Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Fox.
A/N: thanks to Emma for beta reading this ^^
Fourteen colors
1. [I have something to tell you]
It's awkward; the way they stop walking when they bump into each other in the corridor.
It's just so tense, the way they breathe; escaping from the other's gaze, building silence out of delicate trembling open lips and hesitant, tired grunts.
And every attempt is nothing but bittersweet waste of air.
So they don't speak, they don't move. They just stand there; completely immobile, until unsubtle whispers reach their ears and they realize that the entire school is right there surrounding their former golden couple with degrading comments and nasty stares.
They start walking away, then. In a hurried, desperate pace, passing by, escaping from, poisonous snakes and starving vultures.
2. [It may sound like a joke]
It is remarkable, the way Mr. Schuester talks again and again about how they are all a team and they are all in this together, and they have to remember that each other are all they've got, and tons and tons about teamwork crap that Finn doesn't feel like hearing, especially in every single rehearsal, especially with Quinn and Puck in the same room.
The rest of the Glee Club, band members included, try to act as if it everything were normal but Finn can't simply forget about how they all knew (well maybe not Mr. Shuester, Brad and the band) and only Rachel didn't lie about it.
He didn't confront them, though, because he isn't in the mood to hear people's excuses of why they lied to him. But they get it, because, honestly, he is not doing a great job at hiding his resentment.
They sometimes try to include him into their spontaneous dancing and singing breaks. It's usually Mercedes who starts to sing and it's always Artie or Brittany who try to talk Finn into it, because Finn can't stay mad at a guy in a wheelchair and no one can stay mad at Brittany.
Quinn watches them every time, until it hurts too much and she has to close her eyes for a second of two, before she can force a dim smile. She's not stupid; she knows that the spontaneous breaks are actually planned, but it's sweet the way they care and worry about them.
Kurt is, perhaps, the tensest of all of them, next to Rachel, of course. The boy automatically lets a nervous laughter whenever Finn speaks –because Mr. Schuester is cool but still insists on hearing everyone's opinion about upcoming numbers and dance moves and such – and Quinn wants to say something too.
It hardly happens but when it does, Quinn takes Kurt's false laughter as if they were little gasps of air saving her from the sea.
It's weird and surprising, because Kurt is in love with Finn, and she knows it, but he is there for her anyway, with a ¾ forgiving smile, and a ¼ sad and clear "I can't believe you did that to him" look shining in his blue, green eyes.
And there's a time when she hides her eyes from his, facing no one and nothing in particular and wants to whisper "I can't believe I did it, either."
But she doesn't say a word, she just swallows them and lets them drown, telling herself that even spoken the words would have faded away, lost into the music.
And sometimes Finn looks at her way, unable to quit this habit of seeing if Quinn is ok, and, you know, not having a baby right there.
But then he remembers he doesn't have to do it anymore and suddenly, while sitting there on the Glee club and staring at the floor he thinks about his English Class and a thing called irony.
3. [But rainbows await us in the end]
The sun goes away on a Monday, grey clouds cover the entire sky and it starts to drizzle.
Finn Hudson stares at the barely noticeable raindrops, beyond the school's window and everything sounds like the giggles of a little girl. He has this feeling, which is nothing new and quite familiar but hardly ever so strong, that he forgot something important and essential. Maybe locked inside his locker, maybe worn out and soft, maybe something he used to hold onto when he was a child.
Then it hits him, and he doesn't want to know what it is anymore. It's useless because memories are stronger, much stronger than he is, and they win another round.
"I… I thought that you would like to have it back."
Quinn Fabray remembers the scene, too.
But she is in a different class, and it feels as if she were in a different universe, too.
Because except for the awkward moments shared in Glee Club and the halls, they seem to be walking in two parallel worlds. It is a lonely and unfamiliar sensation and her heart beats almost too fast when they run into each others while walking to the next class.
Then the sudden, strong rain echoes around the room and another memory makes its way into her mind.
She is eleven and it has stopped raining. There is mud on the floor and she stares at her new shoes not believing her luck. A tall boy approaches her, all shy and clumsy and she lifts her eyebrows when he opens his mouth but says nothing.
It takes a grumpy sigh on her behalf to drag Finn back to reality and immediately the boy takes off his denim jackets and puts it on the ground.
Quinn stares at him, because really, the mud will never come off and the move is so old, but then Finn smiles and she smiles back, biting her lip.
And when she steps on the stained jacket she stops and stands on tiptoes, placing a soft kiss on the boy's cheek.
There is a thunder then and the class begins.
4. [Fourteen colors for two souls]
It is Saturday morning and they are both awake. She holds
Brittany's old teddy-duck tight, he listens to his mother's car leave.
She stares out the window. He stares at the ceiling.
There is a question, she asked a long time ago, before things finally fell apart.
"Can we be in love again?"
The answer is painful and clear and absolutely unnecessary to say, but they end up speaking it out loud, anyway, even if the other can't hear it, even if they are all alone.
"No, we can't."
FIN
A/n: If I'm not mistaken, 'can we be in love again?' is what Quinn asks Finn on Hairography. Comments are love :)
