I Don't Love You, But I Always Will

Kurt moves to New York in September to pursue an internship at a fashion magazine, and it's not long before he and Rachel buy an apartment together.

Things are going well, she thinks. She's doing fine at NYADA, getting into the swing of things. She knows how things work now, knows that she can be okay here.

She tries to forget about Finn, about how she set her free at the train station. Part of her is glad he did, and the other part is still extremely upset with him. He hasn't called, hasn't texted, hasn't even acknowledged her since she got to New York.

(He said he still loves her, and she knows he meant that. But then why did he make her leave him behind? Doesn't he realize this hurts her, too?)

She focuses on NYADA and her starring role in a school production of Oklahoma! and decorating her new apartment with Kurt. She tries not to think about Finn at all.

(That's easier said than done.)

She takes off the ring after it's been nearly five months since he put her on the train and left for Georgia. She hasn't spoken to him during that time, but she's guessing he doesn't consider them engaged anymore, so she shouldn't consider them to be either.

She tucks it away in her jewelry box that sits on her nightstand, and she tries not to think about it, tries not to cry just thinking about Finn and the promises he made.

Obviously, he didn't believe in his own words, so she was a fool for believing in them as well. He said they were going to get married. And now she's here in New York City and he's God knows where. She knows that he set her free to reach her dreams, but what if that's not even it at all? Surely he would have realized that somewhere along the way, her dreams changed.

As long as he's not with her, she can't possibly reach her dreams, because he was part of her dreams as well.

She's been in New York for a total of five months when Kurt says he has a surprise for her. She assumes it's tickets to a Broadway show or something of the like, so the last thing she expects to come home to is Finn Hudson in her living room. This definitely isn't what she had in mind.

"Hi," Finn says, standing up from the couch and giving her a small smile that tugs on the corner of his mouth.

Kurt's nowhere to be seen.

She stares at him, her arms folded across her chest. That's all she can do for a few minutes: stare. She's angry, so incredibly angry at him, and she doesn't know what to do with herself.

"Rach," he says weakly, taking a step toward her. "Please, say something."

She doesn't think; she just lunges, hitting every inch of him she can reach.

"Ow! Rach, what're you—"

"You're an asshole!" she screeches. "You told me you were enlisting in the army, Finn!" She whacks his arm – "You broke up with me and then you put me on a train!" – hits him on the chest – "You left me, Finn! You hurt me!" She slaps him across the face then, his head snapping to the side.

She stops, her breathing still heavy. A red handprint is visible on his cheek.

She's about to say she's sorry, but she bites her lip, because she's not. He deserves it.

"Rachel," he says, but she shakes her head, slowly backing away.

"No," she tells him. "I – I don't know why you're here, Finn, but I – I'm not okay with it." She turns her back on him as she heads down the hallway toward her bedroom. She sees Kurt peering at her from behind his own cracked door.