Chapter 9: Staying Grounded Part 2
"You're paying for my dry cleaning, skank!" Santana growled. What was once black was now brown and who was once happy was now pissed. However, Santana was just happy that the bottles didn't break. She'd have to repay Berry for something she didn't even have the chance to enjoy!
The girl that appeared in Santana's thoughts somehow materialized in front of her, offering her a helping hand. She gratefully took in and glared at Quinn. "This is how friends act, Quinnifer." Santana spat.
Quinn rolled her eyes and popped her hip cockily. " If you had just given the booze to Rachel before you darted outside like a deranged maniac, maybe I wouldn't have had to resort to such barbaric ways." She smirked.
"That is it, Fabray! Sorry Berry Punch, but your white walls are gonna be painted red now." Santana threatened, shoving past the small girl.
Rachel tsked and grabbed Santana's arm. "San, stop! It's not her fault that she can't control her strength. I am not saying your weak by any means, however Quinn does have a sharp set of arms doesn't she?" Rachel questioned with a hint of admiration. Both girls turned to look at Quinn subtly flexing her biceps.
"She's right, San. I can't control these bad boys." Quinn boasted with a well-known haughtiness.
Santana looked down her nose at Quinn and shook her head. "Arm wrestle or else your a big phony!" She challenged, lifting up her own arms and kissing her biceps.
Rachel looked onto the scene with skeptical eyes. "Is this really happening? Maybe if I close my eyes, they will both be gone and I can get start on my daily Myspace video."
She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. "One, two, three, four, five" she paused to hear a shifting of feet, "six, seven-eight-nine-ten!" she tossed out. Her eyes snapped open to the sight of both Santana and Quinn to almost a nose-touching distance. She took a giant leap backwards and squeaked. Both Santana and Quinn fell into hysterics as a disgruntled diva pouted.
"Personal space! Ever heard of it?" She huffed out. This only fueled the cheerleaders' laughter, but that was short lived as Rachel turned around and headed straight into the house. The girls followed in suit wearing matching smirks. They sat across from each other at the dinner table and straightened their arms out on the table. They bent their arms and clasped their hands together.
A scattering of feet quickly rounded on the girls, followed by a scraping of a chair on wood flooring. "If you guys are going to do this, just please play by the rules-"
"Does arm wrestling even have rules?" Quinn asked.
"Irrelevant. Don't play dirty Santana, and try not to break any bones please." Rachel winced.
Both arm wrestlers nodded in consent.
"Okay, well, here we go. Three, two, one, go!" Rachel yelled.
Santana struggled against Quinn for a moment or two before she had the upper hand on her blonde counterpart. "Scared I'm going to beat you Fabray?"
"Oh please. I could do this all day if I had to!" Quinn retorted. She trained her eyes on the joined hands.
Rachel studied a particularly eye-catching vein that protruded from Quinn's neck in the battle over dominance. Perhaps it was normal teenage hormones, but Rachel had never known true lust until then. A sheen of sweat made its appearance on Quinn's forehead. Quinn was unkempt, clothed in a pair of pajamas that she had switched into upon their return from their outing. Overall, Quinn wasn't looking her best, but she looked perfect to Rachel. Perfect enough to eat, Rachel swallowed. She shook her head of such thoughts and turned her attention back to the wrestling match. Quinn was now in the lead and she was close to pressing Santana's hand to the table. "It appears to be at an end, folks!" Rachel announced in her air microphone.
A sudden ferocity renewed itself in Santana and she managed to get their hands back up into the middle. It was becoming quite clear by the ten minute mark that both girls were exhausted. Quinn's arm was shaky whereas Santana's grip was close to slipping completely off.
"Fucking God, Quinn! Just give up already! You know I'm going to beat you, so why prolong it?" Santana griped.
Pink lips formed into a vicious grin. "Okay, I'll end it for the both of us." Quinn promised. In the split-second of confusion that cast itself over Santana, Quinn slammed Santana's hand into the table and threw her hands up into the air. "Who's the winner now, bitch?" She whooped and fist pumped the air.
Rachel jumped up, clapping and ran over to Quinn, hooking her arms around Quinn's neck. Quinn pulled her in close, a brief lapse of judgment, and laughed heartily. "I did it!" She cheered victoriously.
"You did it!" Rachel matched Quinn's excitement with a grand smile. She turned to look at a sulking, cross armed, Santana. "Santana, don't be sad now! You were the one that challenged her." Rachel reasoned.
Santana whined. "I was distracted by the huge pimple on her forehead."
"There's not a pimple on my forehead!" Quinn cried. She turned to Rachel. "Is there?"
Brown eyes looked to hazel ones, then they traveled up to her forehead. "Nothing to worry about, Quinn. You look as pretty as every." Rachel soothed. She met Quinn's eyes for a short second before her eyes studied the floor. A beautiful rose bloomed in Quinn's cheeks.
The moment was, of course, ruined by Santana who decided "Barf" was an appropriate reaction to the connection Rachel made with Quinn. Rachel turned to Santana with an exasperated sigh, shooting daggers at the girl. Santana surrendered and put her hands up. "Hey, it was gross moment. Anyways, B's wondering if she could come over. She feels kinda left out since we're here without here."
Rachel nodded. "Of course! Make sure it's okay with her parents first, though." She passed Quinn and tossed one more look over her shoulder. The girl appeared to be entirely comfortable staring at the floor. Rachel accidentally ran into the wall as a result of her leering. She shook her head and ignored the laughs of a loud Latina and walked upstairs to her room. She smiled and squealed at how remarkable Quinn felt at ease in their new found friendship. Did that mean Quinn was excused of all her crimes against Rachel? Despite Rachel's affections for the girl, she knew it'd be sometime before Quinn was truly washed of the burdens lain upon her. It was getting easier for Rachel to breathe. Already Quinn was treating Rachel as a friend, a close one even. That combined with the drunken confession last night had Quinn breaking down Rachel's reinforced walls against her. Rachel sighed to herself and picked up her phone for the first time that weekend. She gasped when she saw that she had fourteen missed calls from her Dad. That meant serious business.
She quickly dialed the number and nervously bit her lip. The called picked up, but there was an eerie silence.
"May I ask what was distracting you from picking up my call, Rachel?" A deep voice questioned softly.
Rachel released a breath of air slowly and fidgeted with her hands. "I have some friends over and I apologize for not asking you beforehand. Trust me when I say that I did not have this planned out in the way these events have transpired."
"You don't have to ask us for permission, sweetheart. However, I am a bit concerned." Hiriam paused. "Your other father is a bit more concerned than I am." Rachel could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
"Can you explain to us why we've received calls from Mrs. Robinson from across the street about a Hispanic girl dancing with two bottles of tequila out on the lawn of our house?" Leroy's voice bellowed out into the speaker of the phone.
Rachel gripped the edge of her bed. "Santana was fooling around and-"
"Santana? Santana Lopez? That Santana?" Leroy asked, but it sounded more like a yell.
"Yes, daddy. I regret to inform you that I am rather forgetful when it comes to updating you both daily. In spite of Santana and I's past, well, past has been discussed. She apologized to me and we are trying a new friendship. She has proved herself so far." Rachel tried, wanting to defend her friend. She could understand why her daddy would voice his concerns.
She could hear a quiet sigh away from the phone. "It's not that I don't trust your judgment, princess, it's just that you came home crying almost every day because that Lopez girl had instigated some cruel prank on you. Don't even get me started on that Quinn Fabray." Hiriam said.
Rachel tensed. "I guess you both will be disappointed in me then, because Quinn is over as well."
Both parties stayed silent for what seemed forever.
"We're placing a lot of trust in you Rachel. We know that teenagers are just wanting to experiment which is why we left the liquor cabinet key with you, but be careful." Hiriam replied.
Rachel frowned at the sudden change in topic. "Are we just not going to talk about this? We can't shut each other out like this. Dad, daddy, just please trust me. You both know that I am keeping my heart close to my chest. She's trying, she really is. Give her a chance just like I am, please." She begged. She didn't care that she sounded desperate, but if Rachel ever could pursue a relationship with Quinn it'd be easier with the approval of her dads.
"We trust you, Rachel. We love you." Her dads rang out.
She allowed herself a small smile. "I love you both too. Stay safe." She flopped onto the bed on her back and closed her eyes. She put a pillow over her mouth and screamed into it. She tossed it to the side and sighed. At least her life was getting interesting again...
xXx
Brittany was over in less than ten minutes, excited to her best friend that was also her lover. She, of course, was ecstatic that Quinn and Rachel were getting along. Santana greeted her at the door with a deep, passionate kiss, one that only true lovers knew. Quinn cleared her throat, alerting the two girls in a respectful manner.
"Hey B." Quinn smiled. Brittany wrapped her arms around Quinn tightly.
The bubbly blonde could light up a room with her brilliant smile. "Hey Quinn! It feels like I haven't seen you in forever. Me and Lord Tubbington were discussing you earlier."
"Oh?" Quinn supplied, not really knowing where Brittany was going with this. But then again, this is Brittany we're talking about.
"Yeah! He thinks you're a shoe-in for prom queen." Brittany clapped her hands together and then turned back to Santana. "San, where's Rachie?"
Santana shrugged and smiled at the simple fact that her girlfriend was there. "I'm guessing in her room. She might be on the phone though. I went to check on her a while ago and seemed to be talking to her dads."
Brittany nodded. "I'll go check and see if she's done. I want her to come girl out with us!"
The dancer sprinted up the stairs with ease and found Rachel's room quickly. It was hard to miss. It had a giant star with her name on it, y'know the ones they have in the dressing rooms for superstars. She tenderly knocked on the door and opened the door handle.
"Rachel? It's Brittany." She announced.
Rachel was standing over her desk, tapping a pen on a notebook. She looked up from the notebook. "Oh, I did not expect you to be over so soon! Are you hungry, thirsty?"
"I could eat, but first thing's first. Are you doing okay? I mean, Quinn is here, and if you're nervous or something I can help you." Brittany asked, her joyful demeanor extending to Rachel.
Rachel instantly became relaxed and smiled. Brittany was the only cheerleader who stood up for her, even to Santana. She had developed a friendship with her and it had only grown stronger over the past couple of years. "I am not afraid of Quinn anymore, Brit. Sure, she can be pretty scary, but I think I will be just fine."
"Um, I didn't mean that kind of nervous. I meant the kind where you feel like you wanna throw up around her and it's like insects are buzzing around her stomach." Brittany said, trying to explain it in a way that Rachel could understand.
Regardless of how Brittany phrased it, Rachel understood. She understood loud and clear. Rachel's previous expression was wiped clean, replaced with a blanched whiteness. "B-Brittany...how do you know of my feelings that I may or may not have for Quinn?"
"Lord Tubbington told me. We're both planning on how to get you two together!" Brittany grinned, proud of herself and proud of her cat too.
Rachel shook her head sadly. "That is not going to happen Brittany. Quinn likes boys. I am a girl. I like girls." She closed her eyes and sighed. She reopened her eyes. Brittany was already over to her side, wiping away a few stray tears that had graced her cheek.
Quinn would never fall for her, and it broke Rachel's heart to admit that. Even though Quinn had no idea that she did, she found a new way to make Rachel cry.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm back from my year hiatus and I'm going strong! I'm trying to stay strong and inspired for writing and eventually finishing this fanfic! I know the Faberry population is dying, but I'm determined to be a Faberry Follower Forever! Review, follow, PM me, whatever! Thanks for reading!