The music radiates out into the night as Finn and Rachel wait to go inside, Rachel clinging tightly to Finn's waist to shield herself from the gathering breeze. The edge of her dress flutters around her knees, the soft blue shining slightly in the moonlight, looking down from them as though from worlds away, shielded by a bridal veil of cloud.

They're met by a swirl and cacophony of psychedelic lights, dancing off the walls, flashing and pulsing and rotating hypnotically as they enter. Finn wraps an arm around Rachel's exposed shoulders, traces the fragile outline of her spine, and she leans her head into him in response.

They survey the dance floor for a few moments, watching as the others navigate their way around each other and the music. Sam and Mercedes are laughing as they perform their standard "robot" dance, Tina and Mike are doing an awkward two-step and it's clear that Mike's desperate to have more space, to flaunt his prowess, while Kurt and Blaine are standing at the side, smiling, their hands around each others' waists.

"Hey! Rach! Finn!" They turn around to see Puck, walking casually towards them, Santana and Brittany in tow, holding hands. "Looking good!"

"Thanks," Rachel replies, beaming at him.

"Looks like we might be facing some competition here, Puckzilla." Santana sidles up to him. "We'd better watch out!" The words sound oddly sinister to Rachel, even if Santana had spoken them only with the friendliest of intent.

"All three of you look amazing," she tells them, slightly uneasy. "Santana, that red shade looks lovely on you, just like at Prom, and Brit, you really should wear purple more often, though maybe tone it down for everyday wear? Puck, dashing, as always. Now, if you'll excuse us, Finn and I have some dancing to do."

Rachel tries to pull Finn away, but he doesn't move, wanting to talk further.

"Remind me again; why are you having a threesome date?"

Santana laughs, "Brit and I wanted to come together, but so that Puckerman didn't look like a forever alone loser, we agreed to let him take us both as long as he and I could run for Homecoming King and Queen." Her voice is cool, impassive.

"Lovely, well, see you later! Come on, Finn, let's go dance. I love this song!"

Rachel has no idea what song it even is, but she wants to get away from the three of them. She wasn't sure if she'd imagined it or not, but Puck had kept staring at her throughout the whole conversation. Is something wrong with what she's wearing? Oh, she hopes not! Her hair? Her makeup? No?

Rachel takes Finn's hands and begins to nervously sway to the music, waiting for him to take the lead. Tentatively, he does so, before pulling her close to him. She can feel his heartbeat through his chest. It's reassuring to her, hearing something so alive, so vital, despite the tension in the beat.

Kurt and Blaine end up next to them, and Rachel spends a few moments watching them rotate together slowly, lost in themselves. Blaine's head falls neatly into Kurt's shoulder and their eyes are closed. One whispers something to the other and both smile.

She considers calling to them, to alert them to her presence, but decides against it, and continues to sway silently with Finn instead. He's humming tunelessly to the music, completely out of his range, but Rachel just clings tighter to him, holding on, certain as the tide, a rope for safety.

Puck, Santana and Brittany take to the dance floor only when the next song comes on; something with a faster upbeat that didn't require any awkward couple dancing. They jump and shout amongst the bursts of frenetic, frenzied energy that has exploded around the room, laughing with each other as their hands beat the air above their heads. Puck and Brittany toss their hair around, while Santana is more restrained, not wanting to spoil her intricate style – at least, not until the results had been announced. Brittany squeals, reduced to child-like glee and Santana pats her on the back as she recovers, the threads of quicksilver and initial adrenaline diffusing throughout her body.

"Would all the candidates for Homecoming King and Queen please make their way onto the stage?"

Santana kisses Brittany softly on the cheek, before taking Puck's hand and finding their way through the crowd.

Finn and Rachel join them, all uncertain smiles and reinforced façades.

"I'm delighted to announce that the two thousand and eleven Homecoming King is Mr Noah Puckerman!"

Puck simply smiles at the cheering crowd, picking out faces – Mercedes and Sam, Mike and Tina, even Karofsky, all cheering for him. Santana claps hardest of all, despite knowing what happened when she'd expected the Junior Prom crown; there's still a hopeful buzz in her.

"And the Homecoming Queen – Miss Rachel Berry!"


Here's chapter two! There will most likely be one or two more chapters. We'll see how we are after I've done the next part.

The music for this chapter, as I imagined, was these two songs on YouTube -

.com/watch?v=Pz5H3iVjAlw
for the slow dance

and

.com/watch?v=ykW4rtW2eu0
for the upbeat dance

Thank you for reading!