A/N: So, I know there's a lot of these Zombie fics in this fandom already but I was re-watching The Walking Dead with my cousin and I just had to. I don't own Glee, The Walking Dead, Resident Evil, etc. It all belongs to their rightful owners. That being said, here you go. Enjoy! :D
"What did you just say?"
The harsh, almost emotionless tone of his voice made the dread already lead-heavy in her veins drop in her stomach. Her entire body tensed, even more so than it already had been during the entire discussion.
'Really, Quinn, it shouldn't have been too hard to admit to the A- being your fault. You've done it your entire life, once more would've meant nothing.' But no, she had to go ahead and argue that no, the teacher decided to add a section that hadn't been discussed so it wasn't her fault she had to resort to guessing on the last page of the test.
Somehow, the conversation had escalated from there, and she ended up telling her father she was gay. Her ignorant, hypocritical, die-hard-Christian, homophobic of a father.
'That's it. I'm dead. There's no way he hadn't heard that. I practically shouted it out for the whole neighborhood to hear. I knew I was somehow, someday gonna come out, just never thought it'd be this way-'
"Quinn, I believe I misheard you the first time. Will you repeat your words again?" Russell spat, a daring glint in his eyes as he stared down his daughter.
Pulling courage out of nowhere – and really, it's not even courage, more like stubborn thoughtlessness – Quinn raised her chin. "I said I'm gay."
A moment of silence passed through the house, in which Quinn chances a glance towards her mother to see the older blonde looking at her with shock and fear. Shock because, well, everyone would be shocked to find out that The Quinn Fabray is gay, even her parents. And fear most probably because of what Russell might do to her for coming out.
"Quinnie-"
"Get out." Russell growled out, the blank expression that painted his face shifting to an ugly scowl.
Quinn had always known that something would happen, something would trigger her father enough to throw her out. She wasn't the perfect daughter, like Frannie. Something was bound to happen. Maybe it would've been her coming out, her parents finding out she joined Glee Club of all places, or her getting drunk and accidentally pregnant (though that last one probably won't happen if she had any say in it). The packed bag with necessities and some of her belongings deep in her closet showed this was at least anticipated.
The preparation for such an event didn't mean she was immune to the hurt that followed that statement, though. It felt like a cold slap to the face, her Daddy's rejection. His refusal to accept his daughter for who she truly was (which, really, was more of a nerd than Artie could ever be and preferring lady parts) truly hurt her. It felt like a knife was driven into her heart and lungs, and twisted, repeatedly.
So, blinking back tears and swallowing the lump in her throat, Quinn nodded and headed up the stairs. She grabbed the Cheerios bag from the foot of her bed, and the duffel bag full of clothes and other necessities from her closet, along with her laptop bag.
After a second glance, she grabbed her pocketknife and keys before exiting her room. She stopped in the entryway of the house, turning towards Judy, who had tears in her eyes and was cupping her hands over her mouth. Russell glared at her, as if to tell her to leave already.
Quinn worked her jaw together before turning her back on her parents and walking out of the house. As she peeled out of the driveway, she chanced a glance to her rearview mirror and tried to mask the pain that flashed across her face at the sight of leaving her home behind.
Fifteen minutes later found Quinn waiting on her friend's front porch, sitting in a two person swing. The front door of the house opened but she paid no mind to it, neither to the shift of movement the swing made when the other person sat beside her. At least, not until a cup of something hot and delicious was waved under her nose.
"I had mom make hot chocolate. I remember how much you loved it the first time you came over." Finn mentioned, handing her the cup and smiling when she immediately took a sip.
The two sat in silence after that, the only sound breaking the still air that of the swing going rocking back and forth slowly, and the gentle tapping of Finn's fingers over his jeans.
Quinn took a deep breath, "I told my parents."
Finn hummed, patiently waiting for the blonde to continue. He knew not to interrupt because she'd eventually tell him when she was ready. She became Scary Quinn when hurried and, frankly, that part of her scared the lights out of him.
"We were having an argument, over my grades, when I just blurted it out. Like, just shouted it out loud. It just – I don't know, it was like it wanted to get out that I was gay. Like subconsciously, I just wanted to come out and get it over with. He got – really, really quiet after that then just told me to repeat myself. So, I did and he, uh, threw me out."
She laughed humorlessly, "I came out to my parents over my grades. Who the hell does that?" Quinn finished with a bitter laugh, eyeing Finn out of the corner of her eye. Finn turned to her and shrugged carefully.
"There's a bed down in the basement, if you're up for staying here."
"Wouldn't Carol mind?"
Finn chuckled and reached up wrap his arm around the blonde's shoulders, squeezing her into his side and warmth. "You practically live here already, Quinn. Now you'll just get to spend the night."
Quinn sniffled quietly, and buried her head into his shoulders. The two quietly enjoyed a few more minutes, occasionally sipping their hot chocolates.
"Does this mean I can stop being your beard in school? Ow! Okay! I'm sorry, bad timing!"
Highway To Hell
"She drilled you about it?" Quinn laughed slightly, eyes glued on the TV in front of her. She grunted when her character on the game took a hit.
Finn sulked over his notebook, trying to complete his homework, only to get distracted by the blonde and the game on his TV. "Yes! She asked if you moving in with me was the right step in this relationship or if we had thought this through because it could be too fast a move. Ugh, something like that! She uses so many big words that I sometimes have trouble following her."
Quinn giggled and paused her game to turn to him. "Yeah. What did you tell her?"
Finn looked up at her and smiled. "Said that we weren't together anymore but you were still my friend so I was gonna help you in any way I can." He shrugged and stood up to stretch his muscles. "Then she started trying to get info on why you needed help in the first place."
Quinn smiled at that, "That's Rachel Berry, alright."
"It that why you're crushing on her?"
The blonde glared at him while he grinned sheepishly at her. She opened her mouth to yell at him, only to be cut off by an agonized scream rippling from upstairs. Both teens froze. The screams continued until they died off then heard two loud thumps. That snapped them out of it and they rushed up the stairs of the basement, bursting through the hallway and into the living room.
The sight in front of them made them skid to a halt.
On the floor was the mailman, bleeding from a wound on his upper left arm. He was gnawing on Carol's stomach, bloody organs and bits held in his hands as he feasted on her skin.
"M-Mom?" Finn whimpered, flinching when the mailman's head turned towards the two teens. The mailman shakily stood and began to stagger towards them, his bloody hand stretched out in front of him.
Finn took a step backwards, eyes darting between his immobile mother and the bloody mailman. This movement seemed to encourage the staggering man because he increased his pace, now only a few feet from Finn.
The quarterback began stepping back, his back eventually hitting a wall and trapping him with the mailman right in front of him. Finn closed his eyes and tried to squeeze in against the wall as much as possible.
A crash alerted him to something happening and he opened his eyes to see Quinn standing in front of him where the man used to be, a lamp hanging from her grip as she stared down at the body on the floor between them. A gash bleeding from the back on the body's head indicated what happened.
The two housemates locked eyes before the two darted out to the living room to check on Carol. The gruesome scene had more of an impact now that they could freely look at what happened. Finn went to kneel in front of his mother while Quinn went to check the rest of the first floor, closing the blinds on the windows – a glance outside confirmed exactly what she had suspected – and locking the doors.
The tears she had been trying to hold back trailed down her cheeks when Finn started sobbing and crying loudly for his mother. Carol had been an amazing woman, opening up her home to Quinn when the blonde didn't have anywhere else to go. She had become like a real mother to her, knowing just the right things to say and what to do to make Quinn feel better. Her own parents would never even measure up to the mother she saw in Carol.
To see that figure in her life gone was devastating. What made it worse was the way Finn was reduced to tears and sobs. She can't imagine what the boy was going through, losing the only parent he had ever known in his life.
Quinn doubled back into the living room and her heart broke even further, the lump in her throat became painful after hearing his words. "Mom, please wake up. Please, mommy…."
She decided to give him time, so she carefully went up the stairs after listening for any other sounds. She went into Finn's room and grabbed two of his duffel bags. She had been inside his room and around him enough to know where the boy kept his things and what he preferred to use.
As she packed his things, she took mental note of anything they could use as makeshift weapons. The boy had two bats, one made of wood and the other metal. No golf clubs. Hammer? Axe? Might have to check the garage. There are two sticks that used to belong to a pool table that had been sold in a garage sale down in the basement. Just need to break off the tips. They both had a pocketknife each and Finn had a Swiss Army knife, along with two pairs of camping gear, from that time they went camping last month.
After finishing with packing the boy's clothes and necessities, Quinn dove into his closet to grab all the camping gear and the two bats. She brought all this down the stairs in two trips after checking and organizing everything. She filled the four canteens and two plastic bottles with water from the fridge.
She went down to the basement to get the pool sticks and snapped the tips off, leaving a jagged point on each. She grabbed her still unpacked bags – she had only moved into the house last night – and turned off the TV, glancing at the Resident Evil 5 paused game.
'Oh, the irony.'
She dumped everything from their school bags onto her bed and placed the empty bags on her shoulders, then went back to the first floor and dropped everything by the door leading to the garage. She went back upstairs and grabbed the last duffel bag from Finn's closet then stopped in front of Carol's room.
Quinn took a deep breath then opened the door, eyes filling with tears when the familiar smell of Carol's perfume wafted into her nose. She quickly dug into her closet, pulling out a large handbag and carry-on bag. She paused in the door way, eyeing the two caps Carol kept hanging in her closet.
One said TITANS in bold red on white in the front while the other one had Cheerios written in cursive white on red. Under the caps were two jerseys. The first one was white with the number 5 front and back in red, and F. Hudson across the shoulders in the back in black. The second one was red and black, with Cheerios written in white on the sleeves, Q. Fabray across the shoulders on the back and Head Cheerio on the front in elegant cursive.
Carol had worn them proudly whenever they had a competition or game in support of them. When it was both a game and the Cheerios were cheering during halftime, she'd wear Quinn's cap and Finn's jersey, then she switched items on the next night. It didn't matter how many times the Titans lost or how far away the Cheerios' competitions were, Carol was always there.
The cheerleader grabbed both jerseys and caps, and carefully folded them into the handbag. She grabbed the bed's comforter as a second thought and went back downstairs. She pulled out the jerseys and caps, and left them on the counter, right next to the two pairs of jeans she had dug out for them and their letterman jackets.
She proceeded to place their canned food and drinks in the empty bags, along with any other utensils from the kitchen they might need. She grabbed the open box of bottled water and dumped the bottles in the bag, then dragged the unopened box next to all of their supplies. She eyed the small box of Gatorade before dragging that one to the pile, too.
She checked over their supplies and nodded to herself. Everything else they mind need are in the garage. First things first, though, she needed to get Finn.
Quinn walked into the living room to find Finn looking sadly over his mother's corpse. She grabbed the dropped comforter and placed a hand on his shoulder. He eyed the comforter and nodded, standing up to help her lay it over Carol's body. Once done, Finn stood up straight and rubbed his puffy eyes.
"We need to change and get out. Can't stay here." Finn only nodded and grabbed the offered clothes before heading to the bathroom in the hallway.
Quinn took this time to look down at the covered body and let out a few tears. "Thank you so much for everything. I don't know how I'd ever repay you for everything you did for me, Carol, for everything you both did. You took me in, and treated me like I belonged here, like this was my home. And for that, I love you both so much." She sobbed, wiping her hand over her eyes but it was futile because the tears just kept falling. "I'll look after Finn for you. I'll do everything I can to keep him alive. I promise."
With that, she turned her back to the living room and took out her phone. She texted all the Glee Club members, Mr. Schuester and Coach Sylvester to meet up at McKinley – it's five in the evening on a Friday, nobody would be there – for an emergency. To get all the supplies they could, grab a hold of their family members and watch out for biters. To do this all within the hour.
Because while she was pretty sure Puck, Santana and Mike would do all of this immediately, the others would need a bit more convincing. She just hoped they didn't have to go through it the hard way.
The door to the bathroom opened and Finn came out, clean-faced but still solemn. Quinn walked over to him, "Forward the text I just sent you to everyone, wait five more minutes then send it again. Mr. Schue and Sylvester, too." He nodded and she went into the bathroom to change.
Finn did as he was told, grabbed a plate of cold pizza and heated it up, taking out some soda to go with it. They'll have to eat so they can have all the energy possible. He eyed the supplies by the garage door and decided to load them up on his truck, after remembering his truck was inside the closed garage with Quinn's car. He grabbed his wooden bat, just in case, and slowly opened the door leading to the garage, flicking the light on.
He walked around the garage, looking in between and inside the cars to check if it was safe, then let out a relieved sigh when he confirmed it was. Finn started grabbing their supplies and placing them gently on the bed of his truck to make as little noise as possible. After he was done, he grabbed an empty bag from the shelves on the wall and started shoving flashlights and batteries inside, along with a pair of walkie-talkies.
Finn was so glad his mom was one of those people that liked to be prepared and liked to practice with everyone the procedures incase an accident, natural disaster or emergency happens.
At the thought of his mom, Finn tightened his grip on the bag and clenched his eyes shut to stop the tears from reappearing. 'No, she's gone now. I have to focus on what I'm doing. I can't afford to be distracted now. I gotta protect Quinn and keep her safe. It's what I'm supposed to do. I promised mom I'd do it.'
With a deep breath, Finn went back to packing any other supplies, then grabbed the box of tools and placed everything in his truck. He grabbed his keys, along with Quinn's, and stuffed them in his pocket. If they were meeting up in the school, Quinn had the keys to the football field, locker rooms and gym. Being Head Cheerio had its perks, he guessed.
Just as he finished thinking about her, Quinn walked out into the garage, plate of pizza and soda in her hands. They silently ate in the car after closing the house. When finished, they threw away the trash and both sent the messages to everyone again.
"We're not stopping for your parents?"
Quinn scowled, which was enough of an answer for him. Finn started the engine, and the radio – which had been on during their drive back from school – softly began to play AC/DC's Highway to Hell. Finn began to grin and Quinn giggled. "Fitting," she murmured, locking hazel with brown orbs.
When Fin began to whisper the words softly, she couldn't help laughing out-loud, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Her choked laughter ended in a sob and she exchanged a watery smile with Finn – who seemed to be in a similar state.
"Ready?" Finn asked gently.
"No, but let's get this over with."
Finn nodded and pushed on the button to open the garage door leading outside, neither ready to face what was out there.
A/N: Finn isn't gonna be a jerk in this fic. I saw Glee's Pilot the other day and I wanted to work with THAT Finn, so he's gonna be a very supportive character, only occasionally making some mistakes. He's still a teenager, after all. Anyway, some feedback would be great. I hope you enjoyed!
7th Creaturem dead from there, and she ended up ntng the entire discussion