I had a little bit of trouble writing this chapter but I hope that you all like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or Glee etc.
"What about this one?" Quinn asked for about the twentieth time. She was wearing a baby blue gown that had sequins over the chest, a band around the waist and layers of blue tulle dropping to the floor with sleeves to match. The girl walked out of the dressing room and stood in front of Santana and Brittany, waiting for them to critique her.
"It's too innocent," Santana said. The other girl was dressed in a slinky black, high-necked dress. She looked beautiful, elegant and deliciously sexy at the same time, bringing the bitter taste of jealousy to Quinn's mouth – she wished she could pull all that off.
Brittany, who had also yet to pick her dress smiled and said, "You look beautiful."
"Thank Britt, but you've said that about every dress I've tried on," Quinn sighed, she was never going to find a dress fit for the queen she was. The girls had driven to Columbus, the capital of Ohio to find their dresses because, not only were they imported from places such as New York and Paris, this way they could avoid the embarrassing situation of having the same dress as another girl, which was entirely possible somewhere as small as Lima.
"Not with that attitude!" Santana barked. She'd already found her dress and was reclined with a glass of champagne, scrutinising the others' choices and showing off her perfect legs down the long slit of her dress. "Next!"
Obediently, Quinn walked back into her dressing room and changed back into her own clothes. The day had started out fun with a road trip and the opportunity to try on many beautiful dresses, but it was starting to become a chore. She had yet to find the perfect dress and if she didn't, winning prom queen wouldn't follow. The dress was imperative. She made her way out of the dressing room and back to the front of the shop, scouring the racks and hoping that something would catch her eye.
Then it did. A beautiful red A-line sleeveless dress captured the girl's attention. It was long with red chiffon flowing down from the waist whilst the top was nude with beaded and sequined flower details over the breasts and under the band that would cinch in her small waist. Quinn was awestruck by its beauty. Shocked that she hadn't found it before, the girl pulled the dress off the rail and excitedly took it back to the dressing room.
She arrived just to see that Brittany had also picked out her dress - a floor length pale yellow garment with jewels all over the top. It was a colour that only Brittany could pull off it lit her up, making the girl look beautiful. Santana had gotten up and was staring at the girl with such admiration and it was clear that the two were having a private moment so Quinn silently swept past into her own dressing room, she would compliment Brittany later.
The girl pulled on the dress, smiling as she did. She just knew that this was the one. The material fit snugly around Quinn's enviable figure, hugging her around the waist. She couldn't quite reach to close the button so the girl made her way out of the changing room to ask one of her friends for help. She was met with two gasps that confirmed this was truly the perfect dress.
"Wow," Brittany gushed, unable to come up with her usual 'beautiful' line.
"You look so striking, Q," Santana complimented, "This is the one."
Quinn finally allowed herself to grin, "Brittany, I didn't mention this earlier but that dress makes you light up. You are so beautiful."
"Hey, hands off, no me gusta," Santana joked, helping Quinn to do up her dress so that the blonde girl could check herself in the mirror.
The contrast between Quinn's porcelain pale skin and the deep red hues of the material was extraordinary; she would definitely turn heads come Prom. She lifted the skirts of her dress and twirled, appreciating the intricate beading of flowers on both the front and the back of the dress. Though extortionate, the price of the gown was not an issue as Quinn's older sister, Frannie had promised to buy her prom dress as a gift since their father wasn't around to do so.
She smiled at her friends and lifted her arms, motioning for the other girls to come to her. The Unholy Trinity, dressed up to the nines, embraced. It was sad to think that they would be graduating soon, though their friendship wouldn't end, it had been a good four years together and Quinn would miss her best friends dearly. However, she couldn't let them hold her back either.
"Alrights then, let's pay and get back on the road!" Santana commanded, "Though one of you two might have to drive because momma's had a little too much champagne."
The three girls laughed and made their way over to the cash register.
Now that 'Prom buzz' had come to McKinley, Quinn needed to start her campaign. She was already ahead because she had her dress, so there was one less thing to think about, but now she was sticking posters up around the school.
Quinn had put a lot into these posters. She'd convinced Max to partake in and pay for a professional photo shoot for their campaign in exchange for allowing him to touch her breast and the promise that she would make it well worth it when they won. Though Quinn didn't intend to live up to that promise, it wouldn't matter by then because she'd already be prom queen. How easy it was to revert back to her manipulating self.
The A3 sized glossy sheets of paper had red backgrounds – alluding to the color of her dress – and had a picture of her and Max wearing crowns, real ones, not photo shopped on, with the words 'Vote Max and Quinn' in bold, cursive. There were five different posters because their photo shoot had produced many beautiful photos worthy of royals, which added some variety that no one else would have. Though Max was a jerk, he was definitely handsome and it was undeniable that the pair looked good together, so he was perfect for her campaign.
Quinn was sticking a poster on the door to the boy's bathroom, when it opened, causing her to call out and reel forwards as she'd been leaning on the door. She fell into the broad chest of a muscular footballer. "Oh, hi Shane," she smiled weakly.
The boy held Quinn close for a moment, to steady her, before gently setting her back on her feet with his strong arms. The blonde girl couldn't help but notice how sweet he was, he hadn't made a fuss, he hadn't laughed at her, he'd just helped her. She was thankful that Mercedes had such a kind boyfriend, which made her feel less guilty for lusting over Sam. Quinn couldn't help but think that part of the reason why Mercedes ultimately chose Shane was due to her own confession of liking the goofy blond boy. Though it wasn't the reason Quinn refused to be with Sam, it was something that egged in her mind.
"You alright, Quinn?" Shane asked.
Quinn smiled sheepishly, "I'm fine, thanks for stopping me from falling.. though I guess you were the reason I fell in the first place!" the girl joked.
"What were you doing leaning against the door to the boys' toilets?" Shane asked, before turning and looking at the poster that had just stuck on the door, "Oh, Prom campaign." He answered for himself.
"Yeah.." The girl nodded, not giving any further detail. She knew that boys weren't into prom the same way girls were – sure it was cool if they won Prom King and had a beautiful girl on their arm, but the event didn't hold the same kind of prestige as it did to girls, especially girls like Quinn.
However, Shane shocked her "Here, I'll help you," the boy said kindly, taking half of the posters from Quinn's arm.
"Thanks," the girl smiled radiantly. The pair walked down the hallway, in the direction of the cafeteria, "Aren't you helping the enemy here?" she asked, partly to make conversation, but also out of genuine curiosity as to why Shane was helping her – Max outright refused – was it simply to be nice?
"No, of course not," Shane answered definitely, "You and Mercedes aren't enemies. You're best friends, and I don't think she's interested anyway. She's a diva in her own right and she doesn't need to prove it to anyone."
Quinn smiled when she heard the boy talking about her friend, it was so clear that he loved her and she hoped that they were happy, though she couldn't help but wonder if Shane thought that she was trying to 'prove' something. "I'm not proving anything to anyone," The girl replied, a little too defensively, "Winning Prom Queen is a tradition in my family, not that I have to explain myself to you". Realising that she'd been bitchy and rude to someone who was actually trying to help her, Quinn quickly changed the subject, "How is 'Cedes? We haven't spoken much recently."
"She's good," Shane smiled, "She's been given a solo at Glee for nationals – you should come and watch, I am – and my uncle knows a guy who owns a record label. It sounds a bit sketchy but I'm trying to hook them up so she can really shine after graduation. We're better now too, I don't really know what happened but she went all distant last month, but it doesn't matter because we're in a good place again."
Quinn nodded, taking on board all the information; going to nationals was tempting, but honestly, the girl would want to go there and sing, not watch all the others have fun. She could feel her tough exterior melting away at the thought of the Glee club and sighed heavily, the things she wanted were so paradoxical - being on top and in Glee was unimaginable, as was being with the boy she really wanted.
"Er, Quinn?" Shane prompted.
"Oh sorry," the girl shook her head, "I was lost in thought for a moment. I'm happy for you guys." They had just walked into the cafeteria so Quinn pointed to exactly where she wanted the posters and set Shane to work.
It was a relaxed afternoon; Shane was so easy to talk to, despite the fact that Quinn hardly knew him. She was happy that he loved Mercedes so obviously, which reduced the guilt she felt over her feelings for Sam. It was undeniable now, because she spent the whole afternoon hanging posters of herself and Max, but all she could do was imagine that the boy standing next to her was Sam.
A/N: Thanks for reading!
I've posted links to the photos of Quinn's, Santana's and Brittany's dresses in my profile for anyone who's interested! (The blue one described is the one that Quinn actually wore in Prom Queen 2x20)
As mentioned, I had a bit of trouble choosing which boy Quinn was going to fall in to but decided that Sam was too cliche and we all hate Max so no. But I think Shane worked well as he serves to tie off Mercedes' role in the story. But please let me know what you think- questions, comments, and criticisms are always welcome!