A/N: I know I just started writing Until The Dream Comes True but I couldn't help but post this up. The idea came to me like out of nowhere and once I started writing it, I really couldn't stop. So to clear a couple of things up: Rachel, Quinn, Artie, and Santana are all about twenty-five in this story while Puck and Finn are twenty-seven. They all live in Lima but didn't go to high school together and therefor never had the glee club to unite them all. All of these characters are very, very AU! Everything else will make sense soon enough so don't worry(: I've got so many plans for this story and I hope you guys like it as much as I like writing it!
I don't own glee.
When it came to the world of journalism, Rachel Berry was new and fresh and had more potential than anyone else in the Ohio Times had ever seen before. She was bold and courageous and didn't have a problem with getting down and dirty to get information that she needed. Rachel Berry knew that she was the best of the best when it came to writing stories around here, so why was she still working as a damn relationship advice columnist? Writing had been her life for the past nine years, ever since she got her shit together and realized she was never really going to make it as a star anywhere, she wanted to be the girl that broke the news to other people too. She wanted to tell stories of the truth and inform people about what was going on around them because if she couldn't entertain then she was going to have to reach out to people in some way and this was just it. A scholarship to OSU and five years of education later and this was where she ended up? The only thing keeping Rachel from quitting and moving to some other state where her talent for writing and getting the truth was the fact that this was home and there was always a nagging feeling inside of her that said that being a part of this paper was going to do her damn good some day.
Sighing, Rachel leaned back against the office chair she was sitting in. It'd been a slow week in general for her. She'd turned her stories in before the deadline and sitting around reading questions from readers didn't really require very much effort.
"Awe Quinnie look at this one, 'your column brightens up my day, it makes me feel better knowing that positive and kind hearted people like you exist. Thank you for doing what you do'" Rachel faked compassion as she read the letter aloud to her blonde best friend before crumbling the letter up and throwing it in the trash "Seriously, people will just eat up everything they read won't they? I mean this person doesn't know me. I could be a rapist, or some kind of a Nazi lover or-"
"Or a nice person who just wants to help others? Seriously Berry, what's up your ass today?" She asked before quirking your eyebrow "Or better yet, should I be asking you what hasn't been up your ass lately?"
Rachel rolled her eyes "This has nothing to do with my sex life Q. I'm just trying to point out that this column is bullshit and I don't know what kind of a loser buys into it."
"Well those losers are what's keeping you employed, Rach."
Both girls looked up as Finn Hudson, editor and chief of the whole paper and basically the boss around this whole place, walked into the room. Rachel glanced over at Quinn who automatically began making those pathetic gaga eyes at him. The two had this whole eye sex relationship going on with each other for the past year and Rachel was this close to just locking them in a room and leaving them at it for a day so that the whole thing could finally be put to rest.
"Good job on your last submission. For someone who's so cynical and…" Finn paused as he looked for the right words "bitter, you're damn good at telling people what to do with their love lives." He said with a smirk.
Rachel loved Finn like the annoying older brother that she'd never had (or wanted) before. He was there for her whenever she desperately needed him and likewise but for the most part the two of them would just sit around and bicker for hours on end until someone pulled them apart or they finally agreed to something (which was rare.) the only thing the two of them shared in common really was teasing Quinn, the poor girl never really got a word in when the two of them were with her but it was all in good fun. In some weird twisted way the whole staff made one big crazy family, the three of them just happened to be the closest. Quinn and Rachel had known each other since they were ten years old and took ballet classes together in the same place. Quinn couldn't quite get the moves down so Rachel was always the first one willing to assist her. Eventually that mentoring thing turned into a real friendship and they taught each other several things over the last fifteen years. Finn wasn't really in the picture until the girls were in college. He was sitting in the same exact spot as Quinn and Rachel at the time and Quinn was interning at the paper. He invited her out for drinks, Rachel joined them and they wound up getting into a huge fight before Finn decided that he liked the brunette and bought her a beer. Everything had been pretty much perfect since then.
"Oh shut up Hudson." She said with a roll of eyes before she went back to reading a letter.
"That's the best you can do? Wow, are you alright?" He asked curiously before crossing his arms over his chest.
Quinn spoke up before Rachel got a jab at him "I think Rachels in a bit of a drought if you catch my drift." The blonde said as she gestured towards Rachels skirt causing the brunette to frown and cross her legs.
"I'm not in a drought! I have plenty of sex thank you very much." She said without looking up at the two people before her.
"Really? When was the last time someone gave it to you good Berry?"
Quinn chuckled while Rachel rolled her eyes "Gave it to me good? What are you like thirteen? Jesus." She said before throwing another letter in the trash.
The truth was that Rachel hadn't really been with anyone in a little over a year now. She preferred not to get involved in that whole relationship thing. Sex equals bad for everyone. When someones not getting knocked up over it they're getting an STD and when that's not going on then it's the feelings that get in the way of all of it. You either don't care about the person so much that you break their hearts or they don't care about you so much that they break your heart and she wasn't in the mood to put up with that kind of thing, not when she was trying to focus on getting out of writing columns. Rachel was damn good lay too, or at least she thought she was anyways. She grew up with just her father who was always making sure that she was educated in both girly things that he figured she'd need but also sports and cars and things that dudes were into. It was their special way of bonding. She wasn't clingy either, she didn't care if he wanted to spend a night out with the guys or went out to a party and there happened to be strippers around. As long as he was coming home to her she was happy. Sometimes even she wondered why she didn't have a boyfriend.
"Seriously though, when was the last time?" Finn asked curiously.
Rachel sighed and threw the paper she was holding onto the desk "When do you fucking think was the last time? Seriously, I'm trying to get work done and I'm not in the mood to reenact last weeks episode of Oprah just to make Finny over here happy." She said in an annoyed voice although even she was able to hear the slight hurt in it. God, she was pathetic.
"Ray," Quinn said as she reached out to grab Rachels hand but the brunette was too quick and pulled it away before she got the chance.
"No, this is stupid. I'm perfectly fine without the whole romance thing in my life. I don't need men." She tried to convince her two best friends.
"I think I might have the perfect thing for you." Finn said suddenly as an almost evil smirk appeared on his face.
"I'm not going to play with your sex toys Hudson, that isn't my thing either."
He glared at her "Hey, watch it or I'll uninvite you to my party this Saturday and you won't get to see your surprise."
Rachel raised an eyebrow "Surprise? What kind of a surprise?" She asked with a new found sudden interest.
"Well you'll just have to wait and see." He smirked "Anyways, I gotta get back to work. Being the sexy boss isn't an easy thing."
Rachel rolled her eyes and waved him off while Quinn just smiled sweetly and nodded.
"Well it definitely can't do its self." She said kind of flirtatiously.
Finn looked her up and down and nodded "Damn right it won't." He said before turning and walking away.
Quinn squealed excitedly in her seat. "Did you see that? I mean seriously, did you just see that? He totally wants me." She said as she leaned into her seat and sighed.
"Yeah, so when are you two finally going to stop with the eye sex and give me beautiful babies?" She asked playfully. Now that Finn was gone she felt more comfortable with going into girlfriend mode with Quinn. She didn't really care what he thought when she and Quinn were gossiping or talking like a bunch of fifteen year old girls but she wasn't stupid enough to get excited like this on his account. She'd secretly been cheering on team Fuinn (How cute was that?) for years now.
Quinn chuckled and shook her head "Never going to happen. This is no more than just a physical attraction. We're like best friends, I would never actually fuck my best friend."
"Awe, there go my chances." Rachel said jokingly "Oh come on, Q. I've never seen a physical attraction last as long as yours and Finns has. This is so much more than that! You guys either need to fuck and realize that it is just nothing more than an attraction or fuck to realize how much you need to get married and make cute babies. Or not get married, it's the twenty-first century I really don't give a shit."
Shaking her head, Quinn just smiled at her best friend "You are unbelievable Berry." She said as she turned back around towards her desk. "You wanna come with me to wash my car during lunch?" Rachel rolled her eyes and groaned. "Oh please! I'll buy you coffee!" Everyone who knew Rachel knew that coffee was the way into her heart. She would do just about anything for a little bit of it no matter what time it was. Quinn always liked to joke and tell her how sick she was but she secretly loved knowing so much about Rachel. When Rachel was being so damn stubborn that no one could stand it, Quinn was the only one who knew how to get to her long enough to get her to calm down.
Rachel grinned and nodded her head "Why didn't you say so in the first place? Of course I'll go with you." Maybe a little coffee break could help brighten her day up just a little bit.
She should have known that when Quinn said 'Coffee on me' she meant that she'd give Rachel twelve bucks and wait in the car until she ordered and got her own coffee. She didn't really have a problem with waiting in line by herself except that today seemed to be extra packed and Quinn wouldn't quit calling and texting her to hurry it up.
"Oh my Moses Fabray, if you don't stop calling me this instant I'll-I'll…do something really mean." With that the brunette hung the telephone up and let out a frustrated sigh. Not only was her day just going terribly wrong but she was stuck here in a line full of teenagers and really loud business people and she still hadn't had her coffee.
"Rough day?"
Rachel turned around and noticed the tall, green eyed man standing behind her. He was wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves cut off and had one headphone attached to his ear while the other hung down towards his black track pants. It was obvious just from looking at him that he'd been working out and Rachel thanked whoever decided to give birth to this person that they did because people that looked like him didn't just appear in coffee lines every day.
"You have no idea." She said with a sigh. "How much of my complaining have you been listening to?"
He chuckled and wiped some of the sweat off of his forhead. "Just enough to know that you're not in the best mood ever."
"So do you strike up conversations with strangers in bad moods often or should I just consider myself special?"
"Ma'm?"
Rachel turned back around and saw a young man standing behind the counter. She hadn't even realized that it was her turn to order yet.
"Oh sorry," She told the boy before placing her order without looking back at the man who'd been standing behind her. It wasn't until she finally got her warm drink and was about to walk out that she felt something holding her back by the wrist. She turned around and looked up curiously at the man holding her behind.
"Feel special." He practically whispered into her ear before letting go of her and walking out of the store.
Rachel felt her cheeks grow a deep shade of pink as she stood there with her drink in hand, watching the gorgeous stranger walk out of the starbucks that she'd been going to ever since she was eighteen years old. What the fuck was that just now? She didn't even know this guy but here she was unable to get her mind off of him and those green eyes. Okay, maybe Quinn and Finn were right. Maybe she did need to get laid or something.
Later that night Finn, Quinn and Rachel were joined by Santana and Artie, two other friends who Rachel and Quinn had known since they were just little kids. As a matter of fact. Artie was Rachels very first boyfriend ever. They were in the fifth grade and dated for two whole weeks, which was two weeks longer than anyone else in their grade lasted, and even kissed each other for the first time before they realized that they just didn't like each other. Sophomore year of high school Santana moved to Ohio from New York and started dating Artie not very long after she arrived. It didn't take long before she fit right in with Quinn and Rachel. Ever since Finn joined the whole circle of friends, the five of them had joined each other for dinner at least once a week after work. It was kind of a cheesy tradition but it kept them all connected in some way and it was a good way to catch up and hang out with your friends so Rachel never really complained.
"So what's that I hear about a sexy guy hitting on you in a coffee store Ray?" Santana asked suddenly with a grin as she reached over and took Arties hand in hers. They were so cute sometimes that Rachel couldn't help but be a little disgusted. Actually, she was never really disgusted by them as much as she was jealous really. They've been together since they were just kids and she's never ever seen them get into much more than a small argument that would last them maybe a few hours or so before they'd kiss and makeup and go back to being happy. As of recently she might have seemed like the last person on the planet who wanted to find love like theirs but everyone wanted someone secretly and it didn't really help when you were the last one in the group of friends you'd been around for years who was alone.
"I see you've been talking to Q, it's nice that you guys keep up." The brunette said before taking a long sip of her wine, hoping that they could change the subject.
"Woah, sexy guy in a coffee shop? Sounds like a perfect match for Rachel." Artie said with a chuckle as he poked at Rachels addiction to caffeine.
"Nah, not if he's sexy." Finn said before everyone broke out into laughter. He patted the top of Rachels head before she pulled away and rolled her eyes at him.
"It was some random freak who decided to try and talk to me while I was trying to get my coffee, which tasted like shit by the way. Is it me or are they hiring like six year olds now a days?" She attempted to change the topic once again which only got them to begin speaking about it more.
"She needs herself one of those really old rich guys that are about to croak." "No, no, Rachel needs a deaf man who can't hear how annoying she is." To that one Rachel flipped Finn off "Maybe Rachel should switch lanes and just start going for girls, I know a couple of hot lesbians who'd totally be into it."
"Maybe Rachel should get going before she kills all of her friends in public." The brunette said as she stood up from her seat and tossed some money in the center of the table.
"Awee Rach! We were just joking, don't run away from us." Artie said in a sorry tone of voice. He was always the sweet one in her life. Quinn was reliable, Santana was fun but Artie was the sweetheart who always just kind of wanted her to be happy. She smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek before patting Santanas shoulder gently.
"I'm actually just really tired, please continue to make fun of me while you're here." She said before offering them a smile "I have work to get to tomorrow anyways." She glared at Finn before he raised his hands in the air as if to prove his innocence. "I'll see you guys tomorrow night at Finns!"
Rachel yawned as she drove towards work that next morning. It turns out that she wasn't tired enough for sleep when she got back to her apartment so she downed half a bottle of scotch before she finally fell asleep on her couch. She woke up an hour later than she usually did and wasn't able to go on her morning jog and barely had time to make herself look presentable. She threw on a white button up shirt, only buttoning it up so that it showed cleavage but not enough to get her into enough trouble to be fired, a pair of dark jeans along with her white heels and picked her hair up halfway with a bobby pin. She grabbed her purse and practically sprinted out of her apartment. "Stupid, stupid girl. You're so stupid, so so stupid!" She chanted to herself as she pulled out some concealer from her purse and tried to watch the road while making sure she put it on over her face correctly so she didn't look like shit once she got to work. She really wasn't in the mood to explain to Finn and Quinn why she had dark circles around her eyes or why she looked like she had a hang over.
She jumped and dropped all of her makeup on her lap, spilling some of the concealer on her jeans, when she heard a loud honking. Where the fuck had that come from? She looked up to see if there was anyone in front of her before she felt someone crash into the back of her car. She pressed the breaks instantly causing her to almost slam into the steering wheel.
"Fuck!" She yelled out before getting out of the car and slamming the door shut. She walked to the back of her car where the accident had happened and looked at the now evident dent that was there. "Oh this is just perfect."
"Hey lady, who the hell gave you a license?"
Rachel looked up and instantly recognized the man who had hit her. Was this some kind of a practical joke or something? She scanned the street beside her and noticed that there were only a few cars parked but not any other people around. Quinn had to be hiding somewhere with Finn, chuckling about this whole situation right now or something because this? This shit just was not possible. Sighing, Rachel turned back to the mystery man in front of her and crossed her arms over her chest. Who would have thought that her coffee guy was going to hit her car the next day?
"Excuse me? You popped out of nowhere! It isn't my fault that you aren't an attentive driver!" She was trying her hardest to be civil about this, well as civil as you can get while yelling at the douche bag who just insulted your driving skills.
"I popped out of nowhere? I honked at you like twice! You were supposed to stop the damn car and wait for me to get out. It was my right."
"Oh now who doesn't deserve to have a license? You're supposed to wait for the cars to pass before reversing moron."
"And I did, you were just speeding your little ass as if you owned the fucking road." He argued.
Rachel watched as the vein in his neck grew suddenly and knew that it had to mean he was getting angry. She knew she should be bitching right back at him for that but she couldn't help but find him a little sexy at the moment. Snap out of it! She thought to herself before leaning against the back of her car and focusing her attention back to the situation.
"Alright, so what do you propose we do about this? You know, since you're a genius and everything?" She asked coldly.
The man scoffed before actually taking a good look at Rachel for the first time since they got into the accident. "You're the cute girl from starbucks." He remembered suddenly as he looked her up and down for a second.
She felt the anger rise in her again. "Yes, I'm also the girl who's late for work and has this huge dent on the back of her car thanks to you." Rachel glared at him before turning to grab her cellphone out of her car "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call the police and see how we could settle this whole incident."
The man chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "Baby, you can't do that."
Rachel let out a groan before looking back over at him "And why is that?"
"Because I am the police. So yeah, I think I know what I'm talking about when I say that you're wrong and I'm right."
Rachel gasped "You're an officer and you speak to common people in that tone? Are you some kind of a joke?"
"Are you questioning a man who has handcuffs in the backseat of his car?" He raised an eyebrow at her in return.
God this man was so frustrating. If he didn't have the law on his side then Rachel would have kicked his ass by now. She looked over at his arms and noticed for the second time just how built he looked. Well she would have tried to kick his ass by now.
"So miss, we can settle this any way you want to really. We can make a big deal about it and take each other to court but I'm telling you that I will be right and you'll just end up remembering me as the man who put a dent in your pretty little wallet." He explained "Or we can just part ways and pretend this never happened. That way you can pay for your own damages and I can pay for mine." He looked at his own car and frowned slightly when he saw a large scratch on his bumper.
Rachel sighed and stomped her feet kind of childishly. She supposed that the last thing that she needed in her life at the moment was to go to court because of this douche bag. Not to mention that she was still late for work and getting all of that shit put together was going to take a few more hours. But she'd never wronged the law before. Well there was that one time where she tried weed in high school but that didn't count because she hated it and wound up confessing to her dad the next day.
"Fine." Rachel scowled slightly before looking back up at him "But I still think you're wrong and that this would have never happened if you were a more careful driver."
He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. "Whatever…what's your name again?" He asked curiously.
Rachel shrugged her shoulders before grabbing her purse "Doesn't matter now does it? I mean we're never going to see each other again anyways." With that she got into the car and slammed the door shut before driving away. This time without keeping her eyes off of the road.
"Rachel, where the fuck have you been? You missed the nine o' clock meeting about-"
The brunette waved Finn off, knowing that he was following closely behind her anyways, as she stalked over to her desk where Quinn was waiting for her.
"Rachel you better have a damn good reason for being late cause whenever you pull shit like this I look-"
"Like a dumbass for hiring me, I know and I'm sorry, you know I haven't done something like this for a few months now." She hadn't realized what she was saying until Finn and Quinn both gave her a sympathetic look "Anyways I have a good reason for being late today. Some asshole who thought he could just up and own the street just because he's a fucking cop decided to hit the back of my car. We were standing there for like ten minutes arguing until I realized that he was the same guy that I met in the coffee shop yesterday."
Quinn gasped and moved from her seat behind her own desk to sit on top of Rachels desk while Finn just rolled his eyes.
"I can practically feel the girl talk starting up. I'm glad you're alright, Ray, just make sure you call next time you know that you're going to be late." She nodded and watched as he walked out of the room. If she had the time she would have felt a little guilty for not mentioning that the whole accident might have been her fault for being hung over from last night and trying to rush her ass to work but Quinn was chattering away before she even had the opportunity to think about it.
"So what happened then? Did you get his number?" She asked curiously.
"Oh yeah, right after we took a stroll around town and fed each other chocolate covered strawberries." Rachel said sarcastically before sitting down on her desk chair and grabbing a pack of letters that had been left on her desk.
"Fine, so maybe the two of you might not be meant to be but I was talking to Finn last night and he was telling me a little bit about your surprise for tonight." She said with a grin.
Rachel looked up curiously "Really? What is it? Am I going to like it?" She asked as she leaned closer to her friend as if this were some kind of huge secret or something.
Quinn nodded and let her grin grow a little bit. "Well I definitely think so! Apparently Finns best friend from high school just moved into town and is a complete commit-a-phobic. He seems to think that the two of you will get along perfectly and is going to set the two of you up."
Frowning, Rachel leaned back into her seat. "So Finn is setting me up with a guy who likes to sleep around? Q, how is this good at all?" She asked.
Quinn rolled her eyes at Rachel this time and shoved her in the shoulder "Hello? You don't want a relationship, he hates relationships, and apparently he's gorgeous and-"
Rachels scoffing interrupted Quinns rambling "Finn said that his best friend was gorgeous?" She asked skeptically as she raised an eyebrow.
"Well no, but he said that girls were usually all over him in high school and that he was really into working out which I think is pretty much a guys way of saying that another guy is hot." Quinn said with a slight frown before continuing "Anyways, I really think that you could use someone like him for a night."
"Are you suggesting what I think that you're suggesting?"
"Rachel, this is weird for me too but I just want to see you happy again and I think this might do it. I mean I know that you've been in a little bit of a funk ever since-"
"Fine." Rachel said abruptly as she turned away from her friend to focus on her computer screen. "I'll give him a chance just stop worrying about me after I do alright? I can take care of myself and I'm telling you that I'm perfectly fine with how my life is going now." Rachel knew that she was being a little harsh on her friends and she felt bad about it. They were kind of right to be pushing her like this, it had been two years since her last real relationship but she just didn't want to do it. She still didn't feel like she had the energy or the spirit to do that just yet.
Quinn sighed after a while and nodded her head. "Fine, all I'm asking for is that you give this a try." She hopped off of the desk and went over to her own before sitting behind her computer. "So do you want to come over so we can get ready together?" She asked with a smirk on her face. Rachel groaned and Quinn turned to her again "Oh come on! It'll be just like in high school when we would go to parties together and we'd tell each other what we thought looked good or bad." Quinn wasn't stupid. She knew that if Rachel did this alone she would stop in the middle of getting ready and come up with some lame reason to miss out on the party and she was going to make sure that she went.
Rachel knew what Quinn was up to as well but she didn't really feel like arguing it. She was kind of right anyways, Rachel needed to stop avoiding these things and once tonight was over she wouldn't need to put up with it anymore. "Fine. I'll be over like at seven?"
Quinn smiled at her friend before turning back to her computer.
Don't worry, operation get Rachel and Puck together is most definitely a-go!
-Q.
Finn smiled when he read the email from Quinn. This plan had to work out.
NEXT CHAPTER: Finns party, Rachel and Puck meet again and the girls and guys bond!
review please! because no reviews mean no updates! D:
