AN: Big thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and/or alerted the last chapter! Needless to say I will be continuing with this thing.
-By the way in the last chapter, I borrowed some dialogue from one of the Glee novels, so that is not mine.
Anyways, read. enjoy. review!
Rachel didn't bother to divulge the information of her newfound mission to her fellow glee-clubbers. While she had momentarily debated enlisting their help, she surmised it would just be a waste of breath. Kurt and Mercedes would undoubtedly exchange their bitch-be-crazy looks with one another while the others would simply tell her, in different variations, that she was insane. Since she already got enough of that from the group whenever she pitched an idea in glee, she decided to keep this matter all to herself.
It wasn't like she really needed any of their help anyways, because as of today, she realized she had the universe on her side. She had first come to this realization during glee when Mr. Schuester set a duets assignment for the week. The pairings had been chosen at random via a black hat - and to her delight she had chosen Quinn.
The second the bell signaling the end of class rang, she hops out of her seat, gathering her things in one swift movement, and heads out the door. Since she hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Quinn about their duet during glee - Mr. Schuester had given the assignment near the end of their meeting and left no time for discussion - she hoped to catch up with the blonde during lunch.
She quickly spots said blonde on her way to the cafeteria. Rachel had caught a quick glimpse of her as she passed one of the adjacent hallways and quickly rerouted her destination. Quinn was at her locker, in the process of putting her books away when she jostled her way over to her. "Quinn."
The blonde turns her head and gave her an acknowledging nod. "Rachel."
"I tried to catch you after Chemistry," They had the class together, but today their teacher didn't leave room for any socialization whatsoever. "but you were already gone."
"I have my next class on the other side of campus." Quinn explains, pulling a textbook from her bag and slipping it into her locker. "I tend to have to hurry in order to make it on time."
She nods her head understandingly, all the while making a mental note to get her hands on a copy of the blonde's schedule. Oh! Maybe I could even get access to her personal file!
"Anyways, about our glee assignment. I was thinking we could meet up after school to run over some ideas. You could come over to my house tonight and we could order pizza…"
"Look, Rachel." Quinn stops her movements and looks over at her, one hand resting on the door of her locker. "Why don't you just pick out a song for us to sing and give me a copy of the lyrics?"
Her brow furrows. "Really? You don't care what we sing?" Quinn had to have been the first.
"Yeah, it doesn't really matter to me." she replies, closing her locker shut. "Besides, it'll be easier this way and save us a lot of time."
"As much as I agree with you on that, it wouldn't feel right if I just chose the song." Not necessarily true but whatever. "We should sing something that we both enjoy."
"Okay then. I'll just email you a list of songs or artists I particularly like and then you could chose something. Now I've really got to go. Bye Rachel."
And with that the blonde was gone. Yet again.
"Honestly." Rachel huffs under her breath before deciding to follow the girl. Where does she have to disappear to all the time?
She trails Quinn at a reasonable pace - couldn't have her know she was following her - but made sure she had sight of her at all times. Maybe Quinn is secretly seeing Finn after all! Maybe he was two timing her! No. Finn loved her. He's wanted a relationship with her for months now, he wouldn't have some other girl off to the side. Unless Quinn is giving him what she hasn't…well yet. No. That was something Puck would do, not Finn.
Or maybe Quinn's having an affair with someone else! She gasped. What if it was a teacher…Mr. Schuester maybe? She balked at the very idea - even though she had developed a minor crush on him last year, she was completely over it now and found all thoughts of the man in a less than platonic way utterly disgusting.
When Quinn pushes the doors to the front entrance and slips outside, Rachel scurries after her before she got too far ahead. Knowing it was against school rules to leave the property, even during lunch, she warily steps outside. She feared getting caught - especially by Sue Sylvester. Then her perfect record would be tarnished and she could say good-bye to attending a prestigious performing arts school after graduating.
She jogs all the way to the start of the student parking lot only to stop and frown as Quinn crosses the adjacent street. She shakes her head disapprovingly at the girl's blatant jaywalking. Didn't she know that was how people got struck and killed by oncoming traffic?
Folding her arms across her chest, she waits for Quinn to reach her destination, whatever that was. Once the girl was on the other side of the road, Rachel's eyes had to strain to see where exactly Quinn was going. It took a few seconds before it clicked in her mind where Quinn was off to.
Beyond the residential housing on the other side of the street was the woods.
Interesting.
—
"Are you in love with Quinn?"
Of all the questions she could have possibly been greeted with, Rachel was positive that one was had to of been the least expected.
"What kind of a question is that?" Is her instant response as she sets her lunch tray on the table and takes a seat. Kurt and Mercedes both simultaneously rolled their eyes.
"Don't play dumb, Rachel." Kurt warns. "We've seen how you've been acting this week."
Brow furrowing, her gaze darts between the four glee clubbers who were staring at her expectantly. Like they were waiting for her to confess to something. "And how have I been acting exactly?"
"These past two days you've suddenly gone completely stalker status on Quinn." Mercedes explains, adding a scoff to show her incredulity at Rachel's cluelessness.
The others nod their heads, completely agreeing with Mercedes' statement. "Like Swimfan."
She glares at Artie for that comment to which he shrugs and replies, "Hey, I just call them like I see 'em."
"You guys are completely out of your minds. I am not stalking Quinn." Honestly. And people claimed she was the crazy one of the group!
Tina folds her arms across her chest, unconvinced. "I've caught you watching her in glee more than once."
"Just yesterday I saw you trailing after her like a bloodhound in the hallways!" Kurt exclaims pointedly.
Note to self: work on the subtlety….
Tina shakes her head in contempt. "You're like obsessed with her."
"Baby girl you need some serious help." Mercedes states while the others agreed. "I'd go see Ms. Pillsbury ASAP if I were you. She probably has a pamphlet that can help you out."
"I am not obsessed with Quinn." she replies with frustration, slamming her hands down on the table for extra emphasis. "And I most certainly am not in love with her." What a preposterous idea!
"And yet your eyes continually dart over in the corner where she's sitting even as you're speaking to us." Artie surveys, his fingers pushing his glasses back up the ridge of his nose.
"I'll have you know that I love Finn. And as for Quinn I am merely trying to befriend her, that is all."
Mercedes arches her eyebrow skeptically. "By stalking her?"
"You really have no social skills whatsoever." Kurt murmurs with a shake of his head.
"For the last time I am not stalking her!" she exclaims exasperatedly. "I just want to know what her deal is! Is that so hard to believe? I mean she's so secretive. Don't any of you want to know why?"
Kurt throws his head back and groans. "It's none of our business, Rachel. Just leave the girl alone."
"Yeah, before you do something stupid and make Quinn want to quit the club - because if that happens we will be without our twelfth member." Mercedes says with a stern look on her face.
Tina glares at her. "And then we can just kiss sectionals goodbye. Thanks to you."
"That will never happen." she states matter-of-factly. "We are going to win sectionals again. And then we are going to take regionals before ending the year with a national championship title."
"Our point is that we want you to forget about your little scheme that you have cooking in that brain of yours." Kurt tells her with a sigh.
"Because all your crazy ass ideas always blow up in your face." Mercedes finishes with a mirthful smile.
She would have stamped her foot in protest had she been standing upright. "They do not."
—
Phew. Rachel releases her pencil from her grasp and rubbed her aching wrist. As punishment for the class' less than swell test scores, her math teacher had assigned twice as much homework than he usually did. She had tried to convince her teacher to only punish those who did poorly on last week's test rather than the whole class but he wouldn't hear of it.
She gathers up the four pages of notebook paper filled front to back with algebraic equations and neatly tucked them into the front pocket of her math folder. Once her folder was back in her school bag, she glanced at her wristwatch to check the time. Good. She still had time.
Since her dads would both be away on business for the next two days, she figured she would stop by the grocery store to stock up on food so she could prepare her own meals rather than resort to takeout like her dads commonly did.
It was only ten past eight - still relatively early in the evening and the perfect time for a trip to the grocery store. Personally she preferred doing her shopping at night just because it was less of a hassle. She could be in and out within half an hour.
She quickly gathers up her purse, keys, and jacket before heading out.
After a ten minute drive through town, she pulls into the parking lot of Lima's local grocery chain and parks in a spot close to the store's entrance. She turns off the engine and hops out of the driver's seat before locking her vehicle. With her list in hand, she passes through the store entrance and ventures toward the carts.
She hums merrily to herself as she gathers the items of her list without much of a rush. Since she had completed all of her homework and had no new episodes of her favorite television shows awaiting her on the DVR, she didn't have much to look forward to at home.
She figured she could call up Finn but she knew he probably would be busy doing his homework and if he wasn't, he should be. Especially History because even though she was tutoring him in the subject, there was only so much she could do to help him.
Once she picks up a carton of orange juice, she sets it down in her cart before pushing onward toward the cheese and deli aisle. She had been too busy checking off her list to notice the other cart coming around the corner. The two collided. "Oh! I'm so sorry…" she began to apologize before looking up. Her eyebrows lifted on their own accord.
Woah...
The young man whose cart she bumped into was huge. And incredibly muscular. With arms that could choke a bear - or so she imagined. As her eyes raked over his body, her head tilted back. Up until now, Finn had been the tallest guy she had ever seen. But compared to the (very handsome) man in front of her, his height seemed utterly insignificant.
Realizing she had taken a second too long to gawk, she closes her mouth and pulls her cart back so he could pass. The young man gives her a curt nod. "Thanks." His voice was deep and husky. She nods and faintly smiles at him before he pushes past her and continues on his way.
Unable to help herself, she subtly glances over her shoulder and totally checks him out from behind. She knew it was wrong - since she had a devoted boyfriend and all - but gosh darn he had a nice derrière. She was sure that if she had a quarter…
Feeling her cheeks burning up, she hastily shakes her head of those thoughts and turned the corner to continue her shopping.
Think of Finn…think of Finn…your wonderful boyfriend…Finn…Finn…
As soon as she completes her list, she carries on toward the front of the store, making a beeline for the first available checkout counter. She felt her cheeks flush again when she pulled her cart up behind the Mr. Tall, dark, and handsome she had bumped into a few minutes ago. Thankfully he paid her no attention.
While she patiently waits for the line to move - the woman at the very front was trying to pay with a check and the teenage boy at the register didn't even know what a check was - she turned her attention to the tabloid magazines on her right. She picks up the Us Weekly and began flipping through it. One day she would grace the pages of Us Weekly. She could already see a picture of herself grocery shopping under the Stars, They're Just Like Us! section.
The line then began to move, prompting her to set the magazine back in its place. Her gaze gravitates toward the young man in front of her who was currently in the process of unloading the contents of his cart onto the conveyor belt. She had once read in Cosmo that a girl could tell a lot about a man by the items in his shopping cart. She watches him upload a bunch of bags of various fruits and vegetables.
If she could only get Finn to eat even a third of that. Honestly the boy thought that gummy fruit snacks were a suitable substitute for actual fruit.
Aside from the copious amount of bacon piled on the conveyor belt (it was like he was saving up for winter or something), the young man pretty much had the same standard grocery items that she had, just twice as much of it. Not that it surprised her. He looked like he could eat a whole cow in one day.
"Could you hold on a second?" The young man says to the check out clerk before quickly moving past her, murmuring "Excuse me" as he squeezed past her. She turns around, curious, and watches as he jogged over to where the balloons, greeting cards, and floral bouquets were. He picked out a beautiful bouquet of flowers from the refrigerated area in which they were stored in and quickly jogs back to the line. "Here, ring these up too. Thanks."
So he had a special someone. Good for him. She liked knowing people had love in their lives just like she did. It gave her a warm, happy feeling.
As he began paying the cashier, she piles her grocery items on the conveyor belt. A few minutes later she exits the store with receipt in hand (she always liked to double check that no mistakes were made) and heads toward her car. She brings the cart to a halt when she reaches the bumper and fishes her keys out of her pocket. She opens the trunk with the click of a button and then proceeds to unload her groceries from the cart.
Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the young man doing the same a few parking spots down. When she dared to completely stop and turn her head, she notices that his truck looked vaguely familiar. Like she had seen it before. But seeing as how Lima was a small town, she figured she had.
As if the universe couldn't get any more on my side! Rachel thinks gleefully as her Chemistry teacher passed around the requirements for the class's lab project.
"This project will be done on you and your partner's own time." Their teacher, Mr. Bateman, explains. "There will be no class time given, since we simply have too much to cover already. Failing to complete this assignment will result in an failing grade for the semester. No question about it…And no, Brittany, once again I will not accept any work written in crayon."
She turns around in her seat just in time to see a baffled Brittany slowly retract her hand from the air. The blonde then leans into her table partner, Santana Lopez and whispers, "San, do you think if I bring Lord Tubbington to school, he'll be able to read his mind too? Cause I really want to know if Lord Tubbington's really been reading my diary. Every time I confront him about it, he just shrugs and runs away."
Shaking her head at Brittany's naiveté, Rachel turns back around and glances over the sheet in front of her again. She deemed the teacher's grading scale satisfactory and the assignment itself didn't look to be too difficult. "Okay, does everyone have a paper?" When the class nods their heads -some murmuring a positive response, including Rachel - Mr. Bateman announces, "Good. Now I will give you two minutes to pair up with a partner of your own choosing."
Wanting to approach Quinn before anyone else had the chance to, she promptly pushes her chair back and stands up. She turns around to make sure Quinn was still in her seat only to find her table empty.
Spinning around, she realizes the blonde was at the teacher's desk - no doubt trying to convince the man to let her do this project on her own. Boy she's fast. She walks around her table and approaches Mr. Bateman as well. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Bateman?" she politely interrupts, prompting Quinn to turn around. "I don't seem to have a partner."
Mr. Bateman nods understandingly before fixating his attention back on Quinn. "As you can see, Ms. Fabray, we have an even number amount of students here so there's no need to do this assignment on your own."
Quinn immediately starts to protest. "But, really, I'm fine with just-"
"Since both you and Ms. Berry need a partner, you two will be paired up for this assignment. End of discussion."
Quinn reluctantly nods her head and turns on her heel, retreating back up the aisle toward her table in the very back of the classroom. Rachel quickly gathers up her things before following suit.
"You know I think the universe is trying to tell us something." she states, sliding into the empty chair next to Quinn. "First glee, now this." Quinn just nods her head, her enthusiasm for this project about the same as for their glee assignment.
"So we should plan out when to work on this project as to avoid the likelihood of procrastination." Rachel opens her binder and pulls out her agenda, then flips to the current month.
"How about this weekend?" Quinn suggests, her eyes glancing over the assignment sheet.
"I really think we should start on this assignment sooner than that. You know, just to be on the safe side." Besides she had her whole weekend schedule completely booked with fun activities for her and Finn to do.
"How about tonight?" Rachel suggests. "And that way we could practice our glee assignment as well." She reaches into her bag and pulls out her pink glee folder. "I've already printed out the lyrics for a couple of song selections I've been leaning toward but I want you to have the final say." She hands over a stack of sheet music to Quinn.
"I can't tonight." The blonde replies, shaking her head, slipping the lyric sheets in her folder. "I can work with you after school but I would have to leave before it gets dark."
"Do you have a job where you work the night shift or something?"
Quinn cracks a stiff smile and nods. "Yeah, something like that."
Okay…."Anyways, we'll have to work at your house because my dads are having their community troupe over to rehearse and they can get rather rambunctious. We wouldn't be able to get any work done, trust me."
A complete and utter lie, every word of it, but if she wanted to get Quinn to open up she figured it would best happen some place where the blonde was most comfortable. Well, that and she was really curious as to what Quinn's house looked like.
"Well then we can just work here at the library instead."
"The library is closed all this week what with the librarian being out with mono….or so I heard it was mono." At least that was what Noah Puckerman told her one day before glee.
Quinn sighs. "I guess we can work at my house." she murmurs softly, reluctantly nodding her head.
"Perfect!" Rachel clasps her hands together before taking out a sticky note from her binder as well as a pen. "Here." She hands the two items to Quinn. "You'll need to write down your address. I can mapquest the directions."
Quinn quickly jots down an address before handing the pad of paper and pen back over to her. "My house is kind of out of the way, just so you know."
"That's okay. Oh, what lovely penmanship!" Rachel comments before she placed the items back in her binder.
—
"When you said your house was out of the way, you weren't kidding."
Rachel breathes out a laugh as she walks up toward Quinn's porch where the blonde was waiting. The two story house stood alone in the midst of the woods, near the outskirts of town, far from the residential areas that most of Lima's population lived in. "For a minute I thought you had given me a fake address or something."
"Kind of why I didn't want to work here." Quinn replies over her shoulder as she pushes the large wooden door open and steps inside. "It's too much of a drive for you to have to take."
"It's nothing." she assures, following Quinn through the door, the blonde then closing it behind her. "The drive was hardly what I call far." She shrugs off her jacket and drapes it over her arm.
"Here let me take that for you."
"Thanks." Rachel smiles gratefully to her as the blonde takes her jacket and hangs it up in a nearby closet. "Where's your…dog?" She always thought dogs liked to run out to greet whoever came over - at least that's what she picked up form television and movies. But then again Quinn's canine wasn't actually a dog.
"He's somewhere out back. He's doesn't care much for the indoors."
Yeah, cause he's a wolf.
She looks around in awe as Quinn leads her into the living room. She particularly liked the large fireplace. "You have a lovely home."
Though to be honest it wasn't at all what she had in mind on the drive over. She had pictured walls painted pale colors with upper class artwork (the kinds one found in a museum and pondered how on earth it was considered art to begin with) adorning them and antique furniture showcased in every room paired with affluent decorations. But of course that was before she knew Quinn actually lived out in the woods.
"It's like living in a cabin or a lodge deep in the mountains or something." she comments, still taking in the refreshing rustic interior. She gravitates toward a beautiful landscape painting hanging on one of the walls. "This is beautiful."
She had always admired those who could draw or paint since she really didn't excel in either. Her eyebrows lift in surprise when she notices a small QF written in the corner. She immediately glances back at Quinn who was standing off to the side. "You painted this?"
"Uh, yeah." The blonde says quietly, rubbing the back of her neck in what Rachel assumes to be embarrassment.
She turns back to the painting and cocks her head to the side. "Is it supposed to be the Appalachian mountains?"
"Er…no. Pacific Northwest." Quinn answers quickly before asking, "Can I get you anything to drink? I just made some iced tea."
Rachel turns to respond only to find that Quinn was already on her way into the kitchen. How odd. Either way she walks away from the painting and follows the path Quinn had taken. She finds the blonde just as she was plucking two glasses from the cabinet above the sink.
She seats herself in one of the stools at the counter and innocently asks, "So where are your parents?"
"I…uh…live alone." Quinn replies, her back still turned to Rachel. She watches as the blonde opens up the refrigerator and almost immediately notices the numerous packs of bacon sitting on one of the shelves. "You sure do have a lot of bacon."
"I'm kind of addicted to it." Quinn admits with a sheepish chuckle, removing a pitcher full of iced tea from the bottom shelf. "I mean, I know it's absolutely bad for you," She closes the door with her foot. "But it just tastes so good."
"So I've heard." She wouldn't know being Jewish and all. "Anyways, back to your parents. Are you emancipated from them or something?"
"No. They're dead." Quinn pours some iced tea in one glass before handing it to her. When she meets Rachel's gaze, her brow furrows at the expression on her face. "What's wrong?"
"It's just I wasn't expecting that." Rachel replies honestly, still quite shocked. Now she understood why there was a complete lack of family photos hanging around.
"It happened a long time ago." Quinn picks up the pitcher again and puts it back in the refrigerator. "It's not that big of a deal." she assures.
"Still." She gingerly takes a sip of her drink. "To have to live in this huge house all by yourself?" She hops off the stool with iced tea in hand when Quinn gestures for them to head back into the living room. "Wait how did you even pay for this place?"
"I have a large trust fund. Now we should probably get started on that science project…"
Though she really wanted to stay on topic of Quinn's home life, she knew the blonde would just deflect back to their work at hand if she tried to bring it up again. So instead she would refrain for the time being. Or at least try to.
—
"Quinn, where's your bathroom?" About an hour into working in their project, Rachel finally begins to feel the effects having a full bladder thanks to all the iced tea. She pushes herself out of the dining room chair she had been sitting in and smoothes out her skirt as Quinn replies.
"Upstairs and to the right. It will be at the very end of the hall."
Rachel nods and saunters out of the dining room before bounding for the stairs. With Quinn's words in mind, she hurries toward the door at the end of the hall - despite her peaked curiosity urging her to stop and see what was behind the various doors on either side of her.
Once she was done, she closes the bathroom door behind her and bit down on her lip as she debated whether or not to do some exploring.
She quietly walks down the length of the hallway before abruptly wrapping her hand around one of the doorknobs and peering inside. She smiles triumphantly upon realizing it was the master bedroom. She slips inside and instantly starts looking around. Quinn's room was not as girlish as Rachel's own room. And it certainly did not look like the typical teenage girl's room either.
Instead of bright pastel colored walls, the room is painted neutrally with deep blues and greens accented in the bedspread and on the nature centric artwork on the walls. The furniture a deep mahogany, the room had hardwood flooring just like in the rest of the house.
She tiptoes over to the closet and gently pushes aside the sliding door which revealed the closet. Her mouth slightly goes agape when she saw that, aside from Quinn's rack of dresses and cardigans, there was men's clothing hanging right next to it.
What was this Victor Victoria?
No way. Even if Quinn had an thing for wearing men's clothing, these clothes here were like, three times her size. If she didn't know any better she would have said that Quinn was lying about living alone.
Boy this whole thing is getting more interesting by the second.
Figuring she had better get back downstairs before Quinn came to look for her, she gently slides the closet door back in place and leaves the room. She was just about to head down the staircase when a room on the side of the hallway caught her eye at the last second. Okay, just one quick look.
She scurries over to the already opened room and peers inside. The room wasn't a bedroom, but instead a room dedicated solely to a vast amount of books and records. Shelves and shelves of books lined half the room while the other half was lined with records. It was astounding.
She stepped toward the record player by the window and lifted up the empty album jacket next to it. Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. One of her favorites.
"Having fun?"
She practically jumps out of her skin right then and there before spinning around. Quinn stood in the doorway, arms crossed, and did not look pleased.
She winces. "I'm sorry, Quinn. I just, well, I passed by the room and noticed-" she gestures to the room. "all this and I couldn't help myself. Your collection is truly remarkable." Unfortunately for her, ending on a compliment didn't seem to placate the blonde any less.
Quinn steps out of the doorway and into the room. "Thank you, Rachel, but that still doesn't give you the right to go snooping around my house."
She sets down the album jacket still in her hands and nods in agreement. "You're completely right. I was out of line." She apologizes once more before exiting the room, Quinn following close behind after she closed the door.
—
"Have you ever been slushied, Quinn?" The question comes out of the blue. The two of them had been working diligently on their science project for the past hour in relative silence and Rachel was becoming less tolerable of the silence by the minute.
Quinn lifts her gaze from the words of their textbook, eyebrow slightly quirking at Rachel's random question. "Just once."
She then turns her attention back onto the text in front of her.
"You're lucky." She hadn't even made it past the first day of middle school with that kind of streak. Rachel glances back at the paragraph she had just written on noble gases and sets her pencil down.
She felt like she had done enough science for today and since they had accomplished far more than expected - Quinn was surprisingly highly intelligent - she figures it wouldn't hurt to move onto their glee assignment. After all that was due by the end of the week and this project wasn't due for at least another week and a half.
"What about Dreams?"
"What about them?" Quinn responds, her eyes never wavering from her textbook.
"No, the song." She clarifies with a light chuckle. "You clearly like Fleetwood Mac. How about we do that song for our duet in glee?" Quinn finally meets her gaze, clearly intrigued by her proposition. "Your voice would be perfect for it."
"Well, if you're sure…" Rachel enthusiastically nods her head. "I'm positive. When I get home tonight I'll print out the sheet music-"
"No need." Quinn interrupts, rising from her chair. "I've already have it. I always planned to do the song someday in glee but I have never plucked up the courage to go through with it." she explains after noticing Rachel's surprised expression. "Just give me a second I left it on top of the piano."
"Oh you play?" With her curiosity getting the better of her, Rachel pushes herself out of her chair and walks around the table, intent on joining Quinn to retrieve the music.
"Yeah." Quinn reluctantly leads her out of the dining room and into another room at the end of the hallway.
The first thing Rachel notices is that the room had an entire wall completely made out of glass, making the space feel more open and free than it would have felt it had been a solid fourth wall. She gravitates closer toward the massive window to get a better look at the backyard. It truly was a beautiful sight, especially with the deep orange glow radiating from the slowly retreating sun shining through the trees.
"So was this wall already like this when you got the house or…" She turns away from the scenery and glances back at Quinn who was busy rifling through a bunch of sheet music spread out (in a rather disorderly way, she noticed. She would have to inform Quinn on the benefits of organization later) over the top of her black grand piano.
"No I had the glass put in." Quinn triumphantly pulls out the sheet music she was looking for and neatly stacked it. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to make a copy of these." The blonde heads for the doorway before suddenly stopping mid-step to cast her a quick look. "Can I trust you not to do any more snooping?"
"You most certainly can." Rachel states matter-of-factly with a solemn raise of her right hand. "I promise to abstain from snooping while in your domicile."
Though she first takes a moment to roll her eyes, Quinn exits the room with a small smile playing on her lips.
Rachel refocuses her attention on the piano in the center of the room and moves closer to it. She grazes her fingers over the black and white keys before settling down onto the small bench. She lifts her gaze from the keys and reached out for some sheet music still lying on the top.
She stopped, though, when she noticed for the first time the vase of flowers set atop the piano in the center. She had seen that particular floral bouquet just yesterday while at the grocery store. The exact one that the young man ahead of her in line had purchased…
"Here you go, Rachel." Quinn crosses the threshold of the doorway with a freshly printed copy of sheet music, prompting her to rise from the piano bench.
"Thanks." she gratefully takes the papers Quinn handed to her before gesturing back to the vase of flowers. "Those are lovely flowers you have there. They smell heavenly."
She watches as Quinn's gaze flickers behind her. A fond smile eases across the blonde's lips as she nods in agreement. "Yeah, they do, don't they?"
Quinn draws closer to them and cocks her head to the side as she continues to admire the arrangement. "They were a gift."
Rachel could tell by the look on the blonde's face that they were a gift she was delighted to receive. "Does this mean you have a secret admirer?" she lightly teases.
Or a secret live-in boyfriend you're hiding… (She had to bite down on her tongue just to keep that latter part from slipping out).
Quinn was quick to revert back to their original subject before any oversharing took place (much to Rachel's dismay). "We should probably get started on the song."
"Right." She reluctantly refocuses her attention on the sheet music she had in her grasp. "I think you should take the first verse and then-"
"Shit!" Cut off by Quinn's sudden exclamation, she quickly lifts her gaze to see what had caused the blonde's outburst. "Wha-"
"You have to go." Quinn's voice slightly cracks at the end. Rachel could only assume it was from sudden panic by the way the blonde grabs her shoulders and spins her around before pushing her out of the room and down the hallway toward the front door.
"But we haven't even begun on our glee assignment." she starts to protest, glancing back at the blonde over her shoulder. "We still have-"
"We can work on it tomorrow during lunch or something." Quinn hastily fumbles with the doorknob before yanking the entrance wide open and practically shoving her out onto the porch.
Rachel instantly whips around, hands flying to her hips. "What about my stuff!" She didn't even have her car keys for Pete's sake!
"Right." Quinn bolts back inside and returns with her arms full of Rachel's belongings. "Here. I'm sorry about this, Rachel, but I didn't realize how late it had gotten."
Her brow furrows in confusion. "But it's not even-" Quinn slips in another quick apology before abruptly slamming the door in her face. "…dark." Well at least not for another couple of minutes.
Rachel was left standing there, deeply confused, with flashbacks of her short time served as a girl scout.
Even though she had a pretty good idea as to what Quinn was hiding, she was still left with the mystery of why Quinn felt she had be so secretive about it. So the girl lived with her boyfriend. That was hardly what Rachel considered to be taboo.
Maybe they're actually siblings who have an incestuous relationship with one another. She wrinkles her nose at the very thought and crosses off that idea almost as quickly as she had come up with it. Even she had to admit that scenario was utterly preposterous. Not to mention gross.
—
Rachel sets her things down on the kitchen counter once she's back home and begins reorganizing the papers and folders that Quinn had so nicely shoved into her arms before kicking her out of her house. She was almost halfway done when she realized one of her notebooks was missing. Knowing she had it in her bag before she had left the house earlier, she does a double check to ensure it really was gone and not just hiding. She groans upon realizing she did not have it with her. She must have left it at Quinn's house.
Damn. She really needed that notebook too. She had her U.S History homework in there and it was due tomorrow morning. With a frustrated sigh, she throws on her jacket again and grabs her purse and keys off the counter.
She did not have any way to contact the blonde so she was stuck driving back to her house to retrieve her notebook - otherwise she would have just called or texted Quinn to bring it with her to school.
It sure is creepy out here at night. Rachel speculates as she turns onto the narrow dirt road that led to Quinn's house. She hops out of her car as soon as it was parked and bounds up the porch steps before fervently knocking on the front door. "Quinn, it's me, Rachel." she calls out with hope that the blonde was still home. "I left one of my notebooks here and I really need it."
She starts pushing on the doorbell. She could hear its ring echoing throughout the house on the other side of the door. "Quinn, if you're home please answer the door. I promise I'll be in and out just like that. Heck, you don't even have to let me in. I just need my notebook."
She persistently knocks and rings the doorbell for a minute or two before realizing that her attempts were futile. Her shoulders slump in defeat as she turns away from the door and heads back down the porch.
Maybe I just left it in the back seat or something. With that thought in mind, she walks around her car and opens up both the passenger's door as well as one of the back doors. She switches on the light and checkes under the passenger seat before jumping into the back seat to check there. Another frustrated groan escapes her when she once again comes up empty handed. I could always sneak into her house. I have a crowbar in the trunk and I'm small…I could get in and out before she even notices a thing.
God what was she even saying? She was talking like Puck. And even if she did decide to sneak into Quinn's house, with her luck she would probably get caught and then arrested for breaking and entering. The last thing she needed was a blemish like that to haunt her for the rest of her academic career.
Snap.
Startled at the sudden noise, she reels her head back only to smack it against the frame of the doorway. "Ow!" She ungracefully staggers back out of her vehicle, one hand clutching the side of her head. She could hear the light crunching of leaves signaling to her that she was no longer alone. With her other hand, she whips out her keys from her pocket and grabs the small canister of mace she attached on a key chain. "Quinn, is t-that y-you?"
Quickly realizing that the large figure slowly approaching her from the depths of the trees certainly wasn't Quinn and convinced it was a chainsaw wielding psychopath determined to decapitate her or worse, she did what every other sixteen year-old would do in the same situation.
She maced the guy.
AN: Review please!