Part II
Still don't own a thing...
Enjoy!
"So, Rachel, what do you want to do? Cuz, I was thinking maybe we could head to the fairgrounds, you know there's a carnival, so, um I was thinking maybe we could check it out..." Kelly smiled across the car at Rachel. Hse finally worked up the nerve to ask the diva out when she'd called to cancel her next massage. Rachel had actually cancelled all of her scheduled massages since the time she'd come in ranting about her ex-boyfriend. Kelly wasn't sure why, but she'd known that the chances to ask the brunette out were slimming down, so she'd gone for it.
"The carnival sounds like fun." Rachel smiled.
"Cool." The redhead grinned steering her Honda towards the fairgrounds.
"So, how's school been? I guess somethings have gotten better since you cancelled all of your appointments."
"Oh...um..yeah...my-um-our Glee club won at Regionals so that isn't stressing me out anymore. Of course, now there's Nationals to prepare for and Finn is still being...Finn..."
"Still sounds pretty stressful to me...maybe I can help you relieve some of that tension..."Kelly parked her car and shut off the engine "...I mean I'm not licensed, but I've learned a few things around the shop, it couldn't hurt."
"Maybe." The brunette replied with a slight nod before exiting the vehicle.
Kelly pocketed her keys and got out of the car. Meeting Rachel in front of the vehicle she took hold of the younger girl's hand and they walked towards the carnival's entrance.
Kelly paid for their entry and two coils of tickets amidst protest Rachel. The receptionist squeezed Rachel's hand and pulled her along towards the midway.
Rachel struggled to pay attention to all the sights and noises occurring around her. The lights that shone brightly vying for attention, the people who shout for patrons to chance a few tickets to win a stuffed animal, the rides spinning and tilting, an cranking out high pitched muzak.
"What do you want to do first?" Kelly whisper close to her ear.
"Hmmmm...let's play a game." The diva smiled pulling her date over to a booth occupied by a tall, greasy man and three stations set-up with five balls a piece. Across the booth were another three stations with cans stacked in a pyramid.
"Five balls, five tickets. Knock down all the cans and you get a prize from the top shelf." The man spoke scratching his scraggly goatee.
"Want me to win you something?" Kelly asked tearing off five tickets and handing them to the man.
"No, I've got it." Rachel said with a smirk letting go a rapid-fire series of throws of the five balls managing to knock down the can pyramid.
"Impressive." Kelly chuckled as Rachel turned to the slack-jawed Carnie and pointed to a gigantic stuffed microphone on the top shelf.
"For you." Rachel handed the Giant Mic over to her now blushing date.
"Thank You..." The older girl murmured taking a chance and kissing the other girl on the cheek.
"Come on, there's still a lot more to do." Rachel smiled brightly and off the pair went unaware that someone was watching them closely with a particularly deep shade of green in her eyes.
"Hey San, there's Rachie, let's catch up and say 'hi'!" Brittany bounced up and down.
"I don't wanna." The Latina grumbled crossing her arms.
"Aww, Sanny, why not? Rachel looks super cute tonight and her friend looks nice I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we joined them." Brittany flashed big blue eyes at her best friend.
"Don't look at me like that, they're probably on some sort of date, speaking of which where's your date, where's Wheels?"
"Um...he, Puck, Rory, and Mike ran off to challenge the Strong Man to arm wrestles. Don't try to change to subject, just because you're upset."
"Upset? What reason do I have to possibly be upset?"
"You like Rachel." The blonde answer in monotone.
"Do not."
"Do too." Came the singsong retort.
"Do not."
"Do too."
"No I don't. I don't like the hobbit!" Santana yelled storming away from her best friend in a huff.
"I'm not going to get mad at you for leaving me here Sanny, if you're going to go and finally be honest with yourself!" The dancer called after her making her face flush red in embarrassment.
Santana followed the pair around the fairgrounds managing to stay hidden by being at booths two or so down from where the other girls were. She wasn't stalking the midget, she just wanted a moment in private to give the diva a piece of her mind. Rachel had gone out of her way to avoid the masseuse for the past few weeks. She'd cancelled all of their appointments and when she saw the Latina around school she'd run in the opposite direction. She was Santana 'Freakin' Lopez not some social pariah. The nerve of Rachel Berry of all people to think that she could avoid her. She wasn't the avoidee, she was a born avoider.
She crept closer as the girls stopped in line at the Ferris Wheel. 'Oh, how tragically romantic' the girl scoffed rolling her eyes, but sliding in to line a few people behind them a plan formulating in her mind. She waited until the couple got to the front of the line and snuck closer as Rachel took her seat in the basket. As soon as Kelly turned her back to speak briefly to the operator (probably doing something cheesy like paying for him to stop their basket at the top for a few moments) she tiptoed behind the redhead and sat next to the smaller girl slamming the gate closed behind them.
"Hey! That's my seat!" Kelly spun around stunned as the ride moved forward.
"Santana?" Rachel questioned.
"Sorry Kells, we've got some things to discuss, in private you understand." Santana grinned waving at the receptionist as the ride groaned with steady movement.
"Santana Lopez, I'll have you know that you're interrupting a special evening between myself and Kelly, what do you think you're doing?"
"We need to talk." The Latina shrugged.
"What could we possibly have to discuss that couldn't wait? Huh?"
"Why-Why have you been avoiding me?"
"Avoiding you? Are you serious? That's the reason you decided that you needed to interrupt my date."
"Answer the question."
"I haven't been avoiding you. I'm all better now, no more tension don't need the massages anymore." Rachel avoided her eyes.
"Oh really? Because you seem mighty tense right now."
"If I seem tense it's merely due to the fact that you have hijacked my date."
"So, you're telling me it has nothing to do with the effect I have on you?" Santana leaned closer to the girl closing the little space they had between each other as they made one revolution and started their second.
"Wha-What effect? There's no-no effect. Y-You have n-n-no e-ef-effect on me, Santana, and I'd remind you to mind your manners and my space, please move back." Rachel stammered breathing shallowly.
"None? No effect whatsoever? So you're not shivering because of me being all up in your personal space? Huh? You're not pooling in that sinfully short skirt because of my voice? No effect? Don't lie to yourself, Berry." Santana husked with a nip to the diva's earlobe.
The diva closed her eyes trying to school her face and control her breathing. The ferris wheel ground to a halt and when Rachel reopened her eyes she was staring out across the fairgrounds and pass that across Lima and into the night sky with it's millions of twinkling stars. If it wasn't for present company it may have been romantic, but as it was she just prayed that the wheel would start up again and end her time being stuck with Santana.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Santana curved a hand around the diva's shoulder.
"Don't touch me. I'm not going to be part of you're stupid little game whatever it is, Santana." The diva hurrumped folding her arms across her chest.
"What game, Rachel? Just saying that the scene is beautiful, never knew Kells had it in her. I mean it takes balls to set this all up, what do you think she had planned? Hmm? Stealing a kiss under the stars?" Santana smirked wickedly eyes searching the other girl's face for some reaction.
Rachel didn't answer determined to ignore the Latina until the ride was over. She stared out at the landscape. At the city of Lima and the flickering lights from the fair. She had to admit at least to herself that the scene was beautiful and romantic, it would have completely worked on her if it had, in fact, been Kelly up in the air with her at this moment.
"Rachel...oh come on, what makes her so special anyways." The Latina huffed.
"Um...the fact that she' sweet. She doesn't take every opportunity to argue with or belittle me like some people..."
"I can be sweet..." Santana grumbled.
"Yeah, ok, sure..."
"I can..." Santana mumbled touching the other girl's cheek lightly. She turned the smaller brunette's face toward her own. The Latina's brown eyes bounced between her companions eyes and her lips. Beyond her control, Rachel's chocolate eyes slid close in anticipation. Santana leaned in over the smaller girl prepared to capture her lips when the ride cranked back to life with a rusty snarling causing the pair to jump apart as they were brought back to the ground.
"Lopez! I'm gonna kick your ass!" Kelly snarled once their basket had stopped.
"No need for violence Kells, I toldja we needed to talk and we talked no harm done, nice Mic, by the way." Santana leapt from the ride and dodged away from the enraged redhead.
"Are you alright, Rachel?" The older girl turned from the object of her ire and helped the smaller girl out of the basket.
"Give me a break, I mean clearly she's alright! What did you think I was gonna do? Throw her from the basket or something? I said we needed to talk and we did." The Latina snarled storming away.
"What did she want?" Kelly asked once Santana was out of sight.
"Nothing," Rachel watched the other girl stomp away, "can you please just take me home?"
"But, but, but...ok." Kelly sighed heavily leading the smaller girl back to where they had parked.
"What's going on with you and Santana?" Kelly quietly asked after they'd pulled out of the parking lot.
"What? Nothing."
"Didn't seem like nothing."
"I don't know what to tell you because it was nothing. Why would I like someone who's made it their goal to make my days miserable since we were 14?"
"Why indeed." The redhead mumbled and the car fell silent for the rest of the ride.
One last part...
Ink