A/N: We're on Day 13! This takes place at some point during or after 2x21 when Finn breaks up with Quinn after the funeral, and Rachel decides to pay Quinn a visit at home. Hope you enjoy!
Day 13: Eating Ice Cream
The doorbell rings, and Quinn is confused. It's a Saturday afternoon, her mom is at her weekly book club meeting, and Santana and Brittany are on a weekend trip with Brittany's family, so there's no one else that Quinn would expect to be coming to her house on a whim.
Pausing her movie, she stands up from the couch in her living room and makes her way through the kitchen to the front door. She adjusts her t-shirt and pajama shorts, making sure they're covering all the important places, and she cracks the door open to see who it is.
Standing outside her front door is none other than Rachel Berry. To say that Quinn is shocked is an understatement.
She and Rachel aren't exactly on great terms, or any terms at all, really. Their argument before Regionals had left a lasting imprint in Quinn's mind, but then Rachel had called her a friend just a few weeks later, and there was the entire thing at Prom, and Quinn doesn't know what to believe at this point. All she knows is that Rachel is standing on her front porch, eyes wide, looking almost nervous, and Quinn isn't rude enough to shut the door in her face.
"Rachel?" Quinn asks, "What are you doing here?"
Rachel looks up and meets Quinn's eyes. "Hi, Quinn. I was, well, um…"
Quinn notices she's holding a bag, and she quirks an eyebrow. "What's in the bag?"
"What ba–Oh, right, yes," Rachel cuts herself off, clears her throat, and continues, "Well, you see, I, um, I heard about you and Finn."
Rachel pauses, waiting for Quinn's reaction, but she doesn't react. Outwardly, at least. She keeps her face calm, lips pursed, while her internal thoughts run wild.
Finn broke up with her two days ago, just after Jean's funeral, and Quinn is still in the process of getting over it. Of course she is; it's only been two days. If she's being honest with herself, she's not mourning the end of the relationship as much as she is Finn's words.
Don't you feel anything anymore? , He had said, This is real. This is happening.
Quinn nods for Rachel to continue, and she does, saying, "Right, so I heard about you two, and I, well…"
She pauses, reaching into her bag to pull out what looks like… ice cream?
"It's kind of dumb, but I brought you some ice cream because I know I went through an embarrassing amount when Finn and I broke up, vegan, of course," She explains nervously, "A-And I know Brittany and Santana are out of town this weekend, so I just thought that… you know what, this is stupid, I'm just gonna—"
"Wait, no, stop," Quinn interrupts as Rachel starts to put the ice cream back in the bag. "This is… really nice of you."
Rachel stops her motions, looking up into Quinn's eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah," She says, seeing the doubt in her eyes, "Yeah, it is. Do you… do you wanna come inside?"
Rachel's eyes widen, and Quinn almost laughs at the shock apparent on her face. "No, no that's okay. I wouldn't want to intrude."
"You wouldn't be," Quinn insists, perhaps a little too quickly, but the girl did bring her ice cream after all. The least she can do is let her come hang out for a bit. "My mom is out anyway, and I could use the company."
She watches Rachel mull over her options, and she's maybe a little glad when Rachel simply nods and steps into the house. Suddenly, Quinn is all too aware of her appearance, and she quickly attempts to fix her messy ponytail as Rachel takes her shoes off. She looks at Rachel, in her flowy, pink sundress, and Quinn feels like a slob in her ratty shirt and shorts.
"You can go in the living room. I'm just gonna go change really quickly." Quinn says.
She's about to run upstairs when Rachel says, "No, you don't need to. You look great just how you are."
Quinn eyes Rachel, seeing the sincerity reflected in her deep brown eyes, and sighs, giving in. She knows that she and Rachel both have their own issues with beauty and vanity and insecurities, so she's not about to argue with her right now. Besides, she's in her own home, and she's really not in the mood to go put on nicer clothes or do her makeup.
Quinn leads Rachel into the living room, taking the bag from her and setting it down on the coffee table. She gestures for Rachel to take a seat on the couch, and she walks back into the kitchen to grab two spoons for them, coming back to find Rachel sitting up, back straight, looking extremely nervous and uncomfortable. She hands a spoon to Rachel and sits in the opposite corner of the couch, tucking her legs underneath her.
"I didn't know you wear glasses," Rachel says as Quinn grabs the ice cream out of the bag, finding one pint of regular chocolate chip cookie dough and one pint of vegan strawberry. She wordlessly hands the vegan ice cream to Rachel, choosing to ignore the fact that the girl had probably intended on being invited inside if her choice of ice cream is any indication.
Then, she registers Rachel's comment and blushes, adjusting the frames on her face. "Unfortunately, I am not as perfect as I may seem." She says, opening her pint of ice cream.
"No one is, Quinn. Regardless, I think they look really nice on you. You should wear them to school sometime." Rachel replies, opening her own pint and putting a spoonful in her mouth. Quinn does the same, and they both release similar sounds of pleasure at the taste, causing them both to flush with embarrassment.
The ice cream is exactly what she needs today, especially this flavor, which leads Quinn to ask, "How did you know this is my favorite flavor?"
Rachel's cheeks turn red as she says, "I may have texted Santana and Brittany this morning to ask them. Multiple times."
Quinn just laughs and keeps eating her ice cream. She notices something else in the bag, and she reaches in to take out what looks to be a pile of DVD's, holding them up to Rachel with curiosity and raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, right, I brought some movies, too," Rachel explains, "Although my options were fairly limited, and I wasn't sure what you like, but I brought a variety of options in case you wanted to watch any of those."
She fans through the movies, pleasantly surprised to see that they aren't all musicals, and smiles when she sees one of her favorites. Getting up from the couch, she walks over to the DVD player to pop in Mamma Mia! and comes to sit back down in her spot.
They sit and watch the movie in a comfortable silence, still sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Quinn has seen this movie an embarrassing number of times, and she's sure Rachel has, too, based on the way she's quietly humming along to all of the songs. By the time it gets to the title track, Rachel is singing, rather than humming, and Quinn finds it more endearing than annoying, which comes as a surprise to her. She finds herself enjoying Rachel's presence, something that she never imagined, especially given recent events. Still, it doesn't completely take her mind off of her sorrows, and Quinn can't stop her mind from repeating those words from Finn over and over.
Don't you feel anything anymore?
Suddenly, tears come to her eyes, and Quinn has nothing left in her to keep them from falling. She tries to keep quiet, she really does, but, after about a minute, she sniffles, and it instantly draws Rachel's attention. Rachel's eyes meet hers, and one look at the concern evident in her expression has Quinn releasing a deep breath and fully breaking into sobs. Rachel gasps, instantly setting her ice cream and spoon aside, and moves closer to Quinn. She takes the spoon and container from her, placing them on the coffee table, and grabs Quinn's hands. The feeling just makes Quinn cry harder, and Rachel immediately pulls her into a tight hug, clutching her head with one hand, holding her back with another.
"It's okay, Quinn. You're okay," Rachel murmurs into her ear, "Just let it out. You're okay."
Quinn just cries into her for a few minutes, embarrassed beyond belief. As her tears slow down, she leans back and wipes her face, and Rachel pulls her arms away but doesn't make a move to put any distance between them, for which Quinn is admittedly grateful.
"We can talk about it, you know," Rachel says softly, kindly. "I know you and I have had our differences in the past, especially when it comes to Finn, but I'm here, today, as your friend. Nothing more, nothing less."
Quinn feels the urge to cry again. Instead, she pushes that down and says, "Thank you."
"It's no problem at all, Quinn."
She takes a deep breath before she admits, "It's not even the break-up that's hitting me the hardest; it's what he said."
"What did he say?" Rachel asks.
"He asked me if I even felt anything anymore, like I was some kind of emotionless robot." Quinn mumbles, hearing how ridiculous she sounds as the words come out of her mouth.
Rachel grabs her hands again, lacing their fingers together, as she says, "Oh, Quinn, I'm so sorry. Finn… isn't the brightest guy at times. Or a lot of the time. Regardless, he definitely shouldn't have said that. What even prompted that?"
Quinn sighs. "He was talking about the whole idea of being tethered to someone and how he doesn't feel that when it comes to me, and I just—"
She cuts herself off, fighting another wave of tears from coming. Rachel squeezes her hands, encouraging Quinn to continue, so she does.
"I just don't understand how he can ask me that. Is that how people see me? This cold, unfeeling robot?" She cries, realizing this is now the second time she's cried in front of Rachel in just the past week and a half; she doesn't mind it.
"I don't see you that way," Rachel promises, "I see you as a strong, intelligent girl with a depth of emotions that is just beautiful."
Quinn gasps, meeting Rachel's eyes and seeing a pool of emotions swirling in them. "How can you say that to me? With how awful I've been to you?"
"Because I know that's not the real you," Rachel states. "The real you is not this cold, unfeeling girl that the rest of the school may see. The real you is the girl who helped Mercedes out with her eating struggles last year, the girl who helps Sam out with his siblings while his parents are out, the girl who isn't afraid to admit her biggest fears to the girl who used to be her enemy." Rachel pauses, making sure Quinn is looking at her when she says, "That's the real you, Quinn, and she's brilliant."
Rachel's words send warm feelings all throughout Quinn's body, and she can't bring herself to say anything else. She nods, squeezing Rachel's hands, and shifts her attention back to the movie in front of them. Letting go of one of her hands, Quinn grabs her spoon and ice cream from the coffee table, sets the pint in her lap, and scoops a spoonful into her mouth. Rachel does the same, their hands still linked together in between them.
They are sitting shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, hands clasped, and Quinn has never felt more content with another human being than in this very moment. Whatever that means, she'll deal with it another day. Because, right now, this day with Rachel, eating ice cream and watching a cheesy musical, is all she needs.