MARIA
Tonight, tonight
It all began tonight
I saw you and the world went away

Tonight, tonight
There's only you tonight
What you are, what you do, what you say

TONY
Today, all day I had the feeling
A miracle would happen
I know now I was right

Artie looked at Rachel and Blaine and said, “Have you ever actually, you know, done the deed? ‘Cuz if you haven’t experienced it, what’s the probability that you can explain it to the masses out there? Or to be more specific, the crowd that comes and watches our shows.”

Blaine was just looking all around the place, trying not to look as uncomfortable as he was feeling, while Rachel was almost in tears at the thought of not giving an authentic performance. Artie looked at them with slight pity in his eyes.

Artie thought, ”I don’t know what’s going on here, but I hope Rachel doesn’t stamp over Finn’s heart for the sake of showbiz. And if Blaine happens to break Kurt’s delicate heart, I will ram him with my wheelchair till he dies slowly.”

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Rachel went home to see her two dad’s serenading each other with “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”. They were doing a very good job of it too. She waited till they finished and then started clapping,” Brava!! That was brilliant, as per usual!”

            Hiram smiled at his little princess. He could see that there was a slight discomfort in Rach-rach’s eyes, but then he left it. She was a big girl and would talk to them in their weekly counselling sessions if she had a major problem.

            Rachel went and lay down on her pink bed. She looked at the wall opposite her cross-trainer which showed a trophy with her name and a gold star, of course. How was she supposed to attain her dream if whatever acting skills she had were marred by a lack of experience?  She realized that the answer would not be obtained by her crying like a kid. So she got up and went through her slightly elaborate routine. The Kurt in her head (Yes, she had a Kurt in her head who gave her fashion advice. Very rarely did he pop out except to trade barbs with the inner Rach.) screamed out at her, ”My makeup routine is much more elaborate than yours. You think beautiful girls are gonna stay in style forever? I should say not!” Rachel just hmphed at him for quoting “I’m the Greatest Star” before realizing he was a mental manifestation of her subconscious. She blushed and called her dad to get her a warm glass of milk.

            As she drank the milk, she thought, somehow the milk wasn’t making her feel better. Then she lay down and went to sleep.

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            She got up. For some reason, her mind was still not in the right place. She looked younger than she actually was. She wore clothes that she wore a year back. She looked to her nightstand to see an assortment of headbands. And then she realized, she was back in the past. This was when Blaine had experimented with her to check if he was truly gay or not. It was the best dream she could ever think of. She thought that if this time, she was able to make Blaine love her; she would not have any problem with Finn and be able to lose her virginity, thus making her transition to Maria a lot more believable. Her mind didn’t think of the fact that Kurt would be sad beyond ever that she had taken away his first straight-crush as well as his first gay-turned-out-to-be-bisexual-crush.

            She went to her dads’ cabinet and opened it up and removed a bottle which looked quite pretty. If she wanted to start something new, she needed something to inspire her. She took a wine glass out and poured the liquid into it. She had no clue what it was but it looked like liquid chocolate or something. She held the crystal in her hands carefully and walked to her bed. Then she kept the glass on her nightstand and called up Blaine. She was determined not to get so sloshed that he only humoured her like last time. She wanted to woo him, so to speak.

            She searched high and low for the number she had sneaked in from Kurt’s phone. It helped her that the display picture was such a cute picture of him in his Dalton blazer. She finally got it as she had hidden it safely behind her poster to motivate her while exercising. She then called him and asked, ”Hey Blaine, what’s up?”

“Hey Rachel! What are you doing?”

“Actually this is kinda embarrassing. I hated that I had to kiss you when both of us were drunk as I actually, um, like you.”

“Oh...oh!”

“So maybe, you would want to go on a date with me sometime?”

“ Um, yeah..sure..Yeah, Kurt, thanks for the coffee!”

Rachel was so happy that she felt she had just met Barbara Streisand. She lay back down on her bed and gave a happy sigh.

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She had gone with Blaine to Breadstix. She didn’t want to be cliché, but this was the only way the gossip would spread like wildfire through McKinley that Rachel Berry was finally dating a man who matched her vocal skills and would give her beautiful babies.

            The next day when she went to school and entered the Choir Room, she got looks from the whole group, which made her suspicious, as she was always the first one there so she could practice her brilliant vocals. Mercedes got up and beckoned Rachel to sit down in her seat. Everyone stood up and made a semicircle around her.

Santana said, ”You need a Blaine-vention, RuPaul.”

Finn : Yeah, what she said.

Tina : Do you have no compassion in your popularity- and fame-obsessed mind at all? Kurt is your best friend!

Mercedes: Well no, Kurt is MY best friend. And white girl, you just broke the girl-code. No perving on your bestie’s man. Well, your ex-bestie as you just broke his heart.

Mike : Even I wouldn’t have done that to anyone.

Artie coughed into his hand, saying Tina nonchalantly.

Mike blushed, muttering about how they weren’t friends then, and Tina and he were made for each other and how both of them were Asians for God’s sake.

Artie : I wouldn’t ever do that in my whole life, though usually I would be in Kurt’s place because of my…well, my wheelchair.

Rachel just huffed and stood up, ”Don’t you think I’m the wrong person for you guys to say all this to? If Blaine has decided that he is straight, don’t you think it was better for me to catch him now then Blaine to flaunt some floozy in front of Kurt later?”

Just then, everyone looked behind her and Rachel also turned to see Kurt standing there with red-rimmed eyes. He said, ”No, Rachel, it was bad when you kissed the boy I like when you were drunk. That I could excuse ‘cuz you were sloshed. But then you asked him out when sober. And you try to make it alright by saying it was better this way? I’ll tell you one thing. It is worse seeing your frenemy date the boy you Love compared to even a whore!”

And then he stormed out of the room, ironically very similarly to Rachel.

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Rachel sat with Blaine at the Lima Bean as she gave a happy sigh. This was the fifth date that they had gone on. She was so happy that she was oblivious to the fact that Blaine was actually depressed. She asked him, ”Not that I would release our set-list to you, seeing how you are technically the enemy. But I am sure you still got all the solos right?”

Blaine smiled a tiny smile and said, ”Actually no, this time I spoke to the Council and told them to give two solos to Kurt. The fabulous person that he is…”

Rachel literally screamed, ”WAIT WHAT? You are more than triple the talent he is. And you gave up the solos to him. What is wrong with you?”

Blaine’s small smile disappeared as he glared at Rachel, ”Kurt is your best friend. What is wrong with you? Don’t you have a heart in you?”

Rachel tried to placate him, ”I just felt bad for you...”

Blaine stood up, ”Well I didn’t like that you had to insult Kurt to make me feel better.”

He left his half full coffee cup on the table and left. Rachel just sat there, frozen.

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Rachel was at her wit’s end. If she was the type, she would have started pulling her hair out of tension. Her dumb mind was slowly absorbing the fact that Blaine was pulling away from her. She was worried that the reason why she came back in the past would not be able to be fulfilled at all. Oh yes, she did remember coming back almost a whole year. And she remembered doing it for sex. Well, that sounded horrible when you phrased it that way.

            Now that Blaine was talking up for Kurt, she realized that he had started to realize his feelings for the fair guy that they had declared much, much earlier in the previous version of this time. And it was the height of manipulation for her, but she knew the only way she would have sex with Blaine was if she got him drunk. She hated that it had to happen to her this way. For all she knew, she could have waited for Finn and had something beautiful. But now, she knew that she had to stick to what she had wanted, even though it wasn’t what she needed. She removed her mobile phone and sent a mass text to the group: Party at my house today. Puck and Lauren, get the drinks. We need alcohol, STAT.

            She got affirmative replies from almost everyone (Kurt had refused to reply. Well, she knew that he was a stubborn bitch.) She called up Blaine and said,” I am so, so sorry. Well, you know how competitive I am and that comes off as rude towards other opponents of mine sometimes. You know, Kurt is such a good singer that I actually think of him as competition. So please, will you come tonight to my place? We are having a New Directions Party, but you are allowed attendance as my boyfriend.” As Blaine gave a confirming but not happy reply, she was sure that the Kurt thing had actually gotten to him, which upset her. Well, Kurt wasn’t coming tonight, so good for her.

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            The party was in full motion. It was very similar to last time. Finn was still the designated driver, Santana was making out with Sam, Lauren and Quinn were shouting at Puck. But two things were different.  One, Kurt was not there. And two, this time, Rachel was not drunk. Nope, not one drop of alcohol had passed through her lips. However, Blaine was chugging his fifth beer by now, and was on the way to totally sloshed. And then she remembered reading an article where it said fully drunk men didn’t get up, so to speak. So she immediately got Blaine to get up and told him, ”Let’s go up, shall we?” Blaine just nodded happily and walked after her.

            Just then Quinn came over and started shouting at Rachel, ”What the hell do you think of yourself? Every single time I break up with Finn, you are there, ready to pick up the pieces, make him a whole person and give him up to me again. Do you even like yourself or are you a sucker for Lima losers? I mean, except for Jesse, but then he just wanted us to lose.”

            Rachel scoffed nervously and said, ”Well, I have Blaine. And he is DEFINITELY not a Lima Loser.”

            Santana put a hand on Quinn’s shoulders and gave an evil laugh, ”Didn’t you get the memo, Miss-Bossy-Pants-who-doesn’t-even-have-good-taste-in-clothes? Blaine doesn’t love you. He is still with you because he doesn’t have the balls to tell Porcelain that he’s in love with him. And your plan to seduce him today will totally backfire.”

            Rachel looked around the room to see that no one was listening to the three of them talk. She then told the two Cheerios, ”I’ll do anything to make sure Blaine stays with me. Isn’t it similar to how you treat Finn, Quinn? Or you Puck, Satan? At least I love Blaine in some way; you guys are just in it for the popularity.” Just then Puck stopped and told her, ”Hey, us Jews should stick together remember? You threw this party, but you still aren’t sloshed. Are you crazay?” And as much as she despised it, she had to follow him.

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            By the time she had regained at least some of her senses, she was thoroughly drunk. She had no idea of how much she had drank, only enough that she knew she had to have sex with Blaine tonight, or there was no use in today’s party and she would be grounded for nothing. (Not being allowed to sing for a week was the worst punishment ever!) She went into her bedroom and saw Blaine on the bed. She could see that all the gel was still on Blaine’s head. That was one thing that had to go as soon as they had sex. She didn’t want to touch his hair only to get her hands sticky. She got into the bed and saw him smiling up at her. She smiled back as he started to kiss her……………………………………………………

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            The next morning, she got up with a pain in her lower parts but a big smile on her face. However, when she saw next to her, there was no one on the bed. She was worried that Blaine had left, but then she heard him singing downstairs. She immediately blushed, something that was abnormal for her. She went through her moisturizing routine, listening to him continue serenading her from the bottom of the staircase with silly love songs.

            And this presumption was why she got the shocker of her life when she saw some guy in a Dalton blazer mouth the lyrics as Blaine stood behind her. The former was giving her a smitten look. He spoke, ”I would sing, but I’m much better at beatboxing, and even I know that isn’t romantic.”  Blaine had gone back to the kitchen to finish making the pancakes he had started. He knew this was the most awkward thing ever. They were a couple who hadn’t broken up yet and he was helping another guy serenade her. But this was a thing that HAD to happen if the two of them wanted to be happy. During Blaine’s monologue, Rachel was freaking out. The little grogginess that was present had left her body. She put the pieces together and realized that the last night wasn’t Blaine at all. She knew the apocalypse had arrived and all that preparation was to naught. Even if the guy was cute, she had had sex with someone she didn’t know at all. And that was sad. And depressing. And enough to take her mood down to the dumpster.

            Just then Blaine looked at her,” Do you want to go somewhere so we can talk? I really think we need to talk.” Rachel wasn’t well versed in relationship-talk, but every girl instinctively knew that those four words meant an eminent breakup. They went upstairs to the balcony. She didn’t want to enter the bedroom knowing what had happened in there. She stood, looking out at the sun, trying to stop her eyes from watering. Blaine started speaking then, ”I knew I needed to talk to you yesterday, but I think I got drunk way too easily. I should stop drinking so much. My parents will kill me.” He waited to let Rachel get composed, and then started again, ”See, before I dated you, I wasn’t sure whether I was gay or not. However, now, even if I thought I was bi, the feeling is lost. And I’m sure it’s the same for you, seeing how last night, well… So I thought, maybe we should break up amicably rather than it being awkward later.”

            Rachel wanted to throw a diva-esque fit. But she knew, in her heart, whatever she had done from the start, was actually wrong. Creating a time-rift, forcing Blaine to continue acting straight (or bi), using alcohol all of this just to have sex with the right person wasn’t an ideal reason, she realized. So maybe this was Fate, or destiny, or karma, or whatever you wanted to call it, which got back at her because of all the wrong decisions she had made. So she gave him a smile and said, ”I totally get it. And yeah, we should stay friends. And I know you like Kurt…” (She could totally see the red on Blaine’s cheeks at his name coming up) “… and that is why I insulted him that day. Because I knew that you liked him and I didn’t like that. But I give you my blessing, though you don’t need it to date him. But yeah, can you tell the guy downstairs to go away for some time? If he is as sweet as he looks like, I don’t want him to be the Rebound guy.” Blaine nodded and three minutes later, she heard the door close.

            Three weeks later, as she went shopping, suddenly a weird feeling came over her. The last time this had happened was during Tik Tok. A dawning feeling came over her as she went to the small washroom and puked her guts out. She immediately thought of the worst and bought a pregnancy test. And her worst horror was true. All the mean things she had thought about Quinn were coming back to her. Because, after reminding herself so many times, she had to go and avoid using a condom during the first and only time that she had had sex? And almost like a musical, the words started pouring out of her mouth:

I never wanted to be in Quinn’s shoes;

It was only once that I let loose,

The deed is done; it can’t be taken back,

But would the fate that started this please cut me some slack?

            Rachel drove home as fast as possible. She didn’t even keep the New York Cheesecake in the fridge before running to her bedroom. She laid down in the same way she had before all this started. She kept repeating to herself, ”THIS IS JUST A DREAM, THIS IS JUST A DREAM, THIS IS JUST A DREAM, THIS IS JU…”

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            When she woke up, she looked in the mirror to see she had a flat stomach and was wearing the same nightgown she had worn before the whole “TIME-RIFT FIASCO” and a glass of warm milk was on her nightstand. And then she was happy, because everything was back to normal, and she could live her normal life with Finn.