Work Text:
Quinn knows, as soon as she steps into McKinley High, that moving out to Lima isn't the greatest idea her parents ever had. And saying they aren't the brightest people around is the understatement of the century. But this? It beats every stupid thing they ever did in life, and that list is pretty long.
She just doesn't know what they expect, honestly. So what if she somehow found herself with a girlfriend back home? Well, home being Akron, because Lima is not home - will never be home, as far as she's concerned.
Sure, it's still in the same state, but seriously? She isn't looking forward to the whole 'new kid on the block ' thing. It's torture. She knows this because she's been the torturer for quite some time before her parents suddenly – well, not that suddenly, when she actually thinks about it – decided to pack and move.
She's entering her own personal hell; and worst of all, she knows there isn’t a thing she can do to stop it.
(Quinn hopes slushies aren’t as common in McKinley as they are back in Akron - if they are, she knows it won’t be long before corn syrup is dripping down her clothes.)
(She can only hope it's cherry flavored. She hates grape.)
The thought that she would be the one at the bottom of the high school food chain never really crossed her mind before.
She was the Head Cheerleader, president of the celibacy club – a surefire way to keep boys from getting too touchy-feely without having people dwelling on her reasons for it - and so many other things that she can't even begin to remember. And now she finds herself being almost stomped in the hallways, because apparently people can't seem to walk around without trying to knock someone out.
It's not even lunch yet, and she's already wishing she could go back to her bed and forget the entire fiasco that her first day in McKinley High had been.
But - as life is never perfect - she can't, because she has a Spanish class to attend, and then a couple more, before she can finally head home.
(If that's not torture, she really doesn't know what it is.)
Or maybe she just spoke too soon.
To Quinn – the innocent bystander – it looks as if the red sea is parting right in front of her eyes. All the kids who had been practically ramming her into the lockers, now seem to be trying their hardest to press their bodies against the metal, so somebody can walk through. And just like that, she knows she's about to meet McKinley's royalty. And really, if she has to pick the right moment to do that, it certainly isn't now. Her books are sprawled on the floor – because people here can't be bothered to help someone else – and she is getting extremely frustrated with her stupid locker that just won't open, no matter how hard she tries to push and pull it.
Of course - It's just her luck that she's the one getting the malfunctioning locker.
As people move around, she can finally focus on three figures making their way down the hall, and it's nothing like she expects. It's so surprising, in fact, that her jaw drops and she doesn't bother on picking it up.
She is, of course, expecting to find some kind of version of herself walking down the hallways – not that she's vain, or anything like that, just - well, realistic, right? But the small figure clad in argyle is nothing like her. In fact, Quinn thinks that their roles should be reversed. The fact that the two other girls are wearing matching cheerleading uniforms just kind of supports her theory. Because there's absolutely no way that people are parting to let that particular creature walk through.
It's just impossible.
Sure, she's cute. More than that, if you look past the argyle. Quinn's depraved mind – and she won’t ever deny that she has one, thank you very much – immediately removes the offending wardrobe choice, and she decides that the small girl is probably extremely hot under that terrible attire. It distracts her for a moment, and when the girl – and her minions – finally stop next to her locker, she has to make an effort to keep her attention focused on something else.
The small brunette gives her a once over - and she's not even subtle while doing so - then simply pulls her locker open, grabs a few books, and turns around to leave, without saying a word. The girl next to her gives Quinn a sneer, and moves to give a small tug at her locker - that instantly clicks open – before she too starts to walk after the other girl. The last one, a blonde girl with a cute smile, grins in her direction and waves goodbye as she moves to take the sneering girl’s hand.
(Quinn immediately likes her.)
//
Spanish class is strange, to say the least.
She quickly learns that the Glee club is the big thing here in McKinley and that the smurf who has the locker next to hers is actually the best singer they have, and the biggest reason why New Directions – that's how their glee club is called – sports two national titles and is going for their third.
The Spanish teacher, Mr. Schue, is also the glee club coach, and when more than half of the class is part of said club, it doesn't really make it easy to focus on learning the language. In fact, Spanish classes are mostly used to discuss things about Glee, and she can't help but find herself a little lost in the middle of all that music discussion.
And, if all that isn't enough, she discovers that the reason why two cheerleaders seem to be Rachel Berry's – that's the smurf's name – best friends is because the whole school sort of got sucked into some kind of alternative universe, where cheerleaders and glee clubbers can do both things and still get away with it.
(Apparently, both teams being extremely powerful, they decided to join forces and become, well, invincible.)
She doesn't know yet how it all happened, but she does know that, apparently, The Cheerios are backed up by the massive vocals from the Glee club, while New Directions holds the support of the amazing dancers – and sometimes even singers – that come from the cheerleading squad.
She's sure this is the Twilight Zone.
//
By the time lunch has rolled around, she thinks that she will manage to go the entire day without getting corn syrup all over her face - which is good, and might make the entire day somewhat acceptable.
People are still warming up to her, and so she's still waiting for something bad to happen anytime soon.
One huge jock guy seems to have found an appreciation for her – Finn Hudson, is his name - but she can't even bring herself to find him remotely cute. Mostly because the few words that came out of his mouth were more than enough to make her realize that he's probably not the brightest kid out there, and she really doesn't have the time – nor the patience – to deal with dim-witted boys running after her.
(Quinn believes she’s had her fair share of that in her life.)
When the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch period, and she closes her locker to head out to class, she instantly knows that her luck has left her. She knows this because some jock holding a slushie cup is making his way down the hallway, and she just knows what's coming. And yet, her feet seems to be glued to the ground, and she can't really bring herself to do something; not even at least try to run to hide.
Instead, she fumbles with her locker again, throws her books inside, and closes her eyes, ready to take the cold splash that it's surely coming to her.
Except that it doesn't.
"Karofsky ," she hears, the voice low and commanding. Opening her eyes, she finds Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez and Brittany S. Pierce – yes, she knows their names already – standing a few feet away from her, their attention focused on the guy who is holding the slushie cup. The other students immediately start to form a circle around them, and she has to fight the urge to roll her eyes at how pathetic it all is. But she doesn't, because she's still slushie free, and she wants to know why.
"You said I could have the new kids." she hears the guy – Karofsky, apparently – whine to Rachel, who continues to keep her face devoid of any emotion.
"Not her, you can't." Rachel says firmly, and Quinn can't help the surprise that takes over her face. "Not now, not ever."
"But-" The jock tries again, but is immediately interrupted.
"You heard Rachel, Karofsky. Back off." Santana steps in between her and the guy, a perfect snarl in place and Quinn can see Karofsky shuddering. She can't blame him; if she ever found herself in the receiving end of that particular snarl, she'd probably disappear faster than the blink of an eye.
Terrifying is the understatement of the century when it comes to define Santana's expression.
"Fine, whatever." The guy grumbles, but walks away anyway, and Quinn still can't believe what her eyes are seeing.
"Okay, show's over, people!" Santana growls again, and the students suddenly find themselves moving around.
"Uh, thanks." She says, uncertainly, as Rachel moves to open her locker. Brittany rests her head on Santana's shoulder, but keeps smiling at Quinn, and she finds herself mirroring the girl's expression.
Rachel nods, but doesn't say anything, and once again she takes off for her class without throwing another glance at Quinn.
"You're welcome." Brittany says, surprising Quinn by giving her a quick hug. "Don't worry, she'll talk to you soon."
She wants to ask how Brittany can be so sure of that, but Santana turns around and calls out for her, and before she can even blink, the cheerleader has already taken off, and she's left standing in the hallway trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
(She tries really hard, but in the end, she just doesn't understand.)
//
School doesn't get much better.
Sure, nobody dares to pick on her, because Rachel Berry said she was off-limits, and people seem to really fear her – or rather Santana, because Rachel doesn't look scary at all – so they leave her alone. She makes a couple friends, because they're nice enough to talk to her and she knows better than to be her bitchy self, so by the end of the week, she at least has someone to talk to.
Kurt is - well, she doesn't really have a word to explain him. He says that the only reason he even bothered to talk to her is because she has nice taste in clothes, and to him that's essential. Also, her hair is all kinds of amazing and he thinks they could have fun together. He can be a little overwhelming sometimes, but she soon learns how to move past it and enjoy the friendship he is offering, because she can't really afford to be picky.
Mercedes comes as a package deal. You buy Kurt, you get her; take it or leave it. Quinn can't understand how she and Kurt manage to be so attached, because she often finds herself thinking they are way too much to handle. It surprises her that they haven't killed each other in one of their 'diva moments', as Kurt so eloquently puts it. It takes her a while to brush off the sassy remarks, but she takes all in stride; friends don't come easy nowadays, and if she wants to be someone in the high school chain again, she has to treat her potential friends well.
It's hard, but Quinn likes a challenge.
Tina and Artie aren't so hard to deal as Mercedes and Kurt, and she finds them the easiest to befriend. They've been a couple for quite some time now, but she likes to hang out with them because they don't keep rubbing it in her face. Artie is sweet and caring, even if he has his moments of plain stupidity and sometimes Tina loses her patience with him. But they always manage to make up by the end of the day, so nothing is never awkward between them.
They're all in Glee club, as well. She finds harder everyday to find someone in her class that is not a part of the club. Kurt and Mercedes are also in The Cheerios, much to her surprise. Even though they hang out with her, and are nice to her and everything, she can see that their loyalty lies with one Rachel Berry, which surprises her even more than finding out Santana and Brittany are the girl's best friends. When she watches their interactions, she sometimes thinks Kurt wants to murder Rachel - and Mercedes is right there to help him - but in the end they end up smiling and even though she doesn't understand it, she finds herself wanting to be part of that tight-knit group they seem to be.
It's weird because they're a bunch of misfits that shouldn't be in the penthouse, but somehow they are and she can't really bring herself to think that's wrong. If anything, nothing seems more right.
That's what friendship is; and even though she sees that sometimes they want to kill each other, they act as one when it comes to everything else, and it just sort of leaves her in wonder, because she never had anything like that in her life.
//
When she meets Noah Puckerman for the second time, it's one heck of a strange situation.
Mostly because the first time he stopped by her locker, he unceremoniously offered to make out with her, and she took off – almost running – before he could gross her out even more. She immediately put him in the asshole category, and made sure to avoid him from then on because she didn't want to put out for him, and his smirk actually scared her a little bit.
But the second time? That was a whole other discussion, and really, Quinn shouldn't be surprised anymore by the weird things that happen at McKinley, but she's still not used. Well, sue her for raising an eyebrow at argyle clad girls who seem to rule the school.
But here's how it happens.
She is – once again – standing in front of her locker, putting some books inside and taking off the ones she will need to work on her homework. It's Friday, and school is out, so the hallways are almost empty, with the exception of her, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez, Brittany and a couple other freshmen kids.
Brittany is whispering something in Santana's ear, but the Santana is shaking her head and whispering something about Rachel and not happening, and then Quinn sees Brittany send her some sort of apologetic look, even though she can't understand why she would do something like that. If anything, in the few words they exchanged, Brittany's always extremely nice to her, and she just doesn't understand what's happening there.
Her attention is diverted, though, as Puckerman comes out of nowhere, and stops between her locker and Rachel's, placing a small kiss on the girl's cheek before turning to Quinn, a smirk on his face.
(Quinn tries not to let the surprise show on her face, but she thinks that the results are not very good.)
"S'up?" He says, and she wants to roll her eyes at his 'appreciative' look. She doesn't, but Santana has no qualms about it, and does it for her.
"Leave the girl alone, Puck." She says, her tone half amused, half annoyed, and Quinn thinks that she must be so used to the whole thing that it's actually kind of funny to watch it, but her head bitch in charge persona can't let her have Puck doing that without trying to express at least some kind of disgust, even if it's only a halfhearted attempt.
"You jealous, Lopez?" is Puck's reply, which makes Santana snort – actually snort – and wrap her right arm around Brittany's waist, bringing her closer in a possessive gesture.
"Why would I ever be jealous? In case you haven't noticed, I can - and I do - much better than you." She smirks, and Brittany's smile turns into a full blown grin.
"Well, you used to be jealous of him, S." Quinn is actually a bit startled to hear Rachel's voice – because that doesn't happen a lot when she is around – and her attention is instantly drawn to her.
"Shut it, Berry." Santana says, but her tone is actually sweet compared to the one she used that one time she told Karofsky to back off, so Quinn knows that Santana is not even half as angry as she seems to be. Apparently Rachel knows that too, because she just grins knowingly at her friend, and Quinn finds herself kind of mesmerized by that smile.
"Well, pardon me for being honest." Rachel says, obviously teasing Santana. She shares an amused look with Puck, and Quinn finds the exchange incredibly weird but also extremely cute at the same time. It's like Noah Puckerman is someone else entirely different when it comes to Rachel Berry. He doesn't look at her like she's a piece of meat, and even though she sometimes sees him cracking a few jokes at Rachel when they're in class, it doesn't hold the same hidden dirty message that it does when he talks to her, or even Santana for that matter.
(It's weird, to say the least.)
"I don't like to think about the time you were with Puck." Brittany says, a small pout forming in her face, and Santana glares at Puck, who just shrugs, as if he hasn't done anything.
"It's okay, babe. It was a fluke, trust me."
Now, if she thinks that Santana is sweet to Rachel, it's nothing compared to how she speaks to Brittany, and Quinn feels really stupid for not realizing that there is something going on between those two.
(Quite the lesbian, she is.)
"Trust me, I can't begin to imagine how that relationship of yours ever worked. With your ego," Rachel nodded towards Puck - who grins in return – and then moves her gaze to Santana, "and yours, not to mention your bitchy attitude, I'm surprised you didn't end up killing each other.” She shrugs. “But, as I've stated before, it would never have worked anyway. You two are both Alpha males and you thrive on being in control. I'm glad you decided to come to your senses and realize that I was right. Which, of course, is entirely predictable, considering you two aren't the smartest kids on the-"
"We get it, Rach." Puck interrupts, and Quinn is glad he does it, because she is pretty sure Rachel could go on that rant for hours. She won't deny, though, that it actually amuses her a little bit and she finds herself smiling softly. "We're not good together. We learned our lesson."
Santana nods, but before any of them can say anything else, they see Finn Hudson walking down the hallway towards them, and Quinn holds her breath, hoping he isn't about to make another move on her. Puck she can handle, because he makes a move on basically every female, but Finn actually seems to be after her. Or that's what it looks like.
She notices that even though Finn Hudson is clearly a part of the in crowd, he and Rachel don't get along very well. Quinn thinks that it looks as if Finn is walking on eggshells whenever he's around her, and that Santana wants to smack his face and kick him in his guy parts, which Quinn believes wouldn't be a pleasurable feeling. Puck seems to move even closer to Rachel as the other boy approaches, and it finally dawns on her; Noah Puckerman is protecting Rachel.
"Hi, Rachel, uh." Finn stops in front of them, and she's kind of surprised to see he's talking to Rachel and not her. She's sure it's the first words she has seen them exchange ever since she got to McKinley, and the tension is so thick that she can probably cut it with a knife, except that she doesn't have one, but that’s beside the point.
"Finn." Rachel acknowledges his presence with a small nod, all the smile drained from her face, and Quinn finds herself resenting Finn for the effect he seems to have on the other girl.
"I was wondering if I could, uh, talk to you?" Finn stutters, looking between Puck and Santana, before adding, "Alone?"
"I don't think it's gonna happen, bro." Puck is the one to answer, crossing his arms over his chest.
Finn takes a step forward, and Santana automatically does the same. "I think you should let Rachel decide that, Puck," he says, even though Quinn notices he is not really confident about the whole thing.
"Look, dude, I'm your best friend, and I don't want to hurt you," Puck states, running a hand over his mohawk in a frustrated gesture. Brittany has moved around Santana and is now holding Rachel in a protective hug and Quinn can't help but notice how the brunette looks so small in the embrace, all the confidence completely gone. "but Rachel trusted you and you hurt her. So even though I'm your friend, she comes first. I'll choose her over you any day. So no, you don't get to talk to her alone, because you acted like an asshole when you were supposed to be her friend."
Quinn thinks that's the most amazing thing she's ever seen.
She didn't think it was possible to find friends like that in high school.
//
After realizing that there is actually something going on between Rachel and Finn, Quinn finds herself extremely curious as to what exactly is happening there. She knows, of course – because Quinn Fabray is not stupid – that Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Artie are very aware of what went down between Rachel and Finn, but she's pretty sure they won't say a thing because they're not about to spill the Rachel’s secret to the skinny blonde girl who just got transferred.
It'd be silly of her to think they would, anyway.
As the days go by, she finds herself often watching Rachel, and it starts to scare her a bit, because while she is aware that she's gay – like, completely, thank you very much – that's also the reason why her parents moved to Lima, and she really doesn't want to move again just because she found herself another girlfriend.
Okay, maybe that's not entirely true.
Yes, she'd like to avoid being shipped off to another state, but the main reason why she is scared of all the Rachel Berry watching is because her last relationship didn't end up very well and she was kind of heartbroken about the whole thing, and she doesn't want to go through that again. Especially if the object of her attention seems – for all intents and purposes – completely straight.
And besides, she kind of wants to speak to Rachel before she dives head-first into this crazy ride.
That's exactly what she's thinking about, when she walks in the bathroom to check her make up before her next period. She's singing softly to Bright Eyes' "First Day of My Life", and so completely lost in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice the door behind her clicking open and one Rachel Berry stepping from one of the stalls, and stopping dead in her tracks as she notices the bathroom is no longer empty.
It takes Quinn a while to snap out of her daze – because music is the only thing that she can lose herself in – but when she finally does, she immediately snaps her mouth shut, and stares at Rachel's reflection in the mirror, trying to read the other girl's expression.
"I didn't know you sang." Rachel says, leaning against the wall, but not really moving any closer to Quinn.
"I didn't think you knew anything about me." Is Quinn's reply, because honestly - when did Rachel ever take the time to even talk to her? She's been in McKinley for more than a month and a half, and the little diva never gave her more than a nod of acknowledgment and - God, she feels incredibly stupid for even giving a damn about that.
"Touché." Rachel says, but Quinn can't really tell what's going on in Rachel’s head, and is so, so, so incredibly hard to be in the dark that she doesn't even have it in her to try and make small talk with the other girl. That's not what she wants, anyway. She wants the smiles Rachel directs to Santana, Brittany and, Jesus, even Puck.
She wants to have at least one proper conversation that doesn't involve biting remarks because she's pretty sure that this moment they're having right now isn't helping them at all. And she doesn't know why it's so important to have Rachel – the girl who loves argyle, talks more than Quinn ever thought it to be possible and is incredibly high maintenance and self absorbed - giving her at least a small piece of herself, but it is, and she's already feeling stupid enough to dwell in the meaning of everything.
When she looks at Rachel again, the girl takes a deep breath before saying, "You should join Glee."
"I'm a cheerleader, not a singer."
Okay, maybe that's not true anymore. She was a cheerleader back home, but here she's nothing and joining Glee could make her something, and even better, could make Rachel notice her, but she's too proud to give in that easily, and she doesn't want to give her the satisfaction of telling her what she should or shouldn't do – because she's pretty sure that she's actually okay with Rachel doing that, but she'll be damned before that particular thought comes out of her mouth.
Rachel moves, and before she can notice, she can feel warm breath on her neck, and Jesus, she doesn't want to think about how good it feels, but trying to fight her stupid teenage hormones is hard and as she bites her lower lip, she's glad to be a few inches taller than Rachel, so she can't see her reflection anymore.
"In case you haven't noticed," Rachel says, her voice practically a whisper, but she's standing so close to Quinn that she hears her perfectly, "they're basically one and the same here in McKinley."
And one more time, Rachel walks away before Quinn can even begin to process what the hell had just happened.
//
"You know, Blondie, I've had my sight set on you for a quite some time now." Quinn tries her best not to shrink under the woman's powerful gaze, but, really, she knows it's a futile attempt, because if there's someone who can install fear in the others, that someone is one Sue Sylvester.
She can see where Santana learns all her tricks.
"I was wondering when you'd come find me," the Coach says, completely focused on mixing her protein shake and not even glancing at Quinn. It makes her squirm in her sit, because damn, this is incredibly uncomfortable and she's starting to have second thoughts about being there. "I know you."
"You do?" Quinn squeaks, her voice full of surprise. Well, at least someone does.
"Quinn Fabray. Head Cheerleader of The Froot Loops," she smirks, and Quinn doesn't even bother to hide the shock that it's taking over her feature. What the hell is happening there? "I do my homework. Even though we clearly have no reason to worry, I like to check out the competition. And it was impossible not to notice you. You're good, Fabray. Clearly not as great as one Sue Sylvester here, but you do have my bone structure so that's a plus."
"I-"
"No, you don't have to say anything," Sue interrupts her, but Quinn is not really bothered because she actually has no idea what she's supposed to say, so she snaps her mouth shut again and focus on the woman in front of her. "I do happen to have a spot open for you. I just kicked one of my girls off the squad and you can take her place. But first, I need to ask, do you sing?"
"I don'-"
"Good," Sue nods, and scrunches her face a bit. "You know, there was a time when I really wanted to destroy William Schuester and his little club. And between you and me, I still don't like his hairdo, but fact is, there's only so much alienation one can do and teenagers nowadays don't listen to the voice of experience anymore, you see? Bottom line is, William Schuester was stealing my kids – not to mention my budget – so I started to steal his kids. Before we could notice, we couldn't tell Cheerios from glee clubbers anymore, and it was like my private hell!"
"That'-"
"But when my Cheerios took Nationals with the addition of those glee clubbers' vocals, and Figgins said I could have my full budget restored if I tried to work with New Directions - well, you can see my side, right?" She goes quiet for a moment, finishes mixing her shake, and faces Quinn again. "But make no mistake, if that William Schuester ever tries to play with me, he and that terrible thing he calls his hair, are going down." Her face takes a delighted expression, but she immediately snaps out of it. "So, you can go now. Practice starts at 6am everyday. If you're late, you're out. Glee club rehearsals start at 3:30pm. If you don't show up, you're off the Cheerios. Now out of my office!"
Quinn all but runs, wishing she could kill Rachel Berry for making her doing that. Because even if she tries to deny, she knows that the she’s the main – read: the only - reason why she ever stepped into Coach Sylvester’s office.
//
The next day she shows up for practice at exactly 5:59am and is rewarded with a barely noticeable nod from Coach Sylvester before she screams something about being hard to deal with kids who can't tell left from right everyday and sends them to stretch before they can start practicing. It's comforting, and Quinn basks in the feeling of familiarity that it all brings, even though her former Coach is nothing compared to Sue Sylvester. Still, it somethings she knows, the safe zone, and for the first time in a little over two months, she feels like she truly belongs somewhere.
For the first time in two months, Lima is home, and whether she admits it or not, it's all Rachel's fault.
//
Practice runs smoothly and by the time Coach blows her whistle, Quinn is completely lost in the routine that she doesn't even notice when it's time to hit the showers.
She fits well; it's her environment.
Things in her family weren't easy. She could never be herself, her parents never let her do the things she wanted. As the years went by, she managed to find small things that made her and her parents both happy, but it wasn't very common.
Cheerleading was one of those things.
She'd always liked to dance and she was weary the first time her parents told her she should join the squad, but she did it because there wasn't really a choice to begin with, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was something she could come to love in the future. And she did. Despite the hard times with her parents and everything she had to deal with when she was home, practices always made her feel good. It was just like singing, except she was allowed to cheer, but her parents always considered singing to be something stupid.
They don't really bother to notice her existence now, so she thinks they won't even care if she's in Glee club or not. And well, honestly? They can suck it. She's done wasting her time letting them boss her around as if she's some kind of puppet. It's way past time she grew a backbone, anyway.
"Hey!" She hears as she's walking out of the showers, and turns around to find Brittany running towards her and Santana following closely behind. "Wait up!"
She's not sure what to do, so she just stops and fidgets with the straps of her backpack, the color of her sneakers suddenly very interesting. "Uh, hi."
"San and I were wondering if you wanted to walk to class with us?"
The look Santana throws her states clearly that she wasn't wondering that at all, but she just nods and curves her lips in what Quinn supposes should be a smile but it just ends up looking more like a grimace until she gives up and just stares at her, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, sure."
"Great!" Brittany chirps and brings their arms together, pulling her towards the general direction of the bleachers. "See, San? I told you she wasn't afraid of you."
Santana looks at her and smirks, but Quinn thinks it's better not to tell Brittany that she actually is afraid of Santana.
(Some things are better left unspoken, anyway.)
"You were good out there." She's half surprised to hear Santana's voice directed at her, but she figures it has something to do with the not-so-subtle squeeze that Brittany gave on Santana's side, so she decides to play along. Kurt and Mercedes left right after practice to get something to eat, and she really should be happy that Santana let Brittany talk to her and it is even making an effort to be nice. Most people couldn't even afford to have Santana talking to them, let alone being somewhat nice.
"Thanks. You too. You have a good shot at being Captain." And really, Santana does. Quinn knew that she was good, but she also didn't want to just join the squad and steal the place that belonged to someone who had been there for longer than she had.
"Ha!" Santana exclaims, and Brittany shakes her head with a small smile.
"San doesn't want to be captain." The blonde explains, and Quinn just raises an eyebrow in confusion.
"It means I have to be responsible for those stupid chicas and I just can't deal with that," Santana says with a shrug, exchanging a small smile with Brittany. "I'd rather have the freedom to just tell them to fuck off whenever I want. Which I do, actually. A lot. Besides, bossing them around is easy enough already."
"Oh, well, I suppose it makes sense."
"You, on the other hand, Blondie, should go for it." Santana says with a knowing smirk. "It'd get you on the top and you actually have the potential to crush them all. And since I don't give a shit about it, and Britt is only in it because it's fun, I'm sure you could easily take the spot."
"We'll see, huh?" Quinn replies with a smirk of her own, and even though Santana is a bitch, she thinks they could make great friends. She doesn't voice that particular thought, of course, and instead just focus on where they're heading for the first time since they started walking. "Aren't we going back to school?"
"It's just a small detour," Santana says, and Quinn notices they're close to the bleachers, where she can see a small figure coming walking down, a small box held in her hand. "Yo, Berry! Where's my coffee?"
"Hello, Santana. Good morning to you too. I had a great night, thank you. And yes, sure you can have a cup of coffee." Rachel isn't even fazed by Santana's way of greeting, and just hands her a cup from Starbucks and Quinn can already feel her mouth watering at the sight of that. Damn, now she's gonna spend the entire morning craving stupid coffee.
"Whatever, Berry." Santana waves her off. And then with a big, dramatic sigh says, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Rachel grins, and then hands Quinn a cup of coffee just as Brittany takes hers from the holder. "Here."
"How-"
"Brittany texted me." Rachel explains with a small shrug. "It's a latte with cream, same as mine. I didn't know what you drank so-"
"It's perfect, thank you." She smiles shyly and takes a sip of her beverage, letting the warm liquid wash over her throat and take over her body. Damn, she needed that. She looks over at Rachel and catches the glimpse of a curious gaze, before she shakes her head and starts to move towards the school, listening as Brittany rambles on about duck or something like that, a carefree smile taking over her lips and her eyes shining with happiness.
Quinn feels warmth spread through her body and she knows that it has nothing to do with the coffee she's drinking and it has to be the most amazing feeling she ever felt.
She notices that as soon as they walk through the school doors, though, that something changes in Rachel's demeanor. It takes a moment for her to realize that she just had the chance to meet the real Rachel Berry; the one who smiles and jokes and is not worried about anything other than having a good time with her friends.
When they enter the school, though, it all changes because Rachel is hyper aware of everything surrounding her and it's like Quinn can see the wall she puts up around herself showing up again. It's painfully clear that things weren't always the way they are now, and that Rachel feels as if things could go back to the old way anytime and she just doesn't want to get hurt anymore.
Quinn knows that because she can see it in Rachel's eyes, but she just doesn't know what exactly happened to make the girl so, well - scared like that.
She wants to find out, though. Not because she needs, really, but because she wants to help Rachel somehow. It's like all that time she spent losing herself in Rachel's eyes have finally caught up with her and she's just too far gone to go back. She feels like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole and even though the fall seems never-ending, she is aware that somewhere, somehow, someday, she's gonna hit the bottom.
She hopes – more than anything – that when she does, Rachel is there to catch her.
//
Her first glee club rehearsal is weird.
As soon as she walks in the choir room she notices that there are different groups of kids sitting together and she doesn't know very well where she fits. She's still new to The Cheerios, and even though Kurt and Mercedes are sort of her friends, she doesn't know if she can just walk up to them and take the spot that it's vacant on their side. Finn is looking at her with a confused expression and Puck has a smirk on his face, so she quickly crosses them both out of the list. The other kids are either from other grades or Cheerios and she doesn't really want to socialize with them.
Before she can make a move, though, an arm wraps around hers and she feels herself being pulled inside the room as Santana's voice rings through her ears, "Come on, loser."
"Geez Santana, manhandle much?"
"You should see her in bed," Brittany exclaims behind her, and she stops dead in her track, immediately feeling Rachel – who had been walking with Brittany – hit behind her back before taking a step back. "On second thought," Brittany starts again, "I don't think you should."
"I'll keep that in mind, Britt. Don't worry." she reassures, before she starts moving again.
"Maybe Rachel," Brittany comments and it makes her stop dead in her tracks again. "Definitely Rachel."
"Oh, for Barbra's sake!" Rachel exclaims, throwing her hand in the air. "Stop with the lesbian comments, will you B? I'm honestly thinking you'll scar her for life. And I would like to keep my nose intact, thank you very much."
"Sorry, Q."
She smiles and takes her sit next to Santana, but doesn't have the guts to tell Brittany – or Rachel – that her comments won't scar her because, in fact, they make her heart flutter and the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. She ducks her head when Rachel looks at her, but it's not because she's embarrassed. Well, maybe she is, but for entirely different reasons. The thoughts that are now plaguing her mind are far from innocent and if she thought she could handle this, she's not so sure anymore.
And as Rachel takes over the center of the room to belt out to some song she's not even focusing on, she knows all resistance is futile.
She wants Rachel Berry.
And what Quinn Fabray wants, Quinn Fabray gets.
//
"At least ditch the knee-high socks?" Kurt pleads, his voice sounding hopeful and demanding at the same time.
"We've discussed this before, Kurt." Rachel begins in that voice that means she's about to go on a tirade about the subject matter and for the look that everyone in the table throws her, they know what's about to happen as well. "Just because you don't appreciate my wardrobe, it doesn't mean you can tell me how to dress. You've offered a makeover. I’ve declined. That's the end of it. You can try and pursue the subject, but I'm telling you right now it will do you absolutely no good. My answer is final."
Artie and Tina seem amused by this, but Kurt is none too pleased with Rachel's answer, "You're impossible!"
"So I've been told," Rachel agrees, taking a bite of her apple and swallowing before turning back to Kurt again. "I am here, however, so I think that means I'm very much possible. You might want to correct that statement."
"You three!" Kurt exclaims, pointing at Santana, Brittany and Quinn. "You hang out with her, why do you still let her dress like that?"
Quinn shrugs because she doesn't really hang out with Rachel; she hangs with Santana and Brittany and Rachel is there but they're not exactly friends. She wants, yes, but it's hard to crack Rachel's wall. It takes time and work and she's just not there yet.
Brittany, as usual, doesn't really know what to say, so Santana steps in, "That's your deal, Hummel. We've tried, didn't work, we moved on. I'm sure you know that Rachel is even more stubborn than you are, so it's really pointless. It was tiring my beauty. Definitely not worth all the stress."
"She does have a point, you know?" Artie chimes in, nodding towards Santana.
Tina agrees, "Yeah, Rachel is pretty stubborn."
To Quinn's surprise, it's Puck that comes to the rescue again, wrapping his right arm around Rachel and pulling her closer to him with a smile, "Hey, enough with the crap, okay? If she likes to dress like that, then let her be. It has that catholic schoolgirl appeal. It's hot."
"Leave it to you to turn this into something dirty, Noah." Rachel says with an eye-roll, but the grin that takes over her lips betrays her words and Quinn knows that she's really amused by the whole thing.
Puck winks at her, "Well, you know me. I'm all about the dirty."
"Please stop, you're making me gag and I would really like to keep my lunch in my stomach." Santana remarks and Puck just stick his tongue at her, making Rachel giggle by his side, and Kurt huff in exasperation.
"Suck my dick, Lopez"
"You wish, Puckerman."
Kurt pushes his half-eaten salad away and gets up, pulling Mercedes with him, "Whatever, I don't even know why I put up with all of you anymore."
"You love us, Kurtsie!" Brittany explains, and Quinn can swear she sees a smile taking over Kurt's feature before he disappears through the doors with Mercedes in tow.
They're dysfunctional, yes, but she can see that Brittany is right.
They do love each other.
//
The following week, when she's waiting for Glee club’s rehearsal to start, Rachel walks in the room and takes the sit next to her.
The smile that takes over her face after that stays there for almost an entire week.
It's pathetic, and surprisingly enough, she doesn't care.
//
Her car is a piece of crap.
Okay, maybe not really, but it's incredible how it always falls to pieces when she needs it the most.
It's late in the afternoon and she just left Cheerios practice, wanting and needing nothing more than to get home and fall in her bed. Her bones are hurting and she's glad it's Friday and the Saturday morning practice was canceled because Coach had some personal matters to attend.
She's trying her hardest to get the Head Cheerio spot and it's taking a toll on her, but she can't really say she minds it; though the effort is exhausting her, it's a good feeling. It means she's human, she can feel and she can bleed. It's nice to remember that sometimes.
"Stupid thing!" she growls, kicking the front tire of her car.
"You do know it won't fight back, right? Autobots are not real, just so you know."
She sends Santana a surprised look, but just smirks and leans against her door, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Of course they aren't. That would be just too cool."
"What are Autobots?" Brittany asks, but she seems to focus on Quinn's problem and the question is immediately forgotten. "Do you need a ride, Quinn?"
"We gotta go somewhere first, but if you're not in a rush to go back home, you can come with us." Santana tells her with a shrug and Quinn considers her options.
If she's being honest to herself, she doesn't really want to go home. Yes, she's tired and she would kill for her bed right now, but home is just an empty and cold house most of the time, and she kind of likes hanging out with Santana and Brittany, even if they do spend most of their time lost in each other.
"Fine," she agrees with a huff. "It's not like I have anything to do at home, anyway."
Santana rolls her eyes, "Yeah, like it is possible for you to have fun without us."
"Don't flatter yourself, Lopez."
Santana laughs good-naturedly and puts the car in reverse, leaving the school parking lot and Quinn's car behind. She figures they can go back later and get it, or she can call Kurt and ask him to talk to his father about fixing it. At that particular moment, she doesn't really care.
They drive around for a few minutes, and before she knows, Quinn finds herself in front of a two-story house, painted in pastel colors with a nice front yard and three cars in the garage.
She immediately recognizes one of them.
"What are we doing here?" She asks, as Santana and Brittany walk up to the front porch.
"Friday night is game night!" Brittany exclaims, clapping her hands excitedly and grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, my question should be, why did you bring me with you?"
"I was feeling nice today," Santana says with a shrug. "I guess you could say you're my charity case for the day."
"San," Brittany says in a warning tone, and Santana just turns to Quinn and giver her an innocent smile that the blonde doesn't buy for a second. Before she can says something, though, the door opens and she's face to face with a tall, dark-skinned man with warm eyes and a nice smile; she can see where Rachel got it from.
"Hey Mr. B!" Brittany says, giving the man a hug, before moving past him and into the house.
"Hey Brittany. Nice to see you." he answers with a smile and then turns to Santana, nodding at her. "Santana. Good to see you too."
"How are you, Mr. B?" Santana asks politely, and pulls Quinn closer to her. "We brought a guest, I hope it's okay."
Mr. Berry takes one look at her, and his smile widens, his eyes shining with mirth, as if he just found out something very interesting, "Quinn, am I right?"
Her brows furrow together, and she stammers, "Uh, yeah, how-"
"Rachel has told us about you." he explains, his smile growing wider, and Quinn is shocked into silence. She doesn't know what to say, but she thinks the smile that takes over her face is enough for Rachel's dad, because he just moves to the side and lets her inside the house, Santana following close behind with a smirk on her lips.
"Make yourself at home, Quinn," the man says, moving to the kitchen. "Rachel's upstairs, I believe Brittany is already there with her."
She finds a bit weird to meet Rachel's dad before Rachel's mom, but she thinks maybe the woman is just not home, or something like that, and so decides not to say anything. Instead she follows Santana up the stairs, noticing the numerous pictures of Rachel hanging on the walls, like some sort of timeline that finishes with a picture of what looks to be a sixteen year-old Rachel Berry belting out some song in front of a huge audience, the rest of the Glee club behind her.
"Nationals," Santana explains, following her gaze. "Last year."
Quinn nods, and Santana stops in front of a white door with a gold star on it, and Rachel's name, as if the star alone wasn't enough indication of who's room this was. She knocks twice before pushing the door open, finding Brittany and Rachel sitting on the bed, eyes glued to something on the TV.
"You have a guest, Berry. Where are your manners?" Santana says with a smirk, jumping to curl herself into Brittany's side, as Rachel finally notices Quinn.
She jumps out of bed and nearly knocks one of her lamps, before smoothing her tiny shorts in a self-conscious way. When she turns to Quinn, her cheeks are tinted pink. "Quinn!"
Quinn waves shyly, her own cheeks turning red to match Rachel's, "Uh, hi."
"What are you doing here?" she squeaks, and then seems to hear her question and rushes to correct herself. "Not that I don't want you here or anything like that, because I do. I mean, you're very welcome. I just- I'm surprised."
She never really thought it was possible for Rachel Berry to be anything other than extremely articulate, but apparently she was wrong. It's amusing and incredibly cute, if she's being honest, and she finds herself grinning at Rachel before she can even think too much about what she's doing.
"Santana and Brittany invited me," she explains with a shrug. "I hope it's okay?"
"Yes, of course!" Rachel says and pulls her into the room, and Quinn basks in the warmth of the girl's hand against her arm, actually glad that she chose to come with Brittany and Santana instead of going home.
//
They're all laying in Rachel's bed watching some documentary about ducks - because Brittany got a hold of the remote and Santana would cut a bitch if somebody made her girlfriend mad – when somebody knocks on the door, and when Rachel tells them to come in, Quinn finds herself face to face with yet another men, this one a little taller than Rachel, bald and with glasses, but a stoic expression.
"Dinner's ready, girls." he announces, and Rachel nods with a smile.
"Thanks Dad," she calls to his retreating back, and Quinn looks twice between the door and Rachel before she can understand what's going on.
"Dad?" she asks with a confused expression. "I met a Mr. Berry today, and it definitely wasn't him."
"That's because Rach has two daddies, silly." Brittany states, looking at Quinn as if it should be something obvious and well, given what she saw, perhaps it should.
"Oh." she whispers, as the pieces fall into place.
"Is that a problem, Quinn?" Rachel asks carefully, apparently trying to gauge her reaction.
"No!" Quinn almost squeaks, and then she smiles. "It's kind of cool, actually."
Rachel just smiles back at her and pulls at her hand, dragging her to the dining room. She doesn't let go the entire way, and when she does, Quinn instantly misses the touch. She's so lost in Rachel that even a little touch can get her heart beating like crazy.
She doesn't want the feeling to go away.
//
"So, how long have you been chasing skirts?" Santana blurts one day, when they're laying outside in the football field, letting the sun warm their faces, while they wait for Rachel's ballet class to finish.
"A couple years now, I'd say." Quinn answers honestly, because she has no reason to lie. She doesn't know when or how it happened, but sometime in the last four months, Santana and Brittany became her best friends, and honestly, lying to them would just be stupid. Especially considering they won't judge her; of course, Santana is gonna make fun of her for the rest of her life, but she can handle that because she knows it's how that’s how she chooses to express her love.
"And Rachel?" Brittany is the one who asks, but it's not really a surprise. Most people don't give the blonde Cheerio much credit, but Quinn knows better.
"I don't know," she answers with a sigh. "A couple of months, I think. Maybe more."
Santana snorts, "Why don't you do us all a favor and ask her out already?"
"Because I'm pretty sure she'll say no."
Brittany smiles, and shakes her head, a knowing grin spreading on her face, "Maybe you shouldn't assume things, Quinn. Especially not about Rachel. She has a sixth sense and she tends to surprise us most of the time."
She ignores the part about Rachel having a sixth sense, but keeps replaying Brittany's words in her mind over and over again until the time Rachel finally shows up and she once again finds herself distracted.
//
It takes her six days, twelve hours and thirty two minutes, but one days she finally decides she needs to grow a backbone and tell Rachel how she feels. Or, well, at least talk to her without having Brittany and Santana by her side. Yes, it had become a regular thing for the four of them to hang out, but she wanted Rachel. Alone. Wanted to get to know her better, not having to figure things out by listening to Rachel and Brittany talk to each other.
It all starts with her telling Santana and Brittany to disappear after practice. Kurt and Mercedes don't tend to stay around longer than they need to, anyway, so it's not hard for her to get rid of them. When she meets Rachel at the bleachers she's smiling from ear to ear.
"Hey!" she skips – actually skips – to the other girl, and wonders what the hell happened to the Quinn Fabray who could scare people with a mere glance and had a sneer always plastered in her face.
Oh, right, she went totally gay for Rachel Berry.
Santana was right, it might be a little disgusting.
"Hello Quinn," Rachel says, her grin matching Quinn's as she hands the girl her cup of coffee. "Santana and Brittany had some business to attend, apparently very important, so it looks as if we're on our own this morning. I feel it's something long overdue, actually. You've been here for a while and I haven't had the chance to get to know you properly. It's mostly my fault, but I hope you can find it in you to forgive me. I seem to have a little trouble making new friends."
"Yeah? Why's that?" she's happy that Rachel and her apparently have the same thing in mind, but she can help the curiosity that takes over her with Rachel's little speech.
Rachel sighs, and suddenly finds something very interesting in her coffee, "Brittany says it's because I need things too much, but I'm also afraid to let people in because I always give myself away and end up hurt. And after everything that happened with Finn-"
Quinn wants to ask what exactly happened, but Rachel is being honest with her and she feels like this isn't exactly the time to ask about that. There are no walls around the brunette and it feels like it's the first time she's really talking to Rachel, the girl who wants the world but it's too afraid to go get it. She sees all the vulnerability clouding warm brown eyes and all she wants to do is hug Rachel and comfort her, take her pain away.
So that's exactly what she does.
It's weird; there are bags and cups of coffee in the way, but when Rachel carefully wraps her tiny arms around her, Quinn swears it's the best feeling in the world.
//
They start to hang out more, just the two of them.
Quinn learns that Rachel is a big Broadway fan, loves bedazzling and is incredibly funny and carefree whenever she's not in school. She also learns that Rachel's parents are probably the best parents in the world, and they make Quinn feel more welcome in their house than she ever felt on her own.
They also start touching more. At first it's careful and tentative, but once they realize the other is not pulling back, it becomes more frequent. They hold hands, they hug, play with each others fingers and even cuddle when they're watching movies.
Quinn wants more – needs more, to be honest – but she's patient.
They're heading somewhere, she can feel it.
//
"Hey!" the greeting startles her a bit, because she didn't notice that someone was coming, but she turns around with a smile and closes her locker, pulling her books closer to her chest and gripping them tighter, as if they will protect her from whatever is coming.
"Hello Finn," she says, trying to smile at the boy but failing miserably.
"So, how are you doin'? I haven't had the chance to talk to you in a while," he shrugs and she can see why so many girls fawn over him. He is cute, in a boyish way and maybe she would go for it if she didn't bat for the other team. She hears footsteps down the hallway and watches as Rachel stops dead in her tracks, Santana, Brittany and Puck close behind her.
"Yeah, kind of busy," she tries to explain, and Finn nods as if he understands, which she doesn't really think he does. "You?"
Finn doesn't seem to notice that they're being watched, and just smiles bigger at her, leaning against her locker and playing with the straps of her backpack. She thinks he's trying to be casual and sexy at the same time, but she can only focus on Rachel standing behind him and it's just too awkward for her to deal with it.
"Good, good," the boy says offhandedly. "I was wondering if you'd like to hang out, you know, just you and me?"
Her eyes meet Rachel's over Finn's shoulder – he's too tall, but since he's leaning against her locker it's possible for her to do that – and she sighs before she turns back to the boy, knowing that it's time she comes clean about herself because even though she and Rachel seem to be dancing around each other, she just can't lead Finn on because it wouldn't be right to him.
She knows who she is; she's not confused and she doesn't like to play with people's feelings.
Finn will have to deal with it.
"Look," she starts, letting her hand run through her hair and taking a deep breathe, before focusing on the task at hand. "I could say yes, but that would be wrong of me. I know you don't mean that as friends and I honestly can't see us as anything more than that."
"How could you know?" Finn asks, his face scrunching up in confusion, as if the idea of someone turning him down is unimaginable. Or maybe something more simple, because Quinn isn't even sure he knows a word that big. "You didn't even give me a chance. You didn't even think about it, actually."
"I don't need to think about it, Finn. Boys are not really my thing."
She sees something flashing in Finn's eyes and in a minute he's towering over her, closer than he was before and it sort of scares her a bit. "What do you mean?"
"I don't date boys," Quinn explains, pressing her body closer to her locker. "I like girls."
His hand slams her locker and his eyes lock with hers, his gaze hateful and angry, "Not a fucking chance."
"I think you should go now, Finn." she doesn't even notice how it happens, but in a minute Rachel is standing by her side, gripping her arm and pulling her closer, while Puck stands next to her, waiting for Finn's next move.
"I bet you're loving this, aren't you?" Finn says, pointing his finger at Rachel's face. The girl just lifts her chin and stares down at him – which is something, considering she's at least a foot shorter than the boy – her gaze cold and unamused. Finn doesn't seem to notice this, however, because he just goes on. "You just won't let me be happy, will you? As if wasn't enough for you to dump me because you're gay, you just had to go and spread it around, didn't you?"
"I think you should shut up now, dude." Puck says, but Finn ignores him as well.
"No. She just likes to ruin my life! Tell me, Rachel, did you enjoy corrupting her? Did you and your two gay dads give Quinn a lesson on the perks of being gay? Just fucking tell me what you did!" Quinn can see the vein on his forehead popping but she's just so shocked she can't even bring herself to say something.
"Fuck you, Hudson." Rachel says, venom dripping from her words. "When I broke up with you, I thought you'd understand why I did. I never meant to hurt you. I put up with your shit because I thought you were heartbroken, even when you insulted me and my family. I've been too nice to you, just like I am to every fucking person in this town who looks at my dads as if they're freaks. I gave you too many chances and you've wasted every single one of them. So enough is enough. If Quinn doesn't want to date you, I'd say she's better off. You're worthless, Hudson. You and your narrow mind and overall stupidity. I won't let you treat me, my friends or my family like that anymore. Just. Fuck. You."
"Who the hell do-" Quinn watches as Puck's fist moves to connect with Finn's chin and the boy stumbles backward, the surprise punch getting the best of him.
"I told you to shut up, Hudson. You take another step and I'm punching you again. I'm done with you. Just back off and walk away while you still can."
"Just beat the fuck out of him, Puck. Bitch doesn't deserve to walk away." Santana says, moving to push Finn against the locker one more time.
"No, let's just go." Rachel turns around and gives Finn one more look, before wrapping her arm around Quinn's waist and pulling her close. "He's not worth it."
//
Outside, she watches as Puck pulls Rachel into his arms, whispering something in her ear, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Brittany is holding her and she's still trying to process everything that happened to even say a word. It's like she's back to her old school, with stupid people she considered to be her friends judging her for being herself and it all just hurts too much. She feels her heart clenching in her chest and this time it's not only for herself, but for Rachel, who looks so tiny and completely broken in Puck's strong arms.
"I want to go back there and knock him unconscious," Puck seethes once Rachel pulls away a bit, his hands moving to wipe the tears that are flowing down her face. "When he first hurt you I promised myself I'd kill him if he ever did it again. I'm just holding back because I wouldn't like you to miss me while I'm in jail."
Rachel chuckles – or tries, at least, because it's something devoid of any emotion – and just places a small kiss on Puck's cheek, finally breaking away from him. "I appreciate your badass attitude, Noah, but he's really not worth it. And yes, I would miss you and I wouldn't like to visit you in jail."
"Well, I don't care so much about that," Santana says trying to move past Puck to go back inside the school and probably beat Finn to death.
"Santana, please," Rachel whispers, put a restraining hand on her friends' arm. "I promise I will let you hit Karofsky tomorrow if you want. While I don't believe that violence is the answer, I know better than to try and stay in your way."
Santana shrugs, "Karofsky will do, I suppose."
"Thank you," Rachel nods, and turns to give Brittany a hug. "I think we should go home now."
"Do you need a ride, Rach?" Brittany asks, even though it's technically Santana's car.
"I'll take her." Quinn interferes, finally finding her voice. "If that's okay?"
Rachel just nods, and after a promise to call Puck if they need anything, Quinn finds herself walking side to side with Rachel, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last hour.
She just can't believe that Finn - sweet and caring Finn – could turn out to be so rude and just everything she ever despised in her life. It's hard to understand how a person she thought she knew for the last four months just wasn't at all what she thought he was. And the way he had spoken to Rachel just made her heart ache. She wants to hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay.
Truth is, she doesn't know if it will.
//
The ride is silent and Quinn can barely focus on the road, stealing glances at Rachel, who seems to be lost in her own thoughts. It's probably the first time she's seen the girl like this; Rachel is always hyper aware, paying attention to anything and everything surrounding her, like she needs to keep tabs on the events that take place in her world. It's amusing, sometimes, and it just kills Quinn to see Rachel this quiet because that's not the Rachel Berry she fell in love with.
And she did. Fall in love with Rachel, that is. It took some time to admit and a longer time to accept, but she has come to terms with it.
"Would you like to go inside?" Rachel's voice reach her ears and she snaps out of her thoughts, noticing that somehow she parked the car in front of the brunette's house. Rachel's eyes look down for a second, and then she's staring at Quinn, her face rimmed with tears and her eyes big and hopeful. "My dads are out of town, and I don't really want to be alone right now."
Quinn nods, "Sure."
They walk together, and Quinn watches as Rachel opens the door, letting them both inside the house. Except, they don't get much further, because Rachel just stops and looks at Quinn - really looks, as if she's seeing the girl for the first time. It's intense and unexpected and Quinn finds the attention to be a bit discomforting, but she doesn't get to dwell much on the meaning of that because something flash in Rachel's eyes and soon she's being pinned to the wall, warm lips pressed against her own and the world suddenly ceases to exist.
It's not a kiss; if anything, it's just a peck that lasts longer than it should, but it's the most amazing thing she’s ever felt and she wants to just stay like this forever. Wants to lose herself in Rachel's smooth lips and the way their bodies seem to fit so well.
(It's a bit of a cliché, really, but she feels as if she could kiss Rachel forever.)
She wants to protest when Rachel’s lips detach from hers, but not even a second later they're back, warm tongue asking for entrance and she really will be damned if she ever denies Rachel anything.
The thought alone is completely ridiculous.
When their tongues finally meet it's like fireworks are going off in her head, and her knees suddenly can't hold her weight anymore. Rachel, as if noticing this, presses her harder against the wall and wraps her tiny arms around her waist, bringing them closer together - if such thing is even possible – as Quinn's arms snake around Rachel's neck, pulling her hair a bit, letting out a soft moan when the shorter girl gives a bite on her lower lip.
Perhaps she should be embarrassed, but she can't find it in herself. Not when Rachel's kissing her like that.
The need for air becomes too strong, though, and they have to part, much to Quinn's dismay. She figures now is the time Rachel says she's sorry and backs away, and she'll say everything is okay, but it isn't, not when her entire body is tingling and she can taste Rachel's strawberry gloss all over her tongue.
"I've been wanting to do that for a while," Rachel confesses in a whisper, her forehead pressed against Quinn's and she has to close her eyes and replay it in her mind, just to make sure she heard it right.
"You should have," Quinn says in the same tone, and Rachel just smiles – the first real smile since the whole thing with Finn went down – and kisses her again. She knows they'll have to talk, but it's not important right now.
At that moment, they only need to feel.
//
"Do you want to talk about it?"
They're lying in Rachel's bed, curled up on each other, Rachel’s head lying on Quinn's chest while she absentmindedly strokes her hair, both completely lost in each other's warmth.
Rachel is quiet for a moment, and Quinn is not even sure she's awake, but before she can say anything, or move to check on her, Rachel lets out a small sigh and brings up their hands, interlacing their fingers.
"It was just before the summer of last year." Rachel starts, her voice no more than a whisper. "Finn and I had been dating for a little over three months, but it just didn't feel right. I knew what was wrong; had known all along, to be honest. I thought that I could just force myself to love him because he was the safest choice. But I couldn't, so I told him that."
When Rachel goes silent again, Quinn presses a small kiss to the top of her head, silently urging her to continue.
"As you probably can tell, he didn't take it very well."
"What happened?"
"Basically," Rachel explains, "he told me I was disgusting. And then he tried to turn all my friends against me. When he saw that his attempts were futile, he gave up trying and just kept out of my way. Puck made him apologize, but I always knew it was something he didn't really mean. You see, Finn is not very hard to read once you get to know him. He tried, I know he did, but it's just stronger than him. He just can't handle it and I'm sick of trying to understand it, because I don't. I have the right to be myself and he was supposed to support me. Us. He was supposed to support us."
"In some ways-" Quinn says, lifting Rachel's head to look at her. "In some ways, I'm glad he did what he did."
"I am too," Rachel agrees. "But it doesn't make it any easier."
Quinn nods, and brings their lips together again, kissing Rachel with all the love she can convey.
"Stay with me tonight?" Rachel whispers against her lips, and she can only nod before she starts kissing her again.
//
"Okay, we're about to have an Rachelvention," Tina says when she walks into the choir room the following week. It surprises her that the room is empty, save for Rachel's friends, because she is pretty sure she is running late for practice. "That's a Rachel intervention."
"Where's Rachel?" she asks, because she haven't seen Rachel the entire day, except in the few classes they share, which is weird, considering Rachel's always there when they finish Cheerios practice.
And considering the weekend they had, she was kind of hoping to see her again so they could talk and maybe sort things out.
Apparently Rachel had other things in mind.
"Not here," Kurt explains with an eye-roll. "Obviously."
"Okay," she nods, dragging the first vowel and taking a sit, watching as they all seem to round her, including Brittany and Santana. "What's going on?"
"We've been informed that you like Rachel," Mercedes explains, and Quinn glares at Santana and Brittany, who just shrug as if they haven’t done anything.
"Yes, I do. So?"
Artie shrugs, adjusting his glasses a bit, "We just want to make sure you know what you're doing."
Quinn's eyebrows raise in confusion, "How so?"
"We don't want you to hurt her," Puck says, placing a hand on her shoulder in a way that Quinn believes is meant to scare her more than comfort her. "Because if you so much as think about doing that, we'll have to hurt you."
"No offense," Santana rushes in. "But you are kind of new, and Rachel's our friend. Or something. She's one of us, okay? It's our job to protect her."
"Rach is our little duckie." Brittany says, her face serious, as if that sums up everything.
In a way, Quinn actually thinks it does.
"Bottom line is," Mike starts. "Just don't hurt her."
"Or you'll have to deal with us." Matt completes the sentiment with a small shrug.
Quinn nods, because she knows that even though the whole thing could be quite amusing, they're serious and she knows how much Rachel means to all of them.
It's like everything she's been seeing since she got to McKinley just brought them to this point, where they just come together to protect one of their own, no matter if said person annoys them most of the time.
"I won't," she says, her voice full of confidence and the tension in the room dissipates. "I like her and as soon as I find out where she is, I'm gonna make sure Rachel understands that."
"Make sure I understand what?"
Oh well, might as well get this over with.
//
They move side by side in complete silence until they can find an empty classroom. Rachel's avoiding her gaze, and Quinn can't help but wonder if she did something wrong, or if Rachel regrets everything that happened between them, which wasn't much, but still.
Once they find a classroom, Rachel moves to lean on the teacher's desk, but when Quinn tries to touch her, she just moves away, and she watches as her hand grasps nothing but air, falling limply at her side after a couple of seconds.
"Why are you avoiding me?" She asks, her voice small and barely above a whisper.
"I don't see why you would think that," Rachel says without meeting her gaze. "I'm not avoiding you. I was merely busy with other things."
"Bullshit."
Rachel gasps and flinches with the harsh tone of Quinn's voice, and she wants to punch herself for snapping like that.
"I'm sorry," she tells Rachel, moving closer to her and wrapping her arms around Rachel's waist, preventing her from moving away. "Talk to me. Please."
"I'm scared," it's no more than a whisper, but Quinn hears it and her heart just breaks at how Rachel's voice sounds - so vulnerable and insecure. "I want this too much, want you too much, and I'm afraid to feel like this. I don't want to let myself fall because I just wouldn't be able to handle if you aren't there to catch me."
"I will," Quinn reassures her, moving one streak of hair behind Rachel's ear and tilting her chin slightly, her lips touching Rachel's in a slow and languid kiss. "Every single time. I promise. You don't have to be scared, Rachel. Not with me."
And just like that, things fall back into place.
//
"Hey, Rach?"
Rachel looks up from her homework, an eyebrow raised and a small smile playing on her lips. It's the day after Quinn promised she wouldn't hurt her and they're hanging out at Rachel’s house, just like they used to do before the kiss.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" she asks, because even though they promised a lot of things, she still hadn't asked that, and she doesn't want it to be something that they sort of fall into and not really talk about it. She wants to know, and wants Rachel and everybody else to know as well, that they're together, needs the reassurance.
"I thought you'd never ask." Rachel says with a smile, dropping her pen and moving to the bed, straddling Quinn and kissing her. "Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes."
//
"So you two are doing the dirty now?" Santana asks one day, when Rachel meets them after morning practice, and gives Quinn a good morning kiss.
"Santana!" Quinn hisses, and Brittany giggles by her side, but Rachel seems completely unfazed by the latina's behavior.
"Not yet, no," is what she says, before lacing her fingers with Quinn's and pulling her towards the school.
//
"Can I have a threesome with you two?" Puck asks when they're sitting at their usual table at lunch, and Quinn just rolls her eyes at him.
Kurt throws his salad aside again, and raises his hand in exasperation, "I'm trying to eat here, Puckerman!"
"Sorry Hummel," Puck says with a shrug, but everyone in the table knows he's not really sorry. At all. Turning back to Rachel, he raises an eyebrow. "So?"
"As much as I love you, Noah," the brunette says, placing a small kiss on Puck's cheek. "The answer is no. I'm not sharing Quinn. Not even with my fellow Jew."
"Dammit." Puck sighs and gets up, moving onto some girl who just passed by their table.
"Manwhore." Rachel whispers, shaking her head, but Quinn can actually see an amused smile playing on her lips. She doesn't understand that particular friendship, but it makes Rachel happy and it's important to her, so she just accepts it and learns to deal with it the best way she can.
In the end of the day, it's actually not that hard.
//
"Hey, what are you doin-" Rachel stops immediately when she notices the streaks of tears flowing down Quinn's face and pulls her inside, hugging her tightly and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. When Quinn's sobs finally subside, she speaks again. "What's wrong, baby?"
Quinn sniffles a little, before she looks up and meets Rachel's gaze. "I told my parents about us."
"Oh, Quinn."
"They wanted to move again," Quinn continues, letting Rachel's thumbs wipe away her tears. "I told them I wouldn't leave you. So they said they would leave me."
"It's okay," Rachel whispers, placing small kisses around Quinn's face, holding her closer than she would have found possible.
"They kicked me out, Rachel," another tear falls down her cheek, and the brunette wipes it straight away, trying to be strong for her girlfriend. "They kicked me out because I'm happy. Threw my things out the door as if I was some kind of disappointment."
"Shh," Rachel soothes. "You'll stay here. With me. You don't need them, baby."
Rachel somehow manages to get them into her bedroom, and she just holds Quinn, letting the blonde cry out everything she can, whispering and trying to soothe her. In the end, exhaustion takes the best of Quinn, and she falls asleep on Rachel's arms, holding her in a tight grip, as if she is afraid Rachel could disappear any second.
It's the most heart-breaking sight Rachel's ever seen.
//
Their first time is not perfect.
Quinn isn't sure what to do, because while she's had some experience before, it had never gotten so far, so she's not exactly some kind of expert on the entire thing.
Rachel, of course, had pages and pages written about the subject, and even some graphics and charts to go along, but in the end, they're sort of unhelpful. It's like she has to trust her instincts on this one, and for the first time in her life she can swear that her sixth sense is failing her, or something, because she just doesn't know what to do.
So it's messy. They giggle and there will definitely be some bruises when they wake up the next morning, but they somehow manage to find a common ground, helping each other along the way and letting their bodies guide them through the entire thing.
It's not perfect, but it's the two of them, truly discovering each other for the first time, and it's not like anything they've ever felt before.
It's not perfect, but it's definitely unforgettable.
//
"Okay, so here's the thing girls," Rachel's Dad – Hiram – starts, his gaze shifting from Rachel to Quinn. "We need some ground rules."
"Ground rules?" Rachel repeats, her eyes widening and her tone incredulous. "What are we, five?"
"Rachel," it's her Daddy – Leroy – that says that, and even though his tone holds a warning, his lips are curved in a smile, so it's actually not so effective. "We just feel that since you two are living under the same roof right now, we should talk about things."
"Yes," Hiram agree with a small nod. "Quinn has her own room, and even though your Daddy has convinced me to trust you two with your doors closed, they should remain unlocked at all times, no matter what. And no sleepovers are allowed."
"Unless we're not home, of course." Leroy completes, a small grin playing on his lips, which quickly disappears when Hiram sends him a glare.
"Will you please stop giving them ideas?"
"Oh please, honey," Leroy’s grin gets wider and Quinn can't help but to giggle a bit. "They're teenagers. You can't seriously hope they will live under the same roof and not have se-"
"Please don't," Rachel interrupts him, her hands moving to her ears and Quinn's giggles have turned into full laughter now. "I do not need to hear you two discussing our sex life, or lack thereof. Please, just stop. We understand your rules, and we shall abide them. Can we go now? Before you scar us for life?"
"Yes, you can go now." Hiram nods, and Rachel gets up, pulling a giggling Quinn with her.
"Like they just didn't rule out any chance I had of getting some tonight." Rachel whispers as she moves up the stairs.
"Did you say something, sweetie?" Leroy asks with a glint in his eyes, and Rachel just huffs before she stomps the rest of the way to her room.
//
Glee Club wins Nationals again that year.
Puck throws a party in his hotel room, but Quinn and Rachel find a better way to celebrate it.
//
"I love you."
It's Rachel the one who says it first.
Quinn has felt it for a long time now – long before they started dating, actually – but she has learned to take things slowly when it comes to Rachel because even though she puts up a strong front, she's actually incredibly insecure and can't handle too much, so Quinn knows she has to wait before Rachel makes the first move, because it means that she's finally ready to handle everything Quinn has to offer.
They're just lying together, watching Funny Girl for what's probably the hundredth time, but it feels so perfect, so right, that the only thing Quinn can do is kiss Rachel, and whisper against her lips, "I love you too."
It isn't always easy. They love each other, yes, but they're also completely different, and sometimes Rachel is capable of driving Quinn completely nuts and sometimes Quinn has to admit she isn't the nicest kid in town either. It's not perfect, but at the same time it is, because while they're completely different, they found everything they needed on each other, and it's just how things work sometimes. They fight, they make up, and it's a never-ending cycle that makes their relationship stronger as each day goes by.
The beginning wasn't ideal, the middle had its fair share of bumps in the way, but in the end, they were together.
And that's all that matters.