A/N: I'm sorry but this is a rather short one. I also thought I should tell you that won't be able to post any new chapter the next two weeks because I'll be on holidays.
To your information: Someone is going to appear in this chapter, Rachel was romantically involved with in the show. I changed their history and relationship a little, just like I did with Quinns parents. To all the curious ones of you; They know each other since they were like four or five years old.
Summary:
It's prom night and since Rachel cancelled her date, she has plenty of time left before she has to leave.
On her way to McKinley she meets an old friend and gets the chance to tell him something she felt like she needed to for quite a time already, and his reaction lifts all her worries from the tinny brunettes shoulders.
[...] "Thank you", she whispered. "For what?", [he] laughed, "For being a good friend? Well, always." [...]
Containing:
Faberry | St. Berry friendship | slight Finchel friendship | even slighter Puckleberry friendship | a really small sign of Sam/Finn
- Rachels POV -
- Chapter Four -
Rachel allowed herself some time before heading to McKinley. Since she wasn't to meet with anyone of her friends and cancelled her date with Puck, there was no time frame for her. She didn't fancy going to prom alone and being one of the first students there, so she decided to go and get herself some snack after she showed off her dress and everything to her dads. Quinn would be rather late anyway, she thought to herself, while preparing a vegan sandwich. There wasn't much of a reason for the brunette to leave already.
Leroy and Hiram were sitting on the sofa in the living room, where they went back to when Rachel announced she'd go and get herself some food. Hiram turned around and looked at his daughter in the room across from them. He looked back down at his husband in confusion. "Something is up with her, don't you think? I sense something." Leroy had to hold back his giggles. "Well, why don't you go over and talk to her then?" The smaller man turned to his daughter again, who was now getting a plate for her sandwich. He put the cup of tea back on the table and got up. Before he walked over, he quickly straightened his clothes. His partner smiled at him and Hiram returned it, then he way off.
Rachel turned in her chair when she heard someone walking towards her from behind. When she saw it was Hiram, she quickly wiped the sauce from the corner of her mouth and straightened up. Hiram took his seat across from his daughter and smiled at her. "Goldstar, is there something wrong with you? You seem a little… out of this world with your thoughts." Rachels shoulders fell down again. Oh please. Not again, she thought to herself. She took a bite from her sandwich and shook her head. "What makes you think so?", she asked after she finished chewing. The man hunched his shoulders. "It's just, I'm your dad and I sense it. And like I said, you seem a little in thoughts." The brunette stood up to get herself some water. "Well, I guess it's because I am. In thoughts I mean. But that isn't something quite new, or is it?" She looked at him with a questioning look and Hiram shook his head. "See. Do you want something to drink?", the diva offered but she received a second head-shaking. She quickly poured in some water in her favourite glass, the one with the huge star in the front she got when she was a little girl, put the bottle back in the fridge and walked back to the table where her dad was sitting.
"Fine", Hiram finally said after a couple of minutes they just sat there in silence, Rachel eating her sandwich and the man just watching her. "Fine", she repeated. "But another thing", Hiram looked up at the clock, "It's already 8:47pm, don't you want to leave sometime?" Rachel shook her head. "I have plenty of time left. The band is going to start playing at 10pm and I don't have to meet up with anyone before. So..", she explained. Hiram looked at her a little confused. "Don't you have some prom date?", he asked and again just received head-shaking from his daughter. "Well, what's with Quinn then?" The diva looked at him eyes wide. How could he know? "Uh… How do you mean that? I'm… We're friends", she managed to say. "I know", Leroy responsed a little confused, "Why don't you two go together then? As friends." Rachel hunched her shoulders. "She's going with some friends. She asked me to join them as well, but I made other plans I just cancelled like two hours ago or something."
The man was curious now. "What plans?" Rachel got up to put her plate and glass in the sink. "That's not really any of your business. Besides I cancelled, remember? Just forget it", she said with a half smile on her lips and then just left the room, leaving her dad a little confused. There definitely has to be something wrong with this girl, he thought. She never talked to him like this. And she never had secrets as well.
Hiram got up and walked back to his partner where he let himself fall on the sofa. He sighted which drew Leroys attention to the small man. "And?", he asked already knowing how their conversation ended. "Nothing. I mean, there is something up with her but she refused to tell me. She even walked away on me. She never does it", he pouted and Leroy had to laugh at it. "Just let her be. She's growing up. She needs some private space, okay. And remember when you was at her age, you didn't tell your parents nearly as much as she does. We're lucky with her. Just let her some things for herself." Hiram looked at him. "You know something", he stated. Leroy had to laugh at this. "No, I don't", he laughed. He was a bad liar. The small man playfully hit him. "Don't lie to me! Tell me", he begged him but Leroy acted as if he locked his lips with a key. Hiram knew he lost the argumentation at this and fell back in the sofa, his arms crossed and pouting. The taller one of them bent over and kissed him on the cheek and then drew his attention back to the TV. Hiram wasn't going to be mad for long, he knew that much.
Around 9:02pm Rachel thought it was time to leave for the prom. She gathered up her belongings she was to take with her; her purse was lying on the kitchen counter, her handy on the little shelf in the hallway and her keys were hanging on the rake next to the door. She grabbed her coat and walked over to her dads still sitting on the sofa. "Uh, I'm gonna leave now." Both Leroy and Hiram turned in their seats to face the diva. Leroy got up first and walked over to his daughter to put her arms around her. "Have fun tonight. And get your girl", he whispered the last part and when Rachel looked at him in confusion he winked his eye. She smiled at him and Leroy let her out of her embrace because Hiram was already standing behind him, waiting to say goodbye to her as well.
"I'm sorry for earlier", the brunette said before she went in his spread arms. Her daddy kissed her forehead. "It's okay, goldstar. I already forgot about it. If you wouldn't just have it brought up again", he joked and Leroy playfully hit him on his shoulder. Hiram looked at his partner for a couple of seconds and then drew his attention back to his daughter who was still lying in his arms. "Just like your dad already said; Have fun tonight. I can't wait for your stories already." Rachel grinned and quietly thanked god for her parents not seeing it because she wasn't bothered to explain why she was grinning. Hiram felt the diva nod her head slightly and then let her out of his hug.
Rachel stepped back and looked at both of her dads. "Thank you, I guess I will", she said with a smile on her lips. "And I hope there will be nice stories to tell you", she added looking at Hiram. Leroy was trying to hide his giggles and received a smile from his daughter. When she was about to turn on her heels, she felt a hand holding her back. "One thing left, young lady. When do you think you'll be back home?" Rachel sighted and turned back around again. "Uh I don't know. The prom ends around 2am. I don't know if they planned on going somewhere after that. Like Breadsticks or something. If so, I'll send either of you a text, okay?" She didn't really asked for permission since it was clear to her that she'll definitely join the rest of the club if they wanted to go somewhere after prom. She received a nod from Leroy and a "Okay, but don't be home too late", from Hiram. She gave them one of her Rachel Berry-smiles and then turned back around again, this time actually leaving her dads.
Around ten minutes away from McKinley her car started to beep, signaling Rachel she really had to stop at some petrol station. Luckily there still was one on her way.
There was just one other car at the station. It somehow seemed familiar to the girl, but she couldn't quite put her fingers around it. She parked her car on one of the petrol pumps and stepped out of the car to feed it with some gas. She was humming some song and waiting to the display to tell her some number she was waiting for, when someone put her hands before her eyes from behind. The person rather scared Rachel, much to his joy. When the first shock dropped, she put down his hands with hers and turned around to see who thought it was funny to scare the death out of her. There he, Jesse, was, standing across her. The brunettes face lighted up abruptly and she literally jumped in his arms.
"Hi to you, too, Rachel", the boy said, trying to hold himself and her up. Then Rachel remembered her car and that it still was tanking up and she quickly let him out of her embrace to make the gas stop flowing in her car. Then she turned back to the boy and smiled her huge smile. "How… What are you doing here?", she asked excitedly. "Uh, I guess I'm tanking up my car… Since this is a petrol station and all this stuff", he joked and she playfully hit him, receiving a laugh. "I didn't mean it that way. But wait, I'm quickly gonna pay for the gas." And with that she left Jesse standing there.
When she came back after a couple of minutes, Jesse was sitting on her passengers seat, door wide open and legs hanging out of the car. "It's been quite a time since we last see each other", Rachel stated, handing him a bottle of coke she just bought. The boy nodded in agreement. "You're looking beautiful by the way." The diva blushed at this. Jesse never seemed to ignore a chance to make a girl, especially her, feel special. They were just friends and she was gay, but his charmed had his way on her though. "I assume you're on your way to the ball?" It was more a statement than a question and Rachel nodded in response. "I guess you'll leave tons of guys speechless tonight."
The brunette walked over to the back seats and opened the door. She took a seat and Jesse turned in his one to face the brunette. "Something wrong?", he asked a little worried. Jesse, whatsoever, knew Rachel. He stood up and walked over to the diva. Standing in front of the back door he motioned her to move over so he could sit next to her. Rachel did as she was told and Jesse climbed on the seat. He took a sip of his coke and then looked her in the eyes. "You can tell me, you know?" Rachel nodded her head.
They were friends for ages now, even tried dating each other for a period of time but it didn't work out good, because they preferred their relationship as "just friends". Rachel trusted him, she would even give him the shirt off her back.
She couldn't stand his glare anymore and looked down at her bottle of coke. The brunette lifted it to her lips to take a sip because her mouth suddenly felt pretty dry. When she put it back down, Jesse moved over to take it from her and put both, hers and Rachels, bottle on the floor out of the car. He then drew his attention back to the diva sitting across from him. She refused to look at him, so Jesse lifter her head, putting his index finger under her chin. "Rachel. Please talk to me."
The diva wasn't even sad or something. Besides Quinn, Jesse was her best friend. They used to do everything together and knew all the secrets the other had. She felt the need to tell him about her being gay, as well, but she was a little scared of his reaction.
That's when she looked him deep in the eyes. No, Jesse could never be mad at her for something like that. He would never judge her. The diva knew that much for sure. She took a breath and Jesse took her hands in his as encouragement. "Jesse, there are a couple of things in my life which changed. It's nothing which upsets me or something, so definitely not the reason why I act this way. I just… I want to tell you but you have to promise me not to judge me or anything." The girl was serious, Jesse felt it, so he quickly nodded his head. "There's no way in hell I'm ever gonna judge you", he meant it just how he said it and Rachel knew it.
"You know Quinn, right? Quinn Fabray, the blonde girl, former head cheerleader, blah blah blah." Jesse nodded his head. "The one who used to tease you and call you those names? Names like… 'Man-Hands'? How could I forget about her?" Rachel narrowed her eyes and shook her head, receiving a confused look from Jesse. "Forget about those things…" Jesse interrupted her, "How could I forget what she did to you? You've been crying several times because of that… that… God, how could I forget about the fact that she tortured you and…" Rachel put her hand on his mouth to make him shush. "Let me continue", she said. Jesse nodded his head and the diva took her hand back. "Well, Quinn and I, as confusing and weird this is gonna sound to you, we became quite good friends over the last couple of months. And she is the one who helped me finding myself, the one who made me realize some things. And with her in my life, it somehow was way easier to admit them to myself than without her. And don't look at me like that. I said it must look weird to you. It's just, she's different know. She grew up and she's so much more mature now. She even left cheerios. Anyway. What I wanted to tell you is that… Well, the thing she helped me to realize is that… Jesse, I'm gay", she finally said.
Rachel was looking down on her hands when she heard Jesse cough. "Well, I always thought something like this must be going to happen to you some day. I mean, you and me would have been perfect together, but it didn't quite work out. Now I know that you're the one to blame for it", he jokes which lifted all of the divas worries off her shoulders. She looked up at him again and smiled. "Thank you", she whispered. "For what?", Jesse laughed, "For being a good friend? Well, always." Rachels smile just grew wider and she bent up to kiss him on the cheek. "Uh, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can love you, by the way", she said and for what she received a smile from the boy. "I love you, too, Rachel. Forever and always", he repeated what they used to tell each other when they were younger. "Forever and always", the brunette said.
It was 9:32pm when she arrived at McKinley. Most parts of the parking lot and entry were already full of other students cars, but she found an empty space down the road. Rachel parked her car and then walked back to the school. She walked up the stairs to the entrance, where she had to show her ticket and her ID, and then walked down the corridor to the gym. She was looking for the blonde girl everywhere.
Rachel stepped in the gym. A huge winterwonderland décor was in sight. Rachel fell for the style of the gym right away. The décor didn't keep her attention for so long though, because she went back to searching the blonde. She looked at her phone which told her it was already 9:38pm. Come on Quinn, you can't be that late, she thought to herself. That's when her phone made a sound, signaling her that she got a text message. The ID read Noah and Rachel quickly opened it, curious in what the Mohawk-wearing boy needed to send her just again.
"Hi :) "
The diva was confused. "Hi", nothing more than "Hi" and this stupid smiley? This text didn't make any sense to her. Well, until she looked up and saw Puck and Mike standing across from her, Puck waving, and Mike smiling at her. Rachel drew her attention back to her phone. She quickly tipped a response and clicked the send-button.
"Hi yourself, you fool."
When she saw Puck smiling down at his phone because of the text he just got, she started her way towards them. "Hi to you, too, Mike", Rachel said to the Asian boy who smiled at her in return. "Have you two seen Quinn already?" Wow Rachel, chill down a little, she told herself. "No. We haven't. But we haven't seen anyone else as well… Oh wait, there are Finn and Sam standing at the buffet." The Diva turned on her heels to look in the direction where the buffet was built up and there she saw them. "Thanks Noah. I'll just go over there and ask them. I guess we'll probably see each other later", she said to the boys and then left.
She was searching for the blonde girl on her way to the other two boys but there was no sign of her. That's when she reached Sam and Finn. She rose her hand and tipped the tall boy on his back, because she was too small to reach up his shoulders, and he turned around in surprise. When Finn saw the brunette standing in front of her a huge smile appeared on his face and he quickly wrapped his arms around the tinny girl. "Air… Finn", she somehow managed to say and Finn let her go again. "Uh sorry", he said and Rachel smiled at him in return. "It's ok", she laughed. "Hey Sam", she said to the blonde boy who was about to scarf down his second hot dog in the few seconds she was talking to Finn – and fighting for air for that matter. He rose his hand to wave because he wasn't able to say anything at that moment. Rachel smiled, half trying to cover her disgust, and drew her attention back to Finn. "Where's Quinn?", she blurted out and Finn just shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. She was behind us when we got her. Then Sam and I went over to the buffet. I dunno where she's at right now", he said, biting from his hot dog in between. "Uh I guess she's still standing next to the door", Sam said and turned around to see if he was right. And he was.
There Quinn was still standing next to the entrance, scanning the gym as if she was looking for something, rather said someone. That's when Rachel came in sight and a huge smile spread across the blondes face. But not as huge as the one the diva was smiling at that exact moment. She quickly thanked Finn and Sam and then started her way towards the blonde.
