Hey guys! Thanks for your reviews on the Born This Way chapter. I'm sorry it took me some time to update, my personal life was kind of getting in the way. I hope all of you who got to go to Lea's meet and greet this week had a great time. I wish I could have been there! Enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!
Chapter 42: Rumors
Rachel was in her room looking for songs for Nationals when her skype alert went off. It was Finn. She smiled to herself as she answered his call. "Hey!"
"Hey!" Finn said. "How's your nose feeling?"
Rachel smiled to herself. "It's feeling a lot better. Lots of ice and rest seems to be doing the trick."
Finn gave Rachel a half smile. "Good! I was worried about you."
"You don't need to worry," Rachel said. "You just saw me at glee practice today. I looked fine, didn't I?"
"Yeah," Finn admitted. "I guess it's not just that. I saw you were online and it feels like I don't get to talk with you much these days. I miss you."
"I miss you too," Rachel said. He had no idea how much she missed him.
"I'm just so sick of all Quinn's talk about prom," Finn complained. "I had to use all my tips from the tire shop to buy the tux she wanted."
"I'm not going to prom," Rachel told Finn. She didn't want to go. Not when Finn was going with Quinn. It would be too painful.
"What?" Finn asked. "Why not?"
"I don't have a date," Rachel said. "I mean, no one in any of my classes talks to me ever. All the guys in my classes think I'm annoying. And the guys in glee... well, you're going with Quinn, Puck's going with Lauren, Artie's going with Brittany, Mike's going with Tina and Kurt's going with Blaine." She couldn't say the real reason she didn't want to go. She didn't want to seem desperate.
"What about Sam?" Finn asked.
"Sam and I don't know each other that well," Rachel said. Besides, Sam and Santana had just broken up, and he'd had a breakup with Quinn not long ago.
"Maybe you should just go solo then," Finn said. "Rachel, high school girls spend their whole careers dreaming of prom. You shouldn't have to miss it."
"Finn, I don't want to go to prom," Rachel said. Why did he want her to go so badly? "I need the time to prepare for Nationals."
"Rachel, you need a night off," Finn said. "A night to unwind and have fun."
She knew prom wouldn't be any fun. Not with everything that was going on. "I'll think about it."
"Okay," Finn said. "So, what are some of the songs you're thinking about for Nationals?"
x
Rachel thought maybe it would be worth a shot asking Sam to go to prom. She hadn't talked to him much, but he'd always been nice. Finn was right. Prom was a milestone, and she knew her dads wanted her to go. However, she didn't think Sam would want to go after his bad experiences with girls this year. She went up to Sam in the hall. "Hey."
"Why are you talking to me?" Sam asked.
This already wasn't going well. "Can't I say hello?"
"I guess," Sam said. "It's just Santana told me never to speak alone with you because you would try to steal all of my gold."
What did that even mean? "Okay, anyway, I got you this." Rachel handed Sam some chapstick. She wanted to do something nice. "I know everyone's always making fun of your lips, but I think they're cute and worth weatherproofing. So, considering that we're both single and I think your lips are cute, I was wondering if you would go to to prom with me?"
"As in your date?" Sam asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"No," Sam said.
Rachel had a feeling this would happen. "No as in?"
"As in no prom," Sam said. "I don't think I'm going."
Rachel wanted to tell Sam she just wanted a date. "Are you worried that Finn will be jealous?"
Sam started to walk away. "Look, you're just not my type, okay, Rachel? So thanks for the lip chap."
x
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Get your Muckraker here. Extra! Extra! Get your Muckracker here!" Becky Jackson shouted as she walked through the halls. Finn took a copy, but he didn't know if he'd read it. The last issue he'd read had just had petty gossip. His thoughts were interrupted when Rachel came up to him. "Hey. I think we should talk about Nationals. We need to do a duet."
Finn wanted to do a duet with Rachel, but he knew Quinn would give him a hard time. "I don't think that's a good idea."
"Why are you so concerned with Quinn's feelings when she obviously has no interest in yours?" Rachel asked.
"What are you talking about?" Finn asked, knowing perfectly well what Rachel was talking about.
Rachel opened her copy of the paper. "Haven't you read The Muckraker? It's our school's newspaper. Look at the blind items column."
This wasn't what Finn had in mind. He read the first one. "What prom queen candidate is spending a lot of time in her closet? Now that's garbage. Quinn's claustrophobic."
"No, that's Santana," Rachel said. "Read the next one."
Finn read the next one. "What blondie former cheerleader is having a secret moonlight motel rendez vous with another big lipped blondie?" He wasn't expecting this. He went into glee practice, where Sam already was. "What the hell is this, dude? 'What blondie former cheerleader is having a secret moonlight motel rendez vous with another big lipped blondie?'"
"Where does it say that?" Sam asked.
Finn pointed. "Right on the front page of the school newspaper!"
"You don't seriously believe this, do you?" Quinn asked.
"Well, why shouldn't I?" Finn shot back. "Why wouldn't he do the same thing that I did to him?" And Quinn had cheated before...
"Because it's gossip, Finn," Quinn snapped.
Sam pushed Finn. "Hey, you got a lot of nerve accusing me of cheating when you're the one who snuck in and stole my girl!"
Finn felt so angry. He had a feeling getting back with Quinn was a mistake. Now he knew it was.
Mr. Schue followed Finn out of the room. "Hey! Hey, Finn, where are you going? Hey, we got rehearsal!"
"Not today!" Finn called back. After walking down the hall a little, Finn sat down on the stairs. How could Quinn do this, again? Hadn't she learned from the first time?
"Hey," a voice said. Finn looked up and saw Rachel.
"Hey," Finn said, patting the spot on the stairs next to him.
The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments before Finn spoke again. "What is wrong with her?"
"I don't know," Rachel said.
"At least you admitted it right away," Finn said. "Quinn never told me. You were the one who told me."
"Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you this time, as I have no idea whether it's true or not," Rachel said. "I hope it is though," she mumbled under her breath.
Finn hoped it was too. That way, he and Rachel could be together again. "What did you say?" Finn asked, having a feeling that Rachel hadn't wanted him to hear that.
"That we should find out if it's true," Rachel said.
"How could we do that?" Finn asked.
"Well, they did give the name of the motel," Rachel said. "We could go do some spying. See if they're there."
"You know, that's actually a good idea," Finn said. Rachel always came up with good ideas. "How about I pick you up at eight?"
x
At eight that evening, Finn picked Rachel up, and they were in the parking lot of the motel, with binoculars and a camera, waiting for signs of Quinn and Sam. Rachel didn't want to say it out loud again, but part of her did hope it was true. She thought Finn was into her again, and once Quinn was out of the picture, they could be together. "Stakeout. So exciting. It's like an episode of Heart to Heart."
"No, this is not fun or cool," Finn grumbled.
Rachel felt let down. "Then why did you agree to do it?"
"Because Quinn cheated on me with Puck, and then she cheated on Sam with me. I just want to be sure," Finn said.
"I never understood why you got back with her. I mean, if you can't even trust her," Rachel said. Finally, she could say it.
"I don't know," Finn admitted.
He didn't know why he'd gotten back with her? Now Rachel had to think of something. "I do. Because you forgive your first love anything."
"Do you believe in that thing called karma?" Finn asked Rachel.
"Uh, yeah," Rachel said.
"Can you explain it to me?" Finn asked.
"It's the law of physics whereby, for example, if you do something to hurt someone, well, then the laws of the universe will work against you until you get hurt. While we're here, have you given any thought to my duet ideas?" Rachel asked.
Before Finn had a chance to respond, Sam came into the motel lobby, but he wasn't with Quinn. He was with Kurt.
What? This didn't make sense. Sam wasn't gay. And Kurt was happy with Blaine. "I can't believe Kurt would do that to Blaine."
x
Rachel had gone to the motel expecting some things, but she wasn't expecting to see Kurt and Sam together. She saw Sam wearing one of Kurt's jackets in the hall at school the next day. Could this really be happening? After all the time Kurt spent fighting for Blaine?
Rachel went up to Kurt's locker. "Stop it."
"Stop what?" Kurt asked.
"I am begging you," Rachel said. "Sam is cute, but he's not worth losing Blaine over."
"Oh, how I've missed your insanity," Kurt snarled.
"He's wearing your jacket, Kurt," Rachel said. "I remember that jacket. You wore it April of last year. You said it was your Earth Day jacket because it was made out of recycled hemp. I know how these things work. I remember when Finn and I used to date. Sometimes he would leave his letterman jacket at my house, and I'd wear it to school the next day."
"Okay, you need to bone up on your Fleetwood Macology," Kurt referenced this week's assignment. "When they made Rumours, they weren't speaking to each other. Not even "pass the nondairy creamer." They only spoke about the music. And it was that focus that allowed them to make their masterpiece."
"You're deflecting," Rachel pointed out.
"No, I'm being a team player, and any minute spent on this vicious, hurtful and hateful gossip is a minute taken away from preparing for Nationals," Kurt said.
Finn went up to Rachel after Rachel was talking to Kurt. "Yesterday when I said something to him at home, he said he was just helping out."
"Helping out with what?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know, maybe covering for Quinn," Finn said. They were meeting with the rest of the glee club (except Kurt and Sam) at the Lima Bean later. Maybe then they'd get some more information.
x
The meeting at the Lima Bean didn't create any progress.
In fact, the most significant thing that happened was that Quinn was so forceful in making sure everyone knew Sam wasn't gay. So Finn asked Rachel to go back with him to the motel. "Why would she say that thing about Sam not being gay?" Finn asked Rachel. "She was so sure about it."
"Well, they did date," Rachel said.
"Yeah, but the way she said it, there was something else going on. The problem with dating Quinn, besides the mood swings, is that she's so protective about her feelings. You never quite know where you stand with her," Finn ranted.
"Girls like that do that to keep their power," Rachel admitted.
Finn couldn't help but feel nostalgic for his time with Rachel. "You never did that. I always knew what you were thinking."
Rachel gave Finn a small smile as they watched Sam and Quinn go into the lobby together. So something was going on.
Then Sam and Quinn gave each other a long hug.
x
So something WAS going on between Quinn and Sam. Finn had seen them at the motel. He gave her one of those hugs Finn wanted to give Rachel. In the hallway at school the next morning, Quinn stormed up to Finn. "FINN!"
"Wait, why are you storming? I'm the one who should be storming," Finn snapped. She was the one who was cheating.
"Really?" Quinn asked. "Because the way I see it, I'm the stormer and you should be the stormee. According to today's paper, 'Finn and Rachel were seen sitting closely, laughing, talking intimately.'"
Uh oh. "We were on a stakeout. What were you doing with him in that motel?" Finn asked.
"I'm not cheating on you," Quinn snapped. "This time around, I haven't and I won't. You have to learn to trust me."
"I can't trust you if you won't tell me the truth," Finn stated.
"Well, what were you and Rachel doing together, huh?" Quinn asked, avoiding the question.
"Staking out. That's what you do on a stakeout," Finn said.
"What were you talking about?" Quinn asked.
"Glee Club, okay?" Finn lied. "She wants to do a duet with me. That's all. Trust me."
"Well, then I guess we both have to learn to trust each other," Quinn snapped.
"I guess so," Finn said.
"And I guess I know what song we'll be singing this week in Glee Club," Quinn said.
A duet with Quinn? Oh no. Finn couldn't do that to Rachel. Not after all her suggestions he'd turned down that he wanted to do. "I don't feel like doing this week's assignment," Finn said.
"Oh really?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, my allergies have been bothering my throat lately," Finn lied.
"I didn't know you had allergies," Quinn said.
"Yeah," Finn said.
"Then if your throat's been bothering you, then why do you want to sing a duet with Rachel at Nationals?" Quinn asked. "And don't play dumb. I know you want to."
"I'm saving my voice," Finn said. This was getting harder.
"No, you're not," Quinn said. "You're doing the duet with me."
x
Finn was nervous as he headed to glee club. He didn't want to do the duet with Quinn. It would hurt Rachel. He wanted to do one of the duets Rachel had in mind. But Quinn told Mr. Schue that she and Finn had something prepared, so Finn had to go along with it.
Finn and Quinn: I don't wanna know the reasons why love keeps
Right on walking on down the line
I don't wanna stand 'tween you and love, honey
I just want you to feel fine
I don't wanna know the reasons why love keeps
Right on walking on down the line
I don't wanna stand 'tween you and love, honey
I just want you to feel fine
Finally baby
The truth has been told
Now you tell me that I'm crazy
It's nothing that I didn't know
Trying to survive
Oh you say you love me, but you don't know
You got me rockin' and a-reelin'
Hey you know what you do
Oh, oh, yeah
A-Haa
I don't wanna know the reasons why love keeps
Right on walking on down the line
I don't wanna stand 'tween you and love honey,
Take a little time
Aaaaaaaaaaah
I don't want to know
Finn noticed Rachel looking annoyed throughout the duet, and the other members of the glee club didn't seem to be enjoying it much either. "Okay!" Mr. Schue said when they finished. "Terrific job, guys. Um, might want to try to smile a little bit more next time, though."
"Yeah," Rachel mumbled. "It was lovely, but I prefer Quinn's duet performance of Lucky with Sam better. Since you and Sam have become a lot closer lately, maybe you guys should do duets together more often."
"Where is Sam?" Artie asked. "Quinn and Kurt are both here today, so we know he's not doing the dirty."
"I know what you're doing," Quinn snapped. "You want Finn and I to stop singing together so that you can sing with him again."
"Frankly, yes," Rachel declared. "Finn and I have amazing proven harmonies. And when it comes to Nationals, I think it makes more sense for him to be paired with me." And Finn thought so too.
"Well, it's not happening," Quinn said. "Not as long as Finn wants to be with me."
That was not okay. "Wait, I thought you said this relationship was about trust," Finn said.
"Oh, I trust you. I just don't trust her," Quinn snapped.
"Quinn, I don't think you can mandate who pairs up for Nationals, all right? Vocal Adrenaline doesn't need any help from us," Mr. Schue said.
"I love being here, and I want to win, but my relationship comes first. I'm sorry, but Finn, if you want to be with me, no more songs with her." Quinn stormed out of the room.
"What?!" Finn demanded. She couldn't tell him what to do and what not to do.
x
Finn went up to Rachel after glee practice, feeling awful about the way Quinn had been acting. "Hey Rach."
Rachel looked up at Finn. "I don't know if Quinn wants you talking to me."
"Rachel, I'm sorry, I want to sing with you," Finn said.
"Well, I don't think I'll do a song for this week's assignment," Rachel said.
"You should do one," Finn said. "You told me once that you like Fleetwood Mac. And how about I accompany you on the drums?"
Rachel smiled. "That sounds great."
x
"All right, guys. Who is up first today?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Mr. Schuester, if it's all right with you, I'd like to do my own reinterpretation of my favorite Fleetwood Mac song," Rachel said, excited for what she and Finn had planned.
"Great, Rachel," Mr. Schue said. "Which one?"
"Go Your Own Way," Rachel said. "It's the song about the painful breakup between Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Traditionally, it's sung by a man, but today, Rachel Berry's gonna put her own feminine twist on it. Hit it." She turned to Brad, and Finn joined her to accompany her on the drums.
Rachel: Loving you, isn't the right thing to do
How can I, ever change things that I feel?
If I could, maybe I'd give you my world
How can I, when you won't take it from me?
You can go your own way, Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day, Another lonely day
You can go your own way, Go your own way
Tell me why, everything turned around?
Packing up, shacking up, is all you wanna do
If I could, baby I'd give you my world
Open up, everything's waiting for you
Ooooh
You can go your own way, Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day, Another lonely day
You can go your own way, Go your own way
You can go your own way, Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day, Another lonely day
You can go your own way, Go your own way
You can call it another lonely day
Ooooooohhhhh you can go your own way
You can go, you can go
Ooooooohhhhh
You can call it another lonely day, Call it another lonely day, yeah
You can go your own way
Go your own way
Unlike Finn and Quinn's duet, the glee club clearly enjoyed this one, singing along and cheering Rachel and Finn on. Everyone except Quinn, who looked annoyed. Well, she hadn't said anything about Finn drumming for Rachel.
"I love it," Artie called when Rachel was done.
"Brilliant!" Sam added.
"Don't you think it's maybe a little inappropriate that you chose to sing a love song to my guy?" Quinn asked Rachel.
"You're such a hypocrite!" Rachel snapped. "You Little Miss Perfect Prom Queen! You're a cheater who cheats in cheap motels with Sam."
"Nothing is going on between Sam and I," Quinn shouted.
"Enough, guys," Mr. Schue said.
"You know, I blame Sam for all of this. And Rachel, too, I blame her," Santana said.
"What did I do?" Rachel asked.
"I'm sure you did something," Santana said.
"See, I'm with Santana. I mean, why doesn't Sam have anything to say about this?" Lauren asked.
"Guilt," Mike suggested.
"Seriously, dude, what you're doing is not cool. They both have boyfriends," Puck told Sam.
"Shut up!" Sam shouted. "Look, I'm not messing around with Quinn or Kurt or any one of those guys. They're just helping me."
"Oh, is that what we're calling it now?" Mercedes asked.
"Wait. Hold on. How were they helping you out?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Kurt was bringing me some clothes, and Quinn was helping me babysit my little brother and sister," Sam said.
"Then why were you in that motel?" Finn asked.
"Because that's where I live now," Sam blurted out. "My dad lost his job a few months ago, then we lost our house, so now we live in that motel in one room. Are you all happy? The truth's finally out." Sam stormed out of the room, and Rachel felt like a horrible person.
x
Rachel had talked to Finn, and they decided they'd try to make it up to Sam by going to the motel themselves and apologizing, as well as bringing him some things they thought he'd need. They knocked on the door as Sam came to answer. "Um, I'm trying to get my sister to sleep."
"Dude, please, please. Just let us in," Finn said, feeling horrible about what Rachel and he had done.
Sam's sister came over. "Hi. I'm Stacy."
"Hi, Stacy," Rachel said. "I'm Rachel. This is Finn."
"Well, she's up now," Sam said, leading Finn and Rachel in. "It beats a cardboard box underneath an underpass, right? We keep the rest of our stuff in my dad's car."
"This is everything you own?" Rachel asked.
"We sold everything else," Sam said.
Sam's brother came over. "Can we go watch TV?"
"Yeah, sure," Sam said. "Keep it low, though. Mr. Jensen, next-door, is on the night shift again. You want a snack?"
"I don't understand. What happened?" Finn asked.
"We moved up here from Tennessee, you know, 'cause my dad got a great job offer, and the economy went to hell, and it's last ones in, first ones out," Sam explained. "You know, we spent all our savings on the move and the down payment on the house. You know, when the bank takes your house, they literally take it. They come by one morning and kick you out of your own house, just lock you out."
Finn felt horrible. "Why didn't you tell us what was going on?"
"You see how information flies around that school, right?" Sam said. "You think everyone would've just treated me the same, after they found out? I'd be even more of a freak. Kurt only found out because I got a job delivering pizzas at night and happened to bring one to Dalton."
"Yeah, he told us," Finn said, holding out the bag of some of his clothes. "Look, I brought these for you. I know Kurt was trying to help you out, bringing some of his old clothes, but I don't really think that sequined riding pants are for you. So, some of my old stuff."
Sam gave Finn a small smile. "Thanks."
"So, what about Quinn?" Rachel asked.
"We go to the same church," Sam said. "Couldn't really hide it from her, and I kind of like having her around to do some girl stuff with Stacy. Mom and Dad are out all day pounding the pavement looking for work, but, nothing. I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to keep on the Glee Club."
Finn felt even worse now. "What? No, you can't do that."
"Yeah, we've come so far, and I know that it's a rough time right now, but you can't quit," Rachel added.
"You guys don't understand," Sam said.
"Yes, we do," Rachel said, getting something else they had for Sam.
"Quinn told us you hocked your guitar," Finn said.
Sam looked at the guitar. "Did you guys buy this back for me?"
"The whole Glee Club did," Rachel said. "Look, Sam, we'll do whatever we can to help, anything to keep you in the Glee Club until you get back on your feet."
Sam started crying as his sister came over. "Don't cry, Sammy."
"We need you, Sam, and you need the music," Rachel said.
x
The rumors about the glee club members had died down, but a new one was spreading. When Mr. Schue came in, he didn't seem to have any idea this rumor was going around. "Mr. Schue, is it true?" Mercedes asked.
"Yeah, the Muckraker says you're bailing on us to do April Rhodes' big show," Puck added.
"Guys, if there's anything we've learned from this week's assignment, it's that you can't believe every rumor you hear," Mr. Schue said.
That was true. And Finn felt horrible about how he'd acted toward Sam.
"But isn't it your dream to sing on Broadway?" Tina asked.
"I have a lot of dreams," Mr. Schue said. "My top one being taking you guys to Nationals. We are going to Nationals, together, and we are going to win."
Finn felt happy when he saw Sam come in, this time with his brother and sister. "Hey, everybody. Kind of wanted to get these guys out of the motel for a little while. I hope it's ok if I brought them."
"Of course, come on in," Mr. Schue said.
"I was also hoping that maybe they could help out with a number today," Sam said. "I have the perfect song I want to sing to them, and don't worry, it's good for the assignment, Mr. Schue."
"The more the merrier," Mr. Schue said.
New Directions: Don't stop!
Don't stop!
Sam: If you wake up and don't want to smile
Sam and Quinn: If it takes just a little while
Sam: Open your eyes, and look at the day
Sam and Quinn: You'll see things in a different way
New Directions: Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow
Don't stop;
It'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Don't stop!
Don't stop!
Finn: All I want is to see you smile,
Quinn: If it takes just a little while,
Finn: I know you don't believe that it's true
Finn and Rachel: I never meant any harm to you
Ooooohhhh
New Directions: Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop
It'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.
Don't stop
It'll soon be here
It'll be better than before
Yesterday's gone
Yesterday's gone
Oooh, don't you look back
Rachel: Don't you look back
Finn: Don't you look, don't you look, no (New Directions: Don't you look back)
Rachel: Yeah, yeah, yeah
Finn: Don't you look back (New Directions: Oooh)
Don't you look back (New Directions: Don't you look back)
Rachel: Don't you look back
Don't you look back
New Directions: Oooh, don't you look back (Finn: Don't, don't, don't you look back)
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow
At the end of the song, Finn gave Sam a hug, and Sam looked at Finn. "Thanks."
"I'm sorry about earlier," Finn said.
"I should have said something, you guys would have probably helped more," Sam said.
"We'll do whatever we can," Finn told Sam.
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