A.N.: (Reposting because of an error that was so funny I actually started crying while laughing. Same chapter, less mistakes!) What's a song or concept that exists now that you would've liked to see on Glee? I would have loved to hear a Billie Eilish rendition. I think the Glee Club having a tik tok obsession would've been hilarious, but surely Schue would have ruined it by making an assignment out of it…

Disclaimer: Who needs rights when you have audacity? :D

What is Santana doing?

Rachel sighed as she noted the lunch bell rang just over ten minutes ago. Setting up this meeting with Santana was Rachel's only idea to have a private conversation with her and avoid Finn at all costs. The golden boy of the choir room would likely be too busy catching up with his athlete buddies and glee club friends to follow Rachel around. The boy was beginning to tire her out with the way he was on a mission to flag her down and talk to her about god knows what.

Probably another failed attempt at flirting or asking me on a date.

Rachel was rolling her eyes at Finn's lack of understanding of the word no when the back entrance to the auditorium opened revealing a shadowy figure in a Cheerios uniform. Santana made her way down the aisle with a full tray in her hands.

"Before you get on me about being late, I stopped in the cafe to get us some food because I knew you'd likely be in here singing till your lungs explode and forget to eat anything." Rachel closed her open mouth when she realized the other girl was half right. She'd been so anxious about seeing Santana she hadn't spared a thought to the lunch she didn't pack this morning.

"Well I guess I should thank you, then." Rachel mused with a shy smile, stepping forward to grab the salad and fruit off the tray leaving the sandwich and pudding for Santana. It felt impossible to stay mad at the beautiful girl.

"I guess you should." Rachel couldn't pull her eyes away from the taller girl's flirty eyes and sassy smirk.

As they ate, they talked about their days so far and Santana told Rachel about her interaction with Mandee in the halls earlier.

"Oh wow." The shorter brunette couldn't really think of much else to say. She had only seen the girl for the first time in the hall earlier that day. Santana was also incredibly cute and distracting while ranting.

"Exactly! On top of that, she's on Sue's good side, which means she's on Becky's good side, which is like the opposite of where I am." Rachel smiled while she watched Santana push a particularly frustrating piece of hair out of her face.

"Are you worried she's gonna start trouble for you on the squad?"

"Oh, I'm positive she's gonna start trouble. You don't bring attention to yourself like that unless you want an audience. I'm just not sure this has to do with the Cheerios." Santana thought out loud while gathering their trash.

"Well, what can I do to take your mind off the whole ordeal?" Her voice sounded dreamy even to her own ears and it made her clear her throat. Rachel wasn't trying to proposition the girl in the middle of the auditorium, but she obviously wasn't doing a good job at keeping it casual when face to face with the girl that's been on her mind for weeks. Santana was already sporting her signature smirk and raised eyebrow. Rachel was amazed Santana kept the no doubt inappropriate comment she was thinking to herself.

"You can accept my apology for acting like an ass." That seemed to sober the Jewish girl and she leveled Santana with an even stare.

"Only after you tell me what that was all about." Santana let out a huff to which Rachel responded with a shrug. They needed to talk about this. Santana owed her that much.

"Fine. We kissed," Rachel rolled her eyes.

"I was there, I remember."

"Look, if you want me to talk about my feelings, you can't sass me. Okay?" Rachel's heartbeat skipped.

Feelings?

"You're right, I'm sorry. Continue."

"We kissed and I couldn't ignore how I was feeling about you anymore. Instead of telling you and potentially making it weird, I just decided to distance myself and pretend it wasn't happening. But then I felt bad and couldn't get you off my mind so I sent that text. So dumb." Rachel chuckled at the girl's reference to one of their favorite Hulu shows. Ironically this whole situation felt like every rom-com she's ever seen.

"I thought I was making it weird and you figured out my feelings for you. I was sure I made them embarrassingly obvious at the pool party."

"I'm used to people thinking I'm hot, I wasn't gonna give you shit about it. I just figured you were as drunk and horny as I was." Leave it to Santana to be completely honest.

"I was.. just with a side of feelings."

"Which came first, the horny or the feelings?" Santana grinned, and Rachel felt herself flush all the way up to her ears.

"Why does it matter?"

"I just wanna know if you really like me or if you just really need to rub one out." Rachel let out a breathy laugh as flashes of her own naked, sweaty body on her bed thinking sinful thoughts of Santana came to mind. Rachel hadn't touched herself since that day and the muse of her fantasies was having no problem reminding her. Santana leaned next to Rachel's legs where they hung off the edge of the stage with her arms crossed. Rachel crossed her ankles to hide her need to clench her thighs together, but she was sure Santana had seen her bare thigh tensing beneath her skirt if the smirk on her face was anything to go by.

She was already staring though.

"What if it's both?" Rachel asked with her head tilted down towards her ex-tormentor.

"Then you wouldn't be the only one." Santana said, wrapping a warm hand around the singer's calf and stroking gently. Rachel could feel the goosebumps emerging on her skin when the warm touch mixed with the brisk still air around them.

"What does that mean?" Rachel knew what Santana meant, she just wanted the pleasure of hearing the girl explicitly say it. She was surprised when instead she felt the hand around her calf slide down to her ankles and uncrossed them. Her breath caught in her throat when the cheerleader stepped in between her legs and crossed them at the small of her back. Gentle hands grabbed her hips and pulled her forward on the stage's edge until the two were in the most intimate embrace Rachel's ever been in.

She was still holding her breath, scared that even a whisper would ruin the moment Santana was so carefully creating.

"It means that I think you're hot. It also means I've been fighting butterflies every time you so much as smile at me all summer. I have the hugest crush on you and it is so heartwarming and sexy to know that you want me back. Now that you've heard the least badass thing I've ever said, would you like to go on a date with me?" Santana said, maintaining eye-contact throughout her admission.

Rachel was still in shock. She was expecting some sexual tension and maybe an offer to hookup, but not a date. There was still the matter of her warm core being a breath away from Santana's toned torso while the girl stood between her open legs with those soft eyes and softer lips. She felt a small squeeze of encouragement from Santana while she waited patiently for her answer.

"To be completely honest I'm torn. Breaking things off with Finn gave me the space to focus on the things I deem important and I've been enjoying having that freedom. I can't deny that I like you. Probably a lot more than I should, and that's scary too. I've realized I love hard and constantly getting your heart broken isn't fun." Santana nodded her understanding which Rachel was grateful for.

"Thank you for being honest with me. I didn't hear a no, but we definitely don't have time to hash all this out right now." Just as the taller girl said that, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Santana groaned her displeasure.

"I'm gonna be honest, I like you in this position. I'm not sure I can let you go." Rachel tried her hardest to keep her mind out of the gutter and the blush off her face. She wanted to make sure the other brunette was aware of her intentions.

"I'm not opposed to staying like this. Or going on a date with you. I just want to make sure this isn't a rebound for either of us." Rachel said, being vulnerable with the Latina as they slowly broke their embrace.

"I've definitely had enough time to think about it." Santana shrugged.

"Well, I haven't had enough time to consider everything now that I know it's a possibility."

"Fair enough. I'm still going to let it be known that I like you while you consider it." Santana informed Rachel, holding the door to the auditorium open for her as they left.

"As long as you don't resort to stalking, I'll allow it." Santana snorted.

"I think your ex has that covered. Can we hang later? I'd love to talk some more and compare schedules." Rachel couldn't hold back the smile she directed at Santana if she tried. It felt nice knowing the Latina wanted to be around her as much as she wanted to be around the cheerleader.

"Sounds good! Follow me home, after glee club?" Rachel asked, already backing up to walk in the opposite direction of the Latina. Santana nodded her head yes.

"I thought you didn't want a stalker, Tiny?" Santana called after her just before she made her way around the corner out of sight with a small smile still tugging at her lips.

xHTLGRx

Later that afternoon, the pair sat across from each other on Rachel's couch talking about the classes they were assigned and whether they felt like they would like them or not. Rachel was surprised to hear that Santana was most excited about the music theory class she'd signed up for at the last minute. Rachel shyly admitted she was enjoying her first two periods of the day and was always looking forward to glee club. She was grateful Santana chose not to mention that those were the only times they were together during the day and continued talking about the parts of her day Rachel wasn't privy to.

Rachel really couldn't help the magnetic energy she felt while in the same room with the beautiful girl. Santana is effortlessly beautiful at first glance, but her inner beauty really shines the deeper you see beneath her bitchy exterior. Her laugh is contagious, and her loyalty is unwavering. There's a silent strength about the singer that Rachel had recently envied, but now just gravitates toward. It's grounding in an awe-inspiring kind of way. And Rachel is constantly in awe of the girl sat across from her, complexities and all.

Rachel hadn't been aware she was staring until Santana looked up from the intensity of her stare and made eye contact with her.

"Hi." Santana said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Rachel's eyes followed the movement.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare." Rachel blushed.

"Well," Santana started, licking her lips and captivating Rachel at the same time. "Maybe I like it when you do." The two girls found it hard to break eye contact with each other after the quiet admission.

"Don't make things more difficult for me by being a tease, Tana." The shorter of the two girls didn't realize she had been angling her body towards her crush until she watched Santana do the same.

"Who's teasing?" Santana's eyes dropped for a moment and when they raised to meet hers again, Rachel was glad she put on chapstick while waiting for Santana to pull into the driveway behind her.

"I haven't been able to think about anything besides kissing you for days. I almost gave in when I had your legs wrapped around my waist, but the last thing I wanna do is be rushed when I'm kissing you."

"And now?" Rachel could feel the palms of her hands sweating. She couldn't help that everything Santana did just made her heart race.

"And now I'm still thinking about it, but I will respect it if you don't want my sweet lady kisses." Santana smiled gently.

"Well I won't lie and say I haven't been thinking about the same thing." Santana moved to sit directly next to Rachel and brushed an errant piece of hair away from her eye and lifted her chin until they made eye contact.

"You think too much. I'm gonna ask you a question. Don't think, just answer honestly, okay?" Rachel nodded and closed her eyes as she let out a slow breath. The cheerleader's soft touches were so distracting.

"Can I kiss you?" Rachel's doe eyes fluttered open to meet Santana's shy and hopeful gaze. Her heart skipped and she nodded her head. The gentle touch on her chin became a firm grip and Rachel had to swallow to cure her sudden dry mouth.

"Use your words, Tiny."

"Yes!" Rachel didn't have the capacity to feel embarrassed about the sound that came out of her mouth that was stuck somewhere between a moan and a squeak. Still, Santana's gaze didn't falter.

Instead, she leaned over slowly and Rachel couldn't help but think it was to give her an out of the situation in case she changed her mind. It wouldn't have surprised her. Santana was always thinking of her and being considerate, which is everything she didn't get with Finn.

Why the hell was I avoiding this?

Rachel didn't need an answer because Santana was finally close enough to grab and she closed the gap between them with an encouraging hand on the back of the cheerleader's neck. Santana's lips were soft like pillows and coated in vanilla and coconut lip gloss. This time Rachel was the aggressor and she felt confident enough to straddle the girl. Santana moaned as their fronts made solid contact when Rachel grabbed the back of the couch to steady herself. Wanting to hear her make that sound again, Rachel guided their mouths back together. Asking for permission, Rachel swiped a pink tongue across Santana's bottom lip much like the taller brunette had done at the party.

Santana granted her immediate access and both girls let out a moan when their tongues met again. This was nothing like their kiss at the party. Where the first one was slow and tentative, this one was passionate and eager. Santana was a much different (better) kisser than Finn, so it was a welcomed surprise to kiss someone who actually knew what they were doing. The young glee singer felt her eyes cross behind her lids as Santana gently sucked on her tongue. Rachel realized just how talented the alto was with her mouth when she started leaving a trail of kisses from her lips to a very sensitive spot behind her ear that made her rock her hips in Santana's lap. Strong hands flew to her hips and held her in place. Rachel tried to repeat her maneuver, but the grip on her waist flexed and tightened, stopping her movement. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from moaning loudly in Santana's ear.

"Tiny.." Maybe Santana's voice was meant to be a low warning, but it sounded a little pleading. Rachel pushed herself up using the taller girl's shoulders to make eye contact again. The tiny diva was not expecting to see so much lust swirling around the cheerleader's nearly blown pupils. Rachel did her best to sound innocent.

"What's wrong?"

"It's hard to only kiss you when you're grinding in my lap." Rachel huffed.

"It's hard to not grind in your lap when you're kissing me like that." Santana tilted her head at the girl.

"Like what?"

"Like you wanna do more than just kiss." Santana laughed and rubbed her hands up and down Rachel's arms.

"I just wanna make sure you're comfortable and going at your own pace." Rachel folded her arms against her chest and squinted her eyes.

"Are you always this charming or do you just really want me to say yes to your date." Santana scoffed, but it ended in a laugh. She could tell Rachel only said that to diffuse some of the sexual tension in the room.

"Obviously I would love to go out with you, but I'm not saying anything that isn't true. You know I keeps it real, Tiny." Rachel let out a warm hum in response, but didn't move to put any space between them.

"Should we really be kissing if we're not dating?" Rachel meant to sass the other girl, but the statement sounded flirty when whispered across the cozy space. She felt her skin warming with their close proximity.

"I'd really like it if the kissing led to dating, but I'm not one to get my hopes up." Santana admitted. Rachel noticed her attention was split between her eyes and her lips while she talked.

Truth is, deep down Rachel knew what her answer would be the moment Santana had confessed her feelings in the auditorium. It was everything she had been waiting for the Latina to say and that scared her. Rachel desperately wanted to avoid jumping into a new relationship this close to such a pivotal point in her life. She was going to New York. There was no doubt about that. Just maybe she wouldn't be going alone after all.

A.N.: When Santana says "so dumb" just imagine she's saying it like Jared Keeso does in Letterkenny and Shoresy.