Blackout
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee nor am I affiliated with Fox.
Quinn Fabray carefully scanned the crowd of well-dressed juniors and seniors that filled the redecorated gym, looking for her fellow Glee club members. She had waited excitedly for this prom, and just having her baby born, she had the chance to wear one of the best dresses she nicked from her closet before she got thrown out of her own home (then her parents decided it was cruel and took her back in). It was a simple, quite long and elegant blue gown her mother picked up for her when she topped her whole class during her sophomore year.
Despite everyone looking lovely and handsome, the whole social ladder still wasn't gone during occasions like this. Every now and then, an unfortunate 'accident' involving punch and a poor nobody happened, but nothing that really ruined the spirit of the whole prom. Quinn felt a little lonely, not being able to find anyone else from Glee that she could talk to. Considering the social status she had unwillingly put herself into, after the whole baby drama, she didn't want to draw any attention from the higher classes.
She made her way through the dense crowd after spotting an unmistakably high-spirited, wheelchair-bound boy rolling around on stage, checking and maintaining the sound system. Artie generally looked happy from where he was. Up there, he knew he couldn't be bullied by the more killjoy students without risking destorying the speakers and controls. And Quinn knew she would be relatively safer around there, too. Where Artie was, Tina and Mercedes would most likely be close by.
Quinn highly believed she was a safe distance away from those who would have loved to made fun of her and threw a glass of punch at her just because. She passed through a tight-knit group of nerds, which she believed to be Artie's friends from the AV club. She looked down as she realized she took part in the humiliation of these students. She didn't even have the courage to wave at them, in shame.
Quinn didn't look where she was walking, and she stumpled directly into Jacob, who, with trembling hands, carried two glass filled to the brim. He stammered in apology, seemingly wanting to get away immediately since he, himself, fell victim to one of Quinn's horrible short-tempered moments. Quinn scowled at him as he went away. She looked down at her used-to-be perfect dress and rolled her eyes in complete disbelief. She was glad, though, that she brought a yellow back-up dress. It looked nice, but it seemed to further give the impression that she was as bright and golden as the sun. And as painful to one's eyes. And somehow, Jacob managed to splash a small amount of punch on her face that made her make-up drip.
She marched away from the dim lights and the slow music of the gym, weaving through the sea of well-dressed batchmates. At one point, Quinn swore she saw a Cheerio or two giggle at the sight of her misfortune, and even a relative nobody having the guts to point at her and elbow his companion to take a picture of the former queen bee in her... costume. Quinn rushed to her locker to retrieve her yellow dress, which she carelessly stuffed in there earlier. She had a remedy for the ruined clothing, but it still didn't offer a solution to her make-up.
As Quinn quickly headed to the girl's room, she bumped hard into somebody else. She thought the last thing she really needed was for another obstacle to get in her way. She gritted her teeth and furrowed her eyebrows and picked up the yellow dress she dropped on the floor.
"Will you please watch where you're going?" She sneered. "And save your insults for later."
She didn't get an equally snarky reply, though. Nor did she get an apologetic or fearful gaze that suggested that the person in question still was quite afraid of her, even after her bump down the food chain. Instead, she realized she just bumped into a fellow Glee club member who, although usually flamboyant and expressive in the way he dresses, looked undeniably elegant and handsome in the simple tuxedo he wore.
"Well, I'm so sorry, miss queen bee. I didn't know you were in such a hurry to change into one of your glaring costumes."
Quinn sighed. "I'm so sorry, Kurt. I have to go."
"Fashion emergency, hmm?" Kurt said, eyes traveling up and down Quinn's form, as if thinking of how much damage the punch had inflicted on her blue dress. "It's reparable."
Without any word of warning, Kurt hooked his arm with Quinn's and took her to the nearest restroom, despite her protests of "I can do this on my own" and "You're not seriously going into the girl's room, are you?". He gently pushed the blonde girl inside the restroom and hoisted a bag Quinn hadn't noticed before up on the counter.
"Emergency make-up kit," Kurt explained. "I always bring this. Good for when you get slushies or unwanted material up on your face. I take it you need this right now. Clean was your face first," he said, pointing to the sink. Quinn sighed and did as she was told. Kurt unzipped the bag he brought and took out a make-up kit. He unfolded a clean, soft handkerchief, which he gave to Quinn after washing.
"Sit, princess," Kurt commanded, pointing to counter by the sink. He folded his arms across his chest and grinned. "So tell me: exactly how did this happen?"
"Do we have to reiterate the whole thing?"
"No, but I can get quite curious with these things. I wasn't there to see you get humiliated, anyway."
Quinn cocked her eyebrow. Kurt shook his head.
"Insulting jokes aside, I think it's a blessing in disguise, this little disaster is. I can make you look better. Then, at least, anyone won't have the courage to actually throw you a punch." He giggled at his joke, as if it was in any way funny.
"It was an accident, Kurt."
"Oh. Well, like it matters." Kurt started to work on Quinn's make-up, hands moving across her face strategically as if he was a modern day Picasso. He carefully applied the mascara, the eyeliner, and everything else. Kurt was considerably on a roll, hell-bent on making Quinn look the best she ever looked. And then it happened.
The whole school plunged in darkness as power failure happened. Everyone in the gym murmured and talked amongst themselves in shock, as a calm voice announced that they will sort it out. The school's own generators seem to have stopped working and the janitors have been sent to check on it. All the students have been reassured that everything will be fine. They just have to stay put for the moment.
In the girl's room, Kurt stood frozen, eyes trying desperately to see anything - absolutely anything - in the darkness. He had been deathly afraid of the dark ever since he was a child, horrible mental images of a horror movie that scared him so much as a young boy flashing in his mind.
"Kurt? Are you alright?"
"I'm-"
He jumped a little, hearing the sudden closing of a door in the distance. "What was that?" he asked, positively panicking.
Quinn smiled. She knew she shouldn't, but she can't help but feel a little ecstatic over the fact that Kurt Hummel, who was a very strong and very fierce person, easily gave in when surrounded by the darkness. She felt him cling shamelessly to her arm, sensing his movements.
"W-what was that? I swear I heard something," he whispered. "Quinn, I heard something."
Quinn heard it too. The distant sound of humming, which sounded more like machinery than anything that could pulled straight out of a horror movie.
The lights came back on as quickly as they went out. It took Kurt a few moments to calm down before collecting himself and detaching from Quinn's arm, acting as if nothing big happened. He took a few deep breaths as he returned the few make-up materials he took out, and smoothed his clothes. Quinn bit her lip.
"So, does that suggest that the diva, Kurt Hummel, is very afraid of the dark?"
"It was a movie my dad made me watch when I was four," he defended hastily. "I still sleep with a nightlight," he added, admitting defeat.
Quinn smiled wide. She found it amusing and cute how Kurt got scared in the span of a second. Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Wipe that smug smile off your face, missy. In case you forgot, you're still heading down the path of disaster with that thing you're wearing," Kurt pointed out, while wiping off the sweat on his forehead.
"I've found your weak spot," Quinn mused. "Who else knows?"
"My dad," he responded humbly, before returning to his normal self. "I believe we're done here, little missy. Go change and I'll wait outside. I might as well dance with you later on. I believe you have earned the honor of dancing with me?"
"Bribes," Quinn muttered under her breath, and nodded.
She never wiped off that amused grin on her face. Even as she changed in her yellow dress (which she really didn't care about anymore, if it made her look like the sun or not), even as she walked with Kurt towards the gym, even as she danced with him, even as she took a few pictures with the members of the Glee club, she never wiped off that grin on her face. She had just found a chink in the well-dressed armor, and she was the only one who knew. Somehow, this made her feel very satisfied, as if she had just won something really big.
A/n: Not really my best effort, no. :)) But I had this idea in my head for a while, and I think I just had to put it down on paper. I really can't think any better right now, since I'm just so insanely excited for Bad Reputation. Who wouldn't be? Anyway, thanks for reading and don't forget to tell me what you think! :)