Chapter 2 : Rooftop Games

"Puck? You're my roommate?" "That's why I recognized the name Santana! Nice to see you again..roomie!" Completely overwhelmed, Santana answers, "Yeah, great to see you too." "So..what about this roof, huh? You can see the whole town from up here" "Yeah! So beautiful.." Another guy comes to Santana and interrupts the conversation. "Beautiful? I can only assume you're talking about me" He grins to Santana. Startled, she replies, "I wasn't.." He laughs, "I'm just messing with you. I know, I know, I can come a bit strong. The name's Kurt, but you can call me your number one fan cause you are straight-up crushing that look." "Nice to meet you..It sounds like you know fashion!" "Well, one of my ex-boyfriends was a model, so..kind of?" "I'd say that makes you our resident fashion expert" "Please promise me that means we can go shopping together sometime." Dani joins in, "Ahhh! Only if I get to come too!" Santana smiles, "sounds like fun". Tina looks around. "I feel like we're still missing someone" "There he is!" At the far end of the roof, Santana spots a guy sitting by himself, looking out at the stars. "Mike! Enough with the shy nerd act! Get over here and talk to our new roommate!" The Asian guy joins in, "Oh..hey there. I was just trying to see if I could spot Cassiopeia. The constellations are just a little different here than back home in California." Tina looks interested. "You're into stargazing? I used to do that all the time when I was little. "Oh really?" Mike looks surprised and amazed at the same time. Suddenly Kurt interrupts. "Santana, sidebar." Kurt pulls her aside. "Okay, just to fill you in, my boy Mike has a massive insta-crush on Tina. And I'm making it my mission in life to get those two crazy kids together. Are you with me?" "You want me to play matchmaker with you? But I barely even know them" "Since when has that ever stopped anyone? Do you even watch 'The Bachelorette'? It looks like I'm going to have to do this myself. Just try not to ruin this for me. As Santana heads back to the group, Kurt pretends to trip, and accidentally pushes Tina into Mike. "Mike! I'm so sorry, I… er… thanks for catching me." "Any time! Uh.. I mean.. any time you fall into me! Not.. any other time!" Mike stutters himself out of embarrassment. Kurt looks at Mike and wonders, 'This could take a while'. Puck breaks the silence. "So..what now?" "I think this is supposed to be a party, right?" "Maybe we could start with some drinks?" Puck suggests. "Uh, Santana, I've got a bottle of wine down in my room. Want to help me go get it?" Dani asks. "Do we really need two people to grab a bottle of—" "Just come one!" As they walk down, Dani stops right in the middle of the living room. "Okay. Confess. You're into Puck, aren't you?" "Duhh he's the super cute guy I mentioned before" "I'm just trying to warn you, I'm pretty sure he mentioned something about a girlfriend." "What? You mean Quinn ?" "That bossy sorority girl we ran into at Welcome Week?" "Yeah. When we first met, she was, like, Exorcist-level possessive of him." "No, the girl Puck mentioned wasn't Quinn . It was someone from back home." "huh. Now I'm curious. I need to know if Puck is single. Obviously I'm interested in him" Dani flashes a grin. "I'm pretty sure I know how to get him to spill his guts." Santana curves a smile. "oh yeah?" "Oh yeah. Watch and learn, my young apprentice." "Aren't we pretty much the same age?" "Details, details. If we play our cards right, you'll get to ask Puck anything you want."

Back on the rooftop, Dani opens the bottle of wine and starts pouring it into glasses. She leans over and whispers to Santana, "This is step one". Dani hands Puck a glass of wine. "heh. I'm more of a beer guy, but thanks." "Want a drink, Santana?" "Wine? No thanks" "So responsible, I'm impressed" Mike and Kurt pass out the glasses and all of them clink their glasses together. Puck starts, "To an unforgettable freshman year. Cheers, everyone." "I'll drink to that!" Kurt continues. Tina wonders then, "So…what now?" "I'm glad you asked, Tina. I think it's time for us to paly some Truth or Truth." "What's that?" Dani explains, "It's Truth or Dare..except you have to pick truth." Kurt is not impressed. "No dares? So no one's running naked through the quad?" "All in good time. We've got a whole year, together, after all." "Fair point. Since it was your suggestion, why don't you answer the first 'truth', Dani?" "Oh, why don't we start with someone else? Like…Puck, for example?" "Nice try! Go ahead, Santana. Ask her something!" "Okay, Dani..Tell us about your first kiss" "Ugh, you just had to go there, didn't you?" "You don't have to answer if you don't want to." "No, no, Rules are rules. My first kiss was in middle school with this guy named Aaron. We were at a party, and we were playing 'Seven minutes in Heaven'. And Aaron had just eaten a jalapeno on a dare. "Hot" laughs Tina. "Yeah, really hot. When I came out of the closet, I was blushing, and everyone thought I liked him, but it was just the stupid pepper! I haven't gone near guys or jalapenos since" Mike says, "That's too bad..cause jalapenos are bomb" "I'll take your word for it. Who's next?" Soon, it's Kurt's turn to ask a question. He puts on an exaggerated thinking face and scratches his chin. "Hmm..what to ask, who to ask? Got it! I want someone to tell me their ultimate fancy!" Everyone pauses for a while. "Sorry, ultimate fantasy. This is some strong wine!" "or you're a total lightweight" beams Dani. "Says the girl who's gone from sitting on the couch to lying on the ground after two glasses" Puck adds. "What? It's comfortable.." Santana asks further, "So, Kurt, whose 'ultimate fancy' did you want to hear about?" "You know what, I already forgot! Who should I ask, Santana?" Santana looks around and signals to Puck. "Okay, Puck. I want to know your ultimate fantasy." "Wow. Let's see. Nothing too crazy. Like, I'm a fireman, and I save a girl from a burning building. And then she's really grateful. You know what I mean." Dani nods with a meaningful smile, "Oh yeah, we definitely know what you mean" "Interesting. I guess we should be careful not to leave any candles burning up here..or maybe we should leave them burning" Santana laughs. "That part is up to you, I guess." The game continues as Santana waits for her opportunity to ask Puck a question. "Ugh, don't freak out, but..I've never actually kissed a guy" admits Tina. Kurt was shocked! "Wait, not even one? I've kissed like, twenty!" "On the same day?" "Very funny, Mike. Although..three of them were on the same day, yeah" They moved to another person and a new confession. "…and the best part is, I never get caught!" reveals Dani. "Okay, you're officially the coolest person I've ever met!" says Kurt. Santana asks, "Who skinny-dips in a public pool?" to which Dani replies, "Heros, Santana. Heroes" Kurt continues the game. "Okay Mike..I dare you to kiss" "You can't dare me to kiss anyone. There are no dares!" "Oh yeah, I forgot"

Until finally, Puck exclaims, "Looks like it's your turn to ask me, Santana" Dani leans over to Santana and whispers while she is thinking of a question. "Try not to be obvious, Santana" "Okay, Puck, do you have a girlfriend?" "Dang, Santana going straight for the serious topics!" Mike blurts out. "It's okay, Yeah..I was in love, once, Throughout most of high school, actually." Dani was surprised with the answer. "So you dated the same girl through all of high school?" "Basically. Hurt pretty bad when she broke it off, but those were good times" Santana asks further, "Sounds like she was pretty special to you" Puck opens up. "She was. I wasn't going to go into this, but..my ex's name is Nicole and she's the first person I have ever loved. We were together for three years. But when she decided to go to another college, she dumped me on the spot." "That's so harsh" says Tina sympathetically. "To be honest, I'm still not over her. And it'll probably be a while before I am. That's why I promised myself that I'm just going to have fun here. No serious relationships for at least a year!" Santana shares her thought on Puck' decision. "That's smart. And it wouldn't be fair to the next girl you date if you're still not over your ex." "Exactly. Listen, enough about me. Can I ask Santana a question in return?" "What do the rules say, Dani?" Kurt interrupts, "So far it seems like the rules are whatever Dani wants them to be." "Ask away, Puck" supports Dani. "Okay, Santana, what's your take on love?" "My take on love? I'm open to love, but I'm not desperate" "Seems wise. Best to just let it happen" "Exactly". Dani smiles as she looks at the two of them. "Interesting. Very interesting". A few rounds of drinks and questions later, Tina looks at her phone to check the time. "Well, I've hit my embarrassment quota for the night, so I think I'm going to turn in" Dani interjects. "What? It's so early!" Mike answers in disbelief, "It's two in the morning.." "Exactly! Honestly..I am a little tired. But I just want to say this is the most fun I've ever had. "Me too" said Mike. Puck adds, "It's going to be an amazing year. I'm so glad I have you guys as suitemates" "And on that note, I'll see you in the morning" end Dani. Kurt continues, "I actually think I'll head to bed, too. Besides, we've got plenty of nights like these to look forward to, right?" "I guess you're right" answers Dani.

As Dani and the others leave the roof, she shoots to Santana and Puck one last, meaningful look. Puck saw that and wonders, "What was that look all about?". Santana covers up, "Uh, nothing! Just..one of those looks, I guess!" She gazes out over the starlit campus, shivering in the night air. Puck approaches her from behind. "So..not tired?" "Not yet. And I want to savour this, you know? Our first night together as a suite". "It all starts here. You nervous?" "A little. You?" "Oh, I'm terrified. But it's a good kind of terrified. And as long as you're around, I'd say there's a lot to look forward to." "Puck, I feel exactly the same way" "I know we just met, but..I feel a connection with you. And maybe it's not cool to say that, but I just had to get it off my chest." "I'm glad you did". "Really?" "Really." "Listen..I know I must be throwing out mixed signals. The truth is, I'm really not looking to start anything serious. But here, in this moment with you. Things just feel..right" Puck moves closer to Santana and takes her hand, cautiously at first. When Santana doesn't pull away, he interlaces his fingers and smiles down at her. "Puck, hold me?" "Come here.." Puck wraps his arms around Santana and she leans into him. "You know, this does feel..right". Santana tilts her mouth up to meet Puck her lips melting together as Puck pulls her closer. When she finally breaks away, Puck stifles a laugh, his blue eyes crinkling at the corner. "What the hell are you laughing at?" "I'm not laughing. I'm just..I'm happy I guess". "Me too. That was nice." Santana smiles and looks down shyly, her finger tracing figure-eights on Puck's forearm. "Well, I guess it's time we get some sleep". "yeah, it's getting pretty late. Maybe we can talk more later? Or, you know.." "I'd like that. Goodnight, Puck" "Night Santana".

The next day, Santana wakes up to the sound of her phone ringing. She gropes in the sheets for her phone and finds it beside her pillow. "Ugh..what time is it?" Although her eyes were so heavy, she forces herself to look at her phone. "Four missed calls? From my parents? What the.." She walks down the hall and steps out into the chill morning air to take the call. "Mom? What's going on? Why did you guys call me four times?" "Santana, there's something I have to tell you". "Did something happen? What's wrong?" "It's your father. He..he lost his job. We can't pay for your tuition!" "But..but I haven't even started classes yet!" Santana was quiet for a moment. She can not digest the news that she just hears. After composing herself, she speaks to her mom again, "Mom..don't worry I'll try to figure something out" "We're so, so sorry about this, Santana. We're going to make this right, okay? Your father just needs some time to find a new job. We love you!" "Yeah..I love you too". Santana hangs up the phone. "This can't be happening. What am I going to do?"