Hi! I was disappointed I didn't get more reviews on the last chapter, but I guess that's to be expected with not much Finchel. Reminder about the timeline: things are now back to taking place the weeks the episodes aired, giving the glee club four weeks to get ready. Enjoy and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 76: Glease
Rachel had been throwing herself into school ever since her breakup with Finn. Somehow, she'd managed to score an audition in an off Broadway production of the Glass Menagerie, and she was in the dance studio now, stretching for her audition. Today, Kurt had come along to help her.
"I can't believe you have a dance audition for The Glass Menagerie," Kurt said as he held Rachel's leg.
"Well, Ivan is a very physical director," Rachel remembered what she'd read online. "All of his work is very movement-driven."
After Kurt released Rachel's leg, his phone vibrated. He looked at it. "Ooh, Grease update from Tina. He looked at the phone. "Apparently the girl playing Sandy has gained so much weight, she can't fit into her clothes."
"That's unfortunate," Rachel said. Then she had an idea of where this was going. Kurt had been texting Tina and Brittany a lot, asking questions about Grease. "But it doesn't really have anything to do with us." Then Kurt gave Rachel a look. Rachel knew what that look meant. She had a feeling Kurt wanted to go to the show, with how interested he was in it. "No, we're not. We are not going to see it."
"Not gonna see what?" Rachel turned and saw Ms. July coming in. "What are you doing in my studio, Schwimmer? Practicing for yo big audition?"
"Yeah, this is actually my roommate Kurt," Rachel said. "He's helping me with it."
"It's an honor to meet you, Ms. July, and ooh, you've got some abs!" Kurt exclaimed.
Ms. July looked flattered. "That's sweet. So you were saying, not gonna see what?"
"Her recently broken-up-with ex-boyfriend is directing my recently broken-up-with ex-boyfriend in a school production of Grease, and we've a bunch of friends in it, so we were debating whether or not we should go," Kurt explained.
"When is it?" Ms. July asked.
"This weekend," Kurt said.
"You need to go," Ms. July told Kurt and Rachel. "It's a perfect opportunity for closure."
Rachel wasn't sure if she should trust this. "I have closure."
"Okay. Then go have fun, Schwim. Or go because it's Grease. Go because it's your friends, it's your high school," Ms. July said.
"Rachel, I'm going," Kurt declared. "I need to see him. I haven't seen him since. I'm not sleeping. I'm living off of ambien and The Notebook. Please come with me. I can't do it alone."
Rachel thought she'd just get hurt, and Kurt would, too. "Look, even if I wanted to go, which I don't, we don't have the money. Kurt's an intern and I spent all of my money on my last trip home, so..."
"Well I could give you my JetBlue frequent flyer miles," Ms. July said. "I can't use them, ever since I was banned from my Bloody Mary-fueled panic attack at 30,000 feet, which resulted in the hospitalization of three flight attendants. And don't go if you don't want to. But I just think you'll regret missing it."
"She's right," Kurt said. "Rachel, we need to go..."
Rachel sighed. "Fine, I'll go."
"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed, giving Rachel a hug.
x
Finn was at the school making sure the auditorium was clean when he remembered that Principal Figgins had wanted him to meet him in the office at noon. Now that he was officially taking over the glee club, he'd be spending a lot of time here. It was almost noon, so he headed to the office and saw Principal Figgins with Unique, Coach Sylvester, and a black couple. "You wanted to see me?" Finn asked.
Principal Figgins pointed at the couple. "Finn Hudson, this is Rob and Betty Adams. I took the liberty of calling them to congratulate them on their son landing the big role of Rizzo in Grease, and lo and behold, it was the first they'd heard of it."
"Look, ever since Wade was a little boy, we knew that he was different," Mr. Adams began. "Most little boys don't want to dress as Shirley Hemphill for Halloween. I mean, it's just so specific."
"When Wade performed as a girl at Nationals, we were really proud," Mrs. Adams added.
"But Chicago is a very liberal city I mean, we live in Ohio, and to be perfectly honest, we're worried about Wade's safety," Mr. Adams continued.
As as Finn knew, Unique was fine, and Unique didn't look phased. "I think you're overreacting."
"Are we?" Coach Sylvester asked. "Well, I've personally seen you physically assaulted in the hallway. This concerns me."
Finn didn't know about that. "Wait, is that true?"
"We're pulling Wade out of the play, and we're asking Wade not to dress like a girl during school hours," Mr. Adams declared.
"Once he gets home, he can be whoever he wants to be," Mrs. Adams said.
Figgins turned to Unique. "Wade Adams, you can return to your sewing exam in Home Ec."
After Unique and her parents left, Finn approached the person he knew was behind this. "I can't believe you would do something like this."
"You mean do something like conveniently protect the welfare of a student, so that it just happens to derail the school musical?" Coach Sylvester asked. "I think that sounds exactly like something I'd do classic Sue Sylvester. If you don't have a Rizzo, you don't have a show."
Finn had a feeling he could find another Rizzo. "Well, who says I can't find another Rizzo? Hmm?"
"Me," Coach Sylvester declared.
Finn went to find Artie. "Artie, we have a problem."
"What?" Artie asked. "Opening night's just a few days away..."
"Coach Sylvester called Unique's parents and they pulled her out of the play," Finn explained. "She claimed she did it to protect Unique but I know better."
"Yeah," Artie said. "And all the girls are already playing other parts..."
"Well, maybe one of the graduates could do it..." Finn began. "Mercedes was here to help out during her fall break, and she'll be back this weekend..."
"She's already on the program for something else though," Artie said. "What about Rachel? I know you miss her and maybe you could patch things up..."
As much as Finn wanted to see Rachel again and for things to get better, he had a feeling Rachel just didn't want to be around him anymore. "I don't think that's a good idea." He thought again. "What about Santana? She's pretty close, and she mentioned on Facebook that she'll be home this weekend..."
"Yeah, maybe after rehearsal today we can call her..." Artie began as they walked into the choir room.
"Finn, Artie, Unique's parents pulled her out of the musical..." Marley began as they arrived.
"We know," Finn said. "Don't worry, we'll make sure the show goes on." He got out his phone and sent a text to Santana. "Hey, do you think you can come by tomorrow? Unique was playing Rizzo and got pulled out of the show. We need someone to take her place..."
Santana replied. "Duh! That's perfect for me."
Finn sighed with relief as he turned to Artie. Coach Sylvester wouldn't stop the show from going on?"
x
The next day, Santana showed up. "So, where's my script?" she asked right away.
Finn handed it to her. "You sure you can do this?"
"Of course I can play Rizzo," Santana declared.
Artie looked nervous. "Are you sure? We open tomorrow and we just gave you the script."
"I was born to play this role," Santana said. "I've known it by heart since I was one, Artie, come on."
"So, what are you doing in town, Santana?" Joe asked.
"Shut up," Sugar snapped. "Who cares?"
"Yeah, the important thing is that she's here, so the show can go on," Brittany added.
Then Tina came in, wearing one of the Rizzo dresses. "This one fits. I just looked at the lines for Rizzo, and I think I can be off-book by Friday. I may have to hold a script in the second act."
Finn didn't know that Tina was even interested. "Sorry Tina, I called Santana. She was the obvious choice to me and if you played Rizzo, then we wouldn't have a Jan."
Tina looked annoyed. "You have got to be kidding me."
"What do you mean?" Finn asked.
"This year was supposed to be different!" Tina said. "Wasn't I supposed to be the star of the glee club? Why am I playing a small part while someone who's already graduated gets the biggest female solo in the musical?"
Finn didn't know what to say. He wished Rachel was here to talk to Tina. She always knew what to say in situations like this. "It's too late in the game to change anything," Finn finally managed to say."
x
"Flight 425 landing in Toledo."
Rachel turned to Kurt. "We're here."
"I know," Kurt said. "I can't believe we're really doing this."
"Yeah," Rachel said. The only flight they could get wouldn't even give them time to stop at their parents' houses. They'd be going straight from the airport to McKinley. Burt and Carole had gotten them a rental car, and the ride from the airport to McKinley was very, very quiet. Rachel still wasn't sure if this was a good idea. But she knew Kurt wanted to do this, so she agreed to do it.
Finally, they arrived at the school. "Ready?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Rachel lied.
"I'm beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea," Kurt admitted.
Now Kurt thought that. Well, it was a bit too late. "Well, we're here. We might as well go in."
"Yeah," Kurt agreed. The two of them looked up at the school. "It's hard to believe it was so short ago that we were here every day."
"Yeah, I know," Rachel said. She had to admit, she did miss those days. Sure, they had their bad moments, but at the end of the day, things were always okay. That wasn't the case in New York.
"Let's go in," Kurt said.
Rachel tried to joke around to calm them down. "All right, well, just remember, no matter how many times people ask, we have to stick to our five autograph limit."
"Right," Kurt said. "I'm more concerned about running into you-know-who."
Rachel was nervous too, more nervous than she could say. "You'll be fine." They stopped by their lockers. "Oh, look, it's your locker next to my locker. Remember that time you got out of that date with Mercedes by saying that you had a thing for me?" Rachel asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, it still burns my ass to this day!" Kurt and Rachel turned to see Mercedes. "Honey!" Rachel exclaimed, giving Mercedes a hug.
Mercedes hugged both Rachel and Kurt. "Oh, my God, guys. It's amazing you guys came to see the musical. Look, these kids are ready to bring the house down."
"How are you? Tell us everything," Rachel asked.
"Oh, life is crazy busy," Mercedes rambled. "You know, it's not easy balancing UCLA classes and recording backup vocals or having Puckerman always hit me up for sugar mamas' phone numbers. But life is good. Oh, you guys have to come backstage and say hi. They're gonna freak when they see who's here."
Rachel hoped that things wouldn't be too uncomfortable with Finn and Blaine. She held Kurt's hand.
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, Blaine came out from the wings. "Kurt? I didn't think I'd see you this weekend."
Kurt was clinging to Rachel's arm, so Rachel figured she'd speak for them both. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. Would we Kurt?"
Then Finn came out. "Rachel..."
Now Rachel didn't know what to say. "Finn, hey. How are you?"
"Good," Finn began. "A little surprised to see you but..."
Mercedes left the two broken up couples there. "I'm gonna go put the kids through their warm-up."
"How are you?" Finn asked.
Should Rachel lie? "I'm good. I'm really good. Just busy..."
"Rachel has her first big audition for an off-Broadway show next week," Kurt announced.
"Wow," Finn said. "That's awesome. Congratulations."
"Thanks," Rachel managed to say. She just wanted to hug Finn and tell him how badly she wanted to start over.
"Look, this is this is really, really weird," Finn said. "But the four of us had a lot of history between us, so I just want to say it's cool you came to see our show."
x
When Kurt and Rachel left, Finn turned to Blaine. "Did you know they were coming?" Blaine asked Finn.
"No," Finn admitted.
"Me either," Blaine said. "God, Finn, I feel sick. I really want to fix things with Kurt but he won't talk to me..."
"Would you like me to talk to him?" Finn asked.
"Don't bother," Blaine sighed.
"I haven't talked to her since we broke up either," Finn said. "I thought since she was the one who officially ended it, she should be the one to make the moves. But here she is, she and Kurt... I always ask about her when I talk to Kurt."
"What does he say?" Blaine asked.
"I think she's doing about as well as she can be," Finn said. "I'm just... I am worried about her..."
"I'm worried about him too," Blaine said. "It's a big, scary world out there, and they don't have us with them..."
"I hate this all so much," Finn admitted.
"So do I," Blaine said. "Kurt and I were supposed to be together now."
"Rachel and I were supposed to be married," Finn said.
"I feel like he hasn't really given me a chance to explain myself..." Blaine began as Artie came up to them. "Finn, Blaine, come on. We've got to get going."
x
As Kurt and Rachel left their exes, Kurt looked ready to break down. "You were right. It was a mistake to come."
Rachel knew it was a mistake, but they were here now. "Look, you're gonna be fine, all right? I'm gonna be sitting right next to you. And we're gonna be holding hands and laughing and applauding, and we are never, ever gonna let them see us sweat. Okay?"
"Do you think that's possible?" Kurt asked.
"I don't know," Rachel admitted. She hoped it was.
x
The musical was pretty good, Rachel had to admit. She was proud of Finn for putting this together. Of course, it was hard to some extent. Grease was a movie she and Finn had watched together. They'd sang so many songs together in this auditorium. The boy playing Danny somehow reminded her of Finn, and the girl playing Sandy reminded her of herself. Then it came time for You're The One That I Want, and Rachel tried to block out her thoughts and listen to the song.
Ryder: I got chills, they're multiplying
And I'm losing control
Cause the power you're supplying
It's electrifying
Marley: You better shape up (Cast: Doo doo doo)
Cause I need a man (Cast: Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
And my heart is set on you (Cast: And my heart is set on you)
You better shape up (Cast: Doo doo doo)
You better understand (Cast: Doo doo doo, doo doo doo)
To my heart I must be true (Cast: Doo doo doo)
Ryder: Nothing left, nothing left for me to do
Ryder and Marley: You're the one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want) Ooh, ooh, ohh
The one I need (Cast: One I need)
Oh, yes indeed (Yes indeed)
This was too much for Rachel. This was the song she and Finn had sang at their first glee rehearsal. When it came time for the second verse, she couldn't help but picture herself and Finn as the leads, with the other broken up couples reunited as well.
Finn: I better shape up
Cause you need a man
Rachel: I need a man
Who can keep me satisfied
Finn: I better shape up
If I'm gonna prove
Rachel: You better prove
That my faith is justified
Finn: Are you sure?
Rachel: Yes, I'm sure down deep inside
Finn and Rachel: You're the one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
Finn and Rachel: The one that I want (Brittany and Santana: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
Finn and Rachel: The one that I want (Blaine and Kurt: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh
Finn and Rachel: The one I need (Cast: One I need)
Oh, yes indeed (Cast: Yes indeed)
You're the one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Santana and Brittany: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Blaine and Kurt: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh
The one I need (Cast: One I need)
Oh, yes indeed (Cast: Yes indeed)
You're the one that I want (Cast: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Santana and Brittany: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh, Honey
The one that I want (Blaine and Kurt: You are the one I want)
Ooh, ooh, ohh
The one I need (Cast: One I need)
Oh, yes indeed (Cast: Yes indeed)
You're the one that I want!
By the end of the song, Rachel felt herself wanting to cry. She could tell Kurt knew she was upset when he turned to her. "What's wrong?"
"I need a minute," Rachel told Kurt. She went to the bathroom and dialed Brody's number. If Finn wasn't interested in her, maybe something was there...
But Brody didn't pick up the phone. A different familiar voice did. "Hmm. How's Ohio?"
"Cassandra?" Rachel couldn't believe who had answered the phone. "I was calling for Brody."
"Yeah, he's in the shower soaping up his incredibly chiseled physique," Cassandra said. "You want me to leave a message?"
Why was Ms. July answering Brody's phone. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"Uh, let's see you blew off your playdate with the hottest piece of ass at NY to go visit your loser ex-boyfriend," Cassandra said. "Said hot ass was lonely, distraught, didn't know what to do with himself, and was more than happy to come help me choreograph a new routine when I called him up, and then one thing led to another and next thing you know he's at my place and, you know..."
"So you and Brody," Rachel began. They were together? Was that even following school policy? Why did this woman still have a job?
"Why don't we consider this one of those little nasty life lessons?" Cassandra asked. "Auditioning for an off-Broadway play, throwing yourself at an upperclassman, and telling me that I need to get back in the game. I need to get back in the game? I think you were overreaching and needed a little bit of a reminder. I am the game, Schwimmer and you are what you've always been: A privileged, self-indulgent, dime-a..."
Rachel couldn't stand it. She hung up the phone. She was tired of this woman's abuse. When she went in the hall, Finn was there. "Hey, you missed the curtain call." He paused and looked at her. "Have you been crying."
There was no way to fool Finn. "No, I'm fine."
Finn didn't look like he thought she was fine. "For two years, I was the guy you came to with every little problem. Are we just going to pretend we're not even friends anymore?"
Well, he'd been avoiding her. "I just I shouldn't have come here. It's just too weird."
"Then why'd you come?" Finn asked.
"For Kurt..." Rachel began. "And for you." She was hoping that things could go back to how they used to be. But things were as messed up as they'd been since graduation. "You know, everything was really, really good, and I had a couple of notes, but they were small."
Finn managed to smile. "Well, thank you for coming. Means a lot to me. Believe me, the whole time I was directing it, I was basically thinking, what would Rachel do? You're kind of my moose."
Rachel giggled. "It's muse."
"I know," Finn admitted. "Just wanted to see you smile. Will you tell me what you're so upset about?"
The fact that everything seemed to be going wrong in her life? She didn't want to bring Finn down when he'd done so well tonight. "I'd rather not."
"Were you crying about me?" Finn asked.
"I wasn't crying about you," Rachel admitted. Well, not only about Finn.
Finn looked upset. "Oh. It's about him, isn't it? Brody? I just didn't think you'd move on that fast."
She hadn't. "You don't know that."
"I know you," Finn said. "I know you have four different kinds of crying. You've got the fake crying when you want something, which always involves a tissue, you've got the singing crying, which this can't be, the disappointed crying, which involves sobbing, and the crying over a guy, which I know very well because it used to be reserved for me."
"Told you we shouldn't talk about this," Rachel said.
"Well, maybe we shouldn't talk about anything anymore," Finn said.
Rachel's heart broke. Finn wanted to cut her out of his life? "Is that really what you want?"
Finn nodded. "Yeah. No contact, not even in song. When you come back to visit, I don't want to know about it."
Rachel didn't know what to say. If this was what he wanted, she wasn't going to fight it. "Yeah, I think that's good. You know, I don't really know what's going to happen between us but, I know that you used to be the guy who would make me feel like the most special girl in the whole world, and it doesn't feel that way anymore. Now it just feels sad and confusing. And the worst part is is that doesn't even really feel that bad anymore."
She watched Finn leave. He wanted her out of his life completely. It really was all over. He didn't even want to know when she was in town. Rachel found Kurt as she started crying again.
"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.
"I just want to go home," Rachel sobbed.
"I thought this was home," Kurt said.
Rachel paused. Now she didn't know where home was. "Doesn't feel like it anymore."
Then Blaine came running up to them. "Kurt, I need to talk to you."
Kurt turned to face Blaine. "I'm not interested."
"I never told you about what happened," Blaine tried to begin. "The guy that I hooked up with... I need you to know everything."
"What are you gonna tell me, that it wasn't serious?" Kurt snapped. "That you only made out? That you didn't care about him?"
"I didn't care," Blaine protested.
Kurt wouldn't budge. "Do you think any of that matters to me? Relationships are about trust and I don't trust you anymore. I was stupid to come back. Rachel's right, this isn't home anymore."
Kurt started to lead Rachel out of the school. After what Finn had said to her, Rachel couldn't help but feel sorry for Blaine. "I thought you wanted to talk to him..."
"I thought I did too," Kurt said. "But seeing him again reminds me of how much it hurts."
"Do you think you'll ever get back with him again?" Rachel asked.
"I don't know," Kurt said. "It'll be a long time if I do."
"He doesn't want to talk to me anymore," Rachel told Kurt. "He doesn't want to know if I come back to visit..." She started crying again. Why had she gone to New York? Why didn't she just stay here? If she'd stayed here, maybe she and Finn would still be together. Maybe she'd still be happy.
"Do you want me to talk to him?" Kurt asked.
"Don't bother," Rachel said.
x
Finn listened to Artie read the review that was already posted online. He didn't want to cut Rachel out of his life. He just wanted things to be the way they used to be. And maybe some time apart would be good. Finn tried to think about what Artie was reading. At least the critic had liked the show.
"Watching the skill, the nuance," Artie read. "this reviewer was forced to ask himself, 'might the directing team of Mr. Hudson and Mr. Abrams be headed for careers at NASA?' They should be, because last night they plucked stars from the firmament and named them Marley Rose and Ryder Lynn. Has ever an audience been so enraptured? Mayhap. But when the last breath of life crosses this reviewer's lips, "t shall utter but three words: 'Grease, McKinley, Bravo.'"
The glee club cheered as Mr. Schue made an announcement. "Guys, Fletcher Mantini's just a sophomore, but he's a notoriously tough critic. And that's what I call a rave review. Man, this week hasn't been easy, knowing it was the last time I was gonna see you guys for a while. But one thing that's helped is knowing that I'm leaving you in good hands. If there's one person who loves the Glee Club as much as I do, it's Finn. And I know in my heart that he has what it takes to get you guys a win at sectionals. I have so much to thank you guys for. But for giving me this chance to share that joy with others. I'm gonna see you guys in a few months, but hopefully, there'll he a brand-new sectionals trophy in that case over there. I love you guys."
Finn followed Mr. Schue out of the choir room. "I'm really gonna miss you."
"I'm serious you can call me anytime, day or night," Mr. Schue said.
"I know," Finn admitted. He honestly just wanted to go home now, especially after what happened with Rachel.
"You okay?" Mr. Schue asked.
"Yeah," Finn lied.
"Oh, one more thing: For sectionals, don't be afraid to open with a ballad," Mr. Schue said. "Yeah, sure we got a lot of great dancers now, but the judges at sectionals always reward the best singers. So what you gotta do..."
Finn knew to open with a ballad. Rachel's ballads always were their secret weapon. "I got this."
"Go get 'em," Mr. Schue said to Finn.
"You too," Finn said.
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