CHAPTER 8

"Daddy?" Rachel yelled as she walked into her fathers kitchen. "Crap…" she muttered under her breath, looking around. A piece of paper on the counter caught her eye. Picking it up, she read it.

the union between

Quinn Fabray

and

Santana Lopez

Skimming past a few lines, she saw what she needed.

When: 3 p.m.

Where: The Fabray Residence

Rachel sighed for a moment a the thought of a backyard ceremony and seeing the Fabray's house decorated in flowers and white. However, Rachel didn't have to just imagine to see it for long.

She managed to get past Mr. and Mrs. Fabray and climb the stairs to Quinn's bedroom without being seen. Taking a deep breath, Rachel opened the door. Quinn casually turned around until she saw who had come in. "Rachel?"

Rachel's mind quickly went blank. The only thing she could do was stare back at Quinn. She knew she was beautiful before, but looking at her now, it was almost as if Rachel was seeing Quinn with new eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked, snapping Rachel out of her trance. She had no idea where to begin, so she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"Why didn't you come see me last night?"

"What?" Quinn was caught off guard. "You came all the way to Lima just to ask me-"

"I let you a ticket and you didn't pick it up. You didn't even call to say you couldn't make it." Rachel blurted, clearly hurt. "You're supposed to be my best friend, right?"

Quinn stared at her feet silently. It was clear Rachel didn't know everything, but this was neither the time nor place to correct her.

Rachel blinked hard. "It's true, isn't it? Kurt told me."

Looking up to Rachel, Quinn arched her eyebrow. "Rachel, look…"

"I can't believe you would lie to me!"

"Wait, what?" Quinn had no idea what the other woman was talking about now.

"He said you've seen me perform before and-"

Rachel stopped talking when she heard Quinn let out a small laugh. "This isn't a joke, Quinn!" Rachel got angry as she watched Quinn approach her closet. Reaching to the top shelf, she pulled down a box with tape covering it. Popping it open, Quinn lifted a stage platform out and put it on the bed.

"It was my present to you…" Quinn stated. "I never got to show it to you because you threw it at me."

"You kept it this whole time?" Rachel said, amazed.

"I guess I was never ready to let go of it." Quinn shrugged.

"It's beautiful." Rachel sighed, standing up and looking into Quinn's eyes. "You believed in me?"

"I always knew you'd make it big."

"You never stopped supporting me, even after I was so mean to you…" Rachel began to tear up. "That's why you never missed a show."

Quinn nodded slightly. It was part of the reason.

Rachel smiled wide. She could feel her chest flutter again and her mind finally catch up with her heart. "Quinn…" she began, looking down at her hands. "I doubt I've been able to walk down the street once in the last 15 years without being stopped for an autograph. I have Tony's in my apartment, which by the way, is incredibly larger than it needs to be for one person. My name has lit up the city sky on dozens of occasions-"

"What's your point?" Quinn interrupted, not understanding why Rachel was going to make her late for her own wedding just to gloat about her success.

"My point is…" Rachel breathed out. "I quit my Broadway show last night."

"You did what?" Quinn blurted.

"I quit." Rachel repeated more confidently. "And the strange part about it was that I didn't care. Well, I did, just not as much as I thought I was going to." Rachel could tell Quinn wanted to say something, so she did what she always did best: Kept talking. "Last night I lost what I thought was the most important thing in my life. But afterward, when I didn't feel anything different, that's when I knew it wasn't the one thing that matter to me the most."

"Rachel…" Quinn tried to stop the other woman, but she couldn't. A part of her was curious what Rachel was saying.

"I should have realized it when you took care of me on your couch after we hadn't spoken in years, or when you showed up at the cast party even though you told me the night before that you were busy, or when you calmed me down and helped me with my duet even though you were timid about your voice, or when you were about to kiss me before Kurt came in…"

Quinn's cheeks flushed. She didn't think Rachel had noticed.

"Or when my first instinct after having a horrible day wasn't to talk to Kurt or anyone else, but to show up at your apartment and hope you were home." Rachel dropped her hands to her sides and took a few steps closer to Quinn. "Most importantly, I should have realized when I felt my heart slowly break into a thousand pieces after you said you were getting married. But I didn't, at any of those moments, put together what was happening. It wasn't until I was on stage in front of all those people, living out what I thought was my dream, that I knew… I knew that being on stage didn't matter unless I could look down and see you."

Rachel gestured to Quinn as tears formed in her eyes. "Please, say something before I die." she breathed out desperately.

"Rach…" Quinn finally spoke. "I'm not going to lie to you. I've felt things in the last few months that I didn't know I could feel anymore." The corners of Rachel's lips turned up into a smile until Quinn continued. "But, like you, I've had some realizations of my own."

Once again, Rachel could feel her chest tightening and her eyes glazing over. "You can't just turn back time, Rachel. We're not kids anymore. I've moved on…" Rachel's mouth let out a small gasp as she did her best to prevent her tears from leaving her eyes. "We've gone down separate paths, we've made choices, and while those choices may not have given us the lives we've dreamed of…" Quinn paused. "I chose Santana."

Rachel officially lost all control over her emotions. This wasn't supposed to be how the conversations went. She's seen the movies. Someone would always show up just before the wedding, confess their true feelings, and they would live happily ever after. Why wasn't this happening for her?

"Please don't cry, Rach…" Quinn pleaded as she stepped toward the brunette. Rachel backed away and shook her head, wiping the tears from her face. "No, I'll be fine. Promise."

Quinn kept her eyes on Rachel, not believing her. Rachel was always a terrible liar.

"Look, I don't want you to be late. Just go, I'm fine. I'm crying because I'm happy." Even Rachel didn't believe herself. She was always a terrible liar. Reaching out and squeezing Quinn's arm, Rachel forced a smile. "I want you to be happy… So, so happy." she sighed and let go, sinking away from Quinn, avoiding eye contact.

After a moment, Quinn breathed in deeply and walked to the bed. Picking up the model, Quinn turned to Rachel and handed it to her.

"I-I can have it?" Rachel managed to say. "Are you sure?"

Looking down at the gift, Quinn blinked slowly and nodded. "I think I've kept it long enough."

Rachel's lips quivered as she took the gift in her hands and opened the bedroom door. "I love you, Quinn Fabray." Rachel could hardly speak, but she turned back toward Quinn and forced one last smile. "You're my best friend."

Quinn watched as Rachel closed the door behind her. As soon as it shut, the first tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"I've always loved you." Quinn whispered, but the words found no ones ears but her own.

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