TITLE: Where Have You Been, Chapter One.
PAIRINGS: Faberry (Quinn/Rachel)
SYPNOSIS: Rachel Berry, the successful Broadway star has an interview on one of the lead television shows. Quinn Fabray has just landed herself with a new job in New York, one that she finally enjoys. Watch how both worlds collide. Written for Faberry Week.
A/N: So this was Written for Faberry Week, Day one: Reunion. It's going to be written in two parts, and the next part will be updated during the week. I hope that's okay with you guys. :D
REUNION: Part One.
-/-
The early morning rush hour always fascinated Quinn Fabray, especially in the Winter season, when everyone had a sense of Christmas spirit with them when they waltzed along the streets hurriedly, a coffee placed firmly in their hand. The way that the line in Starbucks seemed to gradually narrow down as the morning increased; that managed to fascinate Quinn every morning when she walked briskly down the cobbled streets of New York, her bag slung over her shoulder, the gentle breeze streaming through her hair.
Of course, Quinn had never usually been a morning person. She remembered in High School the troubles of getting up each morning, the feeling of it being a chore as such. Back when she was in High School, things were very different. Quinn was head cheerleader, popular, she had enthusiasm, spirit. Things hadn't changed that much, now that Quinn thought about it, because she actually still had some of those things.
True, she had given up cheerleading when she enrolled at Yale. Cheerleading had only been a hobby for Quinn, just an exercise to pass time and increase her popularity. Quinn had been adamant of a good social status at High school; in fear that she would become the dreaded 'Lima Loser'.
Quinn had never been a Lima loser, because here she was now, sat on the soft red velvet couches in front of the camera. She had her own television show, and had interviewed people who she had never dreamt of meeting.
It was…empowering how things had suddenly changed and turned for the better.
"-Miss Fabray, are you still with us, you go live in three minutes," The loud, sharp voice of her boss dragged Quinn out of her daydreams and back into reality, in which she was about to interview some Broadway star, Quinn couldn't remember her name. Quinn had a list of questions in front of her on the clipboard, yet she hadn't bothered looking over them. What was the point? It wasn't like this interview was any different to the hundreds of other interviews that she had done.
Nodding, and sitting back in her seat, Quinn smiled reassuringly at her director, "Of course,, sorry, I was uh-" She thought for a second, thinking of a reasonable enough excuse, "-I was thinking of tonight's awards ceremony."
That was a good enough excuse, because actually, the awards ceremony had been worrying Quinn for days. Her television show had been nominated in several categories and Quinn almost felt determined to win. It felt like the amount of hours she had spent working and stressing over her show would have finally paid off. She needed to win.
Her director nodded, sitting back down on his chair. "Well make sure you keep your mind on Miss Rachel Berry, Quinn, instead of our victory tonight." A confident, self-assured smile rested on his lips.
Quinn froze, her jaw dropping slightly, her eyes widening in complete and utter shock, and pure terror. Unable to move, Quinn shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her eyes placed firmly on the clock opposite to where she was sat. She had two minutes until she had to be faced with…
…Rachel Berry.
Quinn could feel her heart beating against her chest and she tried to calm herself down but taking a quick sip of her water, however she could feel a lump forming at the back of her throat. This couldn't be happening; this had to be a joke right? Quinn hadn't seen Rachel in years.
Oh my god, Quinn thought to herself in panic, trying to think of a reasonable excuse to get out of this. There had to be a mistake, right? Rachel Berry wouldn't be on her show. Rachel Berry was on the Broadway stage, playing Fanny Brice or whatever. Quinn didn't even know if Rachel was still on Broadway at all!
"Miss Fabray are you ready?" Miss July, her small assistant placed a comforting arm on Quinn's shoulder, trying to reassure the blonde.
Quinn nodded; feeling suddenly heated up and panicked. "Definitely." Once again, Quinn painted a smile onto her face to prove to her assistant that nothing was wrong, when something most definitely was.
"Okay, we're going live in one-"
No, no, no, this could not be happening, Quinn thought as she released the deep breath she had been holding, squeezing her eyes shut for a few short seconds.
"Two-"
Quinn opened her eyes, reassuring herself. This was only Rachel Berry. Nothing to be scared of. Nothing at all.
"One. Action!"
Quinn could feel the camera's directed at her, and she smiled, placing her clipboard down on her table. "Hello, and welcome to my show. I am Quinn Fabray, and today, I'll be interviewing the well known and loved Miley Cyrus, the highly successful and uh…Loved, Rachel Berry, and of course, the Queen of Country music, Taylor Swift-"
As the show continued in the usual, normal way that it did, Quinn felt herself calm down slightly, annoyed with herself for getting so worked up about such a small thing. It was going to be fine.
The spotlight was placed upon Miley Cyrus, and Quinn glanced down at her list of questions, reading off the last one. "So, what do you have to say to any Hannah Montana fans who are, let's say, shocked, at your new music video?"
Miley gave a small chuckle, "I'm not Hannah Montana, and I never was. That's what acting is. People need to understand the difference between acting, and real life." She smiled at Quinn.
Quinn nodded, smiling back. "Thank you Miley for coming on the show today," She said, "It was an absolute pleasure to have you here."
Standing up, Miley nodded and her smile somehow got bigger as she waved out to the audience before walking offstage. As the audience erupted into applause, Quinn casted an eye backstage to where the next contestant should be waiting and her eyes landed on Rachel.
Biting her lip, Quinn took in the changes in the still tiny girl who was standing before her. Rachel had grown slightly since Quinn had last seen her; and Rachel's fashion sense had definitely improved an awful lot since High School, but forgetting that, Rachel was still Rachel. She was still the fiery, self-absorbed, yet somewhat adorable diva, just like she had always been.
Looking away from Rachel and back at the camera's, another fake smile was plastered on. "So our next contestant will be the Broadway Tony Award winner…Miss Rachel Berry!" Quinn announced, standing up as Rachel walked out onto the stage.
Rachel walked slowly out onto the stage, a huge beam spreading across her face when she saw Quinn, rushing over to her and pulling Quinn into a tight hug. It was almost as if to ease whatever tension was between them, to tell Quinn that it was okay. Quinn smiled in relief and hugged Rachel bag, completely oblivious to the confused audience watching.
After several seconds, Rachel pulled away from the hug and sat down on the couch opposite Quinn, and Quinn shook herself back into real life and sat down too.
"Hey Rachel," Quinn said, her grin not being able to leave her lips.
Rachel waved at the audience before her eyes looked back at Quinn again, and smiled. "Wow, Quinn, this is amazing. You've done outstandingly well!" She exclaimed.
Quinn couldn't help a small blush form on her cheeks and she nodded. "Thank you Rachel," She answered, "The same could go for you too. Don't you have an album out next week?"
Rachel nodded, digging into her black Chanel handbag and producing a CD, handing it to Quinn. "Yes I do!" She smiled again, "I've worked extremely hard on it, and I've loved making it become a reality. It's amazing how things work out, isn't it?"
Quinn looked up from her questions and locked eyes with Rachel for several seconds, feeling her heart beat fast against her cream blouse that she was wearing. "Y…Yes, it is." She said finally, hurriedly looking down at the questions, her face blushing again. "So, tell me, is it true that you and Jesse St James have recently become engaged?"
Please say no, please, please, say no, Quinn begged inside, unsure of why she was feeling like this. Probably because of the harsh way Jesse had treated Rachel; that had to be it.
Frowning, Rachel shook her head. "Of course not, Jesse and I are merely business partners. He plays Tony, I play Maria."
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Quinn smiled and nodded. "That's good." She replied. "Was it also true that you're leaving Broadway for a year to work purely on your album?"
"No, who told you that?!" Rachel's eyes were now widening in pure shock and confusion. "None of this is true, Quinn."
Quinn frowned, unsure of what to say. She still had several gossipy questions to quiz Rachel on, yet she couldn't help a layer of doubt form across her mind. She was sure her bosses wouldn't mind if she just made up some questions to ask Rachel- there was nothing wrong with that.
Quinn reluctantly placed her clipboard down on the table in front of her. "So, what advice could you give any Broadway dreamers out there watching this show?" She asked, knowing that that question would be approved of by the directors.
Rachel thought for a few long seconds. "Just don't give up." She shrugged. "I never did and look where I am today. Stay strong to who you are and what you believe in and you can never go wrong. I promise." She said in a firm voice.
Quinn could feel herself getting uncomfortable again, and she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at Rachel. "Well thank you ever so much for coming on the show Miss Berry, it's been a pleasure meeti- I mean, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"You too Quinn, we really have to meet up some time." Rachel smiled again. "It's been too long."
I like it that way.
I like the future and you are the past.
Instead of saying any of those things, Quinn nodded, "Of course Rachel." She said, standing up, almost to indicate for Rachel to leave.
The past was a dangerous place, and never did Quinn want to revisit it.
-/-
When Quinn returned home to her apartment that night, she had two missed calls and one voicemail. The first missed call was from one of her best friends from LA, Puck. It was weird how Quinn and Puck had turned out. They were so close despite their history of him getting her pregnant when she was sixteen. They'd both grown up and moved on from it, and now Quinn was giving Puck girl advice and Puck was cheering Quinn up most days and teasing her about her famous she'd become.
The second call was from an unknown number and Quinn frowned, clicking play on the voicemail.
"Hello Quinn, it's Rachel Berry here, I got your number from the backstage crew this morning, I hope that's okay with you. I was wondering to expand on what I said on the show and meet up with you, possibly tomorrow if you don't have any plans? I'd love to anyway. It's been too long. Much love, Rachel Berry.'
Quinn groaned and placed her mobile down on the table again, running her fingers through her hair. It wasn't a secret that Quinn had some untold feelings for Rachel since high school, which was why when she heard Rachel was coming on the show, Quinn freaked out.
Rachel was straight. Quinn…Quinn didn't know what she was.
Quinn sighed as she pressed call on Rachel's number, sitting down at her kitchen table, running her fingers all the wood, nervously tapping her foot.
After several rings, Quinn heard a familiar perky voice.
"Hello? Rachel Berry speaking."
Quinn felt her heart leap when she heard Rachel's voice, feeling her insides go numb. "Rachel- hi! It's Quinn."
"Quinn?! Hey! I'm so glad you called me back, I was afraid you would simply ignore my call. Not that I'm suggesting that you are the type of person who would ignore calls but I-"
Quinn chuckled as Rachel continued to babble endlessly. "Rachel, its fine." She smiled.
"Of course," Rachel said, and Quinn knew Rachel was smiling.
Quinn continued to tap her foot, nerves taking over her. "Well I'm calling to say that I'd love to meet up with you."
"Really? You'd like to?! I'd love that Quinn. I haven't seen you in ages, with the exception of today of course."
"Well I'd like to." Quinn said simply, unsure of what else to say that wouldn't make her sound extremely clingy or needy.
"Oh, and Quinn?" Rachel said, suddenly sounding a little quieter than usual.
"Yes Rachel?"
"I saw how happy you were today when you found out I wasn't dating Jesse."
Quinn's eyes widened and she blushed red immediately. "Well Jesse's a douche." She said in an uncertain voice.
"He's actually quite nice now Quinn," Rachel said, "But don't worry, nothing's going on."
"I'm glad Rachel," Quinn smiled.
"So I'll see you tomorrow I guess?"
"I guess you will."
-/-