Author's Note: Once again, thank you to all who have read, reviewed or put this story on alert. Sorry this chapter took me a little longer to get out. I actually had part of what will be the next chapter written before this but decided I needed to build up to that part a bit more, so here goes.
"So who's this guy again?" Kurt asks as he rifles through Rachel's closet, not bothering to hide the look of disgust on his face when he stumbles upon the old familiar plaid and argyle garments that formerly made up Rachel's wardrobe.
Rachel sits on the bed, waiting for her new friend and self-appointed stylist to find something suitable for the party. "His name is Chase and he's on the football team."
Kurt throws a couple of dresses on the bed and rolls his eyes. "Of course he is. So, is that why you're freaking out about this party? Because a big important football player invited you and you need to impress."
"I don't get invited to many parties. I just want to look nice," she confesses shyly.
"Put this on." He presents her with a tiny black cocktail dress he had forced her to buy during their shopping spree a few weeks ago. "And you're wearing the boots with it."
Rachel took the dress nervously. "Won't I look like a...slut?" She couldn't help repeating Finn's statement about her new attire from the previous day. She hadn't wanted to buy the dress in the first place, it was much too short and way too tight, she needed assistance just to get in it. And the boots Kurt was referring to, the boots with the four inch heels that went all the way up to her thighs, they certainly wouldn't help disprove Finn's little slut comment.
"I thought that's what we're going for?" Kurt starts with a laugh but quickly changes his tune when he sees Rachel's horrified expression. "I'm kidding. It's not slutty." He fishes for a more comforting word. "It's just more mature."
Rachel accepts his explanation and disappears into her bathroom to put the dress on. She comes out moments later to ask Kurt for help with zipper. "I'm not sure I'll be able to get out of this thing without help later," she says smoothing down the material a bit.
"I'm sure Chase will be happy to help," Kurt winks at her.
"There will be none of that," she informs him pointedly. "I'm just going to have a little fun and get my mind of off things."
Kurt starts to set out various hair products on the vanity and motions for her to sit down. "And by things do you mean Finn?"
Rachel sighs. "The situation has just been so tense. For weeks, I wanted nothing more than for Finn to forgive me and for us to go back to the way things were. But I realized that wasn't going to happen, that Finn would never be able to get past my stupid mistake, even though I've forgiven him on numerous occasions, so I have to try to move on. Even if I did still have some lingering feelings for Finn, he's made it perfectly clear how he feels about me." She elects not to delve further into just how Finn expressed those feelings towards her a day earlier. She assumes Finn hasn't told Kurt about their little confrontation because there'd be no way Kurt wouldn't have questioned her about it already, so she decides its best not to bring up anything too negative about her new friend's step-brother. "And now there's Chase," she continues after a moment. "I don't know what's going to happen with him, I don't even know him that well, but he's so passionate and intense." She turns in her chair to look at him excitedly. "Kurt, you have to see the way he looks at me... like he wants to devour me. It's so raw."
"But you don't want him to devour you?" Kurt asks as he starts to loosely curl her hair.
"Of course not!" she replies. "But it's nice to be desired." She couldn't reveal that Chase wasn't the one whom she wanted to desire her because Kurt probably thought she was pitiful enough as it is. He didn't need to know that she was still longing after his step-brother, despite being verbally attacked and berated by him just a day ago.
Kurt walks around her chair to sit on the edge of the vanity and points a comb at her intently. "You better be careful tonight. When I'm done with you, this Chase fellow won't be the only one wanting to devour you." He gives her a suggestive smirk before returning his attention to her hair.
She smiles sheepishly before tucking her head into her chest. It really didn't matter how good she looked, she still felt horrible. Finn had said some pretty awful things to her the day before and yet she was still thinking about him, still wanting him. God, she's so pathetic. She needs to get her mind off of Finn Hudson.
It's snowing when she leaves for the party and Rachel seizes the opportunity to convince her fathers that Kurt's SUV would be a much safer mode of transportation in this weather than their tiny hybrid. They of course concede and allow Kurt to drive her to the party, after a brief lecture on the dangers of underage drinking and teen sex of course.
"You should come in," Rachel suggests when Kurt pulls up to the address Chase had provided. She could definitely use a friend in there.
"Yeah Rachel, going to a party thrown by guys who tortured me my entire time at McKinely seems like a great idea," he says sarcastically. "Thanks, but no thanks."
Rachel looks down at her lap. How could she forget all the horrible things the football team had done to Kurt before he transferred to Dalton? "Oh, right. Sorry."
"You're nervous?" he then asks. She bites her lip and nods. "Don't be. There'll be a bunch of Glee kids there, so you'll at least be surrounded by some familiar faces."
"That's sort of what I'm worried about." She hadn't failed to notice that just about all of the Glee club fit the requirements to being invited to this party. They were either football players, cheerleaders, or dating football players. From what she understood, even Mercedes would be there, as she had been dating that boy Kurt set her up with a while ago. If Chase hadn't invited her, Rachel would have been the only one left out. Somehow that makes her even more reluctant to leave the comfort of Kurt's Escalade.
Kurt gives her a reassuring smile. "Look, just walk in there, head up, shoulders back, like you own the place and don't worry about what anyone thinks. Now go and have some fun!"
Rachel flips the mirror down to check herself over once more. "Thanks Kurt." She gives him a quick peck on the cheek before hopping out of the SUV.
"Hey Rach," he calls out through his open window as she carefully makes her way down the walkway. She spins around at the sound of her name."Call me if things don't go well, I'll come get you." She smiles and nods. "And be safe!" he adds. She can't help but laugh and shake her head at his attempt to look out for her. She already has two gay dads, she didn't need another. He pulls away with a cheerful honk of his horn.
She lingers in front of the door of a classmate she hardly knows, allowing snowflakes to accumulate in her softly curled hair. Kurt would kill her if he knew she was letting his hard work get ruined, but she can't bring herself to knock just yet. She's about to walk into a house full of kids who have either ignored her or actively tormented her. She lets out a deep breath and rocks back on her ridiculously high heeled boots. The panic starts to build as she thinks off all the ways the night can go terribly wrong. She's considering the possibility that Chase's interest and her invite to this party could very well be an elaborately orchestrated prank and she might be playing into their plans by willfully entering the house.
Before she can make up her mind the door flies open, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"RuPaul?" Quinn looks at her peculiarly. "Ugh, what are you doing here?"
Rachel falters for a few seconds under the blonde's contemptuous gaze before finding her voice. "I was invited."
"I thought Finn dumped you?" she asks unsympathetically.
"Finn didn't invite me."
"You mean there's someone else at this school dumb enough to ask you out?" Quinn just laughs and rolls her eyes at her own question. "I guess low standards and bad taste are contagious amongst jocks."
"Can we go check if your phone is in my car already?" Sam whines from behind his girlfriend. "I want to get back inside before they start the next round of flip cup." Rachel had been so fixed on Quinn that she hadn't even realized the tall blonde boy was standing there before he opened his mouth.
Quinn pushes past Rachel, Sam at her heels. "Nice dress, Manhands" she calls back to the shorter girl with a smirk. "Desperate much?"
"Hey Rachel," Sam greets awkwardly as Quinn leads him to look for her missing phone.
Rachel turns sharply on her heels. She had to get out of there immediately. She didn't belong here, with people like Sam and Quinn. She wasn't pretty or popular. Her hands nervously dig into her tiny silver clutch for her cell phone. Kurt couldn't have gotten too far.
"There you are!" a voice calls out suddenly. Rachel turns to see Chase and James rolling a keg each across their teammate's neatly manicured lawn. They stop once they reach her. "I wasn't sure you'd come. You look hot!" Chase leans in to give her a kiss that tastes like beer and cigarettes.
"Glad you could make it, Rach," James adds with a wide smile. "Now lets get drunk!" The boys hoist their respective kegs on their shoulders and continue towards the door.
Before she can respond properly she's being led inside by Chase's free hand on her backside. He deposits the keg in the kitchen and pulls Rachel closer against his body.
She allows Chase to lead her through the throngs of drunk obnoxious teenagers. He manages to find an empty recliner in what appears to be the living room and pushes her down lightly so that she's sitting in it. "Wait here, I'll get us a couple of drinks." She wants to tell him not to bother bringing her a drink because she won't be partaking in the consumption of alcohol this evening, but she doubts he'd be able to hear her over the music anyway.
Now alone, Rachel scans the room for those familiar faces Kurt thought would make her feel better. Brittany's perched on Artie's lap in the corner feeding him pretzels, Mike and Tina are up dancing with Mercedes and her date, and Finn and Santana are sitting dangerously close to one another on the sofa opposite her.
Of course Chase had to tell her to wait here of all places. Finn catches her starring at him and Santana and before she can divert her gaze, he's leaning down and pressing his lips to the cheerleader's with a smirk, his eyes trained on Rachel the whole time. She sees him smile as he pulls his head back from Santana's and Rachel wonders what she ever saw in Finn Hudson.
Finally Chase returns and offers her a large red cup. She wasn't planning on drinking tonight, but she wasn't planning on watching her ex-boyfriend, whom she's still madly in love with, make out with the school slut either. She takes the cup and downs half of its contents instantly, her face scrunching a bit at the burning taste in the back of her throat.
"Whoa, someone's ready to party," Chase announces happily. He reaches out and pulls her out of the recliner by her hand before settling into it himself. He then pulls her back down onto his lap. "Much better," her murmurs into her hair.
Rachel tries to get comfortable on the boy's lap but she's a little more than slightly distracted by the convergence of Finn and Santana a few feet away. Santana has turned so that her legs are draped over Finn's thighs and his hands are running absently up and down the material of her jeans, all the while looking at Rachel and Chase.
Finn's not so subtle efforts to hurt her start to work a little too well and to keep from crying, Rachel turns intently towards the boy whose lap she's occupying. "So Chase," she starts sweetly, placing a hand softly against his chest, "how'd the game go tonight?"
She listens as he gives a detailed play by play of McKinely's victory, trying not to wince when he recounts Finn's 35 yard touchdown pass.
"But enough about the game," Chase wraps up. "I can think of much more exciting things for us to be doing right now." He starts to nibble on her earlobe and Rachel has to bite her lip to suppress a startled gasp from escaping her mouth. The fact that Finn and Santana are in a very similar position just a few feet from her and Chase does not go unnoticed by Rachel and she finds herself lifting the cup to her mouth once again, taking two large gulps in hopes of extinguishing her anxiety.
Chase moves his lips to her neck and shoulder, sucking on the exposed flesh hungrily. "You like?" he asks, stopping briefly to glance at her near empty cup.
It takes a moment for Rachel to realize Chase isn't talking about his mouth on her skin but instead the drink in her hand. "Oh...yeah. It's fine." She has no idea what exactly is in the cup but it doesn't taste nearly as bad as she thought it would. It's a little bitter but there's some sort of juice mixed with the seemingly generous amount of alcohol to mask the taste a bit.
"It's me and Jame's special mix," he grins at her. Rachel nods and drains the remaining liquid in the cup. She didn't really care, but Chase seemed proud of his bar-tending skills. "Here," he says pouring the contents of his own cup, which she didn't remember seeing him drink from, into hers. She eyes him curiously. "I've been drinking all night, you need to catch up," he explains with a shrug before returning his mouth to her neck.
One very large and strong drink in and Rachel's already starting to feel a bit tipsy. She figures it's probably due to the combination of her lack of drinking experience, her small stature and the minimal amount of food she's consumed throughout the day. Despite Chase's suggestion that she had a ways to go before she's caught up to his state of inebriation, she thinks she's far more drunk than him. In fact, he seems stone cold sober. She internally chides herself for over thinking the situation and takes a few sips of her replenished drink.
When her head starts to feel heavy she throws it back and closes her eyes, trying to calm her increasingly frazzled mind. Chase takes the opportunity to kiss his way down the column of her neck to the front of her chest. "God Rachel, you don't know what you do to me," he breathes harshly against her skin.
Rachel loses herself in the heated make out session, not even registering his hand on her thigh till it starts to slip under her dress and between her legs. "Chase," she warns hazily as she tips her head back down and removes his hand, placing it safely at her hip instead.
He doesn't acknowledge the brief protest but covers her lips with his to prevent another one. His lips attack her mouth eagerly and for the first time all night, Rachel's not thinking about Finn. She relishes in the sense of forgetting and welcomes Chase's tongue against hers.
His hand starts to climb up her thigh again, pressing firmly when he reaches her center. "Chase, wait," Rachel says pulling his hand from her lap and breaking their kiss.
"What's wrong, babe?" he asks innocently.
Rachel tugs at the bottom of her dress, silently willing it to cover more of her legs. "Nothing...it's just... I don't," she stammers nervously. She takes a large gulp of her drink in hopes of buying her fuzzy mind more time to come up with a suitable answer. "I...maybe we shouldn't...we're surrounded by people, Chase," she manages finally, her eyes darting around the room apprehensively.
"Do you want to go somewhere more private?" he whispers seductively into her ear.
"No!" she shrieks a little louder than she had intended. Afraid Chase might be getting annoyed with her, she quickly adds, "Uhm, I'm just so comfortable here." She snuggles against his chest for emphasis. "I see no reason to leave such a great spot."
She looks up after a moment expecting to find Chase glaring down at her angrily, but instead he's smiling, an amused look plastered on his face. "Are you a virgin, Rachel?"
She pulls back from him with a startled intake of breath. "What? What makes you think that?" She looks absolutely mortified. It's not that she's embarrassed about being a virgin, she was very confident in her decision to wait, but she is slightly surprised that her lack of experience is so evident to the boys she fools around with.
Chase doesn't bother to hide his laughter. "Relax, babe. It's not a bad thing. I think it's kind of sweet. Not many girls are as," he pauses to brush the hair from her face before continuing, "pure as you. It's kind of a turn on."
Rachel's not sure what to make of his declaration. She wasn't exactly expecting him to be appreciative of her virginity. She always assumed guys preferred the more willing girls. Still, she feels the need to clarify things between them. "That's very kind of you to say, but I'm not looking to change that tonight. I just feel I should make that clear before we continue."
"Don't worry, baby. I just want to have fun, we don't have to do anything you're not ready for." He puts his hands on her hips and swivels her around a bit in his lap so that she's facing forward. "Now let me get you another drink, that one looks a little low." He pats her on the bottom, urging her to stand up so that he can retrieve the liquor.
Finally on her feet for the first time since she started pounding down Chase and James' "special mix", Rachel takes a shaky step forward as the lights and noise in the room seem to rush at her in one dizzying flash. She mutters a low "whoa" at the unfamiliar sensation and slams her eyes closed. Nothing seems still to her. After swaying a bit in her spot she opens them to look for one of her glee teammates. Maybe they could tell her if being drunk was supposed to feel like this.
She spots Tina and Mike sitting on the couch where Finn and Santana had been previously. However, the couple is so engrossed in their own making out that Rachel wouldn't dream of interrupting to pose her question.
Realizing that Finn and Santana were gone, and most likely together, Rachel starts to hesitantly teeter around the unfamiliar house, bumping into nameless jocks and snobby cheerleaders as she does. She peaks into each of the other rooms on the ground floor, not finding the duo anywhere before painfully resigning herself to the idea that they're probably upstairs having sex.
When she pokes her head into the kitchen she see Chase and James huddled behind the counter, whispering and laughing with several bottles and cups laid out before them. Deciding the lights in the kitchen are too damn bright for her to endure any longer, she goes to wait for him some place more conducive to her current state. She makes her way back to the living room, but a couple of cheerleaders have taken their spot on the recliner and the rest of the seating in the room is occupied by horny couples, so she settles for a spot on the large spiral staircase in the foyer.
After a couple of minutes her eye lids begin to feel heavy and she starts to feel woozy. She leans her head against the banister and closes her eyes.
"Wake up, sleepy head."
She hears Chase's voice but can't seem to open her eyes. "Mmm, so tired," she mumbles. "Need to sleep."
Chase grabs hold of her wrists and pulls her upright. "No, no, not time for bed yet. We're gonna dance."
She blinks a few times before snapping her eyes fully open. "You came baaack," she slurs happily. "They never come back." She shakes her head regretfully.
"Who never comes back?" He slips a hand behind her back and turns to position her against the wall for support.
"Boys. They never come back for me. They all leave," she states sadly. "But you're here."
"Of course I'm here." Chase presses a kiss to her lips. "I'm not like other guys." She nods in agreement. "Here." He presents her with one of the two drinks in his hand.
Rachel eyes the large red cup suspiciously. "Oh, I don't think I should." She glances around nervously before leaning in to whisper something to the boy. "I think I'm a little drunk already."
Chase can't help but laugh at her confession. "You're fine, you only had a couple of drinks. Besides, I'm here to take care of you. Don't you trust me?" He runs his fingers through her hair tenderly.
Rachel bites her lip. He came back, she couldn't hurt his feelings. "Yes."
"Then here," he repeats handing her one of the cups and placing the second on the stairs for later. "You deserve to have a good time tonight. Live a little." He pulls her flush against him and begins to sway to the music.
Another drink and a half of Chase and James' "special mix" and Rachel can barely manage to stand up. If it wasn't for Chase's body pressing her against the wall she's certain she'd slide to the floor. She wants to stay awake for Chase but the fog in her head is too thick. She just needs to close her eyes again.