A/N :: Ten Reviews! I hit ten reviews! As a reward, you get chapter four, and it's longer than all the others!
So, this chapter is partly Quinn's point of view on the duet last chapter, but mostly Quinn and Rachel trying to keep the secret of what happened between them, just that, a secret, while not quite caring that they are showing obvious signs that something happened.
Sue makes an appearance this chapter! Which excites me, because I love Sue, and I think I portray her rather well.
Disclaimer :: I do not own Glee, it belongs to Ryan Murphy, an evil man that does not know how to treat characters the right way.
Quinn heard Rachel begin to falter and immediately, without a second thought, picked up the song, not even caring that everyone would question what exactly it meant. To Quinn, it meant that she was there for Rachel, that she was sorry for everything that happened between them, for hurting her, for breaking her heart, for slamming that door in her face after that stupid fight. She knew it would take a long time, a very long time, for Rachel to trust her again, and for her to trust herself with Rachel again, but she was ready for a second chance, provided Rachel was ready to give it to her. Thus, she sang those words with everything she had; hoping Rachel would understand the point she was trying to get across.
As the song wrapped up, Quinn set the guitar on the ground and turned her full attention on Rachel, who was still crying. Instinct told her to open her arms, and she did, what she did not expect was Rachel to fall into them so quickly. She wrapped her arms around the brunette, holding her close, taking in her scent, vanilla and strawberries. It reminded Quinn that no matter how much they had changed, no matter how old they became, that one thing would always stay the same, their choice of the scent they wore. Sure, Quinn had gone through many phases with her scent, from exotic dragon fruit, to simple vanilla, but she always returned to cinnamon and spice. She figured it was the same with Rachel, especially after everything that had happened over the past ten years.
Sitting there, Rachel in her arms, Quinn felt at peace, and she soon found herself rubbing circles on the brunette's back with her thumbs. "Shh, come on now Rach, everything will be okay. Shh, I'm here, no need to cry," Quinn whispered into Rachel's hair, which, for a moment caused the brunette to cry harder, but as Quinn continued to rub circles and whisper, the crying died away, to sniffles. Soon enough, Rachel was lifting her head from Quinn's shirt, eyes red and puffy. The two separated a little, and Quinn used her now free hand to wipe the tears from Rachel's face, a small smile on her own.
"I ruined your shirt," Rachel whispered, and Quinn chuckled, causing the brunette to look up at her, as if confused.
"It's not like you haven't done it before, and this shirt is nothing special, so don't worry about it Rach," Quinn whispered back, not even realizing that while she and Rachel were having their moment, everyone was staring at them and whispering to each other. Quinn did overhear Santana say something about Kurt owing her money, which snapped her to her senses somewhat. She turned her attention away from Rachel for a moment, and the moment fell apart. Everyone was staring at them, eyebrows raised, Puck had that look on his face that told Quinn he was all too interested in what was going on, Santana, Kurt, Mercedes, and Blaine all held similar expressions. The rest of the group, except for Brittany, who seemed to have a rather, well, knowing, look on her face, seemed confused. Quinn let go of Rachel and stood up, grabbing the guitar and the stool and returning them to where she found them, Rachel did the same with her stool, and the two took their seats.
"Okay, someone explain to me what just happened," Tina broke the silence, and every eye in the room turned to her, well, almost every eye, two sets turned to each other, both frightened, the hazel pair of eyes, was the first to break away.
"Well, Rachel and Quinn used to-" Brittany began, before a rather menacing glare from Quinn cut her off.
"Nothing happened, Tina. Can a friend not comfort another friend without something being up?" Okay, so that came out less convincing than Quinn wanted it to, but she had to hope it worked, and it did, for Tina. Santana, however, knew better.
"Yeah right Q, you and Rach haven't spoken in years, and that level of comfort is more than the 'just friends' type of comfort, I should know," the Latina piped up, countering Quinn's glare with a smirk. Santana caught her, but Santana did not need to know that, no one needed to know that. Thus, Quinn rolled her eyes, and looked at her watch.
"Keep dreaming Lopez, but do so on your own time. We have reservations at Breadstix at eight and it's already seven-thirty, so, and I doubt I'm alone here, but even if I am, I am heading to Breadstix. You all may join me if you wish," Quinn said matter-of-factly, before standing and heading towards the door, just managing to catch the "told you so," that escaped Santana's mouth. Her eyes rolled and she resisted the urge to flip the Latina the bird, because honestly, she was better than that.
Upon arriving at Breadstix, the group found themselves in the very back of the restaurant, at a large table that consisted of many smaller tables pushed together. Sue Sylvester joined the group, faking an apology about missing the meeting at the school. Quinn, of course, sat next to Sue, per the older woman's request, or rather, demand, who sat across from Shue. Next to Shue, across from Quinn was Rachel, who somehow smooth-talked Joe into sitting at the other end of the table, alone. Next to Quinn and Rachel were Artie and Puck; next to them were Brittany and Santana, then Mercedes and Sam, Kurt and Blaine, Mike and Tina, Rory and Sugar, and finally, Joe, all on his own. Quinn found herself smiling when Artie wheeled himself up next to her, because she knew she would not be able to stand sitting directly next to Puck all night long, sitting across from him was bad enough.
"So, Artie, are you and Puck in business together, or?" Quinn asked, trying to start some polite conversation, without talking to Puck. Artie nodded at her, and sadly, opened the floor up for Puck to speak. "Yeah, we met up a few years ago, he is going to direct my movie, you should play the lead Q, what do you say?" Puck asked, and it was obvious to Quinn he was trying his hardest not to ask her what everyone was dying to know.
"Depends on the movie Puck, and what I am doing, but we'll see," she replied, making sure not to give the man a chance to ask what his brain wanted him to. However, because it was, once again, his turn to speak, she knew he would likely ask the question.
Lucky for Quinn, or maybe not, Sue asked it first. "So, Q, what is with you and Rachel over there? She keeps looking at you expectantly, and frankly, it is making me sick." At this, Quinn's eyes met Rachel's, both women turning a deep shade of scarlet, before their eyes seemed to speak with each other, each one begging the other not to say a thing. "Earth to Q, having a staring contest with her was not what I was asking for, now speak!" the woman demanded, and Quinn jumped to attention in her seat, as did Santana and Brittany, as well as Kurt, Mercedes, Blaine, and Tina, though the latter four people, only to a degree.
"Sorry Sue. Nothing is going on, no matter what everyone else thinks. We just have not seen each other-" 'since I slammed the door in her face when she came to apologize for freaking out over what happened between me and Santana at Shue's Valentine's wedding fiasco,' her mind filled in and her eyes went wide, because that was something she had not admitted to herself, or anyone, since it happened.
"No need to explain to her, or anyone, if there were anything going on Quinn, but if I am being frank, Ms. Sylvester, we just have not seen each other in a very long time, and we have a lot of catching up to do. Isn't that right Quinn?" Rachel cut in quickly, saving Quinn from completely spilling everything that sat rather precariously on her tongue. Quinn simply nodded, wondering if Rachel had always been able to lie so well, but then, it was not really a lie, so much as a withholding of truth, right? Right and that meant that Quinn was still safe, for the moment.
"Well, isn't someone playing defense, are you two sure there is nothing going on?" Sue asked, eying them both curiously.
"Yes, we're sure, or at least I am, what about you Quinn?" Rachel said in her 'I've had enough of this' voice.
"Yes, we are, now please, leave us be, we do not go snooping into your-" Quinn paused for a moment, unsure exactly what she wanted to say, "-life, when something strange happens," she finished off, using her best 'Ice Queen' tone and semi-glare. Sue chuckled a little, but let the matter drop, which Quinn was thankful for, because if they kept at it, everyone would know about what went down between her and Rachel all those years ago. That was something none of them had the right to know about, but especially not one Sue Sylvester, because that woman knew how to use information to tear people down, and did so, or Quinn assumed she still did so, on a regular basis.
Thank you for reading. Please review. I am open to all criticism, provided it is constructive, so do not flame.
The next chapter should be up soon, likely tomorrow, considering the pace at which I have been writing.
Also, chapters five and six will have flash backs, so all of you who have been waiting for one, prepare yourselves!