This was born of frustration over Finn being a douche.
It turned into Quiff inferences; and will become a longer fic.
With alternate universe!Quinn and characters from SPAH!verse - not all of them, and you don't technically have to read Spah! to understand; although I'd recomend it, because it's a good universe. :)
DISCLAIMER: Glee is not mine. Nor is Riker Lynch. Or SPAH! and therefore the majority of the Warblers mentioned. The costume girls are children of my own imagination. :)
Chapter One
Pot 'O Gold
"Look, Blaine, I don't know how they did things in the Warblers-" A voice cut over Finn from the back of the class, sharp and quite obviously fed-up.
"Oh my god, Finn, just shut up already. Stop acting like you're the king of this castle; because you know what? You're not." Finn's mouth dropped open as he stared at Quinn, who was glaring at him, arms crossed over her chest. Blaine was watching her with something similar to thanks on his face, but her attention was fixed on the boy ticking her off at that moment.
"You need to stop. And I mean now. Yeah, you're 'co-captain' of the New Directions, but since when does that mean anything? What do you and Rachel even do? Except, oh, yeah, right, hog all the solos and make us all feel crap about ourselves. I am sick and tired of your high and mighty attitude. Blaine? He's trying to support you, Finn. Why he's bothering, since you're an unappreciative ass and were bound to cut him down, I have no idea; but is it such a fricking punishable crime that he's drawing from the experience of a Glee Club that's kinda different from ours? So what if we're not as popular as the Warblers are at Dalton? Why don't you use your magical powers of co-captaincy and go magic us up some new members, huh? Stop being such a hypocritical bastard and turning against the members we've got at the moment." Quinn finished with a bite to her words, admiring the way Finn was gaping at her, hurt; before she got to her feet, and threw her bag over her shoulder, storming from the room. She heard Kurt call after her, but ignored him; yes, he was probably the only person left in the glee club she really got along with – other than Blaine – but at that moment, she was too stressed out to talk to him.
Finn had forced her over the edge.
How dare he do that? How dare he preach at them about getting along and being a family; and then shoot down someone with a perfectly good suggestion? What kind of family did that?
Quinn had reached her locker by that point; and she let out a huff of frustration, throwing a punch at her locker door in a moment of rash aggravation. A couple of stray students who hadn't yet gone home gave her a confused look; after all, her style wasn't exactly one of someone prone to throwing punches at inanimate objects. She'd considered changing her look over the summer – dying her hair, getting a tattoo. The whole shebang – but had decided against it. She wanted her senior year to be a good year; one she could enjoy – could look back on and appreciate.
At the start of the year, sure, it hadn't included Glee. But part of that group was her family; and a damn better one than her dysfunctional parents and oh-so-perfect older sister.
But Mercedes had left, Finn was a jerk, and the others had never really cared about her all that much.
Besides which, she'd never really liked Rachel that much in the first place.
Quinn let out a long, soft sigh, before yanking open her locker and pulling out her homework, shoving it roughly into her bag before slamming the door shut, and heading for the exit.
There was no way she was going back in that room; if there was one thing she'd learnt from Rachel Berry, it was that you never walked back in after a dramatic exit.
Besides which, she could really use a cup of strong black coffee.
Quinn breathed the smell of her coffee in deeply, before sighing contentedly.
This was what she needed.
She looked around the little coffee shop curiously. She'd never been to Westerville before; never had a reason to visit the higher-class area of Ohio. She and Kurt hadn't been close enough in Junior year for her to drive up to visit him. But she was regretting that now; this really was a nice shop. She'd have loved to discover it earlier.
It was far more hipster than the Lima Bean, with a lack of cheesy holiday-related merchandise on sale around the cashier. The lighting was soft and warm, and there were prints of modern art pieces on the walls. All the furniture was dark wood, and the booths in the back – like the one she was sat in now – had long, comfortable benches with soft burgundy pillows. There was a candle in the middle of her table, but it was unlit; probably reserved for the afternoons, when she could believe people would come on dates here.
She'd just lifted her cup to her lips, to take another swallow of the frankly amazing coffee; when the door to the shop opened, and a small group of uniformed boys walked in.
She blinked in surprise as she recognised the crest on their blazers; and a couple of the boys themselves.
Because these were a couple of the Warblers; she remembered them from Sectionals and Regionals, and was pretty sure some of them had performed at the nursing home she'd had a part-time job at last spring.
Quinn tilted her head as she watched them, a half smile turning up the corner of her lips.
She hadn't really looked at another boy properly since she and Finn had broken up; understandably, she'd been all kinds of torn up afterwards. Not only had she genuinely thought she loved him; but he'd convinced her to cheat in the only stable, good relationship she'd ever had, and had wrecked that for her. Only to go back to the girl he'd left her for the first time around.
When she was feeling particularly bitter, she told herself that it was Finn's fault her life had gotten so screwed up the last two years; and in terms of Sophomore year, yeah, that was unfair.
But Junior year?
Yeah. That had pretty much been his fault.
She took another long drink of her coffee as she watched the Warblers, smiling slightly at the way they were laughing and joking together. The New Directions were never like that anymore; without Mercedes, things had only gone down hill. Tina had been right; Mercedes, as one of the original members of the New Directions, had really been a large part of their 'family'. Without her, things were less energetic; darker.
Quinn was taking another swallow of her coffee, closing her eyes at the taste – this really was the best coffee she'd ever had – when someone politely cleared their throat; and she opened her eyes to find one of the Warblers stood at her table, smiling slightly at her.
She practically felt her cheeks turn red.
Had he seen her watching them?
"C-can I help you?" She flushed an even darker red when her voice came out almost as a squeak, clapping a hand over her mouth; but the boy just grinned, politely not saying anything.
"Would you mind if my friends and I sat with you? Everywhere else has filled up; it gets like this when it's raining." Quinn dimly noted that that was probably why his hair was wet; before nodding with a shy half-smile.
"Sure. Uh, I'm Quinn." The boy gestured for his friends to join him, before grinning and taking the hand she held out for him to shake.
"Jeff." He offered with a smile; and Quinn's blush darkened for some inexplicable reason, and she grinned back. She shifted along the bench as Jeff's friends joined them, freeing up room for one of them; and had to hide the way her stomach lurched when Jeff himself slid in behind her, taking his time to give her an opportunity to tell him to get lost. He smiled at her when she didn't, and she smiled nervously back, glancing down at her coffee and absently turning her cup in her hands. The other two boys quickly introduced themselves, shaking her hand – Nick and Harry, their names were – and she smiled sweetly at them; before she had to field questions.
"So what brings you to Westerville?" Nick asked; and when her eyebrows lifted in surprise, he grinned.
"Saw you at Sectionals and Regionals, remember? It's hard to forget someone with such a nice voice." Quinn blushed at the compliment, before smiling at him slightly.
"Club troubles. I just got in my car and went coffee-shop hunting." She looked around the shop she was in appreciatively.
"I think I may have found the one." She offered with a grin; and then Harry, who had been opening his mouth to say something, mischief clear in his eyes, yelped, reaching down to clutch at his shin – which Quinn assumed Jeff had kicked, from the way he was staring the Japanese boy down.
"Pratik's gonna kill you if you've given me a bruise." Harry pouted; and Jeff rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, sure. Because Pratik totally doesn't like me better." Harry scowled.
"What are you insinuating, Sterling?" He asked darkly; and Jeff smirked at him.
"Merely that you may be dating him, but your boyfriend prefers my company, Takashima. Besides which, you deserved it." Quinn turned to look at Harry, her expression surprised.
"You're gay?" He flushed lightly, and her expression dropped.
"Oh, I-I didn't mean to pry, it's just...I don't know, you don't seem like the type? Excuse me if I'm being ignorant, it's just the only experience I can draw on is Kurt, and now Blaine with his endless number of sweater vests and hats." The three boys all looked at each other; before bursting into laughter, while Quinn just blushed and looked down at her coffee. She only looked up when their laughter faded, and Jeff lightly placed a hand on her arm, grinning when she looked up at him.
"We weren't laughing at you, don't worry. It's just that it's Pratik everyone keeps assuming is straight; or even asexual, since he's so awkward usually." Harry scowled, and threw a napkin at Jeff.
"That's my boyfriend you're talking about, Sterling." Nick just shrugged with a half-grin.
"Jeff's right. You and your love for the Beatles gives you away, Takashima. Pratik is harder to guess." Harry pouted, before looking back at Quinn.
"You are my only friend, at the moment." He stated; and she grinned back at him, before drinking some of her coffee, listening to the boys as they entered into a kind of comfortable banter which had her leaning back against the backrest on the bench. Now and then, she glanced at Jeff out of the corner of her eye, smiling at the way his features lit up when he spoke to his friends, and admiring the way his hair was drying into soft-looking platinum blonde strands; and blushed when he caught her gaze and grinned at her, glancing back at her coffee.
The afternoon finished far to quickly; what was left of her coffee went cold, and all of a sudden it was seven o'clock, and she should really be getting home.
The boys took her phone, taking goofy pictures of themselves – Nick pulled a face, while Harry went through the dramatics of taking a proper MySpace style picture – before they added their numbers; except for Jeff, who just grinned easily into the camera, and put a smiley face at the end of his name. Quinn quickly added her own picture and number into each of their phones, before all four of them got to their feet, and said their goodbyes.
Harry pulled her into a quick hug.
"I'll text you; you should totally meet Pratik. He'd really like you." Quinn grinned at the compliment, and hugged Harry back; before giggling when Nick hugged her, lifting her off the ground.
"If you ever decide to spy on us, come along; we adopted Kurt, so we'd be more than happy to have you." Harry frowned at his friend.
"Dalton is an all boys school, Nick." He stated, amused; and Quinn laughed when Nick's face dropped.
"I might come and spy on you anyway." She offered with a smile; and giggled when his expression lit up, before he and Harry began to make their way towards the exit, bickering softly. Jeff smiled at her when she looked back at him.
"Sorry about my insane friends; I'd say the others were better...but, well, I'd be lying. Some of them are actually worse; especially Wes and David." Quinn blinked lightly at the familiar names.
"They weren't seniors last year?" She asked, confused; and Jeff grinned.
"They wish." He offered; and Quinn smiled at that, before blushing when he pulled her into a soft hug.
"It was nice to meet you, Quinn. I'll text you." Quinn was still blushing when he released her; and it darkened when he took one of her hands in his, kissing the back lightly and grinning at her.
She turned her eyes downwards shyly.
"I'll see you around." She murmured, glancing up through her eyelashes; and smiled when he grinned at her, before he turned and jogged over to his friends, who were waiting impatiently by the door.
Quinn practically danced back to her car after they left.
When she got home, she breezed past her mother; she ignored all the missed calls and texts on her phone.
And she fell asleep holding her phone to her chest, after replying to the 'good night' texts she received from three boys who had been nicer to her than the New Directions had in a long time.
Quinn grinned at the text she'd just received, giggling softly, and ignoring the looks she drew from some of the other New Directions.
I really hate Mr Matthews sometimes; if we do another Train number, I'm going to strangle him with his unrealistically expensive tie. J
She quickly typed back a reply, still grinning.
At least he's not trapped in the '80s. Mr Shue makes me want to burn his ridiculous collection of vests. Q
She only had to wait for a moment for the reply; and let out a soft snort at the words, not noticing the frustrated look Rachel sent her way from where she was singing yet another solo.
I'll bring the gasoline. J
She was just about to type back at reply, when she received another text, and grinned when she saw who it was from.
Pratik wants to know if you like Taylor Swift. Please say no? Otherwise he'll be playing 'Love Story' for the rest of the day. H
Quinn let out another soft giggle, before texting back quickly, eyes fixed on her phone.
She had completely blocked out the rest of the club at this point, and so didn't notice all the looks she was getting.
I cannot tell a lie; I love her. I have every one of her songs on my iPod. Sorry. XD Q
She was halfway through a reply to Jeff when Santana plucked her phone from her hands.
"Hey!" She snapped, glaring at the Latina; who just smirked as she read through Quinn's texts.
"Who's 'H', huh? And this 'J' guy; you've texted him, like, loads. Oh, wait, it's Jeff and Harry is it?" Quinn glared and made to snatch her phone back; but Santana held it out of her reach.
"I'm proud of you, Q. Two boys at once? Nice going." Quinn scowled as she went for her phone again.
"Harry has a boyfriend, Santana; now give me back my phone." Quinn finally managed to snatch it back as Santana frowned with the revelation that Harry was gay.
"Why would you be texting someone who didn't swing your way?" She asked, screwing up her nose; and the look Quinn gave her was venomous.
"Just because you can't be friends with a boy without hiking up your skirt, doesn't mean I can't." She snapped. Santana flushed at the obvious insult; but Blaine quickly interrupted whatever the Latina had been about to say, glancing between the pair nervously.
"You know Harry and Jeff? As in, Harry Takashima and Jeff Sterling?" Quinn shot Santana one last vicious glare, before looking back at Blaine and smiling as she sat back in her seat.
"Yeah. I met them yesterday; and Nick." Blaine grinned; while Rachel cut in, obnoxious as ever.
"Met them where? Where did you go yesterday?" Quinn glared at the short brunette; before purposefully looking back at her phone and continuing her text, ignoring the indignant splutter that was Rachel's reaction.
Do you have enough to incinerate a five foot tall brunette diva? Because otherwise I'm going to strangle her. Q
"Quinn! You can't just ignore me! Who are these people?" Quinn resolutely stared at her phone, waiting for a reply; only, for, when it came in, Rachel to snatch her phone from her hand.
Quinn's head snapped up, and she glared at the frowning brunette girl.
"Give me back my phone, Rachel." She snapped; but the other girl just continued to frown.
"What's gotten into you, Quinn? Usually you're at least a little more open than this. And yesterday was just out of character; and unjustified, by the way. Finn was frustrated by the lack of optimism in the room, and I completely agree with his over all messages." Quinn's smile was poisonous.
"So you agree that the rest of us should just sit here like ornaments and let you shut us down when we try to help out? Wow Rachel. Just wow." Rachel's frown deepened.
"Look, I get that you're stressed; your last two years haven't been the best, and you're still bitter that Finn chose me over you. Add to that the fact that my mother is back, and yes; I can see where your undue aggravating attitude is coming from. But I really don't think you should let a little thing like-"
Quinn slapped her.
Rachel gaped at her – and Quinn knew that the rest of the club was probably doing the same – but she was past caring. She snatched her phone back, and shoved Rachel back a step, rounding on her with a vicious expression.
"Don't you even try to understand what I'm going through. You have no idea what it's like. Have you ever had a baby, Rachel? Have you been called a slut by the people you thought were your friends because of a dumb mistake? And if that's not enough, let's think back on last year, shall we? Have you ever cheated on anyone, Miss Berry? That little escapade of yours with Puck didn't count, because at the time you and frankenteen weren't exactly together, were you? Have you ever wrecked the best thing in your life because of some stupid feeling you never really felt? I gave up everything on one, stupid mistake with your idiot boyfriend; only for him to break up with me when he figured out that he still liked you. Do you know what that's like? If he hadn't egged me on, I could have finished the year still dating Sam; could have had one perfect thing in my life." By this point, Quinn had forced Rachel back so she was pressed against the piano, her eyes round and scared. The other New Directions all looked at each other, not wanting to intervene; and when Mr Shue went to stop Quinn, Kurt just gave him a warning look, and he sat back down.
They could all see that Quinn wasn't finished.
"Don't assume you know anything about how I feel about Beth, either. She doesn't need me in her life; I've screwed up my own, I'm not going to screw up hers too. Shelby's good for her; she'll make sure she's brought up right. What would I do? Other than teach her that getting pregnant at fifteen is okay, of course. You don't know anything about me, Rachel Berry. Those three boys were nicer to me in the space of three hours than you have been over two years. For once I spent an afternoon not feeling crap about myself. So don't you dare try and ruin this for me. So what if I decide to talk to them instead of sitting through yet another episode of the Rachel Berry show? Without Mercedes, that's pretty much all this is. At least when she was here there was someone to tell you to shut your mouth; someone to stand up to you. I'm sick of you, your huge nose you've decide to look down at everyone, and your stupid determination to make anyone who's not quite as good as you feel like they're tone deaf. Excuse me if I'm not prepared to bow down to you, almighty co-captain, and explain my life like it is some educational novel. Because frankly, it's none of your business." Quinn finally took a step away from the terrified shorter girl, ignoring her phone when it vibrated again; it had done so repeatedly while she'd torn into Rachel, but she was too riled up to see who was texting her.
The blonde girl took a deep breath; before she turned to look at Mr Shue, whose eyes were wide.
"May I be excused?" The teacher nodded dumbly, and Quinn moved to pick up her bag, shrugging Kurt's hand off when he reached out to touch her arm.
"I'm fine." She muttered, before heading for the door.
She paused before walking out, and offered the still shell-shocked Rachel a poisonous smile.
"Oh, and Jeff, Nick and Harry? They're Warblers. Just to pour salt all over the wounded look on your face." Quinn snapped the last part, before storming from the room.
Second time in as many days, she observed internally as she headed for the parking lot.
Her phone vibrated again; and she glanced down at it, blinking when she saw Jeff was calling her.
She guiltily remembered that she'd completely forgotten to reply to his text; and she'd been replying to his texts all day, sending new ones as quickly as he texted back.
She answered with a sheepish look on her face, despite the fact he couldn't see her.
"Hello?"
"Quinn!" The relief in his voice was palpable, and she winced; he'd obviously been worried.
"Are you okay?" He asked, concern thick in his voice; and she couldn't help but smile, flattered that he cared about her already.
"I'm fine; just the usual drama. Rachel being herself. I kinda lost it at her." Jeff let out a breath of relief, and Quinn flushed lightly. He really had been worried.
"I hope you really laid into her; from what Kurt told us about her last year, she sounds terrible." Quinn grinned lightly, transferring her phone to her other hand when she reached her car to fish for her keys.
"Yeah; she really is. And is slapping her good enough?" Jeff laughed through the phone, and her grin widened as she set her bag down in the passenger seat. She switched her phone to speaker before setting it on the dashboard and sliding into the drivers seat, shutting the door behind her.
"Yes, it's definitely good enough." Jeff responded, and Quinn grinned, pulling out of her space.
She could hear Jeff's hesitation before he spoke again, voice soft through the phone.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Quinn paused, glancing at her phone; before sighing softly.
"I don't know anymore." She murmured; and continued before he could speak.
"It's just – the last two years of my life have been so screwed up. And I want to sort myself out, have a school year where I don't spend all year feeling crap about myself; no cheerleading, no worrying about being popular. To start with, no Glee, either; I couldn't cope with the drama. I rejoined because I missed hanging out with Mercedes and Kurt, and because Blaine's a really nice guy, and I want to get to know him better. But Mercedes is gone, and Finn is ripping into Blaine for no reason, and...And I don't remember a time when I didn't hate this. When I didn't hate spending an hour every day sat in a room full of people who don't know me any more. Some of them think I'm just going to turn back into the girl I was at the start of Sophomore year; bitchy head cheerleader, who made everyone get out of her way with just a look. The others think I'm an emotional wreck; that all the stuff that happened last year has torn me up so much that I cry myself to sleep every night. None of them have really tried to figure out who I am now; not even Kurt and Blaine, although it's never been their job, and I know they'll accept me no matter what way I go. And I don't know what to think about that." There was silence from the other end of the phone for the moment, and Quinn flushed lightly, thinking she'd weirded him out by getting emotional.
When he spoke, it wasn't what she'd expected.
"You were head cheerleader?" Quinn giggled, and Jeff laughed as well; before his tone sobered as he began talking again.
"I don't want to tell you what to feel, because that's not right; you need to figure that out for yourself. But what I can tell you is that you should only be doing stuff that makes you happy. If that's not the New Directions anymore, screw that. Drop out, join debate club or something. And get yourself some new friends, Quinn. From the sounds of things, you've only got about three in that school; and you need more. Start hanging out with the AV club or something; they're usually a cool bunch." Quinn laughed at his words, and when he spoke again she could hear the smile in his voice.
"I'm not telling you to drop Mercedes, or Kurt and Blaine; just...talk to some new people. Make yourself a new group. And come visit us at Dalton on Saturday; Harry really wants you to meet Pratik, and Nick's got half the Warblers asking after you." Quinn smiled at the thought of the Warblers; a marginally more functional, but much kinder, group than she was sure the New Directions had been in a while.
Jeff's voice was soft when he spoke again.
"Let us be part of your new group, Quinn. We don't bite." Quinn laughed softly; before smiling at her phone as she parked her car.
"I'll come knocking at eleven?" She offered; and giggled when Jeff hissed in triumph.
"Yes; you do that. It'll give us time to lock up Eric; it probably won't be very effective, but there's no harm in trying." Quinn giggled again; before leaning forward to rest her head on the steering wheel.
"Thank you, Jeff." She murmured softly; and he hesitated for only a moment before replying.
"You're welcome, Quinn; call me whenever you need to." Quinn smiled to herself.
"Will do."
Jeff grinned to himself as he hung up, sliding his phone back into the pocket of his slacks, before he headed back into the common room, settling back into his seat beside Nick. The dark haired Warbler offered him an arch look.
"Everything okay?" Jeff just shrugged at his friend.
"New Directions stress; she slapped Rachel." Nick let out a low whistle, while Harry – sat across the room, Pratik hugged against his chest as the smaller boy played scales on his guitar – called over to them.
"Do I need to punch someone?" Jeff rolled his eyes, while Nick just grinned.
"You couldn't if you tried, Takashima." He declared; and the look Harry shot him was venomous. Pratik just plucked out the chorus for 'Tell Me Why'; and Harry rolled his eyes affectionately at his boyfriend's song choice, before looking back at Jeff.
"Pratik wants to know why she slapped her." He offered; and Jeff smiled briefly at the Indian boy.
"She's like Eric, but female." He stated; and the others snorted, while he just chuckled softly – before his smile faded and he frowned.
"I think she's just a little bit at a loss for how to deal with all the drama going on in there at the moment. I mean, we know from Kurt that she had a baby in Sophomore year, and according to her last year was just as stressful. It sounds like no one's really bothering to see how she's coping with things; and I guess that's one thing that can really get you down." The others all nodded, sobering with his words; before Nick spoke up.
"But she's coming to visit on Saturday, right?" Jeff grinned at his friend.
"Of course; no one can resist my charm." He sniffed importantly; and laughed when Nick hit him with a pillow, holding his arms over his head for protection. Harry rolled his eyes at the pair, pressing his lips to Pratik's neck, while his boyfriend smiled and began to play 'Accidently in Love'.
Jeff sat up when he heard the song; and frowned when Pratik winked at him.
"What are you insinuating, Kapoor?" Pratik shrugged, before paying a song Jeff didn't recognise; and which caused him to frown when Harry grinned.
"A golden girl with golden hair." The Japanese boy sang; and Jeff crossed his arms, flopping back against the cushions of the couch.
"Not appreciated, Kapoor." He called out; and the others laughed, while the blonde boy just pouted, grumbling about needing new friends under his breath.
Quinn hesitated as she stood at the piano, lightly running her fingertips over the keys.
Glee had finished early that Friday; with Santana and Brittany defecting to the Trouble Tones, no one had really been up to hanging around. Yes, that Rory kid had been good, and he seemed like a sweet guy – sweet enough to spend ages picking the marshmallows out of boxes of Lucky Charms just so Brittany would notice him – but he wasn't about to replace those they'd lost; not by half.
Besides which, Quinn had had trouble with the hypocrisy Finn had displayed by bringing the boy in; he had effectively, during the course of the week, shot Blaine down, before acting on the very idea he rejected.
She hadn't been surprised by the slightly affronted look on Blaine's face; and she'd even gone so far as to squeeze his shoulder with a smile.
She'd been glad of the smiles she received from him and Kurt in response.
But she now had the choir room to herself; she'd told Brad and the band she'd be fine without them, and wasn't about to launch into a power ballad which required them to hang around.
Instead, she sat at the keys, and carefully began to play.
She'd loved it when they'd performed True Colours in Sophomore year; it was one of her favourite songs. But the vocalising and the way it had been arranged to be slightly more up-beat than the Eva Cassidy version...it had almost ruined it for her. In Quinn's mind, that song had always been intended to be a solo; one voice, with a small band for back up.
So now she sat at the piano, playing the melody for the song, and singing softly, voice rising above the music.
"I see your true colours, shining through. I see your true colours, and that's why I love you. So don't be afraid to let them show; your true colours. Your true colours are beautiful. Like a rainbow." Quinn got so into the song, playing and singing without hesitation, that she didn't see the other girl stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest as she leant against the frame.
When Quinn finished the song, voice ringing through the room, she let her fingers slide of the keys, smiling to herself; before she jumped as the girl at the door spoke.
"Your voice is really good, Quinn." The blonde girl turned quickly to look at Mercedes, expression deceptively blank.
"What do you want, 'Cedes?" She asked, voice soft; and the girl walked further into the room, before actually sitting with Quinn at the piano.
"I want to know why you're still here. We both know you're never going to get a spotlight for yourself with Rachel still around; so why hang around? I mean, I know you're friends with Kurt and Blaine, but are you seriously going to spend your time around Rachel and Finn just to spend some more time with them? It seems like a waste to me." The smile Quinn gave her was humourless.
"Santana and Brittany not enough for you, 'Cedes? Do you want to break apart our club a little more? Because if you are, I suggest you go for Kurt or Blaine instead; with all the conflict with Finn and Rachel, they'd be pretty easy targets." Quinn turned her attention back to the piano, lightly stroking the keys.
"I'm considering leaving Glee all together." She whispered. Mercedes frowned at her.
"But you only just rejoined the New Directions; why would you leave again?" Quinn glanced at her, smiling bitterly, before looking back at the piano and playing the introduction to Tears to Shed.
"You haven't been here lately, 'Cedes. Finn's using every opportunity to chew out Blaine; Rachel's her usual obnoxious self...I can't stand all the drama. I've had enough of trying to keep up with everyone in the New Directions. I've been doing it for two years, and it ruined the only good thing I've ever had last year. I just want a stress free year for once." Mercedes continued to frown at her; and Quinn sighed, turning to look at her properly.
"Mercedes, when I was pregnant with Beth, you were the only person who really cared about me. You held my hair out of my face when I was throwing up everywhere, you helped me find things to satisfy my weird cravings...and we stayed friends all last year. But you've been living in this dramatic world, full of relationship troubles and stupid little conflicts longer than I have; you've adjusted to it. It's normal to you. But it isn't for me. I want my Senior year to be about me. I want to walk into school and not have to worry that some couple split up over night and we're all going to have to spend rehearsal picking up the pieces. Beside which, you are my only real, long-term friend. With you gone, I can't remember why I joined this club again. And now Britt's gone...she was what kept us optimistic, Mercedes. You know what I've taken to calling the weird friendship she and Blaine formed? The Sunshine Twins. Because they're so positive. You should have seen when Blaine did Last Friday Night; everyone just lit up. It was like the few good days we had last year again." Quinn smiled as she thought about the performance; it really had been wonderful.
But then her smile faded, and she glanced back at Mercedes.
"But now we've lost Britt too. Rory's not going to replace either of you. And I can't sit here and watch Rachel and Finn make everyone else feel crap about themselves just for the sake of a couple of friendships which aren't entirely hinged on Glee in the first place." Quinn shut the lid to the keys, before getting to her feet, offering Mercedes a nervous smile.
"I haven't made the decision yet; we'll see if anything changes over the weekend. But I won't be joining the Trouble Tones, 'Cedes. As dysfunctional as it is, New Directions is still my family. And I could never betray them like that." She turned and strode from the room, leaving Mercedes at the piano, watching her go.
Quinn stood nervously in the entrance to Dalton, looking around the front reception nervously. It was certainly lavish; lots of dark wood, and decorative vases filled with fresh-cut flowers. The woman sat behind the desk was elderly but kind looking, her silver hair tied into a bun, with silver wire-rimmed glasses on the edge of her nose.
The blonde girl was considering asking the woman where she could find the dorms – that or texting one of the boys for directions – when someone called her name; and she turned in the direction of the voice, only to be pulled into a hug by Nick, who even went so far as to lift her off the ground, spinning her around, causing her to giggle helplessly.
When he set her down, she clutched his arm, a little dizzy, and giggled breathlessly.
"Gosh, Nick; I suggest you only do that rarely." She offered with a giggle, and he grinned at her, before twirling her so she was facing the direction of what she assumed was the dorms, and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow.
"This way, milady." He gestured with a grin, and she rolled her eyes.
"Such a gentleman." She offered with a grin, allowing herself to be led away from the reception and in the direction of the dorms; again, made of old-looking brick with large windows and tall, dark-wood doors.
She was beginning to wish Dalton did accept girls, because so far it looked like a wonderful school.
Nick led her into the dorms, nodding at a couple of boys stood in the foyer, before he steered her down a hallway, and to a pair of doors she assumed must lead to a common room of some sort. When he nudged open the doors, Quinn grinned at the sight of Jeff, opening her mouth to call out to him; only for Nick to clap a hand over her mouth.
She scowled at him; but he just grinned, and pressed a finger to his lips before he released her; and she obediently stayed quiet as Jeff and the Indian boy he was sat beside began to play the guitars sat in their laps.
Quinn glanced at Nick curiously – she hadn't known Jeff could play guitar – but the boy just grinned and nodded back at the pair.
She barely managed to stop the grin spreading across his face when Jeff began to sing, the other boy harmonising.
"This girl that moved just up the road from me, she had the nicest legs I've ever seen..." She tilted her head as she watched Jeff and the boy sing, eyes sparkling.
Jeff was really good.
She was trying to figure out how he could have auditioned six times – as Kurt had told her – and yet not gotten a solo. Last year, even Lauren had gotten a solo in the New Directions; and the girl herself would have been the first to admit she wasn't amazing.
Quinn was startled when Harry suddenly appeared from behind the couch the two boys were sat on, and jumped over the back to sit behind the Indian boy, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy's waist and resting his chin on his shoulder.
She smiled at that sight; so this must be Pratik.
Nick glanced at the girl from out of the corner of his eye; and grinned when he saw the smile on her face, and the way her eyes remained mostly on Jeff.
Nick's best friend had dealt with a lot over the last year; he really deserved something good. And as far as Nick was concerned, Quinn could be that thing.
He frowned, however, as her smile faded with the beginning of the second verse.
"Now she's got pregnant with her baby, it feels like she's slipping away from me..." Quinn absently pressed a hand to her abdomen, unwillingly remembering when she'd been pregnant with Beth; how it had felt when she'd kicked, how attached she'd grown to her baby – only to give her away.
Shelby had offered to let Quinn visit Beth when the woman had first started teaching at McKinley; she'd tried to give Quinn pictures, suggested she visited with Puck.
Quinn had turned down the offer; and had only taken one picture, which was now framed on her bedside table.
She'd told the truth when she exploded at Rachel; she didn't want to screw up Beth's life. It was better for everyone if she didn't see her baby again.
If she didn't see Shelby's baby again.
She'd retreated so far into her thoughts that she didn't notice the boys on the couch had stopped playing; and she was only drawn out of her thoughts when Jeff lightly touched her elbow. She jumped as she realised he'd walked over to stand beside her, before smiling nervously.
"Sorry. Zoned out." Jeff just frowned at her.
"Are you okay?" Quinn's smile faded, and she shrugged.
"I guess; nothing a couple of hours without Rachel Berry around won't fix." Jeff's expression told her she wasn't going to avoid a proper conversation that easily – and she bristled a little, annoyed that this boy(who was, admittedly, extremely sweet and seemed to care more than anyone else) thought he had the right to interrogate her despite knowing her for less than a week – but then Harry was calling her, waving from behind his boyfriend; who rolled his eyes good-naturedly. She glanced at Jeff, scowling at him – and blinking in surprise when he just grinned – before moving round him to sit beside Harry and Pratik.
Pratik smiled at her, reaching out to shake her hand.
"It's nice to finally meet you." He offered softly; and Quinn smiled back at him.
"You too. Harry doesn't stop talking about you." A blush crept up over Pratik's cheek, and when Harry laughed and made to press his nose into the crook of the smaller boy's neck, Pratik elbowed him in the ribs.
"You're a jerk, Takashima." He murmured; and Quinn giggled when Harry pouted, tightening his grip around Pratik's waist.
"Forgive me?" The Japanese boy asked softly, breath ghosting over Pratik's neck; and the smaller boy shut his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath – before he nodded quickly, and Harry grinned, pressing his lips to Pratik's skin.
"You're still a jerk." He mumbled, and Harry's grin widened.
"You love it." He declared, and Pratik rolled his eyes, plucking out the melody for what Quinn recognised as 'These Things I'll Never Say', and the blonde girl grinned; before looking at Jeff curiously when he dropped onto the arm of the chair beside her, having deposited his guitar in a corner of the room.
"How come you didn't tell me you play?" She asked, and Jeff grinned at her.
"Known each other for less than a week, Quinn; I was getting there." She just arched an eyebrow at him elegantly, clasping her hands in her lap.
"I've know Harry for less than a week, and yet I know he sings lead for a band called Team/Blu, he can't stand Taylor Swift, he and Pratik will have been dating for eight months on the eighth of November, and that he's so whipped it's not even funny." Nick snorted from his place on the couch opposite the other four, and Pratik grinned, humming that's the truth; while Harry just rolled his eyes.
"I have no friends." He stated dully; and an indignant cry came from the doorway, drawing all their attentions.
David fell against Wes, who held him tightly.
"You wound us, Harry." David declared, and Wes nodded seriously.
"Even Blaine was never so cruel as you." The Asian boy declared solemnly; and Nick frowned at them.
"Blaine regularly declared a hatred of you and all things involving you. How is that not more cruel than Harry declaring he has no friends?" David and Wes moved to sit on either side of Nick, their expressions equally serious.
"Whatever Blaine said, he said with the kindest intentions. He loves us. As does Double Oh." Wes declared.
"Spah." David supplied sadly; and Quinn watched both of them, bemused.
"I though Kurt was joking when he said they were insane." She told Jeff softly; and he grinned at her, prompting a blush to creep over her cheeks.
"You haven't met Eric yet." He offered; and she winced, remembering what Kurt and Blaine had told her about the 'lithe' red-head, and prompting Jeff to chuckle softly.
"Don't scare her, Jeff; she'll never come back!" Nick whined; and Quinn grinned at him, while Jeff just rolled his eyes; and smiled when another uniform-clad boy walked into the room.
"Hey Seb." He offered; and the boy smiled at him, nodding quickly, his hands in his pockets.
"Jeff." Wes twisted in the grip David currently had on him to frown at the boy.
"Didn't you have a date?" Sebastian just shrugged, perching on the arm of the couch.
"It finished after half an hour; not my type." He grinned when Wes and David rolled their eyes, before turning to look at Quinn, expression curious. Jeff smiled at his friend.
"Seb, meet Quinn. She'd from McKinley; you know, the public school Blaine goes to now?" Quinn didn't miss the way Sebastian sat up straighter at the mention of Blaine, but nodded at him politely.
Wes and David, however, just rolled their eyes.
"Stop your pining, pretty boy. You'd be wasting your time even trying to date our prodigal leader." Wes stated; and David's expression dropped.
"Our great and fearless leader." The boy whispered; before letting out a dramatic sob and burying his face in Wes' shoulder, while the other boy stroked his back soothingly.
Harry frowned at the pair.
"You two confuse me." He stated; but they ignored him, David continuing to sob while Wes comforted him.
Sebastian just smiled at Wes' comment.
"I don't give up that easily, Wes." He stated; and Quinn frowned, opening her mouth to inform the boy that Blaine has a boyfriend, only for Jeff to put a hand on her arm, smiling at her.
"Don't waste your breath. It'll take more than warnings of a boyfriend to put off Seb; he's like your friend Santana that way." Quinn looked momentarily amused by the comparison; before frowning as Jeff continued to watch her.
When he spoke, his voice was low.
"I know you don't want to talk about why you zoned out earlier, Quinn; but it'll help if you do. And I want to help you." Quinn watched him for a moment; before smiling a little sadly, and squeezing the hand he still had on her arm.
"Maybe in the future, Jeff. But not yet. There are some things I don't talk about with people I've only known for under a week." Jeff pouted, and Quinn giggled softly.
Her giggles turned into proper laughter, when a cushion, thrown by Nick, hit Jeff in the face; and the blonde boy groaned dramatically, before flopping onto Quinn's shoulder.
"You can't hog her, Jeff! She's our friend too!" Nick pouted at Quinn, who grinned at him; before squeaking when Jeff wrapped his arms around her, glaring at his best friend.
"Screw you, Three. She's mine."
He internally cheered at the blush which crept over her cheeks.
Quinn hummed absently to herself as she walked down the hall, smiling as she replied to the texts she had been constantly receiving from the Warblers all morning.
Surprising both herself, and probably Nick and Jeff too, she'd made fast friends with Sebastian; he wasn't a bad guy. Admittedly, he was a little intense – and his pining over Blaine, who she'd found out he'd only met once, made her roll her eyes without fail – and when Jeff had said he was Santana-esque he'd been right; Sebastian's list of past boyfriends was impressive, and long. But Quinn enjoyed talking to him. She'd spent part of Sunday just talking to him and Jeff while Pratik and Harry were on a date and Nick was doing homework.
As it turned out, Sebastian had never really been bullied the way Kurt had. Sure, he'd been called names; but the school he'd gone to had been surprisingly tolerant. He'd only transferred to Dalton because his family had moved to Ohio; and there was enough people who cared about homophobia in the media for his parents to realise sending him to public school would have been a bad idea.
He'd auditioned for the Warblers at the first opportunity; and had gotten in. And there he'd met Jeff and the others, and made friends with them.
He thought that Harry and Pratik were the cutest couple he'd ever seen; and agreed with everyone that sometime Wes and David breached the line between heterosexual life partners and secretly dating.
And he had an adopted sister; Maddy. And she went to McKinley.
Quinn rolled her eyes at the text she'd just received.
Have you met her yet? S
Quinn typed back a reply that, no, she hadn't yet met the other girl, before she turned into the door she knew lead to the back stage of the auditorium, where all the costumes lived.
She'd just entered, when a girl with soft, light brown curls grabbed her by the hand and pulled her over to where a row of mannequins were stood, all dressed in costumes that were in various states of completion.
"So, this will be yours." The girl stated, pointing at a lilac dress with a full shirt; off the shoulder and tight around the waist, like she'd heard Rachel demand the girls should be dressed in.
"Do I know you?" Quinn asked the girl, confused; and the grin she was flashed had her blinking.
Because that was Sebastian's grin.
"I'm Maddy. Seb said you'd be coming down; something about getting sick of the drama of the New Directions. Which I'm not surprised about, considering at the moment you're the only girl but for Tina and Rachel Berry. You should have come to see us earlier; despite being reclusive, we costume girls don't bite, and we love new friends." Quinn blinked at the words rushing from the girl's mouth; but then a red-head, her curls pinned to the top of her head, looked up from the sowing machine she was working at.
"Don't scare her off, Maddy. Sammi says she wants her to be our new photographer; we need one since Laura moved to Michigan." Quinn looked at the girl curiously, before smiling a little nervously.
"I took a couple of lessons in photography last year." She offered; and Maddy clapped her hands happily, while the red head rolled her eyes and got to her feet, moving to shake Quinn's hand.
"I'm Kerry; and I'm also probably the sanest one here. Maddy you've met; the others are Sammi, who's in charge, Lisa, whose speciality is detailing, and Carmen, who does body art. Maddy is best at modern styles; I'm good at historical stuff. I would have died happy if we were doing Romeo and Juliet in its original context rather than West Side Story; but the way things are going it looks like I'm going to be in College before I get that opportunity." Quinn smiled at Kerry, who just shrugged lightly; before she grabbed a camera off a table behind Quinn, and placed it in the blonde girl's hands.
"Take some pictures of the costumes Maddy has already finished; she'll point out the ones." Kerry headed back to her sowing machine; but called back to Quinn as the blonde turned to let Maddy direct her.
"And Quinn?" Quinn's blue eyes met the other girl's brown ones; and Kerry grinned.
"Welcome to the club; you're officially a costume girl."
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