Author's Note: I think I have this problem where I can't go very long without posting a new story. I wanted to wait a little bit longer, but I just couldn't help myself lol. Welcome to my new multi-chapter! This story title comes from "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol. This chapter titles comes from "We Found Love" by Rihanna.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Glee.

"Finn! Yo, Hudson!"

Finn Hudson jumped in surprise as the voice of his friend reached him. Turning, he saw Mike Chang slide onto one of the stools at the booth. He immediately set about getting the beer that his friend always got whenever he was in town.

"You look as if you're not really here," Mike noted as he watched Finn.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "That's really deep, Chang."

"Shut up. You know what I mean. Are you okay?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I fine. You know. Same old, same old."

And it was true. For the past seven years, Finn Hudson had been doing the same exact thing every day. He would wake up, go to work, and go back to bed. He was twenty-five years old and he was still living in a small apartment in Lima, Ohio.

"How long are you here for?" Finn asked after Mike fell silent. He was giving Finn that sad look, and that was what he hated the most. So he was going to spend most of the time talking to Mike trying to deflect from this situation.

"About a week," Mike said. "Tina will be coming up to meet my parents in a few days. I'll bring her by so you can meet her."

"I don't spend all of my time here, you know," Finn mumbled.

"But when you're not here, you're sleeping," Mike pointed out.

Finn shrugged his shoulders as he picked up a cloth and wiped down the bar with it. "The life of a bartender," he said.

Mike was giving him that look again, so Finn got him another beer. "Have you heard from Puck and Sam lately?"

Mike smirked at the mention of their two other good friends from high school. "I just talked to Puck, and he's visiting his uncle in New York and still trying to get Quinn to marry him. He figured it would be a good idea to follow her up there since she has that spot on that TV show and everything." Finn and Mike both shared a chuckle at their friend's antics. Noah Puckerman had had a thing for Quinn Fabray for as long as they could all remember, and he was finally doing something about it.

Mike continued, "Sam… well, you know. He signed with the Giants."

Finn's fists clenched around the glass he was holding. He took a deep breath and forced himself to set it down. "That's right. That's really awesome."

"Finn—"

"You know, I have to go down there." Finn pointed down at the other end of the bar, where a few of the regulars were sitting. None of them needed Finn's help, but he just wanted to get away from Mike's sympathetic stare.

This was his life now. This is what he did every day and every night. Nothing was going to change that.

Rachel Berry scanned the small crowd of people waiting at the airport. When she saw the smiling face of her father, she forced a smile onto her face as well. Her daddy immediately pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"Hi, Daddy," Rachel mumbled. Oh God, she already felt as if she was going to cry. She had told herself that she wasn't going to do this. Rachel took a deep breath and did her best to get a grip on her emotions. "How is he?' she asked.

Hiram Berry gave her a sad smile. Instead of answering her question directly, he just said, "He's excited to see you."

Rachel just nodded her head as she followed her daddy out of the airport. They went straight to her childhood home, and Rachel didn't like the fact that her papa wasn't there to greet them right away. The house felt empty without him there.

"Your papa will want to hear all about the Tony's," Hiram said. "He's so proud of you, Rachel."

A real smile, as small as it was, actually formed on Rachel's face. "Daddy, I wasn't actually the one to win the Tony."

"Yes, but you're a part of the show that won the Tony. You were in the revival of Rent, princess. And the show won an award for that. Be proud of yourself!"

It certainly was something to be proud of. And Rachel knew that a Tony that was meant solely for her wasn't far off, either. The reviews of the show had praised Rachel for her portrayal of Maureen in the production. Rachel had been so incredibly lucky to achieve the success that she already had.

But now she was taking a break from the Broadway scene. She had returned to her hometown, but she had no idea how long she'd be here.

"When can I see Papa?" Rachel asked.

"Tomorrow morning," Hiram said firmly. "For now, I just want you to rest. Why don't you go and see who's in town? I'm sure that you're not the only one of your friends that's visiting."

Rachel rolled her eyes. The only person she kept in touch with in high school was actually living with her up in New York City, and they hadn't even been friends during school. Other than that, Rachel had never really talked to anyone. Once she got out of Lima, she never looked back.

But things had been difficult for her daddy lately. So in order to make him happy, Rachel would go wander around town for a little bit. She smiled and hugged him.

"Sure, Daddy," she said. "I'll call you if I'll be out too late, alright?"

"Have fun, princess!" Hiram said.

Rachel sighed. Sure. Fun would be exactly what she was having.

It took her an hour, but Rachel eventually found a small bar that was out of the way. It was called McLaren's, and she could remember passing it during high school. Rachel wasn't normally one to drink, but she was in need of a glass of wine. She still had some time to kill, so she decided to stop in.

The bar was dark and musky but had a comfortable feeling to it. Rachel never really imagined herself as being the type to want to spend time in a bar, but she could see it happening here.

It was only a Tuesday night, so the bar wasn't very crowded at all. Rachel went over to the counter and slipped into the booth. She wasn't exactly in a hurry, so she pulled out her phone as she waited for the bartender to notice her.

She had several text messages from her friend and roommate, Santana Lopez. Rachel let out a laugh at the messages Santana had sent, as they had all made fun of their hometown. Rachel had offered to bring Santana with her, but the Latina had flat out refused. Rachel began to tap out a response, but a voice interrupted her.

"What can I get for you?"

The deep, familiar voice immediately sent a shiver down Rachel's spine. She glanced up and found herself staring into a pair of amber eyes that she hadn't seen in five years.

Said eyes widened in shock. "Rachel Berry?"

Rachel's lips parted in surprise and she said the first thing that came to mind: "You remember who I am?"

She couldn't believe it. Finn Hudson was standing on the other side of the bar, and he had remembered her. She had originally met him when she had been a freshman and he had been a junior. Finn was the golden boy of McKinley high school; he was quarterback of the football team, prom king, and an all-around nice guy.

And Rachel had spent all of high school pining over him. Not that that mattered, or anything.

Finn arched an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I remember you? We've lived in the same town for most of our lives and we were at McKinley together for two years."

"Well, yes, but…" Rachel trailed off and shook her head slightly. She shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. She was sitting in front of Finn Hudson, and he was just as attractive as ever—not to mention that he still remembered who she was. Rachel wasn't going to question this moment. "How have you been, Finn?"

To Rachel's surprise, Finn just shrugged his shoulders and began to wipe down the bar. That definitely hadn't been the young man she knew in high school. The Finn Hudson she had seen then was vibrant and full of life. Now, Finn just avoided her gaze and didn't respond to the question.

After a moment, Finn looked up again with a slight smile forced on his face. "How about you, Rachel? What have you been up to?"

Rachel noticed the deflection of her question, but she decided not to point it out. Instead, she said, "I went to NYADA and I just finished a lead role in Rent on Broadway."

"Broadway?" Now Finn was really smiling, his amber eyes twinkling as he repeated her. "That was always what you wanted to do, right? I remember that you had the lead in all of the school musicals."

Rachel's cheeks flushed. "Yes, it was what I wanted to do." Rachel tried to steer the conversation back towards Finn. "What about you?"

Finn looked around. "I'm working at this bar. Well, running it every night is more like it. The owner is never here so it's kind of up to me. But I don't mind it."

Rachel tilted her head. The words didn't sound forced coming out of Finn's mouth, but there was still sadness in his eyes. Reaching over the bar, Rachel slid her hand over his and squeezed. Finn's head snapped up towards her when she did that, and Rachel's eyes widened at the feeling of her hand against his.

"I think you've done really well with the place," Rachel said. "It's not like those other hole-in-the-wall places, you know? It has a very nice feel to it."

Finn gave her a smile at her words—a real one. "Thanks," he said softly. He looked down at her hand still over his but didn't say anything. Rachel, realizing that it was still there, hastily pulled her hand away. She bit her lip and tapped her fingers against the bar.

Finn, having noticed the movement, said, "Speaking of, what can I get for you?"

"Oh! Just a glass of white wine, please," Rachel said. After seeing Finn in the bar, Rachel completely forgot about the reason she had decided to go in the first place. However, Finn quickly poured her a glass and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed and Rachel took a long sip of the wine when she felt the tingles run up her arm once again.

"So." Finn folded his arms and rested them on top of the bar. Rachel took a moment to watch the play of muscles in his exposed forearms. He was wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The first few buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing his throat and a bit of his chest. Finn Hudson had been good-looking in high school, sure. But he was downright gorgeous now.

Rachel managed to pull her eyes away from Finn's arms long enough to hear him say, "What brings you back to Lima? I'm pretty sure when I say that it's not as exciting as New York."

Rachel gave a dry laugh at that. "It certainly isn't. But I'm just here to…" Her breath caught in her throat when she thought about the reason she had returned to Lima. She breathed in slowly and deeply through her nose in an effort to calm herself. When she glanced at Finn, she saw that he was giving her a look full of concern; he had noticed her change in demeanor.

Rachel took another deep breath and forced herself to calm down. She managed a small smile and finally said, "I'm just here to visit my fathers for a little bit."

Finn watched her for a moment. He could sense that there was more to Rachel's story than what she was telling him, but he didn't know her well enough to press for information. So instead he returned her uneasy smile and nodded his head.

"Feel free to stop by any time," Finn said. "I'll be around."

Rachel looked up at him and bit her lip again. She barely gave herself time to think about the decision she had just made before she said, "We should catch up some time." She didn't know what possessed her to say that. Sure, she had known who Finn was in high school and had harbored a huge crush for him, but she hadn't really been friends with him. During the entire two years they had been in high school together, they might have only exchanged a few greetings.

Even so, there was just something about Finn. She waited eagerly for his answer and wasn't disappointed when a slow smile formed on Finn's face and he nodded his head.

"That sounds great," he said. Just then, a few other costumers came into the bar. Rachel looked up at Finn and grabbed a napkin before she dug through her purse for a pen. She quickly wrote her cell phone number on the napkin. She added her name and then finished it with a star (because that was her thing) and then passed it to Finn as several costumers came into the bar.

Rachel smiled and Finn grinned at her before he turned to help the costumers. Rachel slipped off the stool and made her way out of the bar. She decided to head back home, since it was getting late anyway.

Her trip home had already taken an interesting turn. Rachel certainly hadn't imagined it going like this. All of the bad things aside, she definitely didn't mind.

Author's Note: So here's the beginning of my new story! I hope that you all enjoyed it. :) Thanks for reading!