Okay, it looks like most everyone thinks the texting thing works, which makes me quite happy, because I find that it adds a touch of realism to the story. Personally, I adore this chapter. I started writing it two seconds after I posted the one before it because the idea would not leave my head.
WARNING: If you are offended by alcohol, drug use, or general partying- the end of this chapter+the next one (Maybe more, probably not though) probably are not for you. Though it is not dealing with addiction or anything like that, so I would hope that everyone is fine with it.
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The rest of the week flew by for Quinn, but seemed to crawl for Rachel.
Rachel Berry had never been to a….party party before. And she was going with Quinn? The emotions tumbled through her brain, one after the other, day after day. She was excited, she was terrified, she was nervous, she was tense. Quinn had promised her that it wouldn't be as bad as she seemed to think it would be.
They talked throughout the week, surprisingly. Rachel was still a little shocked everytime Quinn said hello to her in the hall, or she got a text from Quinn. One day they even ate lunch together. Quinn complained about Finn's inability to hold an intelligent conversation, and Rachel secretly hoped that she was fulfilling Quinn's need for intellectual companionship.
Rachel found that exciting. She had long since given up on providing Quinn with any form of companionship, yet here they were.
Rachel had been crushing on Quinn for a while, early in the days of high school, but soon stopped any hope she had when she saw how Quinn was treating her. But now that they were friends, who knew?
She knew that it was a long shot. A really, really loooong shot. But her fathers had always told her that you never know if something will work unless you try it. And she wanted to try. But she was starting to value the Cheerio's friendship too much to risk it. She needed someone to talk to. Who else could she turn to but Kurt?
She asked him to go shopping with her Friday after school, and he jumped at the opportunity to "save her wardrobe from herself".
And that is how Rachel found herself wandering the mall arm in arm with Kurt, who seemed to find something he wanted her to try on in every store. She was in her third dressing room in a half hour when she heard his voice through the door. "All right, love, spill."
She looked at him, confused, before remembering that he couldn't see her. "What are you talking about?"
He sighs loud enough for her to hear through the door. "You've obviously got something you want to talk to me about, or you would never have subjected yourself to this form of torture."
She laughs loudly, before mumbling.
"Rachel, you're going to have to speak up if you want me to hear you. I don't have the hearing of a dog. Though I think that would probably be-" Kurt is interrupted by Rachel opening the door. "Oh, sweetie, I love that shirt on you."
Rachel stares into his eyes for a moment before whispering. "I like Quinn."
Kurt rolls his eyes. "Lord, is that all? And here I thought you had some actual news."
Rachel's jaw drops. "What? You knew?"
He raises his eyebrows at her. "With all your drooling, I'm surprised no one else has figured it out."
The relief is evident as her entire body relaxes. Kurt smiles softly at her, and places his hand on her shoulder. "No one else knows, don't worry. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
She can hardly control her words as they come rushing out of her mouth. "I was just wondering if I should tell her, since that would be fair to her and I could stop wondering if she feels the same way. But I don't want to risk the newly developed friendship that seems to be doing so well, I just couldn't forgive myself if I ruined a friendship single handedly, especially if it was for something as trivial as liking someone. And I just don't want her to hate me, or think I'm gross or something like that. I just really, really like her is all. I hate that this is so complicated." She groans and puts her head in her hands.
Kurt tries to stifle his laughter, but Rachel hears a small giggle and glares at him through her fingers. Kurt allows himself to fully laugh at the look on the small girls face.
"Rachel! My goodness! Who thought you could have all that drama pent up inside you?"
Rachel feels her phone vibrate and pulls it out of her pocket.
Are you still alive, or has Kurt shopped you to death? Just wondering, kind of hard to invite a dead person to hang out with me when you two are done. –Quinn
Rachel pouts, and shows her phone to Kurt. "She's going to kill me with adorable-ness. I now see her master plan."
Kurt texts Quinn back on Rachel's phone.
(This is so obviously not the little whiner you texted.) Hey blondie. I am offended that you would suggest I could kill her with shopping. I am sorry to say that I am stealing her for a while longer. I am determined to find her party clothes. You two will have plenty of time together tomorrow. 3Kurt
Quinn blushes slightly when she reads Kurt's words. She should never have told him that she was worried she might like Rachel.
We have a song to work on, just make sure she doesn't slip into a shopping coma. –Quinn
Kurt smiles a little to himself and hands Rachel her phone back. She reads through the texts and her expression changes to something close to horrified.
"What do you mean, 'party clothes'?"
She gets no verbal response, only laughter.
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Rachel wakes up at eight thirty the next morning. She is instantly alert, and grabs her phone before she even gets out of bed, hoping for a text from Quinn.
I just realized something. –Kurt
Rachel feels bad, but she's let down that there's a message from Kurt and not Quinn.
What did you just realize? –Rachel
As she waits for a text from Kurt, Rachel gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
If Quinn is your ride to the party, she will see your party clothes before the party. My shock factor will be lost. I cannot have that happen. –Kurt
Rachel never realized how hard it was to pout with a toothbrush hanging from her mouth.
I was looking forward to her driving me. =( -Rachel
I promise, when she sees you in those clothes at the party, her reaction will be worth more than the car ride. I'll work this out, I'm driving you to Puck's. See you at eight, m'dear. –Kurt
Rachel is disappointed, but she knows that Kurt is right. She's not sure how he did it, but the clothes he found her for the party were…perfect. They weren't over the top "Gaga-licious", but still managed to make her look…good. Even she was surprised, she'd never really thought she looked hot before she'd worn that outfit in the dressing room.
Kurt had made her promise to stow the clothes away in the back of her closet, he didn't want to 'ruin the moment' at the party. He seemed so confident that Quinn would jump Rachel's bones the second they saw each other. Strange.
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Quinn doesn't realize that it's only eleven in the morning until she's already knocked on Rachel's door. When Rachel answers the door, she becomes painfully aware of her hair messily pulled back, and the dish towel and gloves thrown over her shoulder.
Quinn laughs at the mix of horror and surprise on Rachel's face. "Uh…sorry, did I interrupt the dishes?"
Rachel opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. She just nods, and gestures for Quinn to come inside. Quinn follows her into the kitchen, and moves a chair from the table closer to the sink, where Rachel resumes her work.
"So." Quinn is surprised to hear Rachel speak finally. Rachel continues after a short pause. "Have you been thinking about what our song should be?"
Quinn nods. "I've been thinking about it all week. I just can't figure anything out. There are all sorts of awesome female duets, but none that feel good enough. I keep trying to think out of the box, but I've gotten nowhere so far."
"That's about what I've got too. Well, we've got time, right?" Quinn hears the slight panic in Rachel's voice, and is up and hugging her before she registers her movements.
Rachel's body tenses for a moment, before she pulls the dish washing gloves off behind Quinn's back, tosses them into the sink, and hugs Quinn tightly. The girls hold on for what feels like an eternity, but is really not even a full minute.
They step back in nearly the same moment, both girls blushing slightly. Rachel looks at the dishes, then back to Quinn. "You want to watch a movie?"
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It's nearly four thirty in the afternoon, and the girls have finished two movies and been dominating at Rockband, when Quinn gets a text from Kurt.
Meet me before the party, I wanna talk to you about Rachel. –Kurt
I'm supposed to be taking her to the party. –Quinn
I'll take care of that. My house, seven tonight. –Kurt
Quinn sighs, and Rachel asks what's wrong. "Kurt wants to talk to me about something before the party, so it looks like we can't go together."
Quinn is surprised when Rachel doesn't object, just nods. Rachel messes with the remote, and the TV changes from the video game back to the DVD screen. "Another movie?"
Quinn hears the slight sadness in Rachel's voice, and takes a seat on the couch practically on top of the smaller girl. "As long as it's not another musical."
Rachel grins mischievously, and grabs a movie from the rack beside the TV, not letting Quinn see what the case says. When Rachel settles back onto the couch, Quinn notices that she's leaning against her slightly.
When the title screen comes up, Quinn groans. "Rachel! I hate zombie movies!"
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A zombie lunges in the direction of the camera, and Quinn squeaks loudly from her position, curled up against Rachel with her head hidden in her neck, peeking out every so often to see what's happening.
"Quinn, you cannot honestly be that scared of zombies. They're so fake!" Rachel says for what feels like the millionth time. Quinn smacks her leg, and Rachel does not fail to notice that Quinn leaves her hand resting on Rachel's thigh.
Neither girl pays much more attention to the rest of the film, but they don't notice that the other has stopped watching as well. The movie ends, and Quinn relaxes slightly, but doesn't move. Rachel turns her head slowly, and Quinn tilts her head back to match Rachel's gaze.
Rachel speaks in a whisper, even though there's no other noise in the house. "Quinn…" and then Quinn's phone begins to ring.
Rachel isn't sure, but she's quite sure that she hears Quinn mutter a quiet curse word before scooting away from Rachel a little to answer her phone.
"What, Kurt."
Rachel sees Quinn roll her eyes, and tries to stifle a giggle.
"Yes, I'm on my way. I left Rachel's like five minutes ago."
Rachel smiles, and follows Quinn as the blonde girl gestures her to the door. She listens as Quinn assures Kurt that she's halfway to his house, and hugs Quinn goodbye. She holds on tightly, and feels Quinn's arm that isn't occupied with the phone call wrap tightly around her waist and squeeze. Quinn steps back, mouths "see you later", and is out the door. Rachel watches her hang up her phone, and waves as Quinn drives away.
It's not until later that Rachel realizes that they didn't work on their duet at all.
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When Kurt knocks on Rachel's door an hour or so later, she still isn't dressed for the party.
"Rachel! Go put the clothes on. We can't afford to be too fashionably late, Quinn is going to be there in an hour."
Rachel grumbles and runs upstairs, staring at the outfit she'd lay out on her bed. In the store it had looked perfect, but now it was daunting. Could she pull it off? It's only a shirt and skirt, but it felt different. The neckline was lower, the skirt shorter than most she wore. She takes a deep breath and dresses quickly, before she could talk herself out of it again.
Her hair and make-up are quickly taken care of, with only a few suggestions from Kurt. They're out the door in only fifteen minutes.
When they pull up in front of Puck's house, Rachel doesn't move. Kurt rolls his eyes, and opens her door for her, practically dragging her out of the vehicle. "Rachel. She's not even here yet, it will be fine. I promise you. You look fantastic."
When Kurt ushers Rachel through the doors, she is met with a chorus of loud cheering. The members of glee club are all sitting together in the living room, somewhat away from the rest of the party. After they all say hello to Rachel, they break off and begin mingling. They just wanted to witness the miracle first hand.
Puck finds Rachel standing awkwardly near Mercedes and Kurt, who are dancing in ways Rachel had not even seen before. The mohawked teen gestures for Rachel to follow him into the kitchen, where alcohol and snack food are stacked on the counters and table top.
"Are you okay, Berry?" Puck looks genuinely concerned, and Rachel fakes a small smile to reassure hiim.
"Oh come on, just spill, you're obviously nervous about something." Damn, when did Noah Puckerman become so perceptive?
She sighs. "I'm just nervous about…talking to someone, tonight."
Puck smiles. "Quinn?"
Rachel's eyes widen, and she begins to breathe heavily. How does everyone seem to know?
Puck sees her begin to panic and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Dude, calm down. It's cool. Here." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small baggie. "These are some of my moms anxiety pills. They help her calm down when she's freakin out. My friend was supposed to buy them off me, but I guess he won't notice if one is missing."
Rachel shakes her head. "Not even, Puck. There is no way. Not after that disaster with the Vitamin D in Glee."
Puck stares her down. "Disaster? From what I remember, the performances were awesome. Besides, these won't make you crazy, they'll just help you chill." Puck walks over to a cupboard, pulls out a glass, fills it with water, and sets it on the counter beside a small pill. He looks at Rachel pointedly, and walks out of the kitchen.
Kurt walks in just as Rachel is downing the pill with a gulp of water. "Where'd you get that?"
"Noah."
Kurt hurries after Puck, and grabs his shoulder. "What'd you give Rachel?"
Puck pulls the baggie out of his pocket to show Kurt, but this time another one falls out with it. He picks it up and stares at both of them for a moment. "Oh shit."
Kurt begins to worry. "Puck. What'd you give her?"
Puck looks at Kurt with wide eyes. "I meant to give her an anxiety pill, so she'd be cool!"
Kurt doesn't miss the panicked look on the taller boy's face. "Meant to?"
Puck starts shaking his head. "I must have switched them. I really thought I….oh shit."
"Puck! What. Did. You. Give. Rachel." Kurt tries to make his voice sound as frightening as possible.
Puck leans in and whispers in Kurt's ear.
Kurt turns around with wide eyes as he hears the door open. He watches Quinn walk in the door and wave to him, as he whispers the word back to Puck for confirmation. "Ecstasy?"
Puck has noticed Quinn come in too. This time, Kurt and Puck say it in unison.
"Oh shit."