CHAPTER 4 - ON A SATURDAY NIGHT
Strangers waitin', Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searchin' in the night
Streetlights, people, Livin' just to find emotion
Hidin', somewhere in the night
It's like the clock is purposefully tormenting him today. Every time he's checked only a few more minutes have elapsed, and he's getting really antsy now. This morning has been dragging along painfully slowly. He'd spent most of the night tossing and turning, thinking about that kiss, thinking about how amazing their date tonight was sure to be… assuming the time ever passes for his shift to finally end. But it's finally 11:45 am so maybe it's ok to ask now.
"Hey Charlie, I finished up rotating and balancing the tires on that VW Bug, and I did the oil change for Mr. Parker. Oh, uhh, I also talked to the parts vendor about those missing shocks for that Ford Focus and they should be here by Monday. Do you need me to stay on any longer today?"
The 5' 7" older man with the salt and pepper hair, handlebar mustache and silver rimmed wire glasses looks over his shoulder with a jolly grin. "Whasamatter Finn, you gotta hot date or something?"
"Um.. well, yeah actually I sorta do," Finn admits sheepishly to his boss, unable to hide the hint of a proud smirk. "But I mean if you need me to stay, I'd be hap–"
"Nonsense son. Get the heck outta here. You done a great job today - actually, you been doin' a great job. Smartest thing I done so far this year was hiring you. Enjoy your Saturday kid, now get outta here already."
"Thanks Charlie!" Finn does a mental fist pump at his boss's compliments and immediately takes his leave to go get ready for his date with Rachel.
. . . . .
**DING-DONG** … KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK … **DING-DONG – DING-DONG**
Geez Louise I'm coming! Who on earth can be beating down my door already?
"Coming!" Rachel rushes out from the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy pink robe with little purple stars, hair still wet from the shower she just stepped out of, and looks through the peephole of her front door to find the source of the urgent caller. It's not a welcomed visitor at this moment, but she opens the door anyway.
"Dios mío! Took you long enough Hobbit, what if I was bleeding to death out here, or being mugged?"
Rachel rolls her eyes and looks exasperated as her uninvited guest barges straight into the apartment. "Wow San, I really hope this is a life and death emergency - although I don't SEE any physical signs of injury or evidence of a mugger. I've got plans today and was kind of busy getting ready here."
"Plans? You have plans? What, is there a Barbra Steisand convention in town or something?"
"Ha! If only…" Rachel exhales. "Ahh… but n-no, I have a date actually. So if you can just tell me what you need and we can move this al–"
"Whoooaa hold up.. YOU HAVE A DATE? With who? Did Frodo leave the Shire and move to the Lower West Side when I wasn't looking?" Santana fires back with a waggle of her brow.
"Hey, is it so inconceivable that I could have a date? It's a real date with a really great guy I just met and could you PLEASE stop calling me Hobbit. Now I ask again, what do you need so urgently that requires beating down my door like your life depended on it?"
"Okay fine, be all vague and secretive… I guess I'll just have to pry all the deets outta you later. Anyway… I really need my black stilettos back. You borrowed them two weeks ago but I'm guessing they saw NO action here, so it's time for them to come back to me now."
"Please tell me that's not actually why you're beating down my door like a crazy person at 11:30 in the morning."
"Sure it is.. I ALSO happen to have a hot date tonight - and unlike whatever troll you probably found, I'm positive my guy is HOT and deserving of my extra special brand of muy caliente. He's so fine he might actually make me look a little homely… Okay that's a total lie, and an impossibility. But seriously, he IS pretty hot and I wants to get my best 'fuck-me' pumps back so that we can–"
"OK SANTANA! Please, must you be so crass?! Just, spare me the gory details… And also, ew, I don't think I'll ever borrow those shoes again. They're over on the shoe rack by my bed, help yourself."
"Thanks, Berry. Now, you gonna tell me who Mr. Wonderful-Not-A-Troll is for this hot hot date of yours? Where'd you even meet him? I mean, you worked last night after all.. Oh please don't say he was a customer, not some frat dude?"
"San you know my feelings on drunken frat guys, so, no. But.. Well yeah, he sort of was a customer but he's also a musician and he performed last night and he was AMAZING! And he's so tall and good looking San, I can't even explain it but I have a really good feeling about this guy. He's so sweet and a gentleman.. and a really good kisser…" Rachel trails off and feels herself flush remembering the prior evening's events.
"Berry you little slut! You already kissed this guy, and you only just met him last night? Wanky. I already approve! It's about time you followed my advice, loosen up that chastity belt and live a little!" the Latina teases her friend with a satisfied Cheshire cat grin.
Overlooking the crude but lighthearted jibes of her friend, Rachel does her best to maintain her patience. "Oh shush San. He's a total gentleman and - oh my goodness look at the time! I'm running so late now, can you please get yourself back to your place, I'll be totally ready to hear YOUR details tomorrow I promise, and if you behave yourself maybe I'll share mine, but I really need to finish getting ready now!"
"Yeah yeah I'm going…" as she reaches the door and is about to walk out she turns back and adds "y'know, my guy is a musician too, and a singer.. Maybe we should get your guy together with my guy and see which one is better.. Although my guy surely has the better bod' - and you can't beat his sexy hairstyle… who knew mohawks were so HOT?! Anyway, call me tomorrow babe, have fun!" With a wink and a blown kiss Santana finally retreats out the door, leaving a flabbergasted Rachel standing in the middle of the room with her jaw hanging open.
No. It can't be… but I mean, how many musicians with mohawks can there be around here?
. . . . .
Finn rushes back to his apartment to find a most certainly hungover Puck passed out on the couch wearing tighty-whities and a Superman T-shirt, remote control still clutched in his hand and South Park blaring from the television. It's the episode where Cartman gets an anal probe - a true classic. He checks the time and fights the urge to sit and watch the rest of the episode, choosing instead to hurry into the shower before Puck wakes and holds him up.
Half an hour later he comes out of the bathroom with a towel still wrapped around his waist and another draped around his shoulders as he's toweling his hair dry, and finds Puck now fully upright hovering over a giant sized bowl of cereal with an open can of PBR on the table next to it.
"'Sup Finnocence," he mumbles through a full mouth of Fruity Pebbles. Finn watches in horror as he swallows his mouthful of cereal, followed by chugging down half a can of beer and then belches for good measure.
"Dude, that's disgusting. You're gonna puke - and when you do, I'm not cleaning it up, YOU are - and you better figure how to get the smell gone too."
"HA! The Puckmeister has an iron clad constitution dude! You should know that by now! Just grabbing a little hair of the dog to get ready for my super-fine babe-a-licious date tonight!"
"Please don't tell me you've been raiding sorority row already. You know all those Greek houses talk to each other, if you get a bad name in just one…"
"Nope! No worries man, she's not even in college. I was on my way to Greek row when I stopped off at CVS for a little extra happy hat protection to take with, y'know, J-I-C I exhausted the box I already had on me. Anyway, that's where I found her. She had a 12 pack of beer in her cart, a frozen pizza and was looking at the KY-Jelly and stuff. Holy hell is she FIIIIINE man! Smokin' hot little Latina, with lips that look like they can suck a golf ball through a garden hose and legs that look like they can crack walnuts. I didn't even make it to Greek row… We headed back to her place and—"
"OK OK OK I don't need anymore details right now Puck, but thanks for the overshare man. As usual," Finn chortles out with his hands over his ears. "So is there gonna be a follow-up with this one, or was she a one-and-done kinda thing – y'know, a 'Puck's Friday Night Special' as I like to call it."
"Haha you're HI-larious bro. But yeah man, weren't you listening, there's gonna be a follow-up.. We're goin' out tonight. Movies. Best place to have sex by the way – way cheaper than renting motel rooms."
"You just said she has her own… ok nevermind, whatever. You're just unbelievable, man. Uh, so you liked her enough to see her more than once.. That's something kinda big, isn't it?"
"Well, that's what she said," Puck waggles his eyebrows with a devilish smirk.
Finn just purses his lips, shakes his head and sighs. "Ok I quit. I gotta get moving anyway. I'm picking Rachel up for our date at 2pm and I just can't with you right now. But uh, have fun man."
. . . . .
WOW Finn thought as he pulled up to her apartment building and watched her make her way down to the curb. She was gorgeous. Her hair was tucked up in a messy bun but with long curly tendrils hanging down framing her face perfectly. Her makeup was very natural, just a touch of eyeliner and shiny pink gloss on her full smooth lips. She wore a soft blue sundress with spaghetti straps and a sweetheart neckline that showed just enough cleavage and it hugged her body in all the right places. The dress stopped several inches above her knees and - whoa her legs were so super sexy! She'd had on black pants at the diner, must be her uniform he guessed. But this outfit? This suited her SO perfectly and he couldn't believe he was the lucky guy getting to take her out tonight. He actually feels a little underdressed next to her in his navy & cream striped polo and charcoal gray cargo shorts.
Finn jumped out of the cab and quickly made his way to the passenger's side door. "Well hello beautiful girl," he beamed at her as he took her hand to help her into the truck.
"Hi there, yourself handsome. And thank you kind sir," she said graciously as he helped her into the truck and closed the door for her.
Once back in the driver's seat he turned to look at her again, the ear to ear smile never leaving his face - or hers. "So Rach, this is sorta your town, where should we start? But um, just so you know, I wanna see that big mirrored kidney bean sculpture thing.. it looked really cool in Source Code and Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Rachel responded to his eagerness with giggles, "Well of course Finn! You simply cannot come to Chicago and not see 'The Bean' - or 'Cloud Gate' as it is actually named… but before we do that, how about a walking tour of some of the city's famous architecture? The Bean is included along the way." Her radiant smiling face was already causing his pulse to speed up.
"Sounds great Rach.. OH! but also, just so you know, I have a surprise for you for later. We have somewhere to be at 8pm." he winked back at her, and off they went.
After parking at a centrally located public lot, the two made their way through Rachel's foot tour of the city. She pointed out all the most interesting and often well known buildings, while spouting off details about the architects and the era in which they were erected for each one. Finn was a little shocked at how quickly he felt his neck strain from actually looking UP for a change. He was utterly captivated by just the sound of her voice, but also by the depth of her knowledge of the city. She seemed to know at least a little something about everything. It was sort of intimidating actually, and he only hoped he wasn't going to be boring to her once she truly got to know him better. He was finding himself completely enchanted by her every move and the quirky turn of phrases she chose to use, and the fact that she held his arm like they used to do way back in the olden days where women carried little umbrellas in the sun and wore corsets and long dresses. She made him feel special just by being on his arm.
After about two hours of walking, they stopped at a corner tourist's vendor where Finn bought them matching mini snow globes and Chicago coffee mugs. They then decided to take a break at a coffee shop indoors to cool off a bit and rest their feet a little while.
"So tell me about your family. You mentioned being from Detroit, and your dad is a college professor?"
She sipped on her dairy-free coconut frappuccino before answering. "Yes, he teaches art history. He splits his time between Detroit and here, staying here 3 days per week when he has classes. I was mostly alone at home in Detroit when he was teaching during the week, but he'd bring me out here to stay when I didn't have school or on weekends. My daddy and I have been on our own for my whole life; you see, my mother died during childbirth with me, so I never knew her."
Finn interrupted her with a sincere expression of understanding and something else she couldn't put a finger on. "Aw I'm so sorry Rach, that must have been really hard to grow up without a mom."
"Thank you Finn. It was hard, but only sometimes… Especially certain times when a girl just really needs to talk to her mom. But my daddy - Hiram is his name - he did his best to be sure I knew who she was. They met in college and fell deeply in love, very quickly. He said he'd never be able to replace her and so has never remarried. She was an amazing singer, and he still has recordings of her performing in plays at school. She had always dreamed of being a famous singer one day, but once they met and fell in love, her dreams had changed. She just wanted to settle down and have a family." Rachel paused and looked out the window thoughtfully. Finn took that moment to reach across the table and gently hold her hand. She continued on with the ghost of a smile. "But my dad was wonderful and gave me all the love and support a girl could ever ask for. Daddy's sister, my Aunt Ruthie, tried to help fill those motherly gaps. So I guess I get my love of singing from my mom, and maybe some of my natural talent is hereditary, but I've been working on perfecting it almost my whole life. That's why I'm attending CCPA in the fall as a voice major. Part of me has always wanted to fulfill her dreams and become a Broadway singer in tribute."
"Wow. That's some really deep stuff Rach, and I'm sure your mom is proud of you, wherever she is." He finishes off his iced mocha frappe then after a beat says, "Yeah, I sorta know what that's like – except, it's my dad who passed away when I was a baby." Rachel's eyes grew wide with surprise and she squeezed his hand as he continued telling his story. "He had a sudden heart attack when I was like 2 years old and I guess there was just nothing they could do. It was really weird, him being only 31 years old, which is so young for something like that I guess, and so mom was left to raise me alone. But she did an awesome job. I never felt I was missing out on anything, not really. I mean yeah, stuff like Father's Day and his birthday and holidays kinda sucked sometimes but I think it was more because mom - her name's Carole - she would get really sad and miss him more on days like that. I mean I never actually knew him, so it wasn't the same for me as it was for her. So I always did my best to make holidays fun for her. Christmas especially is my favorite time of year, and I always tried my best to bring a smile to her face for the holidays."
"I can tell you're that kind of person Finn, to want to do wonderful things for people. I sense a real strength in your character too. That's so sweet for you to care about your mom so much. So you don't have any siblings?"
"Nope. But that's probably why me and Puck are so close, he lived 4 houses down the street from me my whole life, so we're like brothers. How about you?"
"I'm also an only child.. Isn't that kinda weird, that we'd meet and it turns out that we've had all these similar childhood experiences? Well, except for Christmas; daddy is Jewish so we always celebrate Hanukkah."
"Really you're Jewish? That's cool. So is Puck actually." Rachel can't conceal her surprise at learning this information. "But yeah, I guess you're right, it's a little weird… but I'm glad it happened - us meeting that is. I mean, meeting you has so far been the best part of moving here." He smiles at her with that dimpled grin she's already grown to love so much and Rachel gets lost in his beautiful almond shaped eyes for a moment.
"I'm really glad we met too, Finn. I guess we should thank your friend Noah…" she giggles, then adds something she just remembered "...who, by the way, I'm pretty sure seems to be dating my friend and neighbor Santana!"
Finn remembers his little chat with Puck earlier today and is stunned at hearing this news. "Are you serious? I mean I knew he had a date today, but he never mentioned her name. Crazy small world I guess, even in a big city?"
"Oh San didn't say his name either, but she mentioned he was a musician with a mohawk. What would the odds be that there's more than one guy in the area that fits that description?"
Finn chuckles "Well I guess it could happen but um, yeah, it really sure kinda sounds like him." He didn't offer any information to Rachel about how Puck described this 'babe-a-licious' date of his. Now Finn starts to wonder about the type of friends that this sweet, delicate girl sitting next to him keeps, but then he soon realizes he and Puck are quite very different from each other too, so he imagines it's all the same thing.
"So when are we going to see the big shiny bean?" He grins from ear to ear and she thinks he looks so adorable.
Rachel laughs loudly and says "I'm ready whenever you are! It's just another 2 blocks away on the tour."
As they stand up to leave, Finn pulls Rachel close to him and leans down to steal a soft kiss. They walk out hand in hand, fingers laced together and enjoy the rest of the warm summer afternoon in the city. They finally reach Cloud Gate in Millennium Park and Finn takes a bunch of selfies with him and Rachel together. They even get a nice older lady to take a few candid shots of them together.
From there they wander past Wrigley Square into Maggie Daley park and take in a Riverwalk stroll alongside Lake Michigan. They find an Italian Ice vendor in the park, where Finn buys them each one and they retreat under a large shady maple tree to enjoy them. Finn lets Rachel sit in his lap so she doesn't get grass stains on her dress. They share a few more chaste kisses and enjoy the ease of each other's company.
By 6pm Rachel announces "Well Mr. Hudson. You simply cannot live here and not have authentic Chicago deep dish, and I know the best place to go… are you ready to eat?"
"Rach, something you should know about me up front - I'm ALWAYS ready to eat, and I'm not very picky about what kinda food it is either."
With a chorus of giggles that makes his heart skip a beat, they head off together hand in hand toward the 'best pizza in Chicago' according to Rachel.
They arrive at Giordano's pizza shop and are seated at a booth, but opt to sit side by side. This made it much easier for Finn to steal another kiss, this time not so chaste. Her lips parted just slightly as he traced his tongue along her bottom one, then he tentatively dipped his tongue in, laving gently across hers. She still tasted like the strawberry ice she'd just had at the park, or maybe that was just her natural flavor he wonders to himself.
"I really like kissing you Finn," she says softly while looking up at him from under her long thick lashes, "and you still taste like blue raspberries," she beams at him as he flushes a few shades of pink.
"You taste like strawberries," he says as he kisses the tip of her nose, "and I really like kissing you too… in fact if I wasn't so hungry, that's probably all I'd be doing for the rest of the night." he chuckles, then thinks to himself how maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud. But she just smiles back at him with a sparkle in her eyes so he figures she didn't mind.
Finn's eyes grew HUGE when he saw the size of the pizza they placed on the table in front of them. "Really Rach? That's seriously just a PIZZA and not like, a lasagna or something?" All Rachel could do was laugh. He digs in and rolls his eyes around, groaning a little in appreciation of how amazing the food tastes. With a big mouthful of pizza squirreled away in his cheeks and red sauce still dripping from the corners of his mouth he says "I think I'm really loving Chicago, Rach, thanks for this tour today… especially THIS pizza!"
She laughs heartily and grabs a napkin, wiping the corners of his mouth and replies "You're so very welcome, it's my pleasure.." and with a giggle adds "but you really shouldn't talk with your mouth full!" She then kisses away the last traces of red sauce from the corner of his mouth.
After they've both enjoyed a slice (or three in Finn's case) of pizza, Rachel looks up at Finn with her face bright and inquisitive while rubbing her hands together excitedly and asks "So.. are you ever gonna tell me what my surprise is yet? You said we have to be somewhere by 8pm."
His mouth quirked up and face lit up brightly as he announced, "We're going to the TIP Festival at Union Park. And - you can totally say no if you don't want to - but… I thought maybe you and me can perform while we're there?"
Rachel's eyes grew as wide as the smile she beamed back to him. "You mean the Teens in the Park Festival? Oh wow, I've been wanting to go there for a while but really haven't had the time, and also, didn't really have anyone to go with me. Santana didn't seem that interested when I mentioned it to her. But OH MY GOSH Finn this is so wonderful! Yes yes YES I'd love to sing with you! You know, I meant to say it last night, but you and Noah were incredibly impressive on stage! You have a fantastic singing voice Finn, I was honestly a little spellbound."
Finn's feeling pretty proud of himself for coming up with this idea. And he's extra happy to find out she's so excited to sing with him, too, even elated at her compliments on their performance at the diner last night. He's been thinking about her voice all night and can't seem to get the thought of it out of his mind. He's so anxious to hear her sing again and has been wondering how they'd sound together; in fact he's had some other thoughts about her singing as well, but it might be too soon to share them with her just yet. He was hoping this TIP Fest would be a good barometer before he hatched his other ideas on her (and on Puck, since this idea affects him as well).
"Great Rach, I'm so glad you're into this idea! I thought you might be… or well, I hoped so anyway. And uhh, thanks for the compliments, but I'm nowhere near as good at singing as you are."
"Well that's just nonsense Finn. Believe me when I tell you how talented you are, and I would know because I'm very talented as well." He just chuckles at her, realizing that she's got this crazy air of confidence he's never seen in anyone else before. But then again, he kinda picked that up about her last night too, and he finds it totally adorable.
"If you say so, Rach. So uh, anyway... I checked the website when I got home last night and at 8pm there's like, a two hour block of karaoke type singing. I had to sign us up to reserve a spot to perform. The only catch is, THEY choose the song, but I was able to choose the genre… I hope it's ok with you that I chose classic rock. Not just because it's what I know best, but also because I wanted to hear your voice on a song like that."
"Classic rock, huh? Well Finn, something you should know about Rachel Berry up front - she can handle ANY musical genre you throw her way!" she winks back at him with a bright twinkle in her eyes.
"Somehow I have no doubt about that Rach!" his arm that's been draped around her shoulders drops down a little lower and hugs her a little tighter to him.
"But maybe we need to expand your repertoire a little if classic rock is your only comfort zone?" she teases as she pokes him in the ribs gently.
"Oh you wanna get into a tickle battle now do ya? I promise you, you won't win!" He begins to tickle her sides and she squeals and squirms "NO Finn! Stop, please, you'll make me pee!"
They both laugh into a deep kiss that lingers quite a few minutes until the sound of the grinning waitress clearing her throat at their tableside breaks the enchantment surrounding the young couple. "Sorry folks, did you need anything else? Refills?"
"No thanks, just the check please," Finn answers without looking away from Rachel.
. . . . .
"Wow, there must be THOUSANDS of people here!" Finn exclaims in awe of the size of the gathering at Union Park.
"It's no surprise Finn, this is a seasonal event, it only happens a few times a year in the summer and Chicago is a big place. Not to mention, this park is centrally located to the arts and music creative district as well as several colleges nearby, so it's sort of a big deal event. You're not nervous about singing now are you?"
"Well no, I mean, sure this will be the largest audience I've ever sung in front of, and that counts Glee club competitions… but I'll be okay." He gulps and thinks to himself I hope so anyway.
"Hold on mister, did you just confess to being in a Glee club?" she grins cheerily up at him while shaking his arm.
"Uhh.. yeah. Puck and me both, for three years. We did okay, made it to nationals once but we came in 3rd."
"Oh wow, that's pretty sensational Finn - and something to be proud of.. but my my you are FULL of secrets and surprises aren't you?" she winks at him.
"I mean, it was just a high school glee club, not that big of a deal. We barely had enough members to qualify for competitions most of the time."
She pulls him to a stop and puts her hand up to his cheek coaxing him down toward her so she can look him in the eye "Don't sell yourself short Finn. You have incredible musical gifts and so much potential, among other great characteristics. You are amazing and you can do anything you set your mind on, I'm certain of it. Even last night when you said you 'sort of sing', then I heard you perform and I couldn't imagine how you don't already know what a talented performer you are. Well, maybe you don't believe in yourself very much, but I believe in you, Finn."
Finn feels like his heart might just burst. This beautiful tiny little powerhouse is turning his world upside down in all the best ways and making him feel things he just never knew he could feel. How can she be so certain about him and see so much potential after just meeting him yesterday? She's like some magical mystical creature and he just never wants to let her go. Like his own personal Tinkerbell complete with magic fairy dust.
He cradles her face in both his large hands and looks deep into her adoring dark eyes. "You're the amazing one, Rachel Berry. Where the hell have you been my whole life?" he responds as he wraps his arms around her in a tight embrace, lifting her up to reach his height better. She wraps her arms around his neck as he kisses her deeply with more passion than he thinks he's ever put into a kiss before.
. . . . .
"Hudson-Berry, you're up next!" comes the booming voice over the loudspeaker. Finn grabs Rachel's hand and they head up the short staircase to the stage. Finn glances out into the evening crowd, the sun is almost all the way down now but there's just enough light to see nearly the entire expanse of the audience gathered, which seems like a football stadium filled with faces. He is a little nervous now as it turns out, but he glances back to Rachel and she squeezes his hand as a reassurance and he just knows he can handle anything with her by his side. Besides that, he'd endure just about anything for the chance to sing with her.
"Ok kids, here's the deal," says what looks like a stage manager. She's wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard so she looks like someone official involved with the event. "You chose classic rock as your genre, right?" Finn nods in the affirmative. "Ok good. We've pre-selected songs totally at random for you in this category. There's two songs listed here inside this envelope for you to choose from. As soon as you pick one, hand the card back to me with your selection and take your places at center stage."
She hands the envelope to Rachel, who then opens it. She shows Finn their choices and they both point to the same song at the same time saying "THAT ONE!" Rachel giggles as she hands the selected card back to the headset girl, who hands each of them a microphone and some sound canceling earplugs.
Rachel and Finn whisper something back and forth briefly to one another before turning to the headset girl who gives them a thumbs up and points to the stage. They walk hand in hand toward the middle of the darkened stage. Almost as if they rehearsed it, they each stand about 10 feet off center, Finn to the right and Rachel to the left, then face each other as the spotlights come up and the music begins to play.
Finn begins to sing the first part:
Highway run into the midnight sun
Wheels go 'round and 'round, you're on my mind
Rachel takes the next part:
Restless hearts, sleep alone tonight
Sendin' all my love along the wire
They harmonize and sing together after that. All the while they're walking toward each other, circling around one another; it feels like they've done this 'dance' before, but of course they haven't, and yet somehow it's just happening naturally.
They say that the road ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line, it's been you and me
And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh babe, you stand by me
I'm forever yours...
Faithfully
Before the end of the song, Finn is simply mind blown by how amazing their voices sound together. He's powering out vocals and harmonizing in a way he didn't even know he was capable of, just feeding naturally off Rachel's energy. And Rachel feels like she's literally floating off the stage letting their vocals wash through her, and she just can't take her eyes off his laser-focused ones that are boring through her during the entire performance.
By the end of the song, they are standing face to face and he grabs her and plants a scorching hot kiss on her mouth, dipping her back in his strong arms in the process. Rachel's left gasping for air and trying to regain composure after being kissed nearly senseless when he finally breaks the kiss and stands her back upright. They smile brightly at each other while they lean their foreheads against each other, then suddenly both become aware that they are still standing on stage and the crowd is cheering for them like it's a Cubs playoff game at Wrigley Field.
As they are about to leave the stage, the headset girl approaches them "Hey you two! Damn you guys were amazing, I mean like, ELECTRIC out there! If you wanna stick around you can do the second song – that's the reason we include two in your envelope by the way - but almost nobody ever gets to perform both selections. Are you ready to do the other song now or do you wanna take a break and save it as an encore later at the end of the set?" Finn looks at Rachel, who says "Finn, I'm all about the encore and bringing the house down!" Finn looks at the headset girl and says "You heard the lady, I guess we'll go on last!" This was good, since it gave them a chance to prepare and strategize what will be the closing performance.
"Rach… uh.. what we just did on that stage, it was like—"
"Magical?" Rachel cuts him off with a beaming smile and he just nods in agreement. "Yes Finn. It was probably the most powerful live performance I think I've ever been part of! I told you you were so very talented.. Do you believe me now?" she grins sweetly at him. He answers her with another kiss.
After five more performers come and go, it's time for their big encore. This time they have a proper introduction since it's the last song of the night.
"Please welcome back to the stage for the final song of the night, this Dynamic Duo who gave off enough electricity performing 'Faithfully' to power the whole city of Chicago - give it up for Finn and Rachel!"
Just like with the last song, Finn begins the first verse, Rachel takes the second and they harmonize on the chorus.
I thought that dreams belonged to other men
'Cause each time I got close
They'd fall apart again
I feared my heart would beat in secrecy
I faced the nights alone
Oh, how could I have known
That all my life I only needed you?
Oh almost paradise
We're knockin' on heaven's door
Almost paradise
How could we ask for more?
I swear that I can see forever in your eyes
Paradise
Magical, indeed.
By the time they leave off the stage following another round of what seems like endless crazy applause, they both declare this as the Best. First. Date. EVER.
. . . . .
A/N#2- HI READERS! thanks for sticking it out with me... long chapter this one, ehy? Sorry this happens to me sometimes when I get deep into the Finchel-zone! But also there was the little touches of Puck and Santana, both are different sides of the same coin maybe but I've come to love writing for them. [And for any Brittana/Santittney FANS reading who may disapprove of the Puck-tana pairing, welllp, sorry but they WERE originally paired according to canon in the beginning, so maybe you can just tap that OG gleek energy and go with it? at least for this story... (-; ]
I really like this idea of getting Finchel et al out of the NYC tropes and putting them in a new town together. I also like them just meeting blind with no history behind them... it opens up more doors of creativity in writing the story and hopefully that's what you're enjoying about this story too! :)
SONG CREDITS:
Chapter intro - lyrics except from Don't Stop Believin'
Chapter title - On a Saturday Night appears on Journey's 1976 album Look into the Future
F&R duet 1 = Journey - Faithfully (duh, as if you didn't know that – BTW did you predict this would be the song they chose? Sorry if it seems cliché at this point, but sometimes tropes are GOOD - and they are tropes for a reason... lol. I've been holding back putting this song into my fics so far, but it felt right this time. do you agree?)
F&R duet 2 = Mike Reno & Ann Wilson - Almost Paradise (1984)