Please stay safe and stay at home!
Warning: Physical assault.
I do not own any Glee
Chapter 65:
"Lucy, are you sure you want to do this?" Rachel expressed, concerned for her girlfriend.
The softball captain checked her ponytail in the bathroom mirror one last time and twirled around to her girlfriend. Quinn quickly looked down at the white, red and black uniform, and then looked at the brunette, "San told me I can wear it when I wanted to… and now I want to."
Rachel hopped off the bed to walk closer to her girlfriend, reaching out to grab her hands, "Lucy, do you really want to wear it?"
Quinn took a breath in and out, then started to nod her head, "I'm doing this for Paige."
The brunette gave out a small smile, "I know, but I don't want you burning out from all the extra-curricular activities you've signed up too," Rachel stated seriously.
The soon to be Cheerio once again leaned down and gave her girlfriend a chaste kiss on the lips. "I've been on Glee, Cheerios, and softball before."
Rachel nodded, "Yes, but you're now doing extra softball training, and I'm not talking about your weekends up at Columbia… these training sessions you're doing by yourself after Glee. Plus, next year when you're actually playing games… you're working yourself too much." For the past couple of weeks, Quinn has been going to the McKinley softball field after Glee and doing some solo training work.
The blonde released her hold from her girlfriends and then wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist, the brunette automatically wrapping her arms around Lucy's neck. "Baby, I know you're worried but I need to do this for my sister, she needs me. Plus, so does San, I should have gone back on Cheerios when she gave me my uniform back."
Rachel knew her girlfriend had made her mind up, so she looked into the hazel eyes she loves so much and nodded, "Okay, I'm just concerned."
Quinn wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist a little stronger, leaned down and gave her girlfriend another chaste kiss on the lips. As she pulled back, she smiled, "I love you."
The brunette smiled, "I love you." The two smiled in their embrace until a knock on the blonde's door pulled them back to reality. "Quinn, I'm ready," Paige voiced through the closed door.
Before turning to exit her room, the softball captain gave her girlfriend a chaste kiss on the lips, then went to open the door, noticing her sister starting to descend the staircase. As Quinn exited her room she quickly turned to her girlfriend, "You're okay heading into school by yourself?"
Rachel smiled as she giggled, "Yes, Lucy. Plus, three people can't fit in your car… be with your sister."
Quinn smiled as she quickly raced back to give her girlfriend one last kiss and then headed downstairs to meet her sister. The older blonde caught up to her sister as they exited the house together.
"Quick stop at Lima Bean?" Quinn asked as the two sisters hopped into the softball captain's car.
"Do you not know me anymore," Paige expressed with a chuckle. Quinn just looked over at her younger sister, unsure how to respond. Paige saw the uncertainty and moved her hand to embrace her older sisters, "Quinn, I just want to start getting back to normal… Let's go grab coffee… Side note, I no longer have a dash of vanilla, just straight coffee in these veins," the younger blonde expressed with a smile.
The softball captain chuckled as she started the car, "Ms. Sylvester already making you hit the hard stuff." Paige chuckled along with her sister as they drove to Lima Bean.
After Cheerio practice, the two sisters dressed in the recognizable white, red and black uniform, walked the halls of McKinley High. People around Quinn scrunched up their faces wondering why she was back on the squad… why did she quit and come back so fast?
The older sister parted ways with Paige, noticing that Puck was again waiting at the girl's locker. Quinn didn't want to make a big deal about it, she knew her best friend was feeling some form of guilt for what happened to Paige. Even though Sam said it wasn't because of the joke the mohawk boy did on the boy's first day, Puck cannot stop the thought that maybe if he didn't do it, Quinn wouldn't have been on the boy's radar in the first place.
As Paige got to her locker, she gave Puck a small smile, a little bit bigger than yesterday's. "We need to stop meeting like this," Paige lightly chuckled.
Puck beamed, he'd give anything to continue to see Paige smile and laugh. "Just wanted to stop by before class and say hi."
"Hi," Paige smiled. Puck chuckled, "Okay, I better head," Puck nervously voiced as he was about to walk off.
Paige stepped in front of the boy to stop him from leaving, "You could walk me to class," the blonde smiled.
Puck nodded and waiting for Paige to grab her things for her first period and then the two started walking through the hallways, "Any chance you'd want to go grab a coffee during lunch?" Paige voiced.
The mohawk boy looked over at the blonde, "You're not a senior… you can't leave during lunch," Puck chuckled.
The blonde rolled her eyes as she laughed, "You've seen me out before." Puck nodded as a smile continued to grow on his face.
"Just as friends," Paige clarified. Again, Puck chuckled, "I wouldn't want anything else, Paige," he voiced seriously. That was obviously a lie, they both knew that, but for now and maybe forever, this is all they could be.
Both Paige and Puck grabbed their coffees to go and decided to walk through the park that was opposite Lima Bean. They took a seat on a bench overlooking the Lima Lake and sipped on their coffees in silence. The two didn't speak when they saw each other yesterday, so Paige wanted to clear the tension that Sam created and somewhat move on.
Paige took a breath in and opened her mouth, "Quinn told me everything that happened." Puck just nodded, choosing to remain silent because he knew Paige wasn't finished. "Thank you for doing what you did." Again, Puck nodded. "Quinn said you stopped her from hitting Sam."
Puck nodded again, but this time spoke up, "For some reason, I had a thought that she had more to lose if she hit him, so I did it instead. Not like I didn't enjoy doing it," Puck smirked as he looked at his bruised hands.
The blonde looked down at the boy's hands and moved her fingers over the bruised knuckles, silently thanking him.
Paige took another sip of her coffee and looked out to the lake. "What song were you going to sing to me?" the blonde asked, changing directions to the current conversation. "I Don't Wanna Wait," Puck stated seriously.
Paige burst out laughing, Puck looked over at the blonde and laughed too. "That's ironic!" Paige continued to laugh.
When the two settled down, Paige decided to be serious again, she wanted everything out in the open so they could move forward and start being friends again, "In all honestly, I do really like that song, it's a shame I couldn't have heard it." Puck just nodded.
"Can I ask why you asked Quinn if you could date me? She's not my owner," Paige stated, half-joking, yet half-serious.
Puck coughed on his coffee, but replied seriously, "Q is my best friend, she knows the stories of how I've treated some ladies… looking back I'm not really proud of it." Paige nodded, "I'm sure you and Quinn have a lot in common in that department." Puck nodded and chuckled, "She doesn't tell me much, but I have a feeling she may have been worse." The blonde nodded, "It would be hard to win against Quinn, and I too don't know the full story." The mohawk boy nodded, "Yeah… so anyways… I didn't do it for permission, I did it more out of respect." Paige just nodded.
"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you didn't ask Quinn… that you didn't wait and you just asked me out?" Paige wondered, to which Puck nodded… Every day, Puck thought… Paige took her eyes off the mohawk boy and looked out onto the lake, "Same… I was thinking about it last night… Maybe I wouldn't have dated Sam… Maybe he wouldn't have been my…" Paige stopped as a tear rolled down her cheek… She didn't want to let that slip. Puck's eyes filled with water… too late he heard Sam's voice whisper in his mind. The hurt and betrayal he saw in Paige's eyes were extremely hard to see… not just because he cared for her but because he knows he's left other girls in the same situation she's in…
Paige wiped her tears and stood up, turning around to look at the boy still sitting down, "Thanks for letting me talk… We better head back to school." Puck nodded as he stood up, both starting to walk to the car. As Paige was about to hop into the mohawk boy's car she looked over to Puck, "I'm just gonna say, I won't be against you singing that song to me someday," the blonde stated with a small smile… Puck beamed.
Puck strolled into Glee with a smile plastered on his face, he walked over to Rachel and Quinn and took a seat next to his best friend. "What's with your face," the blonde stated as she scrunched up her face in disgust. Puck shrugged, "Can't the Puckstar be happy." Quinn raised her eyebrows confused; she was about to ask another question but was interrupted by Brittany, "Hey boys and girls," the tall blonde voiced enthusiastically as she walked through the door with her girlfriend in hand. "I'll see you after Glee," Brittany beamed as she looked over at Lauren, leaning over and giving her a peck on the lips. Lauren smiled, said a quick goodbye and then walked out of the room. Brittany looked along the rows of chairs, seeing where she could sit for the Glee lesson, she spotted Santana up the back and noticed she wasn't too thrilled by what just happened. Brittany frowned and decided to go sit next to one of her best friends, Tina. As soon as Brittany sat down, Mr. Schue walked through the door, dropping his bag on the piano and then turning to the class.
"Okay everyone," Mr. Schue smiled, "As we missed Glee yesterday… for valid reasons," the Glee teach expressed as he looked over at Quinn… the whole Sam debacle made Mr. Schue postpone Glee for the day… "We have some new developments to work through." The Glee teacher took a breath in, "With Sam no longer at McKinley High, we, therefore, need someone else to sing the duet with Quinn." He then looked at the couple in the front row, "Rachel, would you like to sing with Quinn? The other day, you two already proved that you can sing the song together," Rachel beamed, "I'd love too." Mr. Schue beamed with relief, and then Rachel's eyes went wide… we don't want you to sing at Sectionals, Rachel replayed in her head. Quinn turned to her girlfriend, she could tell her girlfriend realized she couldn't sing the duet, the blonde reached out and grabbed her girlfriends' hand, giving it a squeeze. Mr. Schue was about to talk to the class but Rachel interrupted him, "Sorry, Mr. Schue…" the Glee teacher looked back to the brunette, "I don't think I can sing the duet with Lucy," Rachel stated sadly. Mr. Schue scrunched up his eyebrows confused, "Any reason why not?"
Rachel took a big breath in, "I think someone else in Glee deserves too…" Rachel wasn't going to tell the truth. The Glee teacher was still confused, "Maybe we should ask the Glee Club who they believe would be best suited to sing with Lucy."
"I thought you would be that person," Mr. Schue stated seriously.
The brunette forced a smile, but her girlfriend knew she was holding back tears, "I think it would be more beneficial for the team if I sing during Regionals."
"You sing in every competition, Rachel," Mercedes said annoyed… she loves her friend… but the girl does get to sing all the time.
"I think Puck should sing, he deserves too…" Rachel blurted out as her eyes went wide, as too did Quinn's. "Why does Puck deserve to sing, he didn't even perform during Idol Week," Kurt asked seriously. Puck looked over at the Jew Princess, who looked remorseful… she shouldn't have said that… he then looked over at Mr. Schue who was looking confused. Puck noticed all other eyes in the Glee room on him, he rolled his eyes and stood up, looking towards his friends on the risers. "You all will find out soon enough… I was gonna sing to Paige the day that Sam did," Puck stated. There were gasps heard around the choir room. Santana looked at one of her best friends, hurt that she wasn't privy of this information until everyone else. Puck shrugged and sat down; he wasn't bothered… he wouldn't say it but it probably had to do with his lunch with Paige… Now she knows, he doesn't care if his friends now knew.
Mr. Schue looked between Rachel and Puck, still confused that the brunette gave up singing with her girlfriend at Sectionals. The Glee teacher smiled… Rachel is growing up. Mr. Schue looked at the other Glee kids, "Anyone object to that decision?" The Glee teacher only saw shaking of heads. He then turned to Quinn and Puck, "You two ready to sing?"
Quinn and Puck looked at each other with a smirk plastered on each of their faces… This is going to be fun!
Quinn leaned down and grabbed the last softball from the middle field of the softball ground; the blonde then walked back to the softball pitch and sat down… She hasn't done this for a while. Back in Australia when she felt anxious or something was on her mind and she couldn't travel to her other secret place, she'd sit on the home base and look out at the softball field.
A lot had happened these last few weeks… honestly, since the start of the school year. Quinn felt exhausted, she really hadn't processed what happened the other night with Sam, it was not what she expected. Something was obviously wrong with the boy. No normal person would try and attack someone else like he did to Paige and her. Was this what she deserved? Did she deserve all this because of the horrible things she did in her last two years in Australia? Has karma come back around? Was there going to be more?
Quinn looked down at her hands and stared… taking a big breath in and out. The blonde started to feel guilty. Guilty that her past was not just affecting her but also her little sister… Paige didn't deserve what Sam did to her… using her like that. Quinn shouldn't have gotten in between Paige and Puck. She should have just let it run its course without her.
The things she does hurts others… it even hurt Santana. Telling her what to do when she found out Brittany was seeing Lauren… hell, Quinn had a feeling about the pair, long before they became a couple. She could see the flirting going on between her two teammates… why didn't she speak to Santana, why did she wait… She deserved that punch in the face… she deserved a lot more.
Everything she put her parents through… Gosh, that's just going to take too long to even think about, let alone list… She doesn't deserve the love and care her parents give her every day. She caused so much unneeded pain at a time when the whole family was already hurting. Wyatt didn't deserve that… he deserved so much more. If she could trade her life for his she would have done it in a heartbeat.
The blonde took another breath in and out and decided to lift her head up, looking out at the softball field. The blonde squinted her eyes through the night lights on the softball field, noticing three girls walking through the softball field… the girl in the middle was holding a wooden baseball bat. As they got closer towards the softball pitch Quinn realized she didn't know who they were. The blonde decided it was time to hop up from home base, "The field is only for McKinley High people," Quinn stated seriously. The girls didn't reply, they crossed over second base and continued walking towards Quinn. "I'm about to leave and I'll be turning off the lights to the field," the softball captain said through a raised voice.
"We won't be here for long," the brunette in the middle voiced. The blonde to her left nodded, "Yeah, just need to help our friend Sam out…" she said through anger. Quinn scrunched up her face confused until it dawned on her… "Sam?"
The brunette in the middle piped up again, "Yes, Sam Evans, he re-enrolled back at our school, we were surprised to see him back."
Quinn took a step back when the three girls were only a few feet away. "I think it was the best thing for Sam to not be at McKinley anymore," Quinn voiced to the trio.
The blonde grabbed the wooden baseball bat from her brunette friend, "Or the best thing for you, Quinn." So, they know who she is… whether Sam showed them a photo of her or just gave them a description of her, she'll never know.
Quinn looked at the blonde with the bat… from her experiences in Australia, she knew where this was headed… she was about to turn and run but it was too late, the blonde lifted up the bat and sung. Quinn's reflexes kicked in and her left hand went up to stop the blow of the bat; in pain she actually caught it but she didn't hold onto it for long. The blonde on the right who hadn't spoken yet pushed Quinn onto the ground. Quinn knew she couldn't get up and run so lifted her hands to her head and went into a fetal position with her right side against the dirt ground. The brunette and the quite blonde started to kick Quinn's torso. The softball captain groaned in pain. The blonde with the bat swung and connected it to Quinn's left shoulder….
Quinn started to fade in and out of darkness… she didn't know how long it lasted, but she felt someone grabbing her and whispering her name... she could hear tears in the girl's voice. "I've called an ambulance, Quinn… I'll call Rachel," the girl whispered out. It was the only thought Quinn could muster at the time, but she knew she didn't want Rachel to see her like this, "No Ambulance… and call Puck…" the softball captain choked out as things turned to black.
