Long Overdue Author's Note.
Hey y'all! I know I've been basically M.I.A for a loooooong time, but to be fair my life's been pretty rough for a while now. I'm just now finally gettin' to a place in my life where I can consider it to be (thank God) goin' well, and I feel like I'm in the best mental health state that I've ever been in. With that bein' said...unfortunately these updates are goin' to continue to be spacey and random. I've currently got what feels like 100 different stories swirlin' around in my head (One of them bein' an original work) as well as havin' college classes to worry about, and unfortunately when I've got an idea in my head for a story or a chapter of a story then that's what my brain obsesses over. I am tryin' to force myself to update my other stories as well but I don't want to put out somethin' that's half-assed just for the sake of an update, so with that bein' said I promise I'll get more updates up when I can.
I give Quinn a smirk of my own as she reaches me and links her arms through mine, pulling me into the hallway before stopping to wait on the others.
"Where are your lockers? And your first classes?" Tana questions both Noah and myself as they finally meet us outside the choir room. I can see the rest of the club staring at us from inside the choir room still, but I ignore them in lue of leading Quinn down the hall towards where our lockers are, knowing that the others will follow us.
"They're over here by the Cafeteria," Noah answers Santi from behind me as they trail along and I hear the rustling of paper as he pauses for a moment. "And I have some chick named Mrs. Austin for English as my first."
"Same," I chirp from my new place standing in front of my locker. I reluctantly untangle my arm from Quinn's, much to her displeasure if her small scowl says anything, and begin placing in my combo so I can grab my supplies for my class. Noah and the others gather around me as this is happening and Britt starts jumping up and down in excitement as she hears our answers.
"Yay! You're lockers are right next to mine," she squeals excitedly as she points to a locker that's literally situated in the middle of mine and Noah's. "And you both share first period with me."
"That's awesome B," Santana tells her lovingly before schooling her expression and turning to Noah and I, "Ok well get everything together and get to class. Q and I have lockers on the other side of the school, so we'll see you guys after first," Tana orders us with a grin before turning to Britt and giving her a quick but tight hug goodbye. Quinn gives me a heavy look before reluctantly being drug away by a bouncing Santana.
"Hey B? Are you guys still not out at school?" I question in slight annoyance as Noah and I wait on her to finish up at her locker. I saw the look of hurt that flashed through Brittany's eyes as Santana hesitated to properly tell her goodbye, and I'll be damned if I keep seeing that look because of my cousin being an idiota. Brittany's the best thing to ever happen to her, and she had better not mess it up all because she's too much of a pussy to let the world know it.
"No not yet. She's still scared to tell people," she replies sadly as she shuts her locker and fully faces us for the first time since Santana and Quinn left. Her bright blue eyes are filled with a confused sadness that I hate seeing there. As does Noah if his tone of voice is anything to go by.
"Britt-Britt? Why in the heck is Tana afraid of telling people here when Tia, Tio, Abuela, heck the entire family basically, already knows?"
"Because Kurt's the only openly gay kid here and he's constantly bullied and tormented," she answers him in such sadness that my heart breaks, and from the look on Noah's face his is breaking as well. "I keep telling San that everyone's too afraid of her, Q, and Coach Sylvester, but she won't listen to me." She now has tears pooling in the corner of her eyes as we all walk slowly towards what I'm assuming is our first period class, seeing as I have no idea what the layout of this school is yet. "I mean...It just isn't fair! Why do people bully and pick on others just for being themselves? Why do they scare others from being themselves?" she exclaims as the tears finally slowly start to fall from her eyes.
"Shhh….Shhh mija. It's ok. It's going to be ok," I mumble to her as I pull her into my side. Noah squishes himself in on her other side and now Britt's trapped in a Twin Sandwich. "You trust us right B?" I ask her as we come to halt in front of a classroom door. She nods her head firmly before squeezing us both tightly and releasing us.
"Then don't worry babygirl, cause we've got this," Noah tells her, puffing up his chest proudly.
"That we do B. We'll put a stop to the bullying poor Kurt is constantly receiving," Noah nods his head firmly in agreement with me, "And we'll make our girls finally open up and be themselves," I finish with my patent smirk. Britt gives me her normally bright grin before grabbing both of our hands and dragging us inside the classroom almost simultaneously with the bell ringing.
Even though we're technically almost late walking in, I quietly observe that the teacher still isn't in the classroom as Noah and I allow ourselves to be drug to the back of the classroom and pulled into the vacant seats on either side of Brittany's desk. We sit quietly for a few moments, Noah putting his head on his desk most likely to take a nap and Britt absentmindedly doodling in her notebook, and I'm about to check out myself when an older woman with dirty blonde hair worn in a tight bun rushes in the door and straight over to the teacher's desk. She hasn't noticed Noah or myself yet because she's focusing so hard on unloading all of her stuff onto her desk, so I send a silent prayer that she just continues on with the start of class and just glosses over us. I despise the whole 'new kid introduction' bs and would rather like to avoid it if at all possible. Alas my prayers goes unanswered as Mrs. Austin finally looks up from her doings to glance around the class, and she does a double take at seeing Noah and I sitting beside Brittany.
"Oh! Hello there! Class it looks like we have two new students joining us today," she laughs out in slight annoyance and surprise. "Why don't you come on up and introduce yourselves? Just tell us who you are and a couple of interesting facts about yourself," she politely orders before again going back to fidgeting with the mess that is her desk. I groan loudly to show my agitation at this stupid little exercise before standing and slowly walking to the front of the room with a snickering Noah by my side. He always gets such a kick out of my reactions when I'm annoyed. Prick…
"Whelp...I'm Puck," Noah starts off with his signature smirk, which turns suggestive as he continues his sentence, "I'm a certified Sex Shark and a straight up badass," he finishes much to Mrs. Austin's horror. Her glare only intensifies tenfold when Noah turns his suggestive smirk on her with a wink at his mention of being a sex shark. She stays silent though and allows me to speak right after Noah.
"I'm Rachel," I say while trying to calm my snickering. I clear my throat a couple of times before continuing. "I'm gay and I'm and even bigger badass then my brother," I finish to silence so thick you could hear a pin dropping. It doesn't have time to become awkward though, because almost immediately the sound of Brittany humming Somewhere Over the Rainbow can be heard filling the room. Noah and I take that as our que to head back and take our seats, both of us trying and failing to control our laughter the entire way. The entire class follows us with their eyes as we take our seats, and even though we're currently seated in the back row with the teacher calling for class to finally begin you'd think that everyone would face front and pay attention, but nope. I pay them no mind as I pay attention to Mrs. Austin myself, taking perfectly detailed notes.
I have my second period class all alone before being forced to sit through the biggest joke of a Spanish class I've ever had the displeasure of taking, and the only plus side to that class is that I have not only Quinn in here with me, which is perfectly fine with me all on it's own, but also Noah, Tana, and Britts which makes it a lot more bearable. After Spanish I have to sit through a dreary Math class where I don't know or speak to anyone, and as soon as the bell rings I rush from my seat and head to my locker to deposit my books so I can head to lunch. Before I can make it anywhere near my locker though I hear Quinn's beautiful voice wafting over the sounds of the hungry, rushing, students, which causes me to stop in my tracks to asserne where it's coming from. I can't make out quite what she's saying, I just know it's her talking. I'd know her voice anywhere. I realize it's coming from a hallway directly ahead of me and to my left so I quickly start walking again, picking up my pace when I realize that Quinn's not just speaking. Quinn's pissed and is slowly raising her voice louder and louder in annoyance. Scary Quinn is out to play.
"I mean what I say Finn now drop it! Stop wasting my time and let me leave," I hear her growl out clearly as I round the corner and spot them halfway down the hall. People are milling about casually but not staying around for too long, not wanting the ire that the Head Cheerio seems to be throwing her boyfriend to be directed at themselves. Finn's towering over Quinn with his arm on the other side of her head, effectively trapping her against the lockers, and I growl myself. How dare this neanderthal put Quinn in a position she doesn't want to be in. I pick up my gait when I hear Finn's angry response.
"You don't know what you're talking about. We're the power couple. I'm the Quarterback and you're the Head Cheerleader. We're meant to be. That's how this works," he tells her with a glare that he tries to school into a charming smile. He just ends up looking gassy.
"Finn…" Quinn warns with her Scary Quinn glare. He shrinks back for just a moment before standing tall again with a booming,
"No! I'm done with this conversation Quinn! Let's go calm down and get some lunch. You're just confused because of that dyke showing up and showering you with attention," he tells her with his still gassy face, still keeping her in place against the lockers and completely ignoring all of Quinn's 'Danger!' 'Warning!' signs. I slow with a smirk as Quinn suddenly raises her hand and slaps the giant across the face effortlessly with a glare so dark even I'm a little scared for the idioto. The resounding smack is heard loudly reverberating throughout the now empty hallways, all of the other students having already either made it to their next class or lunch by now, and Finn just stands there in shocked disbelief with his free hand cupping his now stinging cheek.
"Don't! Call her that," Quinn grits out between clenched teeth, her tone and face so fierce she'd send even Santana (Satan herself) running for the hills.
"But why nooot," he whines out looking wounded. "She said so herself! It came right out of her mouth!" Good job Hudson! You're so smart!
"Just move Finn! We're over and that's that. Get. Away. Now!" she growls out as she tries, and fails which pisses me off even more, to push him out of her way.
"Babe. Seriously. Quit playing," Finn says as he tries to lean in to kiss her, and that's when I finally have had enough and begin to lose my shit.
"Look Lurch! She said move so move your ass!" I snap harshly, having to stop myself from just rushing the pinche pendejo. Finn jumps slightly before snapping his head over to 'glare' at me. If you can even call that look on his annoying face a glare.
"Whatever dyke. This is none of your business so just run along," he dismisses me after a few brief moments of us having a staredown. And OH HELL NO! This boy just did not! Quinn's glare has now slipped into a devilish grin because she knows what's coming next. I only have so much patience, which she knows, and especially when it comes to Quinn herself, which she also knows.
"Look Grawp I'm not playing. We're through means we're through, and you have ten seconds to get away from her before I move you myself and break your nose in the process," I grit out, trying to hold myself back and not kill this fool. He just waves his free hand at me before turning back to face Quinn with a snarky,
"Whatever bitch, just run back along to wherever you came from. No one wants your faggot ass here ruining our school anyway." Quinn's eyes are wide and full of rage and she again raises her hand to slap Finn for his vile words, but I don't give her the chance. His sentence was way longer than ten seconds and I'm not a liar, so before she can even lift her arm fully I'm rugby tackling him away from her and to the ground. I pop him in the nose as hard as I can before picking myself up off of him and noticing that he's silently crying as he clenches his face. He's trying to stop the blood that's pouring from his nose, but it's all to no avail because like I said I'm not a liar. I broke it.
"Bebe culo grande," I spit out at him before turning and making my way back to a silently laughing Quinn. "C'mon Q, let's get to the cafeteria before a teacher comes," I say as I grab her arm to lock our arms together. She just nods her approval, still chuckling too hard to speak, and leads the way.
"Where in the hell have you two been?" Tana questions suspiciously as soon as we finally make it to her table with our food.
"Calm your tits S. I broke up with Finn and he was being...difficult," Quinn explains before taking a huge bite of her apple.
"Yeah, so if I get called into the office sometime later today I've been here the whole time. 'Kay?" I tell everyone at the table, only half joking.
"O...k…? Why? What happened?" Tana questions slowly, unsure of what to make of everything that is currently going on.
"Nothing much really. He just wouldn't take 'We're over' as something Quinn was allowed to tell him. Don't know if his tiny mind couldn't really comprehend the words being said to him, or if he's really just that controlling, but he wouldn't let Quinn leave until she said she was joking. I intervened after a certain point and he had some very...we'll go with colorful...things to say to me and about me. Long story short he wouldn't stop trying to control Quinn, which pissed me off, and after multiple warnings that his royal idiotness ignored I broke his nose. Well...according to him anyways. I haven't seen him since Spanish," I finish with a playful wink. I look around the table to see a bunch of awed looks and nodding heads. "But anyway. Hello all. I'm Rachel," I say before taking a mouthful of sandwich and groaning at the first taste of food I've had since this morning. I hadn't realized it until just now, but I'm starving.
"I'm Kurt," the gay kid from glee earlier tells me with a bright smile and a wave. "Finn's going to be a monster to live with for a while now but someone needed to knock him down a few pegs, so thank you."
"Hold on wait," I exclaim in surprise, holding my hand out to keep the conversation halted. "You live with that douche?" I ask him incredulously.
"Yeah...he's my step-brother," Kurt states with a look of confusion towards my reaction but a roll of his eyes towards his own statement. I bet he's none too pleased having someone like Hudson as a brother.
"I'm so sorry. I hope he never says the things he did today around you or your home," I tell him sincerely before taking another giant bite of my sandwich to avoid his questioning gaze. "Ok, so Kurt. And you are?" I question the black girl sitting on Kurt's left politely after having swallowed my bite of sandwich.
"Mercedes," she snaps coldly towards me, barely sparing me a glance from where she currently has her head buried in her phone. Huh...guess she's not too fond of me. Oh well.
"I'm Tina and this is Mike and Matt," Tina pipes up from Kurt's right, also introducing the male Asian and shy black kid. They all give me quick waves and welcoming smiles.
"And I'm Artie," the wheelchair kid from earlier tells me with his own beaming smile. "Welcome to the club."
"Thank you, and it's nice to officially meet you all," I reply politely with a grin (What? Badasses can have manners.), before looking around the table for my currently missing piece. "Tana where's Noah?" I wonder and she just gives me a grossed out look. I immediately understand and shake my head with an eye-roll of my own. Sex Shark indeed. Gross.
"We're talking about everything that happened between you guys and Finnocence later," Santana tells Quinn and I sternly as the bell signalling the end of lunch rings. I just give her a thumbs up because I had just shoved the remainder of my sandwich into my mouth all at once. She just shakes her heads and leaves with her pinky linked with Britt's.
"Q wait!" I panic through a still mouthful of sandwich and grab her arm when she makes to leave the table.
"Calm down Rae, I'm just standing up," she laughs out amusedly as she locks eyes with mine fondly. I blush in embarrassment as I hurriedly finish chewing and swallow my food finally. She grabs her trash and I mine as we both finally stand up and make our way to the exit. I quietly make my way with her to her locker, slowly working up the courage to ask her what I wanna ask her.
"When is your free period?" I finally manage to ask as we reach her locker.
"The period after this one. Why? What's up?" she questions lightly with an amused smile while biting down that oh so sexy bottom lip...good God almighty. And I think she can pick up on my nerves if the way she raises that perfectly arched eyebrow is any indication. Damn them. It takes me a few seconds to find my voice again, because I'm just so wrapped up in Quinn. I really have missed this woman.
"I-I just wanted to see if you would meet me in the auditorium so we could talk," I say nervously. She's the only woman on the planet who's ever made me nervous. Hell she's the only woman on the planet who's ever made me feel anything other than annoyance or lust.
"Absolutely," she tells me with a beaming smile just as the warning bell rings. "I'll see you next period," she tells me quietly before leaning in and kissing my cheek. I stand in front of her locker in a daze as I watch those amazing hips and that succulent ass sauntering oh so deliciously away from me. I stare stupidly until the late bell rings, startling me with a jump, before I shake myself out of it and make my way to Science which I thankfully share with Santana and Noah.
I'm sitting on the piano bench quietly messing around with the keys when Quinn walks into the auditorium. I take a deep and steadying breath before looking over towards her and locking our eyes. She gives me a small smile and wave as she makes her way over and up onto the stage. Neither of us dare to break the silence just yet as Quinn takes a seat beside me on the bench and mimics my slowly and quiet movements on the keys. I get distracted by her flawlessly pale and gorgeous fingers as they move about the piano effortlessly, and I have to shake myself out of the daydreams my brain tries to drag me into. I can make one of my dreams a reality if I just do it already. She gives me a curious look as I abandon my place next to her and grab one of the acoustic guitars that are sitting on their stands behind the curtain.
I start randomly plucking strings to make sure the guitar is in tune and keep plucking as I buy time on how to say everything I want to say. I have to get this right the first time. "Q we've known each other a long time. Basically since we were in diapers…" I smile softly at the fond look she's currently giving me as she nods her head. "I told you when I first left away to New York when we were ten that I would never forget about you. That you were the only girl I'd ever truly see or love, and that I would come back to you one day," I stop to clear my throat and can't miss the tears that are slowly starting to fall down her face. Her expression is a mixture of heartbroken and excitement and I grin a bit as I take another deep breath to try and calm my nerves enough for me to bring this home. "I know we've had our fights, some of them stupid and irrelevent and some of them super important, and I know we've both had our concerns for our feelings in the past but...I just…" I trail off here, knowing that I'd never get across to Quinn my true feelings and intentions in just words, and begin to play the opening notes of the song I've been practicing for weeks, ever since I found out we were finally moving back. I can tell she recognizes the song almost immediately because she gasps loudly as her hands fly up to cover her mouth. I just match the grin she's hiding behind her hands as I begin the opening lines.
Girl, I been thinkin' 'bout us
And you know I ain't good at this stuff
These feelings pilin' up won't give me no rest
This might come out a little crazy
A little sideways, yeah maybe
I don't know how long it'll take me
but I'll do my best
You'll be my soft and sweet
I'll be your strong and steady
You'll be my glass of wine
I'll be your shot of whiskey
You'll be my sunny day
I'll be your shade tree
You'll be my honeysuckle
I'll be your honey bee
Yeah, that came out a little country
But every word was right on the money
And I got you smilin' honey right back at me At this she uncovers her mouth and grins openly up at me.
Now hold on 'cause I ain't done
There's more where that came from
Well you know I'm just havin' fun, but seriously
If you'll be my Louisiana
I'll be your Mississippi
You'll be my Little Loretta
I'll be your Conway Twitty
You'll be my sugar, baby
I'll be your sweet iced tea
You'll be my honeysuckle
I'll be your honey bee
Your kiss just said it all
I'm glad we had this talk
Nothing left to do but fall in each others arms
I coulda said "I love you" At this line she starts tearing up again and her smile gets impossibly wider and brighter.
Coulda wrote you a line or two
Baby, all I know to do is speak right from the heart
If you'll be my soft and sweet
I'll be your strong and steady
You'll be my glass of wine
I'll be your shot of whiskey
You'll be my sunny day
I'll be your shade tree
You'll be my honeysuckle
I'll be your honey bee
You'll be my Louisiana
I'll be your Mississippi
You'll be my Little Loretta
I'll be your Conway Twitty
You'll be my sugar, baby
I'll be your sweet iced tea
You'll be my honeysuckle
And I'll be your honey bee
I'll be your honey bee
Once the last notes of the song fade away we stand there in silence for a moment just looking at each other. Quinn's eye's are scanning my face hungrily as if she's searching for something so I open my mouth and say, "I do you know." She stops her searching and stares at me in puzzlement so I clarify. "Love you. I really do love you. I have ever since the moment in second grade when you sneakily cut off our teacher's braid for embarrassing me in front of the class over our numbers and I haven't stopped," I mumble shyly with a full-blown blush. I've never admitted this to her before and it's hard for me to keep eye contact with her. I finally manage to hold her eyes as she stands from the bench with tears openly flowing down her face now, a gorgeous grin splitting her face in two, and I almost tumble backwards from the force that she throws herself into my arms. I thankfully stay upright with a slightly pained "Ooomph!", but holding this beautiful blonde in my arms is worth any type of pain that anyone can try and throw at me.