A/N: Sorry for the long delay in posting. I started this out based on spoilers, but now I'm going to have to avoid them, because they are screwing with my head, lol! The next 3 chapters will be the Regionals "episode". I'm going to apologize in advance for the songs...I would never be able to combine music with plot the way RIB do!

I do not own Glee.

Rachel parked her car and practically skipped to the door of McKinley High School. Things had been going perfectly. She was finally ungrounded, so she had her car and her weeknights back to spend with her boyfriend. Although, she hadn't had much free time lately, because they had been working so hard on their number for Regionals this weekend. They had drawn an earlier performance weekend this year and the team had been practicing overtime to get ready for it. Tonight was the last practice and tomorrow was the big day. She was so ready. She was even more excited, because Quinn's mother was going out of town for the weekend and they were having a party after Regionals. And she was invited!

Surprisingly, Rachel and Quinn had been getting along really well lately. They mostly talked about Glee Club and school, but they were kind of friends. Really, this was turning out to be one of the best years of Rachel's life. She hurried to her locker, anxious to meet Finn and walk to their first period class. Things were going really well with them. They were taking it kind of slow, it was still awkward sometimes, but they were getting there. He was waiting by her locker, and her heart skipped a beat. She was so lucky. She loved everything about having a boyfriend, having someone to walk her to classes, passing secret notes, feeling wanted.

It was something she'd missed so much her first year here, when she felt alone all the time. It had been nice, dating Jesse. Nothing about dating Finn was nice. It was best friends and passion and sometimes, a little overwhelming. She still had to pinch herself, to make sure she wasn't dreaming, that Mr. Popular, the high school quarterback, actually wanted to be with her. Of course, she was going to be famous someday, and then everyone would love her, but right now, she never felt good enough for him, even though he constantly told her she was. She smiled at him, as he waited patiently for her to gather up all her books.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" He asked. He'd been nervous about their performance all week. It involved a lot of dancing.

"Yes! And you'll do great! We're going to crush VA!"

*Glee*

Standing backstage at Regionals, she wasn't so sure crush was the right word. Maybe tread lightly was a better term. Rachel had never felt worse for scaring Sunshine away. VA had chosen to do a Celine Dion tribute, and Sunshine was really good. She fluffed her skirt a little and leaned closer it Finn. He squeezed her arm reassuringly.

"We've got this, Rach. You're better than her any day." He smiled at her and she instantly felt calmer. They all clapped politely as VA's number ended and the stage hands rushed out to rearrange the risers for their performance.

Mr. Schue had pulled her aside last month to talk about team unity. He'd mentioned that it was interesting how she hadn't voted for herself in the duets competition and even more interesting that they had changed their duet at the last second. He'd stared at her hard, and she'd finally confessed to throwing the competition. He had told her that he needed her to remember the reasons she'd thrown the competition before when he handed out solos tomorrow. Between her whole drama with Santana, Quinn not speaking to Brittany and Santana, and just general pettiness, the team was a mess and he really needed to boost morale. She hated that he always made her pay the price for the group's bad mood, but when he'd promised she could have the ballad at Nationals, she'd backed down.

He'd announced to the group that they were competing against VA and Dalton for their spot at Nationals. VA typically did a big dance number, but he had it on good authority, that they would be doing something much slower this year. Ms. Holliday had subbed a few days at Carmel the month before and might have spied a little. The Warblers were a lovely group, but the didn't dance, and with all guys, they wouldn't be able to pull off some of the flashier moves that Brittany and Matt could. Therefore, the New Directions would be doing a very dance heavy medley of Hairspray songs. It took all of Rachel's willpower not to go off when he gave Mercedes, Sam, and Santana all the lead parts. But it turned out that her smaller roll in the performance meant she had more time to "help" Finn learn his dance steps, so it wasn't all terrible.

The took their places on the stage and Rachel smiled reassuringly at Mercedes. As much as she wished she were singing lead, she knew Mercedes was going to kill "I Know Where I've Been." Rachel loved to dance and as she dipped and twirled during "Nicest Kids in Town" and "You Can't Stop the Beat" she knew they were going to win. The energy on stage was electric. They were amazing. And the crowd certainly thought so. The clapped and cheered as the numbered and she threw herself in Finn's arms. They nailed it!

*Glee*

After their set, they had an hour to kill while the judges deliberated. The kids were all in their rehearsal room goofing off, but Rachel was really thirsty, so she decided to go get a bottle of water at concessions. Finn was talking to Sam and Mike, so she headed out by herself. Being here reminding her of last year, when she had talked to Shelby and she was lost in thought when she bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch where you're going, beautiful." She froze, she knew that voice. And sure enough, she looked straight up into the smiling face of Jesse St. James. He threw an arm around her shoulder, steering her toward the nearest corner. "You guys looked great up there, I mean, you were no Vocal Adrenaline but..."

She finally found her voice. "What are you doing!" she hissed. "You just disappeared and now you want to act like we're best friends. Are you crazy?"

"Aww, are you still mad about that? Come on, it was silly high school stuff. Don't take it personal." He grinned at her charmingly. "I'm in college now. I'm over all that drama."

"I'm glad you're over it. I'm not." She glared at him. "You could have at least texted. I waited weeks for you to call me."

"Doesn't look like you were lonely for too long." He grinned cheesily, and waved at someone over her shoulder. She turned around to see Finn, storming off in the opposite direction.

"Thanks a lot, Jesse. Can you go ruin someone else's life now?" She tried to walk away from him, but he just followed her.

"I'm wounded, Rachel. Really." He pouted at her. "Nah, that's fine. You stay mad. When you're older and wiser, like me, you'll realize that all of this childish stuff is the perfect fodder for your stage career. I'll be waiting for my thank you note." He finally walked away. Rachel could have cried with frustration. Stuck up college jerk! She wanted to shout, but she didn't want people to think she was crazy. She looked all over, but she couldn't find Finn anywhere. When she got back the rehearsal room, only Mercedes and Quinn were there. They both took turns reassuring her that everything would be fine with Finn. But he didn't come back until right before they went onstage and he stayed all the way on the other side from her while they waited for the announcement.

"And the winner is...New Directions!" They all jumped up and down, and she must have hugged everyone on the stage. She was glad when she got to the end of the group and Finn was waiting for her with open arms, he hugged her just like normal, but then let her go just as fast as the were all shuffled back to the dressing rooms to change.

*Glee*

Finn was so mad when he saw Rachel with Jesse. In his heart, he knew it was nothing. But he couldn't help the irrational anger that welled up. Not with Rachel tucked under Jesse's arm and that stupid cheesy grin on his face. He'd walked away, before he did something stupid, like punch Jesse or drag Rachel away like a caveman. And he hadn't really meant to ignore Rachel, he just didn't trust himself not to act like an asshole. But winning Regionals and hugging her at the end had gone a long way toward calming him down, and as he walked on to the bus to ride home, he automatically started scanning the seats so he could sit with her. But then he saw Puck waving at him from the back like a maniac. He squinted his eyes in confusion. It looked like, like Puck wanted him to sit back there. Weird. He was so confused as to why Puck would want him to sit in the back that he completely forgot he needed to reassure Rachel that he wasn't mad and he walked right past her, oblivious to her dejected frown, and the dirty look Quinn shot him as she scooted over to Rachel's seat to comfort her.