FIC: Maid of Honor 3
Twenty minutes later, Tina was knocking at her bedroom window, being the only one agile enough to climb up the trellis and scramble across the porch roof. (On the rare occasions Rachel snuck out, Kurt had always refused to risk his clothes on the rose thorns.) Rachel all but dived out the window, and they ran through the garden to the back gate. Kurt was standing beside his Explorer, with Mercedes and Finn.
“From the sounds of your message, I thought I should rally the troops,” Kurt explained. “I would have called Artie and Mike as well, but I got the impression that speed was of the essence.”
Rachel nodded grimly, and scrambled in the backseat after Mercedes. Kurt bit his lip and tossed the keys to Finn, before joining the two fellow members of ‘Team Diva’, while Tina took shotgun.
As the car turned the corner, Kurt asked briskly, “So, where to? Tokyo Connection? The karaoke bar normally shuts down at ten, but I think we can bribe the owner to let us use it for a few hours.”
Rachel was still white with fury, and shook her head. “Singing this out won’t help.”
Finn slammed on the brakes, before he joined everyone in the car in staring at her in horror.
“The entire Nightwish and Pantera back catalogue combined wouldn’t get me through this.”
Kurt’s jaw dropped, and he went even paler than normal.
“I need to smash something. I need to shatter and break and destroy.”
Finn swallowed. “I’ve got an idea.”
Half an hour later, Rachel stood in the batting cage at McKinley High School, one of the JV baseball team’s helmets on her head, while Finn placed his hands over hers on the grip of a silver baseball bat.
“Okay, I’ve set the machine to fire right into your strike zone, so you can get the best possible hit. Just keep your eye on the ball, and don’t swing too soon. Keep the label facing up, or you’ll break the bat.”
Rachel’s tuneful voice was tight and hard, and it made something hurt inside him. “Better get into the dugout with the others. I’m in the mood to hit a few wild balls.”
Finn nodded, and ran out to where he’d set up the pitching machine. After putting it on a one-minute delay, he headed for the home team dugout, where Tina, Mercedes and Kurt were waiting. He sat down next to Kurt, and joined the others in staring out the window in trepidation.
“I set the machine for thirty balls. If she hasn’t hit it out by then, we’ll try something else. After about fifteen, she should start feeling the burn in her shoulders, because she’s not used to this, so maybe that will help too.”
“How’d you even get the equipment, anyway?” Kurt asked.
Finn shrugged. “Last summer, I helped Coach Bieste with the pre-season as a volunteer coach. I never got around to giving back my keys.”
Tina bit her lip. “What the h-h-Hell is going on, Kurt?” Tina’s stutter had disappeared freshman year, somewhere between Sectionals and Regionals. That it was actually resurfacing now showed just how upset she was.
A second hollow ‘thwock’ followed by a ‘crack’ echoed across to them.
Mercedes shook her head, and looked at the others. “I’m starting to get really scared, guys. I mean, our first Sectionals, when Coach Sylvester leaked our set list? Rachel was angry, yeah, but she just fired up and helped you,” she nodded at Finn, “organize our last-ditch effort. And she nailed ‘Don’t rain on my parade’ so hard that she carried along the rest of us in her wake to one of our best shows ever!”
A hollow ‘thwock’ followed by a ‘crack’ echoed across to them.
Kurt pulled out his phone, and brought up Rachel’s message. “She just wrote ‘Defcon 1 and rising. Get me out of here or I’m going to conduct a full dress rehearsal of Lizzie Borden: the musical!’.” He looked at his brother, still pale. “Honestly, Finn, I’ve never seen her like this before.”
Another hollow ‘thwock’ was followed by a ‘crack’ - and a crackling ‘bang’. It was so loud that everyone in the dugout peered out to the field.
“Did she just... break the scoreboard?” Mercedes asked.
A hollow ‘thwock’ followed by a ‘crack’ echoed across to them, followed by a tinkling smash of glass.
“Is there even a glass window for her to break out here?” Tina asked.
“This is really, really, bad - and I don’t just mean her aim with the ball,” Kurt remarked.
Everyone else nodded in unison.
After the machine emptied, Finn led the others out of the dugout. Looking around cautiously, he saw Rachel sitting slumped on the lowest bleacher, staring into her lap. Kurt sat on one side, immediately taking her hand in his own. Mercedes sat on her other side, and Tina sat on the concrete riser near Rachel’s feet, one leg tucked under her, the other dangling off the edge, heedless of her black lace stockings. Finn stood right behind Tina on the field itself, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, and his eyes locked on Rachel.
“So,” Kurt ventured. “Can you tell us the problem, now?”
“Quinn’s been sneaking around to work out her cold feet,” Rachel’s voice still had the music stripped from it. It made him hurt, everywhere in his body that could feel her sing. “She’s been wearing my ‘Wicked’ cast jacket to do it, along with the Jets hat you gave me, Finn. So when that whackjob closet case Sandy Ryerson called up Terri to tell her all about it, he naturally told her that I’m the one who’s been fucking around with Noah.”
“Wait, Quinn and Puck? I thought all that shit got settled in first year glee!” Mercedes exclaimed.
Even in the midst of his annoyance with Quinn for pulling this overly dramatic crap - and setting up her sister for it - Finn wondered when Rachel had started referring to the woman who still called herself Mrs. Schuester by her first name. He knew that Terri hadn’t been the most involved of parents since the divorce - in fact, he knew that Rachel only saw her a half-dozen times a year, even though they lived in the same town.
But then it came to him, in that odd flash of understanding he got about Rachel sometimes. Whatever Terri Schuester had said to Rachel tonight, it had caused Rachel to stop thinking of her as a parent. Their relationship had been broken past mending. From what he knew of Terri, she wouldn’t even notice. He wondered if she was even intelligent enough to care.
“So, naturally, she threw a fit that hasn’t been seen since my father divorced the crazy bitch. I’m confined to my house for anything that isn’t school or Terri-approved wedding activities until Quinn’s got the ring on her finger and everyone’s telling Terri what a beautiful wedding she organized.”
Kurt gasped in horror; obviously, the penny had dropped for him earlier than anyone else. “Wait, what about your audition?”
“She doesn’t even know about it, Kurt,” Rachel spat out. “She hasn’t registered or even heard anything concerning my name since Quinn showed us that diamond on her finger last summer. Even if she did know, she wouldn’t care.” She laughed, and it was full of broken things that made Finn feel sick. “What’s my entire future on a plate, compared to Quinn having the wedding of the year?”
“Wait, audition...” Mercedes sucked in a breath. “You mean your audition for Tisch?”
“The audition’s on March 7. The wedding’s on March 8.”
“B-but you have to go!” Tina exclaimed. “You’ve been working for this forever!”
“What about Mr. Schue?” Finn asked. “I can’t believe that he’d let her do this to you.”
Rachel laughed bitterly. “Dad’s fully occupied with preventing Terri from spending him into bankruptcy, keeping his job despite her constant interruptions, and stopping her from taking complete control of our lives again. I think it’s taking almost everything he has to keep from going so completely over the edge that Emma runs like a scared rabbit. I know he’d never agree with Terri about this, but he’s too worn out to actually stand up to her for me.”
“So we’ll take care of it,” Finn told her.
Everyone looked at him, but it was the sudden, wild hope in Rachel’s gaze that made his heart turn over.
High school - growing up, and discovering that he didn’t need the approval of the football team to feel validated. That just being himself was a good thing, that he was a musician and athlete who became a leader and a man, through slushies and abuse and football victories and Glee trophies - had been miserable as hell, most of the time. But Rachel’s gaze taught him all over again that growing up into the man he was now was worth it. Because that man could give this to her.
“Rachel, you need to go to New York City for this, right?” At her nod, Finn continued, “So once you’ve left town, on your way, is there anything she can do to stop you? I mean, she can’t turn down the place on your behalf to get back at you or anything, right?”
Rachel shook her head. “She tries anything afterward, Dad can and will stop her. He just needs a few days to regain his equilibrium. I already have the plane tickets booked; I wanted to stay overnight, but with the wedding...”
“Okay, so what time is the audition? How long will you need to stay?”
Rachel blew her nose. “Sometime around noon, I need to be there at ten AM. After the initial interviews come the call back auditions; that can be anytime from two PM up to ten PM, but I was told that out of state candidates usually get the early appointments. I’m pretty sure that showing them the wedding invitation and the plane ticket will help.”
“So we need to pull off a double-play. Rachel, I’ll get you to the audition. We’ll sneak out of town, drive to teh airport, and I’ll come with you on the plane. I can wait around while you audition, and drive you straight to whatever’s happening when we get back. Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, you need to run interference. When the day comes, you need to keep Terri from finding out. Best case scenario, she won’t even know Rachel’s gone. We’ll fill in Artie and Mike tomorrow, and you guys can bring Ms. Pillsbury in on this, if you have to - as the guidance counsellor, she should already know about it, right? She can tell Mr. Schue, keep him calm. If he knows I’m with her, that should help.”
Rachel reached inside her jacket, and dug into the inside pocket. “I’ve got the Master Schedule here.” Pulling out a sheaf of paper, she unfolded it and flicked through several pages.
“Geez, how big is that thing?” Tina gasped.
“Twenty A4 pages, all double-sided, then folded into an A5 booklet,” Rachel said dryly. “Includes a date by date schedule of events, and details the personal responsibilities of everyone in the wedding party, including a list of who’s supposed to attend what event.” Finding the right page, she ran her finger along the paper. “Okay. The actual wedding rehearsal is the evening of the sixth. If it goes well, maybe I can appeal to Dad to let me stay over at your house, Kurt?”
“That would make things easier,” Kurt agreed. “You could just get in Finn’s truck and drive off after breakfast. Carole and my Dad would help cover for you if we need them to, I’m sure of it. But what if your - I mean, Terri - tells Mr. Schue that you’re grounded?”
Rachel shrugged. “Nearly everything Terri says to him sort of goes in one ear and out the other these days, so if she tells him I’m grounded I doubt he’ll actually do it. As long as I don’t cause trouble by skipping a wedding event, Terri won’t notice if I’m around or not. That brings us to the seventh. There’s a final dress fitting in the morning - Kurt, can you get her to let you deal with that?”
Kurt nodded. “Santana and Brittany hate their dresses even more than you do. They’ll help out just to foil Terri.”
“Then there’s something about categorising wedding presents - but I don’t need to be involved in that, it’s just Terri, Quinn and Kendra, probably gloating over the loot. That’s it until the pre-wedding cocktail party and supper, in the same ballroom at the Grand that we’ll be having the reception in. It’s supposedly an informal buffet without any organized seating, so if I miss it, hopefully there will be too many people milling around for Terri to be sure if I’m there or not.”
“So, we have a plan?” Finn asked.
Everyone nodded, and Rachel smiled. Her real smile, and everything that was wound up and hurting inside him, loosened and went back to normal.
D-DAY
March 7
Finn was yawning as they drove away at six AM, with Carole and Kurt waving them off before heading back to bed. Rachel was going through the backpack she’d given Kurt two days ago and asked to keep for her, in case Terri ambushed her for being in public.
“Alright. There’s the copy of my application form and all the paperwork in the pink folder. Check. In the gold star folder, my sheet music for the singing review, including alternates in case someone has the same pieces, check. Copies of my monologues for the drama review, check. My yoga pants and tank top for the dance review, check. My wallet, check. Airline tickets, check.” Rachel gasped in horror, “Oh no!”
“What?” exclaimed Finn, almost running over the curb.
Rachel looked at him, aghast. “You’re allowed to wear whatever you wish for the acting and singing reviews, but I need a proper costume to be comfortable, and I couldn’t bring a real dress with me - I could only fit the dance review outfit in my bag. Finn, I’m in a denim mini and a sweater for traveling; I’ll be okay for the interview, but I can’t audition like this! I’d spend the entire time distracted by how unprofessional I looked. Is there any chance we could find something in the airport stores? They’re bound to have something at JFK-”
“Rachel, it’s cool.” Finn grinned and nodded to the back of the car. “Back seat.”
Ignoring the traffic laws for possibly the first time in her life, Rachel unfastened her seatbelt and scrambled into the backseat, almost falling onto the garment bag that was spread across it. Hastily, she unzipped it, only to freeze in horror at the first glimpse of cerise.
“Finn, this is my maid of honor dress! I’ll be laughed off the stage!”
“Have a look at the whole thing - Kurt told me that he performed an emergency surgery on it. He’ll do the same thing for Santana and Brittany at the final dress fitting this morning, he said, as a public service.”
Well, if Kurt said he’d taken care of it.... Rachel unzipped it all the way, and found... no ruffles whatsoever. Not a single oversized bow. No thick bands of sequins, and the floor-length empire-waisted sash was now only a couple of fingers wide, tying in a cute bow beneath her bust. With the ruffles gone, the sleeves came halfway down the bicep, and Kurt had used some of the excess material from the satin sash to make them into lantern sleeves to match Quinn’s. The satin also edged a much lower-cut neckline, which now bordered on racy without crossing over it. It looked like Kurt had cut the skirt to above-knee-length, too, so at least she wouldn’t trip over it, and used more of the satin for a narrow trim on the new hem.
“Okay, well, this is much better. I’m not sure how good I’ll actually look, but at least I won’t make anyone else faint.” Rachel sighed in relief, and climbed back into the front passenger seat.
As they left Lima city limits, Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ came on, and Rachel laughed. “Brings back memories, huh?”
Finn laughed back. “This was the first song we ever sang together.”
“Thank you so much for picking me up from ballet, Finn,” Rachel told him politely. “I really appreciate it. I don’t mind the walk at all, but after a long class it can be very tiring.”
“It’s okay, Rachel. It’s pretty much on the way to my house, anyway.”
Only if he came straight from school, though. Finn had actually been home already, when Quinn called him up and demanded he pick Rachel up, because there was no way she could let the Cheerios leave the field after the pathetic practice they’d had.
He didn’t save his game, drag on his sneakers and do it because of Quinn. He did it because his heart twisted in his chest at the thought of tiny Rachel anxiously waiting outside her dance studio for a ride that would never come (and knowing Rachel, she’d spend twenty minutes dreading that Quinn had been in an accident, before it ever occurred to her that maybe Quinn had just been thoughtless enough to stand her up), before sadly walking home, dragging her feet the whole way.
Little did they know, between ballet, voice, and rehearsals, this would be only the first of many car trips they’d take together . Quinn didn’t like rearranging her life to accommodate her sister’s activities, and saw no reason to when she had an obliging boyfriend to do it for her.
As they turned onto the main road, Rick Springfield’s ‘Jesse’s Girl’ came on the radio.
“Oh, I love this song!” Finn exclaimed, turning up the volume. Four bars later, Finn started singing along.
Rachel watched him in utter fascination the whole time, admiring his natural performance. Yes, his technique was fairly raw, but there was something appealing in his unaffected delivery that seemed to bring out the emotions behind the song even more.
At the end of the song, Finn ended with an imitation drum-noise, and only then seemed to remember his passenger.
“Oh, Rachel! Man, I didn’t annoy you, did I? I bet someone as talented as you must get really annoyed at having to listen to amateurs.”
“Not at all,” Rachel reassured him. “I really enjoyed your performance, Finn. You’re very talented. I should know; I’m very talented too!”
“Okay, then, next song playing that you like is your turn!”
That started the tradition, each of them taking turns to perform for the other. Finn sang REO Speedwagon, Van Halen, KISS, Bruce Springsteen, and - for a more modern mood - Dashboard Confessional. Rachel preferred Pat Benatar, Patty Smyth, 20th century Madonna, and surprised Finn by finding a couple of CD’s by The Runaways, although she refused to sing the more provocative lyrics. She tried introducing him to some of her Broadway soundtracks too, but had no luck until she stumbled on a recording for a current Off-Broadway production called ‘Rock of Ages’.
Two more ballet class round trips, three voice lessons, and four rehearsals playing young Cosette in the community theatre’s production of ‘Les Miserables’, and Finn introduced Rachel to Journey. Unable to hold back in the face of his enthusiasm any more, Rachel joined him in improvising a duet arrangement to ‘Don’t Stop Believing’.
Almost a year later, Rachel would realize that was when she fell in love with Finn Hudson.
“I think it’s a good omen,” Finn declared.
Rachel smiled, nodded, and resisted the urge to lunge across the seat and kiss him senseless. “I think so too.”
“Hey Rach? I get why we’re going to Toledo instead of Columbus; it’s almost half an hour less to drive. But why aren’t we just going to Fort Wayne or Dayton International? They’re even closer.”
Rachel shrugged. “They also don’t have direct flights to JFK today. I don’t know for sure how late in the afternoon my audition is going to be - it’s feasible that the world doesn’t actually revolve around Quinn’s wedding, and we won’t be getting home until after midnight. Worst case scenario, your Mom promised she’d back up Dad and Emma in supporting my cause.”
Finn smirked. “Y’know, part of me almost wishes she has to. I think Artie’s going to have his video camera on him tonight, and if not Kurt would totally record the video on his phone for us later.”
TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
New York City
3pm
Rachel took a deep breath as she quickly paced the corridor, walking off her buzz - it was a tricky business, using up nervous energy in order to remain composed on stage, while leaving enough to fuel your performance.
She was sure that she’d made a good impression in the interview - at the very least, she’d impressed the committee enough to get called back for the auditions. There had been several people in the dance review who’d been better than her, but she’d expected that, and she still felt that she’d done well. Her drama review had gone off without a hitch, and she made a mental note to stop by the Godiva boutique nearest JFK to get Tina and Mercedes a Godiva Gold Ballotin box each to thank them for all their help running lines for her.
But the singing review was the one she felt would be the deciding factor. She was a talented actress and dancer, yes, but it was in singing that she was truly gifted.
Turning back, she checked the time and decided to head for the auditorium. She badly wished that Finn was with her, but the rules forbade anyone but the people auditioning from being present. Also, Finn had her phone, and part of her was paranoid about whether they’d been missed yet. Even after explaining the situation to one of the proctors, this was the earliest time she’d been able to get for her final review. If she and Finn couldn’t get to JFK by four PM and missed their flight, they wouldn’t make it to the party until after nine PM, and that would lead to problems.
Slipping through the doors, she discreetly made her way over to the wall, intent on using the furthest aisle to make her way to the front rows, where the aspiring students had to wait. Just as she reached the corner, she heard a voice.
“Psst, Rachel!”
Almost jumping out of her skin, Rachel looked wildly towards the corner. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, but there was an opening to a set of stairs, hidden by the darkness. Service stairs for ushers or stage techs, maybe? There was only one person in New York City right now who knew her name, but moving to the stairs, she was still astonished to find Finn lurking in the stairwell.
“How did you get in?” she asked in disbelief.
“I’m a student here, remember? I showed the sleepiest-looking proctor my student I.D., told him I was the alternate accompanist. It says right on the card I’m a music major.”
“But the accompanist is for piano only! You play drums and guitar!”
“It doesn’t mention that on my student I.D.” Finn smiled and shrugged. “I really needed to be here for this part, Rachel, to watch you.”
Rachel smiled, and threw herself into his arms for a hug.
After they pulled apart, Finn nodded to the front. “I think they’re calling you next. Break a leg.”
Rachel smiled, and couldn’t hold back any longer. As the words spilled from her lips, it felt almost as if she’d been born for this moment; born to say these words to this man. “I love you.”
Then she turned and strolled down to the stage, feeling like she was walking on air.
Nothing could bring her down. Nothing could stop her.
Finn sat down hard on the step, his head whirling. It didn’t cross his mind for a second that Rachel had meant that she loved him like a friend or brother. No, Rachel meant that in an ‘I’m in love with you, my heart is yours forever’ kind of way.
Holy shit. When had this happened?
Almost as if he was answering himself, a torrent of memories ran through his mind, of countless split-second moments, words and images and even of the way Rachel looked at him at least once every time she sang a love song. Even things that Kurt had said, hinting at something he wished Finn would understand because he couldn’t say it himself.
Holy shit. How had he not seen this before?
The piano spilled a waterfall of notes, and Finn stood, descending the stairs to stand right in front of them. He knew this song.
The spotlight suited Rachel Berry, and as she sang ‘On My Own’, Finn realized for the first time why she had always given it such a heartbreakingly hopeful quality. It was because of him, the way she felt about him; she’d used her love for him - love that she had no idea if it would ever be returned - as fuel in her interpretation of the song.
A single tear ran down his cheek, and as he wiped it away, the piano rang out again.
This time he grinned. Their first true competition in Glee Club, Coach Sylvester had leaked their set list, and they’d sat in horror as they watched their competition perform the songs they’d worked so hard on. Rachel and Finn’s connection had kicked into high gear, and they’d rallied the club to put together an alternative set list. Rachel had been thrust into the opening solo with no rehearsal, only a song by her idol that she’d been working on since before her fathers had died.
Rachel was belting the song out now; the lyrics that said no one could hold her back, that she was going to pursue her dream come what may, that she would make her own destiny come true.
Finn smiled. It was so simple, really, the answer to every question.
It was Rachel. It had always been Rachel.
Rachel had left the stage, and was walking up the sloping theatre floor towards him. When she was halfway up, Finn held out his arms. Rachel gave him a two-million-watt smile and ran to him.
When she reached him, she flung her arms around his neck at the same time she jumped up, and Finn caught her just in time to balance her as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Before he could congratulate himself on not dropping her, Rachel’s lips were on his.
It was even better than in the bowling alley all those years ago. Except this time? Finn was prepared to swear on Keith Moon’s drumsticks that the world really did stop.
When they finally broke for air, Finn couldn’t help but smile.
Why hadn’t he realized it before? It was so obvious! It was the easiest thing to say in the world.
“I love you too, Rachel. I have from the first time I heard you sing.”
“Finn, I was thirteen years old!” she giggled.
“Why do you think I’ve been in denial about it for so long?”