Author's Note:
Shout out to Tildamay who reviewed: ooh could Rachel and Santana sing ever ever after by carrie underwood at the klaine wedding? also i think a good source of angst could be finn and tana not telling rachel that they had sex in high school? also could we have more hummelanderberry friendship? i love ur story so far :) x
Thank you for the review and suggestions, I don't think I'm going to have the Santana/Finn not telling Rachel thing, just because it's been done before and I really don't think Rachel would care, because in this case, Santana isn't a bitch to Rachel about it and Rachel isn't a virgin. I haven't actually heard that song before, so I'll look it up and if I like it (which is an almost guarantee with Carrie Underwood), I'll be sure to add that to the story. I am SO glad someone asked for more HummelAnderBerry friendship because I was trying to lay off of it, considering I usually tend to get carried away when I write anything Klaine-ish, but I'm going to give them some more scenes in this. Thank you for the review, I'm so glad that everyone is liking this:) I would have PMed you, but you don't have an account and I think I'm going to address suggestions through my author's notes.
Another shoutout to "noro," who has been reviewing very frequently, and even though they are just small little bits, they are greatly appreciated. Oh! And a shoutout to an anon who went by the name, "Guest," who wrote:
ERMAHGERD IT WAS AWESOME I LOVE IT I LOVE YOU I WANT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
Thank you all so much for your reviews, there should be another Author's Note at the end of this chapter, and I'm sorry this has been such a huge author's note, haha:) I'll try to tone it down a little, unless you guys like the Author's Notes that are super long.
On to the story!
A week after the shooting at the club, Rachel and Finn had spent a lot of time together, but they hadn't really talked much with Kurt and Blaine, who were taking the incident harder than anyone had expected them too. Santana hadn't been too effected, but she had now vowed to never go near the front of a club ever again.
Kurt and Blaine had kept to themselves, though, and now Rachel was getting worried. Whenever she did see the couple, they looked far from okay. Finn said that Blaine rarely ever talked anymore and Kurt would just burst into tears at the most random moments. Rachel sighed sadly at the thought of her best friends being so distraught and detached from everyone. She needed to do something, to see them. So, she decided to visit them.
"Kurt? Blaine?" Rachel called, entering the apartment. They were cuddled together on the couch, watching an old movie. Both of them had deep bags under their eyes from lack of sleep, but they actually looked a little better than before.
"Rachel? Finn's not here, he went to go visit our old friend, Matt. He's in the city for a few days, so I suspect that they'll be busy until Matt goes back to Lima." Kurt answered, looking up briefly from the movie in Rachel's direction.
"I know. I came to see you two." Rachel replied.
"Why?" Kurt asked. Blaine didn't speak, but he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Rachel sighed before continuing.
"Because you are both very shaken up about the shooting and I want to help. Blaine is practically mute, he only ever speaks to you, and you cry constantly for absolutely no reason. You both are obviously losing tons of sleep. I am very worried about the both of you, you're supposed to be getting married in a matter of months and you should be extremely happy. But you aren't. You are both distressed and detached and sad and it's all because of that stupid shooter at that stupid club. I miss you guys. I'm here to help you." Rachel declared, growing more frustrated at the shooter and the entire situation with every word she spoke.
Unknowingly, Rachel set off the waterfalls.
Blaine, who had been completely silent the entire time and had looked like a shell of his former self, had finally cracked and just started sobbing, which caused Kurt's eyes to grow insanely wide and take the smaller boy in his arms, soothing him. Rachel winced, feeling her heart break at their obvious distress and frustration. Kurt whispered softly into his fiancé's ear until he calmed down enough to where they could both carry on a conversation.
"It just scared the hell out of me, Rachel. I thought that we were going to die. I thought I was going to lose Kurt, I thought I was going to lose all of you. And then Santana was shot and I thought I was going to lose my best friend and I just can't handle the thought of losing anyone right now, Rachel. I can't." Blaine choked out, sobbing. Kurt nodded and pulled Blaine back towards his chest again, kissing his head. Rachel nodded in sympathy.
"I understand, Blaine. Everyone was freaked out. Everyone thought they were going to die. But, you can't just shut yourself out from people who can help you and empathize with you and relate to what you are feeling right now. I don't know if you're feeling grateful, but that's what I'm feeling. I'm just extremely grateful for even being alive right now, alive with the most important people in my life with me. Nothing can take that away, now." Rachel assured him. Blaine frowned and shook his head.
"He's still out there, Rachel. He's still out there and he's able to harm other people and that scares the living hell out of me." Blaine said, shivering slightly. Kurt closed his eyes, holding back tears, as he pressed a light kiss to Blaine's cheek.
"But he's not going to hurt you. And, I'm positive that they'll find him in a matter of days. They have three suspects and they all are behind bars. The only three fingerprints found on the gun are theirs. You'll be fine, Blaine. I know you will. Now, Kurt. I miss my best friend in the entire world. Please, please explain to me what you're feeling." Rachel said, directing her attention to Kurt. Kurt squeezed his eyes tightly, letting a few tears loose, before clearing his throat and beginning to speak.
"My mom, as you know, was killed when I was 8 years old. Most people suspected it was a car accident or an ongoing sickness, but it wasn't. She was fine. She wasn't hit by a car, she wasn't ill, she was absolutely fine. Mom was going to the grocery store to grab some ingredients for dinner. She was planning on making some weird kind of salad and she got the wrong ingredient, so she had to go back for it. Mom walked in the store, grabbed the ingredient, which was actually some cherries, which is why I hated getting slushied in high school by those stupid things, and just as she was about to check out, a robber came in, carrying a gun, and shot her. I guess the guy didn't plan on shooting anyone, but it was a misfire and it hit her. So, when the gunman came in to the club and shot Santana, it brought up bad memories and I've been having nightmares ever since." Kurt said, his voice trembling. Blaine switched positions with him, now comforting Kurt while Kurt cried softly. Rachel felt herself tearing up and brushed away a few stray tears, taking both of their hands in her own.
"Listen, guys. This is hard for you. I totally understand that. Kurt, the mother thing is awful and I'm so sorry that both of you have to go through such distress, but you can't run away from the rest of us. You need to talk to us. Finn, Santana and I are going through very similar stuff. We can help you. Don't disconnect yourselves from the rest of the world." Rachel said. Kurt and Blaine nodded, squeezing her hands. Suddenly, Rachel came up with a plan.
"I have an idea. You guys said that you were going to visit your family and friends in Lima in a little while, right? Why don't we just pack up and leave now. It would help you both to be close to your families and friends. I'll go with you, of course. I've been dying to meet Papa Burt and I know that Santana needs to work some things out with Brittany, if I recall mine and Finn's conversation last week, based on all the texts he was getting from Brittany. So, we should all go to Lima. I can get us plane tickets that leave in two days, I think, but either way, we're leaving early." Rachel demanded. Kurt and Blaine didn't protest at all and actually looked relieved at the suggestion.
"Alright, Rache." Blaine said, smiling gratefully.
"Sounds good. I've been wanting to introduce you to the rest of the gang, anyway." Kurt said, wiping away the rest of his tears.
The next two days went by quickly; after telling Santana and Finn about the plane trip, they had all just relaxed until they had to leave. Now, it was the night before the flight, and Finn felt that he needed to determine what Rachel was to him, so Finn had decided to stay the night. Santana was going to Finn, Kurt and Blaine's apartment, so they would be all alone, which would give him the perfect opportunity to bring up the subject.
"Uh, Rache?" Finn asked, suddenly nervous.
"Yeah? What's up? You look anxious." Rachel said as she entered the living room with a bowl of popcorn and a large quilt. Finn sighed heavily, searching for the right words.
"What are we? Like, relationship-wise?" Finn blurted out. Rachel's face was unreadable. She contemplated several ideas in her head before returning her attention to Finn, noticing his worry-filled look. Finn really wasn't ready to lose her yet.
"I don't care what we are, Finn. I just want to be with you in any way that I can." Rachel said shyly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Finn let out a wide grin.
"Okay. Good. So, Rachel Berry. Can I introduce you to my family as my girlfriend?" Finn asked, looking at her hopefully. Rachel felt a smile break across her face as she nodded.
"I would love nothing more." Rachel responded, kissing him softly and passionately.
"That's great news. Mom's going to love you, I'm sure of it." Finn whispered, pulling Rachel towards him as they started the movie.
"I hope so, boyfriend." Rachel whispered back, smiling brightly.
Author's Note #2:
This is such a short chapter, but I have a lot planned for them, so I hope you all don't mind. The next chapter might be really short, too, because I haven't decided if I am going to combine the plane ride and the meeting of the family or what exactly I'm going to do with that, so prepare yourselves. I am also in the middle of writing a Klaine story, which is my normal sort of thing, so I apologize if I don't update enough for you guys. If you want, you can go check that fanfiction out, it's a little longer than this one and I update it every other day, except for Thursday. I also have a couple one-shots, and I would love it if you guys could go read those and review them for me. I have a long, long, long Klaine story that I wrote on my iPod touch that is literally just one, 30000 word chapter.
Wow. I just promoted myself. Huh.
Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, they are greatly appreciated and I will discuss them at the beginning of each chapter if I can.
Reviews are like Klaine. I Just Can't Get Enough.
My heart goes out to all of those people in Boston. This chapter is dedicated to you. You're all being thought of, here in NY.
THANK YOU FOR READING:) I LOVE YOU GUYS:)