Rachel had to admit, she hadn't been expecting Quinn to kiss her—at least not yet. The blonde seemed so calm and calculated, it was hard to believe that she would lose control and give in to temptation so easily, so soon.
But the singer was definitely experiencing the proof first-hand: Quinn had grabbed her and was kissing her like the fate of the world depended on it. Rachel, of course, was always a fan for dramatics, so she was in no way complaining about Quinn's—Quinn Fabray, she thought as she smiled into the kiss—actions. She was merely surprised by them. However, she most definitely was not so surprised as to keep her from kissing the gorgeous woman back.
Teeth clashed together, and Rachel had to reign back a yelp as Quinn bit down harshly onto her lower lip. She was hesitant that touching the blonde would break the spell she seemed to be in, but Quinn seemed pretty clear on what she wanted as she walked the two of them into the wall. Their bodies pressed flush together. Rachel couldn't hold back anymore and found her hands on the blonde's waist, pulling them even closer. Nimble hands pulled tightly on her hair and made her whimper as her head tilted back. She let out a gasp as Quinn's teeth nipped harshly on her jaw, and then suddenly those hands had left her hair to tug on her shirt.
"Off," Quinn mumbled through the kisses she was giving Rachel's neck.
"But…" Rachel knew she shouldn't have said anything as soon as the single word left her mouth.
Quinn stopped her movements. After a couple of beats, she took two unstable steps backwards.
The spell was broken.
"Shit. Shitshitshitfuck," Quinn mumbled a slew of curses to herself, not even looking at the brunette in front of her.
Rachel had no idea how to handle this. "Quinn, I—"
"Fuck," the blonde hissed once more, grabbing at her own hair. She spun around and made it to the door in two long strides. She didn't have to open the door to know what was waiting for her on the other side, but she was still floored when she saw Mike's face after the door swung open.
He was leaning with his back against the wall opposite the doorway, right next to the kitchen entryway. His arms were crossed defensively. Puck was in the kitchen trying to act like he wasn't spying on the events that would unfold. Everyone else must have been upstairs—Finn was probably off planning how he was going to get into Rachel's pants.
Mike wouldn't even look at her.
"You know, I'm used to having to block certain things out." His voice was cold, colder than Quinn had ever heard it, even more than when they would fight. "Things that I hear without trying, but then I find out I don't want to hear it. I just… block it out. It happens a lot around this house, with Brittany and Santana, you know… But never with you."
"Mike." Quinn's voice broke.
"I heard you say, 'boyfriend'. That's when it tuned in." He gestured vaguely to his ears as if she didn't already know he was talking about his super hearing. "And then Rachel…" The aforementioned girl shrunk back into the corner of her room, although she hadn't been in his line of sight in the first place. "…I thought that you guys would start talking about how handsome I was, or something, but no—Rachel said that you didn't 'hold affection' for me, and I was really taken aback because, like, she'd seemed pretty cool, before. But then all of a sudden I have to sit here like, 'what the hell does this girl think she's talking about, here?' But… you didn't deny it. You got defensive, but you didn't deny it."
Quinn deflated when she realized what he said was true—she hadn't denied it, she'd simply told Rachel to mind her own business. "Mike, I'm—" she was going to say she was sorry, but apparently Mike didn't want to hear it.
"Apparently you flirted with her? And that really threw me because—because that means you started this, Quinn." He was looking dead at her, now. His arms tightened around his torso as if he could physically protect himself from the emotional pain she knew he was feeling. "And then you kissed her—and I just couldn't take it anymore. I blocked you out. You, of all the people I thought I would have to…." His face scrunched up and she just knew the pain that he was feeling in that moment.
"Michael," she said, using his full name as she did when she was trying to convey her sincerity, "I am so, so sorry."
Mike just shook his head and looked away again. His arms dropped in defeat, and Quinn could feel her heart shatter. "Did you ever love me? Did you even like me? Want me?" He returned his gaze to her.
Quinn was so torn between trying to preserve what was left of his heart and giving him the truth he so truly deserved. But it seemed as if Mike could sense her inner dilemma and solved the problem for her. "Full disclosure."
The blonde sighed. Rachel saw how she sunk into herself, how it looked like it hurt her to breathe. "I love you… just not like you love me. I love you just like I love Santana, or Puck, or Brittany. I care for you, Michael, I really do."
Mike nodded. His eyes moved away. Quinn wouldn't be able to look into his eyes for a long time.
"I'm gonna go for a walk."
"Mike, please," Quinn begged, stepping forward. The broken man simply held up a hand to stop her.
"It's over, Quinn. Now just… leave me be."
It was all Quinn could do not to crumple to the floor as he walked away.
Puck walked by and paused in front of her. She expected him to try and hug her, but instead he simply said, "Not cool, Quinn," and kept walking.
That was when she fell to her knees.
"…Quinn?" Rachel took a couple of hesitant steps toward the blonde in the doorway. Her heart broke at the sight of the woman sitting, crumpled, on the floor. "I—I'm sorry, Quinn—"
"It's not your fault," she mumbled, not yet moving from her position.
After a few seconds of silence, Rachel realized Quinn wasn't going to be talking much. "But… I pushed you with those things, and I'm the one Mike heard say that you didn't have feelings for him. If I had just left you alone…"
"Berry," Quinn said, harshly cutting her off. Rachel immediately snapped her mouth shut with a resounding click. "He had to find out eventually. I think…" It was hard for the brunette to wait silently while the other woman gathered her words. "I think some twisted, sick part of me wanted to kiss you now just so that he would hear. Just so that I could get it over with." She chuckled darkly at herself. "I don't think that part of me thought of him hearing what you said."
Rachel tried her best not to be disappointed. Had she read the entire situation all wrong? Going by what Quinn had just said, the blonde hadn't had any true desire to kiss her. But… it could also be implied that Quinn did want to kiss her—she just wasn't planning to do it so soon. That would definitely explain the confusion Rachel had held when the blonde first kissed her, seemingly out of nowhere.
She shook her head to get herself out of her thoughts. Quinn was hurting.
Rachel took another step forward and knelt down next to the other woman. When she reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, however, Quinn jumped to her feet. "I'm just gonna…" her voice cracked.
She walked off without another word.
Rachel sighed and slowly stood up, leaning against the door frame pensively. Quinn Fabray is definitely a mystery, she mused. She turned to walk back into her tiny room before she realized—I'm alone.
Truly, there was a clear path down the hallway to the front door. Mike had left the building, Noah had gone upstairs, and now Quinn had left, as well. She was the only one on the ground floor.
She could escape.
She took two steps out into the hallway before she paused. There were two major flaws with that plan, one being that she had no idea where she was. She had seen when they first arrived just how far away their neighbors were—how far was the highway? Surely, she wouldn't be able to make it to the main road before they realized she was gone, and if she did go to the neighboring house, it would be known that her kidnappers were in that same area. Rachel realized with a start that she didn't want to rat out the people here.
The second of her problems was the realization that there really was nothing for her to return to. Besides her dads in Ohio, who were surely worried sick, all Rachel had was a job she hated with a couple of quasi-friends and a lonely apartment. But here…
Here was a bubbly blonde who had been sweet from the beginning, wanting to be her new best friend. Here was a fun-loving, mohawk-ed, overgrown boy who called her his Jewish Princess. Here was a sarcastic hot-head who loved everyone more than she let on. Here was one of the most sincere men she'd ever met who loved her singing voice. And here…
Here was Quinn.
Here could be her family, it hit her then. She would have to ask if she could let her dads know she was okay, somehow, but… she could have a home, here, in this mansion filled with superpower-ed criminals, instead of an empty place in a too-big city with no one but herself.
Without another thought, she turned back around and reentered her room, shutting the door behind her.
Upstairs, in her and Santana's bedroom, Brittany's face held a proud smile.
62 reviews for 6 chapters! I'm really excited that so many of you enjoy my story! This chapter is just a bit longer than the last one-I know that's what you all have been asking for. It's not my forte, long chapters and stories, but I promise I'll work on it! I hope you enjoyed, and please review to tell me what you think!
Also, big thanks to Jon for pointing out an error I had made in continuity-Rachel's high school boyfriend shouldn't have been Finn, so I fixed it! Thank you!
