A/N: No IFP/UP? on the tour? Why am I even surprised? It's only one of the most popular and biggest selling songs of the season! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter and an extra big thank you to those who come back and review time and time again. You guys are my inspiration and I LOVE reading your thoughts!
heyalove - This is for you. For your multiple reviews that have left me smiling from ear to ear.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Liar, Liar.
Quinn was not scared to admit that she had felt nervous and anxious about seeing Rachel again after the events of Friday night. Although the brunette had been accepting of Quinn's coming out, a part of the blonde still worried that their relationship wouldn't be the same. Especially after the way the evening had ended.
So it came as a huge relief to her when Rachel approached Quinn first thing Monday morning to ask if she wanted to hang out after school, though it was with great hesitancy that Rachel informed her that they would need to either go out somewhere or go to Quinn's apartment as her dads didn't feel 'entirely comfortable' with Quinn being in their house.
Not that this came as a surprise to Quinn. She had expected as much from their frosty interaction. They had made it quite clear that she wasn't welcome in their home which, she had to admit, she understood completely.
They had probably spent years watching their little girl growing up as an outcast, watching her come home day after day wearing something different to what she left in because someone had slushied her. And they would have probably spent hours listening to their little girl telling them horror stories about the abuse Quinn Fabray had subjected her to.
So she didn't blame them for not giving her a chance to explain herself. They didn't care that she had changed, they didn't care that she regretted everything she had done and wanted to make amends for her behaviour.
All they cared about was the well being of their daughter. She'd feel the exact same way if it was Beth that was being bullied. Therefore, every time Rachel apologised for her fathers behaviour or made some off handed comment about how ridiculous they were being, Quinn immediately brushed it off claiming that she understood and that they were just trying to take care of her.
Inside though, she had been racked with guilt ever since she had practically been kicked out the Berry household. She had been well aware of how her past actions had affected Rachel and she was lucky enough that the brunette deemed her worthy of forgiveness. She had never considered though the effect it would have had on her parents and so seeing how they reacted to her really pushed home the full extent of her torture.
Instead of wallowing in self pity and regret though, Quinn had become more determined than ever to make it up to Rachel and, hopefully one day, her parents too.
And so in the next couple of weeks that followed, Quinn dedicated more than half her free time hanging out with Rachel. Whether it was going out to dinner, the movies or even just sitting in her room talking they were spending more and more time together and growing closer by the day.
The only time she wasn't with Rachel was when the diva had ballet practice or had to fulfil her duties as a loving and loyal girlfriend to Finn. In which times Quinn found herself hanging out with Sam who, she was pleasantly surprised to find, she had a lot in common with.
They had the same eclectic taste in music and movies and, once she had gotten over his constant impressions and Na'vi, it was cool that she was able to hang out with a guy without the added expectation of it going anywhere.
Sam knew that she was gay and he was decent enough not to make crude comments about having a threesome or asking if he could watch like she knew Puck would do if he knew. He never asked questions about her sexuality or asked if she was sure that she was gay. He just accepted it and treated her like a close friend.
That didn't stop the school from talking though. Rumours were already circulating that they were more than friends due to the amount of time that they spent together. Someone had even approached Puck on his first day back from Juvie about an impending fight between him and Sam for Quinn's affection.
She had been most displeased to find that it was Kurt behind that one.
Glee club was the worst place for it. As soon as rumours started floating about most of them had jumped on the band wagon and teased them both mercilessly in every rehearsal. And although Quinn was never bothered by their teasing, knowing that as soon as the next hint of gossip came along they would move on, Sam was always quick to correct them. Insisting that they were just friends and enjoyed hanging out together.
However it did seem to irk Rachel who on more than one occasion was found lecturing Kurt and Mercedes about two members of the opposite sex being able to just be friends.
The only worrying aspect of the last couple of weeks was the complete breakdown of Santana and Brittany's relationship/friendship. Having not completely forgiven Santana for her dismissal of her feelings for Brittany, the dancer had opted to spend more time with Artie, Mike and Tina.
And although she would never admit it, Santana had been devastated when news broke of Brittany and Artie's official couple status. Dealing with feelings was never something Santana had been very good at and she had reacted to the news by throwing herself back into Puck's arms as soon as he was released from Juvie, flaunting it in front of anyone she could.
In a moment of weakness, Brittany had approached Santana after school one day in the hopes of repairing some of their broken friendship by suggesting that Santana and Puck join her and Artie on a double date. Santana had thrown the offer back in her face, saying that she wouldn't be caught dead in public with Artie and that Brittany should feel the same way.
The blondes resolve had solidified with that second rejection and she had made the decision to completely distance herself from Santana from that point on. Unfortunately, this also meant that she inadvertently distanced herself from Quinn too. By spending all of her free time with Artie, Mike and Tina, she was rarely available for anything more than a quick hello.
Quinn had never realised exactly how much she relied on the bubbly blondes personality and she had to admit that she really missed having Brittany around. So it was a very welcome sight to see her and Rachel chatting animatedly at Quinn's locker, seemingly awaiting her arrival.
Smiling to herself, Quinn quietly approached the two girls then, upon reaching her locker, tapped Brittany on the shoulder and grinned widely up at her.
"Quinnie!" Brittany cried, letting out a high pitched squeal as she turned around and spotted Quinn behind her.
"Hey Britt," Quinn chuckled breathlessly as Brittany lunged forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Quinn's body, pulling her in for a hug. Reaching up on tip toes to see over Brittany's shoulders, Quinn looked at Rachel; and shared a smile in greeting.
"I've missed you," Brittany sighed as she finally released Quinn.
"I've missed you too," Quinn admitted.
"I tried calling you this weekend but pressed a wrong number and ended up talking to Georgina for ages."
"Who's Georgina?" Quinn asked frowning.
"The lady on the phone," Brittany answered innocently. "So what have you guys been up to?"
Rolling her eyes at her friends naivety, Quinn gave Rachel a dismissive shake of the head, silently telling her to just go with it then answered Brittany's question.
"Nothing much" Quinn shrugged. "Just hanging out with Rach and Sam."
"I'm currently in the process of educating Quinn on musicals." Rachel excited.
"Educating? More like forcing me to watch," Quinn teased.
"I'm doing no such thing, Quinn Fabray. I know for a fact you loved Les Mis when we watched it. And you insisted on watching Rent last night."
"I did." Quinn acquiesced.
"Aww, you guys are too cute.," Brittany sighed wistfully before pulling them both in for a hug the letting out an excited gasp. "We should totally have a movie night. I miss hanging out with you guys."
"Sounds good," Quinn and Rachel nodded together.
"Awesome. But please no Star Wars," she whispered, looking around then leaning into Quinn when she spotted Artie advancing towards them. "Artie made me watch the complete collection over the weekend and it was confusing. It was all space stuff and I don't like space stuff."
"B… you watched 'Battlestar Gallactica' with me over the summer and you loved it," Quinn reminded her.
"Yes, but the people were way hotter. Anyway, we were fooling around last night and he told me that he wants me to dress up as Princess Leia. But I don't have a gold bikini…my sister has gold paint though. That would work, right?"
Quinn couldn't hold it anymore, especially when she heard Rachel slap her hand over her mouth as she stifled a round of giggles.
"That was supposed to just be between you and me, Brittany," Artie groaned in embarrassment when he finally reached the three girls.
"Why? Leia's hot!" Brittany shrugged, not understanding the reason for her boyfriends discomfort. "Anyway, I was telling Q and Rachel that we should have a movie night. It can be us four and Finn, Tina and Mike…" she listed as she looked between her friends, stopping when she reached Quinn and saw Santana standing behind her.
Quinn noticed a flash of emotion cover Brittany's features before the innocent blonde dropped her gaze to the floor and kicked at her feet. For a moment Quinn really wanted to hit Santana.
"Oh please B, don't stop on my account," Santana said spitefully.
Biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from screaming at the Latina, Quinn took quick notice of everybody else's reaction. Rachel's stance very much mirrored Brittany's in the way that she had directed her full attention to the ground, her lips pursed as she struggled to breathe at a normal pace. Artie glanced between his girlfriend and Santana, his expression clearly stating that he still didn't understand the reason behind their fall out though his confusion was overridden by his desire to keep Brittany safe and happy. Quinn felt an immediate rush of affection for him as he raised his hand and supportively gripped Brittany's.
"So Q, I heard a rumour you and lady lips were getting all hot and heavy under the bleachers before school this morning." Santana smirked.
"That's a lie!" Rachel vehemently denied, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. She squirmed under their gaze and dropped her eyes to the floor embarrassed. "I mean I was with Quinn this morning…so it must be false…" She added sheepishly.
"Riiiiight," Santana drawled. "So how was your weekend Q? Or should I ask the hobbit since she seems to know your whereabouts at all times?"
"It was fine," Quinn growled, glaring at the Latina
"And what about everyone else's weekend… do anything fun?"
No-one answered her and she was left staring expectantly at them all, her eyebrows raised as if she was urging them to talk. When she finally realised that silence was going to be her only response, she shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. Giving them all her best HBIC glare.
"How about I tell everyone about my weekend?" she stated sarcastically. "Well… I went to a party Friday night and got completely wasted so I spent most of Saturday hung-over but then Kisinsky came over that night and…well… we totally got it on," she grinned, her gaze flickering so quickly to Brittany that Quinn was sure she would have missed it had she not been glaring at Santana herself.
"He was no Puck…" Santana sighed dramatically. "But he still managed to get the job done."
"Oh right, the lizard thing," Brittany piped up, her stormy eyes meeting Quinn's in recognition then turning viciously to Santana. "Funny… I always thought you more like a snake."
Quinn and Rachel's eyes both went wide at her comment and they glanced at each other in shock before Rachel choked out a brief laugh then bit down harshly on her bottom lip in an attempt to keep quiet.
Brittany, however, stayed only long enough to catch the desired effect of her words on Santana's face before she grabbed the handles of Artie's wheelchair and spun him around.
"Let's go Artie. See you later Quinn and Rachel."
"Find something funny, hobbit?" Santana growled at Rachel, her eyes still firmly fixed on Brittany's retreating form.
"Santana. Stop," Quinn barked upon seeing Rachel's smirk transform into a scared frown.
Closing her eyes, Santana shook her head and twisted her body so that she faced Quinn.
"Whatever," she sighed despondently. "Oh great, here comes the jolly green giant," she spat out with a hint of disdain in her voice.
Rachel and Quinn glanced round to see Finn approaching them.
"Hey guys," he grinned, bending down to kiss Rachel soundly on the lips, ignoring the gagging noises Santana made in front of them. Though Santana wasn't too busy to miss the way that Quinn looked away as she took a breath. She smirked in response.
"You know, I am so glad I didn't have any breakfast this morning because otherwise… it would have been all over your Mary Jane's," she scornfully told Rachel.
"You're just jealous Santana!" Rachel hissed, shaking her head and fixing the head cheerleader with a glare that most people wouldn't be brave enough to do even behind Santana's back.
"Jealous! Of you two? You have got to be kidding me," she laughed harshly. "You may think Finn Hudson is gods gift to women sweetheart. But the rest of us know the truth."
"The truth? And what exactly is the truth Santana?" Rachel challenged, crossing her arms over her chest. "That my boyfriend loves me and wants to be with me?"
"God, you are so naïve!" Santana remarked incredulously. She took a step closer to the smaller brunette and Quinn unconsciously took a step closer to Rachel in response. "You need to open your eyes Manhands. Your boyfriend is a gutless, pathetic excuse for a man."
Rachel closed her mouth and stared defiantly up into the dark chocolate of Santana's eyes, shifting her gaze from one eye to the next as she breathed heavily through her nose. Quinn knew that she was forming her next attack in her mind and Quinn felt a twinge of panic. Santana was already on a short leash, if Rachel pushed her too far then she doubted that even herself and Finn together would be able to pull the feisty Latina off.
Fortunately, Finn seemed to be on the same wavelength as her because upon seeing the determined look in his girlfriend's eyes, he stepped forward and wrapped a large hand around Rachel's arm, leaning down slightly so that he could whisper in her ear.
"Hey, we're gonna be late for class."
Not daring to take her scorching glare off of Santana for one moment, Rachel allowed herself to be pulled backwards and only turned around when Finn stepped behind her and forced her to turn around. Her attention had been so fixed on Santana that she didn't even bother to say goodbye to Quinn.
And that fact alone sent another wave of hostility crashing through Quinn and she stepped in front of her 'best friend' so she could force the girl's attention back to her.
"What the hell was that?" Quinn snarled.
"Oh whatever, teen mom. You should be thanking me. I'm doing you a favor by letting her know that her precious boyfriend isn't all that special."
"What are you talking about?" Quinn huffed impatiently.
"I'm talking about the fact that her 'sweet and innocent' boyfriend has been letting her think that he's still part of the 'V' club when I know, first hand, that he isn't."
It only took a moment for Quinn to register what Santana was saying and she instantly covered her forehead with her hands and apprehensively breathed out.
"Please tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying," she groaned.
"Yep," Santana smiled self-satisfyingly. "We got it on last year. And let me tell you, you had a lucky escape. It was so bad I wish I hadn't. Almost."
"Santana! Why did you do that?" Quinn cried in outrage. "You don't even like him."
"I was bored."
"You were bored?" Quinn choked out, an incredulous laugh escaping her as she threw her hands up to her head and turned away from Santana.
"Hey, don't put this all on me. I didn't force the idiot to have sex with me," Santana replied nonchalantly
"Jesus, I can't believe this," Quinn said, shaking her head and turning back to the cheerleader. "I cannot believe that the two of you would be so stupid."
"Oh climb down from you pedestal Q," she said, rolling her eyes at Quinn's exasperation. She folded her arms across her stomach and judgementally flickering her gaze over Quinn. "You're far from innocent."
Quinn remained silent as Santana continued to stare at her, challenging her to answer back.
"Look," Santana huffed out, almost as if she was doing Quinn a huge favour. "If I were you I'd be using this to my advantage. You can go tell her all about how her big, bad boyfriend has been lying to her and then you can be her knight in shining armour in her time of need."
"You're pathetic," Quinn spat at her, shaking her head in disgust as she gave Santana one last glare before turning around and stalking off.
"Don't act like you're not tempted Q. I know you, remember." Santana's voice carried down the corridor.
She was ashamed to admit Santana was right.
Santana's confession hadn't been far from Quinn's mind all morning. In fact, it had been so close that she thought she might just go insane if something else didn't occupy her thoughts.
Sam had been her saving grace in the sense that he talked so much about the new videogame he had picked up yesterday that it was hard to think about anything else. And so when she was next faced with the situation, it wasn't so hard to deal with.
She had shared her next class with Finn and she found that she wasn't overcome with anger just as long as she didn't acknowledge him. She had given herself time to calm down and think whilst imagining his lack of existence and she finally came to the conclusion that it was none of her business.
It wasn't her place to tell Rachel. That responsibility lay with Finn. And she had been friends with Finn a lot longer than she had Rachel, so what kind of friend was she being if she didn't even try to understand his reasoning for it? Then again, what kind of friend was she to be pining over his girlfriend.
Not that she was pining, she just had a genuinely innocent crush…maybe she was pining a little bit.
Still, she had made the decision that it was none of her business and she was going to keep out of it. She wasn't going to think about it anymore and she wasn't going to condemn Finn for what he had done. She was going to forget that anything had ever been said.
And she had managed to keep to that decision very well. Or at least she did until she arrived at the choir room at the end of the day for glee. When she entered the room the first thing she saw was Finn and Rachel in the middle of the room laughing together and holding hands, swaying together and dancing.
A rush of anger immediately washed over her. Anger that Finn had everything he wanted and yet it was all based on a lie. Rachel was under the impression that Finn was still a virgin, like herself, and she had all of these fairy tale scenarios in her mind regarding their first time together.
Now, thanks to Santana's selfishness and Finn's pure moronic self, if that 'first time' happened it would only set Rachel up for eventual severe heart break. She might have been blissfully unaware at the moment that her boyfriend was a lying, cheating piece of scum but she was bound to find out about it sooner or later. Even if Finn never told her, Santana wouldn't hesitate to announce it if she thought she could gain something from it.
Taking a long breath to expel her anger, Quinn briefly glanced down at the floor then moved further into the room. When she looked back up Rachel had just spotted her and was presenting her with a bright wide smile. It took a lot more effort than it should have done to muster a return smile, she just hoped that it didn't appear as strained as it felt.
Wanting to get away before Finn noticed her, Quinn quickly headed to the back of the room and took a seat next to Sam.
"Hey," Sam muttered, jerking his head slightly in greeting.
"Hey yourself," Quinn replied, depositing her bag underneath the seat and leaning forward so that her elbows rested on her knees.
"You ok?" he queried, noticing her less than enthusiastic mood.
"Just tired," she said, her eyes automatically landing on Finn and Rachel once again.
"Oh. We still on for tonight though? Or do you want to move it to another night?"
"Tonight?" she frowned, distracted by the way that Finn playfully spun Rachel around then dipped her back and kissed the tip of her nose.
God, she hated him.
"Yeah… the guitar lesson."
"Right," Quinn whispered, tearing her eyes away from the sickening display and smiling at Sam. "Yeah of course. You wanna come to mine? Say 8ish?"
"Sounds good," Sam nodded. "And don't worry, I'll give you something easier to do tonight," he grinned, winking at her as he affectionately ruffled her hair.
"Bite me," she growled teasingly, narrowing her eyes at him though a small smile pulled gently at the corners of her mouth.
"Don't let Kurt hear you say that," Sam answered to which Quinn responded by letting out a low chuckle and looking back to the front. She instantly found Rachel staring back at her, watching the interaction between Quinn and Sam with an unreadable expression on her face.
Quinn smiled back at her, this time making sure that it was a lot warmer than her previous one and Rachel hesitantly smiled back before being pulled down into a seat at the front by Finn.
Mr. Schue entered a few seconds later, clapping his hands excitedly as he announced that he had the perfect idea for a song for Sectionals. There was a collective sigh of unsurprised annoyance when he went on to explain that Rachel and Finn would be taking the lead on this one and so the next fifteen minutes were spent watching them make googly eyes at each other as they sang from the song sheets that were handed out to them all.
Quinn didn't even bother looking to see which song it was, and she didn't pay too much attention to the performance. There really wasn't much she needed to take notice of anyway. As far as Mr. Schuester was concerned, as long as the rest of the group were able to sway in the background and 'Oohed' and 'Aahed' at the right points then that was all that mattered. Finn and Rachel were clearly the stars of the club so they could take care of everything else.
Needless to say, by the time the rest of them were called up to learn the choreography, Quinn was more than a little pissed off. So when Finn stepped to his right instead of his left for the fourth time and landed on her foot, she could no longer hold in her emotions.
"Jesus Christ Hudson!" She yelled, shoving him away so he stumbled backwards a few steps.
"I'm sorry. I just got confused," he cried out apologetically.
"Confused? How many times do you need to be told to move to the left not right? Argh, after seventeen years you'd think that you'd be able to tell the difference."
"Quinn, that's enough," Mr. Schue declared, stepping between her and Finn.
"No it's not enough," Quinn yelled. "I'm getting my toes crushed by the man-child because he's too dumb to at least copy what everyone else is doing."
"Whoa Fabray, chill out. Damn, did you get your period or something this morning?" Puck joked, earning him a dangerous glare from the blonde.
"You are such a fucking asshole, Puckerman. You know that?" She growled.
"Yeah. But you still let me get it in," he replied with a greasy smirk.
"Not that I could tell. I've seen bigger tic tacs," Quinn shot back, with a smirk of her own.
"Alright everyone, take 5. Try to come back a little less hostile please," Mr. Schue said over a chorus of gasps and sniggers from the majority of the group.
Quinn snatched the opportunity to get as far away as possible from both Puck and Finn, storming away from the group and hurrying back to her seat. Ignoring the hushed comments that followed her. She angrily shoved her hand in her bag and retrieved her bottle of water, closing her eyes and taking a long gulp as she sat down. When she opened her eyes again, Rachel was standing nervously in front of her. Watching her with concerned trepidation.
"Are you ok?" Rachel gently asked her, anxiously biting her lip as she spoke.
"I'm fine," Quinn huffed, her voice devoid of all emotion.
"Ok," Rachel nodded sadly, dropping her eyes to the floor and nodding dejectedly.
"I'm sorry," Quinn sighed, instantly feeling horrendous and disgusted with herself that she had managed to make Rachel feel, once again, less than nothing. "I didn't mean to snap at you, I just…." she paused, lifting her head and spotting Finn watching them curiously. "I need to get out of here."
She couldn't stand being in the same room as that idiot right now. Ignoring Rachel's protests, she picked up her bag and jumped up, practically flying across the room in her haste to leave.
"Quinn, where are you going?" Mr. Schue called out.
"Away from here," Quinn muttered.
"But we're in the middle of rehearsal. You can't just leave," he continued.
"Don't worry Mr. Schue," Quinn laughed sarcastically. "After two years of glee club, I think I've got the swaying in the background thing down."
She didn't wait around to hear his response. In fact, she was already halfway down the hall before she heard Finn calling her name, the sound of heavy footsteps pounding along the floor.
Shaking her head and wondering why she was even giving him the time of day, Quinn reluctantly turned around and faced him. Swallowing down the urge to hit him when he finally reached her.
"What?" she snapped.
"What is with you?" he asked, genuine confusion lacing his voice.
"Nothing is 'with me'."
"Really? Cos you've kinda been up my ass all afternoon," he told her, his confused expression turning to one of worry. "Wait. Did I do something wrong?"
"Oh you tell me," Quinn laughed incredulously, feeling a twisted sense of satisfaction when she noticed an annoyed glint in Finn's eyes.
"I haven't got time for your stupid little games, Quinn. Just tell me what's wrong?"
"And I haven't got time for your stupid little games either, Finn. I'm sick and tired of watching you be the poster child of perfection for this club. You're a fucking hypocrite Hudson."
"I'm a hypocrite? Coming from you that's really saying something," he growled, looking her up and down.
"Oh fuck you, Finn. I regret every mistake I've made. You, on the other hand, seem to think that you can do anything you want and get away with it," she told him.
"What's that supposed to mean? I haven't done anything."
"Santana would beg to differ. She seems to think that a lot happened that night you guys went out."
A look of stunned horror covered Finn's face at that point. He stared at Quinn in muted shock before spluttering and shaking his head. His cheeks turning a blotchy red.
"I don't know what you're talking about?" He denied, dropping his eyes to the floor.
"Oh really?" She asked, her eyebrows rising high up on her forehead. "So you didn't have sex with Santana in a motel room then lie to Rachel about it?"
If she had had any doubts prior to their altercation, the look in his eyes confirmed that Santana had been telling the truth. Still, it didn't stop him from raising his head defiantly and announce that Santana was lying to cause trouble.
"Mmmm. Is that right?" Quinn asked mockingly. "Well in that case, why don't you go back to the choir room and call her out on it. If she really is just trying to cause trouble then somebody should really stop her, don't you think? And who better to do that than you?"
"Wait… I… she…I…" he stuttered, all traces of confidence washed immediately away.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I thought so."
And with that, she turned back around and continued down the hall, ignoring Finn's calls as she turned at the next corner and exited the building.