The angel of death, is no angel at all. I felt it there, choking the hallways full of a deep heavy fear, and I understood the angel of death is not really an angel at all.

Homeroom was quiet as the students were still rubbing sleep from their eyes. Quinn sat nearest to the windows and she was thankful for the warmth of the morning sun. The rays slipped in through the dimmed blinds, stirring her tired muscles. She yawned in appreciation of the feeling. She had already been awake for three hours - Cheerios practice had been a drag - and was ready to crawl under her desk to go back to dreamland. However she was rocked out her sleepy stupor by the sharp shrill of the fire alarms. In fact, the entire class was jolted from their half-awake stupors.

"Was this planned?"

"Who thought it'd be a good idea to have a drill this early?"

The complaints echoed through the room as the teenagers stood to their feet. Quinn was not too pleased about having to walk outside either, but she kept the grumbles to herself. She was making her way after her classmates when she heard her teacher mumble.

"This wasn't on the agenda..."

Then the screaming started. Quinn froze.

"Get back, get back in the classroom, now!"

The gun shots rang out. Quinn did not move.

It's moments like these that define a person. The teacher was a hero as he yanked his students back into the room, even stepping into the hall to usher in the stray students that were running from the gunman. The boy under the desk to Quinn's right was crumbling. He was curled into a ball and crying while the girl next to him was desperately trying to soften his wails. He was not a coward, but he was not brave either. Quinn was not crying but neither was she moving. Then she was being pulled by the arm further into the classroom.

Santana's breath was hot against her ear, "Quinn! Snap out of it!"

Her body started to work again, and the person that Quinn Fabray was, overtook her being. "I'm here, I'm here." She repeated, the words growing weight by the second time around. Santana was visibly shaking as she held onto the sleeve of Quinn's sweater. Quinn turned, cupping Santana's cheeks, "I am right here, Santana. It's okay. We're okay."

Santana nodded into Quinn's hands, and the blonde turned her attention elsewhere - to the teacher. Mr. Harrison was ushering the last of the stragglers under a desk before Quinn blurted, "This room doesn't even lock!" The teacher froze.

"Y-yeah. Everyone into the supply closet, now!" The air was abuzz with tension and fear as the students fled into the large closet, ducking down in the dark under the shelves and sitting on the floor. Quinn and Santana were the last of the students, but they stood on the outskirts of the door. Santana kept tossing glances over her shoulder towards the door of the classroom.

"We're not going in there. We're sitting ducks here." Quinn's whisper was harsh as Mr. Harrison tried to pull her into the closet.

"It's safer here. Get in here, Ms. Fabray"

"No, we're going to get outside. The door is just on the end of the hall. I'm not staying here." She argued back and twisted out of the teacher's grasp.

"Fine, but you be safe. Do you understand? Don't make a noise and go straight out that door. Run and don't look back." The teacher acquiesced and Quinn nodded in affirmation. Mr. Harrison pulled the door shut to the closet and Quinn pulled at Santana's hand. But before they left the room, Quinn caught the sound of soft crying.

She ducked down under one of the desks and found the source of the sounds: Tina Cohen-Chang.

"Tina, come with us. It'll be okay." She tried to soothe but her voice didn't reach the other girl.

"Q, let's get the fuck out of here." Santana growled, her nerves on edge while her eyes were trained on the door.

"Yeah, okay." Quinn reached under the desk and pulled Tina out, scooping her up and then shifting her weight to gain the leverage needed to hoist Tina over her shoulder. Quinn was small but she had built up her muscles thanks to Sue Sylvester and Tina was not a heavy set girl.

They ran. The gunshots rang out from another hallway and students rushed down the corridors. Quinn held tight to Tina's legs as she raced with Santana to the exit. It was just right there. They were so close.

The girls burst through the door and into the light of day, but they dared not stop running. They were going across the field now, heading towards the mass of student bodies that were desperately trying to climb over the chain-link fence.

"San, help me." Quinn grunted as she went to put Tina on the ground. Santana moved to make sure Tina didn't fall as Quinn bent until the asian girl's feet touched the ground. Santana helped Tina sit down and then she looked back at Quinn. It's moments like this that a define a person. Santana would always look to Quinn and Quinn was always suppose to have a plan.

"Now what?"

"Over here!" Quinn shouted towards the crowd, motioning to one of the picnic tables. They caught on quickly and some of the guys moved to heft the table up, the crowd cleared, and the table was rammed into the fence. It buckled under the battering ram, and the students rushed over the fallen chain-link.

Quinn's arms were sore but she still grabbed Tina off the ground. She didn't have enough time to heft her over her shoulder this time, but nonetheless she held her tightly against her chest. They were running again. The students were rushing through the forest that separated McKinley High School from the nearest neighborhood. Quinn's arms were killing her but she kept rushing through the bramble with Santana until when she felt as if her legs would buckle, she made it to the neighborhood.

There were already ambulances and students lying in the street. Quinn set Tina down, a bit roughly, as she tried to catch her breath. The other girl was still in shock and sat paralyzed on the street while sirens rang throughout the cold air. Adrenaline was pumping through Quinn as she surveyed the mass of people around her.

"I don't recognize anyone." Quinn kept searching, "I don't recognize anyone."

"Where's Brittany? D-do you think she?"

Quinn wasn't listening. She couldn't hear Santana. She was looking for coffee eyes and an obnoxiously endearing smile. She turned up empty. Santana was still babbling to herself when Quinn whirled around, catching a woman's arm.

"Where is everyone? Is this it?"

Startled, the older woman shook her head, "No, there's more people down at the elementary school. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She turned away from the stranger and grabbed Santana, "Santana listen to me. We're going to the elementary school, there's more people down there. We'll find them." Santana was too besides herself to ask who the person Quinn was looking for was.

The girls flagged down a black truck pulling out from the neighborhood and quickly explained their situation. The driver only nodded, allowing the girls to jump into the bed of the truck before heading towards the school.

Quinn closed her eyes and wanted to cry.

She was sitting there so perfectly on the piano bench - liked she owned the place. The blonde smiled from the shadows as she watched skilled fingers flit over the keys. That was the first time her hatred faltered and was realized for what it really was - love.

It was days later when she was blindfolded and bound to a chair that she felt the rush of hope. It was senior year, and the underclassmen had thought it would be fun to throw the seniors a surprise party. That surprise had been being kidnapped after school and dragged to the auditorium. In the end, it had only been Quinn, Brittany, Finn, Kurt, and Mike tied to the chairs.

Santana had about bitten off poor Rory's head for laying his hands on her and Mercedes would be having none of that blindfolding business. Noah was out sick so he hadn't been subjected to the underclassmen's game, but Rachel had been there and she had given Tina a mouthful.

Tina was still being berated as she walked into the auditorium with Rachel at her heels. The short girl was suddenly dead silent when she took note of the five people on stage. It was not Finn who she immediately went to, it was Quinn.

Quinn felt like an idiot on that stage. Joe and Sam had tricked her and this is what she got for it. But then Rachel was there and everything was worth it. Her hands were soft as she tugged off Quinn's blindfold, and sent the blonde's heart in a frenzy when she bent forward to undo the ties on her wrist. Quinn's head was swimming by the time Rachel pulled away, a dark blush on her face.

"Hey."

"Hi."