An AU fic about how "Quinn stumbles upon Rachel while walking back to the apartment that she shares with Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes. Rachel sees a whole new side to Quinn and is intrigued as to what sparked her new self. Their friendship blossoms and Rachel learns about a bunny rabbit that she has dubbed "Demon", Quinn's many suitors, and a possible ex-girlfriend who could be an obstacle in their new-found friendship/maybe (hopefully) more." –Yelitza
A/N: I do not own Glee. If I did it would be way different anyway haha Also this is my first fic, so I hope you enjoy! Comments and criticisms would be welcomed :] Also special thanks to my beta, Olivia (With Good Grace). I'm going to put a shameless plug in here and tell you all to check her really awesome fics out :] Thanks for reading! Also this chapter has sexual assault in it so you have been warned.
Quinn tightens her ponytail. The rain soaks her, chilling her to the core. If she had known that it was going to rain today she would have grabbed an umbrella before she left for her class at 8am. Now it's 10pm, a little under 40 degrees, and raining.
Stupid cheerleading. She shouldn't have taken the cheerleading scholarship. The honors scholarship alone has been sufficient payment for the school. When she had made the financial decision, she was terrified of not being able to go to college without her parents' support. Now she couldn't be happier, although busier than ever. But if her sleep is the price she has to pay for her education and freedom in New York, so be it. At least she had changed out of her uniform before she left the safety of the dry gym.
Turning onto the next street, Quinn quickens her pace. Opting to take an apartment rather than housing in the dorms had been Mercedes' idea. Mercedes, Kurt (Blaine by extension) and Quinn had decided that splitting the rent for a 3 bedroom apartment would be the best decision financially as well. Quinn needs to save as much as she can for her future. Living on the high end of life as a child had caused spoiled her. Once she was kicked out, she discovered how it was to live without money. The only problem now is the crappy streets she has to take as shortcuts to get to the safety of the building, her home.
She finally makes it back without incident. As she is about to turn the key to the building, Quinn hears a noise in the distance.
"I'll have you know someone is expecting me to be somewhere in the next half an hour, and if I am not there he will call the cops and you will be persecuted for your crimes of…"
"Shut up!"
Quinn hears an audible smack from where she is standing. Before she could think, she starts running across the street to where she hears that familiar voice.
"Just stay still; it won't take long," a sadistic voice with a creepy aftertaste orders.
"GET OFF OF ME!" a terrified yet determined voice yelled. "I HAVE A RAPE WHISTLE!"
"Then why don't you use it, sweet cheeks?"
Quinn can practically hear the smile in his voice. It's sickening. Quinn rounds the corner only to meet the eyes of one Rachel Barbra Berry. The instant recognition hits her like a freight train. Her chocolate eyes, which had once held warmth, now hold a chaotic range of emotions that she can't quite pick out. A mixture of expression, anger and fear slide through her facial features. Her wrists are held above her head, and she's pressed against the grimy wall of the alleyway. The oppressor does not notice their audience. He has long greasy hair and gangly body. The oversized black hoodie and cargo pants make him look like a skeleton.
Only Rachel Berry would get pinned down by someone that looks so freakishly weak.
Only Rachel Berry would try and talk her way out of a situation rather than fight.
Only Rachel Berry would wear white in a storm like this.
What the hell is she walking around here for anyway? Julliard is pretty far away on foot. Is she turning into a crack whore? Is she looking for a quick fix? Oh my lord, is Rachel Berry a junkie?
The skeleton man gathers Rachel's wrists into one hand to free up his other to pull his zipper down. He moans sickeningly, "Now stay still."
Quinn decides that, junkie or not, Rachel is in trouble. She needs to snap out of this shock and stop standing there or Rachel will be in worse shape than she is now. She grabs her book bag, runs up to the back of the man, and swings the bag at the man's head with enough momentum to topple him over.
Rachel instantly falls to the ground in shock as Quinn turns her aggression on her.
"RACHEL BERRY, ARE YOU A CRACK WHORE?"
She is never quite the one to mince words when fear and anger boil inside her. She means to ask something more appropriate to the situation at hand, but the blonde sometimes can't help what pops out of her mouth. What else is she supposed to think, anyway? If Rachel had gotten herself into this mess for a quick fix, then she would just have to punch the addiction out of her. Quinn's hands flex with anger. She's not sure if she's angry at the skeleton that was groaning on the ground or at Rachel for being so impulsive when her dream was on the line.
Rachel looks up at Quinn.
"Quinn? I feel as if this isn't the best point in time to discuss this, seeing as the man who was trying to physically assault me is starting to stir in the corner. And for Barbra's sake, what do you have in that bag, bricks?"
Quinn takes Rachel's hand, lifts her to her feet, swinging an arm protectively around the waist of the obnoxious midget while shouldering her bag.
"It's lovely how I finally make it out of Ohio only to be here rescuing your scrawny bum from your crack dealer."
Quinn kicks the skeleton man in the stomach for good measure just in case he decides to get up.
"Where are you going in this weather anyway? Why are you in these shady streets? And most importantly, how could you be so stupid?"
Rachel guides Quinn quickly across the street and toward her destination.
"To answer your first, very inappropriate question, I am not a crack whore. I am offended that you would think that I would try to ruin my career in such a disgusting way. As for the second question, I was going to visit Kurt. I've finally been able to have a day off from rehearsals and he's been trying to get me to see his new apartment. Thirdly, that insult will not go unnoticed. I am not the timid little girl I was in high school." Rachel seems to walk taller and straighter as she says this. "What are YOU doing here? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, throwing slushies at someone?"
"If you remember correctly I was never the one to physically throw the slushies. Wait. Did you say you're visiting Kurt?"Quinn stops in the middle of the busy street causing cars to honk noisily in frustration.
Rachel grabs her hand and pulls her along hastily while waving at the drivers in apology. "Yes. And Blaine. I hear Mercedes is there too."
Quinn mumbles. "I live with Kurt. Well, all of them."
They walk in silence until they reach the building. Quinn unlocks the door and ushers Rachel inside while turning the downstairs hallway light on. In order to get to their apartment, they have to go up the stairs. The door at the top opens to their kitchen and living room. The downstairs holds two one-room apartments. One holds a crazy cat lady. The other is vacant. A hobo tends to find a way in there a couple times whenever the cat lady forgets to lock the main building door.
Quinn turns to Rachel to get a good look at her in the light. She's soaked and shivering. Her chocolate eyes aren't giving anything away; they seem like something has shut down in them.
"Are you ok?" Quinn asks quietly and gently.
As the question leaves her lips, Quinn grabs Rachel's hands to show that she is being sincere. They are somehow warm despite the chill of the weather. There are bruises subtly forming around her wrists. Her lip is busted, presumably from the smack that alerted Quinn to the scene in the first place.
"I…"
"BERRY! WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO TO YOU?" Quinn asks eyes wide and staring at the various injuries.
"Obviously he saw me in this somewhat provocative outfit, and, since I have no need for owl sweaters now that I don't become soaked in slushie every day, decided he wanted me. I guess this is the result."
Quinn looks down at Rachel's clothing for the first time since high school. The girl is wearing tight jeans, for the cold weather presumably. As her eyes move upward her heart beats faster. Her damn adrenaline causes her to become hot and bothered all of the sudden. Her white wife beater is soaked, allowing for her crème bra to shine through the fabric. Quinn feels her face get hot in what feels like a breach of Rachel's privacy.
"You wore a tank top in this weather?" she raises her eyebrow in a teasing way, training her eyes on Rachel's.
"Well, he kind of tore the rest of my clothing off and I left them in the alleyway. Don't worry. I wouldn't want to keep any of them anyway. They are beyond repair and I would rather not re-live this."
"Right. Well I'm-"
"I would rather you not mention any of this to them." Rachel says, gesturing up the stairs to Quinn's apartment.
"Shouldn't we call the police or something?"
"And say what? Some guy almost raped me in a shady alleyway? What will they be able to do?"
Rachel has an odd tone to her voice, a voice Quinn can't remember coming from Rachel's mouth. Is she angry? Quinn thinks, watching Rachel bring her hand to her lip and pinch it to stop the bleeding.
"I just… look. I understand that you don't like me. It's fine. I used to go out of my way to torture you or whatever. But if, you know, Kurt isn't here or something, I mean you already know where I live…"
"I won't stalk you, okay? You can be rest assured. Can you tell anything happened to my lip?" Rachel asks, letting go of the affliction.
"No, it is actually not that bad. And I didn't mean that. I just. I'm here for you."
"Well, obviously, Quinn. I mean, Kurt may not have said that you live with him, which is an essential fact to know…"
"I meant if you need me. I'm here if you need me."
"I…"
Quinn can tell Rachel doesn't know how to process that information by the way the Diva doesn't try to make a lecture out of it. Instead Rachel decides on two short sentences.
"Thank you. And you are wrong."
"Wait, just listen, I'll be here. You can trust me. I've matured. Honesty is the best policy. I.." Quinn starts, trying to convince Rachel that she can and will be here for her in the future.
"No. I- I don't hate you. I may not trust you, but I don't hate you. So, thank you. For everything. Honestly. But let's put this behind us and direct our anger toward Kurt who did not inform either of us of the other's presence. I swear he should have known better than that. I, for one, feel as if not giving out all of the details in any occasion is as good as lying to someone. I mean really…"
"Berry. You're making it hard to be civil to you. Just follow me and try and breathe in between sentences."
Quinn walks up the stairs and unlocks the door leading to her home with a sigh. Four classes today, cheerleading practice, work, and Rachel Berry being assaulted in one night really can tire someone. Not to mention the crappy rain.
"KURT! YOU LOST SOMETHING!" Quinn yells from the doorway as she slips off her sneakers, sets her book bag behind the couch, and jumps onto the couch from the back.
"Make yourself at home, Berry," she waves her hand in the air nonchalantly to symbolically give Rachel the ok to peruse the apartment.
Rachel wanders around the room, waiting for her friends to vacate wherever they were to come meet her. She sees the living room first. It isn't a big area, about as big as a lounge in a normal dorm room, but it has a decrepit couch that Quinn is currently taking up 2/3s of and a recliner. There are various lawn chairs and bean bag chairs strewn across the area surrounding the t.v and various game stations. Posters of obscure vacation spots allow for a calming atmospheric vibe to radiate from the white walls. Overall it seems like a nice place to relax. There is a small kitchen across the way, but Quinn is looking at Rachel perplexingly, so she decides to perch on the end of the couch that Quinn's feet did not reach.
"Why are you perching like that? Relax. None of us bite." Quinn moves into a sitting position and brings her knees up to her chest for her chin to rest on while she studies Rachel.
Rachel easily lets her guard down, which is more than a little odd considering their past.
"I'm wet."
Quinn blushes and looks away as Kurt comes into the living room with Mercedes and Blaine at his heels.
"I didn't know you were into blondes, Rach."
Rachel blushes at the innuendo that had innocently left her lips. "No. Well, kind of. I mean, I don't want to get your couch wet."
"Have you seen this couch? If anything, getting it wet might clean it. Quinn refuses to spend money on another one and the rest of us are basically relying on her to keep the rent at bay so we let her have it."
"There is nothing wrong with Ugly Betty! She has served us well thus far and she is the first piece of furniture I bought on my own! She stays!"
Kurt rolls his eyes and goes around the couch to hug the shorter girl, but decides on a pat instead. She really is quite soaked, as is Quinn. Blaine and Mercedes fight or the next contact with the brunette ending in a very large, very warm, and very wet hug.
"Quinn! Get Rachel some clothing. She's spending the night. You should probably change too, by the way."
Rachel panics. "What? I never agreed to that, Kurt! I have a show to do and classes to prepare for!"
"As if you don't have your lines already down perfectly, have the pitch in the music fantastically practiced, and your homework ready up until next month!" Mercedes says with laughter.
"Besides, it's a Friday night and we missed your overbearing personality. Let us have some fun with you for a while." Kurt says with a smile.
"Yeah! Besides, I haven't sung with you in ages! Or danced! We need a dance party up in here!" Blaine adds with excitement.
Rachel bites her lip in thought. She hasn't had time to make close friends while in college. Half her time is spent in preparation for shows while the other half is balanced between actually performing in shows and doing her classwork. She has never taken the time to hang out with those who she has actually made friends with. The brunette needs to be ready for her classes in the future because she is too busy with Broadway auditions to do the work when it's assigned.
Quinn tosses her a pair of Cheerios sweatpants and a McKinley High tank top. She hadn't even noticed the blonde leave between all of the raucous around her and her inner monologue.
"Take a shower quickly because I'm getting cold in my wet clothes. Towels are in the closet. Showering essentials are in the shower already. Hot is cold and cold is hot."
"Well this clothing is a blast from the past. I can't believe I have my hands on the holiness of which Cheerios clothing most assuredly is."
"Don't push it, little one." Quinn says with a straight face.
Hm. No anger. That's new. So is the name… I think. And did I notice a hint of a smirk?
"Thanks again, Quinn. For everything."
Quinn's face begins to redden, probably from the humiliation of being addressed to in the midst of her friends. Rachel shrugs her shoulders at the cheerleader and rushes into the bathroom. She decides to take a quick shower so Quinn doesn't get sick from the cold rainwater she is still drenched in.
