The Space Between the Galaxies

Chapter One – 'Did you know that if the moon disappeared, the Earth would be destroyed? It's the little things that matter.'

A/N: This the first chapter I wrote, and I did it for a kind-of prompt that I found on Tumblr, so it's super short and I have yet to decide what to do with this fic. I have a lot of ideas, though!

A/N 2: Sorry for any grammatical errors... this is unbetaed as of now.

My first night at Yale was hard, and I found myself slipping out of the dorm and wandering the deserted campus streets before I really knew what I was doing.

I wasn't homesick - how could I miss the looks I got as she I the streets, the looks from people knowing that I was that girl, the one who got pregnant?

In Lima, I was Quinn Fabray, head cheerleader and president of the celibacy club until one night that ruined everything. I was Quinn Fabray, the girl who came back from the summer after junior year with pink hair and a reckless attitude and a cigarette dangling from her lips. I was Quinn Fabray, who had everything handed to her on a silver platter but still managed to fuck it up.

Here, at Yale, I was a quiet girl who owned too many prim dresses and blazers and seemed like she had everything together.

I didn't, though – hell, it was one o'clock in the morning and I was wandering around Yale because I couldn't put a finger on what was wrong with my life. Who does that?

Well, apparently me. Damn.

It was when I sat down on a bench, the chilled metal bars pressing against the backs of my thighs, that I looked up at the sky for the first time. It was when I sat down on the bench that I started to pick out constellations and galaxies and discern the color of the space between them. It was when I sat down on the bench that I calmed down a bit.

It was also when I fished my cell phone out of the back pocket of my shorts and called Rachel Berry.

Did I know why I did it? Kind of.

Rachel and I were friends, after all, but we'd drifted apart over the summer as we realized that college was fast approaching and even though Yale and NYADA were both on the East Coast... well, it just wasn't realistic.

We'd seen each other a few times, yeah, but it was casual and we didn't act as close as we'd grown to be by graduation. It hurt to lose what we had, but I knew that it would hurt more if we put it off until we actually left for college. Right?

That was the problem, though. I questioned my decision, didn't trust my own judgment when it came to Rachel Berry.

"Hello?"

I jump a little; I'd forgotten I'd dialed the phone. Damn, I still know her number by heart.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah. Hi."

"I hope you realize that it's one o'clock in the morning."

"Uh. Yeah. I do."

"Any reason why you're calling?"

I might have walked out of my dorm for no reason and now I'm sitting on a bench and I don't know how to get back.

"I miss you."

Let's just say I'm working on my delivery. My brain and my mouth don't always agree, okay?

"Oh."

Pause.

"I miss you too."

Inhale, Quinn. You remember how to breathe, right? Exhale. See? It's pretty simple. Now just keep doing that and don't forget.

What? Sometimes I need a little direction. From myself.

Don't even think about commenting on that.

"How's NYADA?" Yeah, that's good. Ask her about her new life. In New York, 85 miles away. Not that I know that number.

"It's okay. My roommate's kind of weird, but I think we'll get along. How's Yale?"

Yale? Oh, it's great. I haven't actually been to any classes yet and I got a single room because I don't like strangers and now I'm sitting on a random bench and it's the middle of the night. But yeah, I'm fine. Fantastic. Marvelous.

"It's good, I guess."

"Honey, why did you call? You sound distracted."

Honey?

"I – I might have walked out of my dorm room and I don't know why I did it but I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and -"

Where the hell did that come from? I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't even thinking about saying that.

"Oh my god! Quinn! Are you okay?"

Thank god she still cares.

"Well I mean I'm not hurt or anything but -"

"Why would you even do that? Does anyone know where you are?"

"I don't know, and no one except you."

Silence. I look up at the indigo sky, at the countless stars and three airplanes.

"Well... what do you want me to do?"

Wait... make that four airplanes. Their blinking lights are screwing up the perfect sky.

"I don't know, you were just the first person I thought to call."

That sounds really pathetic. Get it together, Fabray.

"Oh."

"I don't even know why I called. I'll find my way back to my dorm on my own. I just... I felt lost."

"You mean more lost than you are right now?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry!"

"No, you're not."

"You're right. I'm not."

Of course she isn't. Sarcastic asshole. But I love her.

Wait, what?

"Quinn?"

Oh yeah. Conversations. I know how to have those, I think. Maybe.

"Yeah?"

"I really do miss you."

"I miss you too, Rach."

"Do you maybe want to talk sometime this weekend?" I can hear her shy smile in her voice.

"I'd like that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Pause.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Rachel, I'll be fine." I sound a hell of a lot more together than I am right now. Because I apparently love Rachel Berry.

How did I not know that? Isn't love one of those things that you notice? I mean, really.

It must've just slipped out. I wasn't thinking.

"If you say so." She's still worried.

"I mean it. I'm not even sure why I called in the first place. I'm gonna go back to my dorm, okay?"

"Okay. I'll call you this weekend. Text me if anything happens."

"I will."

"Stay safe."

"Yeah."

"Bye, Quinn."

"Bye, Rach."

I keep the phone to my ear as the line goes dead. I'm still looking at the stars.

There's only one airplane there now. I guess that's not screwing stuff up too much. I can still see all of the constellations I know.

I studied them all this summer – the constellations, I mean. I don't know what got me into it, but something about the vastness of the universe intrigues me. There's an infinite amount of stars and planets and an even bigger infinite amount of empty space. And everything affects everything else. It's all important.

I don't know when I stood up and walked back to my dorm (or how the hell I found my way back), but I woke up the next morning hoping it wasn't a dream and that I'd get to talk to Rachel over the weekend.

I'd been missing her.