"Quinn didn't come again." Harmony sighed, a grimace finding its way onto her face. It had been two days since Quinn had 'mysteriously' stopped coming. Harmony felt confused and frustrated as well as slightly hurt at the blonde's sudden absence.
"We could visit her at work?" Nellie wanted to confront Quinn about what she had heard. She knew that it was none of her business, but she felt that she needed to know.
"Sounds good, Nell.' Harmony murmured, her eyes beginning to shine in anticipation. "How's afterschool tomorrow?"
Nellie knowingly smiled at her older sister, just like Rachel, Harmony got impatient when she wanted something. Although this quality didn't shine through as much as it had with their Mum, it was still quite visible when the older Berry sister was passionate about something. Nellie could tell that Harmony was upset about Quinn's abandonment. Ever since the beautiful blonde had left them alone, Harmony had begun to get more frustrated at everyone, expect Damian and Nellie herself.
"Great, Harmy," Nellie replied, smiling over the fact that her sister was regaining her usual enthusiasm.
Nellie was jerked from her sleepy state as the final bell of the day rung, dismissing the drowsy class. By the time the introverted girl reached her locker, Harmony was already standing there, backpack in hand and smile on face. Nellie could feel that her sister was about to explode with excitement.
"Come on Nellie, let's go see Quinn!" Harmony shouted, causing a few people in the crowded hallway to turn and angrily glare. Harmony, however, just ignored them, as her enthusiasm fuelled her endless energy. Nellie laughed at her older sister, trying to calm the girl, but failing as Harmony began to hum an upbeat song under her breathe.
After what felt like an eternity to Harmony, Nellie had finished packing her schoolbag. The brunette excitedly dragged her younger sister outside, and into the impatiently waiting taxi. Throughout the cab ride, Nellie felt increasingly nervous. She thought she knew a lot about Rachel's school life, but the conversation she had overheard had her doubting that.
"Don't be silly, Nellie." The girl internally scolded herself. "Rachel told you everything, even the fact that she had ice beverages thrown at her, surely she wouldn't lie about her peers? She told me that Quinn was a very close friend of hers, but that they had lost contact. Could that be false?"
Nellie looked over at her carefree sister, who hadn't heard what Finn had accused Quinn of.
"What did Rachel tell you about Quinn before the accident?" Nellie asked her older sister. Harmony seemed to ponder over this question for a moment before answering,
"They were best friends in high school, but they lost contact after Finn married our wonderful mother." The girl then whispered, "I wish Rachel was here. Why did that crash have to happen to her?"
Nellie nodded at her sister, realizing that the girl, who she thought had mostly gotten over their mother's death, was still quite vulnerable and bitter about it. Suddenly, Nellie realized that Harmony wanted to be around Quinn so badly because she had come to see her as a mother-type figure. Nellie just hoped that Quinn wouldn't walk out on them like Finn had been doing, or try to brush them off and ignore them.
"That'll be thirty-five dollars," the taxi driver gruffly muttered as he pulled up in front of a tall building which Harmony recognized as Quinn's workplace.
The older brunette swiftly passed the money to the irritated man, then left the small car in favour of the parking lot. Once the cab had driven off, Nellie felt Harmony grab her hand and pull her towards the tall building.
As Harmony burst through the fancy double doors and walked into the tall building, a receptionist looked at them. The woman was quite short with dark blonde hair in a pixie cut. One of this lady's eyebrows had risen slightly as if to say 'what are these annoying brats doing here?' Other than that slight eyebrow raise, she looked quite bored.
"Do you have an appointment?" The blonde lady asked, her voice filled with scepticism.
"No, Ma'am," Harmony replied, trying to act as professional as possible by using her formal tone of voice, and standing up straight. "We are close friends of Miss Fabray. We would appreciate it if we could go see her."
The lady once again looked sceptical; her attitude was beginning to frustrate Nellie, but she didn't say anything; she knew that this lady wanted to pretend that she was better than them, and that she wouldn't let them see Quinn if she commented.
"I'll ask Miss Fabray." The lady sarcastically sighed, then, with a sensible, not bored-out-of-her-mind tone of voice, she reluctantly spoke into a little microphone, "Miss Fabray, two teenagers are here to see you. They claim that they know you. What do you want me to do with them?"
Nellie could tell that this lady's uptight, sarcastic and fake personality was frustrating her older sister. The brunette knew her sister well, and when the older girl didn't like someone, she tended to twitch her pinkie ever so slightly on her right hand. Harmony used to twitch it every time she had to speak with Finn, however it had stopped over time, as the older brunette got used to their continuous disagreements.
"Two teenagers, Grace?" Nellie heard Quinn say over the communication device. "Nellie? Harmony?"
"Nellie? Harmony" The receptionist, who Quinn had called Grace, repeated to them, her eyebrows lowering as her look of scepticism faded slightly.
"That's us!" Harmony innocently replied, hiding the fact that she just wanted to go see Quinn and forget that she'd ever spoken to the dark-blonde haired woman.
"Yes, Nellie and Harmony are here. Do you want me to send them to your office?"
For a while there was silence over the communication device. Grace even poked the microphone a few times to make sure that it was still working. Nellie could tell that the silence on Quinn's end was upsetting Harmony; the young brunette felt obliged to tell her sister that Quinn didn't want to see them because Finn had told her to stay away, but she felt that it wasn't the right time. Harmony hated Finn a lot already, plus Nellie didn't want this to become the next big gossip.
"Alright, send them up." Quinn finally murmured, although she hesitated after saying "alright". Nellie hoped that Harmony wouldn't take Quinn's doubtful reply badly; the older brunette looked pretty hurt, although it was carefully shielded by a cheerful smile.
The receptionist quickly got up from her chair and unlocked the large door which lead into the main office area.
"Have a nice time, girls." Grace over-enthusiastically exclaimed, completely changing her treatment of them now that they had proved that they really were acquaintances her boss.
"I didn't like her," Harmony whispered to her sister once they were out of Grace's hearing range.
"I know," Nellie whispered back, a perceptive smirk on her face.
When the girls approached their destination, they saw Quinn waiting for them outside her office, a genuinely happy smile on her face.
"Quinn!" Harmony excitedly exclaimed, running up to the taller woman and hugging her. "Why did you stop coming over? I've missed you!"
"I've just been busy with work, Harmony," Quinn replied, her smile faltering slightly, but remaining strong none-the-less. Nellie could tell that the blonde felt bad about lying to the older brunette, but she knew that Quinn felt that it was necessary. "Has Finn been home?"
"No, it's just been us two." Harmony replied, a mix of many emotions in her voice. "Will you be coming to see us soon?"
"I'll see if I have time, sweetheart." Quinn replied, a rebellious sparkle suddenly shining in her eyes. Harmony excitedly grinned, all feelings of frustration deteriorating as the older woman agreed to start visiting them again, even if it wasn't every day.
"Can I speak to you alone for a moment, Quinn?" Nellie suddenly blurted out. Harmony gave her younger sister a confused look, but hesitantly walked out of Quinn's large office. Nellie quickly shut the door of the big office as soon as Harmony had walked out; the brunette then stood timidly in front of Quinn.
"'What do you want to talk about, darling?" Quinn asked the younger girl, raising her eyebrow slightly.
'I-I...' Nellie stuttered, unsure of how to begin the discussion. "I heard your conversation with Finn the other day?" It was meant to be a statement, but Nellie felt that it sounded more like a question.
Quinn opened her mouth slightly, as if she was going to say something, but promptly closed it again as she tried to formulate a response in her mind. For a while, there was silence between the two, but Nellie eventually began to speak again.
"Please don't listen to Finn. He doesn't know what he's talking about! Harmony would choose you over him any day and we both really enjoy you coming over and helping us with everything! You're acting how Finn should be. Please don't allow him to make you abandon us. We know that you're not tricking us into spilling Rachel's secrets. Please come back!"
Quinn was silent for a while, trying to absorb what Nellie had said. Eventually she murmured, "What about you?"
"What?" Nellie stuttered with confusion.
"Would you choose Finn over me?" Quinn whispered, shutting her eyes.
"He... He's my Dad and I love him, but he hasn't been acting like the Finn that took care of me when I was ten, even though Harmony was the one who usually looked after me, and helped me with homework. However, you've been so supportive towards my sister and myself. So currently, I think I would choose you. You've been here for us, unlike Finn."
Quinn smiled at the young girl, quickly pulling her into a hug.
"I'll always be there for you two." Quinn whispered.
Nellie felt extremely happy bubbling in her stomach. She could tell that Quinn had missed them; it wasn't that big of a surprise that she'd go against Finn's threats in order to fall back into the three girl's 'happy family' routine.
"And Quinn?" Nellie mumbled, after Quinn had gone back to sitting behind her fancy desk. "That person who rejected you... Was it Rachel?"
Quinn hesitated for a while. Nellie felt nervous suddenly; she couldn't help but wonder whether she had she crossed a line/
"Sorry' Nellie stammered out. "Was that too personal? I'm going to-"
"No. You have the right to know. I did love your mother, but she only had eyes for Finn. That was a long time ago though. It doesn't matter anymore."
Nellie was speechless. She hadn't truly believed what Finn had accused Quinn of until this moment. Nellie, who was uncertain of how to respond, just nodded. She knew that it was all in the past now, but she was curious as to what had happened between her mum and Quinn all those years ago.
"Can I come in now?" Harmony questioned as she poked her head around the door.
"Sure," Nellie and Quinn simultaneously stated.
"What did you two need to talk about?" Harmony casually asked, although Nellie could tell that Harmony was internally eying them suspiciously.
"I was just talking to her about... a boy I liked." Nellie lied. She could tell Harmony was still suspicious by the questioning look she was sending Nellie's way, but the brunette knew that her older sister trusted her. She hated betraying her sister's trust, but this was a personal issue for Quinn and she didn't think that the blonde would appreciate her telling anyone.
"Why couldn't I be present for this 'boy talk'?" Harmony questioned with a combination of confusion and hurt in her voice, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"I'm not sure if you like him or hate him. I was unsure if you'd approve." Nellie mumbled.
"It's not my Ex is it?" Harmony rapidly asked, her eyebrows rising in alarm.
"No, Of course not! You were kind of friends with him when we were younger, but you drifted apart in a way." Nellie was actually telling the truth, she did like a boy on the mathletes team called Michael.
Harmony, Michael and Blake had been best friends when they were all six, however as the three grew older, Michael and Blake stopped hanging out with her as apparently she had 'girl germs'. However, Blake and Michael were still strong friends to this day.
"Is this person a jock?" Harmony spat, a clear bitterness in her voice.
"No! Harmy! Let's stop talking about this now!" Nellie exclaimed, blushing slightly.
"How about I take you girls home now?" Quinn suddenly suggested. Nellie could tell that the woman was glad that she hadn't revealed anything to Harmony. "We can make dinner and catch up?"
"Great!" Harmony exclaimed, "but are you sure that you can just leave work for us?"
"They can last a few hours without me," Quinn stated, the rebellious spark returning to her eyes. "It's been a slow day anyway."
Harmony nodded, blinking a few times before exclaiming, "Also, I heard that the Dancer, Brittany Peirce was getting married to her girlfriend. Is that true?"
"Yeah, the wedding is planned for next month." Quinn excitedly exclaimed, grabbing one of her company's magazines from her desk and showing Harmony the front cover. Nellie barely stopped herself from laughing as the two older girls began to fangirl.
"Come on you two," Nellie joked. "You can gossip about the Queen of the dance floor on the way home."
"Fine." Harmony pouted, although Nellie knew that she was just joking around. Leisurely the three walked towards Quinn's car, ready to head back to Rachel's house and spend some time catching up with each other.