There's A Girl
Chapter 4- Playing with Pandora's Box
A/N: Again, sorry for how long it took. I got distracted with life. It has a way of doing that sometimes, you know. Well, anywho there it is. Fourth chapter. Enjoy :)
"I bide my time while biting my tongue.Hold closed my mouth so song is unsung"
Quinn pulled into her driveway and parked far off to the left. That was her place, and then her mother would pull into the garage and her father would park next to Quinn. It had always been that way. The Fabray's were a very traditional family, very strict and methodical. Her father was a second-class petty officer with the US Navy. Like she knew what that meant. He would typically be gone most of the time, long tours of at least five months. However, now he had been reporting to the local base. Quinn was not quite sure what was going on, but she did not really care.
The blonde took one more gathering breath before shooting a smile at Rachel and stepping out of the car. Quinn opened the back door and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She walked around to Rachel's side of the car and opened the door. She was polite when she was not being a bitch. Oxymoron? Yes, she knew. Regardless, she held the door open for Rachel as the somewhat surprised brunette collected her things and got out. Quinn smiled at her again before leaning in to close the door. She got a tad to near to Rachel and she could smell the brunette perfume.
She pulled away and looks Rachel in the eye again, blankly. Quinn's thoughts were swimming for a brief second and she became disoriented for a brief second. The close proximity and the smell had thrown her off guard. She did not expect to be so immediately affected by the brown-haired girl. She turned around and began to walk up the pathway to her front door. She could feel Rachel's eyes on her as she walked.
"Coming?" Quinn asked, smiling when she got to the door.
"Yeah, of course" Rachel replied as she picked up a CD she had dropped. She checked it over to make sure it wasn't broken. Then Rachel made her way up Quinn's walk and stopped at the front door.
Quinn struggled with getting the key to turn. Sometimes it would get stuck, normally it only happened when it was cold but sometimes it happened for no reason. You would have to turn it back and forth until it eventually clicked past locked and you could open the door.
"I got it," offered Rachel, taking the key in the lock and subsequently brushing Quinn's hand.
Quinn could feel the small touch like a white-hot fire against her hand. She looked immediately up at Rachel again, but Rachel did not notice the look Quinn gave her. It was a look of shock. Quinn knew she had been avoiding her own thoughts, but immediately she thought of how the burning sensation would feel across her entire body.
When Quinn heard the click of her lock, it snapped her back to reality. She followed Rachel through her front door. She glanced at a pile of mail on the floor, but ignored it. She would grab it later. She just followed Rachel, still in somewhat of a shock from the heat of the touches and the thoughts they had brought. Quinn did not realize how infatuated she had been until now.
Rachel admired Quinn's house as they pulled into her driveway. It was well done, in a modern, classy, upper class style. Rachel appreciated the obvious dedication that had been put into the modeling of the front yard. The water fountain was probably something of an Italian nature. A style modeled possibly after "Teatro alla Scala", an Italian opera theater in Milan, Italy. Found in 1778 after the previous opera house burned down. Not that Rachel had studied it or anything.
She looked over at Quinn and Quinn smiled at her. Rachel gave a shy smile back. She then continued to admire the yard before she noticed that Quinn had approached her door and was opening it. She looked surprisingly at the cheerleader. Alternatively, the ex cheerleader. Anyways. She was surprised by the kind act. She put her CD back in its case before picking up her backpack and stepping out of the car.
She had just put her backpack over her shoulder as Quinn bent in to close the door of the car. She felt a slight surge of electricity at having Quinn so close. When the blonde looked up at her, Rachel studied her face. The brunette was scared that Quinn had felt it too, and not liked it. All Rachel saw there was a vacant look. Immediately the blonde turned around and made her way up the walkway.
Rachel's eyes trailed down her back and all the way down her legs. She also admired the way Quinn's hair flowed as she walked. Rachel liked it down. She loved the way it swayed and would have liked to wrap her fingers in it. As the singer was watching Quinn, her grip on the CD loosened and it slid from her hand to the concrete.
"Coming?" Quinn asked, smiling when she got to the door.
Rachel picked the CD up, nervous that she could have broken it. However, the fall hadn't damaged it. Rachel looked up as she responded. "Yeah, of course."
Rachel hurried up to the front door and stood, waiting for Quinn to open the door. She watched the cheerleader struggle with the key before jumping in with "I got it." Her hand brushed against Quinn's and she again felt the electricity. Rachel wanted to grab Quinn's hand right then. She just focused on unlocking the door. She heard a click and gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.
She looked back to Quinn and the blonde took the lead. "My room is up here" she offered and began to walk up the stairway. Rachel followed, admiring the decorations around the house. At much effort here had been put into the inside, following the Italian theme.
She liked Quinn's room instantly. It was large, with a desk against one wall and a queen sixed bed against the other. There was a large window with shades pulled away to the sides. The walls were painted light lavender. There was a stereo sitting on the desk and Rachel immediately walked towards it and popped in the CD. "You and I" by Ingrid Michelson began to play.
"I'm not sure I know this song," Quinn said with a quizzical look on her face
"It's called You and I. It's by Ingrid Michelson. Surprisingly enough, I have music other than show tunes." Rachel laughed.
"Well, I like it" Quinn smiled as she sat down on her bed. "Do you have the music for it?"
"All I could pull up where the lyrics and the guitar chords, but it gives us a general idea." Rachel replied, pulling a folder out of her backpack. She opened it and pulled out two sheets of paper, one for Quinn and one for herself.
"Let's listen to the rest of the songs before we start, okay?" offered Quinn, lying back on her bed.
"Alright, I guess we can," said Rachel, standing awkwardly beside the stereo. Quinn patted the space next to her and scooted away towards the wall.
"It's a big bed, Berry. There's enough room. Sometimes when I'm stressed out, I do exactly this. I lay right here and stare up at the ceiling. Sometimes for hours." Quinn looked at Rachel as the brunette made her way over. Rachel lay down tentatively and was rigid for a couple minutes before Quinn spoke again.
"Relax, Rach" It was the first time Quinn had used a nickname. "Just close your eyes and relax. Let the music flow through you. Forget the logic and notes. Just listen."
Rachel tried to take Quinn's advice and after a while, the singer felt herself relaxing and calming down. She shifted slightly and felt her hand resting barely in contact with Quinn's. She wasn't sure if the blonde had noticed or not, but the electric feeling came back again. This time it was calming. It had its own pulse, but it was the pulse of the music. Rachel felt lost, but warm. Lost and content. Happy to not be found.
"QUINN! Get down here NOW." The words were like a hammer shattering the bubble that they had created. Quinn sat up, immediately alert, and scrambled of the bed. She yanked open her bedroom door and ran out. Her father was downstairs. Holding an ultrasound bill. "What the hell is this!" he yelled.
Quinn turned back into her room and frantically whispered to Rachel "You need to leave. Now."
Rachel was confused at what was going on. She was still in somewhat of a daze, but when she caught the serious and frightened look in Quinn's eyes, Rachel came to. She gathered her stuff and began towards the door.
When she saw what Mr. Fabray was holding, she looked back at Quinn and forced the blonde back into her room. "What is he going to do?"
Quinn looked terrified. "I don't know. Disown me? Kill me?"
"Stay with me tonight. I saw his face. I'm worried about you. Besides, I don't even think he's sober! Come with me." Rachel pleaded.
"I can't. Can you call someone for a ride?" The look in Quinn's eyes made Rachel stop. There's a point that Rachel knew of when no amount of talking or begging would get you anywhere.
"Yes." Rachel replied, hanging her head.
"Then go." The blonde pleaded and walked with Rachel out her bedroom door and down the stairs. She opened the front door and mouthed an "I'm fine." Rachel nodded and turned around. She could hear yelling behind her, but just pulled out her cell phone and called one of her dads.