19/01/2012 08:23:00

Uh it appears my brain went on vacation at the end of the last chapter… Depression is after this one! facepalms

Anyway, here's the next chapter for all you lovely readers out there. Thanks to all of you for the reviews and alerts; they always make me smile! Hope you guys enjoy this one :D

3. Bargaining

Rachel believed she now had the upper hand in this situation with Quinn. If she knew the direction the blonde was heading, she could gently steer her towards it. Gently, of course. It would also move Quinn to the desired goal of acceptance. She would finally realise her feelings towards Rachel, and they could run off into the sunset and live happily ever after. Okay, maybe not as cheesy as that, but in some capacity have a relationship.

Rachel had always appreciated Quinn. Not just for her looks – which were a great bonus – but for her intelligence. Unfortunately, the former cheerleader had used that smartness for the wrong reasons; lying, manipulation, popularity. Underneath that, there was a lonely girl who just needed someone to love her. Rachel knew that had to be her. She needed this plan though. She needed Quinn to realise her feelings for the diva, rather than springing her own feelings on the blonde. That would only serve to push her away. And with that in mind, she engaged stage three of the Kubler-Ross model.

Rachel strode towards her locker with a purpose and a smile. However, once she opened the metal door, her smile slightly fell. Inside was a yellow post-it note with beautiful script on it. She raised an eyebrow as she read it.

Meet me in the choir room after last period.

Q

This might be easier than the brunette had thought. Maybe Quinn was already succumbing to her feelings and she'd be waiting to serenade her with open arms? Unlikely, but there was still hope.

Possibly for the first time in her high school life, Rachel wished the day away. She took very few notes and ran from the class when the bell rang. Last period dragged and she was sat tapping her pencil on her desk, watching the seconds tick by on the clock. Finally, the hands reached 3.15pm and the bell sounded.

Grabbing her things together and practically knocking down any poor soul that stood in her way, Rachel speed-walked to the choir room. Upon reaching and entering the room, she found it empty. She deflated a little, but perhaps Quinn was just running late. Or maybe she wasn't. The note could've just been a prank and Rachel had fallen for it. When the clock reached 3.30pm, she'd had enough. It looked to be a set up and she'd ended up looking foolish, once again.

With a deep sigh and a shake of her head, she turned and headed for the door.

"Oh… Quinn."

"Yes?"

The blonde swiftly made her way into the room. Rachel took in her appearance; she didn't look angry – which was a good start – nor did she seem upset. Things had maybe entered the twilight zone and this was Quinn #307. Which was another scary thought, to think there were another 306 other Quinn's somewhere in the vast unknown. Rachel re-focussed on the other girl.

"I thought you weren't coming."

"I'm so sorry, my Geography teacher wanted to talk to me about a project. Not important. Sorry for keeping you waiting, Rachel."

"I was about to leave. I thought this might have been some kind of joke…"

She trailed off, avoiding Quinn's eyes. Figuring this girl out was relatively easy compared to trusting her. As her words sunk in, the blonde closed the large gap between them.

"Hey, you know I've changed. Or at least, I'm trying to. It might take some time, for both you and me, but I will get there. I promise."

Rachel frowned. This was not at all what she was expecting.

"Quinn are you okay? You're acting a little off."

"I'm fine Rach, really. Anyway, the reason I wanted to meet you here was so we could talk in private." The shorter girl nodded for her to continue. "I wanted to apologise for me going off at you the other day. It was uncalled for. All you did was ask if I was okay and I threw it back in your face. So I'm sorry."

Silence filled the room. Rachel stood slack jawed at what Quinn had just said. The blonde just took another breath and continued.

"Okay, so you weren't expecting that. But that wasn't the only reason I called you here. About the other day, when I was talking in my sleep. I asked my mom about it, and apparently I do it quite often. Anyway…"

Rachel drifted out of the conversation for a moment. Maybe Quinn had skipped a couple steps and finally accepted who she was and what she wanted. It threw Rachel's schedule out but with the end result, it really didn't matter. She tried fighting a small smile as she tuned back in to what Quinn was saying.

"-your homework? Or maybe drive you to school for a month? Whatever will benefit you. So what do you think?"

"Er… I'm sorry Quinn," She rubbed her eyes, trying to understand what had just happened while she was in la la land. "What did you just propose? It's been a long day, I'm afraid and my concentration is waning."

"I said that in return for not mentioning the sleep-talking incident again, I could do your Chemistry homework, or drive you to school for a while? Either is fine with me."

And bargaining it is.

"So… you asked me here to make a deal with you…? Is that all?"

"Yeah, why else would I meet you after school?"

"Ouch."

"Sorry, wrong phrasing. I meant, what else would I be talking about?"

"I get your point."

"So, my offer?"

"Is politely declined, Quinn."

"But-"

"Just shut up." A perfect eyebrow was arched, but no words were said. "There is something going on with you Quinn, and I can't tell you what it is. It would defeat the object. All I will say is that you need to get past this stage. Better things lie ahead, I promise."

With that, Rachel picked up her bag and left behind a very bewildered Quinn.

Okay, 4. Depression is after this one. I assure you :D

Let me know what you guys think to this one! What will Quinn do now her bargaining idea's been shot down? Will she figure out what Rachel was talking about? Stay tuned…