Brittany sat on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons when Quinn ran in through the door with bags from her last minute shopping.
"Hey, Brit! I'm in a rush; do you know where Rachel is?" Quinn got out quickly while closing the front door with her foot.
"Yeah, she's in her bathroom getting ready." Brittany answered while never taking her eyes off of the tv and putting a spoonful of cereal in her mouth. The shorter blonde scurried to the bathroom that she and Rachel shared still carrying all of her bags.
The brunette was half-dressed and in the midst of curling her hair. As she released a long, loose curl from the clamp of the curler, she looked through the window to see Quinn walking up to the bathroom door.
"Hey, Rach, can you help me with my hair once you're done?" Quinn pleaded.
"I thought Santana was helping you; where did she go?" Rachel turned back to the mirror, and she began curling another portion of her hair. She hadn't seen Santana all day, so she must have left the house before Rachel woke up.
"Well, she was, but then she got called in to work today. Please help me, Rachel." Quinn kneeled down and began to beg in a mocking manner. Rachel chuckled at how ridiculous her friend looked on the floor.
"Of course I can help, Quinn," Rachel acquiesced, "I'll be done with my hair in about twenty minutes, then I'm all yours." Quinn gathered her bags and moved to her bedroom to set them down. To pass the time, Quinn opted to join Brittany on the couch to watch cartoons.
"Are you gonna watch with me?" Brittany exclaimed and reached out for the other blonde's arm to pull her down next to her. Quinn lost her balance and fell on the couch landing right next to the excited blonde.
"Jesus, Britt," She laughed while situating herself in a more comfortable position.
X.
Rachel finished curling the last strand of hair and put away the curling iron. She walked out to get Quinn, but she found her asleep with her head on the other sleeping blonde's shoulder.
"Unbelievable," Rachel said to herself with a smile. She reached down to gently shake Quinn's shoulder in an attempt to awaken her. Before she had a chance, however, the front door was slammed closed causing all three girls to jump.
"Shouldn't you all be busy getting ready?" Santana questioned.
"What the hell, S? You almost gave me a heart attack!" Quinn cried still out of breath.
"Do you have to close the door with such force?" Rachel looked back at Santana.
"What, I thought you would appreciate the dramatic entrance." Santana shrugged and sauntered to their bathroom. Rachel shook her head and allowed a small smile to grace her lips.
"You ready for hair, Quinn?" She turned back towards the still dazed blonde.
The pair were in their shared bathroom, and Rachel was in the midst of pulling Quinn's hair back into a updo when Santana entered.
"Wow, I see that I was replaced in my role as hairdresser." Santana joked.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have gone out when you were needed." Quinn teased back.
"Screw you. Linda basically threatened to take my job away if I didn't show up today." She rolled her eyes. She pulled up the small chair that was by the sink and sat watching Rachel work. "What time is Matt meeting us for the wedding tonight?" She questioned.
"He actually said he's coming by a little later because he has something about which he wants to talk to me." Rachel answered not taking her eyes off of the blonde's hair.
"What could loverboy need to talk about?" Santana said while spinning in her chair.
"I'm not sure, but he didn't seem too serious. He probably just wanted some alone time since he's been away visiting his family for the past week."
X.
Rachel finished touching up her make-up just as she received a notification that Matt was in front of their building. She smiled to herself and made her way downstairs.
"Matt is downstairs. Meet us down there when you're ready," She yelled out to the other girls who were still in the bathroom finishing getting ready. The brunette made her way down the elevator and through the front doors of the lobby to find her boyfriend waiting for her. Rachel halted when she realized he was immensely underdressed in jeans and a white t-shirt.
"Uh, you do know the wedding is in an hour, right?" Rachel approached him and frowned in confusion.
"We need to talk, Rach." Matt looked down and began playing with the hem of his shirt. Immediately, Rachel knew this conversation wasn't headed in a good direction. "Do you want to sit?" Matt directed her towards the benches that were placed near the entrance of her building.
"I made a mistake, Rachel. I'm so sorry. You know how much I love you and how much you mean to me-" Matt started but was quickly cut off by Rachel.
"Just tell me."
"I slept with someone else." He avoided eye contact with the brunette despite the broken, sad eyes that were boring holes in the side of his face. Multiple minutes passed before either person spoke again. When Matt finally looked up, Rachel was staring at the ground.
"Who?" Rachel finally spoke, and her voice had never sounded more broken. The lump in her throat made it impossible to stop the tears from sliding down her face.
"I don't see how that will help; I don't want to hurt you." Matt gently placed his hand on her leg. Rachel shot up and wiped the tears off of her face.
"It's a little late for that." She walked briskly back to the elevator and made her way back up to her apartment.
Santana and Brittany were both ready, and they were waiting on Quinn to finish putting on her heels.
"Q, if you take any longer, we're leaving without you." Santana rolled her eyes and reached to open the door, but before she got a chance, it was opened from the outside. Rachel walked in avoiding eye contact with any of her friends, but her red-rimmed eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and sniffles gave away that she had been crying.
"Rachel, what happened?" Santana dropped her purse and phone and walked over to the saddened brunette. Rachel wanted to answer, but her short, panicked breathing made it difficult.
"He-" She let go for the first time and began sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest. She sat on the closest surface she could find which was the loveseat. Santana immediately sat next to her and held her in a firm grasp while slowly rubbing the shorter girl's arm in an effort to console her. "Shh, it's okay; that asshole will pay for this. I'll make sure of it."
The other two slowly came forth and sat on the floor in front of where Santana and Rachel were seated. After a couple minutes of being soothed by Santana, the brunette collected herself and slowly made her way out of the Latina's arms.
"He was with someone else," Rachel said miserably while looking down. The rest of the girls looked around at each with looks of anger, sadness, and pity.
"That's it! Pretty-boy better watch out because I'm gonna go all Lima Heights on his ass." Santana shot up and headed for the door until she was stopped and dragged back by Quinn.
"I don't know how much you'll be able to console Rach from prison," Quinn looked pointedly at the angry Latina.
"Quinn's right. I don't want you to confront Matt at all, any of you" Rachel looked up pleadingly at her friends.
"Don't worry, Rachie, we all promise." Brittany gave a soft smile.
"Alright, alright. I won't hurt the douche, but you just say the word and he's dead." Rachel laughed in response, but a part of her knew the girl was serious.
"Hey, I get it if you want to just stay home tonight. We can all watch a movie here instead," Quinn offered.
"No, no. I'm not going to let my problems get in the way of everyone having fun. Plus, I wouldn't want to offend Holly and Brandon. Let me go get cleaned up, and then we can go." Rachel glumly got up and trudged to her bathroom.
"I don't know how good of an idea this is; she's obviously not in the condition to watch two people promise to love each other forever," Quinn whispered as soon as Rachel was out of earshot.
"It's up to her; I'm not gonna force her to stay home, and maybe it'll be good for her to get out of her head for a little bit," Santana mused.
X.
Rachel had managed to keep it together during the ceremony despite the pitiful looks she was receiving from her friends. Afterwards, she walked outside of the building to cool off and to take a quick breather.
"How are you feeling?" Santana sauntered out and leaned her back against the wall next to the brunette.
"I'm fine." She looked up and gave the Latina the best smile she could muster.
"You don't have to lie."
"I loved him, Santana." Rachel looked back down and fought the tears that were threatening to spill out. The taller girl turned towards her and gave her a hug.
"I know, but he won't be the only one. You're one of the most amazing people I know; someone would have to be stupid not to fall in love with you," Santana said while staring deep into Rachel's eyes.
"I think I'm going to go home. I'm not really in the mood to party." Rachel pulled away.
"What? No, Rach, don't let him ruin your night. You said you were going to come tonight, and I'm going to make sure you enjoy yourself," the Latina said with a half grin. The two made their way inside, and Rachel began looking around for their two other friends.
"First things first, you need to loosen up, and lucky for us, there is an open bar," Santana said into Rachel's ear in order to be heard over the blaring music. She grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her towards where the young bartender was making drinks.
"I don't know if drinking is the best thing to get me to cheer up. It is a depressant after all." Rachel tried to stop Santana from pulling her, but the taller girl was stronger. Santana looked back at the unwilling girl.
"Live a little," she dared. The brunette rolled her eyes and acquiesced.
X.
One hour and many drinks later, Santana had gotten Rachel completely drunk.
"You know what? I think some part of me always knew that Matt and I weren't meant to be. That's why I never slept with him," Rachel said pensively. Santana almost spit out her drink.
"You never slept with Matt?" She exclaimed.
"Nope," Rachel said finally looking at Santana.
"You two had been dating for a year, and you never slept with him?" Santana still wasn't over her initial shock.
"Sex isn't everything, Santana. And plus, we did other stuff. I just never felt comfortable going that far. And he was fine with it. Our emotional bond was enough for him."
"Bullshit," Santana scoffed, "no guy is okay with not having sex for a whole year." All of a sudden, Rachel's mood worsened and the sad, broken expression graced her face again.
"Do you think that's why he did it?" Santana's eyes went wide after she realized the effect her previous words had on Rachel.
"No, no, no. Listen to me, Rach, this is in no way your fault. If he couldn't keep it in his pants long enough to wait for you, then he was never worth it. You should be glad you never slept with his cheating ass." Santana said and then turned back towards the bar. Rachel continued to stare at Santana.
"Why are you always so sweet to me?" This caused Santana to laugh.
"What do you mean? You're my friend; of course I'm going to be nice to you." Rachel leaned her head so that it was resting on the taller girl's shoulder as they were sat at the bar.
"I wish I could date someone like you. If you were a guy, I would totally be with you."
"And what makes you think dude me would go for you?" Santana raised an eyebrow. Rachel raised her head and looked hurt for a moment before she caught Santana's joking tone. After her realization, she smiled and softly hit Santana in the same shoulder her head was previously on.
"Shut up. Dude you would be lucky if I gave him the time of day."
"Wow, I see your lack of confidence was only temporary." Santana laughed. This is the first time she's seen her friend in a good mood all night, and she couldn't be happier.
"Not that it matters if you're a guy." Rachel took another sip of her drink. The Latina looked up at her with wide eyes. In all of the time that she'd known Rachel Berry, she did not think she would swing for the other team.
"You're into girls?"
"I can be."
"Have you ever slept with a girl?" Santana questioned.
"Why? You interested?" Rachel smirked back, but soon broke into a fit of laughter.
"Shut up." Santana smiled and shook her head.
"Oh I love this song! Dance with me, Sanny." Rachel hopped off the bar stool and pulled Santana's arm towards the dance floor. The pair met up with Quinn and Brittany, and the group swayed along to the music. After a few songs, the tempo slowed down, and the only people remaining on the floor were couples.
"Britt and I are going to go sit down," Quinn said breathlessly.
"Alright let's go sit." Santana looked back and Rachel who had yet to move from her spot on the dance floor.
"Will you dance with me? There's no reason only couples should get to enjoy themselves. Santana looked at the brunette for a second before accepting her invitation to dance. The two swayed slowly to the song.
"You know, you never answered if you've slept with a girl or not," Santana said nonchalantly.
"You're just gonna have to find out for yourself."
"What?" Santana looked up only to feel the brunette's lips crash into her's. She pulled back. They were both drunk, and Rachel had just gone through a heartbreak.
"Rachel, wait, are you sure about this?" Santana looked seriously into the shorter girl's eyes.
"Live a little," Rachel said quoting the Latina's previous words. With that, Santana grabbed Rachel's hand and pulled her outside and into a cab to make their way home.
Once the girls were inside the elevator, Santana turned to the smaller brunette and closed the distance in between them. The kisses grew more passionate as the elevator reached their floor. The two separated long enough to make it to their front door. Rachel fumbled with the keys as she tried to unlock the door quickly. Once inside, Santana pressed Rachel's back against the door, and leaned down to capture her lips in a long, passionate kiss. Rachel pushed herself off the wall and walked Santana towards her bedroom.
