Disclaimer: I do not own anything.
I.
The first time she had the inkling of joining the football team came during the middle of her Sophomore year.
Rachel had been sitting on the bleachers, reading a comic book to escape from the world, while she waited to be picked up from her own personal hell. After another horrible day of being ridiculed and judged by her more socially well adjusted peers, and then getting mocked or ignored by her fellow misfits during glee club, a place that was supposed to be a sanctuary from bullying, all she wanted to do was go home, play some Dungeons and Dragons, complete her daily vocal lessons - perfection does need to be maintained, after all - then lock herself in her room and post up a self recorded love song on her MySpace page.
Glancing up from her comic, she winced in sympathy as she watched the cheerios running never ending laps as their deranged coach shouted out abuse at them through a megaphone, all the while having her assistant - a sweet girl, yet misguided girl named Becky - shoot at them from a higher altitude with a BB gun, which - was that even legal?
Concern shot through her as she watched the polyester clad girls and boys drag their limp bodies along the grass, many of them having collapsed in a heap of exhaustion on the ground, some passed out from the excruciating torture Sue Sylvester put them through on a daily basis.
The bounce of a blonde pony tail caught her eye- Quinn was leading the pack of cheerleaders, jogging ahead of all the girls by a few yards- with Brittany and Santana a few steps behind her. The Latina looked like she wanted to shove that megaphone up somewhere that the sun doesn't shine, probably up her demonic Coach's bum, while Brittany looked as calm and collected as a Hindu cow, seemingly unaffected by the horrific anguish her teammates were going through.
Quinn's chest was heaving heavily with every deep breath she took, her perfectly curled pony tail bouncing in time with her chest - making an unhealthy amount of blood rush to the socially blundering brunette's face. Rachel's mouth went dry as her doe brown eyes followed the hazel eyed blonde's every move.
Be still my fragile heart.
The blonde girl's smooth pale skin was slick with sweat, her muscles were contracting with tension, and her angelic face was flushed with exertion. The girl looked like Aphrodite herself - albeit - clad in a very inappropriate, yet highly appreciated cheer leading uniform.
Oh, god. I said be still.
The inner turmoils of Bruce Banner and his adventures as the Incredible Hulk lay forgotten on her lap as Rachel admired the girl she adored wipe the sweat from her face. She frowned as she watched the big bodied forms of the football team walk over to the now resting cheerios, and growled when Noah Puckerman ran his huge paw all over Quinn's neck, all the way down to her side, barely skimming past her breast.
She had been hearing from her fellow Jew -and creepy stalker- Jacob Ben Israel that the previously unattainable Quinn Fabray was now shacking up with WMHS's resident "bad ass". It was a rumor that she, of course, had absolutely refused to believe. She ignored the couple's blatant flirting between classes, and looked away whenever Puck saddled up in the seat next to Quinn in their shared classes.
Ignorance is bliss, after all.
But, Moses, seeing Puck being all over Quinn, made her feel like someone had taken a sledge hammer to all her Broadway related paraphernalia.
How could she ignore it now, when it was being flaunted for everyone to see?
When her dad picked up- she didn't have it in her to go on one of her diatribes about how once she became the star she was destined to be, all the goons who refused to acknowledge her superiority over them would end up regretting it for the rest of their pathetic mundane lives- she just stayed quiet and sulked all the way home.
As soon as she got to her room, she threw herself rather dramatically on the freshly laundered Spiderman bed sheets that covered her bed and clenched her eyes shut, desperately trying to rid herself of the unsightly image of Puckerman running his grimy hands all over Quinn's perfect body.
Football player and cheerleader, how disgustingly cliched.
Indeed.
She soon fell into deep afflicted sleep.
.
The roar of the crowd deemed in the background, as did her teammates joyous cheers, everything faded away as soon as nimble fingers began to tug impatiently on the straps of her helmet. It fell forgotten on the ground as Rachel was hurriedly pulled into a heated kiss, slender arms snaking their way around her neck, with her own wrapping around a slim waist. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as the softest, wettest pair of lips caught her bottom one with a quick suck.
"You were amazing out there, Rachel," was mumbled hoarsely against her lips, followed by a quick swipe of tongue across her already tingling mouth. Moaning throatily, she quickly pressed her lips back onto those perfectly soft plump pillows that were now furiously working against hers. Her hands gripped tightly on the polyester covered flesh beneath them as a hot tongue tangled with hers heavily inside the cavern of her mouth.
Pulling away slightly, she gave those deliciously swollen lips a few soft pecks. "All for you," she murmured against a heated cheek, pressing a sloppy kiss upon the smooth flesh, before crashing her lips back onto her partner's.
In the back crevices of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder what she could of possibly done in her life, past or present, to deserve this kind heaven.
As she gently untangled herself back to catch her breath, Rachel stared at Quinn's flushed face and grinned goofily when the girl's eyes fluttered open - revealing dilated pupils and a glazed over look.
"Hi," the football player whispered dopely, looking up at the blonde with undying affection sparkling in her eyes.
Quinn shot her that Olympic gold winning smile, causing her senses to betray her as she stumbled closer to her girl.
"Baby," The cheerleader breathed out, wrapping her arms tighter around the girl, nuzzling her face lovingly into the football player's neck. "Take me home."
.
As soon as she woke up -unfortunately- she immediately staggered over to her desk, busted out her ever trusty Barbra Streisand notebook and pink gel pen, and flipped it open. She took the dream as a sign from God himself. Destiny was obviously on her side. She was the brutally invisible geek and Quinn was the misunderstood pretty girl- if her life was a movie, her and the hazel eyed beauty should have been sharing a passionate kiss in the rain by now-
-dripping wet. Soaked. Quinn.
Holy mother of-
Snapping out of her perverted fantasies, she uncapped her favorite pen and at the very top of the empty page, she wrote in big bold letters-
'Winning over Quinn Fabray's heart: My insane yet inspired quest and foray into high school football to win over a cheerleader's seemingly unattainable affections!'
.
II.
As Rachel jogged over to her fuming Coach, her mind was still on Quinn, she couldn't help but think about how perfect the girl's arms felt wrapped around her heavily padded body. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the hazel eyed blonde holding on to Stevie's hand as he talked animatedly about who knows what. Quinn was smiling down at the tiny blonde and responding back enthusiastically- making Rachel swoon.
The girl was a breathtaking fantasy come to life.
Get your head in the game-
Quinn looks really good sweaty.
...I- okay, yes... she does manage to make perspiration a rather sexy trait on a person.
We should go tell her that!
Yeah, yeah, we shou- WAIT! No, dammit, Berry!
WHAT! What happened?
Focus on the game!
Game? Game...I'd like to play games...sexy games...
DAMN IT TO HELL! NO! THE FOOTBALL GAME YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WINNING FOR QUINN!
Right, right! Of course- the game!
She scolded herself at her Puckerman-esque leering, teared her gaze away from the majestic sight that was Quinn, and shook herself out of her Fabray induced daze.
Rachel purposely slowed down her stride as she cautiously approached Coach Beiste, an apology already on the tip of her tongue. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed nervously, wiping her sweaty palms on her uniform parts.
"I don't wanna hear it right now, kid," the woman growled out, before blowing on her whistle.
She took a step back from the woman as a time out was called. Shooting Rachel one last murderous glare, the coach turned to address the team. Rachel stayed quiet, feeling isolated as she huddled with her disgruntled teammates. Across the assemblage, Finn gave her patented half smile, nodding at her in acknowledgement.
Her eyes bulge out in shock as she hears the coach's play. "We're gonna go with a T-formation. Hudson, you cut the ball to Berry-"
"Coach, are you serious? " Puck interjects loudly, shooting the tiny halfback a not so subtle glare.
Shannon Beiste bore down on the mohawked boy with an intimidating look and let out a frustrated grunt. "Shut your freakin' trap, Puckerman." Rachel let out a small snicker, which she quickly tried to hide with a cough when the large lady turned to her.
"You-" She gulped as the coach jabbed a finger dangerously close to her eye, "-run as fast as you can, get in as much yardage as possible. Try to at least get to the two yard line. If you don't make to the end zone, we'd still have a chance of scoring." Rachel nodded vigorously at the instructions being spat at her. Literally, spat, like- the woman was drenching her in spittle. "And for the love of god, Berry, don't screw up!"
No pressure at all.
As the team made there way back onto the field, she was held back by a harsh tug on the back of her uniform. "Don't think that just because I'm putting you in the game, that you're out of trouble, Berry." Coach Beiste released her with a shove and jabbed a helmet into her hands.
"I understand, Coach." She put on the helmet offered to her, placed the mouth guard in place, and jogged onto the football field.
Rachel made her way to her spot - a few feet behind Finn, between the two running-backs- and placed herself into position.
She watched as Finn got into the proper position to pitch the ball - a quarterback must have his weight on his back leg as he executes the process of correctly throwing the football - the boy had that gassy baby look on his face- it was actually looking gassier that normal, which she took to mean that he was really preparing himself for this. Beside her, Puck was clenching his jaw menacingly in concentration, mouthing the most heinous threats to the opposite team.
With rapt attention, she listened as Finn bellowed out a the set of plays, "Red 32, hut, hut!"
:::.
:::.
As the leathery material of the football graced her fingertips, she clutched the pig skin tightly in her palms and fucking ran for it.
:::.
:::.
The tiny half just barely managed to snap the ball at an open Puckerman before she fell to the to the ground, half way to the end zone.
:::.
:::.
The first time she was knocked out- by that lunatic Azimio Adams - it wasn't so much the pain that made her lose consciousness, it more the shock of it all. Rachel Berry wasn't stupid- yes, okay, she occasionally made questionable decisions sometimes when it came to circumstances that concerned Quinn Fabray and the glee club, but she's not mentally unequipped.
She knew what she was getting into when she decided that she was going to join the football team to impress the girl of her dreams. Her whole summer was spent prepping her body and her psyche into being able to handle a tackle.
But anyone - no matter how fit, or prepared - would go down after getting bulldozed on opposites sides by two large masses of muscle and lard-
-she barely made out Puckerman yelling, "Hell yeah, bitches! Touchdown!" before darkness consumed her.
:::.
:::.
The crowd went wild as Titan's Running back Noah Puckerman made the game winning touchdown. His teammates yanked off their helmets and threw them joyously on the ground, too ecstatic about actually winning to care about looking cool and acting nonchalant. They jogged over to the overly thrilled boy- who was making lewd thrusting motions towards the members of the opposite team- and hoisted him up on their shoulders.
Fans and cheerleaders alike hovered around the boy's vicinity, wishing to congratulate him on his win. Coach Beiste had a wide beaming grin on her face, immensely proud of her team's unexpected victory.
All the while, Finn Hudson stared unblinkingly into the distance and stumbled over to his fallen teammates limp form.
:::.
:::.
Quinn fought her way out of the maze of enraptured fans, grasping on to Stevie's hand tightly as they hurried over to where Rachel lay on the grass. As soon as they were close enough to see the tiny halfback's form being gently held by Finn Hudson, the boy tore his hand away from hers and sprinted over to the football players.
"Rachel!" Stevie called out, quickly falling to his knees to be closer to the unconscious girl.
The cheerio inhaled shakily, before turning to the quarterback. "Don't touch her, Finn!" she barked out commandingly. "You might make it worse." The lumbering giant gulped and sat back on his heel, distancing himself from the tiny brunette. Quinn dropped to the ground beside girl's head and gently took one of her unresponsive hands in both of hers.
"Wake up." Quinn bent down over the girl, and whispered to her closely. "Rachel, please, wake up."
:::.
:::.
"You promised me you wouldn't get hurt."
:::.
:::.
Blinking up slowly, the tiny halfback bit back a pained groan as troubled molten amber eyes began to fill her vision, and immediately caused her to wonder if the hit she took had effectively managed to kill her. Perhaps she had fallen into a hopeless coma, was declared possibly brain dead, and her fathers had taken mercy on her and had her taken off of life support. Maybe she was in heaven now.
The fact that angels apparently had an uncanny resemblance to Quinn Fabray didn't really surprise her because, come on-
-have you seen Quinn?
All the girl needed was a pair of angel wings, and Rachel would gladly get down on her knees and worship her.
"Hi," Rachel squinted up at the holy creature, watching as those dazzlingly bottomless pools of greens and gold lit up. "You're pretty," she muttered softy to the lookalike, making a move to lift her hand up and feel the angel's velvety looking skin.
Ow ow ow ow ow ow-
Oh, Barbra, don't that!
Alright then. Moving... very bad idea. Rachel's wince instantly morphed into a dopy smile when the angel's cheeks flushed a rosy tint at her words. Puffing out a breath, the tiny halfback simply stared up at the celestial being above her with glazed over brown eyes.
"Do all the angels here look like you?" she slurred curiously, "or are you like, the specialiest angel?" Rachel frowned in confusion when the beautiful creature stiffened, before abruptly letting go of her hand and standing up. "Where are you going?" Rachel whimpered at the loss of contact between her and Angel Quinn. "Wait- I-I'm sorry- did I do some-"
"I- I have to go," the creature stuttered out, before turning away quickly and leaving.
Rachel watched through blurry eyes as the cheerleading uniform clad angel jogged over to a see of dark moving loud spots and got immersed in them. "Come back," she pleaded carelessly, gritting her teeth in pain as she desperately tried to sit up. A large hand on her shoulder prevented her from succeeding in her task.
Huffing in annoyance, she glanced at her side and saw Finn's constipated looking concerned face staring back at her-
-oh, no.
She was in hell.
:::.
:::.
III.
Eventually, the fog in her mind began to clear up, and the excruciating pain in her body faded into merely dull throbbing aggravation. Groaning pathetically, she pressed the icepack harder against her aching skull. Her and Finn were currently sat in the boy's locker room - well, he was sitting, she was sprawled out on one of the benches - Sam's parents had picked up Stevie awhile ago, with Finn acting as mediator while she stared blankly into space, trying to get her bearings in order.
"She hates me," she whispered miserably.
"I wouldn't say that-"
"Why, why, why?" Rachel chanted over and over in despair. "I've scared her away!"
Finn hummed in response as he folded up socks on the bench opposite hers. She vaguely remembers Coach Beiste informing her of her punishment as the giant boy lugged her off the field.
Laundry duty for three weeks, the coach had stated evilly, causing the piercing, stabbing pain in her head to worsen. Washing her teammates soiled underpants - teammates who, by the way, made it their lives goal to make her life miserable - she wanted to throw up.
"Dude, come down." Finn said distractedly, deeply focused on his task. He had to give his mom more credit, doing laundry was beyond confusing. Rinse and Spin, heavy duty, hand wash- what in the world? He gave the half back a brief pointed look. "Rach, you were like, ran over by two huge guys in full on football gear. She knows you were totally out off it."
Opening up one eye, Rachel watched as the tall boy scrunch his face up in disgust as he held up a jock strap. Finn chucked it away from him with horrified yelp. "Finn, I made a fool out of myself tonight. Not just to Quinn, but to everyone. I should've won us the game. I was supposed to prove myself out there."
The quarterback set down the questionable looking pair off socks he was holding and sighed, "Bro, you did great out there! Like, seriously. " He stated in all honesty. "You were half way there! If it wasn't for you, Puck would of never made that touchdown."
At the mention of the mohawked boy, Rachel moaned in agony. "She's gonna take him back."
"Huh?"
Sitting up, she tossed the melted icepack to the floor and covered her face with hands. "Quinn's getting back together with Puck," she mumbled hopelessly.
With a confused head tilt, Finn made his way over to seat next to the brooding girl. "How do you know that, bro? She might be done with him for good this time," he offered in comfort.
"Finn," she began with a disjointed head shake, "-you said it yourself, remember? She breaks up with him, he begs for forgiveness, or whatever Noah does, and after awhile- she caves and goes back to being suffocated in his large muscled biceps and triceps," Rachel muttered in disgust. "And with him leading the football team in our first victory in decades..." She trailed off with a whine. "Have you seen his guns, Finn? I can't compete with that!"
With a huff, Finn stood up and slapped a sock over her head. "Snap out of it, Rach."
"You were just forgiven, Finn Hudson! Hitting me whilst I am injured does not win you any favors," the brunette yelped.
Rolling his eyes at the hurt puppy dog looks his friend was giving him, he continued on. "I know everything sucks right now, but trust me, you didn't see the look on her face when she saw you on the ground."
"And how did- how did she look, Finn?" She wondered with tentative hope.
Brows furrowing in thought, the boy bit his lip. "Scared...like, she wouldn't know what to do if you had really gotten hurt."
She soaked in the information with a beaming smile. "So, why would she just leave then?" Her smile dimmed, remembering the way Quinn just abruptly walked away from her.
Finn shrugged, completely lost. He knew just as much about girl's as Rachel did, which was basically nothing. "I dunno, man."
The buzzing of a phone alerted the two teens of an oncoming text message. "I think that's mine," Rachel stated with a grimace as she got up and grabbed her phone from the back pocket of her jeans. Stevie had reluctantly handed it back to her before he went home. The boy could keep it for all she cared, it's not like she had anyone to converse with anyway.
'Are you okay?'
It was from an unsaved number, it was obviously not Santana as she had already programmed the girl's number into her phone despite knowing that she'd probably be decapitated if the Latina was to ever find that out. Frowning in bewilderment, she tapped out a response.
'While I deeply appreciate your concern, I would like to know where you got my number. And if this is Jacob Ben Israel, then I would like to inform you that the restraining order still stands.'
The reply came instantly.
'I got it from a cute little blonde boy who couldn't stop talking about how cool you were all throughout the game.'
Her heart thudded in chest.
'...Quinn?'
'Yes. And you didn't answer my question, Rachel. Are you okay now?'
'I'm completely, one hundred percent fine.'
'Promise?'
'I promise, Quinn. And I'm sorry about...the things I said. I didn't mean to embarrass you.'
She stared at her phone and willed it to buzz, practically leaping in joy when it did.
'No worries. I have to go now, Puck's making everyone do celebratory shots...take care of yourself, alright?'
'Yeah.'
:::.
:::.
The phone fell to the floor as Rachel slumped against the lockers dejectedly.
:::.
:::.
"Bro," he chirped, wrapping an arm around the tiny girl's shoulder. Finn placed his head on top of hers and puffed out a huge breath, "Next game, I'll make sure you'll be the reason that we win, alright?"
The lumbering boy frowned as his words were met with the quiet sounds of sniffling, and pulled the girl closer to him. "You're not giving up just like that, are you? You're totally gay for Fabray remember?" When he heard a soft snort, he grinned down widely at the halfback.
"What's that saying, 'the show must go all over the place', or something."
:::.
:::.
As she and Finn continued to fold their teammates freshly cleaned undergarments and socks, Rachel couldn't help but think that while Finn wasn't exactly the smartest guy in the world... or the nicest, or reliable, mature, selfless-
-anyway, the point is- while Finn might not be all those things, he was certainly loyal.
Much like a stray, retarded dog that's been offered food.
"So, now that we're like, bros again and stuff, I can totally copy your homework again, right?"
.
Author's note: Angst is unavoidable, but fear not! Good things will soon come Rachel's way!
Review? =)