A/N: Hey guys! Sorry the chapter took a bit of time, you know, writing brilliance takes time. *flips hair*
*cricket sounds*
*ahem*
Okay so I hope you like this chapter, these things are getting increasingly longer, according to my word counter this one is about as long as the previous one. So that's good for the numerous rievewers who said they like long chapters *yay*
I hope you like this chapter, it got a bit slow to write at certain points, but other's were a cake walk.
Also I bought new head phones at around the end of this chapter so if it seems like I was really into it at the end, you'll know why, music is always a big help.
But anyway enough rambling, let's leave that to Rachel shall we? ;)
Enjoy!
The next day Quinn and Puck were in Puck's back yard, playing one on one as Puck advised Quinn on certain things she should remember during her tryout. When she was doing well, he decided to give a go at something he was meaning to talk about since the previous night.
"So, what the hell was all that with Rachel last night?" He asked as he tried to block her from the hoop, but she faked going left and went right instead, running half a circle around him and jumping up, tossing the ball through the hoop with a smack of the net against the ball.
"She had a date with Finn last night." Quinn said with a sigh.
"Yeah, I know, but…last night you, I don't know you were smiling at one point and then your face just…dropped." Puck said, dribbling the ball and trying to get around the blonde to get out and shoot, but she blocked him and stole the ball, dribbling away from him and then dodging him once again, scoring another two points.
"Well, the date went well, apparently anyway." Quinn shrugged, hunched over and hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
"And you didn't want it to." Puck stated not asked. Quinn didn't nod, she didn't shake her head. She just gave him a look, and he knew immediately that his assumption was correct. "Look I know I'm not the best with the ladies, I mean I screw them and then dump them, but something about the way she looks at you…I don't know man, but when she hugs you, she holds you for longer than she does anyone, hugs you tighter and her smile when she sees you…she lights up Q, and I don't think she even realizes."
"Kurt said the same thing yesterday." Quinn shrugged, grabbing her water bottle off the garden bench in the patch of grass.
"See, so it's not just me." Puck said.
"I know man but, come on, between me, a loser, and Finn: The quarterback of the football team, a player on the basketball team. I really can't compete!" Quinn shrugged again.
"Dude, for the billionth time! You're going to be a jock to as of tomorrow!" Puck reminded her.
"Look, I love the confidence you have in me, and I know I'm a Fabray, it's in my blood. But something just…I don't know, there's this little tiny nagging voice in my head that tells me that I might not make it; that I'm not good enough to keep up the Fabray legacy." Quinn admitted.
"Quinn." Puck said, frustrated. He walked up to the girl and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."
"What?" Quinn said, looking up into his fierce, determined eyes. They shook her for a second.
"Quinn. Push it all aside, the fact that you're a girl, the fact that you're a Fabray. I want you to take a minute, shut your eyes and forget about it for a moment." Puck asked. "Can you do that for me? Don't be Quinn Fabray for a second. Just be Q."
The blonde looked into his eyes as he spoke, and then nodded slowly. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes, doing as he asked. Pushing all those factors aside. She's not a girl. She's not a Fabray. She's Q for now. Q is a genderless, nameless being.
"Okay?" Puck's voice came in softly. "Now. Just imagine it's you, in the middle of a game. You've got the ball in hand, all your team mates are blocked and time's running out. One last shot and we win the game, but if we don't make this shot we lose. It's do or die. You're center court. Tell me. What do you do. As Q. What would Q, the genderless, last name-less basketball player. What would you do, Q?"
She thought about for a moment, bringing the image into her mind. She's there, standing center court, ball in hand in a red Jersey and white shorts, ball in hand. A number printed on the back of her jersey, underneath the white letter Q. she doesn't regard her chest, her crotch or her hair. She forgets all about it. Her appearance at this point is a blur and is unimportant. Then she sees her teammates. She can make out Finn and Puck, but she doesn't know exactly who the others are, they are a bigger blur than she is, just red and white blurs in the back ground, covered by blue and black blurs. She doesn't know why she chose those colors, probably because she remembers them from when she went to watch her brother's last game before he graduated. A blue and black blur stood before her. Then she took a deep breath and began working it all out.
"I dribble." She began. "I move forward, towards my opponent, I fake passing to my left, turn to my right and dribble some more, heading towards the net."
"The players are moving Quinn, a few teammates are open and the players are trying to block you." Puck said, as if he was grabbing the images in her mind and morphing them, they moved to his instructions.
"I pass to a player, run up as the opponent's attention is caught, I sign to the player again. He passes to me. I catch, dribble, fake right and turn left, dribbling through my legs to protect the ball. I run up to the net, jump and shoot. It…goes through." She finished.
"Game's over Q. We won. Thanks to you." Puck says softly. You can open your eyes now." Puck says softly. She opens her eyes and takes another deep breath.
"What was the point of all that?" she asks finally.
"Q, you don't need your name, you don't need your gender. You're good because you know how to play, and you know what to do in a time of crisis." Puck said gently, his hands still on her shoulders.
"Puck. That's my fantasy, of course I'm going to win in my fantasy." She argues.
"But you have a strategy, you know how to play, you know the tricks, and you can do them. That's what's important." Puck said gently. "During tryouts, it's going to be one on one with someone who is competing with you for a position."
"Just…just tell me how try outs work. What's Coach Beiste's strategy?" Quinn asks, stepping out of Puck's grasp and grabbing the ball again, dribbling it around and practicing some moves with it.
"Okay. Say there are four people trying out right?" He hypothesizes. Quinn nods, agreeing.
"Okay, so you play, one on one. You against player 1, player 2 against player 3." Puck says, waiting for Quinn's nod to make sure she understands. "So, if you win against player 1, and player 3 wins against player 2. You and 3 play against each other and 2 and 1 play against each other."
"Okay." She sighs out.
"If you win against 3, and 1 wins against 2, you two are both on the team and you take two of the three positions." Puck explains.
"But then who takes the third position?" Quinn asks.
"2 and 3 play again and the winner takes the position." Puck says.
"Any idea how many people are trying out?" Quinn asked.
"Not really, but I recognized a few names from football try outs. People who failed at football are trying basketball because they're desperate to get on a team so that they won't be dubbed losers." Puck explained.
"This is going to be torture." Quinn said, dribbling the ball and shooting it through the hoop, the net smacking against the rubber again.
"You do realize you made every single shot ever since you got here right?" Puck asked.
"You're not even blocking me right now." Quinn shrugged.
"Doesn't matter Q, even when I was blocking you, you made the shots, you've got what it takes, you just don't have the confidence. And that's what you need, if you believe you can do it, then you will do it, but if you don't then you're just going to give up before you even start." Puck said with a shrug. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you're just doing this because you saw how excited I was, and I start thinking maybe you plan on throwing the tryouts. Make me happy but don't tie yourself to anything. That's just fucked up."
"Puck, you know that's not true! I love this sport! More than anything, it's what gets me through shit, it's my favorite hobby." Quinn said reassuringly.
"Then quit going on about how you're not good enough, because you are, and if you give it your all, you'll get on that team in a heartbeat. Hell, you might even be in the running for captain." Puck said.
"I don't think coach Beiste is going to put a newbie as captain." Quinn said.
"You're right, she won't, but hell you definitely have a shot." Puck said, hands in his short pockets. "Maybe not this year, but next year, if you're as good as you seem to be, if you give it your very best."
Then realization hit the blonde. She had promised Rachel that she would give it her all, that she would be the very best she can be at those try outs. And in turn Rachel had promised that she would be there to cheer her on, as did Kurt. And she knew that Puck would be there too. She took in a deep breath.
"I have to give this my all and make the team." Quinn said with finality.
"Finally." Puck said. "and people say I don't do pep talks."
"No." Quinn said. "It's not that, though you are right, but…I promised Rachel."
"Oh." Pucks aid quietly. "Quinn you can't just do it for Rachel, I mean if you don't want to be on the team-"
"I do." Quinn cut him off "I really, really do. And so does she, that's why she made me promise, cause she knew I wanted to be on the team and she knew I was scared I wouldn't get picked so she made me promise her. She knew I couldn't break a promise to her."
"Quinn…That's just awesome." Puck said, walking over to the girl and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"I didn't even need to tell her any of that." Quinn says quietly. "She just…I don't know it's like she read my mind."
"Quinn…" he says in the same tone he did before. "That's just creepy."
The blonde burst out in laughter at the serious way Puck said it. Then she looked at him and saw that he still had a serious look in his face.
"I'm serious Q, she creeps me out sometimes, she finishes your sentences and it's scary." He says, his demeanor un changing.
"You're ridiculous." Quinn shook her head with a chuckle.
"What's ridiculous?" they hear a voice from behind the fence. They see Rachel with her arms over the fence smiling, Kurt standing beside her.
"What are you guys doing here?!" Quinn said happily, running over and opening the back gate for them. They walked into the back yard and Quinn immediately enveloped Rachel in a tight hug.
"We came to watch you two practice." Kurt said as Quinn pulled away from Rachel to hug him. He held his hands up to deflect her. "No way, sweaty Fabray!"
"Hey that rhymed!" Rachel piped up. Quinn giggled as Kurt and Puck rolled their eyes.
"Come on guys quit distracting McKinley's only hope at winning a basketball game. Sit back, relax and watch the game." Puck said, pointing to the bench. "Q come on let's get back in the game."
"Ugh, Puck can we just play for fun for a while? Please?" Quinn pleaded.
"Fine, we can play relaxed for a bit, but then we get back into it okay?" Puck said.
"Deal!" Quinn agreed. She turned to Rachel and Kurt. "You guys want to play for a bit?"
"Eh, why not, might make you feel better about yourself." Kurt said with a shrug, pulling off the cardigan and light scarf that he was wearing, revealing his plain lime green t-shirt fully. He was wearing white jeans and a pair of high tops.
"Cool, you joining in too Rach?" Quinn said, turning to the brunette.
"I've never played before." Rachel shrugged.
"There's a first time for everything." Quinn said with a smile. Rachel smiled back at her and thought about it for a second before shrugging.
"Sure, why not." She said softly.
"Sweet, come on, I'll show you how!" Quinn said, grabbing the shorter girl's hand excitedly and pulling her towards the middle of the little one sided court Puck had in his back yard. She picked up the ball from the ground and handed it to Rachel, who took it between both hands, then she positioned the brunette in front of the net, stood behind her and placed her own hands over hers on the ball, putting only the slightest pressure on them to guide Rachel's hands.
"Okay, you throw it to the net like this." She said softly, guiding her hands around so that they're on top and at the bottom of the ball rather than at the sides. She guides the left hand, which is at the bottom, up higher. "Okay, the left hand keeps the ball balanced; the right launches it off your left and into the hoop."
"Okay." Rachel said with a nod, indicating to Quinn that she understands.
"Okay, now it's not just about pushing the ball off of your left hand and into the air, you have to bend your wrist forward just when your left hand loses contact with the ball, so that it will bend into the hoop." Quinn explained softly into Rachel's ear, her warm breath and smooth voice sending shivers down the shorter girl's spine. Rachel nods slowly, trying hard to keep her focus on what Quinn is telling her. "Okay, now you see that box in the middle of the board?"
"Yeah?" Rachel said, willing Quinn to continue.
"You have to aim for that box. If the ball hits it with the right force, then it will go into the net, but careful, too much strength and it'll just launch itself off the board and hit Kurt or Puck in the face." Quinn said softly with a slight chuckle. Rachel giggled softly. "Okay, ready?"
"Yeah." Rachel whispered back, not wanting to ruin the serenity of Quinn's voice melding in with the background of a soft breeze and the birds gently chirping in the afternoon sun.
"Okay, here we go." Quinn said, guiding Rachel's hands as the brunette launched the ball as she was told: Aim at the box, launch off her left hand, bend the right wrist forward as it loses contact. Soon the ball was curving into the hoop, slapping against the net.
"I did it!" Rachel celebrated, turning to Quinn and giving her a gentle hug.
"Yeah we did." Quinn said gently as she warmly wrapped her arms around the girl.
"Can I try on my own this time?" Rachel asked her excitedly.
"Sure." Quinn nodded. Rachel turned around and picked up the ball from under the net. She took the same position she had in front of Quinn and again followed the instructions given to her, only the ball just barely missed the hoop, curving down into the ground, but not before grazing the metal hoop. Rachel pouted up at the net.
"It's okay Rach, try again." Quinn said softly. "Try just a bit more strength into the launch this time."
Rachel nodded and picked the ball up again as Quinn turned to Kurt and Puck. The two boys stood, arms crossed and small smirks on their face.
"What?" She said to them when she reached them.
"Nothing, just enjoying the show." Puck said softly with a smile.
"I'm just showing her how to shoot into the net guys." Quinn shrugged.
"Is that so? Cause when you and my dad tried to show me the first time, you called me a pussy and said you had no idea how I hoped to be a successful gay guy if I couldn't handle any balls." Kurt reminded her with a quirked eyebrow.
"Well she-" Quinn was about to say until-
"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, the blonde turned around just in time to see the ball curve perfectly into the hoop, slapping the net on its way down.
"Nice!" Quinn exclaimed.
"I did it!" Rachel celebrated, raising her arms up happily as she turned to them. Kurt and Quinn clapped, both giggling while Puck placed his thumb and index finger into his mouth, whistling as he fist pumped the air. Rachel laughed happily and skipped over to Quinn, pulling her into another hug. "Was it a good shot?"
"I think you may just need to try out with me tomorrow!" Quinn giggled as she pulled back from the brunette.
"Don't be silly, I'm your personal cheerleader tomorrow!" Rachel reminded her. Quinn giggled.
"Please tell me you'll just be there to cheer me on and not actually show up with pompoms and a pre-rehearsed routine?" Quinn asked sarcastically.
"You mean I spent all morning coming up with a routine for nothing?" Rachel asked her, wide eyes and shocked, sad face.
"What?" Quinn's eyes grew wide and she looked terrified for a moment. That is, before Rachel's demeanor broke and she burst out laughing.
"Oh my God Quinn, chill, I'm kidding." Rachel said through loud giggles.
"I hate you!" Quinn said with a chuckle, crossing her arms and pretending to be mad.
"Oh please, Q, you love me!" Rachel poked Quinn in the side, causing her to squirm.
"Okay, okay!" Quinn said, stepping away from the girl to get her to stop tickling her. "You're right, I do love you!"
"Aww, I love you too!" Rachel said happily, jumping into the girl's arms. It was just then that what Quinn had said hit her.
Because she did love Rachel, far more than she would ever know.
Monday rolled around like nobody's business, and Quinn's nerves were at an all time high. It was third period. She had four hours plus lunch and the fifteen minutes coach Beiste allowed for the kids to get changed into their gear. She had all this time to wait, and all it did was unnerve her even more. She didn't want to wait, she wanted to get the tryouts over and done with. She took a deep breath and tried desperately to concentrate on Chemistry. Puck sat next to her and noticed how she tapped her foot impatiently. He leaned over.
"Relax will you?" Puck said. Quinn didn't respond she just shook her head. "This isn't good for you, you've got to relax!"
"I told my mom and dad about the tryouts last night during dinner." Quinn hissed.
"And?" Puck asked with a raised eyebrow.
"And?" Quinn repeated, as if she can't believe he doesn't know. "And they're prouder than peacocks! Which means I have to make the team otherwise I'll disappoint them! And God knows that's the last thing I want to do!"
"You're not going to disappoint them!" Puck reassures her. "Did you call Charlie?"
"No. Hell no. I'll tell him if I make the team, if I don't then he won't ever know that his little sister is a failure." Quinn shook her head viciously. "There's no way I'm doing that to him!"
"Quinn…" Puck said softly, calming. "You do know that if you don't make the team it doesn't mean you're a failure, right? Don't get me wrong, you're definitely making the team, but if some crazy ass thing happens that means you don't make the team, it's not the end of the world! Your parents will still love you, Charlie will still love you, and so will we!"
"I know Puck, I know!" Quinn sighs, dropping her head into her hands and then running them furiously through her long hair. "It's just…"
"What?" Puck asks softly, willing her to go on. "You can tell me Q, it's okay."
"It's just, when Charlie started teaching me basketball, he was so proud of me when I started doing really well, you know? I could even beat him at a few games, and trust me he never went easy on me." Quinn explained, keeping her breath steady even as tears of panic and nerves stung her eyes. "I don't want to let him down. My dad, he loves basketball, when Charlie and I were kids he told Charlie to gather up a few friends that liked to play basketball and he set up a team. He thought them everything they needed to know, he watches every game. And then Charlie became this basketball legend! And I just don't know how I'll be able to look my dad in the eyes and tell him I didn't make the team. I don't know why I decided to tell him. It's just…he had just gotten off a really stressful phone call off work. And he did what he always does when he's stressed about work, he forgets about it while he's at home. He focuses on us. He looked at me and said 'so Quinnie, any exciting stuff going down at that old school of yours?' And I knew he wanted me to distract him from his stress, and I just had to do it. I couldn't let him be stressed, because…"
"Because what, Q? Does your dad have a bad heart or something? Does he have like, high blood pressure?" Puck asked, trying to help the blonde finish her though. Quinn clapped a hand onto her mouth to stifle a sob, she shook her head but held her breath so that she wouldn't cry. The Mo hawked boy put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, forget about it for now, you can tell me during lunch if you still want to."
Quinn didn't say anything; she just nodded and focused on calming down. By the time third period was over the only thing to remind her of what she was about to tell Puck were the feeling of dry tears. She fourth period, not really paying attention to anything. Between the nerves of try outs later today and what she was about to let out, she was already spent and it wasn't even lunch yet. She took a deep breath, at least she would get to be with her friends soon…and tell Puck what she was going to tell him. She sighed, trying to get herself to relax and stop having second thoughts about telling him. She let out most of the story earlier. She would maybe need to do a quick recap for Rachel and Kurt. Unless they met up with Puck first and he told them then, but she knows he'll be more discreet that that. He won't tell them anything without her there to make sure what he tells them is okay by her, even if he does know that she trusts them with her life.
She was pretty sure she either fell asleep or spaced out really, really badly during fourth period, because she felt like it only took five minutes before class was over. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the class. She hadn't even bothered taking out her notebook because she knew that her mind was too cloudy to take notes. She made her way to the cafeteria and saw her three friends already there, chatting and waiting for her.
"Hey guys." She says quietly. Rachel didn't say a word to her; she just gave her a sad look and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked her softly into her ear.
"Puck told you huh?" She asked.
"Yeah." Rachel breathed out gently.
"I hope you don't mind Q, I just thought you know, you might not have the energy to start from the top." Puck said eyes full of worry for his friend. She nodded at him, indicating that it was okay. It was like he read her mind. She pulled back from Rachel as Kurt came up next to her.
"Quinn, is this about that thing with your dad you had told me last year?" Kurt asked her, a hand on her shoulder. Quinn nodded at him slowly and he nodded back, understanding everything. He hugged her tightly but briefly. He linked his arm with hers as all four of them walked into the cafeteria together. They got their lunch quickly and sat at their usual table.
"Okay, so Puck told us what you told him in third period." Rachel reminded her. "So, what's up with your dad? Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Quinn said, her voice cracked, she took a sip of her water before continuing. "I just, I never like seeing him stressed."
"But the way you said it Q, something's up with him isn't it?" Puck asked. Kurt knew the whole story, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell them, it was Quinn's and no one else's. What he could do was sit across from her and hold her hand as she spoke, and that's exactly what he did.
"Because I'm scared that if he's stressed he'll start drinking again." Quinn said softly, barely above a whisper, but Puck and Rachel strained their ears to hear her, because they just wouldn't ask her to repeat herself if it was this hard to say.
"So he had a drinking problem before?" Rachel asked, confirming her assumptions. Quinn nodded and wiped away a stray tear.
"I was twelve, Charlie was fifteen. His business was in real trouble, they were afraid of going bankrupt. He was stressed constantly with meetings and presentations and just everything he had to do to keep his business up, because it was our livelihood." Quinn explained. Tears fell freely down her cheeks, now going completely ignored. Rachel adjusted herself so that she was facing Quinn directly and wiped away a tear from the cheek which she could reach without Quinn turning her head towards her. She was staring at a blank spot on her table as she spoke, totally spaced out as her mind recalls the night that she's about to tell her friends about. But Rachel's thumb brushing against her cheek doesn't go unnoticed.
"Anyway, because of everything he had started drinking. At first it was just one drink a night after dinner, you know to take the edge off?" Quinn said, not looking up, but she registered Puck nod.
"Go on." Rachel whispered softly to her, her hand going for Quinn's right as her left was caught in Kurt's comforting grip.
"But after that, well it got worse, one turned to two, two turned to four and four turned to…to…" A sob escaped Quinn's lips and it takes everything in Rachel's being not to grab her and let her curl up into her lap. Instead she settled for squeezing the blonde's hand and rubbing her thumb along the top of it. Quinn took in a deep breath and went on. "To him passing out every night, either in his study or on the sofa or God knows where."
"When did he start getting better?" Rachel asked. "You said he used to drink, not anymore, so when did he stop?"
"It was one night, after dinner. Charlie knew all about dad's problem, he was fifteen, he knew. So did I, but I just didn't want to believe it, he's my dad, he was my hero when I was a kid. He was already drunk by dinner time that night and he was acting weird, slurring his words, grumbling, sayings stuff that didn't even make sense. I was sick of it, and so was Charlie. We asked mom if we could be excused from the table and we both went up to his room. We just tried to ignore it, we started playing a video game on his computer 'cause he wanted to cheer me up. That's when it happened."
-flashback-
Quinn, twelve years old and Charlie, fifteen, were sitting on Charlie's bed, video game controllers in hand as they played a street fighting game. They didn't want to think about what happened at dinner and they turned up the volume on the speakers as loud as possible so that they would drown out their mother's angry yelling at their father coming from the kitchen. But halfway through the video game, Quinn just hit pause, turning of the game's sounds and threw herself into the pillows, tears flowing from her eyes. Charlie turned over to her and rubbed her back, telling her that everything would be okay and doing everything to get his little sister to stop crying because his heart broke when he saw tears leave her eyes.
That's when they heard it.
"Shut up Judy! Just shut up!" Their father, Russell Fabray yelling, albeit slurred.
A loud slap, and a shriek from their mother. Charlie opened the door and they came running down the stairs. Their mother was kneeling, holding her cheek as tears spilled from her eyes furiously. Their father stood crying as well, rambling on about being sorry and how he didn't mean for all of this to happen. Charlie took one look at his distraught mother and then remembered Quinn's tears from just a minute ago upstairs. And his anger peaked.
"Dad!" He yelled loudly, his deep voice booming in the house. "Get it the fuck together! You're tearing this family apart!"
And with that Charlie kneeled beside his mother and helped her up, leading her and Quinn upstairs into his room. Quinn curled up into her mother's lap as soon as she was sitting on Charlie's bed. Tears constantly spilling from her eyes. Her mother held her tightly, resting her chin on Quinn's golden head. She shushed her softly as she ran a hand through the soft golden locks of her daughter.
"It's okay Quinnie, everything will be okay, I promise." Her mother's gentle voice whispered, comforting Quinn.
Then she began singing her the lullaby that she would sing to her when she was a baby and she was upset. And Quinn's tears subsided to soft sobs, and then stopped altogether as sleep took her over in her mother's arms.
-End flashback-
"The next day, mom found dad on the couch of the living room. When he woke up she made him a cup of coffee so that he would get over is hangover. Then she gave him an ultimatum: Either he checks into rehab to get better, or she takes the both of us and leaves him. I remember I had walked into the living room to watch cartoons with Charlie and he saw us. I looked at him and he looked me in the eyes, and he started to cry. He agreed to check into rehab. We spent a few weeks without him at home, visiting him on weekends while he got better. That was around the time when Charlie joined the team, and by the time dad came back, he was made team captain." Quinn stopped to take a deep breath, licking her lips before she went on.
"Ever since the day he came back, we keep all the liquor in our house locked up, and my mom keeps the key in a place not even Charlie or I know, because she just doesn't want to risk dad finding out. And he never tried looking. He kept his promise, so from then on he stopped dealing with his work troubles when he got home. But every now and again he gets the odd phone call and he's stressed out again, that's when he asks us if there's anything interesting going on at school, or if we did anything fun during the day. Because he wants to distract himself and forget his work while he's at home. And I just couldn't keep it from him, the fact that I'm trying out for the team, because I knew that's just what he needed to hear; something to be happy about, something to look forward to."
"So you told him you were trying out." Rachel finished for her and Quinn nodded.
"I could see it in his face, the minute I told him." Quinn breathed out. "His face lit up, he was so happy, I could see the idea of going to games to watch me play. And I was happy too, because he said he was proud of me, the fact that I wanted to try out despite everything that could set me back. I just…I just don't want to have to tell him that I didn't make the team, it would crush him, he wants this for me, and I want to do it for him."
"And you will." Puck voice was soft, gentle, yet determined. "You will Q!"
"Yeah." Rachel nodded.
"You're going to go into that gym today and play your heart out and you're not coming out of there until you have a basketball jersey, got it?" Puck said. She looked up at the Mo hawked boy and couldn't help but smile at him, and at Rachel and at Kurt. They wanted this for her as much as her father did, but now they want it for both her and her father. She took a deep breath.
"Come here." Rachel said, gaining her attention. "Turn around."
Quinn complied, turning ninety degrees on her chair to look at Rachel. The brunette cupped her cheeks, wiping away the last few stray tears, and then she pulled her into a tight hug.
"You're going to do great, I just know it!" Rachel whispered gently into the blonde's ear.
"But how can you be so sure?" Quinn mumbled into Rachel shoulder. The shorter girl pulled back a bit, cupping Quinn's cheek again and smiling at her as brown orbs met hazel ones.
"A really smart blonde once told me that when you're passionate about something, you fight for it." Rachel reminded her. Quinn couldn't help but smile as her heart swelled at the fact that Rachel remembered what she had told her exactly one week ago. She didn't say anything, she just nodded to the brunette, who smiled at her and hugged her again.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, and painfully slow. Quinn had calmed down since lunch, but the nerves about try outs were still there. They were there when she got up in the morning and they stayed there even as she walked through the gym door, already in her jersey and short and sneakers. As she walked to the bench to leave her bag there, she looked up and saw Kurt and Rachel sitting in the bleachers, waiting for her.
"Can I get your name sweetheart?" the coach, coach Beiste, asked her when she noticed that she had walked in. She looked tough and scary, but in reality she was really sweet unless you messed with her, kind of like an older female version of Puck without all the dirty jokes.
"Umm, Quinn Fabray." She told her with a smile. The coach reached up and picked up her pencil from behind her ear, ticking off her name.
"Fabray huh?" Coach Beiste asked, looking at the name with a thoughtful look. "Any relation to Charlie Fabray?"
"Yeah." Quinn said with a blush, looking down for a moment. "He's uh, he's my brother."
"You're kidding me." The coach said with a smile and a chuckle. "You're Charlie Fabray's little sister? Well I should have known, you're got the same hair and the same amazing eyes."
"Umm, thanks." Quinn said, blushing a bit more now.
"You think you have his skills?" the coach asked her gently.
"Well, he thought me everything I know." Quinn shrugged, finally looking back up at the coach.
"Damn, I might as well send everyone else home!" the coach chuckled. "We could really use the Fabray flare on our team."
"Well, hopefully I have enough flare then." Quinn giggled. The coach chuckled and smiled at her.
"Sense of humor runs in the family too does it?" Coach asked, Quinn just shrugged. "So how's Charlie doing?"
"He's okay, off at college, you know." Quinn shrugged again. Coach nodded with a smile.
"You know, now that I think about it, I think I remember seeing you and your parents sitting up in those bleachers during a game. Charlie had just scored the winning shot and I think I saw your dad lifting you up on his shoulders as you held up a poster saying 'Go Fabray 4'" Coach said, smiling at the girl that stood in front of her with her hair tied back in a tight pony tail.
"Yeah, I remember that, you know we still have that old poster at home in our basement." Quinn smiled.
"Hey coach!" Puck's voice was heard as he jogged up to the two. "Hey Q!"
"Hey Puck." Quinn said with a smile as they grabbed each other's hands briefly in greeting.
"Puckerman!" Coach said a little loudly, grapping Puck's attention. "Why the hell didn't you tell me a Fabray was trying out?"
"You know how I'm full of surprises coach!" Puck smiled proudly.
"How about you surprise me by making a shot at some point huh?" the coach chuckled.
"Harsh!" Puck said, pretending to be insulted as he laughed along with his coach. Quinn knew immediately that the coach and Puck were on very good terms. Puck waved to Kurt and Rachel who were watching the exchanges from afar.
"Go sit and watch with your friends!" Coach Beiste said to Puck.
"Thanks coach, hey good luck Quinn, not that you need it!" Puck said, clapping a hand on her shoulder gently.
"Thanks Puck!" Quinn said as he went up to the bleachers to sit next to Rachel and Kurt.
"Them two your friends?" Coach asked.
"Yeah, they want to be here for moral support." Quinn nodded.
"You know they've been here since the last bell rang? I came in and found them here waiting." Coach said.
"Wow, really?" Quinn asked, looking up at her three friends.
"I don't know about you Quinn, but when I see friends being this excited for something, it tells me that they believe in whoever their friend is." Coach told her.
"Yeah they're pretty optimistic, I just hope I don't let them down. I know being a girl isn't exactly the easiest thing-"
"Woah, woah now, easy there little lady, girls can do just as much as guys can in sports. If you're worried about the fact that you're a girl, you can relax." Coach cut her off. "It's not what I'm going to be considering when you're out there, it's your skills. You keep that in mind you hear me?"
"Loud and clear." Quinn said with a smile and a small salute. Coach Beiste chuckled at the gesture.
"Alright, well, go stretch a little okay? Limber up, you don't want to be stiff, I wouldn't want a Fabray to get a cramp on my court." Coach said.
"Gotcha coach!" Quinn nodded.
"And good luck, give it your best okay?" Coach advised.
"I kind of have to." Quinn said with a smile, then looking up at Rachel. "I promised her."
Coach Beiste looked up at the girl Quinn was talking about and then looked back at the blonde.
"She your girl or something?" coach asked.
"No." Quinn shook her head gently, bringing her eyes back down to the coach. "Just a really good friend who has a lot of faith in me."
"Go stretch, you want to make your friends and family proud don't you?" coach asked her with a smirk. Quinn nodded and went to the sidelines and began stretching. Then she saw as her friends were watching her stretch and she continued, only making ridiculous faces and gestures to make them laugh. This went on for ten minutes till coach Beiste blew her whistle, calling all those who were trying out to a circle center court.
"Okay, we have four people and three positions. Here's what we'll do." Coach began, then looked at her clip board to recite how she sorted out the players.
"Okay, we have Fabray versus Mitchell and Lucas versus Porter." She called out. "We'll start with Fabray and Mitchell."
"Woah, hold up coach, you're putting me up against a girl?" the one she realized to be Mitchell said, pointing at Quinn. "Why don't you just give me the position right now and save her the embarrassment!"
"Watch your mouth Mitchell!" Coach Beiste called. "That's not any girl you're talking about there, that's Charlie Fabray's sister!"
"Man whatever, I could probably beat THE Charlie Fabray in my sleep!" Mitchell claimed proudly.
"Well unfortunately he's all the way at Columbia right now, so you'll have to settle for me." Quinn snapped.
"Fine!" Mitchell said, taking his position center court. Coach Beiste grabbed the basketball off the bench it the sidelines and held it up between them.
"Okay, first one to get to six points wins." Coach stated. They both nodded in understanding.
"Don't worry little girl." Mitchell said with a chuckle. "I'll go easy on you."
Quinn sneered at him as Coach Beiste blew her whistle and threw the ball up. Quinn launched herself off the floor and smacked her hand down on the ball, scooping it away from Mitchell and dribbling past him, running up to the net he was supposed to be defending and jumped while launching the ball into the air, a nice curve into the hoop with a slap of the net. She landed and turned in time to see Mitchell stare, gob smacked, at the shot.
"Two nothing for Fabray, you still feeling lucky Mitchell?" Puck cheered from the bleachers. Quinn laughed as she ran for the layup. Mitchell picked up the ball and dribbled it right towards her, faking left hesitantly and then switching for the right. But Quinn anticipated it and jogged up next to him. He launched the ball into the air and Quinn jumped to catch it. She just grazed it with her fingers and it hit the metal hoop, crashing into the ground again. Quinn spotted it immediately and charged for it, dribbling it up the court again with Mitchell on her trail. He charged forward and blocked her as she jumped and tried to shoot. But he jumped up and knocked his upper body into her chest, sending her flying to the floor. Coach Beiste whistled and stopped the play, walking up to the quickly.
"You okay Fabray?" she asked as Quinn got up, wiping her brow with her hand.
"All good coach." She answered.
"Mitchell, one more stunt like that and it's off this court with a pink slip for a week of detention!" Coach threatened. Mitchell didn't say anything, he just scowled at the blonde in front of him. "Get back to the game, and I want it clean and fair, are we clear?"
Mitchell and Quinn nodded firmly as coach grabbed the ball and handed it to Quinn. She took the ball and dribbled it again, gaining momentum as she ran around Mitchell and shot the ball straight up into the net. Her three friends cheered and whistled from the bleachers as she ran for the layup. This time, Mitchell didn't hesitate when he faked and was able to fool her into letting him score. She grabbed the ball and dribbled it up the court again, through her legs for speed. Once the ball hit her right hand and she's close enough to the net, she lifts it up and is about to throw it up when Mitchell jumped up in front of her and snatched the ball, dribbling up the court again. She took a deep breath and ran up to Mitchell as fast as she could, hot on his trail. She followed him as he dribbled the ball all the way up in front of the net and threw it. She jumped behind him and snatched the ball from over his head. He was completely blind sighted when the ball disappeared from in front of him. Quinn dribbled the ball up the court again.
"Go Q! You can do it!" Puck yelled excitedly. Quinn's breath by now was rapid and shallow. She dribbled the ball through her legs again as she closed the distance between her and the net. But Mitchell ran up by her side and slipped in front of her. Her instincts kicked in and she launched herself off the ground. She had no idea where the strength in her legs came from, or how she managed to fly the last few inches between her and the net. But what she did know was that she had just dunked the ball into the net, scoring her sixth point.
But no one cheered, because they were all gob smacked. She turned around and looked at the people around her. They all sat or stood there looking at her, jaws ajar. Everyone, Mitchell, Coach Beiste, her three best friends that were sitting on the bleachers. Even Lucas and Porter who sat down in the sidelines waiting for their turn. Then all of a sudden, Rachel, Kurt and Puck burst out into cheers, Puck whistling loudly as they clapped and jumped like three insane monkeys. Quinn's face broke out in a smile that threatened to break her face in half. Mitchell huffed and marched to the sidelines to sit down, his arms crossed.
"Okay, good job Fabray!" Coach said happily, clapping her on the back.
"Thanks coach!" Quinn said happily.
"Okay now go sit with your friends! Lucas! Porter! You're up! Winner of this match will go against Fabray, loser against Mitchell. Whoever wins those will be on the team, and the remaining two will play it out for the last position!" Coach Beiste explained to them Quinn grabbed her water bottle and ran up to the bleachers to sit next to her three friends.
"You were awesome out there Q!" Puck said, giving her a high five.
"Quinn that was amazing!" Rachel said standing up and wrapping her arms around the blonde.
"Yeah dude that was so freakin' mind blowing the way you duked that last one!" Puck said excitedly.
"You've seen me dunk before." Quinn dismissed.
"Yeah, but that was with the net out back!" Puck said. "That thing is way lower than regulation hoops."
"You flew!" Rachel said giddily.
"It's like your shoes sprouted wings!" Kurt said. "Like Hermes!"
"Isn't that and STD?" Puck asked.
"No, that's a Greek god, what you're thinking of is herpes." Rachel corrected. Puck nodded in understanding.
"And I did not fly, I jumped…really, really high." Quinn shrugged.
"Well it worked! You're a step closer Q! Today you go home a basketball team member!" Puck said happily as Quinn drank from her water bottle.
"Chill, man, I've got one more game against…one of those two." Quinn said, gesturing towards the two players that chased each other with the ball on the court behind her.
"I'm just happy you beat Mitchell! How dare he say you're not good!" Rachel said, arms crossed.
"Chill, Rach, it's over now." Quinn said, putting a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.
"I just hate it when people are so prejudiced you know?" Rachel shrugged.
"I know, but thanks." Quinn smiled at her. Rachel smiled back and hugged the blonde again.
They sat and watched as Lucas and Porter played, watching how each player moved, trying to figure out which of the two was going to win. Porter was taller, however Lucas seemed just a bit more coordinated, Porter was a fast runner, but his hands kept fumbling with the ball, it slipped out of his hands twice throughout the entire one on one match.
Eventually the match ended with Lucas winning. Coach Beiste looked over to the four friends sitting at the bleachers and signaled for Quinn to come down. She nodded and didn't waste any time.
"Okay Fabray, you're up against Lucas now. Win this one and you're on the team." Coach said with a smirk and a hand went up to the blonde's shoulder. "Think you're up for it?"
Quinn looked into her coach's eyes. Was she up for it? She had been practicing all the day before. She had the guts to tell her dad even though she didn't want to disappoint him. She had the guts to tell Kurt and Rachel even though she didn't want to go through all that 'I'm sorry you didn't make the team' sympathy. And her gut told her she might be able to do this. And that's when her confidence peaked. Because she was able to beat Mitchell who called her out for being a girl. Because she had told all the people she loved that she would be trying out, even though she didn't want to disappoint them. In the back of her mind, she knew she had this in her, she just didn't realize it until the last minute.
Think you're up for it?
"Hell yes." Quinn responded with a firm nod. She felt the coach's hand give her an affirming squeeze on her shoulder, pulsing more confidence through her.
"Okay, get out there." Coach gestured to center court with a jerk of her head. Quinn nods again and jogs to center court. Lucas looks at her.
"Hey, good luck Fabray." He said, holding a hand out to her. She looked at him for a second, shocked.
"Uh, thanks, you too!" she nodded, shaking his hand quickly before coach came up with the ball.
"Okay, you know the rules, first to six wins. Winner is on the team. Good luck." She said quickly, looking at both of them to make sure they understood. Then she blew the whistle and threw the ball up. Quinn and Lucas both launched themselves off the ground, their hands flying up for the ball. Lucas was quicker though, and grabbed it first, dribbling down the court and flinging the ball at the board. It would have been perfect, it would have gotten him his two first points. But he threw it too hard, and when it hit the black box in the middle of the board, it launched off the board and back to the court, never touching the net. Quinn ran up and caught the ball, turning quickly and dribbling up the court. Lucas came up to her side and turned as he slipped in front of her, effectively blocking her. She dribbled the ball in place for a second, then alternating hands and between her legs until she had a plan. She threw the ball behind Lucas, bouncing it on the court so that it flew up five feet after hitting the floor. Lucas was caught off guard, and before he could even blink she had turned behind him and caught the ball, dribbling it up the rest of the way and scoring her first shot,
"Nice one Fabray!" Lucas said with an impressed smile.
"Thanks." Quinn smiled at him as she passed him for the layup. Lucas picked up the ball and dribbled. She tried to block him, but he somehow managed to get around her and shoot.
They were tied. Quinn grabbed the ball as Lucas ran up the court for the layup, she dribbled and ran as fast as she could, wanting to get this over with. Focus Fabray.
"You can do it Quinn!" Rachel's voice was heard across the court. Her heart swelled, as did her ego.
You can do this.
She ran up the last part of the court and jumped as she launched the ball into the air.
Swish. And the ball was in. Four points in and two to go. She could do this.
She jogged up for the layup and watched as Lucas dribbled up to her. Half court and she was in front of him trying desperately to distract him. But…
He jumped, threw the ball.
She didn't even turn around.
Swish.
He scored his fourth point from half court. Her eyes grew wide. She took a deep breath and ran up for the ball.
She could do this…
She could do this right?
"Come on Q! You've got this!" Rachel's voice echoed in the gym again.
You've got this. It echoed again in her head.
You heard her.
I've got this.
She dribbled up, running at the maximum speed her legs would allow. Everything by her sides was a huge blur as she focused on the net as she ran up. Her heart thumped in her chest and everything else went quiet. Lucas came up in front of her and she didn't even think as she turned her back towards him, dribbled and turned away from him. She continued her charge. Jump, throw.
Everything went in slow motion.
Her feet touched the ground, eyes fixed on the ball.
It flew through the air in a curve, and then…
Swish.
She scored. Six points and everything went quiet until her friends' cheering was registered in her mind, they went wild with excitement and relief and happiness. She just stared at the net, silent.
You did it!
I did it?
"You did it Q!" Rachel's voice was heard screaming, and she snapped out of her haze.
"Nice job Fabray." Lucas said with a smile as he came up to her, holding his hand out again. "Here's to being on the team with you."
"Thanks." She said, still semi-distant in disbelief.
"You know, you're good, no wonder you're a Fabray." He said, patting her shoulder.
"Thanks, hey good luck, you're good too!" She returned with a wide smile.
"I look forward to following the Fabray legacy, part two!" He said with a smile as he walked to the bench.
"Good job Fabray!" Coach Beiste said as she came up from behind her.
"Thanks coach!" She said.
"Welcome to the team!" she said. Though it still didn't fully register in her mind.
"Thanks." Quinn replied,
"Guess you can tell your old man to bring out that old poster huh?" Coach said with a smile.
"I guess so." Quinn said with a chuckle.
"Alright, now get out of here, go celebrate with your friends!" coach said.
"You got it coach!" Quinn nodded happily.
"Good girl!" And Quinn?" Coach said before the blonde was too far.
"Yeah coach?" Quinn turned back to the woman.
"Practice is every Tuesday and Thursday at four, don't be late tomorrow got it? Otherwise you'll have to tell Schuester that we're going to have a problem." The coach chuckled.
"Wouldn't dream of it!" Quinn shook her head, then turned around and picked her stuff up from the bench. She glanced briefly at Mitchell, who slumped back in his seat with an annoyed look on his face, and she couldn't help but smirk proudly at herself. Suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a warm, small body fling itself around her.
"You did it! You made the team!" Rachel's excited squealing came into her mind.
I made the team…
Then it hit her. She did it. She made the team. She could go home and tell her dad that she would be playing basketball for the rest of the year. She'll see him smile proudly and hug her as he always did.
She'll be able to call Charlie and tell him that she'd be on the team.
She did it.
"Oh my God." She whispered out loud.
"What?" Rachel asked her with an excited smile.
"I did it." Quinn mumbled out.
"You did it Q!" Rachel squealed out a confirmation of her own statement. She tightened her grip around her. Quinn turned in her arms and hugged her tightly in ecstasy.
"I did it!" She cheered.
"You were amazing out there!" Kurt said through happy giggles.
"You're on the team Q!" Puck celebrated. He high fived her from behind Rachel's back.
"Come back to my place!" She said to them.
"Why?" Rachel asked, more out of curiosity. Quinn looked at the time and realized her dad would be home from work soon, and her mother would be there as well.
"My dad will be home soon, I want you guys to meet him and my mom. I want you guys to be there when I tell him!" Quinn said with a smile.
"That's so sweet! I'm in!" Rachel said with a happy giggle.
"Me too!" Puck said.
"Quinn your mother wants to adopt me, of course I'm in!" Kurt said with a chuckle. Quinn pulled back from Rachel and hugged him and then Puck before she grabbed the last of her stuff.
"Okay, let me go get changed and we can go." Quinn said. She ran off to the locker room, changed back into her jeans, t-shirt and converse and walked back out to her friends waiting by the door. They went to her house and found her mother starting up on dinner.
"Mom?" She called in as she put her jacket on the coat hanger by the door and dropped her bag by it as well.
"In the kitchen sweetie!" her mother called in. "How did tryouts go?"
"Hang on mom, I want you to meet some people first!" Quinn said, leading her three friends to the kitchen.
"Oh you brought friends?" Judy said as she turned around to see her daughter lead in Kurt and two new people she never met.
"Yeah mom." Quinn said happily, going over to her and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Hello Kurt." She said happily to the boy, going over and giving him a hug.
"Hey Mrs. Fabray." He said as he hugged her.
"Kurt." She said, giving him a stern look but with a smile.
"Oh, right, sorry, Hey Judy." He corrected himself.
"That's better." She said, hugging him again before pulling back and turning to the two new faces in front of her.
"Mom," Quinn began. "These are my friends, Rachel and Puck."
"It's very nice to meet you." She said holding out her hand to Rachel.
"It's nice to meet you too Mrs. Fabray." Rachel said, taking her hand and shaking it.
"Oh please, any friends of Quinn's are family to me, so call me Judy!" she said happily as she turned to Puck.
"It's nice to meet you Judy!" Puck said happily as he shook the older blonde's hand. "Now I know where Q gets her good looks!"
"Oh, now you've got me blushing!" Judy fussed. "Puck hmm? That's a very unique name."
"Oh it's actually a nickname, my first name is Noah, but my last name is Puckerman, my friends call me Puck." The Mo hawked boy explained.
"Yes because he wants everyone to believe he's a badass." Quinn explained further. "When really, he's as dangerous as a puppy."
Judy giggled and Puck looks down with a blush. The front door was heard closing.
"Judy, I'm home!" A deep voice was heard cheerfully announcing.
"Dad!" Quinn said happily, running out of the kitchen to the front door. She wrapped her arms around him cheerfully.
"Well hey there sweetheart how'd-" Russell began as he hugged his daughter hello.
"Not yet dad!" Quinn cut him off. "Come on!"
"Well someone's excited for dinner!" Russell chuckled as he wondered why his daughter was so happily tugging him into the kitchen.
"Not for that dad! I brought friends I want you to meet!" Quinn said as they re-appeared in the kitchen. All four of them smiled as the older blonde man looked over them.
"Welcome home darling." Judy said as she wrapped her arms around her husband and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you dear." He said as he hugged his wife lovingly. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the sweet exchange. She looked over to Quinn, who smiled at the sight of her parents happily. Suddenly she felt happy for the girl. She remembered the story she was told at lunch and suddenly found it unbelievable that such a horrible thing in the past could lead to such a beautiful thing now. She wanted to save this picture forever in her mind, the image of Quinn smiling so happily as her parents hugged each other, glad to see each other after a day of work.
"So, Quinnie, who're your friends?" Her dad asked as her mother pulled back from her husband's arms.
"Oh." Quinn said, snapping out of her own thoughts. "dad, this is Rachel and Puck."
"Don't let the name confuse you dear, his name is actually Noah, but everyone calls him Puck because his last name is Puckerman." Judy explained to her husband with a smile. Russell looked at his wife again before chuckling and extending his hand to the two new faces in front of him.
"It's nice to meet you two!" He said as Rachel shook his hand.
"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Fabray." She said with a smile.
"Oh please! Mr. Fabray is my father! Call me Russell!" he chuckled happily at the small brunette.
"Okay." Rachel nodded as she looked down shyly, brushing a hair out of her face.
"It's nice to meet you sir!" Puck said as he took the older man's hand in his and shook it firmly.
"Nice to meet you too, Noah who everyone calls Puck." Russell said quick. Puck let out a loud laugh as Russell patted his shoulder. Then he turned to Kurt.
"Kurt! My boy! How are you?" he said as he hugged the smaller boy.
"It's great to see you again Russ, I'm fine thanks for asking, how have you been?" Kurt asked as he was engulfed in the older man's happy embrace.
"I've been good." Russell answered.
"So, will you guys join us for dinner?" Judy asked, looking at all three of her daughters friends.
"Oh we don't want to impose." Rachel said.
"Oh please, who's imposing?" Judy waved off. "It would be a pleasure to have you."
"Well in that case, we'd love to!" Puck said happily.
"Yeah, let me just go call my dads quickly to let them know." Rachel said.
"Dads? As in, plural?" Russell asked her with the signature Fabray eyebrow raise.
"uh." Rachel stuttered. She hadn't even thought about what their opinion on same sex couples were. She gulped. "Y-yes sir."
"Oh! I know who you are now! You're Leroy Berry's kid aren't you?" he said happily. She nodded, still not sure where this was going. "Good Hiram and Leroy how are they?"
"Th-they're good, sir." Rachel said quickly.
"Sir? Oh relax sweetheart!" Russell said, realizing how nervous the small brunette was all of a sudden. "Just 'cause we're catholic doesn't mean we look down on people for who they love!"
Rachel let out a sigh of relief as she smiled shyly at Russell.
"You know, your daddy Leroy and I were in college together back at Yale!" Russell said with a happy chuckle at the memory. "Imagine my surprise when I find him in in Lima!"
"You were in college with her dad?" Quinn asked with her own hitched eyebrow.
"Oh you've heard me talk about Leroy! Though you might know him as psycho Berry or 'my lunatic of a roommate.' We came up with the craziest pranks!" Russell said, shaking his head at the memory of Leroy's hijinks.
"Oh yeah!" Quinn nodded.
"So wait, does that make you Rottweiler Russell then?" Rachel said happily.
"You know my old nickname!" Russell said happily. "That's me! They called me Rottweiler cause I would bark loudly at anyone who tried to mess with my friends!"
"Aww, that's so sweet." Rachel said with a giggle.
"Go on and call your dads sweetheart, let them know you're fine and tell Leroy I said 'what's up sasquatch?' That's another nickname we called him 'cause he's so Gosh darned tall." Russell chuckled again.
"I'll let him know!" Rachel giggled as she pulled out her cellphone and pressed speed dial number one. The phone rang as she walked out to the hall to make the call. After three rings there was a crack and an answer.
"Hello, Leroy Berry speaking." Her daddy's voice came through the phone.
"Hey daddy! It's me." She said into the phone.
"Me who? And why you callin' me daddy? The only kid I have is this annoying little thing called Rachel." Leroy said with a fake serious tone. She giggled into the phone.
"Daddy! It's me Rachel." She said.
"Oh I know sweetheart! Are you okay? You were supposed to be home by now." Leroy asked.
"I'm fine daddy, actually that's what I was calling about." Rachel said. "You know my new friend Quinn? Well she brought me over to meet her parents and you'll never guess who her dad is!"
"Hugh Jackman?!" Her father asked with fake excitement. She burst out in laughter.
"No daddy!" Rachel said through a giggle. "It's Russell Fabray!"
"Old Rottweiler?" Leroy asked in amazement. "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! You never told me your friend was a Fabray!"
"Well she is, and her mother invited me to stay for dinner." Rachel explained. "I was calling to ask if it's okay with you and dad."
"Oh it's fine, I'll let your father know." Leroy said. "You have fun sweetheart!"
"Thanks, oh and daddy?" Rachel said suddenly remembering the message she was to pass along.
"Yes sweetie?"
"Russell said, 'what's up sasquatch?'" she said with a giggle.
"Good old Russell! You tell him I said 'Nothin' short stump, what's up with you?' " Leroy said with a chuckle.
"Will do daddy." Rachel said.
"Thank you sweetheart, see you later alright?" Leroy said. "I love you."
"Love you too daddy. Bye." Rachel said before hanging up and going back to the kitchen.
"Everything okay at home sweetie?" Judy asked.
"Yeah, and daddy said it would be fine to stay for dinner." Rachel said with a smile at the older blonde.
"Did you pass my message to Leroy?" Russell asked.
"Yeah, and he said, uhm, 'Nothing, short stump, what's up with you?'" Rachel said with a giggle as she scratched the back of her neck shyly. Russell let out a deep belly laugh.
"Oh good old Leroy! We'll have to catch up sometime!" Russell said with a chuckle. Quinn smiled at her dad who seemed so happy to re-connect with his friend from college.
"Umm, dad, mom, I have some news." Quinn said nervously, nibbling on her lip.
"What is it sweetheart?" Judy said, turning the flame down on the stove and turning back to give her daughter her full attention. Russell was looking at her intently with a quirked eyebrow.
"You know I had tryouts today for basketball." Quinn reminded them.
"How could we forget dear?" Judy asked.
"Well…" Quinn took in a deep breath. "I made the team!"
Russell's face lit up as his face broke out in a smile. Judy's eyes brightened.
"You made the team?!" her father repeated happily.
"Yeah!" Quinn nodded excitedly. Russell walked up to his daughter and enveloped her in a tight hug.
"That's amazing! I am so proud of you!" he said as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Thanks dad!" she said happily.
"You should have seen her Russell! She was on fire!" Kurt said excitedly.
"Hope you don't mean literally." Russell joked.
"No I mean figuratively." Kurt giggled at the older man.
"Though at the speed she was running" Puck shrugged as he chuckled. "She was the first out of the four to get chosen!"
"Is that so?" Russell said, smiling at his daughter who shrugged shyly. "Well, you've got Fabray blood in you don't you?"
"Yes sir!" Quinn said with a smile.
"Oh sweetheart I'm so happy for you." Judy said, coming over and hugging her daughter.
"I'm really happy too mom!" She said as she wrapped her arms around her mother's back.
"You have to let Charlie know!" Russell said.
"Yeah I was actually thinking of calling him." Quinn nodded as she pulled back from her mother.
"Why don't you go upstairs with your friends and do that then?" Judy said happily.
"Don't you guys want to talk to him?" Quinn asked.
"Oh he called me earlier sweetheart, felt homesick, he wanted to talk to you but he knew you were at school." Judy said.
"You didn't tell him did you? I wanted to surprise him!" Quinn said.
"I thought you might, so I kept quiet." Judy said to her daughter, winking knowingly. Quinn smiled.
"Okay! Come on guys, let's go to my room!" She said, ushering her friends up the stairs and into her bedroom. Kurt did what he usually does and flopped down on the bed. Quinn sat on her computer and logged on to skype as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "You guys can sort of meet Charlie too. Though it'll be through a computer."
"This is going to be awesome!" Puck punched the air happily. Quinn shook her head with a chuckle as she texted her brother.
"Shit! I almost forgot, hang on guys!" Quinn said, quickly running out of her room and down the stiars.
"Is everything okay sweetie?" Judy said when she heard her daughter running down the stairs.
"Actually, mom, I forgot to tell you, Rachel's a vegan!" Quinn told her.
"Oh that's okay, I was making pesto tonight!" Judy smiled at her daughter.
"Perfect! Thanks mom!" Quinn said, running up the stairs again. She was met with Rachel smiling at her at the top of the stairs. "What?"
"You remembered." Rachel shrugged.
"Of course I remembered!" Quinn said.
"You're sweet." Rachel said, still smiling at the girl as they walked back into Quinn's room. Her phone buzzed, telling her she had a text. She read it and sat at her computer again. Pretty soon her computer chimed, telling her she was getting a call. She clicked accept and suddenly her brother's face filled her screen.
"Hey bro!" She said happily.
"'Sup lil' sis?" Charlie said happily.
"Oh not much." Quinn fake shrugged.
"What aren't you telling me?" Charlie asked her.
"Why do you assume I'm hiding something?" Quinn asked innocently.
"Because you have that 'I have something awesome to tell you.' Look." Charlie chuckled.
"I brought friends over for dinner." Quinn said, trying to change the subject.
"As in plural? Color me surprised." Charlie said simply with a chuckle.
"Hey." Quinn said, feigning being insulted.
"Oh I'm teasing!" Charlie said. "Now tell me what you really want to tell me!"
"The school's basketball try outs were today." Quinn told him, trying to hide her smile.
"And?" Charlie encouraged her to go on.
"And I may or may not have made the team." Quinn shrugged.
"Quinn?" Charlie asked her, excitement brimming.
"Okay, okay." Quinn surrendered. "I totally made the team!"
"That's amazing!" Charlie said as he cheered. "The Fabray legacy lives on!"
"It was so awesome! There was this one guy who thought he could take you on, I totally kicked his ass!" Quinn laughed at the sight of her brother doing a little happy dance in his chair.
"Aww, you defended my honor!" Charlie said.
"Both of ours, he thought I couldn't handle it cause I'm a girl." Quinn told him.
"Yeah but you're not just any girl! You're a Fabray! The pride of a lion pumps through your veins!" Charlie said, his words filled with pride and enthusiasm.
"Hell yeah!" Quinn cheered into her laptop's microphone.
"So what made you want to join the team?" Charlie asked her.
"Well I was playing basketball with my friend Puck and he told me I was good and encouraged me to try out." Quinn said, and saw Puck wave to the camera from behind her.
"Is Puck that guy waving from behind you?" Charlie said.
"Yes. That's the asshole." Quinn giggled.
"Hey!" Puck said, feigning being insulted.
"Nice to meet you Puck!" Charlie said.
"It's an honor to meet you dude!" Puck said happily, coming closer to the laptop. "You're a legend man!"
"Aww shucks, I was just a kid on the team!" Charlie waved off.
"Yeah but dude you were awesome!" Puck said.
"Dude will you stop having a total crush on my brother?" Quinn looked up at Puck.
"Will your brother stop being so cool?" Puck said. His eyed widened. "I didn't mean that the way it sounded."
"I'm sure." Quinn nodded and rolled her eyes before whispering "So gay."
"Shut up." Puck mumbled to her through his teeth.
"Hey you're cool Puck, it's good to know my sis has a new bro she can rely on while I'm not there…She can rely on you right?" Charlie asked.
"Of course dude!" Puck said. "I'd totally fuck anyone who messed with her up!"
"Good to hear Puck!" Charlie nodded. "So Q, got any other new friends?"
"Yeah, there's Rachel too!" Quinn said excitedly, gesturing over to Rachel to come into view. The brunette smiled at her shyly and came over.
"Woah, well aren't you a fine young thing?" Charlie said with a smile. Rachel could feel her face flare up as she looked down and shyly brushed a hair out of her face. "Good going Q, I never thought you'd be the one snagging up cheerleaders!"
"We're just friends you horndog!" Quinn chastised with a giggle.
"Whatever you say Q!" Charlie said with a giggle.
"We really are just friends." Rachel said.
"I know sweetheart I'm just kidding!" Charlie smiled. "It's nice too meet you."
"Nice to meet you too!" She said with a smile. Kurt came up from behind Quinn and playfully rested his chin on her head.
"Hey Charlie." He said.
"'Sup little man!" Charlie said, feeling like he was pulling the old nickname out of a box and dusting it off.
"How's Columbia?" Kurt asked.
"There are hot girls and free food, how do you think it is?" Charlie asked back with a chuckle.
"I meant academically, but okay." Kurt shrugged and giggled.
"Eh, you know, boring lectures, boring assignments, hot assignment partner." Charlie shrugged the rest of the sentence off as the four teens on his screen chuckled.
"Quinnie! Dinner!" Judy's voice came from downstairs. Quinn flinched at the nickname and her cheeks went red as her head fell into her hands.
"I'll talk to you later…Quinnie." Charlie said with a smirk. Quinn looked up and gave him a death glare. He laughed softly before he clicked 'end call' and disappeared.
"Come on, Quinnie, I'm starving." Puck patted her on the shoulder playfully.
"Shut it asshole." The blonde shoved him lightly.
"Aww, it's okay Quinnie, he's just teasing." Rachel giggled.
"I hate you guys." Quinn said.
"We love you too Quinnie." Kurt piped up.
"Shut it Hummel!" Quinn snapped playfully.
"Whatever you say Quinnie." Kurt said, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. Quinn groaned in anguish.
"Okay, okay guys I think that's enough torture for one day." Rachel said to the boys.
"Thank you." Quinn sighed out.
"You're welcome…Quinnie." Rachel said, letting out burst of laughter. Quinn glared at her.
"Fuck you!" She snapped playfully again.
"Oh, you wish!" Rachel said with a giggle as she turned on her heel and walked out of the bedroom. Quinn's eyes bluged and she stared at the girl who was walking away.
"What?!" Quinn whispered loudly. Kurt and Puck looked at her.
"Dude, chill, she's joking." Puck said. Quinn shook her head, snapping herself out of it.
"I know. It's just…hearing her say it is weird you know?" Quinn sighed out.
"We know, now come on, I smell your mother's pesto and I'm hungry!" Kurt said, pushing her lightly out of the room and towards the stairs. They all walked into the kitchen where her father sat at the head of the table. Quinn took her usual seat on her dad's right and Judy on her left. Kurt sat next to Quinn and Rachel across from him, leaving Puck to sit opposite Russell at the other end of the table.
"What smells so good Judy?" Rachel asked her with a smile.
"Oh aren't you sweet!" Judy gushed. "I made my home made pesto, it's Quinnie's favorite."
Quinn blushed again as she heard Kurt stifle his laughter. She lifted her foot and brought it down on his, hard. He jumped at the sudden pain in his foot and pretended to cough, grabbing his glass of water and taking a long sip.
"You okay dude?" Puck asked him.
"Just a little tickle." Kurt smiled at the Mo hawked boy, who nodded in understanding as Judy began serving each one of them.
"This looks so good Judy!" Puck said as she placed a full plate in front of him.
"Wait till you try it! Your taste buds are going to die and go to heaven!" Kurt said at the memory of how good Judy's food tasted.
"Oh will you stop! You're all making me blush!" Judy said, her hands going up to her cheeks that were tinted a light pink. She picked up the last plate and placed it in front of herself as she sat down. "Usually we'd say grace before eating, but Russell just informed me that the Berrys are Jewish. So we decided to skip it for tonight."
"Oh you don't have to-" Rachel was about to say.
"No, no, dear if there's one thing we understand it's different religions, we don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Judy said, placing a gentle hand on Rachel's arm.
"I've got an idea." Puck said and all eyes turned to him. "Well I'm Jewish too, but my mom has friends who are catholic and we came up with a prayer that doesn't specify to anything but God. We can say that if you want."
"That's a wonderful idea Puck! We can say that from now on when either you or Rachel have dinner with us!" Judy smiled at the boy, who smiled back at her. "Would you lead us then?"
"Of course, umm, we general hold hands instead of placing them together." Puck explained.
"Well isn't that sweet!" Judy smiled at him. They each connected hands with their neighbor and closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Puck began to recite the prayer he had learned over the years.
"Dear God, we thank you for providing us with this blessing of food, and thank you also for bringing us together once again. We pray that you forgive us for any wrongs he have done throughout the day and that you bless us by allowing us to be joined like this again in the future. In your name we pray, amen." He recited.
"Amen." They all repeated together and then looked up. Quinn took a deep breath, her heart full. Something about that prayer made her feel so blessed to have all her new friends and her family brought together. Rachel smiled at her knowingly and she knew she was thinking the same thing.
"That was lovely Puck." Judy said with a smile. Pucks smiled back and nodded as he picked up his fork. They all began eating. Rachel picked up a piece of pasta with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she let out a soft moan.
"Oh my Gosh, Judy this is amazing!" Rachel said as she savored the flavor in her mouth.
"Oh you are so sweet, all of you!" Judy said with a smile.
"Quinn, these are some ace friends you have here!" Russell said happily as he smiled at his daughter, who smiled back happily.
"I know dad, I know." She said, looking at her friends who all smiled at her happily. There was a shared feeling of sheer joy with between the four. They knew then and there that they would be friends for a very long time. And they all simply fell in love with the idea of being together like that.
A/N: Well there you go! Sweet ending huh?
Also I'm sorry for all the Quinn feels, anyone else wanted to grab her and hug her just then or is it just me?
Anyway, please don't forget to review.
Also, I will keep writing but you might have to be patient with me for the next few days, I have a very important maths exam next week and I need to study...A lot!
Thank you guys so much for your support and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Coming up next: Quinn Fabray in a letterman jacket! (Can anyway say UNF?)
