A/N: Thanks for the reviews and follows. You are awesome.
Mistakes are mine, Glee is not.
The lunch soon finished as the old gang chatted and reminisced about their past times together, Rachel didn't get a chance to speak to Quinn in private, but she didn't mind, she was just happy they'd be getting together later. It really had felt like an eternity since she last saw the girl. They had a shaky past, Rachel couldn't deny that, but they'd become friends at the end of senior year and she'd cared about Quinn long before that. She couldn't imagine going through the things that Quinn had been through, she could still see that there was a lot hidden behind those hazel eyes and wondered if Quinn was finally ready to let her in. Before that though she had to meet Finn for coffee. She wasn't looking forward to it. She didn't hate him, in fact she was still very fond of him, he'd been an important relationship in her past, but in her past was where she wanted to leave it.
"Rachel." Finn stood and greeted her as she walked into the Lima Bean, she wasn't surprised to see that it hadn't changed at all. "I'm glad you came. I've really missed you."
"Since lunch?" she quipped.
"You know, we were good together. I just..." Finn shrugged, a little deflated at Rachel's clipped answer.
"I think, maybe, we could be friends." Rachel had nothing else to offer him and wanted to make it very clear.
"Are you seeing anyone? I mean I read in the paper..."
"I'm single, don't believe the press, but I'm not available either."
"Right." Finn was confused, Rachel could see that, but then when wasn't he?
"Finn, we were high school. It was good, but that was a long time ago."
"So you aren't high school anymore? Well, neither am I. I have a business, its in my name, I earn a good income. I have a future and prospects and all those things a girl wants..."
Rachel looked at him and for the first time she really saw him, he was older. Lines were appearing around his eyes, he'd put on a few pounds, but she wasn't about appearance, she loved the boy that he was all those years ago, the trouble was he was still that boy and she wasn't that girl, not anymore, not since she left Lima. She decided to be as brutal as possible. Get it done quickly and he'd be okay.
"I don't love you, I can't go back there. I've changed." She said succinctly.
But Finn didn't give in that easily. "People don't change that much and I'm here Rach, when you figure it out, I'll be waiting. I know I'm not like the guys you must meet and I guess Lima is small fry for you now, but I still, you know, love you. I never stopped."
Rachel reached out and placed a hand on Finn's arm.
"Thank you Finn, It's sweet, but I can't string you along. There isn't anything for you to hope for. There's someone. I love someone i think, and you and I, well it's not that it wasn't special, its just I'm not that Rachel anymore."
Finn just nodded sadly, finally conceding to the fact that Rachel wasn't into him anymore. He didn't have much fight left in him, Lima was his life. Rachel wasn't. "um...I'm pleased I guess, you deserve someone special, I hope this guy loves you half as much as I do."
"I'll..uh...let you know." She didn't know what else she could say, because she had no idea herself.
"So, you are doing really well? You know the Tony and stuff, thats pretty good right?"
"Yep, pretty good, I'm still in awe of it to be honest and I might be having a change of scene soon."
"Sounds awesome." He wasn't paying much attention now that she'd rejected his advances, his eyes roamed the room as he spoke and she kind of zoned out and talked about all the usual things. Her cell rang and she eagerly answered.
"I'll be with you shortly." She hung up and looked back to Finn. "Sorry got to go, work." She rolled her eyes at the thought of it, glad that Finn didn't pick up that she was lying.
"You still coming tonight?"
"I am, see you later Finn." Rachel felt bad that he hadn't moved on, but then she also knew she was guilty of that herself.
xxx
Lima hadn't changed much, she recognized some faces and she knew people recognized her too, she noticed them point and couldn't miss the whispers, but she was glad to be left alone. She was now the famous local girl and it was the least she expected. The other famous local was waiting in a secluded booth in Breadstix. Her smile alone was doing things to Rachel that she really wasn't prepared for.
"Hi." She said breathily. In front of Quinn she still felt like a schoolgirl, no matter now that she had won awards for her acting. This was Quinn Fabray and one look made Rachel forget everything she had become.
"You look amazing." Quinn stood and waited for Rachel to sit before taking her own seat again. "I can't believe it's been five years." Quinn's look was far off and dreamy.
"Did you miss Lima?" Rachel asked and felt foolish as soon as the words fell from her mouth, Quinn looked at her quizzically.
"Not Lima, but some of the things from here, yes."
Rachel blushed, she couldn't help it, Quinn's eyes were everywhere and she was beginning to feel hot.
"I heard about your Dad, I was going to come and find you, I had a ticket and..."
"You were going to fly to LA?"
"Um, yeah, well Puck gave me your address and...Well, I'd hoped to see you and when you didn't show last night, I asked around and then I heard what had happened, I don't know maybe I'm a little crazy, I just felt like maybe you needed me and I needed to be there for you...or something."
"I came back to see you." Quinn's eyes locked with Rachel's.
"You did?" Rachel waited for Quinn to respond, her statement had been surprising and now as she watched the blonde she could see she was struggling with what to say next. So she just waited, knowing never to rush Quinn.
xxx
Quinn hesitated for a moment, this was why she had flown here after all, she came to see Rachel, in hope of seeing Rachel anyway.
"I missed you." It was Quinn's turn to blush. She couldn't not be honest. Five years had been a long time and Rachel Berry had crept into her thoughts all too often in that time. She felt relief when Rachel smiled at her, she felt warmth when Rachel's hand was placed on top of hers and she felt butterflies explode when she looked back into the eyes that had been haunting her dreams.
"I missed you too." Rachel's words, made Quinn close her eyes, she let them wash over her. She knew she shouldn't read too much into it, but it was all she needed right now. She had been so lonely for too long. She knew Rachel would at least understand that side of being famous. The longing it left, the fear of getting too close to someone in case they turned out to be a jerk and sold a story on you.
"I don't know where to start."
"I want to know everything, tell me why L.A? Why acting? I've seen you, you're really talented."
"Thank you. I love what I do. I get to be someone other than me and it feels good. What I was, the person you knew, that's not me now." Quinn shook her head at the thought of it all. "I can never apologize enough, I wish I'd said something before you left, but I was just being a bitch because I was upset you were going."
"You were?" Rachel said confusedly, she remembered the end of their senior year, she'd formed a friendship of sorts with Quinn, they celebrated together after the win at Nationals she'd even hugged the blonde, she'd never forgotten it, but then Quinn went quiet, she barely heard from her and that was half the reason Rachel hadn't come back in the last five years.
"I had a lot going on, I just, well I regret it all now. I think we could have been close. I hope we can be now? I know you know what it's like, everyone thinks they know me. I feel surrounded by people, yet so alone." Her voice cracked a little.
"I offered you my friendship Quinn, I never withdrew the offer." Rachel's smile filled her face and it made Quinn's heart burst.
"Thank you Rach."
"Is there no one in L.A?"
"I have friends, people I work with. They all know the part I play now, I guess I just miss home, the others don't get it, they don't know how it feels to have someone take a picture of you when you are just getting groceries. The endless speculation about who you date, the constant analysis of the clothes you wear, or people picking at what weight you are. Sometimes I just feel like I can't win. I love acting, I love being apart of the world and I am truly thankful for it, but the add-ons kinda suck."
Rachel laughed heartily. "They really do! I'm 'dating' my co-star Darren or so I read last week, the fact that he is as gay as Kurt will forever be kept a secret."
"They ask me to 'date' my co-stars too. It's crazy, a photo op here or there. I never answer the questions, but just do the minimum my contract allows, so um yeah you may see that I get gas a lot."
"I get coffee." Rachel nodded in understanding. "It tends to keep them happy. I don't drive in New York so gas isn't an option, the roads are too crazy and um, well my driving was never that good anyway. Do you remember the time I nearly knocked over Mrs McGranger?"
Quinn laughed at the memory, Rachel really was a horrendous driver.
"How is New York? You must be so happy to be there."
"I love it Quinn, it's just so amazing and really feels like home. I don't know if I could ever say that about Lima again."
"No, I get that. I'm glad I came back though, its nice to see everyone, to remember."
"It must be hard for you, I mean with all those memories..."
"Well, some I'd rather not think about, I've done well to keep that story about my Dad quiet so far." Quinn fiddled with her napkin, unable to look at Rachel.
"Puck told me. So he just died?"
"In a way, it was...I don't miss him, but I don't really want to talk about it now. Maybe when we have more time together?"
"Sure." Rachel nodded and turned the conversation back to their new lives. Mostly happy that Quinn had implied they would have more time together. "I just got a script."
"For a movie?"
"Yeah, its shooting in L.A. So maybe if I got it, we'd perhaps see more of each other?"
"You can count on it, Hollywood won't be able to reign us in." Quinn's face lit up at the thought of Rachel being in the same city.
"Um, well I'm not really a wild party girl..." Rachel's eyes were wide, she had led a quiet life in New York, mostly because her time had been filled with work.
Quinn saw the panic and reached out an arm, taking Rachel's hand in hers, gently caressing it for a moment before looking back to Rachel.
"I'm thinking we could maybe do some karaoke bars? Maybe that is more your thing?" she was relieved when Rachel nodded with a shy smile. "I don't really go out much, you can't, everyone wants a piece of you. Perhaps I could take you for a walk by the ocean? It's truly beautiful, I'd love to get to know you again, I know we've both changed, but I'd like to see what this is."
Rachel gulped and then nodded, she hoped it was possible that they could be something, that maybe Quinn wanted to find that out too, but her heart had sped up so much at Quinn's gentle touch that she hadn't really been able to absorb the words.
They were broken from their moment by a pot of coffee appearing between them. The waitress topped up their cups and Rachel found some composure.
"Where are you staying? I mean, well Puck said your Mom moved on and with your past and um..."
"I'm at the motel."
"Oh no." Rachel practically jumped out of her seat. "That is unacceptable, you can collect your bags and come back to mine, my Dads will be more than happy to have you."
"More than happy?" Quinn arched her eyebrow and Rachel was suddenly back at high school, she wasn't scared though, she never really had been instead she grinned back.
"More than." She assured.
"That's very kind of you, but really its too much to ask."
"I absolutely insist and I think you know me well enough to know that resistance is futile."
"Then I absolutely would love to stay. Do we share a bed?" Quinn smirked as Rachel blushed.
"I'm not that easy Quinn Fabray, I'd expect a date or two first."
"Hmm well I'll have to work on that I guess."
xxx
Rachel eyes were locked onto the coffee cup in front of her she felt sure she was about to die, was Quinn actually flirting with her? She couldn't be certain, when she looked up she found Quinn was busy with her phone and wondered if she had imagined the whole exchange.
"Important?" she interjected, slightly frustrated that Quinn was distracted.
"Yes, sorry. Work! It never stops, but I can't really complain about that. I have some promo work to do next week, so I have to leave tomorrow afternoon and I'm just being reminded." Quinn put her cell back in her purse and returned her attention to Rachel.
"Me too, I have a flight at 2pm. I've an early call on Monday for a breakfast show. Apparently postponing until Tuesday because I have an important personal commitment is not a valid reason."
"I don't leave until 4pm but maybe we could get a cab to the airport together? I mean it'd be weird if I just sat around your house with your Dads until my car arrived."
Rachel liked this new Quinn, she was confident, funny, extremely sexy. Yes, Rachel couldn't wait to share a few drinks with her at the party tonight, she really wanted to know more.
"You're sorta cute." She said absentmindedly as she stared at the blonde opposite.
"Only sorta?" Quinn winked in return and Rachel was beginning to feel very warm and fuzzy again. She rose from her seat and picked up her purse and coat.
"We should go get your things and head back to mine. It takes me forever to get ready for a night out..." she turned and walked to the door, hoping that Quinn wouldn't see how much she was blushing. It all felt a little surreal, but Rachel was almost certain that Quinn liked her, she just wanted to be sure she liked the new Rachel Berry and not a high school memory.
xxx
A/N: Back to Rachel's and then another night out with the glee kids up next.
I think I may promote this story to my main focus. I have a lot of ideas. This reunion is only their beginning...
Thoughts? Comments? Reviews?