Disclaimer: I own neither the title nor the characters.
"I don't know why I'm here." She told him, crossing her arms and trying to sink further back into the wall.
"You're here," Finn replied, "because Quinn was nice enough to offer her house for the party celebrating our victory at Regionals, and, also, because a party is fun. Rachel, come on, let's have fun! Everyone else is."
She looked around, her nose crinkling with distaste. "I only see Cheerios and football players."
Finn rolled his eyes. "That's because Tina and Artie are talking outside, and Mercedes and Kurt are over there having a dance contest."
He tugged gently on her hand. "Have a drink, it's okay!"
"Alcohol is so bad for your vocal chords." But she followed him anyway over to the drink table, where there was a disorganized mess of soda, beer, and plastic cups.
"We don't have another competition for weeks, so I think you'll be okay if you decide to be normal for just one day."
There was a challenge somewhere in his words, and Rachel has never been one to back down, so she grabbed a cup and poured herself some of the "punch". She quirked her eyebrows at him as she tipped her cup into her mouth and drained it in a few gulps.
"It's sweet."
Finn just stared at her in shock. "Take your time. If you haven't ever drank before, then you probably don't have great tolerance."
She just smirked and filled her cup with more. "I think I'll be fine."
Misgivings lurked at the back of her mind, but the next cup of alcohol shut them up pretty quickly. It was just one night after all, and how much trouble could she get into really? It was just a high school party.
Some guy wearing a football jersey came up to them, and asked, "Do you want to dance?"
Rachel giggled. "I love to dance. I won my first competition when I was just three" she tried to hold up the corresponding fingers, but couldn't. "months old."
He took her hand, and she pulled back for a second. "Let me bring my drink. This is really goooood!"
Finn stepped in between her and the football player for a second, and she tried to look around him, because he was just so cute! "Rachel, maybe you shouldn't."
"Silly, I'm going to be normal tonight." She pushed him aside, and dragged that guy out onto the dance floor, leaving Finn standing alone by the drink table, staring after them.
Dancing while slightly inebriated was harder than she thought, but she'd won a dance competition while wearing four inch heels, so it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Plus, the football guy, whose name she discovered was Jason, was cute. His eyes were blue, but he was shorter than Finn, and she found Finn a little bit more attractive.
"That's okay." Jason slurred. He too had ingested quite a bit of alcohol. "Most girls do. Do you love him?"
He laughed a little, and that made Rachel laugh too, and then she was telling him, "Yes, but he doesn't know." She frowned. "See, he doesn't like me back."
Jason looked shocked. "Uh-huh. He talksss about you all the time! We should tell him how YOU feel, and maybe he'll tell the truuuth."
They walked over to where Finn was sitting on the couch. Jason dropped Rachel's hand when they got there, and announced loudly, "Finn, we have to tell you something."
Rachel, laughing again, sat in his lap and threw her arms around his neck. "I luuuvv you."
She didn't notice when Jason left, too busy enjoying the way Finn tightened his grip on her so she wouldn't fall off. "But I" hiccup. "know you don't love me back." Another hiccup. "And it's okay. I just wanted you" hiccup "to know the truth about how I feel about you!"
He looked exasperated. "You are the most coherent drunk I've ever met."
"I'm tired." Rachel told him, and laid her head down on his shoulder.
Vaugly, she felt his other hand come up and stroke her hair softly. He was very warm, and soon she drifted off to sleep.
It seemed like just minutes later when he shook her awake softly. "Come on, Rach, I've got to get you home."
"My head hurts." she moaned. The alcohol had mostly worn off, and now she was just in a lot of pain.
He helped her to her feet, keeping one arm under hers so that she could lean on him without being concerned about falling.
"What time is it?" She asked blearily.
"About one o'clock."
"Why are you still sober?" It wasn't fair. This was the first time she had ever drunk, and he was not suffering like she was, and that was so wrong. It was his fault she had this ferocious headache, so he should be suffering as much as she was.
"I knew this was going to be a bad experience for you, so I didn't drink, because you clearly need help."
They were stepping over sleeping bodies, and crushed food in an effort to reach the door. When they did step outside, the cold air soothed her head the tiniest bit, and managed to disperse some of the fog there.
"Did I do anything? I don't actually remember much." She said. "No one got pictures right? Oh god, this could ruin my reputation forever."
Finn laughed. "You didn't do anything that would get you in trouble. You danced a little, then you came over and fell asleep on me."
She crinkled her forehead. "I thought I said something. I remember saying something."
He rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Well, you told me you loved me, but that was probably just the punch right?"
Her heart pounding, she replied, "Yes, of course, you know how alcohol messes with your mind." Swallowing hard, she looked around, and discovered she was only a few blocks away from her house. "I can make it from here. I'll see you Monday."
"Wait, Rachel."
But she didn't stop, and it was only after she turned a corner that she heard running footsteps. "Rachel, I'm not letting you walk home by yourself."
"I'm fine." But she stumbled a little, and he had to grab her waist.
"Your dads are going to pissed aren't they?" He asked.
She shook her head. "They aren't home. New York City. Second honeymoon." Her headache was back a vengeance, and now she just wanted to go to sleep.
They walked in silence for a while, and when they reached her porch, Finn walked her all the way to the door. "Do you have a key?"
"Mmmhmm." She replied, pulling a cute key ring out of her pocket. The key just didn't seem to want to fit into the hole, so he had to take it from her and unlock the door himself.
Snapping on lights as she went, Rachel moved through her house to get to the kitchen where she poured herself a large glass of water.
"Are you going to be okay?" He had followed her inside. "You should take an aspirin, and go to bed."
"Thanks for the advice." She walked upstairs, listening to him hesitate then follow her. Her medicine cabinate seemed to dance in the bright bathroom light, and it was a second before she was able to find the aspirin. It took longer to open it, but she managed.
"Why are you still here?" Rachel asked when she saw Finn standing at her bedroom door. "I'm home, I'm fine."
He looked offended. "Sorry for wanting to make sure you're okay."
"I'm not drunk enough to sleep with you, so don't bother trying."
The laughter startled her. "Oh Rachel. You wouldn't have to be drunk at all."
Flirting? She couldn't look at him, her feet were suddenly very fascinating, and her heart was pounding.
"You love me after all." He teased, but she was so not amused.
"I don't. Like I said, alcohol does things to your mind."
He stepped closer, and then again, but she still didn't look at him. "Too bad." Finn said softly, lifting her chin up to meet his gaze. "Cuz, I was thinking we could go on a real date sometime, somewhere where you'll spend the night dancing with only me, and there isn't any alcohol."
Belatedly, she realized her mouth was open. "Umm."
He laughed. "Don't worry, I know how bad your feeling now, so just go to sleep, and I'll be by tomorrow morning."
There was a gentle pressure on her lips, just for a second, and then he was gone, and she was sliding underneath her covers, smiling.
Thank you for reading. I hope you liked it. Sorry for not posting anything, but I've been having a traumatic July, and I'm finding it difficult to focus on these sort of things. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into it.
Please review, and keep writing Glee!
