Finn finding out the truth about Quinn's baby was bad. Leaving the Hudson household on her own accord, without even having to be asked, had been horrible. But now, being homeless and pregnant in December was rock bottom.
Quinn sat on the front steps of William McKinley High School, tears welling up in her eyes. She had no car, nothing except a suitcase, backpack, and knapsack to call her own. She didn't know why she was here, but she knew she had no where else to go. Quinn didn't know much. All she knew was she had only been there for five minutes and her butt was already growing cold from the stone steps she was sitting on.
It was a Friday night, which meant that no living creature (except maybe a few squirrels) would be at McKinley until Monday morning, and Quinn wasn't sure if she was happy or sad about this. She was sure that she would either freeze or starve to death, and that the janitors who came to open the school at 5 o'clock in the morning would find her dead skeleton on the steps.
Quinn wasn't sure what the future held for her and for her little girl. Sure, she wanted to keep her daughter all right, but how could she take care of a child when she couldn't even take care of herself? She looked down. She was wearing her favorite jacket, the light blue one with the black buttons, but it was much too small to contain her expanding stomach. As she watched, one of the buttons popped off and fell to the ground. She began to full out sob now, rocking back and forth. Just then, something happened. The front door opened, poking Quinn in the back. She spun around in fright, fearing there was some rapist/murderer prepared to get rid of her. Oh well, she thought. At least no one will miss me or my unborn child that much.
However, the man standing in the doorway was not looking to do Quinn any harm. He had curly brown hair, warm, caring eyes, and a confused look. "Quinn, what are you doing here?"
Quinn parted her pink frosted lips, prepared to let out a bitchy comment to him, to drive him away like she had driven everyone else away, but she stopped herself. She wasn't that girl anymore, the girl to cut everyone else down. The people she had driven away from her ever since she had gotten pregnant had been accidents. She had wanted to avoid getting hurt and avoid others getting hurt at the same time, and yet everyone had ended up hating her. Why will Mr. Schue be any different? She thought. He should hate me the most of all. I destroyed his marriage, helped to alienate the woman he had loved since he was 15. If it wasn't for me and my daughter, he might still have a happy life.
However, for whatever reason, it appeared that Mr. Schue did not hate her. He was looking at her, sympathy in his eyes. "What are you doing here?" she shot back.
"I was just, uh, talking to Principal Figgins," he said. "Since we, um, you guys won Sectionals, he's going to be giving Glee Club more funding."
"That's good." Quinn pasted a cheery, fake smile on her face.
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked again.
Quinn felt the tears welling up again. "Um, Finn…" she muttered, looking at the ground.
Mr. Schue crouched close to the ground. "Quinn…" he began. "Were you living with Finn?"
Quinn nodded as the tears spilled over, and he hugged her, holding her close in his arms. "Well, come on," he finally said.
"What?" Quinn asked, sniffling.
"I can't just leave you out here to freeze to death, Quinn. That's illegal, and I could lose my job. Besides, I care about my kids. I can't leave you to die."
"Why?" Quinn asked. "I'm surprised you can even look at me after what happened with Terri."
"Look here, Quinn," he said forcefully. "What happened with Terri was not your fault. You were a scared, pregnant teenager, and she took advantage of you. She took advantage of both us. Besides, if you hadn't agreed, she would've just stolen your daughter or found someone else anyways, so it doesn't really matter."
"Well…"
"Quinn, you're coming with me, end of story. Either you get up right now or we both stay here and get incredibly cold."
Quinn smiled. "Okay." Mr. Schue took her hand and helped her up. "Let's go," he said, and they walked to his car. Quinn sighed in relief as the heat blasted on, right onto her face. She held her numb hands in front of the vents, letting the hot air restore circulation them once again.
They drove for several minutes, until they reached Mr. Schue's apartment building. He held the door open for her like a true gentleman as she walked in.
"Thanks, Mr. Schue." She smiled.
"Please, call me Will," he replied. "At least when we're not in school."
Quinn looked around the apartment. "Oh my," she whispered. It was a pig sty. Things were toppled over, and several things lay on the frigid wooden floors. The only thing left of Terri's things was dust outlines, the only proof that they had existed. Quinn crept out of the living room into the kitchen, where she opened several cupboards and the refrigirator. They were all empty and bare.
"Can I make a deal?" she asked, turning to him.
"Sure."
"Well… I know you're going to let me live with you, but I'd feel awfully guilty if I gave you nothing in return."
"Quinn…"
"I'm not finished! So, can I do the cleaning, errand running, and cooking around here in exchange for living here?"
Will smiled. "Sounds fair enough. Truth be told, I'm not a very good cook. The only things I can make is toast, cereal, and scrambled eggs."
Quinn smiled. "Okay, well, that settles that. Did Terri leave some sort of grocery list?"
"Oh, Quinn, you've been through quite an ordeal. We can order a pizza or something tonight."
"But…"
"No buts!"
"Okay."
"Now," he said, stroking his baby soft chin. "If you choose to remain here for a while, you and the baby will have to share a room."
"I don't mind, but Will… I don't think I'm keeping her."
"Well, we'll figure that out later. Now, come on." The two walked out of the kitchen, through the living room, and into a bedroom Quinn had never been in before. It had a dresser, and a neatly made bed.
"The spare bedroom." Will smiled sheepishly. "When… Terri's sister and brother in law and cousins used to come stay with us, Kendra and Phil slept on the bed while the kids slept in sleeping bags in the living room. Well… now it's your room, and the baby."
Quinn shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she thought about all the lives she had ruined, all the lives she had ruined that one day that her resistance slipped and she slept with Puck. "Thanks," she croaked, walking to the closet. She opened the door and set her stuff in there.
"So, do you want pizza or Chinese food for dinner?" Will asked.
"Uh." Quinn wrinkled her pert nose at the very thought of Chinese food. While she loved Chinese food, apparently her baby didn't, since the thought of it made her naseous. The other day she had walked past a Chinese restaurant, and the smell proved to be too much for her. She barely managed to run into McDonald's, into their bathroom to puke her guts out. And then she ordered a hot fudge sundae, because she felt like it. At least now she could blame her bitchiness on her hormones, now that she was pregnant. "How about pizza?" she suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Will smiled his charming smile, the same smile that had all the women at the school and everyone he went falling over him. Including Miss Pilsbury, the germaphobic guidance counselor. Also, just about every straight girl at the school had some degree of a crush on him, and he had been voted Hottest Teacher in the Thunderclap seven straight years in a row. "Pepperoni or sausage?"
"Pepperoni," Quinn said.
"Alright. Do you have homework?"
"Yeah."
"You better get started on it, then." Quinn headed into the living room, settling down on the couch that she had sat on so many times with Kendra and Terri. She took out her Algebra II textbook, notebook, and planner. She flipped open to today in her planner, and read what she had to do for homework. She opened up her textbook to the right page and did the same with her notebook, so she could review her notes if she needed. She got a clean sheet of paper out, and got to work.
Half an hour later, someone rung the doorbell. Will answered it; he took the pizza from the delivery guy, paid him, and then headed into the kitchen, setting it down on the kitchen table. "Come on, Quinn!" he called. "Time for dinner!"
Quinn got up from the couch with a little difficulty, and staggered to the table, sitting down. The pizza was delicious, and it was easy to talk to Will. They talked about everything under the sun as they ate.
And that marked the day that Quinn Fabray's new life began.
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