Rachel stared at the two girls in disbelief. This really couldn't be happening; it had to be a joke. Santana and Brittany were looking at her expectantly; Santana with her arms crossed and a bored look on her face while Brittany was grinning happily at her.
"What?" Rachel asked again, still unable to understand what these girls were saying.
"Listen, we really need people to do on this trip to help pay for gas. You're not as annoying out of Glee as in Glee, so we figured you'd want to tag along. Kurt and Mercedes already agreed to go and suggested we ask you." Santana asked. She flipped her hair off of her slender shoulder. It was the first Monday after school got out and she was already only wearing a bikini. "We're planning on going to Cali and my dad already got a villa on the beach." Rachel looked from Brittany back to Santana; she blinked several times and shifted slightly,
"Please say you'll go Rachel! It's our senior year and it would be awesome if you could go." Brittany bounced up and down, grinning widely.
"I'll ask my dad's and text you." Santana sighed and rolled her eyes,
"Alright, we need to know by tonight. We were gonna head out tomorrow. Also, if you do go, Brit-Brit and I get to pack for you. I am not going to be sitting on the beach with a kindergarten grandma." Rachel rolled her eyes at the Latina.
"Fine, I'll text you tonight." The girls nodded a goodbye and linked elbows as they strode back to Santana's speedy little red car. Rachel slipped back in her house and slowly made her way back to their living room. Her dads were perched on the plush carpet working on a jigsaw puzzle.
"Who was that sweetie?" Her dad asked as he snapped three pieces in place.
"Just a couple of girls from Glee, they wanted me to go on a road trip to California. One of the girl's dad has a villa on the beach and they wanted to spend the summer there." Rachel muttered as she took her spot and picked at a piece. She hadn't really planned on doing anything this summer but posting her video's to MySpace (she kept it up even though most people didn't use MySpace anymore; she had a few followers who watched her videos religiously) Jacob she thought darkly, and also spend some time outside reading.
"Well you should go. You weren't really going to be doing anything this summer anyways." Her daddy smiled at her. Rachel glared at her daddy playfully. "Who's all going?"
"Santana, Brittany, Kurt and Mercedes so far, I don't know how many other people are going but I don't think many more." Her dad's smiled at her in unison before going back to the puzzle. Rachel texted Brittany before going back to their puzzle; a feeling started to grow in her stomach. Rachel was sure it was nerves but she ignored it. Although she and Santana had a past, she knew it was in the past. She hoped.
Rachel stared at the clothes that Santana and Brittany had packed her. Some of the dresses were really cute but most of them were things that the two ex-Cheerio's would wear. Not what Rachel would wear. Rachel picked nervously at her short black skirt as the girls repacked everything and led her outside. Kurt was leaning against his SUV talking with her father's looking stylish as always. Mercedes was in the car with a pair of large dark sunglasses on, leaning her seat back slightly. Rachel was pretty sure she was asleep. Rachel had been up for hours now and was worried slightly about how her workout regimen would go while they were driving. The sun was barely peaked over the houses as Brittany slid Rachel's bag into the back as Rachel turned to her dad's. Her daddy handed her a debit card with a grin and hugged her tightly. Her dad copied him and whispered in her ear to call or at least text them every night. She slid in the middle row of seats with Brittany and Santana as Kurt jumped in the front. He started the car and looked back at the girls,
"Who's ready for California?" He muttered, sliding on his sunglasses. The girls cheered and he pulled out of the driveway. Mercedes jerked slightly and looked at him. Mercedes grumbled something under her breath before reaching over and turning up the radio. Rachel and Santana chuckled as Brittany began to sing along animatedly. Rachel glanced at Santana before jumping into the song with her.
Feel the adrenaline moving under my skin
It's an addiction such an eruption
Sound is my remedy feeding me energy
Music is all I need
Mercedes and Kurt began to sing along as they turned up the volume even more,
Baby, I just wanna dance She's been a crazy diva disco fever and you wonder Back on the dance floor better not to take me home Baby, I just wanna dance She's been a crazy diva disco fever and you wonder
I don't really care
I just wanna dance
I don't really care, care, care (feel it in the air yeah)
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Too cold for you to keep her
Too hot for you to leave her
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Bass kicking so hard blazing through my beating heart
French kissing on the floor, heart is beating hardcore
Everybody is getting a little tipsy on the crazy juice
This will end up on the news
I don't really care
I just wanna dance
I don't really care, care, care (feel it in the air yeah)
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Too cold for you to keep her
Too hot for you to leave her
Who's that chick? Who's that chick?
Santana and Brittany stopped singing and pointed at Rachel who smiled as she sang the next verse Ultra-sexual, the night has got me love sprung
I won't stop until the sun is up oh yeah
My heart is a dancer beating like a disco drum
Oh, oh oh, oh woah, oh oh
"Geez, Berry, I didn't know you were such a freak," Rachel jumped and let out a scream as she felt hot breath roll across the base of her neck. Spinning around, she stared at Puck who looked disheveled and like he had just woken up.
"What're you doing here?"
"I'm going to California, like the rest of you. Hey Hummel, can you keep it down, I'm still a little drunk back here." Kurt made a face at him in the rearview mirror as Rachel tried to calm her heart from beating right out of her chest.
"Why didn't you tell me Puck was coming?" Rachel shot to Santana as Puck rolled his eyes and lay back down in the back seat.
"We didn't figure it'd be that big o' deal."
"Yeah, it is just Puck." Mercedes mused from the front seat.
"What about sleeping arrangements?" Rachel whispered hurriedly. She heard Puck snort a laugh and shot him a glare he couldn't see.
"Boys get one room, 2 queen beds. Girls get one room, 2 queen beds and share. That simple." Santana muttered. She was rubbing her temple. The beginnings of a headache were biting at the back of her eyeballs. Maybe bringing Berry was a bad idea. Rachel quieted down about the issue and as another song began to play on the radio, she joined in the rest in singing it.
Hours had passed before Puck finally sat up and joined the living. Only to find he had woken to find an argument had quieted the SUV. Apparently, Brit and Santana weren't talking to each other and Mercedes was about to throw herself into the back seat and attack Rachel.
"When're we stopping to eat, I'm starved." He yelled to the front of the SUV. Kurt glanced at him in the rearview mirror,
"Puck, we've already stopped to eat, you were still passed out." Puck's face fell.
"Nobody got me anything?" He yelled angrily. Santana rolled her eyes to him,
"Please, you eat everything in sight. No one wants to spend the money to feed you." She snapped. Puck glared at her,
"Bitch," He grumbled. She sighed and looked back at her phone. Puck jerked back as something threw itself in front of his face. Rachel was holding a Nature Valley Granola Bar to him that she apparently produced from her purse.
"What the hell is this, bird food?" He muttered, peering at the bar. He was in the process of taking it, when she jerked it back,
"Fine, if you don't want it, I'll keep it for when I'm hungry."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Puck almost leapt into the middle seats after the bar and grabbed it from her.
"Puck, you will not spill a single crumb back there and if you do, so help me God!" Kurt yelled from the front seat.
"Oh please Hummel. It's a fucking crumb not like the Big Mac I managed to chow down while ya'll were singing that slut-tastic song earlier." The face Kurt made to the mohawked boy was slightly frightening and Rachel gripped the door handle as the car jerked sharply. Rachel began to really regret going on this trip. They weren't going to make it to California without killing one another. Abruptly, Kurt pulled onto an exit ramp and began to head toward a small town. They had already made their way through Indianapolis and were in Illinois. He pulled up to a Best Western in the city of Vandalia.
"Everyone out. We're stopping here for the night." Everyone started to complain about not making it to California but Kurt whipped around in his seat and glared at them, "I said everyone out!" They scrambled out without another word. Kurt and Mercedes sashayed into the office as Rachel helped the other girls unload the bags from the back. Puck's bag was a single duffle bag that looked like he had only packed underwear and socks.
"Thanks for the help, Puckerman." Santana snapped sarcastically as she crawled in the trunk space and slapped him on the back of the head. He glared at her but didn't say anything. The diva's returned and grabbed their bags. Rachel waited as Puck clambered out of the SUV and stretched, his shirt lifting up and showing a strip of tanned skin above his jeans. He thrust his bag into her hands and grabbed hers'.
"What the fuck Berry? You bring your entire wardrobe?" She rolled her eyes and sighed,
"No Noah, but I did pack adequate amounts of clothes for different weather types and I have all of my toiletries as well. What did you bring? A pair of socks and you're guitar?" Puck chuckled at her comment,
"And condoms." Rachel huffed, her cheeks blooming red, as they followed everyone up the stairs and Rachel dropped his bag at the boy's room door. He slid hers to her hand,
"Thank you," she muttered, following the other girls into the room without waiting for an answer. The two rooms were paid for the one night and Rachel sat with Kurt on one of the boy's beds as her braided her hair. Mercedes, Santana and Brittany had gone to get some pizzas for the night and movies. Puck was showering when Rachel had come in which she was thankful for. She couldn't deny that they had chemistry and it scared her sometimes. Kurt finished the braids as they became engrossed in a movie marathon.
"I just don't understand why the big boobed blonde always has to run from the monster shoeless and get her shirt or dress ripped open. It's deplorable the way they depict some women in these movies." Rachel muttered as she watched the pretty screaming girl run through the dilapidated building. The shower turned off as Kurt undid the braid and restarted. Rachel didn't mind, her hair usually looked really good when he finished with it. He liked to give her make-over's now and she liked to have him give her make-over's especially after the cat suit debacle. The door to the bathroom opened and Puck stepped from the bathroom. Still in only a towel.
"You know why they have the hot blonde get her clothes ripped off. 'Cause red blooded heterosexual studs like myself, love it." Rachel glanced at him uncomfortably. He was clutching the corners of the soft white towel together at his hip that clashed with his tanned skin. He had gotten his other nipple pierced since his first had been ripped out (Artie told her about the incident at juvie). He had gotten in really good shape since Beiste had taken over the football and basketball team.
"T-that's just as unacceptable. It makes no sense to have a half naked girl running around only to die."
"Would you put some pants on!" Kurt abruptly snapped from behind Rachel. Puck grabbed his bag and strode back into bathroom. Kurt poked Rachel slightly but she ignored him. The door threw open and in walked the other girls with three boxes of pizza, one big bottle of regular coke and diet coke, and a plastic bag. Kurt finished the braid the second time and hurriedly grabbed the bag. He shuffled through the videos before handing them to Rachel. They were a good mix of action, comedy, and chick flicks. Puck walked back out of the bathroom and threw his bag against the empty bed. Rachel watched as he flopped on the bed and grabbed at one of the pizzas before making a face,
"What the hell is this?"
"That's the vegetarian pizza." Mercedes muttered as she glanced at it. Kurt leaned over and smiled as he snatched it from Puck. Rachel grabbed a piece of the pizza as Brittany popped in the first movie. Mercedes grabbed few slices of a pepperoni pizza and sat with Kurt and Rachel on one bed as Santana and Brittany curled up on the other next to Puck and began to eat the other pizza. Rachel finished her pieces and found an ache in her chest; a nauseous swirling in her stomach that wasn't from the pizza also bothered her. Mercedes and Kurt were speaking quietly about the horrendous cut of the dress on the main actress and Santana, Brittany and Puck were talking quietly about nothing important. She felt like she didn't fit with any of them. Sure, Mercedes and Kurt were her good friends, but right now she felt like she was invading their time they usually had together. The movie finished as cliché as most romantic comedies do and Rachel stood.
"I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you all in the morning." Rachel muttered. Everyone muttered a goodnight as she stepped from the room and stood a moment in the hallway. The ball of nerves was back and slightly larger than before. Maybe she should just call her dad's to pick her up. She sighed and went to the door but before she opened it, the boy's room door opened. Brittany stepped from the room and looked at her. She stepped into the hallway and left the door ajar slightly.
"Are you okay, Rachel?" Brittany asked as she stepped over to the shorter girl.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired." Rachel lied easily but the other girl saw right through it,
"We're really happy you decided to come along, Rachel. All of us. Even Santana. Remember that okay?" Rachel was taken aback by the burst of wisdom and kindness from the blonde. She stepped forward abruptly and Rachel jerked back slightly. The girl wrapped her arms around Rachel and squeezed her slightly. Rachel hugged her back and Brittany dropped her arms before going back to the boy's room and pushing open the door. Rachel stepped into her room and changed quickly into her pajama's and slid into one side of one bed. She didn't know how long she lay there before the other girls came in. She quickly snapped her eyes shut and took deep, slow breaths mimicking sleep. The girls were quiet with a few tittering laughs before they slipped into their respective beds, Rachel felt her bed sag as Mercedes slipped in, and shut the lights off. She lay there for a little longer before slowly drifting to sleep.