Quinn Fabray rests her head against the window in the back of the spacious car. Every few seconds, she glances at the phone in her lap, her heart dropping at the lack of a message. She bites her lower lip and closes her eyes, trying to fight the wave of disappointment crashing down on her.
At first, she was annoyed when she didn't hear anything. Then she got pissed. Then furious. Then worried. Now intensely sad. Why did he stop calling and texting? He knows I'm on my way home... didn't he miss me at all?
As they are getting closer to Lima, Ohio, Quinn starts recognising more and more of her surroundings. It's a beautiful day in mid August. Everything seems to glow in the sunlight, but it doesn't cheer her up. It's hot in the car and she can feel strands of hair sticking to her forehead, her summer dress clinging to her damp skin. I'm going to take a shower when I get home, she thinks to herself. Not like I'll have anything else to do.
She feels drowsy, as she always does after traveling for a long time, but she forces herself to stay awake. Just in case. Quinn looks out of the window again, counting the miles until they get home. They've nearly reached Lima. She doesn't much like her hometown and can't wait to get out of there to pretty much anywhere that's big enough to escape in anonymity rather than have every mistake you make exposed and highlighted. Yet right now, she wants nothing more than to be at home and curl up on her bed and be angry, full-on. She presses back the tears of frustration.
Come on. It humiliates her to admit it, even if it's only to herself, but she's desperate. Desperate for any kind of message, one word, a sign of life. She begins to grow worried about him again. This is not like him at all. He's not one of those people whose cellphones seem to be glued to their hands or in their pockets, but it's not like him to just disappear on her like this. Santiago Lopez, I'm going to kill you the minute I get home!
She's barely finished that thought when her phone buzzes. Her heart jumps and she's doing all she can to ban the hope from her face as she reads the text. Her heart drops lower than ever a second later. It's just her phone company with some lame new offer. Her parents sitting in the front of the car are the only thing keeping her from groaning out loud. Then her phone buzzes again. She has half a mind not to look. Why would she do that to herself? But she can't resist.
TIAGO
So sorry! Lost phone. U home yet? Miss my homegirl.
It takes every ounce of willpower Quinn has in her magnificent body not to grin widely and scream with joy. I knew it. I knew he didn't forget. She shakes her head, relieved that he'd just lost his phone - again. Dork, she thinks to herself. Typical.
"Hey, can I go and see Brittany as soon as we get back?" Quinn asks. She knows her father doesn't like the Lopez family, even though Santiago's father is Chief of the Lima Police. Russell Fabray doesn't like foreigners, and 'especially not those lazy good-for-nothing scumbags, what are Latino's good for anyway?' Russell has got a problem with most of the kids in Glee club. He doesn't like Rachel because she's Jewish and 'lives in a freak show, a pretend world' - gay dads. Doesn't like Kurt Hummel - gay, flamboyant and father owes a tire shop. Doesn't like Tina and Mike - Asian. Doesn't like Sam - poor. Doesn't like Puck - scum. Doesn't like Mercedes - black. Doesn't like Finn - single parent can't raise a family. Doesn't like Rory - foreign. Is hesistant on Joe - the Christian thing is good, but those dreadlocks cause wariness in her father. He likes Brittany and Sugar, because Brittany's father is a highly esteemed doctor and Sugar's father is a businessman like himself (but Russell does insist that his own business is worthier).
"Can't that wait until tomorrow, dear?" Judy frowns.
Quinn knows how to play her parents. "She's excited about me being back and you know how impatient she gets. She'd probably drop by the house and interrupt your unpacking. I can just take my car when we get home, it needs a spin anyway."
"Alright," Judy gives in, as Quinn expected. "But no alcohol."
Quinn nearly snorts. Hypocrite. "Of course not, Mom."
###
When her father parks the car in the driveway, Quinn all but runs to her room with her suitcase. She doesn't even take the time to have that shower, or to change into other clothes. She's too excited to see her best friend again. They've never been apart for that long and even though they've been calling and texting regularly, the only interruptions when Santiago couldn't find his phone, she's dying to see him.
Before she gets into her car, she finds her mother in her bedroom and says: "It might get late, so don't wait for me to have dinner. I'll probably sleep over as well, but I've got some nightwear and such at her house," Quinn says. This is all true - but for Santiago. She sleeps over there so many times that sometimes, she's convinced that half of her clothes are in his closet.
"Sure, dear," Judy smiles happily. "Have fun with your friend!"
If only you knew what friend... and of course you're happy to have me out of the house, now you don't have to feel guilty about getting drunk.
Deciding to shed these worries, she gets into her car and makes her way over to Santiago's house, probably violating about a dozen laws in the process. She parks in the empty slot in the Lopez' driveway and gets out, her breath cut off by something running into her stomach. When she looks down, she smiles.
"Quinnie!" Alessandra Lopez squeals. Alessandra is 11 years old and adores Quinn.
"Hey, Lessa," Quinn greets her back. "Where's your brother? I haven't seen him in forever!"
"He's out back," Alessandra pouts. "He's being boring again, working in the garden."
"Thanks, I'll come and see you later, okay?"
Alessandra nods excitedly. "See you later, Quinnie!"
Quinn makes her way around the house, but can't see Santiago anywhere. The only person she can see is a (nicely curved) ass sticking out from a bush. As she comes closer, she can see that this guy is wearing a pair of shorts, but nothing is covering his well-defined back. She wonders if maybe he's a cousin Santiago forgot to tell her about - his mother comes from a large family and over the years, Quinn has become convinced it's impossible to meet his entire family.
She scrapes her throat. "Hi, I'm looking for - holy shit!"
The guy turned around at 'Hi' and it's only when she sees his face that Quinn realises this is Santiago. He grins widely when he sees her, but Quinn's too busy keeping her eyes in her sockets. Abs. Chest. Biceps. Stubble (jaw and upper lip). Short hair. Fuck. She can't believe it. Her legs are rubbery and she's not sure how much longer she can stand up.
"Quinnevere!" he shouts out as he wraps his arms around her.
Quinn finally regains her composure. "Sir Lopezelot!" she squeals happily, flinging her arms around his neck.
He lifts her up and she wraps her legs around his waist as he circles with her on the spot. Quinn is happy to note that he still smells the same.
Finally, he puts her back on the ground, panting and wiping sweaty his forehead. "I never thought I'd see the day where Quinn Fabray cursed voluntarily."
"Well, look at you!" Quinn scoffs, blushing. "You didn't tell me about any of this! You even made me think a curse word."
Tiago frowns. "I didn't tell you any of what?"
"Oh, I don't know, just that your entire body changed from scrawny chicken into sexy guy!"
Oh God. I didn't not just call him sexy. Quinn slaps herself mentally. And then she wonders how it is that she's self-conscious around him. This is her Tiago, for crying out loud! They've known each other since he first helped her colour that picture of a puppy on the first day of kindergarten. She still has the result in her room. It's horrible from an aesthetic point of view, but holds so many memories she could never throw it away.
"Come on inside, I got your favourite coffee. And maybe you can take a shower, you stink." He makes a show of wrinkling his nose.
Quinn grins as they make their way across the garden. Exactly as I know him.
###
Santiago's sitting in the hallway as Quinn dries off, resting his head against the wall. "So, you're staying over tonight," he says. "We're having pizza and popcorn and we're watching a shitload of movies in my room and then I gotta tell you a ton of stuff I didn't want to tell you over the phone."
Quinn peaks her head around the door. "You kept things from me?" she pouts as she towels her hair. "Way to make a girl curious. Come on, tell me."
"Well, I suppose one of them doesn't really need a right time, it's just good news. But I wanted to tell you in person so I could see your face and you could congratulate me properly," he beams.
Quinn rolls her eyes. "Come on, tell me!"
"Coach Beiste asked to meet the soccer team over the Summer. You know how the football guys have been losing for years on end, and we kind of have been winning a lot the past few years?"
Quinn nods. "Yeah. And Puck still walks around like he owns the place."
"Well, not anymore," Santiago grins. "Figgins decided to focus on soccer as our school's representative sports. And since Scrotum graduated, I got made Captain too!"
"That's awesome!" Quinn exclaims as she steps out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of tiny shorts her parents don't even know she owns and a tank top. "You must be so happy that Scott Umphrey graduated, you hate the guy. Did I tell you he asked me out last year?"
Santiago gasps dramatically. "Only about a thousand times! Whenever I felt crappy and you wanted to make me feel better by reminding me you pissed him off by refusing him and the look on his face was priceless and well worth it!"
"What does that mean for the cheerleaders, though?" Quinn wonders.
"Apparently, Sue was really happy with it. She said that this way, she doesn't have to waste her Cheerios' time and energy on those 'useless losers degrading our entire reputation and everything we stand for'. You'll be competing in cheerleading stuff, but you won't have as many big games to cheer anymore."
They make their way to Santiago's bedroom. He slumps down in his chair and she starts brushing her hair. "So, what's the other thing you didn't tell me over the phone?" Quinn prompts.
Santiago starts fumbling with his fingers. "Well, I told you Charhead was in town?"
Charhead has been their nickname for Quinn's cousin, Charlie Fabray, born Charlotte Fabray, for ages. Charhead's a punk and the family's shame. Russell doesn't exactly keep it a secret that he's glad that Charhead is his brother's daughter and not his. "What was she up to again?"
"She was on this road trip for the Summer and she was visiting a friend in Columbus when she figured she might as well pass through Lima and see what was up with you. She obviously didn't know you were in Cali. She came to my house when nobody answered your door and we hung out for a day or two, then she skipped town again."
"Okay. You told me all of this. Don't tell me you wanted to tell me in person she dyed her hair green." It would be just like Santiago to pretend something huge happened, only to have it be a minor detail.
"No, pink," he grins. "But... yeah. What I didn't tell you... it's kind of awkward, and it's not like you need to know, like, you know, I don't even know why I'm telling you because it's not that big of a deal, but it kind of is, to me, that is, so, you know-"
"Tiago, you're rambling, which means you're nervous. What did you do and what happened to 'ethnic people don't blush'?"
"I kind of... had sex with her?" his voice is small and he nearly cringes, knowing full well that Quinn knows that he was a virgin before this happened.
"You what?"