Rachel Berry considered herself to be a very optimistic teenager. Lately though, she felt heavy and depressed, even more depressed than when her hamster died when she was five.
Jesse St. James: Star of Vocal Adrenaline, bad boy, heart throb, blah, blah, blah, had managed to steal her heart. She had fallen hard and fast. They were so similar. Both craved fame. Both were undeniably talented performers; however, they differed in one vital way.
Rachel Berry was loyal. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was not.
Rachel found herself simply going through the motions. She'd wake up, get on the elliptical and escape, the music pumping through her as her legs moved steadily to the beat.
Glee was the probably the hardest for her to endure. Sure, she could get herself through her regular classes because she is a devoted student and is incredibly focused, so focused that she forgets about her ex-boyfriend. In Glee, all the memories came flooding back.
It hurt too much.
Nevertheless, Rachel had no plans to abandon her teammates, so each week she returned faithfully to her friends.
Thursday, immediately after ninth period, Rachel arrived at Glee practice five minutes early. She headed towards the back of the room, plopped into her seat, and put her feet up on the chair in front of her. While she awaited the arrival of her fellow Glee clubbers, Rachel took out her binder and reviewed some of her future solos.
As the club members filed into the room, Rachel kept her eyes glued to her music, until she felt someone staring at her. When her eyes finally left her music, Rachel found Quinn Fabray gazing at her from the doorway.
Quinn played with the hem of her purple dress, her eyes hooked onto Rachel's for a fleeting moment before Quinn fled to her seat.
Today was Quinn's turn to do a funk number. The previous day everyone, excluding herself, had laughed at the ex-Cheerio for wanting to participate. Rachel left rehearsal furious at her teammate's rude behavior, and if that wasn't enough those idiot football players slushied Quinn less than five minutes later.
The look on Quinn's face as the cold drink ran down her porcelain skin made Rachel wince in pain. Then the blonde ran off into the bathroom, and Rachel had to follow her.
Rachel quickly ran to her locker and grabbed her emergency slushy kit before running into the bathroom. Her heart dropped at the sight in front of her. Quinn Fabray, the strongest most confident girl in school, was curled against the wall, quietly sobbing while the grape slushy covered her face.
"Quinn?" she asked hesitantly.
Ashamed of her emotions, Quinn tried to glare down the brunette. Rachel saw right through it.
"Can I help you?"
She inhaled deeply a steadying breath before explaining herself.
"I-I saw you- I saw you get slushied and run in here so I just followed you to see if you were okay. I know it- it hurts really badly, especially when it gets in your eyes or your bra. Those are the worst ones."
"I-I'm so sorry I put you through this, Rachel. I-I'm so sorry."
Rachel had never heard Quinn sound so broken before. Her heart threatened to break out of her chest as she took in the crumbling girl in front of her.
Remembering the bag in her hands, Rachel quickly offered Quinn one of her many gold star towels.
"It's from my emergency slushy kit. I figured you'd need it being as you probably were not prepared for the ambush. I myself was quite surprised that those Neanderthals had the audacity to do such a thing. You didn't even deserve it."
Quinn gaped at her. The air around them thickened as an uncomfortable silence lingered.
"Let me help. I am much experienced in the art of cleaning off a slushy. Do not fret. I have shampoo and extra clothes, although I don't know if you'll fit but-"
"It's okay," Quinn cut her off abruptly. "I have gym clothes I can wear."
Embarrassed, Rachel quickly put her skills to use. She pulled Quinn towards the sink carefully, being that the girl was with child, and placed her on a stool.
Her hands softly grasped the thin blonde locks and draped them over the cool sink. Once the water was warm enough, Rachel poured it over the blonde. Quinn immediately relaxed. It was adorable.
Suddenly, Rachel felt nervous. She was in the bathroom, washing Quinn Fabray's hair. She willed her hands not to shake as they tenderly massaged the slushy out of Quinn's hair. It felt like silk, and Rachel wondered what shampoo she used for it also smelled vaguely of apples.
Rachel dried Quinn's hair off with the towel before she helped the girl up.
And then they were staring at each other, and Rachel willed herself not to look away. Quinn bore into her with a grateful gaze. Rachel's heart swelled.
Suddenly, Quinn's face contorted with pain as her hand flew to her stomach. Rachel tensed. Something was wrong with the baby.
"What is it? Is she okay?" Rachel asked, trying to hide the obvious concern in her voice, and failing miserably.
"She's fine, Rachel. She's just kicking. I think the slushy woke her up."
Rachel's eyes gazed down at the girl's stomach. Her hands tingled with desire, but as Quinn looked at her curiously, Rachel found her nails to be much more important than the blonde.
"Do-do you want to feel her?" Quinn asked uneasily.
Rachel snapped her head up from her cuticles. Before she could stop herself she was kneeling down and moving her hands slowly to the stomach. Her hands moved hesitantly, searching earnestly for the baby. Then, out of nowhere, a sharp vibration hit her hand. Her heart stopped. Her eyes became cloudy with tears.
"I felt her," she all but whispered, taking in what was happening.
"Are-are you okay?" the blonde asked her with concern.
Rachel suddenly felt her cheek dampen. From a distance, she heard Quinn saying her name, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm okay," Rachel managed to get out, her throat suddenly dry, "These are happy tears. She's just, she's just so active. I mean, is she normally like that? Did I scare her or something?"
"I have to admit, she's never been this… active, but she's not scared. She's only scared when I'm scared. I think- I think she likes you actually."
Rachel felt the warmth spread across her cheeks. Quinn Fabray's baby liked her.
As Rachel sat with the rest of the club who all were curious as to what the blonde had prepared, she smiled at the memory.
Though Rachel believed Quinn's soft voice was not suited for a genre such as funk, she was looking forward to the blonde's performance, especially yesterday.
"Okay, Quinn," their teacher clapped, "It's your turn to show us your funky side. So, take it away," he added supportively.
Rachel looked over at Quinn as the cheerleader to a deep breath. The blonde pulled herself out of the chair and walked over to the microphone in the center of the room. Without a word, the music slowly began, the brass and strings blending together. Rachel instantly recognized the song. She held her breath as Quinn sang the opening lyrics.
Rachel's mouth opened slightly, letting the voice crash over her, drowning herself in the velvet and soft quality of that angelic sound.
Quinn stood alone, spotlight on her, and bared it all in front of the club. The emotion poured through her voice and seeped into Rachel. She shivered.
For the first time, Rachel and the glee club caught a glimpse at the pain the blonde was enduring, the pain they had all conveniently ignored for the past few months.
Rachel looked into Quinn's hazel eyes, losing herself in the swirling abyss, and Quinn's beauty overwhelmed her. Her hair was slightly pulled back by a headband. She donned a purple dress with a white sweater. The dress hugged around the swelling stomach that housed Quinn's child. She hit each note perfectly, her hand never leaving her stomach, as if she was holding on for dear life, like at any moment she'd lose her baby. Her golden hair fell perfectly at her shoulders. Quinn swayed and grabbed the microphone. Her soft angelic voice echoed through the room as Quinn belted out the final lines.
And that's when Rachel understood, truly understood, the reason behind Quinn's pain. She remembered the look on Quinn's face when she mentioned not seeing the baby so active.
It was a look of longing, desire, and love. Her heart wrenched as Quinn stood in the center of the room, her hand still caressing her stomach, tears welling up in her hazel eyes as she bowed her head suppressing a sob.
It was shocking. Quinn was invincible and confident, a cold-hearted bitch with no real emotion besides anger and hate.
The girl that stood in the center of the room in silence was nowhere near that Quinn.