Disclaimer: I don't own Glee and I'm not making any money from this.
Summary: There were three things that Rachel hadn't planned to happen on her first week of junior year: that her 'Fresh New Outlook' plan would fall to pieces, that she'd send an innocent person to a crack house, and that she'd get kissed by Quinn Fabray by Friday. Chaos ensues.
Author's note: This story is set in their junior year of high school (back in the good old days) and follows canon up until the beginning of season 2. I've had this written for a very long time and after watching an old Glee I thought I'd publish it, so updates should be frequent. This is just for fun, but constructive criticism/comments are very welcome. The name of the story and this preface is after the song 'Kiss With A Fist' by Florence and the Machine.
Kiss With A Fist
Prologue
"You're a coward, Quinn Fabray."
And with that, Quinn Fabray's fist powered into Kurt Hummel's face.
For the briefest moment after the boy's cashmere sweater met with the dirty floors of the McKinley High hall, the gawping crowd surrounding the three students shared a collective gasp that quickly transformed into a stunned silence, waiting for someone to make the next move.
They didn't have to wait long.
"Quinn!"
Everyone's attention quickly returned to Rachel Berry, now shaking with anger as her dainty fists balled at her sides.
The furious blonde turned her attention from Kurt (who was simply holding his cheek in shock) back to the small brunette behind her, and for just a moment, the ice in those blazing hazel eyes melted into something that almost looked warm. It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, and most of the students watching that day did.
Before the smaller girl could get out another word, the head cheerleader shoulder-checked her into a locker. "Get out of my fucking way, Chewbacca," she hissed, storming down the hall and out of sight.
Suffice it to say, everyone in the blonde's path was quick to do just that.
One Month Earlier
One week into junior year and Rachel's 'Fresh Start' plan had already gotten off to a terrible start. Somewhere in the last five days, 'tone down the limitless ambition somewhat in order to allow bonding with fellow Glee clubbers' had turned into 'direct the new girl to a crack house to stop her from taking your spotlight'. Not only that, but in sending Sunshine to that crack house she'd also alienated Finn, whom she'd also hoped to remain close with as part of her 'Fresh Start' plan after their breakup over the summer.
It also didn't really help matters that, except from perhaps the occasional kindness from Puck, Finn was her only real friend in the school. She'd made progress with Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Tina towards the end of their sophomore year, but that progress seemed to dissipate as soon as summer landed and she wasn't invited to a single thing the four had planned (and she knew they had them because she'd seen them on Facebook!).
Admittedly, sending a promising new Glee member to a crack house probably wasn't the best way to amend that.
Sighing, she placed her gold star-studded pink folder into her locker, sent a quick smile to the photo of her Dads hanging on the inside of her door, and turned to head to the cafeteria for lunch. Only two more hours of the week to go before she could spend the weekend wallowing in Barbra.
"You're in my way, Manhands."
All of a sudden, Rachel's back met harshly with the metal door she'd just shut behind her.
In front of her stood newly reinstated head cheerleader Quinn Fabray, a small (but largely evil!) smirk spreading across her beautiful pale face. Before holding her head high to face her tormentor, Rachel made a mental note that thinking your bully is beautiful just after they'd shoved you into a locker is probably a very concerning sign of Stockholm Syndrome.
"Hello, Quinn. I'm sorry that you think I'm in your way," she said carefully, "Now, I really must get going. My vegan meal in the cafeteria often gets thrown in the trash if I don't hurry and I need to finish an assignment I have due for next period."
Truthfully she had no such assignment due (technically she did, but she'd really finished it the night Ms Hawthorne set the assignment) but she needed to deescalate and remove herself from this situation as soon as possible, because Quinn Fabray? Quinn Fabray, in all her stunning but evil glory, was the final but foremost reason her 'Fresh Start' plan was failing miserably.
It was no secret a year ago that Quinn Fabray revelled in torturing Rachel Berry probably even more than she revelled in being at the top of the pyramid. But after the babygate scandal things started to change: the blonde certainly wasn't nice to Rachel, per see, but she didn't go out of her way to mercilessly torment her either. Rachel had it down to having bigger things to worry about, like being pregnant, homeless and suddenly at the bottom of the social ladder. Although she never had any doubts that the fearsome blonde would quickly regain her throne post-pregnancy (and that she did, in a 'very Lady Macbethian-manner' as Kurt had put it), she had hoped that things wouldn't revert to the way they used to be and that perhaps, with time, she and Quinn could build a tenuous but beautiful friendship. She'd even baked cookies and arranged morale-boosting Glee numbers for the girl!
She probably should have spent more time wondering what was in Quinn Fabray's other hand and not her mind, though, because as the smirking blonde took another step towards her, she noticed a slushie (cherry, at least) in the girl's right hand.
"Oh, you think you're in my way?"
The next fifteen seconds happened very fast: Quinn threw the slushie all over Rachel; the crowd laughed, Santana cackled; Quinn licked her lips before smirking all the wider, and Rachel, without a second thought, gathered some of the red slush in the cup of her hand and launched it straight into Quinn Fabray's face.
Suddenly, the laughter in the hall stopped dead. Apart from Santana's – that just seemed to get louder.
Quinn, for her part, was obviously too shocked to speak. Rachel could understand that: four years of constant torment and she'd never done anything like this before. In fact, no one has ever done anything like that to Quinn Fabray before (not this Quinn Fabray, anyway).
Taking advantage of Quinn's shocked silence, Rachel took a step forward and held her head high, ignoring the harsh chill of the ice against her skin. "Quinn Fabray, I am sick of this! Your barbarous behaviour has to end!" Despite a few of the ignoramuses in the crowd giggling at 'barbarous', she continued, "I understand that now you are once again head cheerleader you may feel the need to remind everyone that you haven't lost your touch - as shallow as I think that might be – but I am your fellow team mate and I cannot fathom why it is you insist on going after me like you do!" She chose to ignore the gloop of red slush melting on the blonde's right cheek and continued, "We've only been back at school for five days and you've slushied me on every single one of them! Not to mention all the shoulder-checks, nicknames and mysterious trippings in the halls! After everything you went through last year, I would have thought that you would be more mature."
Letting out an indignant huff to signal the end of her rant, she spared a glance to the crowd around them. From what she could see, most people seemed too stunned to express any emotion besides sheer shock (apart from Santana, who was just smirking with a raised brow).
Before she had the chance to turn her attention back to Quinn, she felt the scruff of her collar yanked harshly and realised that the blonde had clearly awoken from her shock.
"Quinn, unhand me!"
It was no good: the taller girl was stronger and, clearly, considerably angrier than she was, and currently dragging her away from the crowd (witnesses!) and down the hall. She wasn't sure what she found more disturbing: the fact that a furious Quinn Fabray was forcibly dragging her to some unknown location (probably death!) or that the usually acid-tongued cheerleader still hadn't uttered a word.
The jeers from the now openly gossiping crowd weren't exactly helping either.
"Dude, Fabray is literally going to eat Berry alive."
"Wanky."
"She's going to fucking kill her!"
"Who knew Berry had it in her?"
"Did you see the look on Quinn's face? I don't think I've ever seen her look that mad, and I was there the day Kim dropped her from the top of the pyramid."
"This is amazing, did anyone get a video?"
"Do you think someone should…do something? Quinn might literally murder Rachel."
"Hell no, she'd also murder anyone that tried to stop her!"
As the echo of her peers' commentary faded into the distance, Rachel found herself suddenly shoved forcefully into what she knew to be the Cheerios locker room.
Yeah… 'Fresh Start' had gone to hell.