So Rach and I (Charlie) sat together during Chemistry today, and I thought of this (since she ships PR).
McKinley wasn't the best scientific institute for high school that Lima, Ohio had to offer, but it definitely had its moments. No, not in scientific discovery, I'm afraid, but in different terms and themes probably not suitable for young audiences.
The Chemistry lab located on the second floor of the school had a class that consisted of twenty people, including head cheerleader Quinn Fabray, and the number one Glee Club Loser Rachel Berry, whom by the title given by her peers would explain, would leave her with no partner, because… everyone else just pretended to like her.
She sighed and noticed that the class would always be an even number, and through scanning the laboratory with her 20/20 vision, she noticed the presence of a certain blonde, rather noticed its absence.
The clock's tick suddenly sounded much louder as time for the experiment was being wasted waiting for said blonde. Mr. O'Riley, their teacher who was in his mid-40's to early-50's, pale skinned, and often seen with a grumpy look, was getting impatient which was evident because Rachel was sort of psychic, and the lines on his face grew into creases because of it. He snapped on his goggles hastily and walked towards the door which had a small 15x20 screen with a roll up that had a lighter color variation of the door in which on where it 's attached to.
The minutes were moving fast, seconds faster, O'Riley gestured for everyone to put on their lab glasses and begin their experiments, which the students did, except for Rachel. One, because she hoped the cheerleader would actually come and help her out, or just sit beside her so she wouldn't feel like such an outcast.
Ten seconds left, and Mr. O'Riley shot her a "What are you waiting for?" glance, and she darted into her work. She didn't know why she was counting, all she knew was she didn't want to be alone today, or any day for that matter.
The door slammed open, almost causing O'Riley to knock over the students at the lab counter nearest the door. Quinn Fabray, in her cheerleading uniform, surpassed all odds and made it to her Chemistry class with a good three seconds to spare.
She surveyed the room and found the only place not taken by society was next to a certain brunette. She rolled her eyes in disdain, but took a seat anyway. The brunette handed her lab goggles and smiled like a child in a candy store, Quinn didn't know why, but she wasn't bothered by the gesture. She happily took the goggles from the smaller girl, and propped her elbow on the table, rested her chin at the base of her palm, waiting for time to pass.
"Why were you tardy? Did you get lost?" Rachel said, not thinking before the words came out of her mouth. She tried to busy herself by raising the test tube, trying to hide the fact she'd embarrassed herself if Quinn had noticed.
"Seriously, Berry?" Quinn tilted her head to look at the brunette. She was shaking the tube lightly, writing down some notes before placing the tube back to the test tube rack. A minute or two has passed and Rachel hasn't minded that Quinn was letting her do the work of two, and the latter would be getting whatever grade she was. The blonde was tapping her fingers on the desk before Mr. O'Riley stood up from his seat, about to roam around to check on the students.
"Shit, Berry." Quinn said, looking at the girl with complete fear in her eyes. "Quick, give me something." She panicked, and grabbed Rachel's text book; scooted closer to the girl and draped an arm on her shoulders, the brunette stiffened at their proximity, yet seemed to run through it as Mr. O'Riley eyed them viciously. Quinn simply faked a chuckle as she whispered something inappropriate about him in Rachel's ear, which should have made her feel uncomfortable, but it didn't.
When O'Riley slumped back to his seat, absorbed by the black and white news of Ohio Daily, the two were detached and it went back to being just Rachel, alone with her thoughts.
"You really aren't going to help me, Quinn?" she inquired.
"I just usually sit and watch… and look pretty." She beamed, and just like her partner, she wasn't thinking. Rachel smiled back, but looked away, once again trying to busy herself to distract her from the fact that Quinn wasn't being harsh at all.
"Well not much effort on any of those, huh?" Rachel said; the two fell into a genuine laughter which caused O'Riley to rise from his seat to check the commotion. After seeing no hint of chaos or distraught, he shook his newspaper, and went back to reading.
An hour and a half has passed, and Quinn got really really bored, even their teacher was asleep. She started biting her bottom lip and thought about what routines they'd have to perform for Cheerio practice later, until Rachel interrupted her thoughts with four simple words…
"Your lips are bleeding." She said somehow indifferently, focusing more on what chemical to put next. Her lack of gloves signified either her awe-inspiring skill in the fields of Chemical Science, or the lack of school budget for gloves for each student, and knowing McKinley, it was probably the latter.
Quinn looked at her in shock, not believing at first but taking out her compact case instead. Her fingers ghosted her skin lightly, seeing crimson drops on her fingertips she stopped functioning completely. Her lips turned pale, and Rachel noticed the sudden change in her seatmate.
"Quinn?" she asked, the bell rang and the students stood up, collected their things and left. Even their teacher just left all of the sudden a few words that kept him sticking around were, "Oh, and lock up, Berry, would you? You know where to find me for results." He gestured his hand to point at the nearest faculty. "Fabray, head straight. Get back to work." He pointed at her, and left.
Rachel had an anxiety attack, in between getting chemicals off her skin and getting the head cheerleader back into this world. She couldn't obviously do both, but she was Rachel fucking Berry, and she had her ways.
Quinn was shaking now, as if a memory was coming back to her. Rachel knew exactly what it was; it was that night with Puck. The one that lead to the crash of her social life, and if Rachel knew Quinn, she'd be mortified to see it all wash away again. Quinn was indeed shallow, but when it came to this… Rachel didn't care about her reasons anymore.
In the spur of the moment, she dropped her hands, not fearing the contamination, and surged towards Quinn, whose powder case is now laying shattered beneath her arms, and pressed her lips on hers. Though her hands were positioned in the fashion of a witch about to emit an evil laugh from her lips, the kiss produced enough pressure to stop the bleeding. Quinn's eyes were closed, as if she hadn't realized what happened, Rachel pulled away. Silently waking to the sink and she turned on the tap with her elbows (where she learned from Puck, as he said that it gets useful once in a while.) Quinn grabbed her training bag and slowly walked out, giving Rachel a once over when she reached the doorway.
As if on cue, Rachel looked at her, "Thank you." Said Quinn, and the two shared the most meaningful glance they've had since Rachel told Finn about the baby. Only this time, it wasn't because Rachel had shared a secret to her current boyfriend, but it's because she might be the secret this time.
Tell me if I should continue! RRH is on its way, I promise!
