Chapter 2

Working at the diner has done wonders for her social life. Before, she was the girl that had two friends in New York; Kurt and Santana; but after working a t the diner she'd expanded her social group to include about five or six others who she actually enjoyed talking to and found herself spending more time with them outside of work as well. Two of them, Rachel had found herself becoming particularly close to; Dani and James. She enjoyed talking with them and actually getting to know them properly.

Dani had confused the hell out of her at first. She seemed to be very open and friendly with a few people, but seemed to practically retreat into a shy shell with anyone else. Rachel counted herself lucky in that regard that she had made friends with Dani, because she was a ton of fun to be around and the two of them shared more musical interests than Rachel thought would be possible considering Dani has the whole rock chick look down to a T. Rachel had the sneaking suspicion that Dani was a lesbian at first considering that Dani never mentioned having been in a relationship when she asked Rachel about her ex's, and she didn't think there was anything wrong with it; Why would she? She is the daughter of two gay men and her best friends are both gay. She particularly enjoyed watching her and Santana together, they innocently flirted with one another and Rachel wasn't even sure it was flirting; definitely not what she'd known flirting to be. The two girls talked normally but there would just be that little look between them when Rachel watched them with a smile that told her they would make an amazing couple if they would both weren't so damn blind. It was really interesting to see Santana oblivious about a person she liked; Rachel even found it funny that in High School, Santana was so overly flirty with every single boy but now she seemed to not even notice the way that Dani took many opportunities to place her hand on Santana's hand, arm or shoulder.

She couldn't not get involved and had even brought up the matter with Santana.

"What about me and Dani?" Santana had asked defensively, pausing brushing her hair as they both stood in the bathroom of the bushwick apartment.

"You know, what's going on there?" Rachel asked smiling like a kid at purpose. Santana nervous was cute, the way her cheeks would blush ever so slightly and the way she'd rub her thumbs over her fingernails.

"Nothing; we're just friends" Santana said back "Don't meddle in my business or I'll go all lima heights on you"

Rachel had giggled as the Latina had stalked away murmuring in Spanish. If Santana had threatened her like that in High school, Rachel would have been scared; but the Santana that lived with her and Kurt in Bushwick was a sweetheart and would never hurt her. Instead of being scared, Rachel focused on the fact that Santana had a crush on somebody and was determined to get them together.

….

That had led to a conversation with James at work the next day as she helped him wash up in the Kitchens. Her first impressions of James had been completely misplaced and she was actually surprised by how he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. She felt a little bad about how she'd judged him at first, but honestly with what had happened with Brody and how James had made his entrance into her life; could you really blame her?

….

Rachel rolled her eyes as she turned her back on a customer, hating the fact that she had to smile at them all day while grown men were clearly trying undressing her out of that admittedly skimpy waitress outfit. It wasn't too bad, but she'd already had to resist slapping a guy that day whose hand "accidently" landed on her bottom as she bent down to pick up some crap off the floor.

Slapping the order down she leaned against the counter and took a drink, trying to wash the bile out of her throat when she saw a grown man trying to peer down her top; didn't these pigs ever grow up?

"Dude, it was so fucking amazing; you wouldn't believe the amount of hot girls" A voice came from the kitchen that she didn't recognize. She'd been working at the diner for a couple of weeks and knew that there was five people that worked in the kitchen. Rachel had met four of them, they ranged from 19-25 and all worked at the diner full time as they tried to get gigs around the city but the fifth, a 22 year old named James she hadn't met yet, apparently he had decided to enjoy his spring break in Mexico with a few of his friends.

"You get laid?" The voice she recognized as Max asked and Rachel rolled her eyes. Is that all guys actually talked about? She knew high school guys thought like that but before she'd come to New York she'd hoped that maybe miraculously they'd grown out of it. Brody had proved her wrong with that, Dirt bag.

"You have no idea dude" The other voice she assumed was James replied. "Drunk sorority girls; they practically fucking throw themselves at you. Jesus, you have no idea how much-"

Rachel didn't wait around to listen to the rest of the conversation, instead walking away to get back to work. She didn't want to sit around and listen to a bunch of jerks talk about her sex like that. Thinking about how pathetic these guys were made her think of Finn, the one guy who she'd never thought would talk about girls like that. Maybe that was wishful thinking, he certainly had seemed very interested in trying to get into her pants their senior year when they had eventually slept together. She'd always had Finn on a pedestal in that regard, wanting to believe that he was better than the average guy.

"Well at least he doesn't swear" Rachel found herself assuring herself as she put on a show face smile.

…

She'd purposefully avoided going into the kitchen for the rest of that week. Of course, her curiosity got to her and she ended up asking several of the girls that worked there what James looked like and they all gave her similar responses; "Tall, Tanned, Very nice body and incredibly hot". In fact, the way they talked about him made her a little uncomfortable; it felt like they would all happily drop their pants for him as soon as he flashed them a smile. After "dating" Brody and what he turned out to be like, she hated the thought of it.

The universe sucks. That's what Rachel decided when Gunther ordered her to go and work in the kitchen on a day when Ben called in sick. She couldn't and hated cooking. Baking was something she could do for hours, smiling as she remembers how much Finn used to like it when she made him banana bread and sugar cookies. Sulking slightly she threw her apron behind the counter and trounced off into the kitchen, thinking to herself at least it's the graveyard shift so that wouldn't involve much work anyway.

"Gunther sent me into help you" She murmured as she entered the kitchen and was greeted by James stood leaning against the counter as he played with his phone. She took a second to take him in and well, the girls were right; he was hot. He was tall but definitely not six foot, Rachel knew what six foot looked like, but she could instantly tell that he worked out; his work shirt tightly hugging his muscular arms.

"Cool" He replied looking up at her and Rachel smiled back; not only was he hot, he had a handsome face as well; a strong jaw and a slight dimple in his cheek as he smiled at her. It took her a moment to realize that he had moved to stand in front of her another moment to realize that he'd offered her his hand. "I'm James Richards"

"Hi" She said softly, moving her hand to shake his. He has soft hands. "I'm Rachel, Rachel Berry"

"That's a beautiful name" He replied, smiling slightly at her. "Nice to meet you Rachel"

"Yeah you too" She smiled back at him as he turned and walked back towards the cooker.

"Can you cook?"

"Not really. I can bake cakes and cookies stuff like that but nothing really" She supplies hesitantly, smiling sheepishly a little embarrassed to admit it. She feels them wash away when he winks at her and smiles warmly.

"Well then, let's make a deal; I'll cook you make sure everything looks presentable" He asks kindly and she couldn't help but nod at him smiling.

"Sure" She replies flashing him a smile; maybe he wasn't so bad? "You've got a deal".

They fall in a routine over the next hour, not really talking much. In fact Rachel is a little too surprised to say anything to him as they work, she'd spent the last week imagining him to be well exactly like Brody; cocky, sarcastic and full of himself but instead the kindness and warmness of their first conversation had floored her. For whatever reason, she wanted to find out more about him and was more than happy to hear him try to break the ice.

"What are you doing in New York?" he asks, leaning against the counter as they wash some dishes together.

"I go to NYADA" She replies, glancing at him and he has an impressed look on his face as his mouth is open slightly.

"Wow" He says simply and she can hear what she thinks is an impressed tone. "You must be really talented"

Rachel blushes, a nervous smile on her lips as she shrugs it off. "I'm okay"

"You must be more than okay, NYADA is the top Musical theatre institute in the country"

"How do you know that?" She asks curious.

"A buddy of mine is dating a girl that's a senior" He replies resuming washing the plate in his hand.

"Do you mind me asking who?"

"Chloe Mayfield" He offers and Rachel eyes widen. The girl is one of the best dancers at NYADA who excels in Ballet and is tipped to go on to great things when she graduates.

"Wow, I've never actually met her but wow" She replies.

"You dance or sing?" He asks and she smiles at the fact he seems genuinely interested in her.

"I'm a singer, I want to perform on Broadway one day" She says, chewing her bottom lip as she watches him.

"Like I said, I'm sure you're really talented"

They talk about NYADA, well he asks her questions about her performing and she's more than happy to answer them for him. She blushes under his gaze, an intent look that leaves her feeling that he's never heard anybody more important than her speak to him. Alright she knows it stupid, but she's never had this look from anyone before as if she had the most important thing in the world to say.

"What about you?" She asks a little while later as they're stood around passing the time by throwing a small ball across the room. "Do you sing ?"

He laughs and she cant help but laugh as well. He shakes his head while he answers. "No I don't, well I can play piano pretty well and I can kind of sing but no I go to NYU"

"Oh, what's your major?"

"Economics" He replies and to say she's surprised is an understatement. "Don't look so surprised, I'm not a fucking idiot"

"Sorry I didn't mean to insinuate that you-" She tries to explain, the colour draining from her cheeks as she thinks she's actually offended him. Rachel is cut off when he starts laughing a her.

"Rachel, I'm kidding" He says, smirking at her.

He spends the next hour or so telling her about himself. Rachel finds out that he's 22 and in his senior year at College and will be graduating with a very good record in a few months' time. His father co-owns an investment company and he tells her that's what he's planning doing when he graduates, getting a job in the city or perhaps in another state as an Investment Banker because he's always wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and basically he likes the idea of quote; "making a lot of fucking money".

In turn she tells him about her Broadway ambitions and it seems to light up his face as she tells him exactly what roles that entails until he admits that he's always had a soft spot for musicals and that leads them onto discussing what their favourites are and of course Rachel hugs him when he says that Wicked is probably his favourite one. She tells him that she hasn't really made many friends in her freshmen year and that leads to her bringing up her asshole of an ex-boyfriend Brody who was probably the only real friend she made well, before he turned out to be gigolo.

"He what?" James asks with a wide eyes. "No fucking way"

"Yeah He was" She admits, her smile fading.

"Well he's a fucking idiot" She looks up at his words and sees him smiling at her. "You're a beautiful girl and if he doesn't respect you; who needs the fucking prick"

Rachel giggles. "Thank you for saying I'm beautiful"

"It's true" He shrugs, though she can tell that he knows how much it really means to her; Rachel's always been self conscious about her looks and doesn't hear it off people very often. For some reason, hearing it from James means the world to her; probably because he doesn't seem interested in getting into her pants, she can see that he just means it as compliment.

"What about you?" She asks interestedly.

"I don't date" He replies and she can tell that there's a sad story behind it by the way his smile fades.

"How come" Rachel presses him gently, feeling a strange sort of bond with him already.

"I got fucked about by a girl when I was in High School so I just don't" James says quieter than she thinks he's ever spoken to her the last few hours they've been together. "I wouldn't be any good for a girl who wanted a relationship anyway"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a fucking asshole to them" He replies, smiling sadly.

"You seem like a nice guy to me" She says smiling, and it only widens when she sees him smile at her. It's true, maybe her first impression of him after overhearing him talk about getting laid made her think he's an asshat like Brody, but no guy has been this kind to her since Finn.

"I'm okay around girls who are friends" He replies and she feels her heart warm that he considers her a friend; well they did just spend like five hours getting to know each other. "Once sex comes into it…well, I'm not very good at actually wanting to do anything serious. You should probably hate me considering I pretty much sleep around with any girl like your douchebag of an ex"

"I don't think you're like him" Rachel admits after a little bit of silence. Alright, she's a little disappointed about the fact that he sleeps around but she didn't have this sort of open conversation with Brody; the whole time they were together he never really enjoyed the whole talking side of their relationship. "He had sex with woman who paid him while he was with me. I don't think you'd do that to someone you cared about. Besides, You're an attractive guy, I'm sure you get plenty of offers"

"That's probably the problem, I don't know how to say no to them" He says and Rachel smiles sadly at him. They talk for another couple of hours, though she avoids bringing up anything to serious and instead focuses on asking him about his friends and taking the opportunity to tell him about hers. She knew he'd be popular and he lists a large number of people that he describes as friends but Rachel can tell by the way he talks about them that he knows but aside from about three or four, it doesn't sound like he actually cares much about them Rachel's ears perk up when he mentions Dani.

"I don't really make friends that easily" She admits, chewing her lip.

"Why not?" He asks

"I'm not the easiest girl to get along with" She shrugs her shoulders "People don't like me"

"Well people are fucking dumb; you're great" He says not looking up from what he was doing. Rachel can't help the smile that crosses her face; he didn't say it to elicit a reaction from her, he just said it and meant it.

"You should talk to Dani" He offers a few minutes later as he takes a sip of water. "She struggles with getting to know people as well; you two could be like friends"

"How do you know Dani?" She asks

"We live together" He shrugs non committedly and walks past her to go back to the cooker.

"You live together?" She asks, working over and grabbing a plate.

"Yeah what's the big deal" He says not looking at her. Rachel doesn't respond to that, for whatever reason he seems to be defensive about the girl and well, she doesn't want to get into a fight with a guy she's only just started talking to. They spend the last couple of hours in relative silence, not really talking about much in particular as they just make idle chit chat.

"Thanks for letting me keep you company" She says as their shift is coming to a close.

"Don't mention it, I liked talking to you; you're sweet" He admits with a smile and Rachel bites her lip to stop the giggle. "Make sure you get some rest, graveyard shift is fucking horrible"

"I will, you do the same" She says waving at him as he winks at her.

Rachel smiles leaning against the counter as she watches him head towards the doors. How people surprise you when you actually get to know them instead of jumping to conclusions about them before you've even met them. Rachel thinks that she might just have made a new friend and he certainly seems like someone she could grow to depend on.

She's a little surprised however at what she sees when Dani enters the diner. Her eyes widen as James leans down and pressed a kiss against Dani's cheek as he pulls her into an embrace and the blonde girl wraps her arms around his waist and slips her hands into the pockets on the back of his pants. Rachel is honestly shocked at the affectionate gesture. A million thoughts run through her mind as she watches the two separate and after Dani giggles at something James says, he waves at her and walks out of the diner.

One thought runs through her head as she watches the scene; What's going on there?

"Hey Rachel" Dani says as she walks around the counter and gets her apron from the shelves underneath. "You not heading off?"

"I'm waiting for Santana" She replies smiling. "You and James are friends?"

"Yeah" Dani nods then gives her another warm smile "I better get to work; see you tomorrow Rachel"

"Bye Dani" Rachel says softly as the blonde girl walks away. Rachel chews her lip as she watches after her for a moment, whatever was going on; she was going to find out.

…..

A/N :

I know what you're thinking, but bear with me! Dani and James 'relationship' will get explained