you belong with me

chapter 15

Rachel hugged her knees tighter to her chest as she sat by the back door to the school gymnasium. The cold air blew past her, giving her a fresh set of goose bumps. Only a few minutes before she received a call from Puck, a call she refused to accept. The "new voicemail" light kept flashing across the screen of her phone, but she continued to ignore the notification.

Her cell phone lit up again, only to deliver a new text message from Santana saying "Where are you?" Rachel ignored this as well, not wanting to see or speak with anyone from her homecoming group. She knew that if she saw Santana, she would only force Rachel back onto the dance floor in hope that it would lift her spirit. Rachel didn't want to dance stupidly around the dance floor with her laughing and happy friends. All she wanted to do was be alone or be with someone who really understood what was going on.

Rachel heard the door open and close behind her followed by the sound of footsteps approaching her. She figured it was Santana, coming to drag her back inside. However, when she saw a pair of black dress shoes beside her she knew it couldn't be Santana. She turned around and almost felt relief when she saw Finn standing next to her, slowing moving to sit down next to her.

"Hey," he said, offering her a gentle smile.

"Hi," she said in a whisper. "What are you doing out here?"

"I saw them dragging Puck out the front door a minute ago, and I figured someone should come and check on you," he replied. "Are you alright?"

Rachel shook her head no and rested her head in her hands again. "This isn't at all how I imagined this dance going. It was supposed to be magical and amazing. I was supposed to be slow dancing to some of the best songs ever written, and having the time of my life. That's how I always imagined it when I was little."

"I used to think about what this dance would be like too when I was little," Finn confessed. "I always pictured you being my date, and we would have been happier than we ever had before." His words caused Rachel to look back at him. His eyes slowly met hers and he let out a breath. "I'm really sorry Rachel."

Before Rachel could reply, they heard the upbeat song that was being played in song turn into a beautiful slow song. Rachel looked to the ground in sadness, of course they would choose that moment to finally play the slow song.

"You know, when we were little, I remember you used to always say, 'every girl deserves a slow dance,'" Finn said after a moment. "I don't suppose you'd want to dance with me?"

"Oh, Finn, I don't know," Rachel replied with uncertainty.

"Just take a chance on me," he said, extending his hand as an invitation to dance.

Rachel cautiously accepted his offer and took his hand. The two of them stood up and walked back into the gym where couples were everywhere, sharing their first slow dance of the evening. Rachel allowed Finn to lead her to the center of the dance floor.

Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself in closer to him. His cologne filled her senses and put a gentle smile on her face. She wasn't aware of how much she missed his touch until she was wrapped in his arms again. She closed her eyes and absorbed all the Finn-ness of him, something she had been craving for so long.

"I regret a lot of things from these past few years," Finn started, his voice very quiet, "but I regret letting you down the most. If I could change anything in my life, it would be my relationship with you." He moved back so that he could look Rachel in the eyes, "Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

"You broke my heart, Finn," Rachel replied sadly. "And my trust."

"I know," he said, lowering his gaze. "I'm an idiot. I had you, the most perfect girl in the world, and I let you go because my own stupidity got in the way. It takes a real moron to let the only girl he ever really loved slip out of his grasp."