WMHS Junior Year Part II
REALLY.. WE'RE DOING ROCKY HORROR?
So… for reasons I don't understand (but still seems to have something to do with Dr Carl the Dentist?), Mr. Schue decided this year's musical is gonna be 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show.' I went to a midnight show in freshman year with Puck (well, mom thinks we were having a sleepover at Matt's for Halloween, but then we snuck out and went to the theater instead). Puck insisted it was a REQUIRED part of our teenage rights of passage or whatever, but also because there'd be tons of booze and half naked hot babes in stilettos and fishnet stockings.
I have NO IDEA what the hell the weird story in this movie was about, but it seemed like a lot of SUPER weird sex stuff happening, like orgies, and an awful lot of naked or almost naked creeper lookin' people. Rachel says this is a CLASSIC and she thinks that while it's a 'risk-ayyy oven-guard' choice for McKinley, she appreciates Mr Schue 'pushing artistic boundaries' and that with the right editing it should be 'appropriate' for a high school production. Um, that's Rachel-speak for 'cool'… I guess?
Naturally, as soon as Mr. S started talking about casting, Rachel immediately volunteered us to play basically the two main lead roles – a couple who are dating and in love, named Brad and Janet (I'll be Brad and Rach will be Janet, obviously). But I tried to tell Rach after glee, I've never really acted before, and I'm not sure how well I can pull this off. Like, even back in elementary school I never wanted to participate in school plays. Well, except for the one time we did Wizard of Oz and I was one of the enchanted trees (yeah, 'course because how TALL I was), which was sorta cool though since I got to throw apples at kids (well ok, they were fake apples made of styrofoam so nobody got hurt - which made them really hard to throw very far - but still, it was fun!). So like, that's all the quote unquote acting I've ever done. Plus I was in this huge tree costume so nobody could see my face anyway and I didn't have any lines except to like cackle-laugh, which I don't know if that really counts as acting?
Anyway. Rach promised she'd give me pointers, and assured me that most of the role was just singing or like, talk-singing (whatever that means, not rapping but not talking? It confused me…). She said that I just needed to follow her lead and I'd be great. Ok fine. It makes my girl happy and all the glee club is participating too so at least I won't be alone looking like an IDIOT.
So, the minute Mr. Schue had a draft of the script ready for our scenes, Rach booked time for us to practice alone after school in the auditorium on stage. She started going through the script with me and trying to explain what was going on in each scene.
"... So then after 'The Time Warp,' Riff Raff – aka Kurt – takes us to Frank-n-furter's lab."
Whoever named these characters musta been doing drugs or something. What the hell kinda name is Frankenfurter… that's like a hotdog, isn't it?
"I have no idea what's going on in this script, and it's not in a cool, 'Inception' kind of way…"
Rach just smiles with that LOOK she gets like she's trying to comfort me or something, then says "Just try, okay?"
So I nod yes, even though I don't know really what this play is about, it seems like Rach is right and it's gonna be fine and all, until that is – YEAH, until I find out that Brad and Janet have to be on stage in our UNDERWEAR?
"All right, so, then they take off our wet clothes, and we do the rest of the scene in our underwear."
Excusemewhatnow? "Wait, I'm in my tighty-whities?"
There's that look again. That sneaky little smirk with a twinkle in her eye. "Yeah."
RACHEL SERIOUSLY?
No.
No no no. NO. "I can't be on stage, in front of the whole school in my tighty-whities. They're gonna be able to see my whole… business." C'mon, I don't need the entire audience seeing my junk! Or HERS for that matter – shit, she did say BOTH of us have to be in our undies, right? Yeah… nope. Not happening.
Ugh Rach.. stop with that face! That pursed-lip 'I'm going to convince you it'll all be fine' Rachel Berry determination face… that's not fair. She makes those twinkle eyes at me and uses her sweetest little sexy voice and says "Come on. It will just be like going to the pool."
NO. IT. WON"T.
"I wear a swim shirt at the pool. I tell everybody it's because I burn easily, but, look... I - I know I'm a big athlete, and it's not manly or anything… but I'm kind of insecure about how I look."
Crap. I hated admitting that out loud, but it's Rach and I know I can trust her, it's just, she doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying. I have perfectly good reasons for objecting to this. No, I don't feel really good about me being, like, naked in front of the whole school and – oh god, all the parents and faculty too! – but also SHE's supposed to be naked too? Just, uh, NO WAY and in NO UNIVERSE is MY girl gonna parade around in her sexy hot undies in front of a crowd of stran– … hang on. She said something about us being rained on in the last scene… so we're supposed to be all WET in this scene too? Holy hell. Rachel half naked and wet in her underwear… shit, that's so hot… but no NO NOOOOO! That's something WE can do on our own time (sounds like a SUPER HOT date night to me!) but, like, doesn't she get it? People like JEWFRO will be watching this.. And ST. JACKASS…aw really hell no, UGH! RACHEL!?
"Come on. You just… you know, you have a different body type. I don't look like Brittany or Santana, but you still think I'm hot, right?"
Well... DUH. "Yeah, of course."
"So, then… You're just going to have to trust me that you're the hottest guy in school. Okay?" Dammit she's winning. She always wins. Why do I let her do this to me? Oh who am I kidding.. Not like I can LET Rachel do anything, I just sorta willingly do basically whatever she wants to make her happy. But this? This is kind of a LOT for even the most secure boyfriend on earth to be cool about. Kill me now….
But I already know I'm not gonna tell her no. "Okay." As long as I GET FINAL SAY on what HER 'costume' will look like!
. . . . .
We kinda stopped rehearsing when I suggested we start picking out her costume for that underwear scene. She gave me that incredibly hot sexy beaming smile and a wink and said we could go to her house to look for something that could work – and also, her dads were out of town. SA-WEET!
The next day we rehearsed the song 'Dammit Janet' in the choir room. Y'know, this Brad dude is a little dorky, but in some ways him and Janet kinda makes me think about me and Rach. He just loves Janet and wants to propose to her and get married… Yeah. I can totally see myself popping the question to Rachel one day. I just love her so much and things are so good between us, I just never wanna lose her. I fought too long and hard to be with her and the more I think about my future, the more I know I want her to be in it, always. Of course, I have no idea how I'll afford that fancy ring.. Or a wedding, or what I even wanna do after high school yet… but, yeah. Someday I'm sure I'll be handing her a REAL ring, not this .25¢ plastic bubble gum machine fake one.
. . . . .
Coach Sylvester is helping with the play now? Wow. Why does Mr. Schue keep trusting her? Hasn't she tried to screw us enough yet? Whatever. Right now I'm just trying to focus on being the best BRAD I can be, so I don't let Rach down (or look like a douche). She's busy helping the other glee girls with their costumes and lines and she said I should go hang with the guys. Sam, Mike and Artie were all in the weight room and Sam started giving me dieting advice. He's gonna be playing Rocky (no, not the boxing legend supreme.. Rocky is some creation or monster dude who wears SUPER really tight GOLD shorty shorts.. ew.). So basically Sam eats like, nothing. And he works out a lot. Ok the dude has pretty ripped abs, I can't lie – NOT that I check him out, but y'know, guys notice things like that is all, it doesn't mean anything. Anyway Sam's trying to get me to do this sweet potato diet thing which sounds actually pretty gross. And like, he's a pretty short dude next to me – as most dudes are – so I don't think he understands just how many calories I need to fuel up with just to keep this engine running!
Look ok, I know I'm not fat. And yeah, Rach thinks I'm hot – which is really all that matters I guess… But y'know, Santana is always making fun of my guy boobs calling them doughnuts and calling me the Pilsbury doughboy and… well it's embarrassing. I just don't look like SAM for example… or Mike, or even Puck who – if he DIDN'T do stupid stuff like stealing whole ATM machines and wasn't currently stuck in juvie would probably be shoving his 'guns of Puckerone' in all our faces right now. Then he'd probably tell me to 'quit whining Finnessa' and ask if my Aunt Flow is in town or offer me a tampon or something. But those guys just have that certain confidence that I sometimes sorta wish I had. They don't know what it's like to be so tall and awkward, all legs and elbows and clumsy and stuff. I already suck at dancing – proven FACT – and thank god I don't have to worry about that too much for this play (at least I don't think so?). But I just.. I need to feel good about how I look if I'm gonna pull this stupid Brad thing off and not look like a complete tool.
Rachel says METHOD ACTING is a way to do just that, to BE the role, to live the role… she did it A LOT during summer when she was practicing different plays that she hopes will become her leading roles someday on Broadway. It gave me a genius idea… I have to BE BRAD, like test the waters, feel good about myself and know it'll be okay. So the day Mr. Schue planned for a full dress rehearsal, I figured I'd follow Rachel's lead and try her METHOD… and then I almost got suspended and expelled. Yeah, I decided to wear my Rocky Horror costume – which was basically my boxers and glasses – and walked to rehearsal. Except it was the end of the day, the dismissal bell rang and the halls were full of kids. Figgins made me go get dressed and pulled me into his office with Mr. Schue. Thankfully Mr. S was able to get him to let me off with just a warning, but this little experiment did NOTHING to boost my ego or make me feel better about that scene.
Which is why I was SOOO happy to find out we were NOT doing a public performance of the show! I mean yeah, Rach was bummed and honestly, other than the whole underwear nightmare, I think it woulda been great… No idea why it got canceled, but Mr. Schue's been acting super sketchy lately and changing his mind a bunch, which maybe is because Miss P and Dr Carl seem to have something going on and he doesn't seem too jazzed about it? Whatever, at least I didn't have to be publicly ostrich.. Ost.. humiliated. AND the bonus is nobody (especially certain creepy bloggers or Mayors of Doucheville) gets to see Rachel's goodies but me! (And you better believe we're doing that wet underwear scene at her house next time her dads are gone!)
. . . . .
WHAT ABOUT THE NEW GIRL
Since Matt left we were down a member, which is where Sam came in handy. But now Puck's stuck in juvie for an unknown period of time and well, yeah he'll be back eventually – assuming he can STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. But if he can't, maybe it's a good thing that a new girl showed up to try out for Glee today.
Her name is Allison Davies but she said to call her Allie. She just moved here from Kansas to stay with her grandparents while her mom is traveling for work. She didn't mention a dad and nobody asked. I knew there was probably gonna be issues as soon as I heard the music queue up… new girl sang 'On My Own' from Les Mis (yeah - Rach totally caught me spelling that wrong last time – but I liked my way better) as her audition piece for the club and I seriously thought Rachel was gonna claw her nails straight down to my thigh bone while the girl was performing. Rach was uhh.. really intense about her reaction to hearing another good singer pulling songs from her own 'repertoire' - especially THAT one.
I just hugged Rachel close to me and whispered "remember, be nice and smile SUNSHINE" in her ear, hoping she'd catch my sublingual message and hopefully remember how NOT to react to this new girl. Rach just smiled back at me, then pressed a quick kiss on my cheek and relaxed a little bit after that (thank god because I don't think I could've explained a bunch of blood soaked holes in my pants to my mom). Then when the girl was done singing Rach just clapped but didn't give any verbal feedback - which was kinda weird for her to hold back that much.
Later on me and Rach went out to dinner at her favorite Chinese place and I could tell she still wasn't quite herself.
"Hey pretty girl. What's on your mind? You seem really quiet."
She tipped her head to the side and smiled but it wasn't her normal sweet smile. "Nothing babe, I'm fine, I'm just thinking."
"You're thinking. Hmm… lemme guess.. you're thinking.. About the new girl in Glee today, right?" She made a surprised face with her mouth kinda hanging open and I winked at her.
"N-no, well.. I mean, it's true she was really… sufficient and I'm sure she will be a great addition to the team. But–"
"Rachel, I love you. But this is me, and I know you. So I'm pretty sure I know what you're actually thinking. So c'mon, just tell me."
"I love you too Finny. But I swear, I learned my lesson… I promise I'm not gonna run the girl off or anything like that. And yes, her vocals are okay.. Well, better than just okay I suppose. Even if my vocals are better suited for her song choice today, she was.. acceptable. But that's not it."
I reached over and grabbed her hand and gave her a kiss on the back of her knuckles. "So tell me what's wrong. You look kinda worried about something. If it's not about her singing your song or taking the solos then what's up?"
"Well… it's just. I mean, she's very attractive, isn't she? I saw the way Artie and Sam were reacting to her, and even Tina slapped Mike on the arm. And it seemed like Quinn wanted to hurry up to become friends with her… you know, the pretty, popular girls all click together that way…"
Shit dammit shit. Not this topic – insecure girl stuff. Ugh. I kept holding her hand, brushing her knuckles with my thumb. Then I gave her a half smile and looked deep into those big brown eyes of hers - and damn I could get lost in there and never wanna come back. "Rach… babe, to be honest, I didn't really pay any attention or notice any of that. I mean, you were sitting right next to me, smelling so good and looking so beautiful… sorry, but I was a little too preoccupied to care. But it sounds like what, y-you're jealous?"
Yeah, nailed it. I know I said the right thing, because there's the smile I WANTED to see and the rosy pink blushing cheeks that goes with it. "Aw Finn.. you're too sweet. I love you so much. And thank you…" That's my girl. "...but be honest with me…" Uh oh. Here it comes. "... d-do you think she's pretty?"
I shook my head and told her "Baby. NOBODY is prettier than you in my eyes. It's just not possible. And I don't even care if like, Taylor Swift or Megan Fox was in the room, they'd just be other chicks taking up space. I'd still only be looking at you."
"Really Finn? Megan Fox. You wouldn't notice Megan Fox."
Crap. Overshot that maybe a little bit…. "Rach what's this about? Are you saying you don't trust me or–"
"NO! Gosh no, Finn, of course I trust you sweetie. That's not it. I just.. I don't know. I know I'm being silly and insecure and all that. It just.. It's hard to be ME in a room already full of Quinn's and Santana's .. and now this Allison."
Okay. I can see very clearly how the rest of my night will be spent - time for EXTRA positive reinforcements ;)
I paid the bill and left a tip on the table then laced Rach's fingers with mine and promptly whisked her out to the parking lot. We got to the passenger door and I knew she thought I was just gonna open the door and help her into the cab of the truck, but I had other ideas first.
I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and scooped her up off the ground and pinned her against the door and kissed her senseless for a few minutes. It was so many kinds of hot and awesome, and I know she didn't see it coming - which was the best part! She started running her hands through my hair and then she pushed her hand inside my jacket and was clutching at my chest through my shirt. I finally trailed soft kisses down her neck and whispered in her ear "baby… it's just YOU for me. You're the only [kiss] brightest [kiss] most beautiful [kiss] shining star I'm EVER gonna see, even in a SKY full of Quinn's or Santana's or Taylor's... Rachel Berry is the only star I see. It's you and only you every single time."
We ended up parking by the lake for another hour or so and, yeah… there was no more talk about what's her name new girl for the rest of the night. ;)
. . . . .
NOTHING BUT LOVE AND WEDDING BELLS
I really never thought this day would happen, but I have to finally admit I'm becoming ok with it.
Last month Burt popped the question to my mom and she said YES. It's official, the Hudsons and Hummels are going to be like the Brady bunch, just with less kids and no housekeeper. And no dog named Tiger (which kinda sucks because I always wanted a dog).
Kurt volunteered as the 'official wedding planner' and Rachel has actually been helping coordinate the girls dresses and some of the flowers and decorations. Naturally they wanted the whole Glee club to be the music and entertainment for this shindig, but also we're all gonna be in the wedding party too… which is kinda strange I guess? I mean, like doesn't mom or Burt have any ADULT friends or other family to ask? Whatever. It makes them happy, it makes KURT happy (which might be more important) and it's been really so awesome seeing Rach and mom have a project to work on together like this. I'm so.. well, I don't know how to explain it but like, my heart just really feels FULL seeing my two favorite girls hanging out. It's a beautiful thing and my life. Is. AWESOME.
. . . . .
So the big day finally got here and I guess I shoulda known things were just TOO GOOD. The weirdest of weird things happened while I was trying to put my tie on: SANTANA. Uh… sooo… I don't know what her angle is, or if she's just so unhappy she feels the need to bring the world down for everyone around her or what? Ok I did hear something about a big feud between her and Quinn, and I know San was super happy when Q got tossed off the squad because SHE then became head Cheerio… but now Q is back on the team so maybe that's what this is about?
Whatever. Those Cheerio girls are mostly ALL crazy, and Lopez? Yeah, she's like their LEADER. So she came in where I was getting ready at the church and had a little 'chat' with me and pointed out how SAM is like trying to be the new ME and is basically succeeding. She said he's been building his rep and his status is climbing, but she thinks mine is falling. I have no idea why she's saying this stuff – or why it even matters to her. Firstly, my rep is fine, but it's also NOT the most important thing to me anymore; Rachel is. Yeah, sure it HELPS if I can still be popular and keep a cool rep or whatever, but y'know, if I had to choose one or the other I chose my girl. Plus, I talked to Sam about all this stuff already and we're cool, well mostly (as long as I remain the starting QB). Ok yeah, I know Rach was a little disappointed that I didn't help the guys deal with Karofsky for bullying Kurt, but these girls tend to over exaggerate and stuff, and Kurt never asked for help either. Although, I heard Sam was the big hero that day… but still. I'm not worrying about Sam, or my rep. Right now I'm worrying that Santana is interfering with me and Rach.
Then I had a serious panic attack with what Santana said next.
"Y'know, if you ditched the troll and got with a hot popular girl like me, your rep would be solid.. I mean, everyone already thinks we banged last year, so if we got together we'd just be proving them right and WE'D become the new 'IT' couple. And hey, I can even tell the hobbit for you if it'd be easier?"
HOLY FUCK. Is she INSANE?
"HEY! Stop it Santana, that's my girlfriend you're talking about! And to your proposal, HELL NO. I love Rachel and I'd never want to hurt her like that. I don't want to lose her. Anyway, you and me agreed last year to just forget about that night – plus we both KNOW that NOTHING happened… Besides, I already told Rachel the truth about it anyway. So I think you need to stop whatever trouble you're trying to stir up and just LEAVE. Now."
Rachel walked in the room just then. Santana glanced at her then looked back at me and mouthed "think about it." Then she winked at me and blew me a kiss and turned around and walked out.
"What's going on Finn, is everything okay?"
"Yeah babe, everything is totally fine." No it really isn't… shit. Should I tell her about this? Ugh, Rach is already so insecure ESPECIALLY when it comes to Santana.. I don't know how she would react. What if I end up losing her? NO. I'm not gonna let that happen.. I'll just talk to San another day after the wedding and make sure she backs off.
"Aren't you gonna tell me how pretty I look?"
"You look AMAZING baby. I just really love you, like SO much."
"I love you too Finn.. but are you sure everything is ok?"
I swept her up in my arms and hugged her so tight. "Yeah baby, everything's cool. It's just wedding day nerves, prob'ly. And whoa, look at the time! We gotta go sing now, it's showtime!" Then I gave her a deep kiss and put all the crap that just happened outta my mind.
. . . . .
UNDER PRESSURE.
The wedding was so awesome. Mom looked so beautiful and so happy… I spent a long time slow dancing with my beautiful Rach – she was truly dazzling that night. While we watched mom and Burt dancing their first dance as husband and wife, I told her that someday that could be us. She just beamed the most gorgeous smile at me and hugged me so tight then whispered "I hope so" in my ear. And one other thing I made sure to take care of that night… I made sure to let everyone know that Kurt and me are real brothers from now on and that no matter what I'd always have his back – whether he asks me for help or not. I do feel kinda shitty for not stepping up sooner and doing something about the whole Karofsky thing before, but I really didn't know just how bad it had gotten til now. And damn sure, I won't be making that same mistake twice.
But not everything ended in rainbows and unicorns that night. Santana's crazy chick-fest crap before the wedding has still been freaking me out, and I just can't have her messing with my relationship with Rachel. So I finally found a chance to go talk to her about it while I was on the field at practice after school. She was sitting alone on the bleachers while the Cheerios were on a break, so I figured that was as good a time as any.
"San.. we need to talk." She rolled her eyes at me and looked away pretending to be bored, but I wasn't gonna back down. "You wanna tell me what the hell is going on with you, and what that crap you pulled with me before the wedding was all about?"
"Frankenteen, you just don't seem to get it, do you? Your rep needs a serious boost. Look at Trouty Mouth over there. Quinn's climbing him like a tree and he's got the attention of all the vagina's on the squad now. The guys on the team are even looking at him as more of a leader lately. How far down this rabbit hole do you really wanna fall before you realize you're losing everything? I'm just looking out for you is all."
"Santana I don't give a crap about Sam and Quinn, or Sam's rep or anything you just said.. I already told you what matters to me most. The bigger question is WHY DO YOU care so much?"
She huffed at me and pretended to be more interested in her manicure. Then she finally looked up at me and almost pleaded for understanding. "Fine. Look, you know Teen Mom is back on the squad and ever since then, coach is treating me like crap. I'm not the Captain anymore. She put me at the bottom of the damn pyramid and it's breaking my back! AND with her and Sam paired up, that blonde queen bitch is gonna be a shoe-in for prom royalty! She's KILLING me and my rep now. Y'know, I got a taste of power while she was gone, and I LIKED it. I need to get it back.. so I figured you'd be the easiest way back on top."
Chicks. They're all crazy. At least these Cheerio chicks are! What the hell….
"Okay look San, I'm real sorry to hear that you're having troubles. Sounds like we both got screwed by Quinn and her bullshit, but I thought we were friends enough that you'd respect my relationship with Rachel. I'd love to help and if there was anything ELSE I could do for you, I swear I'd try, but not at the risk of destroying what I have with Rachel. She means too much to me. For the sake of our friendship, I'm still hoping that I can trust you to leave it alone."
I swear I almost saw a tear in her eye. She looked at me for a hard minute then finally said "You really love her that much, huh?"
"Yes, I do. She's everything to me."
She let out a long irritated breath and said "Well shit Finnessa. I guess you're not the big dumbass pushover that you used to be anymore, huh? Maybe the shit that Queen Bitch over there put you through last year helped you to finally grow a pair. Okay Lurch, you win. I'll leave you and your lady Hobbit alone. Sorry."
THANK GOD. I gave her a friendly hug and told her if she ever needs a favor from me I'd be there for her - as long as it's of the strictly plutonium FRIENDSHIP type of favor. So glad we cleared that up!
. . . . .
That weasel-faced traitor is still lurking around the school. At least he hasn't tried to contact Rachel again, and he's only been at a couple Glee rehearsals when we were on stage in the auditorium. He hasn't really yet been talking to anyone except Mr. Schue, and that's perfectly fine by me. Mr. Schue says he wants him to help with choreography and song selections, and he figures his insight of how Vocal Adrenaline works and wins so much is like the Colonel's Secret Recipe for our success.
My secret recipe for success is making sure St. Jackass stays as far away from Rachel as possible, and preferably leaves McKinley. For GOOD. I saw him head into the men's room so I saw an opportunity to have a little chat with him.
"Hudson. How creeper-esque of you. You fancy following guys into the bathroom much?"
"Dude, public restroom… Nature calls, y'know? Stop flattering yourself. Besides, seems I'm not the one who likes to venture into unwanted territory without invitation." What a douchebag. I'd love nothing more than to punch that twisted smug smirk off his face. Rachel would understand and forgive me if I did, right?
"Look, Finn. I can see what this is about. You are obviously aware and displeased that I reached out to Rachel. Well, you can calm your little caveman ego and rest assured; I got her message loud and clear. You two are… in love. And I respect that. Besides, I'm just here in an advisory capacity, remember? To help you with your shortcomings and hopefully win a national championship. Of course, by 'you' I meant the collective glee club."
That smirk. ARGGG just one punch, that's all I'd need… "Uh huh. And that's the ONLY reason you're back in Ohio at all? You were so gung-ho about college and rubbing UCLA in everyone's face. What happened, couldn't cut it? Freshman flame-out?"
"Okay Finn. It's obvious to me that you feel I pose a threat just with my presence here. Clearly, Rachel has made her choice, and she chose you, and now you feel the need to mark your territory. I can't lie and say that I'm not disappointed; Rachel is an amazing girl who's going to do amazing things with a future as bright and limitless as hers is sure to be. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to be with her."
"Yeah, she's a star. And you got that right, she definitely made her choice – which fyi, she'd already chosen ME long before you came along and screwed with her heart and her head. Not to mention, that little BREAKFAST ala Jackass you served up to her in the parking lot that day last year… y'know, the one which I never got a chance to properly repay you for but certainly haven't forgotten about. So I'm just doing what any good boyfriend would do and making sure you know and respect your boundaries."
"Listen, you and I have never been friends, and we likely will never be. But we can and SHOULD be able to be… civilized enough just to work together in this very myopic scope, at least long enough to get through the next round of show choir competition. So maybe we can stop measuring dicks, be professionals and just bury the hatchet for now. Fair?"
He extended a handshake and I just glared at him for a minute before saying "You did wash first I hope?" Then I shook his hand – squeezing it firmly enough to get the point across – and without letting go I said "Just so we're clear, you'll be avoiding Rachel as much as possible, and if you don't, there won't be any friendly handshaking during our next conversation."
He nodded and I could swear I heard a tiny wince when he said "Understood… but so you know, if Rachel were ever to change her mind, I'd be right here, willing and waiting. I'd expect the same measure of restraint from you if the tables were ever turned again."
"Well I'm afraid you'll have a hell of a long wait for that to happen. Just keep your distance."
Yeah I'd like to bury a hatchet alright.. Dammit, why can't he just go away and stay gone?
. . . . .
Ok there was a weird conversation I had with Sam in the locker room that got totally carried away and it led to Coach Beiste being ready to quit her job and we hurt her feelings pretty bad and Mr. Schue made us do apology mash-ups to woo her back to McKinley.
I should explain. Me and Sam got to talking about how to cool down when making out… Good to know I'm not the only one worried about those explosions. But see, Rach and me have been working on a super awesome alternative to NEEDING a cool down process at all, for months now – but of course I wasn't gonna say that to Sam. :) Instead, I told him what my OLD method was (which never worked with Rach anyway so I might as well share Mr Clark with others so they might reap the benefits).
But then Sam discovered Coach did some really un-hot gross things like picking her wedgie that he thought might help him in that area.. And I guess he told someone and they told someone and.. Well, eventually this method got back to Coach what guys were doing – needless to say she wasn't happy.
Rachel kinda went ballistic for a minute thinking I USED that method too and I had to tell her after class in private that she already knows what I do or don't do, and SHE is the only method I think about now. Especially since she's not making me cool down anymore heheh.. I'm SO like the luckiest guy, right?
Anyway. Coach took it personal, she was going to quit, and we guys ended up doing a great song mashup for her to make her know we care about her and were sorry for hurting her feelings. She ended up staying – which is such a great thing since we're so close to making it to the state championship game – we need her! [And Rachel thought I looked so hot in my spiffy costume that I may or may not have gotten some special attention from her in the janitor's closet afterwards.. ;) ]
WIN BIG OR LOSE BIG… OR BOTH?
It's possible that my life is over. And I really don't want to talk about it.
How could she do this to me?
Fine, I'll give you the highlights reel… then I should probably go to the hospital.
Thanks to our awesome new coach and my extra awesome quarterback skills, we qualified for the state championship football game for the first time since like.. Maybe ever?
That was cool.
The football guys and the glee club were in an endless feuding battle that coach and Mr. Schue decided they were gonna end by bringing us ALL together in GLEE CLUB and making all of us perform at the halftime special. Ok, there was alotta crap about that, and a whole side story about coach kicking all the guys off the team and us needing enough football players to qualify for the game, so Rachel and all the glee girls stepped in to play (despite my ABSOLUTE REFUSAL to wanna let them do it because c'mon, they'd get killed out there!) … but eventually all the crap worked out and that halftime performance mashup of Thriller/Heads Are Gonna Roll was a showstopper.
That was so super cool.
In between all the football/glee club drama there was a whole other bunch of crap going on with the Cheerios where Coach Sue forced Quinn, Brit and San to quit glee for their nationals competition. I managed to talk the three of them into dropping Cheerios for glee because it was what I knew deep down the three of them would have rather been doing. And they did, they quit the squad and came back and performed with us.
That was also cool.
Then we actually WON the game. Which was more kinds of awesome than I knew existed… I was SO on top of the world, everything was going great… until the next day, when my world crashed and burned.
Quinn. Fucking. Fabray. Kissed. Me.
That was SO NOT COOL.
Rachel needed to talk to Mr. Schue about something for sectionals after Glee, so I went out to my locker real quick while I was waiting for her to come out so we could leave. Quinn saw me waiting there and stopped to tell me how much she appreciated what I'd said last night and she was proud of my leadership and how it reminded her of why she fell for me last year and the next thing I know her lips were all over mine.
Now please believe me, that kiss just came out of NOWHERE – I sure didn't ask for it – and it took me totally by surprise, so it took maybe a second or two for me to react – but I totally pulled away and pushed her back and told her how that was so NOT COOL, that she knows I'm with Rachel and… and while I was trying to spit out my objections, I swore I heard a gasp and crying and I looked up and yeah. There was Rachel, tears streaming down her face. SHIT.
She must have seen the kiss, but she wasn't close enough to hear anything that was being said and as soon as her eyes met mine she turned and ran the other way. I tried going after her but I lost her in the crowded hallway. I checked everywhere for her, even the girls' bathrooms. I was supposed to take her home but I couldn't find her and she wouldn't answer my phone calls. All the glee kids had already left and anyone I could reach on the phone hadn't seen her or heard from her. I was so friggin frustrated I punched a locker (and yeah, pretty sure I broke something in my hand this time).
After like 20 minutes searching and not finding her, I decided to go to her house to see if she'd made it there somehow. Her dads answered the door, said she was home and refused to see me right now. Said I should give her some time and try later. Then they asked me if I knew why she was so upset. I told them what happened and they kinda gave me a look – as if this was MY fault? No! I'd never do that to her! And dammit she should know that by now, so to be honest I was getting pretty pissed. But I know how insecure she is and how she already feels about Quinn, so I figured it was best to back off and let her cool down. I was really hoping the next day we'd talk and work everything out. She had to eventually believe that it was a total misunderstanding. She just had to, right?
Before I went to sleep, I sent her a text message.
:: Rach pls talk 2me. I love YOU and only u. Its not what u think, just pls let me explain. xo-Finn ::
She texted back 15 minutes later. I wasn't honestly expecting to see any reply that night… and now I wished I didn't get one at all.
:: I know what I saw. Please don't text me anymore. We're done. ::
We're DONE? What the hell?! She really isn't even gonna hear my side of this? She's just gonna assume I cheated and not let me explain? DAMMIT! UGH that poisonous blonde witch has totally screwed my life all to hell AGAIN and… and Rachel. She really should know me better by now. How can she seriously think I'd do that to her? Well okay, I know I don't have the best track record with her… Yeah I screwed her over BIG TIME in the past, but.. But we worked through all of that. We were SOLID now. We made promises to each other… FUCK!
Oh yeah, I went to the ER and got an x-ray. My hand is definitely broken, and now so is my phone. But that's ok. They just match my heart.
. . . . .
A/N - OOH THAT WAS AN OWIE. I'M SO SORRY FINCHELINGS!
Hey ok, this is NOT the same as TV canon at least :) Yes this season is certainly much more AU than season 1, it had to be the minute I removed the SSB (San Sex Bomb) from Special Education. So YES this means naturally there will be a LOT of shifting & reorganizing timelines from canon... ex: I moved up the championship game - which canon says happens AFTER holidays/Christmas. and we KNOW what a super unkind moment that was for our beloved Finchel... and we haven't gotten to any competition levels yet either... but it's coming.
I'll give you a tiny TIDBIT about the next chapter coming (which is in progress and coming along quickly bc I'm stuck in Simp world now) - there will be a GUEST NARRATOR filling in briefly for our poor downhearted Finny. Does that take any bit of sting out of this cliffhanger? :)
If you're having any questions following the timeline or things that have/haven't happened, feel free to ask - although, since I have just laid out that this part will be very alt-universe I would recommend not stressing about the timeline too much.
And yeah, just trust me that our Finchel AS ALWAYS gets a HAPPY ending in my stories... like our favorite gardener told us, winter and the flower dies. But if you tend that garden, spring will come along and that flower will bloom again.
*** shame on me - BELATED HBD to our beloved Finny Bear, 8/24/1994 - 29yrs young ***
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THANKS SO MUCH FOR FOLLOWING AND FAVORITING AND REVIEWING - HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING THE RIDE SO FAR! FINCHEL FOREVER! XOXO