The streets were unusually quiet even for a Wednesday night. There was still the occasional person or family but not as many people as she expected.
Quinn frowned and checked her phone again. She had offered to pick up some coffee for her mother, anything to get out of the house. Now she was starting to regret it because she couldn't find the blasted coffee shop. According to the GPS she was right next to Lima Bean, the only coffee shop in town. She spun around several times before finally spotting the coffee shop tucked between a tire shop and a nail salon.
Quinn sighed in relief and stalked toward the coffee shop. Quinn walked inside and found it was rather crowded. She scanned the menu for something she wanted.
She walked up to the counter. "Welcome to the Lima Bean. What can I get you?"
"Espresso and a medium vanilla latte," Quinn requested. She pulled out her wallet and flipped through the bills and pulled out $10.
"$7.04," the barista said. "Name?"
"Quinn." Quinn handed over the money and waited for her change. The barista handed back $2.96. Quinn double checked the change to make sure it was all there. It was. Quinn dumped the loose change into the tip jar. She ignored the thanks and walked over to an empty table to wait for her drinks.
Quinn looked around the coffee shop. Most of the tables had one person, either reading a book or working on homework. One table had five people, all about her age. One was a Latina, dressed in designer clothes that Quinn was sure cost more than her car. Three of the five looked to be related. They had the same tanned skin and sharp features. The girl looked to be the smallest of the group, possibly the youngest. The last boy looked nothing like his counterparts. He was tall and athletic, according to his letterman's jacket, but not overly muscular. Quinn was reminded of a teddy bear.
The smallest of the three boys, most likely the youngest, muttered something and the Latina looked at Quinn. The girl frowned and Quinn quickly looked away, embarrassed she got caught staring.
"Quinn," the barista called. Quinn grabbed the two drinks and left as quickly as she could. Her car was parked a couple blocks away.
As Quinn walked she tried not to think of the rich Latina or her dark, curious eyes. Quinn had never been the most popular girl nor was she the most unpopular. Still she had never had someone stare at her like that before.
Quinn climbed into her car and drove home. Thank God for GPS because she didn't think she could make it home on her own.
The house she shared with her mother was on the edge of Lima Heights. Not quite part of Lima Heights, the rich part of town, but not quite part of the rest of the town either.
Quinn pulled into the driveway behind her mom's Prius. She half expected her mother not to be here when she got home.
For Judy Fabray her career was her life. There was nothing she cared about more, not even her daughter. Judy took care of Quinn and made sure she had everything she needed but other than that Quinn was on her own for the most part, unless Judy felt the need to criticize her which was often.
"Mom?" Quinn called pushing open the front door.
"Kitchen Quinn," Judy answered.
Quinn walked into the kitchen. Judy was unpacking boxes of dishes. "Coffee." Quinn sat the cup on the counter.
Judy sat the plates down and grabbed the coffee. She took a sip and wrinkled her nose. "It's lukewarm."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "The coffee shop is over ten minutes away and it is cold outside. What do you expect?" Quinn spotted the paperwork on the table. She saw the name Eduardo Lopez written on one of the pages. Judy caught her looking and quickly covered the pages. "What is that?"
"None of your concern," Judy said quickly.
The case against Eduardo Lopez was the biggest care of her career. If she could successfully prosecute Lopez then she would be well on her way to becoming a federal prosecutor. It was her dream. She wasn't about to let Quinn screw that up for her.
Quinn shrugged. She didn't care enough to push it. "I'll be in my room."
"Unpack your things," Judy yelled after her.
Quinn ignored her and headed upstairs with her coffee. She shut the door to her room and sat her coffee on the dresser. So far the move to Lima wasn't great. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't great. Then again she hadn't been here for twenty four hours yet.
Tomorrow was her first day at McKinley High and Quinn wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Quinn enjoyed school and she was good at it but she didn't want to have to start over. It wasn't easy being the new person after the school year had already started.
Quinn stared at the pile of boxes in the corner of her room. She sighed and started unpacking the boxes because she didn't want to listen to her mother bitch at her. She unpacked her clothes first, sticking what she could in her dresser and hanging up the rest. She tossed the empty boxes into the hallway for her mother to deal with. She was bound to get yelled at because of it but she didn't care.
With her clothes unpacked Quinn decided to move onto her bathroom. She grabbed two boxes marked bathroom and made her way across the hall. The boxes were placed on the counter in order to make it easier to unpack.
Quinn stocked the cabinets with bath towels, hand towels and wash clothes. The cleaning supplies were placed under the counter and the drawers were stocked with the rest of her toiletries. She tossed the boxes with the rest.
Quinn went back to her room and shut the door. It had been a long day and she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Unfortunately she couldn't, yet. She dug through her boxes until she found her bedding.
Quinn took a sip of her coffee, which wasn't as strong as she would have liked, and got to work making her bed. She moved everything off the bed and put the sheet on. Once the sheet was on she quickly finished making her bed.
Quinn changed into her pajamas and closed her eyes.
"Quinn, you better be awake," Judy called pounding on Quinn's bedroom door.
"I'm awake," Quinn yelled, calling her eyes. Her mother was off in her own little world and didn't hear the shower running.
"Five minutes Quinn."
Quinn grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs. "Why can't I take my car?"
"Because, I have to go to your school to fill out paperwork. It's pointless to take two vehicles to the same place," Judy replied.
"And how am I supposed to get home?" Quinn questioned.
"Walk," Judy answered. She eyed her daughter. "It will be good for you." Quinn glared at her mother as she turned around. "Come, we need to go." Quinn followed her mother to the garage.
They didn't speak the entire drive to school. Then again they didn't speak much to begin with. Quinn was surprised to see a Porsche in the parking lot. It was easily the most expensive car at the school. Quinn briefly wondered if it belonged to the girl with the designer clothes.
Quinn followed Judy to the principal's office. They were early. The only people here were football players and cheerleaders.
Judy huffed in annoyance when they finally got to the door marked Principal Figgins. His office was on the other side of the school.
Judy held the door open and ushered her inside. "Judy Fabray," Principal Figgins greeted. He had been expecting her. "And this must be Quinn."
"Is everything ready like I asked?"
"Yes ma'am," Figgins said pushing a folder labelled Fabray and a pen forward. Quinn rolled her eyes. Her mother had people wrapped around her finger and they didn't even notice. "If you would sign where the yellow tabs are."
Judy grabbed the pen and signed the documents. Because they were coming from Los Angeles Judy never had a chance to sign the papers needed to enroll Quinn in school. Figgins had assured her that she could come in on Quinn's first day to take care of it as long as Quinn's transcripts and immunization records were sent.
When Judy finished she dropped the pen and pushed the papers back toward Figgins. "Excellent." Figgins pulled out two pages and a half sheet and handed them to Quinn. "Here is your schedule, a map of the school and your locker number and combination." He pulled another page from the pile. "Have your teachers sign this and return it to my office after school. Go to the library and get your textbooks. You should have plenty of time. Welcome to McKinley Ms. Fabray."
Quinn glanced at her schedule. It was pretty basic, pre-calculus, chemistry, Spanish, English, P.E. and US History with all but her electives and math class as AP classes. She checked the map and left the office without saying goodbye to her mother. It wasn't like her mother cared.
Quinn checked the map one more time before heading toward the library, or she hoped that's where she was heading. Luck was on her side and she found the library in minutes. She stepped inside and looked around. "Hello?" she called.
"Hello," a man greeted. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm new here and was told to come get my books," Quinn said handing over her schedule.
He quickly scanned the list. "Wait here. It will only take a couple minutes to get your books."
Quinn stood at the desk and waited for the librarian to return with her books. She was happy she was here early. It would give her time to find her locker and drop off her books and find her classroom. The librarian returned with a stack of five books. One for every class except for P.E. "Here you are. Everything you need."
"Thanks," Quinn said grabbing the stack. She left the library and searched for locker number 1043.
By the time Quinn found her locker students were pouring into the school. According to her cell phone she had fifteen minutes to drop off her books and find the classroom. It was on the opposite end of the school from the library. She dropped the books on the ground and twisted the lock. After two tries the lock popped open. She sighed in relief and bent over to pick up her books. All but her history book were shoved inside.
Quinn slammed the locker shut and closed the lock. She tugged it to make sure it was in fact locked. She grabbed her map again and looked for her history class. It was right around the corner.
Quinn walked into the class and was surprised only half of the seats were full. She handed over the slip to Mr. Varner. "Take a seat Ms. Fabray." He didn't bother looking up from his lesson plan. She took the slip back and made her way to the back of the room.
One minute before the bell rang two girls stumbled into the room laughing. Quinn recognized them both as the girls from the coffee shop. "Ms. Lopez, Ms. Puckerman, nice of you to join us," Mr. Varner said over the sound of the bell.
Lopez and Puckerman didn't say anything. They simply walked to the back of the room and sat down, two seats to Quinn's left. Quinn glanced over to the girls as Mr. Varner started taking role. The smaller girl, who Quinn assumed was Puckerman, nudged the other girl, Lopez she assumed, and they looked at her. Quinn blushed and looked away. This was the second time she got caught staring at them.
"Fabray," Mr. Varner called.
"Here," Quinn replied rolling her eyes. He had just seen her.
He continued on with role. Quinn tuned him out until he called Lopez. Quinn looked at the two girls. "Here," the taller one answered. She had been right. Now she had a last name for the two girls.
As soon as role was done Mr. Varner went straight to his lecture on World War I. Quinn tuned most of it out. She had studied World War I before so there was no need to listen. Quinn opened her notebook and started doodling. She wasn't much of an artist so the doodles were mostly hearts and stars.
"Homework," Mr. Varner announced. Quinn looked up. "I want at least one page on World War I. Pick a country involved in the war and tell me about their role and the significance that they played." The bell rang. "It's due tomorrow," he yelled as the students filed out of the room.
Quinn grabbed her things and headed to her locker. AP Chemistry was her next class so she dropped off her history book and grabbed her chem book. Now she had to find the classroom. "Hello," a girly voice called from right behind her.
Quinn jumped and dropped her textbook. "Jesus Christ don't do that," Quinn snapped. She turned to look at the owner of the voice and was surprised to see it was a guy. She looked him up and down and realized she shouldn't have been surprised. She bent over to pick up her book.
"Sorry," he said holding his hands up. "I didn't mean to scare you. You're new right?" Quinn nodded. "I'm Kurt Hummel. Welcome to McKinley." He stuck his hand out.
"Quinn Fabray and thanks." Quinn took his offered hand.
"What's your next class?" Kurt asked eyeing the map in Quinn's other hand. "I could show you around."
"AP Chemistry with Bailey," Quinn replied after double checking her schedule.
"Oh good, I have the same class. I'll take you there," Kurt exclaimed.
Quinn closed her locker and stuffed her textbook and papers, except the slip that needed to be signed, into her backpack. She let Kurt drag her through the halls to their class. "You will be partnered with me since I'm the only one without a partner. Are you good at Chemistry?"
Quinn raised an eyebrow at Kurt. "I'm in AP Chemistry. What do you think?"
"Fair enough. It's right here." Kurt pointed to room 42. They walked inside. Quinn walked toward the tables but Kurt grabbed her arm. "Before we go to the table we have to grab lab coats and googles and put them on." He gestured to the lab coats hanging on the wall. There was a cabinet full of googles next to it.
Quinn followed Kurt over the cabinet and pulled out a pair of googles. She searched through the lab coats until she found a small one. She grabbed it off the rack and pulled off her backpack. She pulled on the coat and buttoned it.
"This is my station," Kurt said leading Quinn to the far end of the room. "Ms. Bailey, this is Quinn. She's new."
Quinn handed over the slip and Ms. Bailey took it. She signed the slip and handed it back. She looked at Quinn and nodded in approval at the sight of the coat and googles. "Did you take AP Chemistry at your old school?"
"Yes ma'am," Quinn replied.
"Good. If you need some help catching up come see me after school and I will do what I can." It was something she did for all new students. Chemistry was a hard enough subject. She didn't want to make it harder.
Quinn followed Kurt over to their station. Kurt opened the locker underneath the table. "This is our locker. It has everything we need for labs. Monday thru Wednesday she lectures while Thursday and Friday are set aside for labs. Lab reports are due first thing on Monday. Before lab begins she gives us a quiz, either five or ten questions depending on the subject. If you miss more than one on a five question quiz or three on a ten question quiz you can't do the lab. You get a zero and sent to the library for study hall. It doesn't usually happen in this class."
"That sounds… intense," Quinn said surprised. She hadn't expected a school in Lima to be this much work.
"Ms. Bailey figures that is supposed to be a college level course and should be treated like that," Kurt explained. "She figures no one would want to sit through a boring lecture day after day. Most labs take both days but sometimes they don't. If the lab is only one day then we get a test on Friday. Don't worry that's usually only every other week, at the most. As I said we do have a lab report of sorts. Basically it's our results and the purpose of the lab. The rest she doesn't care about."
"Is the lab report with our partners?" Quinn asked as the students started arriving.
"You can if you want but she's stricter when you do one with your partners," Kurt replied.
The bell rang just as the last students walked inside. Quinn saw Puckerman was one of them.
"Take your seats," Ms. Bailey called. "Hurry up." They grabbed their lab coats and hurried to their desks. "You know the drill, put everything away but a pen."
She passed out half sheets of paper with the quizzes. "Quinn, your quiz grade won't count against you today. I simply want to see how well you do."
Quinn nodded and took the paper. She sighed in relief. She had covered this right before she moved. She circled the correct answers and scribbled her name on the slip.
Ms. Bailey walked around as they worked. She graded the papers as they finished. "Ms. Fabray, done already?" She raised an eyebrow at the slip Quinn handed over. She scanned the page and put a +5 on the top. She checked Kurt's and put a +5 on his before moving on.
"Nice job Quinn," Kurt praised.
"Thanks. We covered this right before I left," Quinn admitted.
Once all the quizzes were graded Ms. Bailey began her short lecture. After the lecture Ms. Bailey sent them off to work. Quinn and Kurt worked well together. Quinn could tell he was dying to ask more questions but didn't have a chance.
Ten minutes before class ended Quinn offered to clean their station while Kurt finished up the worksheet. The worksheet had to be checked off by their teacher before they were allowed to leave. The worksheet was then used to create their lab report. Kurt and Quinn had agreed to do their lab reports together in an effort to save time.
They finished everything with two minutes to spare. The only other group that was completely done was Puckerman and Sam Evans, according to Kurt. They were allowed to leave once they finished even though class wasn't officially over.
"What's your third period?" Kurt asked as they left the classroom.
"AP English with Watermen," Quinn said checking her schedule.
"I don't have that class but I can point it out for you," Kurt offered.
They walked over to Quinn's locker so she could exchange her books. Once done they went to Kurt's locker. Kurt led Quinn over to the English classroom. Luckily it was on his way to his math class. "Here it is."
"Thanks Kurt," Quinn said gratefully.
"Anytime. I'll meet you here after class and take you to your fourth period. We don't have the same class but it's on the way.
Quinn walked inside. She recognized Puckerman and Evans from her Chemistry class and a few others but she didn't know their names. The next two classes were about the same as the others. She got her slip signed and sat through a lecture.
Kurt and Quinn made their way to the cafeteria. They didn't speak as they stood in line for lunch. After they got their lunch, pizza and fries, Kurt led Quinn to a table that was already full. "Guys this is Quinn Fabray. Quinn this is Mercedes Jones, Artie Abrams, Tina Cohen- Chang and Mike Chang, no relation, and my boyfriend Blaine Anderson," Kurt introduced pointing everyone out.
"Fabray," Mercedes repeated, furrowing her brow in concentration. It sounded familiar. "Any relation to Judy Fabray?"
"My mother," Quinn answered.
Mercedes nodded. "My mom works at the D.A.'s office. She mentioned Judy Fabray was coming to Ohio. Everyone in the office was excited."
"Yeah," Quinn said awkwardly. She looked around the cafeteria. Her eye's locked on the table where Lopez and Puckerman were sitting.
Mike followed her line of sight. "Ah, the Puckerman, Hudson, Lopez table," he commented.
The others looked at the table. "Do you know them?" Mercedes asked.
Quinn shook her head. "Lopez and Puckerman are in some of my classes but we've never met," Quinn replied.
"That's good. Stay away from them," Mercedes warned.
Quinn was confused. "Why? What's wrong with them? Who are they?"
"That's Santana Lopez, Finn Hudson, Rachel, Noah and Jake Puckerman," Blaine said. "We don't actually know much about them. But Hiram Puckerman, Rachel, Noah and Jake's father, is a defense attorney. Rumor has it he's only lost one case his entire career. That man makes more money than all of our families combined and they have no problem showing it off. Did you see the Porsche in the parking lot?" Quinn nodded. "That's Santana."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Quinn didn't understand. Did they despise the Puckerman's because their father was rich? The thought made her sick. She didn't want to be around people like that.
"Nothing really," Kurt said quickly. He could see the look on Quinn's face and knew she wasn't happy with what Blaine said. "There are rumors about Santana's father. Of course we don't know anything for sure. All we know is he is an extremely successful business man. He makes Hiram Puckerman look like a pauper."
"My mother warned me to stay away from Santana Lopez and the others," Mercedes said. "I listen to her. I'm sure your mother would say the same thing."
"Do you know her father's name?" Quinn asked curious.
"Eduardo Lopez, no, why?" Mercedes asked.
Eduardo Lopez. The same as the name on her mother's paperwork. That couldn't be a coincidence. That meant her mother was investing this Santana's father. The question was why? Quinn definitely wanted to find out.
"Just curious," Quinn lied. There was no way she was going to tell Mercedes her mother was investing Eduardo Lopez. "So Kurt, any good clubs around?"
Kurt's face lit up. "Glee club. It's a club where we sing and dance. There are three competitions: Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals. If we win one we move onto the next one. All of us are part of glee club along with the Puckerman's, Santana, Finn and Sam Evans. Do you want to join? We're not the most popular group but it's fun."
"I'll think about it," Quinn promised. She wasn't much of a singer but she was a good dancer. She wasn't sure she liked how this group talked about their team members. It didn't seem right to her. Then again she didn't know anything about the others. Maybe they deserved the comments.
"Whoa, Rachel Puckerman is walking over here," Mike said in surprise. "I wonder what she wants."
"Hello," Rachel said pleasantly. Quinn noticed Rachel glare at Blaine for a second before focusing elsewhere.
"Hello," the others mumbled.
Rachel turned to Quinn. "You're Quinn right?" Quinn nodded. "I'm Rachel Puckerman. Welcome to Lima."
"Thanks," Quinn said awkwardly.
She glanced at the others. "If you need any help getting around school or catching up on homework let me know," Rachel said before walking back to her table.
"That was strange," Tina commented. "I've never seen Rachel willingly approach anyone. Finn I could understand. He's the nicest of all of them. But why Rachel?"
"Does it matter?" Quinn asked annoyed. "Maybe you don't know them as well as you thought. Now can we drop the subject?"
Everyone ate in silence. When they finished eating Kurt decided to break the silence. "Are you ready for Spanish?" Kurt asked Quinn.
Quinn pulled her eyes away from the Puckerman/Hudson/Lopez table. "Yeah, let's go."
Mike stood and followed Kurt and Quinn to the Spanish class. "Hi Mr. Schue," Kurt greeted getting the young teacher's attention.
"Hey Kurt, Mike." Mr. Schue frowned. "Hello, I don't believe we've met."
"This is Quinn Fabray," Kurt introduced. Quinn handed over her slip. "She's new."
"Oh, well welcome to Spanish 3," Mr. Schue grinned. He signed the slip and handed it back. "¿Habla español?"
"Poco," Quinn replied.
Mr. Schue beamed. "Bien, bien. Take a seat."
By the end of Spanish class Quinn had come to the conclusion that Mr. Schue was an awful Spanish teacher. There was no doubt Mr. Schue loved his job and cared about his students. However, his Spanish was mediocre at best and Quinn noticed him making several mistakes during his lecture.
Quinn had noticed Santana Lopez rolling her eyes throughout the lecture and was happy she wasn't the only one that noticed. Then again they seemed to be the only two.
"What did you think?" Kurt asked after class.
Quinn knew Kurt liked Mr. Schue because of glee club and didn't want to upset him. "He's nice and enthusiastic," Quinn said diplomatically.
Kurt laughed. "Yeah, he is very enthusiastic. Drives us crazy at times. You should see him rap."
Quinn cringed. She would pay good money not to see that. "You have P.E. next right?"
"Yes," Quinn answered.
"I don't have that class and mine is in the opposite direction but walk down the hallway, all the way to the end, and turn left. The girl's locker room is about halfway done and you'll see a sign," Kurt told her.
"Thanks." Quinn followed Kurt's instructions. She had just gotten to the end of the hallway when someone started walking beside her. Quinn turned and found Rachel Puckerman. "What are you doing?" Quinn asked curious.
"Walking you to the locker room," Rachel answered. "Would hate for you to get lost on your first day."
Quinn frowned. "How do you know I have P.E. next?"
"Hummel isn't as quiet as he thinks. Santana overheard and texted me," Rachel explained.
They stood outside of the locker room. "Why are you helping me? Kurt and everyone else made it seem like you don't waste your time on people."
"Can you honestly say you like hanging around them?" Rachel countered.
"They seem nice enough." Rachel raised eyebrow at her. "Okay, Tina and Mike seem nice enough. The rest are very judgmental. That still doesn't explain why you're helping me."
"Santana was going to do it but she has a class across the school. I was the only one available," Rachel shrugged.
"And why does Santana want to help me? I don't know any of you."
"I really don't know. But your mother is Judy Fabray, maybe she's just curious. I think we all are," Rachel admitted.
"Curious about what? Whether or not I think all criminals are scum?" Quinn asked.
"Do you think all criminals are scum?" Rachel questioned.
"Everyone is different. Some probably are scum but I don't think they all are," Quinn admitted. "I am not my mother. I don't believe in executing every criminal to send a message."
Rachel looked thoughtful. Quinn thought she was going to comment but she didn't. "Have fun in class," she said before walking away.
Rachel Puckerman was an enigma. Quinn didn't understand why Rachel approached her twice now. Part of the reason was because of her mother. Quinn was sure of it. She didn't get why people were so fascinated by her mother. The woman was an average prosecutor that had a habit of taking high profile cases. It was why people all around the country knew about her. Without the high profile cases Judy Fabray was nothing.
Quinn walked into the locker room and searched for the teacher's office. She finally found it across from the door. She knocked on the door. The woman waved her in. The woman eyed Quinn. "Who are you?"
"Sorry, Quinn Fabray. I'm new. I was told to get this slip signed by all my teachers." Quinn handed the slip over.
"I'm not your teacher. I'm actually the football coach, Coach Beiste. But there's no teachers to supervise the females during this period so that's what I do," Coach Beiste explained. She signed the slip and handed it back. She dug around for the binder with the list of students and their locker numbers. She found it and thumbed through the pages.
After half a dozen pages she found an empty spot. "You're locker number 242," Coach Beiste said jotting it down on a post it note. She double checked the combination before writing it down as well. "Do you have P.E. clothes?"
Quinn shook her head. "No ma'am," she replied.
"No problem." Coach Beiste eyed Quinn. "Small right?"
"Yes," Quinn confirmed.
Coach Beiste dug through a pile of new P.E. clothes. She found a lot of larges but was struggling to find smalls. "Medium shirt okay?" Coach Beiste asked as there was no small shirts.
"Sure." Quinn took the offered shirt.
Coach kept digging and eventually found a pair of small shorts. "Here you are."
"Thanks." Quinn took the shorts.
"You don't have to dress up today but you do need to go out with the rest. Today is a fitness test. I know he won't make you do it. Test your locker. If you need help come and get me, and I will help you." She handed over the post it with the combination.
Quinn walked out of the small office and searched for her locker. It was two rows over and on the top. Quinn twirled the lock around twice before checking her combination. She twisted it around and sighed in relief when it opened on the first try. She stuffed her P.E. clothes and backpack into the locker and made sure she had her combination before closing the locker and following the girls out of the locker room.
Quinn had no idea where she was going. All she knew was her teacher's name, Mr. Bennett.
"Quinn." Quinn whipped around at the sound of her name. The voice wasn't familiar to her but somehow the person knew her. She recognized the boy. It was one of the Puckerman's. The youngest one she assumed. "I'm Jake." He offered Quinn his hand. "You met my sister Rachel. We have the same P.E. period so I offered to show you to your class. Who's your teacher?"
"Bennett," Quinn answered.
"Great, we have the same class. Follow me." Jake led her toward a group of students.
"Uh, Jake, what's with your family?" Quinn asked. She winced when Jake looked at her. "Sorry I didn't mean for it to come out like that. I just meant, first Rachel, now you. Why do you guys seem to like me?"
"Oh. I don't know to be honest. I think Rachel feels bad because you look so lost," Jake answered.
"This has nothing to do with the fact that she doesn't like Kurt Hummel?" Quinn questioned.
"It could be part of it," Jake said honestly. "You're lucky you're missing the fitness training today. I heard from my brother it's going to be brutal."
Quinn shrugged. She didn't mind exercise. In fact she loved to run. There was something so peaceful about running and it allowed her to clean her mind. She could run all day. "I like running."
If Jake was surprised he didn't show it. "Have you thought about doing cross country or track?" he asked. "I'm on the track team. We could use more people, although try outs aren't until the spring."
"I thought about it," Quinn admitted.
"Well you have plenty of time to decide." Jake stopped walking. "My brother Noah does track too."
"That's the guy with the Mohawk?" Quinn asked.
Jake laughed. "That's him. Don't call him Noah to his face though. He prefers Puck."
"Puck, short for Puckerman," Quinn assumed.
"You would think so but no. When we were kids Rachel hit Puck in the head with a hockey puck and the name stuck," Jake explained.
Quinn laughed. She was picturing Rachel hitting her brother, who was twice her size, with a hockey puck. It was a very entertaining image. "Everyone gather around," Mr. Bennett instructed ending the conversation between Jake and Quinn. He glanced at Quinn before going back to his speech. "As you all know today is your first fitness test. You will start by running a mile. Then you will do fifty pushups and sit ups, followed by twenty five crunches and one set of suicides." The class groaned. "Everyone to the track. Ms. Fabray I'm assuming."
"Yes sir," Quinn confirmed.
"You picked a good day to start," Mr. Bennett said. "My fitness tests are known as being difficult. You will sit out today but don't think you are safe. Tomorrow the class will have a free period to play sports or hang around. I want to assess where you're at so you will be doing an easier version of the fitness test. It will be a simple run and as many pushups, sit ups, crunches and suicides as you can do." Quinn nodded. That sounded easy enough. "You can sit in the bleachers for now."
Jake walked Quinn over to the bleachers before heading to the track with the rest of the class. Quinn watched Jake and the rest of the class take off running. Jake was ahead of the class along with a few other students. There were a couple of girls that were walking instead of running. Quinn could hear their teacher yelling at them to move it.
Jake and two other males were the first ones to finish with a time of 5.45. Mr. Bennett allowed them free time until the rest of the class was done with the mile. If the students didn't finish in under twenty minutes they automatically failed that section. Jake pulled his wallet from his pocket and fished out four dollars. He walked over to soda machine next to the supply closet. He bought two Gatorades, one blue and one red, and walked over to Quinn.
"Which one do you prefer?" Jake asked holding up each bottle.
"Red," she answered. He passed it to her and sat down beside her. "Thanks. You didn't have to."
Jake shrugged. "It's hot out and figured you could use something." He watched his classmates run. "It's amazing how little effort some people put into this class. They think because it's P.E. they don't have to try."
Quinn shrugged. "Some people are more athletic than others."
"True. Rachel is terrible at sports," Jake laughed. "But she uses her damned elliptical every morning."
The twenty minutes passed and three people failed the running part of the test. "Puckerman," Mr. Bennett called.
"See you soon," Jake said standing. "Watch my drink for me?"
Quinn nodded and Jake left his Gatorade and headed back to the field. "Most of you did well," Mr. Bennett said once everyone gathered around. "For the next part I'm going to separate you into two group and we will move onto the rest of your test." He quickly separated the class. He waved his TA over. "Abby will watch the group on the left. I will focus on the group on the right. "When you finish your sets you are free to go. Everyone on the ground now."
Everyone got into position for their pushups. The TA barely watched her group. Her group had no problem doing the necessary exercises. It was the group Mr. Bennett was overseeing that tried to cheat. As soon as the pushups were done they moved into sit ups and then crunches. The last step was suicides. One by one they finished and were dismissed. Some went to go play basketball while other sat around.
Jake pulled off his shirt and wiped his forehead with it. It wasn't a particularly warm day but all the running made him sweat. Quinn opened his Gatorade and handed to him. "Thanks." He gulped down half of the bottle before taking the cap from Quinn and twisting it on.
"That looked brutal," Quinn said. She winced when one of the girls threw up in the grass.
Jake wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It's not that bad. The suicides are the worst part."
"Mr. Bennett wants me to do a shortened version of the fitness test tomorrow," Quinn told him.
"Ouch. Not a fun way to start the class. Good luck."
Jake and Quinn winced at the sight of more people puking. "That is disgusting," Quinn said revolted.
Jake stood up. "I agree. Do you want something to eat? I was going to grab some pretzels and another drink."
"I'm good. Thanks though."
"I'll be right back," Jake said walking down the bleachers.
He walked over to the vending machine and bought a bottle of water and two bags of pretzels, just in case Quinn changed her mind. He walked back over to Quinn and tossed her a bag. "You didn't have to get me anything."
Jake shrugged. "It's no big deal. If you don't want it I'll eat it."
"I'll eat it," Quinn said quickly. She didn't realize how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten much for lunch.
She opened the bag and started munching on pretzels. "Five dollars says that girl pukes," Jake said pointing out a chubby girl that looked sick.
Quinn glanced at him and then at the field. "No way. That guy over there." She pointed out a guy two spots over doing crunches. "He's pushing himself too hard."
They kept their eye on each person and waited.
"Ha," Quinn shouted. She held out her hand.
Jake groaned but handed her the five dollars. "You got lucky," he grumbled.
"Keep telling yourself that Puckerman," Quinn smirked.
The bell rang signaling that there was ten minutes left and they needed to head back to the locker rooms. Jake and Quinn walked back to the locker rooms. They stopped just outside of the girl's locker room. "I'll see you around," Jake said before turning and going to the boy's locker room.
Quinn made her way inside and went straight to her locker. She turned the knob and heard the click. She pulled out her backpack and shoved her P.E. clothes back inside. She shut the locker and tugged on the lock to make sure it was secure.
School was now over. Well the final bell hadn't rang yet but they were done. She made her way to the Principal's office so she could hand over the slip she had signed. She wasn't sure why it had to be signed but whatever. She didn't really care.
She knocked on the door to Principal Figgins office. "Come in," he called.
Quinn walked into the office. "I have the paper you requested," Quinn said placing it on the table.
"Very good Ms. Fabray," Principal Figgins said taking the paper. "How was your first day?"
Quinn shrugged. "It was fine. Can I go?"
Figgins nodded and Quinn left the office.
Quinn walked home from school, kicking rocks as she went. It was a three mile walk and Quinn wasn't thrilled. It wasn't that she couldn't do it because she could, she would run at least a mile every morning before school. She just didn't want to walk in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
Quinn was busy silently cursing her mother and didn't notice the car pull up beside her. "Quinn," a girl called. Quinn didn't react. "You're Quinn Fabray right?"
Quinn looked up and found Santana Lopez looking at her. "Yeah, I'm Quinn."
"I'm Santana Lopez," she introduced, although Quinn already knew who she was. "Where are you headed?"
"Just outside of Lima Heights. Why?" Quinn asked suspicious.
"Get in." Santana unlocked the door and pulled up to the curb.
Quinn stared at her. "No thanks, I'm fine."
"It's a three mile walk. Get in the car Fabray," Santana demanded.
Quinn sighed and climbed into Santana's car. "Thanks."
"No problem. Your place is on my way home." Santana pulled back onto the street and pulled up to the signal. "So how are you liking Lima?"
Quinn shrugged. "It could be worse."
Santana laughed. "Yeah it could be," she agreed. "Why move here of all places?"
"My parents got divorced and my mom wanted a new start, or so she says. I think she wanted to move for work," Quinn answered.
"What does she do?" Santana asked curious.
"She's a prosecutor. Apparently there's some big case she's working on. I don't know. She doesn't like to talk about her job," Quinn replied.
Santana tensed up. "Your mother is Judy Fabray," she realized. Santana mentally rolled her eyes. Did Judy Fabray really think coming to Lima was going to help her? That woman was going to be in for a rude awakening.
"Seems like everyone here knows who my mother is," Quinn muttered.
"I take it you're not a fan of the great Judy Fabray," Santana said glancing at Quinn.
Quinn snorted. "Not even close. You know I got told to stay away from you," Quinn commented.
"Really, by who?" Santana wasn't surprised someone warned Quinn away from her.
"Mercedes Jones," Quinn answered. "Apparently you're Satan or something. Then again with the same name it's not a bad guess."
"Aretha has never liked us. Hiram beat her mom in one too many court cases and since then she takes it out on us like it's our fault her mother is a shitty prosecutor. So, I'm assuming Hummel told you about glee club," Santana said after a moment of silence. "He's always quick to mention it."
"He did. He also said you and your friends were part of glee." Quinn looked at Santana. "Why are you in glee if you don't like them? And it's obvious you don't like Mr. Schuster."
"You don't like him either," Santana pointed out. "I saw you in class, when you were pretending you weren't staring at me." Quinn blushed. "Now, do you stare at all the hot girls or am I special?"
"I wasn't staring at you," Quinn lied. Santana snorted.
"Please Fabray. It's okay though. I know I'm hot." Santana winked at Quinn. "Anyway, about glee. Are you going to join?" Santana asked.
Quinn's mind was reeling from the sudden change in topic. "I don't know. I'm not much of a singer."
"I can sing with you," Santana offered.
"Why do you want me to join so badly?" Quinn asked.
"I don't. But you're not annoying like the rest of the club and glee would suck a little less if you were there. Besides Rachel and Jake like you," Santana replied.
Quinn sighed. "Alright. I'll audition but no promises that I'll join."
"Excellent," Santana grinned. She glanced behind her to make sure there were no cars. She flew across the two lanes and turned right on 1st street.
"Wait, Santana I live the other way," Quinn said looking back at the main road.
"I know." Quinn stared at Santana. "It's a small town."
"Okay. That doesn't explain where you're taking me." Quinn grabbed the door handle. "Are you going to kill me?"
Santana's eyes locked on Quinn's hand on the door handle. "And I thought Rachel was dramatic," she said rolling her eyes. "Quinn, I'm not going to kill you and if I was I wouldn't do it in broad daylight. We're going to my house."
"Your house," Quinn repeated. "Why are we going to your house?"
Santana sighed. "Do you always ask a lot of questions?" She didn't wait for an answer. "If we're going to sing together then we need to pick a song and practice. Besides, do you really want to go home to an empty house?"
"Not really," Quinn muttered.
"Then it's settled. You are coming to my house," Santana announced.
She pressed the gas even harder and Quinn grabbed the door. Santana grinned. She slowed down slightly when she saw Quinn's knuckles turning white. "Must you be so reckless," Quinn hissed.
"Must you be so uptight," Santana retorted.
Quinn glared at her and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not uptight."
Santana pulled into the driveway of the largest house Quinn had ever seen. "Holy shit," she breathed.
Santana laughed. "I get that reaction a lot. My parents bought two properties when they moved here before I was born. They tore down one of the houses and added to the other. The two pools were actually combined to make one huge one."
"Wow. I could tell your family was rich, but still wow," Quinn said.
Santana turned off the car and they climbed out. "Yeah. My father is a one of, if not, the wealthiest businessmen in the country. Sometimes I think he likes flaunting our wealth."
Santana led Quinn inside the house. Quinn's head whipped back and forth, taking everything in. "Santana is that you?" a woman called.
"Yes Mami," Santana yelled back.
Santana's mother walked out into the open. "Oh hello. I'm Maribel Lopez, Santana's mother. I don't believe I've seen you before."
"Mami, this is Quinn Fabray. She just moved here," Santana introduced.
Quinn noticed that flicker of recognition at the mention of her last name but Maribel didn't comment. "Welcome to Lima Quinn and welcome to our home. I made some iced tea and cookies if you girls want some."
"Thanks Mami. We'll be in my room working on a song for glee."
Maribel nodded. "Your father is in a meeting so try to keep it down," Maribel warned her. Santana understood her mother's hidden warning.
"We will," Santana promised.
Santana led Quinn upstairs to her bedroom. "I like your room," Quinn commented. She glanced at the back door. "Do you have a balcony?"
"Yes I do," Santana confirmed. "My dad had it built a few years ago. I like it. It's a place where I can think, you know?"
Quinn nodded. She could understand that.
"What's your singing style?" Santana asked minutes later, flipping through her many CD's. She turned around when Quinn didn't reply. "Is your voice soft or loud, strong or weak?" she clarified.
"Oh, soft and probably weak. I usually only sing in the shower, or when no one is around," Quinn answered. Santana nodded. She figured Quinn's voice was soft.
Santana went back to flipping through CD's. "So why were you walking three miles home on your first day of school?"
"Apparently I could use the exercise." Santana dropped the Britney Spears CD in shock.
"Your mother told you, you were fat?" Santana asked in disbelief.
"Not in so many words, but yeah. It's nothing new."
"What a bitch," Santana muttered. If she ever came face to face with Judy Fabray it wouldn't be pretty. "Got it!" Santana tossed the CD to Quinn.
Quinn easily caught it. "Miranda Lambert. Somehow I can't picture you listening to country music."
"The songs are good," Santana defended. "Look at number two. It's a duet. The two of us could totally rock that song."
Santana turned on her laptop and waited for it to boot up. "Stereo's over there if you want to play the song." Santana pointed out the large stereo on the bookcase. "Hm, are you Carrie or Miranda?" She tapped her chin. Quinn wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question or not. Santana glanced at Quinn. "Carrie, definitely Carrie."
While Santana pulled up the lyrics on her laptop Quinn walked over and played the song. Santana printed the lyrics after highlighting Quinn's lines on a word document. She passed the lyrics over to Quinn. "Your lines are highlighted." She then searched for the sheet music to print. She sat that aside and looked up the karaoke version on Youtube. "Ready?"
Quinn nodded and Santana hit play.
They ran through the song until they were both tired of it. Quinn had the lyrics memorized by their fifth run. "What about choreography?" Quinn asked sipping the tea Santana's mother had given them.
"I think it will be best without it. The audition is really just to see if you can sing or not," Santana answered.
Quinn's phone rang just as she finished her tea. "Shit," she groaned seeing it was her mother calling. She was tempted to ignore the call but it would only piss her mother off. "Hello."
"Quinn, where are you?" Judy demanded.
"A friend's house," Quinn answered wincing at her mother's tone.
"A friend," Judy repeated. "What friend?"
"Santana." Quinn purposely left out Santana's last name.
"Okay," Judy said, not pressing for more information. "You should have called to tell me you weren't coming straight home."
"I know Mom. I'm sorry," Quinn said though she wasn't actually sorry. She knew exactly what to say to appease her mother.
"Should I expect you home for dinner?" Judy asked.
Quinn glanced at Santana and the Latina shook her head. "No I think I'll have dinner with Santana."
"Fine," Judy agreed. "I will be at the office late so you need to find your own ride home. Goodbye Quinn."
Judy hung up the phone before Quinn could react. "Your mother sounds lovely," Santana said sarcastically.
"That would one of her better moments," Quinn told her.
"I don't even know the woman and I already dislike her," Santana said with the shake of her head. "Look, I don't we don't know each other well but… if you ever want to escape, you're welcome here anytime."
"I… thanks Santana. I appreciate that," Quinn said grateful.
"So, dinner here then?" Santana asked as a way to lighten to the mood.
"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I kind of assumed you wanted me to stay when you shook your head," Quinn said embarrassed.
"You can stay," Santana shrugged. "I don't mind and I know my parents won't either."
"Thanks. I really don't want to go home."
"I think you're ready for your audition," Santana said changing the subject away from Judy Fabray.
"Are you sure?" Quinn asked uncertain.
"Yeah." Santana tapped her chin. "I got it." She walked into her walk in closet and dug around looking for the perfect outfit for Quinn. "Here. Wear this tomorrow." She passed Quinn the outfit before going back inside the closet. She came back out with a pair of black boots. "Wear these with it."
"I can't wear your clothes Santana," Quinn protested trying to pass them back.
"I have a shitload of clothes," Santana said gesturing to her massive closet. "Seriously if you see anything you like, take it. I have more than I will ever use."
"Why do you have so many clothes then?" Quinn asked confused.
Santana shrugged. "Leroy and Hiram love taking me and Rachel shopping. You should see her closet. It's just as bad. Actually it's worse because my closet is bigger so I have more room to organize."
Santana stretched across her bed while Quinn sat at Santana's desk. They had been quiet for the last five minutes. Neither girl knew what to say now that their prep for Quinn's audition was done. When they didn't think the other girl was watching Santana and Quinn would sneak glances at each other. Quinn would blush and look away anytime Santana caught her staring, but it didn't stop Quinn from staring again a few seconds later.
Santana was easily the most attractive person Quinn had ever seen. Not that Quinn had ever focused on the attractiveness of anyone, male or female.
"Where are you from?" Santana asked breaking the silence.
"L.A.," Quinn answered.
"Lima must be a big change for you," Santana commented.
"It is," Quinn agreed. "I didn't have much choice though. My mom got a job here."
"What about your dad?" Santana asked curious.
"My parents split up and I haven't seen him since," Quinn explained.
Santana looked down. "I'm sorry." She felt guilty for bringing up bad memories.
"It's not a big deal. It's been a while and he wasn't a nice guy. He was worse than my mother if you can believe that," Quinn told her.
A knock at Santana's bedroom door pulled both girls from their thoughts. "Santana I'll be fixing dinner soon," Maribel announced. "Will your friend be staying?"
"Yeah Mami," Santana replied.
Maribel walked into the room. "I hope Santana is being a gracious host." Maribel glanced at Santana.
"Yes ma'am, she is," Quinn confirmed.
"None of that ma'am nonsense," Maribel said with the wave of her hand. "Call me Maribel. Now, do you have any dietary restrictions? I hear gluten free is all the rage."
Santana snorted. "No Maribel, no restrictions," Quinn informed her.
Maribel nodded in approval. "Enchiladas alright?"
"Yes ma—Maribel," Quinn corrected.
"Good, good. I'll call you girls when it's ready. San, Finn and Carole will be here any minute," Maribel informed her. "Should I send Finn up?"
"Yeah," Santana agreed. "Thanks Mami."
"Is Finn your boyfriend?" Quinn asked when Maribel was gone.
Santana snorted. "No, not even close. Finn's like a big brother to me, annoying as hell sometimes but always there to protect me. What about you? Any boyfriend back home?"
Quinn shook her head. "I've never really been big on dating," she said honestly.
"At all?" Santana was surprised. Quinn was a beautiful girl, only a fool couldn't see that. It was hard to believe Quinn was never involved with anyone.
"Not at all," Quinn confirmed. "I never really thought about dating."
There was a knock at Santana's bedroom door. "San, it's me," Finn called. After walking in on Santana changing when they were younger Finn always knocked on the door before going into Santana's room.
"Come in," Santana called back. Finn pushed the bedroom door open. "Hey Finn."
"Hey San." Finn looked at Quinn. "Hello. I didn't realize someone was here."
"Finn, this is Quinn Fabray. Quinn, meet Finn Hudson," Santana introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Quinn said standing up and offering her hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Finn said taking the offered hand. "And welcome to Lima."
"Thanks."
"So are you staying for dinner?" Finn asked, lounging on Santana's bed.
"Yeah," Quinn answered.
"Cool." They sat in silence. No one knew what to say. "Hey San, pull out the Xbox. Let's teach Quinn here to play."
Santana readily agreed. Anything to break the uncomfortable silence. "You ever play Xbox Q?" Santana asked. She dug the controllers out of the TV stand along with a stack of games. She dropped the games on the bed and turned the TV and Xbox on.
"Never," Quinn answered. "My mom doesn't like them. She's one of those that thinks video games make you violent."
Santana and Finn exchanged a look and Santana smirked. "Well it's never too late to start rebelling." Santana offered Quinn the controller and Quinn took it.
"What should we play?" Finn asked digging through the games.
"Let's start with Halo," Santana suggested snatching the game off the bed. "Get her used to playing. Then we can move onto Grand Theft Auto and really corrupt her."
"Sounds good," Finn agreed. He grabbed the other controller and set the game up for them. "You can play with Santana. I'll help you out."
Santana climbed on her bed next to Finn and patted the spot next to her for Quinn to sit. "I'll help her," Santana said. Quinn laid down beside Santana. "We both know I'm the better player."
"Not a chance Satan," Finn disagreed.
"Whatever Finn," Santana said rolling her eyes at the nickname. "Alright Q you gotta scoot closer I can't reach your controller." Quinn scooted closer but not by much. "Come on Quinn I don't bite, unless you want me to." Santana winked at her and Quinn blushed.
"What if I want you to?" Quinn smirked as Santana's eyes widened. Two could play at that game.
Finn choked on his saliva. "I'm still here you know," he reminded them.
Santana shrugged. "When has that ever bothered me?" Santana asked.
Finn shuddered as he remember walking in on Santana that one time. He was forever scarred because of that. Yet another reason for him to knock before entering her room. "Don't remind me."
Quinn scooted closer to Santana until she was almost on top of the older girl. Santana quickly explained what each button did while Finn patiently waited. His character ran around looking for guns. "Come pick up this gun." Quinn did as she was told. "Follow me and shoot anything you see." Quinn grinned and shot him in the back. "Not me," he cried.
"You said shoot anything you see," Quinn said innocently.
Finn groaned as he waited to re-spawn. Santana snickered. "Okay Quinn. This time focus on the people that are shooting at us," Finn told her.
"Sir, yes sir," Quinn saluted.
They had been playing for an hour when Maribel made her way to Santana's bedroom. "Kill that fucker," Santana shouted at Quinn. "Not that one, the other one. Dammit Finn help her."
"I'm trying. I'm trying," Finn yelled. "Shit. Quinn run away so I can re-spawn."
Maribel rolled her eyes. They took their games way too seriously. "Finn, Quinn, Santana, dinner is ready. Pause the game and come downstairs."