Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Carole Hudson watched with thinly veiled anxiety as Finn laced up his shoes, the final step before heading out the door.

"Do you have your beef snacks? You know how irritable you get when you haven't eaten" Carole said.

"Mom, I got 'em. Would you chill out? It's a three hour drive, no big deal" Finn answered.

"A three hour drive with just you and Kurt. I don't understand why you couldn't have taken the bus."

"Because the glee club budget is for crap mom. Don't worry, I'm great on the freeway."

"About that honey, me and Burt were talking and…"

"And?"

"We think it's best that Kurt drives the two of you to Cleveland."

Finn looked up at his mother, speechless.

"It's just that…"

"It's just that you don't trust me" Finn said, interrupting his mother.

"Well, that poor mailman hasn't been the same since sweetie."

Finn groaned in frustration.

"It's bad enough you won't let me drive my girlfriend, now this" Finn said.

"Honey, I didn't say you couldn't take Rachel, I just think at this point it's more important for you and Kurt to bond. You may be step-b—

"Don't say the S-word mom. I'm still not ready for that."

"Sorry, I know this whole thing with Burt and I has been difficult on you, which is just more reason for you two to try getting along for once. There's just so much hostility between the two of you these days."

"I apologized for the f-word thing. Even Burt forgave me for that."

"This isn't about that. It's about Rachel."

"What about Rachel?" He said a little more angrily than he'd intended.

"I just don't think he likes her very much, I can't say I blame him"

"Mom, how could you say that to me?"

"Don't get me wrong, you know I love Rachel, but you barely even acknowledge Kurt since you started dating her."

Carole was right, he and Kurt barely talked anymore outside of school and glee club, and he knew Rachel was to blame, but Carole didn't know the half of it.

"Did you ever stop to wonder why Kurt doesn't like Rachel?" Finn said.

"Well, you have to admit she can be a little grating."

He wanted to tell her the truth, maybe then she'd understand how difficult it was with Kurt sometimes.

"Mom, Kurt is kind of jealous of Rachel."

"Of course he is, she stole away his friend" she said, still not getting it.

Sometimes it was remarkably easy to see where Finn got his cluelessness from.

"No he's—" he tried to find a way to say it, but he just couldn't. What was the point? "You know what, never mind. I have to go." He kissed his mother goodbye and bolted out the door to meet Kurt, beef snacks in tow.