Rachel sat on the front porch of the house, staring out at the light drizzle that had started minutes ago. She had no idea what to do, and nowhere to go. Tears stung her eyes and she willed herself not to cry. She couldn't believe that she had misjudged Puck so badly.

Rachel had known he would be upset with her for going after Finn, but she had thought that he would understand once she explained herself. She had prepared herself for his anger, and for the inevitable argument. She had even planned on using some of his "distraction" techniques if it came to that. Finding him in a dark room kissing Santana Lopez was something she had not been prepared for.

The front door creaked open, and Rachel looked up quickly, trying to adopt a casual pose. She saw Brittany standing there, looking at her with concern.

"Rachel?"

Of the three Cheerios in Glee, Rachel liked Brittany the best. Or maybe disliked her the least, Rachel wasn't sure which was a more apt description. She was a good singer and an amazing dancer. On the rare occasion that she was without Quinn and Santana, she had actually been nice to Rachel.

When Rachel had walked back into the party after talking to Finn she had been relieved to she Brittany standing alone in the entryway. Brittany had asked her if she was okay, and had listened when Rachel had babbled on about why she had run after Finn. Rachel still wasn't sure why she had told her, but it had felt good to confide in someone.

Brittany had assured her that Puck would understand and had pointed out the door to the room she had seen him go into. She walked with Rachel down the hall, and Rachel had been glad for the support. When they got to the end of the hall, she looked into the dimly lit room. She could see the stripe of Puck's Mohawk, and the long tan arms wrapped around his neck. A flash of red and white caught her eye as the two bodies moved together, and Rachel realized two things simultaneously. First that Puck was kissing someone else, and second, that someone else was his ex girlfriend, Santana Lopez.

That had been the final straw. Rachel didn't have in her to confront them both. Not with everything else that had happened tonight. She had pushed past Brittany, and ran down the hall and out the door. Once outside in the nippy air, she noticed the light drizzle that had started to fall. Her coat and purse were in Puck's truck, but her cell was in her pocket. She couldn't call her dads, not after having lied to them, but she could call Finn. She had pulled the little pink rectangle out of her pocket and almost threw it across the porch when she realized the battery was dead.

"Rachel?" Brittany called again, "Are you okay?"

Rachel didn't answer, she had no idea what to say.

"Look," Brittany continued, "I just want to say I was sorry, and to tell you that..."

Before Brittany could finish, Santana slammed the door open.

"Brittany!" Santana said, the warning in her voice crystal clear. "What are you doing?"

Brittany looked terrified, her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she flicked her gaze between Rachel and Santana.

"N..n..Nothing."

That was all it took. Rachel felt something inside her snap, as she stood up and squared her shoulders.

"Is there a problem Santana? Brittany and I were just having a discussion," she said cooly.

Santana's eyes narrowed. "Is that so? What about?"

"I'm fairly certain that's none of your business, Santana. Now if you'll excuse us?"

Brittany's mouth gaped open.

Santana glared at Rachel, and stood her ground.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said, "Did I stutter?"

"The only one around here who needs to leave is you," Santana hissed, "can't you see that? You don't belong here."

Rachel stiffened, and then she smiled. "Really Santana? Do I threaten you that much? You really should work on improving your self esteem. I think one of my Dad's might have some audio tapes that could help with you with. Would you like me to bring them in for you on Monday?"

Santana looked stunned. Grabbing Brittany's arm, she yanked her back in the house, but not before Rachel saw the look of awe on Brittany's face.

Rachel waited until they were gone and then carefully walked down the stairs into the cold wet night. She made it to sidewalk before the tears started streaming down her face. She had no idea how far away home was, or in which direction, so she just started walking.

Anything to get away from that stupid party.