Thanks to everyone who left me a review on Chapter 10! I always appreciate what my readers have to say :) This episode was a tough one for Finchel, but I did my best to put some Finchel in this chapter. I did add in two Finchel scenes, even though one of them is a bit angsty. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to keep going!
Chapter 11: Hairography
Sectionals would be a breeze. Well, unless the deaf choir ended up having the goods that you wouldn't expect with a deaf choir. The girls from Jane Addams didn't have very good voices and there was no choreography unless you counted swinging their hair around.
Rachel went over to Mr. Schue to tell him how excited she was for Sectionals when she saw he looked upset. "Mr. Schue, you seem concerned."
"What?" Mr. Schue asked. "No. I mean, they were great, but we're just as good."
"Mr. Schue, if I may," Rachel said. "What they were doing was just all smoke and mirrors. It's called hairography."
"What?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Hairography," Rachel explained. "All the whizzing of their hair around just to distract from the fact that they're not really good dancers. And their vocals were just so-so. Trust me. We've nothing to be afraid of."
x
Mr. Schue clearly disagreed with Rachel. The next day, he had an announcement. "All right, guys. I did some thinking last night. I think I found our new number for sectionals. We're going to do the title song from Hair. Now, this show started a revolution."
"Wait, did they have mohawks back then? Like in the 20's or whatever?" Puck asked.
"Yeah, Mr. Schue, if we're going to do a song about hair, shouldn't we have more hair?" Finn added.
Mr. Schue tossed a bag at the boys. "One step ahead of you. Here are your wigs."
As the boys began going through the bag and picking out wigs, Rachel went up to her teacher. "Mr. Schuester?"
"Yeah?" Mr. Schue asked.
"What are you doing? We are fine where we are. We don't need hairography. It's just a distraction," Rachel said. Why couldn't Mr. Schue see that.
"Look, I have to be honest. Those Jane Addams girls did freak me out a little. And I'm worried about our chances for sectionals. I mean, we have to pull out all the stops if we want to win." Mr. Schue looked away from Rachel and laughed. "Looking great, guys!"
Rachel looked too. She definitely prefered Finn's short, touseled hair to the wig.
x
"Hey, Rachel." Rachel turned and saw Kurt standing at her locker.
"Hi," Rachel said. She had to wonder, what was Kurt doing here? He didn't seem to like her very much. He certainly hadn't been very nice to her during the sing off.
"So, Sectionals are coming up, and we need to change your look," Kurt said.
"What's wrong with my look now?" Rachel asked.
"Animal sweaters? Pleated skirts? Leg warmers?" Kurt asked. "That's the type of things people would wear in preschool."
Why couldn't people just leave her alone? Rachel began walking away. "Well, at Sectionals, we'll be wearing uniforms, so you don't need to worry about my clothes."
"Rachel, don't you wish more boys were interested in you?" Kurt asked.
That was true. Maybe if she could get Finn away from Quinn, high school would be a little more enjoyable.
"Well... yeah," Rachel said.
"Then let me help," Kurt said. "Can I come over tonight?"
Rachel sighed. "Sure." She wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but it was about time she have someone over. Her dads were always asking why her friends never came over.
x
Rachel regretted inviting Kurt over. She'd always done her own eyebrows, but when Kurt did hers, it hurt like crazy. "The key is to never wax above the eyebrow. Always shape from below. Trust me, I get a lot of practice. Look at mine," Kurt said.
"Kurt, why did you volunteer to give me a new look?" Rachel asked. This still didn't make sense.
"One, I'm a sucker for makeovers, and two, you need something to distract from your horrible personality," Kurt said. "Most of the time, I find it hard to be in the same room with you. Especially this one, which looks like where Strawberry shortcake and holly hobbie come to hook up. You're extremely talented, Rachel. Watching you perform is amazing. But sometimes it's hard to appreciate what a good singer you are because all I'm thinking about is shoving a sock into your mouth."
Now he was insulting her room, too? She shouldn't have had him over. "Well, what kind of makeover did you have in mind?"
"We need to broaden your appeal. I want every boy at school to do a double take when you strut past," Kurt said.
She didn't care about every boy at school. She cared about Finn. "There's really only just... one boy that I'd like to impress. Can you keep a secret?"
Kurt gave her a look. "Of course."
"I'm in love with Finn," Rachel admitted.
"Really?" Kurt asked. "I understand completely. Let's move on to makeup. I happen to know for a fact that Finn is attracted to loose women."
"What?" Rachel asked. "Quinn is so wholesome."
"Let me put this into musical theater parlance. In Grease, what did Sandy do to get Danny Zuko? She had to ditch the poodle skirt and slap on a cat suit. In short, she had to dress like a ho. Maybe if your look was better, more desirable, Finn would be in your arms right now. Instead of Quinn's," Kurt suggested.
This was a risk worth taking. "Okay, let's do this," Rachel said.
x
Holy crap. Finn stopped dead in his steps. He couldn't help but be turned on by Rachel. That low cut dress she was wearing... she had such nice skin. Why hadn't he noticed that before? "Hey, Rachel," Finn managed to say.
Rachel turned around. "Oh, hey, Finn. I didn't see you there. Did you want to ask me something?"
Finn didn't know what to say. "Uh, yeah, I-I just, I forgot. I got distracted."
"Well, I'm glad I got your attention," Rachel said. "I wanted to know if you wanted to come over on Friday night. As someone who's had long, luxurious locks since I was a toddler in the pageant circuit, I figured I could give you some tips on our hair number."
Rachel was inviting Finn over. He couldn't believe it. "Yeah, that'd be great."
"Great. How's eight?" Rachel asked.
"Eight is terrific. It's terrific," Finn stuttered. Rachel looked so hot. And being alone at her house with her? This would be perfect! Then Finn remembered. He was still with Quinn. She was living with him and having his baby. He should probably get her permission first. He wished he didn't have to get her permission. "Hey, Quinn. I, uh, wanted to ask your permission to maybe do something on Friday night, if..."
Quinn didn't hesitate. "Oh, that's fine. I'm babysitting anyways."
That was a relief. "Oh, cool. I'll see ya." Finn walked away, holding in his excitement of going to Rachel's.
x
Rachel sat in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. She barely recognized herself. So much makeup, curly hair, a catsuit - but Kurt told her this was what Finn would like. "I'll just be a second," she called.
"Thanks again for helping me out with this hairography stuff," Finn called.
"Yeah, I mean, you know, it's all about getting warmed up," Rachel said, struggling to think of things to say. She remembered Kurt's analogy. Maybe get into the spirit of things. "Could you think of a song that we could practice with? What about the one from Grease? You know, we did it when you first joined the club?"
"Okay, only I was just mostly nervous that day," Finn said.
Rachel came out of the bathroom and posed like Sandy did in the movie right before Danny and Sandy sang that same song. "Tell me about it, stud." She flipped on her radio so she and Finn could start the song.
Finn: I got chills, they're multiplyin'
And I'm losing control
'Cause the power you're supplyin'
It's electrifyin'!
Rachel: You better shape up
'Cause I need a man
But my heart is set on you
Finn flipped off the radio. "Wait, stop, stop."
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked. She thought this would work.
"I need to be honest with you," Finn said. I'm really uncomfortable right now. I'm gonna say this as nicely as I possibly can, but you look like a sad clown hooker."
What did that even mean? "What?" Rachel asked. Finn wasn't the type to insult her!
"This look, it just isn't you," Finn said. "I mean, maybe when I first saw it, I was caught off guard that you looked all adult and stuff, but it's not what's really great about you, Rachel. I actually like the way you usually dress, sequined leg warmers and stuff."
Maybe she was only fooling herself. Finn probably wasn't going to leave Quinn. "I thought this was what you liked."
Finn shook his head. "No, not at all. Funny, I was just having this conversation last week with Kurt, and he asked me."
Had Kurt been pulling a prank on Rachel all along? "I feel like such an idiot," Rachel said.
"No, no, this is my fault," Finn said. "It isn't right for me to be here anyway. But I really like you, Rachel. I gotta go."
Rachel decided she was going to take control of this situation. She followed Finn out of her room. "And why is it not right for you to be here?"
Finn paused on the top of the stairs. "Are you forgetting about Quinn?"
Of course it was Quinn. "She's only dating you because you're the quarterback!" Rachel shouted.
Finn just looked at Rachel, not saying anything. Rachel was tired of holding it all in and decided to tell Finn exactly what she thought of him being with Quinn. "She's using you. She's not a good person. You think she would have any interest in you if you weren't the quarterback? All she cares about is popularity! You shouldn't be catering to her needs and kissing her ass when all she does is yell at you and degrade you!"
"She's having my baby!" Finn said.
"The Finn I know wouldn't put up with all the crap she's giving you," Rachel snapped. She knew she was getting carried away, but she didn't care. "You know who you want to be with. You know who you really have feelings for. If you were really into Quinn, you wouldn't be kissing me and spending one on one time with me and singing with me behind her back. Why did you start to date Quinn, anyway?"
"She was really hot," Finn said.
"That's what I thought," Rachel said. "That's not why you kissed me while you were dating someone else. You should just dump her, Finn! She's not good for you! She's only dating you because she wants status! Besides, she's said several times that she wants to give up the baby."
"But..." Finn began.
"But she's a selfish, superficial bitchy slut who doesn't give two shits about you!" Rachel shouted. Now she knew right away that she'd taken things too far.
"Stop it!" Finn said. "Want to know something? The Rachel I know would never talk about anyone like that."
Rachel's dads came out of their room. "What's going on here?" Hiram asked.
"Nothing," Finn and Rachel both said.
"He was just leaving," Rachel added before storming to her room. She couldn't believe what she'd done. She might have killed any chances she ever had to be with Finn.
x
Rachel didn't talk to Finn at school the next day. She felt bad for the way she'd acted the previous night and was honestly too embarrassed to talk to him. However, she knew that there was someone else she needed to have a word with. She went up to Kurt's locker. "You set me up with Finn!"
"Looks like someone is running for drama queen again," Kurt snarked.
"How could you do that? I thought we were friends," Rachel said. At least he was acting like friend that night...
Kurt looked surprisingly upset. "And what made you think that? You should be thanking me. All I did was help you realize that your schoolgirl fantasy of running off with Finn was nothing but a fairytale."
Now Rachel knew exactly what was going on. "You like him. Yeah, that's, that's what this is. And you were just trying to eliminate the competition."
"I was just helping him understand that you are not a viable second choice," Kurt shot back.
"You think I'm a second choice?" Rachel asked.
"A distant second," Kurt said.
Rachel lost control of her mouth again. "You think I'm living in a fairytale? If I were second or if I were fiftieth, I'd still be ahead of you because I'm a girl." She couldn't believe she'd said that. What was wrong with her lately? Just because she was miserable didn't mean she had to be mean to everyone else.
Kurt looked even more hurt now. "Okay, here's the dope, princess: there's no hope for either of us. He loves Quinn. They're having a baby together. We're nothing but distractions. The sooner we realize that: the better."
As Kurt walked away, Rachel felt worse. She'd hurt Finn, she'd hurt Kurt and Kurt was right. She was never going to be loved by Finn.
x
Rachel avoided eye contact with Finn that day in Glee club. The Haverbrook deaf choir came to visit and it was clear that they were less than impressed with the hairography number. Rachel wasn't afraid to admit to herself that it was the worst number they'd ever done. As the Haverbrook kids went up to perform their number, Rachel went to talk to Mr. Schue. "It didn't work at all, did it?"
"No, it's just the rehearsal," Mr. Schue said. "It's still just a little rough, but we're onto something."
Rachel sat down, hoping Mr. Schue would come around. She listened to the Haverbrook choir perform... and eventually, the New Directions joined in, singing as they followed the Haverbrook choir's signing.
Haverbrook choir: Imagine there's no heaven
It easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Living life for today
Mercedes: Imagine there's no countries
It's not hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace. Yoo-hoo-ooh-ooh
Artie: You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will be as one
Rachel: Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
Finn and Rachel: No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
New Directions: Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
Mercedes Jones: You may say I'm a dreamer
New Directions: Ooh
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will live as one.
It was unplanned, but Finn and Rachel had sung together. And Rachel was reminded that no matter how angry she got, Finn was still the one she wanted. Of course, she'd probably blown it. How messed up could she get?
x
Finn came out of the bathroom and saw Quinn waiting for him. "Hi."
"Hi. Can we be in love again?" Quinn asked.
"I have to tell you something first," Finn said. He couldn't keep what happened at Rachel's house a secret. "I, uh... I want us to be honest with each other, no matter what."
"You can tell me anything," Quinn said.
"Cool," Finn said. Even though Rachel had yelled at him, he felt so bad for hurting her. But he shouldn't be thinking about Rachel. He was with Quinn. "Uh... It... it's not really even that big a deal. I mean, I didn't actually do anything, But, the other night, when you were babysitting... I kind of went over to Rachel's house. But nothing happened. I... just was worked up about us fighting and then she put on this really weird catwoman suit, and so I think something could have happened, but it didn't. Because I only want to be with you."
"It's all right. Thank you for being honest with me," Quinn said.
Finn gave her a hug. "I love you, Quinn." At least he thought he did. Well... what did he know these days? Life was so confusing.
"I love you, too," Quinn said.
x
Mr. Schue had decided they didn't need hairography to be good. Their strength was their voices. As they all sat on stools just singing as Tina led them, Finn couldn't help but look at Rachel. And Rachel was looking at him, too.
New Directions: Ah, ah, ah
Tina: You with the sad eyes
Don't be discouraged
Oh, I realize it's hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And darkness, still inside you
Make you feel so small
New Directions: But I see your true colors shining through
I see your true colors
And that's why I love you
So don't be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow
Tina: Show me a smile, then
Don't be unhappy
Can't remember when
I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you've taken all you can bear
You call me up because you know I'll be there
New Directions: And I see your true colors shining through
Yeah
I see your true colors and that's why I love you
So don't be afraid
Afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors
Tina: True colors
Are beautiful like a rainbow.
It was like the song said. Finn's true colors were coming through. Despite what he'd said earlier, he was in love with Rachel, not with Quinn. And he wished more than anything that he could act on that.
x
"Hey," Rachel said as she went up to Finn at his locker the next day. She felt bad about what had happened at her house, and she wanted to make things right.
Finn looked at Rachel. "Hey."
"I just wanted to apologize," Rachel said. "What I said and how I acted when you came over to my house was completely out of line. I was just stressed. Someone was telling me to dress differently to attract guys..."
"So you decided to dress in a way that wasn't you?" Finn asked.
"I thought it was what people liked," Rachel admitted. She didn't care about boys, she cared about Finn. And she just didn't understand why someone like Finn was with someone like Finn. She knew he didn't love Quinn. He just felt obligated to be with her because she was pregnant. She wasn't about to say that though. She'd completely lost it the other night, and she was lucky Finn was still talking to her.
"I'm sorry," Finn said. "I wasn't trying to hurt you."
He was hurting her. He was hurting her by being with Quinn even though he knew she liked him and she knew he liked her too. But what was she supposed to say? When she said what she thought, Finn had gotten mad at her. "I wasn't trying to hurt you either," Rachel said. "I guess I was really mad at myself for falling for what that person told me and I brought it out on you. That wasn't right and I'm really sorry."
"Look, it's okay," Finn said. "Everything's going to be okay."
"I'm so sorry," Rachel said. Finn had said everything would be okay, and she hoped one day, things would be okay.
10 reviews unlock Chapter 12!
