N/A Hi again :) I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm always nervous when I put up new stories. This one explains more fully the title of the chapter :) I say no more… ;)
Enjoy
Walking up the path to her big luxury house, Quinn turned off her iPod and prepared to be on slaughtered with her mom's annoying voice. Don't get her wrong, she loves her mom to pieces, especially as she has accepted her, which Quinn never thought she would, but it's just her mom pushed Quinn a lot when it came down to modelling. Judy believed that Quinn was beautiful, which she was but it wasn't important to Quinn, her looks where the least of her desires. Judy entered Quinn in every beauty pageant she could find when Quinn was little, but as Quinn has gotten older, Judy is finding it harder to get her own way, so instead she just makes Quinn do the modelling by making compromises.
Quinn tucked her iPod into her bag, before inserting her key into her front door and opening it to be greeted by a grinning Judy. She smiled warmly at her mom, before dropping her bag down in the large hallway and walking through to the kitchen, her mom hot on her heels.
Quinn's house was large and glamorous, just as her mom likes it. Tony has a very well paid job as a manager of a banking firm, so luckily for Judy, this means that she can buy the biggest house, with a swimming pool and not have to worry about the old dollars adding up. Quinn didn't really mind about the money issue, she would prefer to have a smaller house, as she found it slightly embarrassing when she would bring friends home and have to walk them into this gigantic 'show home' as she liked to call it. For her, it didn't feel very warm or welcoming as a home should feel. The only place she actually felt comfortable in would be her bedroom, as it was on the third floor and her mom let her decorate it as she wished.
Walking over to the fridge and opening it, she poured herself some orange juice. She could still feel her mom behind her. She knew that Judy wanted to say something, but Quinn was having fun playing the 'oblivious daughter' game.
As Quinn walked over to the breakfast bar, she took a seat and started to slowly sip her juice, staring off into the air, knowing that her mom was just itching to say something now.
Quinn lightly placed the empty glass onto the marble surface and looked towards her mom, who was standing in front of the large cooker.
"Yes Mom?" Quinn deadpanned.
"Oh thank god, okay, I have wanted to tell you this since you came home, but you seemed quiet and I didn't want to start talking if something bad had happened at school," Judy rushed out, "has anything happened at school?"
"Well, no, but we did get a history assign…" Quinn began to speak.
"Oh good, so nothing is wrong! Great, well, basically, the 'Lima Model of the Year' pageant is being held in two weeks time! So, I was thinking, how about we go shopping this Saturday to buy you your dress?" Judy grinned, stars glistening in her eyes.
Quinn slumped a little on the stall. She was hoping that her mom would have forgotten about the pageant, but unfortunately for her, Judy never forgets about beauty pageants.
"Yeah, fine," Quinn sighed before moving over to the sink to wash up her glass.
"You seem annoyed hunny?" Judy asked, with little care in her voice, "also, you can just put that in the dishwasher."
"I am mom and no, I prefer to use the sink, it wastes less water," Quinn argued back.
"Oh, you are annoyed?" Judy asked again.
"Yes, I am, mainly because I don't really want to do this pageant," Quinn said quietly.
Silence filled the room. This was the first time that Quinn actually announced that she didn't want to do a pageant. Judy looked shocked and held her hand over her heart.
"Why not sweetie?" Judy asked, while Quinn dried her glass.
"I don't… I don't want to do modelling mom. I have never really enjoyed it and you know it deep inside that I don't like it, you just chose to ignore it," Quinn said before putting away her now clean glass.
"That's not true," Judy said back.
"Which part mom? That I don't want to do modelling, or that you chose to ignore that fact?" Quinn asked her, now facing her.
"Umm, both. I think you should just do this pageant and then we can stop," Judy tried to smile but was shot down by Quinn's glare.
"You said that last time," Quinn sighed and moved to walk towards the hallway.
"Well, you will enjoy it when you get there. You love dresses and getting your makeup done and walking down the cat walk," Judy was drifting off into her own world.
"No mom! That's what you love," Quinn seemed defeated.
Not once has Judy ever asked Quinn what she wanted to wear at a pageant, or what Quinn wanted to do on the weekend.
"That's not true honey. I know what you love, and it's beauty pageants," Judy tried defending herself.
"No mom. Tell me one thing that I am really passionate about, that's not freakin' beauty pageants?" Quinn was getting annoyed.
She loved her mom, but it's at times like these when she remembers why her mom accepted her when she came out, because if she hadn't then she would have lost her beauty pageant talent star.
Judy thought for a minute before shrugging and answering.
"Dresses?" Judy tried.
Quinn had tears in her eyes. Judy didn't know her at all.
Quinn was actually incredibly passionate about photography. When she wasn't at school, she would be in her garden or out on a walk with her camera, but her mom wouldn't know that because she never saw her, or if Quinn would say she was going out, Judy wouldn't ask any details on her whereabouts.
"I love photography mom," Quinn whispered.
"You love what?" Judy asked as she couldn't hear her very well.
"Photography, I love photography. It makes me feel alive, it's like you are capturing life in a shot and then keeping it forever and each picture can mean something to you. I can connect with the pictures; when I am behind that lens, that's the real me, not the girl that struts down the cat walk," Quinn blabbered out and breathed a sigh of relief when it was out in the open.
Judy didn't know what to say.
"Photography? Like, taking pictures?" Judy asked, still a little shocked.
"Yes mom. It's not just taking pictures, it's a lot more than that," Quinn answered.
"And you think that's going to get you a career?" Judy questioned.
"It's not all about money mom!" Quinn was getting annoyed now.
"Well, if you want to be able to have a house and food and clothes, then yes it is," her mom fought back.
"I can have that, I just don't want to have that from a career in modelling," Quinn started shuffling on her spot from the kitchen door.
As Judy rubbed her forehead and started to think of what to say next, the front door opened and the sound of Tony placing down his suitcase filled the tense silence that was slowly enveloping them both.
"Where's my two favourite girls?" a voice echoed through the hallway.
As Quinn and Judy tried to act like nothing had happened, Tony walked behind Quinn and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before walking over to Judy and kissing her too. Like daughter, like dad, he went straight to the fridge and grabbed a glass of orange juice to drink.
Turning around, he took in the situation before him. Placing down his glass on the kitchen counter, he finally broke the once again tense silence.
"What's happened?" he asked, with genuine concern in his voice.
Judy diverted his gaze, as did Quinn.
"Come on, what's happened?" he tried again.
"We were just having a disagreement about the upcoming beauty pageant," Quinn quietly stated.
Tony sighed. Knowing Judy all too well, he could tell what must have happened without needing to know anymore. Judy would have been pressurising Quinn into doing it. Tony knew Quinn didn't want to the beauty pageants, she never had.
"Judy, Quinn doesn't have to do if she doesn't want too," Tony said towards his wife.
"Tony, she does have to do it. She has been given the gift of an amazing body with the beauty to go with it, I'm not letting her throw that away," Judy argued.
Quinn was smiling at her father. She had a lot of respect for that man, he always believed in her; no matter what she wanted to do.
"No Judy, maybe Quinn can have a life in something else. I know she likes using her camera," Tony said back, glancing over to his daughter, who had a 100 watt grin on.
Quinn was grinning at her father. She didn't know that he knew she liked photography, but obviously, he was more interested in her life than she had realised. Her heart warmed before she was snapped out of her daze, from her mother's voice shouting loudly.
"God, what is it with you two right now?" she shouted, "we all know that Quinn isn't really that smart and god, the camera can't get you anywhere! You have the looks and you don't even have to try to look beautiful, it's easy money and an amazing career, why wouldn't you want that?" Judy was now red faced and angry.
In her eyes, she just saw Quinn being spoilt and bothersome, for some reason, Judy couldn't see that her daughter's happiness was with taking the pictures, not having her picture taken. Unless, deep down she knew that Quinn was just wanting to do what she liked, but chose to ignore it, because Quinn was getting a chance to do what she never got too.
"I hate modelling! I am not going to do it mom. I am going to do photography, whether you like it or not!" Quinn shouted, before running up to her bedroom and slamming her door.
As Quinn could hear the raised voices of her parents arguing two floors below her, she knew what she needed to do; she needed her camera. Walking across her large bedroom, she reached her double bed and bent down to get her camera from the box underneath it.
Quinn's bedroom was bigger than most, with her own en-suite. The four walls, which were meant to be light blue, were all covered with pictures, posters, photographs, letters and little things that all had some sort of meaning to Quinn. Without really knowing it, there were many items on Quinn's walls that had some meaning of Rachel in them. There were photos of various Glee Club sessions, when they went to Regionals last year and also the first note that Rachel had passed to Quinn in Math class, which simply read, "Hey, how are you today?".
As Quinn grabbed a coat and walked back across her wooden floor boards, she quickly went past her window, which looked over her garden and she could see that the light was perfect for some quick shots of the trees and birds.
Smiling to herself and ignoring the raised voices, she jogged down the stairs and went into the laundry room, which had the back door in it. Blurring out the rest of the world, she silently slipped out and walked right into the depth of her over growing garden.
The garden of the Fabray's was very long and quite wide. If you weren't careful, if you went too far, then you would get lost amongst the trees and bushes. As Quinn made her way out of the back of the house, she went over the patio area with the inbuilt BBQ set, then went a little further and passed the swimming pool, after that, she jogged over the large grass area and then, Quinn's favourite part, the overgrowth of trees, birds, bushes, plants and little areas that she found time and time again, which she didn't think know was there.
All the fancy stuff meant something to her mom but had no meaning to Quinn. As she walked a little further, she loved the feeling of getting lost in the little forest and out of sight of her parents.
She had never actually gone the full length of her garden, because she took her time to appreciate every little detail in each flower or shrub she would find.
Today, she wanted to see the end. She needed all sorts of pictures, she needed escape and she needed inspiration. Today, she would see what was at the end.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~
Unbeknown to Quinn Fabray, the Berry house stood exactly opposite her house. Not from across the street, but their gardens were connected at the back.
A couple of years ago, there used to be a gap down the middle of all the gardens, separating them apart, which connected at the two ends of the block. This was used by the trash men, when they used to walk down the path and collect people's trash from the back of their gardens, but when it proved unpopular by the residents because for most down that block, their gardens were too long and it was inconvenient to have to walk the length of your garden to drop your trash off in the little pathway. So, nowadays, many residents down the blocks have blocked their part of the pathway up with old logs or blocks of wood, or some have boarded theirs up all together.
When the Fabray's were told about the cancellation of the trash services, they planned to board their part of the pathway up, but never got round to doing it because of Tony being busy at work and Judy being too busy fussing over Quinn's beauty pageants.
At exactly the same time that Quinn had been arguing with her mom in their kitchen, across the gardens and into the kitchen of the Berry household, Rachel been having an emotional discussion with her dad, Michael.
Rachel needed to see this, she needed to be somewhere quiet and start to write in her notepad. What her dad had just told her made her excited, but nervous at the same time. As she ran down from her bedroom on the second floor and slipped on her coat before jogging into her garden, she thought over what had just happened with her dad.
Rachel came home and immediately went into the kitchen to grab a glass of apple juice; she was gasping for a drink.
Rachel's house wasn't as big as Quinn's, mainly because her fathers, who both work at Lima's local hospital, didn't have much money to spend on luxuries, but also because they didn't want all the fancy stuff. Their home was a little more cluttered than Quinn's, with photo frames on each wall, with pictures of Rachel and her dads when she was younger, little ornaments on ridges and shelves and rugs on the living room floor, but that's how they liked it, that's what felt right to them; it felt like home.
Michael walked in just after Rachel and went over to her to give her a good squeeze.
"Hello my precious little princess," he cooed.
Rachel giggled.
"I thought we stopped calling me that at about the age of 5!" Rachel laughed a little more.
"You will never stop being my little princess, sorry," Michael teased before sitting at the little breakfast table to one side and getting out the paper from his bag.
"That's fine dad," Rachel said.
Comfortable silence fell upon them, before Michael spoke up.
"You look nice today by the way, I was going to say it earlier, but I didn't have time before work," Michael smiled.
"Thanks dad," Rachel smiled shyly.
She knew her father's would notice the change, but she hoped they wouldn't dig too much into it. Not that there was much to dig, Rachel simply fancied a change, but there was also the story of that this has always been her, she just felt like she had to dress differently to go with the attitude that people wanted; that singing, Broadway star sort of style. This was the real her now, more casual but still smart.
"So, what's with the change?" Michael questioned lightly.
Inside, Rachel kicked herself. Questions, these were what she didn't want.
"I just fancied a new style you know," Rachel shrugged it off.
"I like it, don't get me wrong, but it's just when you go to auditions or your 'Broadway Starter Camp' in the summer, you're going to need to change back," Michael smiled, before dropping his head again to read the paper.
Rachel huffed, before putting her hand on her hip.
Michael furrowed his eyebrows, having heard Rachel's audible huffing and then tilted his head back up, to see his daughter with a strong stance and looking irritated.
"What did I say?" he asked.
Rachel thought things through in her head before blurting out without really thinking.
"What if I don't want to change?" She said, a little louder than usual.
"Rachel, it's not if you want to change, it's if you have to change. Being a star is half about being the part but also half about looking the part and wearing those clothes isn't going to help you at all," Michael said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
Rachel looked down herself. She looked fine; she actually thought she looked pretty 'sexy' as it were. Skinny jeans were smart, a pink over shirt gave it a grown up look, yet with the low cut vest underneath, it gave it that little edge; "what's wrong with that" she thought.
Sighing she looked back to her dad.
"I am not sure if Broadway is what I want to do though dad," Rachel said quietly.
Just as it had done in the Fabray household, silence fell over the two Berry's.
He slowly placed the paper down onto the table, before removing his glasses, rubbing the bridge on his nose, placing them back on again and speaking barely above a whisper.
"Is that a joke?" he said inaudibly.
Rachel just about heard it.
"No dad, I like singing, but I don't think Broadway is for me. It's too fierce and competitive, I want to do something that I can enjoy at my speed and with the friends and people I love. Broadway is a scary world, stardom is scary and I just don't think I want that path in life," she finished, a small tear falling down her cheek.
She knew that it would hurt her dad to hear her say that, knowing that that's all he's ever wanted, but at the end of the day, this was her life, not his.
"But, you have a talent, a talent that's one in a million. You're voice is incredible Rachel, why would you chuck that away?" he sniffled, clearly upset by the confession.
"I may have a talent and it's not like I won't use my voice, I will just use it when I want to and when it feels right, not on a stage in front of loads of people at certain times on certain nights. I used to think that it could be what I want, but as I have grown older and more independent, I realised that it wasn't what I wanted, it's what I thought I wanted," Rachel said back.
Michael shook his head a little.
"Okay, so you truly believe this isn't what you want?" he asked, trying to clear his head a little.
"I'm pretty sure dad. In Glee today, I had the chance to sing a solo, but all I really fancied doing, was singing with my friends and just having fun, not being the center of attention, or being the one to be applauded by Mr Schue," Rachel was crying a little more now.
Opening up to her dad about this was becoming harder than she thought it would. It was like crushing his dreams, as he lived his dream through Rachel, she had felt it was her responsibility to make it come true but she really didn't want that for herself.
"Right, well, okay. If that's what you chose, I will learn to stand by you with whatever you do want to do," he wiped his eye gently.
Rachel couldn't believe his words.
"You're not going to make me pursue a career in singing? It's all you've ever wanted," Rachel said quietly, moving to sit next to her dad.
"Rachel, I would never make you do anything you didn't want to do. Yes, I'm sad, very sad, but only because you have the chance that me and your daddy never got. We were hoping that it would be passed down in the genes from me, but if it hasn't then we will accept that. We have enjoyed life so far without it, so I'm sure we can survive the rest," Michael said comfortingly.
Rachel was crying tears of happiness and smiling oh so brightly.
"I love you dad," she mumbled through her tears.
"I love you too princess," he laughed, knowing she cringed at the nickname.
As comfortable silence filled the room, Michael pondered things through in his mind.
"So, what do you want to do?" he asked, interested as in to what his daughter has been hiding.
Rachel blushed a little. She had never told anyone about her passion, because it was personal to her, something only she knew about. She knew that she would have to tell someone about her true passion one day if she wanted to pursue a career in it, but she was just enjoying the ride of having a secret.
She cleared her throat before telling her dad.
"Writing, I like to write stories, poems, songs, short stories, words, anything with letters on pages," Rachel smiled widely, her eyes glistening with joy, just from saying the words.
Michael could see the genuine joy shine through Rachel's face and eyes. Just by saying that one sentence, he knew Rachel wasn't going to change. Someone her age to be able to say that one sentence with such passion meant it was for life.
"I feel bad right now," he chuckled a little.
"Why? You have nothing to feel bad about," Rachel squeezed him arm reassuringly.
"Well, I should know my daughter and I thought I knew you so well, how couldn't I see that your dream lay else where?" he smiled weakly.
"You know me so well dad, more than anyone, but you were focused on a dream and unfortunately that dream involved me, so of course you were going to miss the little details. I don't blame you if that's what you think," Rachel smiled lovingly.
"God, how did I get such a perfect daughter?" he smiled.
"Because she was bought up by the perfect dads," she smiled back.
"Well, if you are that good with words by speaking, I can't wait to read your words on pages," he grinned, before going back to his paper.
"Talking about writing, can I go write in the garden? It's my favourite place. I'll have my phone on me if you want to ring me to tell me when dinner is," she grinned widely.
"Your favourite place? You go there often?" he asked a little confused.
Rachel ducked her head, while smiling.
"Yes. When you and daddy watch your evening telly, I slip out the back door and go to the garden near the back under the trees with my torch and write anything that comes to mind. The trees make a little canopy, so it's always dry," Rachel giggled.
"Well I never," he laughed, "you don't go too far back in the garden do you?"
Rachel's brows furrowed.
"No, why?" she asked, a little concerned, "is there monsters?"
"No," he laughed at his daughters antics, "do you remember when you were really little, the trash men used to come down the back of the garden to collect the trash?"
Rachel nodded, intrigued to where this was going.
"Well, it is now just about a 4 metre gap until the next garden. Also, the two gardens either side of us have blocked theirs up, so it's just a little rectangular sort of den as it were, which joins to the back of the opposite garden, which if I am not mistaken belongs to Judy and Tony Fabray," Michael smiled.
Rachel was excited as soon as her dad had mentioned a den, she needed to see this. Rachel stopped smiling when she heard the last part again in her head.
"Wait, did you just say Fabray?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied.
"Do they have a daughter?" she kept questioning.
"Umm, I'm not too sure. I only met them once, when we were talking to trash men at the back of the garden and they came out of their little gate and we were discussing what we should do with our part of the path, they said they were going to board it up, but I'm not sure if they ever did," Michael shrugged.
Rachel had slightly zoned out half way through his ramble. She was worried, as if that was Quinn's parents that meant that Quinn only lived just opposite from her. They hadn't spoken since the end of junior year and now she finds out that they were actually living opposite each other.
Rachel had wanted to speak to Quinn but felt betrayed by her. She liked the friendship they once had and hoped that one day she could have it again, but not until Quinn apologised for bailing on her friend when she should have been there for her.
Rachel nodded to her dad, before speaking again.
"I want to go and see this den, I'm taking my notepad and going to write," she said before quickly going up to her bedroom to find the stuff she will need.
It was only 5pm, so it won't be dark for another hour, so a torch won't be needed.
As Michael heard his daughter quickly jog out of the back door, he giggled to himself, before mumbling "girls" and going back to reading his paper.
As Rachel came back to reality, she smiled to herself before proceeding to jog down her garden. Reaching her normal spot where she would write under the tree, she carried on past it and right down to the bottom. She had to break a couple of branches and move a small log or two, but then that's when she discovered it; the back wall of the garden. She smiled to herself. If what her dad said was true, then there would be a little gate somewhere, which would lead to the little pathway. She just prayed that Mr and Mrs Fabray hadn't boarded it up. Looking down the length of the wall, she spotted the wooden gate, which was the same height as the wall, but was worn away a little bit.
Grinning to herself for having found the entrance, she cautiously put her hand on the handle and turned it clockwise, until she heard the click.
On the other side of the den, standing behind the Fabray's garden wall, was Quinn. She had wanted to know what was down the end for a long time and finally she would find out. As she was snapping close up shots of the old bricks in the wall and the little worn away handle of a gate, she heard some rustling coming from the other side of the wall. She froze still holding her camera and listened to the sounds.
She heard a couple of crunches of twigs and a small "ow", but nothing more for a couple of minutes. Quinn had presumed there was a garden opposite, seeing as it was a big block of houses, back to back, but she didn't think that anyone, or anything, would be down that far in their garden. She walked over to the gate that she had been taking pictures of and thought about opening it.
Rachel took in the sight around her. Michael was right; the Fabray's hadn't boarded it up, much to Rachel's delight. A tree, which was over hanging from her garden, covered half the den, but then the other half was open freely for the sun light to pour down in it. Each side of the den had been boarded up from the two gardens each side of them; Rachel didn't mind as it made this den more private. She grinned madly to herself and walked a little down into it, closing her gate behind her. She could see the gate which led to the other garden on the opposite end to hers. There were two old logs on each side and some random twigs and leaves which must have fallen off the tree. Accidently standing on a big twig, Rachel jumped a little.
"Ow," she said aloud.
"Damn twig," she sighed.
Sitting down on one of the logs, she opened her notepad and took the pen from her pocket and started to write down the description of the den.
Quinn pressed her ear up against the gate and listened intently for a couple more minutes. No sign of anyone, maybe they went away? Hanging her camera around her neck, she took hold of the handle of the battered gate and started to turn the handle.
Rachel's head immediately shot up to the sound of the stranger's gate handle being turned. She froze and started to panic a little. "What if it wasn't Quinn" she thought, scared of being alone now, but then thought "or worse, what if it was Quinn". Closing her notepad and retreating back to her gate, about to leave, the other gate got pushed open with effort.
Rachel's eyes landed upon one unknowing Quinn Fabray.
"God, that was stiff," Quinn huffed, not knowing that Rachel was at the other end of the den.
Rachel was trying to hide the giggle that nearly escaped. This was the first time that they would have been alone together since they last talked at their lockers at school, but Rachel couldn't help but smile at Quinn's appearance; twigs in her hair and a little cut on her thumb from fighting with the garden gate. She immediately realised their situation and started to feel nervous. How was she meant to start off a conversation, where the two people hadn't spoken in nearly a year?
Quinn gently sucked the cut on her thumb, before turning back around and pushing her gate closed. Spinning back round on her heel, she smiled widely. This was not what she was expecting. Taking in the sight before her, she immediately turned on her camera and started to take pictures of this little den she had found. Why was it here? Did it belong to her family? As she walked a little further down the den, she stumbled across another gate, but this one was slightly open.
Breathing heavily, high on nerves, Rachel was standing with her back to her garden wall, having managed to quickly slip out when Quinn had turned around to close her own gate.
Rachel didn't know what to do. It was too noisy to make her way back down her own garden, but she couldn't exactly go back into the den now and go "surprise!" So instead, she stood there and waited, hoping Quinn wouldn't be too long.
Quinn approached this other gate, realising that she probably shouldn't go through it as she was pretty sure this was someone else's garden, but for some reason, her mind really wanted to go through there, just to see what laid beyond the gate. She went with her gut instinct and put her hand on the gate and started to pull it open.
Rachel's eyes instantly landed on the pale hand that was pulling the gate open slowly. Quick thoughts rushed through her mind, but not one told her what to do with this situation. Quickly sitting down onto the floor and opening her notepad and starting to pretend to write something, she thought that maybe it would look less suspicious; she could just say that this was her favourite spot to write.
Quinn stepped one foot into this unknown territory, before scanning the trees, bushes, flowers, logs and Rachel. "Rachel?" she thought, completely confused.
"Holy shit! Rachel?" Quinn gasped, shocked to see someone sitting down there, but also shocked to see one Rachel Berry.
"Well, that's one way to greet someone I suppose," Rachel said back.
"S… sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you here," Quinn tried saying, but was a little shaky from the fact that this wasn't how she imagined the first talk going.
"Well, this is my garden," Rachel giggled lightly.
Quinn looked around and as she bent her knees a little and squinted through the trees, she could see the faint outline of a house; Rachel's house.
"That would be correct," Quinn said, dumbfounded.
"You didn't know we lived opposite each other, did you?" Rachel asked, while closing her notepad and pushing off the floor.
"No, did you?" Quinn replied.
"I only just found out by my dad telling me," Rachel said back, looking down at her own feet.
"Cool," Quinn said quietly.
Awkward silence fell upon them, before Quinn coughed and started to talk.
"Look, I have wanted to talk to you for ages, but I never knew when would be the right time, I want to apologise for everything I did back… then," Quinn rambled out.
Rachel looked up at Quinn, seeing sincere regret in her eyes.
"Why didn't you just speak to me back then?" Rachel asked.
"I couldn't, I didn't know how to. I was a coward Rachel, Santana was pressurising me and I wasn't strong enough to stand up for what I knew was right," Quinn sighed, fiddling with her camera strap.
"And what did you believe was right Quinn?" Rachel asked, needing to know that Quinn was truly sorry.
"That you shouldn't have been treated the way you were, Santana was a bully and I should have been there for you," Quinn felt tears wanting to escape, but she sniffed them back.
Rachel nodded in agreement, before moving a little closer to Quinn.
"Yeah, well, to be honest, I avoided you a little so it would have been harder for you to talk to me, so I apologise for that," Rachel said honestly.
"You don't have to apologise Rachel, but why did you avoid me?" Quinn asked innocently.
"I felt betrayed by you. I didn't want to become close to you again, if I was just going to be hurt all over again," Rachel said sadly.
Quinn warmed at Rachel's words, well some of the words. For some reason, to which Quinn didn't know, but Rachel's friendship meant the most to her; it felt the most sincere, the most true and the most wanted. So, when Rachel said the word 'close', Quinn knew it was time that she needed that friendship back.
"I am so sorry that I made you feel that way, I know I will never be able to make it up to you, but I will try my damn hardest to try and get close to making it all up," Quinn said confidently.
Rachel formed a small smile on her face.
Rachel could read emotions very well and she knew that Quinn meant her word.
"Okay," Rachel said,
"Okay?" Quinn was a little taken aback.
"Okay," Rachel started to smile.
"Just okay? We can be friends again with just an okay?" Quinn laughed light-heartedly.
She was feeling a mix of emotions; happiness, a little confusion and excitement that she and Rachel were going to be friends again.
"Yep, but you have to promise me something?" Rachel asked in all seriousness.
"You say it," Quinn said.
"Repeat after me," Rachel stated, "I promise,"
"I promise," Quinn smiled.
"To always stick up for you," Rachel grinned.
"To always stick up for you," Quinn repeated.
"Against any bitch, bully or bastard," Rachel giggled.
Quinn laughed out loud, before repeating the statement.
"Against any bitch, bully or bastard," Quinn was still laughing.
"Especially one with the name Santana," Rachel said with a little shudder.
"Especially one with the name Santana," Quinn then saluted Rachel, signifying her promise.
"Oh and also that I will bake you cupcakes every month," Rachel smiled cheekily.
"And I will also bake you cupcakes each month…. wait, what?" Quinn was smiling until she realised what Rachel had made her say.
"Oh thanks Quinn! That's really nice of you," Rachel giggled out loud.
"Damn you Rachel that was clever, but do I really have to bake you cupcakes every month?" Quinn whined; she wasn't the best cook.
"You said it, wait, you promised it," Rachel winked.
Both had a little laugh together, before they just smiled. This is what they had missed, they just got each other, they had the same humour, same wit and similar wants.
Rachel looked over Quinn's shoulder and nodded her head towards the gate.
"Seen you found the den then?" she smiled.
Quinn looked over her shoulder before smiling widely.
"Hell yeah, it's awesome," she grinned.
"I found it first," Rachel said seriously.
"You're going to shotgun it?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Rachel stood with one hand on her hip, the other holding her notepad.
"Can't we share it?" Quinn laughed.
Rachel subtly blushed, she didn't know why though, it's just she has never really had a close friend she could share things with.
"Maybe," Rachel teased.
"It can be our secret den? No one else knows, apart from our parents, but they're not going to use it," Quinn grinned.
"Secret den sounds babyish, what about secret garden? That sounds cooler," Rachel smiled.
"Fine, it can be our secret garden," Quinn smiled.
Rachel let out a little "yay!" before looking at her phone's clock and realising that it would nearly be dinner time, considering it was 6:05pm.
"Anyway, I better go, it's nearly dinner time," Rachel smiled at Quinn.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Quinn stuttered a little.
"So, I'll see you at school tomorrow?" Rachel asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Quinn sighed.
Rachel slumped a little.
"You don't want to see me?" She asked a little sad.
"No, no! I meant unfortunately we have school, no, of course I want to see you. You are my friend after all," Quinn said, happy to have the friendship back.
"Oh sorry, misunderstanding," Rachel said embarrassingly.
"So, see you tomorrow," Quinn attempted to end the conversation.
"Yeah, sure," Rachel smiled once again.
Quinn shuffled on her feet, not knowing whether giving Rachel a hug goodbye was too soon in their friendship, seeing as she would have to earn Rachel's full trust again. They used to hug all the time, friends do, but it didn't feel right just yet.
Rachel was feeling the same, somewhere deep inside, she wanted to hug Quinn, almost just to start everything over, but Quinn was looking nervous, and looked like she was thinking deeply about something, so she decided against it.
Moving away under a couple of trees, Rachel said a little "bye" before jogging off into her garden and back down to her house.
Quinn smiled widely to herself, before going back into their secret garden and then back into her own garden and making the journey to her house.
Quinn didn't even bother to speak to her mom; she went into her dad's study and gave him a quick kiss goodnight, before making her way up to her bedroom. She didn't feel hungry for dinner tonight, that could wait. She was just elated to be friends with Rachel again.
Tomorrow was a new day and tomorrow would be the day that Quinn would be friends with Rachel at school again and she couldn't be happier.
Rachel was telling her father's all about the secret garden that she had found and how she had met Quinn there and that they were going to try and rebuild their friendship, as they had missed each other. Michael and Jason had listened intently and raised their eyebrows when Rachel was describing her conversation with Quinn; their daughter seemed very fond of this young blonde's friendship.
As Rachel tucked herself into bed that night, she was excited to see what tomorrow would bring and even more excited to go back to their secret garden and finish her writing.
~O~O~O~O~O~O~
