A/N: New idea I kind of got stuck on. Hope you guys enjoy. I always appreciate reviews. Criticism is like my best friend when I'm writing. Thanks for those who continue to read and review.

Warnings: I don't own Glee or any of the characters or any of the songs I may use. This will include lesbian sex, maybe some hetero but it's not likely. Possibly Finn bashing, I'm not entirely sure how yet, but I'll try to find a way, might even toss in some Jesse bashing. Maybe some triggers but I don't want to give anything away. Angst. I haven't done much research yet so all mistakes are my own.

I had no idea how I let my cast-mates talk me into going out with them for drinks; I didn't even like drinking. I mean, yes, I'd just finished my last show but I'd have preferred to celebrate in the comfort of one of our homes, maybe even together. I'd lost them to their own devices; shots at the bar, flirting with strangers, and dancing to tasteless music. I was just trying to blend in with the crowd by the bar when I bumped into someone. I turned around, somewhat flustered but ready to apologize when I saw a girl. Dark hair and eyes to match showed slight irritation but it softened as she mouthed a quick sorry, or maybe the music was too loud by the bar. She looked away anxiously before repeating the motion and turning away, disappearing into the crowd ordering drinks at the bar.

"Rachel, what're you doing?" Shay called, the grin on her face already suggesting she'd need help getting home.

"I bumped into someone," I explained, looking to the crowd the girl had disappeared into.

Shay had already begun dragging me to the bar, ordering a drink she immediately shoved into my hand, giving no further explanation than, "Drink."

I rolled my eyes but brought the glass up to my lips, taking small sips, "Happy?"

"No, but I'm getting there. Next we need to find you some company."

"I have you," I tried to argue.

"Oh, no, I'm getting sloshed without you nagging me," she assured.

"So much for friends," I sighed, finishing my drink.

"You won't be saying that tomorrow morning," Shay sing-songed as a mischievous smirk overtook her features.

"Shay, what're you-" I was cut off as she pushed me into the arms of a mohawked boy, letting me crash into someone for the second time tonight. I only got to glare at her thumbs up for a second before I realized a strong arm with a beer bottle was holding me up. "Excuse me," I apologized, pulling back from the boy's grasp, "I didn't mean to bump into you. I didn't spill your drinks did I?"

He checked the bottles quickly before giving a haughty grin, "Nah, I'm good, how about you? That would have been a pretty ugly spill."

I blushed, "I'm fine thank you."

He looked around quickly until he seemed to figure out where he was going, "So check it out, my friends are at our table already and you're pretty hot, want to come with?"

I was hesitant but shook my head, he seemed nice enough but I wasn't exactly in the mood to be hit on, "I have to go find my friend."

"The one that threw you at me?" He smirked cockily, and held up one of the beers to point, "She seems kind of busy."

I turned to see Shay dancing provocatively with a girl. "Uh, well-"

"Is that a no then?"

"I suppose I could join you for a bit," I sighed.

"Great," he laughed, urging me away from the bar and past the makeshift dance floor. We reached a poorly lit booth in the corner and I was immediately surprised to see the girl I'd bumped into earlier sitting with a couple, both blonde. "Look at what I found!"

They all looked up, and although the raven-haired girl didn't make it known, she seemed to recognize me.

The blonde boy looked up, a polite smile on his face as he greeted, "Hey."

The blonde girl gave a dismissive wave before looking to the boy beside me, "Drinks."

"Right here," he passed one to her and was about to give the dark-eyed girl one when she silently lifted her bottle, swished it around and gestured to me.

"She wants you to have it," he shrugged and handed it to me.

I was about to explain that I had a drink when I looked to the empty glass in my hand, "Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Take my seat," the boy urged, pulling a seat from the table begin him.

I did as told and looked to the couple before me and the girl beside me.

"I'm Sam," the blonde boy greeted, "This is Quinn," the boy went on, "and that's Santana."

"We've met," I mentioned.

They looked to her curiously and she just shrugged and nodded.

"Oh, shit," the boy next to me almost choked on his beer, "I knew I forgot something, Puck."

"Puck?" I repeated.

"Noah Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck," he beamed.

"Is that something you want to brag about?" The girl wondered.

He scowled at her before smiling at me, "How about you?

"Jesus, Puck, you didn't even find out her name before bringing her over here?" She asked although when I looked up she was watching the girl next to me

He shrugged and pointed his beer to the girl beside me although she hadn't seemed to have said anything, "You've done worse."

"So," Quinn finally interjected, "If they haven't scared you away yet, you celebrating something? This is our usual spot and I don't think I've seen you around."

"Um, yes, I'm leaving my show and my friends wanted to bring me out," I smiled politely.

"What kind of show?" Sam asked.

"It's a musical."

"You look the type," Quinn nodded.

"I wasn't aware there was a specific type," I muttered and finally started sipping the beer in my hand.

"There is," the girl shrugged.

"So, where are your friends?" Sam asked.

"Dancing," Puck supplied.

I couldn't help but glare at the boy, "Yes."

"What was your show about?" Quinn asked again, although her voice was somewhat distracted. She was looking at Santana once more.

"Um, youth and growing up in a very repressive German town," I answered, watching the dark-haired girl curiously.

The girl seemed to be mouthing something at the blonde.

"I'm not going to say that, Santana," the blonde scoffed.

"Say what?" I wondered, growing more confused.

A smirk pulled at her lips, repeating it to Sam.

He blushed, "She said she thought it would be about growing up in Munchkin land," he shook his head and waited for her to go on, "If your height was any kind of hint."

I huffed before looking to the smirking girl at my side, "Well, if you're going to sit and insult me why can't you at least say it yourself."

"She actually can't," Quinn explained, "Unless you count signing."

I felt myself growing embarrassed as I looked around the table.

"She's mute," Same went on.

"Only in theory," Puck groaned, "In practice she doesn't shut the hell up."

My eyes widened as I looked back to the girl's smirk. I shook my head slightly, raising my voice, probably more than necessary, "Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything by-"

Her smirk dropped and she rolled her eyes before holding her hand up for me to stop. She looked to the Quinn as she mouthed something.

I looked back to the blonde, "She said I should tell you, she isn't actually deaf but you're doing a good job of getting her there."

"Sorry," I mumbled as I looked back to her, "I just assumed…"

"You assumed that yelling at a deaf girl would make her hear you?" Sam was beginning to laugh.

"Well," I shrugged, sipping my beer faster now.

"It's fine," he waved me off, "We've all made the mistake."

Puck nudged me slightly, "It's her lips. Just watch them closely."

I blushed at that and turned to Santana, once more mouthing, "Sorry."

"That wasn't funny," I glared.

"For me," she gestured to herself.

"Do you guys do this to everyone?" I looked to all of them, a bit concerned.

"Well, Puck hits on everything that moves, so he brings girls over all the time," I glared at him as Sam explained, "But we're kind of used to San, you know what I mean," he waved off the girl's glare, "So we genuinely didn't mean to not tell you." He seemed finished before he remembered, "Well, San might have, but she's kind of like that."

"Like what?"

"A bitch," Noah and Quinn supplied in unison.

I was surprised as I looked to her, she seemed to be arguing, and I could make out a few profanities but they just ignored her.

"And how did you all meet?" I wondered, trying to get past the horrible joke.

"Speech therapy," Sam supplied.

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"For her, it's a long story," he pointed to Santana, "But I used to have a really bad stutter."

"My roommate," Quinn explained.

"We've known each other since we were little," Noah seemed to be explaining for Santana. He looked down to me, "Met back up here."

"Where are you from?" I wondered.

"Ohio originally," he playfully shuddered.

I turned to Santana, "That's pretty far."

She looked to Quinn, hoping the girl would deliver the message.

"Tell her yourself," the blonde sneered, "You're getting lazy."

She threw the blonde a dirty look before turning to me, "Worth it".

"I'm guessing you didn't like it very much then."

She shook her head.

I kind of got lost in the conversations with them. Most of the bar was clearing out, my friends stopping to tell me they'd miss me, and to make sure we kept up. I still saw a few mingling but I doubted it would last long. Puck had been right about Santana, she'd proven very talkative once she'd finished with her prank; mouthing as much as she could before she had to sign or resort to pulling out her phone to type out messages. Sam and Quinn I learned weren't actually a couple. Puck, was pretty straight forward, the egotistical jerk he'd appeared to be although everyone assured me there was more once you got to know him. I was almost disappointed to leave when last call came.

"Where have you been all night?" Shay asked, drawing her attention from the girl I assumed she'd be spending the night with.

"I met some people," I shrugged.

"Anybody interesting?" She smirked.

"A couple people," I nodded but asked, "Are you going home tonight or…" I waved my hand.

Shay blushed, or maybe she was already flushed from the dancing and alcohol, "I was hoping you could catch a cab, 'cause I'm going with Ronnie here."

"Ronnie?" I sighed.

The girl Shay'd been hanging all over nodded and held up her hand to wave her fingers.

I was going to chide Shay when I felt fingers brushing over my palm. I turned to see Santana, tilting her head suggestively to the door.

"See, you're friend here's ready to go. Go get some," Shay cheered sloppily, almost falling off of her seat.

"Santana, I-"

"I'll give you a ride", her phone read.

I looked hesitantly back to Shay, before turning to the girl and nodding.

She led me outside the bar, where her friends were waiting; she went to speak to Quinn and Sam for a moment.

"I'm going with the boys, Sam's got therapy so I'm going with him," the blonde girl leaned forward to kiss her friends cheek. "It was nice meeting you Rachel."

"It really was, sorry about laughing," Sam shrugged.

"Wait, you're going home with her?" Puck seemed to have noticed that, "That's not fair, I met you first."

"Technically, I bumped into her first," I gave the boy a smile.

"Whatever," he scowled but it melted to reveal a smile, "Just try not to deafen her."

"I'm still really sorry about that," I said to Santana, still blushing over the incident.

She only waved me off before letting the boy hug her. When he let go she punched his arm and held up her phone in request.

He nodded, "You gotta give me details tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes before waving, obviously ready for them to part ways.

"You guys seem like a pretty tight-knit group," I pointed out as I followed her to the parking lot.

I was expecting a car, not the motorcycle she led me too. She pulled a helmet off of the handlebars and turned to hand it to me.

I'd never been on one before, so I wasn't entirely certain it was a good idea, "I don't know if this is a good idea, maybe I should just call a cab."

She quirked an unamused eyebrow as she threw her leg over the bike. It was too dark to see if she'd said anything.

"Thank you for the offer but-"

She started the engine and started moving the bike from its parking space, she sat back on it for a minute before pulling out her phone again, "It's because I'm mute isn't it?"

I shook my head anxiously, "No, of course not, I'm sure that in no way impairs your ability to drive, I just think that my lack of experience may hinder-"

She lowered the phone for me to see her smirk. She nodded to the back of the bike again.

I sighed but moved to sit carefully on the bike behind her. I was a little uncomfortable with how close we were but as she revved the engine I couldn't help but tighten my grip around her.

"Where, do you live?" She handed me the phone.

I typed it out quickly and handed it to her.

She took the phone and scanned the screen quickly before nodding and gesturing for me to put the helmet on. When I did she finally took off.

I'd never imagined myself as the type to ride a motorcycle, even if I wasn't the one driving. Santana navigated the streets of New York easily, meticulous in her abidance of traffic laws. I was impressed. I even got a bit comfortable in our proximity. The helmet was a bit stuffy, and I knew it had messed up my hair, but I was glad to have it although I wondered if she worried about not having it. When I saw my apartment building approaching I was a bit disappointed, although I tapped her shoulder and pointed, letting her know which one it was.

"That one," I called, although it was a bit muffled.

Her head bobbed in a nod before she finally pulled into an empty space.

She put the kick stand down and got off, holding her hand out for me.

"Thank you," I breathed, not realizing how tense I'd been as I got off the bike a bit awkwardly.

"No problem," she mouthed in the dim light of the lamp post next to us. She pointed to the door and gestured curiously, "Yours?"

"Yes, it's my building," I smiled gratefully, pulling off the helmet to hand to her. I couldn't resist the urge to smooth my hair down nervously.

She took the helmet and nodded.

"Um, Santana," I called, stopping her from getting back on the bike, "Would you like to come in?"

She gave an entertained smirk.

"Not for anything like that, just" I huffed, "A drink?"

She nodded, grabbing her keys from the ignition and slipping the helmet onto the handlebars.

"Come on," I called, leading her up to my apartment.

I wasn't surprised in the least when we got upstairs and found my apartment empty. I told Santana to sit on the couch and asked if she wanted anything to drink. She said anything was fine but still looked uncertain when I came back with a glass of orange juice and a bottle of water. She took the water.

"I'm sorry if I don't have anything else you'd prefer, I'm vegan and I try not to invade my roommate's groceries."

"Vegan?" She mouthed, "I'm sorry."

I glared at her smirk, "I'll have you know I enjoy knowing that I'm not contributing to the slaughter and ingestion of helpless animals.

She nodded and waved for me to stop. "How long?"

"How long have I been vegan? Since middle school. I saw a documentary on the mistreatment of the animals before they were slaughtered for-"

Again she wanted me to stop, assuring me she got it.

"You never told me what line of work you're in," I pointed out.

"I manage the finances at the bar," she held up the phone and shrugged.

"Really?" I hadn't meant to sound so surprised.

She scoffed, "Not saying I'm not a qualified behind the bar, but people usually like getting their drinks from someone they can talk to."

"I suppose," I blushed.

"Did you really just bring me up here to talk?" She seemed amused as I read the message. She pulled it back quickly, "Not that this hasn't just been fascinating."

I really hadn't thought of doing anything more with her, and at the mention of it I grew a bit flustered, "I suppose I did."

She didn't seem surprised but she didn't seem entirely thrilled with my answer, "Mute isn't contagious."

"It's not that," I shook my head, "I swear it isn't. You're a very lovely girl and once I got over your idea of a joke I really did enjoy talking to you, I mean, ugh." I sighed, "I just don't usually do this. One-night stands or anything."

Her expression relaxed and she nodded, standing up as she mouth, "I should go."

"If you're certain," I found myself a bit disappointed that she was leaving. I walked her to the door and she was ready to go when I asked, "Santana," she turned around curiously, "Do you think I could have your number?"

Her face didn't seem as complete as when that smirk sat on her face. She nodded and I handed her my own cell-phone. She typed it in quickly and handed it back. I couldn't help my small smile as I saw her name in my contacts.

"Good night Santana, get home safely," I urged.

"You too," she mouthed before heading out.

}{

"Rachie," Shay called.

"No Shay, leave me alone," I whined, burying my head under my pillows.

"But Rach," she whined.

"No Shay, handle your own hangover," I threw the pillow where I thought she was standing. I heard it flop uselessly to the ground though.

My mattress squeaked as she sat on the edge, climbing into my bed, "But you're better. You know where the aspirin is."

"In the bathroom where it always is," I groaned.

"Hey," she asked, suddenly distracted, "What happened to that girl you had last night?"

"She went home," I couldn't foresee myself being able to get back to sleep.

"What? You let her leave? She was hot!"

I blushed slightly, "I know, but I got her number."

Shay was thoughtfully silent for a moment, "She was seriously hot Rach."

"I know," I finally sat up. My muscles were tight as I stretched, "Come on, I'll get you the aspirin."