A/N: Thank you for the supportive reviews. Here is chapter two right away. Hopefully you will get right into the groove of the story. I hope to have the next chapter up tomorrow and things wil be picking up soon.
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Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Just breathe.
Rachel tried to ignore the six hands within inches of her face as four primped her hair, pulling, pushing, tugging, digging bobby pins into her scalp trying to secure her hair in the perfect shape. Two other hands were more invasive, lifting her chin, stretching her face for the application of heavy makeup. She followed orders to look this way and that way while trying to accommodate the pushes and pulls from the opposing wishes of the hands in her hair. It didn't help that there were another half dozen crew members standing around with their eyes glued to her, scanning over her, searching for any imperfection needing to be corrected.
Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Just breathe. Almost done.
"Hey, guys. Give her some room to breathe. My goodness." Quinn approached waving her hands as if she was swatting the stylists away like flies. "Thank you. She looks wonderful but I think she needs some air."
"We still need to secure-"
"You can secure it later if it becomes a problem." Quinn cut off the hairdressers. "This photo is about her, not the hair. Right now the hair looks perfect." The blonde stared them down, unwavering in her decision. Slowly they backed down and strolled to the far end of the room, obviously talking about her as they went.
"Was it that obvious?" Rachel asked nervously. She didn't want to seem weak. This was part of her dream and she needed to be able to handle it.
Quinn shook her head and smiled lightly. "Not at all. I just know you well enough to read that look in you eye. You handled it much better than I would have. I would have been overwhelmed and tearing up." The blonde admitted, lightly brushing a strand of hair back in place. "They are so worked up about getting their things perfect that they don't step back to see how they are screwing up the big picture."
"The picture is your job." Rachel quipped, trying to add to the conversation.
Quinn dropped her eyes from Rachel's hair to her deep brown eyes and smiled again. "That it is. And that is why I get to step in and shoo them away. They worry about your hair and makeup. I worry about you." The two fell into a silence that gripped them firmly but never too tight. They knew each other, or rather, each others past. But now this blonde standing before Rachel was nothing like her memories. She was calm, relaxed, yet still very much in control. Quinn was the first to break the silence after clearing her throat. "If you wouldn't mind, I would like to get a few quick test shots."
"Of course." Rachel turned and tried walking but the dress made it a difficult task to accomplish. "It is expected that a dress this elegant would make anyone look like a unsophisticated goof trying to walk in it."
Quinn smiled broadly and held out her hand for Rachel to steady herself as she ascended the staged steps on the set. The shoot was a depiction of a Broadway stage ready for opening night show. The backdrop was of a stray nightscape of a distant city and Rachel was to be on the raised balcony overlooking the view. Fake stone columns and ivy vines lined the marble structure and Rachel felt she was truly on a theatre stage. She accepted Quinn's hand impulsively had was hit with the sudden realization that she had never come in physical contact with the blonde outside of Glee Club or the light physical altercations they had, which all consisted of just arm pulling. Nothing gentle and supportive like now.
"So, where do you want me?" The diva asked relinquishing Quinn's hand.
"Wherever is comfortable right now. We can make adjustments as we go. Hey, Kim? Can I get you to set up the computer over her so I can get a look at these as we go?" The brunette assistant scrambled to do as she was asked, her eagerness less with pleasing the blonde and more with being near Rachel.
"Well, she is eager." Rachel noted as she observed the younger girl's frantic work. "It's a good quality to have in an employee."
"Yes." Quinn agreed turning to look up at Rachel again. "But she lacks a key quality I require. A sense of humor. She doesn't laugh at anything."
Rachel arched an eyebrow. "I remember someone who use to be like that."
"Yeah, well, people change." Quinn replied dropping her eyes. "Unfortunately, I don't have seven years to wait for her. I'll give her another week or two before I look for another one."
"I heard you have gone through quite a few recently." This was her moment to pry a little. The opening was almost handed to her.
"I'm not a bitch or overly picky or anything like that. I just need someone who will learn quickly, can follow my directions, but still has the balls to question me from time to time. And that takes confidence."
Rachel nodded her head, mostly in agreement with the last statement. "How long have you been looking for someone of the aforementioned description? Have you ever found one? Because I do believe they would be a very interesting individual to see you interact with. They would have to be a well balanced person to follow but argue at the same time."
"I had one. And you are right, she was very interesting. Definitely kept me on my toes while still being able to instinctively know what I needed to be done. But now I have been looking for about four months to replace her." Quinn glanced back to Kim who was just finishing up the set up.
"So, why isn't she here any more?" Rachel asked curious as to what the personal issues were that caused her to leave. They may give her a much more accurate read on who the HBIC cheerleader turned out to be. "I would have figured that if you had managed to find someone who was everything you were looking for, then you would have done whatever it took to keep her around."
"Uh…" Quinn hesitated, looking around before weakly meeting Rachel's strong gaze. "She was the perfect assistant, but not the world's best girlfriend…" The diva's eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the confession. "Like I said before. My life turned out very different than I had ever expected."
"I would say so." Rachel blurted out before she could catch herself. "Sorry."
Quinn shook her head and waved it off as she descended the steps to grab her camera. "It's okay. Seeing as the majority of our time in high school was spent fighting over boys, your confusion is more than understandable."
The next several minutes passed in silence. Quinn Fabray was gay? The diva's mind raced but could only focus on the new information she had just received. The blonde who tortured outcasts was once again a minority, but had finally embraced it. Quinn took her test shots and adjusted the lighting and a few of the props before she approached the diva to fix another strand of hair and met Rachel's strong gaze again. Quinn stopped just in front of her and stared back.
"Still processing?"
Rachel couldn't say anything and only nodded.
"It's okay. Took me a long time to get use to it as well." She admitted for small talk as she tucked the lose strand of hair behind Rachel's ear.
"How did you…when did you figure it out?" The question stumbled its way out of the diva's mouth but Quinn seemed unphased by the stammering.
"She helped me figure it out. We were working late one night a few years ago. We were looking at some shots on the computer and she just leaned over and kissed me. I knew right away that I was gay because there was something in that simple kiss that I had never felt with any guy I had been with. You know, that funny twinge in your stomach and the sudden flash of warmth all over your body. However, it still took me weeks to admit it."
"It is a big thing to admit."
Quinn nodded her head and stepped back to begin taking her pictures. "Enough about me though. How is life treating you? Obviously good to some extent. Can you drop your chin just a little?"
Rachel did as she was asked and continued staggering her poses as Quinn moved around. "Well, work keeps me fairly busy. Any relationships have to take a backseat to long hours and a tired diva, and are therefore few and far between. I can't complain though. This is my dream. What I've always wanted and I actually got it." She could see Quinn smile from behind the camera. "How did you end up in photography?"
"Here, take a seat." Quinn helped Rachel sit and staged the dress, straightening it and fluffing it a little. "Well, I took a photography class my freshman year in college and fell absolutely, head over heels in love with it. It's a little hard to explain the addictiveness to someone, but I am completely addicted."
"Try me." Rachel urged, interested in what could capture the former cheerleader's heart like the stage had hers.
"Well, there is this feeling I get that just takes my breath away." Quinn began and she shifted her angles continuously. "I remember the first time I had it. I was up in the mountains and pulled out my camera to take a picture during the sunset. I spent forever trying to figure out my angle and focal point like the amateur I was. I centered my shot, the lighting was perfect, angle flawless, and the shadows were magical. I finally found what I wanted in the viewfinder. It was so beautiful, pinks and blues of the sky playing against the dark grey stone mountains. The picture I took was everything I could have ever imagine it being and I was high off of satisfaction until I lowered the camera and saw the real thing standing right in front of me." Quinn lowered the camera and locked onto Rachel's warm chocolate eyes and paused. "There are no words to describe the feeling of realizing that the perfection you see through the lense, is more perfect without it."
Rachel's breath caught in her throat and Quinn returned to her place behind the camera with a hint of a smile on her lips.
"Even though I know I will never catch every essence of beauty, it's the feeling I get knowing that there is always more to see. That each picture exposes just a little bit more." The blonde continued, moving to the other side of the set, Rachel's eyes following as she went. "Once I noticed that, I really started looking at things. It amazed me how much we see everyday but have never looked at. How many people we talk to but never really see. That one experience has caused me to step back an re-examine every detail of my life. Every experience, relationship, friendship, every history… I see it all very differently now."
Rachel swallowed hard. She was so wrapped up in the passion that Quinn was speaking with that she didn't realize she was breathing hard. She was uncertain of exactly why she was having a hard time breathing. It must be the dress, the corset style bodice. "I assume that is where your new calm nature derived from?"
"It is. Turns out that when you see the world for what it is, it makes it much easier to be yourself. The world is much more than people and their opinions. Nothing is that simply defined. Never caught in a single frame. Why worry about one when there are millions more to look at?" Quinn stood up and dropped her camera to her side. "I think we've got our shot."
