A/N: This is my first time writing fanfiction, so go easy on me :)
You couldn't stop her. You beat yourself up for of all the time you've wasted. And now this is it. She's going to be gone for good.
At first you didn't have a doubt in your mind they wouldn't go through with it. You look at the time. 3:06pm, half an hour until the ceremony starts. You're too late.
I'm not going to stand around and watch you ruin your life by marrying Finn Hudson. It wasn't enough. If you'd only told her everything you'd wanted to. What you've been waiting to. There are so many things that you had wanted to say to her, but you didn't know how. And now it's too late.
The Lima Bean is quiet. You're the only one in here, aside from the old guy at the counter. You open the book you brought. Maybe reading would clear your mind right now. Maybe reading would stop making you feel so miserable for a little bit. Maybe reading would help you think about moving on. Because you've given up on her.
The door chimes, and you look over. A tall dark haired boy comes through the door. He has his head down, and you don't recognize him at first, but after a few steps he looks up, and you know exactly who he is. When he finally makes eye contact with you, you see yourself in his face. His expression almost mirrors yours. Defeated.
He takes a few more hesitant steps toward you.
"Hey." he says as he approaches your table. He sits down across from you.
"Hey." You almost whisper. It was the first thing you said in a while. Your voice was hoarse.
You look terrible, your face is a shade paler than it usually is, and your eyes are bloodshot from crying so much. You still have dark circles under your eyes from staying up all night torturing yourself with all the what-ifs, and the possibilities that could've been. But you don't care about what you look like right now, because he looks just as bad as you do.
"You're not going?" He asks. You nod, because isn't that obvious right now. You're a complete mess. Sitting alone at the Lima Bean while everyone you know are probably having a great time, supporting their friends.
"You know, I was invited too." He says. "Kurt invited me." he laughs. It confuses you, because you wonder what could possibly be making him laugh when he looks like this. "It's funny. Just when you think everything might finally come together, it falls apart."
You look up at him. He's staring off to the side. His eyes are grey, almost lifeless. You never thought you'd ever see the day when David Karofsky looked like this.
"I told him I loved him." The way his words come out, so clearly, like he's been reliving it in his head forever, surprises you. "And now it's too late." You never thought you were so much alike.
"Why now?" You ask. "Why'd you tell him now?" He knows about Kurt and Blaine so why would he even bother. Why would anyone bother with something that could never happen? Why mess with somebody who's already in love? You turn you head away from him. You swallow and force the tears back. This is your own fault.
You look back at him, waiting for him to answer. He smirks, still looking down at the table. "I thought he was ready." He looks up at you and shakes his head. "I thought I was ready."
You look outside. It's still cloudy.
"This is my own fault." He starts. "It's my fault he transferred. And It's my fault he met him" he looks pathetic. Pathetic and drained. Kind of like you do. "I did this to myself."
This is your last year in Lima. And it's nearly over. Your last year with all these people. All these stupid, narrow minded people. You look him in the eyes.
"I couldn't stop her." You say. He stares into you, like he's trying to understand. "I couldn't stop her from what I know is going to be the stupidest decision of her life. I just, I can't. I can't stop her." And then he gets it.
"Berry?" he states. "It's not like her and Hudson are going to last. I mean come on. I give it two months before-"
"I loved her!" You lean in closer to him as you speak. You know exactly the look you have on right now. Your face is heating up, and you know the intensity in your eyes is making him uneasy. He can't look away though. "Love her." You whisper.
It's the first time you told anyone. And Karofsky of all people.
"But it's too late. It's always too late."
He's still staring at you. Completely silenced. He doesn't expect you to say anything more, and the two of you just sit, staring at each other.
He looks down at his wrist. "It's not too late until it's over, Quinn." He gets up from his seat.
"Get up, we're going to that wedding."
"I already told you I couldn't stop her." You don't move.
"Did you tell her you love her?" You didn't. It's what you'd wanted to say. What you'd always wanted to say.
"I can't tell her at her wedding, Dave." You tell him. "She's not going to stop it just for me, and I'll make a complete ass out of myself."
"It's senior year. You're leaving this place soon. What have you got to lose?" There's something different about him now. Like something changed, and there's a spark in his eyes that he didn't have five minutes ago.
"Why do you care?" You ask. "You barely spoke two words to me at McKinley."
"Look, Quinn. All I know is that you have one last chance for this, and you're going to regret it if you don't do something while you still can. Trust me, I know."
It's like he doesn't want you to end up like him. He knows what it feels like to be rejected from love. But you couldn't even try. You wasted all your time hiding you're feelings for her, when you could've been showing her how much you care. Maybe it's not too late for you.
You get up and smile at him. He smiles back. You nod at him and make your way outside.
"My cars right over here." He says.
You follow him to his car, and get into the passenger seat. This is actually happening. You're going to tell Rachel Berry how you feel.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." You say as he steps into the car.
"Be lucky you still have a shot." He sort of half smiles and starts the engine.
You look at the time on the radio. 3:45pm. Dave looks at you and smiles.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure I get you there before anything happens." He laughs.
He zips out of the parking lot and speeds down the road toward the church. You know it's only 15 minutes away, but by the way Dave's driving, you think you might be able to get there in 5. For the first time, you're thankful for how small Lima is.
It feels like you've been in Dave's car forever. You're on the edge of your seat, nervous and excited and anxious for what you're about to do. This is it. You've had a pretty rough time in high school, but there's always time for new starts. For you to be able to redeem yourself. And that's what you're finally going to get to do.
You're almost there. You know you're ready for this. You look at Dave. You wished you knew him better last year. If you'd known how much in common you had, you might've even been able to help each other out a long time ago. You laugh and look away.
"What?" He smiles.
You look back over at him, and that's when you see it. You only have one thing in mind before it hits. And in that split second, you realize everything always falls apart.