The Transfer: A Glee Fanfiction

Chapter 4

“Rach, please,” he said softly. His voice was as gentle as his touch. “Please take your hands off your face. I won’t make fun of you, I promise.”

Rachel peaked at him through a crack in her fingers. “People are making fun of me?” Perfect. She could only imagine what they were saying. She pictured people giggling with their friends as she passed them, probably talking about how this look was an improvement to her face. Rachel couldn’t help the tears that burned in her eyes. This was just what she needed.

“What? No,” Finn said quickly, trying to backpedal on his words. “No, not at all Rachel. It’s just...I didn’t…that’s not what I meant-”

Rachel wished she had gone home when she had the chance. Finn ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of what to say and getting frustrated. She saw her opportunity to get out of this awkward and emotionally painful situation and took it. She took a quick step back out of his reach.

“I have to go,” she said taking another step back. “I’m going to be late for lunch. See you around, Finn.” She turned on her heel and practically ran into the bathroom, the tears coming as soon as the door closed behind her. She knew what she had to do. She had to leave McKinley, and the sooner the better.

Rachel took a second to collect herself, dabbing the tears from her face and breathing slow, measured breaths. She decided to just study in the bathroom, not wanting to risk running into anyone in the hallway. Five minutes before the bell, Rachel left the bathroom to make her way to class. If she could get to the room before the bell, she wouldn’t have to worry about people staring at her and whispering behind her back.

She almost hit Finn with the door when she opened it. He was sitting next to it, his lunch in his lap. When he saw her open the door, he sprung up from his seat, sending the remnants of his sandwich flopping to the floor. Rachel raised her hands to cover her face, but it was clear from his expression that it was too late.

He looked like he had been punched in the gut, his face twisting with pain and sadness at the sight of her. “God, Rach, what the hell did she do?” He took a step towards her, and when Rachel tried to move back, she felt her back press against the bathroom door.

Rachel looked down at her feet in shame. He was revolted by her hideous bruises. She just knew it. She felt tears sting her eyes. She knew it was absurd, but she couldn’t help it. She turned her face away from him, feeling oncoming tears.

“I told you I didn’t want you to see me.” Rachel took a shaky breath, trying to hold back the tears. “ I look awful,” she whimpered.

“No, you don’t,” he said softly. She rolled her eyes. “I mean it. It’s not that bad, I promise.”

She shook her head. “That’s sweet of you to say, Finn, but I have a mirror. I know what I look like. Staying was a bad idea,” she said, reaching into her bag for her phone. “I’m calling my dads to come get me. I can’t stay at this school.”

“Rachel,” Finn said, his voice dead serious. He didn't catch the double meaning of her words. His fingers gently gripped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. “You’re beautiful. A few bruises doesn’t change that.” The sincerity in his voice made her knees wobble. The tears she had been trying so hard to hold back spilled over her eyelids, racing down her cheeks.

“Rach-no, please don’t cry,” he wrapped his arms around her small frame, stroking her hair soothingly while she cried into his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Rachel. I’m so, so sorry. Did I hurt you? Was it something I said?” The words, flooded with concern, sounded tight in his throat, like seeing her cry was physically hurting him.

“No, no, Finn, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she said, pulling back a little so she could look at him. She dabbed at the tears staining her face with the end of her sweater sleeve. “In fact, you’re the only person at this school that treats me with any decency.”

“You don’t deserve any of this, Rachel,” he said, anger creeping into his voice. “All the crap you get from the people here, you don’t deserve any of it. And you’ve always stayed so strong. You put on a brave face and act like none of it gets to you, but I know that it does. You keep all of these things locked up inside you where no one can see, and I’m worried that someday it will become too much for you and you’ll fall apart. And I don’t want that for you.” Finn caressed her cheek, and the places where his hands made contact with Rachel’s skin burned as if it had been set on fire. “I want to help you. But you need to talk to me. Don’t you trust me, Rach? I just want you to be happy, and we have to get rid of the sad before that can happen. The only way to do that is to talk about it.”

The brochures in Rachel’s bag suddenly felt ten times heavier, and she wanted nothing more than to talk to Finn about her plans to transfer. The only thing that stopped her from saying everything on her mind was the mental image of Finn’s angry, betrayed face. She really didn’t need anything else to be upset about today.

Rachel took a deep breath. “You’re right, Finn,” she said. “And someday soon we can sit down and talk all about the sad tale of Rachel Berry and her miserable life, but I’m just too tired right now. I need some time to think about things before I can talk about it.”

Finn pulled Rachel into a tight hug. “Take all the time you need,” he mumbled against her hair. “I’ll always be here for you, okay? Always.”

His words made Rachel want to cry again. “Thank you, Finn,”  she said, nuzzling herself into his chest. “I’m so lucky to have you for a...for a friend.” Rachel hesitated on the last word. Her eyes flickered around, looking at anything but his face. Things had been awkward between them ever since Sectionals when she found out about him and Santana. She remembered the pain in his eyes when she confessed that she had kissed Puck in a moment of weakness, and the way her heart shattered when he broke up with her. It was worse than when Jesse had smashed an egg on her forehead in front of the rest of Vocal Adrenaline. The only thing that could even compare with the pain was when she heard the rumors about Finn and Quinn getting back together. She felt her heart break all over again just thinking about it.

Finn didn’t seem to pick up on Rachel’s awkward hesitation, and just patted her back, oblivious to the blush forming on her cheeks. Rachel was acutely aware of the fact that the bell would be ringing any second, and she sighed before reluctantly releasing her grasp on Finn.

“I have to go,” she said. “The bell is about to ring, and my dads are on their way to pick me up.” She reached up to put a hand on Finn’s shoulder and looked him in the eyes. “Thank you, Finn.”

Finn just smiled at her as she walked away. She looked back at him when she got to the end of the hallway. He was watching her go, and even though he was trying to hide the look of pity in his eyes, Rachel still saw it. She forced herself to smile and wave at him before she turned the corner.