Title: One Shot
One-Shot (See what I did there?)
Author: J.R. Boone a.k.a. JRAbraxas on Tumblr
Parings: Faberry and Karley
A/N: I just heard spoilers that Kitty has a turn around after having a conversation with Quinn. Hence New INFALLIBLE Head Canon a.k.a. One-Shot
A/N: I don't own the characters I'm just borrowing them.
Quinn looked on in mild amusement as the new crop of Cheerios poured out of the locker room freshly showered whilst talking about some insane club called "The Left Behind Club" or as it was refereed to by the Glee Alumni "Chastity Club 2.0".
All of the alums were back at McKinley this week lending a hand as the Glee Club prepared for their Sectionals, and Quinn's interest had been caught by the newly appointed HBIC. Admittedly her attention had been focused on the girl partly because she saw a cold glimpse of her former self in the girl and partly because it was torture to watch Rachel and Brody (who for some reason had decided to join the party) dance around each other like they were starring in their own Disney movie. Torture because Brody was perfect for Rachel and she wasn't.
Either way all week the alums had been mentoring the present Glee Club and Quinn couldn't help but notice the new HBIC gliding up and down the halls like a psychotic princess. At first she had been mildly interested in the girl, but when she had watched Kitty interact with Marley in a way that struck a little to close to home her interest had been piqued considerably higher. And when she watched Kitty's face morph into an almost unnoticeable pinch of regret and Marley's sad eyes watch the girl walk away, well Quinn decided that it was time to get some positive karma points racked up. Lord knows she had enough in the negative section.
The Yale student was brought out of her musings when the locker room door swung open and Kitty walked out staring down at her phone.
Quinn rolled her eyes and pushed off of the wall whilst clearing her throat, causing the Cheerio's head to instantly snap up to meet her eyes.
"You're Quinn Fabray," the girl said, her bottom jaw dropped slightly in awe.
"Yes I am," Quinn said stepping up to the girl and sizing her up silently.
"With the exception of your pregnancy scandal, your plot to kidnap said baby, and your tragic decent into a wheel chair you're the best captain the squad has ever had," Kitty rambled on slightly, her eyes wide as Quinn continued to look her up and down.
"Very…eloquent," Quinn said rolling her eyes and shaking her head.
"I'm sorry," Kitty said snapping out of her mini fan girl episode and standing up straighter, her face taking on an all too familiar stony mask. "Was there something you wanted?"
"Actually," Quinn said stalking towards the girl slowly and forcing her to take a few jerky steps back. "You and I are going to have a little chat."
"About what?" Kitty asked, her eyebrows rising slightly in confusion.
"Well Kitty," Quinn said putting an arm over the girl's shoulder and leading her back into the locker room. "I would like you to think about me as the Ghost of Cheerio Future."
"Okay…" Kitty said, her eyebrows pinched together as Quinn sat her down on the bench and took a deep breath.
"So," Quinn said almost conversationally as she glanced around the locker room and smirked at a picture of her glaring down from the wall. "I can't help but notice that you seem to be ruling the school with an iron fist."
"Yes," Kitty said nodding her head stiffly. "I have been trying to model myself after you Pre-Babygate."
"And why is that?" Quinn said sucking in an annoyed breath at the second referral to one of the worst times in her life in less than five minutes.
"Because you're Quinn Fabray," Kitty said as if it was self-explanatory. "Before that incident you were the most popular and most feared girl to ever walk these halls. You were the original inventor of the Slushy. And afterwards you returned to that spot as if nothing had ever happened…well until last year."
"And that is someone you want to be?" Quinn asked not even bothering to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
"Yes it is," Kitty said nodding her head once, her face contorted in confusion.
"Oh you poor stupid girl," Quinn said shaking her head before sitting down next to the girl. "Did you know my sister Francine was the Head Cheerio before me?" She asked tilting her head to the side.
"Well yah," Kitty said nodding towards the picture of Francine Fabray sitting directly next to Quinn's.
"She was the original HBIC," Quinn said shaking her head. "Before she came along the football players were in charge and the Cheerios were second. But she changed that. And when it came her turn to hand down the mantle to me we had a little chat much like this."
"Really," Kitty said, her eyes gleaming slightly with excitement that Quinn was about to squash.
"Do you know where my sister is now?" Quinn asked glancing down dismissively at her nails.
"Um…no," Kitty said, her face contorted in confusion once more.
"Francine Fabray, now Francine Harper lives in Columbus Ohio. She is married to a man that cheats on her daily with his secretary, she has three children who call their nanny Mom, and every night she drinks two bottles of wine to escape from the tragedy that is her life," Quinn said, her eyes narrowing as she watched Kitty's confused expression turn to one of slight terror. "Do you know what I'm doing these days?" Quinn asked sternly.
"Um…Yale," Kitty squeaked, her eyes flitting up to the picture of Francine for a second and shuddering in horror.
"Yes. I am currently a student at Yale. I have a three point nine grade point average, I'm the Freshman Class president, and I was named number three in the Ivy League Monthly's list of students to watch," Quinn said, allowing herself to feel proud for a second before continuing. "Do you want to know what I did differently then my sister?"
"Yes I do," Kitty said nodding rapidly, her eyes almost comically large.
"I made mistakes," Quinn said shaking her head. "I learned the hard way that being the head bitch in charge means you're just that, a bitch. I learned that being at the top with absolutely no friends was great until I fell and there wasn't anyone who cared enough to catch me," The Yale student growled, her hazel eyes daring the girl to interrupt her.
"So you might think you have got it all figured out and you might think that modeling yourself after "Pre-Babygate" me will lead you onto the path of glory. But I'm here today to tell you that unless you fancy ending up unhappy for the rest of your life with nothing but regrets you should refigure your current attitude," Quinn said, her voice steely with determination.
"But you…popular," Kitty said her eye furrowed with bewilderment.
"News flash Kitty, popularity is not all it's cracked up to be. If it wasn't for the unpopular people who opened their arms and hearts to me I would have never made it to where I am today. I learned the hard way Kitty so you didn't have to," Quinn said, shaking her head in pity of the girl before patting her arm and standing up.
"Trust me, you're going to want to think about what I just said because the next three years. That's all you have. You don't get a second chance at High School and when it's over it's done. There's no going back and fixing your mistakes. It's just you and the world. And no one who matters, no one who can do anything for you, is going to care whether you were the head bitch in charge at your High School." With that Quinn went to leave but stopped when she felt a hand grasp lightly at her wrist. "Yes," she asked looking at the door.
"Do you have any regrets?" Kitty asked her voice thick with bewilderment.
"Yes I do," Quinn said looking down at the ground and taking a deep breath. "Because of the way I acted for my three years as head bitch I ruined any chance of ever being with the person that I fell in love with on my first day of Freshmen year."
The room was silent for a moment before Kitty asked, her voice wavering slightly with pity. "Tell me about it?"
At this Quinn chuckled humorously and took a deep breath. "The first time I saw her she was wearing a god awful owl sweater, her favorite I would soon find out. She was also wearing an almost sinfully short blue skirt, blue knee socks, and a pair of black Mary Janes. She looked ridiculous. I remember thinking how could someone look simultaneously like an elderly person and a toddler all at once and I was about to ask her just that when she started singing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard in my life. Her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my toes curl and I honestly cried it was so amazing. And her face, that beautiful face of hers, she looked so happy. Happier than I had ever seen someone in my entire life. I wanted to fall into her and share that. I wanted to put that look on her face everyday." At this Quinn sighed.
"And then three hours later my sister said she was the biggest loser she had ever seen and I broke my own heart when I threw a slushy in her face and called her Manhands." Quinn looked over her shoulder and stared into Kitty's eyes. "If I could go back in time to that day I would throw the slushy in my sister's face and ask that girl to go to Breadsticks with me."
Kitty looked up at the blonde silently, her eyes watery with understanding. Taking a deep breath the girl nodded at Quinn. "You and Rachel Berry are friends now though. Right?" She asked carefully.
Quinn chuckled humorously and nodded. "Friends, yes. But that's all we'll ever be because I was too stupid then to realize that there are things more important than popularity."
"You could still try," Kitty said quickly.
"I could," Quinn said nodding slightly. "But I won't. I had my chance and I threw it away. And now three halls over there is a boy named Brody who is perfect for Rachel. And she deserves perfect."
"You're still in love with her?" Kitty asked looking down at her hands.
"I will always be in love with Rachel," Quinn said sadly as she started to walk to the door. Stopping she turned back to the girl and leveled her with an intense stare. "But like I said Kitty. You only get one shot to get this right. After High School is over and you walk out those doors you're going to walk out with what you have done here and what you haven't done here. And that is all you'll have. Remember that."
The next morning Quinn stood leaning up against the wall watching the students mindlessly as Kurt and Mercedes raved on about Kurt's new job. Some things never change, she thought to herself as she turned her head and watched Santana and Brittany flirting shamelessly with each other in their own little world.
Not a minute later she saw something that had changed and it made her heart feel light and happy. Kitty was walking down the hall, her stride quick and assertive as Quinn's had been three years ago, the girls eyes were focused on one person and one person alone.
Quirking and eyebrow in amusement Quinn stepped away from the group and subtly leant against the wall next to where Marley and Rachel were talking excitedly about Marley's solo at Sectionals.
Glancing up nonchalantly Quinn smiled when Kitty stopped in front of the two brunettes and cleared her throat. Marley turned to the Cheerio and Quinn sighed at the look on the brunettes face. It was a look she had gotten a thousand times from Rachel. It very clearly said, "I'm terrified of you. What did I do to deserve this? I just want to be your friend."
The two younger girls stared at each other for a couple of seconds in silence and Quinn smiled when Rachel subtly moved next to her and glanced over at Quinn. "God it's like looking in a mirror," the brunette said before her face flushed and she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry that came out horrible."
"It's okay," Quinn said sighing softly. "I was horrible to you back then."
"And now you're my best friend," Rachel murmured before glancing over to the still silent teenagers who were locked in a staring contest. "Do you know what is going on?"
"Just watch," Quinn said rolling her eyes before clearing her throat pointedly at Kitty.
The blonde teenager seemed to snap out of her stupor and her face turned bright red for a second before she collected herself. Across from her Marley looked at the girl obviously confused.
Taking a deep breath Kitty looked up at the brunette and smiled softly. "Hi," she said lightly.
"Hello," Marley said, her eyebrows pinching slightly together.
At this Kitty seemed at a loss for words and her eyes darted to Quinn who simply held up one finger and mouthed the words "One shot." Kitty took a deep breath and looked back at Marley. "I was wondering…are you free tonight."
Marley's face turned a deep shade of red at this and she glanced warily at the girl before nodding. "Um…yes I am," she said, her shoulders tight as if waiting for a punch line or possibly just a punch.
"Good," Kitty said sounding relieved only to quickly stammer as Marley's face fell slightly. "No I mean not good that you don't have any plans but it's good that you don't."
"Is she having a stroke?" Santana stage whispered suddenly sliding up next to Quinn and quirking an eyebrow.
"No," Quinn said chuckling lightly and nodding at Kitty who once again took a deep breath to collect her self.
"Okay," Kitty said looking into Marley's eyes intensely. "I was wondering…do you want to go to Breadsticks with me this evening?"
Marley's eyes widened almost comically and she looked to Rachel helplessly. The Diva schooled her shocked expression (Quinn totally saw it) and smiled at the girl before nodding slightly. Marley looked back to Kitty and smiled nervously. "Why?" She asked, her eyes flitting to the floor and then back up to Kitty.
Kitty took a deep breath at this and nodded, her eyes going to Quinn once more for assurance before she looked back at her class mate. "Because I've been horrible to you…and I want to make it up. And I want to get to know you."
Marley's nervous smile disappeared and Quinn let out an internal whoop. "Why the sudden change?" The brunette asked tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Honestly," Kitty asked dipping her head before looking back up at the brunette. "Because I want to. And because I don't want to graduate three years from now and realize I missed out on someone I think is pretty awesome."
Marley took a deep breath before nodding slightly, her lips dropping into a slight frown. "Aren't you…I mean what about what everyone says?"
"I don't care what everyone says," Kitty said, her head rising proudly. "Someone that I greatly admired told me that we only get one shot in life. I want to make this one count."
Marley seemed to debate for a second as she let the words sink into her lips curled into a shy smile. "Okay," she said nodding.
"Really?" Kitty said a smile breaking out across her face that Quinn was positive no one in the school had ever seen.
"Really," Marley said taking a deep breath and nodding her head.
"Thank you," Kitty said, her eyes shining slightly as Marley smiled widely at her. "Can I pick you up at seven?"
"Seven is fine," Marley said nodding her head.
"Okay," Kitty said smiling widely before gingerly taking Marley's hand and writing her phone number on it. "Text me the directions."
"Definitely," Marley said staring down at her hand and smiling.
"You're a badass," Santana whispered into Quinn's ear.
"I know I am," Quinn whispered back before tapping Rachel's shoulder who was watching the scene before them with an unreadable intense expression. "We're going to head over to Sue's office. Do you want to tag along?"
"No," Rachel said still watching as Marley and Kitty chatted softly a few feet from them. "Marley and I still need to finish going over her solo."
"Okay," Quinn said smiling as she watched the two teenagers shakily attempt to flirt with one another.
"Quinn," Rachel said turning and looking up at the blonde, her brown eyes shimmering slightly with emotion. "You really are an amazing person."
Quinn smiled sadly and looked into Rachel's eyes. "Coming from you that is the best compliment I've ever received," she said before squeezing the girl's hand once and walking away with Santana and Brittany who had once again fallen into their own world.
Walking away she missed Marley and Rachel start to walk into the choir room and she missed Kitty quietly walk up to Rachel and ask for a moment with her.
Rachel nodded at the Cheerio and nodded before telling Marley that she would be in the room in a moment. Turning back to the blonde Rachel smiled. "How can I help you Kitty?"
Kitty seemed to think for a moment before tilting her head to the side. "Do I call you Ms. Berry?"
"Oh god no," Rachel said holding a hand up quickly. "Rachel is fine."
"Okay," Kitty said chuckling slightly. "If you someone was in love with you would you want to know?"
Rachel's head bobbed back at the sudden question and she tilted her head to the side for a moment to think about it before nodding slightly. "I would definitely want them to let me know about it. I suffered in silence for many years over a crush and I would hate to have someone going through the same thing. I would want them to tell me so we could talk about and I could at least curb my behavior in a way that would spare their feelings if I didn't reciprocate them."
Kitty looked down at the ground for a second, clearly thinking intently about something for a second before she looked back up at the Diva. "What if that person didn't want to tell you? What if they thought that they didn't…deserve to be able to tell you how they felt?"
"Then I would definitely want to know," Rachel said frowning slightly. "What is this about Kitty?"
Kitty took a deep breath before looking into Rachel's eyes. "The first time she saw you, you were wearing a god awful owl sweat and you sang so beautifully you brought tears to her eyes."
"What?" Rachel asked, her heart starting to beat loudly in her chest.
"And then three hours later she broke her own heart by throwing a slushy in your face and calling you Manhands," Kitty said before smiling sadly and walking away from the shocked brunette who was putting the words the girl had said together in her head one by one.
The next day was the last day the alumni would be at the school. That night the club would head off to Sectionals and the next day Thanksgiving break would end and the alums would return to their respective corners of the globe to face college and work.
Quinn couldn't help by smile as Kitty rambled on about how dinner had gone with Marley the night before. But she also couldn't help the sharp pain in her chest as she thought about what might have been.
Suddenly Kitty stopped talking and smiled at someone behind Quinn before walking away to join Marley at her locker.
Confused Quinn turned around to find Rachel staring up at her, her brown eyes dark and questioning. "Hey Rach, what's up?" She asked quirking and eyebrow slightly.
"You talked to Kitty didn't you?" Rachel asked, her head tilting to the side slightly.
"I did," Quinn said nodding slightly. "I figured she needed a better pep talk than my sister gave me when I became Head Cheerio."
"What else did you talk about?" Rachel asked her voice thick with emotion and her eyes telling Quinn all she needed to know.
"Oh god," Quinn whispered stepping away from the singer and rubbing her face. "She told you didn't she?"
"Not in so many words but yes," Rachel whispered stepping forwards and putting a hand gently on Quinn's arm.
"We can just forget about it Rachel," Quinn said quickly hoping to fix the damage whilst simultaneously wondering if she knew anyone young enough to slap Kitty around and not do time for child abuse. "I know that you can't feel the same and we can just forget about it."
"Oh Quinn," Rachel sighed shaking her head, her eyes narrowing slightly in frustration. "You've know me for a long time and you know what my pet peeves are I assume."
Without thinking Quinn answered. "People who eat with their mouths full and people who talk during movies…and Toddlers In Tiaras."
"I have a new one," Rachel said popping her neck slightly. "I've discovered that I hate it when people tell me how I feel. It seems like for as long as I've been alive people have been telling me how I feel. My fathers, Shelby, Mr. Schue, Finn. I never noticed it until I got into the city and realized I am grown women. But it's always been a pet peeve of mine it seems."
"Okay," Quinn said, trying to keep up with the sudden turn in the conversation. "What are you saying Rachel?"
"What I'm saying Quinn Fabray is that you do not know how I feel. And I must ask again, do you have any ideal what you mean to me?" Rachel asked her voice gentle as she stepped closer to Quinn and looked up at her with watery eyes.
All Quinn could do was look into those eyes as she tried to calm her heart down.
"Quinn you're a very pretty girl, the prettiest girl I've ever met. But you are so much more than that to me," Rachel whispered leaning up and placing a soft kiss on Quinn's lips.
Quinn felt all the air leave her lungs at the soft kiss and she couldn't help but whimper as Rachel backed away and smiled softly up at her. "What about Brody?" Quinn asked in awe.
At this Rachel smiled sadly and dipped her head. "Brody is an amazing guy and I hope that he and I will be friends for a long time after this. But he and I had a long discussion last night and though he was hurt he understood when I told him that I had to take this chance."
Quinn felt a tear roll down her cheek and she looked down at the girl in complete awe for a second before smiling widely. "Rachel?"
"Yes Quinn?" The brunette asked smiling shyly up at her.
"Would you like to go to Breadstick with me tonight?" Quinn asked her voice strong with determination and love.
"Oh Quinn," Rachel said shaking her head and letting out a soft laugh. "I thought you'd never ask."
Across the hall Kitty and Marley watched the tender conversation silently. Kitty couldn't help but smirk as she realized that Quinn had been wrong. Sometimes you do get a second chance. That smirk turned into a wide smile seconds later when she felt a soft hand slip into her own and she looked over to see Marley watching the older versions of themselves. "You're amazing," Marley whispered tilting her head to the side and meeting Kitty's eyes.
"I had a good mentor," Kitty giggled before taking the girl's books and walking away from the new couple, hand in hand with the girl that could be her Rachel Berry someday.