Once Upon A Time In Lima (Part Three)
Title: Once Upon A Time In Lima
Author: hopenight
Artist: breea1
Genre: Slash, Fantasy, Romance, Humor, Alternate Universe
Word Count: 15, 226
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Finn Hudson, Will Schuester, Noah "Puck" Puckerman, Rachel Berry, Brittany, Quinn Fabray, Terri Schuester, Will/Finn, Rachel/Brittany, past Will/Terri, past Quinn/Finn, past Quinn/Puck
Warnings/Spoilers: boy kissing, age difference, AU
Author's Note: I would like to tank the people over at the winnners community for just being them! I would also like to thank starryskies/ gleeful_beatfor just being there! I would like to thank my beta squire_conrad
Summary: We are shown early on that life isn’t like a fairytale or a legend. However, there are those rare cases when something magical happens. Finn Hudson’s case is in the more extreme version of things. After breaking into a house on a dare, he meets Will who is a really nice guy with a killer voice. Problem is that he’s kind of cursed to look like a horrible beast.
Suddenly Finn finds himself spending time with Will and falling a little bit in love. However, his best friend and his ex-girlfriend are keeping a secret. He has to help start a lesbian relationship. And in the midst of all this, he needs to make his happy ending. No said being in your own fairytale would be easy after all. It just makes life so much more interesting.
“We’ve met before but something tells me that you’re going to remember me this time.” -Lester Burnham American Beauty
Time began to move by quicker for Finn. His life suddenly a whirlwind of school, football, basketball conditioning, chores, Mom, and (most importantly) Will. He doesn’t exactly know when the kind beast became such a major part of his life. It’s odd how he slipped in there. Fitting as though he had always belong like some missing puzzle piece.
But it made his life much more interesting.
However, the affections of one Rachel Berry definitely did not. Especially since the fact that Quinn’s friend, Brittany, has a crush on the star of the drama club. Not that Quinn’s noticed she seems to have some sort of problem, though she wouldn’t tell him when he asked. Whatever is bothering her, Puck is covering it. His best friend also seems to have a lot going on in his head lately.
It was making Finn antsy because whatever was going on between them is going to boil over sooner or later. But if they can handle, they’ll handle it and come to Finn when they need his help. Right now, he has to focus on the drama of Brittany and Rachel.
Brittany is a sweet girl on the cheerleading squad. She’s tall, pretty, and while she is not book smart…she has a good head for dancing and pop culture. Rumor says that she and Santana Lopez are ‘together’ but Finn saw Santana with her tongue shoved down Mike’s throat. So he isn’t going to believe that rumor, not that he believes most gossip.
Except the one about the cafeteria serving them prison food, he definitely believes that one. Especially since Puck can name the week’s menu based off what his cousin Joshua, who’s a warden, tells him what the prisoners will eat this week.
Finn isn’t surprised because Figgins is such a tight ass with the school’s budget.
“Hi Finn!”
“Hey Rachel,” greeted Finn as politely as he could. Brittany sent him a dirty look as though she had some sort of sensing powers of where Rachel Berry is at all times. Which she probably does.
“So I did my half of the research for our history project. I just wanted to give you it.”
“Oh awesome. I’ve got my half in my locker.”
“Perhaps we can go over to my place to look over it?” asked Rachel staring up at him and batting her eyelashes. Finn smiled nervously.
“As cool as that would be, Rachel. I have plans after school. Maybe we could meet up Saturday?”
She looked at him like he was Jesus, Liza Minnelli, and some other random Broadway star all rolled into one come back from a random day of talking about peace and singing.
“That would be perfect!”
“Cool,” said Finn feeling Brittany’s glare on the back of his neck, “I’ll see you around.”
“Bye!”
Finn would like to point out that he did not run from the cafeteria just walked away very quickly. Unfortunately for him, Brittany followed him out. She cornered him at his locker.
“Do you like Rachel, Finn?” asked the blonde cheerleader directly. She had her arms crossed over her chest.
“Well not in the way you’re thinking,” said the football player nervously. He knew that Brittany held a black belt in judo and could very easily break every bone in his body. Feeling a bit brave he asked, “Besides I thought you were together with Santana?”
“That’s just sex. Santana says it’s normal to experiment in high school and college. But I don’t want to experiment with Rachel. I want to tell her how pretty she is, take her out, and pet her hair.”
“Pet her hair?”
“It’s very nice hair,” said Brittany with an unapologetic shrug, “So you don’t want to go out with her?”
“Not really,” said Finn nervously rubbing the back of his neck, “We’re just partners for this history project. Besides there’s…someone else.”
“Really?!” screeched Brittany happily before hugging him. Apparently all Rachel related sins forgiven in the light of Finn liking someone else. Finn couldn’t help but smile and return the hug.
“So what’s she like?” asked the cheerleader excitedly, “Does she go to school here?”
“Ummm…,” began Finn awkwardly not sure how to tell Brittany he liked a man-beast. He looked around the hallway before whispering, “It’s a guy.”
“What?!” gasped Brittany with wide eyes, “You like…”
She did a vague maneuver with her hands that Finn guessed meant gay sex.
“I don’t know. I like…both? I think it’s just him. He’s been tutoring me in Spanish and…”
His face is probably the color of a tomato at this point. Brittany grinned even wider this time.
“Oh this will be our secret,” she promised hugging him again. “Maybe I can help you with him if you get me in good with Rachel.”
He grinned before nodding, “Sure Brittany. I’ll try my best.”
The bell rang and students poured out into the hallway. He turned to her and said.
“You want me to walk you to Art?”
The cheerleader laughed and nodded before the pair took off to the art room.
“Let me tell you something, there are two things I know for certain; one is Burt and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not gonna die a virgin. Not on my watch. Let’s go.” -Dean Winchester to Castiel ‘Supernatural’
“Do you have any idea how to get two girls together?” asked Finn instead of a greeting. Will stared at the teen for several moments trying to figure out if he was joking or not.
“Well that’s what most porn is usually for,” said the beast as he sat down the smores that he pulled out of the oven. Finn reached out to take one of the tray while Will batted his hand away with a spatula.
“Do you want to get burned?” groused Will as he put the treats on a plate.
“That’s the point of smores. And no I don’t mean like porn stuff. There’s this friend of mine and she likes this girl. I sort of promised that I would help her confess her undying lesbian love for her.”
“I…I’m not sure how to answer that.”
“I’m not sure how I get into these situations.”
“Well,” said Will simply, “What are the two girls like?”
“Brittany’s a cheerleader. She pretty high up on the cheering hierarchal scale too. She’s kind of sweet but not so good at school. Rachel is this intense performer. She’s starred in like every single play since her freshman year.”
“Opposite ends of the social ladder?”
“More like the social solar system,” said Finn biting down into the marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker goodness, “Besides I think Rachel has this little crush on me.”
“Really? Do you like her back?” asked Will quietly looking at him with his intense stare from his gray-green eyes.
“What?! No!” said Finn suddenly, “She’s cool and all; a little grating sometimes but she’s alright. Besides I’m sort of setting her up with one of my friends or trying to at least.”
“Well find situations where Brittany and Rachel can talk and hang out.”
“That’s going to be tricky. Remember? Opposite ends of the social universe.”
Will nodded thinking about it, “Yeah that would be tricky. I would suggest a secret admirer situation but Rachel would probably think it was you.”
“Why would she think it was me?”
“Women’s minds are a very strange and scary place,” said Will with a tone of someone more experienced in those matters. Which made the football player wonder why he sounded like he had a lot of experience; perhaps the whole ‘Will was turned into a beast by magic’ theory was gaining more and more points as their friendship (and Finn’s crush) grew. Finn thought about his own time with Quinn before shuddering in agreement. Maybe this was why he was a little bit gay for Will. He knew how his mind work and it didn’t go into very dark places inhabited by trashy reality TV shows and the View (unlike Quinn’s).
And if it was then it was very, very well hidden.
He chewed thoughtfully on another smore for several seconds.
“Maybe I should just lock them in a closet together.”
“I can tell you from experience that never works.”
Now Will had Finn’s attention. The quarterback leaned forward wearing a shit-eating grin. Their faces nearly touched, which would make Finn a little excited under normal circumstances. But as of right now? He totally needed to hear this story.
“Oh now you have to tell me exactly how you know that.”
Will looked surprise at their sudden closeness before chuckling.
“First off some personal space would be nice.”
Finn laughed but backed off obligingly. Will cleared his throat before breaking into a story about theatre camp, two boys, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, handcuffs, and a convenient towel closet. Finn stayed later than normal swapping random urban legends he knew as Will busted out random moments with the glee club he was a part of.
Finn made a note to check out the library the next day for yearbooks. It was a long shot, but he had to try.
“I just don’t want pity from geeks more useless than I am.” -Spike ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Will was screwed. There was no doubt about it. He was hopelessly, helplessly, utterly screwed. He had gotten in too deep with his friendship with Finn. He knew it as sure as he could recite the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Spanish.
It got a lot worse than that.
The worst part was that Will did not care about it one bit.
He was utterly, totally crushing on Finn.
This was so, so, so totally not good.
Will paused in his washing of the dishes, wincing as a claw broke out of the rubber gloves and scratched the plate. Damn that was worse than nails on a chalkboard.
He still wasn’t sure this…crush (and doesn’t he feel like a complete teenage girl calling it that?) happened with Finn. It all started with the Spanish tutoring. Then it just snowballed as Finn opened up telling Will legends that he knew, which was an impressive number. Will responded by talking about plays he liked, books he had read. Then they just talked about most things (family and Will’s curse didn’t come up), but they would spend most of the afternoon talking, sometimes in Spanish (because Will’s a bit of hard ass sometimes).
He enjoyed Finn’s company. It broke his heart, tore him to shreds.
At the risk of sounding corny and completely ripping off Disney:
Who could ever love a beast?
He didn’t mind if Finn didn’t reciprocate his feelings. He would be happy with his friendship.
It was the best thing that he had going for him anyway.
At least that was what he convinced himself that friendship was the only thing he wanted. Will had became very good a suppressing things for the most part. It was easier than facing the truth most of the time.
Even if the real truth was in front of him all along…
Ah the perils of love are a cruel mistress.
“There are no facts. Only interpretations.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
Sometimes Finn wondered how his life got so odd. He was standing with Brittany on the sidewalk outside the Berry household. For once, Brittany wasn’t in her Cheerios uniform. Instead she was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a pink sweater. She was fidgeting nervously hands messing with the hem of her shirt.
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” began the blonde.
“You asked me for help. This is me giving help. Rachel doesn’t have Mrs. Fineheart. She’ll totally buy the story,” placated Finn, “I will drag you into the house if I must.”
Brittany nodded looking shyer than Finn has ever seen the normally bubbly, enthusiastic girl. She patted down her already perfect hair for the hundredth time.
“Alright let’s do this before I chicken out,” said the girl striding to the house with a purpose. Finn smiled and followed her to the door. He pressed the doorbell. He blinked as ‘Clang, Clang Goes the Trolly’ played. Brittany grinned all nervousness seemingly gone.
“That’s really cute.”
“I guess,” said Finn trying to hold onto some semblance of masculine pride. A couple seconds later, the door opened revealing Rachel.
“Hi Finn!” she greeted cheerily. She paused seeing Brittany, “Hi Brittany. Why are you here?”
“Finn and I are partners on an English project for Mrs. Fineheart,” lied Brittany smoothly.
“I thought it would be easier to kill two birds with one stone,” said Finn with his most charming smile.
“Well alright, please come in,” said Rachel stepping back in order to let them into the house.
It was actually a very nice place. It was painted in warm tones, pictures of Rachel and her dads littered the walls, there were several trophies from dance and singing competitions up on the mantel, and it conveyed the feeling of parents doting on their only child. It was nice. It felt like a home.
“You have a nice place, Rachel,” said Brittany politely with a grin in place.
“Thanks Brittany,” said Rachel slowly searching the cheerleader’s face as if looking for an ulterior motive, “My dads left us some food if you two are hungry.”
“That’d be awesome. I could eat a horse,” said Finn.
“You’re always hungry Finn.”
“I’m a growing boy!”
“If you grew anymore you would have to duck into doorways,” joked Brittany as she gestured to Finn’s six foot five frame. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly hearing ribbing about his height for majority of his life.
Even Rachel had to laugh and smile at that. Brittany looked like she had just found the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Finn couldn’t help but smile at that.
Maybe there was hope for these two after all. He smiled at the both of them as he bit into a muffin.
“Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We’re unrehearsed.”-Mel Brooks 12 Chairs
Finn glanced up from his notes to see Rachel and Brittany trying to cast shy glances at each other without the other noticing. It was too sickeningly sweet and girly. He tried to hide a smile behind his notes on Louis XIV.
Needless to say, Rachel had quickly warmed up to the cheerleader. Once it had been established in her eyes that Brittany had no ulterior motives. The two girls chatted about dance classes since they apparently go to the same dance school. Brittany had asked Rachel about her latest singing recital which had the girl happily talking about it while the cheerleader stared at her with a clear expression of joy on her face.
It made Finn happy watching the two of them.
“I think we’re good. What about you Rachel?”
“Yes I believe we’re very prepared for our presentation on Monday, Finn.”
“Great! I should get going,” said the football player by way of apology.
“Oh alright,” said Rachel her expression dropping, “I assume you’re going with him Brittany?”
“Actually I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me?” asked Brittany twirling a finger around her hair.
“What?”
“I asked if you wanted to go to the movies with me. There’s a cute romantic comedy out that I’ve been wanting to see but no one will go with me. Besides I’ll bet that we’ll have more fun together without Finn cramping our style.”
Rachel paused for a moment, “This won’t end with me being tossed into a dumpster would it?”
Brittany shook her head in the negative, “Nope! I like you, Rachel. I just want to hang out.”
“Well…alright,” agreed the drama girl reluctantly, “I’ll go and call my dads to let them know.”
“Alright!”
She gave Finn the thumbs up which he returned. He called out his goodbyes as he left the Berry residence.
He got them talking. Mission accomplished. Now times for job well done brownies at Will’s place.
“Talent is luck. The most important thing in life is courage.” -Woody Allen
Will was in the music room when Finn got there. He could hear the gentle strains of the piano echoing through the house. He paused in his greeting mainly because he wanted to hear Will sing. He hadn’t heard the singing voice of his friend since the night that they first met.
He really wanted to hear it again but Will seemed content not singing in front of Finn. It made Finn pretty upset because he loved the singing voice of the beast. He closed his eyes listening from the bottom of the stairs.
“No beauty can move me
No goodness improve me
No point anymore if I can’t love her…”
The song stopped. Will went back to the song and began to re-sing the part.
“No beauty could move me
No goodness improve me
No power on earth if I can’t love him…”
Finn paused feeling his breath catch in throat. No…Will couldn’t be singing about him, even if Finn really wanted it to be true. He climbed up the stairs slowly as to not alert Will’s sensitive hearing. He hoped the beast got into the song because Finn really needed to hear this.
“No passion could reach me
No lesson could teach me
How I could have loved him and make him love me too.
If I can’t love him then who?”
Finn stopped outside the music room. He could see Will’s long, curly mane trail down his back as he sang. The song was full of sorrow and pain. Quietly the football player sat outside the room with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes listening to it as he reached the crescendo. He heard Will move back the music from the piano suddenly stopping.
Finn could picture Will with his head thrown back and arms spread wide as he poured his heart out. He felt his heart speed up as he listened to the passion, broken desperation that echoed in the haunting melody. He shuddered but needed to hear more.
“No pain could be deeper
No life could be cheaper
No point anymore if I can’t love him
No spirit could win me
No hope left within me
Oh! How could I loved him
And that he set me free
But it’s not to be
If I can’t love him….
Let the world be done with me!”
Finn listened as the last note died. He silently stood and went to the doorway. He knocked on the door frame. Will turned with wide eyes.
“Did you hear that?” asked the beast with silent fear in his eyes.
Finn could do two things in this moment. He could tell him the truth, ask him if he was singing about him, and tell Will how he felt. That he got all tongue tied and happy around him. That it was like a swarm of butterflies were flying constantly in his stomach. That he truly believes that he could love him if they gave each other a chance.
Instead Finn took the second option, the coward’s way out and lied. He’s not proud of it but he just doesn’t want things to get weird between the two of them. Especially if that song wasn’t about him and Finn just wasn’t ready to truly know.
He didn’t want to get his heartbroken.
“No I just got here.”
“Why do fools fall in love?”-Unknown
The song was about Finn.
There’s really nothing more to say than that.
Except that Will really wished that Finn had heard him sing that song because he would never gather the nerve to tell him exactly how he felt. He was a coward.
He didn’t want to get his heart broken again. It hurt way too much.
Part Four
Author: hopenight
Artist: breea1
Genre: Slash, Fantasy, Romance, Humor, Alternate Universe
Word Count: 15, 226
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Finn Hudson, Will Schuester, Noah "Puck" Puckerman, Rachel Berry, Brittany, Quinn Fabray, Terri Schuester, Will/Finn, Rachel/Brittany, past Will/Terri, past Quinn/Finn, past Quinn/Puck
Warnings/Spoilers: boy kissing, age difference, AU
Author's Note: I would like to tank the people over at the winnners community for just being them! I would also like to thank starryskies/ gleeful_beatfor just being there! I would like to thank my beta squire_conrad
Summary: We are shown early on that life isn’t like a fairytale or a legend. However, there are those rare cases when something magical happens. Finn Hudson’s case is in the more extreme version of things. After breaking into a house on a dare, he meets Will who is a really nice guy with a killer voice. Problem is that he’s kind of cursed to look like a horrible beast.
Suddenly Finn finds himself spending time with Will and falling a little bit in love. However, his best friend and his ex-girlfriend are keeping a secret. He has to help start a lesbian relationship. And in the midst of all this, he needs to make his happy ending. No said being in your own fairytale would be easy after all. It just makes life so much more interesting.
“We’ve met before but something tells me that you’re going to remember me this time.” -Lester Burnham American Beauty
Time began to move by quicker for Finn. His life suddenly a whirlwind of school, football, basketball conditioning, chores, Mom, and (most importantly) Will. He doesn’t exactly know when the kind beast became such a major part of his life. It’s odd how he slipped in there. Fitting as though he had always belong like some missing puzzle piece.
But it made his life much more interesting.
However, the affections of one Rachel Berry definitely did not. Especially since the fact that Quinn’s friend, Brittany, has a crush on the star of the drama club. Not that Quinn’s noticed she seems to have some sort of problem, though she wouldn’t tell him when he asked. Whatever is bothering her, Puck is covering it. His best friend also seems to have a lot going on in his head lately.
It was making Finn antsy because whatever was going on between them is going to boil over sooner or later. But if they can handle, they’ll handle it and come to Finn when they need his help. Right now, he has to focus on the drama of Brittany and Rachel.
Brittany is a sweet girl on the cheerleading squad. She’s tall, pretty, and while she is not book smart…she has a good head for dancing and pop culture. Rumor says that she and Santana Lopez are ‘together’ but Finn saw Santana with her tongue shoved down Mike’s throat. So he isn’t going to believe that rumor, not that he believes most gossip.
Except the one about the cafeteria serving them prison food, he definitely believes that one. Especially since Puck can name the week’s menu based off what his cousin Joshua, who’s a warden, tells him what the prisoners will eat this week.
Finn isn’t surprised because Figgins is such a tight ass with the school’s budget.
“Hi Finn!”
“Hey Rachel,” greeted Finn as politely as he could. Brittany sent him a dirty look as though she had some sort of sensing powers of where Rachel Berry is at all times. Which she probably does.
“So I did my half of the research for our history project. I just wanted to give you it.”
“Oh awesome. I’ve got my half in my locker.”
“Perhaps we can go over to my place to look over it?” asked Rachel staring up at him and batting her eyelashes. Finn smiled nervously.
“As cool as that would be, Rachel. I have plans after school. Maybe we could meet up Saturday?”
She looked at him like he was Jesus, Liza Minnelli, and some other random Broadway star all rolled into one come back from a random day of talking about peace and singing.
“That would be perfect!”
“Cool,” said Finn feeling Brittany’s glare on the back of his neck, “I’ll see you around.”
“Bye!”
Finn would like to point out that he did not run from the cafeteria just walked away very quickly. Unfortunately for him, Brittany followed him out. She cornered him at his locker.
“Do you like Rachel, Finn?” asked the blonde cheerleader directly. She had her arms crossed over her chest.
“Well not in the way you’re thinking,” said the football player nervously. He knew that Brittany held a black belt in judo and could very easily break every bone in his body. Feeling a bit brave he asked, “Besides I thought you were together with Santana?”
“That’s just sex. Santana says it’s normal to experiment in high school and college. But I don’t want to experiment with Rachel. I want to tell her how pretty she is, take her out, and pet her hair.”
“Pet her hair?”
“It’s very nice hair,” said Brittany with an unapologetic shrug, “So you don’t want to go out with her?”
“Not really,” said Finn nervously rubbing the back of his neck, “We’re just partners for this history project. Besides there’s…someone else.”
“Really?!” screeched Brittany happily before hugging him. Apparently all Rachel related sins forgiven in the light of Finn liking someone else. Finn couldn’t help but smile and return the hug.
“So what’s she like?” asked the cheerleader excitedly, “Does she go to school here?”
“Ummm…,” began Finn awkwardly not sure how to tell Brittany he liked a man-beast. He looked around the hallway before whispering, “It’s a guy.”
“What?!” gasped Brittany with wide eyes, “You like…”
She did a vague maneuver with her hands that Finn guessed meant gay sex.
“I don’t know. I like…both? I think it’s just him. He’s been tutoring me in Spanish and…”
His face is probably the color of a tomato at this point. Brittany grinned even wider this time.
“Oh this will be our secret,” she promised hugging him again. “Maybe I can help you with him if you get me in good with Rachel.”
He grinned before nodding, “Sure Brittany. I’ll try my best.”
The bell rang and students poured out into the hallway. He turned to her and said.
“You want me to walk you to Art?”
The cheerleader laughed and nodded before the pair took off to the art room.
“Let me tell you something, there are two things I know for certain; one is Burt and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not gonna die a virgin. Not on my watch. Let’s go.” -Dean Winchester to Castiel ‘Supernatural’
“Do you have any idea how to get two girls together?” asked Finn instead of a greeting. Will stared at the teen for several moments trying to figure out if he was joking or not.
“Well that’s what most porn is usually for,” said the beast as he sat down the smores that he pulled out of the oven. Finn reached out to take one of the tray while Will batted his hand away with a spatula.
“Do you want to get burned?” groused Will as he put the treats on a plate.
“That’s the point of smores. And no I don’t mean like porn stuff. There’s this friend of mine and she likes this girl. I sort of promised that I would help her confess her undying lesbian love for her.”
“I…I’m not sure how to answer that.”
“I’m not sure how I get into these situations.”
“Well,” said Will simply, “What are the two girls like?”
“Brittany’s a cheerleader. She pretty high up on the cheering hierarchal scale too. She’s kind of sweet but not so good at school. Rachel is this intense performer. She’s starred in like every single play since her freshman year.”
“Opposite ends of the social ladder?”
“More like the social solar system,” said Finn biting down into the marshmallow, chocolate, graham cracker goodness, “Besides I think Rachel has this little crush on me.”
“Really? Do you like her back?” asked Will quietly looking at him with his intense stare from his gray-green eyes.
“What?! No!” said Finn suddenly, “She’s cool and all; a little grating sometimes but she’s alright. Besides I’m sort of setting her up with one of my friends or trying to at least.”
“Well find situations where Brittany and Rachel can talk and hang out.”
“That’s going to be tricky. Remember? Opposite ends of the social universe.”
Will nodded thinking about it, “Yeah that would be tricky. I would suggest a secret admirer situation but Rachel would probably think it was you.”
“Why would she think it was me?”
“Women’s minds are a very strange and scary place,” said Will with a tone of someone more experienced in those matters. Which made the football player wonder why he sounded like he had a lot of experience; perhaps the whole ‘Will was turned into a beast by magic’ theory was gaining more and more points as their friendship (and Finn’s crush) grew. Finn thought about his own time with Quinn before shuddering in agreement. Maybe this was why he was a little bit gay for Will. He knew how his mind work and it didn’t go into very dark places inhabited by trashy reality TV shows and the View (unlike Quinn’s).
And if it was then it was very, very well hidden.
He chewed thoughtfully on another smore for several seconds.
“Maybe I should just lock them in a closet together.”
“I can tell you from experience that never works.”
Now Will had Finn’s attention. The quarterback leaned forward wearing a shit-eating grin. Their faces nearly touched, which would make Finn a little excited under normal circumstances. But as of right now? He totally needed to hear this story.
“Oh now you have to tell me exactly how you know that.”
Will looked surprise at their sudden closeness before chuckling.
“First off some personal space would be nice.”
Finn laughed but backed off obligingly. Will cleared his throat before breaking into a story about theatre camp, two boys, peanut butter cracker sandwiches, handcuffs, and a convenient towel closet. Finn stayed later than normal swapping random urban legends he knew as Will busted out random moments with the glee club he was a part of.
Finn made a note to check out the library the next day for yearbooks. It was a long shot, but he had to try.
“I just don’t want pity from geeks more useless than I am.” -Spike ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’
Will was screwed. There was no doubt about it. He was hopelessly, helplessly, utterly screwed. He had gotten in too deep with his friendship with Finn. He knew it as sure as he could recite the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Spanish.
It got a lot worse than that.
The worst part was that Will did not care about it one bit.
He was utterly, totally crushing on Finn.
This was so, so, so totally not good.
Will paused in his washing of the dishes, wincing as a claw broke out of the rubber gloves and scratched the plate. Damn that was worse than nails on a chalkboard.
He still wasn’t sure this…crush (and doesn’t he feel like a complete teenage girl calling it that?) happened with Finn. It all started with the Spanish tutoring. Then it just snowballed as Finn opened up telling Will legends that he knew, which was an impressive number. Will responded by talking about plays he liked, books he had read. Then they just talked about most things (family and Will’s curse didn’t come up), but they would spend most of the afternoon talking, sometimes in Spanish (because Will’s a bit of hard ass sometimes).
He enjoyed Finn’s company. It broke his heart, tore him to shreds.
At the risk of sounding corny and completely ripping off Disney:
Who could ever love a beast?
He didn’t mind if Finn didn’t reciprocate his feelings. He would be happy with his friendship.
It was the best thing that he had going for him anyway.
At least that was what he convinced himself that friendship was the only thing he wanted. Will had became very good a suppressing things for the most part. It was easier than facing the truth most of the time.
Even if the real truth was in front of him all along…
Ah the perils of love are a cruel mistress.
“There are no facts. Only interpretations.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
Sometimes Finn wondered how his life got so odd. He was standing with Brittany on the sidewalk outside the Berry household. For once, Brittany wasn’t in her Cheerios uniform. Instead she was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a pink sweater. She was fidgeting nervously hands messing with the hem of her shirt.
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” began the blonde.
“You asked me for help. This is me giving help. Rachel doesn’t have Mrs. Fineheart. She’ll totally buy the story,” placated Finn, “I will drag you into the house if I must.”
Brittany nodded looking shyer than Finn has ever seen the normally bubbly, enthusiastic girl. She patted down her already perfect hair for the hundredth time.
“Alright let’s do this before I chicken out,” said the girl striding to the house with a purpose. Finn smiled and followed her to the door. He pressed the doorbell. He blinked as ‘Clang, Clang Goes the Trolly’ played. Brittany grinned all nervousness seemingly gone.
“That’s really cute.”
“I guess,” said Finn trying to hold onto some semblance of masculine pride. A couple seconds later, the door opened revealing Rachel.
“Hi Finn!” she greeted cheerily. She paused seeing Brittany, “Hi Brittany. Why are you here?”
“Finn and I are partners on an English project for Mrs. Fineheart,” lied Brittany smoothly.
“I thought it would be easier to kill two birds with one stone,” said Finn with his most charming smile.
“Well alright, please come in,” said Rachel stepping back in order to let them into the house.
It was actually a very nice place. It was painted in warm tones, pictures of Rachel and her dads littered the walls, there were several trophies from dance and singing competitions up on the mantel, and it conveyed the feeling of parents doting on their only child. It was nice. It felt like a home.
“You have a nice place, Rachel,” said Brittany politely with a grin in place.
“Thanks Brittany,” said Rachel slowly searching the cheerleader’s face as if looking for an ulterior motive, “My dads left us some food if you two are hungry.”
“That’d be awesome. I could eat a horse,” said Finn.
“You’re always hungry Finn.”
“I’m a growing boy!”
“If you grew anymore you would have to duck into doorways,” joked Brittany as she gestured to Finn’s six foot five frame. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly hearing ribbing about his height for majority of his life.
Even Rachel had to laugh and smile at that. Brittany looked like she had just found the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Finn couldn’t help but smile at that.
Maybe there was hope for these two after all. He smiled at the both of them as he bit into a muffin.
“Hope for the best. Expect the worst. Life is a play. We’re unrehearsed.”-Mel Brooks 12 Chairs
Finn glanced up from his notes to see Rachel and Brittany trying to cast shy glances at each other without the other noticing. It was too sickeningly sweet and girly. He tried to hide a smile behind his notes on Louis XIV.
Needless to say, Rachel had quickly warmed up to the cheerleader. Once it had been established in her eyes that Brittany had no ulterior motives. The two girls chatted about dance classes since they apparently go to the same dance school. Brittany had asked Rachel about her latest singing recital which had the girl happily talking about it while the cheerleader stared at her with a clear expression of joy on her face.
It made Finn happy watching the two of them.
“I think we’re good. What about you Rachel?”
“Yes I believe we’re very prepared for our presentation on Monday, Finn.”
“Great! I should get going,” said the football player by way of apology.
“Oh alright,” said Rachel her expression dropping, “I assume you’re going with him Brittany?”
“Actually I was wondering if you wanted to catch a movie with me?” asked Brittany twirling a finger around her hair.
“What?”
“I asked if you wanted to go to the movies with me. There’s a cute romantic comedy out that I’ve been wanting to see but no one will go with me. Besides I’ll bet that we’ll have more fun together without Finn cramping our style.”
Rachel paused for a moment, “This won’t end with me being tossed into a dumpster would it?”
Brittany shook her head in the negative, “Nope! I like you, Rachel. I just want to hang out.”
“Well…alright,” agreed the drama girl reluctantly, “I’ll go and call my dads to let them know.”
“Alright!”
She gave Finn the thumbs up which he returned. He called out his goodbyes as he left the Berry residence.
He got them talking. Mission accomplished. Now times for job well done brownies at Will’s place.
“Talent is luck. The most important thing in life is courage.” -Woody Allen
Will was in the music room when Finn got there. He could hear the gentle strains of the piano echoing through the house. He paused in his greeting mainly because he wanted to hear Will sing. He hadn’t heard the singing voice of his friend since the night that they first met.
He really wanted to hear it again but Will seemed content not singing in front of Finn. It made Finn pretty upset because he loved the singing voice of the beast. He closed his eyes listening from the bottom of the stairs.
“No beauty can move me
No goodness improve me
No point anymore if I can’t love her…”
The song stopped. Will went back to the song and began to re-sing the part.
“No beauty could move me
No goodness improve me
No power on earth if I can’t love him…”
Finn paused feeling his breath catch in throat. No…Will couldn’t be singing about him, even if Finn really wanted it to be true. He climbed up the stairs slowly as to not alert Will’s sensitive hearing. He hoped the beast got into the song because Finn really needed to hear this.
“No passion could reach me
No lesson could teach me
How I could have loved him and make him love me too.
If I can’t love him then who?”
Finn stopped outside the music room. He could see Will’s long, curly mane trail down his back as he sang. The song was full of sorrow and pain. Quietly the football player sat outside the room with his back against the wall. He closed his eyes listening to it as he reached the crescendo. He heard Will move back the music from the piano suddenly stopping.
Finn could picture Will with his head thrown back and arms spread wide as he poured his heart out. He felt his heart speed up as he listened to the passion, broken desperation that echoed in the haunting melody. He shuddered but needed to hear more.
“No pain could be deeper
No life could be cheaper
No point anymore if I can’t love him
No spirit could win me
No hope left within me
Oh! How could I loved him
And that he set me free
But it’s not to be
If I can’t love him….
Let the world be done with me!”
Finn listened as the last note died. He silently stood and went to the doorway. He knocked on the door frame. Will turned with wide eyes.
“Did you hear that?” asked the beast with silent fear in his eyes.
Finn could do two things in this moment. He could tell him the truth, ask him if he was singing about him, and tell Will how he felt. That he got all tongue tied and happy around him. That it was like a swarm of butterflies were flying constantly in his stomach. That he truly believes that he could love him if they gave each other a chance.
Instead Finn took the second option, the coward’s way out and lied. He’s not proud of it but he just doesn’t want things to get weird between the two of them. Especially if that song wasn’t about him and Finn just wasn’t ready to truly know.
He didn’t want to get his heartbroken.
“No I just got here.”
“Why do fools fall in love?”-Unknown
The song was about Finn.
There’s really nothing more to say than that.
Except that Will really wished that Finn had heard him sing that song because he would never gather the nerve to tell him exactly how he felt. He was a coward.
He didn’t want to get his heart broken again. It hurt way too much.
Part Four