Chapter 2

Rachel was running around the upper field of the campus early morning the next day when her workout playlist was paused and replaced by her ringtone. She bent her neck to look at the phone in her armband to see who was calling. Seeing it was Finn, she answered the call. "Good morning, Finn. What a surprise, having you call this early."

"Hey Rach! And yeah, I have a 7AM class. It sucks balls, but whatever, I guess…"

"Oh, what class?"

"I called to ask how your first college party went! So, how was it?" asked Finn, completely ignoring her question.

"I find you romanticize college parties a lot, Finn. That may be unhealthy in the long run."

"Oh come on, Rach. What kind of bro would I be if I didn't ask you, huh?"

Rachel sighed and then said, "Honestly? It kind'of…sucked. I didn't really like the atmosphere and everything. All I could hear was the bass! Also, my foot was stepped on for what felt like a hundred times! And to add insult to injury, I was shoved onto someone whose drinks spilled onto my shirt! Granted, it was all an accident, but still!"

Finn bellowed with laughter. "Rachel! That's awesome!" Rachel then heard even more laughter.

"Really, Finn. Nice to know you're taking pleasure on my miserable experience," said Rachel sardonically. She brushed off the sweat on her forehead.

The laughter ceased. "I'm sorry… But look at the bright side, Rachel. At least, now you know what it's like, and that you don't like it."

Rachel nodded to herself. "Yeah, you're right."

There was smugness in Finn's voice when he added, "I bet I was also right about the drinks being inadequate. Ha, how's that for words?"

"Yes, you were. And I had no doubt you knew the word "inadequate", Finn."

"Wha–really? Does that mean you think I'm smart?" asked Finn, sounding surprised.

Just then, Rachel saw the girl she met last night. She was also running, wearing a sports bra and yoga pants, and Rachel wondered if there was something wrong with her workout routine, because how can anyone look that good?

"I think you're smarter than you think you are. Anyway, I was actually running, so I'll end this call now, okay?"

"And I have class. Okay then, call ya later!" said Finn before the line went dead.

Her workout playlist resumed, and so did her running.

Rachel slowed down on her fourth lap. Her need to slow down that day was odd, since she could usually run six laps before she started to feel exhausted. (Emphasis on the started).

Perhaps this is because I was not able to get my usual eight hours of sleep?

Yes, that must be it. I came from a party, afterall.

There was a blur on her right side, and then the most enticing scent made Rachel involuntarily shut her eyes to relish the smell. When she opened them, they gravitated towards a very, very pleasant behind. They were bouncing and swaying so much, Rachel wanted to grab onto it and worship it with her mouth.

Her thoughts made her stop running and blurt out, "OH MY GOD!" She brought her hands to her face in embarrassment. She could feel her face heat up. She could feel her whole body heat up!

"Hey, you alright?" she heard a soft voice say.

Rachel sighed and replied, albeit muffled, "Yes. I guess I'm just… not myself today."

"You mean… you're feeling a bit sick? Maybe you should eat. Have you eaten?"

Rachel brought her hands down. And before she could pretend and say "Oh, I totally didn't see you there, Quinn", Quinn's face lit up and said, "Rachel Berry! From last night, yeah?"

Rachel glanced at Quinn's workout clothes and blushed. "I–uh, yes." She rolled her eyes at herself and cleared her throat before continuing. "And you're Quinn Fabray, yes?"

Quinn flashed her a charming smile and nodded.

No one was saying anything and it was starting to get a bit awkward.

"So are you really–"

"I think I'll have–"

They both stopped speaking.

"You go first," they, again, said together.

Quinn opened her mouth to say something, and Rachel assumed it was to ask Rachel to go first, so she held her hand up and asked, "What were you going to say, Quinn?"

"I was going to ask if you were really feeling alright."

Rachel nodded, "Relatively, yes. There are just some things that I will have to reflect on when I get back to my dorm. I, on the other hand, was going to say that I think I should stop my workout now."

"Oh. Right. Well… I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks. I hope you have a good day, Quinn."

Rachel let herself indulge in the sight of Quinn's marvelous behind one last time before she walked back to her dorm. She was feeling quite hungry.

Kurt, Mercedes, and Rachel were eating lunch together at the Student Union building. Rachel was at first hesitant to eat there, but when Mercedes informed her of the many vegan choices available, she happily went. When they finished eating, Mercedes apologized to Rachel for "not being good companions".

"We're really sorry, Rachel. We got too caught up in the music and the dancing. We know it's not an excuse, but we do apologize, and we promise to be better next time."

Rachel furrowed her brows, "You were not bad companions, Mercedes. I'm glad you had fun. I was not enjoying the party, so I thought it would be more appropriate for me to leave, rather than force it. It's nothing personal. Just… Me finding out that I don't like that kind of party."

Mercedes chuckled, "Understandable." She then gestured to Kurt who was trying to be discreet with his texting. "This one, however, had fun in great degrees."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Kurt while blushing.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and replied, "Oh please. Flushed face and mussed up hair after following Mister Bow Tie to the bathroom? You so hooked up last night."

"Really? That's great, Kurt!" cheered Rachel, happy that her friend is starting to move on from Finn.

Kurt was silent for a few moments before he relented. "His name's Blaine," he said with a goofy smile. "And we didn't really do much. We just made out."

Rachel arched her brow and said, "Well now you're having a conversation. That's good, right?"

"True," replied Kurt. "Anyway, I heard that there's going to be a band competition this October. I figured I should tell you. What with your contemporary singing and whatnot."

Rachel chuckled, "Me… On a band competition?" She shook her head and said, "I'm feeling strange just saying it… But I'm sure I'll do very well in it, I am Rachel Berry afterall."

Kurt rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"But I actually applied as a Teacher's Assistant, so it kind'of reduces my free time. I will be very busy, I might have no time for band meetings."

"A freshman can be a TA?"

"…A freshman can't be a TA? Because I didn't tell Miss Cassie, and she never asked if I was."

Turns out, freshmen were discouraged from being a TA. It was a hefty task, and most freshmen don't do well because, apparently, being a TA while undergoing the process of adjusting to the culture of the academe is taxing. Rachel, of course, decided to take it as a challenge. She deemed herself up to the task so she didn't go to her professor's office to back out.

But on the fourth day of being a TA, Rachel was inclined to agree with what everyone was saying.

Being Miss Cassie's TA was stressful. She asked Rachel to do a lot of things, to the point where Rachel wondered if Miss Cassie considered her a student. At first it was easy. She was just instructed to make powerpoints. But since Rachel's hobbies actually include making powerpoint presentations, she did it all with little effort and had them submitted before the deadline. Then, she was asked to check the homeworks and other activities of Miss Cassie's students in 2 classes. It was…relatively easy, but Rachel preferred the making of powerpoints. And then, Rachel was asked to look for supplementary readings! That was what stressed Rachel out the most. She also had papers to do, ergo, a lot of papers to study. She had no time to study papers that weren't of her interests just to provide Miss Cassie's students more readings!

And so there she was: in the classroom while Miss Cassie did her lecture, sitting behind the computer, ready for whatever Miss Cassie demands.

She felt drowsy, so she opened the Excel file containing the photos and the student numbers of Miss Cassie's current class to keep herself awake.

She wasn't sure why she was even doing it, since it didn't really make her not drowsy. And just when she decided that she should just get up and excuse herself to splash water onto her face, she saw Quinn Fabray's photo, and beneath it her student number, in the Excel file.

Rachel found herself giddy and scanned the room. Her eyes searched and searched, until finally, she saw her.

Rachel rested her chin on her hand and fondly gazed at Quinn. This could definitely keep her awake.

"Need some help with that?" asked Quinn, surprising Rachel who was fumbling with stacks of papers while trying to get her phone out of her bag.

"Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" grumbled Rachel.

Quinn laughed and took the stack of papers from Rachel.

"Thanks, Quinn." said Rachel as she was finally able to take out her phone. "I just have to add these things to my To-Do list before they slip out of my mind, and then you can be relieved of those."

"Sure," replied Quinn. "I thought you were a freshman."

Rachel continued typing in her phone before saying, "You're not wrong. I just was not aware of the consequences of being a TA while being a freshman."

"No one told you…?"

"Someone did, yes. I thought I could handle it, and I am! It's just… a bit more difficult because I am a TA of Miss Cassie," said Rachel, returning her phone to her bag. "Alright. Thank you, Quinn, really. Do you still have a class after this?"

Quinn handed her back the papers and said, "Yeah, I do. Do you need help with those?" Quinn gestured to the papers.

Rachel shook her head and said, "Let me handle this. Afterall, I did get myself into it." Quinn opened her mouth to, probably, protest, so Rachel flashed her a smile and beat her to it, "I'm sure I'll figure something out."

"Alright, if you say so…" teased Quinn. She then looked at her wristwatch. "Ah, I have to go now. See you next Thursday, TA?"

Rachel chuckled. "Of course, Quinn."

A/N: Hello, internet! To be perfectly honest, this story isn't planned. Well, it was. But I didn't follow through. This was supposed to be a sad oneshot, so. But right now I am trying to giving you guys a lot of interaction while maintaining the "college vibe" of it all. It is kind'of difficult, because, well. We all know how little the interaction with friends becomes in college. And Quinn and Rachel are still friends, so.

A/N: Also, if you received multiple emails, or went to chapter 2 and was greeted with a bunch of HTML codes, I apologize. I think my browser might be faulty.

A/N: Anyway, thank you for reading, and have a happy holidays!