Jesse St. James opened his umbrella as he walked through the Carmel High parking lot. It was 9:30pm and Vocal Adrenaline had just finished their six-hour rehearsal.
The boy approached his Range Rover with a confident stride. As he was about to unlock the door a fist collided with his nose, sending him flying into the pavement.
Jesse laid on the ground for a few seconds, but quickly he was back on his feet eager to avenge his attacker; but no one was there. It was pitch black, completely silent.
"Who's there?" he cried out, attempting to instill some fear in his attacker.
All of a sudden the same fist punched him right in the groin, causing Jesse to collapse to his knees, his hands clutching his pelvis as the agony overtook him. Then he heard footsteps approaching him, his vision clouded by his tears. His body stilled as he prayed for mercy.
The lights in the parking lot snapped on and standing before him was a woman, clad in a pink baby doll dress and matching cardigan, a hand laid protectively on her bloated stomach. She shook her other hand out, but no pain could be detected in her expression, only anger, pure unadulterated anger. He recognized her immediately.
"Jesse St. James," she said calmly, her eyes piercing his face.
"What do you want you pregnant bitc –"
A blunt kick to the stomach cut the boy off.
"Listen up, St. Dickhead, because I am not going to repeat myself. Stay the hell away from Rachel Berry."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
She growled at him.
"Don't play stupid with me, St. James. I know what you did. We all do. Are you really stupid enough to egg her when you knew she is vegan? So, not only does that make you a complete idiot, it makes you are a manipulative bastard. Breaking up with her before Regionals? Real original, St. Douchbag. You didn't deserve her. Now get the hell out of here, and if I so much as see you within twenty feet of her, next time you won't be conscious to see me leave. Now, fuck off, asshole."
With that, the girl stormed off into the night, her ballet flats clicking off the pavement as she held her throbbing hand. The moonlight reflected off of her blonde hair as she left a dumbfounded Jesse lying on the pavement, bloody and confused.
-/-
Rachel was splayed out on her bedroom floor. Countless books encompassed her as she worked on her science project.
Whenever she was upset, her fathers brought her a glass of water and then she threw herself completely into her schoolwork. As of now, she was two weeks ahead in just about every class. She sighed as she glanced over at the clock. It had been two days since Jesse had ambushed her in the parking lot. The nightmares hadn't stopped.
Her eyes wandered from her project to a bejeweled cell phone lying on her carpet. She had all of the Glee kids' numbers, but no one bothered to call her to see if she was okay. Sure, the guys had threatened to kill Jesse and Mr. Schue had made them work on a funk number that would blow Vocal Adrenaline away, but it didn't change the fact that all she really wanted was someone to talk to.
She picked up the device, flipped it open and immediately began going through her contacts. Quickly she scrolled down to the contact she'd viewed at least ten times within the last hour, except this time she hit send.
The instant her thumb hit the green button her heart rate increased. What if she didn't answer?
"Hello?"
"Quinn?" Rachel squeaked.
"Yes. Rachel?" Quinn asked, breathing heavily into the phone.
"Oh-I- I'm sorry, Quinn. I didn't expect you to answer. Are you alright? You seem out of breath."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm fine, Rachel. What's up?"
"Are you sure?" she asked doubtfully. "You should not be exercising vigorously in your condition. I specifically remember telling you if you needed any help finding exercise that would better suit the needs of you and your unborn child that you should contact me because I have many pamphlets that would-"
"Rachel!"
"Yes?" Rachel asked quietly, regretting being so blunt.
"I'm fine. Look, I'm sorry but I'm kind of in the middle of something."
Rachel's heart dropped. Of course Quinn was busy. It was a school night after all.
"I-I'm sorry for bothering you. It won't happen again. Goodbye."
"Wait!"
Rachel stopped midway through closing her phone.
"You weren't bothering me. I-it-it's just a bad time that's all. Don't take it personally."
"Okay," Rachel breathed with relief.
"And Rachel?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay? That Jesse kid was a total jerk, you've seemed kind of upset these past two days."
Rachel sighed into the phone loudly.
"I'm perfectly fine, Quinn, though I appreciate the concern."
"Okay… well, see you tomorrow then," Quinn said, not buying a word of Rachel's dismissal of her question.
"Goodnight, Quinn."
"Night, Rachel."
Rachel wasn't okay. She was heart broken. Jesse had been her dream guy. He hurt her when he egged her, humiliating her in front of Vocal Adrenaline. He tricked her, fooled her into loving him, into trusting him. He strung her along and dumped her so Vocal Adrenaline would win and New Directions would lose. A tear slid down her cheek.
"No," she said stubbornly as she wiped her eyes, "I am fine."
-/-
The hallway was packed with students as they all raced towards their ninth period class. Quinn was shoved and pushed, the students no longer parting like the Red Sea for the ex-Cheerio. Finally the hallway emptied, leaving Quinn alone at her locker. She put her books away, grabbed the ones she'd need tonight, and shut the metal door.
Just as she was about to go to the library, Quinn heard something in the distance, a piano accompanying an all-to-familiar voice.
Quinn turned around immediately and headed for the auditorium. Her flats clicked against the floor, the noise echoing through the halls. Her baby was rolling around, probably sea sick from Quinn's rapid pace.
Quinn slowly entered the auditorium and snuck backstage, hoping the brunette wouldn't notice her. She pulled the curtain and her eyes landed on the piano and the girl playing it. The music, the lyrics, her voice filled Quinn up to the brim with sadness and heartache.
Rachel shuddered slightly and her voice cracked, but she continued with the song. The pain was more than audible in her normally perfectly trained voice. It took everything Quinn had not to rush over to the brunette and comfort her, but she waited until the song ended.
Finally, Rachel played the final piano part, shaking with each note. She let the notes ring through the auditorium, as her foot remained cemented to the pedal. Her head bowed and her petite frame shook. Quinn slowly walked over to Rachel as quietly as she could, but she slipped a bit and her shoe squeaked, causing Rachel to whip her head around and face the blonde.
"Quinn?" she cried as she viciously tried to conceal her tears.
"Hey, Rachel," Quinn said softly as she made her way to the piano. "Can I sit here?"
All Rachel could do was nod as Quinn took her place next to Rachel.
"I didn't know you could play the piano."
"Well, my father wanted me to have experience in several varieties of music and arts. I can play piano, sing, dance, and act. I am a quadruple threat."
"A quadruple threat?" Quinn said, suppressing a giggle.
"Yes! That is what my Daddy told me. What?" she said defensively.
"Nothing, nothing. It's just cute."
Rachel blushed at the complement. Quinn averted her gaze with a shy smile, and a silence lingered in the air until Rachel broke it with a serious subject change.
"Quinn, I need to tell you something," she said quietly avoiding the hazel eyes staring intently at her.
Quinn nodded. "Okay."
"I- I talked to Jesse last night, after I called you."
"And?" she said carefully, trying not to panic.
"He said that he got beat up in the parking lot last night." She paused dramatically. "By a girl... a blonde, pregnant girl who knew everything that he has done to me."
Quinn stared at the floor. Rachel wasn't supposed to find out. This morning she had even put make up on her hand so that no one would see the cuts and bruises she had from punching Jesse.
"Quinn," Rachel whispered. She lifted up Quinn's face, forcing the blonde to look her in the eye.
"Why did you do that?"
Quinn backed away from Rachel's touch.
"I-I don't know," she whispered back, a tear running down her cheek, "I heard about what he had done to you, the egging and everything. I don't know. I just got so mad and before I knew what I was doing I was punching him in the face and it- it just pisses me off the way he used you. You deserve so much better than that, Rachel."
Rachel smiled softly.
"Thank you, Quinn. As much I appreciate what you have done, it was out of line. Sure, Jesse broke my heart, but that doesn't mean you have the right to beat him up, although it is pretty flattering."
Quinn blushed and nodded in agreement.
"I'm sorry," Quinn breathed.
"I know."
Rachel moved her hand to touch Quinn. It gently rested upon Quinn's hand, sending a spark through Quinn. Her heart was pounding.
The baby gave her a sharp kick.
Quinn looked into Rachel's swirling brown eyes, eyes that were staring into her so deeply it took Quinn's breath away. Hazel eyes drifted towards a pair of pink lips once again.
She shouldn't want this; but she did.
Slowly, Rachel intertwined their fingers, leaning her forehead against the blonde's. The smell of Rachel intoxicated Quinn, her mind suddenly clouded with lust.
Rachel's breathing was heavy, matching Quinn's equally labored breath. The baby kicked once more. Their lips were less than a centimeter apart, and Quinn could practically taste the girl's lip-gloss.
"Quinn," Rachel breathed as her hand moved to caress Quinn's cheek, her thumb rubbing her soft skin.
Their lips touched sending an electrical burst through each girl's body. They fit perfectly, like they were made for each other. Rachel kissed tenderly and gently, unlike Puck who was rough and dominating, unlike Finn who was so scared that he barely moved his lips at all.
This was different; it was erotic, yet controlled. Rachel slowly pulled back, her breathing still heavy. Brown eyes pierced Quinn's hazel ones, and what she saw stopped her heart.
Fear, pure, unadulterated fear. Quinn's eyes shut tightly as she realized what she had just done. Rachel could see she was holding her breath. The beat of her heart changed from rapid to uneven. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
"Quinn?"