AN: Hey, sorry it took longer than usual. The chapter isn't that long, but it's still longer than anything I've ever written before. I'm going to try to make the chapters longer from now on. Between that and school starting up again, updates will likely be more at this pace (which is still pretty often, I believe). It will probably be about once a week, though maybe a little slower. Again, thanks for the reviews and alerts. I really appreciate them, and if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to comment or message me.
When Quinn saw Rachel in the stands, she almost forgot the routine. Her hesitation was long enough to cause Santana and Brittany to crash into her.
"Q, what the hell?" demanded Santana angrily. She followed her best friend's stare and smirked. Looks like Britt might be right after all. But that was no excuse for messing up the routine. "Stop drooling over Berry and get your act together before Coach—"
The Latina never got to finish that sentence. A piercing whistle shrieked loudly, followed by the all-too-familiar sound of Coach Sylvester's blow horn. All the Cheerios winced.
"Why are my co-captains standing around chatting instead of doing their jobs? You think this is hard? Try giving birth in shark-infested water; that's hard! Q! S! Get your acts together!"
"Yes Coach!" The cheerleaders resumed their cheers, despite the fact that the football team was down by fourteen points and it was only the first quarter.
Santana glared daggers at Quinn, who smiled apologetically, her face burning. Brittany laid a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder, stopping her from saying anything more.
At her seat on the bleachers, Rachel was shaking in silent laughter, a hand masking the grin on her face. I hope this means that Quinn appreciates my outfit. Though truly, I had not expected such a dramatic reaction. I thought my attire was entirely normal for a high school football game. The diva glanced down at her dark skinny jeans and red-and-black plaid shirt.
In fact, the tiny brunette's clothing was typical for a teenage girl, which is exactly why Quinn had been surprised. The cheerleader had never seen Rachel in anything other than her usual skirts and animal sweaters, and the occasional formal dress. While Quinn always thought Rachel was beautiful, there was just something different about these clothes.
Shrugging, the singer settled back to enjoy the show.
On the sidelines, Quinn felt eyes on her. Scanning the crowd, she saw Rachel staring at her, a playful smirk on her face, and took a deep breath. This was going to be a long game.
"Hey Q, Britt and I will be at your house in, like, an hour. I hate locker rooms. We're going to shower at my place and pick up a few things first," Santana informed Quinn as all three girls were gathering their belongings.
Quinn shook her head, resigned, as her two best friends left together. Sometimes, fighting Santana just isn't worth it, she thought. And she does have a point—communal showers are kind of gross. Hopefully Rachel won't mind…
Deciding to shower at her house, Quinn grabbed her bag and exited the locker room, only to run into directly into the diva.
"Oh my God Quinn I'm so sorry!" Rachel exclaimed, reaching out to steady the blonde.
The cheerleader felt her heart race at the brunette's touch. "No it's my fault; I should have looked where I was going."
Rachel's hand rested on Quinn's arm a moment longer than necessary.
Suddenly they heard the voices of younger Cheerios as the locker room door opened again, and the singer let go. Don't embarrass the head cheerleader in front of her squad, Rachel reprimanded herself.
"Let's get out of here," Quinn suggested. "I'll drive?"
The diva agreed, relieved that the other girl was not upset. Quinn surprised both of them when—on impulse—she reached for Rachel's hand and led them to her car.
The drive home was comfortably quiet until, pulling into the driveway, Rachel said, "I'm really glad we will finally be able to talk privately, just the two of us, about what happened last week."
Quinn cursed internally. Shit. I forgot to tell Rachel.
"Um, Rachel? There's something I need to tell you..." Quinn mumbled guiltily.
Rachel's heart plummeted. "I understand, Quinn," she whispered. "You would prefer if we simply remain friends. Though it is not what I had wished, I would never pressure you into something that makes you uncomfortable, and I will respect your decision. However, I do not think I should be around you tonight, knowing that you only invited me out of pity. I knew this was too good to be true." The diva fought back tears.
Quinn blinked, trying to process everything the other girl had said. Rachel, taking her silence for agreement, reached for the car door.
"Wait!" yelled the blonde, finally realizing what Rachel thought she wanted to say. "Rachel, that's not what I needed to tell you!"
The brunette hesitated.
"Rachel, please look at me. Don't go." The desperation in Quinn's voice made the other girl turn.
"What is it, then? What did you need to say?" she asked quietly.
"I…I just wanted to tell you that Santana and Brittany are coming over later. They kind of invited themselves, and I forgot to tell you," Quinn admitted sheepishly.
"Oh…" Rachel flushed, completely embarrassed. "I…I apologize for my assumptions, Quinn. I just thought…"
The blonde squeezed the diva's hand reassuringly and wiped a tear from her cheek. Slender fingers grazed the corner of her mouth, and Rachel parted her lips as Quinn leaned in…
The cheerleader pulled back abruptly.
"Come on, let's go inside. I have to shower before Santana and Brittany get here." She jumped out of the car and practically ran to the house. The singer followed her, confused and slightly out of breath.
Rachel was flipping through television channels when she heard Quinn's phone vibrate. The brunette tried to ignore it, as the blonde was still in the shower, but the phone kept buzzing. Finally, Rachel decided to just answer.
There were four new text messages from "Satan" Lopez, all demanding that Quinn "Open the goddamn door before Britt gets pneumonia."
As the singer laughed, a new message came through, reading, "Q, I do not care if B is right and you are making sweet passionate love to Yentl right now. It's fucking freezing outside! OPEN THE DOOR."
Rachel's eyes widened and she ran downstairs to let Brittany and Santana inside, wondering, What did Quinn tell them?
Plastering a stage smile on her face, Rachel opened the door.
"Jesus, Q, what took so—oh. Hi Berry. Where's Quinn? Did your annoying rants drive her to suicide already?" Santana asked as she breezed inside.
"Sanny, you promised to be nice. Hi, Rachel!" Brittany beamed at the diva, who returned the look with a genuine, though smaller, smile of her own.
"That was nice!" protested Santana as all three trooped to the third floor. "I didn't call her Hobbit, or Dwarf, or Man Hands…Ow!" Rachel smothered a laugh as the Latina rubbed where Brittany had elbowed her. Santana flopped on the couch, sulking. The blonde dancer sat next to her and kissed her cheek, wiping the pout off her girlfriend's face.
Rachel stood awkwardly by the wall as the cheerleaders made up.
"I'm, ah, I'm going to go check on Quinn…" she said, edging toward Quinn's bedroom.
Santana waved a hand dismissively.
"Ask her what food she has!" Brittany suggested.
Rachel merely nodded and slipped into the hallway.
"Come in!" called Quinn, hearing the knock on the door as she finished towel-drying her hair. Her grin faded as she took in Rachel's anxious demeanor.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?" the blonde asked, motioning for the singer to sit next to her on the bed.
Staring at her lap, Rachel replied, "Nothing happened, exactly…Brittany and Santana have arrived, though…"
Quinn shot up from the bed, almost knocking over a stray art easel. "Did Santana say something rude to you? She promised to behave! If she did something to hurt you I'll—"
The brunette reached for the artist's arm, keeping her from charging into the main room and confronting the Latina.
"Wait! Santana didn't say anything any more offensive to me than usual, and Brittany chastised her."
Quinn sank back onto the bed. "Then what's bothering you, Rach? Something happened."
"Did you…did you tell anyone? About last week?" Rachel looked at the other girl, biting her lip.
"What? No, I didn't. Why do you ask?" The blonde frowned.
The diva hesitated. "Well, your phone wouldn't stop buzzing, so finally I opened it and you had several texts from Santana. They essentially all said that she was outside and wanted you to open the door for her and Brittany, though with much stronger language than strictly necessary."
Quinn's brow furrowed in confusion. "Okay…Why was that a problem? I know you've heard curse words before; we go to public high school. Or were you worried that you shouldn't have checked my phone without my permission? Because while I would prefer that you ask first, it's really not a big deal…"
Rachel shook her head and handed the other girl the cell phone. Both blushed as Quinn read the text message from Santana aloud: "Q, I do not care if B is right and you are making sweet passionate love to Yentl right now. It's fucking freezing outside! OPEN THE DOOR."
There was silence for a moment.
Quinn finally spoke. "I didn't say anything to Santana, Brittany, or anyone else. I didn't want to assume…I never…I wanted to talk with you first, Rachel. I'm sorry if Santana's text made you uncomfortable. I never meant for you to feel like I was expecting anything more…"
"What if I want there to be more?" the brunette whispered.
Hazel eyes flew open, and Quinn's heart thumped wildly. "Rachel, are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured. We don't have to—"
Rachel silenced the other girl with a kiss, both closing their eyes. The diva ran her fingers through short, slightly damp blonde hair, deepening the kiss. For her part, the cheerleading artist rested her hands on the singer's hips, pulling her closer.
Suddenly, the door banged open and the girls sprang apart.
Brittany and Santana stood in the doorway.
"They're so cute, San!" The bubbly blonde clapped her hands excitedly.
"Well, looks like you were right after all, B. Berry's totally gay for Fabray." The Latina smirked.
"Do mind?" Quinn demanded, trying to flatten her now-messy hair.
"Actually, I do. Britt-Britt's hungry and so am I and we wants some food. But at least I know why you didn't want us to come over tonight." Santana replied, chuckling at the dark glare her best friend sent her.
Quinn rolled her eyes and got up. "I've got some vegan pizza in the fridge that I just need to heat up." Ignoring the second part of her friend's comment, she sent an apologetic look to Rachel and helped her to her feet.
"Ugh. Vegan pizza? Really, Q? I don't care if you're trying to get into Berry's pants by impressing her with this; it better not taste like crap," warned the feisty co-captain.
Rachel looked offended. "Santana, I assure you, vegan pizza is delicious! And soy cheese prevents the abuse of poor defenseless cows that is inherent in the modern agribusiness."
"Regular cheese hurts cows?" Brittany asked, distressed.
The diva nodded.
The dancer gasped. "Sanny, we have to save the cows! We should be vegans too!" she declared.
Quinn herded the other cheerleaders out of the room before Santana could kill Rachel. Inwardly, the artist agreed with the Latina—cheese and bacon were the best foods ever—but she would be damned if she let anyone hurt her diva.
Since when did I think of her as mine? wondered the blonde.
As she followed her friends, who were arguing over the merits of veganism, Quinn felt Rachel touch her waist.
Leaning into the blonde's ear, the diva murmured, "In case you were wondering: I am impressed by the effort you've made for me. Very impressed."
With a slight nip to Quinn's ear, Rachel continued down the hall to rejoin the others, and Quinn was reasonably sure that this girl would be the death of her.
AN: Do you guys think I should continue this story? If you guys have any ideas for plot...I think in scenes more than in plot and plot arcs, so suggestions would be helpful. Also, should I change the rating to M? Right now it would be for cursing, but future chapters might have...plot aspects that require the stronger rating. Or should I leave it T for now, or keep the entire story T? Sorry, I'm new at this. Thanks!