Rachel peered across the empty theater, looking at the deep red seats spread across. She sighed and started to sing, soaking in her voice hitting against the walls. She finished the song and placed her head in her hands, feeling like she was never going to get the song right. She walked backstage where a couple of the dancers were getting dressed for clubbing.
"Why don't you come out with us, Rachel?" The tallest one, Miranda, smiled at her while putting on a pair of hoops. Rachel stared at the scuffed, black floor and shook her head. "No, I need to get some rest. We just opened the show, so I need to get as much as possible." Miranda gave a sideways glance to one of the other dancers, Zoey. "You just sound like a broken record Zoey, Rachel NEVER wants to go out." The short one, Lisa, said.
Rachel gulped and fingered her star necklace. She didn't know how to react around the dancers. They all seemed to hate her because she was the lead in a fresh, new musical and some small town girl from Ohio. They were from other parts of New York and they had been dancing all their lives. They didn't think a simple girl from Ohio deserved the lead role. Miranda only talked to her out of sympathy.
"Uh, yeah. I should be going." Rachel speed walked over to her dressing room and shoved several things in her large red satchel. She bit on her lip, trying to keep herself from crying. You hardly let people get to you in Lima, why are you doing it here? She tied her hair into a bun and quickly walked to the backdoor of the stage.
Stepping into the winter night, Rachel wrapped a scarf around her neck and fished her cell phone out of her bag. She saw she had a missed call from Kurt. He probably needed somewhere to stay. Ever since coming to New York, Kurt had dropped his dreams of becoming a Broadway star. Once he met a rich, older guy who could take care of him, it's as if his ambition was completely lost. She hadn't talked to him lately. It's like the cute, innocent boy she knew in high school was completely gone. Now he was just some stereotype of a young, bit city gay.
When she got into her apartment, she saw that her roommate Penelope had already gone to sleep. She quietly shut the door and walked over to the counter to get herself a glass of water. She peered in the cupboard and sighed when she saw several reflections of herself in the various glasses. Lately she felt like she didn't know if all the strife and eagerness she had as a young schoolgirl was there anymore. Like maybe this isn't what she wanted to do. She shut her eyes and quickly grabbed a glass, slamming on the faucet.
After a quick shower, Rachel slipped into bed and stared at the dark grey ceiling. She heard the traffic outside the window and light from all the neon signs crept through the curtains. She focused on her breathing and tried to get to sleep, wanting the worries of the day to disappear.
Quinn smiled at herself in the mirror. The crowd in the front was making a low mumbling noise and she pinched her cheeks to add a bit of color.
"Hurry up Quinn, the curtain rises in five minutes!" The stage director squeezed her shoulder. She nodded and fixed her hair back into place as fast as she could. She ran next to one of her co-stars on her queue. The music started and she smiled widely.
After the show, Quinn got into some more comfortable clothes and went to meet up with her co-stars for the after party. She was in a small educational play that her theater group had come up with. It was a little cheesy and melodramatic, but it was better than nothing.
At the restaurant, Quinn eyed the menu while the others talked about the play. She looked up and saw one of the male co-stars, Adam, looking at her. She smiled and looked down at the white plate in front of her. She hadn't been with a guy or anyone in awhile, so she didn't know how to react when they seemed to be flirting with her. She rubbed the handle of the fork and felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked up and saw the director, Ben, opening his arms to have a hug.
"You did so great!" He said, pushing up his glasses. "Thanks so much." She brushed the bottom part of her dress down to sit. He sat across from her and smiled. "What?" She asked, adjusting her headband. "I'm just so glad I chose you as the female lead." He put his hands on his cheeks. She chuckled, not wanting to be praised. "Thank you. I'm also glad you chose me." She gave a small sarcastic smile. She looked over and saw Adam staring at her again. She fiddled with her pearl studs.
Later on, Ben stood up and raised a wine glass. "Let's have a toast, for the whole cast!" The rest of the table stood up and Quinn looked over at Adam once again. He was still looking at her. Quinn raised her glass and yelled out 'cheers' with the cast. She took a sip and went back to messing with her salad.
Quinn peered around the front of the restaurant, waiting for the valet to get her car. "Hey…" she heard someone whisper. She turned around and saw Adam smiling back at her. "Hey." She said coolly, slipping her coat on. He looked down, a tad embarrassed. "I couldn't take my eyes off of you tonight." She chuckled and turned around, messing with her earring again. "Okay. So what, you wanna ask me on a date?" She wrapped her scarf around her neck stuck her hands in her pockets. She grazed the handkerchief inside with her finger. "Yeah." He smiled bigger and softly grabbed her arm. "Fine, what time and when?" She laughed, thinking of how long it had been since she went on a date. "This Friday, here, at seven." He chuckled, fog escaping his mouth. "Okay, here on Friday at seven." She nodded. Adam gave her his number and she got into her car.
At her apartment, she threw her coat on the coach and dragged her feet across the creaky wooden floor. She was exhausted and had two more shows to do this week. She wasn't sure why Ben thought a play about bullying needed to be two and a half hours long. There was only so much you could say about the subject without pushing the envelope. But she was the lead and it paid decently. She rubbed her forehead and fished for the play's traveling schedule in her bedside table. She peered and saw that in two weeks she would be flying to New York to perform at a dramatic arts high school.
She suddenly remembered that Rachel was in New York. She rolled onto her back and peered at the ceiling. She remembered the summers and moments they shared with each other. Her young, eighteen year old self had believed Rachel would leave Finn and finally admit her feelings to the world for Quinn. But that wasn't how it went. Finn and Rachel stayed engaged for two years until they realized how stupid it was to be getting married that early. They broke up and went their separate ways, Rachel staying in college and Finn moving back to Ohio to work at Burt's auto shop. After that fiasco, Quinn realized the drama stressed her out and had a long conversation with Rachel one spring break. She asked her if she could finally be comfortable with her sexuality and feelings. Rachel had acted like she would think about it, but Quinn woke up the next day to find the spot in the motel bed next to her empty and a note on the pillow. Rachel had flown back to New York to 'gather her thoughts' and they hadn't talked since. She ignored all of Rachel's calls and texts, all her Facebook messages and emails, she didn't read anything that had 'From: Rachel' on it.
It had been six years since they had last seen each other and Quinn felt like that was long enough. But how was she supposed to meet Rachel? Did she even want to? She was going to New York to perform, not to try to rekindle an old flame. Maybe she would just 'happen upon' Rachel. She laughed at that thought, because while New York was not that big of a place, it was full of several of hundreds of people.
She tossed the paper back in the drawer and shut off the light, not bothering to take off her makeup or dress. Maybe she would 'happen upon' Rachel.