Woo update! Sorry about the long wait! I've had so much stuff going on with uni, it's crazy :') Thank you to whoever is still reading this after so long! Also for the feedback :) Enjoy!
"Wow, you look like crap," Santana stated as she dropped her lunch tray down onto the table with a hefty slam. Quinn flinched from the noise and frowned, noticing the only thing on the tray was a red, metal flask. She guessed it was filled with one of the Cheerleading coach's mandatory food supplement that Cheerio's were made to drink in order to be 'healthy'. Quinn's mouth downturned at the thought of drinking that herself.
"Thanks," Quinn replied bitterly, not even bothering to look at the Latina but continued to glare at her tray as she subsided into thought. Truth was, Quinn knew she was right, no matter how bluntly or rudely Santana stated it. Quinn had started to notice a change in her health over the past few weeks. The dark circles that had slowly appeared under her eyes were now prominent and were evidence from the nightmares claiming Quinn's mind most nights. Her usually glowing skin had become pale, leaving the blonde with a sickly complexion and her hair was dry and brittle. She knew that her time was running out to stop the malevolent spirit, but after finding that picture of Rachel, she no longer had any idea of what to do.
She'd not spoken to the brunette since the night she made the regretful discovery. Many times, Quinn had wanted to just storm into the house and demand to know what in the hell was going on, but every time she mustered the will to do so, it seemed to disappear. Quinn didn't want to believe that this girl that she had fallen for had based their friendship and whatever else may have been shared between them on a bed of deceit. She knew that Rachel was lying- she just didn't know why. But time was running out and Quinn knew she'd have to force the truth out of Rachel sooner or later. The blonde gulped a wave of nausea down and buried her forehead in the palm of her hand.
Santana sat down in the seat across from Quinn and patiently studied the blonde. "What's up Quinn? And don't say nothing- I can detect bullshit from a mile away."
Quinn sighed and slowly lifted her gaze to meet concerned brown eyes. "It's a long story San."
Santana momentarily looked away from Quinn and smiled softly at Brittany as she sat down in the seat next to Quinn and wrapped her arms around the short haired blonde. "We've got time Quinn," Brittany said in a reassuring tone, retracting her arms from around Quinn.
"Maybe later? I don't really feel like talking about it now," Quinn said as she reburied her head in her hands to make a point.
Santana clucked her tongue in frustration. "Okay, well how was Christmas break? Seriously, we've not seen you since research at the library and that was like, three weeks ago."
"Yeah, I thought you'd become a raccoon Quinn," Brittany said softly, causing Quinn to look at Santana in question.
"Recluse, Britt. Recluse," Santana clarified.
"Oh," was Brittany's only reply but a grin erupted on her face.
The confusion managed to draw a giggle from Quinn. Somehow Brittany always managed to brighten any situation, though sometimes Quinn wondered if she did it on purpose to make other's laugh. The blonde cheerio wasn't as 'stupid' as some people deemed.
"Decent," Quinn started. "But not great. Christmas day in my house is all fancy dining and long cooking that doesn't even get eaten because everyone gets smashed before noon. My mom and my aunt go so drunk that they managed to fall into the Christmas tree- which set on fire because of all the damned temperamental lights they felt the need to decorate it with. But it was eventful I guess." She chuckled at the now laughable situation, though at the time she thought the whole house was going to burn down. "How was yours?" She directed the question to both of them, glancing from the Latina to the taller girl.
"Oh, you know," Santana said slyly before casting a smirk in Brittany's direction. "Eventful."
Quinn rolled her eyes but giggled at the obvious meaning behind Santana's short description. "On second thought, I'd rather not know," she giggled.
"Hey girls, Santana," Puck called out as he walked over to their table.
"Watch it Puckerman," Santana chided as she folded her arms and glared at the Mohawked boy.
Puck ignored her and Sat down opposite Brittany. "Long time no speak Quinn, how've you been?"
Quinn managed to give him a fake smile. "Good, you?"
"Ah, I've been busy. Cleaning pools and stuff."
"Puck, it's winter. Who the hell wants their pools cleaned at this time of year?" Santana asked in bewilderment.
"Lonely women, that's who," he replied with a smirk as he cockily raised an eyebrow.
Santana scoffed. "You're such a slut."
"You want to play that game? Really Santana?" Puck taunted, earning a threatening scowl from the girl who just sat back in her seat in defeat. "She loves me really."
"Yeah? Didn't know you were delusional too," Santana quipped, though an unguarded smile blew her bravado.
Puck dismissed the girl with a smug grin and turned his attention back to Quinn. "You sick or something? You don't look so hot Fabray and usually you're smoking," he said, winking at her.
Quinn rolled her eyes and huffed. "I'm just tired that's all. And the shrink that my dad makes me see really isn't doing anything to elevate stress. He just makes it worse," she grumbled, thinking back to how aggravated Dr Shepard had made her at their last session. It wasn't enough that he'd already diagnosed her with a mental disorder, he'd laughed in her face when she'd unloaded a few ghostly encounters too him. She thought if she told him just a little of what she'd been through, then maybe he'd actually start to see things her way and realise she was telling the truth. She was wrong. Quinn shook her head angrily at the memory and Puck rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Screw him. The guy sounds like he's got one huge stick shoved up his ass," the boy said.
"You have no idea," Quinn groaned. "Listen, I need to go. I've gotta' hand in an English assignment I forgot this morning so I'll see you guys later." She pushed her chair back and swiftly manoeuvred her way towards the exit of the cafeteria, not missing the concerned glances that were shared amongst her friends.
Quinn walked through the empty hallway feeling a goading sense of unease rile in the pit of her stomach. There were no other students illustrating their presence and the rusted, red lockers loomed over her in an almost ominous manner. She gulped and shook her head, willing the sensation away.
Quinn stopped in front of her locker and froze when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps behind her. Whispers and snickers claimed her full attention and suddenly she found herself wanting to climb into the metal confinement and lock the door behind her.
"Hey!" an assertive male voice shouted to the back of her head. Quinn visibly flinched at the sound which disrupted the once foreboding silence and replaced it with malicious intent. "Hey!" the boy repeated- frustration evident in his voice. "Are you deaf as well as crazy?"
Quinn's cheeks hazed with heat and panic started to colour her blood until she heard it pounding behind her ear drums. Reluctantly, she shifted to face them, pressing her back firmly against the wall of lockers.
The blonde faced a brutish looking group of jocks who were accompanied by smug looking Cheerios. Some of them eyed Quinn with disdain whilst others mirth which made Quinn gulp. Something was wrong but it was only when she spotted the plastic, slushie filled cups in each of the jock's and cheerleader's hands did she realise what they had planned for her.
The group started moving towards her and cornered her from all sides, leaving no room for escape. The last thing Quinn saw before an awry of different coloured slushie blinded her was Holly shooting her a satisfied smirk and in that instant, Quinn knew that this stunt was payback for what happened between them in the mall. Quinn internally shouted at herself for being so naïve into thinking that standing her ground against the head cheerleader would have no repercussions.
Quinn stood shaking whilst she heard the clop of cups being dropped to the ground and footsteps that left her. She heard laughing and claps of hands as the bullies congratulated each other with a display of high-fives. Though, the last thing she heard was a sneering whisper in her right ear, "You're nothing but a crazy, pathetic bitch and if you ever lay a hand on me again, I'll make sure it's more than just slushies pummelling you." Holly didn't say another word, but Quinn knew she hadn't left. She knew Holly was waiting for a response- an excuse to follow through on her recent promise.
Quinn shook not because she was cold or frightened but from rage. From pure hate for all of the jocks and cheerleaders but most of for the red headed captain. Quinn swore under her breath as she wiped the stinging slush from her eyes, causing Holly to look upon her in amusement. Quinn locked her blazing glare onto the smug captain and noticed that the Cheerio's amusement was interrupted and ultimately destroyed as the cheerleader flinched. It was barely visible but it was enough to give her fear away. A split-second later, Holly felt a fiery, exploding pain rupture from the centre of her face as Quinn's intent fist made impact.
However, the blonde simply stood there and stared in contempt as she acknowledged the captain scream in agony. Holly clutched her bloody nose, unable to control the profuse bleeding. It was only when Holly managed to gather herself, only when the other jocks and cheerleaders slowly realised what had actually happened, and only when they all started charging towards her did Quinn finally snap out of her trance-like state.
The daunting realisation of what the now panicking blonde had done was too much. Quinn turned on her heal and pounded her feet against the solid floor as fast as she could. She felt the muscles in her legs seize up, ache and protest but she carried on. She couldn't bear thinking about what would happen if she didn't get away. Adrenaline surged through her body, coursing through her blood stream in a final effort to aid escape and all Quinn could feel was the burning sensation occupying every organ, every muscle and every bit of her entirety.
Quinn dared to turn her head to see how far behind her pursuers were but to her surprise, they were no longer in sight. Still, she kept running until she was out of the school doors and on her routine path home. She knew going home was a bad idea. Her parents would flip if they found out she'd ditched school, but what choice did she have? She could either stay at school and get beaten to a pulp or go home and at worst, get grounded for a week or two. The blonde slowed to catch her breath, doubling over as she gasped in an abundant amount of delicious air. The deep burning sensation in her lungs seemed to cool down and the erratic pounding in her chest slowed, allowing Quinn to feel as though she had control of her body once again. She waited until she'd fully caught her breath and then she resumed her walk home, sincerely hoping that her parents were at work. If she could last for another two hours without her parents seeing her then she'd be fine. School would have finished by that time and Russell and Judy would be none the wiser about their daughter's whereabouts for the second half of the school day.
Quinn daintily crept towards her front door as she listened for any sign of her parents being home. As she stood and listened, she thought about how stupid she must look- sneaking around her own home. Quinn relaxed her shoulders as she gingerly grabbed the door handle. She turned it and gave the wood a slight push. Quinn could have killed someone the moment the door squeaked, disrupting the thick silence that aired the house. The Blonde froze for a moment. If her parents were home, they'd surely have-
"Quinn." Quinn swore she felt her heart skip a beat when she heard her father's stern voice sound from the living room. It was the same voice she had learned to associate with trouble. "Get in here now girl," Russell boomed from the other room, causing Quinn to clumsily scramble into the house. She felt like her heart had permanently frozen. She was so sure her parents would be out, but now that that plan was ruined, she'd have to think of another reason as to why she was blatantly skipping school.
Quinn stopped in the doorway of the living room as soon as she saw her father's enraged face. She quickly cast her eyes to her mother. Judy couldn't look Quinn in the face. Instead, she cast her gaze downwards and as far away from her daughter as she could possible. It was a look that Quinn had seen many times painted across her mother's face. It was disappointment and shame and it hurt like a bitch to know that's what her mother thought of her.
The blonde gulped back a mixture of anger and tears as she slowly turned back to her father. Russell gestured to the seat that faced theirs and Quinn quickly sat down. She'd learned what happened when she pushed her father too far and she could tell that right now, that was the last thing she wanted to do.
Russell cleared his throat and crossed his arms over his chest as she he relaxed back into his seat. "Quinn, why are you home so early?" Quinn hesitantly held her father's questioning stare for a moment before answering. He sounded calm, but there was something about his voice that she didn't trust. She could tell that something was wrong.
"I-I was sent home by the nurse, I wasn't feeling too well," Quinn lied as she internally flinched over how fake it sounded, but then again she did look ill.
"Is that so?" her father asked as he raised an eyebrow. Quinn didn't answer. She could tell by the way her father's face was slowly starting to turn red and how he had started to grind his teeth that he saw right through her lie. Suddenly, he snapped to his feet, an intimidation attempt that Quinn was so used to when she'd done something wrong previously.
"Because your mother and I received a very strange phone call from school saying that you physically assaulted another girl and then fled from school grounds." Russell slammed the palm of his hand against the wall and Quinn flinched in her seat. "I had to come out of work to deal with this Quinn! Do you know how much of my time you are wasting right now?" Quinn didn't answer, she wasn't supposed to.
Russell sat back down and buried his head in his hands, taking deep breaths. Judy rushed to his side and rubbed his back soothingly. Quinn couldn't help but scoff at the dramatic sight, but as soon as the noise had left her mouth she regretted it. Her father's head shot up and he marched towards Quinn until he was stood a little but two feet away. "Don't you dare laugh at the situation young lady!" he shouted.
"Dad, I wasn't, I-"
"Just tell us why you did it? The school said that the girl you attacked broke her nose. You broke her nose Quinn,"
"They all threw slushies at me, look! Look at my clothes," Quinn tried to explain as she held her sticky t-shirt up for her parent's viewing.
"Enough!" Russell's voice plunged the air into complete silence and the only thing Quinn could hear was the sound of her father's heavy breathing and her own heartbeat, pounding wildly within her chest. "Some kids throw slushies at you. Do you think the appropriate action was to break a girl's nose? You could face expulsion Quinn! Do you have any idea how bad this reflects on us?"
Quinn resisted the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. Of course this is what her parents were most upset about. God forbid the Fabray household is flawed.
"Why didn't you tell us Quinn? If you were getting bullied, you should have told someone, not react the way you did. It's not a Christian thing to do, it's not something my little Quinnie would do," Judy said calmly as she tried to establish a more relaxed atmosphere before things truly exploded but for some reason, Quinn had a feeling that her mother's subtle efforts would be in vain.
"Because I was being bullied for seeing ghosts," Quinn finished quietly, not daring to meet either of her parent's eyes. She knew how they felt about this subject.
"For heaven's sake, not this again," Judy huffed as she threw up her arms.
"Why won't you believe me? I'm not crazy! I'm your daughter, you have to believe me. Please," Quinn pleaded but neither of her parents said a word. The blonde teenager licked her lips and studied her father. He stood still, staring at her as something deep began to turn over in his thoughts. Without warning he spoke,
"Get out." Both Quinn's and Judy's eyes sprang wide and Quinn was sure for a moment that she'd heard wrong. "I said get out. You have thirty minutes to pack your things and go." She hadn't heard wrong. He sounded calm; tired as though he couldn't be bothered with his daughter and her 'problems' anymore. He couldn't be bothered with his 'little Quinnie'.
"Russell-"
"Don't," Russell scolded his wife as he shook her off his arm. "I won't have this in my household. I'm trying to sustain a respectable household and here we have you," he gestured at Quinn with a wave of his arm, "doing everything you can to ruin our name. You're destroying this household Quinn." He shook his head and rubbed his chin. "If you want to rebel against our rules and make a mockery of yourself and us then maybe you shouldn't be here. So get out. I'm done Quinn." Russell stopped and turned towards Judy who looked away from both his and Quinn's stare and said absolutely nothing. He turned back to face Quinn. "We're done."
Thirty minutes later, Quinn walked down the stairs with a backpack full of clothes and various items that could be of use. She cast her gaze back towards her room as she wondered if she'd ever see it again. She didn't know how to react to what was happening. Part of her was relieved to have an excuse to be free of them, but another part of her was furious and upset. Where would she go? What was she supposed to do? Then of course, it hurt like hell to know that her mother idly stood by and said nothing, allowing this to happen. Her father stood at the bottom of the stairs, impatiently tapping his foot.
Quinn didn't dare look at him as she walked past him and towards the open door. There was no sign of her mother, though she suspected that Judy was hiding or drinking away the problem as usual. Not two seconds after she was officially outside did she hear the hefty slam of the door behind her, sending a gust of air towards her- and then came the yelling. She kept walking, not caring about what they were saying to each other.
Quinn came to a stop after ten minutes of walking. Her whole walk had been silent in her mind. The only way she could describe how she felt was numb. She didn't, couldn't feel anything. It was as if her brain had shut down, refusing to think about anything at all. Quinn snapped out of her stupor and glanced around her. The sun was just beginning to set and the birds were singing their last songs for the day. The blonde shivered as her breath hung in the crisp air. Quinn found it curious as to why she was standing in front of this house. In front of the house that caused all the problems she was now dealing with in her life. In front of the house that was killing her.
She gasped as she felt a hot flare start to haze her cheeks and heat her insides. Now she felt something. She felt anger and rage. "Rachel!" She yelled at the ghost's window. Her voice echoed throughout the garden leaving a continuing imprint of Quinn's emotion.
She stared up at Rachel's window and just as she was about to shout again, a familiar face appeared behind the musty glass. Quinn let her shoulders drop but shook her head when the ghost gestured for her to come inside. Rachel rolled her eyes and opened the window which creaked with age and neglect.
Neither one said a word. Quinn was visibly angry but Rachel looked equally angry, if not upset. Finally Rachel broke the silence, "Where have you been Quinn?" Quinn was surprised at how casual Rachel sounded, as if everything was normal. "I haven't seen you for nearly a month. You never reply on that device thingy." The brunette closed her eyes and drew in a breath.
"When did you die Rachel?" Rachel's eyes shot open and began to cloud with puzzlement.
"I told you, five years ago," the ghost calmly replied, furrowing her brow in confusion. "Quinn, what-"
"Then what is this," Quinn questioned as she dug into the pocket of her coat and held up the phone she had bought from Puck's store before Christmas. Quinn needed to be sure that the girl in that black and white photo was Rachel, but she also needed that slight chance that she'd got it all wrong and Rachel wasn't lying to her. She needed a definite answer.
Rachel studied the object and the blonde noted the slight panic that began to show in the creases that were forming on her brow. The observation lasted about three seconds before Rachel threw her hands up. It was short but it gave Quinn her answer.
"This is ridiculous Quinn, of course I know what that is, stop acting weird and give me some answers," Rachel replied defensively as she darted her gaze nervously.
"Then what is it?" Quinn goaded but Rachel remained silent and clenched her jaw. Quinn licked her lips and looked directly up to the ghost. "When did you die Rachel?" she repeated.
"Quinn I told you, five-"
"Stop lying to me!" Quinn shouted, once again disrupting the stillness surrounding them. "I found a picture Rachel. Of a family. Yourfamily. You were in that picture." She stopped to catch a breath. "Who are you?"
"Quinn, I don't," she paused. "I don't know what you're talking about." Quinn heard the lies as they were spoken to her. She could feel that dark rage boiling her blood and sending her mind crazy. She knew she had to calm down and leave Rachel and this damned house until she had time to process everything clearly. She didn't like losing control of herself. She didn't want to feel the anger. His anger. She couldn't lose herself. She was going to get her life back to normal.
The ghost stood unmoving, gazing into the darkening garden. Quinn on the other hand continued to look at Rachel before scoffing and turning on her heal.
"Go to hell," was the last thing she said to the ghost before running back towards the path that led her there. She heard Rachel call out from behind her but had absolutely no intention of going back.
She needed to clear her head for now and get away from everything if just for one night. But as Quinn slowed to the side of a vacant road she realised that right now, what she needed most was somewhere to stay. It was still winter and therefore still unbearably cold. She pulled out her phone but cursed under her breath as the thing failed to turn on. She must have forgotten to charge it. She angrily shoved the plastic device back into her pocket and sat down on the sidewalk.
Quinn brought her knees up to her chest and folded her arms on top of them, burying her head. Before she knew what was going on, she found herself crying and realisation hit her. Her parents had kicked her out, the girl she thought she loved lied to her face and every day she was left in the dark- she was slowly loosing herself to the spirit of that damned house.
I was listening to this: watch?v=juUQ0Gg1lSU&feature=relmfu whilst writing the part about Quinn getting kicked out and then with her and Rachel. It just seemed to fit :') Thank you for reading!