She clutches the sleeve of his Letterman a little tighter as they reach the threshold, the loud music straining against the door. She looks up to find him smiling down at her in amusement and frowns.
"Baby, chill. It's just a party."
"Yes. Santana's. I've never been to a party at Santana's before," she hisses, annoyed at his nonchalant attitude. She moves herself closer to him to let a group of girls pass by, and the swell of the music almost hurts her ears as the door opens. It's funny how a house can look so foreboding.
"Relax. You probably won't even see her anyway. She's probably passed out on the couch by now. I mean, Santana gets shitfaced-"
"Finn!"
"A lot. Sorry," he finishes , grinning. She hates those dimples sometimes, mostly because of their ability to turn her into a powerless mush of goo. She sighs, pushing them both towards the edge of the Lopez's porch, giving more room for the partygoers to walk through. She knows his patience is wearing thin by the way he's tapping his foot, but he's still smiling patiently at her, so she pushes on, fiddling with the buttons of his jacket as she mumbles.
"I just- you know these things make me feel uncomfortable. I mean, at least if Tina and Mercedes were here, I'll have someone to talk to, but they're not coming and Quinn still hates me, so who am I going to talk while you hang out with all your Neanderthal buddies? And what if you get drunk again?" she finishes sourly, remembering the last party they went to where he'd passed out on Noah's couch. She had to lie and told her parents she was sleeping over at Mercedes's (it really is a miracle how much they trust her sometimes) because she didn't want to leave him, knowing that Noah wouldn't even have the decency to help him to the spare bedroom if she hadn't so adamantly insisted on it.
"Not happening this time. Designated driver, remember?"
"Okay, but what if-"
"Rachel," he sighs, leaning against the deck as he grabs her shoulders. "You're with me, okay? I'm not gonna let you out of my sight, I swear. C'mon, we don't even have to stay long if you don't want to. It's just that it's the Championships, and we don't really get to celebrate all that much, you know?"
"I know," she says softly, leaning forwards to hug him as she feels his arms go around her waist. She pulls back, steeling herself as she beams up at him. "I'm sorry Finn. It's your night, and I'm not going to put a damper on it."
"Awesome," he answers, leaning down to kiss her.
"We're going to have fun," she whispers in conviction against his lips. He chuckles, straightening up as he throws an arm around her shoulders.
"Oh hey, I forgot to tell you."
"What?"
"You look really pretty tonight," he tells her, pulling her in closer. She smiles, looking down at the bright blue sundress she's paired with a jean jacket Al had sent for her birthday. She knows she's not dressed like the rest of the girls in there, knowing she's probably got a little too much fabric going on, but Finn likes her dress, and he's all that matters really. Rachel leans her body towards him as they make their way to the entrance. The door swings open, and she finds herself staring at black, five inch stiletto boots wrapped around smooth, perfect legs that seem to go on for miles until it reaches the tan colored fabric of her skin-tight dress.
"Oh look, the Giant made it. How nice, you brought your hobbit with you," Santana says dryly, looking up at Finn before her bored gaze falls on Rachel. Beside her, Finn rolls his eyes as he mutters a "hey", pulling her closer to him as he pulls her in.
Xxx
It's actually not that bad, she thinks as she nurses the can of Coke in her hand. She'd prefer if it came in a cup, but the only boy who tried to give her one had received a death glare from Finn, who had intercepted with the can she's currently holding.
"Don't drink anything from a cup unless I give it to you, 'kay?" he whispered in her ear as she rolled her eyes. He tells her this at every party they go to (granted, there weren't a lot), and while it used to be endearing, it's just a little annoying now.
Most of her apprehension comes from the fact that she's always apprehensive when it comes to Santana Lopez, and being in her house feels a little like walking into the lion's den, but she hasn't seen the girl at all since that moment at the entrance, and she almost forgot where she is. She waves at Megan, her new friend, currently dragging her grumbling hockey player boyfriend towards the makeshift dance floor. She grins with pride as she watches Finn describing, for the fifth time, in great detail, that last touchdown to a new crowd, content to stand a little to the side to let him bask in all the glory. She knows all about the rush that comes from being in the spotlight, and she's not about to begrudge him his time.
"Yo Hudson!" She turns at the same time he does, watching as a burly blonde (Josh, she thinks, the Safety, or something like that) points towards the far end of the room. "Beer Pong, aisle two!"
She watches as he looks towards her before turning his attention back to his teammate, shaking his head.
"C'mon! Don't be a blowhard!"
"Some other time dude!"
"Go ahead," she tells him. He looks down at her in surprise before he grins.
"Nah."
"I know you want to."
"Well yeah, but-"
"It's your night remember? Go have fun! Look, Noah's already waving at you," she says, rolling her eyes as the other boy waves his middle finger at her boyfriend.
"You sure?" he asks, but his eyes are already looking eastwards and she grins.
"I can be your own private little Cheerio," she answers flirtatiously, batting her eyelashes in a joking manner.
"Well I can't say no to that, can I?" he says with a grin, pulling her along as she laughs.
Xxx
The crowd is pretty rowdy, but she thinks she's yelling the hardest when Finn once again lobs his ball into the other team's cup. She's still a little rusty at the rules of the game, but she knows enough to know that her boyfriend is winning, so she claps her hands enthusiastically, laughing as he turns around to wink at her.
"Ah Berry." She turns at the slur, surprised to find Santana standing next to her, obviously drunk by the slightly vacant look in her eyes.
"Hey Santana. Great party," she says, standing uncomfortably as Santana's gaze slowly moves from her feet up to her face.
"You know," she mumbles, leaning forwards to rest a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Every time you open your mouth I wanna stab you with a razor, but I gotta admit, you got it going on."
"Excuse me?"
"Maybe it's the whole innocent Mormon thing. Or like, Amish. But I'd totally do you. Like, maybe with a gag over your mouth or something, 'cause you talk too much Berry!"
"Erm- Santana, you're really drunk. Maybe you should lie down-"
"Yeah, yeah. Hey Yentl, wanna go lie down together?" Santana whispers conspitorially as she leans her head against Rachel's shoulder, her hands slipping through the jacket to play with the strap of her dress. Rachel's eyes widen just a little as she pulls away. "I'm great with scissoring. Ask Brittany."
"What is-"
"O-kay!"
She feels two strong arms pulling her away as his familiar voice booms over the noise of the crowd. She looks up to find Finn glaring at Santana, who looks like she's about to tip over at any moment.
"I think that's enough party for tonight, right Rach?"
"But what about your game?"
"It's over."
"No it's not, cockblocker!" Noah shouts. She turns to shoot him a dirty look before looking up to see Finn doing the same.
"Piss off Puckerman! C'mon Rachel."
"Are you sure?" she asks, allowing him to pull her along, ignoring the jeers from the crowd as they walk past.
"Yep. Let's just go hang out somewhere."
"Okay."
Xxx
"It's so weird," she starts as she lies down next to him on the bed of his truck. They're parked in the school parking lot, which would be weird for a lot of people, but she's realized that it's the best spot to look up at the vast expanse of stars above them, and she kind of loves the idea of this place being a spot just for the two of them.
"What is?" Finn asks, intertwining their fingers as he looks up.
"I think Santana is secretly attracted to me. Don't you think?"
He doesn't reply, so she continues talking, absentmindedly, toying with his fingers.
"Physically, I mean. And when she's drunk anyway. I'm almost a hundred percent positive that she was propositioning me to have lesbian sex with her in the guest room. And while that is unbelievably crude, and not to mention completely insensitive to my sexual orientation, I have to admit it's flattering that she sees me that way. I mean, who would have thought that behind all those derogatory words- I- Finn what are you doing?" she asks, surprised when he suddenly looms over her, a determined look on his face.
She feels her breath catch in her throat as his hands splay out on the surface on each side of her head, his right leg resting between hers. The look of resolve turns into another, softer, expression as he leans closer, until it turns into a half smile when he's just a breath away. She closes her eyes when she feels his lips on hers, wrapping her arms around his neck as he deepens his kiss, one of his hands tangling in her hair to bring her head up closer towards him. She can taste that tangy taste of beer on his tongue and the chocolate they bought at the gas station on their way. She feels the butterflies swooping down the bottom of her stomach and back up to her chest, and they remind her that she needs to breathe.
She pulls away, but not that far, and their foreheads lean close together as they catch their breath, sharing the same air with their lips barely grazing each other.
"What was that for?" she asks breathlessly, smiling as he kisses the space just below her left ear.
"Don't ever talk to Santana alone when she's drunk, okay?" he whispers against her ear, his hot breath raising goosebumps all along her arms. She grins, grabbing his head in her hands to pull him up to look at her.
"Were you jealous?" she teases, grinning wide.
"Hell yeah," he says. "She had her hands on my girl. That was not okay."
"Yeah, well this girl only one wants one pair of hands all over her, so you've got nothing to worry about."
"Good," he mumbles, playfully nudging the tip of her nose with his as she giggles.
Xxx
"Finn," she whispers quietly, her ear pressed to his chest as she listens to the steady hum of his heartbeats.
"Yeah?"
"Maybe there's something in that Coke after all."
"What?" he asks, alarmed as he pulls his head up to look down at her. "Are you okay? Do you feel sick?"
She shakes her head as she grins.
"Nope. I feel giddy, and light. Kinda like I'm drunk. Really, really happy."
She loves seeing the grin that lights up his face when he gets it.
"That's not the Coke," he says, smiling as he tucks her hair behind her ear.
"So I guess it's just you."
"Yep."