I don't own Glee, or I'm pretty sure everyone in my version would be gay…
Chapter 25 (wow I can't believe it's gotten this far…)
A/N: If you don't know who Nicole is, reread chapter 10. THIS IS IMPORTANT. This chapter will not make sense to you unless you REREAD CHAPTER 10. 'Kay thanks.
QPOV
No, it couldn't be. Could it? Was she… her? No way. It wasn't possible. I turned to Rachel, who was still paler than I've ever seen her.
"Is she…?" I trailed off, pointing to the girl in front of me, who had dropped her extended hand. Rachel pressed her lips in a thin line and nodded jerkily. Rage bubbled up inside of me, and I turned back to Nicole with a fire in my eyes. I stepped forward, but suddenly realized that Rachel was still gripping my arm, and was holding me back. The singer's face slowly regained color, and she stepped in front of me, cutting off any attempts I could make to beat the shit out of the girl standing in front of us.
"Hey Nicole! How have you been?" Rachel asked in an almost-cheery voice. Any worry that had been present on the freckled girl's face melted away, and she seemed to regain new vigor by Rachel's response.
"I'm fine. How about you? You look great!"
A roar filled my ears, and all other sound was drowned out. For a few moments I could still see the polite exchange happening, but then my vision was covered by a haze of red. How dare she? How dare that bitch try to come back in my girl's life? No fucking way was I going to let that happen.
"What are you doing here?" I interjected bluntly into their conversation of niceties. Nicole gave me a confused and slightly offended look.
"I'm sorry?"
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here." I enunciated every word very clearly, as if talking to someone with hearing issues. Rachel's grip on my arm tightened, and she frowned at me.
"Quinn! Be nice!" She turned back to Nicole. "I believe what she meant to say, less rudely, was how did you end up here, in Lima, Ohio of all places?"
The other girl's face brightened considerably, and she grinned at Rachel. A beast seated deep in my sternum roared and fought to claw its way out and rip this imposing being to shreds.
"My dad got a transfer here. You remember he worked for Bank of America, in North Carolina?" Rachel nodded. "Yeah, so he was miserable; but then he got offered a job at the Wal-Mart corporate office. Which just happens to be here, in Lima." She shrugged and looked around.
"Do you know anybody here? Relatives, friends, something like that?" Rachel asked with her (hopefully) falsely intrigued voice.
"Not anybody other than you," Nicole replied with a gracious smirk. "Oh, hey, do you know anyone that goes to Mc… McKibble? McKurley? Something like that. It's a high school somewhere around here."
"McKinley? William McKinley High?" Asked Rachel. She smiled. "Yeah, I know a few people."
"Oh really? Who? Maybe I could go into a new school with a couple friends." Nicole asked curiously.
"Ahem, well there's Kurt Hummel, Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, Noah Puckerman, Quinn here," I growled a little at being held back by Rachel's concealed hand even now, "oh, and me!"
"You're kidding!" The other girl said incredulously. "Are you serious? Eep! This will be so awesome!"
A small part of me – actually it was a rather large part of me – died inside as I saw the good-natured, casual manner in which the two interacted. It was as if… as if they had been friends for years. As if they had been best friends, in fact. As if they had gotten closer to each other than they had to anyone else… It was as if nothing had changed between them.
"Yeah! You should join the Glee Club, we have tons of friends in there, and you'll fit in really well!" Rachel's voice broached my thoughts.
"Oh, I missed you so much when you left after the summer of '08. It just wasn't really the same. I mean, come on, we were the duo among anyone we knew!" Nicole pouted a little, causing Rachel's eyes to twinkle in a way that made my throat contract in a mini-gag. "You can't have a duo with only one."
No dip, Sherlock. Where'd you learn that? Summer school?
This particular errant thought almost made its way out of my mouth. That couldn't happen. The distinction between my mind and my mouth was vast, but right now it shrank to almost nonexistent. No way could this happen. I was being vicious in my head. Very, very vicious, using all my HBIC powers directed at this pompous-ass girl that dared to come crawling back here.
"I thought you got together with Pablo?" Rachel asked. This time, I really could hear the painful tightness in her voice. The muscles in her jaw and temple clenched, and I'm betting she was gritting her teeth. Nicole waved her hand nonchalantly.
"We broke up after a few months. He cheated on me."
Rachel's face hardened, and she replied bitterly, "I wonder what that feels like."
After a few moments of awkward silence, she plastered on her happy-face again, and retracted her statement.
"Sorry about that. No use opening up old wounds, eh?"
"I guess. I'm really sorry about that, by the way."
Sorry? You're SORRY? Who the hell do you think you are, coming back here saying you're SORRY? How can that even come CLOSE to making up for what you did? What the fuck kind of jacked up sequence of events happened in your head to make you think "sorry" would make it all better? You're delusional!
Rachel's grip on my arm tightened considerably, although for my benefit or hers I was not sure.
"That was the cruelest thing I've ever done-"
"No shit," muttered Rachel.
"- and I'm not sure how to make up for it."
This time I really did successfully yank my arm away from Rachel. Her body and grip had pretty much grown limp anyway at Nicole's words. I gently pushed my girl to the side and held her there, both supporting her and keeping her in place. I also made sure to use as much power and authority as I could when talking to Nicole, so that my words would have maximum impact.
"Well, you can start by actually giving a decent apology. You know, maybe one that has a tad of, oh, I don't know, sincerity? And thoughtfulness? Ask some people who have actually made apologies before what you're supposed to do. But until then, quite acting like everything's fine when it's not." I spun away from the freckled girl, who was standing stock-still, much like Rachel had been, with confusion, guilt, and a bit fear in her eyes. I walked away without a backwards glance, half-dragging Rachel along with me. I'm pretty sure she waved a couple times behind my back, but I did not let her go until we got outside the doors to the mall.
"What happened to you in there?" I asked her in a brusque voice. Rachel looked down at the ground and shook her head.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do," I let out an exasperated sigh. "You basically laid down and let her walk all over you! How could you act like that, after everything she's done to you?"
"I- I don't know. It just seemed like… like I just couldn't be mad at her. I mean, it wasn't like it was her fault or anything-"
"Yes it was! It was completely and totally her fault! Rachel, she cheated on you." The brunette jerked back at the word, as if she had been slapped.
"But she had made a mist-"
"Yes! Yes, she made a mistake; but that does not excuse her for it. And neither you nor she can just go around acting like it never happened, because it did, and there's nothing you can do to undo that."
"But maybe if-"
"Rachel," I grasped her by the shoulders, and forced her to look at me. "You can't pretend that everything is fine. You just can't. Don't internalize. It will not turn out well. Look," I said, letting go of the diva and pinching the bridge of my nose, "if you really do want be friends with her, it's not like I can stop you. But, by God, she better have begged and scraped until she bled before you do so. You deserve so much better…" I muttered the last part, not sure if Rachel had heard me.
"Thank you," she said after a short silence. "I get that you really care. I really do. And I think some of my bitterness is coming back, so you don't have to worry too much about me."
I wasn't sure whether she was serious or making a joke. The small smile that played across her lips was as mysterious as the Mona Lisa. I shrugged and pulled the shorter girl into a side hug, leaving my arm around her shoulders as we walked to the car.
"Oh, wait!" Rachel cried, stopping in her tracks and almost making me fall down.
"What?" I asked exasperatedly. What in the world could have gotten into this girl's head now?
"We didn't buy anything!"
"You are not going back in there, under any circumstances." I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the car again. She glared at me.
"This is all your fault."
"My fault?" I gasped, placing a hand over my heart in a theatrical flourish. Rachel sniffed and turned away from me, ignoring my gaze, while getting into the passenger seat.
"Yes. If you hadn't discounted every single choice I made, we wouldn't have this issue."
I snickered and shook my head, sliding into the driver's side and starting the car.
"Whatever. They all sucked." I ignored Rachel's indignant gasp. "How about this! We'll go tomorrow with Kurt."
The other girl groaned and fell backwards into her seat, glancing up at the ceiling of the car.
"What did I ever do to deserve such overly-helpful friends?"
I grinned.
"Satan here, for all of your evil needs."
"Oh, believe me; I'm not letting you anywhere near my evil needs." I grinned.
"Aww man, I was looking for a way to tap that…"
"Yeah, you wish."
"Well, there are always my dreams. And memories of that party in the summer before sophomore year…"
"Whatever Santana. I was drunk. You can't hold that against me."
"If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" She sang over the phone.
"No. No I wouldn't. Anyways, I actually have something pretty serious to talk to you about."
"Oh? Do tell. What did the cat drag in this time?"
"Rachel's ex-girlfriend." I heard the sound of liquid being expelled rapidly from an orifice. I'm guessing that would've been a spit-take on Santana's end of the line. Spluttering came next, and the phone sounded like it was dropped a couple times. Finally, Santana got herself together and could speak.
"Fuck. Seriously?" I nodded rapidly, but realized she couldn't see me. Mental facepalm…
"Yeah. I met her today. Complete bitch." Well, actually…
"Really? Huh. Rachel doesn't seem like the type who would go after a bitchy girl. But then again, there's you…"
"Fuck you. But I digress. So, on second thought, I guess she's not really that bad. Actually, she's kind of nice. Her name is Nicole, and she's stunning," I spat out the word like it was poison. "Like, even Kurt would be able to tell you that she's pretty easy on the eyes."
"Whoa. When do I get to meet her?" A muffled "ow" came across the line, and some mumbling that sounded remarkably like Brittany floated through.
"Hey Britt."
"Oh, uh, hey Quinn. Hang on; I'm putting you on speaker." A variety of sounds suddenly infiltrated the line, and some faint "meow's" reached my ears. Ah, Lord T…
"So, again, when are we going to meet her?"
"Monday."
"No way. She's not… is she going to McKinley?"
"Unfortunately. As if my life wasn't bad as it was…"
"Bro, why you hatin' on this Nicole girl so much? Isn't that Rachel's job? Oh, how is my little hobbit reacting?"
"See, that's the thing. Rachel should hate her. But she doesn't. You should've seen it; it was like they were best buds all over again."
"Whoa whoa whoa back up. So are they friends, or what?"
"They were, like, best friends or some shit like that, and then they went out, and then Nicole cheated on Rach, and they haven't seen each other since."
"How's that work? Lima is so fucking tiny."
"Nicole lived in North Carolina. I think Rachel went there over a summer or something. It was the summer after eighth grade."
"That was the summer you moved here, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess it was. Why does that matter?"
"Nothing, just thought it was interesting. So, what, this girl moved here now?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"And now, lemme guess, Rach is trying to act like nothing happened, right?"
"Bingo."
"I like Bingo!" I laughed, as Brittany's random interjection immediately lightened my mood. "Can we play Bingo, San?" "Yes, we can play Bingo later. But right now let's listen to Q." "Oh, okay." "You never answered my question, Quinn. Why do you hate this girl so much?"
"I'm not entirely sure… I guess because she caused Rachel to have so many insecurities and issues with her self-esteem. Also, now she's scared to love anybody."
"Sound like anyone we know, Britt?" "Yeah! Qu- mmph ffgrh wmple gdge." "Overshare, darlin'."
"Having issues there, Santana?"
"Nuuuu. Nunya. So what do you want to do come Monday? Shall we slushy her, marking a new loser to throw in with the masses at McKinley?"
I sighed. I really, really wanted to do that. It would be one of the most satisfying things ever…
"No, we can't. Rach would hate us." Santana gasped in response.
"My hobbit would hate me? How ever would I be able to deal with such a travesty? Never in my life would I think that Rachel Berry would hate me!" Her overly-dramatic flair dripped with sarcasm, causing me to scowl.
"Oh, come on San. You would be bothered if Rachie started hating you." "Yeah, whatever."
I grinned in victory. In Santanaspeak, "Yeah, whatever" basically meant "I would cry and sob and eat so much ice cream if she hated me."
"I feel like a matchmaker! Of friends, of course."
"Don't get too cocky, Fabray. I can still kick your ass."
"Yeah right. We both know I could take you down in an instant."
"And I could break you both into itty-bitty smithereens with one finger, so shuddup." I laughed at Brittany's statement. So true.
"Again, you still didn't answer my question. What are you going to do on Monday?"
"I don't know. Maybe we could just ignore her and she'll go away…?" I said hopefully.
"Yeah, right. Poof and she's gone! Sorry to break it to you honey, but life don't work that way."
"Ugh I know. But what am I supposed to do? I'm hoping that Rachel won't give her the time of day, but there's no way that's going to happen."
"We're just going to have to try and protect our little munchkin as much as we can, aren't we? Come on, we are the three most powerful bitches at WMHS. I think we can take on one new girl."
"But no slushies."
"God, you take the fun out of everything."
"Oh, believe me, I would be the first to throw that first cup of death straight at her so-fucking-beautiful face. But we can't."
"Not even-"
"No. We have to be nice."
"How the hell will I be-" "You can be nice, so just let some of that out." "Gosh Britt, just shout out to the whole world that I'm this giant ball of mush, why dontcha?"
"Stop being snippy. And dramatic. It doesn't suit you."
"Whatever. I'm hanging up now." "You can't hang up on me." "I would never hang up on you…"
"D'awwwww…"
"GO AWAY FABRAY. Ooh, that rhymed!"
"Cough *dork* cough."
"I repeat: GO AWAY FABRAY. Toodles, see you tomorrow sometime. We best be hanging out tomorrow. Oh, and you can bring Berry if you want."
"See, you do like her!"
"I never denied it."
"Okay, bye."
"Geronimooooo-" The line went dead. I shook my head and smiled to myself at my friends' antics.
"Who's zat?" Rachel mumbled sleepily, sitting up on the other side of the couch and looking at me.
"Our two favorite Cheerios."
She grunted in acknowledgement and flopped back down, accidentally hitting her head on the table beside the arm rest.
"Owwwww…" She groaned, sitting up again with a hand held against her head.
"Serves you right," I said in a casual tone. "Who takes a nap on a Saturday anyway?"
"Me," She groaned again. "Who also needs an ice pack… Owwww…"
I relented and stood up, tucking my phone in my pocket. I went into the kitchen and grabbed one of the ever-present ice packs from the freezer and walked back into the living room. Rachel grabbed it and quickly put it on the top of her head.
"Ahhh…" She looked up at me with wide eyes. "I was dying, you know. You just saved my life."
I snorted and shook my head.
"Such a drama queen. I swear, the only good thing about you dating Jesse St. Jerkface was that you both had someone else who was just as dramatic."
"Oh really? So should I go find him again?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"God no. Did you not hear the 'only good thing about you dating him' part of that sentence? Or the 'Jerkface' part of it? Pretty much the only thing worse than you going back to him would be if you had done a few completely stupid and rash things, like marrying Finn or something equally idiotic."
We both burst into laughter. As if she would ever lose enough brain cells to marry Finn… I wonder what I would do if she did, though. Would I let them get married? Of course I wouldn't. No good friend would. Even if I had to be one of those random people who burst through the chapel doors and go "I object!", I would. Wait, but isn't that in courts that they say that? Huh…
"Quinn? Hellooooooo, anyone home?"
"Wha- yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."
"Care to share?"
"I'm glad you don't put up with idiots for long."
Rachel smirked and flipped her hair over her shoulder playfully.
"I'm just too awesome for them."
"Indeed."
The diva combed her fingers through an imaginary beard and did an impression of a pompous vizier.
"Indeeeeeed…"
A snort escaped my vocal cords. I held up my fingers to form a "W." The snark reminded me of a very special friend.
"Oh, do you want to hang out with San, Britt, and me tomorrow?"
"Sure," she said, although she instinctively flinched a bit. My mind flashed back in an instant to Leroy's story the night Rachel ran away. I think we've done pretty well, comparatively. "What time?"
I shrugged. "Sometime after we get up."
"No shit, really? Such skills of deductions I have never seen!" Her voice dripped of sarcasm, much like Santana's had. I'm starting to think that my friends are bad influences on each other…
"What? This is how we operate. We just text the other two – although usually it's B and S versus me – when we want to hang out."
Rachel looked appalled.
"How do you survive like that? Without plans?"
I shrugged again.
"These things elude me…" Rachel muttered.
Where did the weekend go?
All I remember are random snatches of conversation, laughter, sky and trees rushing by, and I think there was chocolate syrup everywhere at one point. Altogether, it was a pretty great weekend. It was productive, too. For once, Monday morning wasn't so bad.
I grinned wickedly as almost the entire student body gawked at Rachel and me as we walked down the hall. They had reason to, too. We looked pretty freaking amazing. After Rachel and I had hung out with S and B on Sunday, we met up with Kurt at the mall to help… rejuvenate Rachel. Luckily, this time at the mall we didn't run into any unwelcome visitors. Anyways, those hours of effort paid off, because Rachel was now officially the talk of the school.
"Ooh, wassup, chicas calientes?" Puckerman said, accompanied with a wolf-whistle, as he walked up behind us and putting an arm around each of us.
"Oh no, don't you go speaking Spanish too. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person I know that doesn't know how to speak Spanish." I pouted and looked to the side to catch Puck's broad grin.
"Nah, don't worry 'bout it. I don't have any interest in other languages. You don't have to speak to recognize this hotness when you see it." He motioned up and down his body, smirking. His head suddenly popped forward, and I looked backwards a little to see Rachel lowering her hand from where the back of Puck's head had been.
Yup, a pretty good Monday morning…
"Hey Rachel!"
…fuck my life. Look, Little Miss Perfect showed up!
"Hey Nicole! So how do you like McKinley so fa-" My elbow dug into Rachel's ribs, causing her breath to rush out of her lungs.
"Remember, she cheated," I hissed sideways into Rachel's ear. She tensed instantly and shut her mouth with a snap.
"Are you okay?" Nicole asked in a concerned voice. Surrreee, now ask if she's okay. Not when you broke her heart or anything.
"Is there something you needed?" YES! I was successful! She is now sufficiently hostile! Woohoo! Oh, shit, she's caving. But, I mean, who couldn't, with a face like that coming from Nicole? It's like kicking a puppy…
"I was just- I thought that we… But you said… I'm sorry, I get it, I'll just go."
"Wait!" I couldn't stop the word from slipping from my mouth. The girl stopped walking away and turned back towards me with a skeptical look.
"I thought you were the one that hated me…" She said in a cautious tone.
"I am. But I shouldn't hate you. Are you coming to Glee after school today? You should. We'll see you then. Bye." Once all the words in my brain were expelled from my mouth, I spun and walked away, with Rachel and Puck in tow.
AAH! What in the actual fuck is wrong with me? Why did I do that? I am an idiot. Now, officially, Quinn Fabray is a self-diagnosed IDIOT. Ugh. I hate me. I bet Rachel hates me too. Oh God, what if she actually does? I did just invite her cheating-slutbag-ex-girlfriend to the only place that she considers a safe haven. I am an idiot. Completely and utterly. Idiot. Fuck.
"Thanks."
I shook my head like a dog with water in its ears, and stared at Rachel in astonishment.
"Wait- what?"
"Thanks. For making an effort to be nice. I get that it was probably hard. I don't want to be mean, however much she may deserve it. So can we agree to be at least civil to her?"
"That seems… feasible."
"Good."
"Uhh… sorry to interrupt," Puck started, "but who was that?"
Rachel leaned up and whispered in the mohawked boy's ear for about 30 seconds.
"That little shitface!" He finally yelled. "I can't believe I thought she was hot!"
"Don't worry," I said without thinking much, "I thought she was hot too."
Awkward silence.
"Oh shit, I just said that!"
Cue explosive laughter from my two companions.
"It's not that funny…" I grumbled. Rachel shook her head and bent over laughing. Puck sobered up quickly though.
"Aww, Quinn, we're not laughing at you. We're laughing at a river in Egypt."
I gave him a 'dafuq?' look, and he acted like a comedian whose audience didn't get his joke.
"You know? A river in Egypt? The Nile? De-Nile? Denial?"
"Whatever," I said, walking away quickly with my face burning. Notgaynotgaynotgaynotgay, I repeated in my head for the billion-and-one-th time.
Denial!
I really could go all day, every day, without hearing your stupid, smug, sing-song voice in my head.
No you couldn't.
What was I saying about smug?
Fine. Be sullen by yourself. Don't fuck with that pesky thing called ATTRACTION.
I will, thank you.
…
Finally! Peace and quiet in my own head! It's kind of sad that I consider that strange…
"You okay?"
I spun around as Rachel touched me lightly on the arm.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just flipped out a bit."
"Oka-" She was interrupted by a whoop of appreciation from a familiar Latina..
"Holy fuck, Berry! Where've you been hiding that body?"
Rachel shrugged nonchalantly at Santana.
"I'm guessing it was somewhere underneath all of my animal sweaters and plaid skirts."
"No shit! Why the hell did you wear those anyway, given how freaking awesome you look?"
"At least I could say that people shunned me for how I dressed, and maybe not for my personality."
"I- uh… I'm sorry."
Rachel shrugged off the other girl's apology.
"Whatever. The past is the past."
"Still," Santana insisted, "I'm really sorry."
"Thanks."
"Hey Rachie!" An energetic blonde bounced towards us from the water fountain down the hall. "You look really pretty! Like, prettier than normal!"
Rachel and I grinned at our bubbly friend's interjection.
"Thanks, Britt. That means a lot to me."
"Yay! Quinn, you look great too!"
"Thanks, B," I said. "So what have you two lovely ladies been up to?"
Santana leaned over and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. A cavity in my chest ached for a moments, but I quickly squashed the feeling.
"Not much. Britt-Britt had a bit of a tussle with Lord Tub this morning. He's still smoking."
Rachel gasped at Santana's response. She leaned towards Brittany.
"Your cat," she dropped her voice to a hiss, "smokes?"
"Yes," Brittany said seriously, nodding. "He's going to need to go to rehab."
I reached over and grabbed the back of Rachel's tank top, dragging her back a little so that I could whisper in her ear.
"Rehab basically means that one of us keeps him at our house for a week. He doesn't actually smoke. I don't think."
"Oh," she murmured, nodding in understanding. She turned back to Brittany. "Well, I hope he gets better soon."
"Thanks."
The 5-minute warning bell signaled that we should part ways. With a few quick goodbyes, Rachel and I walked off towards my geometry class.
I watched with an open mouth as the students milling around us parted to leave a wide path for the brunette next to me. Usually, the crowd at this school would have pushed and shoved us until we were slightly battered, before releasing us into glorious open space. It's like in Finding Nemo, when Marlin and Dory fight through the jellyfish until being released into open water. But occasionally, for high ranking officials in the student body, the crowd will part, much like the Red Sea, to allow said officials to pass through unharmed. This has happened to me several times before, but only when I was on the Cheerios and at the height of my power. Also, whenever there is a group of people that move through the crowd without being touched, it is sometimes hard to figure out exactly whom the cleared way is for. However, those who have been at WMHS long enough know that the person in the center, the middle, the focal point of the group, is the center of attention, the most respected official, the ruler of the underlings – okay maybe that's a tad dramatic. And now, for the first time in my high school career, I was not the center when the crowd around me parted.
Rachel seemed completely oblivious to this huge jump in her social status, and simply walked down the hall as if it were any other day. As we got to my class, the 2 minute bell sounded. Where had the time gone? I suppose it was consumed by my musings about the social hierarchy of McKinley High…
Rachel gave me a quick hug and turned to sprint down the hall to the stairwell which led to her class. I stared at her retreating form with my jaw slightly slackened. God damn, I love Kurt for making her wear those jean shorts… AAH!
Notgaynotgaynotgaynotgay… I repeated my mantra as I walked into the class and slumped into my desk, rubbing my temples. How could I be tired before the day even started?
You're fighting a losing battle.
Shut up.
I walked into the choir room in a relatively good mood. The day had pretty much gone without event, and no huge drama had occurred; so all in all, everything was going fine.
Rachel swung our linked hands as we walked to our seats in the back risers, causing tingles of warmth to shoot up through my arm. Kurt turned in his seat and grinned at me, and I grinned back.
Brittana (my pet name for the two of 'em) walked into the room, and – wonder of wonders – actually separated from each other, upon a whisper from Santana, so that the Latina came to sit next to me, and Brittany sat on the other side of Rachel. Another grin crept to my face as I realized that Rachel was now bounded on both sides, to prevent any… unwelcome people from sitting next to her. Ha. Score one Fabray.
"Having fun there, Q?" Santana whispered in my ear.
"Well I'm allowed a smirk for victory, right?" I whispered back.
"And why, pray tell, are you victorious?"
"Our little munchkin is now protected from certain people, thanks to you."
"Ah, yes, and also you may notice that you are protected from certain people as well."
"Oh. Uh… that's… true."
"Naw, really?" She joked, her voice edging towards a normal level as the sarcasm oozed from between the words.
Speak of the devil; look who just walked in! And right behind her was our curly-haired epitome of knowledge, aka, Mr. Schue.
"Okay guys, how's everyone doing?"
Various murmurs of "Good," "Meh," and "Screw you" emanated from the group.
"Erm… well then. I do believe we have a special treat today, we have a new member who wishes to join us!"
The girl in question bounced to her feet and went to stand by the teacher. She waved casually, glancing in our direction in what seemed like an instinctive way.
"As you all know, every new member must audition to join Glee, even though everyone automatically gets in." He turned to Nicole. "Take it away!"
She picked up an electric guitar and slipped on the shoulder strap, mumbling something to the band.
She walked back to center stage.
She cleared her throat.
"Hi, I'm Nicole Goetz, and I'll be singing 'Don't Forget' by Demi Lovato." Her eyes flicked to Rachel, but returned in an instant to sweeping the entire group. She started plucking at a string on the guitar, forming a rhythm.
Did you forget
That I was even alive
Did you forget
Everything we ever had
Did you forget
Did you forget
About me?
This time, her gaze landed on Rachel and it stayed there.
Did you regret
Ever standing by side
Did you forget
What we were feeling inside
No one left
To forget
About us
But somewhere we went wrong
We were once so strong
Our love is like a song
You can't forget it
So now I guess
This is where we have to stand
Did you regret
Ever holding my hand
Never again
So don't forget
Don't forget
We had it all
We were just about to fall
Even more in love
Than we were before
I won't forget
I won't forget
About us
But somewhere we went wrong
We were once so strong
Our love is like a song
You can't forget it
The band took over the music at this point, and Nicole shrugged off the guitar, setting it to the side. She started dancing, and it was impossible to look away. She moved with grace and fluidity, and it… I can't even describe her dancing. There are a few people in this world who have complete control of their body, and can use it as they wish to draw in an audience by just watching, if they wish. This was one of those people.
Somewhere we went wrong
We were once so strong
Our love is like a song
You can't forget it
At all
The music slowed again, but Nicole kept dancing, slowing to a captivating glide.
And at last
All the pictures have been burned
All the past
Is just a lesson that we've learned
I won't forget
Please don't forget
Us
Somewhere we went wrong
Our love is like a song
But you won't sing along
You've forgotten
About
Us
Mr. Schue and the rest of the Glee club clapped enthusiastically. I numbly clapped along with them, watching as the blonde girl took her seat. God, why does it seems so freaking difficult to hate this girl! It's like, in my head I'm all like "RAWR, I squish your head," and then in real life it's all "Oh yeah, you should come to Glee Club and infiltrate my territory and sing stuff to Rachel and I don't mind at all because you dance really well and are pretty."
Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic. Just a tad. But not by much.
It really is driving me up the wall. Why can't I just pick one and stick with it? Either to hate this new girl, or to be nice to her. I really, really want to hate her. I don't have a problem hating other people! Ugh. This is probably why Rachel can't hate her. But she actually has a reason to hate her! Maybe, if I shut my eyes and wish really really hard, then I'll open them and Nicole will be gone. Okay, ready? One… two… please… three… oh crap. It didn't work. But it's not like I expected it to. Whoa, I think Mr. Schue is saying something. Should I listen? I probably should. Or else Rachel will say something later about it and I'll have no idea what she's talking about. Ooh, look bunny! Maybe he really does have hair elves… Good Lord, I've gone crazy. Okay, paying attention now.
"… and that song really tied in well with this week's assignment!" He turns to the white board and writes in big letters across it. Jeez, can't he work on his handwriting some? I mean, he's a teacher for Pete's sake. Shouldn't teachers' handwriting be at least legible? Ugh. Okay, what does that say? R… E… G… oh shit. I hate this.
"Regret!"
Some people groaned, some people just sighed, and still other people clapped excitedly. Can you guess which one I was? Can you guess which one Rachel was? I should hope so. Otherwise I've done a terrible job in narration. Aah! I'm narrating my life in my head! I've really gone crazy! Bananas! Bonkers! Round the bend! Ooh, bunny… Case in point.
"Oh, come on guys, regret is a good thing! Oh, actually," he set down the dry erase marker and came to stand in front of us with clasped hands, "you all know that Nationals is coming up," grave nods were exchanged throughout the group, "and we really need to get on the ball."
Naw, really? Well maybe if we had actually been preparing since a week or two after Regionals, like Vocal Adrenaline probably has been, rather than sitting around on our ASSES doing NOTHING, then we wouldn't have to cram like this! Look, I might not show that I care much about Glee, but I actually do. So there. And it drives me up the wall when Mr. Schue doesn't do diddly squat. I mean, he's nice and all, and I get that he has good intentions, but his lack of responsibility sometimes makes me go nuts.
"So I'm changing practice to every day of the week."
This time the entire group groaned. Not even Rachel and/or Kurt was excited.
"On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I know that a lot of you have sports practices, so we will meet in the morning. Not much, only a half hour, so you don't have to get up real early." He smiled as Puck rubbed up and down his mohawk in relief at the statement.
"So, actually, regret won't be this week's only assignment. Seeing as we are meeting twice as much, we're going to do two topics. The other one is going to be commitment. They go together, 'cause often you need to move on from regret to be able to commit to things in your life, got it?"
A few blank looks were still present. Mr. Schue turned around and shuffled through his leather man-purse (sorry, couldn't resist) and then pulled out some sheet music triumphantly. He looked around for someone with the right vocal range, I guess. His eyes lighted on Sam, and he smiled. He handed it to him, but Sam quickly looked nervous as he glanced over the sheet.
"Uhh, Mr. Schue? I don't think I can do this one. My voice doesn't go that low." He handed the paper back to our teacher. Will (it's weird calling him that. I'm not going to anymore) – Mr. Schue looked around the room and sighed. He pulled off his sweater and gave the sheet music to the band.
"Why does he even wear those things?" Santana whispered in my ear. I shrugged in response.
"I dunno. It makes him look like just another gay show choir director."
"I know, right?"
Mr. Schue started talking again, this time only wearing a t-shirt and not holding the sheet of paper anymore.
"Okay, so this is a song about both regret and commitment. Y'all ready?" Many of the singers raised their eyebrows, but leant back in their seats and crossed their arms in interested amusement.
The band started an intriguing melody line, and Mr. Schue started singing after a few beats. I can get why Sam said his voice doesn't go that low. Actually, I don't think any of the guys in Glee Club's voices go that low. Huh.
Man it's a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun
Well I hear you whisperin' the words
Melt everyone
But you stay
So cool
My mu equita
My Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa
You're my reason for reason
The step in my groove
And if you said
This life ain't good enough, I would give my world
To lift you up
I would change my life
To better suit your mood
'Cause you're so smooth
And it's just like the ocean
Under the moon
It's the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah
Gimme your heart
Make it real
Or else forget about it
Well I'll tell you one thing
If you leave it'd be a crying shame
In every breath in every word
I hear your name calling me
Out
Well out from the barrio
You hear my rhythm on the radio
You feel the turning of the world
So soft and slow
Turning you
Round, round, round
And if you said
This life ain't good enough, I would give my world
To lift you up
I would change my life
To better suit your mood
'Cause you're so smooth
Oh, and it's just like the ocean
Under the moon
It's the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah
Gimme your heart
Make it real
Or else forget about it
It's just like the ocean
Under the moon
It's the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth, yeah
Gimme your heart
Make it real
Or else forget about it
Or else forget about it
Or else forget about it
Oh, let's don't forget about it
Gimme me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it
Oh, let's don't forget about it
Let's don't forget about it, yeah
Oh, no, no
Let's don't forget about it
He finished with a flourish and we all applauded loudly. I suppose it is pretty fun when Mr. Schue performs. Granted, I hope he wouldn't desert us to go perform on Broadway or something. Gosh, no. That would suck. Like majorly suck. Wow, I sound kind of ditzy. Like that toast girl…
Walking in the hall…
Walking…
Walking…
Listening to the people around me…
Two girls are in front of me. They're walking really slowly, and it's driving me up the wall. I mean honestly, do these people think that they're the only fricking people in the world, and can take their own sweet time with whatever they're doing or wherever they're going? Jeez. So I'm stuck behind these two girls, and one is explaining something (although I could hardly call it explaining) to the other.
"So, like, this morninggg," she had that really annoying clueless-girl drawl that drove me up the wall, "I was, like, eating uhh… toast or whateverr, and then I had the… ummm… I had the note in my hand, you know? And then, I, like, this part is funny, I dropped the toast, and uhm- I know, right? I actually DROPPED the toast! It was so weird! So then, I, um, I picked the toast up, and- yeah I ate it. It was good toast. But then, I, like, I got butter, like, all over the note. So it was, like, covered in butter. So then, I left the note on the, um, what is it called? Oh yeah, the counter! I left the note on the counterr, so, like, that's why I don't have it or whateverr. Ya know?"
"Ohmigosh, really?" Ditz #2 responded.
"Yeah. Like, seriously."
OH MY GOD, I can feel my IQ, "like", DROPPING as I listen. Needless to say, I was glad when I got to my class.
So, like, yeahh, that's the toast girl. NO. NO I AM NOT GOING TO SOUND LIKE HER NOW. That happens every single time I tell that story. Afterwards, I talk like her for, like, the next 15 minutes. Oh God, it's happening again. NUUUU! Dude, I'm weird in my head. Hehe. I said dude. Don't you hate when teenage boys will call each other "brah"? It's like, I am offended by that, thank you very much. I am REALLY weird in my head. Okay, focusing back on real life now.
"You guys can do one song from either regret or commitment, or you can do one of each, or maybe even neither! But if you don't do a song, make sure you're practicing for Regionals still, okay guys?"
"Yeah sure," I murmured like the people around me. Sure, they have it easy. I'm living with Rachel Freaking Berry, of course I'm going to be practicing for Regionals.
"All right! You're free to go!"
Everyone got up to leave, puttering around for a few minutes in the hall. Rachel decided to get a few things out of her locker while I stopped by the bathroom.
What I did not expect to see when I came out, however, was Nicole standing at Rachel's locker as well. And I definitely not expect them to be standing within a few inches of each other, talking in low voices. The dark-blonde girl's hand slowly reached up and gently stroked Rachel's arm, and I saw my diva turn pink. The beast in my chest roared again. I strode forward and leaned against the locker right behind Rachel, placing a protective hand on her hip.
"Hey, Rach," I glared at the other girl over the brunette's head, "Goetz."
I was reminded of a statement I made a couple years ago…
"Hey Finn," Glaring at Rachel, "RuPaul."
Anyways. Woohoo memory lane!
"Whatcha talkin' about?"
"Oh, nothing," Rachel replied, shifting to press her back against my front. The beast inside me purred. "Nicole was apologizing."
I grunted noncommittally. Jesus, I'm turning into Finn Man-Child.
You know, most people would think that I wouldn't use expressions like that; like OMG, Jesus, or Christ, etc. but I'm actually not that strict of a Christian. The Commandment that says to not use the Lord's name in vain really doesn't mean that anyway. That's just taking the wording literally, and that was thousands of years ago. It really just means to not disrespect God.
"So are you ready to go?" I asked, trying to get Rachel away from this threatening individual. Target acquired. Weapons loaded. Ready to fire. Any second now…
"Yeah sure," Victory! "Nic, you want to walk out with us?" Aww shit. I glowered at the other girl, daring her to say yes.
"Umm are you sure that your girlfriend won't kill me?"
Rachel and I both started spluttering and stammering over our words.
"Oh, I'm not-"
"She's not-"
"We're not-"
"We're just friends," we finally managed to get out collectively. Nicole arched an eyebrow at us. Nuh-uh, that was my trademark smirk. No way does she get to come in here and steal my girl and my eyebrow-raise. That facial expression was passed down for generations through my family, thank you very much! Oh, shit, I just called Rachel "my girl." And after we both got flustered over me being called her girlfriend… Shit.
"O-kayy… Are you sure?" Nicole asked, still not sure. She seemed to think that I was going to bite her or something. Which I might. You never know. It depends on how much she pisses me off.
"Yeah, just friends. So come walk out with us," I said, making an effort to be nice. I had to resist the urge to slap myself. HOW CAN I BE NICE? Grr.
All my anger melted away when Rachel's hand slipped into mine and she turned to pull me towards the doors. The anger returned, though, when I saw that her other hand was being held too. Argh.
Going. To. Rip. Off. Her. Fucking. Perfect. Ex. Girlfriend's. Head. Someday.
I was distracted this time from my anger as we walked out the back doors of the school, as it was the closest entrance. A group of girls in red and white skirts encircled one of the dumpsters, and a disheveled blonde one was standing in the middle facing them all.
"Come on girls, you can't do this! I am your captain! I am head cheerleader, Sue said so! You can't do this to me! You will all pay for thi-" She was cut off my two of the Cheerios grabbing her by the waist and throwing her in the dumpster. I smirked.
And now Lauren knows what it's like to fall from the top of the pyramid. Serves her right.
The warm hand slipped from mine, and Rachel stepped forward towards the group of cheerleaders.
"All right you lot! Scram!"
I raised an eyebrow at her strange diction, but shrugged it off as Rachel being Rachel. Surprisingly enough though, the cheerleaders actually did disperse; although they threw venomous glares at the angry-looking diva, who was now standing where the middle of the group had been, with her hands on her hips. I suppose she really had gained power in the past couple weeks.
This next part was really shocking though.
Rachel walked over to the dumpster and vaulted herself up by the edge, finding a foothold on the handle which was midways up the side of the metal container. Having found her balance, she then reached a hand into the dumpster to help Lauren get out. Oh, crap, she shouldn't have done that…
I ran forward, expecting the worst, but nothing bad happened physically to Rachel. Lauren sat up and shoved Rachel's hand away, hopping over the edge of the dumpster herself. The blonde cheerleader looked at herself in disgust at the stains from the trash, before turning to Rachel, who had dropped to the ground again. The brunette stepped forward in concern, but Lauren shoved her away again.
"Get off me, Manhands! I don't need your filth getting on me along with this shit from the garbage, even though it's probably the same."
I strode towards her and brought my hand up, bringing it at her face at the same time that another hand connected with Lauren's other cheek. Nicole and I both started spitting threats in the cheerleader's face, and we ended up interrupting each other.
"How da-"
"If yo-"
Nicole motioned for me to go first. I nodded grimly and grabbed a fistful of the cheerleader's hair, turning all my attention back on her.
"Don't you dare say anything like that ever again, do you hear me?" I jerked her hair back to emphasize my point. "Ever."
Nicole stepped forward and got in Lauren's face. I grinned and kept the cheerleader's hair pulled tightly and hopefully uncomfortably back.
"If you do ever say something like that to Rachel again, I. Will. Cut you. And don't think I won't," She said, lowering her voice dangerously low. I shivered a little. I bet she does keeps knives around. Scarrrryyy gurll. But effective, as Lauren just turned white as a sheet. Not like she wasn't pretty white anyway.
I let go of her hair and she fell backwards to the ground. Nicole and I turned in unison and walked back to Rachel, who had been staring at us.
"You okay?" I asked in a concerned voice.
"Rachel?" Nicole asked in the same concerned voice.
"You didn't let what she said get to you, did you?"
"Rachel, honey, talk to me."
"Oh God, she's broken."
"Crap, now I'm going to have to go cut that girl."
"I'll hold her down."
"Maybe we can knock her out first…"
"Holy shit…" Rachel's soft voice brought both of us to immediate attention.
"Yeah?"
"What happened, darlin'?"
The brunette squinted one eye and widened the other in a comical expression of befuddlement and shock.
"You two are scary…"
I chuckled and Nicole smirked. I suppose we do have something in common, then. I leaned over and kissed the top of Rachel's head.
"Yeah, we are kind of scary."
"Just a tad," the other blonde added with a smile and a squeeze of Rachel's hand.
Okay, maybe she isn't that bad.
The beast roared again.
Wait, yes she is.
No she isn't.
Yes she is.
Aah!
"Hey, Nic, you want to come over?"
Of course Rachel had to go and ask that. Now what am I supposed to think?
"Yeah, sure!"
Fuck.
I rocked back and forth in the secret closet I had found, my head thumping against the wall again.
IdontcareIdontcareIdontcareI dontcare
It became my new mantra, and I repeated it over and over in my head, hoping that it would eventually come to fruition. No such luck. I still had to fight back the tears. Soon, my fight turned into a losing battle, and I just let the salty water cascade down from my eyes.
She kissed her.
Actually, I'm not sure which one kissed the other.
Does it matter?
No, it really doesn't.
Well, it kind of does.
But not right now.
Right now I'm not being rational.
Right now logic makes no sense to me.
All I know is that she kissed her.
And there's nothing I can do about it.
The tears fell again.
"Quinn? What are you doing in our hall closet?"
The bright light stung my eyes as Rachel's form stood outlined where the folding closet door had been. I cleared my throat and wiped my eyes on the back of my hand. Good thing I didn't use mascara today. Rachel offered me a hand, and I stood up.
"Have you been crying? What happened?"
I shook my head and waved my hands, fanning my face a bit.
"Nothing, nothing. I just get… weepy, you know? All the pent up emotion. From… my parents. And stuff. It happens. Don't pay any attention to me."
"A-are you sure?"
"Yeah." I said, resuming my brisk exterior and stepping out of the closet, shutting the door behind me. "Where's your friend?" I spat out the word as if it were venom on my tongue and looked at the ground, which had suddenly become very interesting.
"Uh… She left. She- erm – she kissed me. And then I slapped her," My head jerked up. "And she left."
"Wait, you slapped her?"
Rachel gave me a quizzical look.
"Did you miss the part where she kissed me?"
"Oh, uh," I looked down at the floor again, as it had become really interesting once again. "I kind of already… knew… that… part… kinda…"
"You knew what?"
"Yeah… I saw you guys… When I came back from getting water… So I already knew…"
"Oh," she paused. "Did that have anything to do with why you were crying?"
"No! No, I mean, of course not, why would it? It was just me being mood-swingy teenager, you know, absolutely no correspondence with what goes on in your life, I mean that's your business anyway." I apparently rush out words when I get flustered. Yeah, I was doing that now.
"Oh. Okay."
Awkward silence for a moment. Rachel broke it.
"Well, I'm hungry. Come help me get food." She stood up from where she was leaning against the armrest of the nearest chair. She grabbed my hand and pulled me, but I playfully wouldn't budge.
"But what if I don't want to?" I teased.
"But you neeeed to…" She whined. I smirked.
"Nope, I don't think I need to."
"But you neeeeeeeeedd to!" She insisted. My smirk grew wider.
"Nuh-uh. I think you'll have to carry me."
A devilish grin spread across her face. Oh crap, I shouldn't have suggested that. She rushed forward and grabbed me around the waist, lifting me about 6 inches off the ground and running with me towards the kitchen.
"RACHEL BERRY YOU PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"
Goodness, she's strong for someone so short!
She set me down with a short huff on the Berry tiled kitchen floor. I pretended to look dignified and dusted myself off, as if I HADN'T just been carried a good 40 feet by a midget diva who talks too much. I then moved on to my next point of business: glaring at the offending character.
"What?" She shrugged. "You wouldn't cooperate."
I tried to stay annoyed. I really did! But however much I tried to prevent it, a smile crept across my face, and it turned into a grin. I ran up behind Rachel and wrapped both arms around her in a bear hug.
She was still mine for now.
A/N: Heyy guys so I know it's been a little longer than usual for this update, but it's also a bit longer than usual. :D Just a tiny bit. So I hope you guys can tell me what you think about this! It actually wasn't what I expected this branch of the story to turn out like, but the words just kind of went together and the story moved in a way that my brain hadn't comprehended. So whatevs. If you're unhappy with the chap, just tell me, I guess. Or not. It don't matta. Anyways, there are probably random spots in this chapter cuz I wrote it throughout the week rather than sitting down for 6 hours at a time and cranking one out like I usually do. Also, the thing with the toast actually happened to me. Not like I was the toast girl, but like I heard that conversation in the hall one day. I nearly went brain dead. Umm so yeah just pleasseee give me feedback! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, I get that it was kind of hard to because I had posted an author's note before and then removed it and the review thing got all jacked up. But thanks! R&R plzzz! Peace out. :)
PS: The songs were Don't Forget by Demi Lovato (obviously), and Smooth by Santana (no, not the one that we know and love as a snarky lesbian BAMF; there's a band, too)
PPS: Please tell me what you think of Nicole. Please. Pleaaaaasssseeee. Maybe if you guys are interested I'll tell you why. :j