Chapter 6

Foe and Friend.

Finn walked home. He had never felt so alone in his life. He had regained a so dear friend, but friendship was definitely not what he wanted from Rachel. He wondered how he could manage to only being friend with the girl he loved. He wanted his other half back. He couldn't believe she had pushed him away, claiming to still love him.

"If she really loved me, she wouldn't be acting like this." He kept repeating again and again in his messed up mind.

But, if he wanted to prove her wrong, he would have to play the friend part as sincerely as he could. He hoped it wouldn't be for too long, he didn't know how long he could wear his mask on.

He kept walking for few more minutes but stopped when he arrived at his house's fence.

"How will I get into the house without awaking the household." He asked himself, scratching his head and approaching the porch on tip toe.

When he reached the door, he fumbled into his coat's pockets, as silently as he could, he took his keys, put it in the lock, unlocked the door and entered the house. Voices were coming from the kitchen. His family was eating breakfast.

At the thought of eating, his stomach turned upside down and the felt queasy but regained his balance quickly.

"If I'm lucky, I'll get to my room without anybody noticing I didn't came home last night." He said, trying to convince himself that one thing would go his way.

Really cautiously, he removed his boots, his coat and went toward the stairs, climbing 2 of them. The stairs cracked under his feet. Seconds later, he saw Kurt coming his way. Finn smiled at him weakly asking him silently to shut his mouth but Kurt had another agenda.

"Hey Finn, how was your night?" he said as loud as he could, looking at him, stamping, pissed.

Finn saw his mother and her new husband rushing into the living room. They looked really pissed too.

"I should have known I wouldn't get out of this one." The tall boy said to himself, going down the stairs to face his mother.

"Finn Hudson, where were you for god's sake. I've been so worried about you." said Carole Hudson, tearful with anger.

"I was at Mr. Shuster's house and I called Kurt to warn him." he replied softly, looking at Kurt, pleading him to confirm his story.

Carole's and Burt's faces turned to Kurt who was still starring at Finn, half smiling, while Finn was gesturing Kurt to lie for him behind their parent's back.

"Sorry, brother dear I didn't get your call." Kurt replied still half smiling, his arms crossed on his chest.

The couple's eyes came back on a desperate Finn who stopped his gesture before his mother could see him.

"I was pretty worried Finn. I heard someone parking the car in the middle of the night. I waited for you, to wish you goodnight. I went to your room a couple of minutes later and you weren't there." said Carole, very disappointed by her son's behavior.

"The car is back!" he said loudly, before realizing the words had come out loud. He knew he had stumbled, big time.

His mother went closer to him.

"You had lost the car?" she replied, crossing her arms on her chest, not believing what she was hearing.

Finn knew he had to find something and find it fast to get out off this jam. He knew he had to lie, lies were his only chance to get out of there alive.

"No" he said, forcing a smile, almost laughing nervously. "A friend borrowed it." He said, a little bit too joyfully to make his story more believable.

"Who?" asked her mother, suspiciously.

Finn sighed, knowing he would have to bog down in his lies deeper. He thought at the most convenient name to say, a name his mother would accept without more questioning and, even if he didn't want to use his name, especially now, he decided to do it even if Puck wasn't his friend anymore, but nobody in this house knew it...

"Puck needed it and I lent him the car." He said, trying to sound convincing.

His mother's gaze was getting a little softer and her head dropped down a little.

"Don't Puck has his own car?" asked Kurt, looking at Finn, still half smiling.

Finn gave a questioning look at Kurt, requesting him to leave him alone. Finn didn't understand why Kurt was so hard on him. In other circumstances, he would have asked him right away but now he couldn't. All he wanted to do was to get upstairs, in his bed and sleep. But, if he wanted to get his wish, he had to find something that his mother would buy for sure.

"Yes, he has his own car, but his mother needed it and he preferred to lend it to her than to take it for himself, so he asked me for mine and I lent it to him. That's what friends to for each other." He said, faking a smile.

"Yeah, you guys are really GOOD FRIENDS." Kurt added, looking straight at Finn and emphasized on "good friends".

Everyone turned to Kurt who was still looking at Finn expressionless.

Finn was really pissed at Kurt. He wondered why his friend was on his case so much and he knew that Kurt wouldn't help him getting out of this mess. He would only add salt to the wounds.

"I hope you enjoyed your night Finn" said Kurt driving another pile in Finn's coffin, returning to the kitchen.

Finn's mouth dropped at Kurt's last comment. He realized that Kurt probably knew. He probably knew about the whole situation and he didn't even care enough to help him. It was the last thing he would have imagined coming from Kurt. He really thought they had a great brotherhood going on even though they were coming from pretty far. Obviously, he was wrong. Lost in his mind, he didn't see his mother getting closer to him.

"Are you ok, honey? You look hill." said his mother, putting her hand on her son's forehead, whipping some sweat.

"You should go get some rest, but don't you think you're out of trouble young man. We'll talk about this later." She added, crossing her arms on her chest once more.

"Thanks mom, I really need to get some sleep." Finn nodded sadly. "Mr Shuster's couch was kind of uncomfortable." He added, to sound more convincing.

"Poor little boy." said Kurt's voice coming from the kitchen.

Finn sighed at Kurt's last comment, tired to be bashed on.

"Don't you want to eat first, honey?" said her mother, gently.

"Thanks mom, but I am not hungry." replied Finn, feeling queasy at the simple thought of food.

Carole's and Burt's mouths dropped open.

"He really must be sick if he skips breakfast." said Carole looking at her husband then looking at her son climbing the stairs painfully.

Once upstairs, Finn decided to take a shower before getting to bed. He felt dirty thinking about the night before. He stayed under the hot water for half an hour, washing his body meticulously. He came out of the shower and took his pajama that awaiting him near the toilet bowl from the previous morning. He put it on, went out the bathroom and entered his bedroom. Once in, he startled, nearly jumping, when he realized there was someone waiting for him.

"Feeling less dirty?" asked Kurt, sitting, legs crossed, on Finn's bed.

He looked at Kurt, trying to stay calm.

"I have nothing to tell you. You could have helped me earlier, but you just kept pushing me under water. What did I do to you?" Finn said firmly

"That's true. You haven't done anything wrong to me and as a peace offering, I even brought you a present." said Kurt, leaning next to the bed and came back up holding a platter of food.

Seeing the platter, Finn got nauseous and went straight into the bathroom. He stayed there for at least 10 minutes, throwing up. When he came back to his room, Kurt was still there, arms crossed on his chest.

"Feeling better, Brother dear." Kurt said, sarcastically.

Finn looked at him angrily, whipping his lips with one of his sleeve.

"I hope you feel as empty as Rachel must be right now." Kurt said with a hint of malice.

Finn's mouth dropped.

"You know! Who told you?" asked Finn dazed.

"Mercedes called me last night, after Rachel's break down. I don't know if she is ok, she hasn't returned my calls yet" said Kurt, a bit worried.

"You called her, but you didn't take my call this morning, although I was desperate." Said Finn taken aback from his friend behavior.

"Let's say I feel for the girl and little less for you." Replied Kurt, harshly.

Finn couldn't believe his own ears. Kurt was taking Rachel's side over his.

"Whatever. You know what Kurt, It's my life and I can do whatever I want with it. You are not my mother and since when are you and Rachel such good friends. " He replied hurt.

"We had our moments this year, I grew very fond of her." Add Kurt not loosing his tone.

"Since you like her and despise me so much, you'll be happy to hear that she's handling things much better than I am." Finn said, sitting on the bed next to Kurt.

"You saw her! When?" asked Kurt, surprised by what Finn had just told him.

"I saw her this morning, when a left Mr. Shuster's house. She had came back to get her car." said Finn sadly.

"Yeah, Mercedes told me that Puck brought her back home because she was so out of it that she couldn't walk or talk, imagine drive..." said Kurt, starring at Finn, still mad.

Finn felt more sad and more ashamed thinking about how he had made Rachel feel.

"What did she tell you? Did she beat the crap out of you? I would have." replied Kurt.

"She looked weird to me, calm, coping, not like the Rachel we know. I told her I wanted her back." said Finn fighting back his tears.

"You did what!" asked Kurt not believing what he was hearing.

"I told her that I loved her and that I wanted us back together." said Finn, hardly.

"And…" asked Kurt, on the edge of his seat.

"Look at me Kurt! Do you really think she did?" said Finn sighing, looking at Kurt.

Kurt looked at Finn, speechless. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't heard it from Finn's mouth. Rachel had said no to Finn. How was it possible? Maybe she wanted more, something different, maybe...

"I would have done anything to get her back but she pushed me away. She told me she loved be and added that she wanted us to be friends. Friends. I don't want to be her friend Kurt, I love her." He said looking at the other boy.

"Maybe it's a good thing." Kurt replied to Finn tapping the tall boy's shoulder.

"How can you say that only being friend with Rachel is a good thing? Don't you see how much it affects me?" said Finn sadly.

"It means that she still cares about you, that she still has strong feelings for you, she wants you in her life. What is surprising though is that she didn't kill you with her bare hands." Kurt took a deep breath.

"I think you guys need time to sort out those feelings you have for each other. Be patient! Show her how you feel. Stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Trust her; she's not a little doll that honesty and truth can break. Love her, flaws and all. Be there for her when she needs you." whispered Kurt gently.

"How do you know all this?" said Finn looking at him mesmerized. "Did you speak to her?" he added suspiciously.

"Don't forget that I am an honorary girl Finn. Also, I truly think that if I were a girl I would be Rachel Berry. We have a lot in common. Furthermore, I once had those feelings that she has for you and that's how I would have wanted you to win me back if he were in her shoes now." Kurt added pensive.

Finn looked at him, uncomfortable, not sure how to react to Kurt's last assessments.

"God Finn, I'm not hitting on you. We are way passed this. I'm only helping you. Stop being so immature! Grow up!" He said getting off the bed and heading out the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Finn who wasn't sure if he wanted to be alone.

"You need to do some thinking and I have things to do who are much more enjoyable than to hear you weep, brother dear." Kurt said sincerely smiling.

"More seriously, you need to get some sleep Finn and if you want to talk after your cure, I'll be happy to listen to you." Said Kurt to Finn, kindly, leaving the room.

"Hey, Kurt" called Finn.

"Yes" replied Kurt appearing in the door frame.

"Thanks a lot" smiling at him.

"Don't thank me! Listen to me!" replied Kurt before disappearing for good.

"I'll try." He answered to himself, whispering. After all, It was all he could do.

When Kurt left, Finn went to close the door of his room and went back to his bed, laid down on it and closed his eyes. He tried to sleep but kept tossing and turning. He was really tied but his mind couldn't stop juggling with the words that Rachel and Kurt had told him. He knew he would have to change his behavior to get her back and he hoped he would be able to do it because he couldn't see his life without Rachel Berry.

Thinking about the situation he was in, a song popped in his head. He started to hum its beat and finally started to sing it to the picture lying on the table beside his bed.

Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
And tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, and nurse me your questions
Oh let's go back to the start
Running in circles, coming in tails
Heads on a science apart

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh take me back to the start

I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart.
Questions of science, science and progress
Don't speak as loud as my heart.
Tell me you love me, and come back and haunt me,
Oh, when I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing tails
coming back as we are.

Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start.

Finn fell asleep after singing the song for the third time, holding onto the picture he was singing to, a picture of Rachel and him after their lost at Regionals, one of the best moment of his life.

Song: The Scientist by Coldplay.