cardigan - finn hudson

six ; communication is key

Dinners with Ella and Finn's families had become sort of a weekly tradition ever since Carol had caught Ella in Finn's room weeks before, and this week it was at the Bennett household. Once they were finished with their dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, Madeeha turned to Ella.

"Ella, why don't you and Finn go play in your room?" Maddy said and her words made Danny snort and both Ella and Finn blush.

"Mom, we're in high school, we don't play," Ella said, glancing at Finn quickly.

"Come on, I bet El would love to show you some of her toys, Finn," Danny said and Finn choked on his water while Ella aimed a swift kick at her brother's shins, but he dodged it and just smiled sweetly at her. Almost daring her to go be alone with Finn.

"Fine. Come on, Finn, let's go upstairs." Ella said, just to spite her brother, and Finn hesitated for a second before begrudgingly following Ella upstairs to her room. An uncomfortable silence fell over them once the door shut behind them. Finn started to shift from foot to foot awkwardly, so Ella went over to her dresser to change her necklace, just so she had something to do too.

"Would you mind, um..." Ella said, letting her voice trail off as she held up the new necklace she'd chosen and Finn stared at her with a confused look on his face, before realizing that she was asking him for help.

"Oh, oh, yeah sure," Finn said, crossing her small room in two long strides and going to stand behind her. He took the necklace from her and brushed her hair to the side before clasping the jewelry on. He looked up at her in the mirror and a small smile crossed his face when he recognized the necklace.

"Hey, that's the necklace I gave you for your twelfth birthday," Finn said and Ella nodded.

"Yeah, it's my favorite one," Ella admitted before turning. She had misjudged how close they had been standing, so close that her chest bumped into his. They stared at each other in silence for a second, but the silence was broken when Danny threw the door open, making them jump apart. He startled Finn so much that the quarterback toppled backward onto Ella's bed.

"Whatcha' doing?" Danny asked, an amused smile on his face.

"Nothing!" Finn yelped at the same time Ella said, "None of your business.". They locked eyes for a second before looking away quickly.

"Well, I was just walking to my room when I noticed your door was closed so I just thought I'd pop in to check on you guys. You know, I heard a nasty rumor, Hudson, that you got Quinn Fabray pregnant, so I just wanted to make sure that you two were being safe." Danny said, making Finn stiffen where he was still sitting on Ella's bed.

"Get the fuck out, Danny," Ella said and her brother grinned but turned to leave.

"Use protection!" Danny called as he walked over to his room down the hall. An awkward silence settled over them again while they just stared at each other before they both quickly looked away, Ella hugging her waist tightly and Finn playing with a loose thread on the quilt.

.: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

Rachel had called a glee girls meeting in the dance studio so they could start planning their performance for the girls vs. boys competition in glee club. Ella was seated on top of the piano, book in hand, waiting for the meeting to start when Santana approached her, duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Is this seat taken?" The cheerleader asked and Ella stared at her in shock. She glanced over at Quinn and Brittany, who were sitting on two seats on the other side of Rachel's setup. She was quiet for so long that Santana just sighed and climbed up beside her anyway. Rachel raised an eyebrow at Ella, but the younger girl just shrugged and glanced back over at Santana, who smiled sweetly at her. Once Tina and Mercedes arrived a couple of minutes later, Rachel banged her gavel against the table, signifying that the meeting had begun.