Ever I Saw Your Face
Freshman year.
New start.
Blank slate.
These were the things Quinn Fabray needed, the things she'd craved since she'd transformed from Lucy to Quinn and the new her had a set plan.
Step one, get the lay of the land. Size up the competition and try out for the cheer-leading squad, that was a give in. Quinn had been eying that red and white uniform for her entire middle school existence. As Lucy it was just a fleeting dream, along with having real friends and not having the kids fill her back pack with apple sauce or other sticky things on a daily basis but for Quinn, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a back bone tested through time. It was attainable.
Step two was to climb her way to the top, Quinn knew she'd have to be ruthless and she was ready. If anything Lucy had been training for this her whole life, hardened and hellbent on making cheer captain in a year flat. By sophomore year the blonde wanted her title in place and whoever the dopy quarterback was wrapped around her pinky finger. That's how it worked right? The head cheerleader and the captain of the football team? It wouldn't matter who he was, it was high school order an order Quinn was fully prepared to fall into.
What she wasn't prepared for and what was most definitely not in the plans was the bright blue eyes and light blonde hair staring back at her in the hallway outside the gym. Quinn had just nailed her tryout, in front of the most despicable woman she'd ever met in her life but this was the girl that was stopping her up.
The taller blonde squinted her eyes at Quinn, tipping her head and speaking sweetly, so sweet it was as if the innocence was dripping off of her. "Are you like… having a stroke?"
This caused Quinn to finally blink, shaking her head and jolting out of her stupor. "Uh…What?" She muttered stupidly her layered exterior momentarily broken.
"You were like frozen and not blinking, for a whole minute. I thought maybe I'd finally mastered time control and you were actually frozen…" The girl spoke, completely serious and gesturing toward the clock at the far end of the hall. "…but the red hand was still ticking so I was worried you were having some type of medical emergency."
It was hard not to smile at this, the clear concern etched into light eyebrows, the way crystal blue orbs tracked her own darting hazel ones, the ridiculous notion that time could be stopped. This girl was adorable and as soon as that thought entered Quinn's mind she knew it was going to be an enormous amount of effort to remove it.
The taller blonde smiled, holding out her left hand rather that her right and maybe that was adorable too. "Hi, I'm Brittany."
"Lu- Quinn" Quinn stuttered almost slipping up and lifting her own left hand, humoring the girl.
"Are you trying out for cheering too?" Brittany asked curiously, pulling her bag tighter over her shoulder. The easy expression on the girls face told Quinn that this question wasn't deceitful, there was no hidden meaning, it was just a question. So there was no hesitation in her response.
"Yes." She said simply, nodding her head, the answer causing Brittany to smile which in turn had a smile slipping across Quinn's lips, an honest to goodness genuine smile. Quinn's lips for a moment almost protested the action, having not used the small muscles for a real smile in… well a long time.
"Awesome, we'll be on the squad together then." Brittany stated, clearly over looking the fact that neither of them had yet to be accepted to the team. Confidence did not seam to be her weak point. "We should be friends." She beamed hopefully, beginning to dig through her bag for something.
"I…" Quinn stopped, trying to decide what it was she wanted to say. On the one hand it would be nice to have a friend but Brittany was a potential enemy, even as sugary sweet as she seemed but honestly the shorter blonde was too distracted by Brittany's furious searching to even make a decision.
"We could totally be friends we're both blonde and really hot…" The taller girl rambled off, still digging into her over sized gym bag that read 'Pierce' across the side.
Quinn's cheeks blushed involuntarily, thankful for the other girl being distracted. Did she just call her hot?
"…So we should hang out sometime." Brittany continued, finally finding whatever it was she was looking for and thrusting it toward Quinn. "Here." She said happily handing over what the shorter girl could now see was a small stuffed duck, fuzzy and soft.
"Whats this?" Quinn asked taking the plush toy in her hands.
"That's Bear, you should put him in your locker so when you open it up you'll think of me." The beaming smile on perfect lips intoxicating, Quinn was nodding before the words even reached her ears.
Though a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised as hazel eyes looked down at the toy. "A duck named Bear?" Quinn asked finding bright eyes that seemed to be even more striking when they were watching her.
Brittany just giggled not offering an explanation. God she was adorable. "We can hang out at my house after school tomorrow…" She supplied, moving toward the gym doors. "…I can tell you about Bear then."
The notion made Quinn's stomach swirl, were those butterflies?
Her head nodded and Brittany smiled in return, pleased with making a new friend. The taller girl was a step into the gym, seconds from disappearing behind the doors when Quinn jerked out of her trance again, pulling her own bag from her shoulder. "Brittany wait…" She sputtered, reaching into the bag and pulling out a small pink sketch book, handing it to the other girl. "Maybe you could put that in your locker… since I have Bear?" The words coming out slowly, unsure.
The taller girl grinned happily, thumbing through the tiny pad full of sketches and doodles and nodding her head. "That's a great idea." Brittany said sounding truthful. "I have to go nail my try out now…" Her words accented with a quick popping and locking motion that looked far to effortless. "See you later Quinnie." She smiled, turning and disappearing behind the doors.
Quinn turned slowly, taking in a deep breath for the first time in the last five minutes, thinking the encounter over and heading for her locker. She knew she was only stopping there to place Bear inside but she wasn't about to admit that to herself because bright blue eyes and light blonde hair are not part of the plans. Though in her head without meaning to she was already adding it to her list.
Freshman year.
New start.
Blank slate.
Brittany Pierce.