A/U I got an idea for a new story and decided to start writing it down. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know what you think :)
"Almost done…and…there!" she looked down at the screen projecting the last image she had just captured; a smile of satisfaction tugging at her lips. "I think this one is by far my favorite"
"Can I see?"
"No!" the blonde interjected "I want it to be a surprise!"
"She's right" the girl continued looking through the pictures "It should be a surprise"
"I don't think we should risk a surprise B;" the brunette reasoned uneasily. "We're sending these off to everyone…"
"Pleasee…" she pleaded.
There was no way she'd be able to say no.
"Ok;" she huffed "Fine"
"Yay! Thank you San"
"It doesn't mean I'm happy about it…" she continued stubbornly
The girl eyed her fiancé, placing a chaste kiss on her lips.
"Better?"
"Maybe a little…" she shrugged
Britney turned her attention to the oblivious girl holding the camera, "And thank you for taking the pictures Q!"
Quinn looked up and smiled at her longtime friend "Of course B; Anything for you two"
They all stood in place before an ice cream stand caught the taller blonde's attention and she wandered toward it.
"Ok" the fiery latina started "let me see those pictures!" she reached for the camera
"What? No." Quinn pulled her arm back "It's a surprise"
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Dead serious"
"Just give me the camera Q!"
"No!"
"Give me the…" she paused "Hey look it's Tim Burton!"
"You've got to be kidding me" Quinn responded amused "What are you five?"
"I'm six actually"
"No, what you are is…OW!"
She turned around and saw a soccer ball by her feet.
"Sorry!" she heard a kid yelling across the park "Can you uh toss it back?"
She scowled at the apologetic teenager before kicking it his way.
"S…What're you doing to Quinn's camera?" Brittney had reappeared with a snow cone.
"Wha…Damn it Santana! You seriously need to learn the meaning of surprise!"
She snatched back her camera.
"Oh c'mon you should know me better than that!" Santana argued
"It's true" Brittney commented taking a bite of the thinly chopped ice
"Well you know what; my camera and I are heading home before Santana over there does something else to spoil everything"
"What? ME? Never!"
Quinn laughed at her friend's sarcasm and said her goodbyes.
She had made it halfway across the park until she heard Brittney call out for her.
"Hey Q!"
"Yeah?"
"I think you dropped this…"
Britney handed her a charm bracelet.
"Oh um, this isn't mine…"
"Oh…Maybe it's an early gift from Santa!" Britney beamed.
Santana shot a concerned look at Quinn.
"Maybe," she smiled "Thanks B. I'll uh, I'll see you later"
"Bye!"
It had been a long, nice, Saturday afternoon. Quinn was ecstatic about her best friends' engagement and jumped at the offer of taking their engagement announcement pictures. But she had to admit, she was looking forward to jumping in bed and relaxing the rest of the night. She walked into her apartment and set down all of her stuff.
Looking out at the New York City view reminded her of how much they accomplished. All three got out of Lima, Ohio and into NYU after graduation. All for different reasons but they got in and finished nonetheless. Her life was serene and she loved every minute of it. Having her two close friends nearby made it that much more fulfilling.
She opened the doors leading to her balcony and stood there soaking in the city lights she had learned to love. She grabbed her camera, switched lenses, and started snapping pictures. Feeling pleased with the results she started to head back inside but the sound of faint singing stopped her.
"There is light placed up in the sky
She turned around, "Hello?" she got no response but the singing continued.
Like the stained glass time slows down
She leaned over the balcony but saw no one.
"I wish I could sleep, I wish I could dream"
She looked up and saw two legs dangling from the edge of the roof.
"Hey!" she called out "Hey! What're you doing up there?"
The stranger looked from left to right confused.
"You need to get down from there" Quinn continued on concerned "You can fall"
Finally the girl looked down, "A-Are you talking to me?" she asked surprised
"Well yeah, who else would I be talking too?"
"You can see me?"
"Um yeah…" she answered confused. Seeing the other girl's perplexed expression worried her.
"Hey… are you okay? Do you need any help?"
"I'm…no, I'm quite fine actually"
"You need to get down from there" Quinn repeated "It's dangerous"
"Not for me…" she answered nonchalantly. Her legs continued swinging back and forth as she sat on the edge.
"I'm serious, you can get hurt"
"I can assure you I'll be just fine" she told her
"How did you even get up there?"
"I don't really think that's any of your concern" she responded haughtily
"It is when it's my roof"
"Is it?" the girl looked around "Hmm…I don't see you r name on it"
"Funny" Quinn replied dryly
"What is your name anyway?" the girl asked curiously
"I don't really think that's any of you concern" Quinn mocked
"Touché" she replied "So… Quinn, what're you doing out here so late?"
"I'm…Wait, how did you?"
She pointed at Quinn's camera bag. "It says it right there; Quinn Fabray"
"I've been meaning to get rid of that" Quinn mumbled to herself earning her a smirk from the girl.
"So…you haven't answered my question, what're you doing out here?"
"I should be asking you the same thing"
"Well I asked first"
"So?"
"So how hard is it for you to give a simple response?"
"Pictures" she finally answered, lifting her camera
"May I see?"
"Are you going to get down from there?"
"No"
"Then, no"
"Fine" the girl said standing up
"W-What're you doing? Are you crazy?"
"You need to calm down Quinn" the girl chuckled, her laugh faded as she stared ahead "…It's beautiful isn't it? The city"
"Yeah," Quinn replied looking over her shoulder "I love it"
"Me too…"
Quinn looked back up at the girl who was staring ahead at the view before her. She was wearing a white halter neckline dress. Her hair was up in a loose bun and made her features very gentle. Silently she lifted her camera and snapped a picture.
"Hey!"
"What?"
"Didn't you ever learn to ask for permission before flashing that in someone's face?"
Quinn laughed. "Can't say that I have"
"Well you should, manners are important for any interpersonal communication"
"I'll keep that in mind"
"As you should"
"You know" Quinn started "You look really familiar…have we met before?"
"Maybe…"
"…What's your name?"
"Why should I tell you?"
"Well it's not fair, don't you think?"
"What isn't?"
"That you know mine but I don't know yours…"
She observed Quinn for a few minutes contemplating whether she should or shouldn't tell her. "My name's Rachel; Rachel Berry…"
"Rachel Berry" Quinn repeated to herself "That's a really…" the girl who'd been there a second before was gone.
"Rachel?" Quinn called out.
She waited a few minutes before making her way back inside.
She headed down the hall and into her room. It was a little past midnight.
After getting ready for bed she grabbed her camera one last time to look through her pictures. Trying to choose one for Brittney and Santana was going to be tough. They all came out spectacularly.
She took her time going through them, anticipating the moment when she'd reach the last picture she'd taken that night. When that moment came she was puzzled, to say the least.
"What the?"
All she could see was the edge of the roof and the lights glimmering around it. There was no trace of the girl she had spent her night talking too. Not a single thing.
"I really need to get some sleep..." she sighed