Rachel had barely had time to take off her jacket after getting in from the Lima Bean before her cell phone was blasting out 'Defying Gravity'. Rachel knew from the ringtone that it was Kurt, wanting to know how her outing with Thad went.
"Tell me everything! Spare me no details, Berry!" Rachel grinned at Kurt's demanding tone as she kicked off her shoes and headed for her bedroom.
"There's not really much to tell, Kurt," she stated, collapsing on her comfortable bed.
"Nonsense! Trent's grilling Thad as we speak, I'll know all the details soon enough. Did he pay?" Rachel giggled at her friend, she could easily imagine him pacing around his Dalton common room as he spoke on the phone with her, no doubt Blaine was somewhere close by, watching Kurt adoringly.
"Yes, Kurt, he did. It was a very gentlemanly thing of him to do, although from what I've seen, Thad is nothing but a gentleman!" Rachel tried to restrain herself from gushing as she spoke to Kurt, she did really like Thad.
"Look, between me and Kurt, we will know every single thing that happened on your little coffee jaunt, so don't spare me the details, Hardwood," Thad sighed, trying to ignore Trent as he attempted to drill information out of Thad about the few hours he'd spent with Rachel.
"As much as I'd love to sit and analyse the past three hours with you Trent, I have a French paper to write, thanks to Nick and his obsession with Madame Benoit," the aforementioned Warbler just so happened to be passing Thad and Trent's dorm and overheard the comment, and decided to enter the room as well.
"I am not obsessed with her!" Nick protested. "Anyway, how's Rachel?" He quickly ducked as his fellow Warbler launched a biology textbook at him, and decided to join Trent in pumping information out of Thad.
"I must say, I'm very impressed Rachel. Puckerman shows up and the guy didn't run away," Kurt sang, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of one of his best friends and a fellow Warbler getting together. Someone like Thad would be good for Rachel, he thought, he would halt her overbearing-ness, and her ambition and drive could possibly influence Thad to push himself harder than ever before. From what Kurt had learnt about Thad, he had a bad habit of merely coasting through everything from classes to Warbler practice, even though he was a member of the Warbler council.
"Don't even mention Noah's name to me, Hummel!" Rachel hissed, collapsing onto her bed. "I could've died when he started talking! He even asked Thad if he had a pool at his house! How ridiculous is he?"
"Does he?" Kurt questioned, trying his hardest to ignore Blaine as he danced in front of Kurt.
"No, he doesn't. Thankfully, Thad never asked why Noah wanted to know. How would I have explained that?" Rachel questioned, reminding herself to have a serious word with the boy when she saw him in school the following day. "He used that ridiculous nickname too." Rachel frowned upon hearing her friend's peals of laughter echo from her phone; Kurt was supposed to be sympathising with her!
"Did you know that Rachel was Jewish?" Thad asked, not looking up from where he was furiously scribbling down his French homework. He knew that he wasn't going to get out of Trent's interrogation session, especially now that Nick had decided to join in, so he figured he might as well discuss his outing with Rachel.
"With a nose like hers, I'm not surprised," Trent commented, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Nick and a glare from Thad. "What? I happen to like Rachel Berry's nose. Anyway, how did you find that out? Does she proclaim it to everyone she meets?"
Thad shook his head at his friend's comment, still trying to work on his French. "Her friend turned up. Noah Puckerman. He called her his, and I swear I'm not lying, 'hot little Jewish-American princess'." Thad had barely finished his sentence before Trent and Nick burst into hysterical laughter. Admittedly the nickname was funny; however mortified Rachel may have been by it. Thad allowed himself a small chuckle before returning his focus back onto his homework.
"So," Kurt said, his laughter subsided. "Is there going to be a next time?"
Rachel smiled; she and Thad had already arranged to meet up for another coffee at the end of the week. "Yes, Kurt," she replied. "There is. I really like Thad. There's just something so genuine about him. He's not like Finn, or Noah, or Jesse. He seems to be a true gentleman."
"Dalton trains their boys well," Kurt stated, earning a funny look from Blaine. "Trust me, Rachel; Thad isn't like those idiots that you dated. I know Finn is my stepbrother, but he's seriously one of the biggest imbeciles I think I've ever met. And don't even get me started on those other morons. Thad will be good for you, Rachel, and you will be good for Thad."
"You make this sound like we're in a serious relationship, Kurt," Rachel pointed out. She couldn't stop herself from smiling at the thought of her and Thad getting together though. However, she didn't want to go in with all guns blazing and come out the loser, again.
"Well, it's only a matter of time!" Kurt exclaimed. "Besides, if Trent has anything to do with it, you will be in a serious relationship by the end of the year. He's currently drilling information about your date from Thad, he wants to meet up with me later and compare all that we've found out."
"Kurt!" Rachel shrieked, shooting up into a seated position on her bed. "You cannot tell him anything! I forbid it, Kurt Elizabeth Hummel!"
"So, when are you planning on meeting up with the lovely Ms Berry again?" Trent questioned.
"At the end of the week," Thad muttered, throwing his pen down onto his desk and grinning at his completed assignment.
"At the Lima Bean?"
"At the Lima Bean," Thad confirmed, packing his equipment away.
"You should surprise her," Nick commented. "Take her some flowers or something."
"Do you think?" Thad asked, glancing over at his friend. Both Nick and Trent nodded, before breaking out into an argument over what flowers Thad should take Rachel.
"She likes roses," the three spun towards the door at the sound of Kurt's voice, Trent and Nick silenced at once. "I'd suggest the ones that are both red and yellow; I think those are her favourites. But don't just take her flowers. Do something else too."
"Like what?" Thad asked, noting down the flowers that Kurt had suggested, along with a reminder to order a bunch at the florists before Friday.
"I don't know," Kurt shrugged, entering the room and sitting on Thad's bed. Thad nodded, and the four sat in silence for a little while, until an idea hit Thad. Grinning, he jotted that down too. It wasn't much, but it would be something. Thad looked up at Kurt, who was tapping away on his phone, suddenly reminded of a question that he meant to ask Rachel, but had forgotten to earlier.
"Hey, Kurt, why would Puckerman care if I had a swimming pool at my house?"
