Chapter 1: A Puckerman Party Welcome

The Fabray triplets were a sight to behold: all blonde-haired and tall and exceedingly beautiful. This might be a strange way to refer to the two brothers and a sister, but it was true nonetheless. Their arrival earlier that summer had the teenage population of Lima, Ohio in an uproar. Besotted boys and girls were fervently hoping they'd be attending William McKinley High once school starts; that way they could drool over these godsends all the time. The weeks before then were filled with swoons all around, and why not? They were definitely worth it:

Lucas Quintin Fabray was the eldest and undeniable leader of the trio. He had hazel-green eyes and pale skin, with a delicate nose and plump lips. Quintin was leanly muscled as a resulted of spending most of his time on the track, specialising in middle-distance running. He divided his time between that and the basketball court.

Samuel Evan Fabray was the tallest of the siblings, a footballer and an avid comic book collector. He had blue-gray eyes, and a rather large mouth that seemed to always be smiling. Sam was a goofball, and could usually be heard spouting movie-quotes at the drop of a hat.

Their youngest sibling was Brittany Sara Fabray, a blue-eyed dancing angel. She was their gentle heart, displaying a sweet innocence that was often mistaken for naivete. Quintin and Sam took their roles as Brittany's protectors very seriously, and was always looking out for her.

The Fabrays were a very close-knit family, and each sibling had taken the separation and subsequent divorce of their parents, Judy and Russell, very hard. The move to Lima was in essence a new start for them all. Maybe here Quintin will learn how to really be all of himself, the body and the brain. Maybe Sam will see more than his perfect abs in the mirror. Maybe Brittany will find more to love in the real world, and less to fear. And maybe one day, Judy will believe in trust again.

But not today. The teens had been invited to parties and hang-outs since moving in, but Judy had forced them to thoroughly unpack first before relenting. They chose Noah Puckerman's invitation simply because they could walk the few blocks, and were soon joined on the way by two new faces: Mike Chang, a tall gangly looking Asian boy, who had immediately recognised a fellow dancer in Britt; and his girlfriend Tina Cohen-Chang (no relation, they checked) a Goth looking Asian girl, with blue streaks in her hair. They chatted about movies (Sam and Tina shared a love of sci-fi) music (lots of disco-bashing all around) and glee-club. Apparently both Mike and Tina were part of the school show choir, and encouraged the triplets to consider joining. They were spared from having to answer when the door opened, to reveal the party in full swing.

It was blatantly clear that Puck's parties were the infamous kind, where making a drunken fool of oneself was almost mandatory. The brothers had rules for situations like this, separate from the ones their mother insisted on. The most important was to keep unwanted attention away from their far too trusting sister. Usually the two boys would sandwich the girl protectively, glaring at anyone brave enough to approach, until they gave up and left the trio alone. They would let her go only if she indicated real interest, and either Quintin or Sam would be watching to ensure her safety. They have had too many close calls to worry about being over-protective, and while this sometimes meant losing out on their own dates, making sure Brittany was taken care of was their first priority.

They had been introduced to a wildly sexy latina, called Santana Lopez, at the door. Puck had shoved beers (cold, and unopened) into their hands, and ushered them in with a wink in Britt's direction. Unfortunately for the mohawked boy, he wasn't the one who had caught Brittany's eye. They fell into their routine as the party progressed, waiting for the latina to make her move. Brittany hoped her girl would be brave, as she knew this was one of the few ways a potential special someone could actually impress her brothers. The girl finally proved Britt right.

"Yes?" Quintin growled, looking up from his copy of 'The Silmarilion' to take in the girl standing in front of his sister. The couch they were on wasn't that big, and he could get away with assuming her attention was on him. He smirked, absolutely loving this part of their little test. Guys either ended up stuttering, or stupidly trying to intimidate the two boys. Girls would start blushing in embarrassment, or flirt inappropriately. Any reaction deemed to be weak meant they lost their chance to get close to Brittany. She wasn't anyone to be ashamed of, and if they couldn't even face her brothers, they didn't deserve to face her.

The latina cocked her eyebrow at him, before turning to speak to Brittany directly. "Um, would you like to dance?" She pointed her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the other bodies enjoying the music. The girl was wearing a tight-fitting red shirt and a black leather skirt, and the movement emphasised her chest in a most satisfying way. Quintin nodded in approval of her stance. It was sexy and confident without being arrogant or demeaning. The hesitation in her question was obviously contrived, since she clearly wasn't shy, so all Sam had left to do was confirm his deductions.

The boy in question was staring at Santana in shock. Since Brittany had only recently begun exploring her bisexuality, he wasn't that used to anything so forward from girls interested in his sister. They were usually shy, and could barely get their words out above a whisper. He couldn't believe his sister's luck, finding an out-and-proud lesbian their age, looking like that, and at their first party too! "You wanna dance with her?" he asked, eyes wide. Quintin frowned at him, thinking he was taking their test a little too seriously. He shook his head at his brother. What was Sam doing?

"With the girl?" he continued, suspicious now. If this some kind of prank he might have to hit this girl. The famous Fabray eyebrow from Quintin had him rethinking this assumption though. Quinn was a pretty good judge of character, and the girl was still trying to get Britt to dance, so maybe she was for real. "But we're hot!" he teased, leaning over his sister to point between himself and his brother, winking flirtatiously at the latina. She narrowed her eyes at his antics, before smiling. Sam smiled back. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad in Lima after all. Maybe the Fabrays could actually be happy and accepted for once.

"Are you kidding me?" Santana teased him back. She couldn't resist the twinkling mischief in Sam's eyes. "Please! Hot? You two? This haircut makes him look like a girl, and you look like a wanna-Belieber. Plus, who brings a book to a house-party? Dorks, that's who," she sniffed dismissively. Returning her attention back to the now widely smiling girl, she winked. Brittany swooned; she knew she'd chosen well. "So, you wanna dance?" Brittany nodded eagerly, already out of her seat.

She was having a good time dancing with Santana, and pretty soon she spied Sam finding a dance partner too. Quintin just continued reading his book, occassionally looking around to check on his siblings. He didn't join the fray however, content to just read without interruptions. Alas, that was not meant to be, and he soon found himself deflecting horny propositions from boys wanting to hook up. They were soon dismissed; the fact that he was also a boy came in very handy. Except when it didn't: he had a minor incident involving a burly guy attempting to stroke his chest. Ugh. His rather loud affirmation of his masculinity then led to the same drunken invitations from girls, much to his displeasure.

After an eternity of head-shaking, it seemed there was finally a lull in activity, and he managed to relax, until: "Is that any good?"

Quintin looked at the girl seated next to him on the couch. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a shimmering green tank-top, smiling at him expectantly. He had noticed her earlier talking with the black girl who was still hanging out with Sam, and another boy whose name he couldn't remember. It was from a movie, he thought.

Opting to swallow his annoyance, he turned to answer the girl. "Um, yeah. It's pretty good." He waited for her to continue with her spiel now that she had his attention. Most of the teens who'd approached him so far had asked about what he was reading, and then followed that up with 'do you wanna dance/hook up/whatever'. He regarded the brunette warily when she didn't. This was a tactic he hadn't encountered yet so far tonight.

"What's it called?" She was completely oblivious to Quintin's apprehension. Wait, what? He was caught off-guard by the genuine interest in her tone. Who was this girl? He tried to remember her name, knowing they had been introduced earlier, but couldn't. There had been so many people in his face tonight, and now when he wanted to not blow someone off, he was at a loss.

"The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien. He's the guy that wrote the Lord of the Rings," he added shyly. He took a sly look at her again. She had arrived with a really tall guy, he knew. What had Santana called him, Frankenteen? He quickly scanned the room for the giant, and spotted him dancing between two giggling girls, visibly delighted by the close proximity of their hands to his crotch. Possibly-cheating on your possible-girlfriend? Nice. And in plain sight too. Ugh, what a jerk.

He turned away in disgust, catching the brunette grimacing in the direction of the spectacle. Quintin felt himself flushing in embarrassment for some reason, and opened his book in an attempt to cover his face. Figuring the conversation was over, and that the girl (Rachel! Her name was Rachel something-fruity) would want to admonish her possible-boyfriend over his disparaging behaviour, he read on. Quintin therefore was surprised when the girl continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.

"I've never read it. I tried once, when I was forced to spend some of my summer with my grandparents in Boston, but I couldn't grasp it. Although in all honesty, I lacked the willingness to try. Besides, it's a rather large tome, and patience is not my biggest virtue."

Quintin could only stare in awe. Rachel seemed to be waiting for him to comment, and when it became apparent that none would be forthcoming, she sighed softly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your reading. I merely thought you would appreciate some company, but I will no longer impose myself on you. Enjoy your book" she finished, standing up from the couch and heading for the boy he thought might be named Kurt.

He saw them high-fiving, Maybe-Kurt with a smile and Rachel with a frown, and briefly wondered what that was about. Was this some kind of swingers-party? Did no one else care that Rachel's possible-boyfriend was possibly-cheating on her, right in front of her and her friends? Oh God, was Quintin supposed to be her new partner? Shrugging he turned his attention back to his reading, getting lost in the worlds of Tolkien like so many times before, missing the speculative look Kurt shot his way. He would have been very surprised to hear their conversation though.

"So, when's the wedding?" Kurt asked, offering Rachel a bottle of mineral water. The two of them had been covertly watching Quintin Fabray all night, waiting for him to accept an offer for a dance or a drink, or a hook-up. Apparently the boy simply wasn't interested in anything except his book. This had led to a discussion of the kind of book he was so engaged in, before Finn and his skanky fanclub's gyrations prompted Kurt to challenge his fellow diva to make a move on the cute bookworm.

"He barely spoke to me Kurt," Rachel said, taking a sip. She was regretting accepting his challenge, and wished her ex-boyfriend was been more discrete. That display was just so tacky. She had seen the disgusted look on Quintin's face, and had grimaced at the thought of him finding out Finn was her ex. "It was patently obvious that he would've prefered to be left alone, so what could I do?"

"Maybe he's gay," Kurt ventured, trying to comfort his friend. "I mean, just look at his hair. And who wears a baby-blue shirt to a party? Although, that colour and cut is totally working for him." From the slump of her shoulders he could tell she wasn't convinced. Not for the first time Kurt found himself cursing his step-brother's selfishness. Why did he have to be so blatantly over Rachel, rubbing his availability in her face like that? Wasn't it enough that he'd broken up with her in front of the entire glee-club? Instead of continuing their conversation, he ushered the singer outside, where she wouldn't have to witness her ex-boyfriend's cruelty, or Quintin Fabray's indifference.

Santana meanwhile had managed to catch the whole awkward exchange on the couch, and now turned to the girl lounging beside her. "Hey, Britt, is your brother gay or something?" That's the only explanation she could come up with for Quintin's behaviour. Sure, a few guys had approached the dork, but she didn't take that to mean anything. He'd dismissed them anyway. Most of the girls had been throwing themselves at the bookworm too though, leaving very little to the imagination, and he'd still rejected them with barely a second glance. And yeah, Berry usually dressed like a cross between a toddler and a psychotic grandma, but the hobbit had managed to clean up enough to catch a few eyes tonight, so what the hell? After that nauseating display from Finncompetent, she kinda felt sorry for the midget. So maybe Auntie Tana could do something about it.

Her internal ramblings were cut short when Brittany yanked her out of her seat by her hips, pulling their bodies closer together. "Quintin's not gay," she whispered in a tan ear, enjoying the shiver her words caused. They were against one of the livingroom walls, out of everyone's way. "He's just shy, San. And a virgin" she added, lightly biting her earlobe lightly. Santana's incredulous laugh turned into a groan of pleasure, and she twisted away from the mischievous blonde with a sultry smile.

"Wanna get outta here?" She was already pulling them towards the front door, Brittany's excited giggles spurring her on. She'd worry about a way to hook up Berry and the virgin Fabray later. "I wants to get my mack on."