The 10 letters messily written on her right arm in purple ink were going to be the death of her. It had been 2 days since Quinn Fabray, head cheerleader, Satan's minion, and the prettiest girl at McKinley, had given Rachel Berry, social pariah, her number. Rachel wrote it on a piece of paper before scrubbing her arm raw, trying to erase the number from both her body and her mind.
"This has to be a joke. There's no way Quinn Fabray cares about me." Rachel shook her head, trying to convince herself of this.
"Well, she was the only one at that meeting that hadn't said anything bad about you."
"Shut up, Quinn Fabray doesn't give a shit about you, Rachel." Rachel took one last look at the piece of paper she'd written the number on, before throwing it in her desk and slamming the drawer shut. She needed to get her mind off of Quinn. Rachel finished her homework before throwing on some workout clothes and heading outside. Plugging her ear buds into her ears, she set off on a run. Running was the best way to clear her mind. She'd learned this last year after the Shelby incident. After her mother had rejected her, she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to go home, and it's not like she had a friend's house to go to. So, she laced up her shoes and let her feet hit the pavement. The way the wind hit her face as she ran was one of the best feelings. Outside running was also another way to switch up her normal exercise routine. Rachel closed her eyes as she breathed in the cold air. Rachel never bothered to count how many miles she ran or how long she ran. Running was just about getting away, it didn't matter to her exactly how far she'd gotten. She checked her phone and saw that the time was approaching 6:30. She really didn't like running when it was dark outside. She ran to clear her mind. If she ran at night, she would definitely have to be thinking and there was no way she could run peacefully. She decided it was time to jog back to her house. Crouching down, she attempted to catch her breath.
"Rachel? Is that you?" Rachel's eyes widened and her eyes darted around her surroundings. Of course she ran into the Fabray's neighborhood. Rachel mentally cursed herself as she tried to figure out what to do.
"I saw someone standing outside my house, so I came outside to check it out and I guess it's you. Why are you here so late? Couldn't wait to see me again?" Quinn gave the girl a smirk before winking. Rachel felt like her intestines were going to fall out. Rachel bit the inside of her cheek, not letting herself reply to Quinn. Quinn took a step closer to Rachel.
"I don't know why you aren't talking, but I'm going to figure it out. This isn't you, Berry. If you think shutting up is going to make people not care about you, you're wrong." Rachel wanted to scream at the blonde. She'd never had to go through what Rachel had. She had real friends. Her friends didn't talk about how unbearable she was. Quinn Fabray wasn't made fun of every second of every school day. Quinn Fabray did not have the one place she felt safe at school invaded by her tormentors. Instead of this, Rachel let out a bitter laugh and turned around, leaving the blonde girl staring at the fading figure of her.
Rachel walked into school the next morning, immediately greeted with a slushy to her face.
"You may think you can just change your clothes and you won't be a loser, Berry, but you're wrong. You will always be just another friendless freak." Karofsky smirked at her before high fiving his friends and walking away, laughing loudly at the girl who stood there with blue corn syrup dripping down her head. Standing by her locker, Quinn Fabray's jaw locked as she watched the girl get pelted with the slushy. She shut her locker, before quickly walking to catch up with the group of football players.
"Hey Q, did you see the dwarf get slushied? Blue really fits-" Before he could finish this, Quinn grabbed him by the collar of his letterman jacket and slammed him into an empty classroom, kicking the door closed as she shoved him inside. The boy smiled, obviously unaware of the blonde's true intentions.
"Damn, Quinn, if you wanted a quickie, you could have just asked." The girl's eyes turned to ice as she glared at the boy.
"First, that's disgusting. I wouldn't even spit on you, let alone fuck you. Second, leave Rachel Berry alone. I'm serious."
"Are you okay, Quinn? Do you need to get to a doctor? Berry is a freak. She needs to know her place in this school." Karofsky tried to regain his composure, his ego wounded by Quinn's rejection.
"I swear to god, Karofsky, if you do anything to her, and I mean anything, I will hunt you down and I will cut your balls off and stick them up your ass so you'll never be able to get a dick in there." As soon as the football player heard this, he quickly stood up, towering over Quinn.
"I don't want a dick in my ass, Fabray. I'm not fucking gay. I'm not a fag like Hummel and his boyfriend. I don't know what you heard, but I'm not a homo." He stared down at her, his eyes blazing with anger and fear.
"You know what, I really could care less if you want a dick up your ass. All I care about is that you leave Berry alone. I will make you pay if you don't. I've spent 2 years with Sue. I can and will destroy you." Karofsky thought about this for a second, before widening his eyes.
"Alright, Fabray. I'll leave the loser alone. But one question. Why do you care about her so much?" Quinn was already out the door before she could answer his question. As soon as she was out of the room, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now with the idiots leaving her alone, it would be easier to figure out what was up with Rachel. Quinn headed towards the girl's bathroom in search of a slushy covered girl.
Rachel worked her hands through her hair, trying to get the ice chunks out. She was screwed. She hadn't brought another set of clothes, assuming that since she changed her wardrobe she wouldn't need one. Her dark hair had a slightly blue tint to it and there were some dried blue liquid streaks on her face. As she bent down to splash water on her face, she heard the bathroom door open. When she looked up, Quinn was standing there, arms crossed.
"Let me help." Quinn phrased this more as a command than a statement. Rachel knew denying the girl wouldn't do anything. Quinn grabbed the chair that Rachel had put in the corner of the bathroom after many slushy attacks. She pointed to it, and the brunette sat. Rachel bent her head back into the sink, letting Quinn run her fingers through her hair, washing out the remnants of the frozen drink.
"You look good with blue hair, Berry." Rachel let a small smile spread on her lips before letting it fall. Quinn noticed this and mentally congratulated herself on making the girl smile. Once the slushy was out, Rachel began to ring her hair out over the sink.
"Do you have extra clothes, Berry?" Rachel shook her head, looking down at the floor, trying to avoid the cheerleader's eyes. Quinn nodded and rushed out the bathroom. Rachel let out a sigh. What was up with Quinn? First, she gave Rachel her number. Now, she was washing slushy out of the girl's hair. Quinn rushed back inside the bathroom with clothes in her hand.
"Here. I keep these in my locker in case we have an impromptu glee song or Sylvester decides to let us out of the uniform. They might be a little big. The jacket is for if it gets cold outside." Rachel cautiously took the clothes, and then nodded at Quinn as a way of thanking her. Quinn understood the gesture, and smiled back.
"I'll see you in Glee, Rachel." The blonde smiled once more before disappearing, leaving the brunette utterly confused. Rachel went into a stall and changed into Quinn's clothes. The white shirt and jeans were a little big, but Rachel made them work. She unfolded the jacket and her jaw dropped to the floor. She held it up, not believing what she had in her hands. Quinn Fabray had given her her Cheerios jacket.
Unfortunately, it was a freezing winter day in Lima, so Rachel had the choice to either wear the jacket or die of hypothermia. Rachel pulled her hair up, sliding on the jacket, before letting her hair spill down onto the jacket. Both the Cheerios logo and Quinn's name were still clearly visible. Rachel put her hands to her temple, trying to figure out Quinn. Would Quinn really take a trick on Rachel this far, so far that the blonde could risk becoming a target herself? Rachel truly had no idea how far the girl would go to ruin her life. But, she had seemed sincere when she helped Rachel. Rachel shook her head. She didn't have time to deal with this. She needed to get to Glee. Rachel took a big breath before stepping out of the bathroom and into the halls. It was as if everyone had been alerted to the fact that Rachel was wearing Quinn's clothes. Eyes stared deep into her as she attempted to walk to the choir room. Everyone was already sitting when Rachel walked in, and Quinn had a huge smirk on her face when she saw Rachel wearing the jacket. Kurt immediately approached Rachel.
"Oh, so you can't talk to me or any of your other friends, but you can walk around wearing the clothes of the girl who has tortured you endlessly for years?" The boy shook his head in disgust at the girl. Rachel bit her tongue and just stared at him.
"Honestly, Rachel, you know you're our friend, but we're kind of getting sick of you only caring about yourself and always wanting attention." Mercedes gave the girl a glare before turning back to her conversation with Tina.
"I thought you knew who your friends were, Rachel. But you're not talking to us and it's obvious, by the looks of what you're wearing, that you've been talking to Quinn, who not only is not your friend but has been responsible for much of the bullying you've endured."
"Will you shut it, Hummel? Berry hasn't talked to me. I saw her get slushied this morning and I lent her some clothes. Isn't it funny that you're going on about how Rachel is your friend yet you did nothing when she got slushied? And don't even try with the "I didn't see" bullshit, because you were right there. You stared at Rachel and then turned your back to talk to Tina and Artie. You keep blabbing about how I've tortured Rachel, and I have. I'm not denying it. But, I, her torturer, was the one that helped her this morning. Not her supposed friends. Think about that." Quinn rolled her eyes at the boy before patting the seat next to her, motioning for Rachel to come sit. Rachel stepped away from Kurt and carefully sat on the chair. Just as she sat down, Mr. Schue came in and began to talk to the class.
"Alright guys, it's time to continue this week's lesson. Does anyone-" He stopped, frowning at the obvious tension in the room. Kurt and Mercedes were glaring at Rachel and Quinn, who were sitting together. Everyone else was awkwardly sitting, waiting to see what either side would do. "What's going on, guys?" He looked at both groups, looking for an answer.
"Rachel won't talk to us, her friends, but she's wearing Quinn's jacket, Quinn who has terrorized Rachel since freshman year." Tina spoke up since neither Kurt and Mercedes nor Rachel and Quinn were talking.
"Rachel, I must say, I'm getting pretty tired of your act you're doing. The club really needs your ideas for sectionals, but you're just being selfish to your friends and to myself, the people who have worked so hard to keep this club afloat. I'm disappointed in you. I expected you to be less selfish than this." Mr. Schue gave the girl an unhappy look, shaking his head. Rachel stared at him before grabbing her bag and walking out of the room.
"Why don't you make up some ideas for Sectionals, Mr. Schue? I mean you are the teacher, and it's pretty sad if you have to rely upon one student for ideas when you're the one who's supposed to organize and come up with this stuff. No one in this club has done half the work that Rachel has. We all just show up and sing the songs that she comes up with. She puts all her work into this and we all, myself included, treat her like shit. You're all pathetic." Quinn grabbed her bag and followed the brunette out the room.
"Rachel? Rachel? Are you here?" She turned the corner finding the girl in the same place where they'd talked before when Rachel told Finn that Puck was the father. Quinn gently set down her bag before sitting down next to the girl, who was just sitting there.
"We're all idiots. Every single one of us in Glee with the exception of you. We've all hurt you, some worse than others, and we still expect you to show up with a smile, ready to lead us to victory. And it's so fucked up. I really am sorry, Rachel. I know I've hurt you more than anyone in there, but I regret it so much. You have always been there for all of us, regardless of who we were and our past, and you helped us. And here we are, blaming you for every issue and getting angry when you show up without your smile. I can't speak for the rest of the idiots in that club, but Glee is the best part of my day and it wouldn't be a part of my life if it weren't for you. I'll do whatever I have to do to earn your friendship and maybe one day, your trust." Quinn took a deep breath before grabbing her bag. She was just starting to walk away when she heard a quiet voice speak 3 words.
"I heard them."