Yours Is The First Face That I Saw (I Think I Was Blind Before I Met You) [1/3]
Title: Yours Is The First Face That I Saw (I Think I Was Blind Before I Met You)
Author: putakeepareyou
Rating: R, mostly for language, though BECAUSE THIS IS FLUFF.
Pairings: Rachel/Quinn (mentions: Brittany/Santana, Artie/Tina)
Length: 6,765 / 14,614
Spoilers: This fic is completely AU, so none, I believe.
Summary: Quinn is forced to move from Akron to Lima thanks to her parents finding out about her girlfriend - little did she know she was going to meet the girl of her dreams.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is not mine.
Author's note: So, this was supposed to be a small one-shot, it seems to have gotten a life of its own, and it ended up this little monster. I'M SORRY. Or well, not really. Um, mooosicaldreamz is amazing because she read it over and corrected all my stupid mistakes so I could post this today. I LOVE YOU CASSIE. Also, this is for itsamaleduck because she's my wifey, and she pushed me to finish this. Also, mcsteamysintern, lynnearlington and Luz. I DON'T KNOW IF SHE HAS A LJ. I LOVE YOU ALL. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE MY BABIES. <3
ALSO PEOPLE: Finn's kind of a douche. Like, seriously. If you like him, don't hate me. Please. That's all.
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 trust her, they aren't the brightest people around. 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 isn't home, and will never be, as far as she's concerned. Sure, it's still in the same state, but seriously? She isn't looking forward to this whole 'new kid in the school' 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 - decided to pack and move. She's entering her own personal hell; she knows this and she can't to anything to stop it. If slushies are as common here as they are back in Akron, she knows that one will be finding her face in no time.
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 hierarchy never really crossed her mind before. She was the Head Cheerleader, president of the celibacy club - because what better way to keep boys from touching you? - 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 her - 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 it. It's just her luck that she's the one getting the malfunctioning locker.
Anyway, 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 is not denying 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 - simply pulls her locker open, grabs a few books, and turns around to leave, without saying a word. The Latina girl that is with 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, the blonde with the cute smile, grins in her direction and waves goodbye as she moves to take the Latina'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.
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 it might make the day worth it. 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 - or patience - to deal with dim-witted boys running after her.
She believes that she already had her fair share of that.
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 towards her, and she just knows what's coming, but 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 - 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 shivering. She can't blame him; if she ever found herself in the receiving end of that particular snarl, she'd probably disappear faster than she could blink. 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 the taller blonde, 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 kids of amazing and he thinks they could have fun together. He can be a little overbearing 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.
Ever.
---
When she meets Noah Puckerman for the second time, it's one heck of a strange situation. Mostly, though, 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 'a-hole' 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. You'd do the same thing in her place.
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 Latina is shaking her head and whispering something about Rachel and not happening, and then Quinn sees the blonde cheerleader sending 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." The Latina 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 HBIC attitude can't let her have Puck doing that without trying to express 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 the petite brunette.
"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 the Latina 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 the Latina speaks to Brittany, and Quinn feels really stupid for not realizing that there is something going on between those two. Quite the skirt-chaser, 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 grinned in return - and then moved her gaze to Santana, "and yours, not to mention your bitchy attitude, I'm surprised you didn't end up killing each other. But, as I've stated before, it would never have worked anyway. You two are both Alpha males and you thrive in 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 the brunette, 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 you get 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, Hudson." 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," the boy 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 blonde's 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 brunette'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 stare 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 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 the brunette'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, god, 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 the brunette the satisfaction of telling her what she should or shouldn't do - because she's pretty sure that she's 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 the brunette's 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 the other girl 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 Will 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, that Will 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 went quiet for a moment, finished mixing her shake, and faced Quinn again. "But make no mistake, if that Will Schuester ever tries to play with me, he and that terrible thing he calls his hair, are going down." Her face took a delighted expression, but she immediately snapped 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 brunette is the main - read: the only - reason why she went to see Coach Sylvester.
---
The next day she shows up for practice at exactly 5:59am and is rewarded with a barely noticeable nod from Coach Sylvester before the woman 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 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 out 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 the Latina 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 should remain 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 was 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 did. 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 exclaimed, and Brittany shook 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 chicks 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. "Where's my coffee, Berry?"
"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." the Latina says, 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." the brunette 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 sees the brunette observing her with a curious expression, before she shakes her head and starts to move towards the school, listening as Brittany rambled on about duckies or something like that, a carefree smile taking over her lips and her eyes shining with happiness. Quinn feels warmth spread through her body that she knows 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, something changes in Rachel's demeanor and she realizes 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 hyperaware 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 now 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 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 somewhere, somehow, someday, she's gonna hit the bottom.
She hopes - more than anything - that when she does, Rachel is there to catch her.