Whoa, I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging like that. Life's been a bitch lately, but my saying goes, 'Inhale the good shit, Exhale the bullshit.' Stay high, my friends.
Chapter 6. The Lioness's Cub
"Okay class. Since the bell is due to ring in about thirty seconds, I would like to remind you about the upcoming essay-
Ring.
"…You have due." The teacher turned around to dismiss his class, only to be greeted with empty seats. He sighed as the only source of movement inside the room came from a piece of paper that had fallen from a desk and onto the hardwood floor. Rachel smoothed out her skirt as she slipped her bag onto her shoulder. She had to talk to Finn, but first she wanted to make sure Quinn remembered to pick up Dylan. She strutted through the crowded hallway, chin up and eyes forward.
She frowned, only to realize she had no idea where Quinn was. She spotted Santana leaning against Brittany's locker. Santana looked up from her phone when she heard Rachel's heels clicking against the floor. She smiled thinking it was Brittany, but it quickly vanished when she realized it was Rachel. "Haven't you done enough?" She scoffed, placing a hand dramatically on her chest. At least she got rid of those bandages and stopped claiming she had been assaulted.
Rachel simply rolled her eyes. "Do you know where Quinn is?"
"Do I look like her fucking secretary?" Santana growled, returning her gaze to her phone. "This game is fucking stupid! What kind of fucking bird flies like this? Where the fuck did these pipes come from? This ain't no Super Mario!"
Rachel sighed as she left the Latina to deal with her frustrations of Flappy Bird. Now if I was Quinn where would I be? Rachel thought to herself. Of course! With a triumphant grin, Rachel sauntered off towards the gym.
She was right. She found the blonde throwing complicated passes to the team's shooting guard while shouting words of encouragement. Rachel recognized her as Spencer Carlin, Quinn's right wing and best friend. She knew the girl's girlfriend, Ashley, who was the school's resident rock star. Rachel almost screamed when the ball nearly hit her in the face. "You threw it too high!" The shooting guard complained, stomping her foot like a frustrated child.
"No, you didn't jump high enough." Quinn shot back as she picked up the ball with a small nod to Rachel.
"Do I look like Blake Griffin to you? I can't jump that high."
"You don't have to Spencer. Just jump a little bit higher." Quinn said with a modest chuckle. Rachel waited patiently, giving a small smile to the shooting guard when she waved in greeting. "Last time, I've gotta go pick up Dylan."
So she did remember, Rachel thought.
"Aw, you're not coming to practice?" Spencer whined. She hated when Quinn ditched practice, which wasn't often, but hated it nonetheless. Quinn smiled at her fellow blonde. "Nah, I'm going to spend the rest of the day with my baby girl. Besides, I've been yelled at enough today." She finished with a pointed look at Rachel. You brought it upon yourself, Rachel thought with a huff.
"Then let's make this one count then." Spencer said as she jogged to the corner of the three point line. Quinn stood at the top of the key as she waited for her teammate to give her the signal that she was ready. Spencer nodded and ran towards the basket. When she pointed towards the raptors, Quinn tossed the ball towards the basket. Rachel watched in awe as Spencer caught the ball in mid-air and slammed it through the hoop. "That was nice." Quinn said as she slapped Spencer's hand and proceeded to do a rather complicated handshake with her. Rachel raised her eyebrow, impressed. She knew the other blonde was athletic and could certainly jump, but she didn't think she could jump like that. These girls were certainly amazing and she found herself excited for the next game as well.
"Just wait until we do that in game! Man, everyone's going to go nuts!" Spencer said, already hyped even though they didn't play again until Friday. Quinn chuckled as she tossed the ball to the blue eyed girl. "You'd better get to practice, Carlin before Coach makes you do suicides."
Rachel giggled at the look of utter horror on Spencer's face. "Shit, not again. Ashley was so mad when I promised her we could do it, but I was too tired to even move. See you guys later!" Spencer said as she grabbed her bag and dashed out the gym doors. "What's up?" Quinn said as she walked over to Rachel.
"I came to remind you to pick up Dylan, but you don't need it now do you?" Rachel replied as they slowly began walking towards the parking lot. Rachel still had practice, but it didn't start until 3:30 and it was only 2:59. Besides, she had plenty to do before it started.
"Would I really forget to pick up my daughter, Rachel?" Quinn asked with a light chuckle.
"Yes." Rachel challenged.
Quinn rolled her eyes. "It was one time! I didn't even forget. I was just a little late."
"Oh really? I remember you calling me scared out of your mind because the day care lady gave Dylan to a nice Hispanic lady because you were thirty minutes late. You should have known it was Santana. Why would some random Hispanic lady come and take her?" Rachel recalled.
"The nice part threw me off. Traffic was horrible that day." Quinn mused.
"It was around the corner from the house."
"It was snowing."
"I had no trouble driving through it."
"I know. I still have nightmares. It was the scariest day of my life." Quinn said with a shudder.
"But did you die?" Rachel countered.
Quinn's BMW was matte black and had a white racing stripe running down the hood and trunk. It also had a cherry red pearlescent gleam to it along with a massive spoiler and scissor doors. Her mother made big money, and she spoiled her girls to death. The car looked entirely bad ass, but took a cute turn when you peeked inside the window and saw a Hello Kitty car seat in the back. Quinn unlocked her car and tossed her bag in the back seat. She slid into the driver's seat and started the car.
"I'll be there in a few hours. Call me or my fathers if you have any trouble. Remember to give her a bath and do not let her get ahold of your phone." Rachel warned.
Quinn waved her off. "Yeah, yeah I know. I'll see you later."
With one last wave, Quinn had rolled up her window and was rolling down the street, Lorde's Royal blasting through her speakers. Rachel turned back towards the school with a deep sigh. She slowly prepared herself for the breakup that was rapidly approaching.
Dylan comes first, she reminded herself.
If he didn't respect that, he wasn't they guy she wanted to be with anyway.
"Sometimes I think about what it would be like if we were in their positions." Brittany whispered into Santana's hair. They were in the gym, watching the girls' basketball team warm up. They wanted to give Quinn and Dylan some complete alone time before they made their way home.
"Um, hot and sweaty." Santana said in distaste as she watched them. They were at the very top of the bleachers. Santana was sitting on one below Brittany, her back in between the blonde's long legs. Brittany had her arms wrapped around her chest, chin atop her head. She loved the smell of her girlfriend's hair. She always smelled of coffee and cinnamon and tasted even better. She chuckled at Santana's response. "No silly. I mean Quinn and Rachel."
Santana was confused and a little disgusted. "I don't want to think about what positions they be in."
"I don't mean sexually, San." She said fondly. "I mean with Dylan and everything."
Santana thought for a moment. Her ass was numb and her back was killing her from being pressed into the bleacher for so long. She never really thought about that. She wouldn't know what she would do if she had to go through what Quinn and Rachel go through. What if she had gotten Brittany pregnant and she was still with Artie even after the child was born? She couldn't even think about having a child in the first place. She didn't even like kids to begin with. She loved Dylan of course, but Dylan wasn't her kid so it wasn't a problem. She couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips. What if she had a kid- or kids with Brittany? She could kind of imagine it. A few little pale skinned, raven haired, brown eyed, dimpled children running around didn't sound so horrible.
"Do you want kids?" Santana found herself asking. She couldn't see Brittany's face so she just listened to her heartbeat. It seemed to speed up all of a sudden. "Someday. It would make my life complete just to have your eyes on little me."
Santana's own heart seemed to swell with love and adoration. She tugged her girlfriend of two years down to her level, kissing those soft pink lips she loved so much. Suddenly, kids didn't seem so horrible anymore.
"How many?" Santana said in between kisses.
"Three, two girls one boy. Or all boys, or all girls, anything really." Brittany replied back.
"Have you like ever thought of names?" Santana asked when their make out session was over.
"Carly…I've always loved that name." Brittany admitted. Santana let the name roll on her tongue. She kind of liked it. "What about you?"
"Nicki." Santana admitted. Brittany rolled her eyes. She just didn't understand her girlfriend's obsession with Nicki Minaj.
"What about a boy?"
"Nick."
"Santana."
"That's not a boy's name."
"I know. You know I love you right?" Brittany whispered.
Santana smiled. "I love you too, B.
"But I don't love you enough to name our child after Nicki Minaj."
"What are we?" Frannie breathed against her skin. Her face was hot, her hands sweaty, and butterflies fluttered restlessly inside her stomach. Her red lips placed a gentle kiss on her golden skin. Her hand was tangled into hair dark as night, but her eyes were locked with hues bright as day. The Southern Belle's lips grazed her forehead; her gentle hands caressed the small of her back. "We can be whatever you want to be." She whispered back, her voice so husky her accent became even more pronounced.
"I don't even like girls." Frannie almost slurred. She's drunk off Smirnoff and Dallas's kisses. She doesn't know if the other girl is drunk. She can't taste any alcohol on her lips. She had Dallas pressed against the wall, her towering frame almost enveloped Frannie's completely, but she loved it. She loved how tall she was, how nice she smelled, how green her eyes were, and how long her hair was.
"But you like me." Dallas said with s deep chuckle. Frannie's hands moved to her chest, flat out, fingers extended, and digging into the golden skin of her collarbone. Her head was spinning. She didn't know whether it was from the Smirnoff or Dallas. She moaned when she felt those hands travel down to her ass. "I…I'm going to slap…you." She warned, though she really didn't want her to move her hands. Dallas only pulled her closer, hugging her tight. She kissed her heated forehead, her flushed cheeks, her silent tears, and swollen lips. "Why me? You're so… attractive. And nice, and I'm…a bitch."
Dallas smiled softly. "You're special. You're like my Annie."
Confusion swirled within Frannie's sky blue eyes. She didn't know who Annie was. Was it another girl? She felt jealousy course through her veins. Dallas was hers. Her heart began to ache. She honestly didn't know what was wrong with her. She didn't know why she was drunk. She didn't even know how she got drunk in the first place. She didn't know why she felt this way. She felt angry, conflicted, emotional, weak, and hot. She felt as if someone had poured gasoline into her system and ignited a flame of…something within her. She felt more tears slide down her cheeks as her knees became too weak. She found herself falling down, but Dallas caught her. Instead of trying to pull her back up, she fell with her.
Dallas was now on the ground, staring up at the ceiling with the distressed blonde resting on her chest. "You're weird." Frannie said with an uncharacteristic giggle as she snuggled into her neck. She stared at the poster on the ceiling, and a little laugh escaped her throat. She placed a hand on a now slumbering Frannie's back. They had the same blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and cold personality. Frannie was like a real life Annie, minus the ability to transform into a five story, naked, skinless, monster.
She had no idea what she was thinking about. Nothing was making sense to her, but she would be here when Frannie woke up. She would always be here when Frannie woke up.
"Okay, little cub what do you want to do?" Quinn asked her daughter as she opened the door to the house. She tossed her back pack on the couch and set Dylan's bag on the coffee table. The toddler simply pressed her tiny hands into Quinn's cheeks. Her identical hazel eyes were huge. Everything amazed her, but for some reason she had grown quite enamored with Quinn's face. Quinn chuckled as she sat down on the couch and placed the girl on her lap.
"You're real cute, you know that?" Quinn said. As if to answer her question, Dylan grinned mightily, her dimples threatening to swallow her entire face. Quinn felt her heart melt in her chest. Dylan may be an exact replica of herself, but she certainly did have Rachel's incredible smile. She brushed the feather soft blonde curls out of the toddler's eyes and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. She noticed her eyebrows and bits of her hair were beginning to darken. "Going brunette, little cub?" She joked.
Growing up, Quinn had always been told she looked like a lion. She didn't know whether it was from her wild golden hair something else. If she was a lion that made Dylan her cub. What about Rachel though? She thought. Rachel was not a lion. Maybe a cat? No that seems too…normal. A mountain lion then? No too…I don't know.
"What kind of animal is your mama, Dylan?" Quinn mused as she leaned back and began to bounce the girl on her lap. Could Rachel be a wolf? She most certainly was the leader of her pack, but a wolf didn't seem to fit Rachel's description. "A deer? Nah, Deer are harmless."
"Maybe a tiger?" She looked at Dylan for confirmation, but the baby just continued to jump on her lap. "Okay, we'll leave it at that."
She sat there in silence for a few moments before an idea popped into her mind. She held Dylan in one arm as she reached under the couch and retrieved a small black binder. Dylan looked on with mild interest while sucking on her fist. She set the binder on her lap. "Okay, how about a little lesson before bath time?" Quinn cooed. She took Dylan's giggle as a yes and opened the binder and pointed at the picture held in a protective sleeve.
"This is Kobe Bryant. He's one of the greatest Lakers in history. He's got five rings and he has the prettiest fade away in the game. He's my second favorite player. I'd take you to see him play, but he'll probably be retired by the time you're old enough." Quinn explained as she looked at the picture of the dark skinned man wearing a yellow jersey with the number twenty four painted on his abdomen. Dylan ran her finger along the edge of the picture, her huge eyes fixed on the bright colors. Quinn turned the page.
"This is Steph Curry. He's my favorite player, no disrespect to Kobe, but have you seen him play? Jesus, he can literally shoot anyone out the gym. He plays for the Golden State Warriors."
She showed her daughter a picture of an olive toned man wearing a bright blue jersey with yellow trims. Dylan seemed to be more attracted to his out-of-this-world bright green shoes.
"This is Kyrie Irving. He was rookie of the year like two years ago. He plays for the hometown. Well, he plays for Cleveland, but we don't have a team because Lima sucks so everyone here is Cavaliers fans. Expect me baby, I'm a Laker's fan. Don't tell anyone though. They'll isolate me." Quinn said with a chuckle.
Dylan had no idea what was going on, but she was attracted to the bright colors of these pictures and her mother's voice. She sat down on her mother's lap as Quinn set the binder on her tiny legs. She sucked on the pacifier Quinn gave her absently. "Let's move to the WNBA now."
"She's certainly a looker huh?" Quinn chuckled as she showed Dylan a picture of a beautiful black woman with long brown hair and a huge smile. "This is Skylar Diggins. She was drafted third to the Tulsa Shock last year. She's kind of my idol."
Dylan gave a chirp as she grabbed at the neon green jersey the woman was wearing. Fighting Irish was written in dark green bubble letters across her chest.
"Candace Parker plays for the LA Sparks, my dream team. I hope I make it to the WNBA one day. It's my dream to be the greatest female basketball player in the world." She stared at the picture of the pretty fair skinned woman with a lanky build and a golden jersey on her back. Quinn hoped one day, some other basketball obsessed mother or father would be showing their kids pictures of her as a WNBA star. "I'd be rich, make the Hall of Fame, Team USA, and maybe I'd even meet Kobe or Steph right?"
Sensing a change in her mother's attitude, Dylan laid her head back on her chest and played with her long golden hair. Quinn smiled at her first-born. She tossed the binder on the coffee table and hugged her tightly.
"I'd always do the best for you though Dylan. I want you to have the best life possible." She whispered. "Both of your parents love you very much, you know that right? We may argue and she may abuse me for no apparent reason, but we love you and we will always be here for you."
Dylan hummed. Quinn didn't know if it was because that's what babies did or if she actually understood what her mother was saying to her. Quinn kissed the top of her head as she rose from the couch. "It's bath time, Little Cub."
Rachel walked into the Fabray house an hour later. She had tear stains on her cheeks and her lips were swollen from biting on them. She had thrown her hair up into a halfhearted bun and changed out of her uniform and into some simple skinny jeans, a white fleece sweater, and Quinn's Letterman jacket. Maybe I should stop stealing her clothes, Rachel thought with a sniffle. She'd done it; she'd broken up with Finn. He wasn't happy about it either.
"Are you serious, Rachel? I've put up with everything you've done and you're just going to leave me? If anything I should be breaking up with you!"
"It's not that simple, Finn. I've got a child now."
"I know! Would you please stop reminding me? Do you have any idea how frustrating it is when I see you holding it? Do you know how hard it is to stare into the eyes of a child your girlfriend had, when those eyes belong to someone else?"
"I'm sorry I cheated on you, Finn. But I am not sorry for Dylan's birth. She comes first."
He looked at her. She'll never forget how he looked at her. His face was red with anger, but his eyes were wet with tears. He clenched his fists and his breathing became erratic. He whipped around. "If that freaking baby was never born, we'd be perfect. Its ruined everything! It's a bastard! Just like its father!"
He had run off before she could even react. She felt as her heart was breaking into little tiny pieces. The boy she had promised to spend her life with before, her first love had just cursed her child and her mother. She felt sick, betrayed, and angry. She walked past the girl's bathroom, unaware of the cool grey eyes watching the entire encounter.
She snuggled deeper into Quinn's jacket. Even though it had been bundled up in her locker, it still smelled like Quinn. She looked around the living room for her daughter and Quinn, but it was empty. The TV was left on and Quinn's Hall of Fame binder was on the coffee table. She turned the TV off and trudged upstairs. She really needed to see Quinn and Dylan right now. She knocked gently on Quinn's door because one or both of them might be sleeping. "Hold on."
Quinn's soft voice wafted through the cracked door. Her voice calmed Rachel's turmoil a little. A few seconds later Quinn was looking down at Rachel with curious hazel eyes. She changed her clothes and was now wearing loose red Hollister sweats, a plain white T, and red Nike Slippers. She immediately knew something was wrong with Rachel so she gently pulled her into the warm room and shut the door behind her. She looked around for Dylan, but she couldn't find her. "Where's Dylan?" She sniffled.
"My mom came home a few minutes ago and asked to borrow her for an hour because the ladies at work wanted to meet her granddaughter." Quinn replied as she reached into her pockets and handed Rachel a tissue. Rachel accepted it gratefully as she sat down on the edge of Quinn's bed. Quinn watched her silently. She already figured out what was going on. "I take it Finchel is no more?" She said softly.
Rachel nodded. She didn't know if she wanted to tell Quinn what Finn said about her and Dylan. She felt if Quinn found out, Santana would find out, then Francine would find out, then Finn would surely die. She didn't want him to die even if what he said was unforgivable. She broke down into tears. Quinn hesitated a few seconds before sitting next to her and gently rubbing her back. When Rachel felt the contact she threw herself into the blonde's arms. Quinn stiffened for a few seconds before embracing her back fully. She felt anger course threw her normally cool veins. Finn must have said something to her, but Rachel wasn't ready to talk about it. She just stared forward with her chin resting on brunette locks and fury coursing through her veins.
This guy, she thought as she closed her eyes and attempted to calm herself down.
Hope you had a happy Easter! I certainly did. *Cough* 4/20 *Cough* Review* *Cough*