"I'll give you 10 dollars if you let me kick her ass"
"That won't be necessary" Quinn held her hand up at the skank behind her not moving her gaze from a nervous looking Rachel. For a second Rachel looked relieved. And for a shorter second, Quinn felt a pang of guilt that Rachel would be worried that she would let the skanks beat her up under the bleachers. But just for a second.
"Aw, come on, Q." the girl persisted "I haven't had any fun at all today."
"Giving the freshmen swirlies just not cutting it these days." Rachel retorted, unsure of where that confidence came from and immediately regretting it's decision to make an appearance.
"Excuse you, troll" The much larger skank stood and stepped forward.
Quinn turned and put herself between the girl and her friend. –her friend? Did she really just think that? Get it together, Quinn. This is Rachel Berry. Since when do you care?
"Don't we think we're wasting our breath here? It's Rachel freaken Berry, even I could knock her out in half a second." Quinn thought that if it didn't sound like fun the girls would retreat. She immediately regretted her choice in words.
'Then Why don't you?"
"Excuse me?" Quinn swallowed.
"Knock her out. You're one of us now Quinn, not some Glee club freak."
Rachel felt herself slowly stepping backwards thinking that she could duck out of this less than inviting chit chat while the skanks were involved in talking with Quinn who still stood between her and three very angry faces.
"I'm not one of anyone." Quinn muttered and turned back to face Rachel who seemed to be looking to her for reassurance. "Rach-"
She started to tell her to leave, in the meanest way she could think of in hopes that she wouldn't come back and try again –everyone knows how persistent Rachel can be. But before she could a fist threw itself past the corner of her eye and directly into Rachel's unsuspecting face.
'Then you won't mind if I do." The Skank who's punch it was said, stepping closer to Rachel who was double over holding her face. Quinn could see blood starting to slip between the cracks in Rachel's finger tips. She felt frozen. Move Quinn. Do something.
"What the hell!" Quinn yelled, finding her voice and her confidence as quickly as she could.
"What's the matter, Fabray? You still a glee club freak too? What do you care?"
Quinn clenched her fists together. She could feel herself getting sweaty and panicked. She wasn't a strong person or a tough person. That's what this was about to begin with. Hiding. Not having to face people. But she didn't have a choice. She couldn't just let the skanks beat up Rachel no matter what personal issues she had with her.
"This isn't about the glee club" she fumed. "You can't just go around punching out innocent people"
"Tell that to the freshmen Cheerio you threw into a locker this morning."
Quinn lowered her eyes. In doing so she saw Rachel. Still clutching her face, looking back and forth from Quinn to the skanks, afraid to move.
"That didn't mean anything. I was just playing around."
"So are we." Quinn felt a large pair of arms reach around her and wrap around her arms and chest constricting her like some sort of python.
"Hey what the hell?" She yelled, viciously trying to fight the grip of the strong girl holding on to her.
On hearing the fear in Quinn's voice Rachel looked up, and saw the small girl wrapped in the much larger arms of the skank. "What are you…" She didn't think reasoning with the skanks was smart but she felt a sense of loyalty to Quinn that she didn't think she had. Which was probably the reason she was here in the first place. Before she could say more the skank who had punched her before took a step closer and placed both of her hands on Rachel's shoulders. She glanced backwards at Quinn and grinned.
"Then this doesn't mean anything either." She quickly brought her knee up to Rachel's torso. Striking her, hard, somewhere between her stomach and her rib cage.
Rachel fell, clutching her arms around her body.
"STOP!" Quinn yelled. She could feel tears stinging her eyes and she didn't even know why she was crying. She kept fighting the hold of the girl holding her but it was no use. She might as well have been fighting a brick wall. "Stop it!" she screamed as the third skank approached Rachel, tears choking her voice.
The first skank turned away from Rachel and walked towards Quinn, Her lip curled in a smirk. "You're pathetic, Fabray." She shoved the girl's shoulders. "We're done here. This is already boring." She walked in the opposite direction of Rachel. The skank holding Quinn let her drop and all three of them walked away.
Quinn rushed to Rachel who was trying to stand up straight. There was really large gash on her lip where she had been hit and blood staining her horse sweater.
"I'm so sorry, Rachel. Are you okay?"
Rachel nodded. There was a small smile forming on her lips.
Quinn stared at her, confused.
"You care." Rachel said as best as she could through her bloodied lip.
"Yeah well don't lose your saddle shoes about it." She smirked. She put an arm out to support Rachel who still had a hand pressed to her ribs. "Let's just go get you cleaned up."