Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee.
"I remember when my heart caught the fever; you were standing all alone in the summer heat. I was with my boyfriend, my new boyfriend; he was as sweet as he could be. But one look at you, and I was through. My heart switched up on me."
Rachel's first day of classes was a success. All of her professors, apart from her elderly History teacher who spent the majority of the class talking about South Park, seemed satisfactory. She already knew that her Intro to Acting class was going to be her favorite though. The instructor, Ms. Holiday was by far the coolest teacher she had ever encountered, and it really showed in the way she ran her class. Everything was going to be hands on, and their final exam was going to be a recital constructed of four monologues under a unified theme, all of their choosing. It seemed so professional, but so open, and really lit a fire under her.
She came back to her room after her final class, touching up her makeup and making sure she was presentable before she made her way to 'The Playground' to practice again. Yesterday had been a really good start. Will was patient with her, explaining the rules, and showing her the proper shooting technique. Sure, she had only managed to get the ball in about four times without help, but Will said that she had good potential.
Satisfied with her appearance, Rachel hung her keys around her neck and started to make her way out of the room. She flung the door open, knocking down a pretty blonde girl standing right outside it, a Styrofoam plate flying out of her hands and onto the floor.
"Oh my God!" she cried, rushing forward to help the girl up. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were there!"
"Don't worry about it" the girl said, taking Rachel's hand. "I'm Brittany."
"Rachel" she answered, leaning down to pick up the girls' plate and sweep the fallen contents back in with a nearby napkin that also dropped. "So is there anything I can help you with Brittany?" she asked, still wondering why the girl had been at her door.
"I just wanted to meet my suitemate!" she explained, walking next door and unlocking it to prove her point. "It's important to know the person you're sharing a bathroom with, Santana told me to scope you out and make sure you weren't weird or nasty" she finished, eying Rachel critically before crossing through the bathroom and making her way in to Rachel's bedroom to inspect. "Nice, I don't think we'll have a problem" the girl smiled. "You look like a neat freak. Santana will love to meet you; she says freaks are the best."
"Um, thank you?" Rachel said, not quite sure how to feel about this situation. "Who exactly is Santana?"
"My girlfriend."
"Ah. I'm sorry about your dinner" Rachel said, holding up the Styrofoam plate.
"It's alright; they were just finger foods from our first dance team meeting. Did you know finger foods aren't actually in the shape of fingers?" she asked, looking to Rachel intently as she shared this vital information with her.
Rachel smiled, knowing already that she was going to love her kooky neighbor. "You don't say?"
"I said the same thing" she nodded. "I'll just go to the cafeteria and eat, have you been yet?"
"No, we can go together if you want?" Rachel offered. "It's in the U.C so as soon as we're done I can head to practice."
"Perfect!" Brittany cheered, walking back through the bathroom into her own room and returning with a plastic pack of silverware.
"You take your own?"
"Of course, do you want some?" she asked, motioning for Rachel to follow her back into her room.
Rachel nodded, surprised that the girl had such a good idea. It really wasn't a good idea to trust utensils that other people put in their mouths, especially on a college campus. "Yes please."
Rachel walked into the room, noticing the yoga mat and large stereo system in the corner, but the most prominent thing about the room was the bed, sitting at least a good foot away from the wall on both sides.
"Brit, why is your bed so far away from the walls?" Rachel asked, taking a step closer to it as Brittany re-opened her new pack of silverware to bag up for her.
"I meant to warn you, you should do the same thing with yours. It's safer cause, you know, spiders."
"I'm sorry?"
"If your bed is right up against the wall, and a spider gets in through your window or something it can crawl right in with you" she shivered. "But if it's not, the spider has no bridge between it and your bed, so you're safe. The same thing goes for mice and lizards and stuff."
Rachel stared, openmouthed at the girl as she tried to process her logic. "Brittany, you do realize that's not the case right? A spider can jump right off the wall onto your bed, or it could-"
"Oh no, that's only jumping spiders" she stated, handing Rachel the packaged silverware. "Are you ready?"
"Sure" Rachel said, shaking her head with a small smile, as Brittany walked away, leaving her keys sitting on her nightstand. "Wait, don't you need your keys?"
"Oh no, Lord Tubbington will let me in when I get back."
"Who?"
Brittany pointed to beneath her bed, and Rachel bent down to lift the blanket and peek underneath. There, nestled into a large cat bed, was a very large cat surrounded with toys, food bowls, and a few random magazines. "He's not actually supposed to be here, so you can't tell anyone. But I just couldn't leave him at home, he would have never forgiven me" she whispered.
Rachel laughed out loud, holding back a snort as she looked at her new friend. "I completely understand" she said, picking up the keys. "But you should probably take these with you just in case. He might be asleep or something when you come in, you wouldn't want to bother him."
"You know, I hadn't thought of that" Brittany said, taking the keys from Rachel's hand and linking arms with her as they left.
"Yes!" Rachel cried, pumping her cue stick in the air after her fourth consecutive time getting the ball in the side pocket. It was a basic shot, but she was definitely making progress. Yesterday Will pretty much had to sit the ball directly in the pocket for her to get it in, but now she was making it from the center point of the table.
"That was really good Rachel" Will praised, pounding her fist with his as he placed another ball down in the same spot for her to shoot. "Try it again, I want you to master this" he instructed, leaving her and heading to the next table to check on the others.
A loud wail caught Rachel's attention, and she turned to the source, the pretty Asian girl at the table to her left. She had quickly learned that the girls' name was Tina, and the lithe Asian man by her side was the assistant manager Mike. They were both very nice to Rachel when she came in, welcoming her to the team. It turned out that Tina was new to the game as well, having only started playing over the summer at the urging of Mike.
It made her feel a little better, seeing Tina struggling with her stroke and speed, knowing that she wasn't alone in the learning process. She paused, watching him lean over the table to help her, helping her line up her shot and directing her on what to do when she had the right angle. When Tina would miss, he would squeeze her elbow, offering encouraging words to get her to try again. He seemed like a really good teacher, it was obvious that he'd been trained by Will. It made her wonder what Finn would be like when he finally showed up.
She leaned over, lining up the cue ball directly in front of the six, about to shoot when she felt hands on her waist. She sat up shocked, turning to find Sam behind her. "Hey. I didn't think you were coming over until I got done practicing. What happened to you and Joe's 'cousin bonding time'?"
"I wanted to see you" he grinned as she stared at him suspiciously. "And that dance game is pretty addictive, think it's available again?" he asked, making her laugh as she punched his chest.
"Sam! Don't you want to see how good I've gotten?" she asked giddily, clutching her cue.
"Fine, impress me with your skills young grasshopper" he said in a cheesy accent, kissing her cheek as he stepped back to watch her.
"Prepare to be impressed" she said, resuming her place and bending over the table to take her shot. She lined up the ball, closed one eye and pushed forward, connecting with the six and sending it straight into the rail. "Crap, let me try that again." She reached for the uncooperative six ball; replacing it and lining up again.
She knocked it in gracefully, the cue ball magically not moving from its starting point. She'd never seen it do that before, at least not when she was shooting.
"Oh my God, did you see that?!" she cried, turning to find him clapping, releasing a whistle of praise.
Encouraged, Rachel grabbed another ball to shoot, sinking it in as well as the next five in a row. She beamed, mentally patting herself on the shoulder as Sam watched. Suddenly he stood, wrapping his arms around her from behind before she could make the next shot.
"My baby, the pool shark" he said, leaning down close to her ear as he started to chant the Jaws theme song. Rachel giggled, squirming in his grasp when they were interrupted by a new voice.
"I wouldn't say all that, but good start."
Rachel turned in Sam's arms, her easy laughter dying the instant she laid eyes on the most beautiful guy she had ever seen. His deep whiskey colored eyes twinkling with humor as he watched Sam still humming the theme in her ear. She blinked, trying to catch her breath as she memorized every detail of him, the dark messy hair, the spray of freckles on his cheeks, the striking grin pulling up half of his face. She was completely entranced by this stranger, carrying a small black bag on his shoulder.
"She's getting there" Sam finally said, breaking the silence as he held out his hand to Finn. Without realizing it, she took a step forward, slightly distancing herself from Sam.
"Oh good, you're here!" Will called, appearing next to her as he approached the stranger, or well, stranger to her unfortunately. "I want you to meet Rachel, our newest member" he announced, placing a hand on her shoulder she tried to catch her breath. He undid his bag, pulling out and assembling a fancy looking black pool cue as she watched. "Rachel, this is our team captain, Finn."
Thank you for reading, hope that you enjoyed!
Update coming soon! Review!