Haunted

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." ~ John Lennon

Here :)

Finn 7:59pm

“Okay, Uncle Will, I won’t be late,” I said as I picked my bag up off the couch.

He chuckled, “Don’t worry about that, Ry. It’s not a school night.”

I shrugged and made my way closer to the door, “Mom and dad always set the curfew for eleven, even on the weekends.”

I looked over at him and saw a sad expression on his face, I knew that it still hurt him to hear about my parents and Blake; I had been trying not to mention them as much as possible, that one slipped by.

“Come home whenever you want,” he said, forcing a smile.

I smiled back, then I left the apartment closing and locking the door behind me. I took the stairs down so I wouldn’t make Finn wait.

I saw him wave from his truck when I got outside, I waved back and smiled.

“Hey!” he said happily once I opened the door.

‘Hey,” I said back once I closed the passenger door behind me. He waited until I had my seatbelt on before he started the car.

“What’s on the agenda for tonight?” I asked.

He looked both ways before pulling onto the street before answering, “I was thinking dinner at Breadsticks, and then I’d show you around Lima. Not that there’s a whole lot to see, but hey, I figured it’ll be useful.”

I smiled slightly, “Sounds good.”

“Did they have Breadsticks in Cleveland?” he asked after a lull in the conversation.

I shook my head, “Can’t say there was.”

He nodded, “It’s really good there. It pretty much, like, the place to go and eat in this town.”

I chuckled under my breath, “I see.”

“And this is it,” he said happily once we pulled up to the restaurant, “I love this place,” I heard say quietly.

I suppressed a laugh, it looked exactly like many other restaurants I had ever seen, but I didn’t tell him that, “Looks great.”

We both opened our doors at the same time, and closed them at the same time. We went inside and heard people laughing and talking and the clinks of forks, knives and spoons. It looked nice enough on the inside. We got to our table quickly, thanks to Finn putting in a reservation, it was really packed.

“What do you recommend?” I asked once our waiter had gone to get our drinks and after taking my jacket off.

Finn hadn’t even bothered to open his menu, “Chicken Souvlaki is probably my favourite. Chicken with fried peppers and onions on rice with Greek salad. Awesome,” he said smiling.

The waiter came with our iced teas and asked for our order, “Chicken Souvlaki,” Finn said with no hesitation.

The waiter looked at me, “Same,” I said handing my menu to him.

Finn nodded approvingly at me as the waiter left, “Trust me, you seriously won’t regret it. It’s a whole mixture of deliciousness in your mouth.”

I laughed slightly, “We’ll see.”

“So, um, tell me about yourself,” he said placing his arms on the table and leaning forward.

I became slightly uncomfortable then, what else was there to know beside my parents and brother being dead?

“Um, well, I was born and raised in Cleveland. I have lots of friends there...I usually took the lead in our Glee club...I usually came to Lima for a week in the summer to stay with Uncle Will...and now I live here,” I finished lamely. I didn’t know how else to end it.

“Tell me about you,” I urged, taking the spotlight from me.

He turned a little pink but answered, “Well, my dad died when he was in Operation Desert Storm I never knew him. My mom married Burt Hummel a few months ago, his son is Kurt, you haven’t met him yet. He did go to McKinley but he was bullied so he transferred out to Dalton Academy. I’ve been in Glee for over a year now...and yeah...I guess that’s what you should know.”

“Is there anything you don’t want me to know, but I’ll find out anyways and will make me think of you differently?” I asked smirking.

He let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, I dated Quinn last year, and she ended up getting pregnant, and told me it was mine, but she actually slept with Puck behind my back and it was his baby, and she gave her up for adoption. I never slept with Quinn, but I did with Santana...I dated Rachel and I think she still likes me; she kissed Puck behind my back just before Christmas. I thought I liked Quinn again, but that’s kinda changing now I think,” he stopped to take a breath and I interrupted.

“Okay there cowboy, slow down,” I said raising a hand.

He smiled, embarrassed, “You asked,” he said sitting farther back in the booth.

I laughed, “That’s true. And all of the probably would make me think of you differently had I heard it from someone else, so thanks for telling me, I guess.”

Finn smiled just as our food came. The rest of the meal went by without as many secrets being let out. He told me about Glee and I told him about Glee back home. It was pretty enjoyable.

“Thanks again Finn,” I said once we were in the truck again.

He smiled while watching the road, “Not a problem. How about a driving tour? Or as Mr. Schue already given you one during your summer stays?”

“He has but, I’ll pay more attention now that I have to live here now,” I said and regretted it immediately. Of course I had to live there...because they were dead.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, sensing the mood change.

“It’s okay, I’m just still...dealing,” I said.

It was a few minutes of silence before Finn spoke again, “What were they like?” he asked.

A smile came over my face instantly as I thought about them, “They are three of the greatest people ever. My dad is amazing, mom is unbelievably caring, and Blake is just the finniest guy. I mean, he seriously always had a joke, every day, all the time. They are...were the most amazing family anyone could ask for,” I said, finally realizing that I had been using the present tense when talking about them.

I looked at Finn who was smiling slightly, “They sound like they were amazing people. And I’m sorry about everything...really.”

I smiled at him, “Thank-you. So is this the mall?” I asked trying to get back on track.

The ride continued with Finn pointed out different places, the couple malls, the parks, hiking areas, movie theatre, and his house. It was nice, relaxed. It felt nice being a teenager again going out with a friend.

“Just in time,” I said as we pulled up in front of the apartment building, the clock said it was 10:55pm.

“Did you have an alright time?” Finn asked.

“I did, I enjoyed it,” I answered unbuckling my seat belt.

“Good,” Finn said, “So um, Monday after Glee and my football practice, do you wanna come to my house and work on the law? Get it out of the way, you know? You can stay for dinner.”

I smiled at him as I opened the door, “I’ll let you know. I have to ask Uncle Will first.”

He nodded, “Sure. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Ry.”

“Okay, thanks again, Finn,” I said as I slid out of the truck.

“No problem,” he said, smiling.

I smiled again as I closed the door. I unlocked the front door and looked behind me out of force of habit and saw Finn still sitting in the truck, he waved and I waved back, and then he drove away.

“How was it?” Uncle Will asked once I locked the door to the apartment.

I went to where he was in the living room and saw him marking papers, “Good. It was nice.”

He nodded approvingly, “That’s good. I’m happy to see you smiling.”

That’s when I realized that I had been smiling since I closed the passenger door, I shrugged, “It was nice,” I repeated, “I’m gonna go to bed though.”

“Alright, Ryley. See you tomorrow,” he said looking back at his papers.

“See you, Uncle Will,” I said before leaving for my room.

I put my bag on the desk chair before sitting on my bed to take my shoes off. I looked again at the picture of me, my parents, and Blake. I picked it up off the bedside table, and, for the first time, when I looked at it...I didn’t cry.