Author's Note: This was just an idea that popped in my head and I'm gonna try and run with it. I started this a while back so hopefully my posting schedule will be pretty frequent (if people want me to continue :D)
I own nothing from Glee except the box sets of seasons 1 and 2. This is AU, which you will see early on in the story lol.
The sun was out in full force on that summer day in Lima, and the park was packed with kids running amok on the play area while their parents or nannies watched from a safe distance. But instead of climbing on the monkey bars or fighting other kids for a turn on the slide Rachel, Quinn, and Santana were sitting together far out in the open field gathering flowers and linking them together to make crowns.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Quinn asked both girls momentarily putting down her chain of flowers. Rachel didn't even have to think of her answer.
"Famous," She answered proudly. Rachel's dads had put her in nearly every kind of performing arts class since she could remember. She's had dance classes, gymnastics, choir, and even a little drama class that had put on a different play each month. Rachel loved every bit of preforming and knew that was where her life would take her when she grew up.
"A dancer," Santana answered after pausing to think about it. She loved to dance; it was something that she had gotten from her mother. Rachel and Quinn nodded both thinking of how an afternoon would not go by without them seeing Mrs. Lopez dance around the house while she cleaned, or shake her hips in the kitchen while cooking dinner. They didn't always like the music she played, but they would both watch in awe as she easily moved to the beat and would sing along. Even if she was out of key.
"I think I want to be a weather girl," Quinn said with a decisive nod. She hated watching the news because most of it scared her, but her parents would constantly have it on the television. The only time Quinn would watch was when Tanya Penning was reading the weather. Tanya Penning was her idol at the time. She was super pretty and always had the best clothes. Quinn always thought it would be fun to stand there in front of the picture of the map and explain when there was a cold front coming from the east, or heavy showers were expected. She didn't know why it had fascinated her so much, but she was sure that was what she wanted to do with her life.
"Well do you guys have any change?" Santana asked. Quinn and Rachel both dug in their pockets, pulling out various things. Finally Rachel found a nickel; Quinn came up with a penny, and Santana pulled out a dime.
"What is this for?" Rachel asked. Santana got a mischievous smile and looked over her shoulder to the water-well that was near the side entrance to the park. It had been there for a long time, it was like a historical landmark or something, so they refused to take it out even when they built the park.
"The well has magical powers. Brittany says you can only make three wishes but she wished for a cat, a new Barbie corvette, and to go to Disneyland in California and they all came true." Santana said.
"That doesn't mean the well has powers. Those are easy wishes." Rachel argued, but secretly she was a little excited about the idea that maybe the well really could make her wishes come true. She didn't even know where to start with her wishes. Santana got up and ran over to the well without looking to see if they had followed her. Quinn stood and followed after her yelling, "Come on Rachel," as she raced to meet up with Santana.
Rachel stood up getting ready to chase after them, but had to stop because she nearly ran into a boy. He was about a head taller than her, and had brown hair that hung a little long, and kind brown eyes. She looked up at him and her heart started to beat erratically within her chest. He was very cute. He smiled down at her and then a woman caught up with him, smiled warmly at Rachel, and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Come on Finn, we need to get going." She said. Finn smiled again at Rachel and followed after the woman. Rachel watched him go for a minute and then finally ran to join Quinn and Santana.
"What happened?" Santana asked. Rachel just shook her head. She didn't want to share it. Santana shrugged and stepped closer to the well.
"So what do you do?" Quinn asked while turning her penny in her hand a few times.
"You close your eyes, make three wishes, and throw in your coin," Santana said.
"Does it matter how much your coin is worth?" Quinn asked, looking at her penny in comparison to Rachel's nickel and Santana's dime.
"It doesn't matter how much. Wishes don't work that way." Rachel assured her with a smile. Quinn smiled back and nodded.
"Me first," Santana said. She stepped up to the edge of the well and closed her eyes with a small smile. She held her coin in both hands and lifted them under her chin.
I wish that my dad will come back and live with us again. I wish that Noah Puckerman would like me, and I wish that I'll be successful when I grow up.
Santana threw her dime in and heard a soft 'plip' when it hit the water below. She turned to both of her friends and raised her eyebrows in question.
"Go ahead Quinn, I still need to think of mine," Rachel said. Quinn stepped forward and copied everything she had watched Santana do, in fear that if she did something wrong, they wouldn't come true.
I wish that my mom will get me that dress I liked at the store last week. I wish to be the head cheerleader when I get to high school, and I wish that I will be a weather girl when I grow up.
Quinn threw her penny in, and also smiled when she heard it hit the water. Both looked to Rachel, and she was a little wary when she stepped up to the well. Her heart was racing within her chest as she copied what her friends had done.
I wish that I will find out who my mother is. I wish to be famous when I grow up and… Rachel completely blanked. She didn't know what else to wish for. It seemed like too big of a deal for her to wish for something small and nearly meaningless. But at that moment, she remembered that boy Finn, and the way his eyes made her stomach feel fluttery. And I wish that I meet that Finn boy again and we become good friends. Rachel had seen Aladdin and knew that you couldn't wish for someone to fall in love with you. So she would settle for friendship. He just seemed like a really great person.
When Rachel threw her coin in, Mrs. Lopez called out to them that it was time to head back to the house. They were never able to hear the coin hit the water below. What the girls didn't know was that Rachel's coin never made it to the water. It landed on one of the bricks that was sticking out from the inner wall just a few feet below the opening.
Quinn grabbed both of their hands feeling excited at the prospect of her wishes coming true. Together they ran smiling and laughing to where Santana's mother was waiting for them.
Fifteen Years Later
"How can you drink that shit?" Quinn asked Santana while screwing up her face after taking a sip of her friend's Midori Sour; it was definitely not a favorite of hers.
"Don't hate, I don't hound you for your little girly drinks. At least Rach has decent taste in alcohol." Santana motioned to Rachel who was nursing a Jack and coke.
"Whatever," Quinn muttered. Her phone buzzed and she looked at it and blushed when she read the text message.
"I'm assuming that's Noah," Rachel said with a knowing smile. Quinn nodded and smirked. Santana rolled her eyes.
"I cannot believe I ever liked him," She said. Quinn and Rachel both laughed at that. Noah Puckerman and Quinn had been together since right after high school.
"Wasn't that one of your wishes?" Quinn asked, not needing to elaborate. They had all remembered the wishing well.
Rachel sighed quietly at the mention of the well. Santana's wishes had come true almost instantly, but of course she would only tell the girls about the wish after it came true. No less than two months after she threw her coin in, her father and mother got back together and he moved back into their house. They were still married to this day.
Noah (or "Puck" as everyone else had called him) had suddenly noticed her, and not a week later they were boyfriend and girlfriend. At eight years old, that wasn't a big deal, but from then on and up until high school they had dated on and off. Noah became somewhat of a playboy, and was constantly with other girls, but he always came back to Santana. They officially stopped dating for good after sophomore year when she couldn't deal with him anymore. After he turned eighteen, Puck seemed to put an end to his man-whoring and started working. He asked Santana if she would have a problem with him asking Quinn out and that started Puck and Quinn's relationship. Puck and Santana had a love/hate relationship. They couldn't be nice to each other for an entire afternoon, but deep down they did care for each other in a friendly way.
Santana's last wish came true about a year ago when she started writing for Composure Magazine. It was her big break and it paid extremely well. On top of that, it was in her job description to check out the local hotspots and write reviews. So the weekly girl nights at different bars or restaurants were all complimentary.
When Quinn got a little older, she had been angry that she used one of her wishes on a dress, but her mother did purchase the dress for her, and gave it to her that same afternoon when she picked Quinn up from Santana's. During freshman year of high school, Quinn tried out for the Cheerios and actually made the team. It was no easy feat; Coach Sylvester was Satan in the flesh. But after one year, Quinn had become the youngest cheerleading captain in the history of the Cheerios, as a sophomore. She kept her captain's title until she graduated. Then two years ago Quinn started interning at the local news station trying to work her way up to being the weather-girl. Her dream hadn't been completely filled as she hadn't made it just yet, but she had done the weather eight times already. Carly Hardwick was the lead weathergirl and would soon be taking her pregnancy leave which would put Quinn in her place.
Rachel's wishes had never come true, which secretly was the reason why she was so pessimistic when it came to good things happening in her life. The closest thing that happened to one of her wishes coming true was that she was a part of a performance company called 'Poise' that would travel the surrounding area doing productions of some of the large favorites like the Phantom, and some smaller ones that were written by the head of the company. It paid her pretty well, but she wasn't where she wanted to be. And she needed another job to supplement her income for when she didn't have a show running. That's when she started giving vocal lessons to younger kids, and that made up for anything she was lacking from Poise.
During high school, the girls all tried out for the Glee Club and made it. Apparently it wasn't as cool as they had assumed it would be, but they were the only three in the club that didn't get harassed on a daily basis. They still remained pretty popular, despite their friendships with their fellow club members that got teased mercilessly. Once they joined, Puck and his friend Mike joined as well, and they too were able to remain popular, mainly because they were football players, and no one messed with them.
Rachel held on to a shred of hope thinking that one day her wishes might start coming true, even though she felt foolish to still believe in stuff like that. But both of her friends had received theirs, and she had yet to have anything close to hers happen. It kept Rachel very guarded, and she became a little jaded all because of a stupid well.
"Don't remind me. I can't believe I wasted a wish on him. But I guess it was good to keep him around, that way I got to shove him off on you," Santana smirked to Quinn.
"Yes, thank you 'oh generous one' I bow to your awesomeness," Quinn joked, sipping her Flirtini.
"What did you ever wish for Rach? In all these years, you have never told us," Santana asked, realizing that Rachel had been very quiet every time the well was brought up.
"Nothing special." Rachel answered with a shrug. She always changed the subject when the well was brought up and Quinn suddenly pieced everything together.
"You've never told us when any of them had come true either. Did any of them happen?" Quinn asked, suddenly feeling terrible for Rachel. They had brought up the well quite a bit, and with Rachel always being so nonchalant about it, she had assumed they had come true, but Rachel didn't want to tell them.
"Yeah, they were really stupid things though. Just stuff that an eight year old would want, you know, the occasional outfit, my Barbara collection, and to grow some boobs. I didn't really feel the need to over share." Rachel lied easily. Santana laughed, but Quinn wasn't completely convinced. Although, if Rachel did wish for boobs, she certainly got them. Rachel had remained short since they were kids, but during their junior year Rachel's boobs seemed to decide that they were tired of hiding, and came out in full force. Santana and Quinn had both been utterly jealous.
"So I really like the atmosphere here, I'm going to give it a nice review. The lighting is pretty awesome," Santana said taking some notes with her phone.
The bar was illuminated mainly by candles that were on every table and a few more strategic places throughout the large room. The rest of the lighting came from dim bulbs that were spread out to make just enough light for you to make your way around the room without running into things.
"Oh yeah, this is great," Rachel started. She spotted Mike walking up slowly behind Santana and he threw a wink at her. "It's a great place for the creepers to sneak up and grab you," Rachel finished just as Mike grabbed Santana's hips and tweaked her skin, causing her to shriek and jump about a foot in the air.
Santana turned around getting ready to beat some ass when she saw her boyfriend smirking at her. When Santana started going off on him in Spanish, Rachel and Quinn failed at holding in their laughter. She was just like her mother, speaking a mile a minute and flailing her arms around maniacally. The look of sheer terror on Mike's face had the girls erupting into a fit of giggles again.
Santana continued her tirade, not even looking at any of them anymore and more muttering to herself and Mike pulled up a chair between her and Rachel and leaned in.
"What the hell is she saying?" Mike whispered to her.
"I think I heard the word 'Sasquatch' but I really don't understand Spanish. Just apologize and shut her up already," Rachel smiled. Mike shrugged and grabbed Santana's face in his hands and yanked her in for a kiss.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You know not to sneak up on me! You are lucky you are such a good dancer, otherwise I would kick your muscular ass back to Asia." Santana huffed as she straightened up after the kiss.
"Baby, I was born in Ohio, I've never been anywhere near Asia," Mike said while tweaking her nose.
"Is Puck here?" Quinn asked.
"Yeah, he was getting drinks. Kurt and Mercedes are here too, sans their significant others," Mike answered. Not even a moment later, Puck came up with a couple beers followed by Kurt and Mercedes each carrying their usual virgin margaritas. They all pulled up chairs and managed to squeeze in at the small table. Puck placed a kiss on the top of Quinn's head as everyone said their greetings. The old Glee group tried to get together at least twice a month if their schedules permitted.
"Berry, where's Jackson?" Puck asked, he hadn't liked Rachel's boyfriend in the beginning, he would never admit it to anyone, but he was protective of Rachel. She was the only person who had been always been completely honest with him (Santana and Quinn included) and had she had been there for him whenever he really needed someone. He felt like an older brother to her, and Jackson hadn't made the best first impression on the phone.
When Puck first met Jackson in person, he was kind of putting him through the ringer. He wanted to make sure that this guy really cared for Rachel, so he got as close to her as possible without making Quinn uncomfortable. He kept pulling her into his side, putting his arm around her, pulling her onto his lap occasionally and being as flirty as he could while monitoring Jackson's reactions. Finally after a few hours of that, Jackson pulled him aside. He was very respectful in telling him that Puck's actions were making him uncomfortable. Then he told him that if Puck was in love with Rachel, he should have said something before, because his feelings were too deep for him to give her up without a fight. Puck warmed to him after that.
"He's got a twelve hour shift tonight," She answered. That was the downside of dating a doctor.
"Sucks to be him. By the way, party at Casa De Puck Saturday night, you're all invited. Except you Hummel, last time I had a party you tried to dress me up like some kind of Mariachi Band player," Puck scowled at Kurt.
"Ruffles are very retro. It's not my fault you are such a caveman," Kurt huffed.
"Whatever dude, you aren't allowed anywhere near my closet ever again," Puck said taking a pull from his beer.
"Why the sudden party?" Quinn asked.
"I need a reason to have a badass party? It's like I don't even know you anymore," He smirked. Quinn rolled her eyes.
"You usually don't invite the rest of us to your badass parties though. Apparently we don't meet the standards of badass-ness. I think she's just asking why we get to come as well this time," Mercedes clarified.
"I always invite you, Barry, and Satan," Puck replied defensively to Quinn. There was a loud "thwack" from Santana smacking the back of Puck's head.
"Yeah, but what about the rest of the Glee club?" Mercedes asked with a little diva sigh.
"I have a buddy that just moved back into town. Felt like I should introduce him to Lima's finest," Puck said with a sly smile. Rachel rolled her eyes knowing Puck was trying to save his own ass.
"Save it Noah, we'll be there to scare off your friend with no problem," Rachel smiled. He winked at her as a 'thanks' for putting an end to the conversation.
The rest of the night went pretty well, they gathered their things giving hugs and promising to see each other on Saturday night.
While Puck, Quinn, and Rachel were making their way out of the bar after everyone had left already, the room began to shake violently. Glasses started clanking together, some fell from the tables and shattered, outside they could hear car alarms being set off, and some people were ducking under the tables for safety. It wasn't often that Ohio was hit with earthquakes, and this one was huge. All three of them had grabbed onto each other while it happened and stopped walking in case something fell and hit them. Once the shaking had finally subsided, they relaxed.
"You guys okay?" Puck asked both of them, noticing that Rachel looked a little freaked out still.
"Yeah," They said in unison. Santana called Rachel to make sure everything was alright, and Mercedes called Quinn. When they were sure everything was fine, and the bar was being cleaned up, they finally left. Everything continued on as if nothing had happened.
But across town, in an old well, a coin was knocked from its perch on a brick and it landed with a light "plip" into the water below. No one was around to hear it fall.
Just a quick set up for the story, please review to let me know what you think. I love feedback, and it will let me know if I should continue to post :)