"Let me see if I have this right," Eli says as he presses his fingers into the sides of his head and squeezes his eyes shut. "You called me, freaking out no less, because this girl you met online and have, in your own weird way, befriended, now knows your secret identity … "
Quinn nods mutely, her hazel eyes wide and her bottom lip caught in her teeth.
"… and you think she isn't going to want to talk to you anymore because you haven't been one-hundred percent truthful with her …" he continues.
She nods, again.
" … but you want her to keep talking to you."
Another nod.
Eli shakes his head. "Okay, see this is why I don't do the girl thing." He opens his eyes and points to his friend. "You don't make sense. Do you know what men do? They say 'I like you' or 'I fucked up but let's at least see if kissing doesn't solve our issues.' That's what men do."
Quinn bites her lip a little harder as her chin trembles, making Eli sigh.
"If you want her to keep talking to you, Quinn," he says gently, "then maybe you should have called her."
The actor groans in frustration. "And say what? Sorry I've been lying to you?"
Her friend shrugs and then lets his body fall heavily on her couch. He stretches out, putting his worn Chucks on one of the arms and crosses his hands behind his head to rest it on the opposite arm.
"Get out." She pushes his shoes off the upholstery and frowns deeply. "You're not even a little helpful."
"I already told you my solution. It's not my fault you don't want to hear it," he says, not moving.
"I'm sorry but 'kiss it out' isn't a viable option, Eli." Quinn folds her arms over her chest and glares at him. "You're enjoying this way too much."
Eli smirks and says, "There's no such thing as enjoying anything too much. If it's enjoyable, there's no limit on it. I just happen to be partaking in untold amounts of joy right now."
Quinn purses her lips. "I hate you."
"Yes, I know, sweetheart. I know." He closes his eyes. "So, can you hate me and call your friend at the same time? The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be."
"I just don't know what to say," she confesses as she slumps onto the floor, her back against the side of the couch.
Eli's foot twitches. "My guess is you won't have to do much talking. Seems like she's the type to make you listen first, if you know what I mean. Ol' Cap' has a mighty fine way with words from what I remember."
Quinn hums softly in agreement and then sucks in a deep breath. "Okay, just get it over with…" She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and easily finds Santana's number. It was, after all, the second to the last number she dialed. She pauses with her finger over the green dial graphic. "Maybe you should go."
Eli sits up and throws his hands in the air. "Oh no, sister! You're calling her and, because you called me first and, like the good friend I am, I came running to comfort you – I get to listen in when she rips you another asshole."
Quinn glares at him.
"It's only fair," he says calmly. "I did come over on a moment's notice for your silly girl problems. Which, I would like to remind you, could have been avoided if you'd have listened to me."
"It's not silly, Eli! She could very well never talk to me again …"
"… as evidenced by her sending you a text message, thereby opening up the possibility of a conversation," Eli replies. "Yes, I can see how you came to that conclusion."
"I hate you," she reiterates sullenly.
Eli pops up from the couch, grabs the phone from Quinn's hand and looks pointedly at her. Without a moment's hesitation, he hits the dial button and holds the phone out. "I love you, too."
Quinn's mouth drops open, her heart suddenly beating in her ears, and she stands there with her arms still crossed over her chest and her jaw slack.
Eli shakes his head and gives her a warning look as he whispers, "I heard it ring …"
She pushes her lips together tightly before harshly whispering, "I hate you."
"Lucille?" Santana asks when she's met with silence. "Hey … hello?" She checks her phone to see if the call is still connected.
"Hey," Quinn says in a falsely upbeat tone as she glares daggers at Eli. He, in turn, smiles sweetly and takes up his former position on her couch.
"You need to work on your prank calls," the other girl jokes. She puts the call on speaker phone and adds, "At least put caller ID block on or something. I totally knew it was you. You'd be a for shit stalker."
Quinn rolls her eyes. "I wasn't prank calling you. I just – " she side-eyes Eli and decides to retire to her room for privacy. "I didn't expect you to pick up so quickly."
She holds up her middle finger when he whines, "Oh, come on! Don't leave!" It takes all of her resolve not to slam the door for good measure.
"You kidding? I've been waiting for this –"
"Look," Quinn interrupts, "before you start, can I just say that I wanted to tell you?"
Santana is quiet for a little longer than the actor expects.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Quinn asks when she gets no reply from the other girl. She pulls her phone away from her ear and looks at the screen to see if Santana hung up on her.
"I'm here. I was giving you the chance to say that you wanted to tell me. Go ahead."
"I thought I just did."
"No … you said you wanted to say it. So, y'know," Santana teases, "say it."
Quinn sighs loudly and rolls her eyes. "I wanted to tell you."
"But you didn't."
She sighs again "No, I didn't."
"Okay, then." Santana says as she picks up her pencil and resumes her drawing.
"What does that mean?" Quinn asks. She sits gingerly on her bed and traces the stitching on her quilt.
The other girl laughs. "It means, okay. You don't owe me anything. I mean, I'm just some chick you talk to online sometimes, right?"
When she gets no reply, Santana more forcefully asks, "Right?"
"You know that's not true," Quinn finally answers, her voice soft.
"Okay, maybe I do, or," the other girl begins, "or maybe I don't really know much at all. I mean, I know your name. And now I know what you do."
"What do you want to know?" Quinn asks. "If you ask me something, I'll tell you the truth."
"Why?"
"Because I'm tired of only being part of me and," she answers, "if I'm going to start being me, I feel like I could be me with you."
"Whoa, was that a line, Lucille?" Santana asks, chuckling.
Quinn closes her eyes and shakes her head. "I'm being serious. I want to make it up to you."
"You don't have to make it up to me, okay," the other girl says, sighing. "Look, I kind of get it, you know? You were a newbie and, shit, why should you trust us? We're just some randoms online who to talk in movie quotes and fangirl, or boy, out about things that directly relate to your job."
"That's not how I think of you," Quinn argues and then quickly adds on. "… any of you."
"Not even Artie?" Santana asks, laughing. "Because boy might be a good pirate and know some dope tunes, but I wouldn't give him my social security number."
"Can I be honest with you?" Quinn asks.
"I don't know. You can give it a shot," the other girl responds coolly, her eyes trained on the work in front of her.
Quinn lays back on her bed and stares at the ceiling. "I wasn't looking for friends, Santana. I was looking for some background information and got sucked into your art. And when I saw that you were hosting a chat-thing- "
"—livestream—"
"Right, livestream. When I saw you were doing that, I thought it'd be kind of cool to talk to you."
Santana's quiet for a moment. "But you didn't think you'd like me?"
"I wasn't thinking about liking you or not liking you. I was just thinking about your art and about Donna Troy … and somehow we ended up here," she replies.
"And where's here?" the other girl asks her.
Quinn closes her eyes. "With me feeling like a bad friend, I guess. You've shared so much with me about your life and I've just …" she sighs before she continues, "I've navigated around some major points."
"If you feel so bad about it, make it up to me."
"How?"
"You said I could ask you questions, so ..."
Quinn takes a deep breath as she opens her eyes and scoots to sit with her back against her headboard. "Okay, go ahead."
"How old were you when you lost your V card?" Santana asks.
"What? Santana … "
Santana laughs and teases, "You said I could ask you something."
"I meant questions that would make you feel like I treat what we have as something real," Quinn clarifies before adding softly, " – that you're not just some random I met online."
"Technically, we haven't met and, technically, if we did, it would have been online," the other girl informs her. "And as for what we have or don't have remains to be seen because, as of yet, you haven't answered the question. So, answer the question, Claire."
"Breakfast Club! Finally, a reference I get without you sending me to Wikipedia," Quinn jokes. "And to answer your question, sixteen and it was horribly underrated."
Santana chuckles and rolls her eyes. "I think sixteen and underrated go hand-in-hand. Unless he wasn't sixteen …"
"He was seventeen, but I feel like that's splitting hairs."
"Was he your first boyfriend?" the other girl asks curiously.
Quinn hums softly to herself as she thinks. "It wasn't – we weren't serious. I went on a few dates in high school but I wasn't really interested."
"You were interested enough to give it up to him, though," Santana rationalizes.
"I was just curious, that's all," she explains.
There's a strange scratching sound coming from Santana's end of the line.
"What are you doing?" Quinn asks.
"Blending… is that okay with you? Most people enjoy a little shading."
Quinn frowns. "Are you working?"
"Work from home often means that when I'm home, I have to work. But," Santana says, "at least I don't have to get out of my pajamas until dinner time. Okay, so celebrity crush …"
"Define celebrity. No – don't. It doesn't matter." Quinn bites her lip. "I don't have one."
"C'mon, you're surrounded by hot actors all the time. Oh! I know, what about Sam Evans?" Santana asks. "His mouth is kinda huge but, c'mon, he's a cutie, right?"
The other girl laughs. "What is it with everyone thinking I'm dating Sam?"
"People think you're dating him? Do tell …"
"I'm not," Quinn quickly answers her. "He's an absolute sweetheart and he's actually kind of a nerd but," she sighs, "he's not my type."
"Nerds aren't your type or people you work with aren't your type?"
"Sam isn't my type."
"Okay. Keepin' it professional – and vague - I see."
"I am. I'm not telling you more than this so don't ask but …" Quinn giggles. "There is an onset romance and they are adorable, but I can't say anything about it."
Santana hums softly to herself. "Would it be anyone I saw on Backstage Hollywood today?"
"I told you not to ask, Santana," Quinn warns. "Really, it's not my news to share. Either they'll say something about it or TMZ will catch them. Until then, I have no comment on anyone's private life."
"Did you have to sign something?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like a confidentiality thing," Santana clarifies. She waves her hand before touching her pencil to the page again. "You know, like, you don't repeat things you hear on set or things like that."
"No," Quinn answers slowly. "I don't need to sign anything like that. I am a privacy advocate."
"No shit, Lucille," the other girl says soberly. "I had to Sherlock your ass."
Quinn rolls her eyes at her friend's continued use of her nickname. "How long are you going to insist on calling me 'Lucille'?"
"I dunno. 'Til it's not fun anymore?"
"When will that be?"
"Probably when it doesn't get a rise out of you," Santana admits. "Just do me a favor and wait until I find something else to tease you about before you decide you don't mind this one so much."
"I have nothing to tease you about. This is hardly fair," Quinn notes.
"Yeah, well, you're making it up to me, so suck it up, Lucille."
Quinn sighs. "I thought I was making it up to you by answering questions."
"For starters." Santana chuckles softly. "But, if you're worried about reciprocity, ask me something. You wanna know my celebrity crush?"
"Linda Hamilton."
"She's hot, smartass," the other girl says. "She's on my all-time list, but – no, you know what, I'm not going to tell you. You're still making it up to me."
Quinn can practically hear her friend's smirk. "I don't suppose this is something that I'll be able to make up for before I have to head to work tonight …"
Santana's laugh is loud. "Fuck no! I'm enjoying this too much."
"I was recently told that it's impossible to enjoy something too much," she informs the other girl. "Words of wisdom from your pal, Eli."
"And what is he enjoying so much?"
"My couch," Quinn answers before adding, "and my angst about calling you after your text."
"Hey, he's there?" Santana sounds absolutely thrilled by this news. "Tell him the Captain sends her regards."
"I will not."
"Why not?"
"Because it requires me calling you 'The Captain' and that's not happening – ever."
"What if I said you were in the clear if you said it just once?" Santana asks, her voice teasing.
Quinn closes her eyes and considers it. Her pride wins out as she says, "I'll take the longer sentence with no chance for early release for good behavior."
"If you had ended that statement with officer, we'd have had a deal, Lucille." Santana is quiet for a beat. "You're loving that rhyme right now, aren't you?"
"Absolutely not," Quinn says, laughing. "You're such a nerd sometimes."
"You love it," the other girl says confidently. "If you didn't, there would have been no angst for Eli to enjoy."
The actor sighs loudly.
"So, let me ask you something else, Ms. Lamp," Santana begins. "You know I'm not really super upset but, if you're worried, I'll give you an easy out. You listening?"
"Yes."
"Come to the meet-up," the other girl requests quickly. "It'll be like a play date with friends you've never seen in person but feel like you've known forever."
Quinn bites her lip as she considers the invitation. "And you've talked to Mike and Tina about this? They want me to go?"
"I didn't talk to them about your appearance on Backstage Hollywood, no. Tina saw but she doesn't have all the information to make the jump, you know?" Santana taps the end of her pencil against her lips as she thinks. "They'd want you to go because they like you – it is possible to like someone without knowing what they do for a living."
"I should tell them before I show up, don't you think?"
Santana wrinkles her nose as she eyes her drawing for necessary touch ups. "'S'up to you. That's totally your call, Lampy."
"Santana …"
"I thought you wanted me to stop calling you Lucille."
"And you think Lampy is an appropriate replacement?"
"For now," Santana replies. "So, are you in for the meet-up?"
Quinn chews her bottom lip. "It'll depend on when you schedule it. As you can imagine, I can't exactly call out of work."
"That reminds me," the other girl says, putting her pencil down and leaning back in her chair. "I figured out, well, Britts stalked my notes and she thinks I got a huge signal boost from one particular reblog. Was that your doing?"
"It was a good cause and I didn't think you'd notice," Quinn admits almost shyly.
Santana shakes her head and smiles to herself. "That was nice of you to go out on a limb like that for a kid you don't even know."
A small wrinkle appears between Quinn's brows. "I don't see how it was going out on a limb."
"Maybe I have it wrong but it kind of seems like you and Eli , while working for the film, kind of also work for the actors. So, you putting a bug in Quinn Fabray's ear about this seems really cool to me," Santana explains.
"Wait, what?" Quinn sits up and clutches her pillow to her stomach.
"I know you don't actually work for her, but you work with her," the other girl continues. "And the fact that you got her to reblog my call for commissions is super cool. You didn't have to mention it, especially after I kind of blasted her on my blog." Santana is quiet for a beat. "You didn't show it to her, did you?"
The actor sits, speechless on her bed.
Santana mistakes her friend's silence as confirmation. "You did? Well, shit."
"I –"
"No, I get it," the other girl interrupts before Quinn can get a word out. "It seemed like I was slamming her but, you've read Strangers in Paradise now, so you know I really wasn't. There were some real compliments in there."
Quinn doesn't even try to say anything. She just clutches her pillow tighter, her eyes wide as she listens to her friend go on.
"I'm not making excuses or anything just because you know her," Santana clarifies. "I just know that now you probably get what I was saying about her being too good for Titans."
"Too good?" the actor repeats dumbly.
"C'mon, Quinn Fabray's doing comic movies because someone thinks she needs to hit more markets. Her manager is probably some stupid shit who thinks that her best asset is her face which, okay, sure, she's really pretty but she's also really good at what she does," the other girl says. "She doesn't need this for her filmography. The girl's acted with Colin Firth and Emma Thompson – and she stole every friggin scene. Her credentials are solid."
"You saw My Life Closed Twice?" Quinn asks, shocked.
Santana shrugs. "I've seen lots of movies. I like movies." She pauses. "Shut up, Lampy. Anyway, are you coming to the meet up?"
Quinn blinks at the sudden shift in the conversation. "I'm open to it, yes. But," she pauses and takes a deep breath. "I'm going to send you an email. I want you to read it and, when you're done, if you still want me to go, I'll go."
The other girl snorts softly. "If you're trying to go backwards and be mysterious again, it's not necessary."
"I'm not, but …" Quinn hesitates. "I don't want to show up and have you be – I'm not sure what you might be. So, read it and let me know, okay?"
Santana frowns in confusion. "Okay, but I don't think I'll be anything except glad you showed, Luce."
Quinn smiles at the name. "Just in case," she says. "I've gotta go now."
"Yeah, okay."
"I hope to talk to you later," the actor states softly.
"You will." It almost sounds, to Quinn, like a promise.
As soon as she hangs up, Quinn goes to the living room, smacks Eli's legs until he sits up and makes room for her on the couch. She pulls her laptop out from its hiding place under the coffee table and, with a quick, nervous look at her friend, gets to work.
Wikipedia
Quinn Fabray (born August 16) is an American actress …
Filmography:
Diana of Wales (rumored, 2013)
Teen Titans (present)
My Life Closed Twice (2012)
Les Victoires (2011)
Villette (2011)
Little Women (PBS Miniseries 2010)
Personal:
Quinn Fabray is known for being a private celebrity. She has never publicly acknowledged any rumors about romantic ties (or sexual preference). She is currently rumored to be dating Sam Evans. Charities include: GLAAD, St. Jude's Children Hospital, Doctors without Borders and CARE.
She hits the edit button and updates her biography.
Quinn Fabray (born Lucy Quinn Fabray on August 16)
She leaves her filmography intact and quickly edits her personal information.
Quinn Fabray is known for being a very private celebrity. She has never publicly acknowledged any rumors about romantic ties (or sexual preference). She is currently rumored to be dating Sam Evans.
She merely rolls her eyes at the statement about dating and her sexuality.
Charities include: GLAAD, St. Jude's Children Hospital, Doctors without Borders and CARE. She has most recently become involved with the Dream Makers Foundation, a non-profit organization created to help children with life-threatening illnesses live out their dreams.
After accepting the role of Donna Troy in "Teen Titans," she began researching her character by reading comic books and scouring the internet for information about the character as well as this DC franchise. She mentioned in an interview (Backstage Hollywood) that her favorite comic series include "Promethea" and "Strangers in Paradise."
"What are you doing?" Eli asks, looking over her shoulder.
Quinn shakes her head, practically ignoring him and navigates to Backstage Hollywood. It doesn't take her long to find the article she wants.
Backstage Hollywood
Titans in Love?
By Ivan Stokes
Are Donna Troy and Aqua Lad more than just Titan teammates? Quinn Fabray was seen having lunch with former boy-band member and current co-star, Sam Evans, at Café El. Witnesses said the couple looked very happy and even celebrated spending time together with an afternoon champagne toast.
They looked cozy as they left the restaurant arm-in-arm. Check out the photos and judge for yourself.
"Quinn," her friend says softly before repeating his earlier question, "what are you doing?"
Quinn frowns as she copies and pastes the article into an empty email. "Coming clean."
To: Santana Lopez (parkergirl )
From: (DiamondLuce )
Subject: Read Me.
Attachment: ( )
Santana,
I thought about explaining to you on the phone that your grand moment of discovery was
flawed but, for starters, I was shocked to find out that the truth you discovered wasn't the truth at all.
From our conversation, it seemed like you were under the impression that I work with Eli – as a makeup artist (?). That's half right. I do work with Eli; but, he's my makeup and hair artist.
"And your best friend who comes to your aid within moments of your calling in distress," Eli says as he points to the screen. "Add that."
"I'm not adding that and stop reading over my shoulder." Quinn shrugs the shoulder closest to him. "I can feel you breathing on me."
Yesterday when you spoke to us, he was dying my hair to match the extensions that I'll be wearing for the duration of filming. And I didn't get back to you about the picture you texted to me because I was being interviewed for the episode of Backstage Hollywood you saw earlier today.
I know you were joking when you referred to the lamp and said you saw me on TV. But you did see me – on the couch, in the training room – that was me.
"You should attach a picture of us," Eli suggests.
"You should stop breathing on me," she replies, annoyed, as she continues to type.
I tell myself that I never lied to you (I tried really hard to be honest) but I know not
telling you the whole truth – leaving out important information – is pretty much the same as lying. And that's something I never wanted to do. I hope you'll forgive me for that.
After you visit my Wiki page and read the article below (which is untrue – he's not my type, remember?), let me know if your invitation still stands. I've included them as kind of proof for you … just in case you don't believe me.
"Or you could attach a picture of us!" Eli suggests again.
Quinn rolls her eyes and sighs. "Fine." She positions her laptop so that the little built-in camera can capture both of their images. She attaches the picture of Eli holding his hands up in a heart shape and Quinn looking somewhat abashedly into the camera.
I hope to hear from you soon.
LQF
"Now what?" Eli asks as he puts his arm around his friend.
"Now," Quinn says, clicking the send button, "we wait."
