Chapter Three
The first week of school is always the most... "relaxing."
Teachers' desks aren't piled high with tasks as they always were, and for many, this was a great excuse to throw a party.
Santana was the queen of parties. Being one of the sexiest girls in the school, boys drooled at her feet and were willing to do everything just to be with her, even when she had long admitted to have a different sexual preference.
Brittany and Santana were, perhaps, one of the most surprising yet cutest couples that Rachel knew. Together, however, they were... well, wild... and maybe too much so for her liking.
It was Friday when the whole gang gathered in front of their lockers after their classes were over.
The halls were crowded, and everyone was talking animatedly and happily about the party at Santana's. Her parents were out of town, so she and Brittany hadn't thought twice before planning a party.
It was amazing how quickly news circulated in that school.
Some football players walked by them assuring that they wouldn't have missed the first party of the year for the world.
They all seem pretty excited, as if it was a unique event that they couldn't miss.
"It's just a party," Rachel thought. Why was everyone so obsessed with such frivolous things? Sometimes she thought she was the only one who wasn't interested in this kind of thing.
During the first year of high school, Rachel had joined the glee club in the company of Kurt, Artie, Tina, Mercedes and another guy whose name she could barely remember.
Six members, however, were not enough to take part in singing competitions so Rachel tried in every way to convince Quinn to join, albeit unsuccessfully. Mr. Schue, their choir director for that short time, who was also their Spanish teacher, was forced to shut down the club.
It was a blow for them.
Rachel wanted nothing more than to be part of something special, but unfortunately she didn't have the opportunity.
Over the past year, some things have changed: Kurt met Blaine, a younger guy who came from a private school, Mercedes and Sam got closer and closer, and Tina became Mike's girlfriend during the summer.
Since then, they had all been too wrapped up in their respective relationships to remain focused on their goal and, apart from Rachel, they were also all happy to go to parties.
It was no surprise when all the couples, plus Artie, agreed to come to Santana's party that night.
"What about you, Frankenteen?" Santana turned to Finn, who, for some reason, hadn't yet confirmed his participation.
For a moment, he looked doubtful, but eventually, he gave in and shrugged smoothly, touching on a measly, "Why not?"
Rachel's biggest concern became a reality when all eyes turned towards her, waiting for an answer.
Quinn and Kurt were practically begging her with their gaze as she heard Tina and Mercedes say things like: "C'mon; we'll have fun."
Rachel honestly had her doubts. The last time she went to a party it was her Junior year where she got so drunk to laugh for no reason and yell: "IT TASTES LIKE PINK!"
She preferred to draw a pitiful veil over the matter and not talk about it ever again.
She didn't want her to be remembered in the future as the Broadway star who got drunk at high school parties.
"I... I think I'll pass." Rachel didn't miss the disappointment on the faces of her best friends. "I promise to come next time, it's just that I have to take care of something important so..." She hastened to take her bag inside the locker and close it in a hurry. "See you on Monday." Before the others could do the same, Rachel was already out of the building without even realizing that Finn's eyes were glued on her with a worried look.
It was 9pm; the party had to have started now and, knowing Santana, it would be prolonged throughout the night.
Rachel was glad that she had decided to stay at home instead of going out. She wasn't a nerd or something.
She had a good excuse for the decision she had made, one reason far more important than going to get drunk and dance until dawn.
"Pumpkin, are you sure you don't want to go to Santana's?" A man in his forties with curly hair was lying on the bed in the bedroom covered by a blanket asked considerately to Rachel.
"Daddy, I'm sure. Papa will work until late, and I'm not gonna leave you alone when you're sick." Rachel placed a tray with a bowl of chicken soup on his father's legs, and then she carefully adjusted his pillow.
For nearly 18 years, her fathers took care of her. They always made sure she had everything she needed or wanted and now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to reciprocate.
She didn't mind; in fact, it kinda made her feel good.
Rachel preferred a thousand times over to stay home with her daddy rather than join the mass, and also she could take advantage of the time that she had to watch one of her favorite movies.
"Puck!... Puck!... PUCK!"
"What?!" The boy pulled away, annoyed at being interrupted while he was making out with his girlfriend. They were sitting on the couch and immediately after talking for a few seconds, Quinn found herself sitting on Puck's lap while he held her tight by the waist.
The music was loud, and the house was full of people dancing and jumping. Santana was too busy with Brittany to take care of the guests, and the party was completely out of control.
Nevertheless, Kurt's voice was shrill enough to be heard by Puck who turned his attention to the boy.
"Where's Finn?" Kurt yelled over the music.
"He texted me saying that he wasn't gonna come, or he'll be late, or whatever." Puck smiled feeling Quinn's lips on his neck.
"Do you know why?" Kurt asked curiously as Blaine pulled him from behind to dance.
Puck shrugged in response before attacking Quinn's mouth again. He could barely understand what Kurt was screaming, so he got rid of him by waving his hand without detaching himself from his girlfriend.
Puck had no idea where Finn was, or why he hadn't come, but the message he had sent to him was clear:
"I have something more important to do."
Hello gorgeous.
Rachel was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket, a bowl full of popcorn between her legs and the television on with the DVD of "Funny Girl" inside.
Rachel settled back to sit up to find a comfortable position when the doorbell of the house rang. She let out an exasperated sigh.
It's been some hour that her daddy did nothing but ask her something like: "bring me some water," or "put the tray in the kitchen." Sure, she was the one to offer her services to her daddy, but she didn't think he would have taken advantage of it.
Rachel was finally able to meet all his needs and to rest when she was again interrupted by someone's arrival.
"Who could it be?" she wondered. She hadn't invited anyone, and certainly her papa couldn't have been back already. Even if he had come home early, he would have used his keys.
Rachel snapped out of her thoughts when the bell rang again, and her daddy's voice was heard from his bedroom asking her to go to open it.
In spite of herself, Rachel took the remote and pressed pause to stop the movie. She moved her bowl of popcorn to the table in front of her and walked towards the door.
It took her a moment to realize that in front of her was the last person she expected to see.
He was dressed in a T-shirt with simple jeans and a black jacket.
He watched her face with circumspect and Rachel wondered what he was doing in front of the door of her house.
"Finn? Wh-what are you doing here?" To describe how Rachel felt as 'confused' would have been an understatement. So great was her shock that that was the only question that occurred to her.
"I'm not going to let you spend your first Friday night as a Senior in your house watching some movie with Streisand, so go get dressed so I can bring you to the party. Probably it will end at about 2 in the morning so if we hurry we can still get there in time." Finn said with a firm tone. His serious expression made Rachel laugh involuntarily, and she eyed him with amusement.
He seemed pretty serious, but she knew that even if he had forced her, she wouldn't have changed her mind.
It was funny how Finn was always the first to worry about her. Although he loved to make fun of her and give her petty nicknames, he was always the first to show up to her when she needed someone.
But that was not the case. She didn't need help. Indeed, she just wanted to be left alone, because a young Barbra was waiting for her in the living room.
"I appreciate your concern, but even if I wanted to, I couldn't come. My daddy is sick, so-"
"LeRoy is sick? Is it severe?" Finn interrupted Rachel's explanation, asking her questions, completely forgetting the reason why he had come in the first place.
"No, no, don't worry, it's just a simple flu-"
Once again, Rachel's voice was cut off by Finn, who invited himself inside.
Finn climbed the stairs to Rachel's dads' room. He knew that house like the back of his hand; ever since he was an infant, he'd spent more time in their home than in his own.
Rachel continued to scold him, asking him to leave and to not disturb her father.
Finn as usual, didn't listen to her and knocked on the door anyway. Rachel sighed, realizing she could not do anything, and they both came in when LeRoy gave them permission.
"Finn, son, I didn't know you were coming."
"Yeah, neither did I," Rachel mumbled, disturbed.
LeRoy sat up, immediately accepting the boy with a smile. He and his husband had always been on good terms with Finn and his family, so much so to treat him as if he was their own son. They loved him so much that they often joked with Carole and Burt that Finn and Rachel will be married in the future.
"Didn't you go to Santana's party?"
"Nah, Rachel told me that you're sick so I thought it would be better if I stay here considering how clumsy she can be." Finn said in order to annoy the girl before smiling kindly at the man.
No wonder why her dads thought he was an angel.
"Oh, but I don't need anything right now. Actually, I was just about to go to sleep. But you can stay, if you want... you know, to keep my little baby girl company."
LeRoy willfully ignored his daughter's complaints and told them to go watch a movie without worrying about him.
Rachel leaned over to leave a tender kiss on her dad's forehead and tell him to call her if he needed anything.
Meanwhile, Finn greeted LeRoy with a wave of his hand and went into the living room sitting down on the couch.
Rachel rolled her eyes at the sight of the boy while he ate all her snacks.
She deliberately pushed down Finn's feet that were leaning on the table as if it were his own home.
Rachel pressed play again before sitting down next to Finn, pretending not to hear him muttering things like, "Please, let's watch something else", "There's a hockey game tonight," or "I'm gonna fall asleep already."
No one was forcing him to stay, so he could very well go away, which, however, he didn't. Instead he just sat there watching, for the billionth time, the movie that even he knew by heart.
For the rest of the duration of the film were both silent, except for those moments when Finn commented sarcastically on every little thing.
Rachel felt her eyes become red and fill with tears. It was useless. Every time, she got emotional while singing "My Man" with her idol.
Rachel was so swept up by the notes of the song that she barely even noticed Finn's gaze.
She turned toward him with a confused look, because it wasn't like the first time he heard her sing.
She decided to not ask questions knowing that he would find the most trivial excuse for not responding.
"Thank you." Rachel wiped her eyes with a tissue and turned off the TV.
"It was a pleasure to eat all your popcorn." Rachel rolled her eyes, taking the now empty bowl out of Finn's hands, and turned completely towards him.
"I'm being serious. It means a lot to me that you have preferred to stay for my daddy rather than get drunk with the others. Thanks," she said softly.
Finn shrugged to make it clear that he had heard and they sat in silence looking in different directions.
Finn's voice was so low that she almost could not hear what he had asked. "Did you receive any new letters?"
"Who are you talking about?" Rachel asked, teasing.
"Could you gloat less?"
"I'm not gloating," Rachel gasped.
"Are you gonna answer my question, or not?" Finn asked, fed up.
Rachel rolled her eyes, unable to believe her ears. "Why do you care?"
"I don't." Finn didn't even meet Rachel's eyes when he answered and began to fiddle with the front of his T-shirt.
She was shocked by the insecure tone he used. It was as if he didn't even believe what he was saying, but perhaps she was just imagining it, because there was no reason why Finn would really be interested.
"No," she finally answered. "He hasn't written me since Tuesday."
Finn finally turned toward her, "Maybe he just realized how annoying you really are."
Rachel just rolled her eyes and sighed quietly. It was assumed that he would have joked about it and took it lightly. For Finn, he was just a silly boy interested in someone like her.
"You seem pretty upset about it," Finn said, looking her in the eye, his tone surprisingly serious.
Rachel did everything she could to break away from the look and turn it to the coffee table in front of them, as if an empty bowl and a cover of a DVD were more interesting.
"I know you're gonna make fun of me for the rest of my life for this but... I am," she whispered. "I've always said that this whole story would end one day but, deep down, I hoped it wouldn't."
Rachel didn't know why she was having this conversation with Finn. She had never even mention this to Quinn or Kurt.
"I don't even know him," she said after awhile. "How he looks like, or even his name. And yet he can make me feel wanted, visible, loved."
Her voice trembled unexpectedly, but still tried to restrain especially in front of Finn.
"I liked knowing that there's a guy out there who cares about me, and who actually likes me." She breathed deeply turning to the boy who sat next to her. "It made me feel special, receiving all those letters, you know?"
Finn, as usual, just nodded, looking at her with a straight face. Maybe it was a good thing that he had said nothing. If he had spoken, he probably would have ruined the calm atmosphere that was created.
The two stayed in silence, hearing the clock ticking.
Rachel stared at Finn's eyes without realizing how close they were.
She could easily feel his breath and for a reason that was unknown to her, she liked it.
She closed her eyes before opening them right away and spun around by moving a strand of hair behind her ear releasing a breath she didn't even know to hold.
"Well, I... I guess you can go now. I mean, Papa will be home soon and I don't want to make you late," she said, suddenly nervous.
Finn nodded again and stood up with Rachel, who accompanied him to the front door.
"Say hi to LeRoy and Hiram for me."
"And you, to your parents and Kurt."
"I will," Finn said, and he turned to leave. He took two steps down the stairs of the porch and turned around when he heard a voice calling him.
He was confused when he saw Rachel still standing there staring at him.
"Thank you again."
Those three simple words were enough to bring up a small smile on Finn's face. The boy turned his back to Rachel, coming down from the porch while he said aloud, "'Night, dwarf."
"Good night, giant!"
She couldn't see it but, this time, Finn smiled completely.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing, adding to your alerts and favorite stories! I really do appreciate it! Also, I just wanna say that I'm sorry if I don't update quickly, but it's kinda hard to write every chapter in Italian and then translate it into English, so please forgive me if I take awhile to post.
Anyway, a huge huge thanks to the BEST beta in the world, Rebecca Ripple, for being so patient and kind with me!
I just watched the TCA, and I can't even begin to express how much I admire Lea. She's like the strongest person ever, and her speech was just moving, wonderful and perfect. I seriously cannot stop crying. Every single word that she had said was nothing but the truth and the fact that Jenna, Kevin and Amber came back for Lea was the most beautiful thing ever.
My respect for that woman grows more and more and still I cannot believe that she had the strength to get on that stage.
She did it just for us. Just to remind us what a wonderful person Cory was. The reasons why we and she loved him.
She just deserves the respect and the admiration of everyone.
"I wanted to dedicate this award to Cory, for all of you out there that loved and admired Cory as much as I did."
"He was very special to me, and also to the world and we were very lucky to witness his incredible talent, his handsome smile, and his beautiful, beautiful heart."
"Cory reached out, and he became a part of all of our hearts, and that's where he'll stay forever."
It's needless to say that this chapter is dedicated to Cory. It's been a month, but I still miss him like hell every single day.