Hello, FanFiction world! If you're one of my regular readers, don't be angry with me! I'm working on Rising Demons as we speak. Or type. Whichever. But after falling in love (With Glee) I started reading a lot of Glee FanFics. I noticed there were a lot of Faberry fics, and I was never really a big fan of that pairing. But after reading a few of them, I really started to like it. So now, I've come up with my own idea. And, because I am a lover of music as well as a writer, I will be paying tribute to Paramore in my fic. All the chapters are named after songs of theirs. All right, let the flames begin!
Let the Flames Begin
Started on Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 2:25 pm Mountain Time.
Finished: N/A
Summary: "Somewhere weakness is our strength, and I'll die searching for it. I can't let myself regret such selfishness. My pain, and all the trouble caused, no matter how long I believe there's hope."
Chapter One - I Caught Myself
Quinn Fabray stalked down the hall, her eyes cutting through the crowd of freshmen. Their eyes widened in fear and they parted like the Red Sea. Halfway through her junior year, and she could still part a hallway. I'm getting my touch back. She thought, the smirk on her face sending shivers through the small freshmen. To them, she was nearly the most terrifying Cheerio in the school, second only to Santana Lopez.
She couldn't deny that Santana was more feared than her. The Latina even had the football team wincing in fear when she ran towards them with her eyes blazing. So when Dave Karofsky went by on the Monday morning after break with a slushie in his hand, Quinn couldn't install any fear in him. Rather, a small tremor of fear went through her heart. All of Glee Club knew that he'd threatened to kill Kurt. This boy was dangerous.
"Looking for a new victim, Karofsky?"
He stopped for a second, his eyes still fixed down the hallway. The amused smile on his face sent shivers down Quinn's spine. "Already found her." He replied.
Quinn followed his gaze down the hallway to where Rachel was putting books in her locker. "Berry? Do you always go for the weaklings?"
Dave's eyes narrowed and for the first time he looked at Quinn. She glared back, although her heart was pounding. "Would you rather I try the head Cheerio?"
Quinn took a step forward. "You lay a hand or slushie on me and I'll kick you so hard you'll have a sex change." She let out a sarcastic laugh-she'd learned it from Coach Sylvester. "How would you like going around in a dress, Karofsky?"
His eyes flashed and his grip tightened on the slushie. For a moment Quinn was afraid he was going to hit her, but then he relaxed. "You've got a sense of humor." He noted, amused. "And you're trying to be a good person by sticking up for Berry."
"I wasn't sticking-" She cut off when he raised his hand. But he only patted her on the head before rolling his eyes and taking off towards Rachel.
"Are you okay? What did he say to you?" Quinn gasped and turned around.
"Jesus, Sam, you scared the shit out of me!"
Sam smiled. "Can you really use 'Jesus' and 'shit' in the same sentence?"
"Don't judge me!" She snapped, her eyes blazing.
Sam blinked in surprise. "Sorry?" He offered.
Quinn sighed and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. Karofsky freaked me out. And I think he's going after Rachel."
Sympathy flashed through her. For once, she didn't try to push it away. Quinn could still see traces of sadness in Rachel's eyes, and how her eyes followed Finn in the hallways. Even in Glee club, she seemed slightly subdued. How is it that I got off better than her? Quinn wondered. She'd done so much more than just make out with Puck- she'd had a baby with him. It wasn't fair.
"Going after her?" Sam's eyes widened. "You don't mean like he went after Kurt?"
"No!" If that had been the case, Quinn would've castrated him. "But he had a slushie and-" She was cut off as an alarmed cry rang through the hallways, followed by loud laughter. Sure enough, when Quinn turned around she could see Rachel, covered in slushie and looking upset.
But what alarmed Quinn was that Rachel looked more than just upset, she looked utterly defeated. While Rachel had always gone through the world with her head held high and her eyes sparkling with defiance, now she just slowly made her way to the bathroom, her shoulders sagging and her eyes dull.
"She looks awful." Sam whispered.
"Of course she looks awful, she just got a slushie facial!" It was clear that Quinn wasn't the only one to notice these changes in Rachel. But she had a strange desire to deny that something was wrong.
Sam looked at her strangely and Quinn felt guilty. That was the second time in about one minute that she'd snapped at him. "I'm going to see if she wants some help." She said on a sudden impulse, and left Sam to find Rachel.
In the bathroom, Rachel was vainly struggling to wipe off the slushie from her hideous fluffy jacket. Quinn stood quietly at the door for a moment, bracing herself before finally stepping forward and letting the door fall shut behind her. But she found herself at a loss as to what to say to comfort the broken looking brunette. So she said he first thing that came to her mind: "Don't you have a shirt on underneath that thing?"
Rachel didn't jump, or look up. "Of course."
"Then why don't you just take the jacket off? That's the only place the slushie stained." Quinn pointed out.
Rachel's hand froze for a moment before she looked up. Quinn's skin crawled when she looked into those dull eyes. "I'd rather not." She said simply. "I don't have another one."
"Another what? Jacket? Berry, in the winter the school is about a hundred degrees. I think you're safe from frostbite." Quinn said sarcastically. Rachel didn't respond to the joke and Quinn softened a little. "Just take it off, and I'll let you borrow one of mine."
Rachel hesitated for a moment more before unbuttoning the jacket and sliding it off. Quinn had to catch herself before she gasped out loud. "Rachel…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
On her upper arm was a huge red gash, and it looked relatively new. It was just beginning to bruise on the outside. "What happened?" Quinn took a step forward.
Rachel took a step back. Her eyes were clouded and she put her hand over her arm. "Nothing. I was practicing choreography for glee and fell into my dresser. Now I would appreciate it if you would respect my privacy and not make a big deal about this!"
Quinn put up her hands in surrender. "All right, all right." Relief mixed with worry. There was definitely something wrong, something more than just falling into a dresser. Rachel was just too defensive. But at the same time, Quinn was relieved that there was some of that old Rachel Berry spark in her response.
"You look good in that shirt." Quinn said, trying to change the subject. She wasn't lying though. It was just a black shirt -no polka dots or other little kid emblems- that hugged to her body. Quinn had never noticed before what good shape Rachel was in. She was thin, but not unhealthily so. Usually she was covered up with those hideous and baggy clothes she generally wore.
"It's a little tighter than I'm used to." Rachel replied doubtfully.
Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "That's the point."
Rachel remained silent as Quinn slid off her jacket and handed it to her. "Thanks." She said softly. "Are you sure you won't need it?"
Quinn shook her head. "Coach Sylvester doesn't let us wear jackets over our uniforms unless it's below zero outside, anyways." She assured her. "It's in the twenties today."
Rachel nodded and grabbed her soiled jacket. "Well, see you in glee." Before Quinn could respond, she brushed out the bathroom and left her alone.
For a moment, she just stared at the door. Then she grabbed her bag and sighed, then went to class.
"All right, guys! I think I've finally got the set list for Regionals picked out." Mr. Schuster held up a piece of paper, and most of the club leaned forward unconsciously, anxious to know what it would be.
Quinn could hear Mercedes in the back whispering, "Please no Journey, please no Journey, please no Journey…" And could see Finn crossing his fingers. Surely Mr. Schue wouldn't be that inept that they'd go for the same angle as last year?
"I think that the Warblers had an advantage in Sectionals by doing songs that were newer and popular. I don't doubt that they'll do it again at Regionals. So, for our first song we're doing A Thousand Miles, by Vanessa Carlton." There was a small trill of excitement through the club. "And there will be a solo-"
"I'll do it!" Tina and Mercedes stood at the same time.
For a moment there was silence. There was a shock in the room that was a combination of Rachel's failure to say anything, and Tina's excitement. Tina responded first. "I love that song," She muttered, embarrassed.
Rachel was silent for a few moments more. Even Mr. Schue was watching her. After a minute or two, she muttered, "Give it to Tina."
No one said anything, even Mercedes. Finally, Mr. Schue cleared his throat. "Well, all right then. Tina, do you mind meeting me before school to work on the song?"
Tina, at a loss for words, shook her head.
Mr. Schue looked at the list again. "The second song will be I Just Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble. I thought Puck could sing the solo in that song." Puck looked up in surprise, and for the first time Quinn thought he looked a little scared.
"O-okay Mr. Schue." He muttered.
"Wow, we're really going outside of the box." Finn said, "It's pretty cool."
Mr. Schuster nodded. "You bet. Vocal Adrenaline is nothing without Jesse or Ms. Corcoran." Quinn noticed Rachel flinch slightly. "And even if they are, they'll be expecting us to pull another 80's show. We've got to pull out all the stops. Which is why our third song is more modern rock. We'll do Misery Business, by Paramore." The third song was met with cheers from the club, who were all happy with the set list.
"Will?" Quinn saw Mrs. Howell in the doorway.
"Hi, Emma." For a moment the teacher and guidance counselor just looked at each other, and Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Last year Mr. Schuster was married when Mrs. Howell wanted him, and now Mrs. Howell was married when Mr. Schue wanted her. It was tragic, in a dramatic soap opera way. "Can I do something for you?"
"Oh, well Principal Figgins just wanted me to tell the kids about a new support group the school's setting up." Mrs. Howell hesitated at the door before coming into the room. "Hi, everybody."
The class gave their dutiful 'hello's before either falling silent or spacing out.
"Well, I know that a lot of the students have been coming to me lately with problems with their parents. So I talked to Figgins, and we agreed that we would start having a support group where students can come and talk about problems at home." She paused, waiting for a response. A few kids in New Directions had started muttering. Quinn knew that she was interested. Even though her mom had come back all supportive, they still had a lot of problems. Even Finn was listening. Quinn wondered if he had problems with his mom, or if it was his step dad's stroke, or even Kurt leaving to Dalton.
"So…it's at lunch in the auditorium. Anyone is welcome." Emma paused for a second more, then nodded to Mr. Schue and left. For a high school guidance councilor, she sure has a lot of problems. Quinn thought.
"What a stupid idea." Quinn heard Rachel mutter under her breath.
Quinn was surprised. "Why do you think it's a bad idea?"
Rachel shrugged. "I just don't see how talking about the problem would make it any better. Everyone would be either exaggerating it, or not telling the whole truth about it. And in the end, the only thing that's different is that a bunch of people pity you. And the problems don't go away."
Quinn blinked. I never thought of Berry as a pessimist. "It might give good advice as to how to deal with all sorts of problems." She protested.
"Not all of them." Rachel said.
Quinn let out a sigh of exasperation. "I was pretty glad I could talk to someone about what's going on with my mom, but thanks for putting a downer on it. And anyway, aren't you in happy land, with your two dads?"
To Quinn's alarm, Rachel sprang up, her chair knocking backwards. "You don't know anything, Fabray!" Tears were shining in her eyes, and for the first time all day they shone with emotion. The entire club was silent now, staring at Rachel and Quinn.
Quinn just stared at her in shock. Before anyone could say anything Rachel took her bag and stormed out of the room.
"That was weird, even for Rachel." Sam said softly. The room was buzzing once more. Quinn couldn't say anything, and only nodded. "Hey," Sam took her hand. "It's all right." But Quinn had a sinking feeling.
Everything was not all right with Rachel Berry.