"Quinn? Are you listening to me?" Santana asked sternly as she dragged Quinn from her daydream. Quinn looked at the cheerleader. It was the end of school and as agreed they were travelling to some 'creepy place' as Santana put it, to conduct a 'paranormal investigation'. Santana wouldn't tell her where this place was and Quinn just hoped it wasn't where she was thinking.
"Yeah," Quinn replied blandly.
"Really?" Santana said, raising an eyebrow. "Then what did I say?" Quinn looked at her blankly and Santana shook her head. "I was saying that this place we're going to is rumoured to be haunted, I guess with the ghost whisperer on our team we'll find out how true those rumours are," Santana said confidently.
Quinn groaned internally. She couldn't think of anything worse than experimenting with things like that in a haunted house, some spirits didn't appreciate humans meddling with their afterlife. She just hoped that if it was haunted the ghost wouldn't mind the intrusion.
As they walked further, Quinn started to realise that this was the path she took home every day and it wasn't until they walked past her house that her suspicions about the place they were heading to, were confirmed. She felt a heavy feeling knot in her stomach and she looked up at the fading sky. She hated the winter months sometimes, the daylight ended too soon. She just had to make sure that they were out of there by dark.
They walked under the looming trees on the path that led to the house and Quinn shuddered at the lack of light. Brittany noticed and looked at her with a sympathetic smile.
"You don't like the dark Quinn?" Quinn shook her head and Santana snorted. "Be nice San," she warned her girlfriend.
"Imagine that, the ghost whisperer's scared of the dark. How ironic," Santana joked.
Quinn glared at her. "I had bad experiences as a child," she mumbled at the Hispanic cheerleader, not caring to elaborate on the tortuous memories.
"I sleep with the light on sometimes," Brittany said. "Lord Tubbington's afraid of the dark too." That brought a smile out on Quinn's face as she chuckled, relishing Brittany's sweet nature. She looked at the two cheerleaders who were holding hands. They were complete opposites and it made her wonder if that's why they were so suited to each other.
"What're you staring at Blondie?" Santana remarked. Quinn shook her head, dismissing the question. "We're here anyway," she breathed and Quinn's head snapped up to the decaying pile of familiar rubble and bricks.
"Great," she sighed.
Brittany was the first to go in, skipping around the open hallway with a huge grin on her face. "Look San! Isn't it cool? I've never been in here before. I bet it was amazing when it was lived in." Quinn couldn't help but admire Brittany's innocence. If only she knew what lived in here now. Quinn felt a cold chill run down her back, causing goosebumps to erupt on her skin.
"You know what they say happened here?" Santana spoke up. Brittany shook her head.
"A man murdered his entire family right?" Quinn said and Santana nodded.
"Yeah. They say he was the town's doctor at the time. The family was loaded- hence the house- and everyone around town knew him and respected him. Then one day without any sort of prompt or warning, he came home and murdered his family. He killed his two children with a knife and then tried to hide their bodies under the floorboards. Then he found his wife in their bedroom and stuck the knife in her throat, waiting for her to die. He then shot himself with his own hunting rifle. Now they say his ghost is the one that haunts the place." Quinn gulped at Santana's story. Obviously the man had some psychotic disorder and she wondered if that trait had stuck with him after death to make him so hateful and dangerous. Brittany looked around the house silently and the joyfulness she had shown a minute ago had vanished, replacing the air with an eerie atmosphere.
"Quinn."
"Yeah?" She replied casually. She looked at Santana then to Brittany who looked at her confused.
"We didn't say anything," Santana told her, shrugging. Quinn's eyebrows came together in confusion.
"Over here Quinn," the voice sounded again and Quinn followed it, her gaze landing on Rachel who was sitting on the stairs. Rachel looked stern and serious and her eyes flashed over the two cheerleaders. Quinn watched her silently. "Why on earth have you brought those two here?" Rachel demanded.
Quinn knew she couldn't talk to Rachel directly. Well she could, but she wasn't sure that Rachel would like being exposed. "So Santana, are we getting started on the séance or the Ouija board or whatever?" She said, trying to sound nonchalant. She caught Rachel's expression. She was horrified and looked outraged.
"Quinn Fabray! You brought them here to do a séance? Do you know how stupid that is? In this house too!" Rachel was more or less shouting at Quinn who flinched under Rachel's angry tone.
"You okay Blondie?" Santana asked, noticing Quinn's pained expression.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just going to go check the house out upstairs; you know, get a feel for it and stuff before we start?"
"Good idea Quinn," Brittany said, smiling brightly at her. Santana snorted.
"Well hurry up, I want to start," Santana said bossily.
Quinn glided past Rachel, subtly tapping her shoulder for her to follow. Rachel huffed and glared at the cheerleaders once more before getting up after the blonde. Quinn headed into Rachel's room and the door shut forcefully behind her as Rachel stalked through.
"Are you insane? Wasn't the other night enough for you? He could kill you and your little friends Quinn, don't you understand that?"
"It's not dark yet," Quinn muttered, unable to meet Rachel's eyes. After all, she was right. This was a stupid idea and she should have stopped them from coming into the house. "I'll make sure we go before dark. They just wanted to see if I could talk to ghosts for themselves, and y'know I thought it'd be okay. I just wanted some friends Rachel."
She heard Rachel sigh and looked at her as she held a hand to her forehead. She thought that Rachel was about to blow up with anger but then a mischievous smile formed on her plump lips. "So they want to interact with a ghost?" Rachel said slyly and Quinn realised from her tone just what she was planning.
"Rach…" she warned.
"Oh c'mon Quinn, that's why you're here right? To get a thrill? Better that I do it now and freak them out so they leave before dusk and never come back." Quinn shifted her stance and chewed her lip thoughtfully. The brunette had a point, it would speed things along, Santana would get her thrill and Quinn would be able to prove that she really could talk to the dead.
"Okay, but nothing too bad. I still want them as friends by the end of this."
Rachel beamed and opened the door. "Go on Blondie," she mimicked Santana's pet name. "Let's get this show on the road." Quinn rolled her eyes and stepped out of the room, venturing back downstairs.
"I thought you'd been stabbed and shoved under the floorboards," Santana addressed Quinn as she glided down the staircase. Quinn feigned a smile, feeling nauseous as she realised that if they weren't out before dark then that was a good probability. "So," Santana continued, "I brought a Ouija board. You've seen people in movies using them right? Everyone has to place their hands on the plectrum and then we can ask questions. Hell, I'll even light a couple of candles for good measure," Santana informed the other two girls as she pulled the board from her bag, starting to set it up.
Quinn eyed the board. It was wooden with the alphabet and numbers carved in on the centre and then 'Yes' in the upper right, 'No' in the upper left corner and 'Goodbye' at the bottom in the middle. Yes, Quinn had seen one before, but only in movies. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she remembered that things for the people using one in those movies never ended well.
"Okay good, now, Britt, Quinn, put your fingers one the edge of that," she motioned towards a thick, wooden plectrum that was placed in the middle of the board. "Would you like to do the honours Quinn?" she implied the blonde to start. "I mean, if you can talk to ghosts then they might want to talk back." Quinn nodded.
She was about to open her mouth when she felt something shift in next to her, feeling cold prick against her skin. She turned her head and looked at Rachel whose eyes were twinkling with mischief. "Yes Quinn, why don't you start?" Quinn glared at her without the other two girls noticing.
"Is there anyone there?" Quinn asked, feeling stupid. She knew damned well someone was there and that someone seemed to be lapping it all up. She looked at Rachel who stared at her. "Is there anyone there?" She said through gritted teeth, looking from Rachel to the board and then back to Rachel. Rachel leaned over to the board and edged the wooden block to 'yes'. Both of the cheerleaders squeaked with shock and let go.
"Did you do that?" Santana asked Brittany who shook her head. "You?" She said to Quinn who mimicked Brittany. They placed their hands back on tentatively. "Ask it what its name is," Santana told Quinn.
"What is your name spirit?"
"You don't know my name? I thought we were getting along so well," Rachel smirked at Quinn who rolled her eyes, blinking to hide the gesture from the other girls. Rachel sighed and moved the plectrum to 'R' and then 'A', soon spelling out her whole name. The girls watched intently whilst Quinn watched Rachel.
"Okay, now what?" Quinn asked Santana who seemed to be controlling the questions.
"Ask her how she died, was she the guys kid?"
Quinn repeated the question out loud for the benefit of the others, even though she knew full well that Rachel could hear. "This is kind of lame, I don't know how people made it seem so exciting in movies," Rachel mumbled, moving the plectrum lazily to 'No'.
"Is this ghost retarded? I asked her how she died too," Santana remarked. Rachel's face dropped and she leered at Santana. Brittany squeezed her hand, signalling her to not piss off the spirit.
"Your friend's rude Quinn," the ghost said, as she reached for the plectrum. Quinn had a feeling that these two would end up arguing despite the communication barrier.
Rachel spelled out, "Boob job." Santana stared at the board horrified and Quinn couldn't contain her smile as she heard Rachel laughing to herself.
"Son of a bi-" Santana started but was cut off when the plectrum bounced off the top of her head, courtesy of Rachel. Santana's gaze locked on to Quinn's. 'What're you smiling at Ghost Girl?"
"I don't think the ghost likes you very much San," Brittany said as she rubbed Santana's head. Quinn started to giggle again.
"Okay, what's going on Fabray? Are you doing this?" Santana accused and Quinn held up her hands defensively.
She sighed and realised Rachel had had her fun. She looked at the brunette ghost.
"You might as well tell them about me," she told Quinn.
"I can see the ghost," Quinn told the girls, seeing their heads snap up in attention. Santana narrowed her eyes.
"You've seen her this whole time?" Quinn nodded. "And you let her throw a chunk of wood at my head?"
"I didn't know she was going to do it, she said you were being rude," she told Santana, licking her lips.
"Rude? I swear to God, if she was alive, I'd show her some Lima heights hospitality," Santana grumbled and Quinn saw Rachel roll her eyes and lean into Quinn's ear.
"Just so you know, that's one of the richest places in this town, her hard-ass image isn't fooling anyone," Rachel informed her.
Quinn managed to keep a straight face. "I've been here before on my own, so I already know the ghost here. I wanted you to get a thrill first though. She was only having fun." Santana crossed her arms and grumbled to herself.
"Can I tell them how you died Rach?" The ghost nodded in approval. She informed the girl of Rachel's past, letting them know about the vengeful ghost that killed her and keeps her trapped to the house. "So, we need to leave before it gets dark or-"
"The boogeyman will get us, yeah got it," Santana retorted. Quinn shook her head.
"Seriously. The ghost is dangerous. It's malevolent and consumed by rage and if we're still in here by the time night rolls around, he'll definitely take it out on us." Santana seemed to take Quinn's tone more seriously and gave a slight nod.
"So you're trapped here Rachel?" Brittany asked the air, looking around for any sign of the ghost. Quinn answered for Rachel and Brittany smiled in her direction.
"I don't mind this girl," Rachel told Quinn. "She's sweet and polite, unlike her friend."
"Girlfriend," Quinn corrected.
"Oh," Rachel said, holding Quinn's gaze as a cute smile formed on her lips. Quinn felt that flutter in her stomach again and a feathery, warm feeling tingled over her skin. She shrugged it off, noticing the two cheerleaders looking at her questioningly.
"She thought you were friends," Quinn explained.
"What about you Casper? You got any ghostly friends?" Santana asked sarcastically.
"No, but I've got my eye on something," Quinn repeated Rachel, cocking her eyebrow at the response. What did that mean? Did Rachel have other ghosts that she talked to? She'd never mentioned anything about it to Quinn. Quinn looked at Rachel who seemed to be purposefully avoiding the blonde's eyes.
Santana was about to open her mouth again when a piece of rubble whizzed past her head, barely missing her. Santana fumed, looking angrily at Quinn.
"You tell your little ghost friend that if she doesn't stop throwing things at me then I'm going to cross over to the afterlife and kick her ass myself!"
Quinn turned to Rachel but stopped short of saying anything when she noticed the fearful expression on her face.
"You didn't do it, did you?" She asked Rachel, wanting more than anything to prove her wrong, but the brunette shook her head as her chocolate eyes danced around the house, searching for something. Santana and Brittany looked at Quinn. "We need to leave. He's getting stronger now that it's getting darker. Trust me Santana; he won't miss the second time."
She felt cold fingertips graze her hand and then lapse into her palm. "Please go Quinn, before he hurts you," Rachel told Quinn, her eyes sparkling with worry. Rachel Squeezed Quinn's hand and regretted letting go.
The three girls did as they were told and swiftly left the house, breaking into a run and only stopped after they'd reached the end of the dark path.
Santana caught her breath and looked at Quinn. "Well, I guess you're not crazy then," she said, grinning and laughing to herself. Quinn imitated her and joined in laughing. After the girls had caught their breath and gotten over the shock that Quinn could actually talk to ghosts and that they were nearly the victims of an enraged spirit, they said their farewells.
"Well, Britts and I are going back to my place, I'd ask you to join but it's kind of a two person thing…if you know what I mean." Quinn looked away awkwardly at Santana's forwardness and nodded, saying goodbye until tomorrow.
When Quinn stepped through her front door, she was immediately confronted by her mother who was holding a glass of red wine in her hand. "Where have you been Quinn? You've not been coming home until late at night and I know it doesn't take that long to get home from school."
Quinn was shocked, not because she was getting yelled at but because her parents had actually noticed. Normally they pay her as least attention as possible, probably figuring if they ignore their crazy daughter then they don't have to deal with the aftermath.
"A friend's," she told her mother.
Judy sighed. "It's not another ghost is it Quinn? You know how your father and I feel about that."
Quinn looked away guiltily, tipping her mother off.
"Quinn, this needs to stop. We've put up with it for thirteen years! We were convinced it was just a phase, like some children create imaginary friends but you're eighteen now Quinn, you're not a child anymore! You need to let go of this fantasy world you live in and grow up!"
Quinn winced and felt a lump of anger and sadness bundle in her throat. Her mother was slightly tipsy and she could smell the stench of alcohol on her breath. "I thought you believed me mom. I thought that out of all the people who thought I was crazy, you were the ones that believed me!" She raised her voice to her mother, getting angry.
"Just stop it Quinn!" She screamed at her daughter, back peeling in shock as she watch her daughter lift her hand up to sooth her tingling cheek where Judy had just slapped her. Quinn's eyes glittered with tears as she looked at her mother in horror. "Quinn, I'm sorry, I-"
"You're my mom. You're supposed to stand by me," Quinn all but whispered before silently turning towards the stairs, leaving Judy stood alone in the hallway.
Quinn slammed the door behind her, finally letting her tears run down her face only to stand still when she noticed she wasn't alone in her room.
"Amy what are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" Quinn asked, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
"I looked it up in your school records. I just wanted to tell you what I want you to write in the letter to my mom," she said smiling. Quinn gave her an exasperated look.
"I'm kinda tired Amy, can we do it tomorrow?"
Amy rubbed her own arm. "Yeah that's cool. Hey, are you okay Quinn?" she asked as she noticed the tears and Quinn's flushed complexion.
"It's just my mom. I've found out that they're not as supportive as they'd like me to think."
"They don't believe you?" Amy asked, sounding genuinely shocked.
"Doesn't look like it," Quinn said, shaking her head.
"Where have you been anyway? I've been waiting here for nearly two hours," Amy said gently, trying to distract Quinn from their previous topic.
"I was at that house. I introduced Santana and Britt to Rachel."
"Rachel?" Amy asked as Quinn realised she hadn't told her about the brunette yet.
"She's a ghost there; she's my friend I guess. Actually the first person to talk to when I moved here."
"I've never talked to another ghost, what's she like?"
"She's sweet and caring and she makes me feel normal you know?"
Amy looked at her knowingly, obviously realising something that Quinn didn't. "Can I meet her? As I said, I've never met another ghost. Maybe she could help with my situation?"
Quinn laughed, "She's got her own situation so I don't know about that." She quickly filled Amy in on everything, frustrated that she was repeating this story for the second time today.
"Wow, that sounds horrible, I'm glad I'm not her." A thought dawned on Amy and she looked at Quinn curiously. "Was she the ghost that tried to chase us out when I camped there with my friends?"
"Yes, but only so the malevolent spirit wouldn't kill you, otherwise you'd end up trapped, just like her," Quinn explained.
"Wow, now I really want to meet her. I guess I should say thank you. At least there's a chance for me to move on, though I feel bad for her."
"Yeah, she's thoughtful like that," Quinn mused.
"So tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow what?" Quinn asked.
"Can I meet her?"
Quinn thought about it seriously, wondering how Rachel would react to another ghost in the house. "I guess, but just as long as we're out before dark. We need to keep track of time." Amy nodded excitedly.
"Tomorrow it is then. I'll let you do your homework or sleep or whatever now. I can see you want to be alone," she said kindly and Quinn nodded a thank you as Amy glided right through her door.
Later that night, as Quinn settled down to finish her Biology homework she happily realised that she now had more friends after moving to this town than she'd ever had in her life…even though two of them were dead. She chuckled to herself and began to concentrate on covalent bonds and glucose. She wasn't complaining at all.