No Stranger Would It Seem

Chapter One

A Glee fic based on the board game Clue.

The train rustled beneath fifteen passengers as they made their way toward the secluded island in Maine. The island was lonely and silent, beside a mansion belonging to Billionaire, William Schuester. Everyone on this train has a reason to be there, a close relation with Mr. Schuester. And all of them have their motives.

Quinn Fabray

The blonde girl in the far left corner of the train tucks her invitation away after scanning it over with her eyes a few more times. Nowhere did it say that anyone else was coming to his mansion, and it most definitely didn't say that he was coming.

Quinn looked up at a boy across from her, with a mohawk that made him look simple unintelligent, though really; she was in no place to judge him for that. There was a certain fire in her eyes when she looked up at him, the man already turning to flirt with the small brunette Jewish looking girl right next to him. Noah Puckerman, that's what his name was.

These two had encountered each other many years previous to this. Quinn was seventeen, and it was just a one night stand, the boy running out immediately. He had no idea that this encounter conceived a child. In fact, she had promised that child to the first wife of Mister Schuester, but when the time came, she gave it to another woman, a kinder and saner one by the name of Shelby Corcoran.

Quinn had always seemed like an angel to everyone around her, pure and white and breathtakingly beautiful. And she always acted the part, but she had a craving for her dark side that just couldn't be ignored. She wanted to be noticed for something other than the nice, virtuous, clean girl who smiled and waved to the neighbors every day.

She moved to New York when she was eighteen, telling her mother that she was working on going to college there when really, she was falling deep into prostitution, and a simple job as a waitress on the side. In fact, she was under the impression that she was here to do business with Mr. Schuester. And it wasn't serving him food.

Quinn looked around at the passengers in near disgust. On the other side of the train on the far right, there sat a boy with golden curls, his legs crossed as he straightened out his black suit and glanced out the window. His arrogant sort of manner seemed to spread through the air. He had a briefcase with the name 'St. James' inscribed in it.

Beside him was a Latina girl, her lips pursed and her long legs crossed, showing off her sinfully short bandage dress. She occasionally turned her head to wince at the man- more like child- lying next to her. He was obnoxiously tall and basically the high school quarterback stereotype. And right next to the child there was an elegant twenty-something, pretending not to know him, however from the way he talked they clearly knew each other, maybe they were even related. The more elegant man, with the chestnut hair and the bright glasz eyes kept stealing glances over to the curly haired boy across from him, close to Quinn herself. He seemed to know more of these people than he should have because the sweet looking curly-haired boy kept looking up at him, too, a small smile playing at both lips as they caught each other glancing every so often.

Two Asians sat close to each other, holding hands as they separated themselves from the other thirteen.

Closest to them sat a boy who looked frighteningly like a younger Noah Puckerman, with that stupid smug grin as he looked around, looking upon the others as outcasts, pretending to be badass and pretending to understand everything. At least, that was how Quinn saw it. She peered over her newspaper to see a tall, skinny brunette girl wearing a Newsies cap blushing as he stared at her.

Then there was the dumb blonde girl giggling next to the dumb blonde guy who was working various celebrity impressions and laughing along with her musical giggle in a strange harmony. But the way she was looking at the Latina suggested she didn't play for his team.

And then there was the man completely secluded, with what looked like an actually permanent and obnoxious smirk on his face, the only thing more obnoxious than that being his hair. He looked between the elegant boy and the sweeter looking one, the first of the pair oblivious and the second shifting uncomfortably when he felt his gaze.

Quinn let out a weak sigh at the group of misfits she had been placed with, stuck with for the next few days. She enjoyed solitude quite a lot. It was why she worked alone for a good amount of the time she was ever working.

It was a good half an hour more of studying glances and people in general that the train slowed down to a halt at a small station right outside Schuester's mansion. They all seemed to get up at the same time, looking around at each other silently. The Asian man had his arms protectively around his girlfriend, and the adorable curly haired boy brushed his hand 'accidentally' against the elegant twenty-something's, making Quinn smirk to herself.

They walk slowly off the train, watching each other in confusion as they head toward the entrance of the mansion. The smirky bastard was the first to push the large doors open and walk in, as the big wooden door did have a sign on it that said 'make yourselves feel at home. Come on in. let's get to know each other', that just made her groan to herself as it seemed most guests were alright with obeying.

Most guests seemed to know each other already.

She looked around the mansion in awe, her green eyes wide with wonder at the gigantic area that some lucky white man got to wake up to and call home every day. It was just him and his butler, anyway. His first wife, Terri, faked being pregnant and then was found out about and divorced by William when Quinn refused to give her the baby she conceived with Noah. William's second wife just didn't want to be all locked up on this island in a mansion anymore, even if it did have in it everything she ever wanted. She wanted to 'see the world' or some bullshit. However, Quinn thought to herself, she wouldn't mind doing business here long-term at all. And once again, she was not referring to preparing food.

The Butler was the first that the group ran into, a rather sexy man about their age with the most unbelievable arms Quinn had ever seen. He smiled charmingly as he introduced himself, extending a hand to the small Jewish girl, who was most definitely staring. "I'm Brody Weston." He introduced with a nod as he gestured for the group to follow him.

"Mister Shuester will be joining you for dinner, but meanwhile, you may all take a seat in the dining room and help yourselves." Mr. Weston nodded, opening the doors to the grand dining room. The walls and ceiling were a pearly white, outlined with gold, paintings decorating the walls. The table had just enough chairs but barely any eating space for each guest with the feast laid out in front of them.

Bowls of fruits, fancy cheeses, loafs upon loafs of different breads, steaks, salads, etc. It was fit for a king. For a lonely, sad, secluded king who apparently had a lot of… young, very, very young friends.

The group sat in basically the same way they had on the train. Quinn just decided to refer to them as their descriptions from this point on, since she had no desire to learn anything further about any of these people. Elegant, dorky and/or sweet, Newsies cap, Jewish girl, smirky bastard, arrogant, Asian, other Asian, Latina, dumb blonde, dumb blonde who thinks he's good at impressions, Noah Puckerman, younger Noah Puckerman, man-child-dinosaur… yeah. It was a pretty good list.

It was Arrogant who spoke up first, with a grin on his lips as he spread some butter on a piece of bread and suggested an ice-breaker. "I think we were all under the impression we would be coming here alone. I was wondering what your relationships to Mr. William Schuester are." He stated plainly. "I say we all go around." He said, giving a 'reassuring' smile as he began. "I'm from Kansas. Topeka. I met William at a very young age. My mother had a thing for him." He remembered with a chuckle, then looking to the girl beside him. "Forgive me when I say I'm not exactly comfortable giving my name."

Latina spoke up. "I'm not going to lie to you; like I'm sure all of you will to me." She started with a bitch smirk. "I'm a con artist from Miami. I'm very sure Mr. Schuester only invited me here because he wants his million dollar broach back." She said, with a satisfied laugh as she sat back down in a sickeningly confident manner.

The boy beside her – Man-Child-Dinosaur -swallowed thickly as he waved to the others, most of them with numb expressions as he made that weird face that looked like a child who needed to go potty. "He was kind of my mentor a few years back. 'M from Ohio."

Elegant bit his lip down gently, shaking his head for a moment before sighing. "His second wife, Emma, was my therapist for a few years. We've talked a couple times. I'm from New York, the city of course, lower east side. I'm a writer." His features hinted at a sort of shame, though aside from that, he was rather discreet.

Dorky Hobbit was next up, raising his hand. "I was a student teacher a couple years ago. I worked alongside Mister Shuester at a private school he worked at for a year only before retiring here. I'm also from New York," He said, catching the attention of Elegant rather quickly. "I work in Saratoga as a first grade teacher."

Other Asian stood up next with a smile, presenting herself proudly. "I'm from Arizona. I'm a doctor," She started, though her expression quickly became serious. "I was assigned to the surgery of Mr. Schuester's first wife, Terri, and it was a very risky procedure. We talked a lot. He told me that his wife Emma had been back home, and had also had a surgery, also by a man named Doctor Chang, which is my last name as well." She smiled down to Asian, who smiled back.

Little did Quinn know, those smiles were so very fake.

Asian stood next, still smiling at Other Asian, though. "Hiya. I'm Doctor Chang number two. She's my better half." He said, with a false laugh. "I always wanted to be a dancer, but clearly that never happened. And I'm glad, because I probably wouldn't have met Tina if I was. I worked on a surgery for Will's second wife in my little business in Maine."

Noah stood up lazily from his seat, rolling his eyes, which were half shut as he spoke. "I'm from Chicago." He started, thinking of what to say for a moment, and deciding to put it very simply as he sat down again. "Basically… don't get involved with me."

That caused a few curious faces to evolve to confusion.

Newsies Cap steered whale watching tours in Maine, and barely knew the man.

Mini Noah Puckerman worked at one in a chain of music stores Will owned, one in Washington.

Smirky Bastard worked as a barista in Saratoga as well- Quinn was assuming this was only so he would be closer to Dorky Hobbit, who seemed uncomfortable with him. Schue had confronted him and got him expelled from school. He was under the impression the man would apologize for what he gave away.

Dumb Blonde was next. Terri was her pageant coach. She was from Michigan.

Dumb Blonde Who Thinks He's good at Impressions introduced himself as a professional comedian from Nebraska.

Jewish drew patterns in the table with her fingertips as she answered just as lazily as Noah, still watching Mr. Weston from afar. "I'm from New York City; an actress. William Schuester was my vocal coach."

Latina giggled, "And how did he train you to hit those high notes?" she asked, everyone in the room glancing back at her, wide-eyed. She folded her arms across her chest, giggling again and giving a small shrug, a couple people biting their tongues to keep from laughing along, Jewish simply ignoring her.

When Quinn's turn came around, she simply shook her head. "I think I'll pass."

The others nodded, and for a while the room was silent aside from the noise the guests made as they loaded food from the feast onto their plates. Mr. Weston came in, slightly pale as he spoke softly. "It appears Mister Schuester will be late for dinner. He's asked all of you to disband from the dining room and get comfortable in the house while he takes care of some business." He reported.

"Wanky." Latina whispered.

The guests slowly, and almost one by one, left the dining room, some in groups, and some off by themselves, Asians together as always. Quinn stepped away toward the silver doors with a plaque on them titled 'theater'. Yes, she could find a way to be entertained in there. She groaned under her breath when she felt someone tapping her shoulder gently.

Quinn turned around, his eyes widening slightly when she really saw Jewish for the first time, her eyes dancing and her hair begging for Quinn to brush it out of her face. So that was why every guy in the house besides Asian was looking at her the way they were. "Hey." She said, almost sweetly. "I was wandering if you would mind walking with me. My name is Rachel, by the way." She nodded, with a small shrug.

And Quinn hated, no, she despised the way Rachel reminded her of herself when she was still an angel. She hated the way this girl made her feel just by looking straight into her eyes. "No thanks." Quinn mumbled simply as she entered the theater, the girl confused behind her as she shrugged and just followed Quinn anyway. Oh, how the blonde would miss only knowing her as 'Jewish'.

Quinn headed down all the rows, climbing onto the stage and looking around, groaning as Rachel stepped beside her. "Why are you here?" She asked.

Rachel smiled as she answered, sitting down at the piano bench. "You look like you need someone to cheer you up. You sound lonely. Didn't even let them hear your reason for being here." She listed as she began to play lightly.

"I enjoy solitude."

"That's unnatural."

Quinn rolled her eyes, glancing at the rows of seats as she heard Rachel play just gently, the chords she recognized oh so very well. "Sing." Rachel instructed simply. Quinn shook her head. That was absolutely ridiculous, a prostitute singing about the feelings she wasn't sure if she had.

Rachel shook her head right back. "No. I'm not giving up that easily. Just sing one song, just in front of me. When was the last time you had a song in your heart?" Rachel prodded, and, with a small smile as Quinn gave in with a sigh of defeat, staring out at the rest of the theater, she played the chords again.

She closed her eyes as she heard her entrance, Rachel already starting her backup vocals, which she found to be rather sweet. "Looking out from underneath, refracted moonlight on the sea, reflections still look the same to me…" With that, she looked back to Rachel, who had a smile against her lips as she played with her eyes fluttered shut, unaware that the corners of Quinn's lips had twisted into a smile, "As before I went under."

Quinn relaxed slightly, hearing Rachel's 'ooh's in the background, continuing to sing and hating herself for it and hating herself because she just loved how right it felt. "And it's peaceful in the deep. Cathedral where you cannot… breathe, no need to pray, no need to speak…" She breathed, "And now I am under, oh." Rachel began harmonizing straight up with the words, making Quinn gasp a little as their voices melted together. "And it's breaking over me, a thousand miles down to the sea bed; I found a place to rest my head."

Suddenly, as Rachel sang 'never let me go, never let me go' over and over, Quinn turned away from the theater seats to face the small girl. "And the arms of the ocean are carrying me, and all this devotion was rushing out of me." She belted loudly, a hand clapped over her heart, which was pounding as she sang the notes she wasn't used to, "And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me. But the arms of the ocean deliver me…"

And now Rachel was looking back at her, taking advantage of every breath and smiling uncontrollably. "Though the pressure's hard to take, it's the only way I can escape, it seems a heavy choice to make… but now I am under, oh… and It's breaking over me… a thousand miles down to the sea bed, I found a place to rest my head." She sang, preparing for more belting as Rachel sang with all of her heart, which threw Quinn off, but only slightly.

"Never let me go, never let me go. " Rachel sang, tears appearing in her eyes. "Never let me go, never let me go!" The last note climbed half an octave from where it normally was in the song, Quinn closing her eyes as she sang with all she was as well. "And the arms of the ocean are carrying me… and all this devotion was rushing over me… and the crashes are heaven, for a sinner like me, and the arms of the ocean deliver me." All while she was singing, Rachel was continuing her harmonies of 'never let me go', the two almost competing to be the most powerful.

They sang together again, "And it's over, and I'm… I'm going under. But I'm not giving up; I'm just… giving in…" Quinn closed her eyes, and faced the theater seats again as Rachel sang gently behind her, the soprano of "oh, slipping underneath, so cold but so sweet…"

"And the arms of the ocean, so sweet and so cold, and all this devotion I never knew at all. And the crashes are heaven, for a sinner released, and the arms of the ocean…" Quinn let the last note fade against the silence between the two girls as they panted, and the blonde turned to face Rachel, nodding kindly before she suddenly heard a scream, a man's scream… like a dying man's scream.

With a last, almost apologetic glance at the small brunette girl, she ran out of the theater to go find the source of the screaming, or at least the other guests. Rachel followed shortly behind.

Before she knew it, Arms- well, Brody- had approached them with his small, collected group of guests. "You all stay here; I will find the others and see what's happened to Mister Schuester." He instructed, making the blonde girl roll her eyes as, yes, she was now here with Noah, who had, yes, returned to flirting with Rachel.

Every guest came back one by one, half of the group together, and shortly following them, a very pale Brody Weston came back, next to Mike Chang, who was equally as pale and frightened.

"Mister William Schuester is dead as of seven twenty three this evening. Murdered. One of you has made a very bad mistake, and we're not leaving until we find out which one."

There was a resounding chorus of whimpers and groans and gasps and a mix of all three coming from a few guests. Dorky Hobbit choked on a sob as he clapped a hand over his mouth. Elegant rested a hand on his shoulder, looking down at the ground with tears in his eyes. Rachel wept as she held on to Noah, who had his eyes shut. Latina bit her lip and held herself. Man-child-dinosaur tried to put on a brave face, though he really looked angry… Quinn could go on. The only words ringing out through the empty silence were the haunting echoes of 'Mister William Schuester is dead.'