"Ok, you listen to me, William. I am not telling the world who I am just because you think it'll make you look good." Quinn practically growls into her work phone, and her free hand is balled into a fist. "I don't care how people see you. They're my books."
"It was just a suggestion." Her manager, William Schuester, quickly says, and his voice is apologetic.
"Well, quit suggesting it." She glances up at the clock on her wall, realizing it's almost noon. "I have to get to work, but I'll see you next week." The blonde hangs up before he can respond.
"Why can't he respect the fact that you want to remain anonymous?" Quinn's roommate and close friend, Aubrey, says as she walks into the kitchen, holding a small child. "She won't go back down."
"Come here, baby." Quinn smiles as she takes her daughter into her arms. "Is someone being fussy?" She bounces lightly, and the baby lets out a loud, joyous laugh that fills Quinn's heart, taking all her anger away.
"Do you need me to take Beth to daycare today?" Aubrey asks. "I have to go into the office today."
The author gives her a grateful smile and nod. "Thank you, you're amazing." She presses a friendly kiss to the blonde's cheek, then kisses Beth and hands her off to Aubrey. "I'll be home in a little while."
"See you later." The two go their separate ways, Quinn heading to her room and Aubrey exiting out the apartment, baby in hand.
Quickly, Quinn dresses in black pants and a tan t-shirt, her uniform for the café she works at, simply called Tom's. Whoever founded it was probably named Tom, and he didn't have any artistic sense whatsoever. She doesn't mind though; while her books have earned her a decent amount of money, raising a daughter alone isn't exactly easy or cheap. Sure, Aubrey helps out, but Quinn doesn't like feeling as if she depends on her. She's always been an independent person, and she tries to hang onto that side of her as hard as she can.
After getting dressed, brushing her hair and teeth, and gathering her wallet and keys, she too heads out the door. She hops into her Volkswagen and heads toward the café, humming along to the radio. Technically, she can walk to the café from where she lives, but she enjoys the feeling of being behind a wheel. It gives her a sense of freedom that she hasn't felt in a long time.
Once she's at the café, she pulls on an apron and heads to the back room. Her co-worker, Cynthia Rose, is already there, so she heads to the counter.
As she stands there, waiting for anyone to come in, two familiar faces pull the door open. She immediately smiles as her eyes make contact with two brown ones, and her stomach flips.
Yes, Quinn Fabray is in love with Rachel Berry. It's a slippery slope she's falling down, especially considering Rachel is a Broadway legend. She starred in Funny Girl, Cats, and even A Midsummer Night's Dream. The woman has the best voice Quinn has ever heard, and it mesmerizes her every time she sees her perform.
"The regular?" She asks as the two walk up to the counter, her smile only growing when Rachel nods at her.
"Thanks, Quinn."
"Anytime." With one last smile, she heads into the back room.
"You're blushing." Cynthia Rose says when the blonde walks in, and Quinn levels a glare in her direction.
"You're delusional." She shoots back as she quickly makes Rachel's cappuccino.
"Mmhm, sure." Her co-worker laughs and turns back to her laptop, doing whatever it was she was doing before Quinn walked in.
With both drinks in hand, she returns to the counter and sets them down. "One iced coffee with milk, one French vanilla cappuccino. Enjoy."
Beca reaches out to grab her coffee and says, "thanks, blondie."
Quickly, she grabs Beca's wrist, slowly pulling the drink away from the short brunette with her other free hand. "Now you can't have this." It's a good thing they've known each other for three years now, considering how rich and famous both Beca and Rachel are.
The brunette lets out a rather large and dramatic sigh. "Fine, Quinn, can I have my drink?"
With a laugh, Quinn says, "fine, but only because you asked so nicely." Surprising herself, she turns and sends Rachel a playful wink, and the brunette smiles before quickly looking away.
Right away, Quinn's heart aches a little. Of course the brunette would look away, there's no way that wasn't awkward.
"Oh my God, could these two be any slower?" A familiar voice hits Quinn's ears, and she grimaces as Beca and Rachel turn to face the one and only Santana Lopez in line. Rachel looks offended, and Beca looks pissed off... this can't be good.
Excuse me?" Beca says before the barista can think of something to say first. "What the hell did you just say?"
"Oh, you don't want to pick a fight with me." Santana lowers her eyelids into a glare and takes a step closer to the actress. If she recognizes her, she doesn't show it. "See, I'm from a little place called Lima Heights Adjacent. Although, you look so homeless you may not even know where that is."
"Santana, really?" Quinn finally says, and they all turn to look at her. "Seriously, can you go five minutes without picking a fight?"
Meanwhile, Aubrey's just walking out of the daycare center that Beth is enrolled in. She should've exited the building ten minutes ago, but the owner got to talking about Ace of Base, which happens to be the blonde's favorite band, and she couldn't peel herself away from the conversation. She's regretting it now though, because she's running late for work.
Quickly, she hops into her Toyota, but she's only gone about five feet before she's groaning and turning around. Out of the corner of her eye, she realizes Quinn's personal phone is sitting in the passenger seat. While she'd like to ignore it (she does have her other phone on her), she knows her friend will be calling her sometime throughout the day, practically begging her to drop it off.
It takes her about ten minutes to get to the café, and she waits for the run-in at the door (it looks as if one of them hit the other in the head with the door?) to move before she gets out of her car. The last thing she wants right now is to get caught up in something she can't get out of.
"Aubrey?" Quinn calls out once she sees her, and Aubrey waves at her friend. Her eyes find a familiar pair of light blue ones, and she inwardly groans.
"Damn girl, do you have a name, or can I call you mine?" Stacie immediately asks her with a wink, and Santana smirks as Aubrey rolls her eyes at her.
"You left your phone in my car." She instead says to Quinn, who takes it from her hand and gives her a grateful smile.
"Aubrey!" Someone calls out, and she turns to see Chloe Beale waving at her.
"Chlo! Hey!" She calls back, and the ginger runs up to give her a hug. Aubrey stops her first, seeing a bruise starting to form on her head. "What happened to you?"
"Beca Mitchell hit me in the head with the door." She says dreamily, her grin only widening. Aubrey shakes her head (while feeling slightly stupid for not recognizing the ginger earlier) with a small chuckle, then pulls Chloe in for a hug.
"She's been ecstatic about it for the past five minutes." Aubrey turns to see Brittany Pierce, Chloe's girlfriend of two years, walk up to the two of them. "Hi, Aubrey, nice to see you."
"Hey, Britt." She releases Chloe in order to give the blonde a small hug. "How are you?"
"Not bad, thanks."
"Alright, I have to go." Aubrey smiles at everyone (except Stacie), then turns to exit the building. As she turns, though, a question asks her.
"What's it gonna take for you to give me your number?"
"It's not going to happen." She snaps, and both Santana and Quinn chuckle in amusement. "I'll see you at home." The lawyer adds to Quinn, then turns and exits the building.
"She's not interested in you, Stace." Quinn gives the brunette a sympathetic smile as she hands her the hot chocolate she ordered. "I'm sorry. I've asked her about it several times, and she glares at me and tells me to stop asking every time."
Stacie simply shakes her head, her smile never fading. "I won't give up. The Hunter wants what it wants."
"Wanky." Santana says, but Quinn can't help but disagree. She thinks it's sort of admirable that the doctor won't give up, even if she keeps getting shut down. She wishes she had that type of courage to talk to Rachel... but she's too terrified of the brunette not reciprocating her feelings.
"Is it really just about sex to you?" Chloe asks incredulously, and Santana raises an eyebrow at her.
"You got a problem with that, ginger?"
"Santana." Quinn practically growls in annoyance. "Seriously."
The two glare at each other for a couple of seconds before the Latina sighs and raises her hands up. "Whatever, I gotta get to work anyway." After grabbing her mocha, she storms out of the building.
"She got a commercial for yeast control." Stacie says as soon as her friend is gone, her lips pulled up in a mischievous grin. "Yeast-i-Stat."
Quinn laughs, but opts not to say anything. Honestly, if the Latina can get anything, she's happy for her. The poor girl has been here in New York for the past five years, trying to get famous. The barista once had to talk her out of releasing a sex tape.
Stacie takes her hot chocolate and also leaves, and Chloe drags Brittany to a table. Quinn lets out a sigh of relief, and her shoulders slump down a little. Sure, she enjoys interacting with the customers, especially the ones she's gotten to know over the years (and Rachel more than anyone), but she also enjoys having a moment of just peace and silence.
"Quinn?" Cynthia Rose pops her head out of the back room, and the blonde turns to shoot her a smile of recognition. "I'm taking a small break, but I'll be back in fifteen."
"Alright."
Later that same day, Aubrey gets a call from her boss. "Good afternoon, Mr. Swanson."
"Aubrey, I've told you a million times, Jesse is fine." His cheerful voice fills her voice, and she can't help but smile a little bit. "I've got your next client waiting for you. She got in a crash this morning, and the person she hit is trying to sue her for everything she has."
"How much damage was there?" She asks, frowning a little bit. Some people go crazy in New York; it's her least favorite thing about the big city.
"A small scratch." Aubrey can practically hear her boss rolling his eyes on the other end. "Anyway, I'm sending her to you, because everyone else is scared of the person suing."
"Who?"
"Ever heard of someone named Sue Sylvester?"
Immediately, Aubrey groans. Of course, she's heard of Sue Sylvester. Everyone has. Sue was a 6th consecutive National Championship winner for cheerleading, and she's also known for being an almost psychotic liar. This isn't going to be a fun case. "Yes, I know who she is, sir."
"Great. I'm sending up the offender now."
"Who-" She goes to ask, but Jesse hangs up before she gets the chance to actually ask. "Dammit, Jesse."
A moment later, she hears a knock on her door. "Ms. Posen?" She looks up, and her stomach drops. Standing in front of her is Stacie, and as soon as they make eye contact, the brunette smirks.
"Great." She mutters to herself, then says to Stacie, "come on in."
Slowly, Stacie sits down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, her smirk growing stronger with each step. "So your last name is Posen. And you aren't married."
Aubrey stands up, positively glowering at her new client. "This is a work setting. You will be professional towards me, and I will do the same with you. As soon as this case is over, I don't even want to see you anymore. Do I make myself clear?"
Stacie's smirk falls, and she nods. "Understood."
Meanwhile, Quinn is walking through a dark hallway with about twenty other people, not counting the five police officers walking with them. Beth is situated on her hip, her head resting on her mom's shoulder as she sleeps soundly. Quinn is slightly surprised about this, considering Beth is the fussiest baby she's ever met.
The group enters a room of tables, and Quinn chooses the one closest to the door- just in case she has to make a speedy exit. She doesn't like coming here, but she promised she would at least once a month. If not for her, for Beth.
The door that shut behind them buzzes again, and about twenty prisoners are brought into the room. Among them is Noah Puckerman, Quinn's first love and the father of her child.
His face lights up when he sees Beth, and Quinn can't help but notice that his facial hair is starting to get out of control. Eventually, Beth isn't going to recognize him. That relieves the author and worries her at the same time. She wishes she could keep Beth away from Puck, but she knows her daughter needs to know who her father is.
"Hi, Quinn." Puck sits down across from them at the table, and he waves his fingers at Beth, who's now awake. "Hi, baby."
"Don't talk to her." She snaps, and he gives her an incredulous look. "I don't want her liking you."
"I'm still her dad." He snaps back, his fists immediately balling up in anger.
"You are not her dad. Dad and father have two different meanings. To be her dad, you'd have to actually care and be there for her."
Puck shrinks into himself, showing a level of vulnerability that's reserved for the blonde. "You have to know how terrible I feel. If I could take it all back, I would."
"That doesn't change the fact that you did it."
He nods sadly, looking down at his hands. "I know. And I'm so sorry."
Quinn shakes her head and lets out a bitter laugh. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." After a beat, she adds, "she was eleven years old, Puck."
"It's not like I was getting anything from you!" He suddenly lashes out, and she laughs again.
"You know what, I'm getting tired of our conversations always ending the same way." With that, she stands up and walks away. The prison guard gives her a sympathetic smile before opening the door, allowing her to exit the room and prison.