Just a quick note for the content and context; I did some research on American schooling systems, but just so I'm not completely confused I'm going to pretend that the schooling system is exactly the same as the British one. So, kids break up for summer vacation in July and go back in September. Merci! :)
Chapter Thirty Six
Fighting a Loosing Battle
Being half way through April, everyone was stressing. The senior's finals were coming up in less than a month and they had been frantically applying for colleges and awaiting feedback. Even though she had been going through a lot, Rachel had still managed to apply to all of her colleges early; NYADA and even the ambitious Juliard. Why not? Even though Miss Pilsbury had told her that it was nearly impossible for people to get in there, she thought that she had just as good a chance as anyone else. And, to help further her progress of changing and focusing less on her issues, Quinn had helped Rachel with her audition tapes.
Of course she had belted out a few unbelievably brilliant ballads and songs from her life line Broadway. Quinn suggested jazzing it up a bit and throwing in 'Get It Right' just to prove just how committed she is to her singing, and is even thinking of composing her own songs. She may have been biased, but Quinn thought she had never heard a more beautiful sound in her life and her eyes were brimming with proud, love filled, adoring tears.
No one was able to escape the stress of the pending examinations. Everyone was stressing and the stress was rising. Luckily for Artie and Tina, they still had another year of Mckinley and so had offered their services to their friends to help them study. Mike was overly grateful; still applying for medicine but also for dance colleges, and was thrilled that his girlfriend was willing to cut back on her own end of year exam finals studying to help him.
For Quinn, she wasn't just stressing about her finals. Heck, she was on the honour role! She knew that she could handle the pressure of the end of year finals that decided her future for her and if she didn't do well in them she wouldn't be joining Rachel in New York and she wouldn't be able to attend her dream university; NYU. Then she would probably, most likely be stuck in the cow town of Lima, in the farmyard state of Ohio and might as well make an application form for 'Sheets and Things'. Okay. Maybe she was stressing a little. After all, these were important. But, what she was stressing about more, if it was possible, was of course the ever prolonging fear of her father returning to finish off what he started.
Since their talk, Quinn had been looking out for Rachel but in a much more romantic and girlfriendish way. She would text her every night, even when they were together (which was only really at the weekends as Rachel still had her crazy routine) and texted her in the morning. She would pull out her chair for her in the classes they shared and kiss the top of her head before sitting down herself, give her a hug and an excited squeal if (when) she got the right answer and even brought her lunch. Sneaking away to go and pay the delivery boy from the only vegan friendly deli in Lima and surprise her girlfriend. However, she would always make sure either Puck or Santana were near by if she – for some reason like a class – couldn't be joined to her by her hand.
With the talk, she had learned that she had to have help once in a while. Rachel had pointed it out to her – in song of course – that she couldn't do everything herself and that, occasionally, she had to let her friends help her out. Grateful with the advice, she had enrolled Puck and Santana as Rachel's official bodyguards. Her father wouldn't be stupid enough to come to the school to hurt either of them, but still, Quinn couldn't take the chance. That was another lesson she had learned; chances are daring and it may not be as fun, but staying safe is the best way to win at the game of life.
Monday, the beginning of Glee and Quinn had been a ball of nerves all day. No, a boulder of nerves. A complete avalanche of nerves was raining down on her and she couldn't keep still. It could have just been that she had an impromptu American Politics test to prepare for and she really couldn't be bothered with it, wishing she could just wait until the actual exam. As she and Rachel waited for everyone else to arrive – namely Mr Schue, Santana and Brittany – her fingers were fumbling with the pages of the book she was pretending to read to keep her occupied, her lip was being gnawed by her teeth and her eyes were shifting around the room. A constant rhythm of her bouncing foot was keeping her bubbling nerves company. Rachel was sat with her, frowning in concern.
The tiny brunette leaned in, abandoning her own distractions in the form of new sheet music, and placed her hand on the blonde's knee, trying to keep her still. Whispering softly; "Are you okay?" At the sound of her girlfriend's melodic voice, Quinn's knee ceased its movement and she turned her head to look at her. Smiling with bright eyes she told her, "Just nervous." As soon as her own words left her mouth, her knee began bobbing once again and Rachel asked her, "About what?" Just as she was about to tell Rachel all about the test their teacher had sprung on them and then go into a full blown rant about how she still wished there was more she could do to find her father; how he had been playing on her mind for most of the day, and that she really wasn't in the mood to sing, when Finn came into the room, followed by Puck.
Seeing them enter, Quinn shot up out of her seat, leaving her copy of 'The Colour of Purple' on the floor and rushed over to them. Neither boy had time to speak, or even breathe before they were knocked over by Quinn's question; "Have you found my dad yet?" After her speech about finding her dad, and informing her friends about her plan, she was sure that these two would know something. Puck was the best at this stuff. Kurt and Mercedes were the King and Queen of gossip, but Puck knew stuff about bad people. Like he had a sixth sense and she was desperate to know if they had any leads. She'd been so busy trying to please Rachel and make everything up to her, she hadn't made an effort to ask about the boys' quest. Still, now she was asking and she stood in front of them without leaving much room for them to move and demanded to know an answer.
Both boys looked at her and then at each other with mushed eyebrows, thinking about the question and silently asking if they should tell her the truth or not. Both boys had seen 'angry Quinn' and neither wanted to unleashed the blonde beast. Ultimately it was up to Finn to tell her what had happened. Or, lack of happenings. "Er no." He sort of groaned, rubbing his hand on the back of his sweaty neck and not looking at her. "Not yet but we're looking." He mumbled, but with the enthusiasm of a Labrador. Puck turned to her and flashed her his smile that he was sure made all the girls swoon. "Yeah don't worry about it Baby Momma, we're looking." He then averted his eyes away from her a little as he mumbled, shrugging; "You know when we have the time."
"Time?" Quinn snapped, confused at the question.
Both boys looked at her and then at each other, this time with slitted eyes, as if pained to tell her why they only looked for her dad when they had time. Finn, again, took charge of giving an answer by looking at her and alternating hands on the back of his neck. "Yeah, you know..." He trailed off and looked over to Puck to help him out. Huffing slightly, the Mohawked man looked at Quinn and shrugged, with slight exasperation he argued; "We're not the police, Quinn." To which Quinn began to growl and stepped closer – somehow – and poked her finger in his chest. Glaring into his eyes whilst maintaining her frightened expression, of what could happen, accusing; "You've had three months!" Taking her pointed finger off and out of his chest, he continued, raising his hands slightly. His ex-girlfriend could be very scary at times. "We're at school all day and then football and-"
"I don't care about your excuses Puck!" Quinn shouted, with a piercing tone of desperation, causing Rachel to stand up from her seat and the other members of the club to look her way.
Finn and Puck were knocked backwards, stumbling with the sheer force of her voice. Her eyebrows were wavy and her eyes were wide. A line of worry was worn across across her forehead and her head was tilted upwards to stare at both boys, eyes shaking from boy to boy. Her front teeth clenched and her chest rising and falling quickly. The need to get things moving becoming more than a need and more of a necessity. With an expression of confusion, Finn stared down at her and stuttered; "Wh..what?" He tried to hold her gaze, but faltered as she licked her lips and blinked; a warning sign of her loosening up her tension, but only so she could yell. True to her form, Quinn squared her shoulders and stuck her finger at him. "Look," she sort of snarled with gripping teeth harder together and bearing them like a wolf, "My jackass of a father is out there somewhere, plotting to hurt us again and I will not rest until he is found and put behind bars or killed!"
Her voice had raised. At the rising volume, Mike and Sam had come over to try and calm her down, with Rachel leading them. She had snaked her arm around her small, toned waist and held onto her tightly, rubbing circles into her skin with her thumb. Puck held his hands up in defence and argued back just what he was thinking. "Whoa look we're not going to kill him!" He almost shouted back, Finn trying to step around the blonde girl and instructing for his friend to follow. With the intentions of calming her down, had shouted at her and the sound resounded around the room. It didn't, have the desired effect as she clenched her hands together in a fist. "Then just find him so I can!" She shouted, trying to get up in his face.
The tears were beginning to rise in her eyes and Rachel held tighter onto her girlfriend, putting her other arm around her and squeezing her shoulder, balancing on her tiptoes to get closer to her girlfriend's ear. She spoke softly, to try and coax her out of her rising panicking rage; "Quinn-" But the blonde whipped her head down to Rachel's face and looked in her eyes; all the desperation still there. "No Rachel, I mean it." Choking out the words she told her, keeping her eyes on her girlfriend's brown pools of love. The brunette shook her head at her, "No you-", but was interrupted by Quinn yet again. Shaking her head again and holding onto Rachel's hand, the blonde sighed with frustration at why no one else was taking this matter seriously. "Yes I do." She groaned, shrugging Rachel off of her so she could run her hand through her own hair and grasp at the blonde strands. Her body had turned away from her small girlfriend as she strained her eyes up at the ceiling. Her throat was hiccuping and her muscles twitching but she calmed herself down. Her hand was still in Rachel's and she brought herself back to her girl with a heavy, tired sigh. "I do not want him harassing us any more." She told her, voice shaking slightly and biting her lips. Rachel stepped closer to her girlfriend and placed her free hand on Quinn's cheek, staring up into tear sparkling eyes. "He won't Quinn," she softly whispered. "He..he won't."
Staring into each others eyes, the two girls remain looking at each other; Rachel stroking her thumb on Quinn's face and slowly moving her face to Quinn's. As if they were in their own little private bubble, their eyes were making a connection that everyone else in the room could see, but no one else could be a part of. It was their own little electric bond; the Faberry Bond they called it. It was a stream of currents that only they could feel, connecting them and sharing their thoughts and feelings without needing to speak. All words were spoken through their eyes; the eyes are the windows of their souls. That's what Rachel had told Quinn and at that moment, Quinn could really believe it. They'd shared a few moments like this before, but nothing as strong and not in front of other people. As the connection grew fainter, Quinn nuzzled her cheek into the warm, comforting palm of her girlfriend, trying to keep the connection prolonged. Twitching the corner of her mouth upwards, Rachel stepped closer to Quinn, like she was sliding on a cloud, and allowed Quinn to hold her around her waist. Bringing their bodies closer for the remaining seconds of their private, special, loving connection.
Feeling Rachel's chest and stomach rise and fall on her own with her breathing, Quinn closed her eyes. Knowing that the connection was still strong without looking into her eyes, she felt like she was denying their love by seeing the darkness of her eyelids. The tears she had been holding back flowed gently down her cheeks, like raindrops on leaves and Rachel stroked them away by reaction. Gently, the two of them swayed in the middle of the room, revelling in their comfort and warmth, ultimately their love for one another. Only being interrupted by Mr Schuester walking in and clapping his hands, signalling he had a brilliant idea.
At the end of Glee Club, it was apparent that neither girl had lost any form of contact with the other. Their hands were joined together, laced by their fingers, as they stood next to each other at the piano for their warm up and purposely made their arms brush against each other during the dances. As they sang, they made sure to sing to each other. During Rachel's solo, she kept glancing at Quinn and smiling at her. Throughout the rehearsal, their connection was burning strong, waiting to be reignited with a full blast as they got connected again.
Once the bell rang and Mr Schuester allowed them all to go, Rachel shuffled over to Quinn as she packed up her bag. Although she had been trying to focus on her singing and looking to Quinn for guidance and direction, she couldn't help but think of what Quinn had said during their invisible connection.
Holding her backpack on her bag, she bit onto her lip momentarily, composing herself, and worried her eyebrows. It was if the roles were reversed. Where before Rachel was worried about the possible return of Russell to do harm against her and Quinn, it was now Quinn who was holding that worry more closely. Not to say Rachel herself wasn't worried, of course she was. She still had the nightmares and looked behind her as she walked, in case someone was following her or watching her, waiting to strike like a jaguar, but she felt she was handling the precautions of what had happened to her well. She thought whenever Quinn got angry or upset about it, it was for her benefit. A form of sympathy. Now it was clear she was still holding the guilt of what happened to her and was fearing just as much as her.
"You don't really think your dad will hurt us again do you?" She asked, holding her hands together in front of her, with a timid voice. Quinn looked up, her blonde hair flaying in her face for a moment and then settling perfectly. She saw Rachel's apprehension in her eyes and could see she was fighting back the urge to bite her lip; as sign that always told her she was scared. Quinn didn't want to admit it. She wanted to tell her that everything would be okay. That she would be okay. That they would be okay. However, as soon as she saw those eyes staring back at her, she was lost to the power of deception. "I wouldn't put it past him." She told her, "He's psychotic." With a slight bite she told her and watched as Rachel's bottom lip was sucked in and held down by her teeth. Her eyebrows furrowing the fiddling of her fingers become more fluid with worry. "Quinn?" She squeaked with a slight whisper.
Upon hearing her frightened voice Quinn straightened herself up. "Don't worry Rachel, I'm here." Taking hold of her hands, she brought the girl down onto her lap and held her, shrugging the backpack off of her. Holding her closely to her chest. "I know." Rachel whined, resting herself further into Quinn and wrapping her arms around her long neck. To make herself comfortable and also to just be closer to her, Rachel rested her cheek in the crook of Quinn's neck and mumbled into the skin. "I just wish none of this would have ever happened." It was quiet, and sounded almost tearful and Quinn squeezed her eyes shut at the thought of Rachel crying. Again. "I know." She sighed softly, and beginning to rock her slightly. "But, maybe all of this is just a test."
It was an answer otherwise that would have made her shiver with thoughts of her past. Anything thing bible related just brought back memories of her father brandishing the ancient book and hearing the verses and lines read to her, shouted at her, screamed in her ear until they were embedded within her brain. Like a scar. Still, this was one of those rare times where she didn't just hear the ferocious voice of her father barking at her like a pack of rabid dogs. Instead she heard the kind, real fatherly voice of Mercedes' Pastor at church. When he had talked to her after she cried during a sermon and had given her the parental love and affection she craved the moment her own parents were privy to knowledge that she was pregnant. Now, those words didn't sound so bad. So damaging. If anything, just by telling Rachel that sometimes pathetic line, she heard and felt the connotations of Pastor Gregory, and saw the beaming face of Mercedes. Making her decide that she was going to reach out to the soul diva once again, only out of thankful and grateful friendship.
With her face still buried in Quinn's cardigan covered neck, she muttered lie a child after sniffling and crying over something; "A test to prove how much we love each other?" A smile was brought onto Quinn's face and she kissed Rachel's temple, whispering to her; "Exactly." Feeling a strange sense of pride. Again, those motherly instincts kicking in. Just as Quinn was about to hold Rachel tighter, the small diva sat up abruptly and looked Quinn straight in the eye, as if suddenly waking up and having several shots of espresso, holding herself back to look at her completely. "Well I hope we're going to pass." She said with a little huff that made her bangs float up slightly, and Quinn began to laugh. Her whole body shaking as she giggled; "With flying colours!" Rachel began to smile too and her fingers began to stroke the light hairs on the back of Quinn's neck, asking her in the same slightly childish voice; "You think?" The blonde stopped laughing shortly and then brought Rachel forward again, kissing her nose. "I know." She told her quietly but sincerely.
Again, the two girls held each other and tried to communicate through their new found telepathy. However, judging by the little smile on Quinn's face, they both felt it would be more beneficial if they actually spoke to each other. Tapping her thigh, Quinn tried to get Rachel up and said to her; "Come on, let me take care of you you're looking a little peaky." They stood up and brushed themselves down as Rachel told her, "It's just worry." As Rachel started getting her backpack on her back, Quinn took hold of Rachel by her waist and rested her forehead on hers. "Talk to me." She whispered, raising her eyebrows slightly but Rachel shook her head slowly as she held onto Quinn's elbows. "Not here. At home." She whispered, smiling back, looking a little more tired than worried, but still her eyes were glossing with that constant fear they both felt. "In bed?" Quinn smirked, trying to lighten the mood by suggesting cuddling. Cuddles and talks was her favourite joint activity and by the way Rachel giggled and blushed, she knew it was her favourite too. "Under the covers?" She asked, trying to do her own smirk, but failing as she had to bit her lip. Quinn cupped Rachel's cheeks with her hands and whispered back to her, "Sounds like the best place in the world." With an added blush, Rachel raised her chin slightly and kept a light smile on her face, telling her in all honesty and with as much love as she could project to her, "Only with you it is," before pressing her lips softly against Quinn's.
That night, because of the guilt he felt after being yelled at by Quinn, Puck instructed Finn to accompany him in talking to someone he thought might know where her dad was. Well, he had remembered the time he went over to Quinn's and had a look at her dad's iPhone he had somehow left at home that day, and read the contacts list. Although the man had awful lot, he had a lot of categories that he put them under. One of those lists just so happened to be 'Close Acquaintances' which, in Puck language, translated as 'Friends'. He had, of course, copied the names and numbers down so he could later on either prank call them, or go to their fancy houses and mansions for Halloween and demand candy, and even money. Now was the perfect opportunity to go through that list and see if anyone on it would possibly know where the infamous Mr Fabray was hiding.
Not even midnight and Finn, of course, was being a wuss. It wasn't that cold and it wasn't really that dark. But the boy was scared and being irritating. He'd been wary of the plan all along, and didn't really think anyone would be foolish enough to go through with the ex head cheerleader's proposal. "Dude I don't know-" He began to complain, hands in pockets and looking around like a scared little boy, before Puck hit him on the chest and told him to suck it up in his, surprisingly, leaderish voice. "We gotta try, Finn." He argued, harshly as they walked down the quiet street.
"Yeah I know but shouldn't we leave this kind of stuff to the police?" Her argued back as they turned a corner. All the houses, although big and expensive, looked completely different and in the light is was hard to see what the numbers. Puck shrugged and dug his hands further into his jacket pockets, wishing he had brought some sort of weapon to threaten the guy with. Nothing dangerous. A bat maybe? Or maybe he'd just show him is muscles. He shook his head, and realised it was probably a good idea he didn't have one. "The cops aren't doing enough!" He fought back, a flash of Quinn's angry eyes running through his head. "But Quinn's dad is dangerous!" Finn panicked at the thought of coming into contact with him. The memory was still fresh in him mind of the night where he kicked Quinn out for being pregnant. No wonder she was scared of him. He was terrified. Again, Puck shrugged and hit his tall friend on the chest, again to make him stop being such a baby. "Yeah, so's Santana when you tell her she looks fat, but I'm not afraid of her either."
Finn thought about. Santana could be scary. So could Quinn. Puck could be scary too, as could almost every other guy on the football team. But still, they were teenagers. This man was grown up. A guy with a house and a car and a job and a family...a real adult! He wasn't just scary for show purposes: he was scary! Still wary of the plan, Finn shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his large feet for a moment. "Still...this guy could be dangerous. Like really dangerous." The boys stopped momentarily for Puck to answer him with a cool flare to his voice and a calming easy feel to it, like it was the most easiest thing in the world. "Finn, I've seen him. He's an old man."
"Yeah but he's rich." The giant boy argued back again, which this time confused Puck. So what is he was rich? On seeing his friend's confusion, Finn explained; "He could have like three hundred tonne bodyguards or something."
This time Puck didn't want to let Finn continue and so he decided to go with a new tactic. Stopping just outside the man's house, he folded his arms. "Look, Finn, you love Rachel right?" He asked with an 'as matter of fact' tone, which caught Finn off guard. "What?" He asked, looking around in case anyone heard him and with the facial expression of a boy caught eating all the cookies hos mom just baked. Puck rolled his eyes at him; "Oh come on man, I've seen the way you look at her. You drool every time she opens her mouth, to sing or speak!"
"That doesn't mean I love her!" The blushing boy argued, eyes shifting, a clear give away that what Puck was saying was true. Again, Puck shook his head nonchalantly, trying not to care about Finn's clear denial. "Yeah, okay. Whatever." He then continued to convince his friend to help their own friends.
Stepping closer to Finn and lowered his voice, initiating a man to man heart to heart. "Listen, dude, Quinn is my baby mama. She is the mother of my daughter and, we might not be together any more, but I love her and Rachel...she's my Jewbro!" He exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders and then brushing off his badass attitude to go back tot he touching heart to heart moment. This was a rare occurrence for Puck, so Finn knew he had better listen up. "I may not have Beth, but I need to protect both my girls I do have left." His friend nodded his head slowly, taking in the words of his best friend. Both girls did hold a special place in his heart. Quinn was his first girlfriend and Rachel was Rachel; the girl who was slowly getting over. The girl who was sweet and kind and had a world class voice. Quinn was special to Puck, not just because he 'banged' her and took her virginity, but he was Beth's father and Puck was right, they would always have that connection together.
Looking over at Puck again, he gave him his small dope smile with added 'dude' effect so it wasn't too girly. "You really feel that strongly about them?" He asked, knowing that he did. It was obvious from the way he looked after her as she walked down the halls whenever there was a crowd jerk hockey players. He did that for Rachel too, but mostly for Quinn. A pure 'looking out for the mother of my child' thing. Nodding his head, Puck tried to hide his proud smile. "Yeah." But then he frowned up at Finn, poking him in his chest. "And you should too. They're our friends, and if they think they're in danger then we gotta help them out." Again, Finn nodded his head. A determined smile making his way onto his smile. "So, are you in?" Puck asked, and Finn held out his fist so the two boys could fist bump as he said; "Yeah. I'm in." Puck grinned at him and gladly fist bumped his best friend. "Good." He cheered triumphantly and the best friends continued their way, until they reached the house. Looking up at it they nodded their heads and prepared for their mission.
They then turned towards the gate of the house and went through, walking up the cleared path and perfect trimmed lawn. "Do you really think that going to this guy's house and beating the crap out of him until he tells us where Quinn's dad is, is really going to help?" Finn asked as they reached the door, keeping his voice quiet, just in case Roger was already behind the door waiting for them. Before he rang the doorbell, Puck looked at Finn and gave him a sly smile; "Only one way to find out."
Going into school the next day for Quinn and Rachel was nothing out of the ordinary. The strolled in hand and hand once they met in the parking lot and Rachel reached up on her tiptoes to kiss Quinn's cheek. For Finn and Puck however, the halls were full of gasps and wide eyes; much like the same when they all saw Quinn kiss Rachel for the first time. The two girls were by Rachel's lockers as they heard the halls around them grow silent. They both looked up to see what had happened and as soon as they saw the two boys, they both gasped, "Oh my God!" and ran up to them, Rachel squealing at them what happened. Rachel through her arms around Finn, or at least tried to as he shrugged her off.
Both boys were sporting black eyes and busted lips, cuts on their cheeks and even a ripped ear for Finn. Luckily their injuries were mostly on their faces, but the way Puck was slightly limping and had bruises on his hand and knuckles, with Finn walking with a very straight posture as if he couldn't move his ribs, it was more than likely that they had more injuries.
Finn answered her scowling at Rachel but trying not to, noticing Mr Schuester was coming down the hall way. "Quinn's stupid dad's stupid friend, that's what happened!" He shouted, an Puck tried to calm him down, but Quinn trying to get a good look at him. Rachel gasped again at the possibility of this not just being an adolescent scrabble. "Wait a grown man did this, Puck?" She asked, trying to feel Finn's ribs to see if anything was broken or cracked. "A monster did it." He grumbled and winced as Rachel pressed down on him. "Why? What did you do?" She asked, dabbing lightly at his ribs again. Puck thought it was best to speak now, as Finn was getting angry.
"We just went round there asking if he'd seen Mr Fabray-"
"Guys, leave this to the police."
Mr Schuester had suddenly appeared by the quartet and had instructed his opinion in the matter. The two girls spun around to see him and Puck tried to step to him, but was being held back by Quinn, trying to see his hand and seeing if it needed stitches. "The police are useless Mr Schue!" He told him, shouting a little. But Mr Schuester shook his head at him and sighed, but still keeping his tone serious. "You may think that, but there are dangerous people around-"
"Yeah we know that!" Finn snarled back, a mixture of pain and anger from the situation at hand.
Seeing that the situation was getting heated once again, he led the kids to the choir room so they could continue their talk in private. Once shutting the door and making sure the two boys were seated with ice packs from the nurse on their eyes, Mr Schuester grabbed a chair and sat on it backwards. Rachel and Quinn were sat together, holding each other's hands and sitting closely, knowing that this was their fault. It was their plan to get Quinn's dad found, and therefore all their fault. Mr Schuester sighed at them and wiped his face with his hand, as if clearing his thoughts. "Look, I don't want you, any of you, to purposely put yourselves into danger."
"But we were looking out for Rach and Quinn!" Puck said, trying to stand but being stopped by the shooting pain in his shin. "I don't care." Mr Schuester told him seriously. He wasn't shouting, but he had to get his point across. "I don't want any of you ending up in the hospital because of this."
"Again?" Quinn added, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrow. Holding onto Rachel's hand and receiving the girl's head to fall on her shoulder. Mr Schuester looked at her pointedly and sighed quietly again. "Yeah Quinn, again."
There was a momentary pause for them to all think of their actions. Finn then stood up, not being able to take the quiet much longer. Through the pain of his ribs he shouted, as if he were suggesting a song for Sectionals; "Mr Schue we gotta do something." Before he had the chance to do anything, Mr Schuester stood up too. "Yes you do, the only thing you guys have to do is work hard in your finals and get into the colleges you want to go to."
"So you expect us to sit and do nothing?" Puck interjected, standing up also. Mr Schuester walked towards the two boys and held them by their shoulders. "No I expect you to sit at your desks with your books and study and allow the police to do their jobs. I don't want to see you getting hurt." He looked long at all four of them before finally saying. "Any of you."
Later that day, Quinn found Mr Schuester. He was in his office grading yet more papers. With the finals coming up, students were handing in essays and papers they wanted him to grade so they could get enough practice in before 'the big test' final came. She knocked on the door but didn't wait for the permission to come in, simply marching in a standing above him. Without looking up, he said to her in his tired voice, "Quinn I'm kinda busy now, would you mind-" But she shook her head and leaned down, pressing her hands on the desk. "Mr Schue please, I feel helpless." There was no point in sugar coating the reason why she was there. He must have known that it was she who instigated the plan of trying to find her dad, resulting in Puck and Finn getting hurt. Sighing, but still not looking up from the essay, he replied with a little more annoyance; "Maybe you should talk about this to Miss Pilsbury." He really did have to get his papers marked. As a teacher and therefore once a student, he knew how important it was to get essays marked and given back so that lessons could be learned. But he was also painfully aware of how important this ongoing battle between Quinn, Rachel and Mr Fabray was. He ran his hand though his hair and looked up at her as she pleaded to him, "Mr Schuester please, this is serious-" But she was cut off by him putting his pen down and giving her his full attention.
Leaning forward he spoke to her and tried to convey just how serious her actions were, yet again. "Yes, Quinn, it is and that is why I want you to put an end to this vendetta now." Clearly Quinn wasn't happy with the answer and made no move to leave, sitting down instead and mirroring him.
"But Mr Schuester if I can't fight my dad off then that only means that he's going to come after us."
"Look, Quinn," he sighed again and lolled his head to the side, clicking it and thinking of what he should do. He was a man of words and liked those words to kept in a calm, controlled manor. As a teacher, he had a duty to protect and care, but that also meant he had to keep a distance. Still, he'd broken that rule before, he could do it again. "I understand that you're scared. Trust me I do."
"How can you understand?" Quinn asked, shaking her head and crossing her arms, feeling fed up by the phrase. "Sure, you've talked to Rachel and she's told you how she felt and stuff, but that's not understanding, that's empathising." She explained and saw as her teacher leaned back in his chair and sighed with exasperation. "When I was your age, Quinn, I was mugged."
"What?" She asked, staring at him blankly, not believing what she had heard.
This was yet another line he was willing to cross for the sake of his kids. "Yeah." He began, clearing his throat, and sitting up. "Me and a couple buddies of mine, we were walking home one night and these guys came behind us and tried to take our wallets."
"What did you do?" She asked, hard to believe that he had been mugged.
"Well, two of my two friends tried to fight them off and I tried to help, but one of them pulled out a blade."
"Oh my God, were you okay?" She gasped, exclaiming in the shock. He gave her a small smile, thankful for her concern. "Yeah I was. As soon as I saw it, the shining metal, I just gave them my wallet and even my jacket and just begged them to go and leave us alone."
For a moment, she thought about what he had told her. How this man in front of her had been attacked to. Physically, he was okay, but emotionally? Having his jacket and his wallet stolen from him? By kids? That was just cruel. But then she frowned. Wondering what the story was leading. "So how does that relate to me and Rachel?" She asked, looking at him with a similar blank expression. Now here came the part where he gave his inner feelings. "I was scared." He admitted. And Quinn realised she could sympathy with him. "You and Rachel are both terrified, always looking over your shoulders and checking your backs before you go anywhere, jumping at the smallest noise. Sound familiar?" He asked, raising his eyebrow at her, having leaned into her to. The girl in front of him smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, it does." She admitted quietly, seeing that he did understand. She thought this was the end of their little heart to heart, but he continued talking. "Well I wanted to take revenge too. That jacket was my grandfather's and it was my favourite jacket that he gave to me for my sixteenth birthday. Now, it might be as serious as you two, but I understand the need to want to find the person who hurt you and make them pay. Just, please Quinn, let the police deal with it. They will find your dad and they will bring him to justice and you and Rachel will be safe again."
Again there was a comfortable silence. Quinn nodding her head. "Hey Mr Schuester?" She asked, finally coming up the courage to ask a question. "Yes Quinn?" He asked, smiling at her softly, having a feeling he knew what she was about to ask. "What did you do? About the guy?" She asked, shrugging slightly. He grinned at her, having a feeling again that she wouldn't like his answer. "I let it go."
"How?"
"I realised that if I got hurt because of it, the people I loved would be hurt too by my actions." She stood up, satisfied with the answer. Before she left, she turned around and asked "Hey Mr Schue?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." Smiling to him softly, she left the room and continued her way through the school.
"But that's not enough for me." She told herself under her breath as she heard the last of his footsteps turn a corner and leave. Once more, the cog and wheels in her mind were turning. Faster and faster, generating thoughts and ideas. Creating solutions and plans to their little predicament. Declaring once again, to herself as she walked out of the building to go to her car and to watch Rachel at her ballet class, she decided what needed to be done.
Her father was her business. No one else's; not Rachel's, not Mr Schuester's and not her friends'. He wanted to punish her. He wanted to guide her down the 'correct' path. He wanted her to be his perfect daughter again. Well, in that case, she was prepared. She was going to train herself up, ready to witness and be apart of the ultimate showdown: Quinn Fabray versus Russell Fabray; fight to the death.