AN: Everyone say "Happy Birthday" to Dianna Agron.
AN2: I honestly think this chapter was rushed, if only because I tried to get it out on this day. The rest should take things at a much slower pace. But of course that means more chapters with Quinn and Rachel apart. Right now I'm up to about three for each (storyboarded only, not written). Although I'm still a bit uncertain if I'll use all of them. And I also feel iffy about my song choice for this chapter's title.
Walked Outta Heaven
Quinn impatiently tapped her pen against her desk. It had been three weeks since she first came to New Haven. And it had also been three weeks since she had written her first letter to Rachel. She had been busy. Between school, finding a job, and also looking for a potential roommate, Quinn had little free time to do as she wished. But if she were being honest with herself, she would say that none of that was the real reason she refused to contact the brunette.
School was difficult but noting Quinn couldn't handle. Money was a larger issue, but unless her mother decided to cut her off she'd do just fine for now. And she was still pretty iffy about getting a roommate so she didn't take the search for one too seriously.
So, you may be wondering what the problem was. Well it was Rachel and her response, or lack thereof. They say actions speak louder than words, and the action of silence was screaming straight into Quinn's ear.
The slamming of her fridge door snapped her out of her thoughts. "Why do you have so much tofu in here?" Samantha called in annoyance.
"It's good for you," Quinn argued. "And I don't have that much!" And she didn't, or at least she thought she didn't. She heard a huff of disbelief coming from her kitchen.
The two blondes had become quick friends in the past few weeks. Quinn had learned that Samantha was an amateur writer. Nothing very serious, only poems and short stories, but the other girl's love of writing easily complimented her love of reading. It was probably that reason alone that had the pair click so instantly.
The shorter girl walked up to Quinn. She glanced over her shoulder at the blank piece of paper. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Writing a letter," Quinn answered, turning her head to look at Samantha. "What does it look like?" The other girl had an awestruck look on her face.
"A letter? Seriously? What century do you live in?" she let out short laugh. "You could call someone, email them, or Skype them and you choose to write a letter?"
"Yeah," she replied, turning back to her desk. "It's more personal, more… intimate." The last word was let out softly, whispered.
"Okay." She left Quinn be and tossed herself onto the couch. She hummed in bliss as rolled into a comfortable position. "Have I ever told you that I love your place?" Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes. The shorter blonde had told her that each time she came over. "Everything here's so new, so fresh, so soft," she mewled. "And you have this place all to yourself. I am so jealous."
"Yeah, you've told me before." Quinn started to tap her pen once more.
"Who's that for anyway?" Samantha asked lazily. "Boyfriend?"
"Um, no," Quinn answered nervously. "Don't have one."
"Really?" The shorter girl bounced up into a sitting position. "Single and ready to mingle?" Quinn mouthed out a 'kinda' as she tentatively nodded her head. "Sweet, I've been waiting to find someone I could scope out cute guys with. It's just no fun doing it on my own."
"That's not really going to work with me," Quinn said through gritted teeth. "I'm…" She paused, uncertainty looming around her. Half of her wanted to be honest, to just tell the truth. The other half was just brought back to her memories of Lima. She thought back to the harassment that Santana suffered after she was outed, by Finn no less. Quinn could never understand how Rachel, a girl with two gay dads, could stay in a relationship with him.
Quinn sputtered through her words for a minute until Samantha spoke up. "You still looking for a roommate?" she asked. Quinn met her gaze and through her eyes thanked her for changing the subject.
"I guess."
"Lucky; get to choose who you live with." She propped herself up on her elbows. "You need any help with that search?" Quinn spun her chair around, and bit her lip thoughtfully. A knock on the door saved her from having to give an answer. The shorter blonde motioned for her to answer and used the opportunity to use the bathroom. Quinn eyed the door curiously as she approached it. There were very few people who knew where she lived, and most of those were people she knew from Lima. She cautiously turned the knobbed.
"Rachel told me everything." The words were thrown at her not a second after the door was open enough for the boy outside to see her. "I've been debating whether or not if I should come by, but I can't just… I can't." His face was stern and his eyes were trained on her own. He looked as though he were trying to read her expression.
"Kurt what are you talking about?" Her eyes drifted left and right to see if he was alone.
"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Now may I please come in?" Quinn opened the door further. "Look Quinn I-" The words were lost in his throat as he spotted Samantha entering the room. She paused and watched them curiously. "Oh, you have company. My apologizes. I shouldn't have barged in like that." Quinn rolled her eyes while nodding her head in agreement. "I'll come back later." He turned to leave.
Samantha rushed in front of him, blocking his path. "No, don't. I should go anyway," she lied. "I'll see you later Quinn."
"No, no. I was being rude. I should have called." Behind him Quinn mouthed out the words 'You think?' He attempted to move around the shorter blonde, but she was easily able to mimic his actions.
"I insist, I'll go." She exited the apartment and closed the door. Quinn swore under her breath and sat down on her couch. Kurt followed, sitting on the opposite end.
"So, what exactly did Rachel tell you?" Quinn asked after a brief silence.
"Everything. We're best friends," Kurt pointed out. "We don't hide things from one another."
"And you're here why?" she asked. "You're here to what?" she shrugged. "To tell me that you know what it feels like?" Her tone was harsh, and hurt. "That you know what it feels like to fall in love with someone who's straight? To tell me that I'll get over it?" Quinn finished and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She waited for Kurt's retort, but none came. She opened her eyes and brought them up to Kurt. He had a hand covering his agape mouth. "She didn't tell you what I told her, did she?"
"No, she didn't," Kurt admitted. "And I apologize for my trickery." Quinn quirked an eyebrow. "Rachel never told me anything. Blaine overheard a conversation about you two having a fight. I just never expected…"
"Of course you didn't," Quinn muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all." Again Kurt was at a loss for words. "Anything else you want to say?" Kurt remained silent, shaking his head. Quinn wasn't sure if he was saying no or if he was still trying to let this all sink in. "If there's nothing left could you please leave?"
"How long?"
"What does it matter?"
"How long, Quinn?" he asked again. His face had become less serious. Even then, she refused to answer. "Was it since you met?" Her eyes drifted from his. "I'll take that as a yes. So everything you did to her; the teasing, the slushies, the name calling, all of that was cause you liked her?" Quinn tucked a few stray locks of hair behind her ear. "I'll say that's another yes. Are you sure you love her Quinn?"
She snapped her head towards Kurt, letting her short hair fly about. "What is that supposed to mean? Of course I'm sure."
"Do you remember Dave, Quinn?" She nodded her head, not exactly understanding where he was going. "Earlier this year, around Valentine's, I received a number of cards, gifts and that gorilla gram. I didn't tell any of you this, but that all came from Dave." He paused allowing Quinn to let it sink in. "I helped him through a tough time in his life, and I never held any of the bullying against him."
"You're comparing me and Rachel to you and Dave?"
"You can't deny the similarities." Kurt stood up, turning his back to Quinn. "All I'm saying is that you obviously feel a strong connection to Rachel, and that you might be confusing that with love."
"How dare you!" She stood up. Her eyes narrowed, boring holes into the back of Kurt's head. "How dare you tell me how I feel about Rachel! You just find out about all this, and then you make all these assumptions about me!" She stilled her breathing and politely asked him to leave.
"Quinn, please."
"Leave." He shuffled out.
Quinn walked to her couch, sinking into it. She liked Kurt enough, most of the time. But he almost always air of superiority when he was around her. He was always right, and she was always wrong. For someone who had gone through so much in high school, Quinn often thought that Kurt was just a self-righteous dick.
She huffed out a breath of air as she heard another knock on her door. This one was lighter, and she already knew who it was. Quinn opened the door to reveal Samantha. "Hey," she said with a small wave, which had become a routine for her whenever she came by to Quinn's place. "So, who was that?" she asked while tilting her head in the direction of the stairs.
"An old friend," Quinn answered softly. "I don't really want to talk about it." Samantha nodded her understanding then went back to the apartment she shared with her cousin. Quinn reentered her own apartment and went back to her desk. The piece of paper on it was still blank. She uncapped her pen and began to write.
Dear Rachel,
How have you been? Things here have been pretty busy.
Good enough start, she thought.
I really miss you.
Nope that wouldn't do.
I miss all of you. It's funny. I actually wish I was back in Lima.
Now that just sounded stupide, and very unrealistic. Who in their right mind would really want to go back to Lima? Her mind drifted to Blaine's brother. He was the kind of person who'd come back to Lima. And she thought that the guy was a douche and didn't know a thing about what he was talking about. So yeah, saying she wanted to be back in Lima was out of the picture.
She continued to write and cross things out again and again. At some point she reached the bottom of the page. Looking back at it she found that the whole thing was more or less illegible, even with her beautiful handwriting.
Quinn decided to get some air and finish later. She grabbed a coat and a beanie, unsure of how long she'd be out, and left the building. A cold breeze slapped her face as she stepped outside. She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets to find a small notepad and pencil she had placed in there the week before. She pulled them as walked down the street. Quinn paused at an intersection and opened the notepad to an empty page. She started drawing a rough sketch of the area, something that proved quite difficult with the wind blowing.
It had been a while since Quinn had drawn anything, and she had been meaning to do something like this for some time now. It oddly felt like a release of some sort. The light from the sun began to fade and Quinn took that as a sign to stop. She placed the pencil back in her pocket, and lifted the notepad out if front of her. Slowly she moved it along, comparing it to the backdrop she was trying to recreate. She smiled at the thought that she hadn't lost her talent.
A strong breeze blew by, nearly blowing the notepad from her grip. She placed it back in her pocket and walked back home, wrapping her coat more securely around her. Upon reaching the entrance to the apartment building she took one last look at the darkening sky. She made a mental note to try something with the night sky at some point.
Quinn got back to her apartment and hung up her coat after taking the notepad out, but kept the beanie on. She ripped out the sketch she drew and tossed it onto her desk. The blonde was still uncertain about what to write, but thought some art would be okay. But it was getting late and she had a lot to do the following day so she decided to put that off until the morning.
AN: Thanks for reading. Quick question, is there any particular character that you want to see more of? And how do you expect (not want) them to deal with the situation?
