A/N: Dear Readers, I hope you're all doing great! :D Thanks to the new subscribers and favorites! I enjoy reading all the reviews, I really do!
I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it... :) Also, I want to know how many of you have figured out who Jane Hart is...? I hope you laugh a little when you actually figure it out :D

This chapter is dedicate to my Sisbro Danny, for giving me that little push I always need, and for being awesome :3


Chapter 7

There's Nothing but the Rain and You

Puck, Blaine and Jane sat at Rachel's table and after a while they invited Santana and Brittany over.

Even in her wildest dreams, Rachel never thought she'd share a table with exactly these people. But it felt right somehow.

Although someone was missing.

"Noah, where's Quinn?"

Puck looked at her with a small smile. He was waiting for her to ask that question.

"She's outside. I think she was loading her drum set into my truck or something."

"Oh okay." She bit her lip to stop herself from asking something else.

Blaine excused himself from the table to answer his phone and Puck took the opportunity to lean closer to Rachel and whispered, "You should go outside too. Maybe you guys need to talk."

Rachel's eyes went wide, but she nodded and excused herself from the table too, asking Finn for the car keys.

"I think I forgot my phone." she lied easily.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he gave her a dopey grin. "It's scary outside."

"No thank you Finn. I appreciate your chivalry and concern for my safety, but I won't take long."

His face fell but he gave her the keys without saying anything else.

She stepped into the light rain and walked to the back of the bar, where all the cars were parked.

Right next to Puck's truck, she saw a girl sitting down with her back pressed against one of the wheels, her head resting on said truck. She was looking at the sky.

Rachel vaguely wondered if it was normal for her feet to feel so heavy as she walked straight to where the other girl was.

Quinn felt her approach before she saw her, and turned towards the brunette. She stood up and shook the raindrops out of her hair while she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

Rachel smiled at the action. It reminded her of her Lucy.

Once she reached Quinn, she simply stood there, looking at the blonde. Taking in the Bad-Ass aspect of this girl who seemed so different, yet so familiar.

Quinn took a deep breath and licked her lips before looking Rachel in the eyes.

"Hi."

"Hello!"

A few seconds passed and Quinn gathered the courage to speak again.

Lucy whispered in her ear, Go ahead. Talk to her.

"Did you enjoy the show?"

Rachel nodded. "I did actually! You guys are amazing, especially Puck a-and you."

Quinn blushed. "Me?"

"Yes you. Apart from being an excellent drummer, you have an amazing voice."

"Thanks. I'm not really a singer, but I enjoy being the drummer. It helps me relieve my stress levels."

"Yeah. It also seems fun."

They both stood in silence for a while, looking around thinking the same thing. What does one talk about after eleven years of not seeing each other?

"Rachel I-" she cut herself off, because she had the intention to apologize, but she didn't know how.

So she changed her words. "I think you already know, but I'm Quinn Fabray."

A memory fluttered to Rachel's mind and she smiled. "What's a Fabray? Is it important?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes, struggling to understand what that was about, and suddenly she flash-backed to that day where she had met Rachel.

She gasped.

The brunette noticed the reaction and she hurried to grab Quinn's arm.

"Hey," she said gently, "It's okay."

Quinn's jaw tensed when she felt Rachel's touch, but she quickly composed herself and said, "I'm sorry. I remembered, Rachel. You asked me that the day we met. And I told you that... That—"

"That it was your last name, and that it was very important."

"Yeah, because it used to be."

Rachel could hear the bitterness behind her words, but she ignored it, because she had other things to say.

"I intend to apologize for my behavior on Monday, because it was surely tactless of me to approach you without reason. Even if we went to kindergarten together, I shouldn't have expected you to remember me. After all, eleven years is quite a while."

"Well yeah, but you shouldn't be the one apologizing. I- I shouldn't have reacted that way when you called me Lu- when you said my name. And I definitely shouldn't have slammed you against a locker." She lowered her eyes.

Rachel pursed her lips and studied Quinn's face, while all around them, the rain started to increase.

"Can I ask you something?"

Quinn already knew what the question was. "Go ahead."

"Why don't you... How come..."

"You want to know why I'm not Lucy anymore."

Rachel nodded sheepishly.

Quinn hesitated but decided that if she wanted to fix things, she would have to be honest.

"To make a long story short, I used to be bullied during Middle school. People used to make fun of my weight, my hair... Every little thing you can imagine. I felt ugly, unwanted, I just... One day I just couldn't take it anymore. I was- I am so broken that I decided to change. I buried Lucy Fabray. I started going by my middle name. I'm much better right now, because nobody bothers to make fun of me. People like me because I'm beautiful or because they actually notice I'm smart."

She made a pause to move her hair away from her eyes and looked at Rachel.

The brunette's bottom lip was trembling and she seemed to be crying, but it was hard to tell due to the rain pouring down her face.

"I panicked when you called me Lucy. I felt cornered and thought that you knew my secret. But Puck... He told me about you. I remember some things about you but I couldn't put a face on the person I remembered. I still don't really know who you are, but there's something about you that makes me feel... safe."

Rachel's first thought was that she had to hug Quinn, but she barely managed to stop herself because it wasn't a very good idea.

Quinn shuffled her feet and blurted out, "I wanna be your friend Rachel. But I need help to remember you. Please."

The tone in her voice made Rachel's knees buckle.

Quinn sounded so helpless. Like she needed Rachel.

There was no doubt about what she should do.

"Of course I'll help you Quinn. I want to be your friend too. I'm really sorry for what happened though."

"I have nothing to forgive Rachel. You remembered me and I was a bitch."

Rachel choked a sob. "No, it's- don't worry about it. Let's just start over and I promise to help you. We're in this together."

She bit her bottom lip and considered asking for that hug, but Quinn surprised her by closing the gap between them and wrapping her arms around the brunette's waist.

Rachel stood there for a second and then put her arms around Quinn's neck.

The blonde buried her nose in Rachel's hair and murmured softly, "Thank you, Rachel."

"No Quinn. Thank you."

They stood in the downpour with their arms around each other, feeling warmth radiate from their bodies and not caring about getting wet, because really, why should they care?

There was a chance to become friends again.

There was hope, and it was all that mattered.

Once they were back inside and everyone knew each other, they began to drink.

Well, Puck, Finn, Jane and Santana that is.

They were drinking shot after shot, like they were going to run out soon.

Blaine, after receiving his call, had returned to the table with a tall guy named Sebastian, his boyfriend. Kurt immediately looked annoyed, but he changed his face as soon as he saw Rachel look at him with curiosity. At least he was being polite to Sebastian.

Jane leaned into Puck and whispered something that made him laugh, and in a swift movement, she grabbed him by the mohawk and pulled him towards her, keeping eye contact. "You gonna kiss me or do I have to do everything tonight Puckerman?"

Puck gulped and smiled before leaning in and kissing Jane.

Quinn started to laugh and Rachel sat there with her mouth hanging open.

Brittany was trying to explain to a drunk Finn, how her show Fondue for Two worked. He had a pained expression and Santana was laughing at him.

They were all having a good time, and Rachel could tell that this was going to be her new group to hang out with. The simple thought made her insides flip with excitement.

After a while, Puck was offering everyone a drink, including Rachel, who politely turned him down.

"Come on man, she doesn't drrrrrrink." Finn slurred.

Puck looked confused and said, "Well then what can we get her? A Kool-Aid? Or hot chocolate?"

Luckily Quinn intervened and said, "Get her a Shirley Temple!" she winked at Rachel, who giggled and stood up. "I'll go get it myself."

As she got up, she noticed that there was a puddle beneath their table. "Did somebody spill their drink?"

Nobody answered her, but she noticed that her clothes were soaked, and she thought she knew where the water came from. "Ah, anyway, I'll be right back. Anyone else want a drink?"

"Bring me another shot Berry!" Santana ordered.

Quinn stood up and said, "I'll come with you Rach, to help you."

Rachel nodded and turned around, and as she took the first step, her boot landed directly in the puddle, causing her to slip and lose her balance.

Quinn grabbed her before she could fall, but slipped on the water too.

Both of them fell down and Rachel landed fully on top of Quinn, smacking her forehead against the blonde's.

"Oh God. OUCH!"

Rachel winced and said, "I'm so sorry Quinn! I—"

She stopped abruptly as she noticed the small amount of space between her face and Quinn's.

She could feel the warm breath that smelled like strawberry on her face, and she tried to look at Quinn's eyes, but the blonde was too busy staring at Rachel's lips.

Rachel forgot where she was and who was around her and she began to lean into Quinn. She felt her bottom lip brush against the blonde's and—

"Hey Q, are you guys okay?" It was Brittany, who was staring down at them from the edge of the table.

Both girls on the ground blushed profusely and immediately scrambled to get up, as if nothing had happened. They started to laugh because of the awkwardness and were grateful that nobody had noticed apart from Brittany.

Gosh, what got into me? She's my friend! Stupid water. Rachel thought.

Once she had her drink, she sat back down and decided to enjoy the rest of the night, despite the blush that stayed on her cheeks, refusing to go.

One peek at Quinn was enough to notice that she had the same blush, and Rachel wondered if she should say something.

Out of nowhere, Brittany told Blaine, "Did you know that there's a street in Lima that's totally named after me? It's S. Pierce street. You should Google it."

They all looked at each other and laughed.

Leave it to Brittany to break the tension.

When it was time to go, Kurt offered to drive Finn home, while Blaine and Sebastian offered to take Puck and Jane.

Rachel decided to drop Santana and Brittany at the Latina's house.

She turned towards Quinn shyly and said, "Would you come home with me? So we can begin to catch up on eleven years of stories..."

Quinn beamed. "I'd love to Rachel!"

Rachel squealed.

"Do you want to call your parents so they know?"

"No, I already told them I'd sleep at Santana's place, so they know I won't be home tonight."

"Oh okay. Great!"

They said farewell to their friends, and got in Quinn's car, Santana and Brittany in the back seats and Rachel in the front next to Quinn.

As she was driving to Santana's house, Quinn turned on the radio just so there wasn't any kind of awkward silence, but after about ten minutes she heard some noise in the backseat.

At first she ignored it, but when she reached a red light she thought she heard a moan.

A lot of things crossed her mind, but she never imagined what she saw when she turned to look at her friends.

Santana was half naked with her back arched while Brittany's mouth was attached to her left breast.

"OH MY GOD! What are you guys—!"

Santana's eyes went wide. "What the fuck Quinn! Turn around bitch!" Brittany giggled.

Rachel was about to turn to look at Santana, but Quinn stopped her. "Wait, don't turn around Rach."

"Why Quinn? What's wrong?"

"Uh, they're... half naked."

Rachel blushed and said, "Oh..."

Quinn kept driving and she reached Santana's house in less that five minutes. "Can I turn around now?"

Santana scoffed. "Yes."

"Okay, so we're here. I'll see you guys on Monday. And uh- be safe!" She winked at them.

"Go fuck yourself Fabray!"

They both got out while Rachel and Quinn laughed inside the car.

They watched them go into Santana's house and then Quinn turned the car around to make her way towards Rachel's house.

"Well that was awkward."

Rachel furrowed her brow. "What were they doing exactly?"

"Oh um, they were kind of having sex in the backseat..."

"They were— Oh gosh, are they together or something?"

"I think so. They haven't really said anything but it's pretty obvious that they like each other. And the other day I was going to take a shower in the Cheerios lounge and they were making out. So I guess they kind of are."

Rachel nodded and turned towards the window. She lost herself in her thoughts for a while.

She remembered what had almost happened in the bar, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it because Quinn was trying to be her friend and Rachel had to be there for her.

Quinn pulled her out of the maze inside her head saying, "Do you want to listen to anything in particular or do I put my iPod on shuffle?"

Rachel turned back to look at her and said, "Shuffle is okay."

As they reached another red light, Quinn set her mp3 player on shuffle.

Her breath caught when she heard the slow music begin to play.

It had been years since she had heard that song, yet she knew all the lyrics because all the songs on that album had helped her through some tough things when she was younger. She had fallen asleep listening to Avril Lavigne's voice pouring from her headphones.

And in this moment, the lyrics fit so right that she smiled and as soon as Avril began to sing, Quinn did the same.

I'm standing on the bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound

Rachel's jaw fell slightly, because of two things.

One, Quinn was singing and it made her skin fill with goosebumps.

And two, Quinn was singing that song. That song that had helped Rachel sleep through some nights when she felt so hopeless. That song that Quinn was singing to her because Rachel had promised to be there for her.

A tear rolled down Rachel's cheek.

Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night
I'm trying to figure out this life

Quinn turned to look at Rachel and sang directly at her.

Won't you take me by the hand?
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I, I'm with you
I'm with you
Hmm hmm hmm

She turned back towards the road, and Rachel instinctively reached out to grab her hand. This time she didn't flinch at the contact. She held the small, warm hand in hers.

I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
'Cause nothing's going right
And everything's a mess
And no one likes to be alone

Tears were starting to appear, but she kept singing, because she had to let Rachel know that she needed her to be her friend. She felt so alone and Rachel gave her hope.

Isn't anyone trying to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?
It's a damn cold night

I try to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand?
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I, I'm with you
I'm with you
Yeah yeah

She sucked in a deep breath and gave it her all for the next lines.

Oh, why is everything so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah Yeah Yeah
Yeah Yeah
Yeah Yeah
Yeah Yeah
Yeah

She choked a sob and sniffled as quietly as possible.

It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand, take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I, I'm with you
I'm with you

Take me by the hand, take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I, I'm with you

I'm with you

Take me by the hand, take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I, I'm with you

I'm with you
I'm with you.

Three seconds passed and another song began to play.

Both girls were silent for the rest of the ride.

A peaceful feeling settled in their hearts.

As they held each others hand with the unspoken promise of friendship.

Maybe a song couldn't fix everything, but if there was something that Rachel knew what that music always made things better.

And that's exactly what had happened. Things felt better.

Quinn turned left one last time and Rachel pointed to her house.

They parked outside and let go of their hands so they could get out.

Once they were in the soft rain, they smiled at each other and Rachel whispered, "Thank you Quinn. That song, your voice, everything was beautiful."

The blonde blushed but smiled and whispered back, "Thanks Rachel. I just— Thanks."

Rachel smiled and grabbed Quinn's hand again, pulling her towards the front porch and up the steps to her house.

She opened the door and as soon as she took a step inside she knew her Dads were still awake. She beamed at Quinn and said, "I'm home!"

They appeared in the foyer and Leroy said, "Hi honey you're—" he looked at Quinn and raised and eyebrow at her.

"Dad, Daddy, this is Quinn. Quinn Fabray."


There we go :)
Song was I'm with You by Avril Lavigne. I'm curious, does everyone remember this song? And does it bring memories back to you from your childhood or younger selves? It did for me haha!

Thanks for reading!

Reviews anyone?