It Is Pretending Right?

chapter 16

"Oh, I know what you can do!" Santana said after a few minutes. "Make her jealous!" Santana seemed to think this was a good idea.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked with a frown of confusion that Quinn mirrored.

"I mean, you and Quinn could pretend to be dating again and Rachel will be so jealous and realise thatshe wants to date you. She'll come running back in no time!"

"That's an awful idea." Finn shook his head.

"That is almost 100% gaurenteed to only make things worse." Quinn agreed.

"I know." Santana sighed. "But I can't think of anything else. You screwed up big time, Hudson!"

"I know." Finn sighed immitating Santanta.

"In his defence though, none of this would have happened if if wasn't for you!" Quinn blamed Santana.

"Me? What about you! You're the whore who slept with him." Santana argued back.

"Well I wouldn't have had to be in this apartment if he hadn't taken my ipod as well as his own." Quinn defended.

"Ok, we all had a part to play in this!" Finn interrupted. "But we can play the blame game after I've got Rachel back."

Quinn and Santana agreed and they all got back to trying to think of a solution. Quinn had decided not to tell Finn about seeing Rachel with Brody because she was sure it would only make things worse. Santana had tried to convince her otherwise but she wanted what was best for Finn, no matter how much Rachel annoyed her at times.

"What can I do to make her realise how sorry I am?" Finn asked with frustration in his voice.

"If you hadn't made such a collosal mess of crap of this I would suggest 'I'm sorry' flowers." Santana said.

"For some reason, I don't think that'll cut it." Quinn said bitterly.

"That's why I said I would have." Santana responded.

"Maybe I could contact a Broadway star and pay them to sing for her." Finn said thoughtfully.

"I don't know. Maybe then she'd feel pressured into forgiving you." Quinn countered.

"Maybe your right." Finn agreed.

"Or maybe she would be impressed by your efforts and believe your apology." Santana added.

"Maybe she's right." Finn contemplated both the options and then sighed. "I don't know what to do." He put his head in his hands.

"Don't worry. We'll think of something and you'll have Rachel back in no time." Quinn assured him as she rubbed his knee with her hand.

"Besides if you don't get Rachel back, at least you know you have Quinn." Santana chirped as she noticed the contact.

"Excuse me? I'm just being a good friend to Finn. Maybe if you had done the same this wouldn't be happening." Quinn responded.

"Relax Blondie, I was kidding. Is that a bit of a tough topic for you though? You got awfully defensive." Santana tried to stir trouble.

"Satan, shut up. We are nothing but good friends." Finn interjected.

"Whatever." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I could stop by her apartment again and see how she is?" Finn asked their opinions. Quinn's eyes widened as she remembered that Brody was there.

"You know what? I think you should give it a little more time and if she hasn't called by the end of the day then maybe you could stop by tomorrow." Quinn said.

"What do you think San?" Finn asked.

"Quinn is only saying that because she-" Quinn shot Santana a threatening glare and Santana sighed. " I agree with Q. Leave it 'till tomorrow."

~Rachel~

Rachel hugged Brody at the door and said goodbye to him. As he left she closed the door behind him and walked back into the sitting room.

Calling Brody may not have been her smartest idea, but she remembered when they were dating he always managed to cheer her up and make her feel better so she called him and asked him to come over. As a friend of course. He jumped at the opportunity and clearly flirted with her the entire time. Luckily, Rachel had no intention of being anything more than a friend with Brody.

He did manage to make her feel a little better and she told him all about her problems, not that he gave her much useful advice to solving them. That was until Quinn came by anyway, then she felt ten times worse than she did before. Brody told her to 'drop that jerk Finn and all of his friends.' He also gave her the reminder that his door was always open for her.

The truth was, despite Finn cheating on her, she still wanted to be with him. She really did but she didn't know if she could because she no longer trusted him. She wanted it to be like in Florida, when they were together with not a care in the world. All of a sudden things were different and their relationship was in a place that Rachel didn't think it could recover from.

She felt bad for leaving Finn waiting for a week but she had no idea what to do. She believed in second chances but what he had done was inexcusable. He cheated on her and that hurt more than anything she had ever experienced. Was she not good enough for him? Did he think the idea of them being a couple was better than actually experiencing it? She would never know the truth.

The fact he cheated with Quinn also hurt her because truth be told, she was completely intimidated by Quinn. She was the prettiest girl Rachel had ever met and was borderlining perfection. She was funny, nice and intelligent. From Rachel's point of view, Quinn seemingly had it all, including Finn cheating on Rachel to be with her.

The thought of dating anyone other than Finn right now was horrible. Up until a week ago, Rachel was under the illusion that Finn was perfect in every way, shape and form; but now she realised that he wasn't. He makes mistakes and lies to her yet Rachel was still crazy about him. Why did he have to be so damn perfect?

Rachel thought that maybe if she saw Finn in person it would help her make her decision. But she didn't want to go to his apartment without a real answer just in the hope this would work.

Rachel was still so upset though and just knowing that she wasn't on good terms with Finn made her feel a lot worse. She had to sort things out now. She grabbed her phone and hit speed dial 1. After 3 rings he answered.

"Hello."

"Hi, Finn." Rachel felt flutters in her stomach as she heard his voice.

"Rachel, Thank God you called." Finn sounded relieved and like a weight had been lifted from him. "Please tell me you're calling with good news."

"I think it's a little bittersweet." Rachel admitted.

"What is it?" Finn asked with worry in his voice.

"I forgive you for cheating on me." She said, scared she would regret it.

"Really?" There was hopefulness in his voice.

"Yeah."

"That's great!" Rachel could practically hear the smile in his voice. "You won't regret this! I will never do anything like that to you ever again, I promise!" Finn was so happy with Rachel's decision. Until her next words...

"But we aren't dating." She said quietly. Finn felt like a bomb had dropped on him. He could hear his heart beating as it sunk to his stomach.

"What?" His voice was now heart broken.

"I can forgive you Finn but I can't forget." Rachel's voice quivered as tears filled her eyes.

"But Rachel, I've said I'm sorry and it was a mistake! I regret it more than anything else in the world!" Finn's voice was also shaking and Rachel knew he was on the verge of crying.

"I'm sorry Finn. I can't trust you anymore. I just keep picturing you with Quinn and it breaks my heart." The tears spilled over her eyes, this was really it.

"No Rachel, this can't be over!" Finn said.

"Then how come it is?" Rachel whispered. No reply came back. Just the soft sound of sobbing and then he hung up.