"Right, you hapless bunch of sad-sacks," yelled Sue Sylvester, awarding winning cheerleading coach at McKinley High, after another gruelling practice, "I'm not going to even comment on that miserable excuse of a routine you just did, I can spend that breath tormenting William Schuester about his pubic style hair. Tomorrow we are getting a transfer from New York in the squad. Let's hope that she has more grace than you fat baby elephants."
And with that, practice was done.
"Mmm, fresh meat tomorrow Q" purred Santana, not bothering to hide the sultry glances she was throwing at Brittnay who was currently taking her cherrios uniform off in the sexiest way possible. Quinn, the head cheerleader and head bitch in charge, just nodded in agreement. She wasn't really in the mood to toy with a new kid. She hadn't been in the mood since she and Sam split up. Quinn had dumped him but it was only because she'd never felt like they were anything more than friends really. Something had been sitting with her, something that didn't feel quite right, but Fabrays supress things they don't understand so Quinn supressed this.
Q deliberately took her time getting changed, letting everyone leave the lockers, promising Brittney that she would come to Lord Tubbington's smoking intervention. Finally she was alone and she let out a breath she didn't even know she'd be holding in. She quickly stripped off again and hit the showers. There was nothing that could quite relax her like a shower.
Afterwards she stood, in her underwear, drying off her blonde bob. She'd cut her hair last year after a slightly off phase in her life which was on her supress list, but she suited the short style so the pink went but the length stayed. She didn't hear the door open over the sound of the hairdryer and jumped when cold arms wrapped themselves around her waist.
"I love your underwear, Q" whispered a low voice in her ear.
"Oh. Samantha. Hi." Quinn's skin tingled, partly with nervousness and partly with anticipation, at the sound of her name.
Samantha had joined the cheerios last year. She was very pretty with long brown hair and good skin so obviously she went through hell for the first month of her joining and that was before Quinn had even acknowledged she existed. However, things had changed at the last cheerios party.
Samantha's hand slipped in between Quinn's legs as she kissed her neck.
"I hope it's me and not the shower that's had this effect on your pants" she hummed.
Samantha had been a drunken mistake that had gone way too far.
"What would you like me to say?" replied Q.
She could pretend this had been a mistake too.
"Right, Hobbit 2.0, this is my champion cheerleading squad. If you so much as land from a handspring with the slightest wobble, you're out." This was standard Sue Sylvester. Give the new cheerio a nickname that picked out one of their flaws (Hobbit 1.0 was kid called Blaine in the glee club), threaten them and then stick them at the bottom of the pyramid in practice.
Quinn hadn't even bothered to look at the new arrival; she had been enthralled by her nails since last night. She'd done them herself, red with gold sparkles, McKinley colours. It wasn't until she lazily tuned in to the new girl speaking that she finally looked up to see her.
"… be an extremely competent member of your squad because when I was three I won the New York Toddler…"
Her voice alone was something completely different. It was filled with a purpose and drive but it wasn't grating and unpleasant, it was smooth and rich, like chocolate; the new girl's voice was milk chocolate.
It turned out her eyes and hair matched her voice. They were a really deep brown. She was doe-eyed and her lashes were long without the aid of mascara. She had also managed to get her shiny hair in to a perfect high ponytail with a signature McKinley cheerio curl; clearly she'd done her research. Her full block fringe framed her face nicely without making it top heavy. The dark hair next to her slightly tan skin looked as naturally beautiful as any flower or sunset. Quinn was mesmerised.
It was in that second that the new girl glanced in her direction and held her gaze for just a moment before casting her eyes down and smiling a little at the ground while finishing off her speech which Quinn hadn't even listened to.
"So, in short, thank you for accepting me and I promise to work my hardest to help McKinley win Nationals again."
Everyone started to move in to their first lap of the track field as per normal Sue Sylvester warm up but Quinn was stuck. She had acknowledged the girl was pretty but that smile was something else; it hit her right through the gut. The new girl looked at her once more before moving off to catch up with the rest of the group; this was Quinn's cue to shake herself out of whatever had just happened to her and act like she owned the place again.
"Santana," said Q, turning down the music in her car a couple of notches and throwing a glance at her friend in the passenger seat, "who's that new kid? I kind of tuned out." Santana let out a single laugh.
"I don't blame you, she seems way too confident to be a new cheerio but we'll break her in soon!" Brittany chuckled blithely from the back seat. "Lucky for you Q, mama here did some research on Little Miss Twinkle Toes. She's called Rachel Berry, she's 17 and she has two dads. They moved here from New York because Daddy Number 1 is expanding his business. She was second in command of her cherrio squad at her old school as well as being captain of their glee club so it looks like we may have a diva on our hands." Santana finished her explanation with her signature smirk.
"She seemed really nice," piped Brittany, beaming at Santana "I think she might be a unicorn!"
"Whatever she is B, she has to follow the order" said Quinn softly but with authority so Britt knew there wasn't any arguing about it. It was at that moment that Quinn pulled up outside Brittany's house. Britt tried to get Santana to come in with her but the brunette refused, saying that her Grandmother was coming round for dinner and that she couldn't miss it. Immediately, Brittany stopped trying to undo Santana's seatbelt and let the two cheerleaders drive off while she waved from her door until the car was out of sight.
Checking in her mirror to see they were well out of the field of vision from Brittany's house, Quinn pulled over, stopped the engine and turned to face the Latina.
"Santana, why did you lie to Brittany? You use any excuse to give you two alone time and now you're making up some bullshit story about your Grandma visiting you for dinner? What is with you?!" Frustration and anger edged in to Quinn's voice as she spoke, no one in the Unholy Trinity lied to each other and no one lied to Brittany because she would trust them completely and it could go horribly wrong. Especially Santana.
"Q, you were completely off it today in practice, do you know how many times I had to cover for you in that routine?" Santana made no attempt to keep her voice down. Quinn looked awkwardly at the floor, she had been way less than perfect in practice today. She blamed the Berry girl for her distracted thoughts but both of the cheerleaders knew each other too well to think that that was true. The brunette calmed down considerably after a semi-awkward silence, she spoke softly, "Quinn, Samantha never stopped looking at you and not in a terrified-to-get-a-step-wrong-so-follow-the-leader kinda way. Is it something to do with that?"
Quinn felt a hand on her shoulder and she couldn't stop the tears from falling anymore; Santana heard everything from the party to the practice they just completed. Fabrays suppress but Quinn never quite fitted with her family. The confession ended with an awkward hug between the two seats.
She did, however, leave out the effect Rachel had had on her at the start of cherrios. That, for now, was private.
After some form of emotional release Quinn always hits the gym. It gives her something mind-numbing to put her in to a trance and help her forget that she just showed someone that she wasn't superhuman, even if that someone had known her since she was 4.
The treadmill was her favourite; you could just plug in your headphones and run while staring out of the glass wall at the skyline of Lima. It could maybe pass as kind of pretty at night time, you know if light pollution is your thing; it was definitely no New York skyline, that's for sure.
The head cheerleader must have been running for about half an hour, mindlessly staring in to her reflection, when she decided to call it quits. She slowed her treadmill down to a jog, got off and started stretching so her muscles wouldn't seize up in practice tomorrow. As she stretched out her hamstrings she cast her eyes towards the tv to see what rubbish the gym were playing for the machines pointed in that direction, one of which was the elliptical, currently occupied by a short-ish brunette with short gym shorts on.
Quinn did one of those looks you see in movies, she started at the girl's ankles and slowly eyed up her entire toned legs and then ended up getting transfixed by her ass. It was embarrassing, Q was aware of what she was doing, but she couldn't look away. Whoever this girl was, her ass was out of this world. Just as Quinn was reaching the 30th second of ogling, she noticed a tiny gold star tattoo at the very top of the gym bunny's slightly glistening thigh. The head cheerleader coloured a bright pink very quickly, her face burning at new temperatures, she had never been so turned on in her life. It was just a little rebellious act that was barely noticeable but it was hot.
She couldn't take any more, Q finished her stretch and left the gym with a speed only seen in cheerleading practice when Sue had caught someone throwing up after the routine and made everyone do laps.
Quinn lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling; she couldn't sleep. It was one of those nights where her head just didn't seem to switch off. She kept flicking between cheerleading routines, schoolwork and … thoughts of a different nature altogether. She closed her eyes for the seventh time and tried to slow things down.
Okay Q, think of a blank sheet, just a plain white blank sheet. You're just lying on a white sheet, relaxing in to it.
Suddenly Samantha came in to view. There was no denying that she looked sexy as hell; she was hardly in anything! In a flash she was on top of Quinn, kissing her neck with such passion that a gasp left Quinn's lips before she could stop it. Samantha pushed herself up and looked the blonde directly in the eye whilst raising an eyebrow.
Fuck.
Lips collided together and soon they were both had nothing separating them, not even a thin cotton from underwear. That's when the panting began and fingers and mouths suddenly become the means of which to explore.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!
"Look at me, Quinn," came Samantha's voice from somewhere the head cheerleader couldn't quite place. Q opened her eyes and instead of being greeted with Samantha's face, she saw Rachel Berry's slowly coming undone before her.
Fuck.
Quinn snapped open her eyes. That hadn't happened. That didn't just happen. Quinn Fabray did not just dream that she was fucking the new girl. Q turned over uncomfortably to face the other wall. She was going to have to try and forget that in a hurry.
Okay Quinn, this time is for real, just think of a white sheet of paper with nothing on it. Nothing on it at all.
If the head cheerleader had been distracted on Tuesday then she must have been in another world that day. She didn't even notice when people parted for her in the halls; not that she acknowledged them usually but today she didn't even see them there in the first place. What the actual hell had happened last night? She refused to believe that she had thought of Rachel Berry like that. She hadn't even talked to her, for God's sake!
After a near miss in getting to her locker, Quinn decided to do something that she'd probably pay heavily for when Coach Sylvester found out, she was going to go to the nurse and fake her way until she got sent home.
Half an hour later the HBIC was sitting on the bed in the Nurse's room, waiting for some paperwork to be completed and then she'd be able to go home. She'd sent a text to Santana saying that she was sick and that she was going home; the Latina would probably see it was bullshit as soon as she opened the message but Quinn could deal with that later. A voice came from behind the curtain that was cutting Q off from the rest of the world, it brought her out of her own thoughts a little.
"Excuse me, is Quinn Fabray here?" asked the innocent but determined voice, where had she heard it before?
"She's just through there," directed the nurse and a silhouette appeared against the curtain, it hesitated for a moment. It was definitely the outline of a cheerleader; nobody dared to wear a ponytail that could any way resemble a cherrio ponytail. The shadow moved and the mysterious girl entered.
It was Rachel Berry.
Quinn panicked for an instant. Of all the people in this damn school, why did Rachel Berry have to come looking for her? Why couldn't it be Brittany or Samantha or even that freak kid Jacob?
"Hi Quinn," mumbled Rachel, looking through her eyelashes at the blonde on the bed and smiling a little; Quinn had to try very hard not to let out some sort of moan when their eyes connected. This girl was gorgeous. "I heard from the other cheerleaders that you were sick and so I thought I'd make sure you weren't too bad. No one likes being ill and I'm sure you're finding it very frustrating." Her hands were still clasped behind her back and the girl cast her eyes down and bit her lip slightly when she'd finished what she had to say. It clearly had taken her a lot of courage to find Quinn in the first place, let alone speak to her. Rachel Berry was aware of the rules and order. Looks like the cheerios didn't have a diva on their hands after all.
"Umm…" was the only sound Quinn could make. If she tried to form a proper sentence then she may say something embarrassing and stupid. She couldn't bring herself to insult the girl standing in front of her.
"I know it's not protocol to talk to you," garbled Rachel, suddenly looking fearful, "but I couldn't bear to think of you just sitting here by yourself and potentially feeling disgusting. I just wanted to make sure you had someone who was here for you."
A pause between them gave Quinn time to reflect and Rachel to worry she'd offended the head cheerleader.
"Umm… thank you Rachel," said Quinn, saying each word deliberately and slowly, not quite looking at the new girl, "it was very thoughtful of you to find me when you heard I was sick. Umm… you can go now if you want." The HBIC subconsciously looked at the ground after she finished, mirroring the other girl's movements. There was another silence.
It surprised Quinn when she felt the brunette jump up on to the bed next to her. She looked at the small girl's hands that were gripping the edge of the bed, locking her arms for support and swinging her legs which were crossed at the ankle. Rachel's head suddenly came in to vision, she was deliberately looking for Quinn's eyes, as they met both girls raised their heads without breaking the eye contact until they were sitting upright again. Rachel blushed and looked away with an awkward laugh that made Quinn chuckle.
"Thank you for staying, you don't have to," nervously mumbled Quinn.
"It's fine, I want to," beamed the New Yorker, "You know, everyone told me you were such an ice queen but I think they've got you all wrong, Quinn; I think you're a lovely person."
It was the head cheerleader's turn to blush now. With every boy she'd ever decide to take up to help her social standing she had been smooth, a seductress, never having to think. She used to know exactly what to do, exactly how to play it. Why had she lost all control with this girl? Hell, she even had some control over Samantha so it can't be because she's… well… a woman.
"Okay Miss Fabray, that's all in order," said the nurse, coming through the curtain and looking up from a clipboard only to see Quinn find the wall very interesting and Rachel staring intently at the floor, "you can go home now."
Quinn managed to utter some kind of thanks and got up to leave, now staring at the floor in front of her, focused on getting out of the room.
"Bye Quinn!" called Rachel when the head cheerleader succeeded in getting out to the hall. Q turned around and saw the small brunette standing in the doorway, smiling and waving at her, "Feel better soon!"
After looking round to see no one was watching, Quinn smiled and waved back a small wave. She still had a reputation to maintain and this girl was going to be her weak spot.
Weeks of secret little smiles and small waves of recognition passed between the pair but both understood that whatever they were doing couldn't be done in school. However, they still grew to be thick as thieves, texting at weekends and the occasional phone call.
Then something happened that stopped everything.
Santana sent Quinn a link and told her to watch, saying it would blow the HBIC's mind. Q pressed play and watched in growing horror as the story unfurled at the hands of Jewfro Jacob.
"Hello fellow McKinley students. I am here with a story that will shock! As many of you may have noticed, there's been a new cheerleader on the block, one Rachel Berry. She seems to fit in seamlessly with the cheerios, she is even rumoured to have formed a sort of friendship with ice queen of McKinley, Quinn Fabray. However, all is not how it appears, dear viewers! I am sat here with Jesse St James who has come in from New York to speak with me today."
Jesse's face filled the screen. He was handsome with prefect good looks and a smile to match but Quinn could see he was dead behind the eyes.
"Hello McKinley viewers!" chimed Jesse, as if he had done it a thousand times before.
"So, Jesse," cut in Jacob, "what is it you'd like to share with McKinley High?"
"Well Jacob," started the New Yorker, "I've known Rachel Barbra berry for many years, in fact, we dated briefly but we broke up in unfortunate circumstances."
"What kind of circumstances would those be?"
"She cheated on me… with a woman" stated Jesse, looking straight down the camera lens.
"Are you telling us that Rachel Berry 'plays for the other team'?" said Jacob, almost unable to contain his excitement. Quinn was sure he'd no doubt get off on the news later.
"Yes, Rachel Berry is a lesbian and she broke my heart."
"Well, thank you Jesse for that insight in to our new cheerleader's life. Spread the news everyone, there's a new cheerleader in town and she could be on the prowl."
The screen went black and a replay button came up. Quinn ignored it and sat there in pure anger. How dare that freak reveal something so intimate about Rachel's life? What makes him think he has the right to do that?!
She pulled out her phone and dashed off a text to the brunette asking for her address. Q grabbed her car keys and ran out the door as Rachel's reply came through with her address at the top.
That's my address but why do you need to see me? X
All Quinn managed to type before she got in the car was:
On my way x
And with that, the head cheerleader brought her car to life and drove as fast as she could to the Berry household.
Quinn didn't watch the video again; she stood by Rachel and watched her watching it. The scary thing was that Rachel never changed throughout; she sat with a straight back, tight-lipped and never took her eyes off the screen. Q bit her lip nervously; maybe she shouldn't have shown Rachel the video… No. This was the right thing to do. Better a friend show it to you than just to hear it on the grapevine.
The video ended and Rachel just sat there for a while so Quinn waited in silence.
"Thank you for showing this to me," came a small, very restrained voice. Rachel still stared blankly at the computer, "I suppose I should tell you that it's true and I didn't want to shove my sexuality in anyone's face but that seems to not be a plan that'll work anymore because, judging by the views on that video, everyone knows. You can go if you want."
"I'll stay, if you don't mind" said Quinn assertively placing herself on the bed. She wasn't going to abandon Rachel. The small girl looked round in surprise; she'd obviously been expecting the opposite reaction. "I don't care what you like or who you like, you're still you and I'll make sure no one gives you any bother for it."
In a split second the head cheerleader had been knocked back by the brunette in a vicious hug. It was a hug that said a thousand thank yous and Quinn hadn't felt so at home in ages. Maybe she could finally admit to herself that she could maybe like a woman in something that wasn't just purely sexual…
There was a moment's relief from the hug in which Rachel insisted Quinn stayed the night. The blonde felt like she couldn't refuse but she wasn't upset about it.
Hours later she was sharing Rachel's bed and the New Yorker was snuggled up beside her, happily unconscious, knowing that the head cheerleader would protect her when Monday came. Quinn was just drifting off as her phone buzzed once. She had a text.
From: Samantha
My parents are out. Want to come round to an empty house? ;) xx
For once, Quinn didn't feel like she needed to make excuses. She was happy where she was and she didn't feel like she needed to go running to Samantha for anything.
Not right now Samantha, I'm kinda busy. Night x
And with that, her phone was turned off and she pulled Rachel in to her, in a friendly way, and went to sleep.
Monday was hard. Even with Quinn's total control over the school, it was hard. Jacob was getting slushied twice between every class and the video was taken offline. She made sure that Rachel was kept away from everything but she could see behind the brunette's perfect smile; this was hurting her, she just didn't want to let on.
By lunch time, the head cheerleader felt like she had to step in. She took Rachel to an empty classroom so she could talk to her one on one. They perched on two desks and Rachel let the perfect façade fall as she slumped down and let her face show the misery inside. The blonde hesitated for a second but then decided she was allowed to hold Rachel's hand. Normally, Quinn wouldn't let herself touch the New Yorker just in case somehow she revealed her feelings through a mere touch. She sought out the other girl's eyes before a word was said.
"I can't stand it Quinn," said Rachel finally, "I feel like they're all looking at me all of the time, asking questions in their heads, wondering who I'm going to try and convert. It's so horrible. I even kept it quiet in New York. I never wanted any of this." Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and the tears started pouring down her cheeks as Quinn pulled her in to a hug.
All the blonde could think to do was to do what her mother did when she was upset, stroke her hair and shush her gently until the emotion was finished. It was the most loving thing she'd allowed herself to do with Rachel and it was wonderful just to hold her. Still, she felt guilty that she was happy holding the sobbing girl whilst Rachel was clearly so unhappy.
"We can tell them all it's not true," whispered Quinn, "if that's what you want."
Rachel pulled back and wiped away the remainder of tears on her face.
"I don't think I could bear fake dating a guy to get out of this."
"That's okay," smiled the head cheerleader, "well, why don't you try dating one of the cherrios? It doesn't have to be a real thing but people are probably more likely to leave you alone if there's two of you involved… you could pick someone next team meeting, if you want to that is."
"Could I really do that?" asked Rachel, looking unsure at the proposition.
"Of course you can. I'll pick out some more agreeable ones if that makes you more comfortable with the process?"
"I guess I could try… thank you Quinn. You've gone to so much trouble for me" sighed the brunette.
"I'd do anything to make you happy, Rachel" said Quinn, looking the other girl directly in the eye.
"You're going to a lot of trouble over this Berry girl" stated Santana once everyone had left the lockers after practice, "Why? She's just some new kid."
"I just don't want her being ridiculed. It brings down the entire squad to her level" coldly specified the head cheerleader. She didn't even look at her best friend while saying it.
"I'm just saying that I would defend Britt to my last breath if it came to it…" Santana trailed off and Quinn slammed her locker shut, turning sharply to face the Latina.
"It's not like that. It's not like what you and B do. We're not… I'm not…" The anger that began the speech faded quickly and was replaced with uncertainty. Santana knew the HBIC better than she knew herself and San had been in this position before. "I just want her to be happy San, that's all I want."
"Does she know?" asked Santana.
"I don't know, I think she might but I can't say for sure… I guess we'll find out tomorrow…"
It had been a few weeks and it still broke Quinn's heart when she saw Rachel and Samantha together. She tried to be happy for them, she really did, Rachel had chosen Samantha and Samantha had agreed. The harassment of the cheerios went down considerably and they seemed so happy.
Quinn didn't see as much of Rachel anymore, which was only right and proper because she was in a relationship, but she missed her so much.
The HBIC only found her peace of mind in the shower after practice, it relaxed her like nothing else, she didn't have to think about the two of them together.
After each shower she stood, in her underwear, drying off her hair, it became a sort of tradition. The head cheerleader, after one particularly hard practice of having to watch the two brunettes drool over each other, was in her element whilst drying her hair; she could pretend everything was fine. She didn't hear the door open over the sound of the hairdryer and jumped when cold arms wrapped themselves around her waist.
"I love your underwear, Q" whispered a low voice in her ear.
"Samantha," said Quinn in surprise, whipping round to look at the other girl, "what are you doing here?" She forced the arms from around her waist back to Samantha's side.
"Isn't it obvious?" drawled the brunette, only getting closer, "I'm here because I want some fun and you're who I want to have fun with."
"But… but what about Rachel?" stammered the blonde, trying to push the other cheerleader's hands from her body. She was uncomfortably aware how naked she was.
"What about Rachel?" Samantha's hand slipped in between Quinn's legs as she kissed her neck. That's when Q got angry. How dare she do this to Rachel?! Rachel would make possibly the sweetest, most thoughtful, kind, considerate girlfriend in the world and this creep is in the fucking lockers trying to get it off with someone else?! What the fuck?! The head cheerleader pushed the brunette off with all the force she could muster and slammed her straight in to the lockers, holding her up by her top.
"Feeling feisty today, aren't we?" hummed Samantha, trying once again to seduce the blonde.
"What the fuck, Samantha?! You have a girlfriend!" yelled Quinn.
"That didn't stop you before…" stated the brunette
Quinn let go of the other cheerleader, "What do you mean?"
"I had a girlfriend all the time; we broke up about a month ago, just before Rachel. I just didn't bother telling you because she didn't go to this school." Samantha said it like it was nothing. Quinn was momentarily lost for words.
"I'm going to tell her. I'm going to tell Rachel. I'm going to tell her everything that happened just now" desperately threatened Q.
"No you're not," smiled the brunette, "Not unless you want to see her little heart break right in front of you. I might have to punish you for being so naughty. Now, be a good girl and let's have some fun." The head cheerleader shrunk in defeat as Samantha came closer and started palming her toned body through her underwear. She let one silent tear fall.
She could never tell Rachel about this.
Monday was always the day that invites went out for cherrio parties. That way you had 6 days to prepare for one of the Saturday nights of your high school life. Every cheerleader had an automatic invite and everyone else was clambering to get one. However, this one was slightly different; occasionally the cheerios had parties in which they were the only people invited. They were named "Bonding nights" but very little bonding went on and an awful lot of drinking was. This one was being held at Alice's house and whenever Alice threw a party, it was always the hot topic at school the next week.
Quinn held her pear embossed envelope in her hand, weighing up about whether to go or not. She didn't have to go and she didn't know if she could stand the sight of Samantha being all over Rachel; the head cheerleader found it hard to look at the New Yorker since her run in with Samantha in the locker room, she knew that it would break the small girl's heart. She felt a small tap on her shoulder, turning around; she adjusted her eyes to Rachel's height.
The brunette was holding an identical envelope and beaming, this was her first cheerleader party ever.
"Are you going?" eagerly asked Rachel, "To the party, I mean. It feels like we haven't hung out in forever and I think this party's going to be an extraordinary experience!"
"Umm… I don't know I have to think about it" mumbled the blonde. The New Yorker's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates with disappointment. Quinn couldn't resist that face, "I suppose I can clear my schedule."
"Yay," almost shrieked the brunette, hugging the head cheerleader hard round her waist then jumping back, "This is going to be AMAZING!"
Quinn smiled as Rachel walked down the hallway, her ponytail swishing merrily behind her. There really was no one else quite like Rachel Berry.
Saturday arrived quickly, a lot quicker than Quinn had been expecting, it kind of rushed up on her. It may have been that her time was suitably filled with schoolwork and extracurricular activities, or it may have been because had been careless in her time keeping, or it could have been that she was actually quite excited to go.
It was just time for her to leave when she decided to check herself in the mirror one more time, just to make sure everything looked as it should. She stood and inspected her outfit for a good 20 seconds. She had picked it out carefully; a light yellow skater skirt patterned with little green ships, a mint green vest top so the outfit was linked but not to match-y, a cropped denim jacket with rolled up sleeves she'd saved from her punk days, and white tights and strappy, yellow, block-heeled shoes to complete her look. It was slightly quirky, perfectly decent and made her look good.
Quinn hadn't bothered with too much make-up, it never stayed on for the entire night, or her hair which looked its best when slightly mussed up. She smiled at her reflection; everything looked good but not overwhelming. The head cheerleader wondered if Rachel would like it. It would be keep the former punk going for a week if she did.
She arrived fashionably late by half an hour. Alice opened the door, already slightly drunk, and Quinn went on a tour of the house to see what damage had been done already.
Stephanie was already passed out in the hallway. She was one of the younger cheerios, long blonde hair, good legs but unable to hold any sort of alcohol. This was unfortunate because she always insisted on drinking heavily as soon as she step foot in an alcoholic environment. Quinn stepped over the unconscious girl, just as Alice had done, to get through to the living room which Stephanie was sort of blocking the door to. Music was blaring loudly. Becky Jackson was dancing like nobody was watching in the centre of the room. The head cheerleader smiled at her. The girl may not be great at cheerleading but she was Coach Sylvester's secret favourite, which didn't bother Quinn, and she was really quite sweet when she wanted to be.
The rest of the rooms were littered with the rest of the squad in various states of drunkenness. The funniest being Alison Cho, a small Chinese girl, who was attempting to do the new routine the cheerios had been learning this week and failing miserably but managing to laugh at herself. The saddest was won by Stephanie who hadn't been moved by the time Quinn got back to the hall before going upstairs. After staring at her for a moment, the HBIC scooped the blonde under her arms and dragged her so she was at least propped up against a wall and less in the way of everyone else.
Quinn only went upstairs because she knew that was where Brittany and Santana would be. They would be in Alice's bedroom on Alice's bed in a state of undress. Alice's room wasn't hard to find, the door had her name across it in large, purple, glittery letters. Anyone who knew Alice knew that she loved purple with an obsession you normally wouldn't associate with a colour. She once even tried to lobby Coach Sylvester to change the school colours to incorporate purple, a mistake she would never make again. Despite all that, she was a good cheerleader and she threw a good party.
The head cheerleader didn't bother knocking on the door, she just went straight in and she found her two best friends entwined on Alice's bed in their underwear. The interruption caused Santana to throw a death glare at the intruder.
"Q! What the hell?! You know me and Britts gets our macks on at parties and you give us at least an hour to finish!" yelled the Latina not bothering to untangle herself from the blonde underneath her. It was Brittany who made the moves to stop the session.
"San, Quinn probably wants to talk to us about something important," soothed Brittany, "It's okay Quinn, come in!" she smiled at the head cheerleader and beckoned her in as she tried to retrieve her clothes from beside the bed.
"I won't bother you for long, don't feel like you have to get dressed," Quinn had seen them in less so underwear was really a blessing, "I was just wondering if you knew if Rachel and Samantha were here? I haven't seen them around…"
A look passed between the two cheerleaders on the bed. Quinn panicked for a second, wondering if Brittany knew she had a thing for Rachel but she calmed down quickly. Of course Britt knew, everything Santana knew, Britt knew.
"We haven't seen them," stated the Brittany quietly, "but maybe once they're here, you should keep an eye on Rachel because her and Samantha's body conversation is saying Rachel wants to be happy with Samantha but she isn't and Samantha is saying that she's only with Rachel for appearances. I've been watching them for a while because they were confusing me. I saw it at one cheerios practice when Rachel went to hold Samantha's hand even though she didn't really want to and Samantha ignored her but kissed her on the cheek instead to avoid hand holding. Neither of them are as happy as their talking conversations make them look."
The head cheerleader blinked at the blonde girl on the bed. Brittany sometimes had these moments of clarity where she got everything right and said it in a really good way for other people to understand, it wasn't often that it happened but now was one of those times.
"And you never know," purred Santana, her attention now back on Brittany, "anything could happen."
Quinn smiled at the two girls and made her excuses so they could get back to what they were doing and Q could wait for Rachel to arrive.
Rachel and Samantha didn't arrive for another hour; they were the last to join the party. Quinn saw them, well Rachel, as soon as they entered the living room. Samantha hadn't made much of an effort but Rachel Berry looked like a model.
She had done her hair in 1940s Hollywood glamour waves. Her eyes were lightly smoked with eye shadow and mascara while her lips were highlighted with a deep plum lipstick which looked as if it had been made for her. She wore a white sheer shirt with gold collar tips, accompanied with deep purple and indigo glitter high-waisted disco pants that exposed the top of her thigh and the very bottom of her ass. Quinn could have died when she saw her. The thing was it was obvious Rachel had made a really big effort to look this good but she looked slightly uncomfortable, like she wouldn't dare wear this normally. She held one wrist awkwardly and looked at the floor as she stepped in to the room. She raised her head sheepishly to see who was in the room and paying attention. She immediately locked eyes with the head cheerleader and looked back at the floor with an embarrassed half-smile, almost apologising for what she looked like with that one movement.
A disinterested Samantha left pretty quickly to get a beer, and probably to leer at other girls thought Quinn to herself, so the head cheerleader swooped over to the lonely looking New Yorker.
"Rachel," greeted the blonde, "you look … well … sexy as fuck." Quinn awkwardly laughed it off to make it seem like she was just trying to give her friend a compliment. "Do a 360 for me!" The brunette spun around slowly, giggling quietly, as Quinn took in her outfit properly. There was one thing that particularly caught the head cheerleader's attention. "Rach, you have a tattoo!
The New Yorker blushed and laughed a little at Quinn's bright pink face. She offered up the top of her thigh as she began to explain the meaning behind her permanent ink.
"I got it just before we left New York. My dads don't know about it but it's a little gold star reminder that I'm heading back to Broadway if it wants me" she said smiling. Rachel was the girl that Quinn had seen at the gym that night. Rachel was the girl that made her pretty certain that she was sort of in to girls. Rachel was possibly the hottest thing Quinn had ever seen. Ever. Fuck.
"Hey babe," purred Samantha, appearing out of nowhere with a beer in her hand and wrapping her free arm around Rachel's waist, Rachel didn't look happy about this arrangement, "get lonely without me?"
"Umm… yeah" mumbled back the New Yorker. You could see an immediate change in her. Rachel from a second ago as a star, shining brighter than any sun. Rachel with Samantha was a mouse. It killed a little bit of Quinn inside just to see this girl reduced so much within the matter of a split second. It made her blood boil.
"Actually, I think I was managing to entertain her just fine" stated the HBIC, her eyes narrowing on Samantha. It was a challenge.
"Well, I think she'd prefer to be with me" sneered the cheerleader, wrapping her arm tighter round her girlfriend's waist, causing Rachel to squirm in discomfort. "Stay still!" barked the taller brunette.
"Don't speak to her like that!" snapped Quinn, "she's not a dog, she's a human being!" The head cheerleader pulled Rachel from Samantha's grasp. The new cheerleader was frozen to the spot.
"She's my girlfriend, I will speak to her how I want!" shouted the cheerleader.
"I won't allow it, Samantha!"
"You think I give a fuck what you will or will not allow?!"
"Samant-" came Rachel's quiet voice but it was cut off with a sharp slap from her supposed girlfriend.
It was like time stood still. Rachel's hand was on her cheek, her eyes stung with tears. Samantha looked shocked at what she'd done and Quinn was downright furious. Then time sped back up again. Quinn pushed Rachel behind her and spoke with a voice she seldom used but that sent fear in to any heart.
"Samantha, I am ending your relationship with Rachel. You don't deserve her and what you just did was inexcusable. You are going to leave this party right now and had in your uniform on Monday."
The tall brunette stood in silence for a moment before glaring at Rachel, who was still behind the head cheerleader, clutching her cheek.
"I don't care. You're not even that hot. And you," she spat at Quinn, "are a fucking joke."
With that Samantha left the party.
Quinn drove Rachel home not long after and ended up being invited to stay the night at the Berry Household; an invitation which she readily accepted. The two girls sat on Rachel's bed, hugging pillows to their chests, chatting about everything but the party that night. Quinn had had to borrow some of Rachel's pyjamas, turns out they were very short on her because of their height difference, so Quinn was grateful that pillows were available and that the conversation was good.
"Quinn…" said Rachel hesitantly, "thank you for what you did at the party tonight. You didn't have to do that but you did so, yeah, I appreciate it."
"It's fine Rach, I couldn't stand there and do nothing. You changed completely around her, you weren't you. It wasn't right. You deserve someone who's going to worship you" Quinn was completely lost in what she was saying, "Someone who is going to do everything to make you happy. You deserve someone who'll give their all for you. You need someone who knows everything about you from your favourite song to your least favourite vegan food brand. You need someone to see you and see a star shining so bright that all they can do is follow it for the rest of their life. You need someone who will love you and never leave."
Rachel sat there, blinking at Quinn, "Do you mean all that?"
It was too late for the head cheerleader to back out now, she bit her lip with nerves before letting it go.
"Every word."
The two girls stared at each other, unable to stop examining each other's faces, trying to gage how the other one felt; trying to see if the other one meant what they were saying. It was Rachel who started it. She pushed her pillow to one side and slowly bent forward so she was on all fours and nose to nose with Quinn. Their breath hitched simultaneously as they stared at each other's eyes. This was the moment that if one wanted to back out, this was their last chance.
Quinn closed the gap. Rachel's lips were soft, softer than any other that Quinn had kissed before. It seemed like she already knew how to kiss the brunette. The former punk pushed her pillow out the way and clambered slowly until both her and Rachel were on their knees and there was no distance between them.
When the kiss came to a conclusion they drew apart and looked at each other like they'd never seen anyone more perfect.
"I've wanted to do that for so long" breathed Quinn.
"Me too" hummed Rachel.
"Really?" asked Quinn, a bit surprised, "Why didn't you kiss me before now?"
"I just didn't. I didn't know how you'd react. I thought it was just better to leave it. I thought it would go away," sighed Rachel, "Why didn't you kiss me? Why did you wait until just now?"
"I guess I thought, after tonight, that anything could happen."