as far as friends go

chapter 16

It seemed like the sun took forever to rise in the morning, but in reality it only took a matter of hours. At least that's what Finn estimated as he sat on the roof. He'd lost track of time sitting up there. One time is was 2:00 am and then the clock hopped to 5:00 am. He knew he'd have to to be into work in 2 hours from now if this was a normal day. But it wasn't.

Rachel had been gone for 3 days now. In his mind, too long. The police were working as hard as they could and still no leads came up. He was stuck sitting in the dark. He'd had large amounts of hope in the beginning. He was waiting for the day they'd bring her home and she'd be in his arms again. But now, 3 days later, here he was, sitting on the top of a rooftop; still longing for that smile to light up his day like it did the day he last saw her. All of that hope disappeared when the sun rose.

Saying he was doing terrible was a bit of an understatement. He hadn't left the house unless he was called to the police station for different things. He was living off of pizza and liquor. He'd also cut off all communication from his friends and family. He didn't want to see another person unless that person was either Rachel or the person who told him that she was coming home. And right now as the sun shown on his face, hinting a new day, Finn's hope for that to happen inched more into the negative department. New day, less hope. Finn wasn't really good in math, but any idiot could put two and two together. The answer would be four and for Finn, no Rachel.

Swinging down another sip of whiskey from the bottle, Finn looked out at the bright sun. It was supposed to symbol happiness and new beginnings. They didn't say, "New day, new beginning," for no reason. The sun was supposed to be the rope pulling him out of the sadness he was facing. Instead, it was the weight pushing him further down into things. How did things get so messed up? Finn really didn't know.

"I really wish you would stop smacking so hard on that burger. I'm trying to study.." Rachel said, looking down at her textbook.

"Sorry to disturb you, Steve Urkel, but it's too good. Plus, it's 3 weeks until summer, you should be celebrating not studying." Finn replied.

"I have to get an A on that Biology final or else my GPA goal for the year will go to waste. Plus, you're graduating and leaving me alone. That's depressing, not something to celebrate." She said, pushing her glasses closer to her eyes. She tried to avoid eye contact. Staring down at her book, she tried to ignore the tears building up. This had been going on for weeks now.

"Oh my gosh, is Rachel Berry actually admitting that she's going to miss me?" He exclaimed, laughing.

"You're such a jerk!" She smiled, throwing her pencil at him.

"And you're a little nerd. Why aren't you looking at me? What's wrong? You're hiding something.." He said, as he watched her eyes fixate on the book. She was hiding something, but he didn't need to know.

When she lifted her head, she had a single tear rolling beneath her glasses and onto her cheek.

"Aw, C'mon Berry, don't cry." he smiled sympathetically and placed his hand over hers.

"It's not gonna be easy, Finn." She whispered. "I know this sounds so melodramatic, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to cope with you not being here anymore," she sniffed. "You're my best friend and I need you by my side."

"You're going to do fine. I know you Rach. Think about it this way; in less than four weeks, you're going to be a junior. Then, in a year your going to be a senior. After that, you'll be going to college and we'll go to New York like we talked about. Everything is already playing itself out." He smiled.

"You make it sound so simple." She frowned.

"Isn't it?" He asked.

"No. I'm doomed." She said, placing her head on the table.