I want you for always... days, years, eternities. -Franz Schubert

The playground was full of kids. It seemed like every second grade class in the Lima Heights Elementary school out was there. Screaming and laughter filled the air as children swang on the swing sets, chased one another in a game of tag or just hung around on the monkey bars.

Teachers stood and sat on benchs all while chatting it up and very rarely staring out to the kids to make sure no one got hurt. So it was easy for the small brunette to devise her plan. The kids never paid attention to anything and the teachers only pretended to watch them. She could sneak away and nobody would ever notice.

She crawled from under the jungle gym, and ran. She knew where she was going. She'd gone there every day before. It wasn't far fromt the playground just right outside of it actually. There was a tree she found at the beginning of the year. It was different than any other tree she'd ever seen before. It was bigger than the others. It's leaves were different, they grew to touch the ground and surrounded the tree trunk.

This was her tree. She pushed the leaves to the side and entered into her sacred place. It was shady here, it was quiet. She liked quiet. She rested her back against the base of the tree and slid down to take a seat on the grass. Folding her legs, she swiped her bangs behind her ear and reached into the pocket of her overalls.

Her daddy always gave her a lollipop to take to school. He said that it was for emergencies only. If ever there was a time that she was feeling sad during the school day, for whatever reason, then to eat the lollipop, because candy always made everyone feel better. But she'd just brought everyone that he given to her and stored them inside the little hole that had formed at the bottom of the tree.

She always felt sad at school, none of other kids ever talked to her. She didn't have friends like everyone else. No one didn't even notice when she went missing, like now. But she would come to her tree every time she felt sad, she didn't need lollipops.

There was a light breeze that blew by and swayed the leaves bringing her tree to life. The leaves and vines rustled and sunlights seeped inside her peaceful circle. This was a magical moment. She loved when this happened. It felt like she was in her own little world and nothing could ever hurt her here. Everything was peaceful, everything was beautiful.

She let a smile grace her tiny lips as she looked up at her tree. She just wanted it to be like this forever. Just her in her quiet place with the wind and the sun, nothing else, no one else. She let herself completely relax and in result she fell into a light slumber.

"Rachel... Rachel..." The brunette knew something was wrong when she heard a timid voice whispering her name. "Rachel, you waited to long." Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and blinked away the sleepiness. "You waited too long." The voice said again.

The brunette girl rubbed her eyes trying to find the source of the voice, but she was simply met with nothing. She wasn't sure how long she'd been sleeping, but she knew that she'd overslept when she didn't hear all the kids laughing and screaming like they were earlier.

No one had told the teacher that she was missing. The teacher didn't even notice she wasn't there. She could have stayed there if she really wanted to, but the buses would be there to get them soon. She needed to go home. So she bolted upright and ran as fast as she could to the school house. In doing so, she completely missed the little blonde girl standing just outside of her tree. The one that always noticed when she left. The one that cared enough to follow her every time she left the playground and be her look out to make sure no one would bother her and to be sure she was back with her class before they returned into the building.

But Rachel never noticed her. Just like no one ever noticed Rachel. The blonde walked slowly back to the school with her hands clasped behind her back. She just wanted the girl to notice her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two weeks later. That's how long Quinn waited before she decided that she just simply could not take it any longer. She was tired of chasing after the girl that could never be caught, and she didn't even know why she was doing it. Why was she helping Rachel Berry? Nobody even knows who she is. So why should she?

She was angry, so why did she feel like she wanted to cry? She fought back tears as she balled her little fists up and stomped slowly to the stupid tree with it's long leaves. Rachel was in there, she was always in there.

"Rachel Berry, you come out here this instant." She wanted to sound angry, and that was always what her mom and dad said when they were angry with her.

Inside her safe haven Rachel nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of someone else actually adressing her, and in such a tone. She didn't know whether to freeze or to run. Whoever it was could have surely come inside if they wanted to, and then this wouldn't be her safe place any more. It would be tainted by the outside world if whoever was out there came in. So she made her split decision to go outside.

She timidly parted the leaves and quickly slid out. Careful to make sure the other girl didn't get to see the iniside. She might have fallen in love with it and tried to call it her place.

"Um... hey?" Rachel said awkwardly. She didn't know what to say to girl. No one ever talked to her. She didn't even know someone else had known her name.

The blonde was red in the face, she looked funny. Her eyes were big and watery, but her hair was pretty. It was long and blonde and she had a pretty braid in it. "Hey." She said angrily huffing and folding her arms.

"Um..." Rachel felt her voice shake because she didn't know what else to say. She was afraid. Why was this girl here? Who was she anyway? "What's your name?"

The blonde wiped her eyes and folded her arms back to their position. "Lucy... put people call me Quinn."

"Why?" The brunette eyed her curiously.

"Because, Quinn is cooler than Lucy."

Rachel was still studying the girl in front of her. She looked upset... she sounded upset. "Wait here." Rachel held her hand up and turned around disappearing behind the leaves. Quinn rolled her eyes out of annoyance. She felt the urge to cry again for fear of Rachel not coming back out.

But she was wrong, the brunette had returned just as quickly as she disappeared with both of her hands behind her back. "My daddy said that candy always makes everyone happy." She pulled the a red lollipop from behind her and handed it to the blonde. "Here."

Quinn looked to the candy and then back to Rachel. She wanted to cry again, but this time it wasn't out of anger. It was a little different then that... or a lot different, but at that age she wouldn't have known. She only took the candy. "Thanks."

Rachel rocked back and forth on her feet as she watched the blonde rip the paper off and stick the candy in her mouth. "Better?" Quinn only nodded. They stood there, just the two of them. A familiar breeze passed by and Rachel could hear the leaves swaying behind her. With a smile displayed across her face she grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled her inside. "Come look at this."

She hurried to the trunk of the tree, never letting go of the other girl's hand and sat down. "What are we doing?" Quinn asked shifting the lollipop to the other side of her mouth.

"Shh... Just, listen and feel." Rachel closed her eyes and let the wind sweep across her face. Her brown hair looked like silk as it blew every which way. Quinn couldn't help but to stare at her in complete awe. She'd never met someone so fascinating. She stared at the girl for a little longer and then closed her eyes, just like Rachel.

It felt like the wind was going on forever. "If you don't focus..." Rachel whispered. "It feels like you're flying. High up in the sky, with the clouds and the birds."

"How will we get down?" Quinn whispered.

"Like this." Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand to emphasize what she was talking about. "We'll fly really high together, and we'll come back down together... It'll be like our anchor."

Quinn silently nodded her head as if Rachel could even see her. "Where are we going?"

"Anywhere you can think of."

And they did just that, for three weeks straight. Everyday at recess when all the other kids where playing and the teachers were pretending to watch over them. Two little girls would sneak away, hand in hand, and go anywhere they wanted to.

"So where are we off to today?" Rachel asked with a smile on her face. She'd sat down and was waiting for the blonde to do the same, but something was about Quinn was off today. She'd gotten to know her well enough to know when something wasn't right. She was pacing and twiddling her thumbs. "What's wrong?" Rachel asked with concern lacing her voice.

The blonde didn't say anything she just looked to the brunette with with anxious eyes causing Rachel to come to her feet. "Do you want a lollipop?"

"No, Rachel, I don't want the stupid candy." Quinn bit back. The brunette let out a gasp and held her hand over her chest. How could Quinn say something like that? Not in the place of peace.

"D-did I do something wrong?"

The blonde didn't answer, she merely dropped to the ground, indian style, and burried her face into her palms. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that the girl was now crying. Rachel panicked and dropped to her knees beside her. She rubbed small circles on her friend's back. "I'm sorry forever for whatever I did. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Just tell me how to make it better, and I'll fix it I promise." Rachel pleaded to the blonde, but it only seemed to make her cry harder.

Rachel knew it. She knew she would break Quinn one day. There was a reason she didn't have friends, and this was why. She'd messed up and hurt her only friend and she didn't even know what she did.

"I'll sit by you forever until the leaves fall off of this tree, until the sky is old and gray, until the sun refuses to shine anymore telling you how sorry I am..." Rachel said softly, and that seem to do it.

The blonde shook her head and wiped her eyes as she looked at the brunette. The emotions that this child was feeling were emotions inexplicable to her. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it just felt like too much. "Rachel..." Was all she could mutter out before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the brunette.

They sat there in an awkward moment with their faces just pressed together. It wasn't what Quinn had meant to do, or at least she didn't think to do it. Her body just kind of did it on its own. But it worked, it had been what she'd wanted all along. Everything that she was feeling before seemed to have come to a boiling point and sizzled over into that one moment. That was what she needed.

When she pulled back she was met with surprised brown eyes. "W-what was that for?" Rachel asked with a shakey voice.

The blonde shrugged and looked away. "I have to marry you." It was simple, and that's what she had to do. She just knew it. It was very uncomplicated, it's just the way that things had to work out.

"But why?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulders and tucked her hair behind her ear. She didn't know why, she just knew it had to be done one day. "My mom told me once that there are some things we just don't question, because it's supposed to be like that. You know?" Rachel shook her head, not understanding at all. But the blonde was determined to make her understand. "Like the birds, we don't ask why they fly. Or the wind, we don't ask why it blows, or this tree... we never asked why it was here. Why? Because that's the way things are supposed to be Rachel. They're just like that." The blonde shrugged. "They just are, just like you and me."

Rachel looked at Quinn and Quinn looked at Rachel. The brunette was still unsure if she knew what that meant,a nd if Quinn was being honest she wasn't 100% sure herself, but it was enough for both of them.

Rachel had never thought about growing up and getting married, mostly because she never had anybody to get marry to. But she took a moment to think about what it would be like to be an adult and married to Quinn. She didn't fully understand what that meant, and neither did the blonde. She just knew it meant that they had to live together and share a room... she could deal with that. She could marry Quinn if it meant they would always be together. "Okay." Rachel said quietly.

"Okay, what?"

"We can't get married now. We're to little. I'd probably be grounded for life if I got married to you. But one day, I'll let you marry."

Quinn smiled a dazzling smile and lurched forward engulfing the brunette in a hug. "Okay, no take backs. You said it. You said it yourself that you'd let me marry you, and I plan on doing it."

"You promise?"

"Only if you promise me again all that stuff you promised before?" Quinn asked timidly as she pulled away from the hug.

"What stuff?"

"About the leaves falling off..."

"Oh!" Rachel said regaining her memory. "Okay, I promise that I will sit by you forever and ever, until the leaves fall off of this tree, until the sky is old and gray, and until the sun refuses to shine." Quinn was sure she'd always remember those words even after all that stuff happens. She'd remember, and she'd think of Rachel when it did.

"Okay, then I promise I will marry you, and we'll sit together under this tree without leaves looking up at a gray sky without a shining sun... and it'll be the best thing I'll ever do in my entire life."

I was thinking about making this a multichapter fic, but I wouldn't mind leaving it as a one-shot. Let me know if I should continue? And the tree in the story is a willow tree.