My Dream Come True

chapter 6

"I am," Rachel whispered to herself. 

"About what?" Noah asked. 

"Huh?" Rachel asked, still in her own little world. She looked at Noah and realized that he had heard her last comment. Damn! she thought. She didn't want him to hear her say that. "Oh...um, nothing." 

Noah smiled at her. "What's so astonishing about Finn saying 'hi'?" After Rachel didn't answer, Noah decided to play matchmaker. "You know, he was asking me about you yesterday." 

"HE WAS WHAT!!!!" Rachel said loudly. A little to loudly because everyone in the restaurant looked over at her, including Finn. A blush crept up her face and she tried to hide it with her hands. 

Noah let out a laugh. "You are exactly his type." 

Rachel couldn't believe this was happening. Finn Hudson's best friend was sitting in front of her, saying that she was exactly the type of person that Finn wanted to be with. I must be dreaming, Rachel thought. There was no way that this would happen in real life. Rachel suddenly felt a burst of courage, so she slowly tilted her head to look in Finn's direction. He was still at the counter, and he was stealing glances at her every few seconds. Rachel stared at the table again, trying to get her emotions under control. This can't be happening, this can't be happening, she kept repeating to herself. 

"Earth to Rachel," Noah said, waving his hand in front of her face. 

"Huh...what?" she asked before she realized that she had spaced out again. Thinking about Finn always did that to her. 

"Why don't you talk to him?" he repeated his question. 

Rachel took a second to gather herself before answering the question. "Because I've never met him before. I didn't even think he knew my name." 

"Rachel," Noah said, leaning forward. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Yesterday, when Finn was asking me questions about you, he mentioned that he had never noticed you before. As I thought about it, I came to realize that I've only seen you a couple of times myself at school. Normally, I notice people right away. I mean, he thought that you were new, but I remembered seeing you last year. Why don't you make yourself known?" 

"I...I guess because I'm a little shy," Rachel confessed. 

"A little?" Noah asked sarcastically. "Well, we'll change that." 

"We?" Rachel asked. 

"Yeah. Why don't you start hanging out with us? Me, kurt, Blaine, Cassandra...and especially Finn." 

"That's okay," Rachel said. "I don't think that my friend Quinn would like it too much if I started hanging out with a new group." 

"So bring her," Noah said. Rachel started shaking her head, but Noah wouldn't take no for an answer. "Good. We'll all hang out in a couple of hours." 

"I don't know anyone," Rachel said. 

"You know me. You know Cassie. You surely know Finn. I have to say, I've hung around Finn long enough to realize when someone's crazy about him...like you are." 

"I'm not crazy about him," Rachel lied, trying to defend herself. 

"Right," Noah replied. "That's why you spend your entire lunch hour staring at him?" 

Rachel felt the blush creeping back up her face again. She really hated the fact that she got embarrassed so easily. 

Noah let out a short laugh. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Why don't you talk to Finn? Is it because you're shy?" Rachel didn't respond, so that was Noah's cue to bring Finn over. He and Finn had worked out a plan in the car on the way over. Finn wanted to meet Rachel, so he made Noah agree to somehow work him into the discussion. 

That was the only reason why Finn was still hanging around the diner. His food was packed and ready to go, so he could have left at any moment. But he was going to stay there until he talked to Rachel. 

"Did you need anything else?" a waitress asked Finn, snapping him out of his thoughts. He turned and found that Quinn was standing in front of him with her order pad. She was one of Rachel's friends, Finn realized. 

"Yeah, actually there is something else," Finn said, glancing at Rachel out of the corner of his eye. "You're friends with Rachel, right?" 

Quinn's eyes widened, and she tried to hide the smile that was forming on her lips. "Yeah," she said, finally letting the smile spread across her face. What does Finn want to know about Rachel? she thought. The excitement that was running through her body was all for Rachel. She was getting all giddy for her best friend. 

"She's a junior, right?" Finn asked. After Quinn nodded, Finn continued. "I'm getting the impression that she doesn't think too highly of me. I tried to talk to her yesterday, then again just now, and she wouldn't say anything. I mean, yesterday she ran the other way before I could even reach her." 

Quinn let out a giggle. 

"What?" Finn asked. 

"Let me explain something to you, Finn. Rachel has been pining over you for the past five years. The reason why she ran the other way yesterday, and why she didn't say anything to you just now, is because she's nervous. She doesn't want to say the wrong thing to you. I mean, she's had a crush on you since she was in seventh grade." 

A smile immediately crossed Finn's face. She likes me, he thought. Quinn noticed that Finn's eyes were glowing with happiness. She had to control the impulse she suddenly had to shriek all the way over to Rachel and spill the news. Finn's expression suddenly changed, and a small frown appeared where the smile had been just seconds before. 

"Why haven't I seen her around school then?" Finn asked. 

Quinn let out a sigh. "She blends in REALLY well," Quinn said. "Trust me. If Rachel doesn't want to be seen, nobody sees her. That doesn't mean that she hasn't seen you, though," she said with a smile. 

"What do you mean?" Finn asked. 

"Rachel is going to kill me for telling you this, but what the hell. She spends her entire lunch hour staring at you. She enters her own little world, and whenever you smile, she smiles. I'm sure she knows more about you from just watching you at lunch than most people who've dated for months know about each other." 

Finn's smile was back in full force as he looked over at the booth. He noticed that Puck was giving him the signal. He quickly turned back to Quinn. 

"It's Quinn, right?" Finn asked. After Quinn nodded, Finn surprised her with a hug. He didn't care if he didn't know her very well. She just told him everything he needed to know about Rachel, so he felt the overwhelming urge to hug her. After he pulled back, he looked at a very stunned Quinn. "Thanks," he said before walking over to Noah's booth. 

"Anytime," Quinn said, still recovering from the hug. What was that all about, she thought to herself as she smiled.