Trials & Tribulations
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters. I'm simply having a little fun with them.
Summary: Rachel Berry is the epitome of perfect. Well, in the eyes of her fellow McKinley peers she is. In truth, Rachel thinks of herself as anything but perfect but admitting that would be social suicide. Meanwhile, Quinn Fabray stays behind the scenes. She comes from a 'bible thumping' family and is the president of McKinley's chastity club. Quinn is trying to find her way in the world and Rachel is just trying to stay afloat. Can Rachel be Quinn's guide and can Quinn be Rachel's life preserver?
Chapter One: Mockingbird
Quinn Fabray had always believed in God. She could not remember a time when she hadn't. His doing had been imbedded into her brain from a very young age, she was sure she had not even been potty trained before she attended a bible study for the first time. Her routine throughout her young childhood had been simple yet thorough; wake up, be presentable, go to school, bible study, homework, dinner, bedtime prayer, sleep. The blonde had never known anything else and neither had the children who her parents let her associate with. They all had similar upbringings and up until her freshman year of high school, Quinn Fabray had thought she understood the ways of the world. Needless to say, going to McKinley was a serious culture shock. It wasn't like her old school, where everyone was the same religion and went to mass on the same days and worshipped Him in similar ways. Some of the kids at McKinley didn't even go to church. The mere thought of being deprived of something so fulfilling made Quinn cringe. She actually cringed away from the person and then tried to laugh it off with them, but needless to say she never spoke to that girl again. Her parents wouldn't like it if she mingled with those sorts of people. That's why they were so thrilled when she joined the chastity club. Quinn didn't bother mentioning that half of the girls in the club couldn't tell Jesus from Zach Galifianakis and were only a part of the group to tease their respective boyfriends. It was a tad awkward during meetings when most of the girls just wanted to gossip about their boyfriends and how insane they were going from the sex deprivation. That was seriously not what chastity club was supposed to be about.
Another thing that Quinn Fabray was still to this very day confused about, was sex. What was so great about sex? She had heard about it enough to get a simple gist of the entire process and it sounded unpleasant and downright disturbing. The blonde was lost in her own thoughts as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. Her bible was resting on her chest as she mulled over the passage she had just read. She was behind on her bible study assignment, something that her mother would scold her for if she found out, so she was trying to catch up and study for her AP US History test at the same time. The passage, Romans 8:28, had given her pause. It was as if Quinn was looking to the heavens for her silent inquiry.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Romans 8:28
Quinn understood the passage quite well, she understood that everything happened for a reason and that God was all knowing. But that didn't mean she was all knowing. In fact, Quinn was much like a blind baby rabbit who had not yet found her way in the world. Her sister, Amanda, was living in Columbus with her husband of a year and a half. She was a carbon copy of Quinn's own mother, the perfect stepford wife. Quinn was certain that she wasn't cut out for that lifestyle, no matter what her parents might think. She couldn't cook to save her life (except bacon and cereal), and she hated cleaning with a burning passion. So the question that was burning in Quinn's mind was not one she had never dwelled on before.
"What is my purpose?" Quinn's soft voice penetrated the silence of her room as she continued to stare at her bland ceiling. The blonde wasn't sure if she would ever truly get an answer.
Rachel Berry was seeing red. Not in the metaphorical sense like bloodthirsty warriors experienced during combat, but actually seeing red. The gymnasium of William McKinley High School was packed with over seven hundred students, plus faculty members. The entire gym was garbed in red and black and most students had even made an attempt to show their school spirit and cheer for the approaching football game. That was one of the best things about being a Cheerio, being one of the reasons why everyone was smiling and cheering. The McKinley football team sucked and everyone knew it, but seeing the Cheerios perform was a treat for all. Granted, the skimpy outfits may have horded in most of the male student body, but Rachel liked to think that the positive atmosphere made everyone stick around. Who cares if you could see a patch of red spanks every once in a while? As the Cheerios finished their last routine the gym erupted in applause and the childish stomping of feet from some of the football players, all sporting their red jerseys for the occasion. Rachel noticed Noah, her boyfriend of four months and resident McKinley bad boy, leering at her bare legs while trying to hold up a conversation with David Karofsky. The short brunette threw him a glare before following Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce over to the seats reserved for the Cheerios. The other two cheerleaders were the closest thing to best friends that Rachel had ever had, though calling Santana a friend was reaching. The Latina only tolerated her because Rachel was captain and because Brittany insisted that Rachel be their 'third musketeer'.
"You can't have just two musketeers, San. That's just…what's that word you used earlier Rach?" Brittany's whimsical voice questioned.
"Unnatural and absurd," Rachel lightly informed the endearing blonde.
"Yeah, it's obscure San!" Brittany then went on to pull out her best puppy dog face.
"Fine, if you really want the hobbit to be in our group then she can be. I don't care anymore." Santana practically growled before leaving both girls to cut in front of a long lunch line.
Brittany had went on to high five Rachel, something the brunette found both embarrassing and adorable, before bouncing off to join Santana. No one even complained when Brittany cut in front of them, that'd be like kicking a puppy.
"Move your ass, Rachel." Santana's annoyed tone penetrated Rachel's flashback.
"Language, Santana. We are in the presence of faculty members." Rachel chastised in a hushed tone as she eyed a miffed looking Miss Doosenbury.
"What's wrong with her language? Were you speaking Spanish again San?" Brittany questioned in bemusement as she twisted the small plastic cap on her water bottle.
Rachel's eyes pinched slightly but she decided to let Santana explain, she was far too drained from the previous performance anyways. Principle Figgins was rambling on about the importance of good sportsmanship, which was basically his way of saying 'even though we're going to get our asses kicked, we should smile through it'. Rachel quickly tuned out everything around her, even her two friends' talk of Noah's upcoming party. Noah was always throwing parties, he had just had one two Saturdays ago and it bad been a complete disaster. She had felt obligated to attend since she was dating the host but after the police had broken down Noah's front door Rachel hadn't been too keen on the idea of attending anybody's house party.
The pep rally had been held during the last period of the day and Rachel decided to head down to the Cheerios' locker room to take a much needed shower before heading home for the day. Noah had been eyeing her like a dog in heat all throughout the rally and she didn't feel like convincing him to not follow her home and make use of her bed until her dads got home. She simply told him that she was going to shower and that she'd text him later before slipping through the masses and making her way down the emptying halls of McKinley. The showers in the Cheerios locker room were a thousand times better than the showers in the girls' locker room that was used for gym and other girl sport purposes. The shiny showerheads even rivaled Rachel's shower at home. So it wasn't uncommon for the brunette to dally in the showers, though she had never really lost track of time before. As her now pruned fingers turned off the showerhead, her left hand reached blindly for her nearby towel. She made sure it was securely wrapped around her frame before venturing out where the actual lockers were. She had learned her lesson about walking out naked into the open. Jacob Ben Israel, a creepy and sleazy boy who ran the McKinley newspaper, had been stationed just outside of the showers one day after a hard Cheerios practice and had caught Rachel in her birthday suit. The boy would've gotten away with the picture he had taken if he hadn't fainted. So now Rachel made sure her most delicate regions were covered, even though Jacob had been threatened within an inch of his life by Coach Sylvester and even Noah.
Jacob was only one of the downfalls of being placed on an insanely high pedestal. She could handle creepy little perverts who wanted a peek of boob, but Rachel did not do well with criticism. It was something she had been trying to work on since freshman year but it was still a work in progress. Teenagers were cruel and they gossiped, and Rachel had learned that those two qualities did not mix well together. The first big rumor that had started floating around about her happened two days after she was made captain of the squad in the fall of sophomore year. Apparently everyone had been convinced that Rachel and Finn Hudson, resident golden boy and quarterback, had hooked up at a party and Rachel had gotten an abortion over the summer. The rumor was so random yet so ruthless that the brunette had left school early and cried in her room while her fathers tried to coax her out. Coach Sylvester and Santana had put a stop to the rumors through a myriad of threats (and maybe some actual beat downs on Santana's side), but Rachel knew that she could never react to a rumor like that again. She was in a position of power now. The Cheerios were world renowned (well not world but they were pretty damn good), and Rachel was their new shining leader. If even one of the envious girls on the bottom of the pyramid smelled fear they would all attack like starved piranhas. So Rachel built walls, she built walls so high that no one would ever be able to tear her down.
"San?" Brittany asked in a whisper, her chin leaning on the Latina's shoulder.
"Yeah Britt?" Santana was semi distracted, her turkey sandwich demanding most of her attention at the moment.
"Do you ever think Rachel gets lonely?" Brittany wondered with wide eyes.
Santana's dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment before smoothing out, her shoulder's shrugging. She was used to Brittany's weird and completely random inquiries. Yesterday the blonde had asked her if the sky and the ocean were cousins since she had heard from one of the other Cheerios that the sky made the ocean blue. The two were sitting next to each other, barely two inches between the two as they ate their lunch off the same tray. Brittany was eating half of Santana's sandwich since she didn't like her own turkey sandwich. Santana didn't have the heart to be angry about it, Brittany had said that Santana's stuff always tasted better. Santana would just make sure she scarfed down Brittany's sandwich when the blonde wasn't looking. They were seated at the Cheerios' lunch table, which had somehow been dubbed as the popular table since all the jocks decided to take it upon themselves to seat themselves at or around the table. Santana subtly eyed Rachel, the girl didn't look lonely. She was seated next to Puck, the boy's muscular arm slung over the short brunette's shoulder in a possessive manner.
"I don't think she's lonely, Britt-Britt. She has Puck, remember?" Santana reminded the blonde gently, a loving tone creeping into her voice.
"Yeah but they're totally just bed buddies, it's so obvious." Brittany said in exasperation.
Santana's eyebrows furrowed again and she glanced at Rachel again. She knew the girl was a good actress (even though she wouldn't be caught dead feeding the dwarf's ego with the compliment), but she didn't think the girl was that good. Rachel seemed completely at ease, laughing at some joke that Puck had just spewed from his cheddar cheese covered mouth.
"What makes you think that, Britt?" Santana asked after she failed at pinpointing anything amiss. Rachel and Puck had been the 'it' couple for the last few months and it didn't look like there were any troubles in paradise yet. Though Santana gave it another month before Puck slipped up and shoved his little Puckasauras somewhere it shouldn't be.
"Well Puck has awesome hair and he's an awesome kisser and all but…he and Rachel are so not compatible. Y'know how we're like ketchup and eggs, San? We just click like that. But Puck and Rachel are like letters and math. That stuff just doesn't look right." Brittany explained before taking a long sip of her Capri Sun.
Santana choked back a small laugh at the blonde's comparisons but she couldn't help but agree with her. First off, ketchup and eggs together were fuckmazing (yes, fuckmazing). Second, Noah Puckerman and Rachel Berry just didn't click. The only thing that they had in common was their Jewish heritage. And maybe their love for sex but the mere thought of them doing the dirty made Santana want to throw up her turkey sandwich.
"I'm sure Rachel can handle herself, Britt. If she ever wants to get rid of Puck she can just nag him to death," Santana said with a laugh. Her laugh was cut short as Brittany gave her a disapproving look before stealing the rest of her turkey sandwich.
Rachel's legs were already burning from the exertion of prancing around for an hour without sitting down for a break. No matter how hard the Cheerios cheered the Titans were still getting their asses kicked without even fighting back. Finn had gotten sacked three times already and Coach Bieste was foaming at the mouth. She was the new football coach and she was supposed to be the Sue Sylvester of the game, but even she needed more than three weeks to whip the team into shape for a win. Rachel had just watched Puck get tackled by two huge guys from the opposing team. She felt an inkling of worry blossoming in her stomach as Puck butted helmets with one of the guys and the referee blew his whistle before anything serious could happen. Puck looked like he was about to bite the ref's head off but he luckily thought better of it and just limped off the field to sit down and nurse his injured leg.
"So stupid," Rachel breathed under her breath.
"I don't know what you see in him. I mean I know he has a huge penis but…" Santana said as she rested her pom-pom clad hands on her hips. Rachel threw a venomous glare at her before growling lowly and turning away from the smirking Latina.
"Noah and I actually have a lot of things in common." Rachel lied smoothly, raising her chin in the air haughtily.
"Yeah, Hanukah." Santana murmured. Brittany giggled but nudged an aggravated Rachel playfully.
"Don't worry about Santana, Rach. She's just worried about your loneliness." Brittany said in a sing song voice.
Both of Rachel's eyebrows raised, a bemused expression flashing across her face. She was used to some really random things coming out of Brittany's mouth. The girl was a little out there sometimes but Rachel had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't one of those times. The nervous look on Santana's face was a dead giveaway that something was going on that she wasn't aware of.
"What do you mean Britt?" Rachel asked slowly. She was almost scared to ask but she had always been a curious creature by nature.
"She doesn't mean anything," Santana snapped in annoyance before linking her pinky with Brittany's. "C'mon Britt-Britt, let's go get some PowerAde."
Brittany was completely distracted now and bounced alongside Santana as if the tense situation had never occurred. Rachel stared after her two friends in suspicion as Brittany went on about how she hoped there was still some blue PowerAde left. Rachel turned back to the game, huffing at the sheer rudeness of her friends. During halftime, Rachel was doing some much needed stretches, using one of the metal benches as leverage. Santana and Brittany had disappeared, using the ten minute reprieve to most likely fondle each other under the bleachers. Puck was watching Rachel lecherously, not even paying attention to Coach Bieste's tirade about how much they were screwing up. Rachel managed to roll her eyes at him before she saw something…intriguing. A group of girls were walking onto the bleachers, most likely just showing up and looking for a place to sit. Among those girls was someone that Rachel recognized quite well. The eggshell blue sundress with the white cardigan over top. Only one person would wear something so frilly to a football game, and that was Quinn Fabray. It was abnormal to see Quinn at a football game, it was similar to seeing a dog walking on its hind legs. Quinn Fabray was the president of the chastity club (Rachel had cringed when she heard such a thing existed), and belonged to a family of righteous Christians. Rachel was almost surprised to see that Quinn was bible free. Rachel didn't realize she was openly staring at the girl until hazel eyes penetrated her. The hairs on the black of the brunette's neck stood on end as Quinn looked away and took a seat next to her friends.
"Berry!" Sylvester's voice almost made Rachel fall over.
She managed to catch herself and then stared in her coach's direction like a deer caught in headlights. Sylvester didn't even give Rachel a chance to call back to her, she just nodded towards the bleachers.
"Go get JLO and Spears, halftime is almost up." Sylvester ordered.
Rachel nodded jerkily, adjusting her ponytail before making her way towards the bleachers. She could've swore she felt a pair of hazel eyes following her every move.
"Did you see the way Finn molested that poor girl's face?" Santana cackled over lunch the following Monday.
Rachel grumbled into her vegan friendly pasta as she speared a noodle with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Brittany was stroking Santana's hair lovingly, squealing happily every time the Latina hand fed the girl a grape. Rachel wanted to throw up at the PDA but she knew it was just some sort of deep rooted jealousy swirling in the pit of her stomach. Santana and Brittany were perfect for each other. It was almost absurd how they were allowed to find each other so early on in their lives and Rachel was just…stuck. Sure Noah was great in bed but his redeeming qualities ended there. Rachel watched as her boyfriend sat a little further down the table, laughing loudly and tossing limp French fries at a constipated looking Finn Hudson. Rachel glared at the oafish boy; ever since the game last Friday she had been way more annoyed with the quarterback. Somehow Finn had gotten his head into the game after halftime and ended up scoring the fucking winning touchdown. The scoreboard changed so quickly that Rachel almost experienced whiplash. After the victory Rachel was busy giggling while Puck hoisted her over his shoulder and therefore took a little while to notice that there was indeed a reason why Quinn Fabray had showed up at her first football game. She came to support Finnept.
Normally the brunette would not stoop so low as to use the play-on-word nicknames that the Cheerios had dubbed Finn with, but after seeing the giant ogre forcing his nasty chapped lips on Quinn she had become a lot more hostile towards the boy. It was blatantly obvious that Quinn did not want to be touched in that way. She was the president of the chastity club, for fuck's sake. The news of Finn's taken status hit Jacob's blog by Saturday evening. Needless to say, Rachel had been in a sour mood since then. Did she like Finn? Maybe there had been something hidden away for a while that had finally broken loose after she saw Finn in the arms of another girl. But wouldn't Rachel be mad at Quinn if she liked Finn? Plus Finn wasn't even on her attractive radar. He was neck and neck with Jacob, actually.
A green grape hit Rachel square in the nose, causing fork to slip out of her grasp and clatter onto the lunch table. The brunette blinked owlishly three times before glaring at a smirking Santana and an amused looking Brittany.
"Earth to Rachel," Brittany said airily.
Rachel's glare softened slightly as she turned to look at Brittany. No one could glare at Brittany, no one could even breathe at the girl in the wrong way without feeling some sort of guilt afterwards. Those big blue eyes were weapons of mass destruction.
"You were totally spacing out Berry. Thinking about your congratulatory night with Puck still?" Santana picked up another grape, this time opting to pop it into Brittany's eager mouth.
Rachel fixed her icy glare back on Santana, saluting the girl with her middle finger when Brittany's eyes were no longer looking in her direction. Santana returned the gesture but was unluckily caught by Brittany, who did not look pleased.
"San, just because you didn't use your words doesn't mean that didn't hurt Rach's feelings." Brittany chastised softly.
Rachel smiled smugly at an upset Santana before turning her attention back to Brittany who had a small pout on her face as she and Santana shared a mental conversation. It was almost weird how in sync the two were. Rachel could feel the swirls of jealousy developing in her stomach again.
"Anyways. I'm honestly surprised Finn managed to pull Quinn. I heard that she's got an electric fence over her underwear." Santana snickered.
"Don't be absurd, Santana. I'm sure she's dated before, she just knows how to keep things a secret." Rachel sniffed, throwing a pointed glare at the almost empty bag of grapes that the Latina had been feeding Brittany all through lunch.
"You guys shouldn't talk about Quinn unless you have her permission." The blonde declared adamantly, her face now a mask of disapproval.
Santana and Rachel both gave Brittany bemused looks before glancing at each other. Santana shrugged at Rachel's quizzical look before her gaze flickered back over to Brittany.
"Why is that Britt-Britt? We talk about people all the time. It's sort of what we do." Santana pointed out.
Brittany shrugged as she popped the last two grapes into her mouth. It looked like she wasn't going to explain so Rachel was about to just discard the whole conversation, already picking up her fork to at least attempt to finish half of her lunch before it was time to leave for the next period.
"Quinn is my neighbor. I had always wanted to play with her when we were little but her parents are like super mean. Well, her dad is at least. Anyways, I talk to her here and there and she's literally the most innocent thing ever. Like Bambi or something. I'm almost sure that was her first kiss ever on Friday." Brittany stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Rachel and Santana were leaning forward towards Brittany, hanging onto the blonde's every word. "And she might seem kind of bitchy because she doesn't talk to anyone but she's actually really cool. She just maybe doesn't have a lot of stuff to say, y'know? Almost like how people find Rachel annoying for having too much stuff to say." Brittany ignored Santana's cackle but Rachel threw her an icy glare. "But she gets talked about a lot, even though she's never at parties and stuff. Every guy on the football team likes her because she's pretty but she's too smart for the hooking up thing. I just don't want you guys to talk about her too. She's like Bambi's mom or that little mockingbird in that one book we read last year." Brittany finished before stealing the rest of Santana's forgotten chocolate milk.
Rachel stared down at her pasta, a lump building in her throat. She didn't even bother pointing out Brittany's literal use of a mockingbird, because she knew what the girl was talking about. She was honestly surprised that the blonde had even remembered the book, although Rachel had helped the girl try to comprehend it since Santana didn't even bother reading it. Brittany's words rang through Rachel's head as she picked quietly at her food, no longer having much of an appetite. From the corner of her eye, Rachel could see Quinn's lunch table. She was sitting with other members of the chastity club, though Quinn seemed to be distancing herself from the conversation. Rachel took in the girl's simple jeans and the white blouse she was wearing before a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
It was an odd way of looking at Quinn Fabray, but Rachel could understand why Brittany would think of the girl as a mockingbird.
A/N: Alright this is my first attempt at fanfiction and I literally scoured through this entire thing four times before I thought it was semi decent. The whole mockingbird thing that Brittany is talking about is from a book called To Kill A Mockingbird which is going to be referred to here and there throughout this story. Feel free to tell me what you think!