjoying the kiss, but she slowly wraps her arms around his neck, craning her neck so that their lips meet more comfortably in the middle. Once more, Quinn's voice is screaming at her in her mind and she wants to stop, yet is unable to tug herself away from him.

His hands slip down to her ass and he's smiling into her lips, and the flash of a camera right beside them brings her crashing back to reality. Rachel jumps away from Finn like he's just burned her and snaps her head in the direction of the paparazzi, a single man with the most ridiculous afro she's ever seen, leering more at her than Finn and he looks beyond pleased with himself. "Do that again," he lifts his camera up, "this is gonna be big. I'll get a friggin' promotion!"

Still in a bit of a daze, she blinks and doesn't struggle when Finn's long arms wrap around her and start dragging her down the street. The man follows, taking more and more pictures. "Come back! Miss Berry, do you have anything to say? For the article!"

She casts a look over her shoulder before returning to the safety of Finn's chest. Quinn's supposed to be picking her up, but she thinks that maybe her plans are changing. He directs her to a stylish blue car, quickly opening the door for her and then almost growling at the man, "stop following us, or I'll take that pretty little camera and run over it."

The threat isn't taken seriously as another picture is taken of Finn's face and the man blinks away the stars in his eyes before he can focus again. "cut it out!"

"This is going to be all over the news in the morning!" he exclaims giddily.

"Give me the camera," Finn orders, clearly playing the part of not wanting to get caught. Rachel lingers by the door, unsure of whether to help or not.

The man is still talking to himself, "I'm going to be famous!"

"Don't you dare let that picture get out," he says, "it wasn't what you thought."

"Yeah, right – Stars Finn Hudson and Rachel Berry sucking face after a suspected date at Sardi's." His eyes move from Finn to Rachel, "I never would have thought that you two of all people would date. This is media gold!"

Finn looks angry and she has to give credit to him because he's actually really good actor. Through gritted teeth, he says, "hand it here now and we won't have a problem."

"Finn," she says gently, stepping forward to place a hand gently on his arm. He becomes a little bit more relaxed though continues to glare at the man. "Look," she begins, "can you just no – " Before she has time to finish her sentence, the flash goes off and Finn practically throws himself at the man. "Finn! Baby, stop it." She drags him back, unsure of why she'd called him baby but doesn't dwell on the fact. "Let's just go home," she suggests, trying to calm him down. To the man, she sends a look of disgust, "and you, if you take another picture of us, I'm going to shove that camera somewhere where you'll never be able to use it again. Got it?" His eyes bulge and he rapidly nods, dropping the camera to his side.

She grabs hold of Finn's hand tightly and practically drags him to the car, getting into the passenger seat and letting out a loud groan when the door closes. "I can't believe that you tried to punch him!"

Finn turns to her, grinning, "it totally worked! I'm so good at this."

"Excuse me?" she scoffs, "you were one step away from a law suit." In response, he only smirks and begins to slowly drive the car, while she finds herself thinking about the past few minutes, "and what the hell was that kiss about? You know that Quinn and Kurt are going to kill us." She folds her arms, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"You weren't complaining when you kissed me back," he replies cockily.

She gasps. "I did not kiss you back."

"Yes, you did," he nods, turning to face her with a smirk, "it's okay babe, I understand. I'm a total hunk."

"Will you stop it?"

His eyebrow raises in surprise, "Stop what, exactly?"

"Acting like I'm attracted to you. For once in your life can you just consider that maybe, just maybe, there's someone who doesn't find your stupid image and objectifying ways to be appealing." Her eyes lock on his and she waits for him to say one of his stupid come backs, to just brush away her words but he doesn't, "and if we weren't in this situation there's no way that I'd ever consider being your friend, never mind your girlfriend." She finishes her speech with a loud sigh, leaning back into the seat and closing her eyes.

She completely misses the hurt that spreads across his face.


The next morning, Finn is sprawled out across his huge bed, though he jumps at the sound of the door slamming open and scrambles to pull the cover over his body before he focuses his eyes on his particularly infuriated looking brother. "Go away," he mumbles, throwing his face back down onto the comfy pillow and scrunching his eyes shut. Maybe this is a dream and he's still asleep.

"Get up right now!" Kurt screeches, "you deliberately ignored my advice, didn't you?"

Rolling over, he sets his groggy eyes on Kurt, "I don't know what you're talking about. Now, if you let me go back to sleep, we can have a nice morning chat in a couple of hours."

Apparently, he isn't taking no for an answer and he storms towards him with a mission, ripping the pillow from beneath him. Finn makes a noise of protest, bringing a hand up to rub his forehead and then proceeds to yawn loudly.

"You kissed her Finn!"

"Yes, I do remember, thank you very much," he says.

The man looks like he could strangle him at any moment but instead lifts the pillow in his hand and begins to swat Finn with it. "You complete idiot." Hit. "You'll ruin the plan." Hit. "I'm trying to help you!"

"Ow, leave me alone!" he protects himself with his fist, his eyes remaining closed. "How do you even know?"

"It's all over the news! Not only that, but sources say that you got into the same car together. Finn, you've completely messed up everything. What were you thinking?" he begs for answers, anxious as to how he's going to get things back on track.

"How've I ruined it?" he asks, finally sitting up and staring to his brother, "no one can deny that we're dating now. I mean, I haven't seen the kiss, but I'm willing to bet that it's hot." A smirk tugs at his lips as he remembers the kiss shared with Rachel, though it quickly fades away as their conversation in the car hits home.

Kurt sighs, "I've spent months planning this Finn and, in one night, you've managed to just completely ruin this. From now on, I want you to listen to me, okay? I know what I'm doing."

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry," he holds his hands up in defeat. Slowly, Finn rises and starts to the living room. Before he does, he turns and grins at Kurt, "she totally kissed me back though. So it's not completely my fault." His brother shakes his head, following him from the room.

He peers up at the TV, the image of him and Rachel on the 62" flat screen startling him for a moment before he finds himself staring at the image. He is leaning down to reach her because, even in those tall heels, their height difference is ridiculous. Curious, he stares at her face, looking for anything to suggest that she's not enjoying herself. When he finds nothing, other than realizing that she may be blushing slightly, he smugly wanders into the kitchen.

She can deny it all she wants – she can't resist Finn Hudson.


She grumbles to herself as she arrives at the theatre late, a cup of coffee in her hand as she practically runs to join the cast. "I'm sorry," she announces loudly, all eyes turning on her. Some are smiling, others rolling their eyes as she once again makes everything about her and the odd few are staring at her with sly looks. "It took me an hour to get out of my apartment." She cringes as she remembers the mass of reporters blocking the entrance and a large chunk of the street.

"It's fine," Will Schuester, her director, says, "just come and join us when you're ready. We need to run through One day more again." She nods, hurrying backstage to drop off her coat and finishes her coffee quickly. Another call arrives from Quinn and the brunette instantly declines it, not ready for the wrath of her manager yet.

"Talking to your boyfriend?" she jumps at the sound of Sunshine's voice, dropping her phone on the floor.

Sending a glare in the girl's direction, she bends down to pick it up but, unfortunately, she isn't fast enough. "Hey, that's mine!" Ever since they'd both auditioned against each other for the role of Eponine, it'd been an on-going war between the two women, determined to do anything to get an advantage on their new found competition. Rachel had won this time, landing the role, yet Sunshine is still her understudy and so, it keeps Rachel constantly working at her hardest to stay at the top.

"I'm just getting it for you," she says sweetly, her eyes flickering to the screen as she hands it over, "Quinn must be angry with you."

"And why would she be?" Rachel snaps, forcing her phone into her bag and returning to glaring at Sunshine.

"Really?" she asks incredulously, "everyone's seen the picture. You know, I always thought that you had better taste that Finn Hudson."

Her mouth drops open in surprise before she places her hand on her hip, "that's none of your business!"

The girl nods, clearly not convinced, "deny it all you want. It's only a matter of time until he drags you down the same road that he is on and then you'll have to drop your role and join your beloved Finn in rehab." She sighs contently, "Well bye!" Rachel watches in disbelief as Sunshine practically skips away. And how dare she say those things to her! She would never even consider doing drugs and that's never going to change – not even by the likes of Finn.

With a groan, she quickly returns to the stage, ignoring the glances of her cast mates. Sunshine stares as she watches from the audience, joined by a few other understudies. But it's Rachel's time to shine now, and that's exactly what she does.

After rehearsal, Will calls her into his office, offering her a small smile as she enters. "Yes?" she returns the smile, sitting down on the chair opposite his. She likes to think that the two have a very close relationship, seeing she was in his first production and they've worked together since she was nineteen. He is like her father away from home, and he often keeps her grounded and stops her diva fits before they get out of hand.

He produces a magazine, lifting it up and she visibly deflates at the sight of her and Finn on the front cover. "I can explain," she says quickly.

Will places it down, "look, Rachel, I've known you for five years now. And I don't want to treat you as though you can't do anything, but this guy," he points to the cover, "is bad news. I didn't even know that you were friends…"

"We've only been dating for a little while, I swear," she lies, "we got talking at an after party and, I don't know, there was something there." She reminds herself to fill Finn in on this later, "and we've only been for a few dates. That's all, I promise."

He nods, oddly quiet as he absorbs her words. "I don't want you getting hurt, or your reputation being dragged through the mud by this guy. His past – "

"Is regretful," she admits, "but he's different now."

Will doesn't look so certain. "Be careful," he advises, "I've met him before and I don't trust him."

"I'm sure I'll be fine," she chuckles, smiling softly.

"I know," he sighs, "but I'm just worried that he's using you to increase his popularity. I wouldn't put it past him." Rachel gulps and averts her gaze from his face guiltily. There's no way that she can tell him about the plan, as Will hates the deception of celebrities these days and, if he found out that she's doing just that, he will surely be disappointed in her.

"He cares about me," she says certainly, "and I care for him. There's a spark, you know?" It's a complete line, but he buys it.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he finally nods. "Okay," he seems convinced for now. "Take care of yourself Rachel. I can't have my star heartbroken for the big performance on opening night."

"Never," she tells him, the amount of determination in her eyes a little overwhelming. "I'll see you tomorrow then," Rachel smiles, slipping into her jacket and grabbing her bag. With a small wave, she leaves the room and starts towards her car. When she sees her manager leaning against the trunk, glaring solely at her, she almost turns straight around. Taking a deep breath, she walks over to her, unlocking the car. "Hello Quinn," she says curtly.

"Are you serious? I've been getting calls all night about you and Hudson!"

"Shh!" her eyes go wide and she peers around for any passers-by that may have heard before getting into the car. Quinn taps her fingers against the dashboard, waiting for an answer, "he kissed me, okay?"

"Hmm," Quinn nods, clearly not buying it, "sure Rachel."

"He did," she defends herself. "I'm sorry that we screwed up, and all your planning is ruined, but what's done is done." She makes dramatic hand gestures as she speaks, "hakuna matata."

The blonde stares at her likes she's crazy, "did you just quote The Lion King to me?" Rachel can see that she's trying her hardest not to smile.

"Yes!" she says seriously, "because the morals of that phrase fit this moment perfectly." Quinn chuckles at her, the anger slowly dissipating from her body. "So," Rachel clasps her hands together, "what is going to happen now? Do Finn and I need to make statements to the press? How much damage control is needed?"

Quinn smiles, a sly look hidden behind her pretty eyes.

"Well, you're going to go home –"

"Yup," she nods.

"And relax a little. Maybe take a bath. Read some magazines – "

"Hmm."

The blonde grins, "before you pack your bags because tonight you're going to have a little sleepover."

"What?" she gaps, "Quinn? No!"

"Kurt and I had to change our plans," she shrugs, "so we thought that we'd make you both suffer a bit."

"You know Quinn," Rachel glares, jaw locked angrily, "I can fire you at any point."

In response, her friend only laughs loudly and tells her to start driving. Rachel pouts, hoping that this is all just one big joke which Quinn is pulling and she won't really have to spend the night with Finn.


He plays around with his drums a little as Puck and Sam continue their arm wrestling tournament, neither refusing to stop the two hour and counting battle. Mike re-enters the room, a bag of chips in his hand and a six-pack of beers in the other.

"Hey Finn," he asks, throwing a can his way, "you started writing that song yet?" Finn pulls a face, thinking of the song he'd promised to have finished weeks ago. He'd really wanted to write one – to have something to call his own, but a mixture of partying and laziness left the idea trailing behind him and now he doesn't have the drive to even begin.

"Nahh," he shrugs, "I'll get it done though. Don't you worry." Mike only rolls his eyes, clearly not believing him, and he goes to watch his other two band mates as they shout trash talk at the other.

Finn is left by himself, which he prefers, because then they can't question him anymore on the picture with Rachel. They'd seen it, of course, but only a few words here and there had been dropped about it, so he assumes that it will be a Rachel free night. That's all he needs really. It's been two days since this whole mess started and already they've shared a kiss – a kiss that he can't seem to get out of his mind. Her insistence that she didn't kiss him back is driving him crazy and he wants her to admit the truth.

The doorbell goes and, with a groan, he parts ways with his drum kit before slowly heading through the hallway. He's still in his pajamas, not having bothered to even get dressed that day, and he hopes that it isn't someone important.

As he opens the door, he's momentarily blind sighted to see Rachel standing there, clutching a pillow to her chest and looking completely out of place.

"Hey there, dollface," he slurs, a smirk sliding onto his face.


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