This is a gift to all my lovely, wonderful Fuinnatics over at Gleeforum.
I had the idea randomly whilst watching TV that there was a certain song I wanted Finn to sing to Quinn, and Whitney suggested it would be lovely for him to sing it whilst dancing with her. Lo the idea of doing a future Senior Prom story popped into my head and refused to leave me alone until it was written.
This is the longest oneshot I have ever done o-O and I had a lot of headaches, but ultimately I adored writing every word of it, and I really hope you all love it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee... but if I did this is how it would end for Finn and Quinn.
Pairings: Fuinn (obv) - background: Puckleberry (sort of ;)), Kurt/Sam, Mike/Tina, Artie/OC, hinted!Brittana,
~ Never So Lovely ~
Quinn Fabray stood in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom, smoothing the fabric of her dress. It fit her perfectly, sliding neatly over and around every curve and showing off her cheerleader perfect figure. Her blonde hair was for once out of its signature ponytail and instead some was pulled into one of her mothers more elaborate designs, whilst some fell free, framing her face; curls bouncing slightly as she twirled this way and that to see herself from every angle. Tonight was important, Senior Prom was a big night in every teenagers life, and she was determined that she was going to remember it as being spectacular. Of course, everyone knew that the first step towards the perfect night was looking the part; that's just the way it was.
Her mother came up behind her, leaning her head on her daughters shoulders and kissing her hair, as she had done so many times before. Her head fell to one side and she smiled at her daughter in the mirror.
"You look so beautiful my darling," She practically whispered, and Quinn could already see the tears beginning to shine in her eyes and she had to shake her head slightly to stop herself from crying too. There would be time for that later; plenty of time… she sniffed slightly, turning her head so that it rested on top of her mothers. For now, she didn't want to ruin her make-up before she even got there; she hadn't spent hours getting ready just to look a mess on arrival.
Her mother's arms wound around her and hugged her tightly for a moment, pressing another kiss to her hair before backing away.
"Come on, you don't want to be late do you?"
She looked at herself in the mirror again, the colour was unusual for her, she'd always assumed that she would wear white or a light pink to her Prom, she had once considered this on a whim but never really expected to follow through with it… but then, she hadn't had any choice in the end, and it turned out she preferred it this way. She smiled to herself, smoothing the dress down once more; fingers running through the ruffles that ran down her right side. Then she turned away, glanced at the time and floated out of her room into the hallway.
As she descended the stairs she saw Mercedes and Rachel already waiting for her. Both of them looked stunning, with Mercedes donning a long flowing navy blue dress, and Rachel a beautiful – if slightly over the top (as was to be expected) – black one with more ruffles than Quinn had ever seen on any one person at one time. There was just something about Rachel Berry that carried it off though. What a threesome they would make in their respective outfits. Quinn was certain that any guy who had ever thrown a slushie at them in the past was going to instantly regret having done so when they were being turned down repeatedly. With that thought she grinned to herself, and to her friends; who returned it wholeheartedly. They immediately shimmied forward to meet her and gush about how beautiful she looked; while she returned their compliments fully.
Having agreed to meet the rest of the Glee club there, they were ready to set off, and as they walked out onto Quinn's front porch, Rachel slid between her and Mercedes linking their arms and smiling widely as she pulled them down towards the waiting limousine. Quinn's mother called out a slightly teary goodbye, and Quinn waved at her as she slid last into the car and then closed the door behind her.
"I can't believe this," Rachel sighed dramatically, "Can you guys? I mean, this is it, this is really it… school is over and pretty soon I'll be taking my first steps towards Broadway – oh God what if I get to UCLA and they tell me there's been a mistake and I have to come back here – and you two will be off studying to be doctors and child psychologists… and all the rest of the guys will be gone too, doing their thing, and we'll have had to hand over Glee club and I'll have to just sit here all alone and…" Mercedes placed a hand over her mouth, for which Quinn was grateful. She was planning on getting through tonight one emotional hurdle at a time, and she really didn't need the Rachel Berry dramatics bringing up every little thing that was threatening to set her off, all in one go.
"Girl, I swear if you make me cry before we even get there, I will be there at the time one of your upcoming Broadway shows coincides with me having a cold, and I will make sure you get it so that you have to cancel your debut," Quinn giggled lightly at the horrified look on Rachel's face and the indignant "mmmph" that came from behind Mercedes' hand. Nevertheless she nodded her head and was released.
"So Quinn," She turned to smile at her friend. Quinn had to admit, even after almost a year it was still very strange counting Rachel Berry amongst her close friends, but she was glad of it, the girl had changed so much – just as she had – and Quinn found that once the animosity over Finn was behind them, and they could just see one another as people, they actually had a lot in common. Rachel turned out to be a loyal and kind friend; even if she was still a complete drama queen.
"I thought you said you found a nice white dress," Mercedes grinned widely at that and Quinn jumped in before she could make a remark about the colour white and it's associations with chastity, which of course she would.
"I was… but this appeared in my room, after I got back from our shopping trip this afternoon," She ran a hand across the skirt, straightening out the imaginary creases, "I asked my mom about it, but she just smiled and told me not to worry about it and to just try it on, I guess she must have bought it for me as a graduation gift,"
"Or I bet it was a secret admirer!" Rachel said with certainty, her brown eyes going wide and lighting up, she clutched her hands to her heart and sighed "That's so romantic,"
"Depends who sent it," Mercedes pulled a face and Rachel huffed loudly, and frowned at her.
"Whoever it was, it was a really nice thing to do,"
"I bet you wouldn't say that if it were you and it turned out to be Jacob," Quinn teased quietly, giggling as Rachel's face drained of colour and she swallowed hard.
"Oh God, you're right," She replied, "B-but, Jacob's a… well he's certainly an individual… and he's never really been interested in Quinn. I'm sure whoever sent it for you is really nice," though she didn't sound quite so certain anymore.
"Maybe it was Puck," Mercedes put in, "I mean, he's always had a soft spot for you, ever since…" Quinn smiled at her as she trailed off.
"Ever since Beth?" She queried, and Mercedes nodded, "Mercedes it's okay, it's been two years now, I think we can talk about it… anyway I'm pretty certain it's not an admirer, and certainly it isn't from Puck, it goes past my knee's," Rachel laughed loudly and nodded, and Mercedes smiled, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," She said, "I guess you're right, far too conservative for Noah Puckerman,"
"Besides," Quinn continued "While I think, we'll always care about each other, we actually haven't been together for over two years now and…" she stole a half glance at Rachel, "Puck seems to be over me now," Mercedes caught her eye and grinned widely as they shared a conspiratorial look.
"Well maybe we'll find out soon," Rachel said – apparently having noticed nothing – leaning forward in her seat, to peer out of the window, as the car came to a stop outside the school. Quinn looked out as well, and saw the Senior Glee club members stood outside the gate in a huddle. The group was larger now than it had been during that first year. Sam of course had joined them early on during Junior year, and following their second place at Nationals in New York the club had begun to attract a few others; two more from their year had joined at the start of Senior year. When you included the lower year groups their numbers almost rivalled Vocal Adrenaline now.
The driver opened the door on Quinn's side, and she slid out, hurrying over – as fast as her high heels would carry her – to greet her friends. Sam met her first with a wide grin and open arms; pulling her in tight, raising her up off the floor, and spinning her around. She screamed slightly before dissolving into laughter; by the time he put her down Rachel and Mercedes had reached them and were saying their own hellos. Kurt met her as Sam lowered her back to the ground and his hug was a little less over-excitable. He did gush about her dress however, and started talking in that fashion-savvy language that nobody but him seemed to understand. He kept on until Sam steered him away, raising both eyebrows at her as they passed. She smiled back and turned to greet Tina and Mike.
Everyone looked stunning, and Quinn couldn't wait to go inside, she could hear that the music had already started even from here. However they were still waiting on Finn, Brittany and Santana. Kurt didn't seem to know why Finn was late; apparently he had actually left the house before him. Brittany and Santana had supposedly been sidetracked by a problem with Brittany's dress. Quinn suspected that the problem was that she wasn't in it yet, for… one reason or another, but she decided not to mention this suspicion over the phone to Santana; past experience had taught her, you don't insinuate anything if you don't want the Latina's wrath to reign down upon you. So they stood waiting, reminiscing and anticipating the coming Nationals competition that was being held the next day. It would be their final performance together for an audience, and they would be doing a practise run for the school in the middle of the Prom. It was hard to believe that after tomorrow it would all be over, they would have another week left at school, but… it wouldn't be the same.
Finally Santana and Brittany appeared from one in a line of fancy cars that had pulled up outside the school, and they hurried over to meet them; now only Finn was left. Quinn looked to her right to see Puck with his phone out and looking annoyed when he received no answer.
"Man, where the hell is he," He growled out clenching his free fist. She shook her head lightly and placed a hand on his arm to calm him down. He always did get frustrated over little things. When it wasn't directed at her – and therefore annoying – it was actually quite endearing. He sighed and looked down at her with his crooked smile.
"You look completely stunning by the way," he said softly – probably hoping nobody would hear him sounding so soppy – and she closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly as she smiled. Looking up at him again, she replied in a quiet voice, "Everyone does," she watched as he nodded and let his eyes wander amongst the group, lingering slightly longer on Rachel – who was demonstrating her vocal warm ups to Tina. Quinn's smile widened and she patted his arm slightly before moving away to speak with Mercedes, Sam and Kurt. Before she reached them however a familiar voice called from behind the group.
"Hey!"
Everyone turned almost as one and in the back of Quinn's mind raced the thought that perhaps they had spent a little too much time learning to synchronise dance moves. However the forefront of her mind was focused on the tall figure of Finn Hudson, lolloping towards them with that clumsy, yet ultimately adorable, stride that was exclusively his.
"Finn!" Rachel called out happily.
"Bro, where have you been?" Puck went forward to grasp hands with his 'bro' pulling him into one of those 'manly' hugs that guys seemed to always do; slapping each other on the back.
"Oh, Mr. Schue asked me to come a little early to help set some stuff up for later," He said, though Quinn noticed that his eyes drifted slightly, in that way they always did when he wasn't quite telling the whole truth. She brushed it aside however, in favour of receiving a hug from him.
"This is great, we can go in now," Cassidy, one of the newer additions to the family piped up, moving behind Artie's wheelchair and taking the handles. Artie smiled around at her in thanks. Rachel moved to the front of the group and pulled out a camera.
"Okay but first things first, let's get some pictures now we're all together," She scanned the nearby area, apparently looking for someone to take the photo. She took some time over this, but nobody wondered why. After all there were plenty of people around that would more than likely simply break or run off with a Glee club camera. Eventually she pulled a quiet girl called Tania from a nearby cluster of girls and hurried to stand in the centre of the group. They took some all together, some with the original members, and the three couples had a few taken with one another. Quinn pulled Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt and Sam into one as well. Photo opportunity well and truly taken advantage of, Rachel finally let the girl go back to her friends and led the procession of Glee members towards the school. As they reached the door they divided into two's and got in line to have their photographs taken. Those already in an official couple moved together obviously, and the rest joined their agreed partners for the evening. Only Sam and Kurt split, Sam linking arms with Quinn, while Kurt and Mercedes joined hands. Quinn heard Rachel mutter something about injustice in front of them, where she was stood arm in arm with Finn, and silently agreed. She smiled slightly apologetically at Sam.
"Hey, it's fine," He said, apparently reading her mind, "Besides, we couldn't have you going in un-chaperoned right, there's lot's of people who'd want to take advantage of you, looking like that," He winked at her, and she smiled fully at him, nudging him slightly with her shoulder.
"I guess we'll have to look after each other then," She said with a smile, "I hate to think what Kurt would do to me if I let some beautiful girl charm you back to the other team,"
"It's a possibility, care to test it?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her as she giggled; though she stopped abruptly when Kurt sent a suspicious look at them over Rachel's shoulder. She gave him a slightly sheepish look but when Sam leant around Finn to peck his cheek he seemed satisfied.
"Aw," She said, only half mocking, as Sam leant back again, "Aren't you sweet," Sam's only reply was to hold his head slightly higher and smile. Quinn shook her head, also smiling and listened to Rachel berating Finn for looking away from the 'PDA', while he tried – without success – to get a word in edgeways in order to explain himself.
When the last pair – Mike and Tina – had had their photograph taken the group entered as one into the gymnasium, which had been transformed into a dance hall for the evening. Music was set up on one side of the stage, which the Glee clubbers would be performing on later, and was pumping out chart music. It was loud, repetitive and without any real lyrics, not really Quinn's kind of thing; but tonight nothing was going to stop her enjoying herself, so she pulled on Sam's arm, dragging him out into the sea of students to dance.
They were joined shortly by Rachel and Finn, and the three others took a moment to marvel at the marked improvement in Finn's dancing in the last year. "He hasn't stood on my feet once," Rachel shouted proudly. She was of course most responsible for the development; having had the most duets with him she soon grew tired of him being off time or just plain flailing around. She had forced him to let her give him lessons, she'd even insisted once that he joined her at ballet class; actually she had insisted again many times after that, but not even Rachel Berry's wrath could get him back into that classroom. Still it had all been worth it in the end, and he'd gotten it together in the last year so that they had been able to start some more complicated dance moves. Quinn was silently hopeful that this is what they needed to hit that elusive first place at Nationals, and end their school careers on the biggest high.
"Fancy a swap?" Rachel piped up when the song finished, "You can see for yourself, he's really improved a lot," Quinn shrugged lightly, glancing briefly at Sam. He was biting his lip and looking over her shoulder.
"Sam," She called, and he flicked his eyes back to her, "You okay?"
"Uh… I'll be right back," He said, putting his hands on her arms and moving her to one side, before heading off through the crowd. It didn't take long for them to realise why he had departed so suddenly. Karofsky had cornered Kurt at the side of the dance floor, they watched for a moment as Sam pulled his shoulders back, heading straight for them. Finn made like he might follow but Rachel put a hand on his arm, "He won't try anything physical, not in here, Sam can handle it," she said and he nodded, somewhat reluctantly and turned away. Quinn took one last glance as Sam reached his boyfriend and started shouting something; when she was convinced no punches were about to be thrown she too turned away.
"Well, we're down a man," Rachel said with a slight smile, "What do you want to do? I don't mind sitting out," Quinn shook her head, spotting something in the crowd.
"We'll just bring in a sub," she said grinning, moving forward and pushing past people, hand outstretched. When she came back into Finn and Rachel's view, it was with a rather startled and annoyed looking Puck.
"We were just dancing," He insisted, "It was totally innocent," Quinn raised a brow at him.
"The day you dance entirely innocently with a girl Noah, will be the same day that I am kicked out of UCLA for not being talented enough," Rachel scoffed.
"Well..."
Quinn quickly cut across Puck before he could make his retort. "Maybe you can prove yourself by dancing innocently with Rachel," she offered as Rachel looked at her scandalised, taking a small step back.
"After what he did last week during rehearsal, he's not coming near me,"
"Oh get over it, I only smacked you once,"
"On my… It…" Rachel trailed off and folded her arms, "It was degrading," she finished, with force. Puck simply rolled his eyes as Finn laughed. Puck and Rachel's bickering had been growing more and more frequent in the last few weeks. Well, Rachel was bickering; Puck was just being his usual vulgar self.
"You two decide for yourselves," Finn said, giving Rachel a slight nudge in Puck's direction as he moved past her to take Quinn's arm. She reached her arms up to lay her hands on his shoulder as they started to dance, fighting down the blush that threatened her when his hands found her waist. She distracted herself by spying on Rachel and Puck who stood glaring at each other for a few moments before Rachel sighed heavily and grabbed his arms, pulling him into an angry kind of movement. She giggled loudly, causing Finn to follow her gaze. She noticed a moment of indecision flicker in his eyes as Puck and Rachel began to dance properly; Puck's hand on the small of Rachel's back, before he relaxed into a smile and turned back to Quinn, spinning her on the spot. As the world came back into focus she saw Rachel smack Puck's arm and his hand travelled upwards again.
"She'd be good for him," She said, watching Finn closely, he glanced at them again for a moment before nodding.
"I think… I think she already has been,"
The evening wore on, and Sam eventually returned to rescue Quinn from an onslaught of dance requests. Though to their credit, Puck and Finn had been doing a very good job already.
About halfway through the night, Quinn slipped backstage with the rest of the Glee club buzzing with excitement. Mr Schuester had decided not to have them perform one of their national numbers, he was keeping them under lock and key even the night before, so he had allowed them to put this together themselves. The song choice was argued heavily, everyone having so many ideas, but finally they had settled on a song of Mercedes selection. It was perhaps a little predictable, but when they had read through the lyrics, all of them agreed that it was perfect.
They took their positions behind the curtains, as they heard Figgin's voice sound through the hall to introduce them. Puck's arm wound around Quinn's waist and she grinned up at him and then across at Mercedes, who was stood with her arm around Cassidy's shoulder. There was a ripple of applause from the audience outside and the music began as the curtains lifted away. Quinn began with the backing vocals, swaying slightly with Puck, and Tina took the first lines.
"And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives,
Where we're gonna be when we turn twenty five,
I keep thinking times will never change,
Keep on thinking things will always be the same,"
Rachel moved to join her, putting her hand on Tina's arm as she took over the solo, whilst the group in the back moved in time to switch partners, so that Quinn came up beside Finn. He twirled her around neatly, and they stood hand in hand for a few moments before Finn moved away to sing his own lines, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder. Quinn followed behind, slipping her hand back into his again, swinging it slightly as she continued.
"And there was me and you, and then we got real blue,
Stay at home talking on the telephone,
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared,
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair,"
"And this is how it feels," Sang Tina again, as the rest of the group moved around them, Mercedes hand resting across Quinn's shoulder, and they moved into the chorus all together.
"As we go on,
We remember,
All the times we,
Had together,
And as our lives change,
Come whatever,
We will still be,
Friends Forever,"
As the song went on Quinn could feel the tears beginning to prickle at her eyes, and she was relieved when a collective laugh went through the student body as Rachel span behind Santana, peering over her shoulder as she sang the line "Will Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan," and she laughed a little along with them. As the song came to an end however, it became impossible to hold back any more; she felt a tear stray down her cheek and leant her head on Mercedes shoulder, feeling her best friend lay her head down too. Over the applause from the students she was still able to hear a fair amount of sniffing and sobbing coming from her fellow Glee clubbers; and she closed her eyes as the tears came more freely. She turned and pulled Mercedes into a proper hug and only seconds later the rest of the club had gathered to join them.
"I swore to myself I wasn't going to cry," Tina said as the girls stood in the bathroom together, huddled round mirrors as they frantically reapplied make up.
"Me too, at least until the end of the night," Cassidy replied, as she rummaged though her clutch bag, looking for her eyeliner.
Rachel sniffed loudly behind them, having not yet calmed down enough to start tidying herself up. Quinn squeezed her shoulders trying to comfort her. She thought there was probably a heavy element of dramatics involved, on top of the real tears. Her suspicions had been confirmed every time Rachel drew a long deep breath and waved a hand at her face before dissolving once more into hysterics. Thankfully she had finally given up the crying and was settling instead for sniffing loudly every few seconds.
"Come on, we all knew there was no way we were gonna get through that without some waterworks," Mercedes said, adding the finishing touches around her eyes, she turned to look at Quinn and Rachel and sighed. "Perhaps not that much, come on girl, let's get you together," she dragged Rachel forwards and dabbed her eyes with tissues to wipe away the panda eyes she had acquired.
Quinn watched her work for a while, while she waited for a space to clear. Tina and Cassidy finished at around the same time, and decided to head straight back; they did after all have dates to rejoin. Rachel, Quinn and Mercedes waved them off and Quinn moved in front of the mirror, cringing at her red, puffy features; streaked here and there with lines of black. She stole one of the make up wipes that Mercedes had brought out to use on Rachel, deciding it was probably better to simply start from scratch; rather than trying to save what was left. Unsurprisingly, given her slightly perfectionist tendencies when it came to the way she looked, Mercedes was done with Rachel long before Quinn was happy. She therefore waved them away, reassuring a quivering-lipped Rachel that she'd be right along in a few minutes. When she finally pronounced herself satisfied, she ran a hand over her hair. The pins in it were pinching slightly painfully, and she decided to let it loose; pulling at the pins until it all fell in waves over her shoulders. The style had left it curled and she fussed with it for a few minutes so it fell just so, before finally replacing her make up in her bag and heading out of the bathroom; smiling at the teacher stationed outside the toilets as she went.
Quinn always felt weird walking through the school halls when there was nobody else there. It was as if, the moment you entered the corridors alone, you reverted back to the six year old child who was convinced that there were ghosts of old students floating around, and that if you opened a classroom door you would find a teacher sleeping in the storage cupboards. Every step echoed loudly and she found herself walking faster than normal. She stopped abruptly, chastising herself and telling herself that she was being ridiculous; she was eighteen now for heavens sake, she was going away to college. When she began walking again she forced herself to go at her normal pace, measuring each step carefully as she went.
She could hear the music from the gymnasium as she rounded a corner, but as she passed a staircase another sound made her turned around. A door had opened and closed, echoing loudly through the halls, and now footsteps and voices came through the air. She sighed and shook her head, setting off once more, telling herself off again for being so jumpy. Before she had reached the end of the corridor however, someone called out to her.
"Hey Fabray," She turned on the spot seeing a couple of her Cheerio's heading towards her. Maria, a tall brunette grinned at her companion, Lauren, as they practically skipped down the corridor, hands apparently linked behind their backs.
"I told you I saw her go into the girl's bathroom with those Glee chicks," Maria simpered, with a calculated smile. Quinn new that smile only too well, it had been her own smile of choice back before Glee and Beth. Seeing it now put her on edge, and suddenly she wished she had just let herself believe in monsters and had walked faster; she might already be safely back in the gym.
"Where are the Gleek-ettes anyway?" Lauren sneered slightly, reminding Quinn of just how alone she was right now. With no other option, Quinn shifted herself, pulling her shoulders back and sliding her game face on. It was a skill she had had to master to keep her position of head cheerleader. Nobody wanted to follow the orders of a weak captain, and while Quinn Fabray was anything but weak, these girls only responded to someone bigger and meaner than they were themselves; and Quinn liked to think she wasn't really that mean girl anymore, just a very good actress.
"Not that it's your business Adams, but they've gone back in," She smirked at them both, "and so should you, unless you have your clearance passes?"
Students were not supposed to be wandering the hallways, and so they were not allowed out of the gym unless they got a clearance pass from the teachers. The teachers did sweeps of the school all night looking for troublemakers. She waved her pink slip in their faces, but it seemed she had been right to assume they had sneaked out.
"Go on then," She said, letting her authority ring in her voice. Both girls exchanged annoyed glances, but didn't move. "If you don't move, now, I'll ensure that Coach Sylvester comes down on you so hard you won't be able to so much as forward roll for months," she threatened, narrowing her eyes at the two girls. Maria scoffed loudly. "What's she gonna do huh? We already brought home the trophy and we're graduating at the end of next week, Cheerio's practise isn't even compulsory anymore,"
"I swear Cosby, if you don't…"
"What?" Maria leant forward, and Quinn became suddenly very aware that neither had moved their hands from behind them since approaching her. "You think you're such a hot-shot because you're the head cheerleader, but you're as big a loser as the rest of those freaks in Glee club," she practically spat the name of the club out. Lauren nodded along with her. Hiding her growing trepidation, Quinn simply smirked and let out a breathy laugh, turning on her heel. "I don't have time for this," she threw back in a bored tone as she began to walk away.
"Hey!" Maria shouted, grabbing her arm and turning her back around. "You think you're better than everyone do you? Huh?" she shouted; one hand still firmly behind her back.
Quinn rolled her eyes, and fixed her with her best, and once favourite, superior stare. "I suppose that depends who you mean by 'everyone'," she said, cocking her head slightly to one side. Maria stepped backwards glaring daggers at her.
"You know what, I've wanted to get you for years, but you just Lord your head cheerleader status over us like you're untouchable, but guess what?" She was smirking again, "You lost that protection the moment we won Nationals,"
"So now we don't have anything to worry about," piped up Lauren, bringing her hands around to the front and showing Quinn a slushy in both hands. Maria moved her own slushy holding hand to the front. Quinn narrowed her eyes at both of them, barely sparing the slushies a glance, refusing to show them she was worried. After a few moments staring down the both of them, she let out another breathy laugh.
"You wouldn't dare…" even as she said it something freezing cold and wet slammed into her face. Before she could even react the same something fell onto the top of her head, running through her hair and down the back of her dress. Finally one more hit her front some going under the material and the rest simply sliding all the way down the dress itself, until it was soaked in or it reached the floor.
Rage rose in her mind and the moment she recovered from the shock she launched herself at one of the laughing girls, going for her hair. The problem was that her vision was blurred with ice, and of course there where two of them. Lauren, who she had jumped, shrieked and pushed at her. Though she was pretty sure she felt her hand collide with something, Lauren prevented her from getting a decent grip, and moments later Maria ran up behind and pulled her off her comrade; throwing her into the lockers.
"Come on," She huffed as Quinn tried to regain her bearings, holding a hand to her head where it had collided with metal. The two scurried off before she could move, though she did have time to shout after them.
"I hope it was worth it, when I'm done you're gonna wish you'd stayed hold up in your houses tonight," She shrieked, it was with some satisfaction that she saw them slow down slightly and exchange worried looks before speeding off again. As they disappeared she swore and closed her eyes, wiping at her face to get the ice off. Her throat burned from breathing some of it in through her nose, making her cough, and causing her eyes to sting and water even more. She shifted slightly and winced when she realised she must have twisted her ankle. Of course getting thrown across a corridor in heels wasn't exactly the safest idea ever. Cursing again, she wiped her eyes once more, and then hobbled back towards the stairs and sat down to assess the full damage.
She could already see that her ankle was swelling up, and the heel of her shoe though still hanging on, had come apart from the sole; it hung precariously when she lifted her leg up. Her dress was stained in places, a dark purple colour standing out on the fabric, though experience taught her the colour would come out; she suddenly shivered as a bit of ice went down her back. Sighing loudly and refusing to give in to the prickling in her eyes – that wasn't caused by the ice – she brushed her dress down. Her head hurt like hell, but it just seemed to be a bump and nothing serious. Her arms hurt a little too, and she inspected them, finding scratch marks; probably from when Maria had dragged her off Lauren. She suddenly hoped that what her hand had collided with was something important; like her nose, or maybe she'd have a black eye. It would be something of a comfort to know she wasn't the only one to come out of this badly; and imagining Lauren with a nose guard made everything seem just that little bit better.
Her vision was fully returned – though ice occasionally still dripped from her hair down her face onto her collar bone, and she didn't even want to think what her makeup must look like now – when she heard someone coming along the corridor again, and she braced herself on the wall trying to stand and get up the stairs when she heard a familiar voice calling for her.
"Quinn?"
She peeked around the wall of the staircase and saw Finn walking around the corner, clearly not seeing her as he stopped and looked confused for a moment before continuing his walk towards her. She bit her lip and held her breath, sitting perfectly still as he came level with her, not sure whether she wanted him to find her or not. She had no choice in the end, as his eyes flicked over to the stairs and he started in surprise seeing her sat there and she thought again of what a state she must look.
"Hey," She muttered miserably, pushing a long strand of wet hair out of her face and behind her ear. He hurried over to her, taking his jacket off as he moved. Sitting down beside her, he lifted her hair and put the jacket around her shoulders. Strangely she hadn't even thought about how cold she was, so the sudden warmth came as something of a shock.
They were silent for a few moments before Finn broke in. "What… What happened?" He asked, looking confused.
"What does it look like Finn?" She snapped suddenly, glaring at him, "I didn't exactly do this to myself," his confused expression turned hurt and she suddenly felt even worse than before. She closed her eyes, turned to face her knees, and sighed.
"Sorry," She said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes, "I was trying to act tough before… I guess I'm still channelling my inner bitch," she saw Finn nodding slowly, "Yeah…" he started to say, though he stopped quite suddenly, looking like a deer in headlights.
"Uh, I mean, no… I mean it sounded kind of bitchy but, no… wait, I… I really don't think you were being a bitch; it was a stupid question… I mean it's obvious what happened yeah, I… sorry," he sighed and put his face in his hands. Quinn found herself with a small smile tugging at her lips. She had always found Finn to be particularly adorable when he was trying to back-paddle his way out of trouble. It was the main reason she could never really stay mad at him for long.
"Maria Colby and Lauren Adams thought they'd corner me… I think they hoped some of the other Glee girls would be there too, but since it was just me… I guess they got to kill one bird with three slushies as it were," Finn looked up from his hands, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Why would they…? Never mind, they can't get away with that," He said loudly, his voice taking on an impassioned tone that she hadn't heard for a long time, "We'll tell Mr Schue… and Ms Sylvester, she'll probably have them hung up by their ankles somewhere and…" Quinn couldn't help it, despite how awful she currently felt, she began to giggle. Finn stopped mid-rant and turned to her, confusion filling his features, it only served to make Quinn laugh harder; once the giggles had started, it became near impossible to stop them.
Slowly, Finn's expression became a soft smile, and he reached an arm around her shoulders, pulling her slightly shaking figure towards him.
"It's good to see you laugh again," he said quietly, causing her to sober almost immediately, and she stiffened in his grip. He must have noticed, because though he didn't release her, he turned slightly to look at her as she stared ahead at the wall, eyes wide.
"What do you mean?" She said, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, feeling suddenly skittish and wanting to get away. Instead of running as fast as a sprained ankle and broken heel would allow her, she pulled her face into a smile and allowed herself to face him, "We have a laugh at Glee right?" He nodded, allowing her a moment's relief.
"Yeah, I guess, but… it's nice to see you laugh; really laugh I mean," he looked thoughtful, and Quinn knew she'd been discovered. Despite his outward appearance and a tendency to seem quite, well, dumb… Finn was actually incredibly perceptive. The thing was, Quinn had never worried about it, she had never even assumed that he was interested enough to notice her façade's anymore.
"It's been a long time is all," he finished lamely, looking away nervously, as if he were worried that she would lash out at him at any moment. Honestly she considered it for a minute, but what was the use, she'd lashed out at him once in the last five minutes and it had only left her feeling worse. Lashing out at Finn Hudson was much like kicking a puppy – even if technically he deserved it, it still left you feeling guilty to your core.
"I guess it has…" She began, joining him in once more staring at the opposite wall. She could count the number of times that year that she'd laughed the way she had just been on one hand, possibly with no hands. In fact, if she was honest with herself, the last time she had laughed so hard and so innocently had been… well, perhaps it wasn't best to be honest with herself right now.
"I am happy Finn," She asserted firmly, not wanting him to misunderstand. She was happy and had been for a long time… in some ways she was happier now than she had ever been before. It was difficult to separate her feelings anymore; the last three years had brought her so much joy and sadness, often both at the same time, that the two were becoming synonymous.
"I know," He nodded, as his arm slid away from her shoulders, down her back until his hand rested on the step between them; he sounded like he really did know. Her eyes flicked to their corners to watch him, he had a look on his face that once she would have said didn't belong there. There was a 'wiseness' about him that just wasn't the Finn Hudson everyone else knew… but Quinn knew him. It was the Finn Hudson she had seen every time she had turned to look at him when he thought everyone was too engaged in some song or dance or other to notice him. Of course he never expected her to be looking, so he never noticed and would continue to stare away into space until Rachel, or anyone else caught his attention; then back came the naively grinning Finn that Quinn had once known. The person he once was became his mask at Glee club; in the same way that Quinn's old self became hers in Cheerio's practises. As he moved to look at her again, she let her eyes flick back to the wall, not letting him know she'd been watching him.
"Don't let those girls get to you okay?" He said quietly, and she nodded with a small smile, still not looking at him; not daring too.
"As if, I'm Quinn Fabray right?" She scoffed, pulling herself together; taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders and nudging his shoulder in jest. He laughed lightly and nodded "No one messes with Quinn Fabray," he said nudging her back. Another, real, laugh escaped her for a moment before they fell into a comfortable silence.
Quinn wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, she wasn't aware of much beyond Finn's shoulder still touching hers, his hand just millimetres from her own, his scent on the air and just… his presence all around her. It reminded her so strongly of those quiet evenings they had spent together almost three years ago, in the brief time she had stayed with him and his mother. Some days they would just put a DVD on the television and sit together in silence watching it; sometime during a quiet moment Quinn's head would find its way onto Finn's shoulder and his arm would wind around her waist. When the credits started rolling they found themselves simply too comfortable to move, and some days they would suddenly find Finn's mother shaking them gently awake.
"Do you want to go back in now?" Finn's voice cut through the silence, drawing her out of her dangerous musings. She pushed them immediately to the back of her mind, focussing on the present. She shook her head.
"I think I'll call my mom… go home," she said quietly, sighing lightly. Finn looked at her, concern etched across his face and also, a certain air of disappointment.
"You're sure?" he pressed.
She laughed bitterly, "Look at me Finn, I'm not exactly Prom material right now… God knows what my face must look like,"
"I think you look amazing…" Finn said, almost to himself, but Quinn heard him and looked around suddenly, causing him to jump in alarm "I mean… well, you always look amazing. You always did…. always…"
Warmth towards Finn ran through Quinn's whole body, and without warning she smiled widely at him, eyes sparkling and loving the way his expression turned momentarily astonished before she enveloped him in a hug.
"Thank you Finn," she whispered into his hair, holding him tightly. Before he could respond however, she had pulled away and braced and arm on his shoulder, using her free hand to take her shoes off. Swallowing slightly, and taking a deep breath so her voice wouldn't shake, she asked "Would you help me up?" pushing slightly on his shoulder. He nodded quickly, and as he stood, he put an arm around her, pulling her up with him. She winced slightly as she put weight on her right ankle, but found that the pain had subsided significantly already. Perhaps it was just bruised rather than sprained; that was good news she supposed.
"Could you help me to the girls' bathroom? To clean up," she asked, and he nodded, allowing her to lean on him as they walked, in silence, back through the corridors to the bathroom.
The teacher outside looked alarmed as they came towards her, but Quinn waved her off, hobbling as fast as she could into the bathroom and leaving Finn to explain what had happened. She reached the sinks and stared at her face in the mirror. As expected she was a mess, but she couldn't be bothered to redo her make up if she was going to go home so she pulled some tissues from her purse and simply wiping as much of it off as possible. In the end a small amount of eyeliner remained and she had an unnatural red tinge to her face, partly – she suspected – from the ice, and partly from scrubbing her face so hard.
When she went back outside, she found Finn alone; it seemed the teacher had run off towards the gymnasium to apprehend the girls responsible. She took Finn's arm again and they walked back that way themselves. She stopped again at the staircase Finn had found her on.
"Could you slip in and get my coat?" She said to him, moving away to lean on the wall beside the stairs. He bit his lip slightly.
"Are you sure you won't come and say goodbye to everyone… Rachel was worried about you,"
Quinn shook her head, taking a couple of steadying breaths as she felt tears begin to prick at her eyes. She had promised Rachel that she would be right there after all. She wiped a hand across her face, closing her eyes.
"No," She said, "I don't want to ruin their night… just… tell them that I didn't feel too well or something," her voice was beginning to shake and she wasn't sure how long she would hold it together. Finn was silent for a while, and for a moment Quinn wondered if he had left without her hearing him move. She opened her eyes and looked around.
He was still standing exactly where he had been, but he was now wearing an expression on his face that Quinn couldn't quite interpret. It was almost as if he were looking at something he had never seen before; except he was looking directly at her.
"Are… are you okay?" She questioned; suddenly very self conscious. He snapped out of it immediately, and nodded at her.
"Yeah… sorry," He said, "I was just thinking..." he trailed off, looking down thoughtfully. Quinn questioned him with a look, but he either didn't notice or was choosing not to continue his train of thought. Quinn sighed quietly, silently frustrated that she had no idea what was going on in his head.
"Thinking what," She said after a few moments, and he glanced back up at her, smiling. A real 'Finn Hudson' smile, complete with the small crinkles around his eyes that always managed to make Quinn return the smile; as she did now.
"Just that you really have changed Quinn,"
She looked at him curiously, though she still smiled "We've all changed Finn," she said softly. He nodded his agreement.
"I know, it's just…" he paused, and laughed lightly, "It just really hit me, you know?" she shook her head, not really understanding what he meant.
"The old Quinn Fabray wouldn't have wanted to go back in that hall because her hair was a mess, or she had no make up on, because she thought people would laugh and it would ruin her reputation… but you just don't want everyone else to worry about you, you don't want to ruin their night," Quinn didn't say anything to that… the truth was, now she thought about it, she was worried about all those things… but when Finn had asked her to go and see the others, the first thing to occur to her was that Mercedes and Rachel might try to leave with her and she couldn't stand to drag them away when they were having such a good time.
"I guess it just made me realise that you aren't the old Quinn anymore, even though I knew that you'd changed… it never occurred to me that you'd completely left her behind until just now," He smiled widely, "I guess it was like I saw you again, for the first time,"
Quinn raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't really understand, but never mind" she said, with a small laugh, "Some things about you haven't changed Finn; you still say really weird things sometimes,"
He sighed and moved towards her, brushing a strand of wet hair and tucking it behind her ear, making Quinn's breath catch slightly in her throat and making her glad she was already rosy cheeked from rubbing her make up off; so her blush was not so obvious. "I just mean… I really like who you've become Quinn, I'm glad you're the girl who is more worried about whether her friends have a good night and not the girl who worries about the purple stain on the brand new dress she's always wanted,"
Quinn narrowed her eyes slightly, and she tilted her head to one side, "You remembered?" she said, smile widening. Finn was the only person apart from her mother – that she was aware off – who had known that Quinn had secretly wanted a dress exactly like the one she was now wearing for years; she had designed it herself one weekend, on a rainy day when she and Finn had been confined to her house. Finn had been playing video games, whilst she leant against him, drawing pad on her lap. She had kept it mostly to herself, though she had shared it with her mother, expressing a wish to have it made for her Prom night. It was why she was so certain it had been no secret admirer who had brought it for her.
"Well… yeah," He said, suddenly looking a little sheepish, "Actually, I mentioned it to your mom when I saw her in town last week… she said she was with you, looking for a dress,"
Quinn laughed out loud, suddenly remembering her mothers' sudden and unavoidable 'appointment' that day – dragging her away from the nice enough white dress Quinn had been about to buy – and how she had told her not to worry about it, she would sort it out, consistently throughout the rest of the week. Quinn had spent the whole time worrying she wouldn't have a dress at all, until she had walked into her room earlier that evening and found it lying there.
"So it was a conspiracy," she said, smirking at him slightly, and watching as he began to back-paddle, spluttering out words that didn't make much sense. She shook her head at him. "It's okay… I'm really glad, I love it. Thank you," she watched the relief spread across his features as his panic left him in a long sigh.
"Right… I'm… I'm really glad," He said earnestly, "I'll um… I'll go and get your coat," he turned to leave, and she watched his back as he walked away.
He hadn't gone far, and had just looked at his watch when he stopped again; standing still for a moment as if trying to decide something. Then he turned around and began marching back towards her.
"You should come back in," He said, staring at her with a determined expression on his face, "Walk in there with your head high. Show them they haven't got to you,"
Quinn was so taken aback that she wasn't sure what to do for a moment. She took a small step backwards, simply shaking her head.
"Finn, I…"
"I'll go in there with you, and you can get your coat and leave straight away, but just… just come back in for a minute, the others, they care about you, they'd want to know… we'll say goodbye then I'll drive you home and…" he pushed.
"Finn!" She said firmly, cutting him off, he looked at her worriedly. She faltered for a moment, before continuing.
"Finn… What you said about me… it was lovely but… it's not entirely true!" she reached her hands up to cover her face, "I am worried about what people will think, I am scared of what they'll say… I… I'm not the changed person you think I am… yes I might be more worried about ruining the others night, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried about all the other things. You've been so nice, but that doesn't help the fact that most of the people in that room are just looking for a reason to cut me down, that they don't give a damn about how I feel, they'll be talking and laughing behind my back and much as I don't want to worry about it, I do, I really do! I'm scared Finn, and I really just want to go home, so please… please…" she trailed off, tears beginning to burn slightly in her eyes. She swiped at them angrily, looking up at him through bleary eyes. He wasn't looking at her as she expected him too, with his usual deer in headlights expression – the one he always wore around crying women – instead he was looking at her like he understood something that she didn't.
"I know Quinn, but what I said was true… and I don't think you care half as much about those things as you think you do," He said quietly, "Let me prove it to you?"
Quinn's mouth hung open slightly, and she was unsure of what to do. For some reason it seemed to really matter to Finn that she show people she didn't care what they thought, but on the other hand… Finn was wrong when he said she had completely left her old self behind, she knew he was wrong – she was half angry at him for daring to suggest he understood how she felt better than she did herself. Still, looking at the determined look in Finn's eyes, Quinn found herself wanting to ignore that voice that told her she cared, to leave behind that part of her once and for all. To… to live up to the image Finn had formed of her just minutes before. So with a deep breath, she nodded slowly. "Okay," She said, and though she instantly regretted it as nerves flared up there was no going back.
Finn's hand came towards her, and for one crazy moment she thought that he might take her hand, and her own twitched slightly, waiting for it. However, the arm slid around her to take her weight, and she remembered her injured ankle – though really, it didn't hurt all that much anymore. She told him so, and moved quickly away from the wall; heading towards the gym with him walking just slightly behind her. She mentally berated herself, not just for the moments before, but for this whole episode… she had without even noticing it… begun to fall back onto a road that she had steered carefully clear of for two years. Why else would she have agreed to go walking through her peers looking like this, she glared at the space in front of her as she walked. As she rounded the final corner, she saw Lauren and Maria outside the gymnasium doors, being shouted at by Sue Sylvester and looking suitably terrified. Shaking her head slightly, she slid her mask on and held her head high as she stalked past and pushed open the doors; kind of glad to see Lauren holding tissues to her nose. Several people's heads turned as she walked in, Finn right on her heels, and whispers followed her towards the coat racks. She found herself unable to ignore them, though she refused to let it show on her face. Still she felt butterflies beating hard against her stomach, and was just glad that none of the Glee club was in sight. The teacher behind the small desk that guarded the coats took her card and went to rummage through the racks.
Finn tapped her shoulder, and she forced herself to face him. She was annoyed to find that people were still blatantly staring, a few girls had got together and were giggling, shooting looks in her direction. "What?" She said shortly, throwing a glance back at the teacher who seemed to be having trouble finding her coat. She turned a glare on a group of nearby girls who quickly pretended to look elsewhere.
"I'll be right back," Finn said, and before she could even react he had disappeared into the crowd, she crowed loudly and angrily after him but he either ignored her or couldn't hear her over the music. She huffed and span around, facing away from the stares and laughter that was still being aimed at her, tapping her foot against the floor impatiently. She was about ready to murder someone – preferably the teacher that was taking so bloody long finding her coat – when someone tapped her shoulder again. She span around ready to ring Finn out for leaving her, but instead she found Rachel and Mercedes stood behind her looking worried.
She didn't even get a chance to speak before Rachel had jumped her for a hug, which Mercedes joined moments later.
"I knew we should have waited for you," Rachel said when she finally released her, "Are you okay?"
Quinn sighed, annoyed to have been found out – now Rachel would probably spend the rest of the night in a tizzy about it – but she nodded, eyes flicking to the crowd, trying to locate Finn in the mess.
"I'm fine," She said, stressing the word, "and I'm glad you didn't stay, they'd only have gotten you guys too…"
"Don't you have something better to stare at," Mercedes suddenly snapped sharply at some Junior girls to their right; her hands on her hips. They looked mildly alarmed and scurried back onto the dance floor immediately as Mercedes turned back to Quinn, angry expression morphing seamlessly into one of concern.
"I saw Lauren nursing her nose, she was sobbing about being worried she'd need corrective surgery or somethin' ridiculous like that," Quinn couldn't help but feel a slight surge of triumph again, hearing that.
"Do you want us to come with you…" Rachel started to say.
"No!" the moment of triumph died, and Quinn practically shouted in frustration, holding her hands out to emphasise her point, at a surprised looking Rachel. Taking a long breath she began again.
"No," She said, quieter and softer this time "I don't want to drag you guys away, I'm really okay. Finn's going to drive me home… and then I'm going to bully him into coming back here, and you better dance with him Berry…" – she pointed at Rachel, putting on her Head cheerleader's commanding tone – "…because I swear if I hear you all sat out and let this ruin things I'll never speak to any of you again!"
"Where is Finn anyway," She added, looking quickly around, and trying to locate the boy, who had dragged her in here to be gawped at in the first place, in the crowd.
"He said he had some stuff to sort out with Mr Schue…." Mercedes said, her own eyes trailing the crowd. A small cough sounded behind her, and she found the teacher at the desk holding out her coat. She took it with a small thank you.
"Hey…" Rachel said slowly, and Quinn turned her head to look at her as she shrugged her coat on "I uh… I think that's him up on the stage,"
"Don't be stupid why the hell would he be up there…?" Even as Quinn said it, a spotlight shone onto the stage; revealing Finn Hudson, blinking and shielding his eyes from the sudden light. Quinn's mouth hung open slightly as she stared at him.
"Uh, hi," Finn spoke into the microphone, looking slightly uncomfortable with having the attention of all the school on him at once. "So er, Principal Figgins gave me this time to make a quick announcement… um, in case people didn't know, the school's Glee club will be competing at the National level tomorrow afternoon, we'd like to invite anyone who'd like to support us to come along, we have been able to hire a spare coach this year, so there should be plenty of room…" So this was what he had been doing in the school before, she had known he had been hiding something from them. His eyes darted this way and that, and Quinn couldn't help but smile just slightly, despite her annoyance at him. This was the boy who got up and sang solo in front of huge crowds, who played football for the school, who had once been the most popular guy in school… and still he got nervous doing public speaking. She felt her heart beating harder in her chest again and shook her head, this was ridiculous, she knew she'd always care about him – and she couldn't help it if he was kind of adorable – but she couldn't let those kinds of feelings resurface, not now, it was far too late now. They'd be going their separate ways soon and then who knew if they'd even see each other again, and besides, he was long since over having feelings for her. No. Letting herself open her heart to Finn Hudson again was only setting herself up for another heartbreak; she wouldn't let that happen. She heard him say something about being asked by Mr Schuester to do a solo dedicated to the whole school, and she turned from the shadows, hoping that Rachel and Mercedes were too busy watching Finn to notice her, and headed towards the double doors that lead out of the gym.
"… but, I just decided that I was going to use this time and dedicate it to just one person instead…"
Quinn kept walking, unseen by anyone as all their attention was focussed on Finn, who was still talking. His voice rose in volume slightly.
"being a part of the Glee club has shown me that all of us have felt like an outcast at some point, felt like nobody cares and she's… well she's not really had the best night tonight, and I think she might feel a little like that right now…"
Quinn stopped right outside the doors, her hand was already reaching out for the handle, when she suddenly realised what Finn was doing. She turned around to see him on the stage, looking directly at her across the sea of heads. People started to turn towards his gaze, eyes falling on her where she stood at the doors, halfway across the room from the stage. There was a general murmuring, and she suddenly felt incredibly self conscious, standing barefoot, with her soaked hair, stained dress and no make up, in front of the whole school.
"… I want her to know that, we all care about her, and I want her to know that…" he paused for a moment, and Quinn felt her breath catch slightly in her throat. "Well, uh, I guess I'll let the music explain," he nodded to the side and a soft drum beat started to play through the room. As the melody began to flow in, Quinn's eyes widened slightly in recognition.
Finn's voice broke in a few moments later and he started walking towards the stairs that lead down from the stage.
I've never seen you looking so lovely as you do tonight,
I've never seen you shine so bright,
I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance,
They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance,
As he sang, Finn reached the bottom of the stage, and the crowd parted to clear a path from him to Quinn. He was smiling as he walked towards her, and she felt her heart speed up and her cheeks redden. Any thoughts of pushing down her feelings were thrown to the wind, even the annoying and yet sensible little voice, that sounds at the back of your mind (telling you not to do something), was silent.
I have never seen that dress you're wearing,
Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes I have been blind,
He reached her and held a hand out; waving it first at her dress and then moving close enough to run it through her, still very damp, hair. Then finally reaching down with both hands to grab hers and pull her forward as he walked back on to the dance floor. Twirling her around as he continued.
The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek,
There's nobody here, it's just you and me, It's where I wanna be,
For her part, Quinn almost believed him, despite knowing that there were hundreds of pairs of eyes on them right now, she herself could only see one. She had never known before what people meant when they spoke of feeling like they were the only people in the whole wide world, like nothing else mattered.
But I hardly know this beauty by my side;
I'll never for get, the way you look tonight,
As the instrumental kicked in, she was vaguely aware of both his arms coming around her, and when the song started up again, it was no longer really his voice that poured from the speakers, though he continued to sing along softly as they danced.
I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you do tonight,
I've never seen you shine so bright you are amazing,
I've never seen so many people want to be here by your side,
And when you turned to me and smiled, It took my breath away,
I have never had such a feeling,
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight,
The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek,
There's nobody here, it's just you and me, It's where I wanna be,
But I hardly know this beauty by my side;
I'll never forget,
The way you look tonight,
I never will forget, the way you look tonight,
The lady in red,
The lady in red,
The lady in red,
My lady in red,
"I love you," He whispered in her ear as they continued to sway in the middle of the crowd. Others around them had begun to dance as well, and as she finally looked around she saw Puck grinning at her from beside the stage, a microphone in hand; the rest of the Glee club was stood nearby, all smiling. She smiled back at them, and saw Puck wink at her before she turned her head to rest it on Finn's shoulder.
"How do you feel?" Finn said softly to her as a new song started up.
"Hmm?" She replied sleepily.
"I mean, do you care that your hair is wet, your dress is stained, you're wearing a coat over it, you have no make-up on and you're dancing barefoot in the middle of the gymnasium?"
Quinn was, for half a moment, about to push him away for ruining the moment – indeed she must have flinched because his arms around her tightened slightly as if to prevent her from running away. She stopped however, because as his words sunk in she realised that she genuinely didn't… right here, right now, with the song and Finn's arms around her, with her friends nearby, she hadn't even thought about how she looked.
"No…" she said slowly, "but…"
"No buts," Said Finn, "The old Quinn wouldn't have even started to dance, she wouldn't have even walked back into the gymnasium." He rested his head lightly on hers, "It's okay to be scared of what people will think of you, but you faced it, because I asked you too, because it was important to others that you did it, and now you don't even care,"
She smiled wider into his shoulder, "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," he replied.
A few moments passed in which they simply swayed in silence, and Quinn was quietly glad that the music wasn't of the energetic and loud kind it had been for much of the night.
"Did you mean it?" She said suddenly, almost immediately hoping that he wouldn't know what she meant. After what had happened, she didn't think she could handle finding out he hadn't meant it the way she wanted.
"Yes," He said without hesitation, and she pulled back slightly to look up at him.
"When did you…" she trailed off, looking down at the floor.
"Quinn…" she looked up again, "Do you remember when I told you… that I would probably always have feelings for you… I meant that, and I never fell out of love with you Quinn. But if you mean when did I think about telling you, then about half an hour ago. The moment when you turned and smiled at me before nearly hugging the life out of me,"
"What about you… I mean… do…" it was Finn's turn to falter this time, and it was such a contrast to his certain speech before hand, that it made Quinn giggle.
"Yes." She replied, pulling back and taking his hands in hers, "I always did,"
"But… I only though about telling you, about ten seconds ago,"
Quite suddenly something hit her from behind and she flew back into Finn.
"Do you guys know how boring you are," Puck shouted from behind them, and she looked over her shoulder to see him standing with his arms folded and Rachel positively bouncing up and down at his side.
"I swear to God if you two don't kiss each other right here, right now…" he looked around, "I'll… I'm gonna grab Berry and I'm gonna kiss her so hard she'll fall over, because after such a sickening display of blushing and stuttering like little kids, this gymnasium is in serious need of some sex appeal,"
Finn looked down at Quinn and smiled, eyes flicking to Puck again and then back. She glanced over her shoulder again, taking in the purely horrified look on Rachel's face – the bouncing had stopped and she was now trying to pull away from the grip Puck had on her arm. She looked back at Finn, biting her lip slightly before grinning widely and letting one of his hands go. She tightened her grip on the other and turned on her heel and pulling him away, giggling as she passed Puck and Rachel; the look on Puck's face was matching Rachel's now as he watched the two hurry past. She heard Finn shout something back as they reached the double doors and left the whole gymnasium including their surprised best friends able to do nothing but stare after them.
"Where are we going?" Finn shouted as they continued down the hallways. Quinn stopped and turned, allowing the momentum to pull Finn into her.
"Here's good," she said, reaching her hands up to cup his face and the back of his neck, and bringing him down into a soft kiss.
She took a long moment to savour the feeling that she had been missing for far too long before pulling back, somewhat reluctantly, enjoying the slight look of surprise that still remained on Finn's face, his eyes half lidded.
"I think you said you'd drive me home, and I said I'd send you back here" she said smirking slightly. He looked at her questioning
"Change of plans though," she leaned up to whisper in his ear, "When we get there, I won't be letting you go again,"