Q didn't know how many times a day she now thanked Sue Sylvester for the punishing cheerleading practices that nearly killed her several times, but if she had a dollar for every time she did Quinn would never have to worry about money again.
Being HBIC, as well as head cheerleader, in high school had definitely set her up for working in the real world, well, the showbiz world. The blonde had graduated top of her class in college and gone straight to Broadway and gone from Broadway to Hollywood; it had been like something out of a fairy tale. However, real life hadn't had a fairy tale ending for Quinn Fabray. Cheerleading practice hadn't prepared her for getting pregnant from a one night stand with a minor co-star, ruining her innocent girl-next-door image not matter how hard her PR team tried to keep it hush hush. They even sent her to the middle of nowhere in Ohio, a town called Lima, so the media would have as much difficulty as possible finding out more about the pregnancy. Officially she had been in Hawaii for "research purposes" for her next role (which never came) but really Lima, Ohio was where she had her baby and gave it up for adoption to get her career back on track as soon as possible with as much denial of the pregnancy as her team could manage. It hadn't prepared her for the downward spiral in to depression caused by the number of exposés and the amount of speculation over her secret daughter, seeking comfort in smoking, drinking, punk music and setting fire to a piano in a club run by influential studio owner Will Schuester.
That had been the final straw.
Even after rehab, no one would touch her with a barge pole; she was poison to be associated with. Three years later, back in New York and still no sign of work, it was more than a bit of good fortune that she bumped in to Kurt Hummel in a coffee shop. The pair hadn't seen each other since graduation and although they'd made a college best friends promise to keep in touch, contact dwindled as Quinn's career had taken off and subsequently nose-dived. They sat for hours talking about old classmates and laughing over celebrities. If one good thing had come of her breakdown, Q's new found humility was it.
"If you've seen the papers for the past 5 years, you know how I'm doing," she smiled, it still hurt to talk about, "so let's talk about you. What's going on in the fabulous world of Kurt Elizabeth Hummel?"
"Well, I'm engaged," he announced gleefully, eliciting an excited squeal and a hug from the blonde, "He's called Blaine and he's an absolute star. You'll have to come round to meet him because my words will never do him justice! Career-wise, I'm actually the new dean at NYADA."
"NYADA! That's amazing Kurt. Well done," enthused Quinn. She was genuinely pleased for her friend and a little bit jealous, "Are you doing any major shake-ups? Giving the place a makeover only Kurt Hummel could pull off?" The pair laughed as the both thought of Kurt's outlandish fashion sense in college that landed him a part-time job at who had repeatedly told him he could have a full-time job if acting never worked out. Several items that graced his college wardrobe could only have been made to look chic by him; it was a gift.
"Actually, I'm looking for a couple of new teachers to give the school a kick in to the 21st century. I even got rid of Miss July; she'd been there forever and barely turned up to class. When she did, she was not in a fit state to teach." Kurt shook his head sadly, her story was not unlike Quinn's but the difference being that Q had managed to pull herself out by the looks of it and had gone completely teetotal to stop anything like her breakdown happening again.
Kurt sighed and continued on, "I've actually been meaning to talk to you for a while. I kept some tabs on you" the blonde arched an eyebrow in surprise, "and you're doing a lot better so I was wondering," the dean paused for effect before rushing straight ahead with the question, "would you ever consider being my star dance teacher?"
Quinn was shocked, she didn't know how to respond, but eventually she agreed (she needed the money and the work) and that's what had brought her to where she was. Warming up before her very first NYADA class got here.
Quinn had been standing in the shower for nearly half an hour now. Her fingers were pruney and she was soaked to the bone. She didn't care about the bill; she had a job now so it could be covered. If she was to tell anyone that her first day at NYADA had been hard, it would have been the understatement of the century.
Her first class had been third year musical theatre students, doesn't sound so hard, right? Wrong. They were the epitome of a good class. They addressed her as Miss Fabray. They did all the exercises right. They learnt the start of the routine that Quinn had prepared quickly. They did everything a model class would and could do. But Quinn could see them in the mirrors, looking out the corners of their eyes to each other, sucking in their lips to keep from laughing at her and then as they were leaving she heard something that made her almost cry out: "I didn't think a drunk wash-up could teach a dance class." It was horrible, malicious and needless. She had one more class in the afternoon but she zoned out of it completely, barely taking in another bunch of new students. She'd learnt how to execute things perfectly while thinking about the most meaningless things when she was head cheerleader, it made the agonising routines more bearable and today it numbed out the mockery radiating from her students.
She stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to rough dry her blonde bob then wrap around her body. She flopped on to the sofa, scooping up her cell phone. Quinn opened her contacts and scrolled through them, only pausing on one name: Emma. She had been Q's first assistant, the most organised person you'd ever meet, and they had become lovers.
Quinn had always known she was gay but Emma was her first proper relationship, even if it was a secret. It was perfect really. Emma had a legitimate reason to be seen with the blonde all the time and nobody would raise an eyebrow because of it. However, Emma Pillsbury was not a happy woman, Quinn had known that from day one of her being hired. She had OCD and had suffered from depression for a long time with several suicide attempts. She had seemed happier when she was with Quinn. There were bad days but they were few and far between, or so the blonde had thought. Two years in to the relationship Emma had a successful suicide attempt. She overdosed on her medication while Quinn was on set of some mindless rom-com. It was Quinn who found her and it was a minor news story for everyone else but devastation for Quinn. It was that night she went out and got so drunk she couldn't remember a thing and slept with her minor co-star resulting in her unwanted pregnancy.
Secretly, Quinn was a sentimental person so she had never deleted Emma's personal number from her phone and had kept Emma's cell so no one could have it. Lying on the sofa she rang the number and listened to the voicemail message that reminded her of the feeling of having someone take care of you.
"Hello. This is Emma Pillsbury, assistant to the one and only Miss Quinn Fabray. If you want to leave a message, just leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!" There was a pause before the voice spoke again, slightly more distantly, "Quinn, how do you stop it?" Quinn smiled as she heard herself laugh and stop the recording for her girlfriend. It was then that the tears started to fall and they fell fast until the blonde was curled in a ball around her cell, gasping for air.
Hours later, she had collected herself and her thoughts together. Tomorrow could only go better.
She felt lucky to learn that she only had one class that day and it was first year musical theatre students so they were going to be easy. They entered her class looking like lambs to the slaughter except a couple; one in particular looked like she thought she was too good for this class. Quinn decided that this was going to be the day that she showed this know-it-all that she was just beginning.
"Morning class. I'm your dance teacher Quinn Fabray but you can call me Miss Fabray. You're first years so I get it, you're scared and you should be because things aren't going to be easy but if you're nice with me then I'll be nice with you. First, I want to see you perform a full Bob Fosse routine of your choice. You, Blondie, what's your name? Because you're up first." Q raised her eyebrow to challenge her opponent, blocking out the rest of the class for a second.
"My name's Kitty," replied the girl trying to keep up the attitude that she ruled the class but faltering, "And I don't know a full Bob Fosse routine."
"I didn't think so" smiled Quinn, happy that she'd taken the girl down a peg before addressing the rest of the class, "When I'm done with you, you will be able to do any number of Broadway routines as well as original choreography, Now, let's get you warmed up."
The class flew by, they were half-scared of their new teacher and half-respected her for putting Kitty in her place. Quinn liked this balance. There had been one student that had caught her eye, a young Barbra Streisand type called Rachel. She was good and she seemed to want it more than the others, not that the others didn't want it really badly, Rachel just wanted it more.
After class, the dance teacher asked for the brunette's file so she could learn a bit more about what she could be dealing with. It turned out that Rachel was from none other than Lima, Ohio. Fantastic. That little detail aside, Rachel's application was outstanding and her reference from her high school was brilliant. It looked like she was going to be a good student and, if Quinn got her way, a great one.
Holding the file in one hand, Q knocked on the door of Kurt's office. He welcomed her in and tried to force some sort of drink on his friend but she declined everything very politely.
"I want to talk to you about Rachel Berry" stated Quinn when she was sat down.
"Why?" asked Kurt with concern in his voice, "Has she done something in your class?"
"No, not at all. I to say that I think she has the potential to go very far and to ask if I see the right things in my class over the next couple of weeks, if I could take her for private after-school tutelage?"
Kurt didn't bother to hide his surprise. He loved Quinn but he knew that it was rare for her to show such feeling for someone especially after just meeting them. He and Q didn't start to get to know each other until halfway through second year and they only become close near the end of third year.
"Of course you can! Just let me know when you want her to be told you want to give her private lessons."
"Actually, if you couldn't tell her that I asked then that would be good, just tell her its happening."
It was an odd request but Kurt agreed and that was that for the time being.
"Have I done something wrong Mr Hummel?" asked Rachel, gripping the sides of her chair very tightly. She couldn't even look the Dean in the eye; instead she fixated on his hippo broach. She had been discreetly called to his office in the hallway just outside but it was still enough to set her already fast paced mind rattling through the last week or so to think what possible infringement of the rules she could have committed. Rachel had worked very hard to get in to NYADA and she was determined to be the model pupil it deserved and demanded.
"No, of course not," soothed Kurt, smiling at the anxious girl even if he was slightly off put by her staring at his chest, "I just wanted to inform you that we've decided to give you some one-on-one tutoring." The brunette's brow immediately furrowed.
"I believe I'm passing all my classes…" reassured the girl earnestly whilst still managing to sound confused.
"I am fully aware of that Miss Berry; you are in fact top of several of your classes. We see your potential to go on to great things and we want to assure that that happens," the tiny girl smiled and finally made eye contact with Kurt, "so we're giving you the opportunity for extra development with personal tutoring from Miss Fabray on a Thursday after school for two hours. Do not be deceived by her public history; she is a fantastic performer and teacher who really should be on Broadway right now if the world had any justice in it. Do you wish to take these classes?"
Rachel nodded so enthusiastically that Kurt almost coiled back for fear her head would fall off. He excused her and she practically skipped back to her apartment. She thoroughly enjoyed Miss Fabray's classes and she had never taken her past public life in to consideration, all that mattered was that she was there to teach Rachel all she could and make her the best performer she could be. The brunette would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed how Miss Fabray looked as well; she was taken aback as to how beautiful she looked in real life and how well her dance clothes became her athletic frame.
But that was beside the point. She was being given the chance to have personal lessons because her talent was so great. If she had been able to tell that to her 16 year old self whilst she was making videos for MySpace, she wouldn't have believed herself, no matter how much she may have wanted to.
Rachel was quickly becoming Quinn's favourite pupil. She was attentive in all her lessons, on the right side of confident but still discreet when needed, very talented and had the makings of the next Broadway sensation. The time for their first private lesson seemed to fly by.
The autumn evening still contained a visible sunset, Quinn loved to watch it. She looked out of the rehearsal room window while she waited for her pupil; winter would be coming soon and that would bring the sunset earlier and earlier, there wouldn't be many more evenings like this one. Autumn was her favourite season, it was a hopeful one, everything died for winter but knowing it was going to be reborn again in the spring. Also, it wasn't too hot or too cold so she could wear pretty much what she wanted most days.
Lost in her own thoughts, she didn't hear Rachel come in. The brunette had been unsure whether to enter or not, she didn't want to disturb her teacher who was to be silhouetted by the New York autumn evening, enhancing her beauty; it was breath-taking. After a moment of just watching, clutching her bag handles in worry and wobbling slightly in her character heels as she stepped forward, she coughed to try and subtly alert her teacher. When this didn't work, the star took a deep breath and let the tiniest squeak of her voice emerge:
"Miss Fabray…"
Quinn whipped round, her megawatt smile beaming out.
"Rachel," she smiled, "Forgive me, I didn't hear you come in, I was a bit absent in my own thoughts. It's been a long day." She finished with a sigh. Rachel put down her bag and joined her teacher.
"I get lost in my own thoughts too, Miss Fabray. Generally it's when someone is talking about something entirely inconsequential to me and my mind tends to wonder on to more entertaining matters like whether or not the most important character in Les Miserable is Val Jean or not. A long time ago I settled on the fact that he is not the most important character; it is the Bishop who is the most important. Without him, Val Jean would still be a criminal who was bitter about his past and he would not be inspired to become major, look after Fontine, save Cosette, save Marius and then feel he has redeemed himself…" Rachel gabbled on lost once again in thought as she repeated her tried theory to Quinn, who she was trying desperately to impress with her overwhelming knowledge of musical theatre.
It made Quinn smile as she nodded along, the knowledge Rachel displayed was indeed very impressive and although some may have found it boring or even irritating, she found it endearing.
"I'm glad you have such an interest in your field," said Quinn, "not many people could match your knowledge, I'm sure. Shall we start warming up?" She motioned to the barre and the lesson began.
The blonde spent the first lesson starting to work on the more advanced moves that she hadn't taught the rest of the class yet. She guided her student slowly; making sure each movement was perfected before moving on to the next one. As they warmed down and stretched at the end of the session, it dawned on Quinn that this was the perfect time to learn about Rachel, each stretch signalled a new topic area.
"So, Rachel, tell me a bit about your childhood."
"Well," began the brunette, "I was born in Lima, Ohio. I have two fathers who are the very best parents I could have. It was them who instilled a love of musical theatre in to me. We often spent Friday nights watching classic movie musicals like Hello Dolly, and Meet Me in St Louis. I wasn't exactly popular at school because my overwhelming ambition did tend to push away potential fair-weather friends but my motto was that if they didn't like my art then they didn't like me."
"I imagine you were in school productions and the like?" asked Quinn as she switched position.
"I played Maria in West Side Story and Janet in Rocky Horror Picture Show," Quinn raised an eyebrow. Rocky Horror was an … alternative musical for a school to choose. Rachel noticed this and explained, "Our director was very insistent on doing it, unfortunately our Principal received complaints from parents so we ended up not performing it to an audience but for ourselves. I was also the star soloist of my school's glee club, New Directions. You may have heard of us if you're in to the show choir circuit, we won Nationals last year with thanks to our amazing group skills and probably my excellent leadership skills." The star ducked her head so she wasn't looking at her teacher, it was a boastful thing to say but with one thing and another, it was most likely true.
"So, this is all you've ever wanted to do?"
"Yes" replied Rachel looking Quinn directly in the eye. There wasn't any more to it.
"And by the way," said Quinn on a whim, "In these lessons, you can call me Quinn if you want." She smiled to reassure the girl that she meant it as a compliment to her talent and their newfound bond. Rachel nodded and smiled back. This was going to be the start of something good.
A few weeks passed and Rachel grew in every private class the pair had but she didn't let on to her classmates that she was now far more advanced than them. Quinn was grateful because it meant she could be seen to be fair to all them and treat them on a level playing field. Mostly.
One lesson she was running late because she'd overslept. Q hadn't overslept in years but it was a testament to how hard she was working for all her NYADA classes and that her body was finally telling her that she needed more sleep than she previously had.
She jogged in to her first year musical theatre class, ready to proclaim an apology for running late when she found herself confronted with a situation she didn't think she would see at college level education. Kitty verbally attacking Rachel.
"Well? RuPaul? Got anything to say now? I'm sick you thinking you know everything round here when clearly you are at the bottom of the social rung."
"I only said…" murmured Rachel, looking at the ground. Not even bothering to look around for help. She had spent the entirety of her high school career dealing with situations like this, the cheerleaders at McKinley had hardly been kind and they had been armed with slushies, Rachel was thankful that Kitty didn't have current access to the drink which was very hard to clean out of clothes.
"I don't care, man hands!" bit back Kitty, stepping closer to the tiny brunette. Quinn couldn't stand it anymore.
"Kitty Wilde!" shouted Quinn, "I will not tolerate this behaviour in my class. Consider this an official warning and I don't want you in my class today so take your things and leave. I'll see you next lesson." She pointed to the door and didn't take her eyes from the blonde bully until she was out of sight.
The entire class held its breath. They hadn't seen Quinn lose her temper before and it was like she'd been transformed in to a lion for a split second. In fact, the rumours that went round NYADA swore that you could see the blood lust in her eyes as she sent the first year from the room. The entire room relaxed as Quinn let out a calming sigh and ran her fingers through her hair as she tied it up.
"I'm sorry I'm late, class, I overslept. I guess we've been working pretty hard!" She smiled at all of them as they made their way to their warm up positions, lingering on Rachel for a little who shyly returned the smile before turning her attention to another student, Mike Chang, who was now coming to comfort her. Better late than never, thought Quinn as she watched him walk with Rachel to the other side of the class. He was very good in class, one of the best dancers she was teaching. She pondered if he liked Rachel as she led some final stretches. He was a nice enough boy but somehow she couldn't see him and Rachel together. She always thought of Rachel as a singular, a wonderful unique star. Secretly, she hoped no one would come along who would diminish her light in any way.
Rachel had never really been one for clubbing, she much more enjoyed a night at the theatre or an evening in a restaurant, but everyone else was spending Saturday night out at a club and she didn't want to feel left out. Kitty wasn't going; apparently she had had a better offer from some third years, so Rachel had decided it was safe to go.
She had bought her own drink, it was orange juice but she drank it through a straw and told everyone that it was vodka and orange so they thought she was drinking. She didn't drink for many reasons: her body was a temple, her instrument, her work so she wouldn't have it ruined by anything. That's why she worked out for two hours every morning before class and why she got so stressed when she was ill. Another reason was that she had had a disastrous experience with her glee club where they performed drunk in assembly and one of the dancers vomited all over her. It was horrific. Really, she just didn't want to. She saw no appeal to losing all your senses; you could have just as much fun without the use of alcohol if you just felt comfortable enough.
Perched at the side, she watched her classmates slowly get more and more drunk and their dancing get more and more outlandish. Whenever they beckoned her over she just smiled and shook her head, she wasn't ready to make a fool of herself in front of them.
Her thoughts turned to her teacher; was she the kind of person who enjoyed clubbing? If she did then Rachel would put up with it for her sake but she saw the blonde as more of a meal or a night in front of the TV, she couldn't picture her grinding up against a stranger in the middle of a dance floor, it was too undignified. It was just a silly schoolgirl crush, Rachel had had them before, but she wasn't going to deny herself simple thoughts about what another person may or may not be like.
"Um… Rachel?"
Rachel shook herself out of her trail of thought. It was Mike, he was very sweet and a very talented dancer but he wasn't as gifted in singing and acting. He was good at both but he wasn't to be mistaken for being outstanding in all three fields.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought" apologised the brunette.
"It's fine," grinned Mike, "I just asked if you'd like to come dance?" He looked at her with the kind of eyes no one could say no to. The star relented with a laugh and allowed herself to be dragged on to the dance floor in and amongst her peers.
The night went a lot faster after that and when the clock struck three, they all left the club to go their separate ways. Mike lived close by to the star's apartment so he and Rachel meandered together down the darkened streets of New York. They talked about many things from what got them in to musical theatre to favourite pizza. It was safe to say that by the time they got to the singer's flat, they knew each other a lot better than at the end of the night. Just as Rachel was about to go in to her apartment, they paused to say goodbye.
"Rachel," said Mike hesitantly, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking at his shoes, "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out just the two of us sometime? You know, to the theatre or something…"
A sadness took over Rachel. He was so sweet and she was glad to be his friend but that was all she wanted and all she could ever want.
"It's very nice of you to ask, Mike, but I'm afraid I must let you know something before you continue with your endeavour," she paused for breath and waited for him to look at her but his eyes did not appear so she continued on, "I like women. I'm so sorry."
Mike looked up, almost relieved, "Oh. That's cool! I'm really bad at this kind of thing but I hope we can be friends? I've never met a girl who's gay before…"
"Of course we can," smiled the star, "and I assure you that you have. Thank you for taking it so well, some guys don't, I once had a guy ask me out every day for a month because he couldn't believe it." Mike Chang couldn't believe that someone would be so obstinate and made sure the brunette knew that. They hugged and parted as friends.
As Rachel got ready for bed she wondered if Quinn had a boyfriend or a girlfriend or something. She'd never seen her with anyone; she'd never talked about having a partner. Could Rachel dare to hope that she was single, in to girls or more specifically, in to her?
After being told by Rachel that one of the many roles she wanted to play was Charity in Sweet Charity, Quinn planned a lesson around sex appeal in dance focusing on Fosse as it was one of his musicals after all. The star looked delighted when she found out what her objective for that week's lesson was; no one had ever really expected her to be sexy, they had expected her to be quirky and cute, so this was going to be fun.
They focused on chair work, one of the common props used by Fosse, and Quinn watched as Rachel tried her best to perfect each move as they had done in the weeks and lessons before but something wasn't working.
"Just sit there," said Quinn, "It's not quite right so I'm going to move you until it is right. Take it all in, okay?"
"Of course" affirmed Rachel, placing herself at her teacher's disposal.
Quinn walked behind the star, who was still sitting in the chair, and pushed her hair so it fell over her shoulders then slid her hands and pulled her student's shoulders back a little.
"You need to open up, be ready for anything the male character might throw at you," Quinn told her quietly, almost whispering, in her ear. It made Rachel shiver; she was relishing the close contact with the blonde and hoped it wouldn't show.
Quinn continued to move her hands, skimming the sides of her student's breasts and then bringing together to stroke down her stomach. The blonde could feel something in between them, it suddenly felt like there was too much separating them, she tried to ignore it and carry on teaching impartially but as her hands moved lower it became increasingly hard. Quinn's came to rest at the very top of Rachel's inner thigh and she lost the will to move on. The two of them breathed heavily as the tension mounted, there was no denying that Rachel's skin was clammy with heat and that her teacher could feel it. It was Quinn that broke the moment between them by pushing Rachel's legs wider apart. She briskly walked to the front once more to look at her pupil.
"There" breathed Quinn, trying to forget that for a moment she forgot Rachel was her pupil, "Much better."
That night Quinn and Rachel relived the moment in their separate beds. Rachel tingled with excitement, had Quinn felt the spark to or was it just one-sided? Quinn, on the other hand, was scared. It wasn't illegal to be attracted to one of her pupils, Rachel was of age, but how would it reflect on her teaching and her career? Would she have to leave if she wanted a relationship? She knew for a fact that Brittany who she went to school with slept with every teacher they had but did that make it right? She rolled over in her bed and tried to put it from her mind and let her sleep decide.
"Another great lesson! You are free to go but Rachel can I just have a quick word, please?" asked Quinn as her class were leaving. Rachel dutifully stayed behind as her classmates left and Mike waved goodbye. Q had planned this entire conversation in her shower this morning, she knew exactly how it was going to go.
"What do you want to see me about?" puzzled Rachel. She was adorable when she was confused, thought Quinn and that was it. Every word gone from her mind, every excuse and every plan was gone in an instant.
"Umm.. I was wondering if … er… maybe you'd like to go to have coffee or something some time to… discuss stuff. It's fine if you don't want to! I just thought maybe…" The blonde trailed off and looked at the floor, embarrassed. She was at once turned back in to a blushing teenager all over one of her students. It was ridiculous. She hadn't felt like this since Emma but that was a long time ago and she felt ready to love again. She was willing to share that love with Rachel if the star was willing as well.
"I'd love to" replied the singer earnestly.
"Great!" enthused Quinn, "How about Saturday morning?"
"Fine by me" smiled Rachel and that was that. Rachel left with a bounce in her step and practically ran home to start planning her outfit.
Saturday came all too soon but not soon enough. Rachel had spent hours planning what she was going to wear, going through several outfits before settling on one. She chose a black, scoop neck top, woollen tights, a yellow 60s miniskirt and heeled black boots. She put her hair in a side braid and topped it off with a yellow beret. It was a fail-proof outfit that suited her and that's what she needed for a date. This was a date, right? It had to be. Quinn was really nervous to ask and she seemed really glad to get a positive response and it's not common for teachers to take their students for coffee, is it? All these signs pointed to a date. Rachel couldn't be happier.
It was a slightly cooler day but Quinn sat outside her favourite café so Rachel could see her when she arrived. She'd thought about her outfit and had decided casual was best, keeping her hair spread over her shoulders and her fringe plaited back off her face. Casual for Quinn Fabray meant skinny blue jeans, a deep red vest top which was a bit low cut, flat brown ankle boots and her old cheerleading jacket. It was one of her favourite things to wear; it gave her confidence and it looked like a letterman which were always a little bit on trend because who didn't want to go back to high school in a little corner of their head? Actually, maybe Rachel wouldn't because she didn't have many friends. Had she been bullied? Would she hate the jacket? Well, it was too late to change now.
Rachel saw her teacher as she came round the corner. Quinn was sitting with a book and sipping a coffee. It looked like a picture or a shot from a film, a small independent café on one side of the street and then one of New York City's many small parks on the other. She must have been freezing, thought the star who was really starting to wish she'd brought a jacket or something.
"Hey Miss... I mean, Quinn" beamed Rachel, mentally berating herself. Why was it suddenly so hard to call her teacher by her first name? Quinn looked up and matched the smile
"Hi Rachel!" The blonde motioned to the chair next to her but her student opted to get her drink first. As Rachel was settling on a beverage Quinn stuck her head round the door and yelled to the barista to put the drink in a take-out cup because they were going to go on a walk through the park.
The idea had come to Quinn when she'd been looking, well, checking Rachel out through the window. There was something about the star that just exuded attractiveness; she didn't understand how Rachel hadn't been snatched up within days of joining the school. Then it hit her. Quinn was gut-wrenchingly nervous. Even if no one had said this was a date, it very much was. Quinn was on a date with a very attractive young woman after years of being single and she couldn't handle just sitting and talking; she needed something to distract her. Whenever she and Emma needed to talk about something big they always went on a walk then they didn't have to look each other in the eye if they were saying something that was difficult for them.
The conversation started off generically. Questions were asked about family, friends, hobbies but then it turned to past lovers and things became more intimate.
"So, any boys chasing you round campus?" chuckled Quinn, turning to glance at Rachel. She looked gorgeous surrounded by the greenery, the wind slightly playing with her fringe and the gentle chill making her blush. Rachel seemed engrossed in her coffee cup.
"Well, I had one very kind offer" she said, "but I had to turn him down because I really couldn't see him romantically. I don't think I could see any of them romantically; they're not really what I'm attracted to…" Rachel looked at her teacher from the corner of her eye, trying to gage her reaction. It took all of Quinn's effort to hide a smile from her face; instead, she nodded acceptingly with a small smile dancing on her lips. "What about you? Anyone on the scene?"
The blonde hesitated for a second. She didn't know how to put it but she knew she had to say it.
"I had someone a while back. She was called Emma. One of the most organised people you will ever meet. We dated for a few years and it was brilliant but you have to understand, she wasn't a happy person. In fact, two years in to it… she killed herself."
Rachel stopped walking and raised her hand to her mouth. Quinn stopped two steps in front of her; she couldn't turn around to look at her student. It wasn't that she was ashamed; it was the fact that it was the first time she'd talked about it since Emma died and it still hurt a little bit. The tears started to roll down her face, graceful, silent non-messy tears. Tears that Grace Kelly herself would have been proud of.
She felt two arms wrap round her waist, pulling her in to a hug from behind, slipping their hands in to her pockets and intertwining their fingers with hers. Rachel held her with all her might and it was what Quinn needed. They stood in the middle of the park for a good 10 minutes like this, people passing by wondered what was going on but no one stopped to look, the pair didn't give a damn in the slightest.
Eventually Quinn turned to Rachel, releasing her from the hug. She looked at her student and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry Rachel, I shouldn't have let that happen, it's just been hard. I really wanted this to go well and I think you know what I mean by that. I'll see you in class." The blonde started to walk away but a small hand grabbed her and pulled her back.
"I had a great time Quinn" said her student earnestly, "I don't mind. Someone killing themselves is a really big thing and you've had to deal with it on your own. I respect your wishes to be left alone and so I shall see you in class but please know that I'd love to do this again some time."
Quinn bit her lip; no one had cared so much after such a short space of time. She looked at Rachel shivering in the middle of a park offering her sympathies. She couldn't have been more perfect if she tried.
"Take my jacket Rach," said the former Broadway star, draping her cheerleading jacket around the smaller girl's shoulders, "We will do this again, if you don't mind because I had a great time too. I'll see you in class."
They went their separate ways but both felt the date that wasn't called a date had gone very well indeed.
They went for coffee three more times before Quinn invited Rachel back to her flat afterwards. It wasn't an invitation for sex; she just wanted to talk some more. She found her student fascinating in every sense and the time seemed to fly by when they were together. They were growing comfortable in the state that hopefully, inevitably, they would begin to see each other in a more intimate light. It was like they were forming the base for their relationship even though neither of them had stepped forward to vocalise that was what they wanted. They just knew. They knew like an old couple knows the ends of each other's sentences.
They were sat on Quinn's sofa watching a new tv show set in a high school where the kids would break in to song like it was a musical; Quinn at one end with one leg stretched out and the other pulled up so her foot was pressed against the side of her thigh, Rachel at the other with her legs pulled up to her chest and one arm propping up her head. Neither of them thought the show was going to last but it was a nice thought.
The blonde wasn't really watching though. It had kind of turned in to her watching Rachel watch the programme then glancing at the television every so often to react appropriately when her student was laughing, gasped or sighed. She was beautiful. Quinn had thought it a thousand times before and she'll probably think it a million times again but in this moment, this tiny little moment where they were sitting on her couch watching pretend teens sing their heart out, she was more beautiful than ever before.
It was then that Quinn knew.
She knew she wanted to kiss her, to serenade her, to seduce her, to spend a thousand years worshipping her smile, to watch her dance every day, to hear her voice in every waking moment, to love her so much that the world itself could not hold it.
Quinn began crawling up the sofa to Rachel, who switched her focus from the screen to her almost lover. They held themselves in the moment. Then Quinn kissed her.
It took Rachel by surprise but not really. She'd been hoping for weeks that it would happen. She felt her teacher's soft pink lips against hers and she began to kiss back. The star slid under the blonde as the kiss deepened just a little bit. Quinn licked the seam of Rachel's lips cautiously and was pleased when the brunette complied with enthusiasm.
The rest of the night was spent entangled together on the sofa where the couple talked in between kisses of varying passion. They decided the best way forward was a very open honest relationship so conversation turned to likes, dislikes and eventually to the bedroom.
"Please don't tell me you have a teacher fetish Rach!" giggled Quinn, knocking her head against the brunette's affectionately.
"It's nothing like that," protested Rachel, "I just like the idea of you taking control. It's perfectly normal for someone as domineering as me in everyday life to want a sexual release where they feel like they're no longer in charge, a break from routine if you will. I was merely suggesting that if you weren't horrendously averted to using light physical punishment in the bedroom -"
Quinn cut her off with another heated kiss.
"Well Miss Berry, I would say only a very bad girl would harbour such desires for her teacher" laughed Q as she pulled away and pushed herself off the sofa so she could get another soft drink for them both. Rachel attempted to wolf whistle as she watched the blonde walk to the fridge and the two of them laughed like they'd been together for years.
This definitely was the start of something wonderful.