The sense of normality that usually surrounded Quinn was no longer there. After being transported back through the void, she found herself in the position she was in at least twenty minutes before the end of Cheerio's practice.
Coach Sylvester was stood below them, evaluating their hold in the infamous Pyramid. The Cheerio's coach scanned them with eagle eyes, tapping one Cheerio's knee when it seemed to twitch under her scrutiny.
Quinn sighed; she was stuck at the top, naturally, her right foot digging uncomfortably into Santana's shoulder. It would normally have been Brittany's but the blonde Cheerio had decided that she wanted to show up late to two different practices, and the Coach had seen red, banishing her from practice to deal with laundry duty in the gym.
"Gym…" The head cheerleader's eyes went wide; she'd been pushed into this time via the void to get Brittany out of the gym, thus saving her own life in the process. She was about to open her mouth and ask Coach Sylvester if she could be excused when the woman in question brandished her megaphone and screamed into it.
"You're sloppy! You're sloppy babies! What have I done in my life to deserve such pathetic cheerleaders? I have every right to ship you off to the Deep South and banish you forever!"
The slander rolled off Quinn's back like second nature. She'd dealt with Coach's taunts since freshman year, and although back then, she was terrified of the woman, now that she was a sophomore she could care less.
"Stay in the pyramid, and I swear, if I notice at least one muscle has moved while I've been gone, I'll have you all polishing each and every one of my trophies!" Sylvester slowly took a step back, narrowing her eyes and glaring at one cheerleader who twitched her nose to fight off an itch, before turning on her heel and powerwalking off the field.
"I need to go," Quinn muttered to Santana below, somehow thinking that Coach Sylvester would hear her otherwise.
Santana looked up, eyes narrowed with pain; although an athlete, even she wasn't used to holding a Pyramid for so long
"What? Why the hell do you get to go and I don't?"
"I just," The whirring sound of the PAD drew her attention to the side of the field. Her gym bag lay amongst the other cheerio's, and the device sat tantalizingly close to the open zipper. She saw the glowing, even if it was a light glow, and the sound grated in head like she was getting a migraine.
She thought she saw a flash of blonde around the corner from the football field, and realized it was probably Brittany going toward the gym.
"Just what...? You might be the Captain, but you don't get all the fuckin' privileges, Q. B's one of her best cheerleader's and she was banished with laundry duty, don't think she won't do the same to you."
"Coach can bite me,"
Quinn could have laughed at how wide Santana's eyes went; she wasn't used to the blonde Captain speaking out about their coach. The Latina always thought of Quinn as a mini Sue Sylvester, an aspiring Coach who was ruthless and cunning when it came to cheerleading. But this…this just made her laugh.
Her chuckles shook the cheerio's below her, and after some whines and moans, she stopped, "Quit your whining, you morons!" Her head snapped back up to Quinn, "You better hurry your ass then, I'll warn you if Coach comes back."
"Thanks S."
"Anything to get your fat ass off my shoulders, Tubbers,"
Normally, Quinn would have stepped down the level of cheerleaders on at a time, but the whirring sound in her head was turning into a heavy throb, and the thought of taking any semblance of care flew straight out of her head when her balance suddenly went.
Taking one giant leap, she jumped to the ground, narrowly avoiding landing on her knees; her years of training in both gymnastics and cheerleading coming into fruition when she landed perfectly on the soles of her Nike runners.
"Q, Coach is back."
Quinn's head snapped up to Santana, half wondering if she was taking the piss, but when she heard her Coach's voice ring loudly through a megaphone, she knew she'd landed in it big time. The throbbing in her head, matched with the screeching voice of her Coach made her want to dig a hole in the field and just lay in it.
"Q! I told you not to move from your position, what are you doing?"
Sylvester came to a stop right in front of Quinn, megaphone pressed right up against the blonde's nose.
"Coach, I just needed to get something from my bag."
The glowing was increasing exponentially, and it was a shock that no one had even noticed it. But then again, the cheerleader's behind her were in a great deal of pain handling everyone's body weight, especially the ones at the bottom of the pyramid.
"I told you not to move. What did I say would happen if you moved?"
Quinn sighed heavily; she honestly didn't have time for this. Ten minutes had already passed, and if her calculations were correct (actually, no calculations, it was mere guess work where this whole situation was concerned) she'd already thrown away ten minutes by standing on top of the pyramid and arguing.
"I'd be banished with laundry duty,"
Suddenly her eyes went wide; she'd be put on laundry duty…in the gym.
"I think I should go now…help Brittany with the laundry."
"Yes you should," The megaphone was dropped from Quinn's face, "Get your bag and get going, I honestly don't have time to deal with you and your problem with dealing with commands."
Quinn nodded meekly and raised her hand in silent gesture to Santana before pounding her way over to the side-line. She reached her bag quickly, and as her hand dove in to grab the PAD, she felt a certain sense of euphoria rush through her body. She was going to save Brittany.
The PAD, however, had other ideas. The glowing had seemingly stopped, and the readout that usually showed, giving her the time she was supposed to travel to, had disappeared too. She flipped it over in her hands, running deft fingers over the smooth surface. It wasn't working – had it broke?
She shut her eyes and focused on the PAD, anything, that would get the damn thing to work. "This," She opened her eyes and focused on the object in my hands, "Is so not my day."
"Q! Get your ass to the gym!"
She jumped from where she stood and stuffed the inactive PAD into her gym bag before shouldering it, "Sorry, Coach." Dejected, a little run down and incredibly pissed off, she stomped toward the gym, kicking random pebbles that she came across on her path.
She was half way to the gym when she smelt it. She tilted her face toward the sky and sniffed long and hard – a harsh corroding smell, mixed with – what was that? Gas…?
"Fire," She whispered, eyes wide, dropping to look at the building that sat seemingly safe around the corner,
"Oh crap. BRITTANY!"
She dropped her bag, the unnecessary weight slowing her down. She made it around the corner in record time, and landed eyes on the gym. She'd got here early, and the fire didn't look as bad as it did before; the windows weren't popping out from the heat, but the smoke was flooding from under the closed doors and she could certainly hear the roar of flames from within the building.
"B!" The doors were sealed shut, and when she tried to open it, the metal of the door burnt her hand. She cried out and jumped back, cradling her scolded hand by the wrist. She tried to flex it, but each time she did a sharp stab of pain shot up the whole of her arm.
I need to get in there…Oh Lord, what do I do…?
At first she felt like dropping to her knees and begging to God that he save Brittany from the fire, to save herself from being killed again. Why did she deserve this? Why was she the one that was being targeted, along with her friends? Why had the PAD stopped working when it should have been helping her save Brittany and herself?
With a scream of rage, she ran forward, booting at the door with the heel of her foot. She was strong, that much was sure, but when the door didn't budge, she couldn't help but cry out in frustration.
The smell of smoke had attracted students and teachers from nearby buildings, and as they rushed toward her, she continued to slam her foot hard into the door. "Open! God, open!"
Arms wrapped tight around her waist, and she felt herself be pulled back. She turned around to scream, but when she came face to face with Sam she crumbled and collapsed into his arms. The blonde boy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and kissed the top of her head gently, "Why are you crying?"
"B-Brittany's in there!"
Sam pulled back, almost as if he'd been burnt and stared into his girlfriend's watering hazel eyes, "Are you sure?"
Quinn only nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"I have to go in there…" Sam walked around the cheerleader and went for the door, ignoring the protests of nearby teachers and began ramming his shoulder into the door. It hurt, and Quinn could tell he was in pain, but when the door finally slammed open with a heavy thud, she saw her chance.
She ran forward, hand grazing her boyfriend's elbow, "Stay here!"
Sam protested, trying to grab her by the back of her Cheerio's uniform as she ran past, but she dodged him, barely, feeling the tips of his fingers brush against her back. She ran into the burning building, coughing and spluttering, feeling the strange sense of deja-vu wash over her.
She knew where Brittany was, she knew that from the last time, but the smoke was more acrid this time. It seemed to be burning her eyes right out their sockets, and when she went to wipe away the tears that fell to her dusty, pale cheeks, she collapsed to the floor after falling over a piece of debris on the floor.
At least, she thought it was.
Brittany lay below her, the telling signs of blonde hair and a ratty, tattered Cheerio's uniform shining through the blanket of smoke. "B!" She coughed out, shaking her best friend with her one remaining good hand.
The blonde didn't stir, and when Quinn went to shout again, she ended up just coughing; the smoke making its way deep into her lungs. She felt exhaustion wash over her, body failing with each and every breath.
So with a determination she didn't know she had, she stood shakily, grabbed Brittany by her arms and pulled as hard as she could.
"You're not dying this time, B!" Quinn coughed out, "You're not!"
Her strength was failing, and although Brittany was relatively small in weight, the urge to just stop and rest was becoming too much to think over. But the fire grew rapidly around her, the smoke throwing out cloud fumes around her and her friend.
Brittany stirred lightly below her, and for a second she stopped, before continuing to drag, "B!"
"Q-Q-Quinn…?" The young blonde coughed out heavily, hands clenching against Quinn's wrists.
"Can you get up?"
"I-I think so…"
"Get up, run for the door, now!"
The creaking above her had her worried, and if she continued to drag her friend, she knew she wouldn't make it out on time. And when Brittany stood up, shakily, holding Quinn's shoulder's for support, Quinn felt a sense of doom wash over her.
"Go!" The Cheerio Captain pushed Brittany toward the door, following closely behind in case she got lost in the smoke.
"I'm scared…" She heard a whisper, but over the rumbling of the roof above her, she couldn't be sure.
"Run! Now!" Quinn's head snapped up to the ceiling, the heat of the fire causing it to crack in all the wrong places, "NOW!"
With a sharp push to Brittany's back, she pushed her cleanly toward where she remembered the door being. And through the screams outside, both of Brittany's and then Quinn's name, Quinn watched as the ceiling fell from above her.
"You truly are a good friend."
"Didn't stop me from dying though did it?" Quinn sighed and stood to her feet, "Do you actually know how much it hurts to feel your death over and over again? Are you actually aware? Why didn't you get the PAD to work?"
The blonde was frustrated with the almost condescending voice; if the PAD had worked, she wouldn't have died again. And the feeling of that ceiling collapsing on top of her had her shivering inside and out.
"You missed the time index. The PAD will only work when the time is available."
"What? So if I don't use it as soon as it glows, I can't use it at all?"
"Bingo."
With a heavy sigh, Quinn walked toward the doors, "Fine. Send me back, I'll try again."
"I must warn you, Quinn. When the PAD signifies that it's time to leave the time you have travelled to, you must come back immediately, otherwise, you will be stuck in that time."
Quinn dropped her chin to her chest and took one deep breath – everything was just getting more confusing and frustrating.
"Fine. Send me back."
"You're sloppy! You're sloppy babies! What have I done in my life to deserve such pathetic cheerleaders? I have every right to ship you off to the Deep South and banish you forever!"
"Coach! I have to go!"
Coach Sylvester stared up at her head cheerleader and frowned, "And why is that, Q?"
"I just… I don't feel well; I think I have to go to the nurse." She swayed on the top level of the pyramid for good measure, "I think I'm going to throw up."
"No…you're staying."
With a groan, Quinn continued, "Please, Coach!"
Sue's eyes blazed with an untapped anger, and when Quinn challenged her stare with one of her own, the cheerleading coach relented admirably.
"Well, I can't be having you puking all over my cheerio's, Fabray." She heard Santana giggle slightly from below her – and somehow Quinn thought she thinking about cereal, "Go, now, before I change my mind."
She didn't take the levels, and just like before, she jumped, narrowly avoiding her coach in the process.
Quinn didn't bother to stay and get reprimanded for nearly injuring herself; instead she ran toward her gym bag and dived for the PAD.
It was glowing, and the read-out on the device showed that she would be taken ten minutes into the…future?
With furrowed eyebrows, she clutched the PAD in one hand, grabbed her gym bag and ran off the field, hiding around a corner, away from the prying eyes of anyone that may pass. Shutting her eyes tight, she focused on the PAD, and whispered in her mind trust it
Eventually, she felt herself engulfed in the bright blue light, the swill of electricity around her, before she was sucked into the void.
She was still tucked around the corner that she'd hidden in, and honestly, nothing looking different. She glanced around the corner, looking out onto the football field to check that the Cheerio's were still there.
The blonde fell back onto her backside, mouth agape as she looked to the field. There she was, stood at the top of the pyramid, talking to Santana, while the other cheerio's groaned and winced in pain.
"Wow…holy cr-," With a gulp she got to her feet, shaking her head to rid herself of the haunting image of seeing two of herself. "I have a job to do,"
Muttering to herself, she spun on her heels and ran toward the gym, making sure the PAD was tucked safely between her cheerio's skirt. The edges of the device dug harshly into her skin, but she relished in it – it meant she was alive, the pain.
She came to a halt in front of the gym, and everything looked normal. With a deep sigh of relief, she realized she'd made it to the right time. "Thank God."
"Q?" Coach Sylvester left the gym and stared at her, "Aren't you supposed to be on top of that pyramid? Did I say you could move?"
"I just…uh…" She snapped her head toward the field, if the coach went back, she'd see that she was still there. That would be a paradox, right? Would she die again or something? Would there be two Quinn's in one timeline? The thought made her shudder with fright.
"Forget it," The Coach began pushing her toward the field, "I want you back on top of that pyramid."
"But I uh…I'm feeling ill and I wanted to go the nurse. I didn't think you'd appreciate me throwing up on your Cheerio's fresh uniforms. I'd rather throw up with dignity."
Sylvester stopped pushing her cheerleading Captain and looked down at her through narrowed eyes, "Fine. But get back here, pronto."
"Thanks, oh and Coach, I might not be able to make it to Cheerio's practice tomorrow night. I think Mr. Schue wants me to stay behind to practice my solo for Glee."
She had no solo, and no lesson, but when she saw Sylvester's face light up with rage, she knew she'd avoided the paradox. Quinn disappeared around the corner, and waited until her coach had rushed toward the main building, obviously to confront her arch-nemesis.
With a sigh, she popped back out and rushed into the gym. Things still looked normal, and Brittany stood on one of the bleachers, trying, but failing to fold a skirt.
"Quinn!" Brittany beamed and dropped the skirt before bouncing down each level of the bleachers and jumping into the blonde's arms.
"Hey, B," She pulled back and smiled, "You're okay?"
Brittany's head cocked adorably, "Yeah, why? Should I be sick or something?"
"Oh no, not at all," The Captain smiled and then frowned, "Have you seen anyone acting shifty in here lately?"
"Shifty…?" Brittany looked confused, "No…not really."
"Are you sure? Anyone at all…? Someone you didn't recognize or someone that you did?"
"Coach was in here for like…two seconds just to say my folding technique was less than…" Her brows furrowed, "Passable, but I didn't get it because isn't passing what you do in tests?"
Quinn couldn't help but laugh, just hearing her friend's voice happy and healthy, albeit a little confused, was magic to her ears. "Well I'm taking over, so go back to practice. I'll meet you out there when I'm done."
"Really…?"
"Really,"
Brittany clapped her hands together and jumped back into Quinn's arm, rocking her back and forth before planting a quick kiss on the blonde's forehead.
"Bye, Quinn!" And then she rushed out of the gym.
Quinn waited several seconds before straightening her shoulder, "Where did that fire start…?" She wished she could have known, but by the time she always arrived, the building was already engulfed and the smoke was too thick to see through.
Slowly, she wandered through the gym, taking in each and every bleacher to see if someone had left a cigarette burning beneath the seats. Many students had been excluded due to smoking on school property, and most of them now did it in the school gymnasium because it was a little out of ways from the rest of school.
It was only natural Quinn thought that the cause was accidental, but the voice told her that her assailant did it. Her killer planned it out; to make sure she went in and got trapped.
Where do I even begin…?
"Maybe you should try the laundry room – lots of flammable objects in there, correct?"
The laundry room, a relatively small room right at the back of the gym was usually out of bounds to students, and was rarely used – Coach Sylvester's love of European dry cleaners pretty well known amongst the school and Principal Figgins wallet.
The door was shut, as it always was, but as she walked toward the door, she felt the heat. Carefully, with the hand she'd burnt before but now had been completely healed, she pushed open the door and took a quick step back.
It was small, but in the corner of the room sat a folded pile of uniforms and towels, a small fire was beginning to form. Quickly, without thinking twice, she ran over to it and stamped on the pile, making sure not to spread it as she doused the fire with her feet and a nearby towel from a high up shelf.
The smoke made her cough, but it wasn't half as bad as what it could have been – she knew that for a fact.
With the fire put out, she stepped back and collapsed against the wall behind her, bringing her knees up to her chest and clutching it.
"It's over," She dropped her head to her knees and took one long breath, trying to slow down the pounding of her heart. And although she wanted to believe the words as they came from her mouth, she couldn't help but feel it was only just beginning.
"Hey babe," Sam plonked himself beside his girlfriend and kissed her on the cheek, "You okay?"
Quinn smiled and nodded, "I'm fine Sam, I'm just thinking too much."
He pouted, and Quinn couldn't help but notice how big his lips really were…and how much chapstick he put on.
"Want to talk about it…?"
"No…no," It's not like the boy would understand what she was going through; he'd either think she was going insane or she was making it up to confuse him. She just wish she could confide in someone about what was going on, someone who would just sit and listen to everything she had to say, "It's fine…"
He was about to add something, but when Quinn looked away, he shut his mouth. She felt his hand take hers, and she allowed it as she scanned the choir room. Most of the members of New Directions were already there – Mercedes and Tina were sat right at the back with Mike, Brittany was on Artie's lap, Santana had yet to show, Lauren and Puck were sat side by side, him whispering something in her ear that made Lauren raise a hand and shove and cookie into her mouth.
And then there was Finn and Rachel.
Finn had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend's shoulder, leaning down and whispering into her ear. Rachel was giggling, her hand raised to clasp the one that brushed against her shoulder blade. Quinn didn't understand the feeling that hit her stomach, or why it stayed there when she watched the happy couple, but when Rachel kissed Finn, slowly, and with tongue, she had to look away.
"Are you okay? Seriously…?"
Suddenly, Sam's voice was beginning to grate on her.
"I'm fine."
He shut his mouth for the rest of Glee.
How could she forget the PAD? Honestly? The one thing she needed to actually keep her alive and she'd left it in the choir room? She'd walked Brittany to her car after Glee and after a few light questions from her friend about where Santana was, she watched her drive off.
She had been about to get into her car when she realized the PAD had disappeared from her bag.
Trekking back to the choir room, she was about to open the door when she heard muffled voices from the other side. She didn't want to intrude, but the thought of someone coming across the outer-world device made her antsy.
"Don't you think we should…be kinda taking the next step?"
Finn's voice, and suddenly, Quinn felt the urge to listen in. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened in.
"Finn, I told you, I'm not ready."
"We've been dating for almost six months, Rach."
"I'm not ready," Rachel's melodic, yet low voice made Quinn shiver, "Please respect that Finn, I don't want to be pushed into making a life changing decision."
"It's just…I don't want to wait until I'm 25 to do it, y'know?"
Quinn scoffed lightly; Finn could be such an asshole. What she saw in him, she would never know. Back before he'd had sex with Santana, he was a sweet guy to be around, maybe a little slow…and dumb…but nice. He cared for her, opened doors for her, drove her home, and took her on dates. But now, he just seemed like every other guy; obsessed with sex.
A Puck number two.
"Well I'm sorry if I want to wait that long, Finn. But honestly, my dedication to Broadway and the stardom that I will naturally accumulate when I move to New York comes well ahead of losing my virginity."
"What…so Broadway comes before me?"
"I didn't say that; you're putting words in my mouth."
"No I'm not. Tell me the truth; would you rather have me or Broadway?"
"Are you honestly making me choose, Finn? This is completely ridiculous, you know I love you."
"Then choose, right now."
When Quinn heard Rachel splutter for a response, she knew it was time to invade on their privacy more than she already had. Pushing open the choir room door she walked in, taking in Finn who stood by the piano, which Rachel was sat at, with his arms crossed tightly across is chest.
"Quinn?" Rachel swirled on the piano bench to look up at the blonde, "Is something the matter?"
Finn just scoffed and grabbed his bag, "I'll call you later." He just nodded shyly at Quinn as he left the room, it took all the power she had not to glare at him.
"Are you okay…?"
Rachel seemed shocked at the question – Quinn Fabray, HBIC, asking Rachel Berry, resident loser of McKinley High if she was okay?
"I…I'm…fine, thank you very much for asking, Quinn."
The blonde nodded and glanced over to the chairs that still hadn't been stacked; her PAD lay underneath her seat, obviously where it had fallen out of her gym bag. She grabbed it and tucked it into her letterman jacket.
"Is that the charger for your phone?"
Quinn turned and regarded Rachel who looked up at her with shining eyes, "Oh…yeah, it just dropped out of my bag."
Rachel nodded, blushed and then looked to the piano, "I was…just going to practice.
"Oh, yeah," Quinn stuffed her hands into her jacket, making sure her hand clutched the PAD so it didn't drop out, "Well, sorry to disturb you."
"It's quite alright," Rachel smiled up at her, "That offer to practice with me is still open."
It was weird, looking into Rachel's doe brown eyes; she didn't see the pain that she'd inflicted on the girl over all those years. Those were the eyes of someone that looked up to someone else; a friendly, warm look that made you want to stay. There was no pain, no torture behind those eyes, and for once, Quinn felt an almighty sense of guilt wash over her.
How could she be cruel to someone who was so kind and generous? Maybe a little annoying, and talked a lot, and didn't know when to shut up, or known her boundaries…but still, sweet.
"Actually, ye-,"
"Q! Breadstix, I'm buying, come on."
Santana appeared from nowhere at the choir room door, and for once in her life Quinn felt like launching herself at the Latina for intruding on her and Rachel.
The diva in question stood from the piano and pushed her hands onto her hips, "It's incredibly rude to intrude on someone's conversation, Santana. You should have acknowledged your presence with a little more thought into Quinn and myself."
"Shut it, Hobbit." Santana didn't even spare a glance, still staring at Quinn, "Hurry up, I be hungry for Breadstix."
The blonde sighed, and nodded, watching as Santana disappeared away from the door.
"How rude," Rachel plonked herself back down onto the bench and ran her fingertips over the keys of the piano, pressing down on the C.
"Yeah…uhm…I'm just gonna get going."
Rachel looked up, the look of wonder from her eyes gone, "Of course. I'll see you tomorrow, Quinn."
It actually hurt to leave the room.
