HELL-O (AGAIN)

[JEALOUS FINN. What if Finn really DIDN'T give up so easily after Rachel met JSJ? Canon to 'inner rockstar' then AU. St Berry still happens, but Finn's got serious competition. For the purpose of this fixit, the whole RJR debacle never happens. ** MAJOR ANGST WARNING! **]

. . . . .

When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell
If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well
Then he's a fool, you're just as well, hope it gives you hell

When you hear this song, and sing along will you never tell
Then you're a fool, I'm just as well, hope it gives you hell
When you hear this song I hope that it will give you hell
You can sing along, I hope that it will treat you well

. . . . .

As glee rehearsal ended and the choir room cleared out, Finn noticed Rachel was still in Mr Schue's office discussing which store was the best to find sheet music. He hung back near the doorway in the hall waiting for her to come out.

"Rachel, what the hell was that song all about?"

Clearly still angry, she snapped her head up to face him. "Are you serious right now, Finn?!"

"Yeah, I mean, it's just not like you to be so, so vicious, or, or to like, cuss, and–"

"Don't feed any further into the stereotype and play DUMB, Finn; you know precisely what that song was for. Anyway, why are slumming it here with me right now? Wouldn't want you to be seen with such a bottom feeder, such a FREAK as myself. You probably shouldn't stand too close to me either, wouldn't want you to get hit in the next SLUSHY attack."

"Rach, c'mon. I'm not slumming with you and I wouldn't let them–"

"Besides, I hear you have not one but TWO hot Cheerios waiting for you at Breadstix."

He winced at the knowledge that she'd found out about his two-some date with Brittany and Santana. Well of course she did; Santana Lopez was anything but subtle and only spent the rest of glee club talking about it loud and proud for the entire club to hear.

"I never said I didn't want us to be friends, Rach! I just... I - I wasn't... Please don't be–"

"Run along now, Finn, don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. You, on the other hand, are sure to find yourself in dangerous waters if you keep your other WOMEN waiting too long; I hear Santana Lopez can be particularly viscous when left waiting too long."

"Rach, please don't–"

"Please don't WHAT, Finn? I said don't worry about me! And why should you anyway? I'm just the crazy girl, the FREAK who wears supportive tee-shirts to cheer you on, who goes out her way to be a an unashamed, supportive friend to you. But apparently everything I do only embarrasses you in public, right? So forget about it. Save yourself any further humiliation by being seen with the likes of ME and go find your HOT, popular cheerleaders. We wouldn't want your precious reputation to suffer anymore because of me. Now GO AWAY FINN!"

He stood defeatedly watching as she stormed out the exit door toward the parking lot, and she didn't hear him mutter "I didn't mean it like that... I'm sorry, Rach."

. . . . .

The next day at their lockers...

"Rachel, I thought about it and decided that you were right. Nobody knows me like you do. You were my only real friend after Quinn and Puck screwed me over and... well I was wrong. I think I am ready to be your boyfriend now, if you'll still have me."

"Well I'm glad you've finally come to that realization, Finn, but I'm afraid you're too late. I met a boy who isn't ashamed to be seen in public with me, a wonderful boy who appreciates me for who I am. So I'm afraid I have to decline your offer."

"Wait what? Who is he, does he go to this school? Is he bigger than me? And what do you mean 'who isn't ashamed'... Rachel, I'm not ashamed–"

"Oh yes you are! You're more worried about your popularity and your reputation than my feelings. I realize you took a hit over joining Glee and then, of course ...the Quinn thing. But you're a free agent now. You're clearly recovering quite nicely thanks to your date with Santana and Brittany. The rumor mill is all a-twitter about how your coolness factor has significantly risen in the rankings. Therefore, I'm certain you will be just fine, Finn. You don't need me weighing you down or holding you back."

"No, no hold on... I wasn't– okay yes, I went out with them, but it was ONE date, Rach. Just once. And it was a huge mistake. They were jerks and even if they weren't, it wasn't... it just wasn't fun and didn't feel right because... it wasn't the same as how I feel when I'm with you." Rachel's eyes shifted nervously, focusing anywhere but on Finn. "But you didn't answer me. Who's the guy?"

She painted on a bright smile and practically floated as she spoke. "His name is Jesse St James from Carmel. He's the male lead for Vocal Adrenaline. We met at The Other Sheets N Things – the music store Mr Schuester recommended, not the bedding store. Jesse already knew who I was – it seems my reputation and talent had already preceded me. He was very enamored by me, and we sang an indelible rendition of a Lionel Ritchie classic together – IN PUBLIC. Can you imagine, he wasn't at all embarrassed to do so either!"

"Rachel, c'mon, stop being that way. I said I was sor–"

"Our vocal harmonies were very uplifting and garnered quite the welcomed reception by adoring patrons in the store. I'm aware of our Romeo and Juliet love story undertones, but I can assure you it won't pose any conflicts with the club. He respects my talent and I his. We know it will be a challenge but we're making it work."

Finn wanted to come unhinged. They SANG together?! Was she serious? Duets were THEIR thing! And now she's dating the enemy! And who the hell is this guy and what did he really want anyway? Like, they make it to regionals and the leader of their main competition just MAGICALLY appears out of nowhere, knowing who she is? Winning her over IN SONG? How can she trust him so blindly?!

"Rachel, you don't think it's a little fishy that right before regionals the leader of our MAIN competition picks you up suddenly like that?"

"What are you implying, Finn? Are you implying that no other boy could simply want me for ME or be interested in dating me?"

"No, no, but well, yeah I'm sure he could, but–"

"So you think YOU are the only boy who could possibly want to date me? Because let me remind you, YOU didn't WANT to date me. In fact your words were very unmistakable when you said I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND. Did I mishear you, or is that an accurate quote?"

"I-I ... But I didn't really mean that Rach..."

"Then why did you say it?"

"Because I–"

"I'll tell you why. You're not stupid Finn, and neither am I. You're embarrassed by me. Do you honestly think I don't hear the gossip in this school? Do you honestly think I don't hear the snide comments people have been using about the very idea of the two of us being together? You know, they say the most truth is told in jest. I think you just finally admitted what you'd been afraid to say all along– only, of course, AFTER you already cheated on your perfect blonde girlfriend with ME, and then of course AFTER I was the shoulder you cried on over her cheating on YOU."

"Wait, I didn't che–"

"But you DID. Kissing me TWICE and taking me on date... ring any bells?"

"Okay, I guess maybe I did, but Rach it was because–"

"And yes, I'm aware it wasn't truly a REAL date, you were merely using me and toying with my feelings to manipulate me to come back to Glee club for YOUR benefit – and yet, in the face of all YOUR underhandedness, I was still foolishly smitten with you, willing to turn a blind eye believing surely someday you would see the light. Well guess what Finn? You're too late. That ship has sailed, straight into an iceberg just like the Titanic– minus the star-crossed ill-fated romantic overtures of Jack and Rose."

His face crumbled in confusion trying to follow everything she'd just said but then gave up and refocused on the main point. "Rachel just, just hold on now. I'm sorry about that stuff with the bowling date and I told you that before, but it doesn't mean I didn't have feelings with you then, or now for that matter. I already told you that date AND the kiss was real; I didn't fake any of that. I was just still really messed up after the baby and everything. So I made a mistake and I said stuff that I didn't really mean yesterday. I'm just a dumb jock, I'm not smart like you."

At this statement Rachel was livid. "Stop it Finn! Stop trying to feed into the stereotype! You're MUCH smarter than anyone gives you credit for.. And you KNEW how I felt and you KNEW what you were doing with me and how it would make me feel. Even if you've had a sudden epiphany and seen the error of your ways it doesn't change the fact that I have moved on and have a boyfriend now."

His brow pinched in frustration. "Okay but what if he's just using you to spy on us or to mess with you and try to throw you off your game?"

"You don't think I would notice if he were being disingenuous about his feelings? If he were committing some underhanded prank to foil our efforts at regionals? You don't think I'm clever enough to know when a boy is just USING me? Especially NOW in light of recent experiences I've had with a certain basketball captain slash Titan's quarterback?" Finn's cheeks flushed pink at her stabbing words. "I appreciate your concerns, however false or unfounded they may be, but I'm afraid you've been watching too many spy movies and not enough romance films, Finn. You can only screw over the girl who likes you so many times before you lose her. Jesse and I will be fine, and so will you and whichever popular, more suitable girl you choose to be seen with."

As she spun on the heel of her Mary Janes to walk away, his large hand gently gripped her shoulder stopping her and he ran around in front of her. "Rachel look I'M SORRY, okay?! How many times do I need to say it? I tried to tell you I was a mess over Quinn and the baby stuff! It's not that I didn't like you enough to want to be your boyfriend - I did, and I still do! I just... it was just a timing thing, okay? It wasn't you, it was–"

"It's not you it's me, is that it, Finn?" she asked skeptically making air quotes around the words. "How very cliched of you to admit. Maybe you HAVE been watching a few romance movies."

"Rachel, I do really like you. I always have, and I kinda thought you knew that. In fact you seemed to know it before I did. What do I have to do to convince you?"

"I'm not sure that you can now, Finn. However, I suppose if you're truly being sincere, you'll just have to find a way to prove it – although I'm not so sure my current boyfriend would appreciate your overtures if you tried. Now if you'll excuse me, I don't want to be late for class. Bye Finn."

With that she turned dramatically and marched away from him, leaving a slightly stupefied Finn Hudson standing in the hallway watching her go.

Except, he's Finn Hudson, and he doesn't give up that easily.

The next thing he knew, his feet were carrying him faster than his brain could react, chasing down the hall after her as if she was the opposing team carrying the football to the endzone in a tied championship game.

His long legs caught up to her quickly, calling her name loudly as he went. "Rachel Berry, STOP!"

Rather than tackle her, he once again blocked her path. But before she could form a word, he swept her up into his arms and planted a searing kiss full on her mouth while standing in the middle of the crowded hallway for the entire student body to witness.

At first Rachel was so stunned by Finn's forwardness her eyes remained wide open and she couldn't react. Then she tried to fight the urge to kiss him back but it was a futile exercise in self-control (which she apparently lacks ANY of when it comes to this boy) so she resigned and melted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

As his mouth moved over hers, time stood still and the world around them stopped for a few blissful moments. Rachel was lightheaded and her senses swimming in desire with the feeling of Finn all around her, his arms firmly around her waist, his hands splayed across her back, his chest pressing tightly to hers, his beautiful soft lips moving in tandem with hers... Finn Hudson really likes her, and was kissing HER, Rachel Berry, in the middle of a crowded hallway.

"Oh my god, Hudson's cheese slipped off his cracker!"

"It must be a Kiss-a-Dork dare, right? Wonder what he won in the bet."

"I knew they'd convert him, captain of the Losers."

"Ew. Why is he kissing that tranny when he could have one of us?"

As the snarky insulting comments swirling around the crowd finally caught up to her, another thought broke through her beguiled mind – Jesse.

Rachel suddenly pushed back at Finn's shoulders and squirmed out of his tight hold then slapped him across the face. "No! I said I have a boyfriend, Finn! You're too late!" With that, she ran in the opposite direction down the hall leaving a stunned Finn Hudson standing there rubbing his red cheek.

He spent the next week trying to get her to speak to him in Glee. She was refusing to answer his calls or texts, and he watched all the lights turn off inside her house as she ignored him knocking at her front door for ten minutes.

By the end of the week, he thought he'd completely lose his mind when none other than Jesse St James himself suddenly transferred to McKinley – all in the name of proving to Rachel that he's committed to her.

A day later, Finn was shocked by the most out of the blue if not intriguing proposition he'd ever gotten in his sixteen years of life so far: Santana Lopez offered to have sex with him.

"C'mon Frankenteen, it'll make her jealous and improve both out reputations in the process."

"Santana, you don't even like me. And to be honest, as hot as you are, I'm not really that into you either. More importantly, I'm trying to work things out with Rachel. So thanks, but no thanks."

"That Hobbit is dating the enemy right now Hudson. You're just wasting your time when you have a sure thing standing right in front of you."

"Yeah well, that's the whole point. She's dating a jackass and I'm not gonna let her get hurt by him. If you'd have made this offer to me before I met Rachel maybe things would be different, but I'm just not interested in you Santana. And you know you're not interested in me either. But hey, if you just really need to get laid I'm sure Puck or pretty much any of the guys on the team would still help you out. Good luck."

. . . . .

Finn laid awake in bed tossing and turning, determined to find a way to win Rachel back. He was pissed off when Mr Schue started handing over all the romantic duets and male solos to Jesse St Jackass. What the hell was it gonna take? He'd tried leaving notes in her locker (which he watched her find and throw away without reading), he offered to buy her lunch (which she said no since she brings her own), he even asked her for study help in math class, which she only agreed to supply if Jesse was part of their study group.

He even dug into his piggy bank and bought her a lovely bouquet of flowers. He brought them into glee and presented them to her in front of the entire club. He thought he'd finally made real progress when her face lit up with a trademark huge Rachel Berry toothpaste smile – until St Jackass whispered something in her ear and demanded a singing duel with him in the parking lot after school. Rachel dejectedly handed the flowers back to Finn, saying it would be inappropriate for her to accept them and quashing the need for a singing battle on their behalf.

. . . . .

Just when Finn thought he'd exhausted every possible opportunity and had run out of chances, the stars seemed to align and things began to swing in his favor when a couple of things fell into place: 1, Jesse had taken a week's leave of absence for a planned family vacation, and 2, the perfect glee assignment dropped into his lap: sing a song that best represents how you see yourself– where you are in your lives right now.

Days earlier, Finn thought he'd finally started getting through to Rachel even a little bit when she'd gotten laryngitis and asked him to drive her to the doctor's office. She even made him come into the exam room with her since her daddies were out of town and she was afraid of doctors. He'd made yet another attempt to bare his soul to her only to be shot down again, with her insisting that she and Jesse cared deeply for each other and that he needed to respect those boundaries. But he could tell by the look on her face, he was making progress. She didn't sound as confident and self-assured in her position as she had been.

Maybe the flowers he tried to give her had caused them to fight, or started a rift between them? He knows if HE were Jesse and some dude tried to give Rachel flowers he woulda just up and kicked the guy's ass, but also, if Rachel seemed happy to receive a gift like that it would surely piss HIM off; surely Jesse had to be pretty pissed by now, right? And then the guy just suddenly disappears on vacation – like, who goes on a family vacation in the middle of April anyway?

Whatever. The important thing was, Jesse was finally gone and out of his hair, and this was a golden opportunity. Finn just knew the best way to get through to Rachel would be a grand gesture in SONG. This would have to be the performance of a lifetime, better than sectionals, better than scoring the winning touchdown... all he needed was the right song. But this was a major cause of distress for Finn since Rachel knew EVERYTHING about music, all kinds of music, so his choice had to be PERFECT. But what to choose?

That night he went home, hell bent on researching the internet all night for song selections. When he walked in the front door, he was rather surprised to find his mother dancing around to the radio in the kitchen making dinner, singing along into her spatula like a microphone.

Under normal circumstances he'd have cracked up and probably joined along or razzed his mother for being caught in such a compromising situation, but he froze in his tracks the moment he heard the chorus of the song.

"Mom, what's the name of this song and who sings it?!"

. . . . .

"Okay guys, everyone settle down and let's get started. Finn here has volunteered to be first up today with his assignment this week, so let's listen up and be prepared to give some honest feedback. Finn buddy, the floor is all yours."

"Thanks Mr Schue. So, um, the song assignment was to pick a song that tells exactly what you're feeling. Uh, y'know, there's a lot of songs I could have picked from, because lately I've been having so many feelings... I've been hurt and betrayed by people I thought were my friends," he noticed Quinn and Puck cringe and look at each other as a few others in the room gasped and made sounds of sympathy, but he ignored the reactions and forged ahead. "I could pick a great inspirational comeback song, like Eye of the Tiger, since I wasn't gonna let people keep me down. Or I could pick some sad sappy song about loneliness because... because I royally screwed up. I kinda lost not only my best friend, but also the girl who I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with." He paused to take a deep breath, the nerves begin to mount as his eyes connected with hers, which were filling with tears. He heard another round of whispers and gasps but blocked them out, focusing solely on Rachel, who seemed to be hanging on the edge of her seat. "But mostly, what I am feeling right now is determined." His eyes remained locked on her beautiful wide brown ones and he pulled a dimpled half smile. "I'm determined to show that I really mean what I say. I said I wouldn't give up that easily, and I meant it. Hopefully this song helps proves it. So Rachel, this song is for YOU."

. . . . .

As he drove Rachel home from school that afternoon, he found it hard to focus on the road instead of on the girl whose hand was clutching his in her lap against her naked thigh.

"I was never really his girl, you know," she said quietly. "I might have lied to you and maybe even to myself, but I think we both know, I've always been Finn's girl instead."

Her admission made his heart swell. The moment he pulled into her driveway and put the car in park, he turned to pull her closer to him and planted a soft sweet kiss to her lips. "Glad to hear it, since I've kinda always been Rachel's guy even when I was lying to myself too."

"So... does this mean I'm officially your girlfriend now?"

He sat up a little straighter and sighed. "Well yeah but, Rach I wanna do this right this time. I mean, what about Jesse? You kinda need to talk him don't you?"

"Not really. Considering we broke up before he left for his vacation, I don't see what I could possibly need to discuss."

"You WHAT? But Rach, when I took you to the doctors you said–"

"I know, and I'm sorry for the ruse... I was curious to see just how serious you were and how much further you'd be willing to go to prove yourself and to win me over. And you certainly didn't disappoint, Finn," she giggled. "Besides, you kind of deserved it."

"Fair point," he conceded as they exited the car.

"Just how much further WOULD you have gone to woo me and win me over?" she asked curiously.

He chuckled with a noticeable amount of relief in his voice. "Let's just say, I'm kinda glad a rather embarrassing Acafella's reunion and lunch room performance doesn't have to happen now."

She giggled again, kissing him deeply.

As they walked into her house, headed to her bedroom for their English tutor session that Finn was desperately in need of, she said "Thank you for not giving up, Finn. But about that Acafella's reunion... I never got to see you perform, but I won't subject you to the lunch crowd at school. Since my daddies are in Akron for the next two days, maybe when we're done studying, you could give me a private show. What was the name of the song you guys performed anyway?"

Finn gulped and did a mental fist pump. He hoped he still remembered the choreography for the song, but then decided maybe he could just improvise to something more suited for this private audience of one anyway. "Don't worry babe, you'll see soon enough. Let's hurry up and get through this To Kill a Mockingbird essay first. I just hope you're prepared for an interactive performance," he winked and kissed the tip of her nose.

She clapped excitedly and squealed, "OOO! Sounds exciting, I can't wait!"

"Ne neither, babe. Me neither."

. . . . .

~️❤️~

A/N – in case you didn't pick up on it, of course Finn sang Rick Springfield's Jessie's Girl in class to Rachel, and the Acafella's song referenced was Color Me Badd's I Wanna Sex You Up. =)