FIC: Like a Hurricane (Two)
Title: Like a Hurricane (Two)
Author: kben and meggygurl
Rating: R to NC17
Length: 3500 (30,000+ overall)
Spoilers: Sectionals
Summary: It's the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college. In the quest for a new lead singer for her band, Quinn's about to get a blast from the past. Rachel/Quinn (light Rachel/Brittany and Quinn/Rachel/Brittany, mentions of Quinn/Puck and Rachel/Puck)
Notes: This, uh, just kept growing. I hope these fics aren't getting boring, like "same old, same old". We tried to sidestep some of the established Faberry cliches, though some are just what make the 'ship work. Overall, an author crush on both of these incarnations of our ladies proved to be inevitable. Happy reading!
The next rehearsal did not go nearly as smoothly. Alyssa got caught in traffic and ended up being twenty minutes late, which left her and everyone else in a horrible mood. She was flustered and kept hitting the wrong notes. After three in a row, Rachel abruptly stopped singing the band's version of Ex-Girlfriend and whirled around.
"Oh my god, could you please play at least one right note tonight? It's your job, it shouldn't be that complicated. I mean, we're not singing anything insanely complicated. It's pop music, not Bach."
Alyssa took off her bass. "Who the fuck put you in charge? Maybe I wouldn't miss so many notes if you could stay on Quinn's beat. And LORD your voice is grating."
Quinn slammed her sticks down on the snare and stood up. "Hey!" When she had the room's attention, she stepped out from behind the kit. "Let's just take five, okay? I need some air." As she walked, she hooked her hand around Rachel's arm and tugged her toward the door. It wasn't super forceful, just obvious that she wanted the shorter girl to go with her.
Alyssa put her guitar down and stormed out of the room. "Whatever. I need a drink." She moved to the fridge up front the owners let them keep sodas in. She cracked open a diet Coke and drank half of it in one gulp.
The blonde pushed open the door at the end of the hall and stepped out into the alley behind the building. "I need to ask you something," she said, releasing Rachel and leaning up against the brick.
Rachel was flushed from being pissed off and she glared at Quinn. "What?" she snapped.
"Why did you audition? How'd you even hear about us?" Quinn wondered if all this was some weird revenge. Maybe Rachel saw the ad and knew full well who was in the band and was plotting to destroy them.
Rachel blinked. "What? I saw your flier, like everyone else did. I wanted- I wanted some real experience outside of a classroom. I'm good, Quinn. Come on, you're not kicking me out, are you? I didn't even know you were IN this band. But I refuse to let silly childhood crap bother me. I mean, really... you can't be embarrassed by me still. No one here even knows who I was. I'm not wearing knee socks anymore."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "I'm not kicking you out, Streisand." Her hands pushed through her hair. "I know you're good. I know you can handle the music. I just hope you can handle the band. What kind of real experience do you think you're going to get out of this?"
"Fun." Rachel said, her voice softer. "I haven't had fun in months. All I do is hear how much better I need to be. Which is fine, I need that. But singing isn't as fun as it once was. I wanted to have fun." She paused. "And learn how to be part of a team again."
"Well, that little blow up back there was nothing. So... I need to know you can stick it out when it gets really intense." She crossed her arms and studied the brunette. "But if you love it, if you really love it... it's fun." Quinn rested her head against the wall and looked up. "I mean, that's why I do it. It's my thing." Without looking at her, she added, "So don't fuck it up."
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and leveled Quinn with her gaze. "I don't quit when things get hard. I try harder when things get hard. And I have no plans of fucking anything up."
Suddenly, Quinn was looking back over at her. "Do you smoke?"
"Excuse me? Do you know what smoking would do to my voice?" Rachel replied.
"Yeah, I figured as much. And that's good. It's a crappy, expensive habit." Quinn wasn't even sure why the urge was coming up all of a sudden.
She'd quit the summer after high school, because she was on her own and needing to pay for things like food and books. She'd managed a partial scholarship and pulled together the rest of her tuition from student loans, but that still didn't leave room for luxuries like cigarettes. Plus, as Rachel had just pointed out, it was hell on her voice. Even though she was just singing back up vocals, the band was worth enough to her to drop it. And it hadn't been a problem. Except the last few days, when the urge kept creeping up on her.
Puck peeked out the back door. "She's chilled out, if you want to come back in."
"Right." Rachel looked at Quinn. "So, are we done?"
"Yep." The blonde pushed herself off the wall. As she followed Rachel back into the studio, she dug around in her pocket for the peppermint she'd taken from the Italian place she'd had lunch. She needed something to distract her mouth. From wanting a cigarette. Or something.
Rachel followed Puck back into the practice room and looked at Alyssa. "I'm sorry."
Alyssa nodded. "It's cool."
"Can we do this?" Quinn took her seat and looked out at her bandmates. She counted off the song and they managed to play through the entire song successfully.
When rehearsal was over, Puck pulled Rachel aside. "Hey, so, I kind of have an idea. Maybe it's stupid, but maybe it's not... but it might help if we all hang out together. You know, bond a little? We usually go for drinks on Thursdays at this little pub around the corner. And, well, it's Thursday."
"Are you asking me to come?" Rachel asked, a little hope in her voice.
Alyssa went to Quinn. "Hey Q, you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Quinn shoved her sticks in her bag. "I just need a drink, I think."
"Well, I need three," Alyssa replied.
Puck chuckled at Rachel's reply. "Yes, Berry. I'm asking you to come with us. It was an invitation."
"Sure!" Rachel grinned, then paused. "Hey, want me to see if Brittany wants to come too? I live with her now."
Alyssa nodded. "Yeah, sure. So let's go."
Quinn caught the name 'Brittany' coming from Rachel's mouth. She moved out from behind the drum kit and stepped over to Puck and Rachel. "Yeah, call Britt. I haven't seen her in... forever." She wondered if the blonde was still the same.
"Uh, more or less." Rachel wasn't sure how well Quinn had really known Brittany. She sent a text to her roommate. "She'll come. She thought it was amazing I ended up in a band with you two."
Once they were in the bar, the three regulars led Rachel to a rounded booth in the corner. Quinn slid along the seat until she was in the middle. Puck stayed standing.
"I'll get the first round. Rachel, you and Quinn can catch up. Alyssa, you wanna help me out at the bar?" He smirked at her.
"Is that code for get into your pants?" Alyssa asked, moving with him.
Rachel groaned and slid in next to Quinn. "Hey." She tried lamely.
"Hey," Quinn replied. "Tonight went pretty well. After everything calmed down." She picked up the beer menu off the table and flipped it around between her fingers.
Rachel did the same thing. "Yeah, not bad." Her eyes followed Puck and Alyssa. "So, are they like, dating or sleeping together or something?"
"Or something." Quinn shook her head. "I don't even try to figure them out, anymore." It was a clunky segue, but it was better to keep the conversation going than to just is there in awkward silence. "You, um, seeing anyone or whatever?"
"Whatever." Rachel answered. "Nothing serious and nothing I write home about." She looked at Quinn. "What about you? You appear to have finally embraced your... true self. So, any girlfriends?"
Quinn laughed, with a slight roll of the eyes. "Yeah, um, I actually embraced it a while ago. Getting sent to an all-girls boarding school kind of makes you sort that kind of thing out pretty quickly." She glanced over to the bar where Puck and Alyssa still waited for their order. "And I'm not... seeing anyone... regularly." What the fuck are you even saying, Fabray? You're not even seeing anyone irregularly.
"Cool," Rachel responded easily. Her phone buzzed and she looked at the text, grinning. She punched back a reply and refocused on Quinn. "So, what else is new?"
"School. Band. Work. That's about it." The blonde set the menu down. "You said something about classrooms earlier... you at NYU? I figure Julliard wouldn't leave you with time for us. Or I guess you could be at Columbia... it's a big school. Just because I haven't seen you doesn't mean you don't go there."
"NYU." Rachel sounded a little bitter. "I got into Juilliard, but not on a scholarship. And well... even my family couldn't afford that. I got a full ride to NYU. So, that's where I am." She looked at her. "You're at Columbia?"
Quinn nodded. "Yeah. Partial scholarship. I'm working on a history major... I might change it." She shrugged. "It's all core classes right now, anyway."
Puck and Alyssa returned to the table with two pitchers of beer and a stack of glasses.
"Okay, ladies, the night starts here." Puck set the drinks down. His fake ID was still in his hand as he fished his wallet out of his pocket to return it to its proper home. "If anyone asks, I'm John Beaumont." He winked at Rachel.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Better than begging outside the 7-11 I guess." She grinned, though.
Alyssa slid in the end after Puck. She liked to be on the end in case she needed a quick escape. Like if any of her exes walked into the bar. "So, Rachel. Tell us. How was Puck in bed back in the day?"
"Oh my god." Quinn put her face in her hands, but that didn't stop her from peeking over at Rachel to hear her answer. She'd heard the story from Puck's point of view, so this was bound to be interesting.
Puck began to pour the round of beers, passing them out, starting with Rachel, then Quinn, then Alyssa and finally himself. "Can't you let us get drunk before you start with all the ball busting questions?"
Rachel considered the question as though it was very serious. "Well, I've had better. But he was enthusiastic, so really, that's what matters, right?" Rachel sent Puck a grin across the table.
Alyssa almost spit out her beer she started laughing so hard.
"I was drunk. And..." Puck took a long drink of his beer and didn't say anything else.
"Are you planning to follow that up with anything?" Quinn asked.
He shook his head. "Nope. Drunk."
"Well, it sounds like you've improved, despite any inebriation. I mean, if the sounds I heard from the bedroom when I crashed on your couch after that party last weekend are any indication. Because you were pretty drunk that night." Quinn leaned toward Rachel. "He was so wasted actually asked me to perform a Cheerios cheer. Which... he knows better."
Alyssa smirked at that. "He's still enthusiastic."
Rachel hid a smirk behind her beer. "Way to do your best."
"OH MY GOD, QUINN," cried a tall, leggy blonde who walked up to the booth. "Rach wasn't lying, you really ARE here!"
Quinn couldn't hide the grin that spread across her face. "Brittany!" She hadn't seen the other blonde since she'd left McKinley. They'd Facebooked while they were in high school, but it was more of an occasional update thing, usually when one of them tagged old photos of the other. The drummer was stuck in the middle of the booth, so she couldn't get up to greet her, but she still sat up on her knees. "You look great."
Brittany managed to lean over the table and give her a giant hug. "You are looking HOT, Q." She beamed and looked at the rest of the table. "Hey, I'm Brittany. Rachel's my roommate. Oh, but I already know you Puck. Rachel said you were in it, too."
"Or, she's mine. Whatever. Britt, that's Alyssa. She's our bassist." Rachel explained.
Brittany smiled. "Hi." She squeeze into the end of the booth. "Ooh. Beer!"
"Brittany and Quinn used to be Cheerios together," Puck explained, his head tilted, his tone amused. "Back when Q was more likely to rule the school instead of just burning it to the ground." He nudged Alyssa. "Rumor has it, she even had school spirit."
"Oh go fuck yourself, Puckerman." Quinn immediately downed no less than half her beer.
"Quinn was Cheerios captain before she got pregnant!" Brittany added. "We were never as good after coach threw you off. I mean, we still took Nationals, but still. Not as good."
Rachel grinned, she enjoyed Brittany's Cheerios tales. Well, more like she enjoyed the Cheerios in the group shower tales. Those were nice to hear.
Alyssa smirked. "I don't believe it. Not our little angry Quinn. She hates everything."
Quinn glared at Alyssa across the table. "I do not hate everything. I like plenty of stuff. Except the both of you, right now." She gaze shifted to include Puck.
"Oh, chill the fuck out." Puck grabbed the pitcher and topped of Quinn's beer. "Stop being defensive. We all know we're not the same people when we were sophomores."
"Too bad, because being knocked up and homeless was a real high point for me," Quinn quipped in reply.
"I hated most of that year." Rachel agreed. "Can we move on to a different point of discussion?"
Brittany nodded. "And I think we need more to drink. Shots anyone? You really should see Rachel drunk."
Alyssa winked at Quinn. "You love us."
For the first time since they entered the bar, Quinn allowed herself to be genuinely interested in something. "I would love to see Rachel drunk. Shots, please!"
Puck turned to Alyssa. "This probably will not end well."
"Does anything ever?" Alyssa responded, her smirk firmly in place.
Brittany lept up and moved to the bar. She didn't have a fake id, but the low cut shirt and the very tiny skirt promised she wouldn't even have to pay for them.
"It's really not that interesting..." Rachel tried, not sure if she wanted her bandmates to see her drunk.
"Tell you what. We'll all get drunk," Quinn waved her hand to include everyone at the table, "and later, we'll all take a vote about how interesting it is. Or! Or, right now, let's make a bet. I have five bucks on 'Interesting'."
"I've seen her drunk. It was kind of just like, regular Berry, only wobblier." Puck pulled his wallet out. "I'm in. Put me down for 'Not that Interesting'." He winked at Rachel.
Alyssa put in some money. "Not that."
Brittany moved back with a tray full of no less then 15 shots. "The bartender is so nice here!" She set down the tray and sat back down. "What's the money for?"
Alyssa smirked. "We're taking bets to see how interesting Rachel gets when she's drunk."
"OH!" Brittany pulled out a 20 and dropped it on the table. "Interesting." She winked at Rachel.
Rachel just grabbed a shot. "Whatever." She took it quickly, like a pro.
"Slow down, hot shot. We have rules here." Quinn glanced at the faces around the table. "Okay, there's no rules, but we should toast to something..."
"Like our kick ass new lead singer?" Puck asked. He reached for the shots, handing one to Quinn and one to Alyssa.
Alyssa laughed at that. "I will toast to that." She raised her glass.
Brittany toasted. "To an interesting night."
Rachel rolled her eyes, but gave Puck one of her blinding smiles.
Quinn clinked her shot glass around the table, saving Rachel for last. She made sure to catch her eye, then gave a slight smirk. "Welcome to the band."
They all took the shot together, then the glasses hit the table.
"And that's what rock and roll is all about!" Puck exclaimed.
Quinn shoot Alyssa a look. "Didn't you tell me he said that same exact thing when you two were..."
"Naked and on top of your counter? Yes. Yes, he did." Alyssa smirked at the memory.
"Sex on a counter is fun!" Brittany added, smirking at Rachel. "Isn't it, Rach?"
"WHAT?" Rachel almost choked on her drink. "I don't know! I mean, I know. But. I don't really think they want to hear about, that."
"Oookay, that's... yeah." Quinn proceeded to down the remainder of the beer in her glass, which had been nearly full to begin with.
Puck's eyes went wide. "You two... are together? I knew you and Santana used to hook up, but I just figured it was part of the Cheerio way or something. Of course..." He looked over at Quinn. "Now that I think about it, Q never had any decent tales from the trenches like Santana did so..."
"Oh, me and Rachel aren't together. We're just roommates!" Brittany said cheerily, drinking more beer.
Rachel just stared at the table, not saying anything.
Alyssa leaned forward. "Please, Brittany, tell us more."
"Don't mind them, they can't afford cable." Quinn refilled her glass, then topped off Rachel's. "I guess you two got pretty close in high school, then? I mean, to be roommates now."
Puck was still focused on Brittany. "Like, I always heard stories about the girl's locker room. Maybe you can verify some. There's one where-- Ow." His head whipped toward Quinn. "That hurt."
"Good," the blonde replied.
"Yes." Brittany responded to Puck without even noticing the mild abuse between the drummer and guitarist.
"Yeah, we got close. When you left and well, Santana starting dating that idiot, Brad." Rachel smiled at Brittany. "We hung out a lot. She helped me with my dancing for Glee and I gave her voice lessons. We moved in together for the summer when we both decided to stay in New York instead of going back to Lima, and we've been together ever since. Living." The brunette finished, smiling.
"BFF for life! BrittBerry!" The dancer started laughing at the crazy name they came up with one night on a LOT of very, very special brownies (Rachel would never, ever smoke with her. But she would partake in brownies).
Quinn had a pretty good idea of what probably went on between the two roomies. She'd had the same roommate both years at boarding school and they'd done... a lot together. Usually, it was after a few rounds of vanilla vodka (or Jack, if they weren't worried about anyone smelling it on them) or maybe (if they'd managed to make the necessary herbal score) a joint, but after hooking up so many times, it wasn't necessary to be drunk or high for it to happen. It just made it easier.
"So, Britt, are you going to school, too?" Quinn asked, trying to keep the conversation diverted away from sex. She wasn't sure why, other than the fact that it had seemed to make Rachel uncomfortable. Again, why that really mattered didn't seem to make sense, but the drummer told herself it was because she didn't want to cause any weirdness in the band, right away.
"Yes. Not, like, NYU like Rachel. But I'm going to a little dance school. I think I wanna, like, teach it. To kids. I really enjoy working with kids and I just don't think I want to do the dedication of a professional dancer." Brittany tucked her long hair back. "What about you?"
Rachel took the opportunity to turn her attention to Puck. "So, what are you doing besides the band?"
"You mean besides Alyssa?" Quinn cracked, then hid behind her glass.
Puck ignored the blonde. "I work three jobs. Starbucks in Midtown, pizza delivery, and guitar lessons at the store. But the band is priority. Everything else is just to keep me doing what I love. Which is livin' the life." He stretched his arms out across the back of the booth.
"You always were a dreamer." Rachel said, amused. She never would have thought Puck would be here, doing this. But she wasn't really shocked. Noah always had potential, it was realizing that had been the problem. "Good for you though. That is awesome."
Alyssa smirked. "Oh, I'm sure he's doing a lot more than just me. I know I am."
Brittany tilted her head. "Santana told me once you really couldn't keep up with her."
"Hey," Puck said, in an attempt to detract attention away from himself. "Quinn, how about you? Who're you keeping up with?" There was a smirk on his face that was partly due to the drinks he'd already consumed and partly due to the face that he enjoyed giving his friend a hard time.
"Fuck off." Quinn reached across the table for another shot, slightly leaning into Rachel as she did so.
(continued)
Author: kben and meggygurl
Rating: R to NC17
Length: 3500 (30,000+ overall)
Spoilers: Sectionals
Summary: It's the summer between freshman and sophomore year of college. In the quest for a new lead singer for her band, Quinn's about to get a blast from the past. Rachel/Quinn (light Rachel/Brittany and Quinn/Rachel/Brittany, mentions of Quinn/Puck and Rachel/Puck)
Notes: This, uh, just kept growing. I hope these fics aren't getting boring, like "same old, same old". We tried to sidestep some of the established Faberry cliches, though some are just what make the 'ship work. Overall, an author crush on both of these incarnations of our ladies proved to be inevitable. Happy reading!
The next rehearsal did not go nearly as smoothly. Alyssa got caught in traffic and ended up being twenty minutes late, which left her and everyone else in a horrible mood. She was flustered and kept hitting the wrong notes. After three in a row, Rachel abruptly stopped singing the band's version of Ex-Girlfriend and whirled around.
"Oh my god, could you please play at least one right note tonight? It's your job, it shouldn't be that complicated. I mean, we're not singing anything insanely complicated. It's pop music, not Bach."
Alyssa took off her bass. "Who the fuck put you in charge? Maybe I wouldn't miss so many notes if you could stay on Quinn's beat. And LORD your voice is grating."
Quinn slammed her sticks down on the snare and stood up. "Hey!" When she had the room's attention, she stepped out from behind the kit. "Let's just take five, okay? I need some air." As she walked, she hooked her hand around Rachel's arm and tugged her toward the door. It wasn't super forceful, just obvious that she wanted the shorter girl to go with her.
Alyssa put her guitar down and stormed out of the room. "Whatever. I need a drink." She moved to the fridge up front the owners let them keep sodas in. She cracked open a diet Coke and drank half of it in one gulp.
The blonde pushed open the door at the end of the hall and stepped out into the alley behind the building. "I need to ask you something," she said, releasing Rachel and leaning up against the brick.
Rachel was flushed from being pissed off and she glared at Quinn. "What?" she snapped.
"Why did you audition? How'd you even hear about us?" Quinn wondered if all this was some weird revenge. Maybe Rachel saw the ad and knew full well who was in the band and was plotting to destroy them.
Rachel blinked. "What? I saw your flier, like everyone else did. I wanted- I wanted some real experience outside of a classroom. I'm good, Quinn. Come on, you're not kicking me out, are you? I didn't even know you were IN this band. But I refuse to let silly childhood crap bother me. I mean, really... you can't be embarrassed by me still. No one here even knows who I was. I'm not wearing knee socks anymore."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "I'm not kicking you out, Streisand." Her hands pushed through her hair. "I know you're good. I know you can handle the music. I just hope you can handle the band. What kind of real experience do you think you're going to get out of this?"
"Fun." Rachel said, her voice softer. "I haven't had fun in months. All I do is hear how much better I need to be. Which is fine, I need that. But singing isn't as fun as it once was. I wanted to have fun." She paused. "And learn how to be part of a team again."
"Well, that little blow up back there was nothing. So... I need to know you can stick it out when it gets really intense." She crossed her arms and studied the brunette. "But if you love it, if you really love it... it's fun." Quinn rested her head against the wall and looked up. "I mean, that's why I do it. It's my thing." Without looking at her, she added, "So don't fuck it up."
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and leveled Quinn with her gaze. "I don't quit when things get hard. I try harder when things get hard. And I have no plans of fucking anything up."
Suddenly, Quinn was looking back over at her. "Do you smoke?"
"Excuse me? Do you know what smoking would do to my voice?" Rachel replied.
"Yeah, I figured as much. And that's good. It's a crappy, expensive habit." Quinn wasn't even sure why the urge was coming up all of a sudden.
She'd quit the summer after high school, because she was on her own and needing to pay for things like food and books. She'd managed a partial scholarship and pulled together the rest of her tuition from student loans, but that still didn't leave room for luxuries like cigarettes. Plus, as Rachel had just pointed out, it was hell on her voice. Even though she was just singing back up vocals, the band was worth enough to her to drop it. And it hadn't been a problem. Except the last few days, when the urge kept creeping up on her.
Puck peeked out the back door. "She's chilled out, if you want to come back in."
"Right." Rachel looked at Quinn. "So, are we done?"
"Yep." The blonde pushed herself off the wall. As she followed Rachel back into the studio, she dug around in her pocket for the peppermint she'd taken from the Italian place she'd had lunch. She needed something to distract her mouth. From wanting a cigarette. Or something.
Rachel followed Puck back into the practice room and looked at Alyssa. "I'm sorry."
Alyssa nodded. "It's cool."
"Can we do this?" Quinn took her seat and looked out at her bandmates. She counted off the song and they managed to play through the entire song successfully.
When rehearsal was over, Puck pulled Rachel aside. "Hey, so, I kind of have an idea. Maybe it's stupid, but maybe it's not... but it might help if we all hang out together. You know, bond a little? We usually go for drinks on Thursdays at this little pub around the corner. And, well, it's Thursday."
"Are you asking me to come?" Rachel asked, a little hope in her voice.
Alyssa went to Quinn. "Hey Q, you okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Quinn shoved her sticks in her bag. "I just need a drink, I think."
"Well, I need three," Alyssa replied.
Puck chuckled at Rachel's reply. "Yes, Berry. I'm asking you to come with us. It was an invitation."
"Sure!" Rachel grinned, then paused. "Hey, want me to see if Brittany wants to come too? I live with her now."
Alyssa nodded. "Yeah, sure. So let's go."
Quinn caught the name 'Brittany' coming from Rachel's mouth. She moved out from behind the drum kit and stepped over to Puck and Rachel. "Yeah, call Britt. I haven't seen her in... forever." She wondered if the blonde was still the same.
"Uh, more or less." Rachel wasn't sure how well Quinn had really known Brittany. She sent a text to her roommate. "She'll come. She thought it was amazing I ended up in a band with you two."
Once they were in the bar, the three regulars led Rachel to a rounded booth in the corner. Quinn slid along the seat until she was in the middle. Puck stayed standing.
"I'll get the first round. Rachel, you and Quinn can catch up. Alyssa, you wanna help me out at the bar?" He smirked at her.
"Is that code for get into your pants?" Alyssa asked, moving with him.
Rachel groaned and slid in next to Quinn. "Hey." She tried lamely.
"Hey," Quinn replied. "Tonight went pretty well. After everything calmed down." She picked up the beer menu off the table and flipped it around between her fingers.
Rachel did the same thing. "Yeah, not bad." Her eyes followed Puck and Alyssa. "So, are they like, dating or sleeping together or something?"
"Or something." Quinn shook her head. "I don't even try to figure them out, anymore." It was a clunky segue, but it was better to keep the conversation going than to just is there in awkward silence. "You, um, seeing anyone or whatever?"
"Whatever." Rachel answered. "Nothing serious and nothing I write home about." She looked at Quinn. "What about you? You appear to have finally embraced your... true self. So, any girlfriends?"
Quinn laughed, with a slight roll of the eyes. "Yeah, um, I actually embraced it a while ago. Getting sent to an all-girls boarding school kind of makes you sort that kind of thing out pretty quickly." She glanced over to the bar where Puck and Alyssa still waited for their order. "And I'm not... seeing anyone... regularly." What the fuck are you even saying, Fabray? You're not even seeing anyone irregularly.
"Cool," Rachel responded easily. Her phone buzzed and she looked at the text, grinning. She punched back a reply and refocused on Quinn. "So, what else is new?"
"School. Band. Work. That's about it." The blonde set the menu down. "You said something about classrooms earlier... you at NYU? I figure Julliard wouldn't leave you with time for us. Or I guess you could be at Columbia... it's a big school. Just because I haven't seen you doesn't mean you don't go there."
"NYU." Rachel sounded a little bitter. "I got into Juilliard, but not on a scholarship. And well... even my family couldn't afford that. I got a full ride to NYU. So, that's where I am." She looked at her. "You're at Columbia?"
Quinn nodded. "Yeah. Partial scholarship. I'm working on a history major... I might change it." She shrugged. "It's all core classes right now, anyway."
Puck and Alyssa returned to the table with two pitchers of beer and a stack of glasses.
"Okay, ladies, the night starts here." Puck set the drinks down. His fake ID was still in his hand as he fished his wallet out of his pocket to return it to its proper home. "If anyone asks, I'm John Beaumont." He winked at Rachel.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "Better than begging outside the 7-11 I guess." She grinned, though.
Alyssa slid in the end after Puck. She liked to be on the end in case she needed a quick escape. Like if any of her exes walked into the bar. "So, Rachel. Tell us. How was Puck in bed back in the day?"
"Oh my god." Quinn put her face in her hands, but that didn't stop her from peeking over at Rachel to hear her answer. She'd heard the story from Puck's point of view, so this was bound to be interesting.
Puck began to pour the round of beers, passing them out, starting with Rachel, then Quinn, then Alyssa and finally himself. "Can't you let us get drunk before you start with all the ball busting questions?"
Rachel considered the question as though it was very serious. "Well, I've had better. But he was enthusiastic, so really, that's what matters, right?" Rachel sent Puck a grin across the table.
Alyssa almost spit out her beer she started laughing so hard.
"I was drunk. And..." Puck took a long drink of his beer and didn't say anything else.
"Are you planning to follow that up with anything?" Quinn asked.
He shook his head. "Nope. Drunk."
"Well, it sounds like you've improved, despite any inebriation. I mean, if the sounds I heard from the bedroom when I crashed on your couch after that party last weekend are any indication. Because you were pretty drunk that night." Quinn leaned toward Rachel. "He was so wasted actually asked me to perform a Cheerios cheer. Which... he knows better."
Alyssa smirked at that. "He's still enthusiastic."
Rachel hid a smirk behind her beer. "Way to do your best."
"OH MY GOD, QUINN," cried a tall, leggy blonde who walked up to the booth. "Rach wasn't lying, you really ARE here!"
Quinn couldn't hide the grin that spread across her face. "Brittany!" She hadn't seen the other blonde since she'd left McKinley. They'd Facebooked while they were in high school, but it was more of an occasional update thing, usually when one of them tagged old photos of the other. The drummer was stuck in the middle of the booth, so she couldn't get up to greet her, but she still sat up on her knees. "You look great."
Brittany managed to lean over the table and give her a giant hug. "You are looking HOT, Q." She beamed and looked at the rest of the table. "Hey, I'm Brittany. Rachel's my roommate. Oh, but I already know you Puck. Rachel said you were in it, too."
"Or, she's mine. Whatever. Britt, that's Alyssa. She's our bassist." Rachel explained.
Brittany smiled. "Hi." She squeeze into the end of the booth. "Ooh. Beer!"
"Brittany and Quinn used to be Cheerios together," Puck explained, his head tilted, his tone amused. "Back when Q was more likely to rule the school instead of just burning it to the ground." He nudged Alyssa. "Rumor has it, she even had school spirit."
"Oh go fuck yourself, Puckerman." Quinn immediately downed no less than half her beer.
"Quinn was Cheerios captain before she got pregnant!" Brittany added. "We were never as good after coach threw you off. I mean, we still took Nationals, but still. Not as good."
Rachel grinned, she enjoyed Brittany's Cheerios tales. Well, more like she enjoyed the Cheerios in the group shower tales. Those were nice to hear.
Alyssa smirked. "I don't believe it. Not our little angry Quinn. She hates everything."
Quinn glared at Alyssa across the table. "I do not hate everything. I like plenty of stuff. Except the both of you, right now." She gaze shifted to include Puck.
"Oh, chill the fuck out." Puck grabbed the pitcher and topped of Quinn's beer. "Stop being defensive. We all know we're not the same people when we were sophomores."
"Too bad, because being knocked up and homeless was a real high point for me," Quinn quipped in reply.
"I hated most of that year." Rachel agreed. "Can we move on to a different point of discussion?"
Brittany nodded. "And I think we need more to drink. Shots anyone? You really should see Rachel drunk."
Alyssa winked at Quinn. "You love us."
For the first time since they entered the bar, Quinn allowed herself to be genuinely interested in something. "I would love to see Rachel drunk. Shots, please!"
Puck turned to Alyssa. "This probably will not end well."
"Does anything ever?" Alyssa responded, her smirk firmly in place.
Brittany lept up and moved to the bar. She didn't have a fake id, but the low cut shirt and the very tiny skirt promised she wouldn't even have to pay for them.
"It's really not that interesting..." Rachel tried, not sure if she wanted her bandmates to see her drunk.
"Tell you what. We'll all get drunk," Quinn waved her hand to include everyone at the table, "and later, we'll all take a vote about how interesting it is. Or! Or, right now, let's make a bet. I have five bucks on 'Interesting'."
"I've seen her drunk. It was kind of just like, regular Berry, only wobblier." Puck pulled his wallet out. "I'm in. Put me down for 'Not that Interesting'." He winked at Rachel.
Alyssa put in some money. "Not that."
Brittany moved back with a tray full of no less then 15 shots. "The bartender is so nice here!" She set down the tray and sat back down. "What's the money for?"
Alyssa smirked. "We're taking bets to see how interesting Rachel gets when she's drunk."
"OH!" Brittany pulled out a 20 and dropped it on the table. "Interesting." She winked at Rachel.
Rachel just grabbed a shot. "Whatever." She took it quickly, like a pro.
"Slow down, hot shot. We have rules here." Quinn glanced at the faces around the table. "Okay, there's no rules, but we should toast to something..."
"Like our kick ass new lead singer?" Puck asked. He reached for the shots, handing one to Quinn and one to Alyssa.
Alyssa laughed at that. "I will toast to that." She raised her glass.
Brittany toasted. "To an interesting night."
Rachel rolled her eyes, but gave Puck one of her blinding smiles.
Quinn clinked her shot glass around the table, saving Rachel for last. She made sure to catch her eye, then gave a slight smirk. "Welcome to the band."
They all took the shot together, then the glasses hit the table.
"And that's what rock and roll is all about!" Puck exclaimed.
Quinn shoot Alyssa a look. "Didn't you tell me he said that same exact thing when you two were..."
"Naked and on top of your counter? Yes. Yes, he did." Alyssa smirked at the memory.
"Sex on a counter is fun!" Brittany added, smirking at Rachel. "Isn't it, Rach?"
"WHAT?" Rachel almost choked on her drink. "I don't know! I mean, I know. But. I don't really think they want to hear about, that."
"Oookay, that's... yeah." Quinn proceeded to down the remainder of the beer in her glass, which had been nearly full to begin with.
Puck's eyes went wide. "You two... are together? I knew you and Santana used to hook up, but I just figured it was part of the Cheerio way or something. Of course..." He looked over at Quinn. "Now that I think about it, Q never had any decent tales from the trenches like Santana did so..."
"Oh, me and Rachel aren't together. We're just roommates!" Brittany said cheerily, drinking more beer.
Rachel just stared at the table, not saying anything.
Alyssa leaned forward. "Please, Brittany, tell us more."
"Don't mind them, they can't afford cable." Quinn refilled her glass, then topped off Rachel's. "I guess you two got pretty close in high school, then? I mean, to be roommates now."
Puck was still focused on Brittany. "Like, I always heard stories about the girl's locker room. Maybe you can verify some. There's one where-- Ow." His head whipped toward Quinn. "That hurt."
"Good," the blonde replied.
"Yes." Brittany responded to Puck without even noticing the mild abuse between the drummer and guitarist.
"Yeah, we got close. When you left and well, Santana starting dating that idiot, Brad." Rachel smiled at Brittany. "We hung out a lot. She helped me with my dancing for Glee and I gave her voice lessons. We moved in together for the summer when we both decided to stay in New York instead of going back to Lima, and we've been together ever since. Living." The brunette finished, smiling.
"BFF for life! BrittBerry!" The dancer started laughing at the crazy name they came up with one night on a LOT of very, very special brownies (Rachel would never, ever smoke with her. But she would partake in brownies).
Quinn had a pretty good idea of what probably went on between the two roomies. She'd had the same roommate both years at boarding school and they'd done... a lot together. Usually, it was after a few rounds of vanilla vodka (or Jack, if they weren't worried about anyone smelling it on them) or maybe (if they'd managed to make the necessary herbal score) a joint, but after hooking up so many times, it wasn't necessary to be drunk or high for it to happen. It just made it easier.
"So, Britt, are you going to school, too?" Quinn asked, trying to keep the conversation diverted away from sex. She wasn't sure why, other than the fact that it had seemed to make Rachel uncomfortable. Again, why that really mattered didn't seem to make sense, but the drummer told herself it was because she didn't want to cause any weirdness in the band, right away.
"Yes. Not, like, NYU like Rachel. But I'm going to a little dance school. I think I wanna, like, teach it. To kids. I really enjoy working with kids and I just don't think I want to do the dedication of a professional dancer." Brittany tucked her long hair back. "What about you?"
Rachel took the opportunity to turn her attention to Puck. "So, what are you doing besides the band?"
"You mean besides Alyssa?" Quinn cracked, then hid behind her glass.
Puck ignored the blonde. "I work three jobs. Starbucks in Midtown, pizza delivery, and guitar lessons at the store. But the band is priority. Everything else is just to keep me doing what I love. Which is livin' the life." He stretched his arms out across the back of the booth.
"You always were a dreamer." Rachel said, amused. She never would have thought Puck would be here, doing this. But she wasn't really shocked. Noah always had potential, it was realizing that had been the problem. "Good for you though. That is awesome."
Alyssa smirked. "Oh, I'm sure he's doing a lot more than just me. I know I am."
Brittany tilted her head. "Santana told me once you really couldn't keep up with her."
"Hey," Puck said, in an attempt to detract attention away from himself. "Quinn, how about you? Who're you keeping up with?" There was a smirk on his face that was partly due to the drinks he'd already consumed and partly due to the face that he enjoyed giving his friend a hard time.
"Fuck off." Quinn reached across the table for another shot, slightly leaning into Rachel as she did so.
(continued)