you belong with me

chapter 6

Rachel walked onto the front porch of a house she knew all too well. She inhaled sharply as she glanced at the door frame. The last time she stepped foot on the property was the night she had her first kiss with the boy who left her with so many broken promises. She could still remember the feeling of his lips on hers as they kissed goodbye. She remembered the feeling of her fingers wrapped around his as they sat on his bed that night. She remembered the feeling of knowing there was once a boy out there that felt just as strongly about her as she did about him.

Rachel took a deep breath as she pushed Finn from her mind. She raised her hand and knocked on the front door, hoping that it wouldn't be Finn that answered the door. She heard the light echo of footsteps from inside the house that grew louder with each step towards the door.

The door finally swung open, revealing a smiling Kurt on the other side. He greeted her with enthusiasm as he stepped to the side so Rachel could enter the house. The two friends shared a hug before Rachel allowed her eyes to wander around the familiar room.

The house hadn't changed much since she last saw it. Photos from Finn's childhood were still hung along the walls and she smiled as her eyes landed on a picture of Finn's first birthday. Rachel noticed that pictures of another young boy were placed between Finn's pictures, and Rachel assumed the boy in the pictures was Kurt.

Rachel smelled the scent of cookies being baked in the kitchen, and her stomach growled at the thought of Carole's homemade cookies she used to bake all the time. Whenever she came over during her childhood, Carole would send Rachel home with a whole plateful of her mouth-watering cookies.

"Is that Carole in the kitchen?" Rachel asked Kurt, already making her way towards the kitchen. "I haven't seen her in years!"

Kurt followed closely behind Rachel as she walked into the kitchen. Once Carole heard the footsteps entering the kitchen she started to turn around to see who the footsteps belonged to. As soon as Carole noticed Rachel's presence in the room she let out a gasp and rushed over towards the girl.

"Rachel!" Carole exclaimed, pulling Rachel into a tight hug. "What on earth are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in California?"

Rachel pulled away from the hug and beamed brightly at Carole. Since she grew up with two fathers, Carole was always like a mother to Rachel. Rachel had forgotten how much she truly loved Carole. "I just moved back, actually," Rachel explained. "Kurt and I recently became friends, and he invited me over for a movie day."

Carole looked at Kurt, "When you said you were having a friend over, I never would have never guessed that the friend was Rachel Berry!" She turned back towards Rachel, "How have you been?"

"I've been absolutely wonderful! California was great, but I am happy to be back here. It's been really nice seeing everyone again," Rachel replied, thinking at Finn for a moment. It was then that it hit her. If Carole was just now finding out that Rachel was back, that meant that Finn never even mentioned her presence to his mother. The revelation stung a little, but Rachel tried her best to push the feeling aside as she widened her smile for Carole.

"Well, I am very happy your back," Carole smiled. "The cookies should be ready, I'll have to make a plate of them for you before you leave."

Rachel mouth watered at the thought, "That sounds lovely. Thank you, Carole."

"Sure thing, sweetie," Carole responded, smiling as she watched Kurt and Rachel go down to the basement to start their movie marathon.

Rachel's quick pace to the basement slowed as she took in the sight of the room. Just as the rest of the house, it was exactly as she remembered it last. The furniture was still the same, the same large television was placed in the corner, and the lights lined the ceiling. Her eyes moved towards the center of the room where they played spin the bottle on the night of Finn's birthday party. She and Finn had been so close to kissing, but his mother ruined the moment. She and Finn had watched so many movies together in this very basement, and during every movie, they always ended up cuddling under a blanket together.