Skin On Skin

Chapter 18

"Oooo, do I hear the VMAs being turned on?" Kurt called through from the kitchen. He stuck his head out around the corner excitedly. "I can't wait to see Lady Gaga's outfit!"

Rachel flashed him a nervous smile but he didn't seem to notice her uneasiness. "Oh, don't worry! You will!"

She cringed and quickly turned her back on him. She hated lying. Not that she was lying per se, but she was sure that Kurt wouldn't give a damn about Lady Gaga's outfit once he saw Blaine's performance.

Rachel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was starting to panic. What if Kurt just stormed away, angry by what he saw, or worse still, turned the TV off? What if Blaine didn't get to perform how he wanted to? What if somebody stopped him? What if Hunter managed to make it onto the stage after all? What if..? Oh! Oh! Oh! It was just too stressful! It was horrible not being able to control what was happening. There were too many elements and factors to consider in this situation, and therefore too many things that could go wrong.

Rachel tried to relax and gently shook her body to loosen the muscles in her shoulders and neck. The atmosphere around her was quite merry and jovial, but then Sam and Mercedes were completely in the dark about what was about to take place. Sam had arrived while she had been out buying snacks. He was now occupying his time between playing his guitar and singing during the advertisement breaks, and helping Mercedes pack when the boring interviews came on. Unfortunately for their packing regime, there weren't too many boring interviews and he spent most of the time making sassy comments and admiring his idols.

Rachel had desperately wanted to tell them what was going on but she hadn't had the time to get them out of Kurt's earshot, and now, while the pair might be giggling away in Mercedes' bedroom and Kurt was in the kitchen, time was running out. Very soon, Blaine was going to walk out onto the stage, and she was paranoid that Kurt would miss him. So, instead of running to Mercedes' room to fill them in, Rachel stayed put and glanced frantically back and forth between the TV and the clock wishing for Finn to return. It was too much pressure on her shoulders to ensure that everything went right.

As if he had just read Rachel's mind, Finn opened the front door and stepped inside. He gave Rachel a soft smile and a nod of the head and her insides instantly warmed. She had no idea where she would be if he hadn't stumbled into her life when he had.

He was closely followed by Kevin, and in stark contrast to Finn, his face was ashen and full of despair. He could barely meet her eyes. Rachel's heart broke for the poor man. She gave him a large, sympathetic smile that he tried to return but without much luck, and watched him sink dejectedly onto the sofa.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

Kevin shrugged, "As best as I can be, I guess." She patted his knee gently and he continued, "I'm just going to stay and make sure Kurt watches this thing, and then I'll go get whatever stuff is mine and be on my way."

A lump formed in Rachel's throat at his words. She didn't know what she could say to console him but maybe that was the way it was meant to be, maybe just at that moment in time, there were no words that were meant to soothe his broken heart. Broken hearts, Rachel believed, could only be nurtured back to health over time, lots and lots of time.

"Ah! Everyone's here!" Sam announced merrily. He walked straight into the room, his arms wrapped around a large box. He dumped it beside the door and turned to face everyone. "I say we order pizza."

Rachel jumped, her phone suddenly vibrating in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced nervously at its screen.

'3mins...'

It was all that Santana's message said. She quickly showed it to Finn, trying to ignore the fact that Kevin was watching her every move.

"Hmm, I think a large Meatlovers sounds good," Mercedes agreed pulling Sam down to join her on the sofa where she had decided to take a rest next to Kevin.