If I Were A Boy, Part III
Hour: 8.5
It turned out that Quinn was getting used to the idea of being Luke. It's exactly what she wanted. This way he could practically tell Rachel anything and not have to worry about how she'd react or how others would perceive him. He glanced at the girl walking in front of her, toward a table set up with snacks and drinks, and totally checked her out. It was freeing to be able to rake her eyes down that gorgeous body.
"I'll introduce you to the other kids soon," she told him with a soft voice when he stopped to stand near her.
He had yet to officially "meet" the other kids. He saw Sam talking to Britt at the end of the pool, and Santana watching from afar with an intimidating stare. She was territorial. It made Luke smirk; in that aspect, him and Santana were quite alike. The girl caught his stare from across the yard and leaned forward on her chaise. She tilted her head and pursed her lips, trying to figure out if she knew the dude. Luke raised his hand and acknowledged that he could see her. Immediately she turned away and pretended she hadn't seen him.
He laughed quietly and went back to staring at Rachel because just look at her being beautiful. Her obsessive compulsive disorder was making itself known as she fixed the bowls of chips for the fourth time. Maybe she was nervous, but maybe she was just that OCD. Rachel turned at the sound of his quiet chuckling and blushed profusely. "I'm sorry," she apologized with a small smile. She fidgeted with her fingers as she admitted, "I happen to be a bit OCD."
Luke always enjoyed hearing Rachel offer information to him that she thought he didn't know. Because Luke wasn't supposed to know these things; he just so happened to be the one person in all of McKinley who paid the most attention to Rachel. "I can see that," he admitted. And then, out of nowhere, he heard his mouth betray his most inner thoughts, "it's cute." Shit. Shit.
Rachel's eyes snapped to him, and he gulped, already thinking of ways to apologize. For a good, long second, he forgot all about being Luke and freaked that now she knew. But slowly cognition came back to him and he started to calm himself down. Still, he didn't want to immediately come off as a creeper. That would ruin all his chances at this so needed second chance. She smiled shyly after a few seconds, and he breathed a sigh of relief when she murmured a "thanks." He noticed her cheeks blush a faint pink, barely there, but incredibly endearing and he felt warm.
The football hitting the back of his head is what broke their moment. He grimaced and held back a curse word or two and lifted a hand to the spot that hurt. "Ouch," he eventually said and looked behind to see where the ball had come. Finn was staring right at the two with a somber expression and he didn't look like he felt guilty about it at all.
He said, "sorry," from across the pool, with a 'get away from my girl' look and Luke didn't know what to do.
Rachel looked furious. She turned her heels in the direction of Finn and shot him a very disappointed and pissed off Rachel Berry glare. At that second - as if Rachel were fuel to his wood (literally) - he caught fire from within and felt himself start to tingle. Well, it would have been awkward if he got a boner here. That would also probably ruin his chances with Rachel. He tried to think of something to cool himself down but it wasn't working. Rachel looking angry reminded him of those sexually charged discussions Quinn had with Rachel - so, basically, all of them. And those always worked wonders for Quinn once she was home. Sadly, right now was not the time. He tried to focus on something incredibly disturbing like... Sue and Schue gettin' it on. Yeah, that was working.
Meanwhile, Rachel was berating Finn in front of all their friends about being rude to a guest - "Quinn Fabray's cousin," she had reminded him - and was asking him to come over to apologize. Luke watched Santana smirk from her seat at the boy being - well, humiliated - like that. Luke didn't really know what had gotten into Rachel ever since that previous day when Quinn had run into her in the bathroom, but he definitely liked it. He definitely enjoyed watching Rachel grow some (hopefully very hypothetical) balls. It's like that Rachel from the beginning of Sophomore year, back then when she had so much passion it just overwhelmed all of McKinley, was back. And damn that was hot.
Finn wobbled over, trying not to look as fucking pathetic as he did and extended his hand in an invitation for a hand shake. "Sorry, man."
"No problem," Luke told him with a suspicious look. Luke knew he should be wary of Finn because the guy was kind of a pain in the ass when he felt threatened. Hopefully he wouldn't cause too big of a problem.
Hour: 9.5
The party was in full swing. Luke had been properly introduced to everyone and currently found himself in a conversation with Mike and Sam about superheroes. That was a secret obsession of Quinn's that she was adamant nobody at McKinley found out. Not even Santana. Especially not Santana. Being Luke right now had its perks. He attentively listened to Sam's argument as to why The Hulk was the best.
That was a lie. He wasn't as attentive as he tried to make himself look. For the past half an hour or so, Luke had been looking for Rachel. And Finn. Rachel and Finn had disappeared a while back and as much as he made an effort to not care, he couldn't. It was his job to make sure that this time around Rachel got what she deserved. And Luke wanted to protect Rachel. He wanted to protect her from so much: slushies, mean names, stupid boyfriends... heartbreak.
No matter how many times Luke denied to himself, what Rachel felt for Finn was love. Or at least, she thought it was. Maybe Rachel couldn't tell because she was young, but who was Luke to tell Rachel who she did or didn't love? Luke was nobody.
The problem Quinn has always had with Rachel and Finn was that they tried to make something that didn't work, work. And, as much as Luke loved The Beatles, love wasn't all you needed.
Respect, trust, commitment, friendship - that's what's needed. Luke wanted to scream those words into Rachel until she understood. And if he was still Quinn right now, he probably wouldn't, but as Luke he felt like he maybe could.
To let Rachel know that there were better and bigger things out there. That there was someone who didn't know or understood till recently - but there was someone who would respect her, trust in her, commit to all of her - the good and the bad, -and would be her friend, no matter what. There was someone who wanted to be that someone for Rachel. And there was someone who would give her all the love that Rachel wanted.
Finally, he saw Rachel and Finn coming back out of the house. He was relieved to see Rachel hadn't been crying but as his eyes focused lower, his fists tightened in a bout of jealousy when he saw their hands clasped. Apparently they hadn't broken up. That was just awesome. He tried not to focus on the fact that they were talking inside the house, where certain things could have happened. Well, that just made him feel like throwing up.
Surprisingly enough, Rachel walked straight up to him, and smiled at Finn as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and wondered off to play ball with Puck and Santana. Mike and Sam noticing this excused themselves and went too, leaving Luke alone with Rachel near the grill - where vegetables were sizzling alongside some hot dogs and burgers, - and Artie playing his guitar with Mercedes and Tina.
"Hey," she smiled and moved some bangs out of her eyes. Luke especially loved the way Rachel's hair looked when she curled it. It was really attractive, and the bangs kept getting in her eyes, making her blow air out of her mouth upward. It would flutter the short strands of hair above her forehead but they wouldn't really move away. The pouty lips and the clear annoyance came off really funny and adorable to Luke. "Is Quinn coming around?" Rachel asked. It made Luke smile to know that she was asking about him, even though she didn't quite know that.
He smiled apologetically and lied, "No. She just replied to my text saying she couldn't make it."
"That's really too bad," Rachel practically murmured and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Are you guys close?" She asked.
Luke nodded with a chuckle, "um, yeah. Pretty close." Rachel didn't need to know just how close - like, same body close.
The next question is what made Luke realize that Rachel was fishing. "Does she ever talk about her friends from McKinley? From Glee club? About, say, me?" When she looked up into his eyes, Luke could see how much Rachel needed to hear it.
"I told you - she considers you her best friend," he reminded her. It was too bad Rachel hadn't realized it yet that they'd be perfect together.
"I know," Rachel said and seemed a little disappointed. She mumbled, "that's not how I meant it, but -" she trailed off, looking to the side and getting distracted by the boys horse-playing way too close to the snacks table she spent so much time on. "Hey!" She yelled at them and wandered off in that direction.
She left Luke replaying that last, unfinished sentence over and over and over in his head.
How did she mean it?
Hour: 10
When Santana started to approach Luke by herself, he tried to come up with a million excuses. He didn't even know why - just knew he should be prepared.
"Have we met before?" Santana asked as she settled in front him, her feet shoulder-width apart. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. "Because I'm one of Quinn's closest friends..." -wrong; maybe one of her longest friends but not closest. "And I feel like I'd have met you."
Luke shrugged and took a longer sip of his lemonade, "no," he mumbled from behind his cup. "I don't think we've ever met."
"Really?" Santana insisted, coming closer to try and look him in the eyes. It was later in the day so the sun was slowly making its way down to the horizon. The angle they were standing at worked in his favor. "Because I should know you." She repeated. "I'm kinda offended Quinn never introduced us. And that's too bad." Now she moved to pradatory territory, trying to flirt her way to information.
"Really," Luke told her and walked away, slight irritation on his walk. He could feel Santana still watching him, like she had been all day long.
Hour: 10, a few moments later
"Hey," Sam approached with a hard slap in the middle of his back. "All dudes play, shirts versus skins. You're a skin," he walked away, already taking off his shirt.
The last remaining people in the pool got out - Kurt and Mercedes - to watch the basketball game. One single hoop was mounted above Rachel's dads' garage door - because Leroy used to play basketball in college.
Hesitant, Luke considered not playing but he didn't want to come off as a dick. Still he pointed out, "I'm in jeans and wearing a vest. I'm not wearing appropriate basketball attire." All the guys looked at him with confused looks. He didn't know if guys played basketball like this. Did they? Besides, not his clothes and he didn't want to ruin those.
"It's okay, Luke. It's my fault. I should've offered you a change of clothes when you got here since this is a pool party. My daddy Hiram is just about as tall as you." Rachel was already spinning on her heels and walking away when his brain caught up.
This was just perfect. Luke sucked at basketball. He was going to be the laughingstock amongst the guys - Rachel's friends, - and she'd think he was a loser. How pathetic could he get?
Then there's that other thing. That tattoo that was so painfully obvious for Rachel he - he sighed and just agreed, "okay. Let me just go-" he pointed toward the inside of the house and started to make his way after the brunette.
"Rachel?" He asked as he stood there, in the middle of Rachel's living room. He hadn't been here often, but the times he had, he always noticed just how proud of their little family the Berrys were. He loved them more for it. When Quinn came over during the school year with other glee members for impromptu rehearsals, they never treated her badly. And it's not like they didn't know about her history with Rachel - they knew. They were just genuinely caring people. Like Rachel.
Just as he was about to go upstairs toward Rachel's room, the brunette appeared from a hallway to her left with shorts and a light cotton shirt. She handed it to him and pointed to the bathroom, "bathroom's right there. Go ahead and change and I'll let them know you're coming soon."
He made his way to the bathroom, clutching the clothes in his fist so hard it was hurting. Why was this so nervewrecking?! It's just a game of basketball! He could do this - he was Quinn Fabray, fucking head cheerleader and head bitch in charge, even after giving birth to a daughter while in high school. He expelled shaky air through his nose slowly and washed his face with cold water. Snapping out of it, he shed his clothes and put on the borrowed swimming shorts and a gray tank.
So what if he had to take his shirt off? Rachel would never know that tattoo was for her now. Not if it was inked on Luke's body.
Luckily, Quinn had been able to hide the tattoo from the other kids at school. She hadn't made the same mistake as when that awful Ryan Seacrest tattoo sat on her back and paraded it around. Especially because if she had, the entire school would have figured it out who she, Quinn Fabray, HBIC, belonged to.
Luke stared into strange emerald green eyes and put on a fake smile on his face. He'd be fine. Nobody would notice.
Hour: 10, a few moments later
"Way to take for fucking ever, new kid," Puck said as he approached the guys. Artie held the basketball on his lap. The skins were already shirtless, he noticed with apprehension.
"Noah," Rachel chastised from the sidelines.
He groaned and apologized softly.
"You could've started without me," Luke said, emanating confidence he really didn't have. Quinn had always been a great pretender.
"We wanted to," Sam admitted.
"But Rachel wouldn't let us," Finn completed.
"She said it's be rude even though we explained dudes don't care," Sam said.
"It's still rude!"
"Chill, hobbit," Santana said from her spot in the grass, leaning back into Britt.
Kurt was the only guy not playing. He didn't want to ruin his new swimming outfit that he had spent time working on. Tina was next to Kurt, on a towel. Mercedes sat on a plastic chair. Rachel stood, looking mildly annoyed Santana called her a hobbit.
Sugar, who apparently was the designed ref ordered Luke, "take off your shirt." The smile with which she said that was uneasy for him. Immediately he sought Rachel's eyes and she smiled reassuringly. He gulped and pulled the tank off and handed it to Rachel.
And that's all it took. It wasn't in the middle of the game that Rachel noticed it; her eyes found it as soon as the shirt was off, attracted to it like bee to honey. She seemed like she wanted to say something, her mouth opened and closed a few times, but then she just ended up saying, "good luck." It came out in this breathless voice, trembling almost, her eyes never leaving his side.
He thought he saw Rachel want to reach for it but decided that was stupid. He made his way toward his team - Sam, Finn, and Artie - and found that Finn was staring at him with suspicious eyes again. Whoever had the idea of putting Finn in the skins team? He was not great to look at. Luke managed to control the urge to roll his eyes and smiled.
In front of them, the opposing team - Mike, Joe, Puck, and Blaine. Maybe, Luke thought, just maybe he could win this to impress Rachel. It was highly unlikely but they had Sam and he always made the basketball team. He had hope.
"Let's go! What are we waiting for?" He asked.
Hour: 11
Skins ended up losing, which wasn't a surprise. It wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be though. Especially because during the entire game he had his own personal cheerleader. Now Luke understood why guys were so into cheerleaders. It was kinda hot having someone cheer and scream and yell his name. It boosted his ego. He even scored a few baskets.
He could tell Finn was pissed Rachel's attention wasn't on him most of the time. And she was still supportive to all of the other guys equally when they had the ball, but she got a lot more involved when Luke played.
She handed him a cold water bottle as soon as he came closer at the end of the game. "Thanks," he told her, for the water. "And thank you for cheering for me."
Rachel said, "I'm sure had Quinn been here, she would have taken that job since she's such a great cheerleader and your cousin. But since she isn't... I decided it was my duty."
"Well, I appreciate it. And I'm sure she will too, when I tell her." He took the tank she was holding back and used it to dry his sweat off. Now that he had been under Rachel's gaze the entire time, he was less uncomfortable in his body. Even with the tattoo. He let her ogle him for a while before putting the shirt back on.
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked, seemingly upset. Her eyes demanded him to stop that right now and so he did. He stopped halfway and stood there looking like a goof - his hair sticking up in every direction and his elbows up in the air.
He slowly said, clearly confused by her outburst. "Putting my shirt on?" Without meaning to, his left eyebrow rose in the Fabray manner and Rachel focused on that particular movement. He let the shirt fall because it gave him something to do while she watched him.
Rachel, again, looked like she wanted to say something about it but he hoped she'd attribute it to a family thing and waited for her to speak. "Um," Rachel cleared her throat and shook her head in a clear effort to try to organize her thoughts. "I -" her eyes fell to the covered tattoo and he could sense how much she wanted to see it closer. Instead, she said, "We're all swimming now. No use in putting the shirt back on."
Of course, that's what it was. He loved the reaction his body caused on Rachel. Luke was thankful he always had been an athletic girl. Who knows? Maybe if he hadn't when he turned, he would've had a body like Finn's and that's just a no-no. "Right," he said, pursing his lips.
Rachel looked at the lips and had the decency to look ashamed when Luke caught her. He smirked to himself when she turned away hurriedly. She caught up with Kurt and Tina as they walked in the house to grab more cups. Luke's gaze stayed fixated on her. He was willing her to look; he hoped she would; he knew she would. Her skirt swayed in the late afternoon breeze, her gloriously endless tan legs swaying too.
His eyes made way up her body slowly. His entire being - soul, mind, heart - found home when he got to her eyes. She had been watching him check her out. And she looked pretty damn fine with it.