I'm really sorry for how long each chapter takes, I just hope it's worth the wait.
This chapter is unbeta'd, I'm sorry for that.
Oh and I have no freaking idea if there's a Homecoming Ball in McKinley. Let's think there is for the sake of the story. Also, THERE ARE IMPORTANT LINKS ON MY PROFILE.
Disclaimer: Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox. The proverbial lemon belongs to Jane815. What do I own, you ask? A laptop and a canary named Milo.
And Rachel Berry is nothing but thorough. So, for the sake of science – and only for this reason; seriously – she decides to find out more about this new path that her former mortal enemy seems to be taking. Or so she thinks Quinn is.
As the turn of events finally sinks in, she starts to drift into dreamland and all the tension of her body goes away with a languid sigh and the promise of a future plan to figure Quinn out.
...
It's vibrant.
It catches her eye and automatically makes her tremor. It has always stood out in the crowd. People part and bow at its sight and she can feel the power it emanates even in the distance.
It's the Cheerios uniform and it's being shown by one Quinn Fabray.
Rachel holds her breath as she watches Quinn strutting down the hallway to her locker with the fitted red shirt and flapping skirt. She doesn't know what to feel. In other circumstances she'd be slightly apprehensive, even a little scared, but not today. Rachel smirks to herself. She has a good advantage, an ace up her sleeve, a secret power.
She kinda feels like a super hero with a secret identity.
There's even a tune resounding in her head, like her personal soundtrack and she struts towards the blonde, her steps matching the beat.
"Good morning, Quinn."
The cheerleader freezes for a second with her hand still in the locker door.
'It can't be... what is she doing?' Quinn thinks as she turns. "Ra- Berry." 'Rachel? Really? Since when Fabray?'
"I've noticed that you are back to your uniform, which I have to say, is still fitting you perfectly, if not better than before the pregnancy. It doesn't take a genius to figure out you have been reinstated on the Cheerios and although I never doubted in your possibilities, I merely wanted to congratulate you for your success in the selection and your comeback to the top of the food chain."
"Uhm..." 'Is it me or there was a compliment somewhere in that monologue?' Quinn thinks briefly. "Thanks or whatever."
Rachel beams. She did slip a compliment in her speech, just to see Quinn's reaction and so far, it has been positive.
'Don't smile like that... why is she- oh God, I'm screwed.' Rachel only smiles wider, her eyes lighting up at Quinn's thoughts. 'That's cute. Oh shit, Fabray, stop that. And look away for God's sake!'
The blonde huffs and looks over Rachel's shoulder, meeting the students eyes with an icy glare. Rachel decides to give her a break.
"Okay, well, see you in Math." Quinn watches the brunette walk towards Britt and Santana. Rachel says something and her and Brittany wave to the Latina before making their way to class.
"What's wrong with you? Hellooo! Earth to Juno?" It's the last thing Rachel hears before turning the corner.
...
"Are you coming to the Mall with us on Friday?" Brittany asks with a smile.
"The Mall?"
"Duh, Homecoming is this weekend," Santana says matter-of-factly.
"Oh, is it?" She asks not really interested.
"We'll help you pick a dress. Oh, S, can we chose a pretty dress for Rachel? She's so cute and her body is hot, if she wears a nice dress she'll be the prettiest."
Rachel doesn't know what to say. Did Brittany just called her hot? Besides, she didn't have in mind to go to the dance, not after what happened with Finn.
"I'm not really g-"
"Cute? Yeah, like in a wet poodle in a wool sweater kind of way. Talking about awful taste, what on the name of God is that thing on your sweater?"
"I think it's an alien," the blonde says and Santana crinkles her nose.
"Not it's not. It's a rabbit and this happens to be one of my favorite sweaters," Rachel announces proudly as they enter the choir room.
They sit two seats away from Quinn, who immediately starts stealing glances at the peculiar trio. Puck's at her side, scanning the room like he owns it and Mr. Schue is nowhere to be seen, just like Kurt and Mercedes. Tina and Artie are watching Mike trying to teach Finn some move and laughing hysterically at the desperation the dancer is clearly feeling.
"Whatever, your taste is awful and that sweater is ugly as fuck."
"S, be nice." Britt pouts.
"Why? I mean, it's not like she's not gonna do the mind tricky," Santana whispers the two last words, "and know what I'm thinking anyway. So might as well take advantage of the free pass."
"I'm not convinced at all by your twisted logic, but I guess I'm going to have to deal with it, seen as you two are the only ones I can talk to." Rachel sighs, leaning back on her chair and crossing her legs.
"Don't you forget it Berry," Santana concludes with a nod and a smirk.
'Holy mother of- Are you punishing me God? Is this some kind of test? Do you hate me that much?'
Rachel perks up at Quinn's thought, a little bit alarmed by what may have caused the blonde's distress.
'Please not her legs. Anything but that.'
The brunette has to bite the inside of her cheek to stop her smile. Mischievously, she decides a little teasing can't do much harm. She deliberately uncrosses her legs and then slowly crosses them again the other way around; the most femme fatal move she can manage.
'Oh God. Ohfuck. So much skin.' Rachel hears the jumbled thoughts and leans back even further on the chair. 'How is it even possible for a shorty like her to have those endless legs? And they look so... smooth. So soft, so touchable... kissable... I'd love to bite right the inside of that tan thigh that's peeking under that sinfully short skirt and run my hands up and up and right between- shit, Fabray! Get yourself together, you're like a horny teenage boy!'
Quinn's little internal monologue leaves Rachel blushing like a mad woman and ridiculously flustered. She hurries to sit properly and tries to cover the most expanse of skin she can.
"What? What is it?" Santana asks avidly, like the shark that just smelled the drop of blood in its tank.
Rachel shakes her head vehemently. "It's nothing, Santana."
"Oh no. No, no, no, no. Not now Berry. You just heard some juicy thought and I want to know- hell we" she points between her and Brittany, "deserve to know."
"And how did you possibly earn that right, pray tell?"
Santana falls quiet suddenly, a million excuses running through her mind.
"We are keeping your secret," Britt states calmly, creating two different reactions, Santana's satisfaction and Rachel's terror.
"That... that's blackmail and it's wrong!"
"No silly, that's called friends," Brittany clarifies. 'No wonder she's never had friends if she gives them those weird names.'
The admission of their friendship takes Rachel by surprise and she feels a smile slowly creeping to her face.
"Yeah, emotive shit, blah, blah, whatever. Point is, who and what were they thinking about?"
Right on cue Mr. Schuester arrives followed by Mercedes, Kurt and a cute blonde boy.
'This is not over, half-pint.'
Rachel squirms in her seat, afraid of the conversation she's pretty sure she'll have to endure with Santana later.
"Okay guys!" Schue exclaims with her usual over-enthusiasm. "Mercedes and Kurt had been hunting down for new potential members for the Glee Club and they tell me this boy over here has the voice and the charm to be a good male lead."
Said boy waves awkwardly.
"Weren't you the ones who didn't want more members?" Puck recalls confused.
Mercedes looks at Kurt, a silent conversation happening between them. '...worth it if the guy is this hot. But they don't need to know that.' It's all Rachel catches. She rolls her eyes.
"When you hear his voice, you'll understand why we made an exception," Kurt quickly makes up. The rest of the Club seem interested now.
"Why don't you introduce yourself and show us what you got then?" Mr. Schue offers.
"Yeah, uh, well... hi. My name is Sam, I've been transferred from-"
This is all Rachel gets to hear because, just as suddenly as it always happen, Quinn's voice invade her mind full-force.
'Mh, the boy's cute. Male lead potential uh? I wonder if Berry's gonna want him too...' The brunette turns to Quinn as subtly as she can manage, only to see a small frown on the blonde's face. 'I can't let that happen again, dammit! Now that she's not with Finn she'll... she... No. No, I don't care what she does. All I care about is... cute... hot... boys? Yes, like Sam.'
Sam is belting out a song Rachel doesn't recognize, or she's just too focused on Quinn's thoughts to be bothered about it. So, the blonde thinks she's going to pursue Sam now? That's plain ridiculous considering there's another blonde holding Rachel's interests at the moment. And she's a little bit offended too; just because the boy has a nice voice doesn't mean she's going to fall for him. What does she think Rachel is? A schoolgirl? And now Quinn is interested in Sam too? Why must she be so confusing?
Rachel huffs quietly, earning a questioningly glance from Santana and a muttered "Weirdo."
"Great! That was fantastic, wasn't it?" Mr. Schue asks excited. The fellow clubbers look satisfied enough and Mercedes and Kurt have a very pleased expression on their faces. "I think you're in then. Welcome to our little kingdom, Sam!"
…
Practice is going to end any minute now and Rachel is counting down the seconds to make the fastest sprint to her car ever. Santana, at her side, looks completely unfazed by her obvious anxiety and stares calmly at the front of the class. 'Oh Berry you're so predictable...'
"Let's wrap it up here and I'll see you next day!" Just as Mr. Schue says this words, Rachel bolts out of her chair just to find herself anchored to the spot.
"What-" She turns to see the Latina fisting the back of her sweater and wearing her trade-mark smirk.
"Sit." Santana pulls the girl back until she falls on the chair again.
"Those were some terrific reflexes, Santana," she says glumly.
"Coach used to throw balloons at us so we'd "improve our ability to react"," Brittany chimes in.
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"She said they were full of arsenic."
"Oh my god, that's awful! Was it true?"
"Clearly with that prospect, no one ever got hit, so we'll never know. But that's beside the point. You know what we want to know- and even though I bet it's probably just Puck recalling the kinky porn he watched last night- just spill it so we can leave," Santana says as she stands in front of the girl, folding her arms and trapping Rachel between her and the chair.
She takes a deep breath trying to gain some time. Lying would be the easiest way to scape this inquiry, she knows; but Rachel also knows that if there is someone who can help her figure out what's going on with Quinn, those are Britt and Santana.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Quinn getting up and walking towards the new kid. Hands on her hips and chin held high, the blonde flashes him her charming smile and introduces herself as Quinn Fabray, head Cheerio. Sam looks automatically smitten.
Rachel scoffs.
"Okay, whatever! You want to know who was thinking what? Splendid, I'll tell you. Let's go."
...
When they reach the park, Santana rounds her car and jumps on the hood.
"Spill."
"With one condition," Rachel mutters as she sits next to the Latina, careful not to wrinkle her skirt. The blonde sits on the other side.
Santana groans, leaning back on the hood and shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "What condition?"
"You can't ask for details."
"That's no fun!" She whines.
"Santana, they were having very descriptive sexual thoughts, I'm not giving you the details!"
"Didn't know you were such a prude."
"Do you want me to tell you or not?"
'Fine,' Santana thinks making Rachel smirk.
"Well, this... person, has been having... uhm sexy thoughs about... uhm, me."
"What? Who on their fucking right mind would do that?" She sits up in a rush.
"I would," Britt states surely making Santana cringe and Rachel blush
"Well, thank you Brittany."
"Anyways, who's the pea-size brain that has dirty thoughts about you?"
"I don't think I should tell you th-"
"Berry," Santana warns.
The brunette sighs and mumbles something under her breath.
"What was that?" She asks leaning into Rachel to hear better.
"Quinn. It's Quinn," she finally admits. "Quinn was having sexual thoughts about me- just like she has been since I can read her mind- together with other more endearing thoughts about how cute I am or how shiny my hair is and really, I don't know what to think anymore! She's always been so cold- and now she's flirting with what's-his-name! Just a few minutes ago you were playing a whole, detailed fantasy about my legs in your head and now you're all over that... mailbox-mouth..."
Silence falls upon them as Rachel trails off with her ramble. Brittany smiles giddily, watching a bird pecking at the ground near them and Santana is gaping at her like some sort of human-fish.
"Oh. My. God!" She finally gasps. "You're telling me Quinn Fabray is totally gay for Rachel Berry? This is fucking crazy."
There's a huge smirk on Santana's face as she says this and Rachel doesn't know if that's a good or a bad sign.
"Not really." Britt jumps from the hood to try to catch the bird but it flies away. She pouts.
"What do you mean, B?" Her friend gestures for her to come back to the car.
"Quinn has always liked Rachel. But not the same kind of "like" like how I like you, because I'm nice to you. Quinn isn't nice to Rachel because she likes her. Like when Danny Schmitt used to pull at my braids because he liked me."
Rachel shakes her head confused; she's not sure she understood the blonde.
"Okay, first, let's not talk about Danny, ever again. Second, are you sure about that?"
"Yeah."
"Oh my God..." Santana breaths.
"Wait. What? You believe it? I..." Rachel is bewildered, "...wow. I have to say I was expecting you to deny it and say something along the lines of "Quinn would rather bath on acid than like some hybrid of a drag queen and a granny like you.""
'That actually sounds a lot like me.' The Latina lets out a genuine laugh. "I admit that if Britt wasn't so sure, I'd totally say that. But if she says Quinn likes you, then Quinn likes you. She's extremely perceptive."
"I don't know what that means, but I'm sure it's sweet," the blonde says giving her friend an awkward side hug. Santana chuckles.
"Anyways. Come to think of it, I guess we had some hints that Juno had the hots for you."
Rachel blushes at Santana's bluntness. "What do you mean?"
"Drawing pornographic pictures of you on bathroom stalls, the fixation she had on making your life a living hell, the hearts she used to draw around your very accurate pictures," this earns a glare from the short diva, "and, you know, the obvious UST hanging all around the room when you two are near."
"UST?" Rachel asks confused.
"Unresolved Sexual Tension, Berry, where have you been living? In an igloo?"
"Oh, so that was it."
"So you know what I'm talking about," Santana asks smugly. "Does the resident diva want to bed Quinn Fabray?"
"What? No! I don't- I mean, not like Quinn is not beautiful, because, she is. Very. And she has a very pleasant voice too. Not to mention the ridiculously fit body she's regained after giving birth and those mesmerizing hazel eyes that-"
"Okay, okay, enough. You're gonna make me puke at this rate."
Rachel has the decency to blush. "Well, I might be crushing a little on her."
…
The trio drives to the Mall immediately after Friday's last class. She listens to the cheerleaders banter about which Spice Girl was hotter and lets herself be dragged through rows and rows of clothes. She founds herself actually having fun.
"So, how's it going up there?" Britt asks tapping her softly on the forehead, while Santana is busy complaining for the lack of assistants in this shop.
"Good. You don't have to worry about that anymore, I have it under control," she says proudly.
"That's awesome."
It really is, Rachel thinks. But there's something that has been bothering her since day one.
"Even though..."she mumbles after Santana gestures them to follow her to the dressing room. The blonde looks at her frowning. "Do you think this is morally acceptable?"
Britt's frown seems to deepen. 'It's what?'
"Uhm, don't you think it's wrong that I have free access to other people's deepest secrets?"
"Oh." The blonde pulls Rachel and plops them both on a dingy couch besides the dressing rooms. "You feel bad for finding out Q likes you without her knowing?"
"Yeah, I guess you can sum it up like that."
"Well, Q has always been mean to you and you never knew why. I think you deserve to know. So it's not wrong."
Rachel ponders this for a moment. If it wasn't for her power, she'd have never known that Quinn felt some sort of attraction for her and consequently, she'd have never realized her own for the hazel-eyed beauty. She doubts Quinn would have ever told her or act on her feelings on her own and Rachel would have finished high school thinking the blonde hated her guts with a passion. The bullying and mean words thrown her way through the years have taken now a completely new perspective.
Britt sighs and leans her head on Rachel's shoulder.
"Are you tired?"
The blonde just nods.
"Why?"
"I stayed at Santana's last night," she mumbles.
"Oh."
Rachel really didn't need that mental image. Fortunately for her, Santana comes out of the dressing room in that moment. The dress she chose is hugging her in all the right places, the white fabric bunched up on her left shoulder and showing off her the other, making her look like some sort of Greek goddess. Brittany bolts at the sight.
"So, I shouldn't be asking this 'cause I already know but, how do I look?"
"You look stunning Santana, I'd dare to say that this dress is the one. Not only does it show enough skin for it to be sexy without being slutty but the color makes a wonderful contrast with your tan."
"I want to rip it off you," the blonde states unblinking.
Santana shows a devious smirk and sends a wink at Britt's way. She turns to the mirror and spins a few times, admiring her figure in all the possible angles. "I don't know... maybe I should try the blue one?"
Britt slips behind her, her hands stopping at her friends hips. "No. This one. Everyone will want you."
She turns her head lightly. "Everyone?"
"Yeah." Squeezing the girl's hips one last time, the blonde moves back to the couch. Santana shuts the door stall behind her and Brittany puts her head back on Rachel's shoulder. The small girl can't stop her question.
"Britt?"
"Mhm?"
"Doesn't it bother you that Santana wants other people to want her?"
"Why would it bother me?"
"I don't know... I thought you and her..."
Brittany sits up and smiles sadly. "Sex is not dating, Rach."
"Do you want it to be?"
'Yes.' Britt shrugs. "Santana doesn't. And it's okay. If it was, I wouldn't have the record of hook-ups"
Rachel nods thoughtfully as the stall opens again and the Latina comes out with the dress folded on her arm. "Next store."
…
"So, we have our dresses, we have shoes, we have accessories..." Santana recounts. She turns to Rachel slowly and squints her eyes. "Your turn."
"Yay!" Brittany squeals bouncing on her toes.
"Wait, I'm not-"
"Look at this... it's like it's made for you, Berry!" The Latina exclaims, pointing at the shop window of a clothes store for kids. The little dummy is wearing a wool dress with pink flowers embroidered all over it.
"You crack me up, Santana," Rachel deadpans.
"I crack myself up, too."
They follow a skipping Brittany into another store, Rachel still too offended to realize that the two girls are actually looking for a dress for her.
"Oh Rach, you'd look super hot in this." The blonde holds up a short, black dress with a feathery skirt.
"Wha- No, Britt, I'm not-"
"It will show your legs. You have nice legs," she continues, pressing the dress to her body to check the length.
"It's quite short." 'I don't think Berry The Prude would wear that,' Santana mentally teases.
"I would!" She argues, stomping her feet on the ground. "That is, if I were going to the ball, which I'm not."
"What?" Comes the chorused question.
"It's what I've been trying to say all this past week. I'm not going."
"Why do you need a dress then?" Britt pouts, looking down at the fabulous dress she picked.
"No, Brittany, I don't need a dress. I just came because... I've never really had any friends to go shopping with. I don't know... I guess I wanted to hang out at the Mall like a normal teenager for once. I don't have any interest whatsoever in going to the Homecoming Ball."
"Wait, does this have anything to do with Q going to the party with blondie?"
"She's- what?"
"Quinn asked Sam at the end of practice yesterday. I saw them," the blonde clarifies.
Rachel's face falls. A very unpleasant feeling settles in her stomach; something similar to jealousy, but mixed with anger and outrage. Quinn has gone as far to ignore her feelings for her as to date a boy she only has known for a week. Is she really that horrible? Does Quinn really have to take so much trouble just not to admit her attraction?
"Oh," Brittany mumbles sadly. "I should have told you. I forgot. Sorry, Rach."
"What? No, no, it's okay." She forces a smiles. "I don't really care."
"Sure you don't," Santana says knowingly. "Look Berry, Quinn's a dumbass. A dumbass and a pussy. She's using the poor boy, trying to deny her feelings for you... even more reasons to go to the fucking ball! She needs to face the music and grow a pair and you," she grabs the girl and pushes her to the dressing room, then throws the dress at her, "have to be there to push her."
"But, I still don't have a date..."
"You can come with us!" Brittany exclaims excited.
"Wait. No, no, no, no... Berry has to be there to unpress Quinn's lemon, yes, but let's draw a line here: she is not coming with us."
"Unpress her... what?" Rachel asks dumbfounded.
"But S... it'll be great! She'll look so hot in that dress, she won't embarrass us-"
"Excuse me-"
"-and Q will be so jealous. Please, San? Pweaty pwease?"
The Latina looks back and forth at the two girls, a torn expression on her face. She focus on Brittany's puppy face and bites her lip. 'You are so whipped, Lopez.' Finally she gives up with a groan.
"Fine." She leans closer to her friend. "But I expect a good amount of time alone after the ball."
When Britt nods seductively, Rachel scurries to the stall. As cute as they are, there's so much PDA from the two Cheerios she can tolerate in one afternoon.
…
"Why is everybody looking at me?" Rachel asks nervously as they walk through the crowd of people towards the corner where the Glee Club agreed to meet.
"`Cause you look smoking," Britt answers looking back at her with a smile. She is, in fact, wearing the black dress Brittany picked up for her. Briefly looking down at herself, then at her two friends, she decides it's really not that big of a deal. They both are looking like straight out of a magazine.
Santana is a mirage of a greek goddess in her white dress and Britt is leaving broken hearts in her path in that fabulous yellow dress. She kinda understands the jealous glares boys and girls are sending her way.
"There they are," Santana points out. Rachel scans the group; there's Puck, who's wearing a tuxedo but, (as he would say), still looking badass; there's the stylish overload that are Mercedes and Kurt; there's Tina with less gothic makeup than expected and Artie, wearing a cute bow tie and looking up at her endearingly and, much to her disappointment, there is no Quinn in sight.
"Check this out." Puck is the first to spot them. "You all dressed like this for the Puckster? Awh, there was no need! I like you better without those."
"Shut your face, Puckerman," Santana spits with an eye roll. "Where is your date anyway?"
"She left to get some drinks."
"Aren't you supposed to do that? I mean, it's the gentlemanly thing to do." Rachel asks as they reach the group.
'That word is not in his vocabulary,' Santana jokes mentally, making her chuckle in agreement.
"Hey, she offered! I'm not one to contradict a lady."
"Oh. My. God. Cedes, tell me you are seeing the same thing I'm seeing and this is not some sort of punch-induced dream," Kurt says holding his cup of punch with two fingers and openly staring at Rachel from head to toe.
"It has to be, boy. It's not even spiked yet," Mercedes answers just as impressed.
"Well, in that case, alert the media; Rachel Berry is looking, not only like a normal sixteen year old girl with a great fashion sense, but disconcertingly gorgeous."
"'Disconcertingly' being the key word," Mercedes adds quietly.
"Uh... thank you?"
"Sure." Kurt finally seems to snap out of his daze and flashes her a somewhat honest smile. "Just like I have the duty to tell you when you are breaking all the fashion rules in the history of... well, fashion; I have to admit it when you manage to look like probably the best dressed in the room."
"Excuse me. Hello?" Santana points at herself and Brittany, then does a twirl for everyone to see.
"Oh, you two looking good too, Santana," the boy comments halfheartedly. The Latina gasps.
"You two look amazing," Tina hurries to say. She nudges her boyfriend for help.
"Yeah, like... damn hot."
'Great help, Artie.' Rachel hears the girl think as she glares at him. "Is just that, with the surprise factor, Rachel ends up... wining."
"Whatever," Santana scoffs, but soon enough, her blonde friend is whispering in her ear and her anger seems to deflate.
Meanwhile, Rachel is baffled. She realizes everyone has put an special effort today to look in their finest, but there's no way anyone- much less her- can beat the two Cheerios.
"Oh look, there's Quinn." Kurt announces. 'And the hot blonde stuff too.'
Well, scratch that. There so is someone who can beat the two Cheerios; the head Cheerio.
If Quinn has usually parted crowds like Moses parted the red sea, today she is literally opening a path that could fit a chariot. She's wearing a flimsy red dress that makes her stand out in the mass of bodies and leaving no doubt that that's definitely her power color. Her hair is down and she looks flushed, like she has been on a rush to get there. At the last second, Rachel realizes there's a small looking Sam attached to her hand and being dragged around.
"Hey everybody," she greets. The group waves and greets them back. "Sorry we're late. As incredible as it sounds, it was Miss my-hair-still-doesn't-look-perfect's fault."
"Well, you know... this takes its time." Sam says pointing at his Bieber cut.
"It's completely understandable." Kurt nods eagerly. 'I wonder if it takes as long to mess up...'
Rachel snorts quietly, or so she thinks, because Quinn immediately snaps her gaze to her. 'Oh shit Rachel has...' her thought trails off as she really sees the brunette, '...come. Jesus Christ, is this the real life?'
Quinn's skin turns a shade darker under her light makeup, her chest raising with a heavy breath and her eyes blazing. No one but Rachel seems to realize; the rest of the Club seems too engrossed in their current conversation.
'Control. Yourself. Fabray. You're here with Sam. Your date. A boy. And you don't care how freakingly hot Rachel Berry's looking or how ridiculously short her dress is or how intensely she's looking your way and you most definitely don't care how much you just want to jump her bones right now.'
Well, that was enlightening, Rachel thinks amused in the midst of her heated staring. If she's capable of getting the girl alone, she's pretty sure she'll get some progress.
'I have to avoid her at all costs.'
"Just my luck," Rachel mumbles to herself.
"Let's dance." Quinn grabs Sam by the arm and drags him again to the dance floor. Santana by Rachel's side, folds her arms and puts a face.
"What crawled up her ass and died?"
"She's avoiding me."
"No shit, Sherlock." She rolls her eyes. 'I don't need super powers to see that.'
"Why is Q avoiding Rach? She looks super cute tonight. I'd have sex with her."
"Exaclty, B."
Brittany tilts her head confused.
"Precisely because of that; Quinn doesn't want to be around me in case she accidentally acts on her growing attraction."
"Oh." The blonde smiles deviously. 'We can fix that.'
She grabs the two girls by the hand and makes her way through the crowd to get where the couple is dancing. "Hi guys!"
"B." Quinn looks surprised that her friends have found her so soon. "Hey S and..." she takes a deep breath before rapidly facing the petite girl, "Berry."
"Guys, this party is awesome!" Sam gushes. "We didn't have this at my old school."
'Where did he go? Special school for Bieber-like losers?' Rachel nudges the Latina scolding. 'What? He doesn't even hear me!'
"Sam, you have pretty blonde hair..." Brittany starts running her fingers through his hair and the boy winces, quickly but gently removing the girls hands from his head and trying to fix what she messed up.
"Uh, thanks."
'He's such a flaming gay.' Rachel turns to Santana in a heartbeat, her eyes wide with surprise. 'Oh don't give me that, you know he is.'
'Is it okay? Shit, I hope it still looks okay. Maybe I should go to the bathroom to check it out,' the boy thinks, still touching up his hair.
After that, the brunette doesn't have any argument to refute Santana's statement.
"Oh, I know! Why don't we go get some drinks for our dates?"
"Uh..." Sam looks unsure between Santana and Rachel.
"Come on, S. Let's get Rach something to drink. You too, Sam." Once again, the boy finds himself being dragged around before he can even let a word in.
'What? No! Come back here!' Quinn thinks panicking. The blonde looks everywhere but at her companion, looking for a way to escape. Seconds tick by and the awkward tension grows between them. Right when Rachel is about to blurt out some stupid fact about the decoration of the gym, Quinn voice interrupts her.
'Shit. Okay, small talk Fabray. You can do this.' "So, you came as S and B's date?"
"Not really. Britt is just a little bit confused, you know how she is," Rachel explains. "I wasn't going to come, but she convinced me- and Santana for that matter- to come with them. While we know these two are clearly more than friends, that's what we came as tonight: friends."
"So, now you three are friends?" 'How did that even happen?'
"Well, it all started when you asked them to look after me and then it just kind of progressed..." the brunette trails off as she realizes her mistake.
'Oh my God, they told her! They are so dead!' Quinn thinks, her eyes wide like sausages. "What are you talking about, Berry?"
"I- I- I mean... I saw you once talking with them and then... they never said anything to me, I promise, I just kinda guessed..."
"Look Berry, I don't know what your hopeful, delusional, over-active mind has come up with, but I did not do such thing," Quinn spats angrily. 'Get out of here, Fabray. Now.'
"Quinn I'm-" But Quinn has already left. "Shit."
Way to go, she scolds herself. Now that she had the perfect opportunity to get a step closer to the distant girl, she messed it up. Never in her life has Rachel hated her big mouth as much as now.
"Hey, where's Quinn?" Sam appears suddenly holding two cups, followed by Santana and Britt.
"She needed to... uhm, bathroom."
"Oh, okay." He just smiles and continues enjoying her first high school ball ever.
"Here." Santana hands her a cup full of fruity liquid and she just shakes her head, refusing it sadly. The Latina frowns. 'What the fuck really happened here?'
Rachel shakes her head again.
It's painfully obvious, Quinn is ashamed of even caring for her and that, Rachel has to admit, hurts like hell. She wonders how long this has been happening. How long has the blonde been avoiding her to deny her feelings and not because she hates her? Rachel wonders if it has been like this since the beginning. How hard must that be? The brunette actually pities Quinn. Being so repressed must be unhealthy, and not only for her; Quinn has been bullying her since middle school and why? Perhaps because she felt attracted to a girl, who happened to be a loser. Well, there was no need to antagonize her, she could have just left her alone and watch her from afar.
Rachel is musing all this in the middle on the dance floor when Santana nudges her.
'What are you doing still here?' Rachel looks confused. 'Go find her, moron!'
The diva nods, then shakes her head. "But I don't know where she is," she whispers.
Santana sighs exasperated. 'Try the second floor bathroom. The one next to the vending machine.'
"Thank you, Santana."
'Yeah, don't mention it. And I mean it; don't even dare.'
…
'...no need to panic. You should have kept your cool though and not bolt out like some kind of scared animal, but it's okay, it's okay... you can fix this. She just has to believe that you left because you were really annoyed by her presence. Easy. You've been doing this since always. It's a piece of cake.' Quinn thoughts come from behind the closed door of the bathroom where Rachel has been standing the last five minutes. Finally and when the internal freak out of the blonde seems to have calmed down a little, she enters the bathroom.
Quinn is leaning on the sink, her head bent down and her eyes tightly shut.
"Quinn?" She asks mostly to announce her presence. She can literally see Quinn's muscles tensing.
'Are you fucking kidding me? I must be hearing things.'
"Quinn, can we talk?"
'Oh for the love of God, she's here.' The blonde turns slowly to the petite girl, a sneer plastered on her beautiful face. "We have nothing to talk about, Berry."
"I think we do." Rachel walks closer to the girl, her eyes never leaving the hazel ones.
"Okay, let's talk about how you followed me to the bathroom. Stalker much?" Quinn tries to stay calm as the brunette invades her personal space. 'Why the fuck is she so close? Okay, I'm not ready for this. It's not a piece of cake. Now get out of here.'
But when she side-steps Rachel, she finds the girl blocking her path once again. 'Damn it. She's fast.'
"Move out of my way, Man-Hands." Rachel actually flinches at the name. It's been a long time after all. 'Resorting to name-calling, Fabray? Tsk, tsk, you promised yourself, never again.'
"Look Quinn, I know you don't hate me, so drop the act," Rachel says confidently.
"Yeah? How would you know?" She scoffs.
"Well for starters, you asked Britt and Santana to make sure I was alright a few weeks ago."
"I told you, I did not do such-"
"Stop denying it, Quinn!" Rachel sighs frustrated. "Why are you so worried about caring about me? I think it was really sweet, and although you could have done it yourself, you showed what a great person you are under that bitchy facade."
"I'm not-"
"And why are you so against us being friends?" The brunette throws her hands in the air exasperated. She's hardly containing herself and what comes out of her mouth, but she knows she has to be careful not to let slip how she knows Quinn likes her. "We are together in Glee Club, you're not ordering slushies at me anymore, you don't even call me names- well apart from that one a few minutes ago- and you clearly care about my well-being, so I'm going to ask this again, why do you keep rejecting my friendship offer?"
'Because if we become friends, I'll probably want more.' Quinn sighs defeated. "We wouldn't work as friends, Berry, let it go."
"Okay," Rachel steps even closer to the blonde, looking up at her through dark eye-lashes and wishing Quinn could read her mind like she can, "what would we work as then?"
'What is she saying? Why is she so close? Oh, is that her perfume? Holy shit, she smells amazing. What is she looking at? Is she- is she staring at my lips? No, she can't be. She's waiting for you to say something, moron!' "I- I don't know." 'Smooth, Frabray, real smooth.'
"Let's try it, Quinn, please," Rachel pleads, her eyes indeed, jumping from Quinn's to the girl's lips. "Let's try being friends and... if it doesn't work..." Rachel wets her lips unconsciously, the proximity to the blonde affecting her like a thousand suns. "We can try something else."
Quinn follows intently the path of Rachel's tongue and holds her breath. 'What is this girl doing to you?'
"What do you say?"
"I- I-" Quinn stammers. She walks back, putting a few feet between them and feeling the air coming back to her lungs, the room suddenly doubling her size. "I'll think about it."
"Great." Rachel, who's mind seems to have cleared a bit with the added distance too, nods happily. "I expect the answer by Monday, but if you come to a conclusion sooner, I believe you have my number, right?"
'Since the beginning of Freshman Year. Not that I ever used it, apart from staring at it and memorizing it.' "Yeah, I think I do from... some Glee stuff or other..."
"Great." The brunette realizes she's repeating herself and decides it's time to go. "So, we should go back. They are probably worried that we killed each other or something."
"Yeah you go ahead, I'll follow in a minute."
"Okay. Later Quinn."
"Later uhm... Berry."
When Rachel closes the door behind her, she stays standing at the door enough to hear Quinn's next thought. 'Dammit, you almost called her Rachel again!'
She walks back to the party with a smile playing on her lips.
Yeah, she's definitely getting somewhere.
Reviews, opinions and criticism are very appreciated :)
