Thanks so much for all your reviews on the first chapter! I really appreciated them! In this chapter, it is revealed that Finn is dating someone else, but I think that's what the writers had planned for the beginning of Season 5. Don't worry though, it won't last long! Finchel will be back together VERY soon ;) Anyway, enjoy this chapter and let me know if you want me to continue!
Chapter 2: Home Again
Finn didn't mean for this to happen.
He didn't want to date someone other than Rachel.
It had just sort of... happened.
Shortly after Finn started college and went back to help out at McKinley, Sue told him that even though he was just a volunteer, he'd need to be vaccinated because he was working with the kids. When he went to the nurse's office to get his vaccinations, he noticed that someone he didn't recognize was working there.
The girl in the nurse's office had told him that her name was Penny and that she was a sophomore in college doing an internship at McKinley. She was cute and she seemed nice. She was hitting on Finn when she vaccinated him and then asked him if he wanted to go out sometime.
Finn had said yes. At the time, he was sure that Rachel was going to get the part and that she wouldn't be home any time soon. While he and Rachel had begun talking again, he didn't think they'd get back together any time soon.
Penny was nice, sure, and Finn had fun with her, but it was friends type of fun, not boyfriend-girlfriend type of fun.
Finn was thinking about Rachel the whole time he was at Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury's wedding ceremony. She'd said she didn't want a big wedding because she thought it would be too stressful. Finn could barely listen to their vows. He couldn't stop thinking about Rachel. Was she okay? Had she told anyone else? Would she be coming back to Lima soon?
Then as Finn was leaving the choir room, he heard someone calling out to him. "Finn!"
Finn turned and saw Penny. Crap. With everything that was on his mind about Rachel, he'd forgotten that he'd been seeing someone else for a few weeks now.
"Hey," Finn said.
"You guys did such a great job," Penny said, hugging Finn. "So, are we still on for Breadstix tonight?"
Finn gulped. What if Rachel got in tonight. Luckily for Finn, Kurt turned to Penny and took over. "Hello," Kurt said. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting. I'm Kurt, Finn's brother."
"I'm Penny," Penny said. "Finn's girlfriend."
Kurt turned to Finn. "Girlfriend? Finn, why didn't you tell me you were dating?"
"Oh, it's not serious," Finn said. "It hasn't been very long." He didn't know what to say. He couldn't say to another girl in front of her that he was dating her to fill a void in his life.
"Oh, I see," Kurt said, not looking convinced. Finn felt more and more uncomfortable. "Do you mind if I talk to my brother for a minute?"
"Oh, sure," Penny said.
Kurt took Finn's arm and cornered him into the men's room. "So, told Rachel about your new girlfriend?"
"No!" Finn said. "And you're not going to tell her either."
"Well, you'd better be happy that she's waiting to hear back about Funny Girl and that I don't want to give her anything else to stress out about," Kurt said. "Otherwise I would tell her. I'm surprised Blaine didn't tell me."
Finn almost told "Oh, we're keeping things quiet," Finn said. He wasn't sure if anyone in glee knew because like he said, he'd been pretty casual about it.
"I see," Kurt said.
"What about you?" Finn asked, hoping to get attention off himself. "How are things going with Adam?"
"Adam's a good friend, he's nice, but I miss Blaine," Kurt said. "Seeing him this week has reminded me of how much I miss him."
"So you're feeling better about what happened?" Finn asked Kurt.
"Yeah," Kurt said. "I'm not saying it was right of him, but I get why he did it. I basically turned my back on him, and that wasn't right."
"Do you think Rachel still loves me?" Finn asked Kurt.
"Why should you care?" Kurt asked. "You have a girlfriend."
"Well, you have a boyfriend, but you told me you miss Blaine," Finn shot back.
Kurt gave Finn a look. "Of course. She talks about you all the time and she has photos of you two all over the apartment."
So she did still love him. And he knew he still loved her. So why had he started dating another girl when he knew he still loved Rachel?
Then Finn heard a knock on the door. "Finn, are you almost ready?" Penny called.
Finn sighed. "Yeah, just a minute." He turned to Kurt. "Maybe you and I can hang out before you go back to New York?"
"Of course," Kurt said. He turned to Penny. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Penny said. She took Finn's hand and began walking to the parking lot. Her hand didn't feel right in his the way Rachel's did.
x
Rachel sighed as she looked through the plane ticket times to Lima. There was one tomorrow. Well, she'd have to fly into Toledo and take the bus to Lima. Maybe Finn was right. Some time away from New York would probably be good for her. There were reminders of the failed audition all over New York.
Rachel looked at the photos of her and Finn in her room. She wished he'd stuck around when he came to New York to confront Brody. She wished that she'd gone to Lima with Kurt and Santana for Regionals. She could have seen the New Directions perform. Mercedes and Mike were back in town as well, and Rachel would have liked to see her dads as well. Rachel booked the flight to Ohio, feeling at least a little better. Before she had time to do more thinking, her phone went off.
"Hey," Rachel said as she picked up the phone.
"Hey," Finn said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm coming home tomorrow," Rachel said. "I just think I'd feel better if I saw you and everyone, you know?"
"Of course you will," Finn said. "I'm glad you're coming home. What time's your flight getting in?"
"Four," Rachel said.
"I'll pick you up at the airport," Finn said. "It can give us some time together to make up for me not staying in New York longer."
Rachel smiled to herself. "That sounds great."
"Have you told anyone else yet?" Finn asked.
Rachel sighed. "No. I'm afraid to... I'll tell my dads when I get to Lima."
"What about Kurt?" Finn asked.
Rachel paused. "I'll consider telling him."
"He's your best friend," Finn told Rachel. "He should know."
"I'm just worried I'll look bad," Rachel said. "I really made everyone think that I was going to succeed... and now I've been denied a part. I'm afraid to go back to NYADA. Cassandra's going to go back to tormenting me."
"But for a few days, you're going to be in Lima with me and with other people who love you and support you," Finn said. "You can deal with NYADA when you get back there, but for now, you can be with us."
"Okay," Rachel said. "Finn... maybe I will tell some more people about what happened."
"I think that's a good idea," Finn said. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," Rachel said. She hung up the phone and dialed Kurt's number. Her best friend should know the biggest news of her career, even though it was bad news.
"Hi Rachel," the voice on the other end of the phone said. Rachel knew that was NOT Kurt.
"Blaine?" Rachel asked. She had to admit she wasn't surprised Blaine and Kurt were spending time together. Despite everything, Rachel knew Kurt still loved Blaine. But Kurt was with Adam. What was going on?
"We missed you today," Blaine said. "How are things in New York?"
"They're fine," Rachel said. "Can I talk to Kurt?"
"Of course," Blaine said.
"Hey Rachel," Kurt said as he took the phone.
"Kurt, I didn't get it," Rachel said.
"What?!" Kurt shouted. "That's insane! What is wrong with them?"
"I'm not good enough," Rachel said.
"You are good enough!" Kurt said.
"Don't," Rachel sighed.
"I just don't understand," Kurt said. "You've been preparing for this your whole life and they just don't give it to you?"
"There's other talented people who've worked just as hard," Rachel said. "I can't have everything." That was true, but it still hurt.
"The directors are clearly idiots," Kurt said. "Everyone back home was rooting for you..."
Would everyone be disappointed in her if they found out what had happened? Then Rachel remembered who else was there. "You can tell Blaine," Rachel said. "I'm sure he can hear your side of the conversation. Please don't tell anyone else yet though, okay?"
"Okay," Kurt said.
"I'm coming to Lima tomorrow," Rachel said. "I just thought it would be better to be home for a little, to be with everyone."
"Yeah, I'm going to be home for a few days, too," Kurt said. "It's just nice getting to spend time with Blaine again."
"I know you missed him," Rachel said. "I told Finn, but I haven't told anyone else yet."
"I bet Finn will be happy to see you," Kurt said.
"Yeah, I really miss him," Rachel said. She had a feeling just being with Finn and with her friends would make her feel better about what had happened.
"Try to get some sleep, okay?" Kurt asked. "We'll all be here for you tomorrow, but I don't like the thought of you being alone."
"I'll try," Rachel said. She didn't expect to sleep well tonight.
"I have ambien in my room," Kurt said.
Rachel gulped. "Thanks. I'll let you get back to Blaine. I just thought you should know."
"Call me if you need me, okay?" Kurt asked. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay," Rachel said before hanging up the phone. She knew this would be a long night.
x
"Finn!"
Finn looked up from his textbook he was studying. He'd come home this weekend to get a break from the college campus. He'd done some partying, but then he admitted that wasn't really his thing. At home, things would be quieter and he could get some studying done.
"Hey Kurt," Finn said. "Where's Blaine?"
"Blaine went home for the night," Kurt said. "So Rachel told you?"
"Yeah," Finn said. "I just... I can't believe it."
"Me either," Kurt said. "She's coming back here for a few days."
"I know," Finn said. "I'm picking her up at the airport."
"Does your girlfriend know about that?" Kurt asked.
Finn groaned. "She's not exactly a girlfriend. We've been on a few dates."
"Rachel's going to be upset when she finds out," Kurt said.
"She won't find out!" Finn said. "You can't tell her!" He took out his phone and sent Penny a quick text. "Hey, I'm going to have to cancel our date for tomorrow. One of my friends from high school who went to college out of town is getting in and I'd really like to spend time with her."
"Finn, when you're dating someone, you shouldn't not want people to know," Kurt said. "If you don't want to tell people about you dating Penny, you shouldn't have started dating her in the first place."
Finn knew Kurt had a point. Maybe starting to date wasn't a good idea. He knew his heart wasn't in this. "I'll think about it."
"Good," Kurt said, starting to leave.
"And Kurt," Finn added. "Maybe you should think about whether not being with Adam is a good idea. I saw the way you looked at Blaine when he was performing."
"I'll do that," Kurt said, leaving Finn's room.
x
"We hope you enjoyed your flight. You are now landing in Toledo. Thank you for using Continental Airlines and have a nice day."
Rachel had to admit she was glad that she was back in Ohio. Back here, no matter how stressful things got, there always seemed to be some comfort. It was true that she'd had some bad experiences when she came back last fall, but there were far more good memories here.
Rachel got off the plane and saw Finn waiting in the terminal. She smiled and tapped his shoulder. "Don't I know you?"
"I could say the same thing," Finn said, giving Rachel one of his trademark half smiles. He pulled Rachel in for a hug. "I missed you so much, Rachel."
"I missed you too," Rachel said, hugging Finn close. "It's so nice to be back here."
"What do you say we head home?" Finn asked, picking up Rachel's bag to carry it.
"Sounds good," Rachel said. She wanted to hold Finn's hand as they walked, but she knew that since they weren't together now, she probably shouldn't.
"Did you sleep okay last night?" Finn asked.
"I barely slept," Rachel sighed. "I do feel a little better, being home."
"I thought this wasn't your home anymore," Finn said.
"I said that when I was stressed out," Rachel said. "This will always be my home."
"I'm glad," Finn said. "So, we're going to Nationals in LA."
"I heard," Rachel said. "That's great. I'm so happy for you guys."
"While you're here, maybe you could help out in glee for a few days," Finn suggested. "Maybe that would help you feel better about things."
"I don't know Finn," Rachel said. "What's everyone going to think of me not getting the part?"
"Everyone's just going to be glad to have you back," Finn said. "Come on, Rachel. You're the only graduate who hasn't helped out yet."
"Okay, I'll come with you," Rachel agreed.
Finn smiled. "Great. What do you say we get something to eat before we head back to Lima?"
"I'd love to," Rachel said.
Chapter 3 preview: Rachel helps out with New Directions with Finn, and they try to bring Ryder back and find someone to fill Brittany's spot. Rachel also finds out that Finn's been dating again...
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