"Welcome one, welcome all, to the first annual glee club reunion!" Schuester raised his glass, as did the others, and the room let out an uproarious cheer. "Some of us have travelled many a mile to be together here tonight, but here we all are, and I could not be happier…"
Schue's speech continued, though very few paid any real attention. Many began chatting amongst themselves, catching up with those they'd not been so lucky to have already done so, including Rachel and Quinn.
"Is that a Miss Berry I hear laughing?" Quinn approached the brunette, squeezing through a group of others.
"It certainly is! Oh, Quinn, I'm so pleased to see you!" Rachel squealed, reaching forward for a hug. The two stood for a while, encased in their embrace and relishing in the fact that neither had seen the other for so long; now together again.
It wasn't long before they were deep in conversation, discussing in great detail what they had already told each other via email.
Rachel, telling of her development with Brody, and Quinn listening eagerly. Listening eagerly not in support of her friend, rather waiting for a fault in the tale; waiting to call Brody out on being anything less than perfect - anything less than what Rachel truly deserved. And there appeared to be nothing. This knight in shining armour held no flaws, and the blonde could take it no more. It wasn't fair that after just five months, this guy had gotten the girl he'd set out for, while after three years, Quinn had gained barely a scratch on nothing. She had to say something…
"Rachel, stop, I- "
"Haven't told you about the guy she's seeing?" Santana Lopez appeared beside them.
"Quinn? You never mentioned this! You have to tell me everything. What's his name? Does he play sports? Football, right? You always loved a footballer."
The Yale student could barely get a word in - not that she wanted to. Instead, she stood there, mouth gaping open, then snapping shut. Luckily, she had her friend Santana to dish all the gossip for her.
"That's right. Our buddy Quinn, here, has been dating. What was it you told me, Quinn? Your professor? Oh my, you have been busy. You know, I'm surprised she didn't tell you, Rachel. Apparently he's just divine. Oh, and married!"
It was Rachel's turn to stand with her mouth agape, while Quinn simply flushed red with a mix of both embarrassment and rage. Then without a word, she ran.
"Whoops!" Santana grinned, before turning her back on the diva and joining another conversation.
Rachel's brow furrowed. How unlike Quinn to be dating a professor. How unlike Quinn to not tell her. Why hadn't she told her? Had she really not changed, after all this time?
"Quinn!" she called out, finally chasing the direction in which she had run.
From within the choir room, she fled, looking left then right for a single clue as to where her friend may be hiding. It was then that she noticed it; a high-heeled slipper, undoubtedly that of the blonde's, placed precariously in the door of the girls' bathroom.
"Quinn?" Rachel plucked the heel from it's spot, and entered the bathrooms, calling softly. "Quinn, what's been going on? Talk to me, please."
"No."
The brunette smiled. "Well, if that's not talking to me, I don't know what is. Come out, I've got your shoe. Let's see if it fits the runaway princess, huh?"
Quinn stifled a laugh. Of course Rachel would make a lame fairy tale reference when trying to cheer someone up. "Cinderella wasn't a princess. She was a scullery maid."
"Hey, she was by the end of the story!"
A cubicle door swung open, and out from behind it, Quinn hobbled with one foot higher than the other, wiping her teary face with a fistful of toilet tissue.
"Well, if the shoe fits…" she smiled. Leaning against the sink, she raised her foot from the floor, allowing Rachel to slip the heel on with ease. "Thanks. I can't believe I was so dumb."
"You weren't dumb to run off like that. Santana was out of order. Maybe you were saving to tell me in person once I'd finished talking, I don't know. But it definitely wasn't fair of her." Rachel tried her best to reassure the blonde that she didn't mind, but what she didn't realise was that she was also trying to reassure herself; reassure herself that Quinn was planning on telling her, despite not having mentioned so in a single email.
"No, Rachel, not that. I can't believe I was dumb enough to date a professor in the first place. And I interrupted you, back there. Not to tell you that, but to tell you that I- I just, I… It's you I really want. After all this time; not Finn, not Sam, not any stupid professor. You. And I'm sorry, because I know you'll never return that feeling, but I just can't- I can't stop it. I love you."
It was Rachel's turn to run. Only this time, there was no missing slipper, and there was no happily ever after.