A/N: Please try not to be confused as I will be alternating between both girls' POV when and where I see fit.
Still not mine; don't sue.
Thanks to all who took the time to review. =) I did not expect this to be received quite well. I'm still a little anxious about how it's turning out since I haven't written in a while. But I'm hoping you guys are enjoying it.
*o*o*o*
Quinn was leaning down with one hand on the front bumper for support as the ugly gash on the otherwise pristine silver surface continued to mock her.
"You know, that dent will never disappear no matter how hard you try to stare it to oblivion."
Great! Just when I thought my weekend couldn't get any better…
She stood up with a scowl in time to see Rachel Berry saunter up the driveway. The shorter girl had her thumbs hooked into the front pockets of her ripped jeans – jeans that she had to admit fit the short brunette's genetically impossible long legs quite nicely- and was wearing a decidedly cocky smile. Her own scowl deepened.
Why you obnoxious, little—
"Good morning, Quinn. I trust you have had a good night's rest?"
It was unnerving- Quinn realized with a start- how the smirk on the other girl's face seemed to magically melt into a somewhat warmer, softer smile.
Unnerving— and creepy. Creepy, yeah, that's what it was.
"Well," she snapped, arching an eyebrow and trailing a contemptuous look up and down the length of the other girl's frame, "looks like you've had."
Wait! No! That's not what I meant to—
Rachel giggled—giggled—and took the last remaining steps to stand beside her in front of the silver vehicle.
"Actually," she saw the other girl's smile widen from the corner of her eye, "I had a rather pleasant eight hours of sleep. I woke up feeling refreshed and the walk over was also quite invigorating."
At this, Quinn turned her head slightly to – again (What the hell is wrong with me this morning?)—take in the other girl's appearance. She noted the faint blush on the tanned cheeks, the windswept brunette locks, and thin layer of sweat glistening on a long slender neck…
Ok, ewww…
Scrunching her face in disgust, she took a step away from her. "You walked all the way over here?"
Rachel threw her a Duh! before squatting to inspect the dent on the bumper. "Of course. How else am I supposed to drive this back to the garage if I had taken my Jeep?"
Quinn rolled her eyes and pretended (of course) to not notice the way the way the other girl's form-fitting black shirt had slightly ridden up her back, exposing a small expanse of smooth, golden skin—
"I hope you don't drench the leather seat with your gross sweat or anything," she bit back in response. "I wouldn't want you stinking up the whole-"
Rachel had chosen that moment to abruptly straighten up, taking her by surprise. Quinn, in her haste to immediately put some distance between them, took two hurried steps back. Her left heel caught in a crack on the cemented driveway and she found herself momentarily losing her footing.
In an instant, she felt a firm grip on her right forearm and another steadying hand on her lower back. If she hadn't been so relieved about avoiding an almost definite bruise on her rear, she would've taken the time to recoil at the unwelcome jolt of electricity she felt at the other girl's touch.
"Whoa, there," she felt a warm rush of exhaled breath against her cheek as Rachel assured her, "Ok. I got you."
It took a moment for Quinn to realize their sudden and close proximity. Mortified, she shook her arm free from the other girl's hold and again took two quick, albeit careful, steps back.
Ok…what the hell was that?
Rachel had a strange look in her eyes as a ghost of a smirk played on her lips. She cocked her head at Quinn before tilting it further to the side to apparently sniff herself.
"Nope," she glanced back at Quinn, "nothing there."
"Stop being so gross," Quinn huffed as she fished for the vehicle's key in the pocket of her denim shorts.
"Just take the key and go!" she extended her arm and held the keychain daintily between her thumb and forefinger. "Don't stain the seat your sweat and try not to leave your stench behind."
Rachel took several deliberate steps forward with a somewhat wicked glint in her brown eyes. She stopped by her left shoulder and eyed her other arm which was still stretched out, holding the key. Wanting to stand her ground, Quinn lifted her chin and held the shorter girl's gaze.
A gust of wind suddenly blew across the driveway and Quinn caught a whiff of a faint musky scent mixed with a touch of lavender. Her eyes involuntary fluttered shut at the unwanted (unexpected) intrusion to her senses. If that was what body odor smelled like-
What the fuck, Fabray?
"I'll take these, then."
Quinn's eyes flew open when she heard Rachel's gratingly chipper voice. She promptly narrowed her eyes at the other girl who flashed her a toothy grin as she reached for the key.
She watched as the brunette deactivated the alarm and walked to the driver side of the 4x4. Completely annoyed at her own actions, Quinn unconsciously decided to take her frustration out on the other girl.
"You better know what you're doing, Berry-" she growled.
Rachel peeked her head from the behind the open door. "Really Quinn," she threw her a wink, "do you have any other choice?"
*o*o*o*
Monday rolled around faster than Quinn had realized. It was another day closer to Friday and she couldn't help feeling the stirrings of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She had already spent the entirety of her weekend worrying over her decision to let Berry take the Lexus to have it fixed.
She ground her teeth at the thought of the other girl. Countless times over the weekend, she had found herself glossing over her moment of insanity that Saturday morning. The more she tried to find a logical explanation behind her uncharacteristically gross, disturbing, harrowing reaction to Rachel's… Rachel's… stench, the more aggravated she felt.
She finally decided, at 9:34 P.M. last night, as she listlessly tried to get some sleep, that there was no other explanation other than Rachel Berry must be a practicing witch and has put some god-awful spell on her.
From S. Lopez: Rly, q... Ths witchraft talk s strtng 2 bore me.
"Miss Fabray, would you like to share with the class what you find so distressing?"
Quinn looked up from her phone to find Miss Gosling waiting for her answer expectantly. From the seat to her right, she heard faint chuckling.
She turned to glare at Rachel briefly before smiling sweetly at the middle aged teacher. "I'd much rather not, Ma'am."
"Then would you please tell the class the sine of a right triangle with a 30 degree angle and a hypotenuse length of 2?"
The rest of the class sat in silence as she narrowed her eyes and glanced down at the open notebook on her desk. With an indifferent expression, she looked back up at the teacher.
"That would be 0.5, Miss Gosling."
A pleased smile flashed on the teacher's face. "Excellent, Miss Fabray," she quickly, sternly added, "I suggest you put your phone away though, before I confiscate it. Now, to solve for the cosine…"
Quinn was tuning her out when she heard Rachel murmur, "Impressive."
She stole a side-long glance at the other girl and saw her bent over the open Calculus on her desk, twirling a pen in her right hand, and a small smirk playing on her lips.
She gave a grunt of annoyance before leaning down to place the phone in her backpack on the floor, a smile reluctantly tugging on her lips.
*o*o*o*
And just like that, Rachel Berry was suddenly everywhere.
She was everyfuckingwhere.
Quinn was sitting at the Cheerios table at lunch the next day when boisterous laughter exploded from a nearby table. She turned around in time to see Rachel sitting amongst several boys, gesticulating wildly, and speaking in a hushed stage whisper. The said girl flapped her right hand below her chin and made a face, causing the group of boys to again burst out laughing.
In between classes, she found herself almost always catching sight of a familiar brown head weaving in and out amongst the throng of students in the crowded hallway.
Later that day, as she held her pose on top of the pyramid during Cheerios practice, her glance fell upon a solitary figure sitting in the stands. She didn't have to squint to know who it was.
She vaguely heard Sue Sylvester's voice through the megaphone instructing them to hold their poses for another five minutes. She was unintentionally (of course) watching the other girl put her feet up on the wooden plank in front of her. Then, almost without warning, Rachel lifted her head to look straight at her.
Surprised at suddenly having those brown orbs directed at her, Quinn's legs wobbled and her stance wavered for a second.
Below her, Santana hissed, "The hell, Q!"
"Sorry," she hissed back.
She blew a stray lock of her hair from her face and focused on staying upright in her position.
Rachel Fucking Berry was everywhere… and it was pissing (really) the hell out of her.
*o*o*o*