A/N: I don't think this chapter really has much of a point, but I had fun writing it! I hope you enjoy :)
"I have a huge favour to ask," Tina blurted out at lunchtime, slamming her tray onto the table she and Rachel usually shared before collapsing onto her seat. The pair had become incredibly close these past few weeks, and it was rare for them to be separated outside of lesson time during the school hours.
"Okay," Rachel replied, carefully setting down her food and staring expectantly at her friend.
"You know Petersons do midnight bowling on a Friday for school kids? Well, Mike and I want to go this week, but my parents have said there's no way I can go alone with him. They seem to think we'll be doing more than just bowling. So I was wondering if maybe you and Thad wanted to join us as well?" Tina questioned.
"That sounds like it would be fun!" Rachel enthused, retrieving her cell from her bag so she could text Thad the idea. "I'm sure Thad would love to go."
"Maybe I should invite Kurt and Mercedes too," Tina mused, "my parents would probably feel a lot happier if they knew a group of us was going."
"Well, if you do," Rachel replied, picking up her lunch once more, "you should invite Blaine and Sam along as well."
"Sam?" Tina questioned, confused. Rachel quickly swallowed the bite she was chewing, and glanced over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't anywhere near the pair.
"You must have seen the way he looks at her!" Rachel exclaimed, "it's quite adorable." Rachel's cell buzzed, and she quickly opened up the message, smiling when she saw it was from Thad.
"Thad says he's already excited to go," Rachel informed Tina, before throwing her cell bag into her school bag. The pair continued eating in a comfortable silence, observing their peers.
"So how did everything go with Thad after Regionals? We haven't really had time to catch up about it." Tina pushed her tray away from her, grabbing Rachel's rubbish and dumping it atop the empty plastic.
"It was fine. I kind of expected it to be a little awkward, but it wasn't. It was like we'd never argued, which was nice. He kept apologising to me too, even though I told him he had nothing to be sorry about, and that I was in the wrong just as much as he was. I think he wanted us to have a little time alone too, but his sisters put a stop to that straight away." Rachel blushed as Tina started giggling. "I don't mean that kind of alone time!"
"Whatever." Tina replied, still giggling at Rachel. "I bet you wouldn't have said no to it though." Tina's giggling turned into full-on cackling as Rachel blushed even brighter than a tomato.
Friday night soon came around, and Rachel found herself in the middle of a heated bowling battle. Mercedes had decided on calling the two groups Divas and Dorks, the former because of their love of performing, and the latter for their love of comic books. It was odd seeing Blaine out of his Dalton uniform, but thought that he fitted in well with the Dorks, thanks to the cute little bowtie he was wearing. Rachel was having more fun than she expected to, laughing at herself as she got yet another gutter ball.
"You really do suck at bowling," Kurt sighed as Rachel plopped down onto the seat next to him.
"I know," Rachel shrugged, "but you can't be good at everything." Cheers echoed around them as Sam got yet another strike for the Dorks, sealing their victory.
"Remind me to never invite Sam bowling again," Tina joked as they handed over their shoes.
"I didn't think he'd be that good," Rachel commented.
"Or that we'd be that bad," Mercedes replied. "I mean, bowling isn't even that difficult."
"Perhaps our skills just lay in other areas," Kurt mused, glad to be rid of the unfashionable bowling shoes.
"Milkshakes for the winner!" Blaine and Thad chorused, dragging Sam out of the bowling alley, with Mike following closely behind. The Divas watched as the Dorks piled into Blaine's car and drove out of the parking lot a whole lot faster than they probably should have. Shaking their heads, they hurried out of the bowling alley towards Rachel's car, hoping that they had headed for the McDonalds drive-thru that was close by. Rachel left the parking lot at a far more sensible speed than Blaine. The four found themselves singing along to the mix cd Rachel had on in her car at the top of their voices as they drove the empty Lima streets.
"Did Thad make that cd for you?" Kurt questioned as Rachel turned into the parking lot. As the four had suspected, Blaine's car sat there, in what had to be the only area of the parking lot without any lighting.
"Yeah, he refused to listen to any more songs from musicals. He just doesn't know what he's missing," Rachel replied, pulling into a space next to Blaine's car. There appeared to be little to no movement coming from their car. Confused, the four decided to investigate the matter further, although none of them were particularly thrilled at the idea of leaving the safety of Rachel's car. Mercedes and Kurt clutched hands as they advanced towards Blaine's vehicle, with Tina close to them. Rachel was a little braver, although she couldn't ignore the shivers of fear running up and down her spine, and crept out by herself, her hand reaching out to open the door closest to her. Just as she touched the cool metal, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground, shaking with laughter as she screamed and thrashed around. She was quickly dropped onto the ground, a lot closer to her car than before, and a pair of warm lips grazed against her ear.
"Didn't you daddies tell you it's dangerous to head towards an abandoned car in the dark?" Thad whispered, reaching around to kiss Rachel on the cheek.
"You are such an ass!" Rachel replied, thumping Thad on the chest. Her pouting soon gave way to laughter, especially when she looked and saw her friends' amused faces staring back at her.
Kurt grinned as he watched his friend laugh at herself. If this had happened to her a year ago, she would never have reacted in this way. She'd have probably cried, or made a huge fuss out of the matter. The Rachel in front of him was a brand new Rachel, and that was in part, thanks to Thad.
"Come on, lovebirds. We need to start heading back," Blaine commented, glancing at the time on his cell.
"Yeah, my parents will no doubt we waiting up for me right now," Tina commented. The group quickly bid their goodbyes to one another and piled into Blaine and Rachel's cars, with Thad nearly knocking himself out on an open car door so he could open Rachel's door for her. The journey in Rachel's car was filled with enthusiastic comments over Thad and Mike's bowling skills, obviously made by the boys themselves. Soon enough, Thad and Rachel found themselves alone in her car. Thad started shuffling nervously, and started bouncing his right knee up and down, something he only did when he was anxious.
"It's going to be fine, Thad. My dads are fine with you staying over, so long as you stay in the guest bedroom for an appropriate amount of time," Rachel remarked, slowly pulling into her drive. The lights were all off in her house, bar the porch light, indicating her dads had gone to bed, obviously trusting the teens to comply with their wishes.
"This is a big deal though. I mean, I've never stayed round my girlfriend's house before. I know we're not actually going to do anything but, still. This is a big deal," Thad repeated, his voice hushed as they entered Rachel's house. Rachel smiled and led Thad up the stairs. They stood outside Thad's room for the night, Rachel pushing up on her tiptoes to kiss Thad goodnight properly. He lost nearly all self-control when she pushed her body against his, and his mind began to wander with thoughts about everything he would do to Rachel if he could at this very moment. Just as their kiss was getting really heated up, and Thad was close to picking Rachel up and carrying her over to his bed so they could continue this a little further, Rachel pulled away from him, a flirtatious smile on her lips.
"Goodnight Thad," she whispered, quickly retreating into her room. Thad opened his door and collapsed onto his bed, groaning into his pillow. Rachel Berry would be the death of him.
