This will be a multi-chapter story, and it will really kind of have four or five interlacing storylines, but right now it's listed under Finn & Rachel because, as of now, they have the most prominent storyline.
*I have read some speculation relating to the Valentine's Day episode, but I am not incorporating them into this fic, so this is a spoiler free zone. (:

Summary: Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Plans are made, scores are settled, but at the end of the week, who will get their happy ending?
Pairings: Finn/Rachel, Quinn/Puck, Quinn/Sam, Artie/Brittany, Santana/Sam, Santana/Puck, Tina/Mike, (slight) Tina/Artie, Kurt/Blaine

"You are the dark ocean bottom,
And I am the fast thinking anchor.
Should I fall for you?
Should I fall for you?
You are the scar on my tissue,
That I show all of my new friends.
Should I show you me?
Should I show you me?

All we need is a little but of momentum,
To break down these walls that we built around ourselves.
All we need is a little bit of inertia,
To break down and tell,
Break down and tell,
That you are."
(x)
"Momentum;" The Hush Sound.

Momentum

chapter one: love won't exist

Monday, February 7, 2011

Finn Hudson is miserable. He misses Rachel. The basketball team is doing terribly. Santana keeps dropping hints that she would be happy to service his needs any time. And, to top it all off, Valentine's Day is one week from today. He kind of feels like the universe is laughing in his face.

Rachel is across the hallway, organizing her books in her locker. He knows that she's heading off to first period pre-calculus, because he used to walk her there every day. He remembers the words she used to have tacked up in her locker: Finchel 4ever. He found it cute. He wonders if she threw them away or if she still has them somewhere. (He knows it's selfish, but he hopes she kept them.)

She glances over at him and gives him a sad little half-smile. He gives her a half-smile back.

His heart flops over in his chest, and he knows, deep down, he's already forgiven her. He forgave her a long time ago, really.

He knows he's ready to get back together with her. Next week is Valentine's Day, and he vows that this Valentine's Day, he won't spend it alone.

"I really like pushing you around," Brittany tells Artie as she wheels him through the hallways. "It makes me feel like I'm pushing a baby in a stroller. Except… I don't usually want to kiss a baby."

Artie smiles. "That's… sweet, Brit. But, uh, I have chemistry first period, which is in the opposite direction."

"Oh."

"But if you wanna take the long way, that's fine," he says hastily.

"Okay, good," she replies. "Because I don't know how to turn around."

Artie chuckles. "Do you know what a week from today is, Brit?"

She furrows her brow. "Uh, it's Monday again, isn't it? Because the days of the week, like, repeat themselves?"

"Yeah," he says, "that's true, but next Monday is a special Monday. It's Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day? … Oh, yeah, that's the day Santana comes and picks me up and we drive to the store and get ice cream and then watch sad movies all day at her house. She always says we can watch Spirit, because it's my favorite. I love horses."

"That… is incredibly depressing," Artie says. "How about this year, I take you out? Valentine's Day is supposed to be about being with the one you… love. And well, we're dating, and… I want it to be really special for you, like you made Christmas special for me."

Brittany grins, stopping the wheelchair. She walks around his chair, kneeling down in front of him. "That's so sweet," she tells him as she leans forward to kiss him.

As they break apart, he whispers, "I'm gonna make sure you have the best Valentine's Day ever."

Her eyes widen. "How?"

He smiles softly at her. "It's a surprise. But you're gonna love it."

"I love surprises!" she shrieks.

He laughs. "I know."

A bell sounds overheard. "Crap," Artie says. "That's the two minute warning bell. Looks like I'm gonna be late to chemistry."

"Oh no," Brittany moans. "I'm so sorry, Artie."

He waves off her apology. "It's okay. Just head on over to English, alright? I'll see you in glee."

She blows him a kiss before she flounces away, and Artie feels his heart fill up with warmth. Is this love? He thinks he could handle that, if it is.

Santana glares at Puck. "You sound like you're breaking up with me, but that's impossible, because we aren't even together, egghead. So mind telling me why you dragged me into this janitor's closet if it wasn't to hook up? And why you just spouted off some bullshit about needing to 'see other people'?"

Puck rolls his eyes, and from what Santana can see in the dark janitor's closet, he looks annoyed. "Look, Santana, I'm trying to be nice about this. What I'm trying to say is that I… I don't wanna do… what we do… anymore."

She laughs. "You mean sex. Just say it, Puckerman. We use each other for sex."

He sighs. "Yeah, exactly, we use each other. And I want something more than that. But the funny thing is, around this school, girls don't usually want to date you if they know that you have this fuck buddy relationship with someone else." She narrows her eyes at his sarcastic tone. "So I'm stopping this sick, twisted thing that comes kind of close to a relationship."

She rolls her eyes. "Puckerman, you've 'stopped' this before. And you've always come back. So excuse me if I have trouble believing your words."

He opens the door of the janitor's closet, leaving her momentarily blinded. "Well, this time, I mean it, Santana. So don't text me later expecting a booty call, alright?"

By the time she regains her vision, he's gone. She makes her way in as sophisticated manner one who is emerging from a janitor's closet can have, glaring at the people staring.

What gives Puck the right to call off what they have? She should be the one ending things with him, after all the shit he's put her through, including (but not limited to) Babygate and him dating Mercedes of all people to get back on top.

She stalks off toward the choir room, and only one coherent thought fills her mind: Revenge. Valentine's Day is only one week away, and she's going to make Noah Puckerman wish that he had never scorned Santana Lopez.

Rachel Berry had always assumed that this Valentine's Day would be the best one ever, because she had Finn and everything was perfect. Her life was finally on track.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Valentine's Day is one week from today, and Rachel is miserable. Finn still barely makes eye contact with her, most of the solos that should probably be hers are either going to Quinn, Tina, or Mercedes, and her only real friend is Kurt, who is now attending Dalton Academy.

Frankly, her life sucks.

And the worst part is, she doesn't even care that much anymore. She just floats along in a depressed haze, going from class to class, singing backing vocals in glee, posting her daily videos on MySpace. She can't muster up the effort to care. She doesn't fight for her solos. And she doesn't fight for Finn.

She wonders if he'll ever forgive her. She's giving him space, like he wanted, but she still misses him so much.

Somehow, she's managed to find her way into the choir room for third period glee, and she flops down into one of the chairs in the front row.

"Girl, you need to get over this."

She whips around; she hadn't even noticed Mercedes already seated in the second row. "Get over what?" she asks.

Mercedes rolls her eyes. "Girl, please. You have been mopin' around ever since you and Finn broke up, and I'll admit, I like having the chance to get some solos, but it's not nearly as much fun if you don't care."

"I love him, Mercedes," she says exasperatedly. "I can't just get over him. I made a mistake, and now I have to live with the consequences."

Mercedes sighs. "And he didn't make mistakes? Did he even apologize for the whole Santana debacle? Tell you it wasn't worth it? Let you know that he regretted it because it wasn't you?"

Rachel falters. "Well… no, he didn't," she says quietly.

"Look," Mercedes says, reaching over to pat Rachel's shoulder delicately. "I'm not saying that what you did was right, but he didn't stand up for you, either. You just need some time away. And maybe instead of moping, you should actually appreciate this time, and take it for yourself. Compete for a solo today. Do something because it makes you feel good. You deserve it, Rach. You are a strong, independent woman. You don't need a man. Right? I mean, look at me. I am single and lovin' it."

Rachel nods. "Right! Thank you, Mercedes. I think I'll take your advice." She pauses. "Maybe I don't need a man in my life right now, but… I could do with some friends. Do you… do you think we could be friends?"

Mercedes smiles. "Maybe. I think this might be a good start."

Rachel beams at her as others start to file into the choir room: Sam and Quinn, holding hands; Tina and Mike, deep in conversation; Brittany, wheeling Artie; Lauren, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose; Puck, who plops down on the seat next to her; Santana, looking as sullen as ever; and Finn, who smiles weakly at her as he sits down next to Puck. She bites the inside of her lip to keep from smiling back at him. She has to stay strong. She needs to rediscover her Rachel Berry drive, needs to have some time to be herself for a while, like Mercedes said.

Finally, Mr. Schuester walks into the room, and almost immediately, Rachel puts her hand into the air. Honestly, Mr. Schue looks a little taken aback.

"Yes, Rachel?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I have found a song that compliments my voice perfectly, and I would be delighted if you would let me perform it in class later this week."

Mr. Schue still looks slightly surprised, with his eyebrows almost disappearing into his curly hair. "Sure, Rachel. That would be fine." He then goes on some tangent about how they'll really have to up their game to beat the Warblers, and Mercedes leans forward to whisper, "Nicely done, Rachel. Take back your power."

Rachel beams. She's back in the game, and no boy (no matter how cute they look in their striped sweater today, no matter how much she adores their brown eyes looking over at her in confusion) is going to keep her from being herself any longer.

Quinn Fabray thought that regaining the position of head cheerleader would fill all the empty holes in her life, would make her forget about things like daughters and "I'm done with you!" and Mohawks and pent-up anger. She was wrong.

She goes through the motions of being a Cheerio, perfecting her moves, walking down the hallway like she owns it, snagging a football stud for a boyfriend, but she still feels like something is missing. She's not satisfied with her life like she should be. And she hates it.

She should be happy. This is what she wanted, right?

She's beginning to doubt that. Maybe she won't really know what she wants until she finds it. She's beginning to suspect that this, being the queen bee, isn't it. She's scared of admitting that, though.

She's supposed to be supervising the lifts the Cheerios are practicing right now, but she just can't focus. (It's probably because she just doesn't care, which makes her an awful head cheerleader.) She looks at these girls, and she doesn't see them as people she'd consider her sisters or even people that mean anything to her. She only sees that when she looks at the glee club, where no one is judged if they get a bacon cheeseburger for lunch or if they choose not to wear their uniform that day because they're on their period and feel especially fat.

She wishes the Cheerios felt like a place where she belongs, like it used to. Now, she feels like she's on the outside looking in.

It's right before seventh period when Finn finally sees Rachel alone at her locker. He would've talked to her after glee, but she had stayed behind to talk to Mercedes (which was a little weird, he isn't going to lie). He walks across the hallway and stands next to her, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Hey," he says.

She looks up at him. "Oh, hello, Finn." She goes back to swapping out books.

He's a little thrown off. Her reaction to him speaking to her for the first time in forever is not at all what he was expecting. He clears his throat, then just dives in. "I forgive you, Rachel."

She raises her eyebrows. "Oh?"

He nods. "Yeah, for the… Puck thing. You were hurting, I was hurting, and things just… got out of control. But I forgive you now, and I wanna be with you again." He smiles at her, but she doesn't smile back.

"How… big of you," she says. "But I don't think I can get back together with you, Finn."

His smile fades from his face. "Wh-What?"

She sighs. "Look, Finn, it's not that I don't care about you. I do. I just… I need some time for me. I've just been pining for you this whole time, and I haven't taken the time to just find myself and to be happy with who I am. I'm sorry, but I can't be with you right now."

She makes to walk around him, but he gently grabs her arm. "Hey," he says. "I don't understand. I thought… I thought you wanted this, too."

She looks up at him, tears in her eyes. "I did. But I can't any more, Finn. I mean, maybe you should take this time and reflect as well."

His brain hurts. He literally has no idea what's happening right now. It probably makes him a jerk, but he kind of expected her to just jump right back into his arms. "Reflect over what, Rach? I love you and you love me. Isn't that enough?"

She shakes free of his grip. "No, Finn, it's not," she says quietly, then begins to walk away. "Not until you can admit that you screwed up, too. It's not all my fault. And I finally see that now."

She walks away, and he watches her go. His heart is now all the way in his stomach, and for a second, he thinks he might actually throw up.

He settles for punching the locker next to him instead.

"Everything we had is no longer, longer there
Yeah, you saw for yourself the way it played out.
For you I am blinded.
For you I am blinded.
For you.

I am no gentleman.
I can be a prick,
And I do regret more than I admit.
You have been followed, back to the same place I
Met with you drink for drink.
Take the pain out of love and then love won't exist."
(x)
"Everything We Had;" The Academy Is...

Well, I hope that wasn't too terrible XD
I've written most of the characters before, but I'm still a little shaky when it comes to Brittany and I've never written Artie or Mercedes before, so I hope they were okay.

My plan is to update this pretty frequently, and to (hopefully) get it done before Valentine's Day. My plan for this story is for it to have eight chapters, one for each day up until (and on) Valentine's Day.

The main storylines I plan to follow are Finn and Rachel (separately, for now ;]), Brittany and Artie (and the surprise! :O), Quinn and her upcoming... stuff (I don't want to give anything away ;D), and mainly Santana. Puck will also play a big role, as well as Sam, and Tina, Mike, Mercedes, Kurt, and even Blaine will have some supporting roles. So I hope you stick around!

Please feel free to review or alert (: