guarding the heart

chapter 22: Messages

Standing at her locker, Rachel stared long and hard at the 7-Step list she had compiled the previous week, wondering if she should just throw it out and forget about the entire thing. She hadn't received any calls or texts from Finn since his altercation with Bronson last week, and though he acted like his typical normal self during Glee on Thursday, he hadn't done much else to make her think she was any closer to her objective. In fact, he hadn't even bothered to call or text her over the weekend; true he had been away training with the National Guard, but he could have called or texted Sunday night once back, right? His weekend away caused her some worry due to his close proximity to a certain college woman named Candi Wayfor (or as Rachel referred to her, 'The Thing'). She'd only met Candi once, but it provoked a rather violent urge in her. Even now Rachel could feel her left hand starting to curl at the thought of ripping the tall woman's heart from her chest. But beyond that, Finn almost always called or texted upon his return, even if it was just to say hello and ask her how things went while he was busy.

This time, though, there was nothing. She sighed heavily.

"So heavy a sigh for one so young, Rachel."

The petite brunette turned, arching her eyebrow at Quinn and not expecting the blond gleek to even be addressing her in the hallways let alone begin a conversation. Quickly, Rachel stood and pulled her binder out of her locker along with her necessary books before closing it and turning to her fellow student. "Just lamenting my troubles, Quinn. I didn't mean to offend anyone."

Quinn chuckled as she fell in step with Rachel. "I'm hardly offended. I'm more curious than anything."

Rachel regarded her briefly as they walked, but shrugged one shoulder. "Curious about what?"

"Finn."

The Glee co-captain spun on her, eyes narrowing. "If you're asking whether or not I've given up on reconciling with him, the answer is a resounding 'no' and if you think for one minute-"

"Spare me the drama, Ru-Paul." Quinn rolled her eyes, her tone immediately cutting off any further ranting. "I'm not interested in whatever romantic hang-ups exist between giants and dwarves when they date. What I am wondering is what the hell happened to Finn this summer, because frankly he doesn't seem to even be the same person."

Rachel's shoulders tightened a bit as she regarded the blonde. "You noticed too?"

Quinn scoffed at her. "I dated him for longer than you, Rachel."

"Then why speak to me?"

"Because as long as I dated him, he never really talkedto me, not about the serious stuff at least. But you?" Quinn shrugged. "Even when he and I were together in sophomore year, he always ran to you to talk. Besides, it's hard not to notice the changes, isn't it? Rearranging rock songs into ballads, engaged and asking questions in Glee instead of just doing whatever Mr. Schue tells us, turning Bronson's face into hamburger." She looked around the halls before continuing, as if about to share a secret. "He even gave Mike the answer in history class on something about the Vietnam War. Seriously, when has Finn even cared about history? He pretty much slept through it last year."

Despite her misgivings talking to Quinn about this issue, Rachel relented and gave a slight nod. "I know. He's…changed. Grown, I guess. I know something serious happened to him this summer, but that's as much as I've coaxed out of him. He won't reveal exactly what happened."

"Really?" Quinn raised a faint eyebrow at her. "That's surprising, considering he tells you pretty much everything else."

Quinn's tone wasn't even bitter, Rachel noticed, making the young ingénue think that perhaps the blonde ex-cheerleader had matured a bit herself over the summer, no longer worried about whom she had once dated and how she'd lost him. Rachel was glad Quinn was approaching her without animosity for a change.