disclaimer: FOX owns Glee.
a/n: my first glee fanfic ever! i don't exactly know why i wrote this, tho. ah, whatever. hope you like.
'she stood out in the crowdwas a little too loudbut that's why we love her'
her hand moves in precise, practiced movements as she signs her name in glitter pen on the sheet, ignoring the faint blue lines. ( ignoring the faint snickers behind her, who'sthatgirlrachelberrywhataloser )
just as she presses the gold star, sticky side down, next to the sparkly purple ink, it's ripped off the cork board and tossed in a bin. she stands still, eyes closed tight, waiting for the familar feeling of ice on her cheek.
it doesn't come. she opens her eyes and catches her breath. it's finn, holding a slushie, a look she's deemed 'blank' on his face.
"do it," she murmurs. he hesitates, and the next thing she knows, slushie tinges the white of her 100% cotton sweater and drips off her lashes.
halfheartedly, she licks her lips. it's blueberry, her favourite, but she can't find it in her to care. after all, in the words of kurt, 'getting a slushie in the face is like getting bitch-slapped by an iceberg.'
within the plastic netting of the bin, the gold star shines.
'she's not like other girls
she could've conquered the world
until you broke her – down'
"you'll never be a star."
quinn's drawl echoes in her mind, cutting into her heart like a knife to flesh. the blonde girl's faint smirk is evident in her mind, her perfect features twisted in a cruel replica of the glittery smile she displays for the rest of the world.
a bitter smile dances on the edges of her lips as she glances in the interior of her locker. other than a small rectangle reserved for her timetable, every surface is crammed with gold stars. some have been pressed onto the metal (sticky side down), some coloured with gold marker, and a few have been painstakingly carved into the metal.
carefully, she starts to peel away at the stickers.
crumpled in her fist, the crinkled edges of the gold stars shine.
'in fifteen years down the roadshe could be everything and you won't
but right now you're breaking her – down'
the tears stream down her face. she looks in the mirror, wondering where it all went wrong. wondering how the smiling girl in the yearbook (disfigured by marker, whatever) became the ruined mess within the plastic frame.
she takes in a ragged breath, stares at the stranger with the wild eyes and opens her mouth to sing.
( because, see, singing's really the only thing she's ever known. )
-x-
she'll be a star, one day, he knows.
he looks at her. it's hard to see the broken girl behind her picture-perfect mask. he wonders, for a second, if the girl he saw yesterday in the mirror was real.
then she looks him in the eye and he knows.
she's hurting, he knows. broken.
but she's strong. she'll heal.
she'll be a star, someday.
someday, he knows. someday.
-x-
in the ripped renmants of her heart, a gold star shines.
the 'he' in the last paragragh is mr. shue, i think.
the lyrics are from megan and liz's song 'are you happy now'. i changed them a bit, mostly gender to fit the fic, but it's awesome. go listen to it.