"I'm a wedding planner and you don't believe in marriage"

Finn Hudson has a strategy. He flashes that smile, makes the girl of the night fall, and takes her home. To him, love isn't real. Take a look at his life for the proof. And no little wedding planner will change his ways.

I walk through the glass doors of the Starbucks closest to my apartment, always the least crowded one in all of New York City. I have tons of papers to grade and of course this is the weekend that my step-brother, Kurt's, boyfriend comes to town and he kicks me out of my apartment for their "alone time." I head toward the front counter and order my drink. I glance around and realize it's a lot more crowded than normal. I pick up my coffee and turn to the dining area only to see that not only is it crowded, it's in fact completely full, the only empty seat in the whole shop is at a two-person table where a petite brunette sits. She's pretty, but not in the classic super-model way, more girl-next-door. Her nose is too big for her face, but she somehow makes it work. I start to leave but quickly realize I don't have anywhere else to go, so I turn on the charm and approach the girl.

"Hey, there" She looks up from the papers in front of her, "I'm terribly sorry but this is the only seat left in the whole place and I really need to get some work done. Mind if I sit?" and I throw in one of my half-grins that never fail to make the girls melt. I can't describe the look she gives me but it makes me think that the next word out of her mouth will be no, but to my surprise she shrugs and goes back to her papers. I take that as a green light and take the seat getting my pile of papers and a red pen out of my bag, but I'm utterly confused as to why she didn't even hit on me. They always hit on me. She must be doing something super important so I sneak a peek at her pages and see a bunch of circles and her tiny swirly handwriting all over it.

"Do you mind?" she finally speaks; a little high pitched voice that goes with the rest of her. Her bold words have completely thrown me off, a feat no other girl has been able to achieve.

"I…uh-sorry, I just was…interested in what you were doing." I stutter through a fake explanation.

"Oh," she begins with a sarcastic yet exasperated tone, and leans back in her seat "You wanna know about the most difficult seating arrangement I have ever, I repeat ever, gone through." I have no control over the next sentence that comes out of my mouth.

"Maybe I could help" She raises her eyebrows at me, but throws two pieces of paper my way. One is the one with the circles and her handwriting the other is titled 'Bride's requirements', has a list of people, and bullets underneath saying who can't sit with who and who has to sit together. She's planning a wedding? I look at it for a moment but have it done in no time. We lean together over the pages in the middle of the table.

"Put the bride's Grandpa over here," I point with the pen in my hand at a circle, "And the groom's aunt here," Point to another circle, "And that should fix the rest of your problems." I smile up at her, a completely adorable shocked look on her face. Wait. What did I just think? Adorable? I don't see girls that way, what is happening?

"Oh my gosh, why didn't I think of that?" I shrug "I really thought that would take me all day." She writes in all the changes and piles up her papers and puts them into her bag on the floor.

'You're welcome" I respond. She looks back up at me.

"Thank you," She says genuinely "…random stranger."

"Finn" I stick my hand out to shake hers.

"Rachel" She reciprocates my action and shakes my hand.

"So Finn, what can I help you with?" She takes a page off the top of my stack of tests that I need to grade.

"If you don't understand music-" She cuts me off with a laugh, a little bitterly.

"I graduated top of my class at NYADA, I think I can handle some high school music tests."

"Oh…and now you…plan weddings?" She sighs in response as I hand her some of my stack and an extra red pen.

"It's just a job until my big Broadway break."

"Oh" We grade in silence for a few minutes.

"You believe in it though?" I ask her quietly.

"Marriage?" I nod "Yeah, I mean, doesn't everyone?"

"No, not everyone"

"Oh, I see." Her bitter tone returning "Mommy and Daddy aren't together anymore, hum?"

"Something like that." My own bitter laugh following.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was kidding, I didn't think-"

"It's fine." We grade in silence again for a few minutes until she slams her red pen down, folds her hands together elbows on the table, and rests her chin on them. We lock eyes

"So, are you going to ask me out or what?" My eyes widen, she has totally thrown me off.

"I just told you I don't believe in marriage and you want to go out with me?" she shrugs again.

"You waltzed up here with that cheesy grin on your face and you're 'I'm so terribly sorry.' Come on, you were planning on asking me out."

"No, I just needed a seat, but if you want to go out because you think you can change me, it won't happen, trust me. Many have tried."

"I'm not planning on changing you, just showing you what love is." I raise an eyebrow.

1 week later

How did I end up here?

I'm sitting on an ugly folding chair in a suit watching a redhead in tulle spinning around the dance-floor with her new husband. I hate suits. Rachel and I's intertwined hands on my thigh. I don't hold hands. I lean over so my lips are next to her ear.

"So where's the ex?" I whisper.

"Table in the back left corner." I reach my neck out to look.

"The Ken doll?"

"That would be Brody. What does she look like, I'm not looking." I move in my seat a bit to unblock my view of the seat next to him. When I finally catch a view my heart drops into the pit of my stomach. I look back at Rachel who's already looking at me. We stare for a moment.

"So?"

"I can't see her." I lie. The couple's first dance ends, and people start to move to full the dance-floor, but the bride moves to the stage.

"Hey everybody! First I wanna thank you all for coming. Now I've got a special treat if Miss Rachel Berry would grace us with her talent." She looks right in our direction. Rachel laughs.

"Why, of course!" She leaves me for the stage. The second she steps up there I see a whole new Rachel, she's even more confident. When she opens her mouth to sing-I have no idea what I was expecting but not this- she's incredible. She's absolutely stunning on that stage, her every move, every breath, flawless. I can't look away, not that I want to. I think I just fell in love with her in a minute. She finishes her song, way too early for my taste, and everyone applauds, as she deserves. She leaves the stage and reaches her hand out to me.

"He knows I'm here now. I wanna get this over with, let's go say hi." My heart has stops beating, but I stand and follow her anyway. In this moment I think I would follow that girl anywhere.

"Rachel?!" The Ken doll greets her with kisses on both cheeks just like all her other Broadway people. They small talk but I can't hear anything because I'm focused on the perfect blonde next to him. I finally reenter the interaction when her name slips from his lips.

"Rachel, this is my girlfriend Quinn." Rachel smiles politely and turns to me but Quinn beats her to the punch.

"Finn?" Her smile looks evil to me, "Aren't you going to say something?"

"Hi Quinn" I breath out. Looking into her eyes feels like a punch in the stomach.

"You know each other?" Rachel asks. I look into her big brown eyes a sharp contrast to Quinn's bright blue.

"Yeah, I...I-want…need a drink." I shudder through some reason to leave this conversation as fast as possible. I run outside as fast as my feet will take me. I sit on the curb head in hands. I few minutes later I hear heels approaching me. I look up to see Rachel's shoes, thank God.

"I'm sorry-" I start.

"Don't be. You're obviously not ok and that's more important than me showing off." She sits down next to me. My eyes are watering enough that I can't see anymore.

"So, how do you know her?"

"You need some background story first." I look at her in the corner of my eye. Her eyes are soft, welcoming.

"Tell me."

"Ok, so, my mom and my father's relationship was a mess. He never even met me; he died just a month before I was born after cheating on my mom several times. But for some ungodly reason she still loved him. The moment I was old enough to understand what a jerk he was, I knew I wasn't going to be him. I was going to prove that love is real and not the one-sided shit my mom went through."

"But you told me the day we met that you don't believe in love."

"That's where Quinn comes in." I laugh bitterly. "She was my first real girlfriend. Sophomore year to senior year. Three years completely wasted." I pause.

"What happened?" She asks. I really wanted to stop there but I knew she'd have to know the whole thing.

"March of senior year, she found out that she was pregnant." I see Rachel's eyes widen out of the corner of my eye. "We were both totally freaking out. Little did I know she was freaking out because she wasn't sure it was mine. She lied to me for months until my best friend finally got the guts to tell me it was his."

"Finn" She whispers, the most pity filled syllable she could spit out. I'm really crying now.

"I was ready to stand by her and support her and be a dad, but I did exactly what my mom did. I trusted this girl I completely loved and she crushed me. For some reason she apparently still has the ability to do that."

"We don't have to go back in there if you're uncomfortable."

"Thanks. You know, I've never told anyone that story." I finally look at her. She smiles slightly. Before I know if her lips are on mine, after a moment of bliss she breaks off.

"I'm sorry, I have no idea-" I cut her off by kissing her again.

8 months later

She calls me in tears. Not just tears, real and heavy sobs, something had to have happened to the show. She finally got her big break, a starring role in a completely new show, a part she will completely create herself, but something has happened. Before I can even think about what it is, I'm sprinting down the streets of New York to the theater, to her. Running as fast as I can until I'm standing outside her dressing room door, I hear her crying outside the door. I knock.

"Rach?" I try the handle and find it unlocked. She's throwing all her things into a box on the floor with all her might, tears running down her face.

"Rach? Babe?" She stops her tornado of packing and turns to me. She cries even harder. I approach her quickly and wrap my arms around her. I walk her over to the lounge chair in the corner and sit putting her on my lap, just holding her until she quieted down a bit.

"What happened?" I ask softly. She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"They don't want me anymore. They hired a 'real celebrity' to take my part. Someone with experience" She's looking at the door, refusing to meet my eyes. I sigh

"Ok, so it wasn't meant to be. You're going to get your part. We just don't know what it is yet."

"You really think so?" She looks at me.

"Of course, you're the most talented girl in the world." She kisses me gently and lays her head on my chest. We sit in silence for a moment.

"Hey Rach?"

"Yeah"

"You were right. Love is real." She laughs.

"You should know by now I'm always right." I chuckle.

"I should. I love you." It's the first time I've said it but she doesn't seem surprised, not that she should be, she's always a step ahead of me. I know if took me a while, but we both know that's it's a big deal that I'm saying it; she knows she has completely changed me for the better. She pulls her head off my chest and looks me straight in the eyes.

"I love you too." We just look at each other for a few moments.

"So," She starts "I guess my next job is planning our wedding, hum?"

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious."

"I know; that's why you love me."

"I do." We kiss. I can pick on her all I want but I know those are the words I'll be saying to her not too long from now maybe in a church and in front of all our friends and family. It hasn't been that long but I can't picture my life without her. If I wasn't part of it, I never would have guessed she'd be able to turn off the player, but she did what others would have called impossible, she really did show me love and I loved her back. She listened and cares about me. She's constantly in the back of my mind, and I want what's best for her. All I wanted from past girls was one night, but form her, I want every night. She was right, love is real and alive and I feel it for only one girl, her.