It Is Pretending Right?

chapter 21

"So..." Finn let out a shaky breath as he bent down on one knee. He could hear his heart pounding in his chest and feel butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. "Rachel Berry..." He looked up into his girlfriend's, well hopefully soon-to-be-fiancee's eyes as he opened the ring box in his hands to reveal a beautiful and expensive engagement ring. "Will you marry me?" He had finally said it. Despite the fact he still had to wait for her response, he still let a sigh of relief escape his lips.

Rachel's eyes filled with tears. He hoped they were tears of joy though he couldn't be sure. She had an unreadable expression on her face that made Finn's heart beat ten times faster, if that was even possible. She stood without speaking for what felt like forever to Finn, just looking down at him. Eventually she opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry." Rachel mumbled quietly whilst she slowly started backing away from him. "But... I can't." She had a sad look on her face. The tears in her eyes tipped over the edge and slowly rolled down her face. She seemed genuinely upset but she was a great actress so how could he be sure? Rachel turned around and ran away from him, now crying fully, leaving him alone and still kneeling on the ground.

Finn's heart sank deep within the pit of his stomach. She had said no. He looked down at himself in self pity. He was dressed in his finest suit and holding a beautiful diamond ring in his hand. He thought this would be perfect, one of the happiest days of his life. He was clearly wrong. A few drops of rain fell on him as he stood up, they quickly escalated to pouring rain. He used this as a great way to mask the tears that were falling down his face.

Finn woke in a hot sweat. He had been having nightmares like this ever since he picked out the engagement ring. Some were just like this one, Rachel had unexpectedly said no; others Rachel just laughed in his face. Each rejection had a different scenario but felt equally as brutal. When he had decided to ask Rachel to marry him, he felt nervous, scared, worried, happy, but the most dominant emotion was excitement. Now nerves and excitement were equal as his future fantasy became a reality.

Today was the day he had been waiting for for weeks. The day he had been anticipating and dreading at the same time. The day he was going to ask the love of his life, Rachel Berry, to marry him. He was sure this was what he wanted. In fact, he was 110% sure that he wanted to marry Rachel. He had never been more sure of anything in his life. The only thought that dissuaded him a little was the possiblity that Rachel didn't want the same thing.

The nightmares he was experiencing spoke for themselves. Somewhere in his subconscious (and conscious at that), he was terrified with the thought of Rachel saying no. She was the love of his life, but what if he wasn't the love of hers?

He pushed those negative thoughts out of his mind as he climbed out of bed. He lifted his phone from his bed-side table and checked if he had any messages. Other than his Mom saying goodnight to him the night before, he was text-free. He opened his texts with Rachel and wrote her a message saying,

'Good morning, Beautiful. I hope you slept well. I can't wait for our date tonight. Xxxxx -Finn'

He put his phone back down and went to take a quick shower. When he got back Rachel had replied to say,

'Morning, Handsome. I slept very well Thank You. I can't wait either :) I'll see you tonight. I love you. Xxxxxxxx -Rachel'

Finn smiled and locked his phone. It was time to make sure everything was ready for tonight.

~That night~

That night, Rachel looked at herself in the mirror for the twentieth time. Everytime she saw Finn she wanted to look her best, even though he said she always looked beautiful. Her small black dress hugged her curves in the best way and made her legs look longer than usual. She was pleased with the way she looked.