18:24
Quinn has had a long day. She had to attend a total of three whole lectures today, two of which were completely boring so she ended up with a really sore neck and a completely red cheek by the end of the lecture. She had wondered why that was the case, but then some people sitting nearby had helpfully informed her that it was because she was sleeping flat on the table in an awkward position. Quinn couldn't help it: the sad thing about doing law was that there was just so much to read and write and even though she would say that she was pretty good at time management, so was still a little sleep deprived and that would be why she fell asleep under the drones of her professors.
It was a shame, because now she had to catch up on all the work she missed while she was sleeping.
And then after a long day at college, she had to go to cheerleading practice from 4 to 6. She didn't even know why she was cheerleading here in the first place. It was probably because she was head cheerleader in high school and being head cheerleader here as well gave her a lot more self-esteem. But that came at a price: she was knackered. The routines were very intense and demanding, and it was raining heavily through the whole practice that they were forced to do outside instead of in the gymnasium. And now, at about half-past 6 in the evening, Quinn was completely drenched, exhausted, and more than looking forward to getting back to her dorm where she could have a nice and steamy hot bath. The prospect of more work after said bath wasn't that appealing to the blonde though, but one thing at a time. She'll worry about her essay that was due tomorrow later.
She grabbed her duffle bag from the locker room and made her way to the block where her dorm was situated in. Her dormitory was on the fourth floor, and while she normally took the stairs up there because she had a phobia of elevators, she decided to take the lift up because her legs felt like jelly and she really didn't think that she had the energy to climb four flights of stairs.
She was hurrying through the front doors to the building when she saw that the doors to the elevator were closing. Since she desperately wanted to change out of the freezing wet cheerleading uniform that was uncomfortably sticking onto her bare skin and run a super hot bath to keep her teeth from chattering so much, she decided to use the last of her energy to run to the elevator in hopes of getting inside before the doors shut and made her wait a few more painful minutes.
Her legs were screaming in protest, but Quinn ignored it and instead she started to break out into a flat out sprint. Unfortunately, since her legs were being overworked, they were not able to keep her upright for very long and she was dangerously close to losing her balance.
"Open the door!" Quinn gasped, just as she saw the elevator doors start to shut. Ignoring the fire that was scaling up her calf she ran the rest of the distance, barely squeezing through the elevator door before her legs gave way and she fell flat on her face on the floor in the elevator.
She was glad that she did cheerleading now, it kept her fit and in shape. If she stopped cheerleading, she doubted that she would be fast enough or be able to fit through the narrow gap between the doors of the elevator.
She lay there, forehead still on the floor, panting for a few seconds before a sultry voice made her jolt and sit up instantly.
"Aww, are you alright?" The voice was condescending, and Quinn hated it.
Quinn whipped her head around to fix her hazel eyes on the person who said that, and when she saw who it was, her frown deepened even more and if looks could kill, she was pretty sure that the person before her would be dead ten times over.
Oh, how she wished that was the case!
"Aw, Quinnie, are you crying?" the brunette before her said teasingly with a fake pout. "You wanna make me come over and make you feel better?" she continued, using a high-pitched baby voice that Quinn hated more than anything.
"No," Quinn growled. "It's the rain," she stated before she whipped her head away, refusing to look at the brunette before her. She wasn't worth her attention.
"I see," Quinn could see Santana's smirk, even though the blonde wasn't looking at her. Quinn decided to not respond at all, and for a very brief moment she considered just striding out of the elevator altogether, but then she realised that the door was closed and she had no way of leaving.
Santana Lopez. Just the thought of that name made Quinn's insides clench with hatred. Well, maybe hatred is too strong a word, but she did not like Santana at all. Santana was her arch-enemy, her nemesis in college. If it wasn't for Santana, Quinn would be at the top of the class and be the professor's favourite. Every single time she got her assignment back, she would come second to the brunette, and she loathed it. And what she hated even more was that Santana would come over and ask her what she got in a falsely friendly and curious manner, and when Quinn would begrudgingly grit out an "A" or a "90%" because she didn't want to lie, Santana would flaunt her paper which read a big "A+" or a "95%" and Quinn would be seething. In class, it is always Santana this and Santana that. Quinn would overhear her colleagues say how Santana was going to make it big as a lawyer, and how she was going to earn six-figure salaries at the age of 30, and she hated it. She hated living in Santana's shadow, she was a good law student too!
Although she did have something that she could hold over Santana. She was head cheerleader in the college varsity squad, so suck that, Santana. Every time Quinn would grin triumphantly at the top of the pyramid, and occasionally if she was feeling mean, she would smirk at Santana who would not be quite as high up as she is. Santana had wanted to be head cheerleader for so long, she was head cheerleader in her high school after all, but Quinn was not going to give up her position under any circumstance any time soon.
That was why they were bitter rivals, and it had probably been the case ever since Quinn met Santana and decided that she didn't like her. It was just the way that Santana struts around like she owned the place, her head always held up high and standing up straight and tall even though she was not that tall. She held this charisma and sense of importance that was impossible to not see, and Quinn did not like that at all. Santana's just so arrogant!
"So…" Santana's smooth voice spoke again and Quinn rolled her eyes. "I would think that a head cheerleader has better coordination than what I just witnessed."
Quinn scowled and fixed her gaze on the mocha ones before her. "And yet I am head cheerleader, not you," she said harshly.
Santana held her hands in front of her in a surrender position. "Alright, easy tiger, no need to get so defensive," she said. Then a pause. "Just making a point," she added.
Quinn really wished that she had superpowers so that she could send a white-hot beam of light with her eyes and vaporise Santana on the spot right here and now.
Quinn rolled her eyes, getting to her feet just as the elevator started to climb. She didn't really like the feeling you get when you're in an elevator, because it felt as if the ground beneath you was moving. This was why she was clinging onto the side rail probably a little harder than necessary.
The two girls stood in silence in the elevator for a short while, and while it wasn't completely awkward, Quinn still felt a little uncomfortable standing so close to her arch-enemy. She wasn't exactly sure why, maybe it was because she knew that Santana could be very provoking and teasing, and she knew that Santana would relish teasing Quinn to the point where she exploded and embarrassed herself.
It had been a while before she heard a shudder and the elevator jerked violently before stopping completely.
She stood rigidly for a while and she could hear nothing at all. Not even the hum of the elevator. Well, she could hear Santana's breathing, but that was beside the point.
She turned over to face the brunette, who was wearing a blank expression. "What happened?" Quinn asked.
Santana sighed and made her way over to where Quinn was standing, then started to look around the elevator. Quinn had no idea what Santana was looking for, but she wasn't going to question it.
After a few seconds, Santana spoke up again. "I think that the elevator is stuck," she mumbled, feeling for the door and then starting to press some buttons, but nothing was responding.
Quinn felt her spine tingle as her blood ran cold. This was her worst fear, and exactly why she did not take elevators.
"What?" her voice was barely louder than a whisper. "What do you mean, stuck?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you?" Santana rolled her eyes. "We're stuck here. It's not moving anymore."
Quinn closed her eyes and counted to five, trying really hard not to panic. She felt really scared, but if she had to be honest she was kind of thankful that Santana was stuck with her. At least that meant that she wouldn't be stuck here alone. She won't starve to death anymore, because when it comes to life or death she could kill Santana and feed off her flesh while she waits for maintenance.
Oh, her brain is giving her irrational thoughts. How could she even think of eating a human being? That is just gross on every level.
"Aww, is little Quinnie getting scared?" Santana smirked. "Who would know that the head bitch in charge is such a plushie on the inside?"
"Shut up!" Quinn snarled, trying to keep her voice from shaking. If she admitted that she was scared to her nemesis then she would never hear the end of it, and that would be completely unacceptable. "I am not scared!"
"Okay," Santana shrugged, backing off and sitting back down at the other side of the elevator. "If you say so, Quinn. Although your face makes it pretty obvious."
"Well," Quinn sighed, not wanting to argue this any further, because Santana was right, and if she insisted that she wasn't scared then she would be digging herself a hole. "How would we get out of here?"
"We can't," was Santana's simple answer. "We would have to wait for someone to realise that the elevator is broken, and then we would have to wait for them to report to maintenance, and then we would have to wait for them to fix this. We're stuck here for a couple of hours, that's for sure."
"What?" Quinn squeaked. "No, you can't be right. What if we call for help? Someone has to hear us, right?"
"I don't think that –" Santana started, but Quinn paid her no mind.
"HELP!" Quinn screamed, pounding at the door. "WE'RE STUCK HERE, SOMEONE HELP!"
Quinn was already exhausted from all the cheerleading practice that she did, so she doubted that she would be able to keep up the hollering for much longer. Nevertheless, her intense need to get out of there was greater so she took another deep breath in preparation to shout again.
"You're wasting your breath," Santana's voice cut in smoothly. "These walls are soundproof, no one will hear you."
Quinn slowly turned her head to face the brunette. She no longer cared that her hazel eyes were showing fear, she had no energy to hide it, and plus, Santana already knew anyway. Quinn opened her mouth again to suggest another idea, but Santana beat her to it.
"And don't think about using your phone to call people, there won't be any service in here," Santana said nonchalantly, as if reading the blonde's mind.
"It can't hurt to try," Quinn gritted out, grabbing her phone from her duffel bag and praying that there would be at least one bar of service. However, her worst fears were confirmed when the phone told her that there was no service. She tried calling and texting, but nothing was sending out.
"See?" Santana said calmly. "There's no use, just admit that we are stuck. Come here, sit down and we can talk to pass the time."
"No!" Quinn said defiantly. "How are you so calm about this? Do you not care about being stuck here and us starving to death?"
Santana laughed. "No, I'm not worried about that, because I don't think that we are going to starve to death. And plus, it is pretty hilarious to watch you all scared and fretting."
Quinn stared at the brunette, shocked. "W-What?" she squealed. "I'm not fretting!"
"Are so," Santana smirked.
"Am not!"
"Are so."
"Ugh," Quinn grunted in frustration. "You're impossible. I hate you!"
"Nah, you love me," Santana smiled. "Come here, let's talk."
"No!" Quinn huffed, sliding down the wall so that she was in a sitting position as well. "I'm never talking to you!"
"Well, you're talking to me right now," Santana shrugged.
"Well, not anymore!" Quinn scowled.
"Suit yourself," Santana said indifferently, starting to examine her nails.
Quinn huffed again and turned her attention to her duffle bag, looking through the contents. To her dismay, all the clothes inside were soaked from the rain during practice, and there was no food inside.
20:07
Quinn was proud to say that she still has not said a single word to Santana over the past hour and a half. It was quite boring, to say the least, but it was undeniable that Santana's presence helped a lot with her anxiety. She didn't really feel that scared anymore, but that didn't mean that she didn't wish to get out. She still really wanted to get out of there and get back to her dorm, probably grind through her assignment so she didn't get an F tomorrow, so she just really hoped that someone would come and save them sometime soon.
Over the past hour or so, since she didn't really have anything to do, she just stared into blank space and let her mind wander. Occasionally she would make eye contact with Santana, who would send the blonde a sweet smile and Quinn would avert her gaze. If her skin wasn't so cold, she had a horrible feeling that she would blush, and she had no idea why.
Speaking of cold skin, Quinn could no longer stop herself from shivering anymore. All of her clothes were cold and wet, meaning that she had no change of clothing, and she was still in her wet cheerleading uniform which was still sticking onto her skin. The fabric was now bordering freezing, and she felt like she was in a freezer. She chanced a glance at Santana, who was changed into comfortable, baggy clothes. Her hair was still slightly wet from cheerleading, but at least she wasn't cold or anything: she had a coat on, for Christ's sake! It was a bit sad that the ventilation in the elevator wasn't very good, and it was really chilly, so to say that she was cold would be an understatement.
Setting the duffel bag dejectedly back down on the floor, Quinn used it as a pillow and lied down. Since she was so cold and her teeth were constantly chattering, she curled into herself slightly, trying to utilise as much of her body warmth as possible.
She closed her eyes and decided to try and go to sleep because it wasn't likely that they were going to get out of there anytime soon and she had nothing better to do. But then not a minute later she heard the brunette's voice for the first time in over an hour.
"You're cold." It wasn't even a question. It was a statement.
"No, I'm not," Quinn tried her best to keep her voice from being too shaky, but her cheerleading uniform wasn't doing her any favours so she couldn't keep the tremor from her voice.
"Yes, you are," Santana sighed, and Quinn heard some shuffling. A few seconds later, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and she was pretty sure that if she wasn't lying down, she would've jumped a foot into the air. "Look at you, you're shivering," Santana said, voice surprisingly soft.
"I-I'm okay," Quinn insisted, closing her eyes again, just willing Santana to move away. "Don't worry about me."
"Here," Santana whispered, taking off her coat and draping it over the blonde as if it was a blanket. "It would be best if you put it on, but if you don't want to, that's okay too," she said gently.
Quinn cracked one hazel eye open and turned her head, so that she was looking at the brunette. "A-Are you sure?" she asked, almost certain that Santana had some kind of ulterior motive.
"Yep," Santana smiled, nodding.
"W-Why are you not making fun of me for this?" Quinn mumbled, sitting up and gratefully slipping on the coat, which instantly made her feel a little better. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"
Santana frowned slightly. "What do you mean? Why would I make fun of you?"
"You make fun of me all the time," Quinn pouted.
"I wouldn't do that now, that would be mean," Santana said, moving back again. "Feel better?"
"A lot," Quinn nodded. "Are you sure about this? Will you not be cold or anything?"
Santana gestured to her clothes. "My clothes are dry, I'll be fine."
"T-Thank you," Quinn said gratefully, saying the words that she had vowed to herself to never say to the brunette.
"It's no problem," Santana sent a warm smile before moving back to her side of the elevator again, not speaking another word, leaving Quinn more than confused over Santana's sudden spurt of kindness.
21:56
Time kind of felt weird during times like this. It seemed to warp, bend, and twist, and within no time Quinn found that another hour or so had passed. She didn't really mind being here so much anymore, it was kind of calming if anything to sit in silence and think. She wondered if being in prison was like this. But then her cellmates would probably not be as nice as Santana to give her a coat to keep her warm. Even then, Quinn was still hoping that she would be rescued from this elevator sometime soon, because the chances were looking less likely with every passing minute and she still needed to do her assignment for tomorrow. She bet that Santana had already finished her essay and would get top grades, and once again she would lose to the brunette.
Over the past five minutes or so, all Quinn could hear was the soft rustling of a packet of crisps that Santana was eating. She now really wished that she had packed some food in her duffle bag before she set off for cheerleading practice, because the last time she had food was over 9 hours ago, where she had some spaghetti for lunch. And since she had 2 hours of vigorous cheerleading practice after all her lectures, she was more than hungry.
She doubted that Santana was going to share any of her food, so she didn't even bother asking. All she did was watch the brunette pop crisp after crisp into her mouth, and the soft crunching that came after it.
Soon, Santana had finished her packet and was ruffling through her bag again. Quinn's mouth started to water when she saw that Santana had taken out some dried bacon from her bag and was now opening the pack.
Quinn's leering must have been really obvious, for Santana just looked up and chucked the whole pack in the blonde's direction. Quinn barely caught it, and when she did she looked at Santana questioningly, who simply gave her a small smile and a shrug, turning her attention back to her bag, presumably to get some more food.
"W-What is this for?" Quinn asked, happy but more surprised than anything.
"You like bacon, don't you?" Santana said, looking back up and meeting hazel eyes. "I just thought that you should have it, you've been staring at me eating for quite a while now."
"I haven't been staring," Quinn mumbled, feeling her cheeks start to heat. "But yes, I do like bacon. How do you know?"
"You are so easy to read," Santana smirked. "And hey, is Quinn Fabray blushing for real? For me? Aww, I am so flattered!"
Quinn's smile quickly fell and was replaced by a scowl. "Shut up," she mumbled. "I don't want it, you can have it back," she said stubbornly, throwing the pack back in Santana's direction, because she didn't want Santana to tease her over it.
"You sure?" Santana picked up the pack and opened it. Quinn nodded defiantly. "Well, more food for me, I guess," Santana smirked and popped one piece into her mouth. She closed her eyes contently when she chewed. "Hmm," she moaned and for some reason, it shot some heat down between Quinn's legs and the blonde subconsciously clenched them tighter together. "It's so good," she gushed. "You sure that you don't want some?"
"No," Quinn shook her head defiantly.
"Okay then," Santana smiled mischievously and popped another piece into her mouth, now moaning even louder. "Ah," she sighed contently when she swallowed, and picked up another piece to eat again.
Quinn watched as Santana kept on eating, and her stomach rumbled uncomfortably. She was so hungry, but her pride was too great to not give in. She had to bite her lip to keep some drool from coming out.
Santana swallowed another piece before she took one look at Quinn's expression and burst out laughing.
"What?" Quinn said self-consciously.
"Nothing, it is just that you are so obvious," Santana chuckled, scooting over and handing Quinn the pack of dried bacon. "You obviously want it, so eat it. I'm not going to judge you or anything."
"Y-You sure?" Quinn asked, which elicited a nod from the brunette. "I-I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me?"
"Why shouldn't I be?" Santana frowned. "I'm just doing what I should do."
"B-But…" Quinn faltered. "I-I thought that you hated me."
"Hated you?" Santana tilted her head. "I don't understand. Why do you think that I hate you?"
Quinn was surprised to find that she had no answer to Santana's question. Why did she think that they were rivals? Why did she think that Santana hated her?
"W-Well…" Quinn said slowly, trying to retain her dignity. "Y-You tease me all the time, you make fun of me, you're bitter that you're below me in the pyramid, you… you…"
"You think that I hate you because you're the head cheerleader?" Santana laughed. "That's pretty petty, don't you think? No, Quinn, I don't hate you, I never did. Although do answer me this. Why do you hate me? You look at me like I'm the worst person on the planet, a-and it… it hurts, you know."
Quinn was surprised to see the vulnerability, the hurt masked inside Santana's expression. She hid it well, but Quinn could still see it. And she was surprised to find that she cared, she didn't want Santana to feel hurt.
"Well," Quinn mumbled, starting to feel embarrassed. "I-I guess I'm jealous," she admitted. When Santana looked at her questioningly, she continued. "You always get better than me in the assignments we get set, everyone talks about how good you are and no one talks about me, I'm living in your shadow, you know? A-And then you would come and wave the paper in my face, like rubbing salt in a wound. And then you would make fun of me, laugh at me, so… uh…"
"Oh," Santana breathed. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, and Quinn could swear that the brunette was blushing. "I probably went a little bit overboard with the teasing," she said bashfully. "Look, the reason why I do it is because it's just an opportunity to talk to you."
"T-Talk to me?" Quinn stuttered. "I-I don't understand."
"Look Quinn," Santana said, taking a deep breath as if she was preparing herself for what she was going to say. "I like to tease you… because I… I like you, okay? I like the way that your nose wrinkles when you're offended or when you smell something bad, I like the way you look so happy and so confident when you are standing proudly at the top of the pyramid, I like it when you smile and I can see all your teeth. I… like it when you look at me, because your hazel eyes are just so beautiful," Santana cast her eyes down and sighed heavily. "D-Do you get what I'm saying, Q?"
Quinn stared at the brunette in disbelief. Had she been misreading Santana the whole time?
"P-Please say something, Quinn," Santana pled, and that was when Quinn realised that she had just gaped at the brunette for a long time, not saying anything. She was shocked to see the immense amount of vulnerability presented in front of her right this moment. It was almost as if Santana was presenting herself completely naked and exposed in front of her.
"B-But what about Brittany?" Quinn stuttered, saying the first thing that came to mind. "I-Isn't she the one you love?"
"You know I had been dating Brittany?" Santana cracked a small smile. "We ended it a while ago," she turned her head to look at the distance wistfully. "It was kind of mutual, we just weren't feeling it anymore, I guess. We decided to remain friends after. So…" Santana drawled, nervous again. "Y-You're not creeped out or anything?"
Quinn pursed her lip for a short while. "No," she said eventually. "I-It's just a lot to take in," she said.
"That's okay," Santana nodded. "Well, I'll leave you to your peace now," she said, giving a small smile. "I hope you enjoy the bacon."
Quinn had nearly forgotten that she had the bacon in her hands. Now that she had learnt a lot of new information, and learnt a lot more about Santana, she was kind of glad that she was trapped in the elevator now. She found herself kind of not wanting to leave.
As if on cue, she felt the elevator groan and she was hearing the humming again. She felt the ground beneath her start to move, and miraculously the elevator was ascending again.
Just when she decided that she didn't want to leave, the elevator started to work again. What was up with her luck?
Santana looked up. "Hey, I think the elevator's working again somehow," she said, just as the elevator dinged and the door opened again. "It's the third floor, right?" Santana looked out. "I guess that this is my floor Quinn," she said, picking up her bag. "I-I hope that I haven't been horrible company, and… um… you can keep the coat. I have more, it's okay." With that, Santana slung the bag over her shoulder and started to move towards the exit.
Quinn's mind was working in overdrive. Santana liked her. Santana liked her.
Did she like Santana back?
How could she never have realised that Santana was such a nice person? All her teasing comments were good-natured and nothing like bullying. And how did she not realise how attractive the brunette was? Her curves, her full lips, her luscious hair.
Did she like Santana?
Santana opened herself completely, laying everything on the counter. Santana helped her when she got cold, she kept her from panicking when they first got trapped.
"Wait!" Quinn cried as Santana walked through the door. Santana stopped and looked back questioningly. Quinn quickly got up and walked the few steps, standing right in front of the brunette. They were about similar height, so she was staring directly into mocha eyes, which she found to be so beautiful all of a sudden. "Wait," Quinn whispered again.
"Yes?" Santana's voice was barely higher than a whisper.
"Don't go," Quinn mumbled, and letting her body take over for once, she leaned in and captured the brunette's lips in a searing kiss.
She had kissed a few people in her life, but she had never kissed a girl before. And the feeling that she got when she felt Santana's full lips on hers was nothing but amazing. She felt like she was floating in the clouds, where nothing else mattered, all she could feel, smell, taste, was Santana, and it was absolute ecstasy.
Quinn deepened the kiss by tilting her head slightly and both girls moaned. It just felt so good.
After what felt like no time and eternity at the same time, they finally pulled apart, and they spent the next couple of seconds in comfortable silence, just panting heavily and staring into each other's eyes.
"W-What was that for?" Santana said dreamily, eyes a little hooded and expression a bit hazy.
"I-I like you too, Santana," Quinn whispered. "I don't know why I thought you hated me, I don't know why I hated you too, I was an idiot. I'm really sorry, San."
Santana, however, only seemed to have heard the first part of the sentence. "Y-You like me too?" she echoed, expression saying nothing but elation and awe.
"Yes," Quinn confirmed, nodding. "Y-Yes, I really like you too, Santana."
"W-Wow," Santana gasped happily. "You d-don't know how many times I have dreamed of you saying that, Quinn."
"So…" Quinn drawled, smiling and lacing her fingers with the brunette's. "Please don't go? Come with me to my dorm, please?"
"It's on the fourth floor, isn't it?" Santana said, giving a lazy smile.
"Yes," Quinn smiled. "And you can help me with the assignment that we have due tomorrow."
"Okay…" Santana said slowly. "And what will I do after we finish?"
"You can then help me with… other things," Quinn's smile grew wider.
"Deal." Santana matched Quinn's grin, pressing the button on the elevator to close the door and then pressing the number 4.