Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews on the last few chapters. To clarify things, I will NOT be getting rid of the New Directions in this story. There are still connections between the New Directions and the New Yorkers, and people will go back to see their performances from time to time. I hope everybody had a great Easter! Enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!
Chapter 12: Moving Out
"You're really moving," Carole said to Finn as they looked around Finn's bedroom.
"Yeah," Finn said.
"Are you nervous?" Carole asked.
"Yeah," Finn admitted. True, this had almost happened a year ago, but back then, he was so much more sure of everything.
"Finn, there's no need to be nervous," Carole said. "You got into one of the best schools in the country. You're going to be fine. You'll have Rachel, Kurt, Blaine and Santana with you, and Sam, Artie and Tina will be there in the fall too."
"Yeah," Finn said. "I'm going to miss you, Mom."
"I'll miss you too, sweetheart," Carole said. "But remember, DC and New York aren't too far away from each other. When Burt and I are there, you can come visit us."
"Yeah," Finn said. He looked at the boxes all around his room. "Mom, I do have a good feeling about me and Rachel this time."
"So do I," Carole said. "When I saw the way you talked about her, I knew that she was the one. I was even more sure the first time you brought her home."
"Really?" Finn asked. "Then why were you so opposed to us getting married last year?"
"Honey, it wasn't the fact that you two wanted to get married, it was the timing," Carole said. "I think you were rushing things a bit. You're both still so young. It would have been better for you two to go to college and start your careers first."
"I'm not going to ask her to marry me again yet, don't worry Mom," Finn said. "We just got back together."
"That's right," Carole said. "So, the U-Haul should be arriving to pick up your stuff shortly after you and Blaine leave for New York. It should be there soon."
"I'll text you when we get there, Mom," Finn said.
"Before you go, I have something," Carole said. She went to her room and handed Finn a package. "I put together care packages for all five of you."
"Thanks, Mom," Finn said. "I'm really going to miss you."
"I'll miss you, too," Carole said. "You should probably get to Blaine's house soon."
"Yeah," Finn said. He was looking forward to going to New York, but he'd definitely miss his mom.
x
"Are you nervous?" Blaine asked Finn as they sat in the waiting area at the airport.
"Well... yeah," Finn said. "Are you?"
"Yeah," Blaine said. "I mean, Kurt, Rachel and Santana have been there for a year, and you and I are going to just be showing up. The city's so big, and we don't know it."
Finn was glad Blaine had said that because he was afraid to. "Yeah, that's how I feel, too."
"I'm glad you're going to be there," Blaine said. "I mean, I know Sam, Artie and Tina will be there in the fall, but you and I will be getting there at the same time, so I won't be adjusting alone."
"Yeah, that's how I feel," Finn said. "What do you think it's going to be like, living with Rachel and Kurt?"
"Well, living with them's a good thing, I think," Blaine admitted. "It'll give us an idea of what things will be like in the future."
"What things will be like," Finn said. "I like the sound of it."
"Yeah, me too," Blaine agreed.
"Flight 829 to New York boarding," an announcement came over the loudspeaker.
Finn looked at Blaine. "That's us."
"Yup," Blaine said. "We're going to New York."
x
"Rachel, Kurt, I think the apartment's all ready for Finn and Blaine," Santana said.
"I want it to be perfect," Rachel said.
"Finn and Blaine are going to think it's perfect, they're living with you two," Santana told Rachel and Kurt. "You don't have to keep cleaning."
"Rachel, I've lived with Finn before, he'll probably mess it up anyway," Kurt said. His phone vibrated. "Oh, that's Blaine, they're boarding the plane now."
"They'll be here in a few hours!" Rachel said. She was nervous, but she was excited, too.
"Speaking of relationships..." Kurt said, looking at Santana.
"Tonight, I'm going out to dinner with Dani," Santana said, giggling.
"You are?" Rachel asked. "I'm so happy for you guys!"
"Yeah," Santana said.
"Well, now that we're home, there's something I wanted to tell you guys," Rachel said. "I'm going to be the understudy in Funny Girl."
"You are?" Kurt asked. "That's great!"
"Why didn't you tell us?" Santana asked.
"We were in Lima and I wanted to focus on the graduation while we were there," Rachel said.
"So does anyone else know?" Kurt asked.
"I told Finn and my dads," Rachel said. "Finn wanted to tell people, and I think my dads are hoping she can't go on at some point so I can go on for her."
"There's so many shows, she's bound to not be able to go on at some point," Santana said.
"We'll see," Rachel said. "So, Kurt, are you excited for Blaine to move in?"
"Of course," Kurt said.
x
A few hours later, Finn and Blaine's plane touched down in New York. As soon as they got off the plane, Finn was reminded of just how big the New York airport was. There were so many people here, and he could barely move. Would the whole city be like this?
"See them?" Blaine asked Finn.
"No," Finn said. He felt his phone vibrate and looked at it. There was a text from Rachel. "We're at the food court." He turned to Blaine. "They're at the food court."
"Okay," Blaine said. Finn felt better knowing where Rachel and Kurt were. He and Blaine made their way toward the food court and saw Kurt and Rachel sitting at one of the tables. Rachel seemed to see them right away and ran over to embrace Finn.
"Rachel!" Finn said. He felt his nerves going away as soon as he was in her embrace.
"You're here in New York!" Rachel said. "I thought you'd never come here!"
"Well, here I am," Finn said.
"This is amazing," Kurt said as he gave Finn a hug. "All of us together."
"Where's Santana?" Blaine asked.
"She's out on a date with Dani," Kurt said. "Do you two want to head back to the apartment now?"
"Yeah, that would be nice," Finn said. "Our luggage should be arriving soon."
"So, how was the flight?" Kurt asked.
"It was fine," Blaine said. "I'm just glad we're here."
Rachel picked up Finn's bag as they started to leave the airport. Finn turned to Rachel. "You're so chivalrous."
x
"Your first night in New York went okay, right?" Rachel asked Finn as they took a walk through Central Park the next day.
"You know it did," Finn said. He was actually surprised that it was pretty easy to fall asleep at night. Having Rachel to cuddle with had definitely helped. His luggage had arrived late last night, and they'd done some unpacking this morning. Now he and Rachel were just enjoying a walk through Central Park.
"Do you think I could get a job here?" Finn asked. "I mean, everything's so expensive."
"I'm sure you could," Rachel said. "I might be able to get you a job at the diner."
"I'd like that," Finn said. "So, you're off today?"
"Yeah, I work tomorrow though," Rachel said.
"I'll probably look around for a job tomorrow then," Finn said.
"Finn, there's no rush," Rachel said. "While we're here, want to go to the Central Park zoo?"
"Yeah, that would be fun," Finn said. "Maybe you could get a new animal sweater for your collection."
Rachel giggled and gave Finn a small playful slap. "Only if we want Kurt to tease me."
"Central Park is nice," Finn commented as they walked to the zoo.
"It is," Rachel said. "Before we get to the zoo, can I show you something?"
Finn nodded. "Of course."
Rachel led Finn to the bridge where they'd gone on their first New York date. Rachel led Finn to a spot on the bridge where she'd carved "F+R" into the bridge.
Finn couldn't believe that. "You did that?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. "Sometimes when I missed you, I'd come here."
"That was a pretty amazing night," Finn said.
"One of the best nights ever," Rachel said. "I'm so glad you're here now."
"Yeah, me too," Finn said.
x
Job searching the next day wasn't going how Finn had hoped. It felt like lots of places were full for the summer. He'd done well at the tire shop, but there weren't many tire shops here since so few people had cars. Then Finn noticed something. He passed the theatre where Funny Girl was playing. They needed help in the box office.
But would he get this job? He had picked up applications for other jobs, but working at the theatre where Rachel would be practicing as an understudy would be perfect. He could see her in between her breaks and if she ever got to do a show, he wouldn't have to worry about missing it.
He couldn't help but wonder if the jobs he looked at were turned off by him when he came in and asked about applications. When he went to get an application from Starbucks, he was sure he'd ruined his chances when he dropped his coffee while going out the door.
Moving was always hard. The most drastic move he'd ever made before was when he moved into the new Hudson-Hummel house with his mom, and that was only a few blocks away from his old house. He'd had job security back in Lima both with the glee club and with the tire shop. Here, finding a job would be harder. Yes, he had things he was good at, but he didn't have any out of this world talents like Rachel did...
No. He had to see himself the way Rachel saw him. Things would work out, right?
x
Rachel wished she could have helped Finn look for a job, but she'd already taken one day of work off this week and couldn't take more off. She was pretty tired when she arrived back at the apartment from the diner. Kurt and Santana were both still at work, and Rachel knew that today Finn and Blaine would be looking around for jobs and that they probably wouldn't be home quite yet, so she'd likely be home by herself a while.
Then she heard a knock on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone today, but she figured that since there were five people living at the apartment now, it could be anyone. When she opened the door, she was surprised by who was standing on the other side of the door and even more shocked by what this person said.
"Rachel... I don't think you're going to believe this, but I'm your sister."
Chapter 13 preview: Rachel and her sister meet each other - or have they met before? The girls deal with finding out the news, and Rachel also tells the news to her roommates. Some unexpected visitors come to New York, but will that make things easier or harder?