AN: Thank you for the support so far on this story! It is hugely flattering and so here is the first chapter. It's been rewritten two times before I'm finally happy with it, so I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
Quinn's wanted to be an actress ever since she was young.
But little, naïve Quinn thought little about the difficulties and struggles that came with a job with this much competition. Becoming an actress, a star, was something she idolised when she was little, a distant la-la land that with every school performance she played in, felt like a step forward towards the faraway fairy tale.
But it wasn't until she backpacked it across the Atlantic from her small hometown to the big city, fresh from graduation, did she realise how small she really was. How the seemingly huge steps she took towards la-la land were only a step in a million.
The thing about being in the acting industry is that it is incredibly difficult to get started. You are easily replaceable – nobody knows who you are, all sorts of reputation you had in school vanishes as soon as you take your first step into adulthood, into the real world. And the real world is surprisingly harsh: it is constantly full of battles that Quinn, as an introvert, didn't know if she was ready to take.
Battles against other people, getting a role both desire. Battles against publicity, if you even succeed, that is. Battles against your own emotions.
Life isn't a fairy tale.
It's a never-ending war.
Four months ago, Quinn had given herself half a year to find a self-supporting acting role before she gave up and pursued another job. Maybe fly back to England. It was a depressing countdown – from 180, to 179, to 178, ticking down slowly and making her more desperate with each passing day.
When that count struck 40 and she was losing hope, a miracle happened. Her audition was shortlisted, and she was given the opportunity to play in an independent film funded by Sylvester Ltd, a stable firm rendering the chances of cancellation near zero. She was very well aware that she had to adapt to fit a lesbian role for this acting job, but at that point she was up for every challenge.
With less than half a day of thought, she accepted the job and a few days later she left, with nothing but a small briefcase and a hopeful mind.
After all, that was all she had.
Quinn remembered her first day in middle school. Her family had her transferred to a school in the other side of town, completely unfamiliar territory. And she remembered her fright when she walked into the classroom for the first time and felt the sides of her face being pierced with everybody staring at her.
She felt it was going to be similar here – the director, unfortunately named Holly Holliday, had informed her she was the last main character to be cast. Holly had also said the person that was going to play her character was an absolute pain to work with and hence got fired – but Holly said that with a joking tone, so Quinn wasn't sure if that was true.
Anyway, she got her first major movie role and she was going to make it count. She had to swallow her fear and prove herself worthy, after all the years of hard work.
It wasn't even ten steps onto set when a tall, blonde woman striding towards her so briskly Quinn wanted to drop her handbag and dash away.
"Hi!" The blonde woman gave a friendly smile as she stopped a metre from Quinn. "You must be Quinn Fabray."
Quinn cleared her throat and tried to act professional. "That would be me."
"Welcome," the older woman said, smiling warmly as she offered her hand. "I'm Holly, we spoke over the phone on the other day."
"Yes, of course," Quinn nodded and matched Holly's smile, shaking their hands firmly. "I'd like to thank you again for this opportunity, Miss Holliday."
Holly frowned. "Did I introduce myself as Miss Holliday?"
Quinn inwardly flinched at Holly's sudden change in tone. "No, you introduced yourself as Holly," she said respectfully.
"So call me Holly," the warm smile was back on Holly's face as she slapped Quinn's shoulder playfully. "Miss Holliday, nuh-uh," she waved her finger. "On this set, we're all friends. We all go by first names."
"Right," Quinn nodded, a little perplexed. "Um, well, I just want to say I'm really happy to be here and thanks again for this opportunity –"
"You've already said that," Holly grinned, holding a finger up. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You're perfect! And you're actually nice. I know I'm not supposed to say this, but…" Holly looked around before leaning down conspiratorially. "Our last Sarah, Kitty was such a bitch. Sam literally walked up to me and said I'm not kissing that bitch. Can you believe it?"
"Sam?" Quinn questioned.
"Sam Evans, he's a fellow co-star of yours," Holly tapped Quinn on the nose, which made Quinn grimace. "I think you'll like him, he's really nice. You'll see him soon."
"Oh, okay," Quinn said.
"Anyways," Holly stood back to her full height. "I've held you up enough. I'll be on my way so you can get acquainted with the others," she winked. "Have fun, blondie!"
Quinn blinked, and Holly was gone. Wow, that woman was nimble. And unlike the other directors she had encountered before.
Quinn took her moment alone to appreciate her surroundings. The thing about filmography and acting that fascinated her so much was how much more there was to the ninety minute tape and the actors on camera. Films can take years to make, with so many different specialised employees working in specific roles. There were so many people here, looking around, members of the crew. Some were fiddling with the tech, and some were just chatting.
It seemed like everybody knew each other already and would already have inside jokes and such, doing little to assuage the anxious new-girl feeling Quinn had on her first day of school.
Quinn must have looked lost because it wasn't long before she saw an olive-skinned brunette waving at her, trying to get her to come over.
"Hey!" the girl said when Quinn waded through the crowd to where she was. "First day on set?"
"Is it this obvious?" Quinn said, and the brunette laughed. She was sitting on a table with a blonde boy with a rather large mouth.
"No," the brunette shook her head. "Since I've never seen you before, I just assumed so."
Their eyes met, and Quinn felt a jolt down her spine. The way she spoke, her face all seemed so familiar.
"Right," Quinn swallowed before gathering herself again. "I'm Quinn, by the way. It's really nice to meet you."
"I know," the Latina (Quinn was pretty sure the girl was Hispanic) smiled. "Well, not the really nice to meet me bit, I'm not so sure about that. But I know you're Quinn. And nice to meet you too."
"I'm Sam," the blonde boy hopped off the table and shook Quinn's hand. "I'm really looking forward to working with you. And can you believe it?" Sam's voice dropped to a whisper. "We're working with her," he jabbed a finger at the brunette, who smiled and waved. "She's so cool, right?"
"Yeah, sure," Quinn said distractedly, as the two girls made eye contact again. "And yes, I already know you're Sam. Holly told me about you, actually."
"Wait, so she told you about Sam but not about me?" The brunette suddenly said with an eye roll. "Unbelievable."
Something looked so familiar with that eye roll – it almost seemed like it was trademarked.
"She didn't say much," Quinn shrugged. "Just that Sam was going to be my co-star. So, what about you, then?"
"Hmm, let's see…" the Latina hummed. "I'm five foot five, I have black hair which is dyed dark brown, I'm of Puerto Rican descent –"
"I know that!" Quinn interrupted, chuckling. "Well, actually I don't, it's just I can tell these things by looking at you. I'm not stalking you though, I swear I would never–"
"I know you wouldn't," the brunette winked. "But I bet you can't tell I'm left-handed by looking at me. Or how I need to wear glasses, but I wear contacts. Or can you?"
"I guess not…" Quinn laughed, ducking her head. And then suddenly she knew why the Latina looked so familiar. "You know, I must say you look uncannily like Santana Lopez."
"That's because she is –" Sam started, but he never got the chance to finish.
"Nuh-uh, Sammy boy," the brunette slapped a hand over his mouth. "Funny you should say that, Quinn," she smirked as she made eye contact with Quinn again. "But is that a compliment or an insult?"
"A compliment," Quinn said, nodding furiously. "Oh, a compliment for sure. Literally, have you seen her?"
"Hmm," the brunette hummed. "She's hot, isn't she?" She questioned slyly.
"Oh yeah," Quinn nodded enthusiastically, licking her lips. She didn't even care how all her inner gay was pouring out right this moment, but wow, did this woman look a lot like one of Quinn's favourite actors.
"Well, as much as I'd like to be Santana, I'm not," the brunette shrugged with a smile.
"Wait, what?" Sam's voice was muffled behind the Latina's hands.
"I'm her long-lost twin," the Latina grinned. "Nah, just kidding. My name is… hmm… I'm Lola."
"Lola?" Sam snorted. "What the hell are you playing at, San –"
"Oh," Quinn's shoulders slumped in slight disappointment. "Well, it's really nice to meet you, Lola. And wow, you could make huge bucks being Santana's impersonator. You look so much alike."
"Thank you," Lola fluttered her eyelashes. "Wait, just wondering…" she suddenly paused and the sly smirk was back on her face. "You have a crush on her or what?"
"What?" Quinn squealed, feeling colour rush to her face. "Well, I don't know. I don't believe in crushes on celebrities. But like if I was given the opportunity to kiss her or something, I'd take it."
Lola laughed. "That's all I need to hear. Anygays, I'll see you later, Quinn. Come, Sam." Before the blonde boy could react, he was dragged away, much to his protest.
Quinn stood there, dumbfounded for a while, before she felt a tap on her shoulder. Startled, she whipped around, relaxing when it was only Holly.
"So I see you've met Sam and Santana," Holly smiled. "You getting along well?"
"Yeah, we are," Quinn nodded, before the first part of Holly's sentence registered. "Wait, did you say Santana?" Quinn frowned. "I thought that girl was Lola?"
"Lola?" Holly scowled. "Who's Lola? No, that girl is Santana."
"Santana?" Quinn's jaw dropped. "Santana Lopez?"
"The one and only," Holly smiled. "Amazing how we got her on set, really, I could hardly believe it myself. You are one very lucky lady, Quinn Fabray."
"B-But why did she introduce herself as Lola then?" Quinn questioned, flummoxed.
"She did?" Holly said, amused. "It's one of her tricks then, definitely. She's really mischievous, it turns out. She's quite the opposite of her on-screen characters."
"Wow," Quinn whispered to herself. She just met Santana Lopez, talked to her and didn't even realise. And oh god, she made a fool of herself fangirling about Santana in front of Santana. She was such an idiot. "S-So, what's she doing here? Is she here to help with the casting? Or directing? Or is she just a visitor?"
"None of those things," Holly laughed, eyes twinkling with mirth. "Quinn, she's playing your love interest."
AN: I definitely made the preface a lot more angsty than I intended lol, but this story will still be an angst. The first chapter is fluffy to set the scene, so enjoy it while it lasts hahaha.
Also Quinn is British in this story to justify me using British English lmao. So imagine Quinn with a British accent, yes please and thank you :D