Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.
A/N: Special thanks to my beta reader Secretaryofsnix! The chapter wouldn't have been as beautiful or lovely without her help.
Rachel sighed and pressed her temple against the cool window of Finn's beat-up 1994 Ford F150. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, she didn't even hear Finn's rambling about how he finally beat Puck on Halo and the stupid dare he put him up to.
She just could not stop thinking about what Quinn had said to her; "You deserve better." Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew Quinn was right. She knew that she shouldn't starve just because Finn (conveniently) happened to like the (cheapest) restaurant in Lima, Ohio. She also knew that she shouldn't have to have every single dinner date at Breadstix and every other one at the bowling alley. She didn't even like either of those things!
"You deserve better; you deserve better; you deserve better."
The sound of Quinn's melodic voice echoed through her head, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get the voice to stop.
"I know that if I was your girlfriend, I'd definitely make sure that you were happily fed with more than just leafy greens, even if the restaurant was out of the way."
"Right, Rach?"
"What?" She pulled out of her thoughts momentarily at the call of her name, when she realized she had been asked a question.
"I said, 'we're the hottest couple at school, right?'" Finn had his dopey smile on once more, and though Rachel once thought it was cute, now she just found it annoying and out of place.
She shook the thought from her head, surprised at even thinking such a thing about Finn. She gave him her best show smile and nodded, "Of course we are, Finn, just look at us."
The truck lurched into the small parking lot and found a parking place - not without almost hitting two bystanders and a stationary vehicle.
Soon, the couple was in a booth making incredibly small, small talk. Mostly because Rachel's mind was still too filled with thoughts of Quinn's words, and not only Quinn's words, but Charlie's words too. Before she left with Finn she had checked the Head Queerio's blog and read the answer to the last message she had left the mysterious blogger.
"Anonymous Asked: Hey, Charlie, this is the same anon as earlier. I hope it's not weird but I feel like I can really relate to what you're going through. Your argument with 'the one' seems strangely like a conversation I had with a friend of mine the other day, and though I doubt she was thinking the same things you are about love and everything towards me, what you posted helped me understand her from a different perspective. I hope that the one realizes that she has you, because you sound like an absolutely
amazing person. Don't give up hope. You never know what could happen. I say you prove to her what an awesome woman you are make her see what she's missing out on. Don't say it's over, unless she tells you right out that it will never happen."
"Charlie: I… thank you so much for this message. I can see where you're coming from and it means a lot to me that someone out there cares. It's just.. I gave up a long time ago. There couldn't be any way that the one would like me. I mean… what possible chance could there be? I'm not worth her chances, I just want to make her smile as much as I can before she goes to live her life."
Rachel's thoughts kept clouding over one another. She couldn't seem to decide which one was more important at the moment.
"You deserve better."
"I know, I do."
"What possible chance could there be?"
"Isn't there always a chance?"
The brunette was catapulted from her thoughts as a salad was placed in front of her, "I didn't order this, did I?"
"I didn't order this," she said politely to the waiter.
"Actually, Rach, I ordered it for you."
Rachel almost slapped the proud look of Finn's face.
"You were really zoned out, so I ordered you a salad. Dig in!"
"Finn. This is a Caesar salad."
"Yeah… so? It's a salad, you like salad."
"This has eggs in it."
"So…?"
"I'm vegan, Finn, have you forgotten?"
"Eggs aren't vegan?"
Rachel scoffed and crossed her arms unbelieving. She knew Finn could be slow sometimes, but this? This was uncanny. She couldn't remember how many times she had told him she couldn't eat eggs, actually, she could; she had told Finn exactly eight times before that she could not eat dairy products of any sort, eggs included.
"He must really never listen to me."
"No, Finn, eggs are not vegan."
"Woah, wait, what's with the attitude; so I made a mistake, let's just get you another salad."
As the waiter kindly excused himself from the growing argument, Rachel glowered at Finn.
"I don't want another salad."
"You said you can't eat that one."
"God, Finn! Don't you get it? I don't want any salad! I want vegan eggplant lasagna, or sundried tomato basil pesto pasta, or spicy BBQ chickpea burgers! I want something real, not some soggy, limp rabbit food!"
Finn shifted nervously in his chair, eyeing the people who were stealing glances at their table, "Rach, can you lower your voice please you're making a scene; I'm not sure if they have that stuff you said here, but maybe there's something like it on the menu."
"No, I will not depreciate my volume Finn! How can you be so daft, so obtuse. I deservebetter than this. I deserve dates outside of Breadstix - that has absolutely nothing for me to eat - and outside of the brainless, ludicrous, puerile Lima Bowling Alley!
"Woah, woah, I didn't understand, like, six, of those words."
Rachel rolled her eyes, grabbed her purse and made a beeline towards the exit. She wasn't going to put up with this anymore. She was so done.
"Rachel! Rachel, wait! RACHEL!"
Finn grabbed Rachel by the upper arm and turned her around forcefully - not enough to hurt her, and she doubted he meant to do it in the manner he did but it didn't stop her from basically spitting in his face and yelling, "get your DAMN hands OFF of me, Hudson!"
Stuffing his large hands in his small pockets Finn eyed Rachel anxiously, as if he expected her to sprout vicious fangs and nails and claw him to shreds.
"Can we, like, talk about this please?" Finn teetered from side to side like a thick tree blowing in the wind. His eyes held confusion, sadness, and just a hint of anger as he continued to look down at the small woman in front of him.
"Okay, yes, we can contend," Rachel internally mocked Finn since he most likely didn't know that contend meant 'argue' instead of just 'talk' "what do you want me to say?"
"What happened in there? You haven't been listening to me all night, zoning in and out, it's kind of freaky to be honest, and then you just explode on me. I haven't done nothing!"
"That's exactly right, Finn, good job! You haven't done anything. Anything,Finn, anything is the correct term. By doing nothing you have effectively made me volatile! You take me to the same places over and over and over, and expect me to swoon just because I happen to be walking next to you. Let me just tell you, it gets monotonous doing the same thing every weekend. The fact that you ordered me a Cesar salad, Finn, is on a whole other level, too! It has eggs and cheese. Both being diary products that are made by poor cows that are holed in small decrepit living areas with a dreadful food supply!"
Rachel was absolutely fuming. She wasn't going to dumb down her vocabulary anymore, she wasn't going to put up with soggy salads, or smelly bowling alleys (not to mention the shoes!), and she definitely was not going to put up with Finn Hudson and his boorish ways anymore!
"Hey! I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know."
"Didn't know?" Rachel scoffed and threw her hands up, "Didn't know. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't know. That makes it all better, let's just go spend the rest of our night making out in the bed of your truck; my apologizes for "flipping the lid."
"Rach-"
The boy never had a chance…
"No, Finn! I'm done! I don't care if you "didn't know" you should have because I'm your girlfriend! You should know that I can't eat eggs because I've told you eight times before. You should know I don't like Breadstix because there is nothing on the menu suitable for me. You should know there is a perfectly good vegan-friendly restaurant down the road because even Quinn knew about it. You should know I'm tired of the same old dates every weekend because as my boyfriend you're supposed to pick up on those kinds of things! I stuck around thinking that this is the best that I was going to get, and then Quinn kindly reminded me that I deserve better. I don't deserve this, Finn! I don't deserve not being able to eat out where you take me - I actually eat dinner before I go out on dinner dates with you because I know otherwise I will be starving when I get home! I'm sick and tired of this, Finn, and I'm done. I'm done, okay? With everything. We're through."
Finn stood to his full height and roared, "Through?!"
The petite brunette stood her ground, "Yes, Finn, through."
"That's bullshit, Rachel! I haven't done nothing!"
"Anything, Finn! It's 'I haven't done anything'!"
"Who cares, Rachel!? I haven't done anything! Did Quinn have something to do with this?!"
Rachel scoffed, while yes, Quinn did make her realize that she was worth more than all the shit that was Finn, it was ultimately Finn himself that made Rachel want to leave his sorry ass.
"While Quinn did make me realize that I am worth more than what you put me though, she was not what made me break up with you. She didn't even mention the notion to me. I have already thoroughly explained to you most of the reason why I have made this decision."
The boy bellowed, "Bullshit!" and stormed off, leaving Rachel alone in the Breadstix parking lot with nothing but her purse, cell phone, and a few surprising tears falling down her cheeks.
Her hands fumbled with her phone as she quickly dialed the first number that came to mind - she had all of her contacts numbers memorized just in case of an emergency like this one.
Rachel heard soft music in the background as the call was answered, "Hello?"
"Quinn?"
Quinn's soft, caring voice rose an octave in slightly panicked concern, "Rachel? Is that you? Are you crying?"
"Maybe a little, I haven't the slightest idea why, though. I feel pretty good, actually. Lighter than I have in a long time. Maybe that's because I don't have a big two hundred and thirty pound boy dangling on my arm anymore, but I don't know."
"Wait, did you just say what I think you said?"
Rachel smiled an extremely small, sad smile, "Yes, it's official. I broke up with Finn, and you're the first person I've told."
"Well, I'm honored, but - I mean, are you okay?"
"Currently I'm stranded alone in the Breadstix parking lot, crying, with about fifteen people staring out the windows watching me… so no I'm not really okay on that whole front, but in regards to the Finn side I'm doing pretty well, I think."
"...Finn left you, alone, at night in a parking lot?"
Rachel looked around her dark surroundings and nodded even though she knew Quinn couldn't see, "While there are people and lights around me, it would seem like what you said is the case."
A softly muttered "I'm going to kill him" was uttered before Quinn told the brunette, "Go inside the restaurant lobby so you'll be safe. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
Immediately Rachel started back towards the building, suddenly acutely aware that the street lights were flickering on and off eerily and creepy howls were coming from the woods that weren't too far away. She gave Quinn a soft, "Thank you."
The blonde took a deep breath and allowed Rachel to hear the soft smile in her voice as she said, "Of course, Rachel, anytime."
With new makeup applied and a newly found lease on life, Rachel stood from the bench with a small, but strong, smile on her face as she saw a casual, shaggy haired - but stunning as always - Quinn enter through the double doors.
In her only twelve minute wait for Quinn, Rachel had done a lot of thinking; perhaps more thinking than she had done on the drive to Breadstix with Finn just about two hours ago.
She thought about Charlie, and how she really desperately wanted to talk to the girl. She thought about the mystery that surrounded the girl since there were no pictures on the blog of her, only tags and posts of her life, and reblogs with small tags that voiced her realest thoughts. She thought about how the poor girl wanted to connect with the love of her life, but didn't seem to think she had a chance anymore. She thought about how she wished she could help the girl realize that there's always a chance, even if she couldn't see it because life was full of surprises and opportunities and you'd never find those things if you didn't go after them.
She thought about how nice Quinn seemed to be towards her lately, negating the argument they had about a week ago. The girl thought that Quinn seemed to be finding 'her inner-self' and was becoming more intune with a deeper side. The blonde had seemed lighter than she had in years, and it made Rachel happy to know that things were looking up for Quinn.
But, then she switched over and thought of how beautiful Quinn was. She thought of how caring she was becoming, and though Quinn had put up a rough front through most of high school, Rachel was beginning to see that Quinn usually put a lot of her walls down around her. The blonde always let her vulnerable side show with Rachel, and really, Rachel loved that. She wanted to help Quinn, she wanted to be there for the girl. There always seemed to be a deep connection between the two; something always drawing them near each other. It didn't matter if it was in anger, compassion, friendship, or something else. It was always there, and it never stopped tugging. At least, that's what Rachel thought with her sixth sense and all.
The two met halfway across the lobby and pulled each other into a light hug, Quinn whispering to her above Rachel's ear because of the height advantage, "hey, are you okay?"
After the friendly hug ran it's course, they both stepped back and gave each other friendly smiles.
"Yeah, I'm doing good actually. It's been about twenty minutes since the break up, and honestly, I was surprised I even cried. I haven't felt this good in ages."
Quinn laughed and nudged her head towards the door, "Alright then, Ms. Newly-Single Rachel Berry, let's get you home. We can sing fun pop songs as loud as you want on the way there."
Rachel's body stilled and her head tilted to the side. "How did you know I like to do that?" she asked with a large smile.
"I do listen to you, you know," Quinn chuckled and grabbed Rachel's hand to drag her out the door, "Come onnnn, slowpoke!"
"She listens to me?"
"Okay, okay, so if you listen to me," Rachel started playfully, forgetting all about Finn and the breakup (like she already hadn't), "what's my favorite color?"
"You like people to think it's bubblegum pink because you think they will think that your real favorite color is weird. It's dark grey because it can be used for a sad color or a happy color, 'despite others beliefs'."
Quinn smiled and unlocked Rachel's door, opening it for the smaller girl, and while Rachel said, "thank you" all she wanted to do was scream, "She LISTENS to me!"
"You're right, how did you know that?" Rachel asked when Quinn got in on the drivers side, and noticed that Quinn seemed to become a bit tentative to answer, but as quick as she saw it, it was gone.
Quinn smiled confidently, "You told the Glee club when we were on our way to sectionals, Freshman year. Everyone was yelling over you, and you thought no one heard you, but I did."
Rachel felt shocked that Quinn remembered that. Not only was it a few years ago, but everyone had been screaming in a small confined space. It was insanely hard to hear over all of that, but somehow Quinn had heard that little piece of information. Rachel found it strange that her heart fluttered.
"Okay, okay, smarty-pants," Rachel smiled, "What is my… favorite song we have ever sang in Glee?"
"That's easy, 'Keep Holding On,' because that's when you felt Glee was finally coming together."
Rachel squealed and clapped her hands together excitedly, "I can't believe you actually knew that! I bet I have something about that song that you don't know though."
Rachel smiled over at Quinn playfully, and Quinn glanced over at her with a twinkle in her eye that Rachel had never seen before.
"Alright, hit me."
"It's also my favorite song because we were all singing it to you. You were so scared, Quinn, and I loved that I- we were all able to come together and be there for you."
"I- That…" Quinn had a small smile in her face and a couple unshed tears in her eyes as she parked in front of Rachel's house and turned towards the other girl.
"Rachel that means so much to me, you don't understand. Here's a secret for you okay," Quinn nudged Rachel's knee and met her eyes with a smile, "'Keep Holding On' is my favorite performance too, for all the same reasons as yours. When you all did that, I- Rach I didn't know what to do. It gave me the light in my heart that I needed."
Clasping Quinn's hand in her own, Rachel leaned over and whispered, "Wanna know a secret?"
This time Rachel did notice as Quinn's breath hitched and let out a strangled whisper, "Y-yes."
Not wanting to disconcert Quinn, she gave the blonde her huge, glowing smile, and whispered, "I'd do it again if I had to."
Then, a tear dropped from Quinn's shining, beautiful eyes. Rachel just smiled softly and brushed it away with the pad of her thumb, "I would. Thank you, Quinn for picking me up and giving me a ride. I owe you one."
The taller girl just smiled, wiped her eyes, and chuckled, "No, no, don't mention it. What're friends for, right?"
As the brunette exited the car she turned and smiled in at Quinn, "Friends?"
The blonde nodded and matched the smile back, "Friends, definitely. Bye, Rach."
"Bye, Friend!"
Rachel heard Quinn's melodic laugh as she shut the door. She couldn't be happier. The world seemed right, now. There was no lumbering boy asking to make out with her with his overly sloppy lips (it felt great, as if she was finally yelling 'timber!' to the teetering, overly-touchy tree in her life), Quinn Fabray knew things Finn didn't know about her, and she was about to go enjoy another round of looking at Charlie Q's blog.
Life was pretty great, and as Rachel walked through the threshold of her two story house with her father's laughing in the kitchen, all Rachel could think was,
"She listens to me!"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! If you're able please leave a review, it'd be so awesome to read your thoughts. I know you guys want to see Rachel and Charlie talk back and forth, and I promise, that will be what the next chapter is about. Hope you liked this chapter. Until next time!