Rhythm of Love (The Winn Remix)
Title: Rhythm of Love (The Winn Remix)
Author: hopenight
Pairing: Winn (Will/Finn), minor Will/Terri, mentions of other characters
Rating: PG-13
Warning: language, AU, teen!Will
Word Count: 4,775
Prompt: (for winnners bi-weekly prompt) Finn Hudson has been in love with his best friend, Will Schuester, for as long as he can remember. He just can't bring himself to act on his feelings. That is, until, girls are starting to notice Will and Finn doesn't like it one bit.
Summary: Sometimes love hits you like a freight train: fast and hard and almost deadly disorienting. Other times it happens like slowly falling molasses. For Will Schuester and Finn Hudson…it was a combination of both. (And Puck can’t really deal with this sort of relationship crap.)
A/N: This is for tawg'sbirthday. Because she is an awesome friend, a kickass writer, and just a great person all around. The song os Rhythm of Love by the Plain White T's.
“My head is stuck in the clouds. She begs me to come down. Says ‘Boy quit foolin' around’”
When Will and Finn first met, they were four years old. Will’s family had moved to the neighborhood and, in an effort to have their son make friends, his parents dropped him off at the neighborhood playgroup. Finn, who looked like he was six, stopped playing cops and robbers with Puck (who was still Noah at this point) before walking over to the small boy with the curly hair, bright eyes, and shy smile. Will stared at Finn with wide eyes and words seemed to fail him.
“Hi!” said Finn cheerily, “I’m Finn.”
“‘M Will,” said the shorter boy tugging at his shirt.
“Cool,” said Finn with a large grin stretching across his face, “You wanna be friends?”
Will seemed to cheer up at that. He straightened up and grinned at Finn, “Sure!”
Finn laughed and grabbed Will’s hand dragging him off to introduce him to Puck, who was playing in the sandbox with Artie.
“I told her ‘I love the view from up here. The warm sun and wind in my ear. We'll watch the world from above. As it turns to the rhythm of love’”
“Girls,” decided ten year old Finn Hudson, “are weird.”
“There’s no question about that,” answered ten year old Will Schuester as he turned another page in his book. He glanced at Finn, “What brought this on?”
“Quinn,” replied his friend as he plopped his thin and lanky frame next to Will, “She keeps on going on about how we’re going to date. But I don’t wanna date her.”
“Then don’t,” said Will like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Will and Finn, even at age ten, looked like they were complete opposites. Finn’s clothes were old, since he routinely grew out of them and it was easier on the wallet to buy them at the Salvation army. He wore baggy t-shirts and sweaters with worn, grass stained jeans from playing sports all day long. Will’s clothes were newer but comfortable. His jeans were moderately clean and his shirts were more fitting. Will’s wild mess of honey colored curls were in direct contradiction with Finn’s chocolate spikes. Will was the shortest boy in the class, but the quickest by far, while Finn was the tallest.
They made on odd pair, even if a person got to know them, their differences went further than outside appearances. Finn was hyper but did not take to school well. Will was straight A student and loved to read. Finn was loud, active, and vibrant. Will was laid back, patient, and mellow. Teachers routinely saw Finn and Will with their heads together as Will explained the lesson to Finn in patient turns. Finn completely enraptured by his friend.
They were still best friends despite by these differences. They snuck out of their houses and went into the small park in the middle of their neighborhood to stargaze. Sometimes, they would sneak out food which would be devoured on top of blanket as Will excitedly told Finn the various stories of the stars in the sky. They would stay over each other’s houses so much that they each had several changes of clothes in the others dresser. A plate was routinely set for the other boy in either household.
Finn threw an arm around Will’s shoulder. (They never really had personal space with each other.) Will placed down his book and looked at Finn, who was grinning.
“You’re right.”
“Of course I am,” said Will in a mock arrogant tone, “I know everything.”
Finn laughed, “C’mon. Play some basketball with me, Puck, Matt and Mike.”
“Alright, alright,” said Will good-naturedly as he followed Finn to the court.
“We may only have tonight. But till the morning sun you're mine all mine. Play the Music low and sway to the rhythm of love.”
Will and Finn had their first kiss at age eleven with each other. It was just a simple press of the lips against lips. It was more driven by curiosity than anything else. They really didn’t bring it up again.
However, they both thought the kiss was nice and that it felt right in an oddly indefinable way.
They were still eleven and the feelings for their best friend were strange. So they ignored them, burying them deep in order to keep the one person that was more precious than anything in the world.
“My heart beats like a drum. A guitar string to the strum. A beautiful song to be sung.”
“How come you never do any of this at school?” asked fourteen year old Finn watching Will practicing his vocal scales on the piano.
“Because I don’t want to get beat up,” sang Will to the scale.
“Impressive,” answered Finn with a grin, “But it’s not like your alone. I mean, Mike’s in your dance class right?”
“Yeah,” said Will with a shrug, “I guess I never thought about it. I like doing this stuff. But I don’t want to get made fun of more than I already am. I’m a nerd remember?”
“I think you should do it.”
“Really?” asked Will shyly still looking nervous.
“Really,” said Finn standing to his full height of five feet nine inches, “If anyone gives you trouble then I’ll protect you. I may not good for much but that I can do.”
“Stop putting yourself down, Finn. You’re doing really well.”
“Only because you’ve been helping me.”
“Because you’re my friend. Besides you look like a kicked puppy when you get a bad grade.”
Finn snorted, “Like a Doberman?”
“More like a poodle.”
“Oh you’re going down Schuester.”
Will laughed and danced out of Finn’s grasp, running out of the room.
Finn swallowed thickly as the sight of Will with his long, messy curls and bright eyes made his heart pound in double time.
The weird floaty feeling when Will had gotten the lead role of the middle school play was ever better than the hug Will had given him complete with his mom’s chocolate chip cookies.
“She's got blue eyes deep like the sea. That roll back when she's laughing at me.”
“So glee club, huh?” inquired sixteen year old Finn Hudson as he sat across from his best friend. The cafeteria went almost deathly silent at the sight of the quarterback at the newly form glee club’s table.
“You know it,” shot back Will with a grin as the small club that sat around him stared at Finn (not a surprise the elementary and middle schools Will and Finn went to was rather small for a public schools), “I’m thinking that we can be scrappy underdogs that get all the best lines in the movies.”
“Cool,” answered the quarterback as he and Will exchanged pudding cups (a habit as long as their friendship).
“You wanna try out?” asked Will innocently with a wicked smile playing his lips, “You can bang on the drums until your arms fall off.”
“It would be a good addition to our club,” said Rachel Berry suddenly, “If we had someone as popular as yourself, Finn, and then perhaps we could recruit more members to enhance my vocal presence.”
The other members of the club stared at Rachel with their eyebrows quirked. Will and Artie, who had been friends for just as long as Will and Finn but not as close, chuckled and rolled their eyes.
“Just try out?” asked Finn tentatively.
“Just try out,” assured Will, “Besides you owe me for the embarrassment I suffered from my football tryout.”
“I’m never going to live that down.”
“Not as long as I still have to see Miss Pillsbury for counseling.”
Finn sighed and held out his hands, “You drive a hard bargain, Schuester.”
“I try my best, Hudson.”
They both snickered before looking around the still semi-silent cafeteria.
“Awwwkwwwaaaardd,” sang Will standing with a smile at Finn, “Wanna take a walk?”
Finn grabbed the last half of his second hoagie, “Sounds good to me. I had no idea we were that entertaining.”
“Neither did I,” answered Will waving toward his fellow members of glee, “Later guys!”
Artie waved at them cheerfully before turning back to his lunch. The other members waved back dazedly like they weren’t sure if what just happened was real or not.
“Is the Track Captain still stalking you?” asked Finn as he bit into his lunch, brushing crumbs off his shirt with his free hand.
“He’s ruthless. I enjoy running but I don’t want to do it competitively. Besides I’m well liked enough. I have no real desire for popularity.”
“This is true.”
“Besides I really don’t care about popularity. It always seems to be such a hassle. Long as you’re still there. I’m good.”
Finn grinned and draped his arm around Will’s shoulder, even though his friend was still way shorter than him. An odd, bright feeling overtook him.
“Me too, Will, me too.”
Will snorted, jokingly pushing him away. Finn pretended to fall into the lockers. Both teens laughed at their own stupidity as they walked to the library, talking about their plans for that night.
Finn tried out for glee the next day and got in, much to Will’s delight (and Rachel’s but that’s a totally different story). He kept with it, despite what the others said, even dragging Puck, Matt, and Mike along with him.
It was fun performing. Finn knew that he wasn’t going to perform a lead anytime soon. But he liked hanging out with Will after school again.
If he was really honest with himself though…
He just loved watching the look of pure delight and unabashed joy that overtook Will’s face when he performed. The way his gray-green eyes would light up and the smooth graceful motions of his body as he danced. Finn didn’t know a whole lot but he knew talent when he saw it.
At least, he kept telling himself that it was talent
And anyone who gave shit to the glee club, especially Will Schuester, had to deal with Finn Hudson’s wrath.
Finn just ignored the funny, flip-flop feeling in his stomach every time Will smiled at him after a performance: face-flushed and voice breathy soft.
“She rises up like the ride. The moment her lips meet mine.”
“Dude,” said Puck as he tossed a water balloon at the back of Finn’s head, “Stop acting like a fucking puppy.”
“But he’s coming home today!” said Finn excitedly as he shook the water off like a dog.
Will had gotten into an exclusive theatre camp for the summer and went to it with Finn’s encouragement. Throughout the six weeks, there was a constant stream of emails and texts and late night phone calls. Finn missed his best friend terribly, even though he hung out with his friends from football and glee enjoying himself.
It just didn’t feel right if Will wasn’t there.
“Yeah yeah I know your boyfriend is coming home today. But c’mon man! Testosterone, bikini mud wrestling, football follow the pattern or do I need to buy you tampons for your new vagina?”
“I can still kick your sorry ass in Halo,” stated Finn and after a couple moments adding, “And he’s not my boyfriend.”
“Dude please you’ve been in love with Will since we were five. You and me are best friends.”
“Then what about me and Will?”
“Dude you’re so close to being boyfriends with Will that I’m kind of surprised that we are having this conversation,” said Puck as he tried to catch a Skittle in his mouth using only a spoon.
Finn sat in silence for several moments after that statement. He mulled over a couple things, his feelings for Will over the years being one. He didn’t even realize that it happened. It was such a slow fall, like drifting off to sleep after a big dinner, that he didn’t know it. With a groan, Finn dropped his head into his hands.
“I’m in love with my best friend,” he announced to the world, “Does that make me gay?”
“Do I look like Hummel dude? Fucked if I know. Do you want to be gay?”
“I don’t know! I never thought about it!” said Finn flailing his arms around.
Puck sighed like he was the most put upon teenager in Ohio before shaking Finn back to his senses.
“Dude! Breathe. Oxygen good. Deep. Breaths. Alright. Now I am secured enough in my masculinity and badassness to have this conversation with you. Still after we are done, I’m getting me some hot cougar tail.”
“What about Quinn?”
“She wants to take a break after the whole baby thing. Priorities or something like that,” said Puck with a shrug, “I mean I could see that coming. We’re just too different y’know.”
Finn blinked, “Yeah I guess.”
“Alright,” said Puck sitting down, “You are in love with Will Schuester.”
“I think so.”
“No dude. You don’t get to talk. You listen and agree because I have a bet with Abrams and Santana riding on this. And I’ll be damn if I paid any money to my ex.”
“A bet?”
“Since freshman year.”
“That long?”
“Yep. Now if you two get together during the first half of the first semester of junior year. I win two hundred bucks. Now shut the fuck up and listen.”
Finn sighed but nodded.
“Good. You, for some reason, are in love with Will Schuester. You have been in love with Will since we were kids. And, dude, he’s totally in love with you too. Every time either one of you has a date, the other one looks like someone kicked their puppy or some shit. It never goes anywhere, relationship wise. Face facts, dude. Even if you and Will weren’t realizing it you were in a more serious relationship then most married couples.”
“Marriage?” asked Finn weakly with a dazed look in his eyes.
Puck rolled his eyes up to the sky, “I do not get paid enough for this shit.”
“We may only have tonight. But till the morning sun you're mine all mine. Play the Music low and sway to the rhythm of love.”
Will hummed under his breath happily as he got more comfortable on his bus seat.
“Someone’s happy,” purred a dark haired girl with deep brown eyes.
“I guess I am Shelby,” said Will with a grin.
The star of Vocal Adrenaline crossed her long legs and flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. Her perfectly manicured fingers were deftly scrolling through songs in iPod.
“Is it because of Finn?”
Will blinked, “Well yes.”
The girl giggled, “Oh Will! You two must be such a cute couple at school.”
“Wha-?”
But Shelby had turned her attention back to her iPod, leaving Will trying to puzzle out what exactly she meant by that.
“When the moon is low. We can dance in slow motion. And all your tears will subside.”
Finn, who was lying in his bed in a stupor after Puck dropped him off, stared at the ceiling in a blank daze. He was in live with Will and he never even realized it.
Shit. Finn knew he was dumb but how did that happen without him noticing.
“Dammit,” muttered Finn as he rubbed the heels of his palms into his eyes.
He grabbed his cell phone as he heard the ‘ping’ of text tone. He quickly read the message.
Come to the park? I got the blanket and drinks. W
Finn couldn’t help let the small smile slip onto his face. Maybe he was in love with Will, but maybe there was some off chance that Will could love him back.
I’ll bring the snacks & music. F
See you in 10? W
Finn chuckled. Even in his text messages, Will strove to not give into chat-speak. It annoyed him, which gave Finn extra incentive to use it.
C u then. F
Snickering, Finn stood and walked down to the kitchen to grab some food. Grabbing his old CD player, Finn scribbled a note to his mom and walked out to the small park located near his house.
He could see Will’s curly mop and grinned as he walked closer.
Will, hearing Finn approach, stood to greet his friend. Finn stopped and stared.
Will had grown where he was up to Finn’s shoulder before, he near eye level to him know. Only a couple of measly inches did Finn have over him. His thin frame was gone, replaced by a leaner one toned by hours of dancing and running. His hair was the same mass of curls Finn had always known, but there was something totally different about Will.
Finn’s heart pounded in his chest.
“Hey,” said Will with a grin. (Did he have dimples? Shit, Finn knew this required some research.)
“Hey,” choked out Finn as he plopped down next to his friend, “So how was that camp thingy?”
“It was cool,” said Will with a shrug, “It would have been better if you were there. How about Lima?”
“Dude this is Lima. How do you think it was?”
“You make an excellent point.”
“It still would’ve been better if you were here too. I think I was driving Mom and Burt a little insane toward the end.”
Will snickered, “Time to swap stories?”
Finn smiled back. Not-really-confusing feelings about his best friend pushed aside. He was in love with Will, cool.
Maybe Puck was right. Maybe Will was in love with him too.
“All your tears will dry. And long after I've gone. You'll still be humming along.”
“Oh. My. God. When did Schuester get so hot?” inquired a red-headed Cheerio as she watched Will walking down the hallway pushing Artie, laughing at something the other boy said.
“I heard that he went to like New York over the summer,” informed a black-haired girl with a predatory look in her perfectly made-up eyes.
“Summer camp makeovers,” sighed a tall, slim brunette, “The only way to get some fresh meat into the Lima dating pool.”
The girls broke out into happy laughter as they walked away. Finn closed his locker shut and narrowed his eyes at their backs.
This? Not good.
So he did what any reasonable person did in this situation: he hunted down a neutral third party. In this case, it was Mike.
They had known each other since freshman year in between football, three classes, and glee; you really got to know a guy. So Finn knew Mike well enough that he wouldn’t be judged or laughed at by the other boy.
“Whoa,” said Mike as he stared at Finn’s sour expression, “Who pissed you off?”
“Demon Cheerios want to suck out Will’s soul.”
Mike raised an eyebrow, “So you finally got with the program, huh?”
Finn bit his lips and sighed, “Yeah.”
“Nothing to be ashamed about,” said Mike with a gentle smile, “So you’re having a bit of a dilemma?”
“Huh?”
“A problem,” clarified Mike.
“Oh,” said Finn with a nod, “Pretty much. I mean, Will’s awesome. And people never really got it y’know? Plus there was that year he was obsessed with Nirvana and…”
Mike raised an eyebrow. Finn flushed.
“Never mind about that though. It’s just that I mean I kind of know about how I feel but it’s like this…”
Finn paused thinking about what to say next. Mike took pity on him and clarified.
“It’s like if you tell him and he doesn’t feel the same way, then what will happen to your friendship. But if you don’t tell him then you’re going to be giving the evil eye to anyone who tried to date him.”
“Pretty much,” agreed Finn as he played with a loose thread on his letterman’s jacket.
“It’s kind of like that movie Sophie’s Choice.”
Finn looked up and stared at Mike, who flushed.
“Dude I live in a house with four women and my effeminate cousin. Trust me; it’s a miracle that I don’t know more girly stuff than I already know.”
“Alllllrighty then. So do I tell him or y’know don’t I?”
Mike shrugged his shoulders, “That’s something for you to answer, Finn. But for what my opinion is worth, I think you should go for it.”
“Why?”
“Because I never seen anyone look at another person the way that Will looks at you.”
“And I will keep you in my mind. The way you make love so fine.”
“I’ve got a date,” said Will with a smile.
“What?” asked Finn as his stomach dropped to his knees.
“I’ve got a date,” said Will again slowly, “With Terri.”
Finn resisted the urge to groan and bang his head into the lockers (the industrial kind that made a good clanging noise when heads were banged against them…as they did frequently during midterms/finals.), because he knew which Terri that Will was talking about. Terri Delmonico was pretty, perky, and psycho. Seriously, Finn harbored a suspicion that the only reason she was a Cheerio was that Coach Sylvester was scared she would get ganked on the way to her car by Terri.
Finn was scared for Will’s safety. But at the deeper level, he was jealous. He did not like the thought of Terri kissing Will or touching Will or even breathing the same air as Will.
Finn had no idea that he was such a jealous type before.
However, Will looked so excited at the prospect of going out with Terri. Finn just didn’t have it in him to be angry with his best friend, even if he did have questionable taste in girls. Finn chewed his lip, shoved down the sick feeling of jealousy, and smiled at his best friend.
“Dude that’s great! Congrats!”
Will grinned shyly at Finn and socked him in the arm. Finn nudged Will in the shoulder. They both snickered.
When Will left to get ready for his date on Saturday; Puck, Mike, and Matt where over twenty minutes later with extra controls and latest Call of Duty, they played and didn’t say anything about relationships, or Will, or anything related to dating.
Finn was thankful that he had such awesome friends.
“We may only have tonight…”
Finn really didn’t like Terri. The feeling was very much mutual. He and Terri were doing this ultra-covert battle with Will as the target. Terri didn’t understand why Will spent so much time with Finn, and resorted to manipulating Will into feeling bad to spend time with her. Finn listened to Will quietly cover for Terri, while even he wasn’t believing his own lies.
“She’s nice,” said Will one night, “But it’s like hidden. She has layers.”
“Like onions?” asked Finn as he traced Orion’s belt with his fingers.
Will snorted and said, “No more like a parfait. Everybody loves a parfait.”
They both snickered.
However, more than hating Finn, Terri hated glee club. As far as Finn knew, the only two things they fought about were glee and Finn. It was like watching a very slow moving car wreck, except several times more painful. Because the football player saw how those insults hurt Will, made him doubt himself.
Will was the kind of kid that always marched to his own drum. He never really cared what people thought of him. So he read obscurely smart writers and could quote Shakespeare and knew weird bands and followed rugby more than regular football and liked British television. So what? It’s what made him an awesome person.
It’s what made Finn love him.
And Terri couldn’t appreciate that. She couldn’t see all those awesomely weird and wonderful things that made Will just so amazing.
It made Finn a little cranky over that. So he was stuck sending dirty looks at Terri, while she stared at Finn as she kissed Will.
It sucked when only two people in the love triangle were only aware of it.
But Finn bit his tongue because he loved Will. If Terri made Will happy, then Finn wanted Will to be happy.
Even if it meant getting his heart broken every time he saw them kiss.
“But till the morning sun you're mine all mine. Play the music low and sway to the rhythm of love.”
It was a Friday night and Finn was having a Transformers marathon (a little bit of the classic cartoon and a little bit of the movies). He was watching Bumblebee kick Barricade’s ass while that kid from Even Stevens and that girl that Puck wanted to bang (number one on his list of celebs) watched from the side. He was cheering on Bumblebee when the doorbell ring, grumbling Finn paused his movie and went to answer the door.
“Will?”
Will was standing there: red eyed and shaking. Finn’s overprotective instincts kicked in full force. He quietly led Will in, got him a towel, a change of clothes, and a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. They sat in silence: Will wearing a pair of jeans that he left behind at one point and a shirt of Finn’s.
“…Terri was cheating on me.”
“Sorry,” said Finn.
“Thanks. I guess it was going down the tube.”
“Sort of,” agreed Finn, “I mean she is a little…out there.”
“That’s putting it mildly. I just thought that maybe if I stuck with it then we could connect on some level.”
“Not a chance?”
“She said that I was more in love with you then I could ever be with her,” blurted out Will who flushed and looked at his folded hands, “Sorry. I mean…I…”
They both sat there with red faces, looking everywhere but at the other’s eyes.
“Will,” began Finn, “I…”
“Yes?” questioned Will with a hopeful expression on his face.
“Never mind,” said Finn quickly with a blush.
“Oh,” mumbled Will looking down.
Finn sighed, “When did life get so complicated?”
“It’s high school. I think it’s supposed to be hard and complicated until you’re an adult.”
“Repression?” asked Finn with a smirk.
“Repression,” said Will solemnly.
“Will?”
“Yeah?”
“I really like you.”
“Oh,” said Will, “Cool.”
“What?"
“I found out Terri was cheating on me Tuesday. I’ve been having a good existential crisis over you and me this week.”
“That’s why you’ve been diving into empty classrooms when you saw me?”
“Kurt and Artie held an intervention for me to talk some sense into me.”
“At least you didn’t have Puck.”
“Cold comfort,” said Will, “Kurt picked apart my wardrobe while Artie just kept on making Torchwood comparisons. An awkward time was had by me.”
Finn laughed. They lapsed into a slightly more comfortable silence.
“So what do we do now?” asked Will looking at Finn.
“I think we just keep doing what were doing before this whole mess,” Finn paused for a moment before adding, “Except y’know we jump each other and make out a lot.”
“I can do that,” said Will with a smile.
“So can I,” agreed Finn.
They drank their cocoa for a complete more moments, Finn looked at Will with a grin on his face.
“I was watching Transformers.”
“Bastard,” said Will with a grin, “took you this long to tell me?”
They sat down and Finn started the movie from the beginning. It was just like every other time they watched a movie. They made fun of the bad dialogue, gaped at the special effects, cheered during the fight scenes. Except their hands were firmly entwined together and they both had these stupid silly grins on their faces.
And at the end of the movie, they totally made out.
Finn had to admit that this whole ‘falling for your best friend since childhood’ thing was the best thing that had happened ever.