"Oh for god's sake, Q! Stop smoking out the place!"
"The smoke isn't even going your way." Quinn answered blocking her cigarette between her teeth time for her to adjust her sunglasses.
On her left, Santana scrunched up her nose and turned on her stomach.
They were both on their respective towels, in the middle of the grass, while almost the entire glee club was playing in the water a few meters away from here. Only Tina was sprawled out on her own towel a few feet away from the blonde, Artie was on a chair behind her, and Kurt had chosen not to wet himself.
"I don't even know why I chose to settle here," Santana hissed while Quinn was taking another drag.
"Neither do I. You should go on Brittany's towel. It won't change a thing if she ever decides to get out of the water since you'll find a way to be all over each other anyway."
"Shut up, Q!" Santana snapped.
Quinn crushed her cigarette in the grass and sighed. From where she was she could hear Rachel's screams of joy. She could easily picture her swirling in Finn's arms before he would throw her in the water. The blonde had stopped observing her the second the desire of being in his shoes had arisen.
"San…tana?" She asked after a moment of hesitation.
The girl answered with a groan to let her know she was listening.
"Is it really bad?"
"What?"
"Your anger. Towards me."
"As if you cared."
Quinn didn't answer.
"But assuming that the Quinn I once knew is somewhere hidden under the one you became, which is highly doubtful…." Santana added on a cold tone. "I hate you more than I've ever hated anyone."
Quinn remained silent.
"I hate you in every way you can possibly hate somebody, Q. Just seeing you makes my skin crawl. Your miserable looks as you pretend to be okay exasperate me. I pretty much feel like punching you to knock some sense into you."
"Alright…" The blonde whispered.
"Alright?" Santana repeated in confusion.
"Alright."
"I would have punched you already if Britt couldn't see us."
"I know."
They both went silent. Quinn risked a glance to her left and noticed the way Santana was clenching her fists to stop herself from beating her out.
…
…
"We could lock them all in the choir room and ask them to do a bunch of embarrassing things before letting them out. Of course we would film it all."
Santana didn't look convinced as she did her nails.
"Nah. It's too light. The dwarf has been through worsealready, she's capable of staying anyway, no matter if everybody else leaves. She's the pillar and we need to take her down."
Quinn shrugged and looked back through the opened window. The summer survived in the bright blue sky and the stuffy temperature outside, but the leaves were already turning red and the morning air had almost dissuaded her from going out earlier in the day.
Santana was sitting on the bed in the middle of the room and kept rejecting Quinn's propositions ever since they had arrived. She was getting annoyed by the secondbut she was too tired to let the Latina know.
"We need to humiliate her in the best way possible." Santana continued. "They all need to be humiliated. We spare Hudson of course. You'll just have to offer him to touch your breasts in exchange of his departure."
"What?" Quinn protested. "I'm in the Celibacy Club, I can't do that!"
"We're all in this goddamn club." Santana said with a shrug.
"It didn't stop me from doing it with three boys last week." Brittany said softly.
The two cheerleaders went silent and turned towardsher. The innocent blonde was sitting in her chair by the window and was giving cereal to Charity who was lazily laying on her lap. She was really focused on her task.
"I don't think we needed to know that, Britt," Quinn eventually whispered, frowning in embarrassment.
"Well now we know." Santana retorted giving her nails her full attention. "And it wasn't helpful. Maybe you should give Finn what he wants. He wouldn't try to befriend the smurf anymore after that."
Quinn forgot her biting reply and stared at her with eyes wide open.
Noticing they could only hear Brittany's cat chewing on the cereal, Santana looked up.
"Goddamnit Q, you're the only prude one in the room!"
"But…What about waiting until marriage…" The blonde mumbled, blushing.
"Marriage. It's all bullshit. I did it with Puckerman and I can assure you, it's not a big deal. I don't understand why everyone makes such a huge deal out of it." Santana said, rolling her eyes.
Brittany briefly looked up before taking the cereal box on the bedside table and emptying it in her hand. Quinn was red as a tomato and she could tell it wasn't something she was comfortable talking about.
"Look, Q." Santana said, placing her nail file down the bed and giving her friend her full attention. "You're a virgin, I get that. But you're not gonna stay one forever, and believe me, you won't finish high school chaste and pure, so about waiting until marriage? Forget it. It's the perfect opportunity. You love Finn, don't' you?"
"Uh… Yeah…" Quinn mumbled, taking a sudden interest in her hands.
"You wanna stay on top?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then you're gonna have to make him leave this shitty club before his popularity crashes downand takes yoursdown with it. Then we will take care of the rest. And you know what I think? Sleep with him, simple as that."
Brittany nodded vigorously, a wide smile on her face, but Quinn simply couldn't hide how much her first time scared her. Santana gave her a smirk.
"But if it's only the fact that you've never done it that scares you, we can take care of it."
Quinn felt like her head was about to explode and she buried her face in her hands to hide away from the Latina's burning gaze. The worst in all that was that she knew Santana was serious.
"No thank you, Santana…" She grumbled.
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind doing you this favor, you know? As your friend, you know." The brunette insisted smiling suggestively.
Quinn spread her fingers and looked at Brittany who was smiling at her.
"No thank you, Santana." She repeated it, more firmly this time as she sat up.
"As you wish, Mother Teresa," the Latina answered with a shrug. "But how are we gonna dissolve the glee club then? If you don't give yourself to Finn, who knows what's gonna happen between the Muppet and him."
"I am not a prostitute, San." Quinn retorted, her assurance from a few minutes ago back. "I'll find a way, don't worry. We have to take care of RuPaul first."
"That's old news." Santana replied with an amused look. "And what do you plan on doing to make it happen?"
Quinn remained silent, trying to think of a way.
"Yeah, I don't know why I'm asking," the Latina added. "I'm the brain here. The slushies were my idea."
Quinn chuckled sarcastically, giving her a look full of disdain.
"I'm the captain of the cheerleaders, San." She reminded her proudly.
"That's because I have other things to do than to fight against you." Santana explained. "And why split when we can rule the school together? It would be stupid."
"We could join the glee club." Brittany suddenly said.
The other two stared at her like she was an alien.
"Britt, God knows how much I usually support your ideas," Santana eventually said. "But this…"
"We're not really joining Glee Club." The blonde quickly added, tapping her fingers on the cat. "We're pretending to. So we can spy on them for Coach Sylvester, and Quinn can be with Finn all the time."
"Oh no way." Santana protested, shakingher nail file. "I don't think we need to go to such extremes!"
"But it's a great idea, actually." Quinn mumbled with a thoughtful look.
"Q, no!" Exclaimed the brunette, clearly irritated. "There is no way I'm joining their club, they're at the bottom of the food chain! You want us to be like them?"
"If it's on Coach Sylvester's demand, it won't be the same." The blonde said, a plan already forming in her head. "All we need to do is let everyone know we're joining to keep an eye on Finn, and nothing will change for us."
"Let's not rush into anything! I won't get near the gnome unless I want to throw a slushie to her face! Don't count on me!"
"But Saaaan…" Brittany whined.
Santana ignored her and kept her eyes on Quinn. They both knew they were just as stubborn as the other, and unless they found a common agreement, they could fight indefinitely. It wouldn't make the Latina change her mind.
"Let's wait until their performance in the gymnasium…" Quinn eventually said. "Is that okay withyou?"
"Totally, Fabray."
They exchanged a smile.
…
…
Quinn lazily turned on her stomach and crossed her numb arms under her chin. In this position she could observe the Latina's reaction without having to twist her neck. In that moment, Santana was overthinking everything and Quinn could guess it just by the way her burning gaze was stuck on the sky above them. Her jaw kept clenching and she was still in this furious state in which the ex-HIBIC had left her. Quinn knew perfectly well that her absent behavior infuriated her friend, but she couldn't help it.
"What can I do for you to forgive me?" She eventually asked, and they both knew she wasn't talking about her uninterested answers from three seconds ago.
The Latina turned her face towards her and stared at her, not speaking for a second.
"Nothing."
"You'll never forgive me?" Whispered Quinn.
She had Santana's full attention and it looked as if her gaze could easily pierce her glasses. She could only hear the splashing sounds from behind them and the Glee Club's joyful screams in the lake.
"Never." She eventually said on a low tone.
Quinn observed her a moment when suddenly, Brittany rushed toward them.
"San, San, Saaaaaaaaaan!" She shouted as she ran in their direction.
Quinn barely got time to slide away from them before Brittany threw herself on the brunette, sending drops of water flying all around her.
"Nooooo, Britt!" Whined Santana. "Get off me, you're getting me all wet!"
She glanced at Quinn to see if the girl had understood the unwanted innuendo.
"No, come swim with me!" Britt joyfully asked.
Santana tried to push her aside but the blonde sat on top of her and held her wrist tightly, keeping her from moving.
"That is out of the question!" She protested, trying to sit up. "We're going to spend several days underground, I need to work on my tan!"
Quinn rolled her eyes and stretched her arm to grab the book on the grass beside her. These two would never change.
"Saaaaa, come on!" Brittany encouraged with an enthusiastic smile.
"Britt, when I say no it means no!" Groaned Santana, fighting back as best as she could.
But the young woman held her firmly, straddling her, and she stuck out her tongue to tease her.
"Then you'll be my prisoner."
"I don't wanna be your prisoner! Let go off me!"
"You will be my prisoner until you accept to come in the water with me!"
Kurt, Tina and Artie glanced their way because of the noise they were making and Quinn answered them with a shrug before losing herself in her book again.
"Are you serious?" Santana protested. "You really think I'm going to-"
Brittany leaned down quickly to shut her up with a kiss. When she sat up, she could see Santana looked kind of disoriented.
"Noooo, no! You won't always win that way!" She protested again.
"Jesus, Santana. Give in already, as usual, and go in the water. I'd like to focus here." Quinn said coldly.
The Latina threw daggers at her.
"Britt, please, I would like to rest a little." She told her girlfriend on a softer tone.
Brittany smirked slightly and leaned down again to whisper in her ear.
"If you come with me we can go a bit further and you can take my bikini off."
Santana's eyes widened and she felt her cheeks turn a bright shade of red.
"No, Britt, it's not fair…" She answered weakly. "You know I can't… I mean you're not playing fair…"
Brittany's smile faded away as she realized Santana really didn't want to come.
"Later." She quickly added.
"Later?" Repeated the blonde in excitement.
"Yes." The other confirmed with a small smile.
"Alright!" Brittany exclaimed as she leaned down to deeply kiss the girl.
She let go off the brunette's wrists so she could wrap her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss.
"Oh, please." Quinn sighed with a fake disgusted face.
Santana freed one of her hands to slap the blonde.
"No but seriously?" Quinn continued. "You could be having babies right under our nose that we wouldn't have time to react and understand how you did it!"
She barely avoided another slap from the former cheerleader.
"Now, Quinn…" Brittany joyfully said as she placed one last kiss on the brunette's lips before standing up.
"Ha no thanks. Lady kisses aren't exactly my thing." Quinn refused without even looking up from her book.
"I fucking hope not." Santana mumbled as she stretched her arms, a smile she couldn't contain forming on her lips.
"That's not what I meant." Brittany answered with a laugh. "Now Quinn. Since Santana doesn't want to come for now, you're the one who's going to swim!"
"Huh, what? No!"
She didn't even have the chance to resist that the blonde grabbed her arm and pulled her up on her feet.
"No, no, no, no, no." She repeated. "Britt, no!"
"You don't have a choice, Quinn!" Replied Brittany.
"Of course I have a ch- NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Brittany had lifted her up, holding her by the waist.
"BRITTANY WHEN I SAY NO IT MEANS NO!" Quinn shouted, fighting the girl to be able to free herself from her grip on her. "AND I CAN'T BE CORRUPTED WITH SEX SO YOU HAVE NO WAY-"
"If you were heavier maybe you would have a chance." Commented Santana with a smirk.
Quinn furiously threw her book at her face.
"Are you ready, Quinn?" Brittany asked with a wide smile as she faced the lake.
"NO NO NO NO NO!" She screamed, but Santana was right. She didn't stand a chance.
Brittany let out a laugh before running toward the shining water. Quinn closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, dreading the moment when she would collide with the water. This happened sooner than she had planned.
Her scream got drowned by the sound her body made while landing in the water, and the icy temperature made her try to go back to the surface no matter the cost. Everything was blurry around her, and she could barely distinguish the bottom from the surface. She suddenly spotted a leg, then red shorts, and with a scream she was taken out of the water. She felt someone grabbing her ankles and as she tried to find her balance back, her hands landed on someone's torso.
"Ah, I was wondering when you would join us!" A voice said underneath her.
"Sam?" She asked, wiping the water off her face with the back of her hand. "What are you-"
She realized she was on the boy's shoulders. Briefly turning around, she saw Santana, Kurt, Tina and Artie waving at her from the edge with amused smiles. Around her, it was complete chaos. She barely recognized Mercedes and Blaine's silhouettes in the middle of the spatters. Sam stepped forward and she had to hold onto his head not to fall.
"Eh! Careful down there!" She grumbled.
Suddenly, Puck burst out of nowhere, and when Quinn saw who was on his shoulders she hit the blonde's chest so he would let her down.
"Let me down immediately, let me down immediately!" She shouted on a high-pitched voice.
Puck smirked at her.
"What, scared of getting your ass kicked by the unbeatable Jewish duo?" He mocked.
"Sam, no!" Quinn continued to scream, now hitting him with her feet.
Her gaze landed on the legs hanging around Puck's neck and not being able to hold herself back, she leered at Rachel with so much intensity it was almost inappropriate. She got so scared her attraction toward the woman could be read on her face, she was tempted to let herself fall, but Sam was holding her legs too tightly for her to do anything.
Here was the reason why she never went to the Glee Club's pool parties. Here was the reason.
Quinn looked away from Rachel's chest, struggling to do so, and tried to look her in the eyes. The brunette smiled hesitantly at her.
"Crap, this bikini looks really good on her…" She muttered under her breath, smiling back at her.
"What is it Quinn?" Sam asked joyfully, looking up at her.
"What?" She stuttered, blushing when she realized she had just said that out loud.
She pressed on his head so he would look back ahead of him and not at her.
"Nothing, nothing at all, just let me down."
"Who said I was going to?"
"Oh no, Sam, not you too!" She whined rolling her eyes.
"PREPARE TO BOARD!" Puck shouted, running toward them with a predatory smile.
Rachel swayed on his shoulders and held onto his hair the best she could, letting out a surprised cry. Quinn tried to fall to the side but Sam was already running toward the other two.
"SAM! NO SAM LET ME DOWN!" She screamed, but Rachel was already too close.
"POWER TO THE BLONDES!" Sam shouted himself hoarse, holding her legs tighter.
Quinn had no idea what to do. The idea of grabbing Rachel's shoulders to make her fall was making her uncomfortable. Actually, she couldn't even think of touching any part of her body. She didn't want to touch her, she didn't want to hear from her anymore. She just wanted to get back onto dry land and argue with Santana about their spoiled friendship. She caught sight of Rachel's confused but confident expression as they were only five meters away from each other. What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to hurt her. She didn't want to remind her by an abrupt gesture that a few years ago, it wasn't a game…
Before she could figure out what to do, she was a few feet away from Rachel. Quinn pressed her hands against her wet shoulder and pushed with all the strength she had.
She caught sight of the girl's widened eyes as she was falling, and she felt relief wash over her at the idea of having gotten rid of the brunette so easily. But in one last effort, Rachel grabbed her wrists, taking her down with her. Her feet slipped off Sam's hands and they fell together in the water. Quinn was so busy trying to get back to the surface that she didn't realize she was leaning on Rachel to do it. She emerged quickly, taking a deep breath, and it was only after having wiped the water off her eyes that she realized they were both holding onto each other, the diva's hands placed on her shoulders, and hers holding her by the waist. They stared at each other without a word, and Quinn's eyes landed on the young woman's lips, where drops of water were dripping. She wanted to wipe them off herself. With her tongue.
The feeling of this mouth against hers came back to her in the worst possible moment, and her heartbeat sped up at how close to each other they currently were. She quickly looked back into Rachel's eyes, who was still staring at her, and she felt bad about her inappropriate thoughts.
"You're going to hell."
All of this had happened in only a few seconds.
"I suppose it's a tie…" She whispered, contemplating Rachel with more intensity than she would have wanted.
The diva nodded silently. Deciding it was time to end this tempting moment, Quinn abruptly turned around and shouted:
"REVEEEENGE!"
Sam smiled widely as she swam toward him to get back on his shoulders.
"Who will be brave enough to fight the lion?" She asked, tousling the blonde's hair.
The adrenaline she'd felt in that moment had made her forget all about her melancholy, making her smile. The diva got back on Puck's shoulders and Brittany swam to the middle of the circle announcing that she also wanted to play. Finn offered to carry her and she happily accepted.
"Oh no thank you!" Mercedes shouted walking away from them, followed by Blaine. "I am not getting involved, have fun!"
"Kurt and I are gonna kick your ass!" Blaine said, running to go get his boyfriend who was chilling on his towel and completely unaware of what was waiting for him.
They ran past Santana who angrily swam towards Finn and Brittany to get her girlfriend down his shoulders.
"Mine." She said, holding onto her.
Brittany was in heaven, Finn not so much.
"Who do I team up with then?"
"Mike could..." Quinn started.
"He went for a swim over there." Sam interrupted.
"Don't worry man, we can take turns with mini-Barbra!" Puck told him.
"I am not an object!" She protested/ "I'm-"
"Yeah we get it." Puck cut her off. "Your dignity is intact, don't you worry."
"Hmpf." Rachel huffed.
Quinn couldn't help but smile.
"You're all gonna get a taste of Lima Heights Adjacent, band de idiotas!" Santana shouted, comfortably sitting on Brittany's shoulders.
Puck tapped his biceps in a threatening way.
"Careful what you wish for, Lopez!"
"Is that how it is? Brittany, goooooo!"
"What?" Rachel mumbled. "Hey! No!"
But before she had time to register what was happening, Santana was throwing herself at her and sending her in the water.
"Victory!" The Latina shouted, smirking at the boy who didn't have a partner anymore.
She leaned down to press kiss on Brittany's lips while Finn was rushing to Rachel's side to help get her back on her feet.
"Who's next?" She asked, daring them all.
"Long live the Lion King!" Sam screamed, tapping the water with his fist.
Quinn stared Santana down while holding onto the boy tighter. She tapped his chest to let him know he could go.
…
…
"Oh my god, how old are they..." Kurt mumbled, readjusting his sunglasses on his nose.
"Oh come on, they're having fun." Tina answered with a smile as Santana was sending Quinn in the water without looking twice.
"Ah, too bad I can't go in..." Artie sighed.
"Considering how they're getting beaten up, it's for the best trust me." Kurt said and Tina smiled sadly.
"Hey, Kurt! Kurt!" Blaine shouted trotting towards him, followed by Mercedes who was completely out of breath.
"I bet you my Prada that he's gonna ask me to join in on the fun." Kurt whispered.
"Kurt, come with me!"
The young boy sat up, leaning on his elbows and observed him without a word.
"Blaine, do you see me? I'm laying, resting and chilling. And I'm dry."
"Well come get wet with me!" Blaine offered pointing towards the lake.
Mercedes stumbled to her towel and laid down with a satisfied groan.
"Never again… Sleep..." She mumbled.
"Blaine, I really appreciate your enthusiasm but..."
"Come on Kurt!"
"Blaine..."
"Kurt!"
Kurt signed, annoyed, and glanced at the rest of the Glee Club screwing around in the water. Santana was slaughtering them, one by one.
"Fine." He eventually gave in. "But I'm only doing it so that Satan doesn't win."
Blaine smiled and grabbed his hand to help him stand up. Kurt put his glasses down before following his boyfriend with one last sigh.
"They have way too much energy for me to keep up." Mercedes said lazily, getting comfortable on her towel. "I'd rather stay here than risk getting my ass kicked by Santana. She's a nutter."
Tina smiled, amused.
"Without Brittany, she wouldn't have a third of her strength." She pointed out.
"No shit."
"Has there even been a time when they weren't together?"
Mercedes thought in silence. Puck had left Rachel to Finn and was walking back towards them. Artie had eventually fallen asleep on his chair.
"I don't think so. I can't really imagine what Santana would be without Brittany..."
"… or what Brittany would be without Santana..." Tina added in a whisper.
The Mohawk boy crashed on Kurt's towel with a satisfied sigh.
"You know, now that I think about it, we should stop bothering calling them by their names." Mercedes said turning towards Tina.
They exchanged a knowing look and Puck distractedly listened to them.
"Since they're always together, if you call one, you call the other. We should save ourselves some time."
"You mean like a coat hanger?"
"Yeah, I don't know, doesn't it seem easier to you?"
Tina looked at the two women fighting in the water against the rest of the Glee Club.
"Like Brittana?" She eventually said with a small smile.
"Or Santittany."
They both turned towards Puck and observed him with disgust.
"Seriously Puck?" Mercedes asked with disapproval.
"Santitanny?" Tina repeated. "As in tit?"
"Exactly, that's the main thing." He said with confidence.
"You're beyond help, Noah." Mercedes said. "Stop with all the innuendos, I am begging you!"
"You don't change Puckzilla overnight." He responded with a shrug.
Tina glared at him, but he didn't stop smiling.
"Next time I kick your ass." Mercedes mumbled.
…
…
…
"Ah, here are Hummel and Warbler!" Santana shouted, facing them.
Kurt looked down on her and held onto Blaine's shoulders.
"You want to challenge the queen then?" She continued. "You're out of your league."
Quinn rolled her eyes as Sam was helping her get back on her feet after having been sent in the water for the umpteenth time, and Finn frowned, not really a fan of Santana's leadership. Brittany only smiled, heart full of pride for Santana, and Rachel was slouched on her boyfriend, trying her best to get over her numerous falls.
"Santana, if I were you I wouldn't be so sure." Quinn said pushing her wet hair back to be able to see.
"Oh I'm sorry Q, you were saying? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you falling in the water!"
Quinn had always hated losing when it came to Santana, and this relationship where she was constantly competing had ended the day she'd started taking her distances with the other two girls of the Unholy Trinity. The need to be better whenever the Latina would step on her territory, such as cheerleading, had slowly faded away over the years. But the way Santana was slaughtering her had awoken something in Quinn she had long forgotten.
She wanted to win. She wanted to be better than Santana.
Sam stepped closer and was soon within the Latina's reach. She roughly grabbed Quinn by the shoulders but the blonde had the same idea and they both found themselves stuck, both trying to win over.
"So, Q?" Santana asked with a mocking smile. "Ready to bite the dust? Yet again?"
"In your dreams." The blonde whistled trying to push her back.
They both struggled, everybody's eyes on them, waiting to see who would win this fight. The struggle continued and it was the first time a fight lasted this long. The friendly vibe had disappeared between the moment Quinn's eyes had turned cold and Santana had almost elbowed her in the nose.
"Drop it, Q, you're no match for me." The brunette hissed between gritted teeth.
"Of course I am, San, you're about to see that." Quinn answered, slightly out of breath.
She felt like they were back to the time when her and Santana were still best friends. What was left of that now?
Santana dug her nails in her shoulders and she cried in pain.
"Don't you get it, Q?"
Underneath her, she could Sam weakening.
"You were never a match." Santana continued with this same ruthless tone. "It's always been implied between us that I was the strongest one and all you did was run whenever it got hard. It's still the same today."
Quinn leaned forward to try and throw her off balance, but the Latina held on tighter and dug her nails deeper.
"You're not brave enough to love and you never will be. You're a loser, Q, and you will be until the day you die."
Quinn was suddenly blinded with rage and she threw herself at Santana, tightly gripping her shoulders. The Latina lost her balance and fell backwards, taking Quinn down with her who only held onto her tighter. They hit the water in a deafening sound and barely had time to sink in that the blonde was standing up and trying to punch the Latina. The brunette avoided the hit with ease and slapped Quinn without giving it a second thought. Slightly out of it, she wrapped her hands around Santana's neck, staring her down. Sam and Brittany rushed towards them to break them apart.
"Let me go!" She shouted at Sam who had a firm hold on her. "LET ME GO!"
"Yeah, let her go so she can take the beating she deserves!" Santana shouted, with Brittany struggling to hold her back even with two strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Blaine came to help the blonde and Quinn had almost managed to escape Sam's hold when Mike, who has jut come back from his swim, came to his help. Rachel was now back on her own two feet and was observing them, stunned, one hand covering her mouth. Finn was confused as usual.
After a few seconds spent trying to break free, Quinn finally calmed down. The rage she had felt had completely drained her and she was back to her usual placid attitude. Sam and Mike slowly let her go and she walked back towards the beach without adding anything else.
Santana glared at her as she walked past her.
The pain on her cheek was still very much present. She could feel Tina, Mercedes, Artie and Puck's eyes on her. She pretended to ignore them and leaned down to grab her sunglasses.
"Quinn, do you want..." Mercedes started.
"No, I'm fine thank you." She snapped, without really meaning to.
She laid down on her towel and pretended to be absorbed in her book. Tina and Mercedes exchanged a confused look and Puck stared at her without saying a word, leaning on his elbows, before crossing his arms behind his head and laying back down. Artie closed his eyes, trying to go back to his nap, but the violent altercation between Quinn and Santana was still troubling him.
…
…
…
The atmosphere progressively went back to normal, even though no one really wanted to play anymore. Brittany grabbed Santana's arm and guided her to a more secluded area where she calmed the Latina down with kisses and cuddles. Quinn wouldn't open her mouth and stayed focused on her book, calm and stoic. Mike offered them all some refreshments, taking the cooler out of Finn's car with a large smile, and they all sat in a circle to eat a bite. Almost everyone. Santana and Brittany were still somewhere in the lake, and no one even thought of interrupting them.
"Mercedes, if it's no trouble, it would be nice for us to come back here while they're all wearing themselves out in their cave!" Kurt said with enthusiasm, very interested in the pastries Mike was taking out of the cooler.
"Well what do you think?" She answered with a laugh. "There won't be anything else for us to do, of course we'll come back!"
"I will never come out of this cave if you don't let us come back too before we leave." Sam added, accepting the glass of lemonade that Mike was handing him.
"We'd have to come out of it alive." Quinn said calmly, without looking up from her book.
"Ugh, Quinn, don't mention this horrible movie." Tina mumbled with a shiver.
"I didn't mean that, we could die falling in a crevasse for all we know." She retorted.
"Quinn!"
Hearing Rachel's frightened tone, the ex-HBIC slowly looked up.
"Come on Rachel, don't tell me you're also scarred by this stupid movie. I'd understand if you were fifteen but it doesn't have any credibility now."
"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you." Puck warned her, mouth full. "You might even be the first on the list."
"Well of course, there's only one way to prevent that… Using you as a human shield." She answered with a fake smile.
"Oh, speaking of!" Mike said enthusiastically. "How do you feel about Final Destination tonight?"
"No!" Quinn, Rachel, Tina and Kurt shouted in harmony.
The boys comforted him by telling him that they would gladly watch it with him and Mercedes was more than happy to remind them that the TV belonged to her parents.
After a nice meal that was definitely more filling than just a snack, they all went to rest on their towels, and the screams that could be heard when they were playing in the water was replaced by a nice and relaxing silence, only broken by the few whispered conversations here and there. Quinn kept an unreadable face when Sam, taking advantage of Santana being gone, came to lie next to her, and she pretended to be entirely focused on her book even though she felt pretty annoyed.
"Quinn?" He eventually whispered.
"Hmm?" She asked, raising her eyebrows behind her sunglasses.
He seemed hesitant so she continued to read. Or pretended to.
"What's going between you and Santana?"
"Nothing at all."
"Come on, Quinn..."
With a sigh, she closed her book and placed it on her stomach.
"Do you really think now's a good time to talk about this?"
Her cheek still hurt. Santana was always heavy-handed when it came to slapping her.
"When then?"
"Never."
"But Qu-..."
"Look Sam, the sky is clear, the water is blue, the weather is gorgeous, it's nice and warm, why would you want to ruin such a perfect day?"
Her tone was cold and biting, implying that she thought the opposite of this 'perfect' day she was describing.
"I just wanna know, Quinn..." Sam whispered.
"Know what? There is nothing to know."
"But-..."
"Why are you even talking to me anyway?" She cut him off. "You shouldn't, it's pointless."
"But I wanna talk to you."
"Jesus, Sam. There are so many other people around you. You should go talk to Rachel, she's adorable, she's-..."
She stopped, realizing she wasn't supposed to say things like that. She held back the urge to look away from the sky to see the blond's reaction and simply waved him off.
"What I mean is she's better than me."
Quinn could feel Sam's eyes on her and, from the corner of her eye, she saw open his mouth to add something, before deciding against it. She knew exactly what he wanted to say, and the guilt was eating her alive.
…
…
"But you're the one I'm interested in."
Quinn stepped back.
"That wasn't in the song." She said, coldly.
"Sorry. I just wanted to give you a compliment." Sam said with a small smile.
"That wasn't a compliment, that was flirting." She answered with an amused smile.
Sam shrugged, completely relaxed.
"Take it how you want. I was just trying to be nice."
Quinn looked away, pretending to be interested in the sun shining through the open window.
"From the top?" The boy eventually asked.
"Only if you stop remastering the song."
"Alright."
"I know you're gonna do it again." She said, turning around to face him.
They looked at each other without a word, each sat on one end of the bed. Quinn didn't know how to ignore him when he smiled at her like that.
"I never said I wouldn't." He whispered with a cocky smile.
"Since when are you so adventurous with girls?" The young woman asked, with a condescending smile.
"Only with you."
"Sam!"
"Alright, alright!" The boy said, raising his hands in defeat.
Quinn rolled her eyes. There was something somewhat charming in the way Sam would awkwardly flirt with her, but she wanted him to stop before he'd think it could go any further.
"If you do it one more time, I'm leaving."
The blond's smile faded and he looked down at his guitar.
"Alright. I promise."
Quinn sighed.
"Alright then, from the top?"
…
…
Quinn couldn't take it any longer.
She stood up and without a look, walked towards the lake.
Sam laid on his back and sighed.
…
…
…
"So Warbler, arms too short to fight back?" Puck snickered, pushing his head under water.
Blaine swallowed quite a lot of water before coming back to the surface. With a laugh, he threw himself at Puck and pushed him under water as well. Sam quickly grabbed him by the waist and threw him away to help Puck get back up.
Kurt was watching them bicker, worried. He was completely tensed and Mercedes had to tell him twice not to worry before he actually heard her.
"Of course I worry." He answered, taking his glasses off to see better. "Puckerman can be a real brute sometimes."
"Sam is with him, he'll keep him in check." The young woman reassured him.
Kurt simply frowned in concern. Next to them, Finn, Mike and Rachel were blowing the floating mattress for Artie. The two young mean were blowing in the two openings, while the diva was pressing on the foot pump put in the third opening. She was red.
"Rachel, you can stop you know." Artie said, not really convinced.
"That is … out … of the question!" She panted.
"Rachel, I can take over if you want..." Tina offered.
"That is … very kind … of you Tina … but … I've got this." She managed to articulate, kicking the pump harder.
Mike stopped blowing for a second, also offering his help. She looked at him like he was crazy.
"Is it because I'm a girl that you don't think I'm capable of blowing a mattress?" She rambled. "I'll have you know that this is very insulting and a considerable step back to the feminist cause! We're not in the 50's anymore, I will not tolerate-..."
"Calm down, hobbit, they're just worried about you because you're capable of wearing yourself out with just one of your long ass monologues we're all oh so used to."
"Thanks Santana." Rachel mumbled.
The Latina smiled sarcastically as she and Brittany were getting closer.
"Done!" Mike announced, putting the cap back on his side, satisfied.
But time for Finn to put his own cap back on and the side he was in charge of had already deflated.
"Nice job, Finnessa." Santana commented. "I think we can all agree one of your ancestors was the captain of the Titanic."
Finn simply glared at her. Letting go of Brittany's hand, she took his place and blew the mattress herself, never looking away from the boy. Rachel grabbed his hand and dragged him away, seeing as he was getting more and more annoyed.
"Happens to everyone, Finn." She reassured him with a smile.
"I know very well it can happen to anyone." The boy said, upset. "She keeps on winding me up, it annoys me, that's all."
"It's Santana." The girl whispered with a helpless shrug.
He sighed, staring at his feet. Rachel got on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek which relaxed him a little.
"Let's go help Artie?" She asked with a smile.
"Alright..." He mumbled before kissing her.
By the lake, Sam and Puck kept on screwing around with Blaine, while Quinn was watching them, lost in her thoughts. Kurt was still pretty anxious and couldn't look away from the three boys. Santana and Brittany helped Artie get on the mattress and Finn, Tina and Mike carried away into the lake, escorted by Rachel, leaving Brittany, Santana, Kurt and Mercedes on the ground. The Latina didn't waste a second and went to sit in Artie's chair, inviting the blonde to join her.
Mercedes rolled her eyes and Kurt didn't even notice. He jumped off his towel and ran towards the lake.
"Kurt? Kurt, what's wrong?" The young woman shouted, following him.
But the boy didn't answer and ran into the water, ignoring how cold it was.
"Stop! STOP!" He screamed, stumbling at Sam and Puck's feet.
The Mohawk boy turned around and let go of Blaine's head, who could finally resurface and take a deep breath. Sam had been watching Puck, arms crossed.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kurt asked, voice shaking with rage.
He wrapped a protective arm around Blaine and glared at them, furious.
"We were just having fun, Kurt." Hi boyfriend said.
"Yeah, come on Kurtie, we were having fun, no need to freak out!" Puck said with a smile.
"They weren't joking around." Kurt said looking at Blaine as if he'd just come back from the dead.
"Kurt, you shouldn't..." Sam started, clearly uncomfortable.
"Shut up." The boy cut him off, shaking with rage. "You're as bad as each other."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Puck said with a shrug.
"You were here when I had to go through the same thing in McKinley!" Kurt shouted. "How could you..."
He couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Hey, we're not teasing him because he's gay." Puck quickly said. "We're teasing him because he's…. an idiot." He concluded with another shrug.
Blaine's face fell.
"And you think you're in a position to judge?" Kurt shot back.
"K-..." Sam started.
"Shut up. Both of you. Go tease somebody else but leave him alone:"
He turned around, dragging Blaine behind him.
"They're taking the piss." Kurt whispered. "You shouldn't play along."
"But we were having a good time, there's no reason to overreact!"
"Blaine, you know very well that it stopped being a game the second they teamed up against you."
"You shouldn't worry this much."
"Because I have no reason to?"
Blaine remained quiet. They were on slippery slope and it was best to leave it at that.
They walked past Artie on his mattress, followed by the rest of the group, and they barely acknowledged them before regaining dry land. Mercedes watched them get comfortable on their towel without a word, and from her chair, Santana arched an eyebrow before wrapping an arm around Brittany and pulling her closer.
