Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter; they always mean a lot.

Enjoy...


Chapter 3 – The Haunting of McKinley High

"What was that?" Rachel whispered into Quinn's ear, causing the blonde to jump.

"Shh," Quinn whispered, turning around and scowling. "I told you to be quiet!"

"But I heard something!" Rachel loudly whispered.

"Which is why we need to be quiet so it doesn't hear us," Quinn whispered back, rolling her eyes.

Quinn rounded the corner of a mausoleum to find a dog sniffing at the ground. "False alarm."

"What?" Rachel asked, popping her head around to see what Quinn was talking about.

"It's just a stray," Quinn replied.

"Oh, it's so cute," Rachel said, trying to approach the mutt.

Quinn grabbed Rachel's arm before she could make it to the dog. "Can you please focus? We're trying to kill vampires here—and where is your stake?"

Rachel reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulled it out. "It's right here."

"Keep it out," Quinn ordered.

"I was worried I would get a splinter," Rachel said, huffing.

"Rachel!" Quinn said, exasperated. "Did you hear a word Sylvester said?"

"Excuse me," Sue said, looking at Rachel.

"I told her the truth," Quinn repeated, standing up at straight as she could; she wasn't going to let Sue intimidate her even if she was hovering above her, looking murderous.

Sue's nostrils were flaring. "I told you never to tell anyone."

"What was I supposed to do?" Quinn asked. "She saw me and she's not stupid; quite the opposite, actually. She figured it all out, so yes, I confirmed it for her, but she isn't going to tell anyone, and she even helped me today! Hell, she probably saved my life this morning."

"That little gnome saved your life?" Quinn asked. "I'm highly disappointed in you, Q."

"Don't call her that," Quinn said, scowling.

"Excuse me," Rachel said, raising her hand. "While I in no way want to come between you two since I imagine the Slayer/Watcher relationship is very important, I would just like to confirm what Quinn said. I'm not going to tell anyone; her secret—your secret—is safe with me."

Sue was looking at Rachel like she was very confused by her. "Why is she talking to me?"

Quinn rolled her eyes. "You're going to train her."

"I'm going to what?" Sue asked.

"Train her," Quinn repeated. "She's in this now and she needs to know how to fight."

Rachel raised her hand again. "I'm okay with not fighting, but I do want to help."

"You can definitely help with research, but you also need to know how to fight," Quinn softly said. "If you're going to be around me, it's going to be dangerous and I'd rather be safe than sorry. Believe me, I have no intention of putting you in harm's way, but you need to know, just in case."

"This is all very touching," Sue said, sneering.

"And you!" Quinn was pointing her finger at Sue. "Quit being all caring one second and then passive and insulting the next!"

Quinn expected the older woman to yell at her, but instead, she started grinning at her. "There's the girl I know."

"Excuse me?" Quinn asked, frowning.

"I was wondering where that fire went," Sue stated. "We'll train Berry, but you better not be a liability!"

Rachel scoffed. "Are you insinuating that I am being a burden right now?"

"No, I'm flat out saying it," Quinn replied. "You're being a burden right now!"

"Why am I even out here?" Rachel asked. "I'm obviously no help to you, and according to you, I'm a burden."

Quinn tried to reel in the sarcastic retort that was on the tip of her tongue. "You know why." Quinn's face softened as she looked at the brunette. "You know you need to learn to fight; whether or not you're around me, you need to learn to protect yourself in this town. I know coming out here with me isn't exactly fun but it's necessary and you know it."

"Right," Rachel said, taking a deep breath and focusing on the task at hand.

Quinn tried to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape. Over the last few weeks, she'd gotten to know the brunette a bit better and actually found her to be quite amusing. At least when she wasn't being a gigantic pain in the ass. She still tended to ramble a lot and ask way too many questions, but Quinn was getting used to it and didn't mind her presence anymore.

Most of the time, anyway; tonight she was back to being a pain in the ass.

Rachel wasn't thrilled about training—actually, she was fine with the training, but she wasn't thrilled with putting that training into practice. This was the first night Sue had sent Rachel out into the field and the brunette had been a nervous ball of energy half the night. Quinn knew this was going to be difficult, since in their first training session, it had taken way too long to convince Rachel to even hit the punching bag. The girl was definitely not a fighter, and Quinn just hoped she could do it when the time came.

Quinn was looking at Rachel when the other girl's eyes got wide and she let out a squeak. "What?"

"Behind you," Rachel said, pointing with her index finger.

Quinn turned around to find a vampire staring at them; the blonde briefly wondered why the damn vampires didn't just rush her when she had her back turned, but then he ran at her and the thought flew out of her head.

Rachel squeaked again when the vampire tackled Quinn. Both she and the vampire fell to the ground, but Quinn managed to quickly flip him over her head and jump to her feet.

The vampire was a little slower getting up, but when he did, his focus went to Rachel instead of Quinn. Rachel's eyes grew wider and Quinn could already see that she was panicking.

"Focus, Rachel!" Quinn said. "You know what to do."

Rachel nodded; her face went back to looking determined and she was gripping the stake so hard, that her knuckles were turning white. The vampire rushed her a moment later, clearly sensing that she was the weaker of the two. Rachel managed to suppress screaming, but Quinn could see the fear and panic in her eyes. However, when the vampire threw a punch, Rachel dodged it with ease.

If there was one thing Rachel had going for her, it was her years of dance training. She might not be as strong as Quinn, but the girl definitely knew how to move quickly—quicker than Quinn would ever be able to.

When he threw a second punch, she dodged it too, and then threw a punch of her own. Her fist connected with his face and Rachel flinched upon impact.

"That hurt!" she said, wiggling her hand around.

The vampire took the opportunity to knock Rachel down, straddling her.

"Little help," Rachel requested.

"This is all you," Quinn said, watching them.

The vampire looked between the two girls, clearly confused about what was going on. "You're just going to let me bite your friend."

Quinn shrugged. "I guess so."

Rachel scoffed and started struggling against the vampire, who had both of her wrists in his grasp. It was no use, though; she couldn't seem to move an inch.

Quinn just rolled her eyes, sighing. She walked over and leaned onto the vampire's back, putting her forearm around his neck to pull him away from the brunette. He immediately let go of Rachel's wrist and started grasping at Quinn's arm. Rachel took this time to raise the stake, plunging it into his chest.

This time, Quinn squeaked in surprise as the vampire turned to dust under her, and she went falling forward, right onto Rachel.

Quinn groaned and lifted herself a bit so she was looking at the girl beneath her, her nose just inches from Rachel's. "Well, at least you killed your first vampire—even if you did have some help."

Quinn got up from her awkward position and offered her hand for Rachel to take; the brunette gladly accepted it. When she got to her feet, she dusted herself off and frowned.

"That was kind of gross."


Quinn and Rachel walked into the hall together the next morning. Sue had insisted on them coming in and giving her all the details of the night before. Quinn didn't exactly know what it was, but Sue seemed to be taking her Watcher duties a lot more seriously now. Maybe it was as she's said—maybe Quinn had lost her fire for a while and Sue was just waiting on it to come back. Whatever it was, Quinn was glad she was taking this a little more seriously. It actually gave her hope that she might get through this.

Rachel, however, didn't seem as keen about training. Quinn knew the girl was disciplined when it came to her singing and dancing—lord knows she talked about it enough—but when it came to fighting, she was a little less enthusiastic. She didn't know if it was the actual idea of fighting, since Rachel had once mentioned how she was opposed to violence, or if it was because wasn't used to Sue's unique training methods. Quinn thought it had to be the latter since she couldn't imagine the brunette being opposed to violence against evil.

Quinn immediately spotted Santana and Brittany as soon as the rounded the corner to the hall where both of their lockers were. It had been three weeks since Quinn had threatened her, and Santana still hadn't spoken a word to her since that day. She knew the other girl would be mad that she pulled rank, but didn't think she'd be that mad.

At first Quinn had tried to be civil and engage her friend in conversation, but she eventually gave up when it was clear that the other girl was not going to talk to her. The closest Santana came to talking to her was when she was talking to Brittany and would throw passive aggressive comments out that Quinn knew were for here. Brittany tried to keep the peace and would admonish Santana whenever she said anything, but it was clearly taking a toll on her. Brittany hated to see anyone fight, especially her two best friends.

"Hey Quinn," Brittany said as soon as she saw the other blonde walking down the hall. "Hey Rachel."

Rachel smiled at her. "Good morning, Brittany."

That was another thing that seemed to bother Santana. Every time Brittany addressed the brunette, Santana's eye seemed to begin twitching and she would start scowling—not that that was much different from her normal face.

Rachel smiled at Santana as well, but quickly averted her eyes when the girl looked at her like she was about to rip her throat out.

"Did you guys hear?" Brittany asked, looking uncharacteristically sad.

"About what?" Quinn wearily asked.

"They found Azimio Adams hanging in the gym this morning," Brittany said sadly.

"He killed himself," Rachel said, her jaw dropping in shock.

"No, I'm sure he just slipped and fell in the noose," Santana sarcastically said.

"But why would he do that?" Rachel asked.

"Maybe there was a banana peel on the floor," Santana said, shrugging.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about that." She huffed and looked at Quinn. "Why would he kill himself? He's popular—he's on the football team. If anything, he would be the one to make some poor kid kill themselves."

Quinn shrugged. "Maybe there was something going on with him; you never know what's going on in someone's head."

"I know," Rachel said, sighing. "He just doesn't seem like the type to do it."

"I overheard Coach Sylvester telling Principal Figgins that he left a note," Kurt said, walking up to the four girls.

"What, are you just befriending all the losers now?" Santana asked Quinn.

"Now you choose to talk to me?" Quinn said, scoffing.

"You're right, my mistake," Santana said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What did the note say?" Rachel curiously asked, ignoring the feuding friends.

"She didn't say," Kurt replied, shrugging. "Just that there was one."

"Why are you even talking to us?" Santana asked, sneering at Kurt.

"San," Brittany said, shaking her head.

Santana huffed, walking off and leaving the other four to look after her.

"Can't you two just make up?" Brittany asked, looking directly at Quinn.

"I'm not the one that's mad, Brittany," Quinn replied. "Santana's the one that's mad at me and you know how she is; she isn't going to do anything until she's ready to and clearly she's not ready." Quinn was pointing down the hall at Santana, who had shoved several students out of her way when they didn't move fast enough. "And please don't ask me to apologize to her because I really have nothing to apologize for."

Brittany sighed, but nodded. "I'm going to go see if she's okay."

"You and Santana are fighting and you're now friends with Rachel." Kurt shook his head and started walking away as well, but not before saying, "The world must be coming to an end."

Rachel glared after him and huffed indignantly. "Why does everyone act like us speaking is a sign of the apocalypse?"

"Because it probably is," Quinn joked.

"I do not appreciate that, Quinn Fabray!" Rachel said, huffing again.

"You know I'm only kidding," Quinn said, pulling on the brunette's arm.

Rachel was still a little touchy when it came to Quinn joking with her. Quinn really couldn't blame her, though; not after everything she'd said and done to her in the past.

"Can we not talk about it," Rachel said, walking off.

Quinn blinked in surprise and watched her walking off before she went after her. "Rachel, wait." Rachel didn't stop, but Quinn fell in stride beside her. "Where are you going?"

"To talk to Coach Sylvester," Rachel replied. "I want to know what that note said."

"Why?" Quinn asked.

"Because I want to know what we're dealing with," Rachel answered.

"What?" Quinn asked, frowning. "You think this is something supernatural?"

"Isn't everything in this town?" Rachel asked.

"Rach." Quinn grabbed her arm, pulling her around. "Not everything is supernatural; sometimes a suicide is just a suicide. I know it's terrible to think that he did it himself, but please stop worrying about it, okay?" Rachel sighed and nodded, but wasn't looking at Quinn. "Want me to walk you to class?"

Rachel looked up at her, a little startled by the question. "What?"

Quinn shrugged. "You look a little pale."

"No," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I'm fine."

Quinn nodded. "I'll see you in class later, then."


When lunchtime rolled around, Rachel looked shocked when Quinn plopped down in the seat beside her in the lunchroom, as did Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged a look that went unnoticed by the rest of the people, while Tina and Rachel just stared at the blonde Cheerio.

"Aren't you off by about five tables?" Mercedes asked.

Quinn looked up at the question and scowled. "Are you saying I can't sit here?"

"No!" Mercedes quickly said. "I just meant that you don't normally sit here."

"Don't listen to her," Kurt quickly said. "You're very welcome to sit with us."

Tina nodded, but Rachel frowned. "Are you okay, Quinn?"

Quinn sighed, picking at the salad on her tray. "Santana's just being—Santana."

"I noticed she was being a little—difficult during Chemistry," Rachel replied.

"I think the word you were looking for is psychotic bitch," Quinn mumbled.

"Now Quinn—"

"She tried to light my hair on fire with the Bunsen burner!" Quinn interrupted.

"Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two?" Rachel asked.

Quinn looked at Rachel for a moment and then averted her eyes. "It's nothing."

Rachel had been trying to figure out what was going on between Quinn and Santana ever since she realized they were fighting. Quinn hadn't told her that she had been the reason they were fighting, and Quinn really couldn't figure out what was stopping her from just telling Rachel, but, for some reason, she didn't want her to know.

"It's not nothing," Rachel replied. "While I may have no idea why, you and Santana are best friends; she clearly means a lot to you so why don't you just apologize to her."

"There's nothing to apologize for," Quinn said rather loudly, causing a few people to look her way. She looked over and Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes were all watching her with interest. "Listen, can we go somewhere else and talk about this."

Kurt looked like he wanted to protest, but Rachel shot him a dirty look. "Sure."

Quinn and Rachel both abandoned their plates and Rachel started walking toward the cafeteria door; Quinn knew she would take her to the auditorium since it was where they always went to talk. They probably would have gone to the training room, but knowing Sue, they both thought it could possibly be bugged.

They both took their usual spots on the edge of the stage and Rachel looked intently at Quinn. "So why are you and Santana fighting?"

Quinn sighed. "We're not really fighting; she's just mad at me."

"And what did you do to make her mad at you?"

Quinn looked at Rachel for a moment and then looked away. "I might have threatened her."

"Quinn!" Rachel admonished.

"I told her I'd make her next three years a living hell if she—" Quinn took a deep breath and looked at Rachel. "—if she does anything else to you."

"What?" Rachel asked, frowning.

"I told her no more slushies or name calling or anything else she normally does to you," Quinn replied.

"So—all of this is because of me?" Rachel asked.

"Yes." Quinn sighed. "Rachel, we're friends now; you saved my life. I wasn't going to let Santana continue treating you like shit. You don't deserve it. You never did, but especially not now. It's better this way, anyway. If Santana had kept it up, we'd probably end up getting in a fight and I don't even want to imagine the damage I would do to her."

Rachel was quiet for a while but finally whispered, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Quinn said, shaking her head. "I still have a hell of a lot to make up for; this is just one of many things."

"You don't have to make up for anything," Rachel replied. "You've apologized and I've accepted that apology. While I'll never condone your past behavior, I have forgiven you for it."

"Maybe you're too forgiving," Quinn said.

Rachel laughed lightly. "And maybe you're too hard on yourself."

"Do you really think I would have changed at all if it wasn't for you discovering my secret?" Quinn asked. "You know I wouldn't have; I would still be slushying you in the halls and calling you those terrible names."

"I like to think that one day you would have changed even without the extenuating circumstances," Rachel replied. "It doesn't matter to me why you stopped doing it, just that you did stop. You had a choice; you could have continued on doing those things, but you didn't, and I don't think it's because you were afraid I would tell your secret. You know no one would have ever believed me, so it had to have been more than that."

Quinn scratched her cheek self-consciously as Rachel stared at her. "I-I always felt bad about it," Quinn finally replied. "Sometimes I would be saying those things and it was like it was someone else entirely. I didn't want to be saying them, but they just kept coming out of my mouth. I always felt terrible, but I was too much of a coward to stop. I think seeing you at the graveyard—I just couldn't do it after that anymore. I'm not even sure why, but it was like something snapped inside of me."

Rachel smiled at her and Quinn kept her eyes on the floor. "Thank you."

"I told you to stop thanking me," Quinn said.

Rachel shrugged. "I'm still thanking you.


"Come on you two!" Sue yelled.

Quinn and Rachel both looked at each other; they were both exhausted after training for several hours. Rachel had already collapsed on the mat and Quinn wasn't too far behind.

"I just need a minute," Rachel wheezed out.

Sue shook her head in disappointment and looked at Quinn, who gave her a pleading look.

"Fine," Sue barked. "Let's do something simple for the rest of the training period since you two seem to be doing your best impression of a sloth today."

Sue walked over to the wall and Quinn's eyes lit up. "You mean we get to play with weapons." Sue glared at her and she immediately tried to look less enthused. "I mean—we get to learn the proper technique for using the highly dangerous weapons?"

Rachel could help but giggle and Quinn shot her a dirty look.

"Here," Sue said, handing Quinn a staff.

Quinn frowned, looking at it. "Couldn't I have something cooler?"

Sue picked up the crossbow from the wall and handed it to Rachel. "Here, you get to try this."

Quinn scoffed, but Rachel actually looked excited for once. "I highly look forward to learning how to use this."

"Why does she get to use the crossbow?" Quinn whined.

"Because you used it when I told you not to," Sue replied with her hands on her hips.

Quinn looked sheepish. "Sorry."

"Don't think I don't know what goes on in here even when I'm not physically present," Sue said as she walked away.

"I told you she has cameras in here," Quinn mumbled to Rachel.

"Quinn first," Sue commanded.

After showing them both the proper technique for their weapons, they were both having much more fun than before. Quinn was actually enjoying beating the hell out of the training dummy that Sue had set up in the middle of the room; it was definitely a good way to get rid of some of the tension she'd been feeling that day. This thing with Santana was definitely putting a strain on her, and combined with everything else, some of the time it almost became too much. Hitting things was definitely helping, though.

Rachel was actually becoming fairly proficient with the crossbow; much better than Quinn had done with it, anyway. For the most part, the brunette was at least hitting the target and not the wall like Quinn had. Her aim on the target wasn't very good, but Quinn imagined that with some more practice, Rachel would get really good at it.

"Okay, that's it for tonight," Sue finally said after another hour or so of training.

Without another word, Sue walked out, leaving the girls alone. Quinn put the staff and crossbow where they belonged before turning to Rachel and asking, "Do you need a ride?"

Rachel nodded. "Do you think Sue could get me my license too? You must be tired of driving me home every night."

Quinn laughed. "Like you would even take it if she got you one."

"True," Rachel said, sighing.

"And I don't mind driving you," Quinn added.

"You don't?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shook her head, but didn't say anything else. She walked over and grabbed both of their backpacks from in front of the bench and handed Rachel's to her. It was almost seven by the time they walked out of the school and there was only one other car left in the parking lot.

"Are you patrolling tonight?" Rachel asked as soon as they were both in the car and buckled up.

Quinn shook her head as she pulled out of the parking spot. "I'm getting so behind that I'm going to have to stay up half the night just to catch up. I haven't even started studying for Friday's Chemistry test."

"Maybe we could get together tomorrow night and start studying for it," Rachel suggested.

Quinn shook her head. "You don't need to do that."

"I want to," Rachel stated.

"How are you not sick of me by now?" Quinn asked, laughing. "I feel like we're together half the day, every day."

Rachel frowned and looked away. "Sorry, I didn't even think about the fact that I've been spending so much time around you. I'll try to give you some space."

"No, Rachel." Quinn covered Rachel's hand with hers and gave it a quick squeeze before putting it back on the steering wheel. "I didn't mean it like that. I like having you around." Quinn shrugged. "I just figured you must be getting tired of me, but yes, I will happily study with you tomorrow night. If I don't do something soon, I'm going to have no chance of becoming valedictorian."

"Well, in that case, maybe I shouldn't help you," Rachel joked. "I mean, I am just right behind you."

"Ha ha," Quinn said, smiling.

Quinn pulled into Rachel's driveway and Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt. "Do we have training in the morning?"

"No," Quinn replied. "Sylvester set up Cheerios practice."

Rachel nodded. "I guess I'll see you at school then."

"Night," Quinn said, giving the brunette a smile.

"Goodnight, Quinn," Rachel said before shutting the door and running up the walkway to her house.

Quinn watched her until she had opened the front door and was safely inside. Rachel turned around and waved to her before shutting the door. Quinn smiled and pulled out of the drive, prepared to go home for a long night of homework.


He looked up and down the dark halls for any sign of another person, but he was alone. School had been out for seven hours, so everyone was long gone.

The contrast never ceased to amaze him. During the day it was so full of yelling, threats, slushies, and general misery from most of the student body; at night, though, the school was peaceful and almost bearable to be in.

He shook his head of the memories that threatened to invade his mind, squared his shoulders, and trudged down the hall. The rope hung loosely in his hand as he walked the halls, wondering where the best place would be to do it. The cafeteria? The hallway? No—the boys locker room. If he was going to send a message, he wanted it to be in there, where so many of his problems started—where so many of the taunts and jeers took place.

Turning around, he started walking in the opposite direction and made his way to the locker room. He flicked the light on and blinked as the room suddenly filled with light. After walking to the middle of the room, he looked up to see a pipe running through the middle of the room, and it was just low enough that he could reach it.

He quickly walked over and grabbed the chair from the corner of the room. It wobbled as he stood on it, but he steadied himself enough to throw the rope up. It took several tries, but the rope eventually went around the pipe and he caught the other end as it fell down. He smiled to himself as he went about his work.

When he was finally done, he took a long look around and jumped down from the chair. He grabbed the backpack he'd shrugged from his shoulders and pulled the notebook and a pen from inside. He hastily scribbled a note on the first blank page and threw the open notebook on the bench for everyone to see.

He stood on the chair for a second time and used the rope as leverage to stand on the tips of his toes. With one last deep breath, he put his neck through the makeshift noose and kicked the chair away.


"Karofsky killed himself last night."

Quinn was startled; she stared at Rachel for a moment before closing her locker. "What."

"I overheard everyone talking," Rachel replied, pulling Quinn into a nearby, empty classroom just as the bell rang. "They found him not long ago; you were probably at Cheerios practice."

"Is that what all the sirens were about?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded. "It happened in the boy's locker room. I heard one of the people say that he'd been gone a while and that he probably did it sometime last night."

Quinn sat on the edge of the desk. "His car was the only other one in the parking lot when we left."

"You don't think it happened while we were here, do you?" Rachel asked, looking horrified at the idea.

Quinn shrugged. "I don't know."

"I think his and Azimio's suicides are related," Rachel stated.

"Well, they were best friends," Quinn replied. "Karofsky looked pretty broken up yesterday; maybe it was too much to handle."

"I think it's more than that," Rachel said, starting to pace in front of Quinn. "Two suicides in two days? That's not a coincidence."

"I told you," Quinn said, sighing. "They were best friends."

"Would you kill yourself if Brittany or Santana did?"

"No, but—"

"I don't think Karofsky would have, either," Rachel interrupted. "Just like I don't think Azimio was the type."

"Rachel, I told you yesterday that not everything is supernatural," Quinn replied gently.

Rachel stopped pacing and looked at Quinn. "And considering where we are, there's also a good chance that it is. I think we should do some research tonight; if we don't find anything, though, I'll drop it."

"I thought we were studying tonight," Quinn reminded her.

Rachel shrugged. "We can do both."

"Fine, but if you don't find anything—"

"I'll drop it," Rachel replied.

Quinn nodded and the two walked out into the hall. The bell had rung some time ago, so they were late for class and the only two around.

"I'm going to get detention for being late, aren't I?" Rachel said, looking rather unhappy.

"Tell your teacher that Sylvester wanted to talk to you," Quinn replied.

Rachel scoffed. "I can't lie."

"Yes, you can," Quinn said, laughing. "I'm sure she'll give you a note to back you up if I tell her it had to do with my Slayer duties."

Rachel suddenly stopped walking and Quinn turned around, looking at her questioningly. "Rachel?" The brunette didn't respond, but just looked around the hall for a second. "Are you okay?" Rachel finally locked eyes with Quinn and Quinn raised her eyebrow. "Uh, Rach, are you—" Quinn stopped talking as Rachel stepped closer, giving her a look she couldn't quite decipher. "You're going to be late for class."

Rachel finally stopped, much closer to Quinn than she knew what to think of; Rachel was nearly pressed up against her front, looking at her with such intensity that it made the blonde squirm a bit.

Quinn waved her hand in front of Rachel's face, and the brunette finally whispered, "Quinn Fabray."

Quinn was about to ask her again if she was okay, but before she had the chance, Rachel had leaned up and fused their lips together. Quinn's eyes grew wide and she squeaked in surprise. A million thoughts were racing through her head, most of them wondering what the hell was going on.

The kiss was awkward to say the least; Quinn was completely frozen on the spot and was so shocked that she couldn't even move in order to push the other girl away. After a few moments, though, Rachel jerked a bit and the kiss seemed to change. Instead of being stilted, it become more languid and Quinn felt Rachel's tongue brush against her lower lip. Suddenly, though, Rachel's eyes flew up and she jumped back several feet, looking at Quinn in shock.

"What—" Rachel shook her head. "I-I."

Quinn and Rachel just stood there, staring at each, equally in shock.

"I'm sorry," Rachel finally whispered. "What just happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Quinn replied, causing Rachel to give her a very confused looked. "Do you not remember?"

"We were talking," Rachel stated. "And then I was—we were—yeah."

"We were talking and then you just stopped walking," Quinn said. "I asked if you were okay and then you just kissed me."

"I kissed you?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded. "Yes."

"I don't remember doing it," Rachel said, frowning. "I was talking to you, and the next thing I know, I realized I was kissing someone."

Rachel looked like she was on the verge of crying and Quinn took a couple steps forward, but didn't really know what to do for the other girl. "No, please don't cry," Quinn said. "It's okay."

Rachel took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Something weird is going on here. I think—"

Quinn frowned as Rachel trailed off. "You think what?"

"I think I'm starting to see what might have happened," Rachel said, walking off, and leaving Quinn more confused than ever.


"I've got it!" Rachel yelled as she bound down the stairs for the door.

Rachel's father sighed and went back into the kitchen, where he was before the doorbell rang. When Rachel threw open the door, Quinn was standing there with an annoyed look on her face.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, stepping to the side and frowning.

"Parents," Quinn mumbled as she walked into the house.

Quinn had called her parents after training to let them know she was going to a friend's house to study, but her mother insisted on her coming home for dinner. Apparently, her father had been making a fuss about her not being home. She didn't know why, though, since whenever she was around, she just seemed to disappoint him in one way or another.

"Are they giving you a hard time?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged, not really wanting to get into the details of her screwed up home life. "What smells so good?"

"Daddy's baking," Rachel replied.

"Oh," Quinn said, nodding.

"He does it a lot," Rachel quietly said. "I think it takes his mind of Dad being gone. I think he's making cookies if you want one."

"Umm—"

Quinn looked torn, so Rachel smiled at her and took her hand, pulling her toward the kitchen. "Come on. Believe me when I say there are more baked goods in this house than I could eat in a lifetime."

Rachel and Quinn walked into the kitchen where it looked like a bakery had exploded. Quinn's eyes widened and he looked at the brunette beside her. "Wow, you were not kidding."

"No, I wasn't," Rachel said sadly. "Daddy, this is Quinn Fabray." Rachel motioned toward the blonde when her father looked up from the mixing bowl. "Quinn, this is my Daddy, Leroy Berry."

"Nice to meet you," Quinn politely said.

Leroy scrutinized Quinn for a moment and then looked away. "Isn't she that cheerleader that throws slushies in your face?"

"Daddy!" Rachel said, putting her hands on her hips.

"It's okay, Rach," Quinn said, blushing. "Yes, that's me."

"Did you know that Rachel came home, crying almost every day because of the things you and your friends did to her?" Leroy asked. "Her Dad had to—" Leroy stopped and his eyes became watery at the mention of his late husband.

Quinn helplessly looked at Rachel, but she didn't seem to know what to do either. "Mr. Berry, I'm sorry. I know I was—I was a bitch, there's no other word for it, but I've apologized to Rachel and I really am very sorry." Quinn made a mental note to apologize to Rachel again. "I've changed, though, and I'm not going to ever hurt your daughter again."

Leroy opened his mouth to say something else but Rachel cut him off. "She has, Daddy. We're—we're friends now." It really came out more of a question than a statement so Quinn smiled encouragingly at her. "Just give her a chance."

"Fine," Leroy said, not sounding very convinced, but Rachel knew he always trusted her judgment, so maybe he would give Quinn a chance—or at least be civil to her.

"Grab whatever you want," Rachel said, motioning around.

"Yes, help yourself," Leroy said with a tight smile.

"Do you want anything to drink," Rachel asked as she walked over to the fridge.

"Water?" Quinn said, shrugging.

Rachel pulled two waters from the fridge and handed one over to Quinn after she grabbed a cookie from the nearby cooling rack.

"Come on," Rachel said, grabbing Quinn's arm, and pulling her toward the stairs. "Let's go study."

Rachel let go of Quinn's arm when they got to the staircase and she followed the brunette up and to her room. When Quinn stepped inside, she paused just inside the door to look around. It was pretty much exactly like she pictured—not that she really pictured Rachel's room that often—but it was definitely very Rachel Berry.

"So," Rachel said, shifting nervously as Quinn inspected the room. "What do you think?"

Quinn smiled. "I think it's very you."

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows.

"Good," Quinn replied, dropping her backpack on the bed as she walked past.

"Are we going to study or research first?" Rachel said, intently watching the blonde walk around the room.

"Either one," Quinn said, looking up at the posters on the walls before finally looking at Rachel. "Maybe we can do both at the same time?"

"What do you want to study first," Rachel asked as she pulled her laptop off her desk and settled onto the bed with it.

"Let's go over the elements first, since that's probably going to be the easiest thing," Quinn said, grabbing her bag to rummage through it. When she found her notebook, she flipped it open and riffled through the pages until she found what she was looking for. "Do you know what you're going to look up?"

"I think people are being possessed or something," Rachel said, scratching her cheek. "I don't think Karofsky or Azimio willingly killed themselves and—well—obviously something weird happened with me earlier today." Rachel was blushing and avoiding Quinn's eye when she added the last part.

Quinn cleared her throat. "So, are we talking about a ghost?"

"Maybe," Rachel replied. "I was looking some things up before you got here and it does sound like one, but there are several other possibilities. I'm planning on looking into the school's history and seeing if anything pops out."

"Sounds good," Quinn said, looking down at the piece of paper. "I'll give these to you first while you're doing your computer thing. Br."

"Bromine," Rachel instantly answered as she typed.

Quinn nodded. "Os."

"Osmium," Rachel replied. "What would be the best place to find out stuff that happened at school?"

"The school newspaper?" Quinn suggested. "They have a website for it. Rb."

"Rubidium. Found it," Rachel said, clicked on the laptop. "I guess I'll start now and go back."

"You can probably skip the last year," Quinn said, scooting against the headboard so she was sitting next to Rachel and could see the screen. "I assume it would be someone that died on campus or they wouldn't be there, right?"

"Makes sense," Rachel said. "Okay, so we're starting before August of two-thousand eight."

Quinn was too busy watching the screen and studying was soon forgotten. Going through all the newspapers was oddly boring; you would think for a newspaper called The Muckraker, there would be more interesting articles, but it was like any other boring school paper.

"This could be something," Rachel said, leaning forward slightly. "There's an article on bullying from almost five years ago. A freshman student named Jacob Ben Israel hung himself in the AV room after being bullied throughout the year." Rachel frowned. "This is it."

"How do you know?" Quinn asked, leaning in closer.

"He dies exactly five years ago this week and look at the names," Rachel said, pointing toward the bottom of the article.

It listed the names, singling out several students that had been involved in the bullying. Quinn recognized several of the names, most notably the older brothers of Dave Karofsky and Azimio Adams.

"So, what—this Jacob kid's ghost is possessing the siblings of the students that bullied him and having them commit suicide?" Quinn clarified

"It makes sense—for this town, anyway." When Rachel scrolled down, revealing sever other names, her eyes widened. "Quinn!"

"What?" Quinn asked, looking back to the screen.

Quinn sighed and Rachel furrowed her brows. "I'm going to assume Frannie Fabray is your sister."

"Yes," Quinn said wearily. "Guess we know who he's going after next."

"We don't know that," Rachel quietly said.

"Yes we do," Quinn said, shaking her head. "Two down, one to go; no one else on that list has a sibling. I go to church with Mary and Sarah and they're both only children, which means I'm who he's going after next."

"You're staying here tonight," Rachel stated.

"What?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrow.

"I'm making sure you're okay," Rachel replied. "I don't know how it works, but if he tries to possess you tonight, I'm making sure nothing happens to you."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Quinn asked.

"I'll—fight you if I have to,"

Quinn laughed loudly. "You're going to fight the Slayer?"

"If I have to," Rachel said, squaring her shoulders.

"Good luck with that," Quinn said, smirking. "But I will stay if it makes you feel any better."

"Good," Rachel said with a nod. "Now—time to figure out how to do an exorcism."

"Seriously?" Quinn asked, raising her eyebrow.

"How else are we going to get rid of him and stop him from going after you?" Rachel asked. "The research I did earlier on ghosts said that it was the only way to get rid of them; we have to cleanse the school of any lingering spirits"

"And how do we do that?" Quinn asked.

Rachel frowned. "I'm not sure, but I have a few books that might be helpful."

"You have books on how to do an exorcism?" Quinn asked, amused.

"No exactly," Rachel replied. "I'll have to look that part up online."

"Well, come on then," Quinn said, motioning to the laptop. "Let's do this before I find myself hanging in the Cheerio's locker room."


"How did I never notice this before?" Quinn said, standing outside the metaphysical store, staring up at the sign in wonder that something like this existed in Lima.

Rachel shrugged and glanced at Quinn. "People usually don't notice something if they're not looking for it."

Quinn and Rachel had stayed up fairly late researching how to get rid of their ghost problem and then Rachel had refused to go to sleep so she could watch Quinn all night. Quinn was determined to stay up too, but she had been getting such little sleep lately that it wasn't long before she crashed. Rachel insisted on them going to school since all the suicides had taken place at night and even an impending death couldn't deter Rachel from school.

Rachel followed Quinn around most of the day, which Santana had noticed and—despite not talking to her—proceeding in mocking her the whole day. Quinn didn't care, though; it was actually kind of nice having someone care about what happened to her. It was probably a first, actually. Her parents only care about how her actions made them look, Santana would rather stick her head in a vat of acid than care about anyone, and Brittany was caring in her own Brittany way, but it wasn't the same. Rachel was willing to risk herself for Quinn, which Quinn couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

"Come on," Rachel said, looking at her watch. "I want to be set up before it's dark."

Their plan was to have everything set up in the school and then leave until it was time to do the actual exorcism, since Rachel didn't want them to be in the school any longer than they had to be. Rachel felt like they would be safer in the daylight, which is why they were setting up then. The plan was to perform the ritual at midnight, which Rachel insisted was the best time to do it. Quinn didn't ask any questions and let Rachel handle at the research since she was much better at that kind of thing.

When the girls walking in to the shop, the bell jangled above them and a middle-aged woman popped her head out from the back.

"Blessed be," she greeted.

"Hello," Rachel said, smiling politely.

"Let me know if you need any help or have any questions," the woman said.

"We will," Quinn and Rachel said in unison.

"So, what are we looking for?" Quinn asked, looking around the store.

"Can you get the candles?" Rachel asked. "I need red, yellow, blue, green, white—one of each of those—and two dozen black ones."

Quinn cocked her eyebrow, but shrugged and did as she was told. Rachel, meanwhile, went over to where the stones were on the counter and began looking for what she needed. Once she was done, she did the same with the herbs, and then grabbed two white, mesh bags from a basket near the register.

"Here," Rachel said, laughing, and reaching out for some of the candles that Quinn was trying to juggle. "Did you get them all?"

"Yeah," Quinn said, setting them down on the counter. "What else do we need?"

"Nothing," Rachel replied. "I got the rest of it already."

Quinn frowned. "Wait—last night didn't you say we just needed candles for the ritual."

"Yeah, but I'm making you something for protection," Rachel said, shrugging.

"Do you have enough to make yourself one?" Quinn asked.

"I don't need one," Rachel said. "You're the one he's after."

"Rachel!" Quinn said, stomping her foot in a fairly good interpretation of Rachel.

"Fine," Rachel said, huffing, and grabbing another stone. "There, now I can make another."

"Thank you," Quinn said, rolling her eyes.

The owner of the store came out from the back. "Did you find everything you need?"

"Yes," Rachel said, smiling at her.

The woman rang up their purchases and Quinn handed over her credit card, which Rachel tried to protest, but Quinn ignored her.

"You didn't have to pay for everything," Rachel said as soon as they were outside again.

"Why does it matter?" Quinn asked. "You're doing this to help me. Besides, maybe Sue can get a reimbursement."

Rachel sighed. "Let's get to the school."

Quinn drove in silence as Rachel worked on making a pouch for each of them for protection, since Rachel wasn't going to let Quinn go back into the school without one. Quinn did her best to keep her eyes on the road, but she kept looking out of the corner of her eye at what Rachel was doing, especially when Rachel repeated a spell three times.

"Here," Rachel said when she was finally done.

"How did you know how to do that?" Quinn asked. "And what do I do with this?"

"Just put it in your pocket or something," Rachel replied and Quinn slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans. "And I just followed the instructions that I found."

"Well, let's hope it works," Quinn said, pulling the car to a stop.

The two walked into the school, which was mostly empty, and went into the AV room. The door was locked, but Quinn had gotten the master key from Sue and quickly unlocked the door. When let Rachel in first and the brunette quickly got to work while Quinn locked the door and used a poster to cover the little window in the door.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked as Rachel started drawing something on the floor.

"I'm drawing a pentacle," Rachel answered. "Can you put those black candles around the room?"

"What's a pentacle?" Quinn asked.

"It's a pentagram with a circle around it," Rachel explained. "It's for protection."

"If you say so," Quinn mumbled.

Quinn was done before Rachel was, since the girl was so meticulous and trying to get the symbol perfect. "What now?"

"Grab the rest of the candles and put them at the ends of the star," Rachel replied. "White at the top, blue on the right, red on the bottom right, green on the bottom left, and yellow on the left."

"You got the green and yellow backwards," Rachel commented after she finally finished drawing the circle.

Quinn rolled her eyes and switched the two candles. "Better?"

"I think everything is set up," Rachel said, looking around. "Let's go before someone catches us."

"I don't know," Quinn said, smirking. "I'd kind of like to see you explain why we're drawing a pentagram on the floor of the AV room."

"Pentacle," Rachel corrected.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Whatever."


Rachel took a deep breath and then looked over at Quinn. "Are you ready?"

"Do you think this thing will really work?" Quinn asked, sniffing at the small pouch. "What's in it, anyway?"

"The smell is Rosemary," Rachel replied. "And let's hope so."

It was a quarter til midnight and the girls had been sitting in Quinn's car for the past thirty minutes just staring at the school. They were both nervous about what they were about to do; Quinn was worried she was going to end up hanging from a rope somewhere and Rachel was worried about the same thing, but also that she was going to be the one to mess up the ritual. It was one thing reading it online, but the thought of actually banishing a spirit was kind of daunting. Rachel had seen enough horror movies to know that this could end very badly.

Quinn was the first to open her door and step into the night air; Rachel followed soon after and the two of them hesitantly walked to the building. The front door was locked, but once again, Quinn used the key Sue had given her and let them in.

"I think we should have brought a flashlight," Rachel whispered, looking down the extremely dark hallway.

"Come on," Quinn said, grabbing Rachel's hand.

"What was that?" Rachel said, jumping when she heard a small noise.

"I don't know," Quinn replied, stopping.

Rachel was practically molded to Quinn's back as she looked down the hall. "I don't see anything."

"Let's just get to the room," Quinn suggested.

The two quickly walked down the hall; Quinn unlocked the door and pulled Rachel inside. Quinn looked around and everything was exactly as they had left it; Rachel had been worried that someone would come in and see it or move their stuff.

"Here," Rachel said as she grabbed the two nearest candles. She gave one to Quinn before striking a match and lighting it, which she then used to light her own. "Get the ones on this side of the room and I'll get the others."

Quinn nodded and went about lighting all the black candles on the right side of the room.

"Well, well, well."

Quinn whipped around to find Santana standing just inside the door; she had a smirk on her face and Quinn could see Brittany standing just behind her.

"Go home, Santana," Quinn said, nearly growling in frustration.

"What kind of kinky shit is this?" Santana asked, walking into the room and looking around. "Although, I must say, if you're sacrificing Berry, you have my full support."

"Santana!" Brittany scolded. "Be nice."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Quinn asked, taking a few steps forward so she was right in Santana's face.

Santana smirked. "I could ask you the same thing. It's midnight and you're at school, with Berry, and with a pentagram on the floor."

"Pentacle," Rachel mumbled.

"I knew you were going off the deep end when you started hanging out with losers and freaks, but this is taking it a bit far, don't you think?" Santana said, scowling.

Quinn scoffed. "Don't suddenly act like you care. Just get out of here."

"What are you doing?" Brittany suddenly asked.

"Britt, please get Santana out of here," Quinn said, stepping toward the blonde.

"What are you doing?" Brittany repeated, grabbing Quinn's arm rather tightly.

"Britt?" Quinn questioned, trying to pull her arm out of her grip. "Can you let go?"

"You don't know what you're messing with," Brittany gritted out, pushing Quinn so she stumbled back into Santana. "This isn't going to get rid of me; it isn't going to save you."

Santana frowned, looking the tall blonde. "Britt, what's going on?"

"Santana," Quinn said, pulling the other girl toward her.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Santana angrily asked, pushing Quinn.

Brittany started sauntering toward them, but Quinn lunged forward and pushed her back and out the door. She quickly shut the door in the other girl's face and locked it. Brittany started pounding on the door when she realized it was locked.

"What the fuck?" Santana asked.

"Listen, Santana," Rachel said, striding over and pulling the brunette so she was facing her. "We don't have time to explain, but there's a ghost in the school that has been possessing people."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Santana yelled, looking toward the door.

"He's got Brittany," Rachel said, putting her hand on Santana's cheek to force the other girl to look at her. "He's not after her, though; he's after Quinn."

Quinn pulled the pouch from her back pocket and tossed it to Santana. "Hold onto that."

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"Getting him to leave Brittany alone," Quinn said, taking a few steps toward the door before turning around. "Don't screw up." Quinn smirked at Rachel for a moment and then turned around and put her hand on the doorknob. "Santana, make sure you pull Brittany in here and lock the door."

Quinn opened the door and held Brittany back. "Come on, Jacob." Brittany spasmed in front of Quinn and she knew he was out of the girl. "Get her, Santana!"

Santana didn't hastate to pull the girl into the room and lock it as she was told.

Rachel looked on in horror as Quinn started walking down the hall. "Grab one of those candles and light the ones around the room."

"Listen here, Berry—"

"No!" Rachel grabbed Santana's arm and pulled her closer. "You're going to do as I say or Quinn is going to end up hanging somewhere. You might hate her right now, but unless you want her to die, you're damn well going to listen to me."

Santana opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally turned around and did as she was told.

"What's going on?" Brittany asked, looking around in confusion.

"Help me light these, Britt," Santana requested.

Rachel went back to light the rest of the candles on the other side of the room. When she was done, she turned around to find Santana and Brittany watching her.

Rachel walked to the middle of the room and took a deep breath as she knelt down in the middle of the drawing on the floor and started lighting the candles around her. "By Fire, Water, Earth and Sky, from this place I command you fly." She finished lighting the last candle and closed her eyes. "By the beating of my heart, I command you spirit to depart. By powers above and powers below, I command you to go."

"Is that a real spell?" Santana asked.

"Shh!" Rachel said, scowling.

Santana listened to Rachel repeat the spell two more times; she was looking at the girl in confusion, but Brittany looked quite enthused by it all and actually had a small smile on her face. All three girls jumped, though, when Quinn slammed on the door.

"It's not going to work!" Quinn said, kicking the door.

"Then why are you trying to stop us," Rachel mumbled.

"Shit!" Santana said, jumping when the wood started splintering. "When did Q get so strong?"

"Santana, come here and help me!" Rachel commanded, thrusting the spell in Santana's hands. "Hold hands with me and repeat that."

Santana looked at her in disgust. "I don't think so."

"Do it, San," Brittany ordered.

Santana sighed. "Fine."

"By Fire, Water, Earth and Sky, from this place I command you fly. By the beating of my heart, I command you spirit to depart. By powers above and powers below, I command you to go," Rachel and Santana said in unison.

"I think it's starting to work," Brittany said, watching Quinn back off and fall to the ground. She continued staring out the small window as Rachel and Santana chanted. "Guys, I think you can stop."

Rachel looked toward the door just as Brittany unlocked the deadbolt. "Brittany, don't go out there."

Santana and Rachel both ran toward the blonde and Santana pulled her back. Rachel looked into the hall, saw Quinn on the ground, and cautiously approached her.

"Quinn?" Rachel said, nudging the girl with her foot.

Quinn moaned as she stirred; she slowly cracked one eye open and looked at the three girls. "I guess you didn't screw up."

Rachel laughed, shook her head, and reached her hands out to help Quinn up. "Are you okay?"

"I kind of feel like I've been hit by a truck," Quinn said, wincing as she stood up.

"Okay, I don't know what freaky shit is going on here, but I'm leaving it to you two losers," Santana said, grabbing Brittany's hand and pulling her along.

"Nice seeing you too, Santana," Quinn mumbled.

"Let's get you home," Rachel said, putting her hand on Quinn's back and gently guiding her.

"What about the stuff in there?" Quinn asked, looking back.

"I'll clean it up in the morning," Rachel answered as she led Quinn to the exit.


"Hey, bitch," Santana said, stopping next to Quinn's locker.

Quinn looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "You're talking to me now?"

"Brittany wanted me to say I'm sorry, but we both know that ain't going to happen," Santana said, rolling her eyes.

"So why are you here?" Quinn asked.

Santana shrugged and looked down the hall as Brittany approached.

"Hey, Britt," Quinn said as soon as she saw the other blonde.

"Did you say you're sorry?" Brittany asked Santana, frowning.

Quinn smirked at Santana, who just rolled her eyes again. "Sorry."

Brittany smiled. "Now you two can be friends again."

"Not as long as she's friends with the Midget," Santana said, watching the brunette walk down the hall right for them.

"Hey, Rachel," Brittany greeted, smiling.

"Hello, Brittany," Rachel said smiling back.

"Be nice to her," Brittany said, scowling. "I don't know what happened, but I think Rachel and Quinn saved me last night, so you need to be nice to both of them."

Santana scoffed. "Whatever."

Santana walked off, scowling and Quinn turned to Brittany, asking, "Why were you two even at the school last night?"

"We were heading home from the movies and Santana saw your car in the lot," Brittany replied. "She won't admit it, but she was worried that something was wrong with you. You know how she is; she doesn't like to admit that she cares. She doesn't like Rachel because she's afraid she's going to replace her as your best friend. Can you let Santana know you're not going to do that so you two can be friends again?"

Quinn nodded. "Sure, Britt. I'll talk to her later, okay?"

"Great," Brittany said, brightening. "I'm going to find San."

Quinn watched the blonde skip down the hall. "Sylvester says we're both to stay after school for training."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "You have to admit—life is no longer boring."

"Life definitely is more interesting now." Quinn sighed, but looked at Rachel and smiled.


Next chapter, you all finally meet the Big Bad of the story.

Reviews are always welcome and very much appreciated.