Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Glee or any of the lyrics.

Sorry it's taken so long to update guys, it's been a really busy week and I got kind of blocked on this. But I'm back with a super long chapter and I hope you enjoy! Oh, and thanks so much for all the favs/reviews/follows on this story, it means so much!

"You stood there in front of me just close enough to touch, close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of"

-from 'Sparks Fly'

Rachel hopped out of the compact car, adjusting her clothes as Santana cut the engine and climbed out. She made a beeline for the house, more than ready to start her first night out.

"Hold up Hobbit, we need to lay some ground rules before we go in."

"Ugh, rules? There aren't supposed to be any rules, I thought tonight was about letting loose and having fun? I vote no rules!" she protested loudly, raising her hand in the air to symbolize her vote.

"Well too bad your vote doesn't count for shit, you're gonna follow the rules or we're taking you back to the dorm and dropping you off, got it?" Rachel nodded sullenly as Santana started to count them off on her fingers. It was already hard enough to concentrate on what she was saying, the loud music pounding out from the house wasn't helping. She just wanted to get in there already.

"I don't care if you feel like your feet are gonna fall off, under no circumstances do you take off your shoes. Don't stray too far from us, and if you do let us know where you're going. You go home with Nobody unless you clear it with me first, and Do Not take a drink from anybody besides the bartender. Understood?"

Rachel nodded along, hiding her eye roll from Santana as she pushed through her two friends to the front door. "Crystal clear, now, shall we?" she asked, holding out an arm for each of them. The girls hooked on to her, and she cheered loudly as they made their way into the house.

Rachel lost track of how long they had been at the party, as well as one of her earrings. Neither really mattered though, she was having the time of her life. As soon as they had approached the makeshift bar, Brittany and Santana had told the guy that it was their anniversary and they were celebrating. After making out in front of him for about two minutes he quickly decided that the three of them could have free drinks all night. She'd been steadily throwing back the burning punch, that didn't really burn anymore, ever since.

Rachel laid on the counter she had been occupying for the last little while, her shirt riding up to just below her breasts as the stranger took a shot from her belly button. She laughed as the scruff on his jaw tickled her skin, before she sat up to give him a high five. The next person came, laying her back and placing the shot glass right on the hollow of her throat. She tried her best to keep still so that it wouldn't make a mess, making her body rigid as the sandy haired boy slid his chin up her sternum, letting his lips drag up her skin to the glass, tipping it towards him and taking the shot. Finally when it was over she burst out into more laughter, she felt like a human bar, and it was beyond exhilarating.

Once her stomach felt much stickier than she was comfortable with, she rose up to swing herself off the counter. Almost as soon as she was on her feet a pretty blonde climbed into her place. Rachel shrugged, she could always come back later, right now she wanted to go to the restroom and rinse off.

She made her way through the room, keeping her eyes open for Brittany and Santana,she had gotten away from them long ago. She knew they would be pissed when they finally reunited, but she wouldn't think about that right now. It wasn't really her fault that the place was so crowded, when the nice guy with the tongue ring had pulled her in to dance, she had no idea when she looked back that she wouldn't be able to find her friends. She had been on her own ever since.

Suddenly hands came around Rachel's waist as she walked along the edge of the dance floor. She turned her head to find a nice looking, dark haired guy standing to her side. He smiled as he pulled her back to where he was leaned against the wall, and started to dance. On autopilot, Rachel started to move with him, ignoring her earlier need to clean off as the man rolled his hips into her backside. She swayed and ground back, her hands on hips thighs to keep herself steady. She wasn't really sure why, all she knew was that it made her feel sexy, and good when she danced, so she kept going.

"I'm Brody" he said loudly, leaning in towards her ear. "What's your name?"

"Rachel."

"You're the hottest thing I've seen all night Rachel, and one of the best dancers. Do you know how to twerk?"

She scrunched her face in confusion as she processed his question. She'd had one too many inappropriate favors asked of her tonight already.

"Is that some sort of sexual act?"

"No, it's dance."

Oh. She wasn't sure if what she had been doing all night had any type of name, and all that Santana had gone over with her was the 'wiggle and drop' as she liked to call it.

"I don't know, but I can do this." She arched her back and shook her hips, then slid her way down his front, keeping her hands on his thighs behind her to ensure that she wouldn't fall. The lower she stooped, the more sure she was that there was something back there poking into her.

"That's sexy, let's try this now" he said, placing his hand on the back of her neck and pushing her forward, bending her over. He rolled his hips into hers again slower, before thrusting them against her, practically screwing her on the dance floor. Rachel started to raise herself, a little uncomfortable with the position as Brody's hands ascended, crawling the way up the leg of her shorts.

"I need to pee!" she declared, stumbling forward and away from him.

"I'll go with you, show you where the bathroom is." Rachel looked down at the bulge in his pants, then back up to the mischievous glint in his eyes. She took another step back, stumbling into another woman, her hair pulled down into two cute pigtails. She looked like Dorothy from Oz, Rachel immediately liked her and gripped her elbow.

"Do you know where the bathroom is?"

"Yeah, do you need help finding it?" she asked as Rachel attached herself to Dorothy's side.

"Yes please. I don't trust him" she whispered much louder than intended.

The girl shot Brody a dirty look, then tugged Rachel away, leading her through the crowd. "Thank you for helping me, you're very kind Dorothy."

"No problem" the girl laughed. "I'll see you around."

Rachel stumbled forward, exhaling loudly as she finally relieved her screaming kidneys. She headed over to the sink to was her hands, completely forgetting to wash the leftover shot residue from her body as she dried them. She held onto the sides of the sink, "I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk, I'm not drunk" she chanted, swaying from side to side involuntarily as she stared at herself in the mirror. Finally, when she had just about convinced herself that she was ready to go, she opened the doors and made her way back into the party.

She continued her search for Santana and Brittany, stumbling around until she spotted Santana standing around a table with a group of people.

"Tana!" she cried, walking over to lean on her long lost friend. "I found you!"

"It's about time you showed up" she said, tossing the small white ball into a cup at the other end. "I was afraid you'd been kidnapped or something."

"Nope, safe and sound" she hiccuped, giggling at herself.

"Drink up boys" Santana called to the men at the other end of the table, smirking at them. "Have you ever played beer pong? I don't even know why I asked you that, of course you haven't. Do you wanna try?"

Rachel nodded eagerly as she took the small ball, attempting to absorb Santana's instructions as best she could. She cupped the ball in her hand and tossed it into the air, watching it arc and fall into a potted plant off in the corner. Crap. Finn was right, her aim sucked.

"Drink Berry" Santana said as the boys around the table started to cheer. She looked down at the cups, the cups that she was sure were probably filled to the rim with germs; open containers, tossing balls and all. She couldn't help but think that if Finn were here, he wouldn't ever miss and have to drink. Then again if Finn were here he'd probably be wrapped around some floozie like the couple in the far corner across from the beer pong set up.

"Do I have to?"

"It's the rules, toss it back."

Rachel lifted the cup, looking down at the murky liquid with disgust. She pinched her nose shut, praying that this might be a fairly sanitary cup as she brought it to her lips and chugged. She nearly gagged at the taste, it was by far the most disgusting alcohol she'd tasted so far. Shuddering, she walked over and dropped the cup in the nearby trashcan. Her stomach was starting to churn as the leftover taste settled in her mouth.

"You gonna go again?" Santana called over to her, lifting a beer to her own mouth.

"God no" she answered, not willing to miss and suffer through that again. "Where's Brittany?"

Following Santana's finger, Rachel turned, immediately spotting her blonde friend dancing atop a table in the middle of the crowded dance floor. Waving goodbye to Tana, Rachel tripped out to where Brittany was. She had both feet planted on the table top, controlling the attention of everyone around her as she danced. It looked amazing up there, and Rachel wanted to feel it too.

She walked over to the nearest empty table, climbing on top of it with only the slightest bit of trouble. As soon as she was standing mostly steady she started to sway, letting the beat guide her movements. She closed her eyes as she rocked her hips to the music, running her hands up her sides and through her hair, piling it on top of her head. She laughed out loud as the beat started to pick up, the adrenaline (and alcohol) rushing through her veins as she lost herself in the feeling. Rachel bounced on her toes, pulsing to the music wildly, until her stomach started to churn.

She paused her movements, opening her eyes as she knelt down on the table. Not a good idea, as soon as she re-opened them the room started to spin, her vision falling out of focus as the headache started to grow. She crawled down from the table, blindly walking over to the nearest couch to rest. Most of the couch was occupied, so she plopped herself between two decent looking men looking at them apologetically. Or well she though apologetically anyway, it might have very well just come off as sick. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Fine by me sugar" the boy to her right slurred, looking down at her. "Hey, I know you. You were giving body shots earlier. You taste really good" he finished, grinning wolfishly as he leaned closer to her.

"Thank you, it's always nice to meet a fan" she giggled, leaning her head over against his shoulder to rest.

"Has anyone told you how hot you look tonight baby?"

"Actually yes" she grinned, flipping her now sweat-matted hair over her shoulder. "It's very flattering, I don't mind if you want to tell me again."

"You're funny. What would you say about getting out of here? My boy's about to take some of us home, you're welcome to come with if you want...I can show you how hot I think you are."

"I'm not allowed to go home with anyone, but it's very kind of you to offer" she said, removing her head from his shoulder, and patting his knee. "But I'm not the kind of girl to follow home random guys anyway, Finn warned me earlier not to come home pregnant."

"You know Finn? Finn Hudson?"

"Yep, he's my boy" she said proudly, a smug grin crossing her face as she pictured her handsome friend in her mind. She kind of wished he was here, even if it did mean he would be out on the dance floor with some gorgeous girl then taking her home, much like this guy was trying to do with her. Her line of thought was halted as her line of sight was suddenly obstructed.

"Guess who" a deep voice said into her ear, their warm breath tickling the shell of it.

She whipped her head around from side to side, trying to see who had her. She pried at the large hand over her eyes, ignoring the way the quick motions were making her head pound. The voice released a deep chuckle as they finally lowered their hand. She turned around in her seat, eager to confront her attacker to come face to face with Finn's wide smile.

"Finn!" she smiled, standing up on her knees to look at him. He really was just too beautiful, it wasn't fair to the rest of the world. His smooth skin, the dimples in his cheeks, his untamed hair that she always just really wanted to touch. In her drunken haze, she leaned up to do just that, reaching her hand up to his hair, stroking her fingers through the strands. His face was a mask of amused confusion as she touched his hair, but he didn't move away.

"Looks like you've been having fun" he commented.

Rachel nodded excitedly, the motion making the pounding in her head even worse as her stomach started to churn. Her face fell as she looked at him. "I don't feel so good."

She closed her eyes and somehow sprouted wings, because all of a sudden she was flying. She was perfectly weightless, gliding through the air. Crisp air hit her face soon, and she no longer smelled alcohol and sweat and smoke. Though it felt wonderful, it wasn't enough to prevent what was bound to happen next. She only hoped that her vomit didn't fall from the sky into someone's face or something, that would be humiliating.

She felt herself come down, resting on her knees when the alcohol made its return. Her hair was lifted back out of her face and clear of the sick as she leaned over, emptying the contents of her stomach. When she was finally done she finally opened her eyes, finding Finn kneeling by her side, holding her hair for her. She refused to look down in front of her at the soiled bush, knowing that it would only make her sick again.

"Thank you" she said weakly, wiping off her mouth with the back of her hand. Too weak to stand up at the moment, she plopped down onto her bottom, leaning back against the side of the house.

"No problem" he answered, sitting himself down beside her.

"You don't have to stay out here with me, you can go back inside and enjoy the party Finn, I'll be okay."

"I'm not actually here for the party. Some of the Brothers needed a DD and they called us, we're just here to pick them up and get them home."

"We?"

"Yeah, Puck's inside."

"I didn't see him?"

"He didn't really get past the blonde with the see through shirt when we walked in. He might not come out for a while" he chuckled.

"Sounds like Puck. Shouldn't you be in there doing the same thing?"

"Nah, I'm cool out here with you. It's like a mad house in there, I got my ass pinched like three times when I walked in there. Women" he said, shaking his head.

"You don't know, it could have been a guy too." Rachel burst out laughing at the look on his face. The laugh didn't last long though, as the nausea returned. She flipped onto her knees, feeling Finn holding her hair again as she emptied into the bush yet again.

"Maybe we should get you home Rach."

"I don't think Tana and Brittany are ready to go yet" she sighed, leaning her head against the wall of the house again, the cool feeling of the brick soothing her overheated skin.

"Don't move okay, I'll be right back."

Rachel nodded at his words, closing her eyes. It didn't seem like she had been alone long, but soon she felt herself being lifted up. "It's Finn, don't freak out" he told her. "I'm going to take you home, okay? I already told your friends, so you're clear."

"Puck?"

"He's going to keep an eye on the guys until I drop you off and come back for them." He wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her down the path to his truck. Once they reached it, he opened the door for her. "I know you have trouble with this, and I don't need any of your puke in my car so I'm going to help you" he said, bending down to lift her up and into the car. He sat her down gently, wrapping the seat belt around her torso and clicking it in place. Finn walked over to his side, scooting in and cranking up the car before he drove off into the night.

"Rachel, Rach we're here."

She tried to ignore the voice in her head as she lay curled up in her seat. "Go away, I'm asleep." She heard the sound of a door opening and hoped that he had just left her to be at peace. No such luck. She felt chilly air hitting her face and arms as the door beside her opened up. "Finn stop, I'm cold" she pouted.

"Then come here, it's warm over here."

She held out her arms, allowing him to lift her out of the truck. He closed the door with his free hand, holding her to him with the other as he made his way toward the front lobby. Before they made it to the door, Finn placed her down on her feet, grabbing her shoulders to make her look at him.

"Rach, do you guys have a security guard at night?" She nodded.

"I thought so. I need you to act as sober as possible alright or the guards gonna ask questions and you might get into trouble. Breathe, I'll be right beside you."

She straightened up, taking a deep breath. Rachel reached out, hooking her elbow into his to steady her walking and ensure that she wouldn't fall as she keyed in the code to get inside. She pasted a smile on her face as they walked in, clinging to him as they made their way past the guard. He was watching something on a small television screen, barely paying them any attention as they got on the elevator to go up to her room.

She released Finn's elbow when they got inside, quickly latching onto it again when the disconcerting feeling the elevator brought made her head ache. "Yeah, maybe we should have taken the stairs" he said softly. They stepped out, Finn following behind her as she made her way to her door. She unlocked it and walked ahead inside, laying herself down on the rug next to her bed.

Finn raised an eyebrow but reached over, grabbing a pillow and the small throw from the foot of the bed to hand to her.

"You're being super nice to me all of a sudden" she said, placing the pillow under her head. "Is it because I look like a hot girl tonight?"

"You obviously haven't seen yourself very recently" he responded, walking in the direction of her bathroom. "You look like a raccoon."

She growled lowly as he disappeared into her bathroom chuckling. She wanted to argue, but after all of the sweating and the throwing up, she couldn't help but think maybe he was right. Jerk.

He returned with one of her pink tumbler cups. "Here" he said, handing her the cup as well as two small white pills. "These will make you feel better, and drink the whole cup of water, you'll need it." She nodded, popping the medicine and taking a large gulp of the water. It felt amazing going down her throat, like balm she thought as she continued to gulp. She sighed in pleasure as she brought the cup down, realizing that it was nearly empty.

"Damn, somebody was thirsty. Speaking of which, you seemed pretty cozy with Josh back at the party" he said, taking the cup from her. "When I left he told me to tell you he hoped he got to taste you again. Do I even want to know...?"

"He was one of the people that took shots off me" she giggled.

"Shit, body shots? You really did go all out tonight didn't you?"

"Didn't get pregnant though, not even close. You should be proud" she declared, bringing her hands to her still sticky stomach. "I feel gross. I should take a shower" she leaned forward, quickly losing energy and slumping back down. "But I just don't feel like it."

"I could help with that" he suggested, grinning at her. Rachel narrowed her eyes at him, she may be super drunk, and look like one of the slutty girls he was always hooking up with, but she definitely wasn't going to be one of them.

"Excuse me?"

"Relax, I don't mean like that. I don't usually dig on racoons" he teased, turning towards her bathroom yet again. This time he came back with her refilled cup of water, one of her washcloths, and what looked like her pack of makeup removing wipes. He was good. "I'm just going to help you clean off, don't pull your knife out on me" he grinned, setting down the cup of water. "Lean back."

She did as she was told, trusting her friend not to take advantage of her while she enjoyed the pampering. "You should feel honored, I don't typically clean girls up. I'm usually the one who gets them dirty" he said smugly, running the cloth over the skin of her collarbone and neck.

"You should feel honored I'm letting you clean me" she countered.

Finn moved his cloth down to her stomach, cleaning around her bellybutton as she smiled beneath his ministrations. "I never knew you had your belly pierced, that's a cool ring" he commented, digging his cloth in to clean around it.

"Thanks, but it's not actually mine. I borrowed it from Brittany."

"Don't you mean Brittana" he teased, reminding her of her slip earlier in the night, it seemed like ages ago now.

"Shut up. That's their names mixed together, I gave them couple names" she said, defending herself.

"I thought they were together" he said, putting down the cloth and opening the makeup removing cloths.

Rachel nodded, proud of her cover up. She may have a knack for this, so she started putting together the names of all of her friends and the relationships or friendships they had. She'd come up with Britchel, Rantana, Tike, and Finchel before she burst out laughing.

"What is it?"

"Do you know what you and Puck's combined friendship name would be?" Finn shook his head, pausing his wipe over her cheekbone. "Fuck, or 'Fuckinn"

Finn's mouth fell open as he stared at her, before he too barked out a laugh. "You're so weird." He continued to laugh, the deep timbre of his voice and the twinkle in his eyes not allowing her to get angry over the offending comment. This was their relationship; it was funny and dysfunctional and weird from the outside looking in, but it was real, and somehow it worked.

He continued to move the wipe over her face gently, and it felt like he was erasing tons of weight off of her. She felt so much better already just from the little bird bath she was receiving. It was hard to believe that Finn had never done this for anyone before, it felt natural.

"All done, your back to your hot girl status" he assessed, picking up the rag and standing. "That will be thirty dollars, unless you wanna work out another form of payment" he said, throwing her an exaggerated wink and making her burst into giggles.

"I've vomited enough of times tonight Finn, I don't need to do it again" she retorted, sticking out her tongue at him.

He laughed, carrying her cloth and the used wipes to the bathroom. "Do you want to get in bed now?"

Rachel shook her head, turning on her side and cuddling the pillow to her. "I'm fine down here." She may have felt a great deal cleaner, but she was still dirty, and smelled strongly of booze and smoke, there was no way she was getting in that bed until she had taken a proper shower.

Finn shrugged, lifting the throw beside her feet and covering her with it. "Suit yourself. Drink your water before you go to sleep, and make sure to drink plenty of it in the morning, okay?" He took a step back, grabbing the small waste basket out of her corner and bringing it to sit beside her. "Just in case you get sick again."

Rachel nodded, clutching the cup of water in her hands. "Thank you Finn."

"It was no problem Rach, you're kinda my best friend. Don't tell Puck I said that though, you know he gets jealous, he might not be 'Fuckinn' with me anymore. Shit, that didn't come out the way it was supposed to."

She giggled at his perplexed expression. It was odd to see Finn like this, not his usual smooth talking self. It was cute.

"Your secrets safe with me" she said, taking a big gulp from the water.

"Good, cause I love 'Fuckinn." And the normal Finn was back.

Rachel rolled her eyes at him, finishing off the cup of water and sitting it down on the floor. "Pig."

"Call me and let me know how you are in the morning. You're probably going to look and feel like death...so feel free to send pictures."

"Goodnight Finn" Rachel called, snatching one of the fallen stuffed animals from her bed to toss at him.

He dodged her throw easily, sidestepping it and rushing towards her door. "Goodnight Rachel" he said over his shoulder, shooting her his lopsided grin as he walked out the door.

She smiled to herself as she watched him leave, gripping the throw in her hands and burying herself in it. His scent lingered on the fabric and she brought it up to her nose, allowing the clean, manly scent of him drive through the slight fog her brain was still in, lulling her into sleep.

Thanks for reading, update coming soon!

If you haven't already, check out 'The Tether'.