*Disclaimer* There may be themes in this fic that could be upsetting to readers, illness and possible character death later on (after first chapter), though I have tried to deal with these themes maturely and respectfully!
The train journey felt too long and incredibly tedious, the only sound being the constant drone of the heavy, metal carriages rattling away as they jumped and bumped around like a bad choir of ugly school children. And yet regardless, a large and excited smile stayed plastered on Rachel Berry's face, the whole time her stomach threatening to burst with excitement at the prospect of seeing her best friend again after 5 excruciatingly lonely months alone in New York.
Sure, she had wanted to travel up to see her before, preferably closer to the beginning of their first semester, but she was still adjusting to her life in 'The Big Apple' – and she had quickly realised that this was an appropriate nickname, for everyday she found herself shuffling between discourteous, busy pedestrians and large towering buildings, each unfamiliar street leading to another unfamiliar place as if the city had no end. And though she was still dazed at the thrilling adventures she was having in her new city, it was still a far cry from Lima, Ohio and everything she knew to be familiar. She had described the whole experience to various friends and family as exhilarating and exciting but uncomfortable and unpredictable at the same time, much like a roller-coaster – or indeed her own high school experience.
In all, the city was beginning to feel like home, but it was lacking a familiar face or a friend of any kind: The girls in her classes, though some nicer than others, were incredibly competitive and self-obsessed – some would say much like her – and were difficult to get along with or consider friends at all. Rachel hadn't told Quinn that she was intending to visit, nor had she spoken to her since she had left for New York, and was excited but nervous at the same time. 'She gave you the tickets Rachel, she wants you to visit. She's your friend now.' Rachel thought to herself, for although she and Quinn had been friends for a while now, it was still sometimes hard to shake the nervousness that she felt around her, especially when what she was doing was so uncertain, because Quinn could be so unpredictable.
But, it wasn't that Rachel was scared that Quinn would be infuriated by her spontaneous and uninvited visit; you see she understood that Quinn Fabray was mostly a composition of things that people invented about her, or that she invented about herself. She was afraid of the invention that Quinn was, the reputation that she had - and that she had worked so hard throughout high school to maintain – that painted her as judgemental and cold bloodedly cruel . In reality, when she thought about it, Rachel had never actually seen this side of Quinn – unless she wanted her to see it, because that was the thing about Quinn Fabray she always had nothing short of total control of how she was seen and how she portrayed herself – the Quinn that Rachel had gotten to know was caring and accepting, if not slightly guarded of how selfless, genuinely kind-hearted, lovely and loyal she really is. Quinn was mysterious and enigmatic, and the experience of being near her was sensational and surprising, her true actions jaw droppingly betraying her reputation and everything you thought her to be.
As the metal breaks loudly screeched the entire train to a complete halt, Rachel berry stood up from the itchy, carpeted seat she had sat on for the last four hours of the bumpy journey and made her way onto the busy platform in New Haven.
The city was desolate in comparison to the streets of New York which were always bursting with activity, but Rachel instantly fell in love with it, watching it fly past her in an array of bright colours in the back of a taxi cab she had caught to take her to the College Dorms that Rachel knew Quinn was staying at. She had gotten the information off of Kurt who was still in constant contact with Mercedes, who had apparently briefly spoken to Quinn's mum when she was visiting her own parents back in Lima. It was becoming apparent that nobody from high school, that she knew, had heard from Quinn since she left.
Rachel trudged up the steep steps that led towards Quinn's dorm, smiling at the pretty parks of tall green trees and bright coloured flowers that adorned the large rectangular slabs of perfectly cut grass she had just seen dotted throughout the city and wondered if Quinn would take her to one of them, show her around - It felt like so long since she had just enjoyed the nature around her and smelled the roses. She knew it was still term time for Quinn, but this was beginning to feel like a holiday for her, a relaxation period that she could enjoy with her best friend.
Smiling, Rachel took a deep breath and began tapping her knuckles fast and excitedly on the door in front of her. She read the door number, 107, over again in anticipation and dropped her hand back to her side, waiting. There was a reasonably loud bang, of what Rachel assumed was books falling to the floor, and some shuffling around inside before a tall blonde woman slowly opened the door, a meek smile adorning her face.
Oh my goodness.
Rachel took in the appearance of the girl in front of her. She was almost unrecognisable with her pale grey skin and her drooping, tired eyes. Even her medium length, blonde hair lacked its usual unforgettable, glimmering shine and instead it lay thinly on her head, bleak and dry amongst large patches of her bare scalp. Her once perfectly toned; nimble body was skinny and brittle, ready to break at any given moment. It was as if every ounce of life had been drained from her now poor and suffering body.
"Quinn?" Rachel asked, confused and on the brink of sympathetic tears for her friend.
"I'm sick Rachel." Quinn said quietly "I've missed you so much."
Well, this is the first chapter, I hope you like it. Obviously I don't own glee, because I am poor and have never even been to L.A.
PLEASE REVIEW! I'll love you forever! This is my first fic and I intend it to be multi chapter, that's if you guys like it. I haven't decided if it's going to lead to a romantic Faberry coupling or Faberry friendship, let me know what you'd prefer.
Will DEFINATLEY get more angsty and tragic as it goes on, so if you like that sort of thing, like me, please don't lose hope, and if you don't that kind of thing, please give it a chance as it's not all like that! This is basically a story that came to mind after the finale and is set whilst the two are at college. By the way, I'm English, but I've tried to use American terms and words etc. But please forgive me if I've missed a few or I get some wrong. I like it to be as realistic as possible!