Author's Note:
Cliffhanger, I know, I'm awful and I'm sorry for leaving you guys and gals on pins and needles. I hadn't intended to end it there, but by the time I got the next section I thought it just fit better in that chapter.
I realize that some of you aren't too happy about Finchel, but like I said in the last chapter there will be no more.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know what you think =)
zKai
The silence from Quinn that followed was deafening, even with all the noise coming from the people in the stands above them.
Rachel understood the drama of a loud silence, but in the moment, she just wished Quinn would say something.
She looked to the ground and then back up.
The cheerleader was completely still and the look on her face was blank.
"You kissed Finn?" Quinn suddenly asked, almost like she hadn't heard correctly.
Rachel bit into her lower lip and nodded slightly. She was expecting an outburst of anger, so she cowered a bit and took a discreet step away from the blonde.
A look of confusion past over Quinn's face, before it was replaced with something else. Something sadder.
"Why would you…" she started to say, her words fumbling a little. "I thought we were…"
She looked so upset, it made Rachel heart ache.
"…friends?" Rachel offered meekly.
Quinn's eyes narrowed and Rachel was suddenly staring at 'scary Quinn'. She took another step back.
"Quinn, if you feel the need to hit me, I completely understand, but please just try to avoid…"
Rachel let out a surprised squeak, when Quinn came toward her suddenly. She squeezed her eyes shut in preparation for the impending fist.
She felt a gust and then realized Quinn was no longer in front of her.
The singer let out the breath she was holding and spun around to see Quinn's retreating form. Quinn had breezed right past her and was storming away.
Rachel took half a moment to appreciate Quinn storm out technique, before hurrying after her.
"Quinn, wait!" she called desperately.
She didn't want to leave the conversation at that. Obviously Quinn was upset, but Rachel couldn't be sure if she was more angry or depressed about the situation.
With her quicken pace, Rachel was able to catch up with her right at the end of the bleachers.
"Wait," she pleaded, reaching out to grab the girl's elbow.
At the touch, Quinn spun around to face her so quickly that Rachel nearly stumbled back in surprise. They stood mere inches apart, Quinn staring hard down into Rachel's eyes.
"You said I had nothing to worry about," she accused, her voice thick.
"Please just let me explain," Rachel tried, gulping a little when Quinn gaze seemed to harden more. "You have no idea how sorry I am."
"You said your connection was only 'musical'," Quinn continued, her tone mocking.
"I never intended to…" Rachel started.
"God, I'm so stupid," the blonde breathed, her eyes rolling. She stepped back from the other girl, shaking her head.
"You're not," the singer insisted.
She was beyond confused at Quinn reaction. Rachel had been certain the blonde would go off the deep end with rage, but if anything, she looked like she was about to cry.
Her boyfriend cheated on her…she probably feels worthless, Rachel thought solemnly.
"Just leave me alone," Quinn told her. Before Rachel could respond, she took off running in the direction of the school.
Rachel watched her go, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Dejectedly, Rachel returned to the bleachers when it was apparent that Quinn wasn't coming back. She slipped in beside her dad who gave her a curious look.
"I was talking to Quinn," she answered when he asked where she had been.
Seeing the gloomy look on Rachel's face, Leroy refrained from asking.
Sometime during the third quarter, Quinn returned to the side of the field. Rachel was honestly impressed that she looked so put together.
By some miracle, Finn managed to get the ball to the receiver and the Titans scored a touchdown. The whole crowd erupted in cheers, even though the score was only 6-36.
The boys hopped around, clapping each other on the backs. The buzzer signaling the end of the quarter sounded and Rachel watched with some dismay as Finn made his way over to Quinn.
He jogged toward her with a proud smile, stopping right in front of the girl. His hand settled on her waist and he obviously didn't notice her tense posture. Finn leaned in and Rachel felt sick.
But Quinn's hand shot up to press against his chest, keeping him from getting to close. A look of confusion washed over Finn's face.
Rachel worried her lip as she watched the interaction. She couldn't see much from the stands and Quinn's back was to her, but it was apparent Quinn was saying something to him.
Finn's eyes suddenly widened and he recoiled, attempting to get away from the girl.
The delicate hand on Finn's chest fisted his jersey, pulling him back down toward her. Finn looked absolutely terrified.
"Is that Finn?" Leroy asked curiously, watching the two teenagers with interest. The boy looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Yes," Rachel answered distractedly.
Coach Tanaka's voice could be heard screaming at Finn to get back onto the field. Quinn released her hold on Finn and he stumbled back a few steps.
When the blonde looked over her shoulder and met Rachel's gaze, her eyes were blazing.
Right…so she's angry, Rachel thought.
"Well that was…disappointing," Leroy commented as they headed back toward the truck.
After that one touchdown, the McKinley team couldn't seem to pull it together. It got especially bad once Finn managed to fumble twice in the fourth quarter. Rachel didn't blame him though. She was sure whatever Quinn had said to him was enough for him to lose focus.
She scoffed her feet across the payment, looking downward.
"Are you going to tell me what the problem is or are we just going to ignore it?" her dad asked when they reached the car.
Rachel shrugged miserably.
She climbed into the passenger side of the truck and buckled her seat belt.
"I really messed up," she said after they had been driving for a few minutes.
Leroy glanced over her, humming in acknowledgement.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure you can fix it," he assured.
"I kissed Finn," she said in a rush. She squeezed her eyes shut at the statement, even hating the way it sounded to say that.
When she opened her eyes, her daddy had a very serious look on his face, but wasn't glancing at her.
"Daddy it wasn't…"
"Everyone makes mistakes Rachel," he interrupted.
"I didn't want to!"
Pulling up to the house, Leroy threw the truck into park and turned toward Rachel.
"Did he force himself on you?" he asked, a dangerous look in his eyes.
"What? No…I just…" Rachel stumbled.
Sighing, Leroy rubbed his hand against the back of his head. At least he wouldn't have to be having any talks with boys about respecting his daughter.
The two of the exited the vehicle and slowly made their way toward the front door.
"He said I was cool," she whispered when they reached the porch.
Leroy paused and turned toward her.
"I didn't really want to kiss him, but he was being so…charming and telling me how he wanted to be a good singer like me. And he is obviously interested and it's not like I have people lining up to date me," Rachel told him glumly, her eyes turned to the ground.
Her eyes were a little watery, making the view of her feet blur.
She let out a tiny sob when Leroy pulled her to him, letting her rest against his chest while his arm encircled her shoulders.
He held her tight and rubbed soft circles on her upper back while she sniffled.
"Shhh, you're okay," he murmured gently, kissing the top of her head.
Rachel buried her face against his chest, soaking up her dad's love.
"One cup of ice water for the lady," Leroy said, sliding the glass across the counter and into Rachel's palms.
She gave him a sad smile from her seat one of the stools.
Rachel gently wiped at her eyes, rubbing away the last of her tears. She took the cup and sipped.
Leroy leaned against the counter on his forearms, his fingers laced in front of him. He kept his eyes on his daughter, waiting for her to speak.
"I let my insecurities get the best of me," she finally admitted, tracing a finger along the granite counter top.
He nodded in understanding.
"It happens to the best of us," he told her.
She huffed a little. He father's reassurance wasn't so comforting.
"I should have…"
"Maybe you should consider what do now," Leroy interrupted. "You can't change what happened. So let's think of a solution."
Rachel breathed out a humorless laugh.
"What solution?" she asked darkly. "Quinn hates me and Finn…well, I don't really care about what he thinks."
She brushed her fingers through her hair in exasperation.
"So you told Quinn what happened…"
"It's not like I got the chance to explain," she pointed out.
"…and you apologized…"
"Which she obviously does not accept."
Leroy gave her a pointed look. Her mouth snapped shut, even as she gave him a defiant glare.
"Right now she's probably just hurt," he told her. "Give her a little time and she might come around."
Rachel sighed heavily and rested her chin in her palm.
"If I just could have controlled my stupid need to be liked, none of this would have happened," she grumbled.
"First of all, it's not stupid. Everyone wants somebody to care about them. Second, maybe it's for the best. Finn evidently isn't that great of a boyfriend if he's so willing to cheat on her," Leroy offered.
"And I'm not a very good friend," Rachel added.
"I'm sure Quinn is a reasonable girl…"
Rachel scoffed at that.
"…maybe after she's had a little time to cool off you can explain what happened."
Rachel wasn't expecting anything good to come out of school on Monday. She had even packed a couple extra sets of clothes, in case Quinn was feeling particularly vindictive.
The day actually flew by with no incidents. Quinn wouldn't even look at her in their shared classes and Finn ran the other way every time he saw her, but at least she wasn't getting a bundle of slushy facials.
By the time glee rolled around, she was fairly confident that there would be no retaliation over the situation with Finn.
"Hey, can we talk?" Finn asked, catching her at the door to the choir room. He gently touched her arm and she couldn't help how quickly she shrugged away his touch.
"Finn, I don't think there's much to say," she told him.
The last thing she wanted was to cause more trouble. She stepped into the choir room with Finn hot on her heels. Unfortunately the room was empty.
"Look, I think you're really cool," he told her.
It didn't make her heart flutter like it did on Saturday. In fact, she mostly felt frustration toward him.
"And I don't know what's going to happen, but I know I like you."
Oh no, she thought worriedly. Finn couldn't do this. He was supposed to go back to Quinn and apologize. He was supposed to try and win the head Cheerio back.
"Finn, the kiss we shared was completely unfair to Quinn," Rachel told him, turning toward him. Hopefully his guilt would catch up with him.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, but…."
"There are no buts, Finn. We made a mistake and now we need to make it right," she cut him off, her tone leaving no room for discussion.
"I get that you're scared of Quinn or whatever, but can't we at least try?" he pleaded. The hopeful look in her eyes made her sick.
"Do you have no shame?" she asked heatedly. "You have a girlfriend and here you are trying to…to…."
She trailed off when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. There in the door way was Quinn, flanked by Santana and Brittany.
They've come to kill me, Rachel thought in a panic.
Seeing the color drain from Rachel's face, Finn turned and looked. He immediately put distance between himself and Rachel when Quinn stepped into the room.
"Quinn," he said hesitantly, glancing between her and Rachel. "What are you doing here?"
It seemed like Quinn had no intention of acknowledging him. She locked eyes with Rachel for a long moment, before heading toward the risers and sitting in the back row.
Rachel watched in shock as Quinn walked right past her and sat down.
"What does it look like Finnessence?" Santana barked. She and Brittany followed Quinn's lead and moved across the room. The two cheerleaders sat to the right of Quinn.
"I don't understand," Rachel told them.
"Oh good, you girls made it," Mr. Schuester said, clapping his hand together. Behind him, the rest of the glee clubbers piled into the room.
"I'd like you all to welcome our newest members!"
Rachel's jaw dropped.
What is going on? She thought. She whipped around to face the three. Quinn's expression was blank, but Santana was smirking in the most unsettling way.
"Why?" she asked, directing her question at Quinn while the other glee kids started having fits over the cheerleaders being there.
Quinn met her gaze and shrugged her shoulders a little.
"Come on guys. Everyone is welcome here," Schuester told them. "Now take your seats, we've got a lot of work to do."
Finn looked unsure what to do, before reluctantly going to sit down. He hesitated before plopping down into the seat beside Quinn.
Rachel glanced over the group and then to Mr. Schue. There wasn't much she could do, so she slumped down into a seat in the front row, but not before taking another glance at Quinn.
If Rachel thought glee was bad before, she was sorely mistaken. With the addition of the three cheerleaders any hope at success seemed to be shot to hell.
Finn was too worried about Quinn to sing, let alone dance. It was a constant struggle to keep Santana and Mercedes from killing each other. Mr. Schuester even had the audacity to take away her solo and gave it to Quinn.
This is insane, Rachel thought as another argument broke out.
"Not exactly performance ready, hmm?" she heard from beside her. She almost jumped when she realized how close Quinn was.
She gulped.
Why is she talking to me?
Rachel wasn't the most experienced with the social delicacies of love triangles, but she was pretty sure the scorned lover wasn't supposed to be friendly with the other woman.
"Why are you here Quinn?" she asked.
Might as well get straight to the point, she thought.
Quinn was so good at masking her features that Rachel was having a hard time reading her expression.
"Wanna get out of here?" the blonde asked her.
Rachel nearly fell over. She didn't seem mad or upset and now she wanted to hang out? The singer was pretty sure she hearing things.
"Uhm…"
"It's not like we're going to get anything done here," Quinn commented. She gestured toward Mr. Schuester trying to break apart Mercedes and Santana.
"O-okay," Rachel stuttered. What else was she supposed to say?
Her answer got a look of approval from Quinn. The brunette almost gasped when Quinn took hold of her hand and led her out of the room.
Once they were out of the choir room, Quinn dropped her hand and Rachel was able to breathe again. Her mind was racing and as much as she enjoyed holding hands with Quinn, it was far too distracting for the current situation.
"You're not taking me somewhere to beat me up are you?" Rachel asked cautiously. She figured it was a valid concern.
The corner of Quinn's lips quirked up just a little, but she didn't smile.
"I'm not mad at you," she said softly, after they had walked a ways.
"You're not?" Rachel asked in surprise.
"Well maybe a little," Quinn amended.
Rachel relaxed at Quinn's tone. While the blonde had seemed cold toward Finn, she was much softer now.
Quinn led them down the hall and out one of the side doors. They settled down in the empty courtyard off the cafeteria, on the steps leading down to the outdoor lunch area.
"I don't really understand what's happening," Rachel admitted. She took a careful glance at the girl beside her.
Quinn was leaned forward with her elbows resting against her legs and her chin on top of her laced fingers, staring down at the tables below them.
"I don't know either," the blonde told her softly.
Rachel looked the girl over, wondering how she could look so pretty even with the glum expression on her face and her feeble posture. She didn't look like the head Cheerio anymore, but just another insecure teenaged girl.
"Quinn, you have to know how sorry I am," Rachel said. "I never meant for this to happen and I take full responsibility for my actions. I knew Finn was interested in me and I did not properly dissuade him."
Quinn smiled sadly, shaking her head. "Don't make excuses for him," she told her.
"I was the one that…"
"Gave him permission?" Quinn asked, meeting Rachel's eyes. The brunette nodded gently with a frown.
"I don't know how much of what he told me is true," she said, "but do you really think he wouldn't have tried to kiss you eventually anyway?"
She wasn't sure. Rachel stared hard at the ground as she considered Quinn's words. After her talk with her daddy and then following conversation with her papa, Rachel had decided she was the one at fault. She had told Finn he could kiss her after all.
"I…I'm not sure, but I told him…" she started to say.
"He was thinking about kissing you long before you said anything," Quinn pointed out.
Rachel hated that the point gave her a little bit of relief. She had almost convinced herself that Finn only kissed her because she offered and not because he actually wanted to. Who in their right mind would kiss her over Quinn?
Quinn sighed and looked up toward the sky. It looked like it might rain.
"The worst part is…" Quinn started, but seemed to think better of it and stopped speaking.
Rachel desperately wanted to hear what Quinn was thinking. She tentatively reached out, touching her fingers to the girl's knee.
"I'm sure Finn still cares about you," Rachel said after a moment, trying to guess where Quinn was going with her thought.
She couldn't help looking confused when the blonde laughed.
"I don't care about Finn," Quinn said, turning her face away to avoid Rachel's eyes.
What? Rachel thought.
"Quinn, can I be blunt?" she asked, smiling a little when Quinn chuckled.
"Like you aren't always?"
The little bit of teasing eased her nerves and she returned Quinn soft smile.
"I can't figure you out," Rachel told her. Her heart started beating wildly in her chest. "You're the most popular girl in school. You have everything. The guys, the Cheerios… even the Celibacy Club."
"Shut up," Quinn huffed good-naturedly, bumping her shoulder against Rachel's.
Rachel grinned at their interaction.
"Why aren't you happier?" she asked gently. The smile slipped off Quinn's face into a more serious expression.
When it appeared Quinn wasn't going to answer the question, Rachel felt the slight sting of rejection. She thought they were making progress toward talking.
"You know why I don't care about Finn?" Quinn asked abruptly, drawing Rachel's attention off the ground.
Rachel shrugged helplessly.
"I was too upset that you were the one that kissed him," she said. There was a fearful look in Quinn's eyes that Rachel couldn't quite understand.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
Quinn sucked in a deep breath and avoided Rachel's gaze. She looked like she was struggling with how to answer.
"I don't know…I don't even know what I'm saying," the blonde said, her voice slightly panicky.
Rachel stared at her. Quinn had such an upset expression and she was fidgeting with her fingers. She seemed so nervous.
The tiny tingling of hope Rachel felt in her chest was starting to grow. She tried not to read too much into Quinn's word or demeanor. After all, she wasn't exactly a socialite. She could be so very wrong.
But she couldn't help the thoughts racing through her head.
"Quinn?" she questioned softly to get the girl's attention. Quinn hesitantly turned toward her and met her gaze.
"I'm going to kiss you now," Rachel told her seriously.
Quinn's eyes were so wide, Rachel almost reconsidered. The blonde appeared to be completely terrified, but she wasn't moving.
She inched forward carefully, her eyes darting between Quinn's lips and her eyes.
The blonde lips parted a little like she was going to say something, but Rachel didn't give her a chance.
Rachel closed the distance.
Wow, was all Rachel could think when their lips met. It was like her a spark of electricity shot through her, starting at the contact of their lips and spreading out over every inch of her body.
Her eyes were closed, so she couldn't be sure what Quinn's reaction was. Rachel couldn't have felt better though.
This is what kissing is supposed to feel like, she thought. Even though their kiss was just a gentle press of their lips, Rachel had never felt so alive.
She started to pull away, partly because she wanted to see Quinn's reaction and partly because her heart was about to beat out of her chest.
What she wasn't expecting was for Quinn to chase after her.
The blonde leaned toward her, connecting their lips once again. Rachel's heart skipped a beat and her eyes flew open in surprise.
Quinn's eyes were firmly closed. The best sense of accomplishment overcame Rachel.
Their lips glided together, the kiss still gentle. Rachel couldn't help reaching out and cupping her hand against Quinn's cheek. It all felt so intimate as her palm made contact with the blonde's jaw line.
Rachel's brain was finally starting to catch up with her body's action and she became acutely aware of the tightness of her compression shorts.
She pulled back, needing the room to breathe, since it felt like Quinn stole all the air from her lungs.
Quinn's eyes were still closed, her lips slightly parted. Rachel breathed in sharply at how beautiful Quinn was.
The singer stroked her thumb over the soft skin of Quinn's cheek, seeing the blonde's eye lashes flutter at the motion.
Rachel couldn't keep the smile off her face, especially when Quinn's hand moved up and her fingers wrapped around her wrist. She was gently gripping on to Rachel like she was trying to hold on to the moment for just a little longer.
"Quinn," Rachel whispered reverently.
Her eyes fluttered open slowly at the murmur and Rachel was met with bright hazel eyes. Rachel thought Quinn looked a little surprised.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, letting her thumb glide against her cheek once more.
"Yeah," Quinn breathed with a little laugh. "I'm okay."
Thanks for reading and thank you so much for all your reviews!
Hopefully this gave you the Faberry movement you were all hoping for.
Posted: 1/18/14
Word Count: ~3900
