Ch 7 The First Day
My palms were sweating like a river. Every nerve in my body was on high alert. My hands were balled into fists as I stared up at the school. The back of my throat felt dry. I was having trouble breathing. My stomach was doing some weird stupid floppy thing. I felt tired. I didn't sleep much at all last night. For some reason my thoughts wouldn't leave me alone. Typical human shit… To my left Tina was waiting on me, patiently. We were outside the steps of the school. It was cloudy, the sky looking much like a horror movie. I didn't want to be here. I could feel my body twisting into a pretzel.
"You ready for this?" she asked.
"Sure." I breathed out.
"You sure, you seem a little nervous." She pointed out.
"I'm not nervous. I don't get nervous." I lied.
But the way my body was reacting, I knew it was true. If we were being honest, I was scared shitless. This was going to be the first time that I would be seen by a large group of people. I would be put on the spotlight. And there was a strong possibility that I would see her. It felt like my throat was closing up. My hands restlessly adjusted the dress I was wearing then ran through my hair. I felt the small flower that Lilly had given me this morning. She had put it in my hair and told me it looked beautiful. I dropped my hands clumsily to the side. I'm ready….
Tina led the way up the steps. I followed close behind. The doors opened. My heart was pounding hard beneath my chest. I was surprised Tina couldn't hear it. We walked inside and down the hall. It looked exactly the same as it did three weeks ago. The only difference this time was that I was an attendee. As we walked I took notice that there weren't many students lounging in the halls today. In fact everything seemed oddly quiet unlike the normal days. It must have been the weather. Any minute now it looked like it was about to start raining. That always put everyone in a lazy mood. A few students caught sight of me. Their eyes went wide. I in turn began to fidget under their gazes. Already I could hear the whispers going on and about.
"Do you have your schedule and everything?" Tina asked, emitting a loud yawn.
"Yeah." I nodded,
We turned a corner. I stopped in my tracks. My jaw fell open. Standing less than 15 ft away from me was Rachel Berry. She was standing at her locker, high up on her tip toes, digging inside for her books. I released all of the air in my lungs. I felt sick. My hands started clamming, heart picking up. My head felt funny. I felt something in my veins akin to fear. My vision started swimming. I felt out of control. Oh fuck…. And suddenly everything went dark.
"Quinn!"-
When I opened my eyes Tina was leaning over me. There was a painful throbbing on the side of my head as I sat up from a bed. A woozy feeling hit me strong. And I suddenly felt nauseous. What the hell? Where am I? What's going on? Fucking shit my head hurts!
"What- where am I?" I asked rubbing the back of my head.
Tina eyed me with a smirk. "You passed out."
"Oh." I commented, looking around at the room.
"We are in the nurse's office." Tina informed me.
"But how did you get me here?"
"I didn't. Your ass was too heavy for me to pick up. Luckily another student was passing by and was able to help carry you here."
"That was nice." I nodded feeling a bit awkward.
"So much for not feeling nervous huh?" she mocked.
"Shut up." I groaned.
At that moment a lady of about fifty with graying dark hair entered the room. Her face was a mass of wrinkles, her eyes cold and unpleasant. She handed me a bag of ice. "Here put this on the bump. It should help with the swelling."
After we were done we left her office and entered into the main office. There I spotted Sam Evan sitting in one of the chairs, waiting for someone. I wondered who he was waiting for. His eyes came upon us. He perked up and stood to his feet and walked over to us. I looked at Tina who ignored my confused eyes. The blonde haired boy with the big lips smiled warmly.
"Hey, everything turn out okay?" he asked with concern.
He was directing the question at Tina but was looking at me. My mind quickly picked up on the situation and assumed that he was the one that brought me here. "Yes, she just bumped her head a bit." Tina answered. "You should probably watch where you're going from now on." She directed at me. "Walking into a locker can be a little painful."
Tina was mocking me. I fought the urge to smack her face off. But instead I directed my attention back to Rachel's boyfriend and put on a charming smile. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate what you did for me. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a klutz." I spoke with an airy tone.
The boy fell silent, his eyes widening with surprise. His cheeks turned red and he quickly casted his gaze down at the ground. He cleared the back of his throat and began rubbing the back of his neck. "It's alright. I was glad I could help. And don't worry about being a klutz. I'm probably the worst person in the world to be around. My girlfriend knows that more than anyone."
The boy was rambling. And he wouldn't stop talking. I sighed and side eyed Tina who was smirking at me from the corner of her eye. Fucking bitch… She had no intention of breaking up his little monologue. And neither did I. I didn't want to seem like a bitch. First impressions were important in the human world. Sam was a good guy. I watched him grow up with Rachel. He would be a good friend to have. So together we waited until the boy had finished which was surprisingly about 5 minutes later. Who knew humans could talk so much in one sitting? After he was done I looked at Tina who had her brows drawn up in shock. Sam's face quickly went into various shades of red when we didn't respond. We didn't really know what do to next.
"Well we really appreciate all the help." Tina finally spoke up, clearly wanting to get away now.
"Right, right. Sorry, for my long rambling. I must be rubbing off from my girlfriend." He stated a little sheepishly.
"Oh I bet." Tina nodded, eyeing me with a knowing look.
I rolled my eyes at her comment. Bitch
"So I didn't catch your names." Sam stated a bit abruptly, eyeing me from the corner of his eye.
"I'm Tina Chang."
"Quinn Fabray." I replied back politely.
Sam smiled at me, revealing his white pearly teeth. "My name is Sam Evans. I haven't seen you around here before….Are you new?"
"Yes, I just moved here from Los Angeles."
The boy perked up a bit more. It appeared that he was only talking to me because Tina was no longer in his world. I could feel Tina glaring at me. She was getting annoyed. The boy was ignoring her. I was pretty sure he wasn't doing it on purpose. It really wasn't his fault. Who could blame him? "That is so cool! I've only been there once. I plan on moving out there as soon as I graduate this year." He responded back with bright eyes.
"It is amazing. I loved it there."
"So what brings you all the way here?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
"My parents decided to move to Italy. So they gave me a choice, I could go with them or I could stay in the states and live with my older cousin. "
"That's kind of awesome. Well, welcome to McKinley High where things never appear as they seem. We are lucky to have you. "
"That's nice but we have to go now. I have to help her find her classes and such." Tina cut in, her voice tinted with attitude. .
Sam nodded clearly not getting the hint. Instead he walked with us, and continued chatting with me. I kept adjusting the ice bag around my head. My fingers kept freezing to death everywhere that I held it. It got to the point to where my fingers went numb and I couldn't feel a thing. This was annoying and a bit pointless. In the end I ended up throwing the damn thing away. Sam led the way. Why? I couldn't tell you. Where to? I couldn't say. Just when I was about to say something we all came to a stop. Sam's big broad back was in the way of my view. I nearly ran into the poor guy.
"Hey Rachel, I'd like you to meet someone."
As soon as he said the name everything in me turned off. Sam moved out of the way. And there she was in all her form and glory. All the breath in me left. My body froze. I felt lifeless. Everything in me was paralyzed. And then she looked at me. My arms fell limply to my side. And all I saw was a sea of brown. I was swept away in an instant. She smelled like vanilla flowers.
Brown eyes blinked. She was taken aback by my presence. Her brows were drawn up in complete surprise. Her eyes were glued to me. The connection between us was blasting through the air, charging it with an electrifying mark. It made my stomach light with fire and my skin crawl. I didn't know what was happening to me. I felt lost. Like, I was floating off into some distant planet without an anchor in sight. I was floating away. The voices around me turned into a different language. Then altogether everything went silent. I couldn't breathe. She was taking the air from me. And I gladly let her. It wasn't mine to have anyway.
"Rachel?" Sam called out, waving a hand in her face.
The girl broke out from her trance and looked around a bit dazed. Everyone was staring at her. Her cheeks burned red. She looked at her boyfriend in question.
"What?" she blinked, embarrassment brushing across her cheeks.
"This is Quinn Fabray. She's new here to Lima. She moved here from LA. " he directed at me with a large smile.
Once again those brown eyes flick to me. This time she checked me from head to toe with wary eyes. I will never get used to this. She is actually looking at me. She's looking at me! She can see me. My head felt dizzy and intoxicated at the thought. Rachel took an involuntary step from us, from me, wrapping her arm automatically around her boyfriend. She was clinging to him like a raft. She was clearly uncomfortable with me by the way her body was slumping into Sam. A moment later she was putting on her fake polite smile.
"Right." She spoke with a tight voice. "You know I think I remember seeing you a couple of weeks ago just down the hall over there."
My eyes widen. She was talking to me. She was actually engaging in a conversation with me. But I couldn't hear anything over the sound of my beating heart. I tried to make a sound to respond. But nothing was coming out. The cat had definitely caught my tongue. But what were words without breath? Why can't I talk? I think I'm going to pass out again.
I threw Rachel a confused glance and then looked at Tina for help. Could she understand what was going on? Could she hear Rachel? I was lost and floating. Tina was also looking at Rachel funny. None of this made any sense.
"That's impossible, today is her first day." Tina jumped in.
Rachel looked at me again but quickly looked away casting her eyes down at the ground. She's embarrassed again. And I know by the way she's pulling away she's not going to respond anymore. She's closed up and silently tuning out. It's an awkward situation. Rachel was acting out of character. You could tell she didn't want to be here anymore. But my eyes never left her. In fact this was my chance to take her in. Gauging by the small dark circles under her eyes it looked like she hadn't really been sleeping much. Her hair was down and looked a bit messy, like she was tossing and turning all night. It looked really soft though. My eyes traveled down the length of her face and body, checking to see if any new changes/injuries have occurred. All seemed the same except that it didn't. Technically speaking, Rachel looked the same but at the same time she didn't. There was something about her that was different. I didn't know if it was because I was a human now or just seeing her in a different light. Either way, she looked fascinating. But she wouldn't look me in the eyes anymore. She was avoiding my gaze.
"We should get going. Nice meeting you guys." Tina broke out.
She grabbed my arm and rushed me down the hall. "Holy shit Quinn you're turning green."
We went into a bathroom where she shoved me into the nearest stall. It was perfect timing because just then my stomach exploded and I threw up in the toilet. Tina held my hair back and gently patted my back as half the contents from my stomach aired out. Once I was done I sat back away from the toilet. My throat felt sore and I could finally breathe again. Tears were burning down my face. Tina leaned down and wiped the edges of my mouth with toilet paper.
"You are a wreck." Tina whispered as she ran a hand through my hair. "What the hell happened back there Quinn?"
"I don't know." I replied back with a raspy tone.
"This never happened on my first day." She sighed, trying to figure this out.
There was a silent shiver that ran through me. I groaned at the thought of how stupid I must've looked like in front of her. What would Rachel have thought? Did she think I was weird? I would've thought so. I didn't even say a word. All I did was stare at her. This day couldn't have been more embarrassing. I thumped my head back against the wall and released a loud grunt. And then there was the damn bump on my head. Fucking idiot. My moment of self- deprecation was disrupted by the loud warning bell. Class started in five minutes.
"Can you walk?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You should get to class." I stated hoarsely.
She looked at me with hesitant eyes. "I think you should go back to the nurse's office."
I shook my head. "I'm fine. I just need a minute."
"You sure?" she asked.
I nodded. I needed to be alone for a second. The day had just barely started and already I was feeling overwhelmed. Tina sighed before agreeing. She unlocked the stall door and quickly headed out. I eyed her and watched as she disappeared out the door. Everything in my body felt numb. But at least I didn't feel nervous anymore.
A hard force bumped into me just as I made it to the doorway of my first classroom, sending my books flying to the floor. Finn Hudson's large frame came into view. I was already annoyed by his haughty demeanor. He was about to keep walking into the room until he chanced a glance at me. He stopped in his tracks and lifted a brow. His eyes were on me, clearly checking me out. I felt violated by his gaze and bent down to collect my books. Immediately he went into action and got to them before I could. He had longer arms.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you there." Finn responded, ticking on his charming smile.
He handed me my books and I held them to my chest. "I'm sure you didn't." I replied back coolly.
"I just got off of football practice. The coach made me stay late because I'm the football co-captain and all. As it turns out, it kind of puts me in this awkward situation because I'm staying later than the other guys and having all this responsibility. The gym is kind of far so I have to run to get here. I really can't afford to be late for this class again. I'm really sorry about earlier." He spouted off.
I rolled my eyes. "I don't need to know your life story." I responded, brushing past him.
I could hear his heavy footsteps fall in line behind me. I quickly took a seat. He sat next to me, turning his full body to me. "I'm Finn Hudson by the way." He spoke up, eyes sparkling with light.
I was looking around the room, searching for anyone that would come and rescue me. But it looked like I was alone. "Don't really care." I muttered.
"That's a little rude." Finn ground out, snapping his nose up.
I threw him a pointed look and smacked my lips, cutting to the chase. "Look, I know who you are. I've known guys like you for a very long time. And truthfully, they weren't worth a minute of neither my time nor breath. So don't waste the time and energy. I'm not interested."
"Damn she told you!" another voice joined in.
Noah Puckerman stood in front of my desk wearing his infamous shit eating smirk. He was wearing a white shirt with a pair of dark jeans. His Mohawk looked clean cut. The taller boy was leaning over my desk, eyeing me with appreciating eyes. "Well then, now that he's out. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Noah. But people around here call me Puck."
I knew all too well about him. He was the man whore of the school, fucking almost anything and everything in sight. There wasn't a girl that he couldn't keep his hands off of. He was the school's bad boy that people loved to talk about. He didn't care about a thing and I'm assuming that's what made him attractive. His grades looked exactly like the bottom of his dirty boots. He was a loser with no future. But the boy definitely had a charm about him now that I could see him up close. I never really had a good look at him before because he didn't matter to me. I could easily see through his façade and right into his very soul. There were things about him that had potential. He was loyal, honest, and a trustworthy guy. And I was sure he was vulnerable too. But he had one weakness. He was a coward.
"Not you either." I bit out, mirroring his smirk.
"Come on man. She's not even worth it. She's just another stuck up bitch." Finn blatantly threw out.
Puck threw Finn a look and shook his head with disgust. The taller boy straightened up and looked over at me with a smile. "Well that just makes her that much more interesting."
Finn groaned before removing himself from the seat next to me. Puck threw me a short wink before licking his lips, chasing off after his buddy. They sat on the other side of the room. The room began filling up. A second later a tall Chinese guy came in and sat beside me. He took me in for a second before introducing himself.
"Mike Chang." He smiled brightly.
"Quinn Fabray." I replied back.
"You must be the new girl. The one from LA right?" he asked.
"How did you know?" I asked incredulously.
The taller boy smiled tapping his pen against the desk. "It's a small world. Word travels fast around here. You'd better get used to it."
I huffed and groaned at the thought.
By the time class ended everyone in the school knew my name and I hadn't even spoken a word to anyone besides Mike. All eyes were on me as Mike and I walked down the hall, chatting quietly. We were almost to my locker when all of a sudden the students began to part. More whispers broke out and all too soon the halls became silent. I spotted her down the hall.
Santana Lopez
And she was heading straight for me. Her hair was down and flowing as she strutted down the hall, shaking her ass a little in the process. There was a hint of a smile on her face when all eyes landed on her. She was oozing power. I mean, she was the ruling bitch of the school. Across her chest was the broad symbol that ran fear through the halls. The bright red and white colors were beaming off of her like a beacon. The taller girl strode up to me, flicking her wrist to dismiss Mike. The boy fled like a chicken without a head. Her eyes darted back to me, her lips forming into a smirk.
This was all just for show. I knew almost everything about this girl. Granted, not as much as Tina did, but I knew her better enough, more than any of these other kids. She liked to put up a front to intimidate people. She thrives off of it. But I wasn't in the mood for her little game.
Santana stopped in front of me, leaning in extremely close, examining my face with scrutiny. She was trying to look for my flaws. She only did this when she felt that someone was prettier than her. When she pulled back I could see a bit of irritation written across her face. But it didn't deter her one bit. By that time a small crowd had gathered, eyeing us quietly.
"You know I could let you borrow my phone if you want." I broke out with a firm tone.
Her eyes zoomed in on me as she scrunched up her face. "And why would you do that?" she asked in a mocking way, circling around me like a piece of meat.
"It's obvious you want my picture taken. I can understand. It's hard to resist this. I can't blame you if you really want a picture. So go on, take one. The first one is free."
"My my, aren't we the cocky bitch." Santana hissed.
I gazed up at her brown eyes, smiling slyly. "Obviously."
She was still studying me until she came to stop in front of me again. "So you're the hot new piece of ass huh? Don't quite understand what the big deal is. Your ass is nonexistent, your tits are small, and I can see your roots coming out. You're a fake bottled blonde, Hollywood bitch."
"At least everything about me is real, unlike the boob job you're sporting." I threw out, knowing exactly where to make it hurt.
The Latina's eyes grew large and she clamped her jaw down. "I'm from LA. You don't think I know a boob job when I see one. Gotta say, they did a pretty decent job. It really takes away from that face of yours."
Santana took a step toward me, muttering under her breath. "You don't want to fuck with me Hollywood. I'm the real big time shit. And I can destroy you."
"Blah, blah, blah.. Is that supposed to scare me? Your threats are empty and this little act that you've got going on isn't doing anything for me. You're acting like a child. Get over yourself." I barked out.
Gasps and whispers broke out. People were watching intently, clearly amazed by the interaction that was going on. No one had ever seen anyone talk to their queen this way. Everyone was on the tips of their toes.
"I rule this school like a true queen from hell. And there isn't anything I wouldn't do to keep it. So I dare you to try me. In the end you will be put down just like the rest of those dumb ass cunts who thought they could pull one over on me. So you will either get in line behind me or you will be thrown to the dogs."
I smirked. "I don't know who you think you are, but let me tell you what's going to happen right now. You are going to smile, and apologize to me for your insensitive behavior in front of all of these people. And then you are going to walk away and stay the hell away from me. And if you ever come near me again I will smack you so hard across your face you'll end up getting a new nose too."
"Santana Lopez does not apologize to anyone." She growled back.
I figured as much. "And that's why you'll never be able to get the girl."
This time she pulled back from me as if burned. Her eyes were bulging out of her head. She knew exactly what I was talking about. I had finally hit my mark. Santana's hands balled into fists as she stood stock still, staring at me. She was trying to figure out how I knew.
Suddenly out of nowhere Tina popped up beside me. She knew what was going on. She threw me a warning look before casting a nervous glance at Santana. The taller girl casted a brief glimpse at Tina, giving her a nasty look. But deep in the depths of her eyes they grew in fear by her presence. Santana let out a low growl before giving me one final look. Without another word she spun around and stalked off. The hallway broke out into an excitement of buzz. Tina grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she whispered into my ear.
I glanced at her and smirked. "She wanted to play. I was just giving her what she wanted."
Tina applied a bit of pressure to my arm, turning me to face her. Her eyes turned cold and dark. Her voice grew dangerously low as she spoke. "Leave her alone. This isn't a game. Back off." She warned.
I released my arm and eyed her with a hard look. "If she comes at me again, I will smack her. I've been wanting to do it ever since she was born. Keep your charge away from me and we won't have any problems."
"Fine." Tina hissed out, turning away and storming down the hall.
Originally this was supposed to have been WAYYY longer, but I decided to chop this chapter up into two parts. I hope you enjoyed! I really want to give a shout out to everyone who has left their love notes for me. I love hearing what you all have to say.
Think Quinn's going to be able to talk to Rachel any time soon? Anyone love a certain character yet? Let me know! Thanks for reading! Until next time…
