A/N: Hi everyone!
This is my first chapter story (and I'd like to say my first story too since the other one was short and lame) so I ask you to be patient with the mistakes I might have made. This chapter starts with Rachel living alone in NYC, pretty much ditched because of the Finn thing, and after Quinn arrives she feels a little better and yeah. They're still friends, but in the future that might develop into something else, I don't know just yet.
Hope you like it! :)
Rain is pouring outside Rachel's apartment window. She is sitting on her living room couch, snuggling with a blanket and watching raindrops race against the glass, her thoughts drifting far away from there. A popcorn bucket is lying on the ground, next to the singer's pair of slippers with big golden stars on them. The television is on, but nobody's watching.
It's been two weeks since Rachel moved to New York. She feels half empty, like the half of her heart that belonged to Finn is now completely torn apart, but the other one is still eager for adventures in the Big Apple. It's the same feeling she got after she choked on her NYADA audition, but from a different side now, since back then she was still going to marry Finn and the reason for her sadness was the thought of not being able to go to New York.
Replaying her last few Lima moments in her mind and crying around the corners of her new apartment is something Rachel does on a daily basis. She never wanted it to be like this. If only Finn could be there with her... Or even Kurt. At least he always knew how to cheer her up. And he truly deserved to have got in NYADA. His audition had been fantastic.
But questioning things in the past is not going to take her anywhere, she thinks. She's Rachel Barbra Berry. She's a star. She was always determined to be a star and now she's halfway through her way. She's made it to New York. She might be sitting alone and looking out her window now, but one day this will be over; Finn will come back and they will be infinitely happy together...
The doorbell suddenly rings.
"Who's there?" Rachel asks in a guttural voice.
Seeing no one will answer, the singer gets off the couch lazily, straightens up her clothes, puts on her slippers and walks towards the door, still wondering who it might be. Nobody ever visits her except for Santana, but she knows the girl is not coming this weekend because she is spending the weekend with Brittany in Lima.
What if it's Finn? The thought makes Rachel hesitate for a second. No. He wouldn't do that. He was clear when he said they had to let go for now. Visiting her in New York wouldn't be a very smart thing to do if he was really trying to let go. Finn is not that smart, though, is he? Anyway, Rachel knows it's not him. She shakes the idea off her mind and holds a sigh in. When she finally opens the door, her mouth falls open.
Quinn Fabray.
"Hi Rachel!" the blonde grins and hugs her.
"Hello Quinn." Rachel replies embarrassedly, despite her attempt to show composure in her voice. Yes, they were friends now, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're close enough to show up at each other's doors out of the blue, especially living 3 hours apart, does it?
"You seem confused by my visit." Quinn chuckles and then gets serious, "I just thought maybe you could use a friend, especially after -"
"Well, thank you very much, Quinn. There's no need to explain yourself, it's nice to see you here." Rachel interrupts her, faking a smile.
Quinn gives her a thin smile back and an awkward silence takes place for a few seconds.
"So this is where I live now..." Rachel says, inviting the girl in through gestures. "Like it?"
"Oh yeah, seems really nice!"
Quinn replies, looking around. "I like your couch." she sneers. "You seem to like it a lot too."
Rachel glances at the sofa and sees wrinkled blankets and pillows, the popcorn bucket on the ground and three empty cups of coffee on the table. It really looks like she's spent the entire week sitting on that couch.
"To be honest, Quinn, I'd appreciate it if you would stop mocking me."
"I'm sorry, Rachel. Won't happen again. But if we're being honest, I'd like you to know you don't have to pretend you're okay, especially when I know you're not. If you want to open up about what happened and anything else, I'm right here."
"I'm fine, Quinn. There's nothing more to say, you know exactly what happened."
Rachel sighs. There is a pause in which she stares at the ground waiting for Quinn to say something, but the blonde just watches her expression worriedly. They stay like that for a few seconds until Rachel feels Quinn's arms wrap around her one more time. She shudders at the contact and makes an effort not to cry as her chin goes over the blonde's shoulder. Quinn notices and gently strokes the brunette's arm as an attempt to comfort her, which doesn't seem to work, because, on the next second, a tear is sliding down Rachel's cheek.
"Oh, Rach, don't cry... It'll be okay. Let's just get ice cream and watch some Barbra movies."
The girl can't help but smile a little and hug her friend tighter. Quinn has never called her "Rach" before and it is the sweetest thing she's heard in a while. It feels like a light has been turned on in her heart and she's ready to get through the day. Rachel already sounds more positive after they let go of the hug:
"Funny Girl is on the DVD player, obviously. I'm going to get the ice cream in the kitchen. You can sit on the couch since you like it so much."
The blonde laughs. While she waits, she takes a better look at her friend's living room. There are lovely paintings on the walls and a huge piano. Everything except for the couch area feels neat, fresh and welcoming. The air smells like vanilla and berries - Rachel's smell. Quinn is admiring the view from the window when the brunette walks back into the room.
"So, I have vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. I brought them all."
"Yay!" Quinn smiles and taps on the spot next to her on the couch, inviting Rachel to sit there.
The brunette sits down and gives Quinn a spoon for the ice cream. When the movie starts playing, they pull the blanket in the couch so it covers both of them.
Rachel basically spends the two and a half hours of the movie gushing about how flawless Barbra Streisand is and trying to convince Quinn of that, even though she had agreed with her from the start. When the credits start rolling, though, Quinn is sure she hears Rachel whisper "Thank you, Quinn".
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"I said 'thank you', Quinn. Because you've come all the way to New York just to hear me go on and on about Barbra and you don't even seem to mind that."
"It's fine, Rach. As long as you're not half as lonely as you seemed earlier, I'm happy. Ramble about whatever you want, really. I'm listening."
"That means a lot, really." Rachel smiles shyly, still not used to Quinn Fabray being this nice to her, let alone calling her "Rach".
"I like being friends with you." she continues.
"Yeah, me too, Rachel." Quinn smiles lazily.
Before the brunette even knows why, she's changing the subject of the conversation.
"So when did you get here?"
"This morning. Santana said I could have her place while she's in Lima."
"Oh... Don't you want to stay over tonight, though? I mean, we really need to catch up! And we can order in if you want to."
"I'd love to... But wouldn't that be trouble for you?"
"Absolutely not!"
They both smile.
"So, how's Puck?" Rachel asks, suddenly.
"Oh, you know, nothing really happened after I kissed him that day. I just did it because I care about him and wanted him to be more confident so he would pass; the spark's been gone for a while now, even though you may think otherwise."
"Oh, well, you also thought Finn and I were made for each other in the end and look at us now." Rachel laughs affectedly.
"I'm so sorry, Rachel. I wish I could do something to make your pain go away. But I hope you know he loves you."
"You are helping me. Thank you for being here."
The next few minutes are filled with a discussion on what the girls are going to order in. They end up deciding on Italian food and, while they wait, the phone rings.
"Hello?" Rachel answers.
"Hi Berry." Santana replies.
"How are you and Brittany?"
"We're fine. Brit's sending you an unicorn hug, whatever that means. How are you?"
"I'm pretty good, actually. Quinn's here."
There's a pause and Rachel is almost sure she hears Santana whisper "told you" to Brittany on the other side of the line.
"Santana? Are you still there?"
"Yeah... Quinn told me she was going to New York this weekend and I kind of figured she'd want to see you. I even offered her my place. How is she?"
"She's alright. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Sure."
Rachel hands Quinn the phone.
"Hey Santana. What's up?"
"Hey Q. Not much, just wanted to let you know the keys are under the doormat."
"Oh, thanks. I won't need them tonight, though."
"What are you up to, Teen Mom?"
"I'm staying at Rachel's."
"Oh, I see. Take good care of Gay Berry then."
"I will. Tell Brit I said hi."
"Okay. I love you, girl."
"Bye. Love you too."
Rachel and Quinn stay silent for a couple of seconds after Quinn hangs up the phone, the sound of the rain hitting the window getting more and more intense. The blonde is about to say something when they hear the doorbell.
"It should be the food." Rachel utters, walking swiftly towards the door.
Quinn watches as the delivery guy greets Rachel and hands her the food, telling her how much she had to pay for it.
"Hey, I have the money here!" the blonde says, rushing to her bag to get her wallet, when she notices Rachel is having trouble finding hers.
"Thank you, Quinn." the brunette whispers as she gets the bills from her friend's hands and gives them to the delivery guy. "I'll pay you later."
"Good night, ladies" the man says.
Rachel and Quinn reply "Good night" in unison and the singer closes the door, smiling.
"So, where do we eat?" the blonde asks, feeling a bit hungry.
"Let's just go to the kitchen" Rachel replies.
"Okay. And you have to tour me around this place later!" Quinn demands as she follows her friend to the kitchen and sits on one of the stools placed behind the counter, like Rachel.
"Alright."
Rachel grabs a package with vegetarian lasagna out of the bag the delivery guy gave her and Quinn grabs one with spaghetti and white sauce. While the girls eat, they talk about how they would probably be at Breadstix with the Glee Club guys if they were still living in Ohio.
They remain seated and talking after their food is over. Rachel seems better; she now smiles and jokes from time to time, which makes Quinn feel peaceful. Her only reason for coming to New York was to check up on the brunette - not that she would ever admit to that - so the fact that she is helping in some way is a positive thing.
"Quinn, oh my God, I didn't even ask you where you prefer to sleep!" Rachel exclaims, still recovering from laughing at something her friend had said. "There's the couch, but it won't be a girls night if we don't sleep in the same room... So what do you prefer, setting up a mattress on my bedroom floor or sleeping in my bed?"
"I don't want to put you through much trouble... I'd be sleeping in your bed... With you?"
"Yes. But if you'd have a problem with that I'm sure we can figure something else out."
"No, it's fine by me."
"Okay. So what do you want to do now?"
"I was thinking the normal things people do at sleepovers."
"Like what?"
The thought of Santana kissing Brittany at their last sleepover suddenly crosses Quinn's mind before she answers and the blonde quickly manages to forget it.
"Watching movies, which we already did, telling secrets, having deep conversations... I don't know… Having… Pillow fights?" Quinn smirks while pronouncing the last two words. Before she has time to do anything, Rachel is rushing out the kitchen door. The blonde follows the singer asking what she's doing but, instead of an answer, she gets a pillow on her face.
"Oh no you didn't!" she yells, her voice showing comic anger.
"Oh yes I did!"
In a swift movement, Quinn grabs the pillow that hit her face from the floor and throws it at Rachel. While the brunette is disorientated by the pillow thrown at her, the blonde goes over to the sofa, grabs another pillow and throws it at her direction.
"That's what you get when you mess with Quinn Fabray." Quinn brags.
When the pillows fall on the ground, though, she sees Rachel's face is extremely red and the girl seems to be crying.
"Rachel, are you okay?"
"That hurt, Quinn!"
Quinn walks to the girl, feeling a mixture of guilt, worriedness and uncertainty of what she should do next.
"I'm so sorry, oh my God"
Rachel then grabs both pillows lying on the floor and throws them at the blonde in a split second.
"God Rachel! I- how-" Quinn stutters, laughing and running her hands through her choppy hair, now completely messy due to the pillow.
"Don't forget I'm a natural Broadway star"
"You're so lame, Berry." the blonde jokes, lovingly. Her mind, though, is brought back to when she used to "hate" Rachel - or at least act like she did - despite having no reason for that.
"I doubt you'll say that when I'm getting standing o's on a Broadway stage."
"I might. I'll still be Quinn Fabray, you know."
"Well, the Quinn Fabray I met at high school would never have travelled 3 hours just to see me, so I guess there's a chance this side of you might change too."
"Wait, what makes you think I came here just to see you?" Quinn asks, in a way that is by no means skeptical; it just sounds like she really wants to know the answer to the question.
"I mean, you said you got here today and came straight here, without even stopping by Santana's to leave your things..."
"Yeah. You're right. I was quite worried about you, Rach." Surprisingly for both girls, Quinn set her pride in denying the truth aside and admitted to having a soul, and, most importantly, a soul that cares for her friends.
"This is just so unreal yet real."
"What?"
"To see you be honest with me and not try to hide that you care. It's unreal for obvious reasons and real because you're here right in front of me and I can smell you and see you and feel your presence and hear your voice and this is happening and I haven't felt like anything was happening in about a week."
"If Santana was here she'd say she fell asleep with your sappy little speech. I liked it, though. Again, you're right. This does feel both weird and natural at the same time."
"I loved my day today, though. I needed a day off of my own mind to be with my best friend."
Quinn's brows lift at the last two words and she can't contain a lazy smile. "Best friend", she repeats in a whisper, almost involuntarily.
"Yeah." Rachel says, reassuringly.
Quinn holds Rachel's hand and smiles wider. "I... I'm sorry, Rachel" the blonde says, after a pause.
"For what?"
"For the fact that we never really had a proper conversation about why I suddenly became your friend and why I had treated you like shit for such a long time. And the way you act like you're so okay with all this and even consider me your best friend makes me feel even more guilty."
"Quinn, I am okay with this. For real. All that is over, we're friends now and that's the only thing that matters, right?"
"Right. It's just that I thought I had to tell you I wouldn't mind talking about that... Because you could be, I don't know, unsure about bringing it up...?"
"I see what you mean. I do get confused and surprised with your actions sometimes. But I'm fine with it because I think that's just the way you are, not because I'm afraid you'd be uncomfortable if I enquired you about it. That doesn't mean I would stop you if you wanted to explain yourself, though."
"Okay. Well, I guess we can leave that for later, then."
"Alright. Let's go to bed now?"
"Yeah, if by going to bed you mean watching movies, having deep talks and not really sleeping."
"That's exactly what I mean."