Note from the author:
I am insanely sorry it took me two weeks to write this chapter. I can't really give you any excuses other than a silly little thing called writer's motherfucking block. Sorry about my potty mouth. Every time I sat down to continue writing, I'd get a headache and tell myself I'd do it later. Then, when I actually felt like writing, I would have ZERO ideas. Ughh. I've also been really busy and broke my toe, not that it matters. Oh, and I'm officially addicted to tumblr. Maybe you could add me if you've got one (and are interested in wedding dresses, LOL)? 'Tis called heckheadweddingdresses.
Anyways, I kind of like this chapter, even though it ends rather suddenly. Sorry about that. I do think I'll have the next one up by Sunday though :) Thanks for everyone who's stuck with me throughout this whole mess of a fic. My first multi-chap, in case I didn't mention that. Love you all!
xxx
Rachel awoke feeling a little disoriented. It was dark, but she was relieved to discover that she was, in fact, in her own room; she immediately recognized the cute little chandelier she'd had since moving in, hanging above her bed.
Her first instinct was to think back to the last thing she could remember. "Will," she sighed happily. It wasn't until he responded with a nearly inaudible "Mmm?" that she even realized he had been asleep beside her. Her head shot up as she glanced at the clock on her bedside table.
"Will, wake up. It's after midnight!" He yawned and rubbed his eyes groggily. She couldn't even remember how either of them had ended up in the bed. "Listen to me," she begged, patting his cheek. "It is 12:17, and you are in my room."
He shot up nearly as quickly as she had.
"Wait here while I check to see if my dads are home," she ordered. She pulled on a soft pink robe and tiptoed down the hall to her parents' room, which she found to be empty. She then made her way down the stairs, drawing back the curtain of her living room window. She saw only one car, meaning they were still out. Breathing a sigh of relief, she darted back upstairs.
"The coast is clear," she whispered upon re-entering her room.
"Then why are we whispering?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know, I'm still a little scared," she laughed.
"Can you imagine.."
"Shh," she ordered, putting a finger to his lips. "We got lucky," she continued, picking his clothes up off the floor. "Now, you need to go."
"Ouch." He placed a quick kiss to her forehead after she'd handed him a bundle of his clothing. "You know, I don't think they've ever been later than midnight before. What are the chances?"
She followed him down the stairs towards the front door as he replied by saying, "it's a sign," though apparently a moment too soon; through the curtains they could see the headlights of a car pulling into Rachel's driveway. Both froze on the spot, waiting for the other to make a move.
"Out the back door!" Rachel pushed him down the hall in the direction of her backyard.
"But my shoes-"
"I'll get them, just go!"
Will was practically out the door as Rachel bent over to pick up his shoes, already able to hear the key turning in the lock. She darted towards the house's rear exit which Will had left open behind him, but knew it was too late when she heard a voice from coming the front foyer.
"Rachel, sweetie, we're home! Oh...why are you going outside?"
"Oh, dad, daddy, welcome back!" she squealed, hiding the shoes behind her back. "I was just, um..."
"What are you holding?"
"Oh, these?" she asked, bringing the shoes into sight. "They're Finn's! He was here...studying earlier."
"And he left shoeless?" Her taller father, Jospeh, had an amused expression on his face. The other, however, was eying her suspiciously. She knew she'd have to think more quickly on her feet in order to convince him.
"No, no. He left for a late football practice wearing his...football shoes."
"Cleats," Joseph said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, that's what he called them. I was waiting for you two to get back, and thought they kind of smelled..." she lied, scrunching up her nose. "So I was going to just put them outside." She knew she was talking too fast, but silently hoped they wouldn't think anything of it. She was Rachel Berry, after all, and was proud of her lie. She placed the shoes on the patio, relieved her fathers didn't follow her outside but worried when she didn't see Will.
"Will?" she whispered, though she knew she'd spoken too quietly for him to hear.
She retreated to the house in fear of being caught, though caught doing what she couldn't be sure. "I'm going to go to sleep now, goodnight!" she said cheerfully upon re-entering the house. She kissed both fathers quickly on the cheek, and ran back upstairs, nearly slamming her bedroom door behind her.
Needless to say, she lost sleep that night. Lying in bed, she thought only of Will and how she expected her fathers to react, if and when they found out. Otherwise, she prayed her neighbors wouldn't remark to her fathers in the morning about a shirtless man, lurking outside their home.
xxx
"Good morning!"
"Morning, Sweetheart," Samuel greeted Rachel as she entered the kitchen. "Any plans today?"
"No," she answered, placing a piece of toast in the toaster. "Wait...yes, actually, I do. But not until later. Noah Puckerman is having a party at his house and for some reason he actually invited me. I meant to ask you last night but I...I forgot."
"Is this you asking me now?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
"I figured it would be okay because I've never given you a reason not to trust me." She hated lying to her father; there were reasons he shouldn't trust her, just none he knew about. She really did plan on going to the party, though. It wasn't often she was asked to go anywhere by anyone. "But I suppose this is me asking you. Can I go?"
"Of course, sweetheart. Under one condition."
She resisted the urge to gulp nervously. He usually wasn't this uptight. In fact, both her fathers tended to be extremely playful.
"What is it?"
"I drive you," he stated plainly.
"Oh," was all she said.
"Is that a problem?"
"No, of course not, Daddy. I was going to ask for a ride anyways. I bet that if I were to bring my own car it would get egged or something."
"Okay, Rach. Just let me know when you're ready to leave. I'll pick you up afterward as well."
"It might be a little late," she warned him, honestly not sure what to expect. She wasn't a regular party-goer.
"That's fine. I'll be up late tonight, getting things together for Fiddler. Auditions start in three days. There's just so much to do."
He was acting weird. She didn't even know how to explain it; he just wasn't himself. He didn't have that sparkle in his eye when he talked about the musical he was directing. He was the one who had inspired her to pursue a musical career in the first place.
She flinched when her toast popped up, laughing it off nervously as she placed her hand over her heart.
"Daddy?" she asked.
"Hm?"
"Is something wrong?"
"No, of course not."
"Okay. I'm going to go upstairs now."
She felt him watching her as she left the kitchen.
"Rachel, wait."
She shut her eyes, fearing what he'd say next.
"Yes?" she asked, her back still facing him.
"Your toast."
"Oh, right," she sighed, turning around. She spread the jam in one quick swipe and rushed out of the room.
xxx
When she got back to her room, Rachel decided to call Will. She still wasn't really sure what had happened to him last night and wanted to be sure everything was okay. She dialed the number, barely even looking at the phone. He was practically the only person she called and had long ago memorized his number. He answered with a cautious, "hello?" after a couple rings.
"Hi, Will. It's me. How did everything go last night?"
"Good morning," he said with a smile - one she was able to detect, even over the phone. "I came back to get my shoes but before I could grab them, Sam came out. I almost had a heart attack."
"Daddy?"
"Yeah, I don't know what he was looking for, but he checked every inch of your backyard."
"He was acting weird this morning too," she said. "Do you think he suspects something?"
"Maybe. But there's no way he could actually know, we've been so careful."
It was true. They'd gone to great measures to ensure Rachel's dads never found out. Rachel's number was stored in Will's phone under the name 'Amanda," and his was stored in hers as 'Patrick', just in case anyone decided to be nosy. They didn't have any pictures together, they didn't email, and he'd only really ever met them twice at parent-teacher interviews, both before he'd even started seeing Rachel. He rarely visited her house. Why he had the previous night, neither of the two could remember.
"So...my shoes are still at your place."
Rachel giggled quickly. "You left barefoot and shirtless at 12:30am? It's a wonder no one called the cops."
"Yeah, and of course I had to walk a block to get to my car," he said, though happily.
"I'd apologize," she started, "but last night was kind of fun. Exhilarating."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You need to find out if your dad knows something," he reminded her, re-establishing the serious tone that seemed to dominate most of their conversations lately.
"How?"
"I don't know. Just try to get him to bring it up without confessing anything. It's going to drive you crazy if you don't."
"You know me too well," she sighed.
"I love you."
"You too," she whispered before hanging up and falling backwards onto her bed. She needed a plan.
xxx
On the way to Noah's house, Rachel figured it was the perfect opportunity to commence phase one. She figured she'd try the 'pretend-you're-talking-about-a-friend-while-actually-talking-about-yourself' method to test her father. It always seemed to work in the movies.
"Guess what Finn told me today on the phone?" she asked, seconds after entering the car, not bothering to wait for his answer. "Apparently one of the Cheerios is dating a guy who's like fifteen years older than her."
"Really?"
"Yes. I don't really know what to think about it. What do you think?"
"Why do you ask sweetie?"
"I don't know, I just genuinely want to know your opinion on the matter." At least that part was true.
"Well, in order to tell you that I'd have to know more about the situation."
"Like what?" she hated that he was dragging the conversation on so long. Puck's house was only ten minutes away and she didn't want to have this bothering her the whole night.
"Well, where did she meet him?"
"I think he's her..." Rachel paused as she tried to think of an occupation similar to a teacher. "Her volleyball coach."
"And she's how old?"
"Seventeen," Rachel blurted, thinking of her own age.
"Hm. Well, if they really wanted to be together, they should have waited until she's legal."
"But what if they love each other?"
"How could they possibly know each other well enough to love each other? Besides, any mature adult shouldn't allow himself to get close to his student in that way."
"How long did you know dad before you knew you loved him?" she asked in return. "You know, I thought you would understand. I thought you'd get what it's like to want someone everybody is telling you, you shouldn't want."
"Rachel Berry, this is not a matter of love, this is a matter of what is legal and what is the smart thing to do!" He was shouting now. "And believe me, this town is not friendly toward people who live differently than they do. Do you realize what would happen to him, to BOTH of you, if you were discovered?"
Rachel swore she felt her heart stop.
"You mean they," she choked.
He stopped in front of Noah's house and silently nodded his head.
"You mean they," she repeated.
"No," he said quietly. "I mean you. And Mr. Schuester."
"What are you-"
"I've known since yesterday."
"Have you told da-"
"No," he interrupted, again. "But you will."
"How did you..." she asked, trailing off.
"We'll talk about it when you get home."
"You can't just leave me here like this. I have to know!"
"Rachel, don't worry. I love you, and I trust you, and I'm not angry with you. I'm just a little surprised. It's like... realizing your baby girl is actually a woman. A woman who has made some silly decisions."
Oh shit, she thought, he knows I'm not a virgin.
"Sweet-pea, go enjoy the party. I promise you, everything is okay between us."
He kissed her lightly on the forehead before she stepped out of the car and lifelessly watched him drive away.
xxx