Tenderness – I just need a little tenderness.
That's all she needed. Right this moment, she couldn't wish for anything else than a little tenderness. Quinn took her hand and starting gently brushing it with her thumb, remaining silent the whole time. Rachel couldn't help but notice the parallel with the restroom moment they had a few weeks ago. She didn't want to think of it as a favor though. She couldn't bring herself to think that Quinn was only doing this because she felt like she owned something to the brunette. Maybe she made it, maybe she finally managed to make a friend. She knew she had friends in the glee club, but Quinn was different. She felt it. She knew the blonde had done some things only out of interest, but she also knew that she could be a really truly nice and honest person. She believed in her. And, for now, she was proven right, because when she started sobbing again, Quinn simply put her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Rachel let her head rest on the blonde's shoulder and tried to forget about her humiliation on stage.
She had been let down by the one thing she had that made her so special. Her voice broke down on stage, and so did her.
Quinn was backstage, waiting for the end of the solo to come on stage. She glanced at Rachel every now and then who seemed like the light was emanating of her on the stage. When Rachel sang, Quinn felt like she was a complete different person. She forgot her jealousy and her resentment and just listened. And not once hadn't she marveled at how magical her voice was. How could such a little girl produce such an amazing sound?
Rachel always poured out her heart into her songs, especially solos. Sometimes it seemed like the words she sang hurt her physically. Tonight was one of these times. God knew that girl could talk, and she never stopped herself from doing so, but through songs she expressed herself, she exposed herself. She seemed so strong and so vulnerable at the same time that you didn't know if you wanted to hold her tight or bow at her. She was at the end of Get it Right when it happened. Quinn was listening and suddenly there wasn't anything to listen to anymore. The whole room stared at the brunette on stage. Rachel seemed petrified. She knew the song by heart, she wrote it for God's sake! Her voice just stopped and all of a sudden she felt a huge void filling her. Tears started rolling on her cheeks. She couldn't move, the audience was starring at her in confusion and she was stuck on stage, breathless, voiceless.
The whole glee club was starring too, and before anyone could say anything, Quinn got up on the stage, grabbed Rachel by the hand and pulled her out of the lights. She didn't stop when Finn asked what was wrong, or when Santana asked where they were going. She dragged the brunette to the restroom, and Rachel followed like she wasn't aware of her surroundings.
Quinn didn't say anything. She let Rachel lean against the sink, and regain a regular breathing. Tears were still falling down her cheeks. Mimicking the gesture the brunette had at the prom, Quinn wiped them away with her thumb. She didn't know why exactly she wanted to comfort Rachel. They had never really been friends, and yet she felt closer to her than to most of the people she called friend. Rachel got her. And she was there at prom, and when there was all this baby fuss. Rachel was there when people let her down. So she wanted to be there for her, too. She gently took her hand. The girls stand there still and silent until Rachel started crying more frantically. Quinn could only imagine how confused the brunette probably felt. So she hugged her.
Rachel felt more grateful this moment than any other moment in her life. She didn't know what happened back there but Quinn didn't ask. She didn't want to talk about it. She wasn't even sure if she could still talk. They hugged, and Quinn made them sway ever so slightly, and whispered into Rachel's ear that everything would be okay. There was no reason, no grounds to this friendship. But from now on they had each other. Rachel pulled back a little to face Quinn.
"Thank you" she said, forgetting that minutes before she wasn't even sure if she could talk.