AN: Hey everyone! I would just like to say that, in this story, teenager Rachel will be a little OOC, Quinn is a natural blonde and her parents are a little OOC too.
Also, English is not my first language and I've had people tell me before that my English is weird, so if you guys think I need a beta, please say so. I will appreciate it very much!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.
I hope you like my story! :)
Chapter 1
Fairbrook Township
Eight-year-old Lucy is sitting on a bench by the park, watching the other kids have fun in the first day of school. Lucy is not like the other kids. Well, almost every writer in every story would say that about their child protagonist to show just how unique and different and original their character is. Anyway, Lucy never liked going to the playgrounds, but unfortunately, it's recess so she had to; even if she'd just sit far away from her classmates. She doesn't like the idea of having to wrestle with other children just to be able to use the swing first. No, she would rather be alone than participate in that kind of chaos and ruin her dress. Daddy will get mad if her dress gets ruined.
When she feels lonely- which is most of the time- she would take out her favourite book she always has inside her backpack: Alice in Wonderland. She would sometimes wish for the book to just eat her alive already and take her to Alice so they can be best friends forever. They will have tea together, shrink together, go crazy with the Mad Hatter together, and challenge the Queen of Hearts together. They will travel the-
Young Lucy's thoughts were interrupted by two figures looming over her.
"Stacy, why is she reading a book when it's not reading time?" The taller one of them asked with a tilt of her head.
Stacy let out a snort. "That is because she doesn't have any friends, silly." At this point, Lucy starts squirming in her seat, not knowing if she should tell them that she can actually hear them and that is rude of them to talk about her when she is just in front of them.
The taller girl then beamed and offered her hand to Lucy. "Hi! My name is Andrea! What are you reading? Do you want to be friends? Oh, wait, what is your name first?"
Lucy looked up from her lap and stuttered. "Uh, my name is Lucy." She then shakes the hand tentatively. "I'm reading Alice in Wonderland."
"Oh! That's the one with the rabbit! My mommy always-" Whatever Andrea was about to say was cut off when Stacy roughly tugged her arm. "Hey, what was that for?" She pouted.
"You can't be friends with her. She wears glasses. My grandfather wears glasses because he is old and my parents don't want him anymore because he will be stinky in the future. Lucy wears glasses, which means she will be stinky in the future." Stacy made a disgusted face. "Let's go before we become stinky."
Both girls walked away without noticing the tears falling from sad hazel eyes.
The next week in school, Mrs. Potts introduced to the class a short brunette with the most beautiful, chocolate brown eyes Lucy has ever seen. Lucy wondered what it would be like to stare at those eyes for a very long time. Will she get lost? Will she drown? All her questions went down the drain when Mrs. Potts made the girl- whose introduction was missed by Lucy because of her daydreaming- take the seat beside Stacy. She knows that a girl as pretty as the brunette will have no problem being friends with Stacy and the other children. It also helps that her smile is as charming as the prince in Cinderella.
Recess came and Lucy is sitting again on the same bench. This time, she brought her sketchbook with her and started drawing the huge oak tree just a few feet away from where she is.
"Hello, classmate!" The loud voice caused Lucy to jump up from where she is and throw away her sketchbook and pencil in the air. She started picking up her things when she heard the cutest giggle from her right. Lucy looked up to see the beautiful brunette from class awhile ago. "I'm sorry if I have startled you. I also did not mean to take delight from your shocked appearance, but you were just too cute and you reminded me of my lion sweater." The tiny girl said with a shy smile.
She called me cute. Lucy thought as her chubby cheeks start to turn pink. She took all of her belongings and put them inside her bag so she can give all her attention to the girl talking to her.
"Rachel! Get away from her!" Lucy sighed. She should have known that she will never have any chance of friendship with this girl, especially when she is friends with Stacy. At least I know her name now. Rachel. That's a pretty name.
Rachel furrowed her brows when Stacy and Andrea came up to her. "Why? I was just trying to start a conversation with-" The brunette stopped mid-sentence and looked at Lucy.
Lucy blushed again with the way Rachel is looking at her. "M-my name is Lucy."
"-Lucy. I just wanted to talk to her because I got tired of playing and I thought it would be great if I sit beside her and got to know her better seeing as she is also my classmate and I want to be friends with all of you." Rachel said while crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Rachel, you can't be friends with her. Stacy said fat and ugly people like her will burst like a balloon and let out a stinky smell." Andrea frowned and stuck out her tongue.
Lucy is in the brink of crying, but she is stopping herself only because she doesn't want to cry in front of Rachel. Frannie once told her she looks like a hippopotamus when she cries. She certainly doesn't want Rachel to think she looks like that mammal.
"That is absolutely ridiculous! Humans don't burst like a balloon and let out a stinky smell. Also, Lucy isn't ugly. In fact, she is one of the prettiest girls I have ever met." Rachel stated with indignation.
Stacy scrunched up her face. "Fine. If you want to be friends with her, then you can be ugly together!" She spat and took off with Andrea in tow.
Rachel was about to run up to them and explain to Stacy how nonsensical her statement is, but she heard sniffling beside her. She saw Lucy sitting on the bench and desperately wiping her tears. The brunette's heart broke and she stood in front of the blonde. She took her favourite hanky-it is pink with a huge golden star in the middle and her name at the corner- from her sparkle-covered bag and offered it to Lucy. "Here."
Lucy looked up, suddenly feeling embarrassed and hid her face using her hands. "Nm, thnks. I dn wnt it."
"Sorry, what was that?" Lucy just shook her head, still covering her face. Rachel gently took her hands away from her face and gave her a small smile. "Can you please repeat what you were saying awhile ago?" She put Lucy's hands on her lap and offered her the handkerchief again.
"I said no, thanks. I don't want it." Lucy said while looking the other way.
Rachel huffed. "Lucy-" She frowned. "Wait, what is your full name?"
Lucy sniffled and made a confused face. "Lucy Quinn Fabray. Why?"
"Lucy Quinn Fabray! You take my hanky now and wipe out those tears! I don't like seeing angels cry and you look like the angel from the movie I watched with my daddies last night." Rachel stomped her foot and waved the cloth right in front of the blonde's face.
Lucy gave up and took the hanky from Rachel. "Thank you." She said in a small voice while wiping away her tears. "Why are you so nice to me? Stacy and Andrea are right. I am ugly and fat."
"Don't you dare say that again! You are not ugly. In case you didn't hear me a few minutes ago: you are one of the prettiest girls I have ever met. You are not fat. Yes you are a little... chubby; but hey, it means you are pleasant to cuddle and I love cuddling, so we can be cuddle buddies! You shouldn't care about what Stacy or Andrea or the other kids say, they are just jealous. They are jealous because you have a beautiful pair of hazel eyes, and your hair is as bright as the sun. You are beautiful, Lucy Quinn Fabray. Don't you ever forget that." Lucy is already red as a tomato. "I am nice to you because you give me a feeling like we can be very good friends and you don't seem to be like other kids who only like to play. I saw your Alice in Wonderland book awhile ago in class. Not a lot of kids in our age read unless they are told to do so. I like reading too and I also want friends who can keep up with me. If you would let me, I would very much like to be your friend."
Lucy just blushed harder at the mention of her favourite book. "W-we can be friends." Rachel beamed and lunged forward to hug her which caught the taller girl by surprise.
Thus began the friendship of Lucy and Rachel.
Four years later
"Luuu-cyyyyy." Rachel sing-songed, trying to wake her best friend up. "Lucy, wake up!" The blonde just buried her head under her pillow and grumbled something about being seven o'clock in the morning. Lucy is starting to regret having Rachel over so they can spend the night together before her birthday "Fine." Rachel huffed. "If you are that way, then I am not going to give you the whole set of Harry Potter books I got for you as a birthday gift."
Lucy bolted up from her bed. "You bought me the whole set?!" She exclaimed with a huge smile suddenly awake.
"Well, technically, my daddies bought it, but since it was my idea and they are supposed to provide me money because I am a minor with no job, then-" Rachel shrieked when her arms are suddenly filled with a bouncing Lucy.
"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! Where is it?" Lucy asked excitedly while still hugging Rachel.
Rachel giggled and gently pushed her best friend away. "Relax. My daddies are going to bring it here and you can open it later at the party, but make sure it is the very first present you open, okay?"
"I promise it will be the very first present I will open!" Lucy took Rachel's hand. "Let's go have breakfast." She then proceeds to get out of her room with Rachel, but she was pulled back by the shorter girl. "What?"
"I haven't told you something." The tiny diva said with sadness and puppy dog eyes.
Lucy is starting to panic. They never kept secrets from one another. Ever. "W-what is it?"
Rachel beamed. "Happy Birthday!" Rachel started laughing. The blonde girl just looked at her with an unamused expression. "You should have seen your face! You look like-" Rachel tried to imitate Lucy's expression which caused her to laugh along with her best friend.
Lucy rolled her eyes. A gesture she learned from her older sister and will be using a lot in the future. "And people think I am the dork."
"Hey! You are the dork. You are the dork and I am the diva. We are known as The Dork and The Diva."
"Let's just eat our breakfast." Lucy said while trying to suppress a smile.
Judy Fabray is serving the refreshments to the guests. She smiled when she saw her daughter having fun with her best friend. She noticed how her Lucy is starting to change; both physically and mentally. Lucy is starting to come out of her shell- she is no longer the Lucy who is shy and timid. She learned how to stand out for herself- all thanks to the tiny diva who is currently hitting her with a pool noodle- and voice out her thoughts. Lucy is starting to look more and more like her mother each day. She is losing her baby fat and getting taller. She is almost a teenager.
"Judy!" The older blonde looked behind her to see Leroy and Hiram Berry with huge smiles. Hiram gave the gift to Judy.
"Hello to you two! The girls are over there. Let me just put this away and call Russell so Lucy can start blowing the candles."
Judy went inside the house and towards her husband's office. She went inside and noticed that Russell is in deep thought. "Hey." She approached him and kissed his cheek. "What's wrong?"
The blonde man sighed. "Nothing. I got promoted."
"Really? That's great!"
"Yes, but we will have to move if I take it."
"Oh." Judy thought for a moment. "Well, let's not think of that for now. It is our daughter's twelfth birthday and we should all be having fun! Let's go downstairs, Mr. Fabray!"
Russell laughed. "Whatever you say, Mrs. Fabray."
After her ballet classes, Rachel went home with her fathers. She saw a beautiful envelope on the coffee table.
"Sweetie, I see you've already seen the invitation." Leroy sat on the sofa and motioned Rachel to sit beside him.
"Invitation to what?" Rachel asked excitedly.
Leroy chuckled. "Our family is invited to your Uncle Barney's wedding in New York."
Barney is Leroy Berry's childhood friend. They grew up together and made legendary adventures together. Of course, they got in trouble a lot which made Leroy's family move to another place, but that didn't stop them from promising that they will attend each other's very special day.
"Wait, Uncle Barney is getting married? To whom?"
"To a girl named Robin. I've heard from your uncle that she is beautiful just like you." The older Berry said and tapped Rachel's nose with his finger which earned him a giggle.
"When is the wedding?"
"It will be on May 25th."
"What about school?" Rachel frowned when the thought of missing school came to her mind.
Hiram sat beside Rachel so she is being sandwiched by her dads. "Sweetie, we are actually planning on moving to New York. Not just because of the wedding, but also because your Bubbe's illness is getting worse and she wishes to spend her time with us before... before she goes to a better place."
Rachel started sobbing quietly because she really loved her grandmother even though they only see each other every Hanukkah. She doesn't want to lose her. Bubbe promised her that she will watch Rachel's very first performance in Broadway.
Her sobbing got worse when she realized she will be leaving Lucy. She can't leave Lucy- not when they are both about to become teenagers. They are going to finish middle school together, then they are both going to survive high school together. It has always been Lucy and Rachel. Rachel doesn't know how to last a day without hearing the voice of her dork.
"Shh. I'm sorry, honey, but we have to go to New York. At least you'll be closer to Broadway right?" Hiram hugged his baby girl.
"I know daddy, I know, but the reason we are going there is because... because-" Rachel couldn't even finish her sentence. She can't believe a few weeks ago she was having fun at Lucy's party, and now she is crying for her Bubbe and the thought of leaving her best friend. "A-and Lucy. W-what about Lucy?"
Leroy's heart broke at the sight of her baby girl looking so sad. "It's hard, sweetie, but you'll have to say goodbye. We will be leaving at the first week of May; we can ask the Fabrays if they would like to have dinner with us on Friday, if you want, and you can go talk to Lucy."
Rachel wiped away her tears using the sleeve of her sweater and gave her dad a small nod.
At the Fabray Household
"I talked to the head of the company. He said we can hold from moving to Lima for two years, but after that, no more excuses." Russell told Judy while taking a sip from his scotch.
"Well, that's good. At least our Lucy will be able to finish her middle school first. Oh, and the Berrys called. They were wondering if we would like to have dinner with them on Friday."
"Tell them we'll be there. The Berry men are surprisingly good people who raised such a wonderful child despite their sexuality."
"Russell." Judy warned.
The blonde man put his drink down. "I tolerate them because they are nice people and their child is being raised properly. Just because I tolerate something, doesn't mean I agree with it."
Judy didn't say anything. At that moment, she decided against telling her husband about Lucy's sketchbook filled with drawings of a certain petite diva with hearts all around it.
"So, you're going to visit New York? That's amazing! You love New York and-" Lucy cut herself off, seeing the sullen look of her best friend. "Hey, what's wrong?" The two best friends are at the patio of the Berry house, they were talking about random things when it suddenly came to this topic.
Rachel looked away. "I'm not just going to visit New York." She mumbled.
At this point, Lucy got worried. Her usually coherent friend is not talking in paragraphs and she is not expressing herself loudly. "What do you mean?"
The tiny diva looked at her best friend with tears in her eyes. "We're moving to New York this May. I-I'm going to finish middle school there; and, I guess, high school too." Lucy didn't know what to say so she hugged the brunette. "What if the people there are mean?" Rachel couldn't tell the blonde about her Bubbe. She thinks sharing this piece of information with Lucy will make everything seem realer. She can't handle that. At least, not yet.
Lucy pulled away from the hug. "You are afraid if people are mean to you? Hello? Knock Knock? Is Rachel Barbra Berry in there? Will you please come out?"
"Dork." Rachel giggled.
"Let me just remind you who my brave hero is: you. You saved me from Stacy and Andrea when we were younger."
"You make it sound like they are some kind of evil monsters."
Lucy rolled her eyes. "They kinda are. Anyway, you made me realize that there is nothing wrong with me. You accepted me even though I looked funny." The taller girl put her hand up to prevent the diva from talking. "And before you say anything, I know I was overweight, and I am thankful because you didn't rub it in my face. Instead, you helped me become more comfortable in my own body. You made me realize that someone can love me for who I am. So even if you're far away in New York, you will always be in my heart."
"I love you, Lucy Quinn Fabray." Rachel sniffled.
"I love you too, Rachel Barbra Berry." Rachel froze. "What now?"
"What if someone tries to kiss me in New York? I've read somewhere that New Yorkers are good kissers. What if I'm not good enough?"
Rachel is trying to lighten the mood. She fears that if the situation gets too emotional, she would just burst and make a scene which is totally unacceptable since the older Fabrays and her dads are just inside the house.
"You're only twelve." Lucy dead-panned. "Besides, where did you even read that?" Rachel shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be good."
"How'd you know?"
Lucy rolled her eyes- she's really getting a hang of it- and leaned forward to press her lips against Rachel's. She pulled away blushing "See, you're not bad." Lucy stated, trying to act like it's nothing.
"Y-yeah?" Asked an equally blushing Rachel. Lucy nodded.
"Rachel! Lucy! Dinner is ready!" Judy called from the house.
"I guess we better go inside." Lucy said, looking at her feet. Rachel took her hand and lead her to the house.
Rachel Berry is standing outside the Fabray household. It will be the last time she will see this house before she stays in New York for who knows how long. She is trying to memorize every detail of it. Her gaze landed on the slanted mailbox. She remembered that time when Lucy is trying to teach her how to ride a bicycle- which she is still convinced she won't be needing since she'll be riding expensive cars and limousines in the future- and she accidentally hit a rock- she thought it will stop the bicycle from moving- which made her go flying towards the mailbox. Rachel giggled at that memory. Thank Barbra I didn't break my nose!
"Hey, Rach." The petite brunette didn't need to look beside her to know who it is. She would always remember that voice.
"Hello, Lucy."
"Soo... I guess you came here to say goodbye, huh?" The taller girl gave her best friend a sad smile and opened her arms for a hug.
Rachel hugged the blonde tightly. "I will miss you so much." She pulled away and took something out of her pocket. "I know a lot of best friends do this with their best friends, but I still want to do it with you." She showed Lucy a bracelet with an R on it and put it on the blonde's wrist.
"Weird."
"Why?"
"I kinda got you the same thing." Lucy pulled out a bracelet with an L on it and showed it to Rachel.
They both laughed and Rachel took the time to observe her best friend. She is not just one of the prettiest girls I've ever met. She IS the prettiest girl I've ever met. Her internal dialogue was cut off when Lucy put on her bracelet.
"Now we have matching bracelets! Just like the other seven billion people in the world."
Rachel snorted. "Dork, not everyone is as awesome as us." Rachel sighed. "I will really miss you, Luce. Promise me you'll write." She proceeded to hug her best friend.
"Or we can just have our parents e-mail one another for us, you know, it's easier that way." The smaller girl chuckled.
"Don't ruin our moment."
"I'll miss you too, Rach."
