Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
In this universe: Finn and Rachel are together
Bartie exists but Brittany is totally gay for Santana.
Quinntana friendship (because I love'em and this show is in dire need of friendships)
Kurt is still in McKinley's
Prologue.
Quinn worked hard to get back all she had lost; so far it's been easy.
Her body, her status, her whole life, she'd like to say that everything is back to the way it was, but it's not true and she learned the hard way that lying fucks it all up even if it's lying to oneself.
She's got herself a pretty boy: blond, nice, popular quarterback. It felt good, liberating in some way, she felt attractive again. This way she's back on top as HBIC of school.
Everything's perfect, well as perfect as it can get for someone who went through what she did. Lessons learned hard way, now she knows to value friendship, loyalty and security that came with it; of course, there's still competition going between her and Santana, but they are friends, of that she is certain.
When Brittany started going out with Artie she found herself in between rock and hard place; two of her best friends not talking to each other. Santana's being too proud and stubborn for a first step, even though it was her fault in the first place; well mostly her being scared, but still. So it all had come to Brittany.
Brittany S. Pearce has been viewed by most of her peers as dim, some even would go as far as to call her retarded, but in reality she was a believer, she just somehow kept her childhood ability to trust and believe in things. So with her open heart and faith in miracles she devised a plan to win her friend back; magic has been involved. She found this book while doing Spring Cleaning last year, but hadn't thought about using it until recently.
This is a story about how all of Quinn's problems had been resolved in row of somewhat weird occurrences in no small part thanks to intricate ways of one Brittany S. Pearce.
Chapter 1
On Thursday Brittany arrived early in Glee. She checked her watch, bright pink one with Hanna Montana smiling at her from the clock face; she borrowed it from neighbor's kid who considered lending them to her after she promised to tell her stories for a whole week, hershey's kisses sealed the deal.
Taking her usual place on the first row she waited anxiously for gleeks to start arrive.
Quinn entered the choir room several minutes later, right on time.
"Hey Britt!" Came easy greeting as blonde cheerleader plopped on the seat next to her.
"Where've you been? You missed today's practice." Quinn asked with concern lacing her words.
"I've got lost." Brittany lied crossing her fingers behind her back, she really hated lying.
"Well, maybe you should ask Santana to accompany you, so you wouldn't get lost?" hope evident in Quinn's voice
"You know I can't, San doesn't speak to me." Brittany said fiddling with her water bottle
"Yeah, I know." Quinn sighed rubbing her face. "Still I think you should try"
"Where's everyone? Quinn asked checking watch on the wall; look of confusion crossed her face for a moment. "God today's not my day." She said taking her wristwatch off.
"Practice was exhausting. Sue hates my guts." She continued pressing buttons on her watch
"And I am really thirsty; it seems I've lost my water bottle. Now to top it all off something's wrong with my watch, it shows wrong time and I am early for Glee of all places!" She finished strapping her watch back on.
"You can take my water." Brittany smiled proffering her water bottle
"Thanks Britt" she said taking the bottle smiling gratefully as she lifted the cap.
Quinn took a hefty gulp, but next moment she sprayed water all over herself, wiping her mouth vigorously she turned to glare at Brittany.
"Brit, what is this? Gah!" She lifted the bottle to the light trying to see what kind of liquid it was filled with; definitely not water. Quinn coughed sticking her tongue out.
"It's a potion." Brittany stated simply, taking her bottle back.
Quinn stared at the blonde with raised eyebrows, mouth agape.
"God! Brit, seriously? What potion? What's in it? It tastes horribly! Why would you give it to me?" Quinn fired her questions at calm blonde, she grabbed bottle back turning it in her hands looking for a label.
"I think I am going to be sick." Quinn muttered taking deep breaths.
"I want San to talk to me again" Brittany mumbled once again taking bottle back.
"And I wanted to give it to her, but I wanted to try it out first."
"Why me! What I am your guinea pig?" Quinn huffed in dismay.
"No, I would never try it on a guinea pig. They have no gag reflex, you know."
Quinn felt like crying. "What's in it, Britt? If you poisoned me I am at least entitled to know how long I am left, before I die in agony."
She's interrupted by door being pushed open, giving way to diminutive brunette.
Seeing that she's not alone in the room Rachel stumbled momentary before greeting girls with a wide smile. She sensed something being off as soon as she entered. Her sixth sense kicking in as she walked closer to the blondes; she noticed Quinn slumped in the chair, one hand covering her eyes while the other just hung limply by her side.
"What is going on? Quinn, are you alright?" She hurried to girl's side.
"No, I am not alright Berry. I think I am dying!" Quinn gasped rubbing her stomach; she winced slightly as she turned to face the girl.
"Brit here", she waved her hand in direction of other blonde "Poisoned me."
"Oh my god!" Rachel gasped, "Brittany, why would you do something like that?"
Rachel hovered over Quinn her eyes full of concern, her hand flying to press light touches to girl's forehead. "You look feverish!"
Any other time Quinn would've barked at Rachel for putting her man hands all over her, but since she was dying she decided against it and just whimpered helplessly.
"I think I am going blind. I heard it happens when you are poisoned. Right before you die." Quinn leaned further in other girl's touch. Cool hand providing her with semblance of comfort.
Rachel muttered something under her breath as she tilted blonde's head so she would face the ceiling lamps.
"Look at the light Quinn" she instructed. "Your eyesight seems to be fine." She said rubbing girl's arm in soothing motion.
"Brittany, what did you give to her?" Rachel turned to the other girl, who sat quietly watching the scene before her.
She proffered bottle to Rachel "She drank this"
"In order to understand what's going on with Quinn and possibly to find antidote I need to understand what substance caused her current state."
"Save me, Berry, I will do anything for you. I don't want to die" Quinn said her lips start to quiver.
Rachel gingerly took the bottle, brows furrowed, she lifted it to her nose sniffing lightly; she looked at Brittany as if contemplating something, then to girls' surprise she cautiously took a sip. Brittany gasped covering her mouth with both hands.
Few seconds later, with a long sigh Rachel took a place next to Quinn. "I am very sorry Quinn." She took one pale hand in hers.
"What?" Quinn whispered. She felt like she is going to faint, world around her started to dim.
"Quinn" Rachel said, smile splitting her face. "You are going to be just fine. I don't know what it is, but there's nothing poisonous; from a taste and smell there are several herbs and spices."
Quinn sat up straighter looking at brunette.
"You know I pride myself in knowing herbs since I took survival course, 3 times." Rachel continued.
"But it's so bitter" Quinn said making a face
"Yes, bitterness comes from wormwood. You are going to be fine, maybe a little bit queasy, but nothing life threatening. What's it supposed to be anyway?" Rachel asked aiming her question at Brittany
"It's a potion." Brittany replied simply, like it was the most common thing.
"Potion?" It was Rachel's turn to raise eyebrows at the blonde. "And where did you get the idea?"
"I took recipe from the book." Brittany answered, rummaging in her backpack and pulling out a rather old looking book.
"I found it in the attic, my mom told me it's my grandma's" She smiled warmly, quickly distracted by memories of her grandmother.
Both Rachel and Quinn (who after hearing Rachel's reassurance felt much better) gathered around the cheerleader and stared down at the book. It was an old marbled-edge book, bound in leather, obscure symbols pressed on its cover.
"So, you thought that it was ok, to try recipe from the book? You could've poisoned Quinn for real." Rachel reprimanded Brittany as she opened the book. "Please show me the recipe you used. We need to be sure that there's nothing dangerous in…"she paused. "The Potion." It sounded ridiculous to her ears.
"Oh, I know there's nothing poisonous. My granny would never keep something dangerous in the house. And all ingredients were easy to find." Brittany said turning frail looking page, she opened the page with the recipe.
Rachel stared at the recipe confused, she tilted page to give Quinn better view.
"It's Latin," Quinn said looking at the page. "You know Latin, Brit?"
"No, I don't" Brittany replied
"But you've been reading this, right?" Rachel asked turning pages, seeing several familiar words.
"Yeah, it's no biggie. My mom taught me it when I was little. It's our secret language though, not Latin." Brittany smiled at girls.
"Okay, I know these. We studied Latin names of herbs." Rachel said perusing the page "But what is this?" She asked pointing her finger on the line marked with several exclamation points.
"Virgin's hair" Brittany said.
Quinn paled instantly, jaw slacked she stared at Brittany.
"And where did you get it?" Rachel asked carefully
"My cat's. He still is, you know, innocent."
Quinn clamped her hand across her mouth. "I don't want to know what else's in it." She mumbled taking deep breath.
"Okaaay, and what kind of potion it supposed to be?" Rachel asked looking a little green herself.
"It is written right here" Brittany said pointing at the bottom of the page where several words were written in crooked writing. "Love potion"
"What?" Quinn shrieked, her face instantly turning red. "You made me drink love potion?"
Rachel cleared her throat, "Us" she added. "We both drank it"
"Why would you do this to me, Brit?" Quinn all but cried.
"Us" Rachel corrected mechanically.
"Shut up, Berry!" Look of extreme anguish on her face, Quinn started to advance at blonde.
"Quinn, calm down" Rachel blocked Quinn from moving closer.
"I want San back. I want us to be friends again" Brittany answered with tear filled eyes
"Hey guys," Kurt and Mercedes entered the room. "What's going on, here?"
"Weren't there a friendship potion or something?" Quinn hissed completely ignoring new people in the room. She tried to outmaneuver brunette blocking her way, but Rachel moved swiftly and softly pushed Quinn in direction of the seat safe distance from Brittany. Quinn huffed, but in her confused state obeyed.
"No, silly, there's no such thing as friendship potion" Brittany stated with utter confidence.
Kurt and Mercedes exchanged the looks as they walked closer to the three girls, two of whom looked like they were about to combust.
"And how it's supposed to work? Rachel asked uneasily.
"Don't tell me you believe in that shit!" Quinn seethed, moving to stand up again, but small hand on her shoulder pushed her back.
"Well, it's quite simple." Brittany said ignoring Quinn's outburst "Two people have to drink it and then after a small amount of time they will fell in love with each other and after that they will live happily ever after"
Quinn's head dropped on her hands. "Not my day"
"I wanted to make Quinn and Sam drink it, since I saw them arguing earlier this week." Brittany continued oblivious to the state of her friends.
"But now, since Rachel took a sip" she paused uncertain how to continue.
"Ok, stop it right now. Care to explain what's going on here?" Mercedes asked, her voice raising above Brittany's.
The rest of the gleeks chose this moment to barge in. Auditorium had filled with excited voices and chatter.
"Brit tried to poison me." Quinn said flatly.
Everyone froze for a moment, before barrage of questions erupted from every side, all gleeks gathered around the nonchalant blonde. Sam quickly moved to Quinn's side, his big mouth opening and closing repeatedly. With a forced smile on her face, Quinn hurried to assure her boyfriend and her friends that she's fine.
"And I am the dramatic one?" Rachel huffed folding her arms across her chest as Finn had moved to her looking for some sort of explanation.
Artie tried to wheel his way to Brittany but was blocked by small crowd formed with Mike, Tina and surprisingly Santana who all gathered around distressed blonde. Santana moved to seat near blonde; she wrapped her arm protectively around Brittany's shoulder to ease her anxiety, blonde leaned gratefully in familiar touch. .
Rachel loudly cleared her throat. "Can I get everyone's attention please? I think I am bound to interfere and address situation here to avoid further confusion and complications which might arise if not properly...
"For fuck's sake, Berry! Get on with it already!" Santana urged Rachel on
"Language, Santana!" Rachel huffed but continued "To cut it short, Brittany gave Quinn a drink, not poisonous in any way; basically it's a herbal infusion." with virgin cat hair her mind supplied sarcastically.
"It's a potion" Brittany quipped from her place.
Every head turned to Quinn and Rachel for confirmation.
"Yes, Brittany claims it's a potion" Quinn supplied, arms folded across her chest.
"Love potion" Rachel added in small voice.
"So now Quinn will fall in love with you?" Mercedes asked Brittany
"No, actually" Brittany opened her mouth to continue but was cut off by Rachel's hurried:
"It doesn't matter. I suggest we move on to more pressing matters such as songs rehearsal and dancing routines. Don't forget why we are here."
Kurt laughed "Don't tell me you drank it too?"
Rachel blanched, embarrassed; this was getting more ridiculous with every passing minute.
Santana clapped her hands "This is rich! I can't wait for you to start wooing midget, Q." She said to Quinn with a smirk on her lips. Despite herself Rachel turned darker hue of red.
"I won't! Will you stop? I don't believe in that, and besides" she shrugged "I don't feel anything."
"You don't have to believe. Give it some time" Brittany smiled reassuringly "You will be so cute together." She clasped her hands together smiling at the instantly formed mental image of chibi Rachel and chibi Quinn kissing as tiny hearts float above their heads.
Rachel and Quinn were saved from further embarrassment by Mr. Schue walking into the room; with quick apology for his tardiness he started the lesson. Everyone hurried to their seats, letting the subject of potion drop for a moment.
Rachel exhaled audibly as attention shifted to the Glee club teacher. Schue clapped his hands excited to start practice; as he launched in monologue about importance of team work, Rachel felt herself relax a bit.
However, for the first time in her life Rachel had been unable to focus in Glee. The problem was her firm belief in all things supernatural and much to her chagrin, that potion book seemed legit. Of course hair of virgin cat part had been a little tacky, which gave her hope that there's still a chance that potion's just a fluke. She had kept her eyes on Finn throughout the whole practice; searching her heart for the love she felt for him, her hand clasped between his for reassurance. Although she had been distracted by constant burning feeling at the back of her neck Rachel had came to conclusion that she still loved Finn just as fiercely as the day before.
Tension in the room had been palpable. Quinn glared from the back row, eyes drilling holes at the back of Rachel's head. To no avail Sam had tried to take her hand in his, hoping to distract his girlfriend; he worried that her face would stuck in permanent scowl forever.
If Schue had noticed something being off about the club he kept his questions to himself, without a doubt enjoying club being drama-free for once.
With practice coming to an end everyone hurried to leave the room as fast as possible.
Quinn practically ran out of the door afraid that Rachel will try to strike a conversation with her. Santana and Brittany followed close behind, whispering amongst themselves. As trio moved down the hallway, Quinn drew several surprised glances as she had shoved some unfortunate freshman out of her way; HBIC attitude back in full force. It's been a long time since she had
abused her status; last year taught her several lessons, but she needed to blow off steam and that loser got in her way.
Santana and Brittany unperturbed by Quinn's foul mood chatted animatedly further aggravating the cheerio. Quinn glared at them over her shoulder; by the look of it Santana and Brittany had decided to mend their shaken friendship, which would've made Quinn glad if not for an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Fucking potion" she had muttered under her breath as she kicked open the door to the locker room. Behind her Brittany giggled at something Santana had said.
