AN: Hello there! So, lately I've been having trouble writing. I don't know why, I'm not inspired, and I can't write. It sucks. Anywho, I just wanted to let you know that if I don't upload soon it's because I'm failing as a writer, not because I'm dead or anything. So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy :)
CHAPTER 10
Fifteen minutes later, after the conversation with Rachel, she was waiting for Puck at the front door. He got there late, of course. And he was smirking, of course. Ugh, she wasn't in the mood for Puck and his bad-boy-meets-neanderthal pose.
"Hey blondie."
"Hello. Here's the sheet music. Yes, it's Disney. You will have it ready for Glee today, I don't care if you don't want to, I make you do it, okay? Where's my sheet music?"
Puck gave her the sheet music, mouth closed. She guessed he knew she wasn't in a good mood. Her love duet with Finn was "Don't Know Much" by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville. Cool. She didn't even care the song she sang, she just knew she was going to sing it to Rachel. She grinned and, without a word, she went to auditorium to practice.
She had skipped all of the morning classes, and she'd been reheasing in the auditorium all this time. By now, she knew by heart the lyrics and she nailed the song. She was proud of herself. She decided to go grab something to eat, and then maybe talk for a bit with Santana and Brittany. On her way to the cafeteria, she saw Puck and Rachel talking. She hid behind a corner and tried to eavesdrop. They were fighting about something. She didn't really know, but it had to be Puck's fault. Crap, she should've had kept an eye on him, so he couldn't speak to Rachel at all. He was just being a jerk, she was sure. Suddenly, Rachel ran away from Puck and went into the nearest bathroom. He just stood there, frowning, and then left.
Quin followed Rachel into the bathroom. She heard someone crying inside a stall.
"Rach? You okay?" No answer. The crying stopped.
"Rachel, I know it's you. Get out and maybe we can talk about it?"
She heard Rachel blow her nose and then the door stall opened. Her eyes were red and puffy. Quinn wanted to be nice and friendly, but she had all these couple-y feelings inside her and she had to stop herself from hugging and kissing the girl. Instead, she just brushed a lock of her hair away from her face.
"What did he do?" Quinn said, sighing.
Rachel's lips quivered and she broke down, hugging Quinn. The blonde froze for a second, but once the initial shock was over, she wrapped Rachel into a loving hug. It felt good to have the brunette in her arms, even if it was with her own body. She loved it even more, because there wasn't that much of a height difference between them. Quinn just stayed quiet, rubbing small circles on Rachel's back, trying to comfort her. When the girl had calmed down a little bit, she whispered into Quinn's neck.
"He-he has changed so much. He's not the Noah of the few last days and… what you said… it's just so weird… but it makes sense…"
"Rachel, I already told you the truth. Ugh, I knew he was going to hurt you once he was back in his body. I'm sorry—" Rachel suddenly moved away from Quinn and ended the hug. The blonde sighed again. She felt the tears acumulating in her eyes and her lower lip quiver. Again. Rachel's rejection was obvious in her actions. She didn't want her.
Rachel washed her face and walked towards the door. Quinn couldn't stop the tears anymore, she started sobbing uncontrolably. The brunette heard her sobs and turned around, hesitating. The blonde just turned her back to the door and tried to hide from Rachel, but she'd already seen her crying. Great, now she looked like a pathetic stalker. Quinn heard the door opening and closing again. She was gone. Rachel was out of her life. She got into a stall, sit on the toilet and cried her eyes out. Even when lunch break was over, she stayed there, crying. She didn't even bother to go to class.
She knew this would happen. How could she have been so naïve to think that Rachel would take her back? She hated herself for being so hopeful. She had tried so hard… Well, not that much actually. But she didn't want to be too pushy. But she loved her, she had to be pushy. But if Rachel didn't love her back, she couldn't make her date her. But… but she didn't know what to do. She stayed there, in a lame bathroom stall thinking about this subject. When it was time to go to Glee practice, she had decided that she would try one more time. The last chance to get Rachel back. She would talk to her, sing to her, pour her heart into the song and, if this didn't work… well, she'd have to forget about Rachel.
Full of determination, she got out of the bathroom and went to Rachel's locker. She wasn't there. She walked to the choir room, only to see Rachel about to get in.
"Rachel! Wait!" she called. The brunette stopped and turned around.
"I wanna talk to you. In private, please." She took Rachel's hand and dragged her a few steps away from the door, trying to keep the conversation away from the whole Glee club. She pinned her against the wall and took her by her shoulders.
"Look, this is the last time I will ever speak to you, if you want it that way. It's the last chance I have to take you back, okay? I don't want to become the new Jewfro, I'm not going to be begging you to be with me." She removed her hands from Rachel's shoulder. That might have been too aggressive. "So, I've already told you. Puck and I switched bodies. I've been him for the last week. You didn't believe me this morning when I told you about all of the things we did together, but I'll try again, I don't know how else to convince you that it was me. Rachel, you wanted to have sex with me, but I wanted to take it slow. Remember? After we watched Cyrano de Bergerac and—" She realized something. " Don't you see it now? Why do you think I asked you that random question about the movie? I asked you that if you were Roxane, what would you have done if you discovered that Cyrano was the one who was writing the letters. Wanna know why? Because I felt like I was him, and you were Roxane, and the guy you thought you loved is Puck. But you don't. You love me. And I love you." Oh God, she was about to cry again. "And…" She looked up to the ceiling and blinked her tears away. "I hope that you realize this soon, because it's breaking my heart."
Rachel was just staring at her, processing the information. Quinn wasn't sure if this speech had actually convinced the brunette. Without even thinking about it, she got closer to the brunette. She cupped her face with her hands and looked at her eyes. She got even closer to her and she gave her a small kiss on the nose. Rachel gasped. Quinn just smiled sadly and got into the choir room, trying not to cry. That was it. She'd tried and she didn't know if it had worked.
Rachel got into the choir room frowning. That was a bad sign. She just stared at her, but the brunette never made eye contact. Mr Schue came in and Kurt and Mercedes performed first. Quinn didn't even know what song they had sung. She was completely lost on her thoughts about Rachel. When it was Rachel's turn, she got onstage with Puck. When she started singing, she didn't even look at Quinn for a second. She was completely focused on Puck. Of course, she was singing to him. She was serenading him in front of her. Again, she felt like crying. God, what am I, three? Stop acting like a child, Fabray, she told herself. She couldn't. She managed to keep her tears for herself, but every time Puck sang, she mouthed the words, wishing she was the one singing with Rachel.
When the song was over, everyone complemented them. Yeah, Puck had done a good job. After some performances, it was her turn. She went to the front of the class, with Finn, who was looking happy. Had he arranged things with Puck? Was he nice to her again? She didn't even care. Now she was focused on singing the song perfectly. The piano started playing. Finn sang first.
Look at this face
I know the years are showin'
Look at this life
I still don't know where it's goin'
I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know
It was her turn now. She turned to Rachel, who was looking at her, and started to sing.
Look at these eyes
They never seen what mattered
Look at these dreams
So beaten and so battered, ooh…ooh…
Rachel blushed and looked at her feet. She didn't look pleased at all though.
I don't know much
But I know I love you
And that may be
All I need to know
She sang with Finn now. They did sound really good together, actually.
So many questions
Still left unanswered
So much
I've never broken through
She had to sing alone again. She tried to look at Rachel, but she didn't look back. Great.
And when I feel you near me
Sometimes I see so clearly
The only truth I've ever known
Is me and you
At the end of the song, Quinn felt hopeless. She'd lost her. She knew it.
I don't know much
But I know I love you
That may be
All there is to know, whoa…oh…oh…oh…ah…
When they finished, everyone cheered and clapped. Mr Schue was really surprised, and he even complimented them. Rachel clapped politely but she didn't even look at her. Quinn excused herself, saying she didn't feel well, and went home. She couldn't be in the same room as Rachel for another hour without crying like a baby. She just held her tears back until she got home. Once she was safe there, she weeped as much as she wanted to. She thought she'd cried too much already this afternoon, but that was nothing compared to this time. She cried and cried for the longest time, until she fell asleep on her bed, exhausted.