A/N: Sometimes I make manips and sometimes those manips have headcanons behind them that become fics. Aka, this one - .com/post/20118998519.
Quinn wasn't the one for attention anymore.
Before, yes. With the long blonde hair and short cut cheerleading uniform, she'd lap it up as she strolled down the corridor, taking pleasure as students stopped and stared. Popularity and a good reputation had been the highest goal for her – and she'd gotten it, too. But over the summer, the pretty princess had changed into a pink-haired Skank, a girl who had no fears and could not give less fucks about what other people thought.
The transformation had been extreme, but even so. They didn't need to stare, did they? It wasn't like she'd grown a second head or lost a limb. All Quinn had done was cut her hair, dyed it pink, gotten a tattoo and taken up smoking. Not that it was any of their business. The world gave up that right when they let her down, time and time again, and then spat on her when she came out messed up and broken. So now they couldn't judge her on what she'd turned to, what she'd done to piece herself back together and mend her crushed spirit.
The only person who could do that was her. No one else.
Her parents had tried. God, how they had tried. The beginning of the summer, just after Nationals in New York, the house had been filled with shouting, screaming and the crying of her mother upon sight of the cascades of cut blonde hair on the bathroom floor. She'd fainted when Quinn had come home with pink hair. Since then, her mother hadn't spoken to her, leaving her father to talk to her. His voice was void of any warmth as he repeated the same thing; keep us out of it.
By that, she presumed he meant that she could do whatever the fuck she wanted – as long as the police didn't turn to her parents for answers. So the shoplifting and vandalism had to be done as swiftly and sneakily as possible, so no one caught on. Unfortunately, bunking off school was something she had to cross off her list.
So it was enough to be at school, sitting through boring lesson after lesson, without everyone staring at her as if she was some freak show. Quinn tried to ignore them but it was hard when that wasn't all they were doing. There were whispers behind hands, following her. Quinn sighed, staring at the back of her locker and counting to ten, hoping that would subside the irritation. It didn't, but a quick slam of her locker door helped.
The people around her jumped and, further down the corridor, Kurt and Blaine turned to look at her, Kurt frowning with disappointment while Blaine was just staring. Beside him, a man in a dark leather jacket and jeans was stood, frowning at their reactions. She saw Blaine say something to him before he turned to face her. It had been a while, but she still recognised the sleek dark hair and those eyes… those beautifully piercing blue eyes. The eyes that were currently one her as he came towards her. Blaine's brother. Cooper Anderson. The Cooper Anderson she'd spent her childhood ogling whenever she had the chance.
Quinn knew what Cooper was thinking. He was thinking about the blonde girl who had been best friends with his brother and supported him throughout everything… He was thinking about the sweet girl who has giggled and blushed bright red whenever he'd catch her looking… He was thinking about the fourteen year old he'd slipped alcohol to at a family wedding and subsequently kissed when both of them were tipsy…
He was thinking she'd changed since the last time they'd seen each other.
"Wouldn't have known it was you, Lucy, unless Blaine said," Cooper stated, stopping in front of her.
"One, it's Quinn now," she began, pointing her finger at him harshly, "And two, don't even think about it."
"Think about what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"It. Her. You. The past," Quinn reeled off. "It's all over, gone."
"Shame," Cooper murmured. "I quite liked it."
"Well, she didn't," Quinn growled before storming off.
But with every step, it took all her strength to fight the blissful memories of them and the butterflies they were wakening in her stomach.
