Hey guys! First of all, happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers! Second, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. I really appreciate them. I've always liked this episode - at the time Finn's stay away from my future wife line made me so happy, but now it's so sad :( Thanks again for the support and review if I should keep going!
Chapter 86: Feud
Finn wasn't sure how Mr. Schue would react, but he hadn't spoke to Finn since he admitted to kissing Miss Pillsbury. Mr. Schue sent Finn a text, asking him to pick up a latte for everyone. Well, at least they were on speaking terms. "Sorry I'm late," Finn said as he arrived. "Huge line up at the Lima Bean, but here are the lattes that Mr. Schue made me get everybody."
Finn began handing out the lattes as Mr. Schue took a sip. "Um, I asked for two pumps of mocha, Finn. I taste three. Take 'em back. All of them."
"These are fine," Blaine said, taking a sip.
"Yeah, so is mine," Marley added.
"Well, mine isn't," Mr. Schue snapped. "Go get me another one, and while you're at it, my dry cleaning needs to get picked up."
Was Mr. Schue turning Finn into his slave? Well, if it got him to stop being mad at Finn, he'd put up with it.
By the time Finn arrived back with the dry cleaning, the rest of the glee club was gone. "Here you go," Finn said. "Where's everyone?"
"They're taking a break," Mr. Schue said. He began looking over the vests. "These are disgusting."
And he was blaming it on Finn? "I'm sorry, Mr. Schue, but all I did was pick up the vests," Finn said.
"What's most upsetting is you actually think these vests are clean, that it's okay to turn in subpar work," Mr. Schue snapped.
The rest of the glee club arrived, and Finn was glad. He needed a relief. Ryder performed a solo, and at the end, Mr. Schue applauded. "Great job, Ryder. See that, guys? Prowess on the football field and a terrific singing voice are not mutually exclusive."
Finn knew that Mr. Schue was trying to indicate Finn was bad at football, or singing, or both. He decided to stand up for himself. "I can't take it anymore! Okay, it's bad enough you're treating me like your lackey, but I'm not gonna sit here while you fake-compliment Ryder just to hurt me!" He kicked the chair and left the room, deciding to call the one person he knew could make him feel better. Rachel picked up the phone right away.
"Hey," Rachel said quietly.
"He's out of control," Finn said.
"Whoa whoa whoa," Rachel said. "Who?"
"Mr. Schue," Finn said. "I admitted to kissing Miss Pillsbury and he's been acting crazy... he's turning me into his slave and talking to me like he's trying to hurt me..."
"Wow," Rachel said. "That's kind of immature, don't you think?"
"Yeah," Finn said. "It's just - it's so stupid. I know what I did was wrong but do I need to be treated like this?"
"No, you don't," Rachel said. "You came forward and admitted to doing it and you apologized. He should move on."
"Thanks," Finn said.
"I kind of wish you'd kissed me instead," Rachel giggled.
Finn giggled. "Me too. Thanks for talking with me."
"You're welcome," Rachel said. "I have to go into a doctor's appointment, but can you call me back later?"
"Of course," Finn said. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a checkup," Rachel said, hanging up the phone. "I'll talk to you later."
"Okay," Finn said as he hung up.
x
Finn's phone call had been a nice distraction from everything. Rachel couldn't believe that she was at the OBGYN's office, getting her baby looked at. If only she knew who it belonged to, it would make things easier.
"Who was that?" Santana asked, interrupting Rachel's thoughts.
"Finn," Rachel said.
"I thought so," Santana said. "That's the first time you've smiled since we got home."
"I don't want to have to do this," Rachel sighed.
"You'll be okay," Santana said.
The doctor came outside. "Rachel Berry?"
Rachel stood up. "I'm here." She looked nervously at Santana before going into the office. "Hi," Rachel told the doctor.
"Hi," the doctor said. "Is this your first?"
"Yeah," Rachel said. It felt so weird being asked that.
"Where's the father?" the doctor asked.
Rachel didn't know what to say. What would the doctor think if Rachel flat out admitted she didn't know who the father was? "He couldn't make it."
"Okay," the doctor said. "Well, just put on the gown and we can take a look."
Rachel gulped. "Okay." She put on the gown and sat on the doctor's table. The doctor put some gel on Rachel's stomach and began waving the wand over it.
"Rachel, did another doctor tell you that you were pregnant?" the doctor asked.
"No," Rachel said. "I took a home pregnancy test. I wasn't even trying to get pregnant... I can't have a baby at this point in my life."
"Well, if you weren't trying, it might not be as hard for you to hear that it must have been a false positive," the doctor said. "You're not pregnant."
Rachel sighed with relief. A false positive? That's what she needed to hear. This was a burden lifted from her. "I do want kids, some day... but I can't have them right now."
"Well, it's happened all the time," the doctor said. "In the future though, you might want to be careful."
"Okay," Rachel said. She went back to the waiting room, where Santana was reading a magazine. "False alarm," Rachel told Santana as she gave her friend a hug. "Thank God. I'm so happy. I'm so glad this is all over with. Thank you for taking me here today." Now she could get back to her normal life. "All right, I'm gonna go to class."
"Whoa, hey," Santana said. "That's it? That's all you have to say about this?"
What else was there to say? "Well, the doctor gave me the all-clear. What else is there?"
"Rachel, you can't just blow past this like nothing ever happened," Santana said. "This is a wake-up call. This is an opportunity for you to take a hard look at the choices that you're making, where your life is heading. Starting with Donkey Face."
"You still think he's a drug dealer?" Rachel asked.
"You're telling me that you've never been wary of him?" Santana asked. "Kurt would complain about him before I even moved in."
Rachel paused. Something about Brody had seemed off. "Well..."
"Do you really want someone like that in your life?" Santana asked. "I know who you really want to be with and it's not Donkey Face."
Rachel didn't say anything. That was true, of course. She'd only gotten with Brody because she missed Finn. "I'll give some things some thought."
x
Finn got a text from Artie, asking him to meet up in the choir room during the lunch hour tomorrow. When Finn arrived, Artie was with Blaine and Tina, and Mr. Schue was there as well. "Thank you for agreeing to this sitdown," Artie said. "We've all noticed the tension between you ever since Finn admitted he kissed Miss Pillsbury."
"No surprise," Tina added. "Finn has been acting like he's losing his mind."
Blaine got up and wrote "Feud" on the whiteboard. "You're feuding and it needs to stop."
"Seriously, it's like Hatfields and McCoys in here," Artie said.
"So epic musical feuds is our theme," Blaine said. "And for the first time in Glee Club history, we are giving you our fearless leaders, an assignment."
"You two will explore and resolve your differences by performing a song together inspired by a classic musical rivalry," Artie said.
Mr. Schue began to talk, but Tina interrupted. "Regionals are coming up, Mr. Schue, and if we're gonna have any chance of winning, we need both of you. On the same page and on the same team."
Finn was all for this feud ending, but he wasn't sure if this was what was going to solve it. When Blaine, Artie and Tina were leaving, Finn followed Mr. Schue out. "We need to do something muscular, like Biggie versus Tupac." He saw that Mr. Schue didn't look interested. "Look, we don't need to do this stupid assignment, Mr. Schue."
"Don't act like you're above these kids, Finn," Mr. Schue snapped. "Not that long ago, you were one of them."
"We can just talk," Finn said, still surprised that he was being the more mature one.
"Unless you have some stunning new revelation about why you kissed my bride-to-be, I've already heard everything you have to say," Mr. Schue scoffed. "Besides, I don't think you could take it."
"I can take it," Finn said.
"Okay," Mr. Schue began. "I put you in charge of the Glee Club, Finn, not because you were a national champion and not because you were qualified with something like a teaching degree, or even a single college credit, for that matter. I gave you the Glee Club because you were lost. You just got dumped by your girlfriend. You flunked out of the army. And the real truth is I just took pity on you."
So that was why Mr. Schue had put Finn in charge? "Wow."
"Yeah," Mr. Schue said. "You wanted to talk."
Finn didn't think that would mean Mr. Schue continuing to put him down. "Yeah, I did, but I didn't think..."
"So I put all this trust in you so that you can get back on your feet, and what do you do?" Mr. Schue asked. "You betray me in the worst way possible. You broke the code of a brother, Finn."
Finn had said everything he could. "I know that. And I'm so sorry."
"Sorry's not gonna cut it," Mr. Schue snapped. "So start thinking of some of the nastiest music feuds you can come up with because we are doing this assignment. And I'm gonna kick your ass."
x
Rachel felt her phone vibrate and saw a text from Finn. She opened it. "Mr. Schue and I are supposed to perform an epic musical feud number."
Rachel had to admit, her opinion of her former glee director was going down. "He's being such a child," she texted Finn.
"Yeah," Finn texted back. "And he's trying to put me down in every single way. Now he's saying he just gave me the glee club because he felt sorry for me."
"Don't listen to him," Rachel texted back. "The seniors tell me you're better at it than he is."
Finn sent Rachel another text. "Awww :)"
Before Rachel had a chance to reply, Santana came in. "Well, well, well, I see that all of Donkey Face's crap is still here. And if Donkey Face's crap is here, then that means that he must be as well."
Rachel was thinking, but she wasn't ready yet. "Lay off of it, Santana, all right? I told you, he said that he got a job as a cater waiter on the side, and he was embarrassed about it, so he kept it a secret."
"Why?" Santana asked. "I mean, if he can make that much cash slinging sweaty cold cuts and room temp champagne, then we should all apply there."
That's true. Why would he keep it a secret? "Hey, look, he's just trying to make it in New York the same way that you and I are. I don't why that is so hard for you to understand. You keep trying to bring him down."
"Look, at this point it's less about him than it is about you," Santana said. "I went to school with Rachel Berry. Not the soggy mess of a woman that stands before me today, going back and forth between your flop high school ex and that terrifying waiter with a pager. You need to stop and focus, Berry."
Rachel still didn't know what was the truth. "I think you're wrong about him."
"My psychic Mexican third eye is never wrong," Santana said. "Am I wrong about you?"
Well, both Kurt and Santana thought that Rachel had changed. Maybe she had.
x
Finn had come up with the song idea for the assignment. He figured since Mr. Schue wasn't willing to work with him, he'd come up with this on his own. They'd asked the boys in the glee club to sing backup as they performed for the girls. "In the '90s, the media pitted two of America's hottest music groups against one another in an epic clash for pop culture supremacy," Mr. Schue said.
"And just so y'all know, we'll be joining this performance because we are basically Switzerland, and we support all parties that are involved," Artie said.
"Thank you," Kitty said. "Whatever. Begin, please."
The music began.
Mr. Schue: Hey, Hey
New Directions Boys: Bye, Bye, Bye
Bye, Bye
Bye, Bye
Oh, Oh
Mr. Schue: I'm doin' this tonight,
You're probably gonna start a fight.
I know this can't be right.
Hey baby come on
I loved you endlessly,
When you weren't there for me.
So now it's time to leave and make it alone
Mr. Schue with New Directions Boys: I know that I can't take no more
It ain't no lie
I wanna see you out that door
Baby, bye, bye, bye
Finn: You are my fire
The one desire
Believe when I say
I want it that way
New Directions Boys: Bye Bye
Mr. Schue: Don't wanna be a fool for you
Just another player in your game for two
You may hate me but it ain't no lie
Baby, bye, bye, bye...
New Directions Boys: Bye Bye
Mr. Schue: Don't really wanna make it tough,
I just wanna tell you that I had enough.
It might sound crazy
But it ain't no lie
Baby, bye, bye, bye
Finn: Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why
Ain't nothin' but a mistake
Tell me why
I never wanna hear you say
I want it that way
You are my fire
The one desire
You are
New Directions Boys: You Are...
You Are...
You Are
Mr. Schue: Don't wanna hear you say
Finn with New Directions Boys: Ain't nothing but a heartache (Mr. Schue: Bye bye bye)
Ain't nothin' (Mr. Schue: Make it tough)
But it ain't no lie (Mr. Schue: Bye bye)
Bye bye (Mr. Schue: Baby)
Mr. Schue with New Directions Boys: Don't wanna be a fool for you (Finn: You are my fire)
Just another player in your game for two (Finn: Tell me why)
Mr. Schue: You may hate me but it ain't no lie (Finn: I want it that way)
Baby, bye, bye, bye
New Directions Boys: Bye Bye
Mr. Schue: Don't really wanna make it tough (Finn: My one desire)
I just wanna tell you that I had enough (Finn: Tell me why)It might sound crazy but it ain't no lie (Finn: I want it that way)
Baby bye, bye, bye
Bye bye...
Finn could feel the tension lessening throughout the number. "Well, the love on the stage is obvious," Sam said at the end. "You two bros need to just hug it out."
"I'm in," Finn said. "What do you say, Mr. Schue?"
Mr. Schue paused. "I want to, Finn. I really do, I just I can't."
Finn figured if Mr. Schue wasn't going to forgive him, there was nothing he could do. "Fine. Cool. There's nothing I can do or say to win back your trust. I get it. For whatever it's worth, thanks. For everything."
x
"So he won't forgive you?" Rachel asked. She listened to Finn on the phone. Artie had sent her a video of the performance from today, and Rachel had to admit, Finn looked pretty sexy.
"No," Finn admitted. "There's nothing I can do."
"Maybe a break will be good for you," Rachel said. "It can help you regroup."
"Yeah," Finn said. "It's just..."
Rachel felt her phone vibrate and saw a text from Brody. Santana had shown up and sang Cold Hearted Snake to him and told him to move out.
"Can I call you back, Finn?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, of course," Finn said.
Rachel went to the kitchen, where Kurt was. "Apparently Santana showed up at NYADA and sang Cold Hearted Snake to Brody and told him to move out."
"Really?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Rachel said. "She told him to move out."
"What is going on with those two?" Kurt asked.
"I don't even know," Rachel said. "I'd rather have him out, but he was here first."
"I feel the same way," Kurt said. "Maybe we can just talk to her about making him less uncomfortable..."
"Yeah, we can try," Rachel said.
Shortly after, Santana came in. "Guess who just got a job tending bar at the Coyote Ugly saloon down on First Street? Hopefully it bodes better for me than any of the has-beens who starred in that movie."
"Santana, if you'd just take a seat, please and join us for a little family loft conversation," Rachel said.
Santana looked confused. "Creepy, but okay."
"We just got off the phone with Brody," Kurt said. "Did you confront him at NYADA with a Paula Abdul song?"
"You can't just march on in there and like, act all crazy, okay? We go to school there," Rachel added.
"That was the best performance that place has seen in years," Santana said.
"We want you to move out," Kurt said.
Santana looked horrified. "You're joking."
Rachel knew that Kurt also knew Santana wasn't stopping. "We're not."
"Olsen twins, let me tell you something," Santana rambled. "I have known you both for years, and I don't like either of you. In fact, your wide-eyed, Keane painting approach of life makes my teeth hurt and my breasts ache with rage, but you know what, I have love for you. You're my family, and I haven't lied to you in months. I'm smarter about other people than the both of you. You have to trust me."
Rachel would rather have Brody leave, but he did come first. "Santana, you're making Brody feel uncomfortable, okay? And he was here first, so you either lay off of it or you move out."
Santana stood up. "Fine. That's fine. You know what, I don't I don't mind going. I ran into Lena Dunham at Barney's, and she told me that I could crash with her if I ever needed to, so that's cool 'cause she has two Golden Globes. Oh, you know what, and another thing. I have what Access Hollywood calls street smarts. I'm right about plastic man."
x
Finn waited until after the school was closed for the night to go pick up his things from Mr. Schue's office. He didn't want to get in another argument. Maybe some time away would be good for both of them. He would want to come back, eventually, but he couldn't now.
Then Marley came into the office. "So you really are leaving?"
Finn sighed. "Yeah."
Marley handed Finn a card. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for me."
Finn smiled. "Thank you."
"So what's next for you?" Marley asked.
"I don't know," Finn admitted. "Probably a lot of long hours of figuring out what's next for me."
"Um, can I speak freely?" Marley asked.
"Yeah, sure, I'm not your commanding officer or anything," Finn said. "Say whatever you want."
"Dude, you really need to grow a pair," Marley declared.
"Maybe you should go back to not speaking so freely," Finn said, surprised to hear Marley use those words.
"I know that you're feeling bad about yourself right now," Marley continued. "And I also know how just one kiss can get you into a whole lot of trouble. Believe me. But if Mr. Schue doesn't want you around anymore, forget him. Don't let him define you."
"Problem is, he does define me," Finn said. "The four years I spent in this Glee Club defines me. This whole freakin' school defines me, and without it, I am... I just feel lost." He'd had this school to fall back on when he had nothing else, and now...
"After we lost Sectionals, I was terrified that everything was just going to fall apart, but you fought to keep us together," Marley said. "You're a natural leader, Finn. A teacher. You don't need Mr. Schue's approval to be that."
Then Finn was thinking he did know what to do next. "Yeah, but I do need a little thing called a teaching degree."
Marley seemed to think that was what Finn should do, too. "So, go get one," she said before leaving.
x
Finn spent the evening on University of Lima's website. It turned out that they were on quarters rather than semesters, so he could start the spring quarter in a few weeks if he got in his application soon enough. Right after Finn filled out his application, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Santana. He didn't know why she'd be calling him, but something told him to answer. Finn picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"I need your help," Santana said, not even saying hi.
"Okay," Finn said, wondeirng what was going on.
"That Brody guy is a gigolo," Santana said.
Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?"
"Yeah," Santana said. "I've been suspicious of him ever since I moved in here. But I found a large wad of cash and a pager, and that made me more suspicious..."
"Does Rachel know?" Finn asked.
"No," Santana said. "And that's where you come in."
"What?" Finn asked. "How did you find out?"
"I used his pager to book an appointment," Santana said. "You need to talk to him. I thought he was a drug dealer, but this is even worse. He's putting her in danger."
Finn felt sick to his stomach. He'd always disliked Brody simply for the fact that he was with the girl Finn still loved, but this made things so much worse. He wanted Rachel to be safe. "Doesn't she have a Broadway audition coming up?" Finn asked. "Maybe now isn't the best time."
"Well, maybe we can wait until after her audition," Santana said. "To tell her, anyway. But we need to get him out of the picture. And I think you're the only one who can do that."
"Why not you, or Kurt?" Finn asked.
"Kurt isn't so sure, and Brody already doesn't like me," Santana said.
Finn felt his anger boiling. He needed that guy away from the girl he loved. "Okay, I'll talk to him. I'll find a train to New York."
"Good," Santana said. "Call me when you get here."
x
Finn got a train to New York the next day. The train got off near the Vogue office, and as he got off the train, he saw Kurt coming out of the Vogue office. "Hey!" Finn exclaimed, feeling so happy to see his brother.
Kurt gave Finn a big hug. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to Brody," Finn said.
"Talk to Brody about what?" Kurt asked. "Finn, I can't stand that guy, and I'd much rather Rachel be with you, but we have to accept..."
"He's a manwhore," Finn said.
Kurt looked shocked. "What?"
"Yeah," Finn said. "Santana found his pager and did some investigating."
"Well... I always knew something was off about him... but this..." Kurt stuttered.
"Yeah," Finn said. "I'm just worried about her..."
"So, Santana wants you to talk to Brody?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah, apparently Brody thinks she's crazy," Finn said.
"Well, she may be crazy, but at least she's not breaking any laws or putting anyone in danger," Kurt said.
"That's true," Finn said. "And about this - Rachel can't know until after her audition. She needs to be in the right frame of mind."
"Look at you," Kurt teased Finn. "You are always on the lookout for her."
"Yeah," Finn said. "I really wish I could stay and visit, but she might get suspicious and there's stuff going on..."
"Stuff?" Kurt asked. "Blaine told me that you were done with helping out."
"Well, I'm going to get a teaching degree of my own," Finn announced proudly. "I applied for the spring quarter at University of Lima."
"Really?" Kurt asked. "I'm so proud of you! You'll be great."
Finn smiled. "Thanks. What do you say we go out for dinner or something?"
"Yeah, I'd love that," Kurt said.
x
After dinner, Finn and Kurt met up with Santana at the hotel. Kurt stayed in the lobby while Santana and Finn went into the room. "You stay in the bathroom," Santana said. "I'll say something that can give you a signal."
"Okay," Finn said. He sat in the bathroom, trying to think of the right thing to say to Brody. He heard the door open and heard Brody's voice. "Good evening, Vicky... Santana? How did you..."
"I told you," Santana said. "This is what I do."
"You can't tell Rachel," Brody demanded. "Please, I'm not proud of this."
"Save it," Santana said. "I think there's someone more important that you should convince tonight."
Finn figured this was his cue. He came out of the bathroom and looked at Brody. "Okay," Santana said. "Well, I am going to leave you two alone for a little girl talk. Have fun."
Santana left the room, leaving Finn and Brody there. "Listen, I can explain this," Brody began.
Finn shook his head. How could Brody excuse why he was breaking the law, lying to Rachel and putting her in danger of an STD? "Shut your mouth. After tonight you're a ghost. You disappear from her life forever. No goodbyes. Nothing."
"I love her," Brody said.
Finn shook his head. Brody didn't love Rachel. He knew there was only one person in this world who loved Rachel like that, and that was him. "But she doesn't really even know who you are. Yet."
Brody grabbed Finn's jacket. "You can't tell her."
Finn hoped he'd made his point. He pushed Brody away and started to walk away to recollect himself, but Brody threw something at Finn.
Throwing things? Finn couldn't take that. He walked back to Brody as they began to wrestle in the hotel room. Finn now knew this boy had to stay far, far away from Rachel. Finally, Finn stood over Brody. "Stay away from my future wife!" Finn growled, before deciding to end this. He kicked over a chair and left the room, going to join Kurt and Santana downstairs.
"Think you've gotten rid of him?" Kurt asked.
"Yeah," Finn said. "I think I have."
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