A.N. Hey guys first my first multi chapter Finchel story :) hope you like it!

From Rite Rose Publishing

Getting the Girl for Dummies

Chapter One

Rachel knew she had a problem. She knew it from the first time she talked to Finn about Quinn in the line for snacks at Vocal Adrenalin's show. She knew when they had first sung together, she had admired his voice and thought he was cute but then they talked and she tried to ignore him, especially after hearing about Quinn and him leaving Glee. But then he came back, he came back and sang that song with them, with her and she had been hooked. She knew she had scared him with her intensity when they had sang 'You're The One That I Want' but she had hoped that by singing 'Don't Stop Believin' with her and becoming more involved with Glee that he would really see her and for a while it seemed he had. Then he was a jerk, twice! She sighed as she walked into the first Glee rehearsal after singing 'My Life Would Suck without You' for Mr. Schuester to see him sitting alone at the drums, distractedly hitting a slow beat. She hesitated for a moment before walking towards him.

"Hi Finn," she smiled. He jumped and stopped the beat as he turned to look up at her. He gave her a small smile before putting down the sticks and walking over to the chairs and waving her over. He took her books from his arms as she reached him and put them next to his on the floor.

"Hey Rachel," he answered, as she sat next to him.

"You're early," she commented as she tried to figure out what had made him take her books from her like that.

"I skipped gym," he shrugged, "I don't think I'm ready to deal with Puck yet."

Rachel let this sink in. She knew from Brittany that Finn and his Mom had let Quinn stay at their house but he didn't want to even go to the same gym class as Puck? That seemed like a bit of a double standard to her. She cleared her throat and hesitated slightly before she said, "... And Quinn?"

Finn shot her a quick glance and he shrugged again before saying, "Mom's right, she has nowhere else to go right now." There was another pause whilst they both took in the rest of the room. "I don't hate either of them," Finn suddenly blurted out, like he had wanted to say this all along and had finally found the courage. "I'm so angry that I want to hit things all the time but we weren't right for each other and I knew that when we ... well for a long time but Puck was my best friend, do you think it's right that I'm more angry at him than her?" he asked turning to face her. Rachel was speechless for a moment so Finn took this opportunity to elaborate. "I mean, don't get me wrong the fact that she lied to me about the baby and basically had me worrying my ass off for the last few months ..." he trailed off as he looked at her.

"It's ok to be angry Finn," Rachel told him before placing her hand on his. He looked down at her hand and slowly turned his hand over so he was holding it gently.

"Rach, would you want to go out with me?" he asked, looking her right in the eyes. Rachel was stunned; this was really coming from nowhere.

"Finn ... I ...?" Rachel started to answer but Finn gently interrupted again.

"I know I've been a jerk to you, I know it and I'm so sorry. I can't believe some of the things I did to you and I can't actually believe that you're still talking to me let alone still my friend but I really like you and have for a while ..." Finn was babbling and Rachel needed him to stop. He was saying all the things she had wanted him to say for a long time, but she couldn't handle him saying them now and then she would become the official rebound girl. She was the star not the understudy.

"Finn, I can't do this, we're friends and you're a fantastic singer but I will not be the rebound to Quinn Fabray or ..." she paused slightly before continuing, "Or some kind of payback against Puck."

"What?!" Finn exclaimed, tightening his grip on her hand slightly, "No Rachel, that's not ... no ... please don't think that!" he begged. Rachel dropped her gaze and pulled her hand away from his.

"I'll always be your friend Finn, but right now I think you should focus on trying to gain some control over your anger towards Quinn and Puck. Also Glee should have our full attention, after all we did do well at Sectionals but Regional's is another matter entirely." She finished her sentence just as the door opened and the rest of Glee started to file in, all talking excitedly. Mr. Schuester followed shortly after with Miss Pillsbury. Finn tore his gaze from Rachel's face as everyone settled down, even more confused than he was before. Did she really think that? He had to show her he was serious about her in some way. There were many guys at this school that could charm women easily; Finn Hudson was not one of those guys. Most girls found his smile charming or cute but he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in any box, let alone romance. Further contemplation was interrupted by Mr. Schuester clearing his throat. He looked at the people before him and smiled as he made an announcement.

"OK guys, I know we've just finished with sectionals but we need to start deciding on which songs to sing at regional's," he told them all, "Now the time limit is a twenty minute slot and we have to have a solo but I also want us a have a duet as well as two full choir songs." At this revelation, Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt and surprisingly Quinn, all sat up a little straighter, all hoping they got the solo. "Now, I haven't decided on the solo yet and I'm working on the two other numbers but I have our duet and I think you guys will love this," he smiled and paused before holding up two sets of sheets and handing them to Rachel and Finn. "You two are going to sing 'I've had the time of my Life'" he announced. Finn grinned at this; he knew that having extra time to practice this with Rachel would give him more time to show her how serious he was. Rachel, on the other hand, was not quite so happy. She usually loved to sing with Finn but she could see the look on his face and knew exactly what he was planning, but she was also loathe to give away the duet as it really was a great song and they would be able to sing it well together. It was a popular song that she knew would be relatable, after all who hadn't seen Dirty Dancing. She gave Mr. Schue a weak smile before taking her sheets. Mr. Schuester's smile faded a little at Rachel's lack of enthusiasm. "Are you ok Rachel?" he asked, "If you don't like the song I can give it to someone else but I think you and Finn ..."

"No, that's a great song Mr. Schuester, thanks." Rachel busied herself looking through the rest of the papers as everyone else, except Finn, looked confused. Finn was a little disheartened that she wasn't happy about singing with him again but shook this off because she had accepted the duet. Mr. Schuester turned to the rest of the group and started talking over possible choices for the numbers for the whole choir. After Glee ended Rachel quickly grabbed her books and her bag and practically fled the room before Finn could even call after her. He stood in confusion as he stared at the empty doorway.

"What did you do to little miss drama queen?" Mercedes asked as she, Artie, Tina and Kurt suddenly appeared next to him and pulled him from his thoughts.

"Huh?" He asked, distractedly. Mercedes and Kurt rolled their eyes at him and it dawned on him what they were asking. "Oh, she's mad at me because I asked her out," he told them. Tina, Mercedes and Kurt all looked shocked but Artie just looked confused.

"Isn't that what she wanted?" Artie asked. Kurt tutted at them both.

"Of course she wants Finn," he told them as if they were stupid, "but what she doesn't want is to date a guy as the rebound!" he stated as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"She's not a rebound!" Finn told him hotly.

"Look at it from her point of view Finn," Kurt advised, "You've been dating Quinn Fabray, who you've just found out lied to you for months and cheated on you with your best friend who she also used to date, albeit briefly. You've known she's had a crush on you like forever and have pulled away every time you've ever shown any interest in her. You've also used her to get ahead and have ignored her when it was convenient for you. Boy I'm surprised she hasn't told you to go to hell way before now!" he sighed and rolled his eyes again. "She is in love with you ... but is convinced by now it's not mutual; you'll have to put in some real work if you want her to believe you now."

Finn took this in and turned to face them all before he spoke. "I'll do whatever it takes." He told them firmly before picking up his bag and exiting the room.

Kurt turned to face Mercedes and Tina. "Be prepared for drama ladies," he grinned as they all followed Finn out of the door.

"Why is there going to be drama?" Artie asked, still confused which caused the girls and Kurt to moan.

TBC

A.N. Hey guys I hope you like this so far :) please review, thanks Nicki