A/N: I never planned on continuing this, but someone gave me a prompt that was similar enough to the story that I decided to write and continue it. So, without further ado, I present chapter 2!
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any of the characters. Those belong to Fox and RIB.
Rachel sighed. She had been trying for an hour, but there was nothing she could to cover the bruise on her face. Rachel had thought that since Prom was on Saturday night, and it was Monday morning, that the bruise should have faded a little bit. However, she had a large, nasty-looking bruise across the side of her face. It had gotten there when Quinn decided to slap the smaller girl in a rage. Kurt Hummel had just won Prom Queen – and Quinn blamed Rachel.
Rachel finally decided there was nothing she could do to cover the bruise on her face. Besides, if she rubbed or pressed too hard with her makeup, it hurt really badly. So, she decided to call the only person that would be able to help her: Kurt Hummel. After all, he had perfectly flawless skin every day, and no one could ever pull that off without a little makeup!
"Rachel, honestly, I don't know why you can't just leave it. I don't think that there's anything that I can do." Kurt was standing in the middle of Rachel's room, studying her face. "Why can't you just let it be?"
"I can't let it go because you're the only one that's seen the bruise. I left prom pretty quickly because I knew it was swelling up and I didn't want anyone to see that."
"So? Everyone deserves to know exactly what a bitch Quinn can be-" Kurt began to speak, but Rachel cut him off.
"She's not a bitch. She was just… upset. I mean, it's understandable, knowing that she was busy thinking of herself when you had just been publicly humiliated in front of the entire school, but think about what she was feeling too? I mean, she had lost Prom Queen to a boy. Not-not that you're not worthy of it! But, she felt like the entire student body had said that you would make a better Prom Queen, and you weren't even eligible or running! I'm sure she was pretty upset, and I don't want you to think that she's a bitch just because-"
"Rachel. You're rambling again. Look, I get it. You don't think she's a bitch, and you don't want the school to know what happened. I'll see what I can do." Kurt opened his bag and spilled the contents out onto Rachel's bed, before getting to work on her face.
Kurt ended up not being able to do much. The large, nasty bruise on her face ended up being just a medium, only somewhat nasty bruise. It wasn't completely covered, but it looked a bit more faded. Rachel was still worried about going to school. She drove Kurt to school, as thanks for him driving to her house and at least trying. They walked into the schools together, and instantly, everyone stared at Rachel. People were whispering. Yet no one actually came up to Rachel and asked her what happened.
"Kurt, they're staring. And they're whispering. What are they saying? Kurt, I can't do this, I have to go-" Rachel grabbed Kurt's arm and tried to pull backwards.
"Oh, no you don't!" Kurt grabbed Rachel and pulled her forwards. "You can do this. You're done so much more. Where is the girl that fearlessly auditions for anything and everything that could possibly bring her to fame? Where is the girl that was willing to pose solo for the Glee club photo in the yearbook? There's a fabulous diva inside you somewhere, Rachel. You need to just find her and let her shine."
Rachel sniffed and nodded. "You're right, Kurt. I can do this." She smiled confidently and turned to walk through the halls, ignoring the whispers and stares.
Quinn didn't want to go to school today. She figured that after what had happened at Prom, everyone would hate her. Especially because of what she said to Rachel after she slapped her. Quinn couldn't believe that she had actually said that, that she had actually confessed her feelings to the annoying yet loveable Rachel Berry. Now everyone was going to make fun of her like they did Kurt. She would be kicked off the Cheerios and she would once again be at the bottom of the heap. Quinn was not looking forward to daily slushie facials.
Quinn finally jumped out of bed when her mom called her downstairs for breakfast. She quickly got together her things and went to school, barely noticing the food she was putting in her mouth as she ran out the door. Instead of taking the bus or driving with Finn like she normally did, Quinn opted to drive to school. It's better to save the humiliation for later.
Normally running late, Quinn arrived at school early, surprising Finn when she walked up to him. She had seen him talking with his friends, waiting for her to arrive.
"Hey, Quinn," Finn said, smiling when he saw her.
Quinn smiled, yet she was still terrified that someone was going to say something at any time. Obviously Finn didn't know, but he wasn't that smart, so that didn't count. Quinn knew that at any minute now, someone would say something, and her life would be ruined. "Hello, Finn," she replied, holding her smile on her face.
"You left prom early, Quinn. I haven't seen you all weekend. Are you okay?" Finn asked, reaching out and putting his arms around his girlfriend.
Quinn smiled, taking a shaky breath. Maybe they didn't know after all. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just needed some time after what happened."
Finn smiled and squeezed Quinn comfortingly. "I get it. It's cool."
Their conversation went like this for a while, until Quinn noticed everyone was whispering. "What's going on?" Quinn asked, looking around. Her question was soon answered when she saw Rachel Berry walking through the hallway, arm in arm with Kurt Hummel. That wasn't the shocking part, though. Everyone was staring at a large bruise on Rachel's face. The smaller girl walked tall and confident, pretending to ignore the stares and whispers. However, Quinn knew differently. She could see through Rachel's façade, she knew that Rachel was terrified of the looks.
Quinn turned her head away and forced her eyes shut, trying to force the tears that were forming back into her eyes. She opened her locker and started getting her stuff out, refusing to turn and look at Rachel. No one knew it, but it was Quinn's fault that the girl was going to be assaulted with looks and questions all day.
"Whoa, what happened to Rachel?" Finn asked, staring at the brunette.
"I don't know," Quinn snapped. "I have to get to class. I'll see you later." Quinn turned and walked away from Finn and his friends, wanting to get to first period as soon as possible to avoid meeting Rachel on the way.
When they passed by Quinn, Kurt felt Rachel tense. "Don't worry," he murmured, "She can't hurt you. It's all right."
Rachel looked straight ahead, refusing to even glance at Quinn lest she lose her carefully constructed mask. "I know. I just… I don't want to see her. Not today." She tried to control her shaking as she walked past the blonde and she refused to glance back at her, even when she heard Quinn snapping at Finn, followed by someone slamming their locker. Rachel knew that if she so much as saw Quinn, everything would become crashing down. As she walked to class, the only thing she could think about was Glee club at the end of the day. That was something she was definitely not looking forward to.
Well, this was it. It was the end of school, and it was time to go to Glee club. This was probably the first time that Rachel didn't want to go to Glee club. Usually, she always looked forward to Glee, and it was the best part of today. She knew that Mr. Schue was going to ask questions, and Rachel wasn't prepared to answer any. If she refused to answer anything, people might suspect it was her parents or she was in an abusive relationship, when in reality, both statements were false.
She had to walk to Glee club alone, and she was quickly intercepted by Quinn. The blonde girl grabbed Rachel and pulled her aside into a hallway, away from the looks and stares. Quinn knew that this might spark even more rumors, but she had to talk to Rachel before Glee club, to make sure that she didn't tell anyone anything.
Quinn was shaking, but she put on an angry mask, trying to make the smaller girl afraid instead of giving the girl any reason to have power over her. "Have you told anyone?" she demanded in a harsh whisper.
Rachel shook her head. "Not a soul. Kurt knows that this-" Rachel gestured to the bruise- "is your fault. I needed him to help me cover it up. Believe it or not, but the bruise is actually much worse."
Quinn felt relief, but it was short-lived. What about what she had said to Rachel in the bathroom? She sincerely hoped that Rachel hadn't heard her.
"I haven't told anyone what you said, either. It's all right, Quinn. You don't need to be afraid of me." Rachel smiled reassuringly, trying to comfort the blonde girl.
"I… what… I don't know what you're talking about, Rachel. I didn't say anything to you." Quinn hoped that maybe if she made it look like she hadn't said anything, that maybe Rachel would think that she had just imagined it.
Rachel's voice dropped to an even quieter whisper, and Quinn had to strain to her. "You told me that I made you fall in love with me."
Quinn's eyes widened and she jumped back. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, with strained laughter. "That's absurd, Rachel. You're a girl. Why the hell would I say that to you?"
"You tell me."
"Rachel, I'm a girl. I'm straight, the way it should be. And besides, I'm in love with Finn. We're happy together. I'm happy with him. You're not… you're not going to take that away from me."
"Quinn, I'm not taking anything from you. I won't tell a soul. But you need to be honest with yourself, and you will never be truly happy until you do that." Rachel gave Quinn an almost pitying smile and pulled away. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that was you. I'll say… I'll say I fell, or something. Your secret's safe with me."
Quinn didn't know how to respond to Rachel's words. She stood alone in the hallway, struggling with what had just been said. She couldn't… was Rachel right? But Quinn knew the answer. She just wasn't ready to believe it.
A/N: Did you like it? Did you hate it? Please read and review!
