"Just come with me, Charlie" Rachel whined through the phone as she held up a clean sweater from her closet in attempt to change from what she had worn to school that day.
"Why did you even say yes to a date with my sister in the first place?" Charlie rolled her eyes on the other end of the phone as she sat on the bed finishing her homework "Are you even gay, Rachel?"
"I don't know" She said softly as a blush crept to her cheeks. "She was the first person to ever ask me on a date. I guess I'm open to the idea. Why does that even matter?"
"It doesn't. I am more disturbed about the fact that you said yes to a date with my sister. Dana of all people. I don't think she showers, Rach."
"Well it's not a date, Charlie. Besides, what type of girl do you think I am? I wouldn't have gotten close enough to her to know if she showers or not. Not on a first date. I am a lady."
"But Dana's not" Charlie rolled off her bed and got to her feet. She was digging through her backpack near her door, looking for another pencil. "She probably would have stuffed her tongue down your throat whether you said yes or not."
"Well it doesn't matter because apparently I was mistaken and it was a friend invite, not a date. Now it's going to be awkward so will you please just come with me?" Rachel had her back to her mirror, checking the hem of her skirt to make sure it didn't ride too high. She did not want to give the wrong impression, especially now that she knew it was just a friend date.
Charlie rolled her eyes and stood up. She leaned against her dresser, her back to the door, shaking her head a little bit "I don't want to go. If I wanted to hang out with my sister I would do it here. You are just going to have to go alone and bite the bullet."
"What if I invite someone else? Or you can. Invite Brittany or even Quinn. That way it's a group thing and I don't feel so stupid."
"You should feel stupid anyway" She mumbled softly but before Rachel could scoff at her she sighed into the phone "Fine, I'll go but you owe me."
"I love you" Rachel squealed happily from her end of the phone "You can pick our Saturday activity for the next month."
"Fine, but you better not complain." Charlie shrugged and moved back to her bed, crawling back over her book and flopping down again. "Call Brittany and ask if she wants to come that way there is at least one more of us for Dana to pick on in public."
"You got it" Rachel nodded at herself in the mirror then glanced at the clock near her bed. "I'll meet you guys there in an hour. I have to call Brittany so I'll see you then." She quickly hung up the phone then switched to her purple unicorn sweater before picking up her phone to call Brittany.
"Yeah I'll see y-" She was cut off by Rachel hanging up. She rolled her eyes and tossed her phone to the side, shaking her head as she settled in to finish her homework. She better get it done now before her evening was taken over with an awkward friend only dinner outing with her sister and her best friend. This was going to be thrilling.
Dana stood just outside Charlie's bedroom door, having been eavesdropping on her phone call when she had gotten up for a new pencil. She stood against the wall with her arms folded and her eyes narrowed in thought. Charlie was coming? Well that would make things unbalanced. She had better invite Santana along, too. Mostly because she just wanted to see her little sister squirm as Santana hit on her all night. A soft laugh left her lips as she pushed off the wall and headed toward her room to call her best friend.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"I thought it was a date" Brittany said into the phone, trying to act surprised at what Rachel was telling her about Dana, but secretly letting out a sigh of relief that the girl had listened to her and backed off Rachel. "Well are you sure you want me to come still? What if it turns romantic?"
"I invited Charlie, too" Rachel said with a shrug as she combed her hair in the mirror as she spoke into the phone "I didn't want it to be awkward but Charlie said she didn't want to hang out with just me and Dana so would you please come too?"
Brittany thought about it for a moment while putting a card down in the stack in the middle. She covered the phone with her hand and pointed at her cat "It's your turn, Tubbs." The cat was lying across from her on her bed looking rather bored with a hand of cards dealt out in front of him. After a moment, Brittany shrugged and went back to the phone "I guess it wouldn't be too bad to hang out with you guys tonight. I'm not doing anything else."
"You're not hanging out with Quinn?" Rachel sounded surprised at that. Those two were almost as inseparable as Dana and Santana were.
"Not that I know of, unless I made plans with her during my nap I take in math, then I might. But she hasn't called me yet."
Rachel laughed softly to herself and pinned back her soft curls. She looked in the mirror at herself again then nodded a bit. She looked very nice and very much like a friend and not a date. "Well maybe you should invite her too. The more the merrier."
"Are you sure?" Brittany asked softly, trying to sound unsure, but in reality she was excited. This was a good time for Quinn and Rachel to hang out outside of school. If Quinn wouldn't make the move then Brittany would make it for her. When Rachel assured her it was fine, she gave a nod against the phone "Alright I will call her then. Either way I will see you there shortly."
"Seven sharp, don't be late. I will get a table for five. See you later!" She hung up her phone and tossed it on the bed befor stepping back and doing a twirl in front of the mirror. Even if it wasn't a date, she felt great! Her social standings were slowly climbing. A group dinner outing with three cheerleaders and the school's notorious bad girl? Although not the best image, yet, it was an image boost from her previous standing and who knew who might see her out and start talking. Maybe soon she would be popular. Or at least high enough to avoid slushies in the face.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
"Hi Brittany" Rachel said with a grin as she saw the blonde girl approaching the table. It was already ten after seven, but Rachel expected them all to be late, they always were. Brittany was the first to arrive, surprisingly, and took her seat across the table from Rachel. "Are you alone?"
"Yeah" She said with a nod and a smile "Quinn said she would just come with her sisters. My parents were coming downtown for dinner anyway so I asked them to drop me off."
"Oh so you talked Quinn into coming?" When Brittany gave Rachel a nod, she smiled "That is excellent. We will have a splendid time tonight."
"Sup bitches" Santana said with a smirk as she shrugged a light jacket off her shoulders and hung it on the hook mounted on the wall just to the side of their table.
"Santana, what are you doing here?" Rachel eyed the girl, more than shocked to see her, and it showed on her face. Brittany sank into her chair and avoided eye contact. She was still horrified from the blow up in the yard over the weekend.
"Dana invited me. She said Charlie was coming and I jumped on board." She glanced at the seats around the small round table and took a chair one spot from Rachel and one spot from Brittany. She looked up at the blonde and gave her an almost sad smile "Hey, B."
"Hi San" She whispered softly, lifting her eyes to look at her ex. It was weird to not be around her as much as she used to be but it just hurt too much. "I'm glad you came."
"Me too" Santana had that look on her face, the soft smile and the gentle gaze, the one that only Brittany could make her have. It was different now, though. There was pain and regret in it. Rachel watched the two girls in that moment and wondered what had changed.
The awkwardness was broken up by the arrival of the triplets. Quinn was lecturing Dana about how idiotic it was to speed because if she got in trouble the car would be taken away from all of them. They stopped their bickering though as soon as they walked up to the table and saw not only Santana there, since Dana was the only one who knew she was coming, but the seating arrangement that was left for them.
Without hesitating, Dana took the seat between Santana and Brittany. It looked like she was sitting by her best friend but really she just wanted to be close to Brittany.
"Chuck sit here" Santana said with a pat to the seat at her left and Charlie rolled her eyes. She could just scoot her seat closer to Rachel if Santana got too handsy. So she sat down and immediately scooted toward Rachel, giving her friend a glare.
"I didn't know she was coming but be nice" Rachel whispered quickly, offering Santana a smile when she looked at the girl curiously.
"Two months, Rachel" Charlie gritted through her teeth. "If I have to put up with her all night I want two months of Saturday activities."
"Fine" Rachel said sharply before looking up at Quinn who was still standing. She was eyeing the seat between Rachel and Brittany cautiously, almost like she wasn't sure she should sit there. Dana smirked at that. She could see how close Quinn was to busting into a frustrated blush.
"Come on, sit!" Brittany patted the chair to her right and gave her friend a smile. Quinn glanced at Rachel, then Brittany, then sighed and sat down. She was just taking the only seat left. Yes, that was it. She was in no way happy to be sitting by Rachel. Not at all.
"So" Rachel chimed in once everyone was settled, her smile bright as she looked at each face around the table. "I am so glad we could all make it. I would like to thank Dana since this was her idea."
Quinn, seemingly the only one who hadn't known of this plan until just then, looked at her sister in surprise but Dana shook her head "Nah. I mean I thought maybe Rachel and I should get to know each other better since she's Chuck's friend and all but I guess the more the merrier."
"Stop calling me Chuck" Charlie mumbled from behind her menu. "And your intention was to take Rachel on a date but then you changed your mind, remember? Now we are all here because no one wanted to feel awkward."
"A date?" Quinn's heart leaped into her throat and for a split second she actually looked hurt. Then a wave of anger slid over her features. She glared at her sister and in that moment they shared a silent look that said more than any of the other girls might know, except Charlie, but she was too busy reading her menu. When Dana saw the look Quinn gave her, she smirked. Oh yeah, she had definitely gotten under her skin with that.
"No, I misunderstood" Rachel clarified to Quinn softly, putting a hand on her arm as she spoke. "I thought Dana had asked me out, it was shocking to me too don't worry, but when she clarified that she had meant just as friends it made more sense."
"Oh" Quinn nodded at Rachel but her eyes were on Rachel's hand on her arm. There were those tingles again. Every little inch of Rachel that touched her caused sparks to shoot through her body. "Well I am glad that got clarified." She cast a quick glare to her sister because she knew just by looking at her Dana had done it to piss her off but the look faded when Rachel looked up from her menu and she quickly put on a smile for her.
"So what are we all having?" Rachel asked with in a cheerful tone before the group quieted and started to read over their menus. In a matter of minutes the server had come by to take their orders and soon the girls were all sipping on their respective drinks and making small talk with one another. It was, so far, a pleasantly peaceful evening.
Meals were delivered and talking ceased for a while to make room for food being devoured. Everyone seemed content for the most part. Rachel noticed how slowly Quinn was eating and she wondered if she was feeling alright. "Is everything okay?" She asked in a whisper, putting her hand against the outside of her leg as she leaned over, her touch was tender and caring as she checked on her friend.
Quinn nearly choked when Rachel touched her leg. As innocent as the intentions behind it might have been on Rachel's side, the sparks it sent through Quinn were almost unbearable. It had been like a sneak attack of hormones and her eyes went wide as she started to cough on the bite she had in her mouth.
Everyone looked at Quinn when she suddenly burst out coughing and Rachel's eyes went the widest as she looked on it horror "Oh goodness Quinn, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you while you were eating!"
"Startle? What the Hell did you do, slip her a finger Berry?" Dana smirked at her comment before slurping up a noodle.
"Don't be disgusting" Charlie snapped at her sister before looking at Rachel.
"No, no, I just asked her if everything was alright and I guess she wasn't expecting it and it scared her."
"I'm fine" Quinn croaked through coughs before reaching for her soda to wash down the burning. Sucking spaghetti down the wrong tube did not feel great. Her eyes were watering and her face was a bit red, but she had finally started breathing again now that the noodle was out of the way.
"So sorry" Rachel shook her head, reaching around to rub at her back, giving it a few light pats. "Are you okay now though?"
"I am fine, Rachel" Quinn repeated with a shake of her head, wiping at her mouth with her napkin before looking at the girl. She wanted to snap at her but the concern in her eyes nearly melted her heart. Her scowl faded and her features softened as she nodded "It was an accident. But, yes, everything is fine thank you."
"Okay good" Rachel frowned a little, pulling her hand back, and looking at her plate. She felt as if she had just upset Quinn and she didn't even know how.
"Get your hand off my leg, Santana, so help me god I will break your fingers." Charlie whipped her head to the right and glared at the girl who had a smirk on her lips.
Santana pulled her hand away and raised it above the table in a sort of surrender "Sorry it was an accident. I was just checking to make sure everything was alright." Her tone was soft and airy, much like Rachel's, and she even batted her eyes for effect. Rachel rolled her eyes at being mocked as Santana dropped her hands and chuckled to herself.
Dana leaned over toward Brittany and whispered low enough for only her to hear over the sound of Charlie lecturing Santana on personal space "How's your food?"
"Yummy" The blonde said with a grin. She gathered a bite on her fork then lifted it toward Dana "Do you want to try?" The offer was so genuine, so innocent, and her face was lit up with joy at the prospect of sharing.
Dana blinked a little, kind of surprised by the offer, but she nodded anyway "Hell yeah" She said with a grin and opened her mouth for Brittany to feed her the bite. Once she took it, she chewed it slowly, and her gaze fixed on Brittany as she did. The blonde was watching, anticipating her reaction, and once she swallowed she licked her lips "That's damn good, Britt."
Brittany lit up at the approval and went back to her food. Everyone else was staring at Dana, well Santana was more like glaring, but the girl just shrugged "She offered me a bite."
Santana huffed and folded her arms across her chest after throwing down her napkin. She rolled her eyes and pursed out her lips as her eyes narrowed in a fixed stare at her friend. It was the stare you never wanted to get from Santana Lopez. It was as sharp as the razor blades that were rumored to reside in her hair.
"What?" Dana huffed softly, leaning now toward her friend to speak to her in a low tone "She offered me a bite."
"You didn't have to take it. You can tell Brittany no" Santana rolled her eyes again and pushed at her plate, causing it to clink into her glass.
"Like you did?" Dana hissed into her ear. That sent Santana over the edge. She pushed out of her chair so fast it tipped backwards and fell onto the floor. She reached around Charlie and Rachel to grab her jacket and pulled it on quickly before turning and pointing at Dana "You just don't get it, do you?" She turned to the rest of the table, opened her mouth to say something, but caught Brittany's eyes and stopped. She stared at her a moment then shook her head quickly and gave another roll of her eyes "Screw this I'm out of here."
As she stormed off, Rachel's eyes went wide and she slowly looked at Dana, then Brittany. Dana looked about as annoyed as Rachel had ever seen and Brittany looked guilty. The blonde hung her head and poked her fork randomly at bits on her plate. Quinn looked between her friend and her sister before sighing and rubbing Brittany's shoulder in a silent comforting.
"Isn't anyone going to go check on her?" Rachel asked after a moment. Charlie shrugged glad she wasn't being groped anymore. Dana shook her head and waved a hand to the side as if to say let her go. Quinn was too busy making sure Brittany was alright. Rachel rolled her eyes and stood up slowly, placing her napkin next to her plate "Well then if you will excuse me I will be back." She gave each of them a fake, annoyed smile, and then pushed past the table toward the door.
"Santana wait up" Rachel called as she pushed through the doors and entered the parking lot. Luckily Santana had gotten as far as the street before she realized she had no ride home. Rachel smiled when she realized the girl hadn't left and slowly she approached her, not really sure how this would go seeing as the two girls had never really talked. Santana was usually the one throwing the slushy in Rachel's face, actually.
"What do you want, hobbit?" Santana mumbled as she stood near a bus stop just outside the parking lot of the restaurant.
Rachel bit her lip and folded her arms loosely over her chest, suddenly unaware of what she wanted to say. How did she approach this? They weren't exactly friends. What if Santana blew up at her and hated her even more than she did now? What had she been thinking?
"Well?" Santana snapped, turning finally to look at the girl who had followed her. She eyed her up and down and rolled her eyes. What an ugly fucking sweater she was wearing.
"Um" Rachel unfolded her arms then shrugged as she took a step closer and drew in a deep breath "Are you alright? You just seemed really upset and I don't know what happened and you probably won't tell me and that's fine you have that right but you just stormed out of there and I wanted to make sure you were alright." She got that all out in one breath and was now chewing her bottom lip as she stared hopefully up at the girl.
Santana looked her up and down once, shrugged, and then turned to look at the traffic again "Whatever, Berry. Dana is such a bitch. I should be used to it by now."
Rachel nodded slowly then dared another step forward. She reached out and nearly touched Santana's shoulder but pulled her hand back. She looked at the girl's back to her then steeled her nerves and put her hand there anyway, trying to comfort the girl "Why are you friends if she is such a bitch to you?"
"I don't care if she's a bitch. Most times I think she is hilarious" Santana shrugged and pushed Rachel's hand off her shoulder. Rachel frowned and pulled her hand back, folding them together in front of her. Santana sighed and wrapped her hand around the poll that the bus stop sign sat on. The two girls stood there in silence for a long time, just the sound of horns and engines from cars filling the air around them. Just as Rachel turned to leave, deciding this had been an idiotic idea, Santana spoke again "It's just hard."
"What is?" Rachel asked timidly, turning again to face the girl even if it was just her back she was looking at.
"Dana likes Brittany" She said with a shrug, now turning to look at Rachel. She turned and leaned her shoulder against the poll, folding her arms, and crossing her legs as she stood there. "I don't know what to do because the thought of Brittany moving on feels like a stab to my gut."
"But you've moved on. You are all over Charlie practically anytime she is within arm's reach of you." Rachel shook her head slightly and folded her arms again as she studied the girl in front of her. She was trying to read her, trying to understand what happened without Santana having to say a word.
"Look I like Charlie a lot, yeah, but I loved Brittany you know?" She looked up now and caught Rachel's eyes. She realized that was the first time she had told anyone that. Not even Dana had heard those words.
Rachel's heart tightened and she bit at her bottom lip to fight a smile from coming to her lips. She did not want to give off any sign of emotion and cause Santana to retreat. So she just nodded her head and reached out to touch her arm, relieved when Santana didn't pull out of her touch this time "But something happened and you let her go. If you let her go you have to be willing to let her move on as well."
"With my best friend?" Santana nearly yelled in frustration at that and her eyes filled with hurt again. She bit at her bottom lip and her forehead wrinkled as she fought off wanting to cry. She clenched her jaw and shook her head "Isn't there some rule against that shit?"
"I wouldn't know" Rachel admitted with a shrug, her eyes down cast to her feet for a moment. "I've never had an ex or a best friend so this situation is new to me."
Santana rolled her eyes and was about to say something rude but she stopped herself. Rachel had come to check on her, the least she could do was be civil to her. So instead she shrugged and stood up right now, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket. "So what do you think I should do, Rachel?"
Rachel shrugged because at first she had no solution. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have loved your best friend then lost them in what Rachel could only assume was a dramatic fashion. Then to have to see them constantly and hang out with them mixed with her new best friend wanting her old lover? Rachel couldn't fathom what Santana was feeling. But the girl was looking at her expectantly and she could tell that she had confided in no one. She had been dealing with this on her own and now was desperate for a solution, so desperate that she was asking Rachel Berry for advice.
With a deep breath, she offered a smile, and nodded her head "You have to let her go, Santana. Whatever happened between you happened for a reason and if you want to ever feel alright about it and ever move on from it you have to allow her to do the same. You have to let her go, completely, and give her that chance to find the happiness that you couldn't give her for whatever reason. Maybe she dates Dana, maybe she dates someone from another school, or maybe she doesn't date at all, but that is not your business anymore. You have to allow her that freedom to do whatever she wants without guilt and you, Santana, you have to let yourself that freedom without guilt as well. If you can be happy and she can be happy, then isn't that what really matters?"
"But with Dana?" Santana asked softly, her face still twisted in a knot of hurt at the thought.
"It sounds like you don't care if she moves on, you just care that it's Dana who she moves on with." Rachel shrugged, holding it a moment, before letting out a sigh "I think you have to ask yourself why not Dana? She is your friend, after all, at least you know her. She isn't a stranger trying to manipulate Brittany or steal her away and ruin any chance of you being friends again, right? Maybe she would be good to her." Santana just shrugged. Rachel nodded slowly and took another breath before continuing "Maybe you should ask Charlie out. On a real date where you dress nice and act like a lady and don't try to rape her."
"Did she say she wanted to date me?" Santana asked quickly, her eyes wide with a bit of hope.
Rachel shook her head "No. I mean, not to me at least. She hates how you are all over her all the time. But if you put the effort in, who knows? Maybe she will fall for you and then you will be fully able to let Brittany go."
Santana studied Rachel for a long time, her eyes narrowed, looking like she was deep in thought. She thought about what she had said, thought about it all, then after a moment shrugged her shoulders. "Look I'll give it a try. I'll try not to get mad when Dana is all over Brittany and I will ask Charlie out on a real date. But if she says no I'm not going to be happy."
"Well don't ask her tonight" Rachel said quickly, shaking her head. When Santana looked confused and was about to ask why not Rachel quickly spoke "It would be obvious I told you to, or mentioned it, besides you were putting your hands on her without permission at dinner. She is definitely not charmed by you right now. She's a lady, Santana. She deserves romance."
"That sounds lame" She said with a roll of her eyes "But I guess I will try it. If I get rejected, though, it's your head Berry."
Rachel took a deep breath at that but nodded quickly. She would just have to make sure she didn't get rejected. "Just one date, alright? If she says no to one date you can slushy me every day from now until I graduate." She offered her a little smile "But if she says yes you have to be nicer to me at school." When Santana groaned Rachel shook her head and held up her hand "We don't have to be friends, just no more slushies or fire hydrants or eggs or grass clippings or spit wads or-"
"I get it. I'll stop tossing things at you for fun." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again.
Rachel smiled at the agreement then held out her hand to shake "Now shake on it so it's a deal."
"What?" Santana looked at her hand then let out a breath of a laugh "No way, Berry. I am not touching your hands. They look like midget hands and midgets give me the creeps. One touched me once when I was nine and I put it in the hospital with one swift knock to his oversized head."
"Fine" Rachel shrugged and pulled her hand back "Then I'm telling Charlie you detailed to me everything you have ever thought about her sexually."
"She wouldn't believe you." Santana rolled her eyes but her face showed she was slightly worried about that.
"Fine" Rachel looked at her with a stubborn glare "I will tell Quinn, and Dana, you detailed to me everything you have ever thought about their sister sexually."
Santana's eyes widened a bit, then narrowed into a glare, then finally she rolled her eyes and shook her head "Fine" She pushed her hand out for Rachel to shake.
Rachel grinned happily and held out her hand but pulled it back at the last second "No groping her on the first date, unless for some reason she wants you to. Also, you have to promise to work on letting Brittany go."
"What the Hell, Berry! What am I getting out of this deal?"
"Charlie" Rachel lifted her shoulders in a shrug "And potential happiness with the chance of your best friend and yourself reconciling your heartache and moving back into the blissful world of friendship you had with her before. Is it worth it?"
Santana thought about it for a moment, really thought about what that entailed. She thought about how she and Brittany had gone through school together, grown together, and had some pretty kick ass times together. She grinned a little bit at the memories and nodded, grabbing Rachel's hand and shaking it "Deal but if this backfires I am kicking your ass."
"Pleasure doing business with you" Rachel gave a firm shake of her hand then pulled it back. She held her head high, proud of herself and her negotiating skills, and turned back toward the building "Now, I insist you rejoin us for dinner. It would look good to Charlie if you were able to put aside your temper and continue a peaceful meal with the group."
"Ugh, Berry" Santana rolled her eyes but stomped back toward the building behind Rachel. "I am regretting this already."
The girls made their way back inside and back to the table. Rachel had a happy grin on her lips as she slipped into her seat between Quinn and Charlie and everyone actually looked surprised when Santana sat back down too.
"She didn't murder you" Quinn said in an impressed tone. "I owe Charlie five bucks."
"Pay up" Charlie said with a smile as she held out her hand for the money. She glanced at her friend's horrified face and shrugged as Quinn slapped a five dollar bill into her hand "What? You're my friend and all but have you seen Santana fight? It's ugly."
"We weren't fighting we were having a conversation. Words work better than fists." Rachel huffed and picked her fork back up to work on her meal again.
"No violence" Brittany said with a smile. She looked between Rachel and Santana and nodded "I am proud of you. I am proud of Rachel for going after Santana and I am glad Santana came back."
"Sure" Santana offered a smile and picked up her fork too. She stabbed at the pasta then reached for a breadstick to dip in the sauce.
Rachel grinned happily as everyone settled back into their meals. They all finished up and as the plates cleared one by one, the conversations picked up again. Charlie and Rachel discussed their math homework, Santana and Quinn were talking about cheer, and Brittany and Dana were engaged in a conversation about dinosaurs and how Brittany was convinced they were still alive. The bill was presented and Rachel reached out and grabbed the book before anyone else. "It's on me tonight, ladies." The group looked at her in surprise but Charlie was the only one that tried to convince her she didn't have to pay the entire thing alone. "No, it's fine" She smiled and pulled out her father's credit card and put it in, handing it to the server with a smile "I've had a nice night, I wanted to thank you all for attending and making it so wonderful."
"You don't get out much do you?" Dana mumbled, shifting her gaze to Santana quickly before shaking her head "But thanks, Berry, that was cool."
"My pleasure" She said with a nod "Consider it a token of my friendship as well as a thank you for yours. Plus you have been giving me a ride to school and letting me stay over on weekends for nearly a year now so it's about time I paid my gratitude."
"Whatever" Dana shrugged and kicked back in her chair, reaching her arms out across the back of both Brittany and Santana's chairs as she stretched out. She smiled at Brittany and gently placed her hand on her shoulder, a move that only Quinn could see with the angle at which they were all sitting. "So who needs a ride home?"
"Me" Rachel, Santana, and Brittany all said at once. The triplets all looked at their friends and then burst out laughing for a moment. It wasn't unusual for them all to need a ride, but the fact that they had all said it at once was funny.
"How did you all get here?" Quinn asked with a laugh on her lips.
"Bus" Santana said with a shrug.
"My parents" Brittany grinned.
"My dads" Rachel nodded and signed the receipt once the server brought it back then tucked her credit card away again. She looked up at the table and gave them a smile "Are we all ready?"
"Sure" The sisters all said together causing a soft giggle from everyone. That was a little more normal, especially when the three of them spent any significant time together. The girls all stood from the table and headed out the doors in a group. Dana led the way, since she still had the keys, with Brittany by her side. Santana fell in step with Charlie and Rachel smiled at that. She really had high hopes their deal would pan out well.
"That was nice of you" Quinn, who had stayed back to walk near Rachel, whispered softly. "I mean going after Santana. It was pretty ballsy too considering you two aren't really friends."
Rachel shrugged and looked over at Quinn with a smile "She just needed someone to reach out and show they cared. She isn't so bad."
"I know" Quinn nodded "She hasn't been the same since the summer but she definitely has her human moments."
They walked out into the parking lot as a group, all heading for the Fabray suv to pile in and go home. Just as Quinn stepped off the curb of the sidewalk leading up to the door, a car came barreling around the corner toward them. Rachel screeched and reached out as a reflex, grabbing Quinn and quickly tugging her backwards and out of the way. The momentum of the pull and the fact that Rachel had had one foot off the curb and one on the sidewalk caused her to lose her balance and tumble backwards. She tried to catch herself but ended up tripping over her own feet and into the bushes near the windows, Quinn toppling right on top of her in the process.
As the dust settled and the car was gone, a crowd had gathered around the girls in the bushes, but Quinn didn't even notice. She was face to face, chest to chest, hip to hip with Rachel. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she was staring right into her eyes.
Rachel stared right back, her entire body frozen, not that she could move anyway with Quinn on top of her. She was still holding onto her tightly, half out of fear from having saved her from the car and the other half because, well, she was frozen. The feel of Quinn pressed against her did something, something she hadn't noticed before, and now she couldn't even move. She didn't want to move. She liked the feeling going through her. It kind of tingled, in a scary way, but it felt good too. She tried to draw in a breath but couldn't and instead she managed to smile as she whispered "Sorry" very softly.
Quinn nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again "No you…you saved me." She licked her lips and her eyes flickered to Rachel's mouth. They were so close, tempting her, maybe she could brush them accidentally. Maybe if she just shifted as if she were trying to get up and let them brush together.
"You guys alright?" Dana pulled at Quinn from behind and immediately Quinn hated the loss of contact. Once she was on her feet, Dana offered a hand to Rachel and helped her out of the bush and to her feet as well. "Shit that was close, that maniac came out of nowhere. Quick thinking, Berry. I don't always like her but if I came home with a dead Quinn my parents would be pissed."
"Such compassion" Charlie mumbled then looked at her sister with worry as she helped brush her off and pick sticks out of her clothes and hair "You alright, Quinn?"
"Y-yeah" She stuttered, shaking her head as she looked over her outfit and dusted herself off. It gave her a reason to look away from Rachel and collect herself.
"You okay, Rach?" Charlie asked, stepping up to her friend and pulling a twig out of her hair "That was really awesome, you were kind of like a ninja. It all happened so fast how did you see it coming?"
"I-I don't know" Rachel shook her head, letting out a soft laugh, and shrugging her shoulders. "I saw a flash of headlight and heard wheels and, I don't know, I just reacted."
"Badass" Santana admitted with a shrug of her shoulders.
"You didn't hurt yourself falling down, did you?" Brittany looked truly worried as she helped with the stick and brush removal of Rachel's hair and clothes. "It looked painful."
"No, I think I'm alright" Rachel looked up at Quinn and reached out to brush a leaf off her shoulder "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I? We fell kind of hard."
Quinn looked up at Rachel and when their eyes met her heart tightened. She stared at her for a long time, blinking quickly as she tried to catch her breath. She just managed to shake her head faintly as she stared at the girl.
"I think she broke her head" Dana said with a laugh, sliding her arm around her sister, and giving her a little shake "Earth to Q. You alright in there?"
"If she has a head trauma shaking her is a bad idea" Charlie said with a roll of her eyes. She stepped in front of her sister and looked right her eyes. "Her pupils are even and she is responding to light. She must just be in shock. She just needs to get home."
"Yeah" Quinn blinked and nodded her head quickly "Can we go home?"
"Sure" Dana shrugged then turned around to look at the parking lot. She eyed it suspiciously as if another car was waiting to take a go at her sister. She didn't show it a lot, but she was pretty protective of the other two. "You stay here" She nodded to the group "I will just bring the car up to the curb and you can get in." She took off across the parking lot to fetch the suv.
"My butt hurts" Rachel said after a moment, laughing as she reached behind to rub it "I must have landed on it."
"Yeah you did. All of your weight and Quinn's did. If not for those bushes you might have broken something" Charlie smoothed out Rachel's hair then gave her a smile "Make sure you ice it when you get home."
"I will" Rachel said softly, her eyes drifting back to Quinn who was looking at her feet. She frowned and stepped closer to her, leaning in and looking down as well, whispering softly to her "Are you sure you're alright? You're being really quiet."
"Fine" Quinn said quickly but did not look up "Just shaken up is all."
Rachel just nodded and bit her lip. She took a deep breath and was thankful when Dana pulled up. Santana opened the door and let everyone crawl in. Rachel took a seat in the back next to Charlie while Quinn and Brittany sat in the row ahead and after shutting the door Santana took her place in the front seat. Once everyone was set Dana put the beast in drive and headed toward home.
Santana went first to go, and without a sexual comment toward Charlie, followed by Brittany. Dana hadn't pulled away from her house until she knew she was safely inside. Actually she had watched her walk the entire way but claimed she was waiting until she was safe since it was dark and someone could jump her. That left Rachel alone with the Fabrays as they headed toward her house. Her back was starting to hurt now the more she sat and she knew she would be sore tomorrow. She kept having flashes of bright lights and Quinn's face next to hers. She just wanted to get home, get some rest, and move on to tomorrow. So when Dana pulled up to her house she let out a relieved sigh and scooted toward the door. Quinn had to open the door for her and get out to lift the seat forward to let her out since she was sitting in the row ahead of her.
When Rachel climbed out she landed face to face with Quinn who was holding the seat and the door for her. Their eyes met and for a brief moment they both paused. Rachel's breath caught in her throat and her heart skipped a beat. The moment passed as quickly as it came and she blinked before offering a smile "I hope you're not sore tomorrow." With that she stepped away and out of her personal bubble before turning and giving a wave to the other two "Thanks for a lovely night."
"Thanks for saving our sister" Dana called out with a laugh "Even if she's a bitch."
"Shut up" Quinn growled and pushed the seat back in place with more force than necessary. She turned and gave Rachel a wave "See you tomorrow. Thank you."
Rachel gave a crooked smile and lifted her hand, using just a couple fingers to wave as the door closed. Even though Dana didn't wait for Rachel to walk to her door safely, Quinn kept her eyes on her until Dana drove them around a corner and out of sight. She took a deep breath then closed her eyes as she finally came to rest against the seat behind her. Her body ached but she didn't really notice. Her head, though, her head was pounding with confusion. She had no idea why Rachel Berry made her feel the way she did but after tonight it seemed even worse. Rachel had said it right, she had fallen hard that night.