Because of the incredibly ridiculous amount of time it took to write this, I give you all permission to hunt me down and use the Imperius Curse to make me do whatever you want.
I also tried to make it up for you by making this the longest chapter yet. Enjoy!
Rachel gazed at the bruise on Quinn's face in horror. Purple and blue streaks swirled their way downwards from the blond eyebrow to the middle of the once flawless cheek. The right side of her face was about 3 times larger than the opposite side, the swell remaining from the night before. Rachel gently placed her fingertips under Quinn's eye and pale eyelids snapped shut over hazel orbs as the blonde winced in pain.
"Quinn," Rachel whispered. "What happened?" Quinn turned away from Rachel's horrified stare as a tear slid down her left cheek.
"Nothing," Quinn whispered, her eyes slowly opening.
Rachel frowned at the girl as she replied, "I may not have been able to acquire a spot on the honor roll like you, but don't treat me like I'm dense. Obviously, something occurred that resulted in the massive bruise now adorning your features."
Quinn remained turned away from Rachel as the previous single tear was joined by more until her cheeks shone with moisture. "I…can't tell you," Quinn choked out as she turned back towards the brunette and was quickly gathered in the girl's delicate arms.
Rachel tried her best to keep the blonde close across the middle console, stroking her hair and whispering soothing noises into her ear. "You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to," Rachel stated.
Quinn pulled away and stared at Rachel through red rimmed eyes and asked disbelievingly, "I don't?" For most of Quinn's life, everyone had pressured her. And her argument became invalid in the eyes of her acquaintances because all of the pressure placed on her shoulders was positive. No one had ever challenged her to take a sniff of cocaine or chug a bottle of Jack Daniels. Any pressure that entered her already chock full life was to ensure that she was retaining her position on honor roll or having a Chastity Ball Queen crown placed on her head. Pressure to stay at the top of the school and keep her position as captain of the Cheerios. Pressure to live her life as the innocent, hardworking Christian girl her parents had raised her as.
Everyone coerced her. From her mother to Santana, there wasn't one person who had tried to impact her decisions or force her into something unwillingly. There was so much pressure that sometimes it felt like an iron weight crushing Quinn into a broken mess second by second. And then Rachel had said those tiny words that were filling Quinn with such warmth that she almost didn't need the heat flooding through the vents in her car. They had erased a small amount of the weight on her shoulders.
Rachel's lips turned up slightly as she replied, "Of course you don't. I can see in your eyes that I shouldn't push any farther."
Quinn furrowed her brow, but the crease in her eyebrow sent a shot of pain through her right cheek and she opted to simply tilt her head inquisitively. "My eyes?"
Rachel nodded, her smile growing. "Your eyes are as expressive as they are captivating," she remarked. "Every time it becomes impossible to communicate verbally, your eyes do it for you. I can see your walls coming up, or your guard letting down its defenses. I can see when you're out of your comfort zone. Or when it's the complete opposite and you have this…this warm look and a certain fondness lights up your eyes…" Rachel trailed off. She had unconsciously raised her hand during her summary of her observations, and her fingers now rested lightly behind Quinn's neck, Rachel's head slightly craned upwards. The blonde bowed her head slightly. Rachel could feel her breaths dusting her lips, but before they went any farther, she pulled back and took hold of Quinn's hand instead. "We should tend to that bruise."
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Quinn let out a painful gasp as the ice pack settled on her bruised skin. She shifted it to the side of her face and sighed contentedly at the cold air emanating off the plastic bag.
"No, no," Rachel scolded, walking over to the blonde. "Keep it on your eye. You don't have a bruised temple, now do you?" She gently placed the ice back on Quinn's eye. Rachel's playful smile faltered when she saw the other girl wince at the cold contact.
"Here you go, girls." Rachel's father walked slowly into the kitchen with a white bottle in his hand.
"Thanks Daddy." Rachel took the bottle from his hand and snapped off the cap as her father moved tentatively through the kitchen door. "This is a fast acting hydrating gel that will clear up that bruise very quickly," the brunette explained as she gently dabbed the paste on Quinn's marred cheek.
As Rachel pulled her hand away, Quinn clutched it and stroked her thumb in the girl's palm before gently kissing her knuckle. "Thank you," she whispered. "Not many people would do this sort of thing. And also for not pressing me about the issue."
Rachel smiled fondly. "There are a lot of people who love you, Quinn." The blonde tilted her head to the side, a disbelieving expression written plain on her face. "Stop it," Rachel gently scolded. "You know it's true. I'm not the only person who would care for you."
Quinn smiled affectionately. "We have half an hour until school starts. We should get going…" She reluctantly let Rachel's finger slip out of her grasp and she stood, holding the ice to her eye.
"Please don't take this personally, Quinn," Rachel began. "But your face is not in its most presentable state. I could assist you with returning it back to its flawless nature."
Quinn caught herself in the reflection of the stainless steel refrigerator and a combination of horror and disgust crossed her face. "Work your magic, Rach."
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"There," Rachel proclaimed, pulling the brush across Quinn's cheek with a final flourish. The brunette stepped back, a satisfied smile on her lips.
Quinn looked warily into the mirror behind her, and her mouth promptly dropped open. "How the…?"
"My many years in community theater have not only provided me with my acting, singing, and dancing skills; it's also exposed me to the visual part of theater," Rachel replied simply. "You can't let an actress go on stage with a hickey on her neck, now can you?" She smirked, reminiscing privately about an unforgettable performance of The Sound of Music.
Quinn let her fingers gently graze her cheek, which looked just as it had yesterday before she came home.
"Crap!" Quinn whipped her head around in surprise to find a wide eyed Rachel, a hand clapped over her mouth. The diva seldom used slang, so it came as a shock to the cheerleader when the swear slipped through her lips. "It's just that…" the girl began, sliding her hand away from her face. "We're going to be exceptionally late for school." Rachel bounded through the door, pulling the giggling blonde along with her.
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"Why are we stopping?" Rachel inquired frantically. She began to look nervously around the car's interior and glanced outside at the empty stretch of road beside them.
"I don't think we should go…you know…public with this…this thing we have," Quinn responded, refusing to look at Rachel. She didn't want to see the pain reflecting in her deep brown eyes when she confessed her fear of the drastic changes that would occur when they walked through the halls hand in hand. "At least…at least not yet, anyway."
Rachel's eyelids fluttered rapidly as she tried to blink away the hot tears forming. "Oh," she replied, attempting to ignore how her heart plunged to the pit of her stomach. Rachel knew what Quinn was implying: they couldn't be together and most likely never would be due to the ridiculous status quo everyone must follow in high school. She didn't want Quinn to see the fractures in her heart being expressed on her face, so the brunette swiftly opened the door, and all but sprinted from the car.
Rachel walked as quickly as she could towards the school, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other as tears blurred her vision. How could I be so asinine? the diva thought to herself. Quinn has a reputation to uphold; a legacy to leave behind. I'm not part of that. I'd do nothing but destroy her. And she hasn't got much left. I have no place to attempt taking anything else from Quinn, especially for my own selfish reasons. Who was I kidding? I'm not even good enough for Finn Hudson; how could I be worthy of Quinn Fabray?
Rachel charged through the doors of the school, her jaw clenched in an effort to keep her tears from falling, but to no avail, as they slowly began to roll down her cheeks. Rachel fled through the halls until she reached the choir room.
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"Hey I didn't see you this morning," Finn remarked, sitting down next to the songstress.
"I overslept," Rachel answered, praying that Finn wouldn't remember her explanation of her precise morning regime from last week.
A crooked smile crossed Finn's face. "Oh yeah, I do that like, every morning," he stated.
Rachel forced a tight smile and then turned away from the taller teen, not quite believing what she had just heard. She knew teenagers were not known for their tendency to rise with the sun, but surely they must not risk demerits placed on their permanent record just to get a few more minutes of sleep.
Rachel glanced in her compact mirror again to make sure her tear tracks were carefully concealed. She didn't want Quinn to know how she had reacted to her harsh words. Anything that had happened outside of the car was disclosed information, as far as Rachel was concerned. Quinn didn't want to go public with their unidentified situation? Rachel would hint at nothing. She glanced at the blonde standing by the drums out of the corner of her eye, but her attention was suddenly held captive by Puck's voice.
"How long have we been sitting here?" Puck asked the room at large.
"Long enough," Santana said wearily, pulling out her phone. She sighed and returned to stroking Brittany's arm.
Puck began to strum his guitar and he nodded at Finn to join in on the drums. As the beat and the chords flowed together, each glee club member began to smile as they recognized the familiar tune. The club began to sing and soon the unrehearsed "Ride wit Me" by Nelly was echoing throughout the room. Matt danced around Rachel's chair, all negative thoughts flying out of the brunette's head. By the end of the impromptu number, Rachel felt better than she had all morning. "I miss us all being together," she admitted to the room.
"I hope we don't get in trouble for our covert jam session," Artie remarked playfully. Rachel laughed and Quinn looked toward the sound, wistfully remembering just yesterday when she had pulled that beautiful noise out of her.
"If Sue catches us mingling, we're cooked," Kurt warned the room. "She said if she even caught me talking to one of Schue's kids, she'd shave my head. And I just can't rock that look. Even Justin Timberlake is growing his 'fro back."
The laughter that had just been resounding throughout the room died out as Mercedes despondently said, "Well we gotta go, you guys." Through the moans of protest, she continued, "Ms. Sylvester is expecting us in 10 minutes in the dance studio."
Quinn gazed up the risers at Santana and Brittany locked in a tight embrace. She smiled fondly at her two best friends and then glanced at Rachel, only to find the other girl staring at the same subject. Rachel pulled her eyes away from the couple and locked her gaze on Quinn, shrugging as if to say 'That could be us.' The blonde turned away, forcing tears to dry before they fell. She pretended to laugh at something Finn was saying as Rachel turned her attention to Tina.
The room slowly emptied out, leaving "Schue's Kids."
"Alright, great news guys," Mr. Schue announced, grabbing Quinn's attention. "I brought the band with me and I think we have our number for Sectionals."
Rachel heaved a bracing breath, fully prepared for her discourse to be heard. "Mr. Schue," she began. "We don't like what this has become."
"Don't you guys see?" Mr. Schue pointed out. "That is how Sue wants you to feel. Giving up doesn't help anyone but her." Quinn looked up, feeling a bit guilty for assisting in the glee club's demise. "Look, if it was up to me, we would all perform together at Sectionals, but it's not up to me anymore. OK?" He glanced quickly at their faces for understanding before continuing. "Sue's gonna do her song, and we are gonna do ours," Mr. Schue stated determinedly.
Rachel glanced pleadingly at Finn, but he just stared back, a crooked smile on his face. She almost turned to look at Quinn, but she didn't want her beseeching message to come across as an emotion she wanted hidden.
"Sue's kids are singing about hate," the teacher declared as he passed out music. "Literally. So, I thought we would take a kinder approach."
Rachel ran over her music quickly, the lyrics carrying a familiar tune in her head.
"Alright," Mr. Schue began, taking a mic stand from the band's area. "Finn and Rachel. Come up here; you're gonna take the leads."
Rachel finally acknowledged the title and gasped. "I love this song! OK, follow my lead," she said, patting Finn's arm.
"Don't wait for me." Finn laughed, following the brunette to the center of the room.
"So much for togetherness," Quinn remarked indignantly. Even if Rachel was ready to hop back on the Finn wagon and leave Quinn in the dust, there was no way the blonde was going to sway in the background while her oblivious boyfriend sang one of the most emotional songs of the year to the girl who had been the thing closest to a savior in her life.
"Guys." Mr. Schuester turned to Finn and Rachel, completely ignoring the cheerleader. "You guys really need to work on this, alright? Night and day, between classes; it has to be letter perfect, OK?"
"You got it, Mr. S." Finn shuffled his feet and music uncomfortably.
"Hit it." Mr. Schue cued the band, and the song began.
Or, as Quinn would later call it, the tsunami.
She glanced over at Brittany several times to see if being a faceless harmonizer in the back had any effect on the simple blonde. There was nothing on her face to indicate that she even comprehended what exactly she was doing. On her left, Puck seemed to be taking it the same way. That was the first wave that hit Quinn. Was she really the only one bothered by her position in the song? The only one just a bit perturbed that in a group where everyone was supposed to feel welcome and accepted, she felt more of an outcast than in any other previous situations?
"If I should die before I wake, it's 'cause you took my breath away," sang Rachel. At the end of this line, she glanced at Quinn, who was subconsciously gazing intently at the brunette.
And there was the second wave. She was almost positive that miniscule smile and swift glance had been directed at her, but why? What sort of message was Rachel trying to send? She had run out of Quinn's car as if her life had depended on it, and now she was confessing to the blonde that she took her breath away. Quinn shook her head, utterly frustrated. Quinn watched Rachel for the entire performance, trying to see if there would be any more implications as to what was really going on behind that mask.
"But how do you expect me to live alone with just me? 'Cause my world revolves around you; it's so hard for me to breathe," Rachel sang.
The third wave that doused Quinn wasn't a result of Rachel's poorly attempted subliminal messages. It was the realization that this song was so easily applicable to her situation. It may be melodramatic for Quinn to believe that breathing would be any more difficult without the brunette, but she certainly wasn't exaggerating when she said that she couldn't live without her. In the past few days, Rachel had saved her in nearly every way. She was her shoulder to cry on, her anger management; the person she knew she could turn to. The only thing in Quinn's life that wasn't completely dysfunctional. Rachel balanced the scale.
Quinn was forced to grin and bear it throughout the rest of rehearsal, failing in hiding the anger currently cascading through her body. At the end of the period, she cast a glance at Rachel, catching the diva staring straight at her. Quinn lowered her eyes after a moment of Rachel unsuccessfully trying to send a silent apology.
Rachel watched helplessly as the blonde jogged out of the choir room before she was pulled back to feigning joy as Mr. Schue praised her for the beautiful work in his class.
As Rachel walked out into the hall, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned, expecting to see Finn or even Jacob demanding another bribe. But once she saw the bright blue eyes and curled blonde ponytail, Rachel immediately regretted answering the stranger with an agitated "What?"
"Do you think Quinn is pretty?" Brittany asked bluntly.
Rachel's mouth hung agape for a moment before answering almost as if the words had been pushing to spill out of her mouth for her ages. "She's the most beautiful girl I've ever met." Her heart skipped a beat before she hurriedly added, "I-I have to go, Brittany; I apologize for cutting our conversation short but my next class is on the other side of the school. I'll see you later, though." Rachel smiled sweetly at Brittany before quickening her pace down the hall.
"Quinn thinks you're pretty, too," Rachel heard from behind her. The brunette turned back slowly, her eyes inexplicably welling with tears. She shook her head rapidly. "I doubt that. No one thinks I'm pretty."
"I do."
Rachel blushed. "Thanks, Brittany. I-I really must go now." The cheerleader waved energetically at the flustered songstress. Rachel returned the gesture with a watery smile and then turned the corner, the compliment putting back a piece of her shattered heart.
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Brittany sighed contentedly as Santana's hand ran through her hair. The tight ponytail that Sue forced them to wear every day along with their uniforms left the girls' scalps feeling stretched and tense by the end of the day.
"I love your hair," Santana admitted quietly.
Brittany smiled at her in the mirror of the vanity. "Really?"
"Yeah. It's so soft," Santana replied, threading her fingers through the silky blonde locks. On a sudden impulse, the Latina buried her face in Brittany's hair before kissing the top of her head and resting her chin in the blonde's hairline.
Brittany gazed into the brown eyes that had suddenly gone soft and warm reflected in the mirror. Her brow furrowed as she examined Santana's face in the mirror. Where had she seen that look before…? Hazel orbs appeared in her mind and Brittany shot out of the chair, startling her best friend.
"San!" Brittany exclaimed, as if a life-altering revelation had just entered her mind.
"Yeah…?" Santana replied tentatively.
"You look at me like that all the time," Brittany said. "And you don't look at Quinn or anyone else like that, right?"
"Where are you going with this, Britt?" Santana asked, attempting to keep her walls from crumbling.
"Quinn looks at Rachel that way!" the blonde finally managed to get out. She beamed at Santana, obviously wanting to elicit a similar reaction from the brunette.
"What?" Santana choked out disbelievingly. Her mouth dropped open as Brittany went on to say, "Yeah. She looks at her through every glee practice. Do you think they're best friends now, too?"
Brittany watched Santana as she sat down on the bed, trying to process this new information. She could practically see the gears turning behind the tanned skin. Her smile began to fade as Santana became increasingly unresponsive. Finally, there was a sign of life.
Santana settled back against the pillows and linked her hands together behind her head, a sly smirk carved into her face. "Yeah, they might be best friends, too, Britt. Guess we'll have to find out, right?" Brittany's excited smile returned and she joined Santana on the bed.
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Santana sank lower in the plush auditorium seat as Mr. Schue entered from the side door.
"Hey guys," he called to the 5 members on the stage. "Sorry I'm late; there was an issue with my class." Santana scoffed quietly. "Probably hooking up with Ms. P. in an empty classroom," she whispered to herself. "You guys ready?" the teacher continued.
"Hit it!" Finn called excitedly. Santana rolled her eyes, but just in time to see Rachel's smile falter a bit as she glanced towards Quinn at the back of the stage. The Latina straightened up and craned her neck to watch for further actions.
As the performance went on, Santana noticed Quinn's glares intensifying when Finn took Rachel's hand and the gazes softening as the brunette pried herself away from his groping hands. She watched Quinn's eyes never leaving the diva's small figure as she moved across the stage.
At the end of the song, Will praised the group on their "letter perfect" performance before Quinn broke through the human barrier that Finn and Rachel formed at the front of the stage. "Excuse me! What about us?" she inquired indignantly. "You expect us to just sway back here like props?" Santana was surprised at Quinn's acting skills; she had been lurking outside the office when Sue demanded that the blonde utter this exact phrase. But was it really acting...? There was a razor sharp edge in her voice that Santana had not heard often.
However, her attention was only momentarily occupied by Quinn's outburst. There was something happening in the background that was far more interesting. Rachel's brown eyes raked quickly down Quinn's body before glancing briefly at Finn. Her eyes then averted back to the floor and relief flooded her expression.
Santana knew that was no once over to memorize the exact shade of red on the Cheerios uniform. She decided to take a leaf out of Berry's book and glanced over to Brittany, internally sighing as she found some decent eye candy in this place. Brittany caught the Latina staring and her lips quirked into a small smile as she subtly wiggled her fingers in a greeting. Santana returned the acknowledgement with a wink and a wide grin. Brittany questioningly jerked her head towards the altercation occurring in center stage. Santana tore her eyes away from her best friend and caught Berry's head swiveling in different directions, looking anywhere but at the still raging Quinn. Santana latched her eyes back onto Brittany's and nodded affirmatively. The two girls shared a secret smile as Will announced, "We're done for today guys, OK?"
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Santana felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see her favorite person beaming at her, her bright blue eyes shining. "What did I tell you?" Brittany yelped excitedly.
"You were right," Santana responded, returning the blonde's bright smile. Brittany contentedly leaned against the lockers next to the Latina. "Quinn was checking out Rachel so much, she might as well have been her cashier."
"So what do you wanna do?" Brittany asked.
"Q needs to sort out her priorities," Santana said matter-of-factly. "And I think her two best friends should be the ones to help her do that, don't you think?" Brittany's eyebrows furrowed as Santana walked off, her lips quirked into a devious smirk.
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Quinn attempted to shove all 4 of her binders in her locker at once, causing them to slip out of her grasp and onto the floor, papers flying everywhere. "Dammit!" she yelled. Quinn took a bracing breath and then dropped to her knees, gathering the binder's contents as quickly as possible.
She was still worked up about the glee rehearsal she had just left. Visions of Rachel and Finn prancing around the stage kept penetrating the shield she had tried to put up against them. Quinn gritted her teeth as she remembered Rachel insisting that she wasn't interested in Finn anymore. She wasn't going to wait for her prince to come and rescue her. However, it became very clear during that performance that Rachel wasn't ready to give up on him. Between the intimate gazes and the tender touches, Quinn wanted to hit herself for even daring to believe that the brunette would ever truly be with her.
Tears burned her retinas as she gathered the last of her papers. A hand was suddenly held out for her below her chin. At first, Quinn thought it was a sweet gesture, but then the lines and callouses became familiar, and the tears dried instantly. She looked up into Finn's concerned face, and opted to use the metal door to pull herself up, successfully fitting her books into her locker this time.
"Are you OK?" Finn queried warily.
"Do I look like I'm OK?" Quinn snapped, slamming her locker shut.
"Is this about you being stuck in the background for the song?" he guessed. "'Cause if it is, I can talk to Mr. Schue…" Finn trailed off once he saw the look on his girlfriend's face.
"That's exactly what it is, Finn," Quinn replied in as gentle a tone as she could muster. Before he caused her to implode, she stalked off in the opposite direction.
Quinn was nearly sprinting through the hall when a tan arm flew out in front of her, slamming her in the stomach and ceasing her jog. "What the hell Santana!" she yelled furiously.
"Slow down tiger." Santana moved in front of the blonde, her arms now crossed. "We need to have a little chat."
The review button is right there. :)
And angry!Rachel will be showing up soon. I will not forget about that cleverly concealed bruise on Quinn's face or where it came from. Unlike the real writers of Glee who don't know what the meaning of continuity is.