(A/N Thank you all for all the reviews and the critiques, they are always welcome and I will consider them as I continue on. I know my spelling isn't the greatest sometimes. Normally I just read past the mistake without really realizing that I made one until the dang thing is posted. It happens.)
(This is a revised version of Chapter 2)
Chapter 2: Sex Sells
Rachel was standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom, brushing her hair. Butterflies were swirling around in her stomach. Today was the first day of her senior year. One more year and she will be on her way to an amazing school in New York.
Once New Directions came back to McKinley High School after winning the National Show Choir Championship, it was like they were treated like celebrities. Everyone moved out of their ways in the hallway and some were even asking for her autograph. No wonder Quinn tried so hard to stay as the Head Cheerio, it's really easy to get used to this. Though, anything is better than the constant slushies.
Speaking of Quinn, word got out that she wrote all of their songs and soon she was getting bombarded by people in the hallways asking her to write a song for them. The blonde seemed to be a little uncomfortable whenever someone called out there undying love for her, but she did take the boost to her popularity in stride. Of course she was nominated MVP for essentially saving the day, but she refused to take the little bedazzled award that Rachel made especially for her. That didn't mean that she didn't stick it in her bag when she wasn't looking.
Kurt and Blaine decided to take the next step in their relationship by saying that they loved each other. Rachel and Kurt also took their friendship into the next level by proclaiming that they are now best friends instead of frenemies. Sam and Mercedes was a thing for minute but then he moved to another school. It seemed like Brittany and Artie were officially done because on the last day of school Rachel saw the blonde and Santana looking extremely comfortable in each other's arms. Even Puck and Lauren were still together, though no one understood their relationship.
That brought her to her next dilemma, Finn. Throughout the rest of the school year, he begged, pleaded and yelled about them getting back together. Rachel wasn't very sure that they should get back together, but she felt so bad that she told him to let her think about it over summer break. He agreed reluctantly, but that didn't mean he wasn't texting her almost every single day, asking for her to give him a chance.
She sighed because even now she wasn't very sure that they should. She wasn't denying that Finn's heart was all in it, but what would happen once they get back together? Will he still keep up with his insistent texting and proclamation's that he loved her or will he go back to how things were before. Back when they were dating it was almost impossible for Finn to say that he loved her in public or text her anything besides K. He didn't even have the decency to spell out the whole word. He knew how much she detested text speak. There's a reason the English language was created and it wasn't so that teenagers can butcher it because they are too lazy to press a couple extra buttons.
'Maybe I should tell him no.' she thought as she changed into the outfit that she picked out a week in advance. 'I should use this year to stay away from relationships and focus more on getting into an excellent college. This is a onetime chance to change my whole life. I shouldn't waste that on trying to make Finn happy.'
With her thoughts reaffirmed, she looked into the mirror again. Satisfied by what she was seeing, she grinned broadly, and grabbed her backpack. "Senior year here I come." She stated confidently.
She walked out of the room and down the stairs. Kurt was picking her up because they decided to start the year off together. Since he wasn't here yet, she decided to grab a quick bite to eat.
Leroy and Hiram were sitting at the kitchen table when she walked in. Hiram was reading the New York Times, while Leroy was working on a crossword puzzle. She kissed both of them on the cheek before she sat down and made herself a plate. Even though her dad, Leroy, was not vegan, he fully supported his husband and daughter's way of life as long as he didn't have to give up his steaks. She grabbed a few stacks of vegan pancakes and started digging in.
Hiram put down his newspaper and smiled widely at Rachel. "So honey, are you excited for your senior year?"
Rachel made sure to chew and swallow before she responded. "Definitely. Hopefully with us winning last year, our popularity will rise and more people will join the club."
Her fathers looked at each other worriedly, making her look at them confused. "Don't have your hopes too high. Most high schools aren't fans of the arts. When I was in choir, I remember being picked on." Hiram said.
Rachel was afraid that that was going to happen. I mean most of the kids at school were pretty narrow minded and really couldn't see past sports. "It doesn't matter, I'll still be in glee club, popularity or not."
"That's the spirit." Leroy said, smiling at her. They went back to eating for a few minutes before he decided to speak again. "So what's going on with Finn?"
She finished up her meal and pushed her plate away. "Not much really. He wants us to get back together and he's really trying, but I don't think I want to." She loved the fact that she was so close to her fathers. Secrets were unheard of in this house, everyone just spoke their minds.
Leroy looked a little too relieved at that. "That's alright honey. You should be focusing more on your studies and just enjoying your senior year. You only get one."
The doorbell rang, letting Rachel know that Kurt was here. She wished her fathers a good day, and headed towards the front door. She opened the door and froze on the spot.
Standing on her front porch was Finn and Kurt. Finn was looking at her with his usual puppy dog expression and smiling big, while Kurt was standing a little behind him mouthing, "I'm sorry he wouldn't take no for an answer."
Rachel smiled brightly, even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. Thoughts of murdering Kurt came into her head. She was not looking forward to this. "Finn, I didn't think that you were joining us."
He shrugged his shoulders a little. "Well I wanted to start this year out right." Rachel walked out of the house and shut the door. They went to the car but before she could open her door, Finn stepped in front of her and opened it for her.
This was going to be a lot harder than she thought. She smiled politely at him and got inside. The car ride was uneventful since everyone was too nervous to even talk. Once they pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, Finn asked her to wait a minute.
Kurt looked at her expectantly, silently asking her if she needed any help. She shook her head no, but, before he left, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, offering her his support. She smiled at him weakly then she turned to Finn.
He was nervously messing with his hands and his smile looked anxious. "I know you said to give you time but summer is over now. Have you decided yet?"
Rachel took a deep breath and braced herself. She knew that this wasn't going to end well. She figured the indirect approach would not work with Finn since it hadn't in the past, so she summoned up all of her courage and dived right in. "Finn, I thought long and hard about this and I have decided to stay single and work on me."
The dejected look on his face made her wince. It looked like someone just kicked his puppy and shattered his dreams all at once. "But why? I love you Rach and we're so good together."
Internally she groaned, because dragging this out was only going to hurt him in the long run. "I need to focus on myself this year. I don't need any distractions."
The sad look was suddenly replaced with anger. "A distraction! Is that all I am to you!" It was said as more of a statement than an actual question.
"No of course not, but I need to think about my career."
He scoffed in disbelief. "So what exactly are you trying to say then? That if you're with me than I'll only drag you down." Finn stared at Rachel waiting for a reply, but, when he was met with silence, he just shook his head. "Unbelievable, you know what forget that I ever tried to win you back. I now know what you really want and apparently it's not me. Have a nice life, Rachel."
Finn stormed off, leaving Rachel standing there, feeling terrible. What a way to start off senior year.
Currently Rachel was sitting in the middle risers of the choir room; next to her was Kurt who was rubbing her arm in support. Word got around fast and it was no surprise to the rest of the club when Finn came in, glared at Rachel and sat as far away as possible from her.
Other than the morning with Finn, everything else seemed to be going well. It seemed like the popularity from the end of the school year last year was still in effect because no one was slushied. On the other hand, no one walked out of her way in the hallways either. It seemed like the Glee Club was in a delicate balance between the loser club that they were in the past or being as popular as the Cheerios and Jocks.
Speaking of Cheerios, apparently Santana and Brittany decided to go back to Coach Sylvester's abusive ways of teaching. The Latina was even the co-captain along with Becky.
Which made Rachel wonder where Quinn was? No one had seen her today, and that included the other two members of the Unholy Trinity. Rachel hadn't seen much of Quinn at all over the summer. She remembered her saying that she was visiting her sister in California, but other than that no sign of her.
"Okay guys we may have won last year but this is a whole new year. Our popularity may have risen but we are still three members short." Mr. Schue told them.
"Yeah that's because Puck here couldn't get Zizes to stay." Santana commented harshly.
Puck threw his hands up in defense. "It's not my fault. She said something about wanting to stay on top and glee club will only drag her down." Everyone looked at Puck accusingly. "She was the one that got away, really, really slowly."
"Where's Quinn?" Tina asked out loud.
"MIA." Artie responded to the group. "No one's heard from her. It's sad, I miss her." Everyone looked sad and Brittany started pouting.
The sounds of hurried footsteps could be heard and suddenly the blonde in question rushed through the door. She sucked in a breath and everyone was looking at her in surprise. "Sorry I'm late but my flight was delayed and I just got back."
"Shit Fabray you're looking good today." Puck exclaimed, wagging his eyebrows, completely getting over his earlier funk with Zizes.
Quinn glared at him, but Rachel would have to agree the blonde looked stunning. Her hair looked a little longer than it did the last time she saw her and she was wearing smoky makeup. She was wearing a red button up shirt, with a black leather jacket, formfitting black jeans, a white belt, and black boots.
"I have to agree. I really like your outfit." Tina said to her.
Quinn looked down at herself before waving off her comment. "Oh this? I was just wearing something comfortable for the plane ride. I didn't really have any time to change into something else."
Kurt leaned over to whisper in Rachel's ear. "Only Quinn Fabray can look sexy while she's trying to be comfortable. It's not really fair." Rachel covered her mouth and giggled. He did have a point, whenever she goes for comfortable it's not normally something she would want other people to see.
"You've been in Cali for a month and your ass is still pale. Did you even step outside?" Santana rudely said, making the blonde scowl at her.
Mr. Schue decided to intervene at this point, not wanting to start the year off on a sour note. "Okay that's enough now. Quinn welcome back." Quinn smiled at the teacher before she walked over to the seat next to Santana, making sure to elbow the Latina as soon as she sat down. "You guys can ask her how her summer was after the meeting."
That was when he went into this week's lesson which was the Purple Piano Project. It seemed like an interesting enough idea, but Rachel wasn't sure that it was going to get people to join. They'll just have to wait and see.
Coach Beiste looked at the clock hanging on the gym wall, five more minutes until the bell rang. She looked at some of the senior girls that were standing around until class began. Internally she was cursing Sue, who was too busy to teach today. It's only the second day of school, she sighed, thinking that this was a sign for things to come.
She had a lot of better things to do today than teach girl's gym class. She already got done with the boys earlier and this was her free period to lift weights, eat one of her chickens or think about her current predicament with the football team.
If this summer training was anything to go by, they would be lucky to even make playoffs. A lot of her good players either graduated or transferred. The players that she did have were underwhelming to say the least. Hudson kept dropping the ball every other play, Chang kept looking at his girlfriend in the stands and missing a tackle, and Puckerman was so out of shape, or hung over she really wasn't sure, that he threw up on the 40 yard line. At this point she was desperate for some fresh blood.
"Quinn, look, this is our senior year and the Cheerios isn't the same without you." Coach Beiste looked off to the side to see Lopez, Pierce, and Fabray. The Latina was trying to convince Fabray to rejoin the Cheerios. To be honest, she was a little surprised herself that Fabray wasn't back on the team already. She was the captain when the Cheerios won the National Championship two years in a row.
Fabray crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. "You guys are suckers for going back to Coach Sylvester."
Lopez and Pierce looked at Fabray pleadingly. Pierce even grabbed her arm and started shaking her.
"Screw her, we're doing this so that we can win two National Championships this year." Lopez replied with an air of arrogance.
"Come on Quinn we're the three musketeers. Besties for life. We've always been on the same team together." Pierce pouted at Fabray.
She looked a little unsure before she shook her head and her face returned to cool and impassive. "You guys have no idea the kind of pressure I was under." Coach Beiste could understand where she was coming from; Sue did seem a little ruthless when it came to winning. "Besides I told you that this is a new start for me. I'm going to be doing things that I want to do from now on. No one else is going to be telling me how to live my life."
The two sighed in defeat and the bell rang. Coach Beiste was a little impressed with Fabray's integrity, from what she heard about the girl, she was mean and power hungry. To turn down something that would guarantee her instant power was a little surprising.
"Okay girls I'm filling in for Coach Sylvester for today." A few clapped at that. "Today is going to be the yearly physicals." Groans could be heard from around the gym. "Cut it out. Let's go out on the field."
A half hour later and Coach Beiste realized why she hated coaching girls. They whined way too much, especially Berry and Jones. She did have to give Sue some credit; because she organized the lineup so that the worst from last year could go first and the best was saved for last. It actually really helped with time management. In the girl's defense, this course did look a little harder than the guys. There were hurdles of varying heights and obstacles like tire jumping, wall climbing, and army rope climbing. It looked a lot like a marine course than something that normal high schools are accustomed too.
Jones just ran past her and Coach Beiste sighed at her time. "9 minutes and 45 seconds. You're about half a second worse than last time. I'm going to have to dock a minute for skipping the wall altogether." The girl collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. She turned to look at Berry who was also panting hard. "See if she's alright and get her a water bottle."
It was a good thing that they have other talents because if life was based on athletic ability then they were screwed. Berry did do a lot better than Jones and even best her time of 8 minutes and 30 seconds by about 10 seconds.
A few Cheerios and other girls ran the course, doing better than the other two, but it wasn't anything spectacular or good. She noticed quite a few making some mistakes including the Cheerios. Coach Sylvester would have had a field day at seeing that.
"Okay Lopez you're up." Coach Beiste started her timer and the girl ran. She was pretty impressed by her run, even though she did mess up a few times on the hurdles. She ran past the coach not even breaking a sweat or panting. "2 minutes and 45 seconds. You did better by about 5 seconds."
The Latina groaned in response, confusing the coach. "Coach Sylvester is going to kill me." She didn't bother asking because she knew how insane Sue can be. She would have thought that it was impressive, especially since everyone else has done so poorly but oh well. That's what you get for signing up for the Cheerios.
She reset her stopwatch and looked at Pierce. "Pierce you're up." Brittany shot out like a bat out of hell. She did end up making a few mistakes and was a little hung up by the rope ladder, but after she ran past her she looked at the stopwatch in amazement. "1 minute and 56 seconds. You beat your original time by half a second." Pierce cheered in happiness, hugging Lopez, who blushed a little at the contact.
Damn would she kill to have someone like that on her team. Think of all the touchdowns that could be made possible. She sighed wishfully, if only Sue allowed her Cheerios to join other teams. Shannon wasn't against a girl joining, hell those glee girls played for her at the championship and she had a kid in a wheelchair on the team. At this point she would take anyone with the talent.
"Okay Fabray you're the last one up." The blonde ran quickly, not as fast as Brittany, but Coach Beiste also noticed that she wasn't making any mistakes. It was like she was taking her time and thinking about each obstacle before she reached it. She was a little hung up on the rope but overall it was a good performance. She ran past her, and, just like Lopez and Pierce, she wasn't even breathing hard or breaking a sweat. No wonder Sue boasted about her Cheerios being the best, they were primed athletes. "2 minutes and 13 seconds. You did better by 4 seconds."
Fabray pumped her fist up in the air and smiled cockily at Lopez who glared at her. Pierce hugged the blonde in congrats. "Yay we're all awesome." Berry and Jones just scowled at them, still panting.
Coach Beiste was staring intently at Fabray. Replaying the conversation she heard earlier in her head. 'Maybe I can poach her away from Sue. It would just be criminal to let an athlete like that not play any sports.' It was not unheard of to have a girl play football on an all guys team and it was not against school rules. She looked it over in case a girl really did want to try out. Fabray might be just what the team needed to kick them back into high gear.
"Ladies hit the showers." Everyone was getting ready to head back into the gym. "Fabray, do you have a minute?" She looked confused but she nodded her head and stayed where she was. Her two friends looked at her questionably before shrugging their shoulders and heading back.
Once everyone was gone, Fabray looked over at Coach Beiste. "What's up Coach?"
Shannon made sure that she looked completely serious when she asked the girl this or she might think that this was a joke. "I noticed that you're no longer on the Cheerios." Fabray nodded her head in reply still not really understanding what she wanted. "Seeing you out on the field and knowing about your past as Head Cheerio, I was wondering if you would be interested in trying out for the football team on Friday?"
The blonde widened her eyes in surprise. "I'm flattered but is it even okay to let girls on the team?"
Coach Beiste smiled to herself; it wasn't a direct no, so that was something. "I already looked into it in case a girl wanted to join the team. And you remember what happened last year."
Fabray nodded in understanding but still didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you want to make Coach Sylvester angry?" At her confused look, she elaborated. "She has a hard time letting things go."
"I'll worry about Sue. So is that a yes?"
"I wouldn't even know what to try out for."
It seems like she might have her. "We can figure it out." She still looked to be on the fence. So she decided to use the used car salesmen approach. "It would be an absolute waste to not show off your athleticism and I wouldn't pressure you to do anything that you're not comfortable with. Who knows maybe a scout might be interested in giving you a scholarship for one of their sports programs."
That caught her attention. It was a little bit dirty to use the conversation that she had no business overhearing against her; but she was desperate. "So you wouldn't make me cleanse every day?"
Shannon was pretty familiar with what she was asking. She saw what the Cheerios were forced to consume and she felt bad for them. It was a gross blend and to drink it every day… Yuck! "I'm sure you've seen Hudson's and Puckerman's diet?" She joked, making Fabray laugh a little. That was a good sign. "As long as you stay in shape for the season I really don't care what you eat. Just think about it for now. Try outs are after school this Friday. If you show up or don't I'll have my answer."
Fabray nodded her head. "Okay." She walked off towards the school.
Coach Beiste couldn't help but smile. Fabray seemed interested enough. Hopefully she'll come on Friday. Thinking about the golden opportunity that she was handed, she says to no one in particular. "Maybe I should sub for Sue more often."
Rachel was standing in the cafeteria glaring at everyone at the table. The purple piano was seen off to the side. She pointed at it. "How can you guys just ignore the purple piano in the room?"
Everyone looked a little bit uncomfortable. "It was wrong for Mr. Schue to put that there in the first place." Mercedes stated.
Artie nodded his head in agreement. "We've just became popular. Do you really want to ruin that?"
She was growing impatient with everyone. "It would be wrong of us to just ignore it."
Kurt stood up next to the brunette. "Rachel's right, besides people like us now."
"Let's do the number that we rehearsed earlier."
Quinn started looking at her phone. "Look at the time. Sorry guys count me out." She stood up to leave, grabbing her lunch tray.
Rachel glared at her, she knew the blonde's tactic's by now. She was trying to get out of this. "Quinn you can't leave now. You have a part in the song." Rachel exclaimed. "We need your Belinda Carlisle glamour and your tremulous alto."
"Sorry but I have to talk to Miss. Pillsbury about colleges." Quinn smoothly explained. "Have Brittany sing my parts." The blonde in question seemed excited by that notion.
The brunette sighed in frustration because what was she really going to do about it? It just made her sad that Quinn still couldn't be courageous enough to put her popularity on the line. On the other hand if Quinn was in fact telling her the truth then who was she to force her to put her college aspirations on the back burner? "Fine, have fun."
"Good luck, guys." Quinn said before she left the room. Everyone glared at her as she walked away.
"Okay are you all ready?" Rachel asked.
"Why does Quinn get out of it and the rest of us can't?!" Mercedes shouted, dunking one of her beloved tots in ketchup and sticking it in her mouth.
"Because she has an excuse." Rachel stated.
Santana muttered, "Yeah right." Making the brunette glare at her, she couldn't believe these people.
"Come on guys, our leader has spoken." Puck stated, getting everyone up. Rachel shot him a smile as everyone took their places.
It was considered the biggest case of social suicide that McKinley High had ever seen. Or at least that was what Jacob Ben Israel said in his blog about the event.
Rachel decided to eat in the auditorium today because it took her 4 hours to get the smell of spaghetti out of her hair and she wasn't ready for a repeat performance. She really had hoped that the school turned over a new leaf and was past all the bullying, but once she saw Mercedes and Tina get slushied later that day, she knew that they were on the bottom of the social ladder again.
Even worse was that no one bothered to audition except for Al Motta's daughter, Sugar, who was the worst singer that she had ever heard. She watched American Idol so that was saying something.
The sound of footsteps could be heard coming her way; they stopped when they reached the end of her aisle. "Mind if I join you?"
Rachel looked to her left to see Quinn looking at her, waiting for a reply. "I'm not sure. Don't you have to meet Miss. Pillsbury today?"
She watched Quinn wince slightly at her remark and bite her lip, looking really guilty. "I guess I deserved that."
The brunette glared at her, but then she smiled sadly. "Don't bother saying sorry. It's not like the performance was well received anyway. I guess no one cares for the Go-Go's anymore."
"I'm more of a Bangles fan myself." She joked but Rachel didn't bother to reply. She heard her sigh and start walking over to her. Once she reached the seat that was two seats down from Rachel, she sat down. "If it helps I thought that you guys did a good job."
"You're about the only one." She shot back. She decided to change the topic because it hurt too much. With all things considered, at least she tasted popularity even if it was for only a day. "Have you decided where you're going to school?"
Quinn looked away from Rachel and stared at the stage, almost like she was lost in thought. "Not really. Miss. Pillsbury thought that I should apply to Julliard but I'm not sure I want to go into music."
Shock ran through the brunette. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why? You're talented enough and you're songs are so good."
"I had a bad experience when I was in California." She didn't look like she wanted to elaborate so Rachel decided not to try and convince her. It did make her wonder what could have happened to make her doubt herself so much.
She took a deep breathe before she went into one of her infamous Rachel Berry pep talks. "So you had one bad experience, that shouldn't make you give up. Did Elvis give up when they told him to stick with his day job?" Quinn shook her head. "Did Lady Gaga give up when she was dropped from her label?" She stood up, suddenly feeling inspired. "Did Madonna give up when she dropped out of college?" Then she decided to really drive her point home by using one of Quinn's favorite authors. "Did J.K. Rowling give up when she was fired from her job, on welfare, and recently divorced?"
She looked at Quinn, waiting for a reply. The blonde smiled and shook her head. "No she didn't."
Rachel grinned broadly at the blonde. "See then you shouldn't give up." She sat back down and crossed her legs.
Quinn sighed again and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess you're right. It's just I never realized how tough the music industry really is."
She tried to ease Quinn's self-doubt and boost her confidence. "Well you're just going to have to be tougher than them. I'm sure you can manage, you are Quinn Fabray HBIC for a reason."
They both started laughing, Rachel felt better that she could make Quinn laugh. She always did have a nice laugh. The blonde turned to Rachel with a bright smile. "Thanks."
"It's what friends are for." Then she paused, realizing that she overstepped with Quinn. "We are friends aren't we?"
Quinn smiled at the brunette. "Kind of." I guess that was the best she was going to get.
"So then are you going to apply?"
She nodded her head in response. "That doesn't mean that I shouldn't apply to other schools. You never know what they are looking for. What colleges are you thinking about?"
"Oh I'm only going to apply to NYADA." At Quinn's alarmed look, Rachel decided to explain herself. "Kurt and I just want to go to New York and that's the only school that has a musical theatre major."
"That may be true but you could always major in acting or singing." Quinn offered to Rachel. "It's a little foolish to be hoping that NYADA will accept you right off the bat, even if you are the great and talented Rachel Berry." She smiled at the compliment. "You should always have a backup just in case."
She did have a point and what if NYADA was stupid enough to pass on her. What then? She would be stuck here for at least another year. She shuddered at the thought. Maybe her and Kurt needed to rethink their options. "I think you might be onto something."
"Well it wouldn't hurt if you applied to other schools in New York." Quinn replied, shrugging her shoulders.
Rachel clapped her hands together and smiled. "It's settled then. I'll apply to other schools in New York, and you'll apply to Julliard." She said excitedly, making Quinn smile and shake her head.
She really preferred being kind of friends with Quinn instead of being enemies. The blonde always gave her good advice even if she refused to listen to it half the time. She shook her head at the memory of that disastrous time last year when they teamed up to write a song for Regionals. Rachel did remember the blonde telling her that she was too good for Lima even if she looked like she wanted to strangle her when she said it.
"Enough talk about college. Are you going to sing a song this week?" Rachel was still a little peeved that Quinn ditched them. She had a good reason but that still didn't make it right.
Quinn groaned and threw her head back. "Is that the only way you won't stay mad at me?"
Rachel folded her arms across her chest and stared at her. "Yes."
Her face dropped down into her hands. "I guess I have no choice then." Rachel grinned in triumph.
'Damn that Rachel Berry. How does she always convince me to do things that I have no intention of doing?' Quinn thought to herself as she closed her locker. She had a free period right now so she decided to head to the choir room and come up with a song choice.
She sighed to herself as guilt washed over her. She decided that this year was going to be different, she was going to start thinking for herself and not what others thought of her, but, in the cafeteria yesterday, she let her old demons take hold of her. Quinn knew that it was social suicide. Being on the top for as long as she was taught her that, but she still should have sung with the others instead of being a coward and leaving them to their fate.
That was one of the reasons that she decided to not rejoin the Cheerios, besides the fact that she really didn't care for it. The only reason she signed up in the first place was because she wanted a scholarship and her sister enjoyed it when she was captain. She wasn't really there for the constant abuse and the horrible cleansers. Of course the popularity was an added bonus but at the end of her tenure as Head Cheerio, she didn't like the person that she was. She was popular and idolized for sure, but she was also ruthless and cruel. At the end of the day sometimes she had a hard time looking at herself in the mirror. If it wasn't for Nationals last year she probably would have continued on that destructive downward spiral, but having everyone love and support something that was so personal to her, ignited a spark that she didn't know was really there.
Honestly, she was dead set on going to school around Lima, settle down with a decent man, and become a real estate agent, but after winning Nationals, settling down just didn't seem right anymore. She always loved writing songs, it was a form of escape from her problems, but she never thought that they were worth anything important, let alone a chance at an actual career. It was like a whole new world of opportunities opened up.
She clenched her fists bitterly, thinking about her trip to California. She told everyone that she was visiting her sister. That was true but it wasn't the main reason she went. A week after Nationals, she received a phone call from someone who worked for a major music studio in L.A., he told her that he saw her performance and thought that his boss would be interested in buying her songs. At first she was on the fence, thinking that it was some kind of joke, but her mother talked her into going. They decided to make a whole vacation out of it since Frannie was living at UCLA trying to earn her Master's degree in business. Judy was also a little worried for her older daughter since she recently got divorced from her husband.
Quinn sighed as she remembered being so nervous and so full of hope, only for her dreams to be shattered.
Judy was holding her hand as Ken Banks, one of the biggest music mongrels in the United States, was listening to her mix tape. All the songs that they sung at Nationals were there, along with a few others that she liked.
His face was blank and emotionless as he listened to every track. Quinn never felt so nervous in her life. Finally the last song played and the room was silent. Ken looked her straight in the eye. "Miss. Fabray, are you thinking of making a career out of this?"
She wasn't really sure what he was thinking so she went with an honest answer. "I'm not sure."
"Good because you should really look into another career path." It felt like someone stabbed her in the heart. He then proceeded to take the cd out, open up his trash lid and threw it in the garbage. "That's where that belongs. You can go now." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Tears burned her eyes as she stood up with her mother. She wasn't going to let him see her cry, that's the least she can do. Who was she kidding? She knew that she wasn't good enough.
They walked silently to the car, but once they got in, Judy put a comforting hand on her arm. "Quinnie, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Those songs were wonderful."
Quinn shook her arm off and looked out the window. She didn't want to face her mother because she was humiliated and devastated. The only other time she was this heartbroken was when her father kicked her out of the house and disowned her. "Can we just go?" She pleaded, trying not to let her voice crack.
As soon as she got to her sisters apartment, she ran into the room she was staying in, slammed the door, and cried herself to sleep. That was where she stayed for about a week. Frannie and Judy both tried on several occasions to make her feel better, but she refused to listen to them. When Frannie tried to get her to look at her song book, Quinn flipped out and threw it in the garbage, much to the shock of her family.
Eventually Frannie had had enough with Quinn's attitude and pulled her out of bed and forced her into the car, calling it a sister bonding road trip or some other crap.
They'd been in the car for over an hour now and Quinn was starting to lose her patience. "Frannie, where are we going?" She demanded not wanting to be here. She would rather just go home to Lima, Ohio and serve her lifetime sentence there, forever living a sad and boring life.
Her sister smirked over at her. The sound of a car horn could be heard as she turned her head back to the road and turned sharply to the left, saying in a singsong voice. "You'll see."
Quinn groaned, her sister really was a terrible driver. "Keep your eyes on the road." Running a hand nervously through her hair, she shot out. "I think I preferred you better when you were a miserable housewife." She didn't really mean it but rather she wanted her sister to feel as miserable as her.
Frannie frowned at her remark. "Quinn, I know that you're trying to be confrontational on purpose, but please don't bring up my cheating good for nothing ex-husband." Then she started smiling again. "Besides you've always told me that I could do better."
Quinn felt terrible, she knew that that was a sore subject. "Sorry, I'm just not in the greatest mood."
"I know, baby sister, that's why we're on this road trip."
Soon her sister was starting to slow down and Quinn realized where they were. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked at the building that destroyed her dreams. "What are we doing here?"
Frannie started pulling into the parking garage on the other side of the street. "Because you have unfinished business." She stopped at the toll and looked at the security guard. Quinn noticed her sister pull out a wad of cash and discreetly hand it to the man.
He grabbed the money and flipped a few switches. "You have 20 minutes." Now she was really confused, was her sister taking her on a drug run?
"Thank you Reggie." Her sister said politely.
Reggie shrugged his shoulders. "It's not the first time and it won't be the last. Figured I'd make a few bucks out of it."
Frannie pulled ahead and weaved through the garage until they reached the top level. She pulled in front of a brand new black Ferrari. She left the car on and stepped out of the car. "Are you coming or not?"
The sign read, 'Reserved for Kenneth Banks' and Quinn was starting to wonder what her sister was planning. She reluctantly got out of the car and looked at her sister wearily. "Why are we here?"
Frannie went to her trunk and pulled out a bat, she also noticed that she was holding a knife. "Some jackass thought that he could crush my baby sister's dreams so I figured that I should crush something of his." Then she walked over to the car and started slashing his tires.
Quinn was looking at her horrified; maybe the divorce was starting to mess with her sanity because she has never done anything like this. "What the hell are you doing!?" She loudly whispered afraid that someone was going to see them. "They have cameras for a reason."
"Why do you think I paid Reggie? He disabled them." Frannie stated calmly, though the maniacal grin on her face let her know that she was clearly enjoying this. Once she was done with her work, she walked over to Quinn and tried to hand the bat to her, but the younger blonde just held her hands up.
"Take the bat."
"No what you're doing could send us to jail."
"Quit being such a spoils sport." Frannie exclaimed, grabbing Quinn's arm and thrusting the bat in her hand. "He doesn't have the right to tell you what you should or should not do. And he doesn't have the right to crush your hopes and dreams. Fabray's never quit!"
Quinn hung her head in sadness at the familiar catchphrase. "That was just something mom always said when we lost. It doesn't mean anything."
Frannie clasped her shoulders and stared her straight in the eye. Miserable hazel eyes looking into determined hazel. "Maybe it was but did we ever quit after that?" Quinn shook her head. "You shouldn't just give up because some artsy fartsy asshole can't tell talent even if it smacked him in the face." She smiled weakly and giggled. "You need to stop letting people define who you are, Quinn." She took a deep shaky breath and smiled sadly at her. "I have the same problem. I need to stop letting Daniel define who I am and go on with my life. And you need to chase after your dreams no matter what. We need to start being truly happy inside and out."
Normally Quinn wasn't one for emotional moments that was more her sisters' style, but she started crying and hugged her sister fiercely. "Thank you." She mumbled into her shoulder.
Frannie patted her on the head and hugged back just as tightly. "Us Fabrays need to stick together." Then she pulled away from the hug and looked at her. "Are you ready?"
Quinn nodded her head and gripped the bat, and started walking over to the car. She took a deep breath and pictured Ken Banks' stupid smirking face before she lifted the bat over her head and brought it down hard on the windshield. The alarms started going off, but she didn't let up. Finally letting out all of her frustrations of not only this past week, but also her last couple of years in high school, Quinn started feeling the constant weight of all the bad things that she has done or went through come off of her shoulders.
As they were driving out of the lot, they nodded at Reggie who lightly waved at them, not bothering to look up from his magazine. Frannie looked over at Quinn and smiled cockily at her. "Feeling better?"
Quinn smiled brightly at her. "Much, but keep your eyes on the road." The sound of a car horn could be heard as her sister turned her head back to the road and turned sharply to the left. Quinn sighed, somethings never change.
Even though she felt extremely better after that, self-doubt was still plaguing her mind. Ken Banks was one of the top music producers in the country, if he didn't like her music then who's to say that anyone else will? It was her talk earlier with Rachel that helped her remember her beliefs and what she was trying to accomplish this year.
So popularity or becoming a total loser no longer mattered to her so long as she was happy. Even though she might occasionally have a few relapses in judgement, she knew that in the long run she would be happier and try to do the right things.
This brought her to her next dilemma. Should she really tryout for the football team? She had to admit that she liked what Coach Beiste was offering, but could she really do it? On Thanksgiving, she would always participate in the annual flag football game at her grandma's house and she always had fun, but there was a difference between flag and tackle football. It was one thing to have someone rip off a flag but it was a whole other ball game to have a 200 to 300 pound teenage boy charging at you intent on taking you out.
Her mother was no help when she brought it up over dinner last night. Judy just smiled at her and stated, 'Just tell me where to buy the tickets. Whether it is cheerleading, glee club, or football, I'll support you so long as you are happy and safe.' Quinn really loved that her mother was trying to build a better relationship between them, but sometimes she wondered if it was a bad thing that her mother was so supportive now, because at this point she was wondering if she could get away with murder so long as she was 'happy'.
Quinn shook her head from her thoughts as she spotted the door to the choir room. 'I'll worry about it later. Right now I need to find a song.' She heard music and singing coming from the room. She looked inside to see Kurt's boyfriend, his name escapes her, singing It's Not Unusual. Currently he was practicing the 'Carlton Dance' and she had to sigh internally. 'He has a lot of potential, but no one's going to join with that song.' A light bulb went off in her head and she smirked. Slowly she opened the door and made her way inside, without him even noticing her presence.
As soon as he was done singing, Quinn started clapping. He jumped a little at the noise but then when he saw her he walked over and held his hand out. "I'm Blaine Anderson, I think we've meet before at Rachel's house."
Quinn winced at the memory of that drunken night and the hangover she had afterwards. 'Yeah, never drinking again.' She smiled and shook his hand. "Quinn Fabray, pleasure to meet you. We weren't properly introduced last time."
He let go of her hand and smiled brightly. He sure was enthusiastic, she'll give him that. "So did you like it? I was thinking of using it to get people to audition while also trying out myself."
"Well it was really good for an audition song." Blaine smiled brightly, as Quinn went to pop his bubble. "Unfortunately it's not going to grab anyone's attention."
Blaine frowned and walked to the risers to take a seat. "I was thinking that myself. Kurt's told me about some of the things that go on around here." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "They don't seem the type to truly appreciate the 'Carlton Dance'."
Quinn laughed and went over to sit next to him. "Probably not. Half of them can't even use proper English."
He chuckled and shook his head. "You're not half bad, Fabray. I don't know what Kurt was talking about." At her questioning look, he blushed and held his hands up in a panic. "Don't tell him I said that!"
The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "It's alright. Kurt and I have had our fair share of differences."
It was silent for a few moments before Blaine asked her. "So what do you think will work?"
"Well I wouldn't worry about getting in if I was you." Then she crossed her arms over her chest and grabbed her chin, thinking out loud. "If you want to make an impression with not only New Directions but the school in general, you have to do something memorable."
"Too bad no one really cares."
Quinn held her hand up as a thought crossed her mind. "Not true. You just have to find a target audience with a certain interest and roll with it."
"Like what?" Blaine asked.
"Sex."
Blaine's eyes widened and he nervously fiddled with his bowtie. "Sex? As in sleeping with other people in order to join? I don't think that I can do that!"
A disgusted looked crossed her face. "We're not Puck! Of course we're not sleeping with anyone."
Blaine looked at her thoughtfully. "We?"
Quinn blushed at her slip up. 'Dammit I was supposed to casually slip that suggestion in. Oh well, time to improvise.' She composed herself. "I need to perform to make up for the other day so I figured that we could do a duet. Wouldn't want you to sing in the shark tank all by yourself."
"That all depends." At Quinn's questioning look, he elaborated. "What's the better song Teenage Dream By: Katy Perry or Poker Face By: Lady Gaga?" He stared at her seriously in case she lied.
She looked at him in disbelief. Who was she talking to Rachel Berry? Only she would ask a question like that. Carefully she thought about her answer and what song she preferred. "Teenage Dream."
Blaine clapped his hands and grinned broadly at her. He really was like Rachel. "We can sing together." He settled down and looked serious again. "So what were you thinking of doing with sex?"
"Sex sells and if we give off enough sex appeal then we can definitely target the girls around this school." She knew that the idea was crazy but how else were they supposed to get people to join, especially after that fiasco yesterday.
"But I'm gay and from what I've heard you're straight. Wouldn't that be a turnoff?"
"Not necessarily, it's like the bad boy effect." She explained to Blaine, who nodded his head in understanding. "Most girls always think that they can change someone or in this case covert them. Honestly I don't think anything else is going to work at this point."
Blaine heaved a sigh of defeat, "You're probably right. It looks like we have no other choice. Who do you have in mind?"
Quinn smirked confidently at him, happy that her plan worked. Well if she was going to crash and burn at least she wasn't going to do it alone. She felt bad for bringing Blaine into it, but then she remembered his earlier performance and then didn't feel so bad anymore. He was going to ride the loser train too whether he sung with her or not, so they might as well do it together and have fun. "I've decided on someone that has been a heartthrob for years now, making women throw bras and panties at him and men wish they were him. I'm only talking about the one and only…" At her dramatic pause, Blaine leaned towards her, hanging off of the edge of his seat, "Justin Timberlake."
Rachel was sitting at one of the tables in the courtyard, waiting for Quinn. She was practicing with Kurt on their number for the NYADA mixer that was later tonight, when she received a text from her.
Meet me in the courtyard by the stairs. - Quinn
'Well at least she doesn't use text speak,' she thought when she read it, though she was wondering what she wanted. Normally it was her reaching out.
Kurt's phone buzzed letting him know that someone is texting him. He read the text and was a little confused. "Who's that?" She asked.
"It's from Blaine. He wants to meet me in the courtyard."
"When did Blaine transfer?"
So they talked on the way to their destination. She thought that it was extremely sweet that Blaine transferred so that he can be closer to Kurt, but she wondered how it was going to work out. Knowing from experience with Finn, you shouldn't spend all your time together or you'll start tearing each other a part. Hopefully the same wouldn't happen to them because she loved them as a couple.
She was wondering what was taking Quinn so long because as soon as she saw the purple piano and everyone else sitting at a table, she figured out that Quinn was going to perform. The brunette was really excited because she knew that the blonde was doing this for her. It really was a big step to be literally flushing your popularity down the drain, especially for someone who became as obsessed with it as Quinn was.
"So do you think Quinn's going to be singing?" Mercedes asked from next to Rachel.
"Yeah right, Q's being a big chicken shit." Santana shot out angrily. Everyone else seemed to be in agreement because they were still mad at her for ditching them.
"Guys, knock it off. She's going to be performing." Rachel said, glaring at all of them. They ignored her and continued talking smack about Quinn.
Suddenly music started playing and everyone turned their heads to the top of the stairs.
"Why is Blaine with Quinn? What is he wearing?" Kurt exclaimed, not sounding like he really liked this combination at all.
Rachel was a little surprised as well. She didn't even think that Quinn knew Blaine's name, but there they were each dressed to the nines. Both were wearing suits, though Quinn's was of a feminine style. Blaine was wearing his signature bowtie with a fedora on his head, cocked to the side. Quinn had her two top buttons open and her hair was stylized with that smoky eyed makeup to finish off the rest of the look.
"Wow, Q looks so fucking hot." Puck stated, staring at her hungrily. Brittany was nodding her head in agreement.
"Is that SexyBack?" Artie asked out loud.
Quinn stepped down the stairs with purpose and once she reached the middle, she started singing the opening verse with Blaine taking over Timbaland's part.
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other boys don't know how to act
I think you're special, what's behind your back?
So turn around and I'll pick up the slack.
"Take 'em to the bridge"
Blaine sang as he slid down one of the rails. Screaming could be heard from everywhere as girls started running up to the steps, but apparently Quinn and Blaine knew this was going to happen because some of the nicer football players were holding the girls back.
Quinn threw a wink at Rachel, who was just looking at her in shock. A bunch of girls screamed because they thought she was winking at them. A few even fainted.
Dirty babe
You see these shackles
Baby I'm your slave
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave
It's just that no one makes me feel this way
Take 'em to the chorus
The Cheerios decided to start dancing around them and one even started grinding against Blaine. She untied his bow and threw it out into the crowd. Blaine looked uncomfortable during the exchange but when Rachel looked over at Kurt, he looked down right furious.
"They need to get their hands off of my boyfriend!"
Rachel patted him on the shoulder. "Honey, you do remember he's gay right?" He crossed his arms and huffed, not bothering to reply.
Come here girl
Go ahead, be gone with it
Come to the back
Go ahead, be gone with it
VIP
Go ahead, be gone with it
Drinks on me
Go ahead, be gone with it
Let me see what you're twerking with
Go ahead, be gone with it
Look at those hips
Go ahead, be gone with it
You make me smile
Go ahead, be gone with it
Go ahead child
Go ahead, be gone with it
And get your sexy on
Go ahead, be gone with it
Get your sexy on
Go ahead, be gone with it
"Get your sexy on." Quinn sung huskily, causing more girls to faint. Rachel was pretty impressed by this performance if she was being honest, the blonde never looked more confident and it appeared that she had been working on her vocals over the summer.
Santana decided to get up and join the singers, making everyone look at her in confusion. Quinn was looking at the Latina suspiciously, especially when she started dancing with Blaine. 'If Quinn is suspicious then Santana must be up to something.' Rachel thought to herself.
Blaine threw his hat into the crowd and took over the rest of the song while Quinn was back up.
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other fuckers don't know how to act
Come let me make up for the things you lack
'Cause you're burning up I gotta get it fast
Take 'em to the bridge
"See coach, they're starting another one of those sex orgies." Rachel looked over her shoulder to see Becky Jackson talking to Coach Sylvester. Her eyes widened when she saw the hose in her hands.
"No, Becky, this is far worse than a sex orgy. Attractive looking people can't be singing or dancing about sex or it will lead to riots, fights, and possibly death. It's especially worse for people as gorgeous as that young mustache less Burt Reynolds or Grace Kelly incarnate. This kind of music is corrupting our children's minds and making them commit heinous acts. I have to put an end to this!" Sue was speaking into the camera that Becky was holding, trying to prove her point that the arts is bad for her campaign.
Rachel was worried when she saw Coach Sylvester point the hose at Quinn and Blaine. The blonde seemed to have noticed too, because she went over to Blaine and tapped him on the shoulder. She cocked her head in Sue's direction and made a swirling motion with her hands.
Blaine got the hint because as soon as the hose went off both teens turned around so their backs were facing the water and held on to a railing.
The Cheerios that were currently pouring gasoline on the purple piano all screamed and ran off. Not noticing the hose, Santana was pushed to the ground by the force and left completely drenched. The music stopped as Coach Sylvester started cackling evilly.
Suddenly the hose stopped working. Sue was looking at it in confusion, smacking it a few times, and then she looked to see if it was tangled up. Her face turned red with fury at what she saw. "Hey wheels, get off or I will make sure that the rest of your time here at McKinley is brutal torture."
Artie swallowed nervously as he put his wheelchair in break on top of the hose. "You wouldn't hit a kid in a wheelchair with glasses. What would that say for your campaign?" His words sounded more confident than he looked.
Coach Sylvester looked around at all the teenagers with their phones out recording everything. Making a calculated move, she threw the hose down and stormed off, but not before shouting. "You may have won this sex orgy battle, but Sue Sylvester will win the war!"
It was quiet for a few minutes no one really believing that they bested that lunatic, but then Artie shouted out, "Finish the song!" Everyone started cheering.
"You guys want us to finish this!" Blaine shouted, their backs were still facing everyone. The band members slowly started going back to their places; as the Cheerios all walked off, defeated and wet. Santana looked especially pissed as she threw wet matches on the ground.
Everyone started screaming louder. "Well you asked for it!" Quinn shouted. The music started up where they left off. "1, 2, 3 go!" Blaine and Quinn flipped around, both were soaking wet and water kept dripping from their bodies.
Suddenly the crowd went wild as they both ripped open there shirts. Rachel's ears were starting to hurt as the screaming only got louder. They took off their jackets and shirts, throwing them in the audience. Blaine was naked from the waist up and Quinn was only left in a black sports bra. Both were pretty lean and fit, so it was definitely a sight that the girls enjoyed, if the thumps they heard on the ground from them fainting were anything to go by. Blaine started singing again.
Dirty babe
You see these shackles
Baby I'm your slave
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave
It's just that no one makes me feel this way
Come here girl
Go ahead, be gone with it
Come to the back
Go ahead, be gone with it
VIP
Go ahead, be gone with it
Drinks on me
Go ahead, be gone with it
Let me see what you're twerking with
Go ahead, be gone with it
Look at those hips
Go ahead, be gone with it
You make me smile
Go ahead, be gone with it
Go ahead child
Go ahead, be gone with it
And get your sexy on
Go ahead, be gone with it
They went through the rest of the song and once they were finished, they were met by huge applause. Everyone was standing up and Rachel was just shaking her head. She was one for theatrics but she's never quite had a performance this intense. Hopefully people would be willing to sign up now.
Quinn spotted her in the crowd and winked at her before mouthing, "Are you happy now?"
She nodded her head and looked over at Kurt who was staring intensely at Blaine's chest, he looked almost predatory. 'Apparently I'm not the only one.'
It was after school and Rachel was in the choir room, waiting for Glee Club to start. During the day she kept looking at the signup sheet, her smile growing wider each time she saw a new signature. The last time she looked was about two hours ago and she counted 18 names then.
She really had to thank Quinn when she saw her next because she might have just saved the club. First she had to see if any of them were any good. She thought of Sugar Motta and shuddered. Well maybe no one can be as bad as her.
Just then Quinn walked in and Rachel looked at her in confusion. The blonde was wearing one of her signature dresses, but for some reason her hair still looked wet. 'Why is her hair still wet? Surely it would have dried by now the performance was hours ago.' Quinn sat down next to her and saw the look on her face. "I was slushied by someone on the hockey team on my way over here."
Sadness washed over her, even Quinn wasn't spared from the narrow minded morons of this school. "Quinn, I'm sorry that happened."
The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "I was kind of expecting it when I saw the looks on their faces after we finished singing. It was a cross between hatred and jealousy."
Tina overheard the conversation and groaned loudly. "Great now we're losers all over again."
Mr. Schue walked in at that moment followed by Kurt and Blaine, whose hair was also a little damp. Apparently they got him too. Blaine high-fived Quinn on the way to his chair, making Kurt roll his eyes. Rachel smiled to herself. 'Do I detect a new bromance brewing?' Sure Quinn was a girl but she really liked that term and she never got to use it.
"Everyone welcome our newest member Blaine Anderson." Everyone, but Finn clapped their hands for him. That didn't really matter because ever since Rachel shot him down earlier this week he's been sulking in the corner.
"I might have to reconsider if I keep getting slushies thrown at me." He joked, making the group laugh with him.
"That just makes you one of us now." Puck stated, clapping him on the shoulder.
Once everyone was settled down, Mr. Schue got started on class. "Thanks to Quinn and Blaine's intense performance of SexyBack," He put extra emphasis on intense, making the two blush. "We have now had 21 people sign up." Everyone started clapping their hands loudly. "Now I'm going to have tryouts on Friday morning, but I won't be able to make it. Can two of you volunteer?"
Rachel looked over at Kurt, who nodded his head in confirmation. "Mr. Schue, Kurt and I can do it."
He looked really relieved. "I'm sure you guys can find some great talent. Though don't be too harsh." He cautioned them before then getting started on today's performances.
'It can't be as bad a Sugar's audition.' Rachel thought to herself.
Quinn was walking towards the auditorium in her workout clothes, tank top and sweat pants; she decided to get to school early so that she could work out in the weight room before classes started. About half an hour into it her phone buzzed. She was going to just leave it but then it buzzed again. She figured it must have been important so she went over to see who it was. She sighed when she saw two texts from Rachel.
COME TO THE AUDITORIUM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE – Rachel
I'M AT MY WITS END – Rachel
She figured that since it was in all caps, it must have been an emergency so she packed up her stuff, threw on a hoodie and headed towards the choir room. She didn't think about changing and taking a shower because she had about an hour before school started and she figured that whatever Rachel wanted wouldn't take long.
As she was walking into the choir room, she noticed that you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. A girl with red hair was on the stage, sitting in a chair looking extremely bored. When she saw Quinn though, her eyes lit up. 'Well that seems a little weird.' But she didn't think anything of it.
She walked to the front row and was a little surprised to see Blaine there. He smiled weakly at her when he noticed her. Then she looked over at Kurt who seemed to be on his third coffee already, judging from the cups on the floor around him. He never really was a morning person. When her eyes landed on Rachel she winced. It really did look like she was past her breaking point as she was staring furiously at the red head on stage.
When she noticed that she was there she focused her anger onto her. Quinn was a little baffled by the treatment, wondering what she did now to piss off the diva. "Finally what took so long?" She asked accusingly.
"I was working out." She looked at her wardrobe and pulled back hair, once Rachel seemed satisfied by her answer, she continued on. "What's going on?"
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because she looked even angrier. "No one wants to audition without you here." When the brunette saw the look she was giving her, she further explained. "Everyone seems to want you or Blaine here to see them perform. I tried reasoning, I tried yelling, but I couldn't convince them. I have wasted over an hour of my life that could have been better spent getting ready for my audition to West Side Story."
Kurt groaned, having heard enough of Rachel's rants for today. "She's here now so let's get this show on the road."
Quinn was about to sit down when suddenly the red head spoke up. "Ummm…I hope you don't mind but can you please come up here and sit in this chair?"
She looked at Rachel who just waved her off. "Fine I don't care. Do whatever you want."
As Quinn was getting up the steps an uneasy feeling was starting to settle in the pit of her stomach. The red head got up and motioned at Quinn to take a seat. Reluctantly she sat down, then she leaned in really close to her and smelled, completely weirding her out.
"You smell so good. I can practically taste your sweat." She whispered in her ear.
Quinn was stunned at what she was saying. 'She seems to be a little off her rocker.' The blonde tried to move her head as far away from her, but she was so distracted by the close proximity between their faces that she didn't hear the clicks until it was too late.
She looked down and noticed that she has handcuffed both of her hands to the chair. "How's that for shackles, baby?" She teased to her before she stepped back a little.
Now Quinn was really concerned, she tugged a little on the restraints and swallowed nervously. The red head smiled coyly before she brought the key up to her face. "Is this what you're looking for?" Her eyes widened when she proceeded to swallow the key. "I'm not letting you get away from me that easily."
'Well this isn't going to end well.' She thought to herself as the red head turned on the boom box that was on the floor. Quinn tried to look to her friends for help but the crazy chick was blocking her view.
Once the music started playing heavy dance music, the red head grinned at her and then started to climb into her lap. She unzipped her hoody and threw both sides out of the way. "As soon as I saw your abs, I knew that I just had to touch them." She then reached under her tank top and ran her hands over her stomach.
Quinn jumped at the contact, her hands were really cold and this was super awkward. First she tried moving the chair or kicking the ginger out but when that didn't work she tried to call out to her friends. "Guys I need a little help here!" Her voice was a little higher than she expected it to be, but then soon her body just shut down on her and her voice caught in her throat.
The crazy chick latched her lips onto her neck, licking and sucking a trail up and down before she bites down hard on her pulse point. Quinn honestly couldn't help the moan that escaped from her lips because she was completely caught off guard by the action. No one has ever done this to her before.
"See I knew you were playing for the other team." The red head whispered into her ear before she bit down on her earlobe.
'Oh god she's a crazy fan girl!' She thought as panic started to creep in and her friends still haven't got a clue. She was starting to curse her body for betraying her. 'This is the most awkward experience I have ever had, but why does it feel so good?' If she's being truthful the woman on top of her was slightly attractive but it wasn't like she was drawn to this woman, but why was her body reacting this way. 'Maybe I miss body contact more than I thought.'
She was so lost in her thoughts and the sensations of the girl on top of her that she wasn't even hearing Rachel screaming at the red head to get off of her nor did she register Kurt and Blaine coming on stage and dragging her off.
Rachel stormed up on the stage, grabbed the boom box and threw it across the room, shattering it into a million pieces. She turned towards the red head with a fire in her eyes. Quinn had never seen her that mad before. "How dare you come into my try outs, completely waste my time and molest my kind of friend!" She screamed at her. Almost like a mob boss, she snapped her fingers addressing the two males. "Get her out of my sight."
As the boys started dragging her away the red head called out to her. "Our shackles are forever bonded Quinn! I'll never stop loving you."
She sighed in relief when the girl was removed from the room. Her mind was completely rattled and her body was on fire. She looked at Rachel who seemed to have come down from her rage and was looking at her sadly. "I'm sorry I got you molested. If I knew she was going to do that I wouldn't have told you to come here."
Quinn took a few deep breathes and once her body was fully calm she replied, "I'm not mad at you." She then started laughing; making the brunette look at her like she was the crazy one. "Brittany always warned me to use Justin Timberlake wisely." She then tried to match her voice to the other blonde's. "Q with that much sex appeal comes great responsibly. Use the sex wisely."
Rachel made a very unlady like sound then she started busting up laughing, Quinn soon joining her. That was how Kurt and Blaine found them. Kurt seemed less than impressed by Blaine who was now sporting lipstick on his cheek and his shirt was torn slightly. That only made them start laughing harder.
Eventually Quinn had to teach Rachel how to pick a lock with a bobby pin in order to free her. By the time that was finished they only had time for one more audition. The next girl that walked on the stage had a whip in her hand. She looked Quinn right in the eye. "Miss. Fabray, you've been a naughty girl."
Now she felt even more awkward than before, if that was possible. She looked over at Rachel and slowly started to move over in her chair, afraid to make any sudden movements.
The fire was back in her eyes, her jaw was clenched and she had a death grip on the armrests. 'Maybe I should listen to Brittany more often.'
Quinn moaned as she was getting out of her car. Football tryouts were no joke. She grabbed the varsity jacket and jersey that Coach Beiste gave her and slung them over her shoulder. She wasn't sure how she got her size and she didn't care to find out.
It wasn't until the very last minute that she decided to go, figuring what the harm could be and also avoiding glee club and Rachel. After she was done tearing into the whip girl, she then proceeded to demand why every other girl was there. Once she found out that they were only here to sleep with either her or Blaine or in some cases both; she tore up the signup sheet and stormed off, but not before screaming over her shoulder. "How dare they turn my tryouts into some sexual fantasy! Quinn Fabray and Blaine Anderson, you have corrupted my show choir!"
Well after that Rachel was a little bit cross with everyone. Mr. Schue made the mistake of asking her how tryouts went which set her off on a ten minute tirade with no end in sight. Fortunately the bell rang, ending Rachel's rant mid-sentence or she would have kept going.
When Quinn went to football tryouts, Coach Beiste seemed a little relieved when she saw her. She was pretty surprised to see Tina and Zizes were trying out as well, much to Mike's mortification. Apparently they really enjoyed that one time that they played on the field and decided to join the team. Zizes was like a beast on the field, she even flipped Puck on his back when he was going easy on her. She was easily invited to join the team as a defensive tackle. Tina was another story. What she lacked in athletics and hand eye coordination, she made up for in spirit so she was made the assistant coach/water girl.
Everyone was a little confused to see her trying out, especially Finn who took it as a jab to his masculinity. When he was throwing the ball, he was intentionally trying to mess her up by giving her the wrong plays or throwing the ball too low. Luckily that didn't stop her from playing a decent game and once Coach Beiste threatened to throw Finn off the team if he didn't play right, he started actually throwing the ball and it went even better. She was by no means the best but she was better than most.
All the glee members on the team congratulated her on making the team, even Finn, though it did seem a little forced. She wondered how people were going to take it when Monday rolled along. She knew Coach Sylvester was going to be pissed but she wasn't sure how anyone else was going to react.
She noticed a FedEx package on the front step of the house so she grabbed it, unlocked the door and walked inside. Going into the kitchen, she set her stuff down and looked at the package.
It was from Frannie and it was addressed to her. She opened the envelope that was taped on the side and read aloud. "You forgot to take this with you."
'I didn't think that I left anything behind.' She thought to herself as she opened the package.
As soon as she saw what was inside, her eyes welled up with tears and she felt a lump begin to form in her throat. She reached in and took out the three-ring binder with all of her songs. Quinn refused to dig the thing out of the garbage and so she assumed that it was taken out, and she really regretted throwing it away. She wondered when her sister took it out of the garbage. 'Probably as soon as I threw it away.'
She lightly touched the post it attached to the front. 'Fabray's Never Quit!' was written in her sister's elegant handwriting.
Rachel and her family were right. She shouldn't give up on her dreams just because some jerk didn't like it. Plenty of people have been rejected and they managed to make it big. Maybe this was another one of those hurdles in life that she had to jump over. Lord knows she's had a few.
A call to her sister was definitely in her future but for now she had an urge to get reacquainted with an old friend. She looked down at the post it one more time, smiling fondly, and then she walked up the stairs.
When Judy Fabray came home later that day with takeout Chinese food, she smiled brightly and tears gathered in her eyes when she heard the familiar noise of a piano playing in the other room.
(A/N Yay! Second chapter is done and we are now on season 3. I really didn't feel like going over summer break so here we go. I will try to update every week but no guarantees. I do know that I will probably finish this once I get to the end of season 3. I'm sure that you've noticed that I am following some of the plots of the actual show but tweaking it to fit my story more. Soon it will be so tweaked that I will have to follow my own plot.
Someone was concerned that I was making Quinn a Mary Sue, but I don't quite agree with that. Yes this Quinn isn't as crazy as Glee Quinn but she is just as damaged and flawed. I hoped I showed a little bit of that in this chapter. Personally I feel like this was the Quinn we were going to get once she was accepted into Yale and all happy for her future, but then she was hit by the car and so on and so forth. It was a good plotline, don't get me wrong, but man how much can one character take. Seriously? Quinn Fabray is like the Kelly Taylor of Glee. So I'm switching things up and hopefully everyone likes it. If not then I'm not forcing you to read it.
Yes I am thinking of including a Quinn/Blaine bromance because I haven't seen it done much in fanfics and I wanted Blaine to have some plot that doesn't revolve around Kurt. Poor Blaine didn't have a good friend at McKinley until Kurt moved and let's be honest that's not really healthy for a relationship.
A few people are asking me about the possibility of finishing up my other Glee story Courage. Let's just say that I've considered it and it's likely that I might go back to it, but I would like to attempt to finish this one up first. So thank you all for still loving the story even after all these years.
On another note I stumbled across a fanfic by chance and simply fell in love with it. Sadly the Glee fanfics aren't around like they used to be and updates are few and far between (I've been guilty of that myself), but I came across this Quinntana fic that people should read. It is honestly one of the best crossover fics I have ever read and it's really funny and heartwarming. Once you read it then you'll just assume that that was the Disney/Once Upon a Time character for them. The story's called "The Sun, The Moon, and The Sky" By: Quicklove202. It's a long story but it's so good. One of the best fanfics I've read in a while. It should be more popular than it is so check it out. You won't be disappointed.
The song that was used was the ever catchy and timeless "Sexyback" By: Justin Timberlake. Love that song!
With that please read and review and let me know what you think without flat out being rude.)
