When the graduation ceremony was over, the glee kids remained with their families, celebrating they were now on their ways, it was now their turn to pursue their dreams and their own lives. Though most of the people were already gone, they wandered around the building, saying their last goodbye to the place that had seen them grow up, become adults. They all received the same text message from Mr. Schue.
Rachel's dads went back home and she went back to the choir room and saw the kids waiting for the rest to come. Quinn hadn't arrived yet so she decided to look for her.
She knew where to find her. As she was walking down the empty hallways her stomach began to clench and she felt a knot in her throat. She knew everything now. She wasn't sure why she had broken up with Finn, part of her told her it was due to his lack of ambition and his selfish personality, but when Tina told her about her insane hallucination after she hit her head rehearsing for Nationals, things started to click. Tina was a hundred per cent sure Rachel and Quinn were trapped in Santana and Britt's bodies. 'You two looked cute together' she even confessed her making the brunette blush uncontrollably. But it wasn't until Britt accidentally told her Quinn had feelings for the tiny girl that she didn't realize what was going on. A boost of hope and joy ran through her body when she heard the words from the cheerio. But Rachel hadn't told this secret to anybody.
She opened the bathroom door and found Quinn applying her makeup as usual.
'I knew I'd find you here' she chuckled and rested her body against the wall
Quinn stopped and turned to look at her. She smiled and gathered her makeup in her bag
'It's my safety place' she replied smiling
Rachel walked towards Quinn and remained beside her; both girls stared at the bathroom stalls, avoiding eye-contact.
'I can't believe you're leaving so soon' Rachel stated in a whisper
'I'm terrified' the blonde confessed with a light laugh 'But I need to leave as soon as I can. Otherwise I'll go out of my mind'
'Does your mother go with you?' the brunette faced her
'No, she can't skip work. I'll go by myself'
'No way' Rachel shook her head 'I'll go with you. I won't let you alone in this important moment of your life' she stated firmly
'So then you'll have to come back alone too, and I'm not allowing that'
'Quinn, don't even try to insist. You know I beat you at stubbornness'
Quinn stared at her for a while and then burst out laughing. Rachel joined her and lightly shook her head in order to regain her composure. Quinn took a deep breath
'I'm going to miss you so much, Rachel' she said while rubbing the palm of her hand with her thumb, a habit she learned was relaxing when she was pregnant and she was overwhelmed by the reality of her state.
Rachel placed her hand over Quinn's in order to calm her down. The blonde looked up at Rachel and licked her lips as her mouth was drying out. Usually, the tiny girl was the one who seek for the hug, but this time, Quinn pulled her in her arms and buried her head in the brunette's neck.
'Quinn…' she whispered in her ear and struggled to hold back a sob. She held her tighter inhaling her scent 'I'm going to miss you too'
Quinn let a sob out and tears began to fall, warming the brunette's neck.
'Hey… It's okay…' Rachel whispered to her with teary eyes 'You're going to make me cry too!' she chuckled and wiped the tears away the blonde's eyes. Quinn giggled and looked straight into her eyes. Millions of thoughts crossed her mind but only one managed to come out of the blonde's mouth
'We should go to the choir room. They must be waiting' she finally said. Rachel nodded
'They're already waiting. I came here to get you' she smiled at her
Rachel held her by the hand and they headed for the choir room. They were all hugging and cheering. Some of them were still crying as they had to take separated ways.
'Guys, I gathered you here to…' Mr. Schue stopped trying to contain himself. The kids started clapping and cheering him up 'I brought you here to let you know how proud I am of every single one of you. You've come so far. You've been through a lot these years… We were only six when we started…' he looked at Kurt 'Kurt, you were even smaller than Mercedes' they all laughed and Kurt held Mercedes tightly 'And now, we are a big family. For those of you who leave, I know how scary it is, a new life, new challenges, new people. But I don't want you to forget what you've learned here. It takes courage, effort, determination to get what you want, what you dream. And for those of you who stay, I know you're going to miss them so much, but you're just as close to get your dreams as they are' he paused himself and took a deep breath hiding his mouth with his hands.
Some of them had tears in their eyes, other tried to hold them back. Puck started crying and turned his face away with embarrassment. Everyone looked at him and laughed
'Damn, I think I have something in my eye' he said wiping his eyes as Sam and Mike gave him a brohug.
'So, guys, I know you're probably tired of Journey, but I think we should sing something before we all leave this room…' Will looked at them and they smiled and nodded. He grabbed a guitar and gave it to Puck and Sam took another one and started playing the chords to 'Don't Stop Believing'.
They sang, like never before, they cried, they hugged each other one more time. Once they finished they left the room, which was now empty and lonely.
A couple of days had passed since they graduated and Quinn and Rachel were heading for New York. Rachel had to argue with her dads so that they allow her to go with Quinn. She had to blackmail them by remembering them about Quinn's accident and how they lied to her about their opinion on her wedding.
The journey was nice and they could get some rest.
They arrived at Grand Central Station half an hour before Quinn's train depart was scheduled. Rachel helped Quinn carry her luggage to the platform and then, both girls waited there until the train settled in the railway.
'Well, I guess it's time.' Quinn finally said. She felt as if she had a beam pierced into her chest. Her eyes were getting misty. She took a deep breath.
'I guess…' Rachel ducked her head down. The knot in her stomach was killing her. She felt her guts folding and clenching forming a tangle inside her and a void where her organs were supposed to be forcing her to fill that gap with air, but failing as her lungs were between that tangle. She closed her eyes and tried to stop the senseless inner rant she was having. 'I'm not going to let you get on that train until you give me a hug' she finally said
Quinn chuckled, still trying to control her tears and pulled her into her arms. They hugged each other tightly and slowly pulled away. Quinn bit her lip and asked her to call her when she arrived back in Lima. Rachel made her promised the same.
The blonde grabbed her handbag and the handle of her suitcase and headed for the train car. She tightened her teeth to avoid the tears and she was shaken by a realization. A sharp feeling crossed her body.
She stopped, let go of the handle and turned around to meet brown teary eyes. She dropped her bag and stepped forward. After hesitating for a couple of seconds she noticed Rachel had taken a step forward too. She walked with determination towards the brunette until their paths got together. She held her by the cheeks and pulled her into a kiss. The tiny girl held her tightly and kissed her back, their lips seeking for comfort in each other and doing the talking. Quinn released a light sob that got caught by Rachel's mouth. Tears were rolling down their cheeks, warm and wet. The blonde pulled away and with tears still falling, she looked into her eyes.
'You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this' she confessed
Rachel chuckled and Quinn smiled wiping her eyes. The tiny girl kissed her once again smiling into her lips.
They were interrupted by the PA system announcing the train to new haven was leaving in 5 minutes.
'Damn…' Rachel exclaimed. Quinn chuckled and gave her a last kiss. 'You'd better hurry'
She grabbed her handbag and her suitcase and got on the car. She quickly took a seat by the window.
Rachel gave her a big smile and waved her goodbye. Quinn smiled back and gestured her with her hand. Rachel looked closely and realized that the middle and ring fingers were folded. Her heart beat faster and she smiled lighting up the station. She formed a heart with her thumbs and her forefingers.
She suddenly remembered their prom night from last year, when she sang 'Jar of Hearts'.
Now everything made sense.