A/N: Oh my gosh, I know there's not many already, but I'm so thankful for the kind reviews I've gotten for this story already! I had started writing this chapter as soon as I finished the first one because I myself am so excited to write it. I'm quite glad that everyone is enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it! I've already got chapter 3 in the works because I'm so inspired. I hope you all like this chapter!

The night following the housewarming party, Rachel walked in the apartment followed by Kurt to Santana, who had passed out on the couch with a pizza box on her stomach, half-empty. Rachel was a little disappointed in her friend because she didn't join them, but she tried not to let it bother her too much. Santana was her own person, and she couldn't control her. She just wanted Santana to get herself out there and make friends that weren't just her co-workers. She had cleaned up the pizza and put it in the fridge in case Santana wanted to eat it later, then settled down on the other couch next to Kurt, who had changed the movie that Santana was watching. They decided they were going to settle down for the night, just relaxing before they went to bed.

"So that was fun. I didn't know we had so many people our age in this building." Kurt stated, sliding off his boots and placing them next to the couch.

"Neither did I. But I'm glad that we got to introduce ourselves. You seemed to be getting along quite well with Blaine." Rachel teased, nudging his arm.

Kurt rolled his eyes at her and sighed, leaning back against the couch. "Yeah, whatever. He's nice and we've got some similar interests. I don't even know if he's gay. Plus I just met him!"

Rachel sighed. She just wanted Kurt to be happy. He had broken up with his last boyfriend Trent before they moved out here, just like she had broken things off with her boyfriend, Finn. They wanted to start anew in the city that never sleeps, but it seemed to be taking a harder toll on Kurt than it did Rachel. Rachel had gotten herself out there, dated a few people, even though they usually ended horribly (especially the Brody incident), but she still did what she had to. Kurt.. didn't. When he wasn't out working he was in his room, coming up with new ideas for Vogue (which technically was working) or he was following Rachel around to auditions among other things. He had tried to date, but nothing seemed to work out for him. She could tell he was starting to get lonely.

"That doesn't really mean anything, Kurt. You fell for Trent the moment you met him." Rachel explained, looking over at her friend.

"It wasn't the moment I met him. We spent time talking a lot when I transferred, he was my first friend, not to mention my roommate. We had no choice but to get to know each other." Kurt knew that Rachel meant well, but he could find a date on his own. "Besides, should I even mention how friendly you seemed towards Sam?"

Rachel glared at him. "Sam is just a friendly guy. Plus, I don't see myself having a relationship with him. I'm perfectly content with where I'm at, thank you very much."

"Which means she's totally banging that guy she was opposite with in that show over the summer." Santana mumbled, bringing a hand up to rub her eyes.

"Oh, so nice of you to join us. I'm afraid that you've missed the party, however." Rachel commented, looking at the sleeping girl. Due to that comment, she was hit in the face with Santana's pillow and a groan coming from the Latina. "And for your information, no, I'm not hooking up with Matt. He's a nice guy and all, but our relationship was strictly platonic."

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Sure, that's what they're calling it now."

"Okay, let's move on from that subject now." Rachel stated, standing up and walking into the kitchen. Kurt heard a small commotion coming from there, and he realized that she was probably making tea or something.

"What do you think about the others?" Kurt called, throwing Santana's pillow back at her and hitting her in the face.

"They all seem pretty nice, even if a few of them are quite crude. I think we'll get along with them if we stay in contact."

"Brittany seemed like quite the trip- we should invite her over sometime. Give Satan here a reason to be social." Kurt smirked. Santana groaned.

"I think that's a lovely idea. Maybe bring her over for game night?"

"Berry, I've told you once, and I'm telling you again. Just because you and your dads thought having a weekly 'game night' to stay together doesn't mean that everyone's into that kind of thing."

"But it's so much fun!"

"And this is exactly why you were only able to get with Frankenteen back in Lima."

Kurt could hear Rachel's huff all the way from the lounge, and let out a quiet chuckle. The situation where Santana just up and arrived, making herself welcome in their home was strange at first, especially since the three of them never really got along in high school. It had taken some getting used to, but with time Santana had become the usual occupant of their couch, and soon enough was contributing like an actual roommate. They took turns buying groceries, making food, and all pitched in when it came to bills. They were surprisingly managing in New York City, all on their own, and they were enjoying themselves, but Kurt knew it was only a matter of time before Santana said something to really piss Rachel off, and they got into another catfight.

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As Blaine finished putting the dishes away, he heard the TV on in the living room, and noises coming from the room half of the apartment. He made his way around the corner, seeing Sam almost passed out on the couch, and lightly patted his face until he woke up.

"I think you should head to bed, Sam. The couch may be comfy, but it's not your bed." Blaine teased, watching as his friend sat up and groggily walked back towards the curtains. He thought about just sitting on the couch and watching a movie until he felt tired, but another part of him wanted to go get Quinn's full opinion on everyone. Quinn could catch on better than anyone else if someone were judgemental, if they were uncomfortable, or if they were lying through their asses. It's why she always beat the two of them with the occasional poker game when they played with chips and who would get dinner that night.

He made his way back to the room dividers, thankful that they had managed to have enough room to separate the back half of the apartment into three different areas for all of them. He walked up to Quinn's and pushed back the bright yellow curtain (their way of "personalized doors"; Quinn had yellow, Blaine had navy blue, and Sam had green) as he walked into the room. Quinn had her headphones on, and he could hear the loud music from where he stood. It was rock, but of course he'd never expect any less. She could only hear the beats when it was loud, and rock music provided the heaviest of beats. She was placing her books on her bookshelf, neatly sorting them by author and thickness, just how she liked it.

He walked up to her and waved just to the corner of her viewzone to get her attention, a smile on his face when she turned towards him.

'Oh, hey Blaine. What's up?' She asked, smiling back at him. Blaine's name sign for her was the letter "B" placed at the top of her head, for the way he gelled his hair. She had picked it for him when she learned about name signs, and it was right around the time that Blaine really started gelling up his hair.

"I know I asked you this earlier, but I was wondering what you thought of everyone. Not like, overall appearance and stuff. Like, what you really thought of them. How they acted, if you see us being friends with them, that kinda stuff." Blaine suggested, his hands moving fluently.

'You want to know if any of them are going to end up making jokes or judging our little family because I'm deaf.' Quinn confirmed for him, a knowing smile on her face. She removed her headphones and paused her music, then went to sit on the bed, patting the seat next to her. Blaine sighed, but followed.

'Blaine, just because we had a nice dinner with these people doesn't mean I can automatically pick up on those attributes. It takes time. Besides, what's this really about?'

Blaine looked at her carefully, then finally gave in. "I don't want you to get hurt again like you did at your hearing school. This is an entirely new place; a much bigger hearing school. Do you really think people are going to be kind to the fact that you need an interpreter?"

'That's what Sam's for, you know that. But please continue.'

"And I don't want you to feel like that in our apartment building, either. I just want to be able to protect you against people who see you as.. well, different."

Quinn smiled gently at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She knew Blaine meant well; he was like a second brother to her. 'But I am different, Blaine. I'm different because I'm deaf. You're different because you're gay, and Sam's just Sam. Everyone is different- that's why we're here. I know that people might treat me differently, but I can teach them to think differently. Colors, Blaine. Shades of difference.'

Blaine listened to what Quinn was signing to him, and nodded along. He knew that there was nothing he could really do to protect Quinn once she went off to NYU, but it didn't stop him from worrying. He had seen Quinn at her worst times, but seeing her this positive, this uplifting about it all was.. a relief, to say the least. He zoned out for a moment, but came back to reality when Quinn got his attention again.

'As for your question, though, they're all really nice. I think we can all be really great friends. Not to mention how a few of them are pretty cute.' She winked at him, causing him to laugh. It was times like that that she wished that she could hear the sound that people made when they were so happy, that they had to make a sound to express it.

Blaine looked at her when he calmed down, and his smile turned into an expression that Quinn couldn't determine. "What if they come around and speak so quickly that you can't read their lips?"

'Then I have Sam interpret. And if he's not around, or if you're not around, then I'll ask them politely to slow down.'

"Are you sure that this is all a good idea? I'm sure if you wanted, Sam could find someone to buy this place off of us and we can find a college that has a lot more deaf students and-"

'Blaine. You got into NYADA, one of the best performing schools in the country. I got into NYU. This is our dream- not to mention that modeling career that Sam's been talking nonstop about. This is the right decision. I'll be fine. Really.' Quinn gave him another smile and patted his shoulder. 'Now, how about you hook up the doorbell for me? I want to be able to answer the door if I need to.'

Blaine chuckled and nodded, then stood to walk back out in the living room. He gave Quinn one last look and saw that she had gone back to sorting her books, and he couldn't help but smile at his friend. Maybe Quinn was right- he didn't have anything to worry about.

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"Kurt I'm telling you, just go talk to him. Ask him for coffee- you two would be so cute together!" Rachel cooed, making her way through the busy streets. She was going to the nearby record store to pick up some sheet music for the first quarter.

"Rachel, you're insane. I'm not going to ask our neighbor whom we just met out for coffee."

"Why not? What better way to get to know someone than over coffee?"

"Why are you so persistent about me asking Blaine out?"

"Because I know how lonely you've been and you deserve to be happy." Rachel commented, walking into the store. She huffed slightly, making her way over to the sheet music.

"I'm perfectly fine! Why does everyone assume that I need a man in my life to be happy?"

"All I'm suggesting is that you ask him for coffee and get to know him a little better. You don't have to-" Rachel made a small "oof" noise as she bumped into someone, then immediately began rambling into a spew of apologies. It was only when the woman turned around that she realized it was their very kind, very deaf, neighbor.

"Kurt, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later."

"Rachel-"

Rachel hung up the phone and waved at Quinn with a smile. "Hi, Quinn. It's good to see you again."

'It's good to see you too, Rachel.' Quinn signed, and Rachel gave a slight look of confusion. Quinn just brushed it off, and signed a little slower.

"Oh! It's good to see me too?" The brunette asked, and Quinn nodded. Rachel clapped a little at herself being able to decipher what Quinn had said. "What're you doing at the music store? Not to be rude, but how exactly do you..?"

Quinn held up a hand, then played a few air drums, then made a wave with her hand. They weren't the exact signs for "listening to the beat, not the music", but it was as simple as she could get it without an interpreter.

"You.. play the drums on the water? What?"

Quinn shook her head, then bit her lip. She glanced around then pointed to a nearby speaker, then made the waves again.

"Oh, oh! The beat? You can hear the beat?" Rachel was quite confused, but she was really trying to understand. She was never a big charades player, but this was proving to test her abilities. Quinn nodded at her answer, and smiled.

'Why're you here?' The blonde asked, motioning around her.

"Why am I here?" Quinn nodded. "Oh, I just needed to pick up some sheet music for the quarter. I-" She paused when Quinn made a motion that looked like she was bowing down to her. "What?"

"She's asking you to slow down. Hey, Rach." Sam stated, coming up behind Quinn.

"Oh, hey Sam. Thank goodness you're here. As much as I love charades, I don't think I'm very good at them." Rachel confessed, looking slightly sheepish. "Could you maybe interpret?" She asked, smiling shyly at the taller blonde.

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay. As I was saying, I'm here looking for sheet music for the quarter. It's getting to be audition season soon and with showcases happening every now and then, I like to be prepared." Rachel watched as Sam easily signed, and how Quinn's eyes remained glued to her brother's hands. It was almost magical, how the blondes were able to communicate so easily without any words. She bit her lip before asking another question, noticing how Sam's hands were at the ready. "What kind of music are you interested in? Both of you?"

Quinn held up a finger, then began to play air guitar quite roughly, sticking out her tongue and putting up the "rock and roll" symbol, then continued on with a more gentle version of the air guitar with a heart after, then finished it off with a "so-so" sign. Rachel was beyond confused at this point, as was Sam, but he quickly tried to figure it out.

"Uh, she likes rock, love songs, but pretty much everything." He looked to Quinn for confirmation, and the blonde nodded with a smile. "As for me, I like country, or anything that this one listens to."

"Very nice! I'm more of a show-tunes girl myself, but it just makes living here all the more exciting." Rachel explained, looking between the two of them.

'Show tunes?' Quinn asked Sam, and Sam shrugged his shoulders. Rachel looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"She wants to know what 'show tunes' are."

Rachel nodded, then turned towards Quinn. "It's the music from Musicals. Wicked, Spring Awakening, RENT, and most of the Disney movies." The shorter girl explained, hoping that Sam was understanding what she was meaning.

'Could you maybe show me some?' Quinn asked, and Sam was about to interpret what Quinn had said when Rachel stopped him.

"Of course! If you don't mind waiting a little while for me to pick out the sheet music, I'd be happy to walk back with you guys and you could come over to mine. It's only Santana at home but she's probably sleeping, so I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Quinn turned to Sam who quickly signed everything, and the blonde girl nodded. 'I'd love to.'

"Quinn says she'd love to, but I gotta start looking for jobs, ya know? I think she'll be okay though, if anything just hand her a piece of paper and you can communicate like that."

"Oh heavens no! I do thoroughly enjoy charades, so I'm certain we could communicate just fine." Rachel stated happily. "Also, this," She paused, mimicking what Quinn had done, "Is the sign for 'love'?"

Sam and Quinn both nodded.

"Great! Well, I'll just be a brief moment, then we can head out, okay?"

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Quinn was sitting down on Rachel's bed, taking in the girl's room. It was a lot different from her own, especially since they didn't use room dividers, but curtains. It was a little darker than she'd want things to be, but it made the room a lot more cozy. Posters lined the walls, some autographed, some framed, but it really spoke a lot about Rachel's personality. She watched as her new-found friend stood in front of her sound system, picking from a variety of CD's that she had sitting next to it. She was shuffling through them, picking out a few here and there before deciding on two, then turned towards the blonde.

"Okay, we can choose from two. There's Wicked, and RENT. Personally, I feel that Wicked has a lot more passion, but RENT has more heavier storylines and bass lines and in fact-" She stopped, realizing that Quinn was making that "slow down" motion again. "Sorry." Rachel stated sheepishly.

'This,' She paused, then made the sign for "sorry", 'Is how you say sorry. Okay?' Quinn explained, smiling at the girl. She didn't know what it was, but something was making Quinn really want to try with this girl. Maybe it was her obvious passion about what it was that she was talking about, or maybe it was just her overall vibe. Whatever it was, it was quite intriguing to Quinn.

"Sorry, okay?" Rachel asked, mimicking both signs. Quinn nodded, then waved her fingers.

"What- what is it you're doing?"

Quinn let out a silent chuckle, then clapped her hands.

"Oh, that's how you clap?" Rachel watched as the blonde nodded. "Oh, okay. So.. Anyway, this one," She held up the Wicked soundtrack. "Has a lot more.. passion, and love. But this one," She held up RENT, "Has a lot more.. harder storylines, therefore more powerful music, and heavier bass."

Quinn watched, but after careful thinking, pointed to the RENT soundtrack. Rachel smiled and went to put it in the player, choosing the fifteenth track, La Vie Boheme. She turned the music up a little loud, but not too loud, as to not disturb Santana who was sleeping in the living room. The blonde stood up and walked over to the stereo, slowly turning it up louder and louder until she could feel the bass and sense the vibrations. It was slow, then upbeat, and it was actually a quite exciting song. It made her want to jump around, or dance, so she did just that. She jumped, danced, and just felt whatever she could. She looked to Rachel, who seemed to be wincing at the music, but took her hand and encouraged her to join her in dancing. They jumped around, danced, laughed, and in Rachel's case, sang along to the music, up until a very angry and groggy Latina stormed into her room and turned the music down.

"What the hell are you doing, Berry? I'm trying to get my sleep on and you're in here playing music about diseases and taboo." Santana asked, her back to the other women in the room. Quinn looked at Rachel confusedly, and Rachel frowned, over-enunciating the words "she's talking about the lyrics". Quinn nodded in response.

"I'm sorry Santana, but Quinn can't exactly hear the music, so it has to be loud so she can, well, feel, the beat." Rachel explained, feeling very uncomfortable with the fact that she couldn't tell Quinn what the both of them are saying.

"What are you talking about? Who feels the beat of music? It's perfectly fine when it's at a decent volume so people like me can sleep." Santana stated, turning around. Quinn looked to Rachel again.

"She doesn't understand why you need the music loud." The girl explained, speaking slower than normal.

"What are you doing?"

"Quinn's deaf, Santana. That's why she needs it loud. You would've known this had you decided to go to the housewarming party yesterday." Rachel explained, shrugging her shoulders as she moved past the other brunette to pause the music.

"So, she speaks that sign language shit or something?"

"Yes, she speaks fluently in sign language. So does her brother Sam, and their friend Blaine." Rachel stated, forgetting to turn back around before speaking.

"And she doesn't talk? At all?" Quinn furrowed her brow as the Latina girl looked her up and down; she was completely lost as to what they were talking about.

"No, Santana."

Santana smiled. "Then welcome to our apartment. You're welcome here any time. But now, I've got to get my sleep on." With that, Santana walked back out of the room and back towards the living area. Quinn stepped forward, and tapped Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel turned back around and sighed. "Sorry about that, she's kind of, well, a bitch, for lack of better words."

"Heard that, Berry!"

"Shut up, Satan!" The shorter girl huffed and ran a hand through the end of her hair. "But anyways, I'm.. sorry," she signed, " that we couldn't listen to the rest of the songs. But if you'd like, I have the movie," She used the charades term for "movie", "and we could maybe put subtitles on, or something, and we could watch it together? Not now, sadly, Santana has taken over the living room, but maybe some other time?"

Quinn tried her hardest to follow along, and she seemed to do so quite recently. What she caught was that Rachel wanted to watch the RENT movie with her. She usually didn't watch a lot of movies, but it'd be fun to learn Rachel's culture, to see what people in New York saw as entertainment. She nodded and smiled brightly, earning a bright smile in return.

"Great! And maybe if you like that, I could show you a few others. I've got a huge collection to choose from."

Quinn nodded and chewed her lip, before deciding to sign really slowly. 'I would really like that.'

Rachel watched her hands and her lips, quickly figuring out what Quinn was saying. "I think I would really like that too."