Through the Looking Glass

by WaveGoodbye

Rachel seeks to repair the damage caused by cursed sprinkles and invites a reluctant Quinn to a sleepover at teen witch Tina Cohen-Chang's house to prove to her that they are still normal people. Things don't quite go as planned. Sequel to Rainbow Bright.

1. I

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the characters do not belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for fun.

Author's Note: This is my slightly belated contribution to Faberry Week. Over 10K of it was written several weeks after writing Rainbow Bright but I wasn't happy with the way that it flowed and decided to leave it well alone despite the fact that it bugged me to have an unfinished sequel sitting on my hd. When I saw the prompts for this FW, I knew I had to finish it. It already incorporated two of the prompts within it, so I decided to add all of the other prompts as well. Hopefully it works.

Hope you guys enjoy.

---

She was scared at first.

After waking up in Rachel's bed and then Tina teleporting her across school, well, Quinn would think herself certifiably insane if she was anything but scared shitless. Not having control of her own desires with Rachel was the single most mortifying experience of her life thus far.

If that wasn't enough, she had to sit through a ridiculous amount of Finn and Rachel duets in Glee Club. Finn had always had the title of one of the most irritating boys on the football team but at least then she didn't have to watch his face contort as he sung whatever song he'd been assigned. At best he would get tackled to the ground over and over again, and at worst she'd see his frustration over never winning a game. It wasn't a bad deal.

Now all she had were the times Finn mooned over Rachel like some pathetic, lovesick tween for the entire club to see. It was only made a little better the day when Quinn realised that Rachel had quite a habit of ignoring him by looking over at her the same way, only less annoying somehow.

The only way Glee Club was tolerable was if Brittany or Santana stayed glued to her side. They were the only people who understood how embarrassed she still was over the sprinkles incident, and also who weren't best friends with a witch who obviously couldn't be trusted. Brittany never took to the subtle hints so whenever she would see Rachel approaching and make a move to leave, Quinn would grab her arm hard enough for it to hurt.

Quinn also made it a point to stray from the choreography if she was placed next to Rachel. She had gone so far as to avoid any and all physical contact with her.

"Quinn."

Quinn turned around just in time to see Rachel's hand about to come to rest on her shoulder. She stepped away and lifted a questioning eyebrow. "What?"

Tina stood by Rachel's side now but it was Rachel who continued. "We were wondering how you're feeling? You haven't really said anything."

Quinn looked between them and walked away without responding.

Rachel was disappointed but not surprised as she watched her walk out of the choir room, expecting as much from the exchange since the moment Quinn had backed away. Tina wasn't quite so forgiving. She said Quinn's name three times.

Back in front of them, Quinn's eyes hardened. "Do that again," she dared, even though her heart was positively pounding inside her chest. It had been two weeks since she'd seen Tina use her magic.

"Next time it'll be Timbuktu," Tina warned.

Quinn crossed her arms, missing a hint of a smile playing on Rachel's lips at her defensiveness.

"What do you want?"

"Rachel just asked you."

Quinn focused her attention on Rachel. She smiled falsely. "Fine, I'm feeling violated and seconds away from spilling someone's secret. Does that answer your question?"

"Tread carefully, Quinn. Rachel's the only one who likes you," Tina said. She didn't know her too well, and what she did know about her didn't exactly warm Tina's heart. Their interaction, thanks to Quinn, had mostly come in the form of spiteful exchanges. "Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, you're coming to a sleepover at my house tonight. All the Glee girls are going to be there."

"No."

Rachel cut in before Tina. "We were wondering if you'd like to come to the sleepover," she amended. "It's gonna be fun. Her house is huge and I hear there'll be a huge storm. Perfect sleepover weather, right?"

"No."

Tina was losing her patience. "You're pronouncing 'okay' wrong."

"I'm not going," Quinn said. "I have plans."

"Yeah, with us." Rachel's voice was gentle. "Bond with the rest of the girls tonight. Come on, it'll be fun. You can see that we're just normal people who have normal rituals."

Quinn's scowl fell away some but she still didn't budge. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm spending the night with you again. For any reason," she added on.

Okay, so maybe Tina had just been having a bad day so far. Rachel was probably right; Quinn needed gentle coaxing. "Quinn, you've been in the club for two weeks. Can you remember one time I scared you or made you feel like I'd hurt you or anyone else? I'm a good witch."

Quinn huffed out a breath of laughter. "I don't know, there was that time where your stupid sprinkles cursed me. Remember that?"

"I really don't see that as a reason to overreact."

"Overreact? I was possessed!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"Or what, you'll turn me into a frog?"

Tina was done with being nice. If Quinn was going to be a bitch, so was she. "Goat."

Quinn glared and Tina felt a nudge from Rachel. She sighed internally and gave her friend a quick glance, not missing a pointed look to fix things.

"I'm sorry things got so out of control last time," Tina apologised. "It won't happen again." Rachel cleared her throat none too subtly. "I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Rachel's smile quivered when Quinn made eye contact. She nodded mutely in agreement to also stay out of any future situation involving Tina's magic where it could possibly affect Quinn.

Eventually, Quinn gave in. She knew she didn't have a leg to stand on. Tina could just say her name several times and she would be at the sleepover whether she wanted to be or not. "Fine, but there are…rules to this stupid engagement; the most important being to leave me alone when I tell you to or I'll tell everyone that it was you who was responsible for my insane behaviour in the cafeteria for the entire student body to see. If I'm not there when you wake up in the morning, take it as a compliment that I didn't wake you by trying to see if you really do melt with water. Also, I refuse to sleep next to anyone but Brittany and Santana. If they don't go, I don't go. That's it."

X

Rachel wasn't wrong about the storm, as she knew would be the case. For most residents of Lima, Ohio, it was a strange occurrence indeed considering the severity and how it hadn't even been forecast in any of the weather reports.

Quinn had arrived at the sleepover with Brittany and Santana and made them stand in front of her at the door, walking past an irritatingly welcoming Tina. The house was large for Lima, probably around the same size as Quinn's own home, and she silently followed Tina up to her bedroom where the rest of the overnight bags were stored.

She'd been on edge about this ever since she reluctantly agreed to it; less than approachable to enquire about her weekend plans with anyone with half a brain. It didn't wear off once she got there and joined the rest of the female members of the group, plus Kurt in the living room.

Quinn saw Rachel's wide, genuine smile as she challenged Mercedes over the entertainment and, after hearing the loud giggle, looked to anyone else in the vicinity for several minutes following. The announced presence of the remaining guests caused the noisy but light-hearted debate of which movie to watch to be halted and replaced with greetings instead.

Within minutes, the only two other people whom Quinn could completely relate to had switched to the dark side, so to speak. Brittany and Santana didn't seem to have any concern over their company whatsoever, leaving Quinn's lukewarm demeanour at absolute best to seem worse than it actually was. She had a very good reason for acting that way.

Pizza was ordered without much of a delay and candy, chips, and popcorn were in bowls all over the coffee table and in some of the laps and hands of the girls —plus Kurt— who she was slowly getting to know through observation over the past couple of weeks rather than conversation. Usually at the sleepovers she went to, the snacks were all healthy. Allowing herself to binge on junk food were rare but welcomed moments of luxury, even if she did have to almost torture herself at the gym to work it all off afterwards.

While they were waiting for dinner, they had to decide on the movie to watch. Rachel's suggestion was denied which left only two choices. Quinn didn't care which one she had to sit through and offered a mere shrug when she was asked which one she preferred.

Nobody spoke to her for a little while after that. Not until…

"Do you want some?"

Quinn turned towards the voice and saw Rachel looking at her. "What?"

They weren't sitting too far apart, especially as Kurt and Mercedes had gotten up from the couch to refill drinks. Rachel extended her arm across the gap to offer a bowl of candy. Their pizza was supposed to be there soon but she'd seen Quinn eyeing the bowl as it was passed around a few minutes ago and wanted to use it to begin a neutral conversation. "At least take a stash before it all goes. I know we ordered a lot of pizza and almost everyone in this room looks normal, but don't let their appearance fool you. They're pigs. I mean, seriously, they can eat, and they will eat. Everything."

Quinn didn't answer her verbally but she did take the bowl, so Rachel saw it as a success.

When dinner arrived and had begun to fill the bellies of everyone there, the girls and Kurt remained seated in the living room, this time with the lights off and a slight change of seats as they watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose. As predicted by Quinn —internally, of course, one of them jumped harder and more often than anybody else in the room. She glared ahead at the screen each time a particularly violent jerk from Rachel sent her own heart thundering.

She also glared at Kurt earlier when she came back from the kitchen and found that he and Mercedes had moved to the other side of the couch, leaving the only comfortable seat in the room to be the space next to Rachel. She'd sat down without a word but a promise of revenge was written in her eyes.

In fact, the only time Quinn jumped was when Rachel practically flew off her seat at Emily's twisted body in the dorm room, gripping the top of Quinn's hand painfully. It was then that Quinn got up and sat on the arm of the couch next to Mercedes. She didn't know much about the girl but so far she hadn't done much, or anything really, to make her uncomfortable or piss her off. That was reason enough to sit next to her, however uncomfortable it was to sit and watch a movie like that.

Quinn hadn't looked in Rachel's direction once in at least fifteen minutes, just sipped at her water and pretended that she couldn't feel the atmosphere in the room.

Mercedes craned her neck to see Brittany walking back in the room. She'd been gone for a while. "Where have you been?"

Brittany smiled, sitting down next to Tina. "Talking to the cat. He's so nice!"

Quinn smirked at what she thought was Brittany teasing. Thank God she had two of her friends there. They might seem a lot more comfortable there than she was but the night was still made somewhat bearable by having them there with her. Even Tina's aunts were weird.

A black cat sprung up on Quinn's lap and she smiled again, gently stroking his fur. "You're cute," she told him quietly after a minute, listening to him purr. She looked to Tina. "What's his name?"

"Salem Saberhagen."

"Salem Saberhagen Cohen-Chang? I just aged a year saying his name. Unless it's just Saberhagen, then I can—" It was then that Quinn realised Tina hadn't spoken at all, and neither had any of the other girls or Kurt.

She gasped in terror, dropping her glass of water where the remaining contents spilled down her torso and then the carpet. Without thought, Quinn pushed the feline off her lap and launched sideways, using her feet to push herself further down the couch against the screams of pain and protest from Kurt and Mercedes. It was simply a coincidence that it happened to be towards Rachel, pushing awkwardly in her lap where she drew her legs up in case the cat decided to get any ideas about clawing her feet.

Rachel's lips slowly quirked up. She'd have to remember to thank Salem later. Her arm slipped around Quinn's lap. "He's harmless," Rachel said, not minding the water seeping through Quinn's top to her own.

Quinn's head shook over and over again, eyes shut. This wasn't happening. She'd been acting like a bitch and Tina cursed her drink in retaliation. This was just a hallucination. Household pets didn't talk, for God's sake. It wasn't a Disney movie.

"Honestly. Kind of moody sometimes, but he gives great advice and always shares the popcorn," Rachel said. She felt Quinn begin to relax in her arms.

A startling realisation fell over Quinn.

She was on Rachel's lap.

She groaned and climbed off her when she realised what she'd done, stumbling down to Santana who was on the floor, looking like she hadn't taken a breath since Salem spoke. Finally, they were on the same page again. Quinn gave her a harsh elbow to the ribs to snap her out of it.

Rachel tried her best not to be hurt by Quinn's behaviour but it didn't seem to work this time. She put the lamp on and pulled at her wet top uncomfortably.

"I should clean up." Unable to help but notice Quinn's lack of apology, she added a sarcastic, "It's no problem, or anything."

Quinn took her eyes off Salem for a split second. Rachel's attitude was as subtle as a blow to the face. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am."

"You're unbelievable."

The gentle, warm way in which Rachel couldn't help but usually regard Quinn with was replaced with a hard lift of her brows and the beginnings of what seemed like genuine disappointment. "I'm unbelievable?"

Quinn's heart pounded the longer she stared at the cat sitting across the floor from her. Rachel's timing to pick a fight was a bad one. "Oh shut up, you big baby, there's a talking cat in the room!"

"So?"

"Why are you such a freak? There is a talking cat in this room!"

The tension grew thick again and it wasn't because of the movie or the rain pelting against the windows. After Rachel left to go upstairs, Brittany spoke up.

"Quinn, that was harsh. I mean, especially after the sprinkles experience you shared together."

"We didn't share anything," Quinn spat out.

Brittany shrugged. "If you say so."

"Should we talk about how you and Santana are doing since your sprinkles experience?"

"Our situation is entirely different."

"Yeah, right."

"At least we haven't completely avoided talking about it," Santana said.

There was an abrupt clap of thunder and Tina gasped, jumping forward to look towards the staircase. She shot to her feet after a moment. "Gotta go."

The worried expression on Tina's face and the way her aunts raced into the room and followed her upstairs didn't sit right with Quinn. Movie paused; she looked to everyone else who, except for Brittany and Santana, looked stricken with fear.

"What's going on?"

Mercedes shook her head. "Nothing, Quinn. Press play."

Santana had her thumb on the button when she remote was ripped out of her hand.

Quinn chewed her bottom lip and looked over to the stairs. Something wasn't right. That thunder was too loud. It sounded like it came from inside the house.

"Kurt," she began sweetly, "would you like your voice to be an octave higher than usual so that the dogs can hear you?"

Kurt rolled his eyes at the threat but held a cushion over his lap, just in case. "Tina has everything under control. Relax, okay? Put the movie back on."

Brittany got on the floor next to Santana and reached for the remote. Quinn threw it across the room and listened intently for any voices upstairs.

"Oh, no!" Tina wailed.

Kurt and Mercedes shared a look.

Quinn was already at the stairs.

When she reached the top, she looked to the closed door —Tina's room, where Rachel was getting changed, and her feet refused to move forward to go inside. After a beat, she noticed where Tina and her aunts had got to. They looked ridiculous standing in and around the linen closet but it was enough for her shoulders to slacken in relief.

"Is there a spider or something?" She stayed out of the way. Quinn couldn't stand spiders.

Tina didn't have time to sugar-coat it, and neither did her aunts. "We have to find Rachel!"

"You think she's hiding in the towels? Your door's closed, she's getting changed." Quinn knocked on the bedroom door. "Open up, you're missing no fun at all." After several beats, she knocked again. There was still no answer. "Oh, that's great, very mature. You sit there and ignore me because I got water on your stupid star pyjamas."

Santana and Brittany had followed Quinn up. They shoved past her and opened Tina's bedroom door.

It swung open and Quinn stepped in front of the girls. "She's changing!"

"Rachel's not here," Brittany announced as she looked around the room.

"She said she was getting changed." Quinn walked into the room and frowned at the sight of Rachel's pyjama top folded on top of her overnight bag but no sign of her anywhere.

Maybe she was in the bathroom.

Tina felt physically sick and Quinn's re-emergence from the bedroom didn't help matters either. Quinn looked calm. For the moment.

"Where's the bathroom?" Quinn asked. She didn't wait long for a response. "Rachel!"

"She was probably getting you a towel," Tina surmised with a hand to her head, ignoring Quinn's question altogether. "Oh, not good, not good. I have to find her."

"How big can the house be?"

Tina inhaled deeply. It was now or never and she could hardly leave Rachel without assistance. Lord knows where she had got to. "Rachel's in another realm."

"A what?"

"Another dimension."

"Excuse me?"

"Another world."

Quinn landed in a heap on the floor.

It wasn't any surprise. A young girl could only take so much shock in one day. First Salem talking, then the fact that not only was she in a house with three witches during an unpredicted rainstorm but their linen closet was a portal to another realm and Rachel had accidentally gone through it.

Quinn came to with Tina's aunts leaning over her.

"She's not dead!" one of them cheered. "Told you."

The more sensible of the two gave her sister a roll of her eyes. "But she's had a terrible shock. Here, sweetie, let's get you up and you can have some water."

Mercedes and Kurt were standing next to Brittany and Santana as Quinn sat upright.

"We have to look for her," Mercedes said. "We should split up."

Kurt nodded towards Santana. "You're with me. Brittany, you go with Santana."

"I'm not trying to be a bitch, but we don't even know you guys that well and you expect us to one, believe that this isn't an elaborate prank, and two, on the off-chance that you're telling the truth, split up."

"It's okay." Brittany said. "This is better. This way we'll both be with someone who's been to another realm before or at least knows the basics."

Everything about the situation was insane but Santana smiled faintly. Her eyes hardened as soon as they left Brittany's and landed on Mercedes. "Lose her and you lose your head. Same for you," she warned Tina.

Tina sighed, looking at Quinn. "You're with me."

Quinn nodded slowly. "All right."

"Did you hit your head?"

"I—" Quinn's mouth clamped shut and she got to her feet with Brittany's help. "Rachel's alone and... I'm not a monster," she added quietly.

Tina looked to everyone. "Think of Rachel and you'll go to her."

"Wait." Santana held a hand up. "So why is everyone going if all it's going to take is thinking of her?" she asked. It seemed like a valid question.

"Because there are thousands of realms. Most of them are like alternate realities where we all still exist, just differently. The key is to ignore the world around you and focus on why you're there. You can't get caught up in it or you'll get stuck."

Quinn swallowed thickly. "What do we do when we find her? How will everyone know to stop looking?"

"Oh, we have that covered," one of the aunts said.

"What do you mean 'most' are like alternate realities? What are the other realms?" Brittany wondered.

Tina dodged the question. They didn't need to be any more scared than they already were. There was a slim chance any of them would end up in a reality close to their current worst nightmare, anyway. "Is everyone clear?" She looked to Kurt and Mercedes. "You know what to do."

They nodded, and Quinn watched Kurt and Santana leave first; a loud clap of thunder signalling their departure, then Mercedes and Brittany. Quinn stepped inside the linen closet with some hesitance, but as soon as she heard Tina behind her she cleared her head.

Rachel filled it.

For the first time in two weeks, Quinn allowed herself to think about Rachel and her senses were overloaded almost instantaneously. She saw Rachel smile, felt her body pressing hers into the mattress and, perhaps the biggest surprise, Rachel's most recent performance in front of their small choir where Quinn had sat at the back with an even expression disciplined to her face.

And then she heard thunder.

X

Quinn thought it would have been like the time she suddenly went from being in the bathroom to standing in the choir room within the second; disorienting, but it wasn't. It was ten times worse. Even with the physical side-effects, Quinn didn't want to believe that it had worked. Maybe it was a prank for being short-tempered with Rachel.

She opened one eye.

"Did it work?"

"Only one way to find out."

Tina stepped forward and opened the door.

Quinn looked at her surroundings with surprise. It worked. For some reason, she had expected to still be at Tina's house, just a different version of it. They were in the high school during the day, now wearing clothes instead of pyjamas.

She reluctantly left the janitor's closet and looked up and down the deserted halls with suspicion.

Tina looked mildly apologetic when her tap to Quinn's arm caused her to start. "Are you okay? If this is too much, I can send you ba—"

"Where do we start?"

"We split up and search the school. If she's not in or around the place we were sent, it means we're in the wrong realm."

Quinn didn't look so pleased with the idea of being alone in a new world. "What if I need your help?"

"I cast a spell before we left so that I'll hear you, wherever I am. Just say my name and I'll be there in a flash."

They headed off in opposite directions and Quinn checked every single classroom she walked past, ignoring the questions and stares each time. It threw her when she saw Suzy Pepper in a Cheerios uniform and Jacob Ben Israel sporting a letterman's jacket, arm draped across her shoulders. She was definitely in an alternate reality.

She looked inside every bathroom and the locker room. On her way back through the school, in the middle of double-checking the classrooms, Quinn heard a frustrated grumble.

It was unmistakably Rachel.

Quinn hurried inside the choir room and stopped in her tracks when she saw Rachel sitting alone with her feet propped up on the chair in front. Her legs were crossed at the ankle, a book open on her lap. Quinn just looked at her.

Rachel looked the same, except for one thing. Quinn couldn't put her finger on it.

Sensing someone's gaze on her, Rachel looked up, her face brightening when she saw who it was. "What took you so long?"

"How long has it been?"

"Years," Rachel embellished, looking down to Quinn's empty hands. "And you forgot your notes. How am I supposed to pass this test without your help?"

Quinn was sent into a momentary panic when she heard years. What if it did take that long to find Rachel? The one she knew. In some ways, anyway.

She left with a promise to hurry back with her notes. As soon as Quinn was clear, she heard Rachel call out, "Love you!" and grimaced, walking away as fast as possible.

X

Rachel stayed in the stall as long as she could.

She had been changing in the bedroom, growing uneasy with the wind picking up outside and the window that was open. It was blowing the pages of Tina's magic book when she decided to grab a towel for Quinn on the way downstairs. She had to be patient with Quinn. Pushing her wouldn't help anyone.

Rachel's fingers were wrapped around a towel when the wind picked up even further, lifting the weighty curtains in Tina's bedroom. She felt the shift in the air pressure and knew what was next but there just hadn't been enough time to react before the linen closet door slammed shut. She didn't have a chance.

Tina had warned her about going in there without putting a doorstop down to prevent something like this from happening. Rachel knew she'd been transported to a different realm; she just wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about it. Sure, Tina had told her before but the advice was currently wiped from her memory with shock. At least, Rachel hoped it was shock. If it wasn't, that meant it wouldn't wear off.

She'd been hiding in the bathroom for the past ten minutes.

It looked like the bathroom by her Home Economics class.

She had to find Tina. Maybe then she could convince her that she had the power to send her back to her world, or at least figure it out together. Rachel just hoped they were friends in this realm. Her face fell. She hoped this realm's Tina knew she was a witch.

Rachel poked her head out of the bathroom and glanced around the halls. No-one seemed to be waiting with a slushie for her, so she sucked in a deep breath and left the safety of the bathroom.

In less than two minutes of roaming the halls looking for Tina, the bell rang and gone was the peaceful atmosphere she needed for optimum thinking capacity. She didn't do anything well under pressure unless it involved singing, and searching for her best friend who had supernatural powers in a completely different realm strayed a little far from her comfort zone.

Rachel's train of thought was broken when she felt an arm slung around her shoulders and frowned when she saw who it was, quick to shrug his arm off her body. "Not now, Jacob."

"You staying over again tonight?" Jacob asked hopefully. "My folks got stuck with some family obligation stuff and are out of town until tomorrow now."

Unfortunately one look was all that it took for her to be convinced that he was not kidding. They were obviously dating. Rachel abruptly faced straight ahead, her face contorted with disdain and disgust. Of all of the realms she could have been sent to, she went to one worse than hers? The injustice of it all!

"Hey, Rachel."

She looked to a pretty brunette walking past, focusing on the Cheerios outfit for a second. That girl was popular and was willingly talking to her in public? "Uh… hi?"

"What's up, Berry?"

This time, a basketball player. This was peculiar indeed. Rachel began to take more notice of the people in the halls and realised that she was getting attention. The good kind. Popular people were seeking her out, if only for a few quick words. She stopped feeling nauseous and worrying over what could have happened at Jacob's house last night, smiling instead. This was great. This was brilliant. It would make finding Tina so much easier. This way she could ask for help and it would be given.

The greetings began to die down the further down the halls she walked but she couldn't help but notice that most of the people around her looked… less popular than those she had just been with. Rachel also couldn't help but notice the glares she was being given now.

She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a skinny boy walking her way, shoving his glasses up his nose. She gasped loudly and grabbed his arm once he was close enough. "Artie," she shouted in elation. "You can walk!"

Artie ducked his head, immediately pulling his arm out of Rachel's hand. The action wasn't abrupt but it was clear that he didn't feel comfortable being around her. "Yup, since I was one. It's a miracle."

Rachel had tears in her eyes. His sarcasm didn't register at first, she was in too much shock, but then Jacob turned and his arm shot out, settling his fist in the centre of Artie's back hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground.

"Talk to her like that again and maybe you'll be in a chair the rest of your life," Jacob threatened. He thought he'd done his girlfriend a great justice and turned to look at her, to put the question of her staying over again, and was met with a sharp blow to the face.

"How dare you treat someone like that! Who do you think you are?"

He put his hand to his face to soothe the sting. It was not the first time he'd done something to receive a slap to the face and Rachel had an arm on her, that was for sure. "Your boyfriend, who was defending you. Maybe next time I won't bother."

"That would be nice seeing as we're done!" she seethed, moving to help Artie up from the floor and pick up his things.

"Right. Until you call me crying in two days like every other time you've pretended you're not happy and broken up with me, right?"

She didn't look at him, she looked at Artie. At least this time he didn't shrug her hand away from his body. "I'm so sorry about him. Are you okay?"

The pain had begun to taper. What was still fresh in Artie's mind was the confusion. This certainly wasn't normal behaviour of Rachel Berry. "Yeah…" He shoved his glasses back up and watched her pick up his books. "Um, are you? Did you fall…hit your head?"

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he said quickly. "I gotta go."

She nodded gently, taking in his stance in case it was the last time she saw him on his feet. "You're amazing. I don't think I've ever told you that in so many words before," she smiled, "but it's true, and it was really great to see you like this."

Rachel had officially lost it. Artie scampered as fast as he possibly could.

She didn't pick up on his discomfort or suspiciously swift departure when there was something huge on her mind; for instance, trying to get back to her own reality. Her parents would go ballistic if she went missing, not to mention the crippling devastation they'd surely feel from the loss.

Her journey resumed and she found herself walking the halls quickly and with purpose, her eyes carefully trained to spot Tina, fully prepared to bulldoze her way through a crowd if need be. The faces she was seeing were not Tina Cohen-Chang's, though the first truly familiar person Rachel recognised in a large crowd several minutes later made her eyes light up.

Until she saw a large cup of flavoured ice thrown in Quinn's face.

It happened in a flash. Rachel wouldn't have been able to do anything even if she wanted to. She was too far away. Her mouth slowly dropped open at the cruel act and the laughter that followed, standing immobile long enough for Quinn to turn and make a hasty exit to avoid what Rachel knew from experience would be even further embarrassment and humiliation.

The crowd began to move and Rachel kept her eyes trained on her as best she could, pushing against the sea of bodies to follow in the same direction.

When Rachel found her in the bathroom, Quinn had her eyes closed and was willing herself not to cry. It was the shock. It had happened to Rachel so many times and she knew nothing could prepare a person for the abrupt icy blow to the face. She had tried on many occasions to tell herself that it didn't hurt but she was always proven wrong. Of course it hurt. It was cold, it stung, and the humiliation made her face burn against the ice. People laughed at her. How could it not hurt? People laughed at Quinn, as well.

At Quinn. Back in her reality, that would never happen in a million years.

Quinn huffed out a harsh breath and opened her eyes. That's when she had the second shock of her day.

Rachel Berry stood behind her, staring back at her in the mirror.

Quinn felt her face flush and she covered it with her hand, scooping off the remaining ice and flicking it down to the sink. She seemed nervous to have any sort of eye contact. "I'm sorry; I'll be out of your hair in a minute."

A small sound escaped Rachel, initially stuck for words. Her face was awash with concern when she approached. "God, what happened?"

Rachel's voice was so full of warmth that Quinn didn't have a choice but to meet her eyes. Her voice was quiet —so much quieter than usual, in a tone she had never heard Rachel talk to anyone in.

"What?"

"Why would someone do this to you?"

"I'm Quinn Fabray."

Rachel leaned back against the sink, leaving a respectable distance between them considering how much the urge to hug her was twisting her stomach into knots. She was still close enough that she could tell this new and unfamiliar version of Quinn smelled the same.

"I don't understand," Rachel said seriously.

It was one of the few times Quinn had ever smiled in Rachel's presence instead of from afar when she was shamelessly eavesdropping on her conversations. The lights glared off her glasses as she shifted her weight to her other foot.

"People don't like me too much," she whispered, even halfway succeeding in injecting some humour to her tone if she may say so herself.

It was difficult for Rachel to separate Quinn from her reality to the one standing before her.

"People like who?" Rachel asked with an air of disbelief despite the evidence she'd already seen. Who would think so little of Quinn Fabray that they would do this to her? It didn't make any sense.

Quinn's eyes widened when she felt the first warm touch of Rachel's hand against her face, helping to sweep the last bits of frozen slush off her face that she'd missed. It was a sudden act and so damn unexpected that Quinn nearly flinched.

"People like you."

Rachel's hand stilled. "I— that's..." She shook her head resolutely. "Insane. Crazier than the time Noah tried to convince me a man at the park was Tupac in disguise."

The weird thing was that Rachel looked sincere. She looked like she had meant every word. But the last time Quinn had been slushied Rachel had been standing behind Brittany —her best friend— and did nothing.

The lack of a response nearly knocked the wind out of Rachel. Her lips parted. The last time Quinn had been in here to clean up it had partly been because of her. The other her, anyway. Quinn probably looked exactly as cut up about it then too; like she wanted it all to stop, to be invisible for a while instead of a walking target.

Rachel felt like that sometimes too. But it made a world of difference spending more time with her friends outside of school. As sad it was, her time with Quinn helped too, even if it was kind of forced for the time being. All she'd have to do to feel better is remember that time a few weeks ago where they came undone in each other's mouths and that, however much Quinn tried to deny it, underneath all of the hostility, she had wanted her. The sprinkles would have never worked if the desire wasn't there in the first place.

Oh, god. The sleepover. She had to get back.

"I don't know what to say." Rachel was so floored by even the possibility of being cruel to Quinn, whichever realm she was in. "I'm sorry."

Quinn's entire body unravelled at that. Her back was no longer rigid, her shoulders had dropped. She looked to Rachel and gave her the beginning of what was going to be the most brilliant smile Rachel had seen in weeks until the tension came back. Quinn suddenly looked unsure, weighing up the likelihood inside her own head. When she had confirmed her suspicions, she perhaps looked more hurt than when Rachel first found her.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"Brittany put you up to this," Quinn accused. "The concern, the apology." She swallowed thickly, her voice coming out quiet. "I almost believed you."

"Wait, no, I mean it." Rachel's hand was on Quinn's arm and she didn't put on an act when it was made clear that her touch was unwanted. It stung a little bit.

"You can tell your friends whatever you want but don't lie to me."

"I wouldn't."

"Why not? You're pretty good at it." Quinn had never felt so bold in her entire life. Blood rushed through her veins and she fully anticipated a vicious string of words to be spat her way.

"What?"

"You never look more miserable than when you're with Jacob."

Maybe Rachel could play along with this. It wasn't like her skin crawling around Jacob was any different than in her reality.

"You're right," Rachel shrugged. "Which is exactly why I broke up with him a few minutes before I followed you in here."

Quinn's surprise was evident but it turned sceptical. "You would never do that."

It was wrong to tell Quinn this; Rachel knew that on some level. She knew it the second she could see Quinn begin to relax in her company. "But I did."

Quinn wasn't fully onboard. She wiped a warm, damp cloth over her face to remove the stickiness. "He's your ticket out of this town. His voice? It's amazing. You'd sooner kill the competition than have Jacob cheat on you."

Quinn could almost be certain that was a direct quote from Rachel herself at one point.

"Competition for Jacob?" Rachel smiled. "Oh my God, who?"

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" Quinn asked glumly. "Because of what happened last week."

Playing along went out of the window. It wasn't like Rachel had any real plan anyway. 'Winging it' was a very loose definition of her intended plans to get home.

"What?"

Quinn's disappointment was misplaced because even though their private interaction could be counted on one hand and still have fingers to spare, this was the way she knew Rachel worked. If something was wrong, she ignored it. Problems didn't exist for Rachel Berry. Except for the time last week where they did and Quinn found her crying in the auditorium. They'd sat together for nearly two hours, where Rachel spilled every concern, her fear for the present and future, and all of the terrible things she had to do in order to secure it.

The Rachel Berry from that realm had never been the sort to wear her heart on her sleeve, and really, even at the time she didn't know why she was crying her heart out to Quinn Fabray or why she wouldn't have done so with anyone but her.

All Quinn knew after that: their first and only true exchange of words —real words, anyway— was that she couldn't be more taken by Rachel if she tried. It was embarrassing the things she would do for her, if only Rachel would ask. But never did and she never would.

Quinn knew the answer Rachel was looking for. She cleaned her glasses from a smudge and pushed them back on her face.

"Don't worry, nothing happened."

"Something clearly did. What was it?"

Quinn frowned against the sincere curiosity etched into Rachel's face. What was wrong with her?

"I told you I would never tell anybody. If I wanted to, I would have done so by now."

"Quinn." The tone was unmistakeable.

Not that she'd had the pleasure of hearing her name rolling off Rachel's tongue in that tone before —and took a second to swallow thickly because oh God— but Rachel made it sound like they were as well-acquainted with each other as Quinn sometimes daydreamed they were.

"You were a little overwhelmed," Quinn said. Rachel was clearly embarrassed over what had happened and, Quinn suspected, inexperienced in being vulnerable around anybody. She needed the validation that she wasn't somehow viewed as weak now. "It's high school, things get crazy. We're all scared we'll rot in this town."

Rachel couldn't believe it. Of all the realms she could have been sent to, this was the one she landed in? She was her realm's version of Quinn Fabray. She never thought she would describe herself as emotionally stunted but so far the evidence was piling up against her.

Her back straightened at Quinn's words. The idea of ever being stuck in Lima was too much to handle.

"There's no low I wouldn't sink—" Rachel cleared her throat lightly. Her voice was lighter but still solid. "I will do whatever I have to if it means getting out of this town."

There was no low that Rachel wouldn't sink to because Lima was the lowest of the lows, and anything was better than growing old in that cage. But it wouldn't even be growing old. That was too much of a fairytale. No, if Rachel Berry got stuck in Lima, it would kill her.

"Like stepping all over people like me," Quinn said.

Rachel had no idea what to say. She knew what she'd like to say but she guessed it would be vastly different to the answer that the other Rachel would give and had the forethought to consider, very briefly, how this would affect Quinn. She didn't want the other version of herself to knock Quinn down again after her words built her up.

Rachel stuttered. "I-it's nothing personal. It's...survival. You understand?"

Quinn's head bobbed slowly. "It feels personal," she admitted in a breathy whisper that she hated. She hated her tears even more. "Am I supposed to survive, or... or doesn't that matter?"

Pain spread out from Rachel's heart, right across her chest and down where it disappeared in the space where her stomach used to be.

"Quinn, I'm—"

"I have to rinse my hair," came Quinn's abrupt rebuff, twisting away from Rachel to begin running the water. It didn't matter too much if she skipped that part of her routine today because most of the slushie had hit her face and sweater anyway. It was simply an excuse not to talk to Rachel anymore.

Rachel's hand was warm wrapped around Quinn's wrist as she pulled on her arm, turning her around. The soft leather of her shoes creased over the tops as she rose up on her toes and gently pressed her mouth to Quinn's.

Her dark eyes were bursting with sincerity when they fluttered open.

"It matters."

X

Quinn walked past Sue Sylvester hugging Lauren Zizes and felt her face contort for a moment. Then she saw Finn down the hallway, sporting his usual red letterman jacket, and increased her pace. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been relieved to see him.

"Finn!"

He turned and searched until his eyes fell on fast-approaching Quinn Fabray. He made a valiant attempt not to wince. Finn couldn't imagine what she wanted from him but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"How's it going?" he asked casually, searching inside his head for her name. It was on the tip of his tongue, really.

"Where's Rachel?"

Finn looked on blankly. "Rachel, who?"

Quinn's palm faced towards him. "I'm not in the mood for games. Have you seen her or not? Is she acting differently?"

"I don't know who that is, so..."

"Rachel Berry," Quinn enunciated carefully. "You are not this dense. She's in Glee Club with you. She's the one you stare at."

"Glee Club?" Finn echoed.

"There's no Glee here?"

As soon as that was confirmed, Quinn resumed her journey around the school. She'd been to seven realms so far, each one being more ridiculous than the last. The last three hadn't had Rachel in or around the locations they'd been sent to at all. It felt like they'd been searching for days.

"Rachel!"

Quinn's frustration mounted the more times her call went unanswered. In their realm, all she'd have to do is think of Rachel and she'd be there like some sort of mind reader. Why couldn't it work now?

Someone was smirking at her from their locker. Quinn was over there in a flash. "What?" she demanded of him.

Brett cowered but a lazy laugh fell from his lips. "Nothing."

"You're laughing. Why don't you share the joke?"

"You look vanilla, that's all." He laughed again.

Quinn didn't know what he meant by that and she didn't care. His eyes were bloodshot but maybe he could still be of some use to her. "Have you seen Rachel Berry today?" His eyes glazed over and so Quinn slugged him in the chest. "Stay with me, Brett. Rachel; have you seen her?"

Brett perked up, eyes lethargically meeting Quinn's. A smile revealed his teeth. "Yeah."

"Yeah? Where?"

"Heading to the bathroom," he answered. "Yeah, the bathroom. This bathroom." His index finger angled towards the floor, looking pleased with himself.

Quinn told him to have a nice trip, which was sort of like a thank you because she meant it. She burst into the bathroom at the end of the hallway so hard that the door slammed back into her arm.

Her heart skipped all over the place at the first sight of Rachel but settled when she realised that it was that realm's version of her. This Rachel had black hair and emitted an unfamiliar attitude from her body language alone.

After her eyes took a leisurely journey down the body in front of her, Rachel's giggle echoed a little. "Oh, god, is it Halloween?"

Quinn stood straighter, defensive. "What?"

Rachel bounced over, letting her tongue creep out to play with the hoop shoved through her bottom lip. God, this was something else. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Quinn blonde.

Rachel closed the distance and put her hands on Quinn's head, ruffling the soft blonde hair. "Where's my cotton candy? You know it's my favourite."

"What?" Quinn's voice was quiet because Rachel was wearing black boots that came up mid-calf, sending her a few inches taller as she gave Quinn a look that Quinn hadn't seen since the night they spent together, like she was about to devour her.

"Not that this isn't a pleasant surprise," Rachel was fast to say, her hands slipping down to the curve of Quinn's hips. "You just look so innocent and uptight that I could swear you're a different person."

"Maybe I am," Quinn said bluntly, removing Rachel's hands from her body and turning away.

Quinn was awkwardly —and painfully, but only for a second— pushed against the wall and the edge of the paper towel dispenser. The surprise of Rachel's burst of strength didn't show outwardly.

"Are you still mad at me about last night, because I told you I didn't mean it the way you obviously took it," Rachel said, following the sharp line of Quinn's jaw with the pads of her fingers.

Quinn leaned away from the touch only to be met with the wall. She pushed back harder, just in case her head was like a cannonball and she was stationed at one of the weaker foundations.

"Is that an apology?" Quinn sneered.

Rachel smiled faintly, pushing forward to smell Quinn's hair. Her eyes fell shut. It smelled as sweet as ever. The pink hair was her favourite colour because it matched its scent.

"The only one you know I can give."

"Maybe you should try harder."

There was a faint sigh but then Rachel's lips brushed Quinn's ear. "I really didn't mean it."

Quinn wondered, just for a second, what kind of relationship this realm's version of herself and Rachel had. She wondered if they had fun destroying each other one minute only to make each other fly the next, if they were madly in love and wanted everyone to know it or if this was more of a private affair.

"You know how my mouth runs away and drags me with it," Rachel continued, her head dropped to Quinn's shoulder.

That hit Quinn without warning.

God, Rachel's mouth made everything better and worse in both realms.

Quinn didn't touch her. She couldn't even look at her. "Where are you?"

The tables were turned swiftly. Rachel's hand gently cupped the side of Quinn's head and pressed their bodies together. It was contrast to how firm and certain her voice was.

"I'm right here. Okay? As long as we both need, remember?" And then Rachel's lips kissed Quinn's cheek, just once, and hovered there. "Be mad at me, but don't be upset with me. I can't stand it when I know I've hurt..."

"Okay."

"Can I— are you too mad for a kiss?" Rachel asked.

Quinn thought about saying yes. She didn't know what Rachel had done to upset that realm's version of herself but if Rachel was concerned then maybe it was bad enough to deny a kiss.

But she wasn't thinking about the different Rachel and Quinn or the way her heart rate had picked up as soon as a soft mouth touched her skin, she was thinking of the only Rachel she knew —and if she was honest, didn't really know all that well but some, and some was enough— and herself; the teenage girl with enough issues to sink the titanic. It would be a bad idea to even entertain the thought of going there, of letting Rachel kiss her again. Being with her again.

Wouldn't it?

Quinn imagined the body against hers was a different one, and answered honestly.

"I don't know."

Rachel moved away from Quinn, giving her the space she wanted. "You still want to skip gym with me? There's no point screwing up our perfect zero per cent attendance this late in the semester. I have another song I want you to hear me sing anyway, so you could bring your guitar and meet me by your car so we can go somewhere."

"I can't hang out," Quinn started to say, her eyes actively avoiding Rachel. "I have something I need to do."

Rachel's face turned unreadable and her eyes were neither warm nor cold, they were steady. "After."

Quinn nodded because she didn't know if it was a question or a demand, and also because she didn't know what else to say. Rachel held the door open for her and they walked out to the empty hallway together.

Quinn idly wondered where Tina had got to.

"I'll call you," Rachel said, leaning to the side and bending slightly at the knees so that she could turn her head and connect her lips to Quinn's neck on her way past.

She only got four steps away when she stopped abruptly, eyes as wide as they'd never been before. Rachel whirled around to take another look, turning back just as quickly.

Quinn was behind her, yet, just as certainly, Quinn was in front of her with pink hair. Her favourite.

The Quinn with pink hair moved towards her girlfriend. "What was that, and who is that?" she asked, punctuating it with an acerbic tone.

The blaze swirling around in those eyes added to Rachel's dizziness. "I— it was— you!" she eventually stammered out, very uncharacteristically. "Quinn, it was you!"

Quinn who had no place in that realm or interfering in whatever relationship they had, swallowed heavily. This wasn't good. It was made worse by Rachel stepping out of the way so that she and the other Quinn were in each other's direct line of sight.

God, she looked ridiculous with pink hair.

Rachel's heart thumped away inside her chest. Did Quinn have a twin that she didn't know about? But no, that wasn't right. It wasn't Quinn's twin she was with just now. There hadn't been a single difference about them. It was literally her.

Rachel looked at the blonde Quinn harder. She looked nervous; terrified, even, as she looked back into identical eyes. The only time Rachel could recall Quinn ever looking close to that had been a year ago when their shared issues on top of one of her fathers getting sick made Rachel push her away and end the functioning dysfunction of their relationship. For all of several hours, anyway. Until she couldn't breathe through her sobs and knew that there was only one person who could make it stop.

"Who the hell are you?" was demanded of the blonde freak show by her double. "Why do you look like that?"

Quinn's entire body felt heavy. How was she supposed to entertain the idea of running away when she couldn't even lift a foot off the ground? Rachel's kiss had dried against her skin by that point but it didn't seem to matter to the girl slowly but surely closing the distance between them.

"I'm..." God, should she say it? It wouldn't be easy to hear or live with.

"Who? Spit it out," the Quinn sporting pink hair demanded, sounding more intimidating than the blonde could remember herself sounding back home. No wonder people fell over themselves for her.

Rachel's face was the last thing Quinn saw before she proved herself wrong and took off running down the halls with her double chasing her. She felt the same kind of adrenaline rushing through her veins as she did in the nightmares where someone was trying to kill her.

"Tina!" Quinn called out frantically when she felt that uncomfortable prickle against her skin informing her that she was about to be caught.

There was a hand on her shoulder, fingers digging in painfully. She braced herself for the violence sure to come, but then she was no longer running or even in the hallway. Quinn's breath came out in heavy pants and placed both hands against her stomach as she leaned forward, trying to inhale evenly. The only other person there was Tina. They were in an empty school cafeteria now.

Tina watched Quinn fall apart with some guilt settled in her stomach. "Are you—"

"What do you think?" Quinn asked sharply.

Whatever sarcastic retort was on the tip of Tina's tongue disappeared when she saw her visibly shaking. Tina's hand rubbed over Quinn's back until she felt her stiffen, which wasn't long after. Instead she sat on the edge of a table and swung her legs out, waiting patiently.

"It's weird seeing yourself for the first time," Tina commented. "It takes a few times to adjust, but you'll get there."

"I thought she was going to gut me," Quinn said after a long while, going to sit beside Tina on the table now that her hysteria was fading. She imagined the look on her face when she'd seen the other Quinn and, much to both of their surprise, she laughed. "God."

When Tina's smile fell away, so did her gaze. It went far away in a memory until it was over and then flickered back to Quinn. "She talks about you."

Quinn's hands were folded neatly in her lap, sitting primly; the way she'd been taught.

"Not all the time, you'll be glad to know," Tina continued. "Or maybe not, who knows. But you'd be an idiot not to know that Rachel wouldn't give a second thought to searching for you if the roles were reversed."

Quinn nodded after a second, swallowing reflexively. "I know."

X

All it took for Rachel was to see the blossoming smile on Quinn's face following their kiss to lean back in for another.

That was minutes ago.

It was hardly the perfect setting but neither of them cared too much when they'd moved to the privacy of one of the stalls. In both realms, Quinn was a fantastic kisser and Rachel happily postponed her mission of finding Tina in favour of having this experience with Quinn again; their bodies pushed together as they kissed like it somehow wasn't the first time. With Quinn's lithe frame moulded to her own, lips sliding together with ease and passion, it was so easy to overlook the small details like the less confident way in which Quinn's hands were positioned on Rachel's body or how she was a little more receptive to letting her lead the pace, never moving her hands or mouth anywhere that Rachel hadn't done to her first.

"I can't believe you're kissing me," Rachel gasped when their mouths separated for longer than a moment.

Quinn didn't want to ruin the mood to tell her that she couldn't believe Rachel wanted to be kissed by her, so she settled for taking her hips instead, conscious of the fact that she needed to be less hesitant when Rachel even allowed her to hold their bodies together. Quinn took them more firmly and leaned back in, opening her mouth to Rachel. The firmer hold gave Quinn something to ground herself with, and the memory, questionable location and all, would be seared to her memory for those days where she could hardly find the strength to get out of bed.

A part of her had already resigned herself to the certain truth of this being a one-time thing, of the possibility of Rachel Berry never looking in her direction for the rest of the year. And if that was the case, well, then Quinn was going to enjoy every single second of it.

Rachel dragged her mouth over Quinn's neck while her hand journeyed down her body until it was under a snowman sweater and sliding over silky, warm skin.

Quinn's breath caught in her throat and Rachel sobered like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her.

This wasn't Quinn. Not really. It wasn't the one she had been drawn to for the better part of the past three years. This was some sweet, innocent version of Quinn Fabray that Rachel could be just as taken with in another lifetime.

But it wasn't right.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said as she pulled away, sounding completely lost.

God, what was she doing?

Quinn's breath hitched softly in her throat when Rachel pulled her hand out from under her sweater, skimming over a particular sensitive area. She shook her head and lightly cleared her throat.

"Don't be. That was…"

Quinn let go of Rachel when she saw her face. It looked more panicked than when she found her in the auditorium last week and she'd cried a river. Quinn didn't ever want to be the cause of that kind of expression.

"I won't tell," Quinn added hastily. "I promise."

Rachel had to leave. She had to get out of that web before she was stuck. But she couldn't leave that Quinn so abruptly, not without something to hold on to.

"Do you believe in magic?" Rachel found herself asking. Blurting, really. "That's not— I mean, I'm not trying to use a line, because they're usually so tasteless and I prefer... but, do you? Honestly?"

Quinn remained against the door as Rachel put some distance between them. "You mean like David Blaine?"

"No, I mean real magic. Spells, potions, unfortunately cursed sprinkles on top of a delicious Bundt cake, if I may say so myself."

Rachel thought it was kind of cute when Quinn's fingers carefully pressed against different parts of her scalp.

"Did you hit your head when we burst in here?"

"You'll think so in a minute," Rachel said. "Have you ever thought you'd sound honest-to-God crazy if you said something out loud?"

"Who hasn't?" It'd happened recently. Very recently. A fleeting thought had passed through Quinn's mind during their kisses that was definitely crazy enough to admit herself in for a psychological evaluation.

The way Rachel kissed her… it was almost familiar. Almost, though admittedly not completely. As much as her body heated and responded just now, there wasn't quite as much passion as she could recall from the last time she was kissed.

"What was it?"

Quinn's face flared back up. She glanced down to the floor and breathed out a laugh at a memory. It had been several weeks ago. Sometimes things would quieten down at school. There would be a transfer student; a new target for people to pick on, or a Cheerio would get herself knocked up. But sometimes Quinn thought she hated the quiet more because it always gave her a tiny sense of hope that they had forgotten about her. They never did.

It was a Friday afternoon when she broke.

She'd had one of the roughest weeks she could ever remember. They were merciless. It wasn't just one or two slushies a day. It was the constant emotional and physical abuse. Quinn had bruises hidden under her clothes from being shoved into lockers and the one time someone she didn't even really know —an intimidating girl named Mercedes who sometimes hung around with Brittany and Rachel— shouldered her so hard that Quinn slammed against a locker and then to the ground.

A heavy boot collided with the small of Quinn's back and there was nothing to disguise the cry that left her mouth as anything but agony.

"Sorry," Mercedes had said, helping Quinn to turn to her other side. "Thought you were somebody else."

People walked by and stared and Quinn's face burned at that sort of attention. They just watched. She thought it was the end because Mercedes had been moving away from her and that usually meant it was over, except Mercedes drove her leg forward once more, slamming her foot into Quinn's side. It forced the air from her lungs.

Then she was there again, leaning close to Quinn.

"No, really, I am so sorry."

She looked so flippant and her tone was so sickeningly sweet that Quinn finally, and for the first time in her life, wanted to punch someone. She had fled to the closest bathroom and sobbed, didn't even stop when she heard someone else walk in. Whoever it was, they didn't leave right away. She saw black flats stop in front of the stall door. It didn't give away their identity because almost every girl at that damn school had worn them on at least one occasion.

There was a party flyer inside her locker by the end of the day. It was to be the biggest Halloween party in five years, hosted at the Berry residence.

Berry, as in Rachel Berry. The most popular girl at school.

Quinn had seen the flyers all over the school for weeks. It was a joke she'd been invited. Probably a prank. She wouldn't go.

Over the weekend, she changed her mind. It would be a test. She'd dress up (as the flyer stated that admittance would not be permitted unless the attendee was in costume) and see how people acted towards her and the geek squad —Quinn Fabray, Artie Abrams, and Mike Chang when their identities were hidden. At the very least, she would throw her drink over someone. At the very, very least, she would make Artie do it. He was a faster runner than her, and one of the only two people she could call her friends.

Quinn thought about her revenge at least twelve times a day. Double by the time Friday rolled around again.

She dressed up as generic as she could, except instead of painting on her clown's face Quinn brought one of the creepiest latex over-the-head masks she could find online.

The party was bigger than she'd expected. There were so many people at Rachel's house that Quinn felt dizzy just standing across the street. They all hated her. It would be like willingly offering herself up for slaughter; Carrie all over again. But this was a test and she could hardly get an accurate conclusion out there.

People spoke to her. Complimented her. They questioned Quinn eagerly on who she was underneath the mask, to which she tapped her nose coyly and managed to impress people all the more with how creepy it looked.

Quinn knew how parties worked. She'd done her research. Her first and second drinks were Cokes but when it was time for her third, she decided to mix an alcoholic one. Maybe that would be the magic cure to the party not sucking so much. Sure, people talked to her, but they didn't have anything interesting to say. So far, anyway. Maybe there were people in the living room with similar interests. Artie was there the last time she'd seen him. Quinn slowly made her way through the house. The air smelled like a mixture of beer, sweat and cologne or perfume, getting thicker the closer she got to the living room.

It was going to happen sooner or later.

Someone bumped into her and managed to spill what smelled like a Malibu and Coke half over them both. Quinn's mask was grinning with sharp, hideous teeth bared wide. Underneath it, she wasn't looking so amused. Her head inclined to the side.

Mercedes took one look at her and rage broke through the surface shockingly fast. It was the costume. She had never seen anything so fucking creepy in her entire life. The wispy red hair and miniature black top hat made it ten times worse.

"Damn it, Santana, you know I hate clowns!"

It was so hot with the mask on and Quinn smiled in spite of barely being able to breathe. She raised her arm and moved her hand in a slow wave.

Quinn found it difficult not to notice the living dead zombie squeezing in beside Mercedes. It was one of the more impressive costumes she had seen. The mask was obviously not cheap and any exposed skin had been painted a deathly shade.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and pushed forward, pushing at Quinn's shoulder. "Oh, get out of my way. Momma needs another drink."

Quinn's straw fell out when her drink sloshed up, a small splash bouncing off her hand wrapped around the red cup. She hesitated for only a second, twisting around to call out, "You want mine?"

The music was so loud and Quinn's voice never carried much force behind it but before Mercedes could question her on why Santana sounded so different all of a sudden, a lukewarm concoction of vodka and cranberry juice painted her face.

Quinn didn't even drop the cup. She raced up the stairs so fast that she tripped, oblivious to the zombie watching her.

It was by no means a small miracle that the bedroom she burst into wasn't occupied, or worse, Rachel's. The en-suite had two shelves, both filled with male toiletries and aftershave. Quinn slammed the door shut behind her and dropped the empty red cup in the sink as she gripped it, breathing heavily. She was well-aware of her impending death.

"Oh, God, oh, God. What did I do? She'll kill me."

And she'd gone and ran to the roof, so to speak. She was a fool.

Quinn didn't know what to do first. Compose a text message to her parents telling them how much she loved them, or vomit.

Her hands blindly reached up and grabbed at the mask so hard that she pulled her hair when it was wrenched off her head. Her face was damp and Quinn licked her dry lips, dropping the weighty mask on the counter as she filled the cup with water.

Quinn gulped the cold liquid down gratefully and let her eyes fall shut, so completely distracted with worst case scenarios that she didn't hear anyone else enter the bathroom. Mercedes and backup would probably thunder up the stairs any second and beat the stuffing out of her.

It was worth it though, Quinn thought. The look on Mercedes face would stay with her forever, as would, unfortunately, a couple of their other interactions. Quinn's mouth tightened. She hated the bitch.

Her eyes shot open when she felt someone press against her side. She let out a startled gasp at the unexpected sight of a zombie in the mirror behind her but then the sound of running water met her ears before there was a cool, damp washcloth on the back of her neck and, well, Quinn didn't know what the hell to do.

It was okay though, because then she was turned around and the cloth was reversed and pressed to her face. It didn't take a genius to know that it was tinged pink. If not only because of the attention, then the fear of what Mercedes would do to her.

Quinn looked at the zombie's eyes, the only part of her face not covered except for a small hole in the mouth. They were a rich brown; kind of beautiful, really. She was distracted by them long enough to be unsuspecting when wrapped up in a hug.

It was awkward in the way that she wasn't ready and that people just didn't ever hug her unless it was her parents. When she decided that being shivved in the back was highly unlikely given that this zombie was friendly (who knew?), Quinn straightened up and hesitantly put her arms around the girl's back. The circumstances felt strange but it seemed like the right thing to do. If the short stature and small hands didn't give her away, the breasts did. It was difficult to ignore when they were pressed against her own chest.

The breath against Quinn's neck was soft.

Quinn watched with rapt attention as the zombie mask was grasped below the girl's neckline and pulled upward. She wasn't given much time to process anything but she knew that the mask hadn't revealed the girl's identity; just her mouth.

Maybe she needed some water too.

"A-are you thirsty?" Quinn twisted to refill the cup. "It's so hot under one of those."

She halted at the hand on her arm and that was enough for it to retreat from her skin. A thumb stroked over her bottom lip next, and if that hadn't short-circuited Quinn's brain, the unfamiliar pressure of warm lips against her own had.

It was over too soon. The cup dropped to the floor and Quinn didn't know where to focus her attention. It was darting back and forth to the wall and the girl, forehead contorted in question.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly.

Nobody had ever wanted to kiss her before. The only person who had ever shown an interest was some boy who answered to the name of Finn Hudson, and it had only happened once. She'd missed the bus and the only person hovering around the otherwise empty stop was the school loner and his large duffel bag that he carried everywhere. The only words he had ever spoken to her had been something about finally fixing the tyre on his bicycle and the epic bike ride he was going to go on at the weekend, and "wanna go out with me?" Quinn had never been more grateful to see the bus driver when he pulled up a moment later.

Quinn's eyes followed the girl's and looked down to their hands joining. "Are you new at school?" she asked. The girl lifted her head, and then shook it. "Do you know... who I am?"

A nod.

Quinn was lead to the bedroom. It was the weirdest thing to happen that night, and that was saying something. She put a stop to the hands going around her head, wrapping her fingers around a small wrist. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

Quinn didn't get a verbal response but she did get a soft kiss to the underside of her jaw. A black tie covered her eyes and was tied at the back of her head. She had three fingers underneath it, about to tug down when they were covered and gently pulled away. Inconceivably, Quinn wasn't afraid. She just wanted to know what was going on and if this was going to be a prank. It didn't feel like one, she decided the longer she stood there. So she waited.

The swell of impossibility deflated with Quinn standing there so open and vulnerable. She looked so different without glasses but the sight had evoked the same response in the bathroom; the burning desire to be with her.

The zombie mask was calmly pulled over her head and dropped to the ground.

Rachel swept the hair from her face and kissed Quinn simply; softly. She could feel a pleasantly surprised smile on Quinn's mouth shortly after and was happy to know that she didn't find being kissed by a stranger weird enough to put a stop to it. Some people would, herself included.

"This is—" Quinn returned a kiss. "Great but, are you… are you sure you want to be doing this with me?"

Rachel couldn't speak and give her identity away, but she didn't need to. She kissed her again, cupping the back of her neck. Inviting Quinn to the party was not her intent when she allowed Brittany to talk her into opening her home to the downright messy young adults of McKinley in the first place, but something about the way she'd seen her hurrying towards a bathroom with tears streaked down her face, for reasons Rachel still didn't know, caused her to slip the flyer into a locker she probably shouldn't have known the location to in the first place.

Rachel pressed closer, the warm softness of Quinn's mouth and the hands carefully positioned at her waist providing a subtle persuasion towards slowly guiding their kisses less shallow. Kissing Quinn, really kissing her, was better than Rachel imagined it to be when she would glance towards her mouth during class sometimes when she was sure nobody was looking. For someone who hadn't kissed much, Quinn was a wonderful kisser. Stationary hands shifted lower to frame her hips instead, and Rachel's response of kissing her harder produced a sound from Quinn's throat that drove her wild.

Their lips separated and Rachel remained close, eyes closed. When she finally did pull away and step back, it was reluctantly. Quinn's profile was so beautiful as she looked at her. She wanted to stay there all night and make-out until her lips were sore, but there was no way she could. Someone would notice she was missing soon.

She just had to do that once. Rachel wasn't sure what would have kept her from following Quinn upstairs, if anything.

Rachel knew she had to leave but she still laughed when the previously gentle hands tightened abruptly to grip her hips and pull her back in for a kiss. She was helpless to return it, and once the playfulness and smiles wore off, Rachel gradually forgot about leaving and opened her mouth to Quinn for a series of kisses and modest exploration under a white blouse that had her re-joining the party downstairs twenty minutes later thoroughly ruined, unable to think about much else than when the house would be empty and she could relieve the throbbing tension between her legs.

Rachel had worked Quinn up to a flushed face, heavier breaths and sounds she kept trying to trap in her throat, and when Rachel pulled away again, Quinn had held on to her forearm.

"You have to go?" When Quinn realised that the reason she couldn't see was purely because her secret admirer wanted to remain anonymous, she understood that a verbal response would not be forthcoming. "Um, kiss… kiss me once for no, a-and a hundred times for yes."

Rachel did her best.

Starring in a handful of productions at the local theatre and being a member of the most popular performing arts program in school allowed her to be able to completely change her look within a short space of time. Minutes after leaving the bedroom with Quinn inside, she darted to her own room and threw the two people out of hers before she had chance to really see their faces and imagine what they'd been using it for. Rachel changed her entire costume, scrubbing the new make-up from her skin and switching to her second-choice outfit of the night —a witch— in record time. It was perhaps overdone but not any more than any of the other costumes in the sea of people down there. It was classic and she made it look sexy.

A little while later, pre-occupied with how slow time seemed to be going and how irritating all of those people suddenly were, Rachel almost missed the sight of a hideous clown trying to sneak its way through the house. She shrugged Jacob's arm off of her and made her way through the kitchen until she was outside, following behind on the path leading towards the front of the house. It was just the two of them there.

"Hey," she called out. She smiled when Quinn walked faster, and sped up a little. "Relative of Pennywise." Rachel watched her stop and turn with some hesitance, like she'd be in trouble. "You're scary as shit."

"Thanks."

Rachel nodded and then gestured to the mask. "I didn't see you at the door. Are you going to take that off so I can see who beat everyone else to Best Costume?"

Quinn pulled the mask off without even thinking to disguise herself. She looked worried. "I—I got a flyer. Someone invited me. It's in my glove box. Do you want me to get it?" Quinn stuffed her hand inside the tight pocket of her pants for her keys. "I'll get it."

Rachel took the keys right from her fingers. "Are you drunk?"

"No."

"That's what every drunk person says."

"I'm not drunk," Quinn rebuffed. "I had one sip and then I— spilled it. By accident."

Rachel could still see that accident clearly. She looked Quinn right in the eyes. "Do you drink much?"

"No."

"I'm not letting you drive. Even a small amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive safely. Do you think I'm in the position to chance bad karma this year?"

Quinn's head shook instantly, even if she didn't know how the hell she would get home now. She didn't bring any money and she couldn't tell her parents she was at a party with alcohol and to pick her up. Grounded wouldn't even come close. At least Rachel was talking to her. One might even go as far as to say she was being nice. Rachel didn't want her dead for sort of crashing the party, at least. That was something.

And she had maybe unintentionally referred to their talk in the auditorium.

Quinn might have been over the moon about any of that if she didn't feel so much misplaced guilt, like the feelings she'd harboured for Rachel for so long weren't cheapened by the most amazing kisses of her life. They weren't together, Quinn hadn't cheated on her.

But she felt like she had.

Her body bristled. She had to find Artie or Mike so they could snap her out of it. "I'll walk," Quinn said.

"Is your house far?"

"It's okay."

Someone dropped a bottle behind them, on the patio by the sounds of it, and Rachel turned to the sound of shattered glass. She glanced towards one of the kitchen windows to see the party inside. If she was fast, she could probably play off another disappearance without too many questions. But that would also mean any time alone with Quinn would be over just as quickly. Quinn was watching her when she turned back. "You haven't asked me what prize you won."

"What?"

"Your prize," Rachel repeated with a shy smile masked by darkness this time.

Quinn's brows lifted higher. "Oh. Um, what is it?"

"You get to stay and help me clean up."

There was a beat, and then, "That's a prize?"

The darkness did nothing to conceal Rachel's chuckle. "Are you serious? It's the best prize, come on. Number one," she insisted. It was a prize indeed. For her, anyway. She'd had to suffer having a houseful of drunk teenagers, the only way she wouldn't want to scream when cleaning up the mess would be if Quinn was there. But that was supposed to be a secret. "What do you say? You'll be sober enough to drive by that point, and then you won't have to pretend that you don't hate me when I've been awful to you."

Quinn began to smile at the possibility of them hanging out alone. "Okay," she agreed. Her mask was wrapped firmly in her palm as she stepped towards her, the wispy red hair brushing Rachel's hand when they were close enough. "I'm not a good liar," Quinn said, raising her arms to pull the mask over her head, concealing her face from one partygoer in particular. Mercedes would have her for breakfast every day for the rest of the year if she wasn't careful to keep her identity secret. She looked at Rachel as they headed back towards the back yard. "I don't hate you."

The spine-tingling mask couldn't even take away from the warmth Rachel felt. It was only smothered by shame. "You should."

Back at the school and story time over in the bathroom stall, Quinn pulled at her snowman sweater. She felt somewhat awkward at having shared her story. It'd been such a strange night. Stranger than today was turning out.

"Mercedes didn't find me again. Obviously. I mean, I'm still here, so."

"I'm glad."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Rachel sighed, giving Quinn an appreciative smile. "Of course I do. Who wouldn't want to kiss you?" She poked Quinn in the stomach when she lifted an eyebrow. "Most losers don't get blindfolded and kissed into a coma by a stranger, you know? That should tell you something."

Quinn laughed a little breathlessly. Both kisses had pretty much blown her mind, but there was something about the way that stranger had kissed her in the bedroom. The way things had escalated helped, too. The hands on her skin had made her body flare.

"It wasn't in a coma. I was...dazed."

"Oh, dazed."

"You would have been too."

Rachel smiled. Some of Quinn's kisses had had that effect on her. "Your story is much more believable than mine. You could add a dragon and it would still—" She stopped talking when she saw Quinn looking at her with such a soft look on her face that she had to remind herself to focus. "Do you believe in magic?"

"I don't know." It wasn't something she had ever seriously considered.

"Could you pretend that you do?" Quinn nodded. "Do I seem different to you? I mean, the way I'm acting."

Quinn couldn't help the visible amusement. As if her Rachel Berry would kiss her in a bathroom. Or at all. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Okay, really different," she nodded.

Rachel took a deep breath. How was Tina still alive after telling all her friends? This was like murder on her nerves. "My friend is a witch." Her hand was against Quinn's arm. "And I'm not crazy or here to hurt anybody. I was sent by accident. I'm from a different realm; one where I can't even imagine liking anyone else the way I like you."

Quinn looked painfully confused.

"I know how it sounds but I swear, I'm not making this up," Rachel said. "In my world, I'm the loser and you're... well, you're Quinn Fabray. Captain of the Cheerios. You're the most popular girl in school. People either want you or want to be you."

"No," Quinn said with a grin after a pregnant pause. "Really?" Rachel nodded, and Quinn rested her weight on one foot. "Am I nice to you?"

"Usually only when you have cake."

Quinn winced. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I don't like to think about you like that."

"So you believe me?" Rachel asked, hopeful.

"You believed me."

The relief rushed through her. "We need to find Tina Cohen-Chang —that's my friend— so I can get back. If I get too caught up here, there's a chance that I'll... Could you help me?" Rachel didn't want to frighten her with the possibility of getting stuck there.

Quinn nodded, running her tongue over her lips. At once, an idea hit her so hard that she grabbed on to Rachel's arm. "Wait."

"Why?"

"There is another option."

"What?"

"Stay. Maybe just for a little while. You're the most popular girl in school; you can do anything you want and no-one will be mean. And we can hang out," Quinn said, her voice tinged with hope. So much so that Rachel struggled with her response.

"I can't."

"Why not? You said the other me is a bitch."

Rachel had no control over the defensive frown that crossed over her face but managed to keep her voice light. "She's challenging, that doesn't mean I think she's a bitch."

It was hardly a secret that Quinn's attitude and behaviour was, oftentimes, appalling. But it wasn't just with Rachel Berry. No, Quinn didn't discriminate anyone from her wrath. The only thing that Rachel was absolutely, one-hundred per cent singled out for was the way she was looked at sometimes without knowing. The way she was thought about when Quinn was too exhausted to block them out any longer or turn them into something else.

Even without really truly knowing her, Quinn knew that nothing with Rachel Berry was ever easy, and that was the way it was always going to be.

One of Rachel's flaws was her ability forgive anyone almost anything. The fact was, she should think of Quinn as a bitch. Besides when she was cursed into it, Quinn generally treated her poorly. It didn't matter the way she thought about Rachel. Rachel wasn't a mind reader.

"I'd never treat you like that," this Quinn said imploringly. "We could figure out a way to keep you and the other Rachel from ever crossing—"

"What would I do? Where would I stay?"

Quinn's response got stuck in her throat. When she finally voiced it, it had lost its confidence and persuasion. "With me." She sighed at the look adorning Rachel's face. "We can work out the kinks."

"There are two me's. Pretty big kink to iron out."

"But—"

"Do you like me?" Rachel broke in. "The other me."

Quinn's coloured cheeks answered that question. "She doesn't feel the same, so what does it matter?"

"Tina told me something once. She said that other realm's versions of us are exactly who we are, just a little altered because of different choices and opportunities afforded to us. Different facets of our personality are heightened," Rachel explained. "I would never bully you, but I'm selfish. I can admit that. Just like your Rachel, I would do anything to get out of this town. And the Quinn I got a glimpse of once, my Quinn, she was just like you. Soft and sweet."

"But I'm still stuck here," Quinn said. "With no-one."

"That's not true."

It wasn't true. She had two friends who were good to her but she was lonely and this Rachel, in hardly any time at all, had given her everything she dreamed her Rachel would, and without hesitation.

"You're a smart girl, Quinn," Rachel added. "Think about what I just told you."

"You're selfish?"

Rachel smiled patiently. "I like every side to you that I've seen. If I feel that way, so does your Rachel."

Quinn's eyes dimmed as if she'd been built up and let down. "You don't know her."

"I don't think there's anyone who knows her better than me. Talk to her, you might be surprised."

"What would I say? Who knows if we even have anything in common? She barely talked to me when I stayed for hours to clean up her house. All she did was look over at me like I was going to slip the silver into my purse and then pretended like she was glancing around. I'm not an idiot."

It was clear to Rachel now.

She may differ from that realm's version of herself, but inviting Quinn to stay and clean up after a party meant alone time. It was calculated. Add in the supposed breakdown in the auditorium and how she didn't demand Quinn to get out of her house, Rachel would have bet her college fund that the other Rachel had been a zombie for her party.

"Tell her someone kissed you at the party," Rachel dared. "Tell her you can't stop thinking about it."

"She's not going to want to hear about that."

"Trust me."

It wasn't enough to convince Quinn but Rachel would have to work on that later. Time was running out. She had to find Tina.