You and I Will Meet Again

You and I will meet again
When we're least expecting it
One day in some far off place
I will recognize your face

Tom Petty, "You and I Will Meet Again

This was it. This was her time to shine. Quinn Fabray stepped up the stairs on the side of the stage and looked out into the crowd. The dimly lit room made it hard for her to see the faces in the audience, but she knew there were people out there who knew who she was and some who didn't. As Quinn grabbed the microphone stand with her left hand, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves.

She finally opened her eyes and said, "Next up, we have Danny Hatch and the Hatchbacks. Give them a round of applause."

Quinn sighed internally at the terrible band name, but she kept it to herself as she walked back behind the bar.

A voice came from behind her, "Heeeeey, pretty lady, could I get a rum and Coke?"

She turned and groaned. It was Ralph Lidcolme, the son of a wealthy businessman and self-proclaimed mama's boy. He and Quinn had gone out on a couple of dates the previous month and hadn't left her alone since then. Every night, he came into the bar to order a rum and Coke and waited until Quinn got off work, so she could blow him off yet again.

"When are we gonna go out again?" Ralph asked while sipping his rum and Coke that Quinn really wanted to spit in before serving it.

"Ralph, I keep telling you that I'm way too busy to date someone right now. We're not going out again."

"Oh, come on! We had fun, didn't we? … didn't we?" Ralph whined.

Quinn rolled her eyes and tried to look for another patron to serve. Ralph pouted and wandered off to sit with some friends who only used him for his money. Quinn had worked at the Nightingale Lounge for the past year, trying to save up money so she could pay for both tuition and rent. Food was optional. The financial aid she received only paid for part of her tuition, and without any help from her parents, she didn't have many options. She considered using Ralph for his money, but the thought of seeing his greasy hair and soul patch everyday made her die a little inside. She decided it would be a better idea to just concentrate on her studies and get her degree in Journalism as soon as possible. As Quinn wiped off the bar, she heard Danny Hatch singing his rendition of Journey's "Faithfully" and it brought back a flood of emotions. She thought she had escaped Lima, Ohio and all of the memories that were made there – the glee club, the Cheerios, the failed relationships, Rachel Berry.

Wondering where I am lost without you

And being apart ain't easy on this love affair

Two strangers learn to fall in love again

I get the joy of rediscovering you

While the song continued playing, Quinn stood silently at the bar and listened to Danny sing and she felt a tear stream down her face. She did miss the people she left behind in Lima, but she knew she had to get out of there. Once Finn Hudson had broken up with her a second time for Rachel Berry, her shame was too much to bear. People began talking behind her back more than usual, she got stares down the school corridors. It was almost as if she were pregnant again. Quinn remained in the glee club, but slowly began cutting herself off from the rest of the group. By the time graduation came, she had already been packed and ready to go to New York University, but the campus wouldn't allow students to move into the dorms until two weeks before classes began in August.

Quinn heard her coworker Brandon call her name and shook her out of her daze. She looked over at him and he motioned towards all of the customers standing at the bar, waiting to be served.

"Sorry about that," she said, as she reached down to grab another glass and poured a drink for the next customer.

"You okay?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about high school," answered Quinn.

"Oh, ew, why would you want to do something like that?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly by choice. The song the band is singing reminded me of being in glee club," Quinn said as she realized she probably shouldn't have mentioned glee.

"Glee club, eh? Sounds like fun. I didn't know you could sing," Brandon said with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should perform at one of these open mics!"

"Ooooh no. No no no no no. That's a part of my high school days that I don't want to revisit."

"No, seriously! We can find you a supporting band. I could play bass for you! It'll be so much fun."

Quinn caught herself thinking about what song she could sing, but snapped herself out of it. "I don't know. I'll think about it."

"Great! I'll sign you up for next Tuesday just to be safe. The sign-up sheet gets filled pretty fast."

Before Quinn could protest, Brandon went into the back office to find next week's sign-up sheet. What have I just gotten myself into? The last time I sang, it was with… her.

April 13, 2012

It was a couple months before their graduation day and the senior glee club members got to perform a song at the ceremony. The kids decided on "The Edge of Glory" by Lady Gaga, so they spent a few weeks practicing. Rachel said it would showcase her voice perfectly and everyone else could dance around in the background. They also wanted to sing "Don't Stop Believing" for old time's sake and dedicate it to Mr. Schue. Naturally, Rachel would steal the show, but this time no one cared. They were just happy to be graduating, especially Quinn. Most of the glee kids were going their separate ways. Finn got a football scholarship for Ohio State, Puck was going to take a year off and work on his pool cleaning business, and, surprise surprise, Rachel got into Juilliard. The rest were going to various universities and community colleges that Quinn couldn't remember and honestly didn't care about. All she knew was she was getting out of Lima. She knew there would be a slight chance she would see Rachel again since they were both going to be in New York, but she was hoping that she would be able to avoid the diva in such a big city.

The glee club had a get together at Rachel's house one day after school. Her dads allowed her to have the house to herself for a few hours. They all sat around and reminisced about the last four years of their lives with one another.

"Remember the last time we had a party here? Rachel and Blaine made out with each other during spin the bottle," exclaimed Mercedes.

"Yeah, then they sang that horrendous duet," Santana added.

"I think she said the wine cooler tasted like pink, too," said Finn as he chuckled.

"I thought bunny peeps were the only things that tasted like pink," said Brittany, and everyone laughed - everyone, but Quinn.

"I don't mean to cut off your Rachel Berry blooper reel, but I think I'm going to head home," said Quinn as she headed towards the door.

Rachel followed behind her and asked, "Are you okay? You've been really distant the past year. I know we're not really friends, but –"

Quinn cut her off as all of things she had wanted to say to Rachel boiled over into this one moment. "You're right, we're not friends. We've never been friends. Finn left me for you only to have you break up with him when you got accepted to Juilliard that your dads are paying for. I've had nothing this past year and, as usual, you've gotten everything you've ever wanted. So, don't come waltzing up to me acting like you care. You're going to go become some famous Broadway actress and pretend none of us ever existed, so what's the point of asking if I'm okay?"

"I-I'm sorry, Quinn. I never wanted you to get hurt," Rachel said meekly.

"Save it, Rachel. I really hope we don't see each other in New York, because I'm afraid I'll lose control of my body. My hands seem to be magnetically attracted to your neck."

Quinn left, slamming the door in Rachel's face, and that was the last time she talked to any of the glee kids. Finn and Santana had tried calling her, but Quinn refused to answer. She wanted to cut all of her ties with McKinley High School and she had successfully not thought about glee club or Rachel Berry, until that night.

"Great," Quinn thought to herself. "What song am I supposed to sing? Wait, I don't even want to sing! This is crazy, I -"

A voice interrupted her inner monologue. "Hey, Quinn! Are you out soon?"

"Ralph, seriously, not going to happen. Go home."

"Aw, come on, can't we at least go out for a coffee?"

Quinn did everything she could to resist throwing a cup at Ralph's thick head. Instead, she just ignored him and went into the storage room to get more bottles of alcohol to replace the ones that were running low. As she was gathering the bottles, she heard a familiar voice at the microphone. It almost sounded like - no, it couldn't be. She peeked out of the storage room and nearly dropped every bottle she held in her arms.

"How's everyone doing tonight," the familiar voice asked the audience. "Thanks for letting me crash your open mic. I've been meaning to come here for weeks to showcase my talent for all of you."

"Give a warm welcome to our future Broadway starlet, Rachel Berry!" said Brandon as he clapped behind a spare microphone with his bass guitar strapped around his shoulder.

The sound of the applause hid the sound of rum and whiskey bottles crashing onto the floor.