Title: Heaven
Pairings: Faberrittana.
Summary: When they were still children, it used to be Q, R, S and B. But now that they are in high school, they are known as The Unholy Trinity and Rachel Berry. Rachel, feeling abandoned by her best friends, tried to move on with a positive outlook. The Unholy Trinity, fed up with the guilt and the ache of missing Rachel, finally decided to mend their broken friendship with the girl. Separated by their differences, will they be able to get back how they used to be? What if the Unholy Trinity wanted more than just friendship from Rachel?
Disclaimer: Glee is not mine.
Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B
Chapter 7
"Hold up. Let me get this straight, Q," Santana started as she made herself comfortable in Brittany's bed, the tall blonde resting her head on the Latina's lap. They went straight to the taller blonde's house as soon as practice was over to prepare for their audition in Glee the next day. "The plan is to tell Coach that the reason we will join Glee club is that so we can attack from the inside, right?"
Quinn hummed as she distractedly type in Brittany's laptop.
"Right. And we do that by...targeting Rachel? How does that work?"
Quinn sighed and made her way towards the bed, sitting down beside the Latina who was lazily running her hands on Brittany's hair. She looked at her girlfriends who were staring at her expectantly.
"I know it's absurd since we are joining Glee to be close to Rachel. But Coach wouldn't accept that. She won't accept any viable reason for her top Cheerios to join the crowd of misfits. Unless we are set to kill and destroy."
"Why Rachel?"
"I really don't want to hurt her more than we already have, Quinn."
Quinn looked at the pouting Brittany, smiling at how small the girl sounded like. "We're not going to hurt her, baby. Not anymore," she reassured the tall Cheerio and turned her attention back to the frowning Latina. "And everybody knows Rachel is the heart and mind of Glee. She's the one keeping the club alive. Even Coach knows that." She paused to meet each of the girls' eyes. "To Sylvester's ears, it's going to be a plot made in hell. It's heartless and evil. Just the way she likes it."
"It's all hypothetical of course," Quinn added when she saw the frown on Brittany's face.
"Yeah. we get that, Quinn. But how do we do it without actually doing it?"
The Cheerio captain stared at the inquisitive blue eyes and shrugged.
Santana narrowed her eyes. "Sylvester will demand results. She is not the type to wait around for something to happen. She will find out it's all for show. She can be anything but stupid," Santana paused to look straight at the Head Cheerio. "You know that, right?"
Quinn shrugged, "Of course."
Santana waited for the shorter blonde to continue talking, but nothing came. Silence engulfed them until Brittany spoke and realization dawned onto them.
"You don't have a real plan, do you Fabray?"
Quinn grinned sheepishly. "Honestly? No. And all I can think about right now is what are we going to perform for the audition tomorrow. I really want to do this for Rach."
Santana shook her head in disbelief, a small smile playing on her lips. "Sylvester's going to be so pissed about this."
Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B
Rachel sat on her usual spot in the choir room, her hands clasped tightly above her lap as she stared at the door. She tried to act indifferent but deep inside, she was a bundle of nerves. Today was the day that the three cheerleaders were supposed to audition if ever they decided to show. Although she was anticipating that they would come but there's still a part of her that couldn't help but have doubts.
"You okay?"
"Yes, Noah. I'm perfectly fine."
Puck looked at her skeptically, following her line of sight which was the door, then back to her again.
"You think they're coming?"
Rachel glanced at the wall clock and sighed. Mr. Schue was already ten minutes late, and the girls hadn't arrived yet. She looked at her best friend with sad eyes, her shoulders dropping.
The girls never showed.
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Rachel slammed her locker shut with a huff, letting out some of her frustrations at the poor metal door. Glee meeting had just been dismissed and she just spent most of that time pondering on the possible reasons why the cheerleaders ditched the audition—other than the obvious. But then again, they never really gave her any confirmation that they would join. But still...she couldn't help the disappointment she was feeling as of the moment.
As she made her way towards the school parking lot to wait for her dad, she caught sight of the three Cheerios that caused the frown on her face. They were leaning against a blue Chevrolet Imapala which she recognized as Brittany's. She let out a breath through her nose in annoyance.
Not in the mood for a confrontation, she hastened her steps, lowering her head to the ground, hoping that the girls wouldn't-
"Rachel!"
-notice her.
Crap.
She wasn't really in the mood for this. How could she face them? Because, yeah, she felt really stupid and embarrassed because they kind of sorta 'stood her up'. And she would prefer it if everybody involved would just pretend that it didn't happen. At all. It's not like she got her hopes up. At least not that much.
She should have known better. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to persuade them in the past. They were still friends then. What were the chances that they would join now when they wouldn't even look at each other in the eyes? Well, that was the case most of the time.
And she still had little chance of saving face by walking away. So plugging her earphones—although there was no music playing, she continued walking and pretended she didn't hear her name being called. It's not like they would give her any time of the day anyway.
How wrong she was when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Instinctively, she pivoted her body and her eyes landed upon the flawless beauty of Quinn Fabray.
"Q-Quinn!" Rachel squeaked, albeit not surprised at the blonde's presence, she was still left awestricken at the sudden close proximity with the Head Cheerio.
"Hey."
"Quinn," Rachel repeated dumbly, mentally smacking the back of her head. Really? What was that?
"Rachel, listen, about the audition, we're really sorry..."
"Oh! That's perfectly fine, Quinn. There's no need for any apologies. I understand completely if you couldn't make it. I know it's not in the best of your interest to join the club. Who would want to be a part of the school's misfits anyway?"
"Rachel," Quinn called, trying to interrupt the diva's rant.
"It's not like I expected you guys to come," Rachel finished, completely ignoring the blonde. She tried to keep her voice neutral but she knew the last statement had sort of held some kind of resentment. And she almost regretted it when she saw the blonde Cheerio flinch.
Almost.
"Really?"
Rachel was surprised at the small hesitant voice of Quinn Fabray. And was that...hurt?
And as much as she knew Quinn deserved it, she couldn't help but panic. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. That came out the wrong way. What I mean is, I know you have your priorities and I'm sure that whatever that had prevented you from showing today must have been very important."
Quinn offered her a small smile which Rachel automatically returned with her own megawatt smile, relieved to see the blonde's hazel eyes lit up.
Whipped.
Rachel scrunched her face at the thought and shook her head.
"Actually, we were held up by Coach Sylvester. We had an urgent meeting that we couldn't get out of. You know how Coach is. We're really, really sorry."
"Of course. I am aware of your responsibilities as the head of the cheering squad as I am also a leader of my own team, which is the Glee club. I know how hard it is to lead a whole team to victory, especially the one like yours– the Cheerios, being an all time champion, not to mention the expectations, which I'm sure, Coach Sylvester has from you."
Quinn's smile grew wider as she listened to the brunette's ramble, shaking her head in amusement.
"Thanks...I guess. For...being understanding," Quinn hesitated.
Rachel watched as the girl in front of her turned from smiling to...anxious? She observed as the Quinn Fabray shifted from one foot to another, looking at the ground while gnawing on her bottom lip, and playing with the hem of her uniform.
And the diva felt her heart melt when the blonde glanced at her behind her eyelashes, her bottom lip still trapped between her teeth.
"And umm...the girls and I were wondering if your offer still stands?"
"...I'm sorry?" Rachel said in a distracted manner, and inwardly cursed herself for being too absorbed in watching the adorable mess in front of her.
"The audition? We are wondering if it's still open. We actually have a number already prepared but...you know."
Oh.
"Oh! Yes. Of course! Glee club is always open for anyone who is interested to join. We are forever looking for new members anyway. As you know already, we barely get anyone to audition," Rachel said, trying to hide her excitement with the idea that the girls were still willing to audition. And knowing that they already have a number prepared served as a confirmation.
"That's great," Quinn replied, smile returning on her lips. "So...I'll see you in Glee then?"
"Definitely. Thank you for considering."
"Yeah," Quinn nodded as silence engulfed the two girls.
It was Rachel's turn to feel awkward as she looked everywhere but the Head Cheerio standing in front of her. From her peripheral vision, she could see the blonde staring at her in a not so creepy way, but the intensity was making her anxious. She cleared her throat to at least placate the growing awkwardness between them.
Why did it everything always had to be unenviable when any of these girls were involve?
"Well, I better get going now. And from what I can see, you should too. You wouldn't want to keep Santana waiting," Rachel teased, looking across Quinn's shoulder where the other two Cheerios await for their captain.
"Britt can keep her company," Quinn shrugged."But you're right. I should probably get going," she replied as she began to walk backwards. "See you around, Berry."
"Good bye, Quinn," Rachel called out as she watched the blonde turn around and jog to the waiting Cheerios. She saw the tall blonde Cheerio waved at her while the Latina gave her a small nod. She hesitantly waved back with a smile before making her way on her usual waiting spot.
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"Everything went well with Rachel?" Brittany asked as the three of them settled themselves in their usual spots in the car.
"It did. She was pretty upset at first though. We should have informed her in advance."
"Yeah. If only we weren't so busy convincing the She-Demon before she could cut our fucking heads off," Santana scoffed.
"It worked in the end, didn't it?"
Brittany sighed as she concentrated on the road, her brows knitting together. "I don't know about this, Quinn. I'm not that confident with this plan-"
"Or the lack of," Santana mumbled. Quinn rolled her eyes.
"-It could backfire. And I mean it in a very disturbing way. My spidey senses are actually tingling with just the thought of it."
"So is my psychic Mexican third eye."
Quinn groaned and for the nth time, rolled her eyes, "I know that. And I'm sorry if I'm only good at plotting diabolical plans since that's all we've been doing since high school started. And my skills are somewhat limited to messing with people's lives and making them miserable. So really, I'm sorry if I haven't gotten a clue on how to get a friend back who we have tormented for almost two years."
The two girls sitting at the front shared a look. Santana turned her head over the backseat to look at the distraught blonde.
"Hey Q, baby, it's alright," the Latina said in a soothing manner. "We'll think of something, okay? We'll get through this."
"We're all in this together, Quinn. We all made the same mistakes. Don't take all the blame on you," Brittany comforted, her eyes shifting from the road to the rearview mirror.
Quinn took a deep breath and nodded silently. She leaned her forehead on the window and stared outside, deep in thought. She couldn't help but feel like it was all her fault. Inside their circle of three, they were all equals but outside, in the eyes of the student body, she was still the Head Bitch In Charge.
She could have stopped it with just a snap of her fingers. She had the power to stop Rachel's suffering. She could have done something. She could have.
And yet, she didn't.
She was a coward. The three of them were. And she knew they were still scared until now. But they just couldn't deny the pull towards Rachel anymore. It had always been there even before they know what having a crush felt like; when they were still too naïve to even know what being attracted to someone was like. It was just there, waiting to be awakened.
And last summer was the last eye opener they needed to pull them out of their little bubble.
It was the time when they found Rachel Berry with a tongue shoved down her throat. They recognized the owner of that tongue as Rachel's co-worker from Lima Bean. Inconveniently enough, the car they were in was just beside Quinn's. She scowled at the memory which turned in to a smirk, remembering how that same girl that they found lip locked with Rachel simply disappeared a month after the incident.
What? They were scheming bitches after all.
Selfish, possessive, scheming, evil bitches.
There was a reason why they were Sue Sylvester's personal favorites.
Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B
The next day, Rachel found herself being dragged by the Mohawk jock right after the last period. Much to her annoyance.
"Where are you taking me, Noah?" Rachel huffed as she let Puck pull her by the wrist. It was obvious that they were going to the direction of the football field. What she couldn't understand was the enthusiasm that the Mohawk boy was emitting. It was a little...leery.
"To the field."
Rachel rolled her eyes. She figured that out already. "Don't you have practice?"
"Nah. Practice was cancelled today. The boys are just hanging out on the bleachers watching the cheerleaders practice," Puck replied, chancing a glance at the diva with his usual smirk and waggling of eyebrows.
Ugh.
Well, that didn't explain why she was being dragged by the football player towards the field. They reached their destination and her eyes automatically moved towards her three favorite cheerleaders. She couldn't control the smile that suddenly appeared on her lips.
They both sat at the bleachers nearest to the panting cheerleaders, opposite to where the other jocks were blatantly staring at the girls with glazed eyes. Rachel scrunched her nose in disgust.
Perverts.
At least she didn't look that perverted.
Right?
"So, let's begin plan 'How to get Rachel Berry a Smokin' Hot Girlfriend?'
"What?" Rachel hissed, staring at Puck incredulously. She must look as horrified as she thought she was because Puck started laughing. She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You think you're being funny, huh?"
"No. You are. Come on, babe. Live a little," Puck encouraged, bumping his shoulder with hers. "So, what do you think of these fine ladies?"
Confusion was written all over the diva's face as Puck motioned towards the group of cheerleaders.
"Noah! If you are seriously considering that those girls will even bat an eyelash at me, then you are definitely insane. Do I need to remind you how much these girls despise me? I refuse to participate in such activity."
Fifteen minutes later…
"What about Monica?"
"Too skinny."
"Devi?"
"She's a red head."
"So?"
"I don't trust them."
Puck scoffed. "How about Emily?"
Rachel glanced her way towards a tall, tanned brunette with plump lips. "Well, she kind of reminds me of Santana."
"And?" Puck asked with hope in his eyes.
"Still no."
"But she's hot!"
"I don't care."
Puck frowned.
"And I am aware that most of these girls you have already slept with. Therefore, I am not interested no matter how 'hot' you say they are."
"But she's really good. If you know what I mean," Puck suggested, waggling his eyebrows.
Rachel turned her head to her companion with disgust. "You're a pig," she deadpanned. "I don't know why I'm friends with you."
Shaking her head, she grabbed her phone when she felt it buzzed in her pocket. She read the message quietly and began punching a reply.
"Santana, Britt, Quinn."
Without lifting her head from her phone, Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"The Unholy Trinity now? Seriously, Noah. We've gone from random girls you hooked up with to them? It only shows how hopeless this is. I mean, they are practically untouchable. I know you've dated Santana for a while but things are different for me. Those three girls scare me to no end. Given that we have some kind of history together. But still. They are very intimidating and they make me feel claustrophobic whenever they are in the same room as I am-"
"Uhh...Rach..." Puck said quietly but the brunette diva ignored him.
"If looks could kill, I would probably be dead by now, buried six feet under, with all the glares they had been giving me since freshmen year. I don't know why you need to mention them in this particular ridiculous activity. Then again, I don't even know why I'm partaking in this," Rachel blurted while angrily punching the keys on her phone, letting out her frustrations on the poor device.
"Huh. You really talk a lot, Berry."
Rachel stopped torturing her phone and froze in her spot.
Quinn?
Slowly, she tilted her head up and winced, recognizing the three girls that she had been rambling about just a minute ago. And by the looks they were giving her, she was certain they heard every word that came out of her mouth.
Shit.
"Uhh...hi?"
Smooth Berry. Really smooth.
She could hear Puck coughed out a laugh. She glared at him and elbowed his rib really hard causing him to whimper.
"Puck, a word with you, please," Quinn stated, without taking her eyes off of the diva who was now shifting awkwardly on her seat.
"Umm..." Puck turned to Rachel, their eyes silently conversing, both aware of the reason the trio was demanding to talk to him. Rachel nodded once. "Okay. Lead the way ladies," he stood up, giving a wink to the diva's direction as if to say 'I got this' before trailing off behind Santana and Quinn.
Rachel glanced at the third member of the trinity, furrowing her brows and tilting her head to the side. "Brittany, aren't you going with them?"
The tall Cheerio simply shook her head and chose to sit beside the confused starlet.
Rachel followed the Cheerio's movement, scooting a little further from the blonde to keep a decent distance between them. She still wasn't that comfortable to be too close with her or any of the trio actually, although they had been in each other's personal space in a few awkward situations.
She did get a month long break from the trio's strange and very confusing behavior and in that given time, it was enough for the awkwardness and tension between her and the girls to return in full blast. Not that it was ever gone at all. It just lessened...well, sort of.
Thus, her rapid beating heart when she felt the tall blonde moved closer to her, completely clearing out the distance that she had just created between them-her senses heightening when she felt the warmth of Brittany's thigh rub against her.
"So..."
"Do we really scare you that much, Rae?"
Rachel was taken aback with the unexpected question. She flapped her mouth open but nothing came out. She stared at Brittany with wide eyes, rummaging her brain for answers, but the jutted bottom lip and the clouded endless pool of blue eyes really caught her off guard.
And she felt the sudden urge to comfort the girl.
"Hey," she called softly. "Don't be like that. How can that adorable pout scare me? Or anyone for that matter?"
Brittany's lips twitched a little, a ghost of a smile forming on her lips. "Well, what about San and Quinn? Do they scare you?"
Rachel started fidgeting on her seat, not really meeting the blonde's eyes. She couldn't lie. She just couldn't.
"Who isn't?" Rachel said without any amount of sarcasm. Just pure honesty. She watched as the smile on Brittany's lips slipped away completely. And she couldn't help but feel guilty about it. "I'm sorry, Britt. I didn't mean it like that. It's just that...you know," Rachel shrugged helplessly. What could she say? How could she explain something that she, herself, didn't understand?
Yes. Santana and Quinn scare her because of their unexplained hostility towards her. Heck. Even Brittany scares her. Just not as much as the other two. She was positive the tall blonde had some hidden mischievousness as well. She just carried it way differently from Santana and Quinn. While the other two was direct and just plain bitchy, Brittany was sneaky and covert. You wouldn't even know what hit you. The three of them were a dangerous combination.
"I know. I understand, Rachie. And...we're working on it, okay? And maybe...Maybe we can talk about it? When the right time comes...I guess," Brittany said, her eyes staring at the empty field as if she was lost in her own world.
Rachel's frown went deeper, not quite understanding what the other girl was talking about. She opened her mouth to ask about it but a blonde boy jogging towards their direction distracted her. She narrowed her eyes on him, annoyed for being interrupted.
"Hey babe."
Rachel scrunched her face at hearing the term of endearment. What's with the jocks calling their girlfriends babe? At least Puck called every being of the opposite sex babe as long as they were within his standards...if he even had one.
"Sam."
The tiny brunette observed the interaction between the two blondes. The lack of enthusiasm from Brittany as she greeted her boyfriend didn't go unnoticed by the diva. The slight irritation that was etched on the blonde Cheerio's face as she stared at her boyfriend surprised her.
"What do you want, Sam? Can't you see I'm talking to Rachel."
Rachel lifted her fist on her lips and looked down in an attempt to cover the wide grin that spread on her face. Ha! Take that blondie!
Sam recoiled at the unusual flat tone on his girlfriend's voice and the frown on her face. "Uhh...Finn and I were about to hit Lima Bean. We were wondering if you guys want to hang out with us?"
Brittany pursed her lips, contemplating the offer. She then turned to the little diva beside her. "Would you like to come with us?"
"Britt, I don't think it's a good idea to-"
The tall blonde turned her head sharply to her boyfriend, eyes narrowing, "Says who?"
The blonde jock shut his lips tightly and stepped back, raising his hands in mock surrender.
"Yeah. Thought so," Brittany returned her attention to the stunned diva and smiled sweetly, "So what do you say, Rach?"
Rachel could only nod dumbly as she stared at the blonde Cheerio, a little freaked out at how the blonde snapped at her boyfriend. The authority and coldness in her voice reminded her of Quinn.
Fuck it. Brittany was way more frightening than Quinn and Santana. She could practically channel the two girls without even trying.
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No matter how confident he was, Puck still found himself being cornered by the two most fearsome cheerleaders in Lima, growling and scowling and just plain angry at him.
"Just tell us who did it so we can get this all over with already, Puckerman. I'm not known for being patient."
"And I told you, Santana. I don't know who did it."
And it was true. He really didn't have any idea about Rachel's opponent that night. He didn't even catch his name.
"Why are you obsessing with this anyway? Rachel's a big girl. She's tough and she can take care of herself. I should know coz she's my girl."
"She is not your girl!" Quinn snapped, pointing a finger on Puck's chest. "She's nobody's girl."
"Not for long!" Puck exclaimed with a glint in his eyes.
The two Cheerios looked at each other with the same confusion written on their faces.
"What are you talking about?" Santana asked.
"You'll see," Puck answered in his trademark smirk and winked playfully.
Quinn and Santana both rolled their eyes.
With a serious tone, Puck continued, "Look, you may not admit it, but I know you're worried about Rachel. But..." He paused to meet the cheerleaders' eyes. "She's going to be just fine. Whatever she's doing, it's her way of...dealing with stuff. I don't approve of it but I respect her decision. And I really hope that you do too," he hesitated for a while before adding his last statement. "Let it go. It's the least you can do."
With that, Puck turned around to go back to the bleachers, taking the silence of the girls as his cue to leave.
"Well, that felt like a slap on the face," Santana said, her face darkening as she stared at his retreating back. She usually had a smart kickass mouth but Puck had hit them too close to home and she was caught off guard. And this wasn't the first time that he did.
Quinn silently agreed. Puck's statement felt like a knife stabbing through their hearts. Good thing Brittany wasn't there to hear it. Damn Puck for knowing more than they do. Damn him for being the better person than the three of them combined.
And yet, they couldn't hate him no matter how much he reminded them of how low they had come to-abandoning their best friend for something that was temporary and as stupid as high school hierarchy.
They had always felt this irrational jealousy of him since they were kids... And now, they knew why that was. He was a free spirit unlike them...just as Rachel was.
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"Why is she here?" Finn scowled at Rachel's direction.
"And are we doing this again, Finn?" Quinn countered, her voice filled with coldness as she glared at her boyfriend.
"But Quinn.." the tall boy whined.
"Shut up."
"Dude, I told you leave Rachel alone if you don't want a replay of what happened last month."
"I would if she would just get her tranny self out of my face!"
A lot of things happened at once. Rachel got a hold of Puck who was grabbing Finn's jacket, about to give the tall jock a punch. Quinn was holding Santana's waist who was trying to claw Finn's eyes. Sam reached over the table just to stop Brittany from climbing it and attack Finn.
Damn.
"Enough!"
Everybody turned to the Head Cheerio, the authority in her voice calming everyone down, making them return to their seats.
"You," she continued with her HBIC tone, pointing a finger at the quarterback, "If you want to get out of this place alive, you better shut your mouth. Am I clear?"
"But-"
"Am .I .clear .Hudson?"
Finn huffed and crossed his arms, sulking on the corner of his seat, "Fine."
"Asshole."
"Noah," Rachel chastised, squeezing Puck's shoulder.
So Rachel had no idea how she found herself seated with McKinley's royalty in Lima Bean. They had settled themselves in a booth. Although since it was fitted for only six persons, Puck was nice enough to pull out a chair from a nearby table. And now, she seated awkwardly at the middle of their table, facing the six occupants on the booth.
This picture was just so wrong in so many different levels. She could see Finn throwing glares at her direction. Puck was giving Finn warning looks himself. Sam felt uncomfortable being seated between Finn and Puck.
From the corner of her eyes, the trio was just as silent. Santana was scowling at Finn. Quinn seemed to be lost in her own world. And Brittany had this unreadable expression in her face. Before they went to the cafe, she was pretty sure that the tall blonde was still her bubbly self. She wasn't sure what happened during the car ride from school to the cafe since she rode with Puck, the girls riding in Brittany's car.
Rachel sighed and contemplated on leaving because the tension in that table was just killing her. But then she heard someone calling her name.
"Rachel? Rachel Berry?"
Rachel, as well as the other six people she was sitting with, looked up to the direction of the voice. The girl was tall, has brown hair and was wearing a flirty attitude as she neared their table. She was wearing the uniform of Lima Bean.
"Alex!" Rachel got up from her seat as soon as she recognized the girl. She could feel everybody's curious eyes following her movements.
However, she did miss the trio's look of surprise as they too, recognized the familiar face.
The little diva wrapped her arms around the tall brunette. She felt Alex's hands on her waist, pulling her impossibly closer as they locked each other in a tight embrace.
"Wow. It's been a while. You look great! Where have you been?" Rachel asked, her eyes rounding in excitement as she pulled away from the embrace.
"Oh you know. Just here and there. I thought Grace was joking when she said you're here. I was at the inventory room. How are you?"
"Good. School just started last month and it's been keeping me busy with all the homework and Glee. I didn't know you were back in town. I would have passed by here when I got the chance."
"Don't worry your pretty little ass, babe. What matters is that you're here now. And now you know I'm not going anywhere," Alex replied with a grin on her face, her hands once again situating on Rachel's waist.
Rachel stiffened at the touch, her face feeling warm at the blatant flirting of the tall brunette. She cleared her throat and subtly-as much as she can-moved away from the now wandering hands of Alex.
"I didn't know employees are allowed to flirt with their customers."
All eyes turned to the Latina, her voice filled with ferocity. Not really a surprise because, well, she was Santana Lopez.
"Rachel and I are friends. And everybody here knows that since she worked here last summer."
"It's still unprofessional."
The biting remark was from Brittany, much to everyone's surprise. Even Rachel was caught off guard. She knew that tone and it's something she didn't want to mess with.
"Oh gosh! Where are my manners?" Rachel began, trying to ease the additional tension among the group. "Alex these are some of my…schoolmates. This is Noah, Sam, Finn, Brittany, Quinn and Santana," Rachel introduced, hesitantly motioning to each occupants of the table, "Everyone, this is my friend, Alex," she finished the introduction and after an awkward pause, Noah spoke.
"You're hot."
Thank god for Puck. The tension subsided as soon as the inappropriate comment came out of his mouth.
Alex chuckled, "Yeah. I get that a lot."
Rachel noticed the sour faces of the girls as they stared at the tall brunette, "Alex, maybe you should go back to the counter. We'll just talk later, okay?" Rachel said, placing a hand on Alex's arm. She knew Alex could be as bitchy as Santana and she didn't really want to make a scene right now. Or ever. Rachel couldn't place it but it seemed that the three Cheerios had some unexplainable hate for the tall barista.
Alex met the small brunette's eyes before nodding her head and walking back to the counter without a word.
Rachel went back to her seat and the table was once again engulfed with an uncomfortable silence. She calmly sipped her coffee, trying to ignore the thick atmosphere around her.
"So…Have you slept with her yet?"
Rachel choked on her coffee, coughing uncontrollably as she desperately looked for a tissue. She was surprised when the trio offered her a tissue all at once while Brittany patted her back.
"Do you really have to ask that?" Quinn asked, not even trying to hide her irritation.
"What? It's just a question."
"No."
Puck looked at his best friend who just recovered from her coughing fit. "No? As in you haven't? Damn!"
"No as in I don't want to answer that question."
Puck rolled his eyes. "It's just yes or no, Rach-wait...you did, didn't you?" He asked as if he already knew the answer, his grin getting wider as his eyes glazed with the different perverted thoughts that were now swirling in his head.
"I didn't say that!"
Puck's laughter echoed through the area, earning some attention from the other customers, "But your face says it all!"
"Noah!" Rachel hissed as she threw a punch on his arm, hoping it would shut him up only to fail miserably.
Couldn't he embarrass her enough?
"Oh my god Rach! That's some hot chick! I knew it you had it in you! I always knew!" Puck exclaimed as he offered his fist to Rachel.
Rachel hesitantly bumped his fist but unable to hide the sheepish smile on her face. And Puck's sudden outburst was just so overwhelming she felt like it was just the two of them in their usual Jewbro bonding moments.
"Was she good?" Puck asked again, his eyebrows moving up and down in a rapid manner.
Rachel groaned, "I never said anything about sleeping with her."
"Oh come one, Rach. No need to be shy about it."
"Can we not talk about Berry's sex life?" Santana snapped, her glare directed to the mohawk jock.
"Yeah. It's disgusting," Finn said, his face scrunching.
"Dude, just because you don't have a sex life, you'd let out your frustration on us. You're just jealous. At least Rachel was able to bed a hot chick. You're the popular quarterback and yet, you can't even get pass second base with your girlfriend."
"Noah! That's not very nice to say, especially in front of Quinn. Apologize to her right now!"
"He should apologize to me!"
"As if Finn," Puck retorted and looked at the Head Cheerio who was narrowing her eyes on him. He had the decency to tilt his head down in shame. "Sorry, Q. Your boyfriend is getting on my nerves."
"That's fine," Quinn waved off and leaned back on her seat.
"Now that's settled, can we talk about something else other than Rachel's sex life?" Brittany suggested.
The table was engaged in random conversation. Puck and Rachel were busy whispering to each other and then laughing lightly. The Cheerios had their own conversation going on while Finn and Sam talked about football.
"Excuse me. I need to use the restroom."
Rachel stood up and walked towards the direction of the restroom. The girls followed her with their eyes. They exchanged meaningful glances when they noticed a tall brunette following the diva to the restroom. Without saying anything, the three of them stood up, their eyes set at the direction the two brunettes disappeared to.
Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B/Q/R/S/B
"Hello Rachel."
Rachel looked up from washing her hands, surprised to see Alex standing behind her, "Alex, wha-"
Rachel yelped when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulder and forcefully turned her around. The said hands traveled down her waist before pulling her closer. She was so surprised that it took a while for her brain to register that there were soft lips attached to her own and was waiting for her to respond. Before she could do anything, the door opened and blur of red came barging in.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"It's not what it looks like!" Rachel defended quickly when she was met with three pairs of angry eyes, Quinn's angry voice awakening her from her daze.
"What does it look like, blondie?"
"We should report to your manager. You're not supposed to be doing that," Brittany said.
"Bitch. You just couldn't wait until you get off work? You just had to harass her in the fucking bathroom!"
"It's my break time. I can do whatever or whoever I want. Besides, who said anything about harassment?"
Santana was about to lunge at the barista but stopped when Rachel came in between.
"Stop," Rachel said calmly but her voice firm, holding up her hands to stop the Latina. She then turned to the other tall brunette, "Alex, please don't do that again. I know we had a...thing before but I would appreciate it if you would respect my personal space."
Alex sighed and smiled apologetically, "You're right. I'm sorry, Rach."
Rachel smiled, "That's fine. Now if you could just give me a minute. I need to talk to these girls in private."
Alex rolled her eyes but nodded. She walked past by the cheerleaders with her head held high and smirk planted on her face.
"What was that all about?" Rachel huffed and crossed her arms.
Quinn scoffed, not liking the tone of Rachel, "Well sorry for thinking you're being harassed. I guess all we did was disturb you from shoving tongue with each other's throat!"
With that, Quinn turned around and walked out of the door.
"Quinn-"
"Save it hobbit," Santana interrupted, holding up a hand in front of the small brunette. "We don't need to hear your shit. If you want to exchange saliva with that floozy, go ahead. But do it somewhere else. Save us all the horrifying images."
"You have no right to call her that, Santana!"
"I will call her whatever the hell I want midget!"
"Santana! That's enough!" Brittany reprimanded, getting a hold of the Latina's arm and tugging her away from the now shaken brunette.
Santana paused and took a deep breath, giving Rachel a once over before turning on her heels and out the door.
"San..." Brittany called out after the Latina. She chance a look at the diva, meeting her brown eyes and mouthing a 'Sorry' before going after the two girls.
Rachel was left there-shell-shocked, dumbfounded, hurt and just fucking confused. What the hell just happened?
Ooooooo
Rachel stomped her way towards their table. Without a word, she took her bag and began her way towards the exit, ignoring Puck's call behind her.
"Rachel wait!"
Rachel swiveled her body and her eyes met with a pleading blue eyes.
"Britt..."
"Rach, I'm sorry about what happened. Santana and Quinn..."
"Santana and Quinn will never change, Britt," Rachel said firmly, "I just don't understand why they keep minding my business and reacting as if...as if...things never changed between us! And you and I both know it wasn't my fault things are different and awkward between us now. They don't have the right to say those words to me, Brittany! And they shouldn't have said that about my friend!"
The tiny diva was breathing hard as soon as she was done with her outburst. She noticed the tall blonde flinched in the middle of her ranting and felt a tad bit sorry for her for being the receiving end of it.
Rachel closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with her hand as she tried to ease her nerves, "I'm sorry," she mumbled, not maintaing an eye contact with the blonde.
"It's okay. I understand, Rachel," Brittany said, her eyes boring on to the small brunette. She tried to reach out to her but hesitated and kept her hands firmly on her sides, "San and Quinn are sort of going through something right now...I am too. And I know it's not fair that they let it out on you but...you are kind of involve in it-"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well," Brittany paused, looking everywhere but the girl in front of her, "I don't think this is the right time or place to talk about it, Rach. I'm just...sorry...for this. For everything. I hope you can...I don't know...give us a chance? San and Quinn...they're just scared. I know it's not an excuse but-"
"B. We're leaving."
Rachel stiffened as Santana, followed by Quinn, came to her view and stopped just behind the tall blonde. She saw Puck jogging past the trio and towards her direction with confusion written all over his face. She shook her head when their eyes met, dismissing all the questions that he was sure to ask later.
Brittany just looked upset, still looking at the tiny brunette. She watched as Puck rested a comforting hand on Rachel's shoulder. She felt a hand on her elbow and sensed Quinn beside her.
"Britt. Come on."
With a huff, Brittany dismissed the hand on her elbow and walked past the two Cheerios towards her car.
Rachel watched the interaction between the three cheerleaders. Her eyes met with Santana and Quinn, both having unreadable expressions. The three of them took on a staring contest, as if trying to communicate with their eyes.
Rachel was trying not to show too much emotions but she was never really good at it. Looking at the two girls, she felt her heart drop, realizing just how much she couldn't recognize these girls anymore. And it really broke her heart not for the first time.
"Hey Rach! Wait up!"
Alex's voice broke the tension between the three girls. Rachel forced a smile as Alex neared them. She quirked her brow a little as she watched the barista purposely passed between Quinn and Santana.
This girl was screaming trouble.
"You forgot this," Alex said, handing a small paper to the diva.
Rachel took the paper, scanned it and realized that it was Alex's phone number. She feigned a smile and placed the paper on her bag.
"Call me, okay?"
"I will."
"Good. See you soon, babe," Alex leaned forward to give Rachel a quick peck on the lips. Puck's eyes wide in excitement and a smirk playing on his lips. Rachel was just caught off guard. Again.
"Oopps. Sorry. I forgot I wasn't supposed to that," Alex said, her playful tone betraying just how sorry she really was.
"That's..uhh...that's fine," Rachel stuttered, her eyes wide in surprise and her cheeks burning in embarrassment. She chance a look at the two Cheerios, worried that they would lash out on her again. Her brows furrowed when she saw the two girls burning a hole on Alex'a head and not her.
"Bye Rach," Alex said, her voice lowering to a whisper, a seductive smile on her lips as she turned around and walked away, purposely swaying her hips in exaggeration. She paused just in front of the two Cheerios just to throw them a taunting smirk before continuing her way back to the cafe.
"Bitch," Santana grumbled, her voice low and dark as she narrowed her eyes on the barista.
Quinn wished her eyes could fire lasers so she could rip Alex's body in to pieces.
"Man...that chick is just fucking hot."
All eyes turned to Puck who was looking at the barista with dreamy eyes. Rachel slapped his arm. Quinn groaned. Santana rolled her eyes.
"I guess you don't need plan 'How to get Rachel Berry a Smokin' Hot Girlfriend' anymore, huh?" Puck whispered so only Rachel could hear.
"Shut up, Noah."
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Author's Note:
I changed the title in case you didn't notice. Again, thank you for the reviews, favorites and alerts. So, what do you think of this one? I'm kind of having a hard time writing as of now. It took me a while to finish this chapter but I hope it came out okay? I'm forcing my brain right now just so I can update…and it's giving me a bad headache. I can't really focus and I'm just a bit confused and spaced out and unsure on how I'm going to handle this story.
I published a new story called Jar of Hearts, by the way. It's a product of a writer's block. It's Faberry. I hope you support it the same you supported this one. Thank you!