The rest of the week was pretty uneventful, and Finn was grateful. Kurt seemed to working on another plan and Rachel seemed unusually quiet. Still, he was pretty sure complaining about that was the last thing he wanted to do.
He had really started to look forward to Friday night dinners with his family. It was a relief from being at school since everything was out in the open and everyone could just be themselves. He was about half way through his double portion of lasagna when his mom turned to Kurt and asked, "Have you decided what you and Blaine are wearing to Prom?"
"I have my outfit picked out, but Blaine insists on picking his out himself. I have promised to be supportive, regardless," Kurt said, with an exaggerated sigh.
"Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure powder blue will look good on him," Burt said with a twinkle in his eye. His mom and Kurt both laughed, but Finn thought the idea was kind of interesting. Finn knew that he Burt was joking, Blaine would never wear something so non-traditional or anything that Kurt might find embarrassing. Finn didn't have anyone to embarrass though. Quinn and Kurt had forced him into choosing a really boring tux but things were kind of different now. Quinn was history and it would kind of be a cool way of saying he didn't care what anyone thought. Something in his face must of given his thoughts away though because Kurt reached out and lightly slapped the back of his head.
"Finn Hudson, don't even think about it. I spent an entire afternoon finding a perfectly respectable suit for you that actually fit your gigantic frame," Kurt said.
His mom laughed, "Honey, I'll let you in on a little secret: Girls like a man in a tux, think James Bond. Even if you don't take a date you may want to impress a certain young lady?"
Kurt raised an eyebrow in his direction, but Finn very carefully ignored it. His mom had a point though, if he had a chance to show Mercedes he wasn't a complete screw up he should take it.
"Thanks mom, I'll stick with the one I have. Is there anymore lasagna?"
On Saturday morning Rachel made it to the Lima Bean at 10:30 and carefully checked the parking lot for Jesse's car. She had counted on having sufficient time to prepare herself and did not want to be surprised. The parking lot was clear, so she slipped into the coffee shop and picked up her soy latte before choosing a secluded table near the back. She hadn't told anyone in New Directions that she was meeting Jesse and she'd rather they didn't walk in on them.
She wasn't precisely sure what to expect from this meeting. He had sounded different somehow on the phone, less selfish. Still, she was glad to hear that he hadn't exactly suffered a lack of confidence. That was the Jesse she could understand after all. It had been each other's tremendous talent that had sparked their notice, but the similarities in their drive to succeed had both brought them together and torn them apart.
She watched as Jesse entered the shop and looked around. She didn't want to admit it, but he looked good. Very good. His outfit was predictable; dark wash jeans, a black t-shirt, and his leather jacket but his shoulders had filled out and he was tan from the California sun. It was a good thing she'd had some of the finest drama training Ohio had to offer. She wished she had thought to ask Kurt for some wardrobe help, but that would have meant admitting who she was seeing. He spotted her and nodded before going the counter and ordering his own drink. A minute later he was pulling out the chair across from her.
"Rachel, you look lovely. I'll admit I wasn't sure you would show up, " he said, looking at her from over the top of his cup as he took a long sip.
She tried to play it cool, "You are the one who wanted to meet in person, so talk."
He nodded. "Fair enough. The reason I wanted to see you in person is so that I can apologize. Rachel, I lied to you in the beginning and I lied to myself at the end. You know how important my career is to me, but what I did to get ahead wasn't right. I was so wrapped up in Shelby's plan and then the team's ideas to psyche you out before regionals I lost myself and I lost the best thing to ever happen to me. You."
She had thought that he may apologize for the eggs, she didn't expect for him to admit he regretted leaving her. "I"m not sure it's enough, Jesse."
He nodded again before leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Rachel, we both put the spotlight first even when we shouldn't. Can you honestly say you haven't done anything selfish this year to get what you want?"
He had her there, "I may have sent Sunshine Corazon to a crackhouse, and made out with Noah to get back at Finn, and kissed the boy I knew Kurt liked because we looked and sounded good together. Oh my God."
"See? We're a perfect match. What I am suggesting is that we don't stop pursuing our inevitable fame, instead we just stop hurting each other to do it," he said. It was crazy, selfish, and maybe borderline psychotic, but it made perfect sense and she couldn't deny it.
"Is your offer to help us get ready for Nationals still good? We could really use the help," she asked.
"That depends on whether you'll let me take you to your prom. No pressure, just another chance for me to show you how good we are together." he said.
She was supposed to go stag with Mercedes, but Mercedes couldn't expect her to turn down the chance at a date. Especially once she convinced her friends that Jesse wasn't actually evil.
"I think we have ourselves a deal," she said and considered for a moment before adding, "and I believe you owe me lunch."
When Saturday night rolled around Finn was once again invited to join Mercedes and Kurt for movie night. This time Finn picked the shirt that Kurt gave him for his birthday, he doesn't usually wear it because he thinks it's too tight, but Kurt usually knows what he's talking about with this stuff. The three of them were just settling down on the couch, Mercedes between the two boys when Kurt's phone went off. Finn watched as his brother texted back and forth with someone for a few minutes before he stood up and said," I have to go."
"What's up?" Mercedes asked, giving him a suspicious look.
"Tina needs me to come over. She was trying to dye her streaks orange and the new brand of dye completely fried her hair," Kurt explained.
"Oh, do you need help?" Mercedes asked.
"No," Kurt cut her off quickly,"her parents still aren't happy about the hair color thing anyway. She had to beg them to let one friend come over. You just stay here, I"ll be gone less than an hour."
"If that's what Tina wants," Mercedes replied, "Finn and I will just stay and watch the movie."
Finn smiled at her, this was actually good. He hadn't had much of a chance to talk to her since they had coffee that day they left class.
They waited as Kurt went upstairs and banged around for a few minutes before coming down with a bag of products and what looked like a plastic apron. Sometimes it was still better not to ask too many questions when it came to understanding Kurt.
A few minutes later they heard the Navigator start up and Mercedes turned toward him on the couch, "I don't know whether to beat that boy's ass or hug him."
"What do you mean?" Finn asked. Maybe she wasn't as happy to be alone as he was. He was kind of mess, maybe she'd decided it wasn't worth it to get close to him.
"Tina is in Lexington visiting sister at UK for the weekend. Your brother is probably parking behind Kroger with his boyfriend as we speak," she said.
"Oh. Oh. Yeah, still don't really want to know that stuff about my little brother. So why did you let him lie like that? He dragged you all the way over here just to ditch you?" Finn said, and tried to keep his eyes on Mercedes's face and not the tips of her "M" necklace that had shifted when she shook her head and was resting right in the middle of.. no, he was going to keep looking at her eyes.
"Finn, he's three months older than you," she said with a laugh,"and as for the ditching, I'm sure he thinks he's doing us a favor. "
"Is this what he's been up to this week? I knew there was something. He shouldn't drag you into his evil plans," Finn said, he kind of wanted to give her an out, but he really hoped she wouldn't take one.
"I think he's decided that we're good for each other. He thinks he's some kind of super matchmaker or whatever since he got your parents together," she explained.
He knew he was smiling so big it made him look goofy but he didn't care, "You mean I figured out something before Kurt? I knew you were good for me that night I texted you about homework, probably before that even."
"Look, you've been jerked around a lot by girls so I'm going to lay it out for you. I've been thinking there is a spark between us, but I'm not going to push you into anything, or let Kurt push you into anything."
Whoa, she really wasn't into games. He was kind of reeling not only from the confirmation that she liked him, but from the fact that she cared what he wanted. Quinn and Rachel had both pushed so hard it was just easier to give in. He couldn't do that anymore and he was beginning to understand he didn't have to. Mercedes actually cared about how he felt. This was pretty awesome.
"A spark, hmm? I like that. My turn for the truth, I guess. The more time I spend with you the more time I want to spend with you. You're not like anyone else, and that's really cool," he said, taking her hand and pulling her against is side so they could be closer.
"We should just take our time," he added. He knew his mom was pretty smart and this seemed like a good time to take her advice.
She smiled up at him, and he was pretty sure he'd said something right. "I'm good with that, " she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Mercedes, and I mean this in the most "taking our time" way possible, but would you go to prom with me?"
She pulled back a little and he was afraid he'd said something wrong until he heard her laugh, "You do realize prom is next week, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't have a date anymore and I want to go with you. I already have my tux reserved, I'll just have to change the color of my vest to match your dress. Wait, you don't already have a date do you? Of course you do, I'm a idiot, " he said, running a hand through his hair.
"Finn, relax. Rachel and I were going stag. I want to say yes, but I can't just ditch Rachel by herself," Mercedes said, looking disappointed. Finn really hated when she looked disappointed.
They both knew that if the situation was reversed Rachel would ditch Mercedes in minute. Rachel was not a exactly a bros before hos kind of girl, or however that worked when it was girls instead of guys. Mercedes was that type of friend though, and it was one of the things Finn liked about her.
"Okay, I understand. We'll figure something out. Maybe we can convince Kurt to use his powers for good. Together or not we are both going to go, and you are going to suffer through my attempts at dancing with you," Finn said.
"You'd better believe it," Mercedes agreed before resting her head back on his shoulder to watch the rest of the movie pressed together with their fingers intertwined.