Quinn sat at the bar inside the airport, sipping her vodka and cranberry, waiting for her flight. She wasn't able to snag one that left to Nashville until 3:30 am, so she was killing time. Quinn had long checked her bags, with the help of Frannie, and spent at least twenty minutes waiting to go through airport security because some woman thought it ideal to wear her whole jewelry box. To the airport. At nearly two in the morning. Quinn could only roll her eyes and sigh as did the others that were standing in line behind her. Once she escaped the wrath of TSA and had her affairs in order, she felt she needed a drink to celebrate her victory of not attempting to chew out anyone who remotely looked at her questioningly.
Quinn hated the airport and all the hassle that came with it. It didn't matter what situation she was flying in, it never ran smoothly for her. Frannie had left hours ago but not before making Quinn promise to call her after she landed. She had offered to stay until Quinn boarded her flight but Quinn wouldn't let her; telling her she needed to get back home to her husband and that she would be fine. Now she was thoroughly bored with all the waiting. Quinn checked her watch, 2:05am glaring at her, and sighed just before taking another sip of her drink. She really wished she would have brought a book to read to make time go by faster instead of taking up staring at her watch every second.
Quinn sat there for an additional five minutes, finishing off her drink, before remembering that she had her iPad in her messenger. She retrieved the device and decided she would get a new high score on the levels she beat in angry birds. Quinn played that for about twenty minutes before she got frustrated with those damn green pigs foiling her plans to take them out and achieve a new high score. She then moved on to a crossword puzzle app she had recently downloaded and right when she was in the middle of finding a five letter word that meant at a distance, someone took up the seat next to her. Quinn tried, for the first few seconds, to ignore the fact that they were staring at her before they cleared their throat.
"Can I buy you another drink?" Quinn looked up from her crossword puzzle, guessing right that the word was apart, and gave this stranger her attention. It was a man with coiffed hair dressed in a business suit. He was giving Quinn a charming smile and while she was sure he meant no harm, almost charming guys in business suits were not on her radar right now. But another drink was and if it came for free, well as free as any guy offering to buy you a drink could get, she was in no position to turn it down. Quinn gave him a dazzling smile.
"Sure. That would actually be great." Quinn replied to his previous request and the man gave Quinn another smile before signaling to the bar tender.
"What can I get ya?" The bartender asked as she cleaned out a glass. Quinn's new friend looked at her to which she smiled at the bar tender.
"Can I get another vodka cranberry please?" Quinn asked and the bar tender gave her another smile.
"Coming right up." The bar tender obliged right before giving the blonde a wink. Quinn's cheeks tinged a little pink before her new bar partner was practically shoving his hand in her face, oblivious to the whole exchange that just happened between her and the bar tender. Quinn had thought the girl had been giving her the eye the whole time she sat here. Quinn couldn't deny that she was attractive though.
"Gregory Cartwright." The man said with an easy smile and Quinn had to tune back in to remember what he had just said his name was. She then took Gregory's hand and shook it.
"Quinn Fabray." Quinn replied and Gregory had a surprised look on his face.
"Thee Quinn Fabray? As in Trinity Records Quinn Fabray?" Gregory asked and after giving him an amused frown, Quinn spoke up.
"Yeah that's me. How do you know who I am again? You aren't stalking me are you?" Quinn asked and Gregory laughed as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and ran his hand through his hair. Gregory probably thought he looked dashing or charming doing that but Quinn could only hold back the urge to roll her eyes.
"Well I work for Made Records and your company is very well known in our realm. Your name too. It's not every day your competition is a 27 year old woman that has built her own company from the ground up, racking in great talent not to mention revenue by the hour." Gregory said and while Quinn was sure there was a compliment in there somewhere with a touch a flattery, the fact that Gregory had to emphasize that she was a woman when talking about her building her own record company slightly pissed Quinn off. Quinn laughed.
"Are you surprised at the fact that I'm only 27 and built my own company from the ground up or the fact that I'm a woman and managed to do that?" Quinn asked with an eyebrow raised, daring him to give her the wrong answer. Gregory's face registered slight panic before he let out a nervous laugh.
"Definitely because you are so young and not because you're a woman. I'm no sexist pig. I believe none of that really matters when it comes to finding great music and good talent." Gregory defended and Quinn nodded her head. Gregory continued to talk about music and great talent he's gotten signed as head of A&R, sufficiently boring the blonde, when the bar tender placed Quinn's drink in front of her.
Quinn's fingers grazed the brunette's as she went to reach for the glass and it made her breath hitch. The bar tender again threw her a smile before going back to serving the few stragglers at the bar. Quinn felt a strange but not foreign rush quake in her stomach at the contact. There was really only one other woman who had ever made her feel that rush but it was magnified by a tenfold back then. This was a tiny quiver to the earthquake of a rush she felt back then.
Quinn had known for a while that she was attracted to women but she had never further acted on that attraction. She couldn't even begin to imagine the conniption fit her mother would have if she even dared and she had been dating Finn since she was eighteen, married by twenty-two, so she never even got the chance. To be honest, it scared her and that was partly due to the fact that she could only ever associate it with her past. And damn did how intensely she feel back then scare her. Quinn took a long drag from her glass, nearly draining the ruby colored liquid before placing it back on the bar. Gregory had stopped mid sentence about product placement in music videos to watch her do so.
"Impressive." Gregory said with a look of approval on his face and Quinn smiled just before closing the case on her iPad and sliding it back into her messenger. She was officially over this conversation and she needed to get as far away from this brunette who was drudging up old feelings that she thought didn't even exist anymore. The blonde then slung her bag over her shoulder. Quinn stood and checked her watch as if she were late to catch her flight, even though it was only 2:45, just so she could cut this conversation short. Or more like him talking at her.
"It was really nice meeting you Gregory and I can't thank you enough for the drink but I have to get going. My flight leaves in about five and I want to beat that long line that always seems to form when boarding." Quinn said politely giving him a smile before grabbing her carry on, draining the last of her drink and giving the guy a pat on the shoulder. She didn't even give Gregory the time to say a proper goodbye before she was walking away and the bar tender laughed. Quinn glanced at her and the brunette was giving her another wink this time with a salute, enticing a chuckle from Quinn as well as a return salute. She made her way over to the waiting area on the other side of the airport just so she wouldn't get caught and stuck with listening to one Gregory Cartwright carry on about music like he cared.
Gregory Cartwright was, once again, the type of man that her mother would want her to date and probably marry. Again. But he was the type of man that grated Quinn's first and last nerve. She didn't even need to talk to him for more than fifteen minutes to realize that he was most likely full of himself and a womanizer. Add sexist pig to the list as well and you've got yourself a winner for the douche bag award. Because anyone that had to proclaim themselves as not being a sexist pig was probably a sexist pig.
Quinn would rather be alone for the rest of her life than marry another man the likes of Gregory Cartwright or the Finn Hudson her husband had become. Quinn took a seat in the far from comfortable plastic chair, crossing her legs in it Indian style, before pulling out her iPad again. This time she opted for reading through her kindle Fire app instead of playing games. She browsed through a few selections, not knowing what she was in the mood to read, before she landed on the novel Rachel had recommended she read and opening it.
The book was about a boy, living in a small town, who was put in a coma after being bashed because he was gay and how his former best friend vows to find out who his attacker is. Quinn thought the story line was already interesting enough to give at least the first chapter a read so that's what she did and by the time her flight was preparing to depart, she was already on chapter ten. The blonde bookmarked her page and put away her iPad before slinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her duffle. Quinn made her way over to her gate and it was all smooth sailing from there. She was so glad she made enough to buy a first class ticket because sitting in coach with the time she was having would probably give her a head ache. Quinn moved up in the queue of passengers and soon enough she was handing the attendant her ticket and going to board her flight.
As the blonde moved down the isle of the plane, looking for her seat, she saw none other than Gregory Cartwright sitting three rows in front of her vision. She put her head down, in hopes that he wouldn't notice her, and kept moving until she found her seat. It was a window seat and Quinn sighed with relief at the fact. Even on a first class flight the middle seat or the aisle seat was still the crappiest. The blonde then hefted her duffle bag and deposited it in the compartment above the seat before taking hers and getting comfortable.
Quinn wanted to continue reading but the heaviness of her eyelids were protesting. As soon as the flight attendant announced that they were taking off and to buckle themselves in, Quinn pulled out her iPod, reclined her seat and turned on the playlist she uses to get to sleep before closing her eyes. At least she could get in three hours of sleep with this plane ride and not look like a zombie before she landed in Nashville. After getting the signal that they could unbuckle their seat belts and asked if she would like a pillow, the blonde snuggled up in her seat and let sleep come over her.
Three hours later Quinn was being stirred awake by the flight attendant's warning that the plane was about to land so everyone needed to be in their seats an buckled up. The sun was starting to come up by then and Quinn let out a yawn before she was pulling her compact out of her purse to check what a mess she was. Her hair was in disarray but that was the only true concern. She hadn't bothered to put on any makeup between the end of her shower and her arrival at the airport so she didn't have to worry about smudging. Quinn flipped the compact closed right in time to grab the seat handles at their jerky landing but soon they were steady on the ground and passengers were retrieving their belongings. Quinn did the same, slinging her bag over her shoulder and grabbing her duffle before she was exiting the plane.
Quinn didn't even want to think about how much it was going to cost to get a car from the airport all the way to Clarksburg. It was about an hour's drive and those car services were always trying to charge people an arm and a leg. Quinn trekked her way to baggage claim, waiting a good ten minutes before her luggage appeared, and then lugged them to the ground transportation window. Things would have been a lot easier if she would have just asked her grams to pick her up.
"Hi, I need a car or shuttle that will take me to Clarksburg. Are there any available?" Quinn asked the lady behind the counter and she click clacked away on the computer before returning her attention to Quinn.
"We sure do! I can call Driving Miss Daisy Shuttle and they'll have a car out here for you in about ten to fifteen minutes. Can I have your first and last name please?" The bubbly middle aged blonde asked in her thick accent and Quinn gave her a smile, relief flooding over her that she didn't have to wait another hour like she would have in New York.
"Quinn Fabray." Quinn replied and the blonde scribbled it down on a sticky note before looking up in question.
"You wouldn't happen to be kin to Betty Fabray now would you?" The older woman asked and Quinn shook her head, smile still in place at the fact that someone in Nashville would know her grams.
"I sure am. I'm her granddaughter." Quinn replied politely even though she wanted nothing more than to go grab herself a coffee before she died of exhaustion and before the shuttle got here.
"Well isn't that delightful! You tell her I say howdy you hear?" The blonde said and Quinn shook her head.
"I will do that." Quinn obliged as the older blonde picked up the phone.
"Alrighty. Let me get to calling that car for you." The older woman said before punching numbers in the phone.
"Thanks." Quinn replied before grabbing her bags and going to take a seat in the waiting area. She was craving caffeine so, bravely leaving her bags alone, she made her way over to the coffee vending machine and got herself a cup. The first sip she took was like heaven to her and had her immediately taking another. Quinn realized it was relatively too hot to be drinking coffee but her body needed it to be able to function right now.
Practically skipping back to her bags now that she had coffee in her, Quinn took a seat and made a brief call to Frannie letting her know she had landed safely and was just waiting for the shuttle. Frannie asked why she didn't just have grams pick her up but Quinn didn't want to inconvenience her so early in the morning. For all she knew, her grams could still be sleeping. Quinn hung up with her sister and soon enough a man that had to be at least in his fifties was holding up a sign with her name on it, a luggage cart in front of him. Quinn rose from her seat, pulling her bags behind her and made her way over to the man.
"Hi, I'm Quinn Fabray." Quinn announced as she reached him with her bags and the old man gave her a smile.
"I see you're doing my job for me hmm?" The old man said and as the frown made its way on to Quinn's face, the graying man pointed at her bags. He was most likely referring to the blonde carrying her own bags to him. Quinn laughed and let go of the handle she had on her bags.
"Sorry about that." Quinn said backing away from the bags a little as the old man began to put them on the cart. If Quinn was being honest here, she was afraid the old guy would pull something.
"I'm just kidding with ya. I'm fine with you doing my job because I still get paid either way." The old timer said with a chuckle as he hefted the last suitcase on to the cart and began pushing it out of the airport.
"I'm Jeb by the way." The old man introduced as he threw a glance back at Quinn and the blonde smiled.
"Well it's nice to meet you Jeb." Quinn replied as the hot sun beat down on her. It was way too early for it to be this hot already. Quinn followed close behind Jeb until they reached the car. The blonde watched the frail old man load the bags into the trunk and offered a hand only to be turned down. He then politely opened her door for her and Quinn slid into the back seat.
"So where can I cart you off to Ms. Fabray?" Jeb asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror.
"322 Westbrook Ave, Clarksburg Tennessee." Quinn said as she buckled herself up in the back seat.
"Oh so you're from Clarksburg?" Jeb asked as he punched the address into the ancient excuse for a GPS system he had in the car.
"No I'm not. I just came to visit my grams. She lives there. I'm actually from Boston but I live in New York City." Quinn replied and Jeb made a hum of acknowledgement as he started the car; pulling out of the airport parking lot.
"I went to Boston once. Nice place. Too many people though." Jeb said with a chuckle and Quinn joined in. If he thought too many people lived in Boston then he should never venture to New York. Quinn and Jeb made small talk as the radio played country during the drive before Quinn was passing out in the back seat. It wasn't until Jeb was prodding her shoulder and letting her know that they had made it to her grams house before the blonde was waking up again. She let out a yawn and unbuckled herself as Jeb busied himself with retrieving her bags from the trunk. Once Quinn had cracked practically every bone in her body, she met Jeb around the back of the car by her bags.
"You need any help carrying those in?" Jeb asked as he took his hat off, riding his brow of the drops of sweat that had collected there.
"No I think I got it from here Jeb. Thanks. How much do I owe ya?" Quinn asked with a smile and Jeb replied a $32.50. Quinn paid the man and he tucked the bills safely in his vest pocket. How he was wearing the thing on such a hot day was a wonder to Quinn.
"It was a pleasure driving you Ms. Fabray." Jeb remarked as he tipped his hat to her, before securing it on his balding head more snuggly.
"It was a pleasure to be driven by you Mr. Jeb." Quinn replied with a chuckle and gave the old man a wave as he got back in the car and drove off. Quinn coughed a little at the dust that came up before looking up at her grams house and letting out a sigh. Boy did she have a long journey ahead of her.
AN: Thanks for reading! Just one more chapter until we see Santana and I hope you guys will be able to hold on. Reviews are greatly appreciated :)