Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Sniff… sniff.. let us mourn the loss of such a beautiful fantasy.
Author's Note: In this story there will be a girl on girl relationship, you know, femslash. As in two girls will be in a sexual relationship. If this offends you then please don't read it and don't write insulting hate mail on my reviews because that's just pointless… and annoying. It's why warnings like this go up. For those of you who are reading my other story and wouldn't read this one because of the above reason then I'm sorry. Please don't stop reading my other story simply because of that.
I will try to keep most of the characters similar to how they are within the actual show, however for this to be my own fic things will obviously change. Quinn in particular will be a bit different. The reasons why will become obvious as the fic progresses. Anyway, the story will be starting in Glee season one or half way through it, around episode 14. I thought it would be a good place to start. Some things will be different from the original show because Quinn will only be entering McKinley during this episode, as in she never attended there before. But, I'll find a way to keep most of it cannon.
Also, and don't shoot me for this people, you'll see why it's necessary, I made Quinn a year younger then she is in the original Glee. Please don't be mad. I had to! I also wanted to, but mostly I had to!
'Fishing' - Normal
'Fishing' - Other (Just incase something else comes up.)
'Fishing' - Thoughts and Dreams
Chapter 1:
Quinn followed silently behind her chattering sister, scuffing the bottom of her converse on the floor as she walked. She noticed a small pebble lying on the floor and timed her walk so that she kicked it mid step straight into the back of her sister's shoe. She'd hoped it would end Charlotte's endless talking, but it just seemed to set her off along a different route of noise.
"Quinn!" she rebuked. "I know your nervous, but that doesn't mean you can kick stones at my feet."
"I'm not nervous," she muttered into the material of her hoodie too quiet for her sister to hear. Well, she assumed her sister didn't hear given the fact that she was still continuing her never ending speech.
"I get that it's your first day and that it's a new experience, but-"
"I'm beginning to think you're the nervous one," she interrupted raising her normally quiet voice above whisper volume and this time Charlotte heard her.
Charlotte glared, "I'm not nervous!"
Quinn raised an eyebrow, "Yes, you are."
"I am not!" she declared.
"Excited?" she asked, deciding it was safer not to argue with her minutes younger twin.
"Uh… well I suppose I am," she said after a moment of thought. "After all, Sue Sylvester is the cheerleading captain at this school! She has led her cheerleading team to so many victories at nationals. I mean I've heard that she's evil. Like really evil. Evil enough to be the ruler of hell. But, I really doubt that all the rumours are true. People often exaggerate such things. Still, I hope I can get on the team. It would just be beyond awesome!"
Quinn had no idea how she even knew who the school's coach was, but wasn't going to interrupt the her sister's fantasy induced silence to ask. Unfortunately for her it was short lived. Quinn mourned it's passing.
"You really should join too Quinn, I mean your gymnastics is so good if Ms. Sylvester found out what you could do she would-"
"No."
"-n't stop until she got you on her team. You did make the-"
"No," Quinn said slightly louder and Charlotte stopped.
She sighed despondently, "Sometimes I wonder if we're related… well, until I look in the mirror that is."
Quinn nodded her head. They were identical twins and looked almost exactly the same.
"Of course that always makes me feel better," she sighed in mock bliss. "Reminds me that I have the bigger breasts."
"I'm taller," Quinn pointed out as her only response. She didn't really mind the fact that Charlotte did in fact have a slightly bigger cup size, but it was fun getting her sister riled up.
"It's an inch! A freaking inch!" she fumed.
"Two."
"No, no, no, no! It's one!" Charlotte argued.
It was actually closer to two, but Quinn only brought it up because she thought it was funny to push her sister's buttons. She had a quick, if harmless, temper.
She almost laughed at the look on her sister's face until she realised that during the midst of their arguing they'd arrived at the gates of their destination, William McKinley High School. Heaving a sigh she tapped her sister on the shoulder and pointed up at the sign that was above their heads. A sign that should have evoked her nerves about starting at a new school. She was mildly surprised it didn't.
Charlotte, however, wasn't so fortunate. Quinn both saw and heard her sister gulping as she stared up at the sign.
"It'll be alright Char," she said quietly, raising her hand and squeezing her sister's shoulder comfortingly.
Charlotte smiled at her sister in thanks. Taking a deep breath she shook her head slightly hoping to rid herself of the nerves that had been plaguing her since she'd woken up that morning. It didn't work, but it did help with getting herself together. She wasn't going to let nerves stop her.
With another deep breath she squared her shoulders and marched into the school, Quinn trailing silently behind.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Quinn wasn't happy that she'd had to split up with her sister, but they had different schedules. Very different schedules. In fact that were in different years. Something that Quinn had often found upsetting, especially now. It made keeping her sister safe a lot harder.
She sometimes blamed her father, though she knew it was her own choice in the end.
It had been obvious from a young age that Quinn had more than excelled academically. Something her teacher's had picked up on during middle school and pointed out to her parents. They'd recommended she be attend an advanced placement school.
Her father in particular had been adamant about it. He was always going on about her being a doctor or a lawyer. Personally she'd rather shoot herself in the foot before she became a lawyer. A doctor… maybe.
She hadn't wanted to leave her sister and said she was fine with not moving up. But, her father hadn't left it alone.
He'd pushed and pushed until she'd caved. A few months and several tests later and they'd had her in a different school in a different grade. This year she was actually supposed to be finishing up her senior year back home, but certain... incidents had worked against them.
When she'd moved and they'd had to change schools she asked to be placed in junior year instead of senior year. Her mother had reluctantly agreed and now she was a junior when her age dictated she should be a freshman. She was just glad that she wasn't a late bloomer, then she'd really be fucked. Although, she supposed that hiding herself in an extremely oversized hoodie didn't exactly give her an air of maturity.
Her sister said she looked like a homeless person. Her mother said she looked a squeezable teddy bear.
She prayed they were both wrong.
Glaring at the schedule in front of her she shoved it into the pockets of said hoodie and headed off to her Physics class.
When she reached the door she paused and waited for the nerves to hit. Still, nothing. She frowned slightly and wondered if her little nerve machine was broken. She smiled slightly at her little joke before staring at the door handle again. She wondered if she would've stared at the handle for the entire lesson if it wasn't for someone bumping into her back. It clearly wasn't a very big someone because she didn't even stumble, though she did hear the sound of them falling to the floor.
Turning round lazily she found the petite brown haired culprit sprawled out on the floor, a pink bag with wheels lying next to her.
She was wearing a little sweater with an owl on it. And a short skirt. A really short skirt that gave Quinn a flash of underwear.
Lacy underwear.
She blinked several times before saying the first thing that came to mind, which was perhaps not her smartest idea, "You're wearing red underwear."
The girl gasped and quickly climbed to her feet. She looked like she was desperately trying to refrain herself from slapping Quinn senseless.
"How dare you!" she cried, poking Quinn quite hard in the chest.
For once Quinn wished she had bigger boobs to guard her against the assault.
"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!" she shouted punctuating each repetition with another poke to the chest. Quinn was sure she had a bruise. "You filthy little pervert! DId you get good peak! I have it in my right mind to report you! I have connections you know! I have connections! Just be grateful that I'm a forgiving person or I'd have you rotting in jail for the rest of your natural life!"
And with that she marched away mumbling under her breath, leaving Quinn standing there dumbfounded with a bruise on her chest. She wondered if she'd just imagined the whole incident or if it had really happened, because it hardly seemed normal. In fact it seemed completely insane.
For such a beautiful girl she sure has a temper… and slightly unstable mental health, she thought.
"Little firecracker," she mumble under her breath.
Deciding she was best just ignoring the whole incident she turned around and entered the class - it was a bit late too get into a one-sided staring contest with the door handle.
Entering the classroom she was happy that only a couple of people looked at her for a moment before going back to their conversations. It was certainly better then the whole class going silent and staring at her. That would suck.
Spotting a chair at the back of the classroom she wondered over and plopped into her seat, dropping her bag down beside her. She dug through it until she found a usable pen and her notebook before putting them on the desk and waiting for the teacher to walk in. Crossing her arms on the desk she rested her head on them and closed her eyes. She was tired.
Her body was aching from the work out her new coach had given her. Her old coach from back home just outside of Montreal had recommended the woman. He'd failed to mention that the old Russian lady took sadistic joy in making her suffer. The woman had managed to wear through the callouses on her hands enough to make them bleed when she'd had her working on bar. She'd thought she was going to die. Die right there on the mats with no one other then the evil woman to witness her passing.
Even the ice bath she'd taken that night hadn't helped with the pain.
Now she was just exhausted.
She was actually close to falling asleep when she heard the sound of a loud voice that silenced the rest of the class. Looking up sleepily she realised it was the teacher, a small man with glasses perched on the end of his nose. Quinn was actual quite surprised that such a loud voice had come from such a small body. Then she remembered the small girl outside and decided that it was best not to pass judgement.
She just hoped he didn't make her stand up and introduce herself.
Rubbing her eyes she sat up in her seat and grabbed her pen getting ready to take notes.
"Morning Class," he greeted.
"Mornin'," they mumbled back.
He noticed Quinn in the back and gave her a small nod, but didn't ask her to introduce herself. She felt eternally grateful, she didn't think her leg muscles could take it. She even forgave the fact that they were learning something she'd already learnt back home. Though the little nerd in her heart meant she wrote down everything he taught anyway.
She hoped not every class was like that.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
By lunch she hadn't had a single lesson to dissuade her from that notion. They were learning material she already knew. It was dull.
But, expected. She was basically learning material she'd already done. Technically she already had enough credit to leave school, but she wasn't ready for that yet.
Leaving the calculus classroom she was glad she spotted her sister straight away because she hadn't had a chance to learn the schedule yet and wouldn't be able to find her otherwise. She was busy opening her locker and Quinn could tell she was happy. The way she bounced on her toes gave it away. She always did that when she was in a good mood.
Quickly crossing the busy corridor she lent on the locker next to her sister and smiled slightly at the happy look on her face.
"Good mood?" she said questioningly.
"Yes!" she said happily. "Ms. Sylvester saw my performance in gym and said a could try out after school for the Cheerios. I mean she was quite rude about it," she said with a little frown before brightening up again, "but still, she said I could try out Quinn!"
"Cheerio?"
"Sorry, that's what they call the cheerleaders here," she explained.
Quinn wondered why they were named after a breakfast cereal.
"Awesome," she said with a smile giving her a quick hug.
"I know right! I just can't wait!"
"Got someone to sit with?" she asked, she didn't want her to sit alone.
Quinn would have offered to sit with her sister if she didn't have anyone to sit with, but she hoped that wasn't the case. It seemed like her sister had a chance to be popular and she knew what bullying could be like if you weren't on top. If he Charlotte hung out with her she could be risking that future popularity. Popularity that Charlotte needed. It would keep her safe.
"Yeah, some of the squad said I could sit with them. Hopefully when I try out I'll actually make it, but we'll have to wait and see. Oh there they are now," she said pointing out two girls standing by the lockers. "Talk later Quinn."
As she walked away Quinn observed the girls closely for any harmful intentions. Her sister could be quite oblivious to any ulterior motives. It was an endearing quality, but it also meant that Quinn had to make absolutely sure nobody was out to hurt her. Thankfully, she didn't sense any sort of covert hostility coming from the girls when they greeted her, so she decided that Charlotte would be okay.
Just to be safe though she watched her go down the corridor before heading off in the opposite direction.
She'd taken five steps when she witnessed a form of bullying she'd never seen before.
It was horrifying.
The small girl from earlier was standing by her locker pulling out her books and putting them in her bag when two large boys in a letterman jackets with drinks in their hands approached her. At first Quinn was confused about what they were doing going up to the small girl, until she saw them throw the drinks they were holding into her face.
"Have drink, loser!" they said as they said as they carried on past.
Quinn stared in disbelief.
There was no way people actually did that, right?
But, the evidence was staring her in the face as she watched the red and blue slushy start dripping from the girl's face onto her clothes. The girl didn't seem at all surprised and picked up her things quickly before hurrying off into a nearby bathroom.
Without thought Quinn followed, her protective instincts flaring. She'd always had a bad habit of helping out the David in a David versus Goliath situation.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Rachel entered the bathroom and sighed as she opened her bag and pulled out the slushy kit she always kept readily available. She'd hoped that winning Sectionals recently would get the number of slushy facials to lower in number, but it seemed that there victory did nothing to deter the never ending humiliation.
Moving towards a a sink she began to rinse her face off, removing the easiest parts before she'd have to move onto the more difficult stage.
She was just finishing off with getting it out off her hair when the bathroom door opened.
Please don't be a Cheerio, she thought desperately.
"You!" she cried when she saw it was that entered, recognising the pervert that had seen underwear.
"Sorry I-"
"You can't be in here," she interrupted. "This is a girls bathroom!"
She couldn't see the person's whole face because they had there hood up and the lighting put their face in the shadows, but they seemed to be confused about something.
"So?" asked the quiet voice.
"You're not a girl," she said, feeling slightly sorry for the poor boy, even if he had seen her underwear. Perhaps he's a bit slow, she thought. "You are boy," she sounded out slowly, "you cannot come in here it is not allowed."
The boy seemed absolutely confounded by what she was saying. He looked down at what he was wearing, then felt the hood that was on his head and seemed to nod to himself a bit.
Slowly pulling back the hood she was surprised at what the stranger revealed. A young beautiful face that most definitely belonged to a girl. Once Rachel had seen her face she quickly pulled the hood back up.
"Oh dear, I'm so terrible sorry. It's just that with the loose clothes that sort of hide whatever figure you may have and the hood that was up that hid your face I just assumed you were a boy. The lighting in particular contributed to the idea. It just completely threw your face into the shadows. I really should talk to Principal Figgins about that. I mean if I could mistake you for a boy then who knows what else could be happening. Which reminds me, I must apologise for my behaviour earlier. I thought you were a boy you see. If I'd known I would never have-"
"You okay?" Quinn asked, interrupting the speech. Though she was wondering how being a girl made a difference in the fact that she saw her underwear.
"Excuse me?"
"I saw what happened. You okay?" she repeated.
"Oh, I'm fine. This is quite a frequent occurrence here at McKinley. Nothing out of the ordinary, you become accustomed to it over time. I even have a prepared kit that I constantly take with me in case it is required. A spare set of clothes too," Rachel explained.
"Why?"
"Why what? Oh, you mean why is this a common occurrence?"
Quinn nodded.
"It just depends on your social standing on the high school food chain. You understand that right?"
Quinn nodded again.
"Well, me and my fellow glee club members aren't particularly high on the social ladder. Well, I should take that back. The glee club members who aren't cheerleaders or footballers are at the bottom of the McKinley social standings. But, I have faith in us and I'm sure we'll manage to break from that hold eventually. In the mean time we just have to make do," she explained.
That didn't sound particularly fun to Quinn, but she just shrugged her shoulders. She also wondered if Rachel always talked like that. It seemed like it took a lot of effort and energy.
"Not much of a talker are you?" asked Rachel as she continued with her tidying.
Quinn shrugged. She'd never been much of a talker. Her mother had described it by saying it was like trying to draw blood from a stone.
"Well, you must be a new student. I've never seen you here before. After all I would have attempted to recruit you for glee club if I had. I've previously gone through the yearbook and asked every student to join glee club. The results were not as promising as I'd been hoping for," she trailed off as she remembered the increased number of slushy facials that week.
She's enthusiastic, Quinn thought with a raised brow. And lonely, added a quieter voice in her mind.
"I apologise, I momentarily lost myself there, so are you a new student?" she asked as she gathered up her spare clothes and went into the stall to change.
Quinn nodded then realised Rachel couldn't see her from inside the stall. "Yes," she said.
"What's you name?"
"Quinn."
"Just Quinn. Are you a Madonna fan? I myself quite enjoy her music, though I admire what she stands for more then anything else. She really helped got the idea of feminism and being your own woman out-"
"Fabray," Quinn interrupted. She had a feeling this sister could go on longer then her sister. "Yours?"
"Rachel Berry," she introduced.
Quinn thought the name suited her.
"Quite a good name. Quinn Fabray… yes it has quite a nice ring to it, and what year are you currently in?" she asked.
She liked the way Rachel said her name.
"Junior," she replied after her ten second contemplation of Rachel and her name.
"Really, I thought you were younger, perhaps in my own year. I'm a sophomore incase you were wondering," she added for Quinn's benefit.
"No, I'm a Junior," she said deciding not to explain the fact that she should actually be a freshman. She just didn't have the energy to go through a long explanation. It would also require a lot of talking, something she wasn't fond of. Perhaps she'd explain another time.
It was silent for moment except for the rustle of clothing and for some reason the sound of that clothing lead her to think about Rachel's state of dress or lack there of. She felt heat concentrate on her face and knew she must be turning red. She was quiet surprised at where her thoughts had taken her, she wondered if she was attracted to Rachel. It seemed like she was, but she wasn't exactly sure. She'd never really been attracted to someone before. Perhaps she'd ask her sister later. Charlotte always seemed to know more about that then her.
She was shaken from her thoughts when Rachel's stall door opened and she bounced out, now wearing a grey skirt and another argyle sweater with some sort of cream and grey patterning on it. Quinn thought she looked adorable. A bit like a preschooler, but still adorable.
"You haven't left yet? I'd assumed by the silence that you had already taken your leave. Then again we did come to the conclusion earlier that you're not much of a talker. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised then," she said.
"I guess," Quinn replied with a shrug.
Rachel had just finished tidying up her things. Finished with her bag she spun round and looked at Quinn closely.
She looked her up and down and seemed to be sizing her up for something. It gave Quinn the urge to straighten out her clothes and look presentable. Well, she was sure the look would have if she ever reacted normally to anything. Instead she just stared straight back at Rachel and wondered what on earth she was going to put her through. There was something in those brown eyes that seemed to kick start a sort of survival instinct.
It gave her the urge to run.
To flee.
In fact she was sure she would have if she wasn't dead on her feet.
Rachel was now nodding her head to herself and Quinn wondered what disturbing conclusion she'd come to. She had a feeling she was about to find out. Moving forward quickly and giving Quinn no time to run, the small girl grabbed onto her wrist and dragged her along behind her.
"What are you doing?" Quinn asked as she was hauled down the corridor.
"I've decided that you are going to join glee. We meet half an hour before school on Mondays and Wednesdays, stay after school for an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we meet at lunch break on Fridays. Fridays is also when we tend to do our performances in the auditorium, although we don't always do them then. You are coming with me and we are going to go and sit with the rest of the glee club for whatever remains of lunch break," she explained whilst pulling the complacent Quinn behind her.
"Twenty minutes."
"Excuse me?"
"Twenty minutes of lunch break left," Quinn said.
"Wow, that is the most you have said to me in one go," she exclaimed in amazement.
Quinn just mumbled something into her hoodie.
"Pardon?" asked Rachel when she couldn't make out what Quinn was saying.
"Why am I in glee?" she spoke up for Rachel to hear.
"Well, you don't seem like the type who has much to do in their spare time," said Rachel. Quinn frowned, Do I really some off as that lazy? "And you didn't actually give me a negative answer when I implied you were in glee. Besides, you haven't managed to free yourself from my grasp yet and if you were really and truly against the idea believe me you have found a way."
This girls really bossy, she thought. Not that she actually minded, it took quite lot to get her temper going, and she found the girls bossy nature to be cute, in a weird kind of way.
She sighed. She may as well do it. From the sounds of things it wouldn't interfere with her gymnastics training, though it would remove the hour she usually took after school to nap. And I do love my afternoon naps, she thought. But, this girl looked like was ready to explode with excitement at the prospect of having a new glee club member and Quinn didn't have the heart take that away from her. She was going to have to sacrifice her afternoon naps though. This girl better be happy. She was just slightly confused about something.
"What's glee club?"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
They never did manage to meet up with the glee club at break because Rachel spent the next twenty minutes explaining what glee club was and how it was important to her. She also somehow managed to find Quinn between each period to continue to explanation that had somehow morphed into one about Rachel's dreams and her admiration of Barbra Streisand. She also learned that Barbra was Rachel's middle name.
At the end she seemed to lose the tangent of Barbra completely and began talking about her new, very new, boyfriend Finn. Apparently he was the captain of the football team, though it was currently basketball season, which was a sport he also played, and was the love of her life.
Quinn was a bit skeptical about the whole, love of her life thing, but didn't think it would be a good idea to argue. That was an activity that required a lot of talking.
She was thankful that at the end of the day she managed to meet up with Charlotte and ask about her about the try outs she was supposed to do today after school.
"She just said that I have to meet up after school today because she doesn't have a Cheerios practice on and wants to put me through my paces," she explained.
"Want me to wait?"
"Please," she sad nervously, "I'm worried about not making it and it would be nice to have you there if I don't. For comfort, you know."
Quinn pulled her into a hug.
"You'll be fine," she said reassuringly.
Charlotte nodded against her shoulder, "Thanks Quinnie, I needed that."
Quinn frowned at her.
"Fine, thanks Quinn," she said putting emphasis on her sisters name.
Quinn smiled at her sister as the younger girl walked off.
She knew the girl would be fine. She'd been a fantastic dancer and had always want to be a cheerleader when she'd them in movies, but her old school had never had a cheerleading squad. So, Charlotte had decided she would practice her skills for the future. She had determination, that's for sure. Yeah, she was sure her sister would be fine. Her musings were interrupted by Rachel as she seemed to swoop down out of nowhere in front of Quinn. She wondered if Rachel would be offended if she compared her to batman.
"Quinn, there you are. We have to go! It is absolutely imperative that you make a good first impression and being early will definitely contribute towards that. So come on!" said Rachel, once again latching onto Quinn's wrist and pulling her along.
While Quinn actually quiet enjoyed the feeling of Rachel's hand on her wrist, she wasn't that fond of being dragged along. That was why she was happy when they finally reached the double doors that opened into the glee club practice room.
She was met by the sight of several of the most obviously mismatched students she'd ever come across… and they were all staring at her.
"Hello Mr. Schuester my fellow glee club members!" she greeted enthusiastically. "I have found us another member. Her name is Quinn Fabray and she is currently attending McKinley as a junior."
Some of students mumbled a quiet hi, some waved and others looked disinterested.
"Hi Quinn," greeted Mr. Schuester as he held out a hand that she shook.
"Hi," she replied in a quiet voice.
"So you want to join glee club?" he asked.
Quinn shrugged.
Mr. Shue looked at Rachel questioningly, as if she held the answers to the girls odd behaviour.
"She agreed to join Mr. Schue she's just not very talkative," Rachel said.
"What the fucks up with you, hobo?" asked the Latina girl in front wearing a cheerleading uniform.
"Santana, that was completely unnecessary and could you please not scare away future members. We need everyone we can get," Rachel said.
Santana looked at Rachel for a moment then looked back at Quinn, "I repeat, what the fucks up with you, hobo?"
Clearly this girl and her sister agreed with how the hoodie made her look. Unfortunately for them she liked the thing. It was so warm, soft and comfortable. She liked it and didn't particularly care how it made her look. She focused back on Santana.
"Nothing," she replied with another shrug.
"Really," she looked at the rest of the glee club, "because it looks like the little hobbit over there found this girl sitting on the side of the road. We are not that desperate for members treasure trail. Puck found Zizes to sing with is at Sectionals and as long as we keep bribing her with food she'll stay," said Santana gesturing to a large girl sitting next to the boy with a mohawk at the back of the room.
How come she gets bribed with food, thought Quinn. I want want food. Normally she would have pled for bacon, but her new coach had forbidden it. In fact she'd tried to cheat, but somehow the woman had just known. Practice that day had been particularly gruelling. So she'd had to make do with her second favourite food - liquorice.
Mr. Shue's voice brought her back to earth.
"Santana…" said Mr. Schue warningly.
Clearly the girl had said more while she'd been fantasising about food.
Rachel, however, was just happy that the lighting in there was good enough for them to see enough of her face to tell that she was a girl.
"I admit the circumstances are suspicious," interrupted Kurt, "and she does remind me a great deal of homeless person, but it always better to have more members."
"Kurt is right everyone. We are always in need more people to sway in the background for me. There cannot be a performance without everyone to help," said rachel adding in her two cents.
Quinn laughed quietly, this was funny.
Then she realised the rest of the glee club were giving her pitying looks and she realised that the girl was serious. One part of her cried out in dismay and the other part found it even more hilarious.
She was proud that her face remained stoic despite the emotional discord.
Clapping his hands Mr. Schuester brought their wondering attention back to him.
"So, Quinn. What can you do?" he asked.
"Yeah that's right Mr. Schue we can't just be letting her in if she can't even do anything," said the black girl dressed in a very hip hop R&B sort of style. Quinn thought it looked nice. Despite the fact that the girl basically implied that she couldn't do anything. Now that they were talking about it though, what exactly did they want her to do.
Quinn looked at Rachel questioningly and the girl seemed to understand what she was asking.
"He means do you have any particular skill that would contribute the the betterment of our glee club in any way?" asked the brunette.
"I still not…" she trailed off. "I'm not sure I know what kind of skills you're asking me to show you," said Quinn. Finishing the longest sentence she'd said all day. Grimacing slightly she touched a hand to her throat. Damn, it still hurt slightly. But no one seemed to notice the gesture.
"Wow! That's a new record Quinn!" exclaimed Rachel. Quinn would have suspected sarcasm if not for the genuine happiness in the small girl's eyes.
Quinn nodded in acceptance.
"But, what's with the accent?" asked the boy in the wheel chair.
"She doesn't have accent Artie," said Rachel. "Actually wait just moment! This is currently the most you have said the entire day. Taking that into account all your previous sentences were really short which must then mean they were to short for me to really pick up on any sort of dialect. I have sensitive ears you know. If you'd spoken a bit more I would have picked it up." Rachel paused. "Just why do you have an accent?"
"I'm from Quebec," Quinn shrugged.
"That makes sense," said Artie with a nod. The rest of the glee club nodded in agreement.
"You don't look french though," said Kurt.
The glee club again nodded in agreement, again. Quinn was well aware of the fact that she didn't look 'french' per say. If only because she was blonde. But, that was only because her parents were originally from Ohio. She was just born there. She thought about explaining that to them, but decided she didn't really feel like it. So she just shrugged.
"My question?" Quinn asked with raised brow. Not that anyone could see it hidden in the shadow.
Rachel frowned for a moment in thought then smiled, "Oh that question! It can be anything Quinn. Like singing, dancing, acting, playing an instrument, just… well - anything!"
Shortest explanation she's given today, Quinn wanted to say. But kept it to herself. The people here seemed like they'd just jump on the chance to mock Rachel and she wasn't going to help contribute towards that - particularly when she found herself growing quiet fond of the brunette.
Quinn thought for a moment. What exactly could she do?
"I can play piano… and dance," she added after a moments pause. Learning to play an instrument had been a requirement at her old school. Her father had said she should pick piano because it was elegant, a girls' instrument. She was dubious about the whole girls' instrument thing, but had gone along with his request anyway because she hadn't been partial to any particular instrument. She'd ended up quite good.
As for the dancing. The gymnastics did help, but she'd actually taken dancing lessons. When her sister had decided she wanted to be a cheerleader she'd decided that she would help. So, she'd asked her father to enrol them both in dance lessons. It'd put strain on her busy schedule, but she'd wanted to help her sister.
"How do we now she's even telling the truth. I mean for all we know the she could be lying through her teeth just to get in," said Santana.
"Wh-who would l-l-lie to get in g-g-glee Santana," said the Asian girl near Artie.
"Vocal Adrenaline spy, Tina," said Mercedes.
"Look, enough guys. We never turn anyone away and we're not going to start now," said Mr. Schue.
"Besides," added Kurt, "she doesn't dress good enough to be from Vocal Adrenaline."
"Kurt, that was completely unnecessary. Quinn, please go take a seat. I'm sure that you'll find the club quiet enjoyable," said Rachel as she ushered Quinn towards the seats.
Quinn was just happy to finally be able to sit down. She was also tired of people dissing her clothing choice, it wasn't that bad. She wondered off to the back and took a seat next to the large girl eating, who she assumed was Lauren Zizes.
"Got any liquorice?" she asked when she sat down.
The girl looked her up and down and glared at her from behind glasses. Quinn thought she was going to say no until she pulled out two pieces of liquorice from the packet of sweets and gave them to Quinn.
"Here blondie, but this is gonna cost you," she said.
Quinn paused as she was about to put the sweets in her mouth.
"Huh?"
"I don't do nothing for free."
"Oh…" Quinn shrugged, "sure."
How bad could it be.
For some absurd reason she had a feeling she'd regret that thought.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
At the end of glee practice - which she learnt very little during other then the fact that Rachel was a really tactile person given the fact that she hadn't let go of Finn the whole time - she headed off in the direction of the gym in hopes of finding her sister there.
And she did find her there.
Lying on the floor.
In the middle of gym.
Panting for air.
Feeling slightly worried for her she hurried over and knelt next to her. At least the panting assured her that she wasn't dead. Brushing some of the sweaty hair from her face she sat down properly and pulled her sister's head into her lap.
"You okay, Char?" she asked concernedly.
"I'm fine-" pant "-I made-" pant pant "-the team."
"That's great Char," she said giving her a big smile.
"She-" pant "-nearly-" pant "-killed me."
"I'll help you," said Quinn as she removed her sister's head from her lap. Slipping her arms under the girl's knees and upper back she picked her up. Her tired muscles protested, but she ignored them. She had another practice tonight anyway.
"You don't-" pant "-have to carry me Quinn," she said as she started getting her breathing under control.
"It's fine," she said as she carried her out the gym and into the changing rooms.
"Thanks Quinn," said Charlotte as her protective sister placed her on the bench next to her bag.
Quinn nodded as she sat next to her sister on the bench.
After a few minutes of silence Charlotte dug through her bag until she found her towel and headed off to shower.
Quinn waited patiently until her sister returned from her shower. Turning her head away to give her privacy while she changed. A hand on her shoulder told her that Charlotte was done. She lifted up her hand and squeezed the one on her shoulder before looking up at her sister's face. A face she shared.
Giving her a soft smile she stood up and hugged the girl close to her. "I'm proud of you Char, and he would be to," she said, even though the longer sentence hurt her throat slightly.
"I know," she said as she buried her face in her sister's shoulder, letting Quinn's presence calm her.
"Come on," said Quinn letting go of her, "I've got practice."
Charlotte smiled at her sister then sprinted out the room shouting to Quinn behind her, "Come on then you lazy ass!"
I thought she was practically incapacitated, thought Quinn smiling as she followed after her sister. Where does she get all that energy?
At least their house was nearby. Otherwise it would be a nightmare walking to and from school everyday. Sometimes being freshman age in junior year really did suck.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Rachel watched as a girl ran passed and smiled when she realised it was Quinn - wearing different clothes - but still Quinn, at least she thought so even if there was something a little off about her that she couldn't put her finger on.
Then she saw Quinn run passed again, this time in the clothes she was wearing earlier, but with her hood thrown back. She waved at Rachel as she went passed and smiled.
Rachel blinked slowly several times and shook her head.
She had to be hallucinating.
By the time she'd woken up from her daze to check if what she'd seen was real there was no one there.
Wondering about her sanity she carried on walking.
"It's just the stress," she muttered, "it must be the stress."
Author's Note: So as you can see I decided to bring in Lauren Zizes now rather then in Season 2. She is also not dating Puck, yet. That's why they bribe her with food. I just didn't know who else to bring in so that they met the minimum number of 12 members they needed to compete in Sectionals without the original Quinn there. For the fact that Brittany and Santana were there, let's just assume that Sylvester decided to add spies of her own initiative.
Just so you are aware this will be a Rachel/Quinn story, though I will be focusing more on Quinn then anyone else. Maybe later I'll branch out a bit.
She also isn't going to jump straight into a relationship with Rachel. Attraction doesn't mean love or even a want to be in a relationship. You can be attracted to a lot of people without loving them. That'll happen later. I want friendship first. Plus, Rachel's whole thing with Puck, Finn and Jesse is kind of funny without the cruel ending.