CHAPTER 3 - STONE IN LOVE
Forty-five minutes, a slice of apple pie a-la-mode, a folksy guitar soloist (who wasn't terrible) and five horrible tone-deaf karaoke singers later, Puck finally comes bounding out from the kitchen, his shift now ended. "YO HUDDY!" He claps Finn's shoulder, shaking him roughly. "So whatcha think of this joint? I mean the work part totally sucks but the place is kinda cool. Pretty decent vibes here, right?"
Finn has spent most of the last hour trying super hard not to stare directly at Rachel the whole time, instead making some small talk with LouAnne and trying to focus on the mostly drunken and painfully off-key singers that have been cycling through on stage. He's also been trying to decide on the best song to perform tonight, in hopes of impressing Rachel. And yeah, he's also been stealing casual glances at her the whole time, trying to do it on the down-low since she IS still working, after all. He was pleased and felt himself flush each time they happened to catch a glimpse of one another at the same time.
"Yeah dude, uhh.. it's awesome.." his eyes drift past Puck and once again become fixed on Rachel, who remains oblivious to his leering at the moment while continuing to greet and seat the constant influx of new customers. "Forget the White Stripes though. We're digging up some real old school licks… this place needs a wake up call. I was thinking 'Stone In Love'... you got this?"
Puck finds Finn's behavior a little odd, even for Finn. Aside from feeling like he's walked into a conversation in progress, there seems to be a zombie-like trance taking over his buddy. Puck catches on quickly that Finn is paying absolutely no attention to him, but rather, seems to be hyper focused on a certain sweet little brunette standing at the hostess station behind him.
"Yeah…" he begins slowly, "'Stone In Love,' got it man. Good choice. But ahh.. Dude, I highly suggest you forget about that one over there. The ice queen I mentioned? Yeah that's her. We don't stand a snowball's chance, bro… well, you surely don't, but I'm just getting warmed up. It's only day one after all. She can't say 'no' to the Puckasaurus forever," he nods while looking in Rachel's direction, shooting off a wink and a predatory smirk.
As Puck continued rambling about being irresistible and eventually wearing down her 'icy walls', Finn has been pulling up the newly added contact in his phone and, without tearing his gaze away from her, holds the phone in front of Puck's face revealing the name RACHEL BERRY, effectively silencing his friend without saying a word.
After a blinking stare and a long beat, Puck snaps and punches Finn in the shoulder. "Are you fucking kidding me? You? HOW?"
Finn winces at the jab then smiles ear to ear, the stir stick he's been chewing on still hanging out of his mouth. "OW man! I'll tell ya later, maybe, if you do a good job up there and SHUT THE FUCK UP about her. Let's get on stage man!"
. . . . .
After several minutes spent adjusting the drum kit on stage to accommodate Finn's tall stature and of Puck fine tuning the very out-of-tune well-worn Les Paul electric guitar, the guys are finally ready to begin. Being preoccupied with working on the drum kit, Finn hasn't noticed that each time Rachel has guided guests to their seats, her eyes have been solidly focused on him as she passes through the main dining space.
As she's turning away from a recently seated party of four to head back to her station, she hears the clacking of Finn's drumsticks counting in the beat, and then Puck's electric guitar comes alive with a roar. Rachel stops and abruptly spins around on her heel to face them, eagerly watching the stage. Once her slack-jawed stunned look dissipates, it's replaced by a wide megawatt smile. Her ears can't believe the divine treat they're feasting on – these guys are actually pretty good! Quite very good she decides, the longer she listens.
Those crazy nights, I do remember in my youth
I do recall, those were the best times, most of all
In the heat with a blue jean girl
Burnin' love comes once in a lifetime
She found me singing by the railroad track
Took me home, we danced by moonlight
Puck's singing lead vocals, but as the song progresses she hears Finn's backing harmonies picking up and WOW he sounds amazing too! He'd obviously downplayed his talents (and she's wondering why anyone would do that - she certainly never does). It's obvious to her that these two have been playing together for some time; she can detect the little push and pull they seem to be doing which most non-music professionals would never catch. They are, in a word, impressive - especially considering this is a stripped down two-piece arrangement of a song meant to be performed by a full rock band.
Those summer nights are callin', Stone in love
Can't help myself I'm fallin', Stone in love
It catches Rachel completely by surprise when they switch off vocals so that Finn takes the lead on the second verse and Puck is picking up the backing harmonies… and if she was impressed before, she's absolutely swooning now. Have they practiced this song for years? They sound incredible and play so well together, especially on borrowed instruments.
Old dusty roads, led to the river, runnin' slow
She pulled me down, and in clover, We'd go 'round
In the heat with a blue jean girl
Burnin' love comes once in a lifetime
She's wondering who decided on the arrangement, secretly hoping it was Finn. She's also wondering if this song was chosen for it's lyrical meaning as well, and her heart speeds up a little at the thought. Finn Hudson is turning out to be something of an unexpected surprise… and she likes it. A LOT.
Oh the memories never fade away
Golden girl, I'll keep you forever.
Those summer nights are callin', Stone in love
Can't help myself I'm fallin'
Rudy is once again at the hostess station and trying desperately to get Rachel's attention, but he doesn't succeed until the song has ended. "RACHEL!" Rudy had been whisper-yelling her name as the guys played their song, but once it ended and the massive applause and cat calls started, he opted for actual yelling.
"Oh my goodness Rudy I'm so so sorry! I just, um… got distracted for a moment. I've got it covered now, promise!"
"Rachel darling, you're normally the one GOOD one of the bunch that I don't usually need to worry about chasing after or 'managing' ..but sweetie your head is just not in the game tonight. Is everything okay?"
'ENCOR!' She hears several diners calling out to Finn and Puck. "Umm.. y-yes.. No, I mean I'm fine Rudy I just was a little surprised by the performance. It's a music thing… I don't normally get thrown so easily. Sorry, I'll be focused from here on out, I promise!"
"Well I hope so, I mean you only have about half an hour left on your shift anyway but please keep it together."
"I will Rudy, I swear!" Rachel immediately resumes her work, greeting the next party of six with a pleasant smile.
Puck speaks to the dining room, "So you guys want a second helping? Yeah? Alright, rock on…" he turns to Finn briefly to decide on a second song. Choosing decent songs that work well for guitar and drum arrangements only can be a bit of a challenge, but the guys have played together for so many years they already have quite a deep bench of reserves built up.
This time it's only Puck singing lead, with Finn catching a few backing vocals in the chorus.
… I guess what I'm tryin' to say is I need the deep end
Keep imaginin' meetin', wished away entire lifetimes
Unfair we're not somewhere misbehavin' for days
Great escape, lost track of time and space
She's a silver linin', climbin' on my desire
And I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be
And satisfaction feels like a distant memory
And I can't help myself
All I wanna ever say is 'Are you mine?'
Well, are you mine? (Are you mine tomorrow?)
Are you mine? (Or just mine tonight?)
Are you mine? (Are you mine? Mine?)
And the thrill of the chase moves in mysterious ways
So in case I'm mistaken, I
Just wanna hear you say 'You got me baby'
Are you mine?
Despite restoring her full attention to her hostess duties to finish out her shift, Rachel was not oblivious to the song blaring over the sound system. She actually found herself blushing a few times as she made her way through the dining area to seat guests and found herself locking eyes with Finn, who winked at her - twice. Yes, their song choices had lyrical meaning too, she's certain of it.
. . . . .
Now that the guys have finished their 'mini-concert' which garnered a big round of applause (with a few excited and possibly inebriated diners even giving a standing ovation), the guys are heading out for the night. Finn pauses at the hostess stand as he passes by to wave goodbye to Rachel and motions a reminder for her to call him later. She nods to him without missing a beat of conversation with the diners she's greeting.
Once out in the parking lot and still riding his adrenaline rush, Puck can't contain his excitement. "DUDE! We sounded pretty fly up there right?" he boasted to Finn.
"Yeah I guess it wasn't so bad, considering we didn't have our regular gear… but yeah, it went pretty well. Felt good just to get some live practice in at least."
"Live practice.. Yeah man I hear that. Speaking of… I think the Ice Queen would like to have some personal live practice with you, alone. I caught the two of you eye-fucking across the room. So dude, you gonna tap that or what? Anyway you still owe me details, considering I saw her first!"
Finn shoots a warning glare at his pal and punches him in the shoulder. "Don't talk about her like that man. She's s'posed to call me when her shift ends, which should be in like 20 minutes. You didn't happen to hear her sing tonight I guess?"
Pucks eyes kinda bug out "NO.. she sings too? Damn, too bad I missed that.. Was she any good?"
"Oh my god dude, you have NO idea.. Yeah, you really missed out alright - and good is so NOT the right word man. She's AMAZING. The voice of an angel. I was blown away," Finn trails off as he replays that feeling of hearing her soaring vocals sweep through the room and twist up around him like a tornado. He can feel his pulse picking up pace at the memory, and then realizes that Puck is staring at him with this odd look on his face. "What?"
Puck flashes a grin "Dude, you're sunk already. Seriously? Over one song? Have I not taught you better than that?"
"Shut up man. And yeah well, it was uh, way more than just a song… We talked for a minute after she came back to her hostess desk thingy, and yeah.. I think maybe there's something special there. Or there could be, I dunno. We're supposed to make plans to go out tomorrow. So just back off with your usual sex shark BS – and lay off her too when you're working together."
"Damn brother. I think you got it bad already. Haven't seen this look on your face in quite a while, not since–"
"DON'T. Do not say her name."
Puck throws his hands up in surrender. "Hey it's cool, I know the rules.. Well OK, it appears I've been bested here, by you of all people… shit. Kinda humiliating actually…" he chuckles. "But hey, it's cool bro. I promise to be on my best behavior, cross my wicked heart," he adds with a waggle of his brow. "So you wanna go find some frat parties to crash or what?"
"Nah man. You go ahead, I gotta work kinda early tomorrow anyway. Plus I have other things going on tonight."
Puck shakes his head and shrugs as he begins walking away, then calls back over his shoulder "Ok man, your loss… have fun! And for the love of god please do at least a LITTLE something that I would do, if you get a chance!"
. . . . .
Finn decides 20 minutes isn't long to wait, and he's anxious to talk to Rachel again. He decides to hang back in the parking lot to offer her a ride home. Twenty-five minutes later, she emerges out from the doors of the busy diner and looks up to see him standing there leaning against his truck. A huge smile stretches across her pretty cheeks and Finn's expression mirrors hers.
"Hey Rachel!" Finn says warmly as she begins walking toward him. "Hi again. So, I have my truck with me here, and I figured I'd wait to see if maybe you needed a ride home?"
"How chivalrous of you Finn, that's so very kind… I normally just grab a cab, I certainly wouldn't want to impose."
"Nah you're not – I'm offering, remember?" he says with a lopsided grin that makes her blush. "Besides, I couldn't wait for a phone call to talk to you."
With a sweet smile and a flutter of her long lashes she replies "With an offer like that, how can a girl refuse? Thank you Finn, that would be great!"
He leads her to the passenger's side door, takes her hand and helps her up into the cab of the pickup, closes her door and runs around the front quickly to hop into the driver's seat.
"I like your truck, it's a classic you know."
"Thanks. Yup, this is my baby.. I've had it since I turned 16. The last owner took really good care of it and I've tried to do the same. She could use a new paint job though." He chuckles nervously, having no idea what exactly to say to her now that he's got her here. "Uhh.. so where's home?"
"I'm on Cermak. You said you just moved here a week ago, are you familiar with the street names yet?"
Finn chuckles, "Well yeah, I just got here but I have figured out some roads so far… but you really said Cermak? I'm on Cermak too. What's the address?"
Rachel giggles because really, what were the odds? "Really, you do? Well, I have a studio apartment at 1910 West Cermak. Maybe we're neighbors?"
"Wow Rach, we practically are neighbors.. I'm at 1945… me and Puck found a 2 bedroom unit for a good price there. This is pretty crazy, isn't it?"
"Well, maybe not that crazy, I mean most people tend to live close to where they work, especially in the city, so it sort of makes sense that Puck would live close by. Also this is a college student friendly area, meaning more affordable housing, which makes perfectly good sense for students… so where do you work and what do you do?"
Finn can't help but laugh internally at how she seems to talk a lot and sorta fast. He's wondering if she's nervous or if this is just how she normally is.. Either way he finds it amusing and totally cute, even if he's having to force himself to focus to keep up with what she's saying.
"Oh I found a job at Charlie's Fast Change, it's a tire and lube shop. It's only like a 10-15 minute drive, not as close as the diner, but the pay is decent and the hours are ok."
"So you're a mechanic?"
"Yeah, well, for now. It pays the rent. Me and Puck were hoping to reestablish a band here, maybe even be better than the one we had back home."
"You've mentioned 'back home' a few times, where was home?"
"Lima Ohio, born and bred… it's a kinda quiet cow town, not much action there. But it's a nice place to grow up. My mom's still there."
"Sounds positively charming and yet somehow fitting. So you didn't come here for school? I mean, sorry if I'm making assumptions but you look like you're about my age… How old are you anyway? Do you have any college plans?"
"Um.. whoa. Lots of questions there. Well uh, first off I'm 18 but my birthday is coming up in two months. Then uhh.. no I mean, we really didn't plan for college - Puck and me that is. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I graduated high school a few months ago, and then Puck suggested we just move to the city somewhere, live a little, try to work on our band idea and see where that leads us. But I don't know, maybe at some point college could be cool, I just needed some time on my own, y'know, try to figure out what I really wanna do or what makes me happy. I figure there's plenty of time to decide though."
Rachel just stares at him with a look of wonder for a few beats. Finn notices her pause and gets a bit nervous.
"What? Did I say something weird, or do I have something on me…"
"No, that's just very wise of you, Finn. You know, so many young adults our age rush into choices that they really aren't so happy about, or that they come to hate in a few years and by the time they realize that, it's too late. They've run up student loans or spent their college funds and they are just stuck and miserable. I think what you're doing is actually very brave and admirable. It shows a lot of maturity."
Whoa. Nobody's ever said those words in that order, to him about him, before. It's a lot to process.
"Sweet, thanks Rach. You're really cool. By the way, how old are you?"
"I'm 17, well 17 and a half, 18 in December. In case you're wondering, I actually skipped a grade in elementary school, so I graduated high school a year early. And also, I think you're really cool too." She smiles blithely as he reaches over and squeezes her hand.
"So are you from Chicago or did you move here too?"
"Well, close. I grew up about four hours away in Detroit. We still have our family home there. My daddy's been commuting to work as a professor at Chicago College of Performing Arts – that's where I'll be attending this fall as a music arts major focused on voice. After that I plan to move to New York City. My goal is to perform on Broadway one day and win a Tony by the time I'm 25."
While she's been explaining her future plans, Finn has finally arrived at their destination. He pulled to a stop at the curb outside of her apartment building and cut the engine, turning to face her. "Wow Rach, you sure have some big dreams, but after hearing you sing tonight I can totally see them coming true." He pauses and swallows hard. "I know I said it earlier, but your voice is really something incredible. I never heard anyone sing like that before. It really.. It touched me," he said softly with his hand over his heart.
Rachel couldn't help but feel the warmth flowing from his soft amber eyes, getting lost in them for a moment. His earnestness is so endearing and she feels herself swimming with tingles and butterflies just by the prolonged eye contact. There's something special about this guy, she can just feel it, even though she doesn't have very much experience in these matters.
"Thank you Finn, you're so sweet, I mean that sincerely… You know, you can kiss me, if you want to."
Finn sucks in a sharp breath. "Oh man, do I ever want to."
With that, he leans forward and so does she. Rachel reaches a hand up to rest on his shoulder and Finn cups her cheek as their lips press together softly but chastely for a few lingering moments. The kiss is soft and demure but the spark they both feel is enough to send Finn's heart racing into overdrive as Rachel's butterflies swarm in her belly. They seem to pull back at the same time, both with wide open eyes locked in on each other.
"WOW," he breathes out, breaking the silence.
"Wow is right," she agrees with a giggle and a wide pearly smile.
Finn clears his throat, "So uh, I have work 'til about noon tomorrow, then I'm free the rest of the day. How about I pick you up around 2pm? Maybe you can take me around the city, show me some sights and we'll get a bite to eat somewhere after?"
By now their hands seem to have found each other and folded together in a loose hold. Without breaking eye contact she replies, "2 o'clock would be perfect. And I'd be happy to serve as your personal tour guide. That sounds wonderful Finn."
"Awesome… So it's a date?" he confirms with a full-dimpled smile that reaches his eyes.
With a tacit smile she says softly "It's a date. Thank you again for the ride Finn, I'm really glad we met. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."
With that she gives him a quick peck on the cheek and hops out of the truck. He watches as she enters the building, turning to wave at him before closing the door behind her.
Whoa… 2 o'clock can't get here fast enough, he thinks to himself as he pulls away from the curb headed for his own apartment.
. . . . .
A/N - Song credits:
'Stone in Love' - by Journey, appears on the 1981 album Escape
'R U Mine?' - by Arctic Monkeys, appears on the 2013 album AM