"I wish you knew
Just how much you mean to me.
My life would not be the same without you.
You complete me, Rachel.
You make me feel like I'm not alone.
I'm lost when you're not here.
I love just being around you.
You glow like a star in the night.
You're always there for me when I'm sad.
You celebrate with me when I'm happy.
Please, don't ever leave me in the dark."
The blonde pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Kurt. The brunette took it and gently unfolded it, smoothing it out on the wooden picnic table they were sitting at. As he read it silently to himself, Quinn looked around. The rest of the eighth graders were nowhere near their table in the large area behind the school building. Kurt was the only boy in her field of vision; the rest of the middle school boys were probably playing basketball or whatever stupid sport they played when they wanted to get sweaty and gross.
Kurt looked up at the girl who was one of his closest friends. "It's lovely. A great way to pronounce your love. I'm sure Rachel will love it."
"But... What if Rachel doesn't like me like that?" Quinn asked worriedly. The short girl was an amazing friend and Quinn did everything with her. They had sleepovers almost every night, they told each other everything, they hung out all the time... Quinn didn't want to ruin that. However, it was impossible for her to ignore her feelings for the brunette girl.
Kurt placed his hand on hers. "Then she's missing out," he replied with a smile. Quinn smiled in response.
Kurt looked up. "Ooh, here she comes!" he announced. Giving her hand one last pat, he stood up and slipped away. Quinn saw that Rachel was, indeed, heading towards her picnic table. The blonde stood up and intercepted her best friend halfway to where she had been heading.
"Hey, Rach," Quinn greeted. "Can we talk?" Rachel cocked her head in confusion but nodded and followed Quinn to a grassy spot up against the fence that marked the end of the school's property.
Once both girls were situated against the fence, Quinn handed the paper to Rachel. "I wrote a poem. Would you like to read it?"
"Sure," Rachel replied. "I didn't know you were the poetic type," she remarked while unfolding the paper. Quinn shrugged.
The blonde watched anxiously as her best friend of two years read over the poem. When she was done, Rachel looked up. "You're a really good poet," she commented. "It was a cool poem."
Quinn struggled to hide her disappointment. "Oh... I'm glad you liked it," she responded forlornly. Rachel didn't notice the sadness in her friend's voice.
"Listen... Do you wanna come with me to the basketball courts? I was going to watch Puck play basketball. He's really hot. I really like him," Rachel rambled. Quinn wasn't even paying attention, but nodded. As the two girls stood up, Quinn reached for Rachel's hand. The brunette pulled her hand away.
"Q, people might think we're dating," Rachel said. Quinn swallowed hard.
"Oh, right," she made herself say. Then she followed Rachel towards the basketball courts to go watch some guy.
On the first day of ninth grade, the first day of high school, Quinn rushed to Rachel's locker. She hadn't seen the shorter girl all summer. They had sort of grown apart, and Quinn missed her best friend. However, when she reached locker 457, she found Rachel kissing Noah Puckerman. Apparently, the two had gotten together over the summer. And Rachel hadn't told Quinn. Hadn't they always told each other everything?
Broken, Quinn turned around and found herself face to face with Sue Sylvester. "Walk with me," ordered the coach. Quinn complied and followed the coach through the hallway.
"Listen..." Sue began.
"Quinn," supplied the blonde.
"Right, Q. Listen, you look like the type of girl that would be good on my Cheerios. You've got a nice body and you look like you want to be at the top. Lose the glasses and start wearing wearing something to show off that body of yours and you could be quite the social queen." Sue paused and looked at Quinn.
The blonde nodded, her eyes wide. She had never considered cheerleading, but perhaps it was something to think about.
Two months later, Quinn was the most popular girl at the school. She was dating quarterback Finn Hudson. She was one of the best cheerleaders on the Cheerios. She had gotten contacts and started wearing her uniform around school. People parted for her in the hallways. No one dared contradict her.
As she passed as a janitor's closet, Quinn saw Santana Lopez, a smoking Latina cheerleader, pull Puck into the closet and lock the door. She sort of remembered Puck dating someone at the beginning of the year... Oh yeah, Rachel Berry.
Speak of the devil. As Quinn passed a locker that she had once had the number of memorized, Rachel Berry walked up to her.
"Quinn, can we talk? I really miss being your friend," Rachel spoke softly, falling into step beside the cheerleader. The blonde saw the shorter girl look up and down her body. Quinn stopped and turned to face the brunette.
"What's your name again?" Quinn asked, cocking her head.
Rachel's mouth fell open. "Quinn... We used to be best friends! We had sleepovers, we talked about our crushes..."
"Oh yes, you're Berry. Raina, right? Well, listen, Berry. There is no way in hell that I'd want to be friends with you. Animal sweaters are from, like, ten years ago. You're the least popular person in this school, according to a poll on the school website. Don't come near me again." And with that, Quinn strode away, looping her arm around Finn's, who appeared next to her in the hallway as she walked towards the gym for Cheerios practice.
It stung, but Quinn knew that her affiliation with Rachel was over. Now, the brunette only wanted to hang out with her for her popularity, she knew it. She planted a kiss on her boyfriend's cheek and pushed the short girl out of her head.
"I wish you knew
Just how much you meant to me.
My life is not the same without you.
You completed me, Quinn.
You made me feel like I wasn't alone.
I'm lost when you're not here.
I miss just being around you.
You glowed like a star in the night.
You were always there for me when I was sad.
You celebrated with me when I was happy.
Please, help me out of the dark."