You guys ever read or write a chapter that mirrored your brain? This is mine.
I know this is in the present tense. I realized it way too late to change it. The good news is, as insane as this chapter is, think of it as the Twilight Zone piece. Because that's what it is. Yes, Rachel overreacted. Yes, Quinn overreacted. Yes, Santana underreacted. And yes, LJ is a jerk.
These are things we learn today.
Love you all,
RCV
Rachel wraps her arms around herself. Santana and Quinn stay on the porch while Tori comes down. She glances at Rachel and gives her a half-smile.
"I would say good luck, but I don't think that'll help."
"What did I do?" Rachel whines.
Tori shrugs and grabs Puck by the wrist. She jerks her head to the house and asks, "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
"Uh, sure," Puck says.
The two leave, and once they vanish into the house, Santana and Quinn make their way down the stairs. Rachel chews on her lip as the two get closer. Part of her wants to feign being sick just to get out of whatever conversation is about to happen, but she knows that will only make it worse.
"Two hours is a long time for a walk," Quinn says.
Rachel winces, but she covers it with a smile. She rocks on her heels, and says, "Ah, we really just lost track of the hour. You know? Best buddies, hanging out, and really just-"
Santana interrupts, "You're wearing his hoodie."
Rachel looks down and forces out a laugh. She racks her brain for a lie or something, but when she looks up, she sees both Santana and Quinn staring at her with something close to anger. She frowns.
"Whoa, guys, chill. It's just a hoodie."
"It's not that. It's just… you weren't wearing it when you left the house," Santana begins.
"And neither was he," Quinn finishes.
The insinuation is there, and it smacks Rachel right across the face. She holds out her hands and shakes her head. "It's not like that! We didn't sleep together. Well, no, we did, but we didn't have sex," she says quickly. "I snatched it off his chair without really thinking about it."
"His chair?" Quinn repeats, folding her arms. "And what do you mean you slept together? I thought you guys were out for a walk!"
"We were! I mean, we did, walk. We took a small," Rachel pauses and wrings her hands together, "detour."
"Detour?" Santana repeats.
"To where?" Quinn asks.
Rachel swallows and rubs the back of her neck. "His house," she mutters.
"I'm sorry?" Quinn asks.
"His house," Rachel says louder. "We stopped at his house."
Santana takes over and steps forward. Rachel immediately steps back. They have a minor stand-off; Santana looking at Rachel, and Rachel looking everywhere but at Santana. For a moment, it's quiet, but something flashes in Santana's eyes. Rachel cracks.
"When Quinn goes to the hospital and you go home, I go over Puck's house to keep him company while he sleeps. I stopped by there today because I needed clothes for school this week. We got into a little bit of a shouting match, and Puck ended up-
Rachel clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head.
"Look, we fell asleep, okay? When we got up, we saw how late it was, and headed back. I grabbed this hoodie off the chair because it was cold, and we were rushing."
"You sleep at Puck's house?"
"Sometimes. Sleeping there is very hard to do." Rachel realizes how that sounds and adds before they do, "I mean the environment. Puck sleeps through the night, but I usually have to stay awake."
Santana and Quinn share a look. Santana bows her head and walks back to the porch. She sits down on the bench and pulls out her phone. Rachel looks at Quinn in confusion.
"Why did she walk away?"
(TW: please skip if need be)
"Because she can't listen to this conversation without getting upset. And I don't like having it around her."
"I don't understand."
Quinn folds her arms and looks up the sky. She pulls down her shirt and points to a scar on her collarbone. It's not a big one, barely an inch long, but it's bright red and stands out against Quinn's otherwise perfect skin.
"We both know Puck's father gets a little handsy. Long story short, I was over Puck's place after his party and I had to use the restroom. His stepfather approached me when I finished, pulled out a knife, sliced my tank top, and told me that if he caught me there again, he'd show me how a real man takes care of a woman."
Rachel runs a finger across the scar. Quinn shivers under her touch and goosebumps rise on her skin. Rachel sighs and puts her hands in the hoodie pocket.
"It was my first night there and I made the mistake of falling asleep. I found him hovering over me and I screamed. Puck woke up and without even knowing what was happening, wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to the other side of the bed. He held on to me, shaking, and his stepfather laughed. The next morning, while Puck was in the bathroom, I looked down and saw that he'd drawn on my neck. It was a smiley face, nothing big, but it took me hours to wash it off. I never told Puck either."
"What makes you think I never told Puck?"
"The same reason I never told him."
(TW: OVER)
Quinn bobs her head and looks down. "You can come back now, San," she says loudly.
Santana hops up and jogs down the steps. When she gets close, she wraps Quinn in a hug and does the same to Rachel.
"I feel like maintaining this deniability might bite me in the ass one day," Santana sighs.
"You're sweet for just being here without knowing the full story," Rachel says.
Santana glances at Rachel. "I'm still not happy you didn't think to bring your phone with you. Anything could've happened to you two and we wouldn't have known about it until it was too late."
"That's fair. I didn't mean to leave my phone. I wasn't thinking about it."
"Well start thinking about it. I'm not interested in either one of you getting hurt. I love you both way too much."
"Aww," Quinn coos.
Santana flicks Quinn in the nose and walks off. When she enters the house, Quinn's demeanor changes and she puts her finger in Rachel's face.
"You don't go back to that house without me or Santana, you hear me? Puck can only do so much when it comes to his family. You're not spending the night there either. It's stupid and foolish to put yourself in that position. I know you can take care of yourself, but as San said, I'm not interested in seeing either one of you hurt. You're not going back there other than to move your clothes into Santana's place. Beyond that, stay away from that house."
Rachel feels her anger bubble in her chest, and she smacks Quinn's finger from her face. "It would be in your best interest to not tell me what to do when it comes to this. I know it's a risk. But Puck refuses to leave and I refuse to let him stay in that house alone. You think you know him, but you don't. I know him better than anyone in this fucking town, on this fucking planet, and if he needs me, then he'll have me."
"We'll see."
"Tread carefully," Rachel growls.
The door to the house opens and Santana comes out. She idles by the door and shifts. "Is everything okay?" she calls out.
Rachel turns on her heel and walks away from the house.
"Wait, where are you going!?" Santana shouts.
"I need a walk!"
"You just had one!"
Rachel ignores her and keeps walking.
Santana looks at Quinn and throws her hands in the air. "We're supposed to be wooing her not pissing her off," she scolds.
"She was being unreasonable!"
"Coming from you, I find that hard to believe," Santana sighs.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Tell me what you said to her and I'll let you know."
Quinn huffs and puts her hands on her hips. "All I said was that she wasn't going over to Puck's place anymore, that she needed to move her stuff into your place and stop take such a big risk by spending the night with Puck."
Santana blinks.
"So. You basically just demanded she does the opposite of something she's obviously been doing for a while now."
"I didn't demand it."
"You did. If I know you the way I know you, you demanded it. And, for clarification, you demanded her to abandon her best friend, the dude that was there for her long before we were, and you're confused as to why she's upset?"
Quinn frowns and Santana shakes her head.
"You're an idiot. An adorable idiot who escalated a situation that had been diffused. Puck and Rachel are like twins. You cannot come between them. Do you notice how LJ and Tori have adjusted to their dynamic? Hell, I've adjusted, and I thought you did, but clearly, you haven't. What's your deal with their relationship?"
"It's not a relationship," Quinn snaps. "And why should I adjust to them! I'm her girlfriend!"
Santana narrows her eyes and steps closer. "You're jealous."
"I am not!"
"You so are."
"Not. Jealous."
"You sure?"
"I mean, okay, I would prefer it if Rachel wasn't spending her nights in Puck's bed but that doesn't make me jealous!"
Santana pinches the bridge of her nose and grabs Quinn by the wrist. She drags her towards the house.
Puck sits on the couch with Tori. They're huddled together, and Santana pushes Quinn towards Puck.
"What the hell are you-
"Tell my beloved girlfriend that you and my other girlfriend are just friends," Santana snaps.
Puck shakes his head and says, "Wait, what? Are you talking about Rachel? Of course, we're just friends!"
"Then why is she over your house so much?" Quinn grumbles.
Puck's face falls and he deflates. "She told you?"
"Of course, she did, why wouldn't she?"
Puck rubs his face. "Look, I'm not proud of it, okay?"
Santana, Quinn, and Tori pause.
"Proud about it?" Santana repeat.
"Yeah. I'm not proud of what's been happening but Rachel's the only one I want."
"Excuse me?" Tori exclaims.
"What? Look, she's not the best at it, but she gives me what she can and that's more than I expected from her. You wouldn't know what to do, I've tried it with Santana and Quinn, and Rachel's the only one that makes me happy."
Emma and Sue walk in on the end and they immediately turn and walk back out. Puck stands and runs a hand over his head.
"At first, it was just to test things out. She'd been worried about your reaction to it, but I convinced her it was okay. When it happened, it felt natural and we've been doing it ever since."
Santana's fuming. Quinn's seething. Tori's hurt. It's a clusterfuck of emotions. And that's when Rachel walks in. She pauses on the doorframe and looks at the group in front of her.
"This can't possibly still be over the fact me and Puck slept together," she groans.
"How could you!" Tori shouts.
LJ walks down the stairs and stops at the edge of the step. He has a tub of ice cream in hand and he points at Rachel and Puck. "They just find out you've been sleeping over Puck's house every other night?" he asks.
Rachel doesn't bother asking how he knows. She just nods and he grunts.
"About time. It's been happening for three weeks now. I think it's sweet."
"SWEET?!" Tori explodes.
LJ freezes with the spoon halfway to his lips and scrunches his face. "Duh. She's literally helping him get the best sleep he can get," he says.
Rachel starts to respond, but then the phrasing catches up with her. She face-palms. "Oh, for the love of- the fucker is having nightmares," she says. "I'm helping him get sleep in a platonic sense, you idiots."
Tori winces. Santana rolls her eyes. Quinn turns red.
"I still don't like it," Quinn mutters.
"You need to get over it," Rachel snaps. "Because not only am I mad at you for the bullshit you pulled outside, now I'm upset that you and San think I would do this to you. With Puck no less."
"Exactly," Puck sighs. "Rachel is my sister. I have no attraction to her."
"And I have no attraction to him," she adds. "And you," she says, pointing at Tori, "You should know better by now. I'm gay. Super gay. A flaming homosexual. The fact you think I would sleep with him is hurtful."
Tori looks down and plays with the hem of her shirt. Rachel scoffs and slams the door behind her.
"This entire conversation, this entire evening, is nothing more than a clusterfuck, and I'm tired. If you two wanna keep acting like this, then fine, but don't expect me to be on board with it. I've been in love with you two for years, years. Hell, I have a tattoo of you both on my fucking back!"
That revelation shocks Quinn and Santana both.
"And the fact that you think I'm going to throw it all away? So soon? What the fuck guys?"
Rachel swipes at her face and that's when the seriousness kicks in. Rachel knows everyone's been overreacting to everything, and she could blame the tension from the last couple of weeks, but it was something that needed to happen. She sniffs and brushes through Quinn and Santana. She stops at the kitchen and says without turning around, "And for the record, when it comes to trusting someone sleeping in Puck's bed, I should have a little less faith in you two than anything."
The shot hits hard. Santana looks down, Quinn pales, and Puck grimaces. Rachel keeps going and LJ follows.
"Well. I would ask if you're staying for dinner, but I would imagine this might be one of those nights you two should, uh, go home," he says.
"LJ," Tori sighs.
"What? I'm just saying."
"You're being an ass."
LJ shrugs. "The delivery was off but the facts were there."
"He's right," Santana says. "We should go."
"But-
"Quinn. Enough. Let's just go and give this time to settle. Today was weird. All of it, and I feel like we need some space. Just for the night."