Viva la Vida
Chapter One
FinnPOV
"Let's go, Finn, dammit!" My stepbrother Kurt screeched loudly, rapping his acrylic nails against my bedroom door. I'd never seen him so dressed up, done up in a sparkling vest, sunglasses and some tall shoes, but his look was one of complete frustration.
"I don't want to go, Kurt! Just leave me alone! You guys should have left like fifteen minutes ago," I reminded him irritably, scribbling down some nonsense answer on my bio homework. It didn't even take me looking up from my pencil to know that he was staring at me.
"Finn doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to, Kurt; now, can we leave?" came the voice of reason. From behind he stood Mercedes, wearing a tight knee-high black dress, some high heels, and her hair in a good-looking up-do. My best friend looked absolutely gorgeous.
I nodded my thanks at her and she smiled, but Kurt wasn't giving up. "No, we can't leave! I'm not going to leave my idiotic step-brother at home, doing homework on a Saturday night while we're at the newest club in Lima! Now, get out of that bed before I come over and drag you out!"
Laughing, Blaine placed his hand on Kurt's shoulder, very restraining. My step-brother's boyfriend wore khakis, a bright collared-shirt and a bowtie, as well as a bright pair of pink-rimmed glasses with no lenses inside of them. "Kurt, maybe we should just go; Puck's probably still waiting at the entrance-"
Kurt looked directly at me, shaking Blaine's hand off of his shoulder. "Give me one good reason why you don't want to go, Finn Hudson!"
"Because she's going to be there," I said lamely. Kurt had beaten it out of me, and I blushed a little, ducking my head in to my books. Trust was, I didn't feel like seeing her with him and his cocky smug little grin, regardless of the fact that Santana and Puck had swore on their mother's life that she wasn't going to be at the club tonight. I loved her, and it killed me. Just her smell, her look…I couldn't do it.
Mercedes walked past Kurt, and came toward my bed, patiently sitting next to me and closing up the books in front of me. "Finn, let's go. She's not going to be there - you know that - and you can't just stay single and depressed for the rest of your life! Come on, white boy, I'll teach you how to dance and we can have some fun."
I looked up at my best friend's eyes, knowing that she truly wanted the best for me, but Mercedes only smiled. "Please, Finn?" My eyes sank, and in that instance, she knew she had won. Jumping up from the bed, Mercedes walked toward the door. "We'll meet you in five minutes."
…
Five minutes later, I was wearing my nicest V-neck, a pair of jeans and had my fake ID that Puck had bought me in my pocket, though I doubted that I'd need it, considering Mrs. Lopez owned the joint. Everyone in town was talking about Scandals. Reportedly it was four-stories tall, with a waterfall that fell from the roof through the center of the club, caves off to the side set up with love-seats and TVs, and unlimited booze, though I wasn't sure how much of what Puck had told me was accurate.
After Puck's dad's death, his mother Anita had inherited a large sum of money. Rather than wasting it, she invested and made it big, so she started off a pretty successive line of business. As the son of said entrepreneur, my best friend Puck was pretty much allowed to bring in whoever he wanted to the clubs, whenever he wanted, regardless of their age.
As I pondered over the fact of whether or not I should bring along my fake ID, Kurt's shrill tone screeched at me from downstairs, so I stuck it in my pocket and flew down. Mercedes and Blaine were sitting on the couch, watching TV, but a honking horn and a laugh from Blaine was all it took to tell me that Kurt wasn't in the mood for waiting.
"About time," whispered Kurt anxiously at me, as Mercedes and I filed in to the backseat, Blaine in to shotgun. He drove a shitty Volvo, but immediately turned up the tunes and started blasting West Side Story as he flew out of the driveway with exhilarating speed.
"Can you slow down?" screeched Mercedes, clutching to the handlebar above her window. Kurt wasn't normally such a maniac, but even I was a little afraid. In the front seat, Blaine smiled nervously, clearly not wanting to antagonize Kurt, but at the same time afraid for his life.
"Oh, don't worry," laughed Kurt. "I'm a great driver!"
At that one, all three of us burst out laughing.
…
RachelPOV
As the last pin was slipped in to my hair, I looked in the mirror and felt a little uneasy. My dress was bright pink and frilled, my hair an elaborate masterpiece that had taken the best part of the evening for my good friend Harmony Smythe to perfect. "Do you think it's a bit much?"
Harmony burst in to laughter. She wore a pair of jeans, a T-shirt with a cardigan, and a beret - simple, elegant, and something I was completely envious of. "Just a bit, Rachel."
Immediately I began getting nervous, as my hands immediately fanned my face and I crouched down on to Jesse's bathroom counter. "Oh God, oh God-"
"Relax," Harmony raised her hands, as if she was relieving me of stress. "We can just go check out my suitcase and find you something…simpler." Taking me by the hand, Harmony led me out of the bathroom and in to the living room, where the pull-out bed was set up. Musical posters and instruments were strewn all over the place, and normally my OCD would kick in, but Jesse's apartment just felt like a…home.
Harmony and Jesse had met at New York Academy for the Dramatic Arts, and they'd instantly clicked. Now, a normal girlfriend would be nervous of their friendship, but I knew enough to trust Jesse. Harmony and a couple of our other friends had been staying in Jesse's apartment for winter break, so Harmony rifled through her suitcase, up against the wall and tucked beneath the pull-out bed.
Ten minutes later, I was wearing a simple red dress and heels - chic, and everything I wanted. "Thank you so much," I smiled, breathlessly, hugging Harmony.
"Don't mention it, Berry," she laughed. Harmony tended to laugh a lot when I spoke, although I suppose it had to do with the fact that I was a nervous basket-case who didn't know how to socially interact with most. Oh well. My senior year, among other things, had taught me this.
"You look dazzling!" Harmony's step-brother Sebastian Smythe entered the room, immediately fully taking me in. Sebastian was the definition of a charmer, and since his and Harmony's parents were rich socialites, Sebastian had spent a good part of his high school experience working abroad in Paris.
Oh, how I envied him.
Behind him was Sunshine Corazon, wearing a black dress with purple highlights that accented her naturally beauty. Sunshine and I hadn't started off on the right foot, but through Jesse we'd gotten close, and she and the Smythe's had been staying at his apartment for break. "You really do, Rachel," smiled Sunshine, her Brazilian accent making me chuckle.
"Thank you, truly," I said modestly. "It was all Harmony."
"Oh, please," laughed Harmony. "Berry, you think that I could pull that off? That dress is yours, babe, all yours." She wrapped her arms around me encouragingly. "You're so going to get laid tonight!"
"Harmony, that's hardly appropriate," scolded Sebastian. They had a playful relationship - Harmony, as the elder sibling, was over-the-top and loud, while Sebastian was more nurturing. I adored both of them.
"Oh, calm your shit, 'Bastian," Harmony just reflected sunlight. She was so friendly, so energetic and bouncy that immediately I burst in to laughter, as did Sunshine, as Sebastian and Harmony engaged in a mock brawl with one another that resulted in the four of us on the floor, laughter spilling out of our bodies.
"What the hell is going on in here?" said a playful voice, one that made me jump up and attack the speaker in a full-out hug. My boyfriend Jesse, having gotten home from dropping off some food at his mother's house, was finally home, looking flawless in a pair of jeans and a V-neck. He embraced me in a full-out kiss, and he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground in blissful happiness-
"Oh, get a room, you two," said Sunshine playfully, and eventually Jesse hugged the rest of our friends. Jesse didn't get along with his mother's boyfriend, hence why he'd gotten his own apartment, but his mother was sick, so he cared for her frequently while her boyfriend was at work - one of the many reasons why I adored Jesse.
"Are we ready to go?" asked Jesse, his arm wrapped around me.
"Rachel's nervous," said Harmony bluntly, as I blushed and sank in to Jesse's sweatshirt. Immediately, I could hear Sunshine and Sebastian groaning.
"Why are you nervous, sweetheart?" said Jesse, not removing my head from inside of his sweatshirt, but whispering to me. "Hudson's not going to come near you, okay? I promise."
What I wanted to tell Jesse was that I just couldn't bear the thought of even seeing him, because it'd bring back how madly in love I'd fallen with Finn, how horribly I felt that day when we break up, and how much I missed him, but even mentioning that would turn in to a fight with Jesse, and that was something I wanted to avoid.
"I guess we can go" is all I said, which ignited cheers in Sebastian, Sunshine and Harmony.
"Let's roll," said Jesse, grabbing his car keys out of his pocket and locking the door behind us as me and my friends exited his apartment.
…
PuckPOV
Kurt and his shitty Volvo rolled up to the back parking lot of Scandals, where I'd been waiting for legitimately fifteen minutes, already drunk off of some wine my mom had conveniently "left out" on the counter for me and my friends.
God, I loved my mom.
Standing next to me was Shane Tinsley, the new massive linebacker for the Titans and someone who I'd grown to like recently - he was a bad-ass, just like me. He was wearing a polo T-shirt and his Titans sweatshirt, taking a swig out of the wine bottle as we leaned up against my convertible. Next to us were Mike and Tina, making out passionately - what else was new, really - and, even though it totally went against the bro-code and shit, Tina looked hot. Behind them was Matt, a quiet dude who didn't speak much and wasn't really in to the partying as much as Shane and I, but he too had taken a couple of sips from the bottle.
"Hey baby," smiled Mercedes, climbing out of Kurt's back-seat and running toward Shane, kissing him on the lips. Tina and Mike broke out of their make-out session enough for Tina to hug Kurt, while Blaine and Matt shook hands.
"What's up, bro?" I asked, walking toward Finn, who looked as pissed and depressed as usual. I swear, since his break-up with Berry he'd gained twenty pounds and a hell of a lot of negativity, which didn't work well for the Puckasaurus Rex.
"Kurt drove like a maniac and forced me to come here, so pretty much the usual," said Finn pessimistically.
"Oh, get over yourself," I rolled my eyes at him, pulling my keys out of my pocket and locking up Megan - that was my name for my convertible, after Megan Fox, of course. "Berry's not going to be here. You guys ready to go?"
Tina, Mike, Blaine, Kurt, Matt, Mercedes, Shane, Finn and I walked around the back corner of Scandals, and I was really proud of my mom on this one. It was opening night, but I, being the incredible bad-ass that I was, had already gotten a chance to check the place out, and it was crazy. The waterfall was insane, and my mom had even showed me a hidden room inside of it that I hoped to bring at least one chick in to. There were caves everywhere, the ultimate hook-up area, plus the bartenders were told not to check IDs, as long as we'd been let in.
I couldn't wait.
Naturally, outside of the club there was a line of wannabe girls, scantily-clad, begging the bouncers to let them in, but I brought my crew straight to the front of line, past all of the screaming losers. "Good evening, Rodrigo."
"Evening, Mr. Lopez," Rodrigo, a ripped bouncer, inclined his head to me.
Man, it was great when you ran shit.
"Nine, please," Rodrigo didn't even flinch, not even checking IDs, and I pointedly told Finn to tuck away his fake ID as we entered the club. "I told you that you wouldn't need it!"
Scandals was massive and already packed. There were couples making out in the caves on the first floor, a crazy dance floor, and the music was blasting, the bass reverberating through your very bones. "Alright, guys," I shouted, over "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO. "Tell the bartenders you're with me, and they won't ask for any IDs. I'll see you ladies around!"
"I doubt it," murmured Finn, but I could barely hear him. Already, Puckasaurus had sniped out a hot girl, and I was already turning my mack on.
Ladies, let the games begin.
…
SantanaPOV
Scandals was insane. I'd managed to sneak in Brit, Artie - let me tell you, he was a difficult one, considering the wheelchair - Quinn, Santana and Rory, though I wasn't too happy about the last one. Already, I'd managed to lose track of them, and was now trying to my best to locate Brittany without being raped or molested by any amount of drunken guys, which was difficult considering the amount of alcohol present in the club. Luckily, I'm a judgmental bitch who doesn't mess around, so it didn't prove to be that hard.
There she was, grinding up on some guy whose face was completely insignificant to me at the moment. She was beautiful, and it took all I had not to sprint over and rip a new one in to the douche bag. Her hair was long, past her shoulders, and she wore short-shorts and a bright pink one-shoulder T-shirt, a beer clutched in her hand. It was crazy how much I wanted her.
From a distance, I could see that the guy was getting a little inappropriate on my girl, so I knew that I had to get in and break things up before it got ugly. "Listen, you ape," I said loudly as I walked toward the man, whose armpits seemed to grow increasingly sweaty as I approached him. "I'll give you five seconds to get away from my girl Brit before I get you kicked out of this club - do you understand me, or is your ridiculous Jew fro blocking your ears?"
"Hey, there are no rules against grinding," said the man, stepping back and raising his hands above his shoulders.
"I don't care what rules there are," I growled, inching toward him. All I wanted to do was knock his smug little smirk off of his face. "My mom runs this joint, so if you had any brains inside of you at all, you'd roll out, alright? I'm from Lima Heights Adjacent, bitch; you don't know what you're messing with."
"Santana," urged Brittany, tugging at my shoulders, but I was only conscious that I was a mother bear, fiercely protecting my cub.
"Looks like your pretty friend over here likes me more than you, dyke," laughed the man. Was he really this stupid? Clearly he hadn't heard of Anita Lopez or he'd be shaking in his boots.
I wasn't going to take this anymore. Launching myself at him, I pinned him to the ground and started pounding my fists in to his face, only kind of aware of the fact that he was bleeding, and all I wanted to do was cause him pain-
Strong arms grasped beneath my armpits and lifted me in to the air, as I kicked and pounded and swung with all my might. The guy sprinted away, and the bouncers came toward us, but when they realized it was me, they slowly sunk back in to the shadows.
"What the hell are you doing, Santana?" It was Puck, my idiot brother, who seemed to have sent his attack dog Shane to grab me.
"Put me down, Shane!" Shane was smart enough to understand me and dropped me to the floor, as I straightened out my dress and stared at Puck with hatred.
"Well?" Puck was demanding an explanation, but I wasn't giving him one. I was sick of him sleeping with my friends, getting involved in my affairs and, though he probably wasn't doing anything wrong at the moment, I was so pissed over the situation that had just taken place that I stormed off.
"Santana, are you for real?" Brittany had caught up to me, and she grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. Normally I'd knock down the bitch that even dared touch me, but it was Brit, and it was different.
"What, Brit? He was grinding on you, and I could tell you didn't like it-"
"I can handle myself, Santana!" shouted Brittany, causing the people around us to spin their heads toward us, but I wasn't even focusing on them. All that was present in the room was me and Brittany; that was all that mattered. "We ended this thing, and I can't have you watching over my shoulder like some guardian. I can do what I want to do, Santana, alright?"
I hadn't expected her to put together such a well-thought out sentence, but it had stunned me.
She didn't want me anymore.
"Uh…yeah, sorry Brit," I nodded, mumbling. Giving me one more disapproving glance, Brittany Pierce, the love of my life, stormed away.
…
RachelPOV
All it had taken was a little of Harmony's schmoozing to get us directly through the bouncer's, and I was a little shocked. She'd told me in Jesse's car that she was capable, but I hadn't really believed her, but now, I was truly amazed at how much of an amazing actress she was.
"Let's go," smiled Harmony, removing her hand from the bouncer's arm in a flirtatious manner. "I'll talk to you later, Rodrigo." The second we got out of his line of vision, she cursed and started attempting to wipe his filth off of her hand, scrubbing her hand against her jeans.
"Oh relax, Harmony, you were amazing," smiled Jesse. "I've never seen a bouncer go so far from 'Terminator' to, well, that in thirty seconds. You should be proud."
"Oh, Jess, you remarkable flirt, you're making me blush," said Harmony sarcastically, causing Sebastian, Sunshine, Jesse and I to burst in to laughter. Sebastian murmured something about spotting some extremely good-looking guy by the bar and sprinted away from the group, while Sunshine and Harmony too eventually spread out, leaving Jesse and I alone.
"It's so good to finally be with you, alone," smiled Jesse, leaning in to my forehead and kissing me gently on it. "I've missed you, baby."
"I've missed you too," I smiled back, but suddenly, my world was ending, because no, it couldn't be him, it wasn't him, because why was he so good-looking? Finn had lost some weight and he looked absolutely dashing in a V-neck and jeans, the very same outfit that Jesse was wearing. His hair was spiked, and he had a little stubble on his chin…oh my.
No, I couldn't be here.
Whispering a remark to Jesse about going to the bathroom, I sprinted in the opposite direction until I reached a staircase and ran up it to the second floor, where I collapsed through the door and was shocked to find a very familiar face sobbing at the sink.
"…Santana?"
She looked up, in a completely stunning outfit. Her bright red dress was sexy when mine was not, seductive, and her heels were killer. Her hair was straight, flowing and gorgeous, but mascara was spilled all down her face, and her acrylic nails were clearly chipped from having gotten in a fight. "Are you okay?"
"Leave me alone, Berry, alright?" Santana was clearly not in the mood, as she wiped the mascara off of her face and stormed out of the bathroom.
"What is your problem with me?" I wasn't going to let her get the last word, regardless of how fierce she looked. "I've been nothing but nice to you, and how dare you treat me the way you treat me! It's not my fault that Brittany-"
It took all of my strength not to run and hide as Santana got inches from my face. "Don't. You. Dare. Mention. Her." With an intimidating and fierce catwalk, she stormed out.
…
BlainePOV
Clearly I'd had one too many drinks, but the bartender - what was her name? Shirley? - was so goddamn friendly that I couldn't help it! Drinks were on Puck's tab, courtesy of him, and Shirley's kind nature caused me to grab what must've been my tenth or fifteenth shot.
"Hello, gorgeous," said a low, seductive growl. I turned around to find an extremely good-looking male in a striped, long-sleeve collared T-shirt and jeans sit next to me. His hair was brown and spiked, and his eyes were completely beautiful. "You're Blaine Anderson, correct? You completely match the descriptions I've heard of you - tall, handsome, sexy."
I laughed. "Uh…yeah, I'm Blaine. I don't mean to be rude, but who exactly are you?"
"Sebastian Smythe," He reached out his hand, taking mine in his and kissing it. "New head Warbler at Dalton's Academy. You're like a saint around there."
"Oh, thanks," I murmured. His courage and boldness had taken me by surprise. From behind Sebastian's head, I could see Kurt out on the dance-floor with Tina and Mercedes, having a great time, and he made me laugh.
"How do you do it?" Sebastian leaned in front of Kurt, obstructing my view. "They've showed me many videos of you, and it's like you're a superstar. Your charisma, your talent…you're a star, Blaine. Why'd you leave Dalton's?"
"Sebastian, I'm seeing someone," I said abruptly, wanting to end this conversation before it got too intense. "I left Dalton's because I wanted to be with my boyfriend, Kurt. He's really great, truly amazing…you should meet him sometime-"
"Did someone mention me?"
My stomach dropped. Kurt was standing directly behind me, looking fierce as ever, Tina and Mercedes by his side. Clearly he'd seen the serious flirting going on here and had intervened.
"No, Kurt, I was just talking about you," I smiled, doing my best to charm Kurt. "This is my new friend-"
"Sebastian Smythe," Like he'd done to me, Sebastian grabbed Kurt's hand and kissed it. "You've got quite the gorgeous little boyfriend here, don't you?"
"Why yes, he's all mine," said Kurt, super sarcastically, as Tina and Mercedes snickered. He grabbed me by the hand and drew me toward the dance floor. "Let's dance baby!"
"Well, I'll talk to you soon, Blaine," said Sebastian. He hadn't dropped his cool the entire conversation, and frankly, I was impressed. Kurt was truly intimidating. "I guess we'll talk later when Mom's not around."
It didn't even take a look toward Kurt to realize how much he already despised Sebastian, but he started dancing with me, and the conversation with Sebastian began to slip away.
…
RachelPOV
As I walked back from the bathroom, toward the dance floor, something took my eye. Oh no, no, no, no, no.
"I didn't ask you why you're here, Hudson," Jesse was completely in Finn's face, and a small crowd had gathered around them.
No, no, no, no, no! Damn you, Harmony! Pain and anxiety began to swell up in my chest as I sprinted forward toward the duo and stuck my hands in between them, just as Jesse drew back his fist. "JESSE! Stop!"
Right before his fist connected with Finn's face, Jesse dropped his hand, as from behind Shane grabbed his hand and threw it down to his arm. Before anything got any worse, Mercedes got in between them, and I grabbed Finn's arm, digging my nails in to his arm like a falcon, sticking it's talons in to its prey. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
…
I pulled him through one of the doors to the caves, shutting the see-through glass sliding door behind me.
"What is this about, Rachel?" asked Finn, and immediately, my hands connected with him as he collapsed on to the table behind him, falling backwards and smashing his head against the edge. "HEY, get the hell off of me, you crazy bitch!"
"Don't you dare call me that!" I shrieked. The pain of having him here, and fighting Jesse, and everything that had happened with him and Quinn was just boiling up inside of me. "Why would you start stuff with Jesse? Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"He started it, not me, you can ask Shane!" Finn shrieked, standing himself off and fixing his hair back. "You should've known that I'd be here, Rachel, it's my best friend's mom's club, for Christ's sake, you couldn't stay away!"
"Well, I figured in a four-floor building, we could avoid one another," I murmured angrily, cracking my knuckles. Now, in hindsight of what I'd just done, it looked like an extremely bad decision to push Finn, but I wasn't done with him. "Now, we're going to be living in a cabin together for the next couple of weeks, so do you think that maybe you could just leave me alone?"
"He's not coming, is he?"
"Of course he's coming Finn, he's my boyfriend and my family pays half of the rent!" I shouted back. "I already cleared it with Kurt, so let's just make a pact right now that I stay out of your business and you stay out of mine-"
"Finny?"
No. I'd kill the bitch.
Quinn Fabray slithered in to the room, hammered out of her mind, clutching an enormous drink in her hand. Her dress was bright-pink and barely covering her body, and she slunk around like a drunken snake, getting incredibly close to Finn. "Why are you in here with herrrrrr? I wanted to cuddle with you, Finny!"
Memories of the two of them making out in my bed rushed in to my mind, and without any warning I charged at her, my fist connecting with her skull. "I'll KILL you! I'll murder you!" I was conscious only of the fact that I wanted to cause as much pain to her as possible-
"Get off of her, Rachel!" Finn was holding me back, as Quinn cowered on the floor, clutching the nose that I'd most certainly broken with my fierce punches. No, I wasn't going to forgive her for that night, and regardless of the fact that she was drunk, she didn't have the right to come in here and pretend that nothing had happened-
"Just both of you, leave me alone!"
Author's Note: Well, that's Chapter One! :D I promise you that this story isn't going to be as angsty as this chapter was. They've recently broken up, and clearly not everyone is getting along in this chapter. More will be explained on Finn and Rachel's break-up in the future, as well as everything on all the characters. Not all of the key players were revealed in this chapter - there'll be Lauren, Sam and Karofsky, among others, in future chapters.
Also, yes, in this story, Puck and Santana are brother and sister, as are Harmony and Sebastian. These relationships will be addressed further in to the story, as will the reason why Puck is called Puck! :D
Also, this story is partially based off of The Ex Factor by AngelAtTwilight, and I thank her for inspiring me with her beautifully written story. You all should read it!
Reviews, please!
