This is our year to get it right.
Those were Rachel's words. Words that had been repeating in her head all night, and especially after that talk in the hallways of the school. There they were, on their prom, and Rachel was worried and apologizing to Quinn for something the blonde had no idea what it meant.
But what really got to her was that Rachel's only accomplishment in high school was to be Quinn's friend. That was…beyond amazing, yet sad. It made Quinn feel guilty for spending so much time trying to hate the girl, when clearly the only thing Rachel wanted and needed was a friend, and not any friend, but Quinn.
Rachel had a lot of things to be proud of; Quinn could make a list in that moment if she would have had the time, if Santana hadn't dragged her to count the votes for Prom King and Queen. First and foremost, she was captain of Glee Club. She was New Directions. The club wouldn't exist without Rachel and Mr. Schue honestly, so she really had to be proud of that, of how far they've come. And she may have not gotten into NYADA, but she still had a great future ahead of her, and if it wasn't that year, then she could try the next one; Quinn was sure that Rachel was Broadway bound, and Rachel could be a lot of things but she wasn't a quitter, so she wouldn't stop until her dreams came true — and if it were up to Quinn, she would help her somehow to get there.
So clearly, Quinn couldn't be the only thing she accomplished in high school, she shouldn't.
The talk she had with Santana left her thinking too; they both were able to do something about it, about Rachel, to try and make it up for years of being horrible to her. It was their last year, so everything was possible, right?
Quinn's eyes sparkled and a mischievous smile formed on her face, because she just had the perfect idea.
For the first time in a long time, Quinn could honestly say that lying was worth it. The votes indicated that Quinn won as prom Queen, only by one vote — which coincidentally made her think of Rachel, and how she said she voted for her. But Quinn didn't feel like a queen anymore, she didn't want it if that meant Rachel was going to be hurt by it somehow, and Santana didn't want it either because if Brittany wasn't the king, then what was the point? The logic thing to do, was to rig the votes and make Rachel the winner.
It was the best idea Quinn's had. And it was worth it.
The look of surprise in Rachel's face at first was expected, she wasn't even nominated so they had to write her name a lot of times. And Quinn's hand hurt but it was worth it because then Rachel smiled, that genuine and bright smile of hers that could light up an entire room, and Quinn's heart fluttered with joy, hope, happiness, and other pretty words Quinn couldn't get herself to think of in that moment.
Rachel was worth it.
Her performance was over, and so was the King and Queen dance. Quinn stood from her wheelchair to sing with Santana (in her head she did it for Rachel, because she gave her the strength somehow) but now she was at a loss of what to do. The previous year she ended up without a date, but so was Rachel, so they all were dancing together. However, now it was different.
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, contemplating.
It was Santana the one to give her an encouraging look and a wink, followed by a "Go get your girl"; and Quinn couldn't help but wonder how on earth Santana always seemed to know everything. It wasn't like she was too obvious about her crush, right?
Quinn took a deep breath, braving herself and waiting for Finn to leave Rachel alone at least for a few seconds; that was all she needed. She wasn't going to really say anything to Rachel, what was the point? The brunette was happily in love, and Quinn would be leaving for Yale soon anyway. It wouldn't be fair for either of them. But…Quinn could only hope.
With quick steps, Quinn approached Rachel before she had the chance to leave the gym and grabbed her arm lightly, trying to get her attention. Quinn was probably the last person she expected to see by the surprise in her face, but Quinn quickly offered her a small smile and led them both outside, because the music was making it impossible for her to get her thoughts straight. Not that they were gay anyway…
"Congratulations on the title," she started. That was all she actually needed to say, why was it so important for her to get her alone anyway? And why was Quinn suddenly nervous?
Rachel's shoulders seemed to relax once Quinn let go of her, but a smile quickly plastered on her face. "I am shocked, I don't think I have any other words to describe it. I know, Rachel Berry the most eloquent person at McKinley is at a loss of words. Yes, you are allowed to laugh now."
If it had been for Quinn, she would have kissed her right there and then.
"I thought you would be happy?" Quinn questioned, raising an eyebrow. She knew exactly what Rachel meant anyway, but it would have been nice hearing it from Rachel herself — although it didn't really matter, that spark in her eyes was enough for Quinn; knowing that Rachel was happy was more than enough for her. "Dance with me?" She asked, not giving the brunette time to say or do anything before she grabbed her by the hand and pulled her closer to her body, slowly swaying to the rhythm of the music that still could be heard from the gym.
Years of bottling all of her feelings up were threatening to come out of her mouth in that second, right the second Rachel whispered a simple "Okay" in her ear and rested her head lightly over Quinn's shoulder. The same second smaller hands wrapped itself around Quinn's waist, and the second Rachel's scent clouded all of Quinn's thoughts.
It was too much, yet not enough. And she was in deep, deep trouble.
"I voted for you, you know?" Quinn commented, trying to sound nonchalant so Rachel wouldn't pull away from her. It was probably going to be the last chance she would get to talk about it, her feelings, even if not addressing them entirely.
Quinn knew that their little moment was going to be over soon, so she decided to end it herself, before Rachel got any chance to speak.
She swayed along the music for a few more seconds and slowly untangled herself from Rachel. Quinn sighed and closed her eyes momentarily; giving Rachel a lazy smile once she opened them back up.
She was so hopelessly in love.
Really slowly, she stepped closer and leaned down, her mouth hovering near the brunette's ear. It was a now or never situation. "You're my queen." She whispered, pulling away and giving her a last look and smile before turning around and into the gym. If there was something Quinn was not good at, was facing rejection, so she had rather leave on her own because what else was there for her?
But one thing she was sure of, was that she would even give up on her own dreams to try and make Rachel's come true. And if she could go back and do things again, she would just to offer Rachel a day of happiness. Because she was right, that was their year to get it right.