Hi guys!

So with much (and i mean much) prompting from the girls on the Achele thread over at The L Chat, i present: the next chapter (*pauses for applause*)

The end of this chapter marks the beginning of when the proverbial shit hits the proverbial fan; expect dramarama from now on.

Thank you everyone for your questions/comments etc, i love seeing what you guys think, and you tend to keep me on track.

Bask in the fluffiness everyone, shit's about to go down.

Enjoy!

Chapter 20

Swallowing down her sudden arousal, Quinn turned off her phone and tried to look the man in front of her directly in the eye without feeling too creeped out or guilty about what she was thinking of. She cleared her throat slightly and smiled, sure that her cheeks were flushed. Maybe he'll just think it's nerves she hoped silently. By the look of the kind smile that he shot back at her, she was satisfied her prayer had been answered.

"So" he began, "Miss Fabray, how are you this evening?" She smiled at the man's courteous beginning thinking Now this is something I know how to handle.

"I'm very well, thank you. A little, uh, dazed maybe, but handling it." He laughed lightly as he nodded at her and then looked down at his notes.

"Now, I just want to have a conversation with you, find out a little more about you. Is that OK with you?" She smiled widely, nodding her consent.

"Great. Well, first of all, could you tell me a little about yourself?"

They spent the next twenty minutes or so talking about all of her school accolades, Head Cheerio, Honor Roll, her religion, her job helping to teach the Sunday school class (which paid a ridiculous sum of money) before finally getting onto the topic of music.

"So, I was looking over the dates for your exams, and it seems that there was a big gap between seven and eight. Why's that." She sighed a little and allowed her face to reflect her irritation. She decided to be honest.

"Well, when I became captain of the cheer-leading squad, I didn't have a whole lot of time for theory lessons, and if I couldn't do my five theory I couldn't do eight piano. I wanted to continue in my own time but…" At this pause, the man's eyebrows raised. "Well, my parents are very…strong-willed. When I told them I didn't have time for lessons any more, they decided to sell my piano, to uh…" She wondered exactly how much the man would be offended afters she said what she needed to. "They decided to sell it to recover some of the wasted money." Upon hearing this, the man's eyebrows shot up his forehead. He looked less than amused."

"Really now? Well that is interesting." Quinn shifted in her chair, nodding in admittance. "Well, how did they react when you started up again?" Quinn's frown was enough to indicate what the story was. He waited patiently for her to explain.

"To be honest, sir, they don't know. I started playing again about four months ago, took my exams and applied ASAP." When Quinn managed to meet his eyes, the expression on his face was an interesting mixture of blank, angry and intrigued. She couldn't really figure out what it meant. He shifted in his seat and sat a little straighter, resting his elbows on the desk and interlinking his fingers. He gave her a stern look and then opened his mouth to speak once again.

"Do your parents know you're here?" His question didn't shock her. She knew she could answer him truthfully without him knowing the truth, but she decided against it. She sighed, building her resolve.

"They know I'm here in the City, sir, but they don't even know that I applied here, so they don't know that I'm here to audition. They think I'm looking around the Colombia campus." He nodded slowly, deep in thought.

"This is a strange situation I find myself in." Quinn nodded and widened her eyes in agreement. "Would you care to explain to me in a little more detail, perhaps?" Quinn closed her eyes, hoping for the best.

"Well, at the beginning of this year, we were assigned a new music teacher. I was having a tough time and she was kind to me, and then when she asked in class who could play an instrument, and I told her I could, she got me to play. It was the first time I had played in almost a year and a half." The man exhaled through his mouth, showing that he was impressed, but she continued. "When I told her the reason I didn't play any more, not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't, she was incensed. She demanded that I take theory lessons again, and when I said I couldn't afford them, and I didn't have a piano to practice on, she decided to teach me herself and let me use the school piano. I managed to get my grades just in time to apply."

Professor McLeod nodded slowly, biting his lip a little in concentration.

"I see. Well, she must be quite the teacher." Quinn laughed a little shakily.

"She is." He nodded in contemplation of his next question.

"I have to say, though, Quinn, it seems like applying here was a hasty decision. You have the skill to get here obviously, but we're looking for people with drive, people who have known that they've wanted this since they were three years old" He smiled, thinking of Rachel and the determination that she always showed, and happily remembering when she had described that selfsame story to him. "I'm just not sure that you don't only want to be here for the prestige. I mean, I'm sure there would have been some way you could've achieved the grades on your own last year if you'd had the determination." Quinn clenched her jaw in frustration, seeing the disappointment in the man's eyes. She took a couple of calming breaths before replying in an even tone.

"Mr McLeod, since I can remember, I've loved music. I've loved playing since I started when I was six years old. But when your parents, and your classmates, and everyone else you know, tell you that it's worthless, that it's useless, ridicule you for it, you tend to be a little shaken in your resolve. It doesn't mean that I love it any less, or want it any less, it just means that I didn't have anyone in my corner saying 'you can do this'." Robert bit his bottom lip, feeling a little guilty because of the girl's impassioned speech. "Every single one of those people waiting outside has at least one person out with them who is proud of them for getting this far. They have a parent, or a family member, cheering them on. I am here, alone, trying to ignore the thought that even if I do get accepted, I still might not even be able to afford it because my parents will kick me out as soon as they find out." Quinn found that she had raised her voice without realizing, and took some deep breaths to try and calm herself. Robert sat at his desk, trying not to show how surprised he was, calmly waiting.

"Mr McLeod, you're right, I haven't wanted Juilliard since I was three years old." She paused, trying to get her point across. " But I've wanted music every second since the day I was born. I've wanted to be surrounded by it, to explore it, and feel it within every pore. I wanted it, but I didn't think I could have it, because not a single person said I could, until one woman gave me some encouragement. ONE person in my life knew how it felt, and she is the reason I'm here, the reason I'm telling you that I don't want or need Juilliard; I need music, and if you decide that my "rash decision" isn't worth your time, then I'm not under and false pretense that I can't go somewhere else. This is just the best place to do what I love." She was breathing heavily by this time, trying to get her anger to abate. Robert looked a little surprised to say the least, and his expression caused Quinn to curse internally at her rashness, shutting her eyes. She took three deep, calming breaths, and then looked back at him.

"Mr McLeod, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, I was out of line. But the suggestion that I'm just here on a whim is completely false. The only thing that the short time frame proves is that I had less time to prepare and had to work harder in that time to get here." He was silent for a moment before grunting a small laugh and leaning back in his chair.

"Touché, Ms Fabray. You make a good point." He paused, resting his fingertips together and resting them on his lips, in contemplation. He sighed heavily, before getting up and walking behind her. Quinn regarded his actions with fear, they were only a half hour into their forty-five minute interview, and from the looks of things he wanted her to leave. Her lips trembled slightly as she stood, straightening her shirt and turning around, but when she looked at him, he was standing by the piano in the back of the room.

"Could you come here please, and sit at the piano?" She looked at him, slightly confused, but straightened her spine and raised her head like the true Head Bitch that everyone at McKinley thought she was, and took a seat at the piano. "Well then, Quinn, I've seen how skillful you are. Now I want to see how passionate you are." She looked up at him with a questioning expression.

"I thought I wasn't expected to play in this interview?" He looked down at her, and the blond thought she could see the slightest hint of a smile.

"Well apparently you are a special case. Play me something you love. It doesn't have to be long, and it doesn't have to be difficult, but I want it to be something you love." She regarded him for another second before nodding and licking her lips, a determined expression back on her face. He grabbed the chair Quinn had been sitting on in front of the desk and moved it closer to the piano.

With a deep breath, Quinn tried to think of something she could play. She knew what she wanted to play, there were two short pieces, but she was a little embarrassed about it. In the end though it was all she could think of, so she set her hands on the keys and started beating out the first notes of an up-tempo piece, one that she could release all of her energy and her latent frustration from the previous conversation into. Her hands moved rapidly over the keys, and as the crescendo built, she could feel her heart swell with the love that she felt for the music, and she felt the tension in her body dissipate as she seamlessly melded the lilting notes of the upper register with the resounding swell of the lower, seamlessly joining the two into an echo of pure passion for the refrain. As the piece drew towards the end it became frantic, and then died out slowly. She found herself panting slightly as the final notes rang out, before she felt that she was calm enough to play the second piece. It was the one she had been wanting to play, the one that she hadn't been able to get out of her head when she first heard it, but she didn't feel calm enough to express the subtle nuances of the piece when she first sat down; the previous piece had been a stress-reliever of sorts. As she played, she felt the ebb and flow of the melody surrounding her, felt as if she fell when the notes fell, and she spun when the notes repeated, spiraled themselves. Her heart and breathing slowed and she fell into the music, unable to stop herself from closing her eyes. The piece itself was a little melancholy compared to the previous piece, but Quinn loved it. When the melody petered out and the hanging notes died, she looked over to Professor McLeod. He lifted his chin a little in an expression that Quinn couldn't decipher, so she just sat and waited quietly.

"Very nice, Ms Fabray." She looked over to him, seeing if he had anything else to say. "Well, I think we're all done here. You can go now, and we'll be in touch." Quinn squeezed her eyes shut, locking her jaw and trying to steel herself from tears; his words sounded to her like 'better luck next time'. She opened her eyes and stood, muttered a quiet thank you before she straightened her spine, lifted her chin and marched out of the room, only stopping to grab her bag before walking out of the building and not looking back.

She waited until she was safely in the back of a cab and had given the driver the address before allowing her unshed tears to streak down her face. She sobbed quietly, trying not to draw any attention from the man in the front of the car. Why the fuck didn't I just play something different! she thought angrily to herself. A small voice in the back of her head said Because he told you to play something you love, and you love those pieces. She decided that obviously they just weren't good enough. If she was honest, she was a little embarrassed about playing them; they were both pieces that she knew from her childhood, stuck being babysat by her sister's boyfriend while her parents and sister went to church functions she wasn't old enough to attend. He would play video games all the time, and barely paid any attention to her. She wasn't really mature enough to read to herself at that age, there wasn't another television in the house at the time and there was only so much a kid could play alone before they got lonely, so she would park herself in front of the sofa as he played. Usually the games were boring, but one time he'd been playing something which she couldn't take her eyes off. The pictures were so pretty and the story was beautiful, if a little weird sometimes, but it was the music that had her completely enraptured. She had thought that video games had stupid repetitive music (even then she was fairly pretentious about music) but with this, even after he left, she couldn't forget it. Eventually, as she'd got older, and started using the internet more, she had investigated and had found the music. She found out that the game was called Final Fantasy X, and when she discovered that there was an album of music from it played on piano she downloaded the MP3s and the sheet music, and she had learned to play every piece by heart within two weeks. She had absolutely no interest in the game, but she played the music over and over again. The ones she had played were called "Assault" and "Via Purifico", and it was the latter that she loved the most.

It was about being lost, but having to continue on and try to find your way even though it was almost impossible, and as a child as…different…as her, it had spoken to her strongly. Now though she was regretting it. I guess it's not just the kids at school who think that I'm a freak. I guess it's true she thought dejectedly as she watched the buildings roll past the windows. If someone like that thinks that I suck, I guess it's true. She sighed shakily and got out of the cab, paying and then trying to make herself presentable in the reflection from one of the windows; if Amanda saw her crying and then she would ask questions, and she really did not want to provide answers. She plastered a smile on her face and walked into the house.

Later that evening, when Robert had finally finished interviewing, and he and Rachel were tucked away in a little restaurant catching up. They chatted about his wife and daughter (who Rachel was still fond of even though they didn't exactly keep in touch). Rachel tried to resist getting information about Quinn; she wanted to know, but she didn't know if she could keep it from the blond.

There was a lull in their conversation when their coffee was served, and Rachel took in the contemplative look on the man's face.

"Hey you," she teased, putting her hand softly on top of his hand that was resting on the table. "Where are you?" He looked up at her, shook his head slightly as if to rid himself of the thoughts he'd been having, and smiled at her.

"Sorry Rachel, I… I guess I'm just a little out of it." She smiled gently at him.

"Why's that?" She asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Just the auditions. There was…" he looked up at her, seemingly deliberating whether or not to tell her. "There was this girl today, she was very impressive." Rachel pressed her lips together and nodded, not sure what to think, whether he could be talking about Quinn or not. He continued. "I mean, they're all impressive, otherwise they wouldn't be interviewing, but…" He trailed off.

"But what" she asked laughing, mock intrigue on her face.

"I think - I think I really offended her. She told me that her parents forced her to give up piano, and she didn't start again until recently because a teacher encouraged her to, but I asked her why she didn't continue on her own, told her that it sounded like she lacked the drive to do it on her own." Rachel was absolutely certain who they were talking about now, but rather than egging him to continue, she was busily trying to keep her expression neutral instead of frowning menacingly at him for speaking that way to Quinn.

"And she, well, usually the kids in interviews are so stiff and polite, but she wasn't afraid, or maybe she was just too angry. She told me exactly what she thought, she was brutal" he admitted with a half-chuckle, not looking at Rachel. She allowed her right brow to raise slightly before deciding she should push him a little further.

"Well? What happened?"

"I felt really bad, I mean she made extremely good points. Her parents didn't even support her in something that, after that, I saw she was really passionate about. They didn't know she was there. She told me the only person who had ever supported her in it was this teacher, not even her friends or anything. And, I mean, she's really talented. A little rough around the edges, maybe, but so passionate. And this teacher of hers, I'd like to meet that woman and shake her hand." Rachel allowed herself a moment to mentally pat herself on the back. "I asked the kid to play me something she loved. I'd never heard it before, but it was beautiful, and you could see that she just lost herself to it. After that I said she could go and she just thanked me and left."

He was running his hand around the lip of his coffee mug, deep in thought. Rachel couldn't resist pushing a little further.

"So, what's the hang-up?" He finally looked up at her and smiled.

"I guess I just regret it. I feel bad, she was obviously upset. But she…I don't know, I guess it's just not that often that I get shown the error of my ways by a teenager, you know?" Rachel laughed at this comment and relaxed back into her seat. Well, that's a good sign at least, he's not mad at her. Although I'll have to talk to her about how to talk in polite company. She decided on one final push before she dropped it.

"Is she good enough, you think?"

"They're all good enough. We'll just have to discuss it and see if she's better than at least ten of the other people who auditioned. I mean there were a couple who absolutely blew me away. One girl - I mean she looked like a cutthroat bitch, but damn she could play. I mean, I think she lost maybe three notes in the entire audition. And one of the boys could literally play anything he heard with only a couple of practices. And then there's all of the people who auditioned with other members of the faculty." Rachel nodded and licked her lips. Of course this would be the only thing I DON'T get a clear answer to… She half listened to him talk about the other candidates as she surreptitiously checked her phone. She had texted Quinn hours ago but hadn't got a reply. Sighing a little, she turned back to Robert who was calling for the bill.

At Amanda's house, just as Amanda had wished her a good night and gone to bed, Quinn had finally remembered that she turned off her phone for the interview. She picked it up to turn it on. The first thing she saw was a text from Rachel.

How'd it go baby?

Her lips quivered as she tried not to be angry at the woman; she didn't know that Quinn just wanted to forget it ever happened. Honesty, Quinn. You have to be honest. She typed a quick reply.

I think I fucked up. He was saying things and I got mad at him, then he asked me to play something else and then told me to go, like he was kicking me out. I think I pretty much sealed my fate.

She sent the message and sighed, walking out of the kitchen with a glass of water in hand, placing it carefully on the coffee table and flopping unceremoniously on top of the blankets of her makeshift bed. She rested the phone on her stomach and allowed her eyes to flutter closed, before feeling the vibration on her stomach and reading what it said.

What's the address of the place you're staying?

Quinn's eyebrow raised in confusion and she debated whether she should just tell her what she'd asked or question her motives. Rolling her eyes and shrugging slightly, she wrote out the address, and added a why? onto the end of the message. The reply was instant.

I'm coming over.

Quinn read and re-read the message in shock. First she was dead-set against the idea, thinking What if Amanda wakes up, we're not supposed to be seeing each other, WHAT IF AMANDA WAKES UP? There was, however a little part of her that wanted to see the beautiful brunette and let her comfort her, and that part of her got bigger and bigger until she decided to just wait for her to arrive. About ten minutes later she heard a car outside and hopped off the couch, her heart fluttering a little. She opened the door as silently as possible and couldn't help but beam as she saw Rachel look around a little before setting eyes on the blond and rushing over. Quinn walked down the steps barefoot and melted into Rachel's chest; the woman was wearing heels that were a good four inches, her "cut a bitch" heels as she liked to call them, and they put her a little above Quinn. They spent a moment drinking each other in, before Rachel drew her head back by stroking her hair back until Quinn moved away. The brunette smiled at Quinn before taking her hand and sitting down on the steps. Quinn shivered a little, so Rachel unbuttoned her black pea coat and wrapped the open part (and her arms) around Quinn, still wearing the coat. The girl snuggled into her and sighed contentedly. They were silent for a few moments, as they usually were together since they decided to wait; they always liked to just soak each other in before getting down to business.

"So," Rachel said softly, the side of her jaw on the crown of Quinn's head, "What happened?" Quinn explained in detail the events of the interview, and Rachel bit her lip to keep silent.

Eventually, when the story was done, Rachel decided that she had to tell the girl the truth. She took Quinn's hand, which had been drawing little shapes on her knee which was bent so her foot was resting on the step below where they were sitting, and Quinn started playing with her fingers with both hands. She smiled at the girl's cute behavior, realizing that it meant she was feeling particularly vulnerable.

"Ba- Quinn, you know how I was there today?" The girl nodded slightly, trying not to dislodge Rachel's head. "Well, obviously Robert McLeod and I know each other." Quinn hummed her understanding softly in the back of her throat.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you this earlier and put you off for your interview, but…well, we met because I used to date his daughter." At this Quinn sat up slowly, and looked at her. Rachel could see her brain functioning, and hoped she would be reasonable.

"How long did you date for?" She asked neutrally.

"Um, about six months, I guess." Quinn nodded once and then, to Rachel's relief she settled back against her chest, quietly playing with her hand again. Rachel tried not to sigh, but turned her eyes up to the cloudy sky in thanks. "Well, I always got on well with him, we keep in touch and I usually take him out too dinner when I'm in the city." She paused for a moment, praying for everything to go as she wanted. "I took him out this evening, and…he mentioned you." This time, Quinn shot up so quickly, Rachel was surprised she didn't lose any of her teeth. Quinn's eyes were wide.

"What did he say?"

"He said that he felt bad that he upset you…" Quinn looked down at her knees. "And he said that the way you spoke to him - yelled at him" She said with raised eyebrows, "impressed him. He was impressed by the passion you showed when you defended yourself and when he asked you to play again."

It seemed as if Quinn's eyes couldn't get any wider. She looked away then back to Rachel quickly, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "You're not just making this up to make me feel better are you?" Rachel grinned widely and shook her head raising three fingers.

"Scouts honor." Quinn laughed and shook her head at the cheesiness of the joke, but calmed down enough to settle back into Rachel's side. After a moment, Quinn's eyes narrowed in mirth.

"So…that message you sent me earlier…" She trailed off, trying not to laugh as she felt Rachel's heart rate increase under her ear. "…was that made up to make me feel better?" Rachel bit her lip, and decided to test how far she could go.

"Quinn…I said I would always be honest with you, didn't I?" The woman felt Quinn tense up under her arm, and held in a laugh. Quinn could feel her chest tremmoring and knew that she was laughing at her, so she slapped her knee lightly. Rachel gasped in mock-outrage.

"What? I was just being honest with you! If you didn't want to know you shouldn't have asked."

"You're teasing me woman! Stop it." Rachel 's laughter died down. She smiled fondly and wrapped Quinn in an tight embrace, kissing her on the top of her head and remaining there for a few moments.

"Soon, Quinn. We'll be together soon." She said against the girl's cashmere locks. She felt the girl nod again.

"Did you really get a cab all the way over here to make sure I was OK?" Quinn asked quietly, like a tired child.

"Of course I did. I only need the slightest excuse and I'll be here, OK?" The blond hummed contentedly, and Rachel could tell that in spite of the chill, Quinn was falling asleep. The brunette shrugged a little, jogging the girl awake.

"C'mon, let's get you inside." Rachel stood and pulled the sleepy girl with her, supporting her as they walked through the door. She trudged back to the sofa, pulling Rachel along by the hand, and laid down, indicating that Rachel should perch next to her pillows.

"Will you stay until I fall asleep?" the blond asked with shining eyes as she looked up to where Rachel was looking down at her. The woman gently brushed some hair out of Quinn's face and nodded. The girl twisted until her forehead was against Rachel's thigh, soothed by the brunette stroking her hair.

"Sing to me?" she mumbled as sleep took her and her eyes fluttered closed. Rachel looked to the ceiling, contemplating what to sing. She decided on something mellow, not really about her voice, just something gentle.

"Deep blue sea, darlin' oh, deep blue sea…" She started softly, watching Quinn's expression slowly become peaceful as she slept. The song was short, but Quinn fell asleep even quicker. Rachel gently hummed where the original whistled, to make sure she didn't disturb the girl. When she was done, Rachel slipped off the sofa, causing her thigh to lose contact with Quinn's head and the girl's forehead to wrinkle, but she didn't wake. Rachel kissed the wrinkles away gently, whispering to her. "I love you, baby. See you at home." She stood up and silently crossed the floor, looking back one more time before she shut the door and called a cab.

For a while after they got home, Quinn successfully ignored Rachel as more than a teacher and managed to not mention to anyone, including her family, what she had really been up to. She and Rachel continued to stay separate, but in the second week of March, everything went to hell. She found herself driving to school, and opened envelope in her had, at six thirty in the morning. She parked right next to the building and ran in, tears streaming down her face. Finally, she reached her destination, and threw open the door to Rachel's office. The brunette was startled, but as soon as she saw Quinn and the state she was in, she didn't hesitate in getting up and wrapping her arms around her. Quinn dropped the envelope she had been holding so she could cling to Rachel's sweater, and sobbed into her shoulder, unable to care that she was staining the item of clothing with her tears, and unable to stop sobbing in spite of Rachel's hands soothingly caressing her back and hair and whispering into her ear.

OMG! What's going on? Why is she crying? This and more will be answered next time (cheesy announcer voice)

If anyone wants to know the piano pieces, they're Assult and Via Purifico from the Final Fantasy X Piano Collections album; I totally love the FF games, but the music is beyond amazing. Hit YT and have a listen! (And if you have a PS2 and a penchant for RPGs and aren't bothered by turn-based battle, and haven't played it, get online and buy it because the story and graphics are amazing!) The song Rachel sings at the end is called Deep Blue Sea by Grizzly Bear, and it's from the album Dark Was The Night. Play it when you read that part. If you like the song, i absolutely suggest you buy the Album, the money from it goes to the AIDs charity The Red Hot Organization and I can safely say it is my favorite album of all time. Also, after i started looking at Dianna's playlists, there are a lot of artists that she mentions, so it's kind of the perfect album.
So, like i said, in the next chapter the angst comes out again. It's dark and twisty, the kind of stuff that i love.

Leave a comment if there's anything you do/don't want to see, and i'll try my best.

Thanks for reading! Until next time ;)