Quinn wasn't Quinn anymore.
She had left Lima with the intention of remaining HBIC Quinn Fabray, and it wasn't until she arrived in New Haven and was introduced to her roommate that it sunk in – she wasn't in high school anymore. So when Katie asked for her name, she replied with "Lucy" without giving it a second thought.
Life at Yale was everything Lucy had dreamed of. Her classes were challenging, but interesting, and she loved the work she was doing, and the people she was meeting because of it. College was different from high school in that she didn't have to be a bitch to get people to respect her or want to be her friend, she just had to be nice – and that's what Lucy was. She managed to maintain close friendships with Kurt, Rachel and Finn, and later Blaine, who were only living an hour and a half's drive away, as well as quickly making plenty of new friends, including the guys who worked in the local coffee shop. She became known at first as 'vanilla latte', until they finally asked for her name and 'Luce' was always written on her cup, along with a smiley face or a lame joke. She smiled every time she saw her name written down, every time she heard it being said out loud, because she was Lucy again, and that was something worth smiling about. Her mom had agreed to call her Lucy, and then cried tears of joy that she hadn't completely screwed her baby up, Rachel, Kurt, Blaine and Finn had agreed (although it took some adjusting to, and even then Blaine still called her Q, purely out of affection), and it became like Quinn never existed. Blaine was constantly surprised by the nice acts he witnessed 'Lucy' do, the shear kindness she was capable of, and often wondered how difficult it was for her to be a bitch throughout high school, and how miserable she must have been – the pink hair phase suddenly made a lot more sense.
One afternoon, after a particularly grueling session with her favourite professor, an exhausted Lucy was on her way back to the apartment she had moved into with Katie at the beginning of senior year when she received at text from Blaine asking to stay the weekend at her place. She of course agreed, and he thanked God for that as he was already outside her door. She dumped her things inside, taking Blaine's arm as they strolled over to the coffee shop.
"Hiya Luce, Blainers, how's life in NYC?" Dan, Lucy's favourite barista, grinned at them.
"Not too bad thanks man, I'm around for the weekend so we'll need to grab a drink and catch up"
"Sounds good to me, Luce, you in?"
"Of course!" she giggled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"Awesome, now what can I get you two Lima losers?" he winked cheekily, earning a slap on the arm from Blaine.
"Vanilla latte, medium drip, one of those infamous double chocolate cookies, and whatever the guy behind's having, keep the change," she handed over a few notes, watching Blaine smile and shake his head in disbelief. This was one of her favourite things to do (when she had the money of course); paying for whoever's behind them in the queue, so they order their drink only to find it's free. It makes her feel good, like she's making someone's day a little bit brighter. They take their drinks and head to a free table in the corner, already making plans to hit the clubs on Saturday night. They've been chatting for about half an hour when someone approaches them, Blaine immediately spitting out his drink in shock. Lucy looks up into those all-too-familiar hazel eyes and almost does the same.
"Puck? Man, what are you doing here?" Blaine finally chokes out, in between splutters of coffee, opening his arms to embrace his high school friend. Puck returned the hug with no hesitation and a large grin, before turning to face the girl he hadn't been able to forget about since they kissed on the day of graduation.
"I'm actually here to see Quinn… I miss you babe," he says, earnestly, and Lucy's mind goes blank.
"It's Lucy," she whispers, it's the only thing she can think of to say. He laughs, taking a step back and rubbing his neck, before approaching them again.
"Hi, I'm Noah" he sticks his hand out, and Lucy looks at it, an uncontrollable grin spreading across her features.
"Lucy" she replies, taking his hand and shaking it.
"Its great to meet you Lucy, I just wanted to thank you for the coffee you paid for," her mouth drops open in disbelief,
"You were behind us in the queue?" Blaine earns a glare for stating the obvious, before deciding to duck out of the conversation.
"Oh, that's no problem" Lucy finally replies, "Would you like to join us?"
"I would love to, I was wondering if you'd let me buy you a coffee in return…?"
Lucy shook her now empty cup, before smiling, "I'd like that"
"I'm actually just gonna head back to yours Q, I'll see you when you get in" Blaine takes Lucy's keys from her bag before sneaking out of the coffee shop, unnoticed by the two high school lovers lost in each other's eyes.
"So um, vanilla latte? Or has that changed too?" Noah teases, and Lucy raises a hand to her forehead as she chuckles.
"No, um, a vanilla latte would be great"
"Ok" he barely whispers, before heading to the counter, apparently not noticing the evil glare and less-than-polite demeanor of Dan.
Lucy can't help but smile. Quinn and Puck never worked, something was always in the way, but maybe Lucy and Noah could.
