Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Hence the fan in fanfiction.
A/N: I wrote this exactly a month ago and never got around to posting it on here. Just a bit of harmless fluff. It's nothing fantastic, but oh well. There could possibly be more oneshots/drabbles/ficlets/whatever in this setting because I have an entire headcanon planned out for the future of The Unholy Trinity. BUT no promises.
Santana stands by the door of one of the five performance rooms at San Francisco State University, hidden from sight as one of her best and closest friends is called to the stage. The room is large and eerily empty, aside from two Performing Arts professors, who are sitting in the middle of a sea of red chairs.
Quinn walks onto the stage with an air of grace that only she could perfect, the soft click of her heels stopping only once she reaches the microphone. Her long hair is tied into a modest bun and she wears a simple, light blue summer dress.
"Name?" the male teacher asks as he leans into the microphone on the desk and presses the tip of his pen against his cheek.
"Quinn Fabray," Quinn replies, her words echoing around the theatre. "I'm going to be singing a song by Meredith Brooks."
The female teacher nods and says "Whenever you're ready, Ms. Fabray."
Quinn gives someone backstage a tight smile and music instantly fills the room. Santana recognises the song instantly and she smirks at the memories. Quinn had performed this to the Glee club back in Lima several years ago, and they won Nationals with it later that year. Santana also often heard Quinn singing it as she wandered around the apartment that they shared with Brittany. It's kind of become Quinn's anthem.
"I hate the world today, you're so good to me I know, but I can't change. Tried to tell you, but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath, innocent and sweet. Yesterday, I cried. You must have been relieved to see the softer side, I can understand how you'd be so confused, I don't envy you. I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one!"
Quinn is putting her heart into the performance and Santana's holding her breath in anticipation. The microphone has already left it's stand and Quinn is walking across the stage, giving it everything she's got.
"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed. I'm your hell, I'm your dream, I'm nothing in between. You know you wouldn't want it any other way."
Santana pushes the door open a little further and walks on tiptoes as she creeps into the room. She climbs into the row of chairs in front of her, sitting low in her seat as Quinn's voice gets quieter. She's at the edge of the stage, standing still as the music slows.
"So take me as I am, this may mean you'll have to be a stronger man. Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous and I'm going to extremes, tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing!"
And she's back into it, belting into the microphone and letting her head bounce to the words. Santana glances to the professors, biting her lip as she searches for some kind of reaction. The man turns to his companion and raises an eyebrow, and the woman nods her head slightly. Santana can only see the back of her head but she was certain that the woman smiled, too.
Quinn rolls into the chorus again, skipping across the stage and jumping to a halt as she sings "I'm nothing in between!" Then she's onto the bridge and and the judges are smiling a knowing smile and Santana manages to get her phone out of her pocket and get it filming just as Quinn begins the other chorus.
"I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees. When you hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover. I've been numb, I've revived, don't say I'm not alive, you know I wouldn't want it any other way."
Quinn finishes the performance with one arm in the air and she's still holding the final note as the music fades out, even though that's not how the song is originally meant to be sung. Santana can hear her breathing heavily as she lowers her arm and stops singing, and Santana stops recording as the professors start giving feedback.
Santana wants to stay but she knows that this is her chance to sneak back out, while the professors are still distracted, so she climbs over the back of her seat and turns to look at the stage one more time before leaving. Quinn glances up at her and frowns slightly but she manages to keep a poker face before the professors get suspicious. As Santana leaves the room and heads towards the school's exit, she sends Quinn a text.
Congrats babe. so proud of U. what an awesome audition! -San xxx
She knows Quinn won't see it for a while because she still has to read part of the script and convince the professors that she's suitable for the lead role in the musical. But Santana is proud, and so happy to see that Quinn is finally enjoying herself. She had such a hard time in high school — didn't they all? — and it took a long time for Quinn to get comfortable with the move to San Francisco. She's finally settled, she's doing something she loves, and Santana can't be more proud of her best friend than she is now. Seeing her perform, seeing her so joyful while on that stage, it means so much to Santana.
All Santana has ever wanted since they left McKinley was to see Quinn smile. As Santana makes her way to a nearby coffee shop for a lunch date with Brittany, all she can think is it was worth the wait.
Oh, it was so worth the wait.
A/N: The song is Bitch by Meredith Brooks. For the longest time, I've seen it as Quinn's theme song. If I had awesome video editing skills and enough space on my laptop to download all of Quinn's scenes, I wouldn't even hesitate in making a Quinn video to this song. Sadly, I am ridiculously inexperienced in that kind of thing and my netbook is very very small. And so, I settled for fanfiction.
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