Quinn curled up into a ball and cried. She hugged her knees to her chest and willed herself to be invisible. The Cheerio's locker room was deserted, and Quinn knew there were only two people that could possibly be there. Coach Sylvester, but she knew for a fact that she would be in her office devising another plan to bring about the fall of New Directions. The only other person was Santana, who might possibly check the locker room since she was now the captain after all. But normally she and Brittany would spend their Friday afternoons together. There was no way any of them were coming here. So Quinn knew she was alone when she ripped off her Cheerio's uniform and curled up behind the lockers. Or so she thought.
Santana almost didn't notice Quinn when she first walked in, until she saw a glint of gold in the light, and turned to see a wave of gold cascading over a small and vulnerable form. Santana stood at the doorway barely daring to breathe, and contemplating what to do. She knew she should run, after all that's what Santana Lopez did best in situations like these, and she knew that she would be the last person that Quinn would want to see right now. But for some reason, unbeknownst to her at the time, she silently crept over to the delicate girl and softly touched her shoulder.
Quinn sat upright with a jolt, and looked into the eyes of the intruder. When she realised who it was she furiously wiped at her continually falling tears. If it was one person who Quinn did not want to see her like this, it was Santana. She was the one that would use anything against Quinn to get to the top.
She looked up at the Latina, ready to defend herself, to come up with an explanation of why she looked like such a coward, and a mess, but the hazel of her eyes, was met with the chocolate sincerity of Santana's gaze, and her breath was knocked out of her when she was pulled into a warm embrace.
Santana pulled Quinn into her lap and held on. For a moment Quinn fought against Santana and tried to stem her tears, but after Santana willed her to let go, the blonde finally broke and sobbed into the Latina's shoulder. Santana stroked the beautiful golden hair of her friend with one hand, and rubbed small comforting circles on Quinn's back with the other. Santana was not good with words in these situations, and so she stayed silent, preferring to let Quinn ride out her wave of emotion. Quinn's nails dug into Santana's back as the smaller girl clung on for life, but she didn't mind. She just knew that Quinn was her friend, and that she would be there for however long she needed her.
Quinn leaned against the crook of Santana's neck and fought to catch her breath. She had made Santana's shirt wet with the amount of tears she had shed in the last hour, and she was grateful for the still warm and loving embrace that encircled her and held her close. It was only then that Quinn realised she was only wearing her underwear, her Cheerio's uniform discarded across the room. Embarrassed she broke from Santana's hold and looked the other way. It was a long time since she had broken in front of someone else, and she had never let her guard down in front of Santana Lopez.
With her eyes still averted from Santana's face she buried her head in her hands, and silently willed the other cheerleader to not say anything. If asked a question, she didn't know if she could make out a coherent response, and so she prayed for silence.
It was then that she heard the rummaging of a bag and felt the softness of a hand on her cheek. She turned then, eyes cast downward, to the direction of Santana.
With one hand still firmly on Quinn's cheek, Santana looked at her friend with a mix of worry and compassion. Quinn really had no one these days. She had Brittany, Kurt and Mercedes were close, and the rest of the glee club had each other. But Quinn was the lonely Cheerio, who often sat by herself at the back of the choir room. It was the present moment where Santana sat staring at the blonde cheerleader, that she vowed she was going to let Quinn back in. Silently Santana grabbed Quinn's shirt and slid it over her friend's head, placing a quick kiss on her forehead as she did so. She then helped to pull her arms through the holes, and intertwined their fingers, something they had not done since the sixth grade. Santana let Quinn finish dressing herself, watching her friend as she pulled her leggings on.
It was cold outside, so Santana threw her jacket around Quinn's shoulders. She was still trembling, probably from shock and anxiety Santana thought, and so she grabbed Quinn's hands and pulled her to a standing position. Quinn's knees were wobbly, so Santana held Quinn around her waist and led her toward her car. Once there, she guided Quinn to the passenger side, and buckled her in, stroking her cheek before closing the door an walking around to the drivers side. She pulled out of the McKinley high parking lot, and onto the main road in Lima, Ohio. The entire car trip was made in silence; the only sound was the small sobs of Quinn, while tears still made their way down her cheeks.
Once at Santana's house, Quinn felt herself being gently lifted out of the car and taken by the hand to be led to the Lopez's front door. As they both entered Quinn felt the grip on her hand tighten, which she was grateful for. Santana's mom stepped up to greet them, and Quinn was grateful that she didn't ask any questions. Mrs Lopez smiled at Quinn and took her into a hug. Quinn always felt so safe and secure at the Lopez's house, and so she didn't mind when Mrs Lopez wiped at her tears with a handkerchief, and kissed her on the forehead. Santana told her mother that she was going to be letting Quinn stay over tonight, to which she had no objections. She then saw Santana smile sincerely at her, before she felt her hand being held, and herself being led to Santana's room.
Quinn was on autopilot then. She had been to the Lopez's many times before, and knew where to find a spare set of pyjamas and towels for the bathroom. Only briefly aware of what she was doing, she was grateful for the familiarity of her bedtime routine, and once she had showered and dressed, she walked out of the bathroom and crossed the hall to Santana's room.
Santana sat up from her lying position on her bed when Quinn walked into the room. She quickly wrapped Quinn into a hug, pulling her head in close, and allowing Quinn to melt into the embrace. She led her friend to sit on her bed while she grabbed a brush and started brushing through the gold tangles that had formed from Quinn towel drying her hair. Once satisfied with the job, Santana wrapped her arm around her friend from behind and placed a kiss on her head. Santana lingered there, hoping her arms were piecing the bits of Quinn back together, that she knew she couldn't do alone.
Quinn breathed in the embrace and leaned back against her friend's chest. It had been so long since Quinn had felt loved, and now she finally felt as though she had a person she could be safe and comfortable with. Quinn knew though, that Santana had already done enough for her tonight, and so she stood up and went to make her way towards the Lopez's guest bedroom.
Knowing what the blonde was about to do, Santana caught her arm and pulled her under the covers next to her. They laid as close as their bodies' would allow, and both wrapped an arm around each others waist. It was only then that the blonde finally looked at Santana again, their eyes meeting for the first time since the locker room. Only then did Santana utter the only three words she could think of that Quinn would want to hear right now.
"I love you".
Only three words were spoken before the two girls fell asleep in each others arms, but they were enough to cement the friendship between Quinn and Santana for a lifetime. With their foreheads pressed together, they grew unconscious to the world, both hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.