Quinn's head pounded as she exited the choir room, and really exited. One foot after the after she kept repeating to herself, one hand firmly clutching onto her bag as the other swayed with the motion of her slim legs, one foot after the after until she got out of the school. The Lima air hit her like a wave of revelation as she exploded out of the front doors, her lungs suddenly being drowned in the reality of her actions. I just flirted with Rachel Berry. It wasn't even the fact that she had flirted with a girl that had Quinn so perplexed, the matter had only not even crossed her mind, she was too focused on the fact it was Rachel Berry. Her stomach tightened into a knot as it usually did when she thought of the girl – Quinn suddenly froze, a sign that she had always taken as hate suddenly was sickly familiar in an all too different way. No, she didn't hate Rachel, but what she did feel for her was just as terrifying. She avoided every incident of eye contact possible as the students flooded into the building. Perching on one of the steps she tried to steady her breathing as she kept her knees close, an expression of composure painted on throughout her panicked thoughts. What does this mean? Quinn felt as if her ribs belonged to a small little girl, her lungs were just too big and too constructed so every time she took a breath she felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen for her. She couldn't cope with the question, it just didn't make sense, a present too big for its box it just couldn't rattle itself into something understandable, let alone answerable. She tried rephrasing it to herself as she could feel the crowd becoming smaller, it made things easier, or so she fooled herself.
Why did I flirt with her? Even that felt too odd and an uncomfortable thought to fathom, because whichever way she put it, it all led up to the same question. Do I like Rachel Berry? Quinn placed her hands together on her lap and shut her eyes tightly and thought about it, really thought about it in the most natural way she could possibly think about anything. Not what other people thought, not what she thought she should feel, not what Rachel could possibly feel, but what she felt in that exact moment in the absolute simplest form. Of course I like her. She's talented, that's for sure. But she's kind, she's kind even when I'm a total bitch to her. She's honest and every intention she has is good, and if that doesn't make a good person then god knows what does. She tries to find the best in people, and maybe she brings that out in them too. She does have nice eyes...Swallowing hard she collected her belongings in one big swoop and flew her way to English class. There was no point in thinking about anything anymore, it was clear as ice. Quinn Fabray's heart had flown coop and landed straight in Berry's nest, figuratively speaking of course.
"Yeah that's Charlotte Fabray" she smiled softly as the petite receptionist punched each letter into her keyboard, hesitation spewed across her freckled face causing a sheer mass of wrinkles to evolve from her brow, she paused and took another uneasy glance into the girls face. Charlie stayed silent for a moment unsure of what to do next, not entirely wanting to look back through the heavy glasses at the beady eyes of the fifty something year old. She took the pause to mean only one thing "C-H-A-R-L-"
"I know" she cut her short in a voice that was as pitched as a mouse. For someone with auburn hair in such voluptuous curls Charlie wasn't quite sure whether the voice fitted, perhaps something more glamorous would have done the job. She didn't have an accent though, maybe a light southern one that indicated she was from somewhere a little different to good old Lima but that was it. "I can't get over it, my god you really do look just like Quinn" she continued with what could only be compared to a smile, it was more of a malicious grin, and it made Charlie even more uneasy than she planned to be. She laughed nervously as she was once again put in a situation where she really didn't have a reply to her statement. Since twins did tend to look the same. The woman didn't seem to return to her computer screen so Charlie felt a persistent poke of polite obligation to continue the conversation.
"It's great to be back with her actually, McKinley sounds a great school" she nodded genuinely and thankfully the woman's beady eyes averted their attention back to the screen (that it was pretty obvious she didn't know fully how to use). Sure, McKinley's just peachy. Quinn hadn't told her anything about her old school let alone talk to her, and all that Judy had said was that there was a photography club and a great class she could take; it was pretty much the selling point to a deal that Charlie already couldn't refuse. It made things easier though. She hoped that maybe her and Quinn could take some after school classes, but that thought no longer had space to linger in the girls wondrous mind. It was too cluttered with worries that felt out of place, too squished in between the anguish and loneliness that engulfed the stray blonde. She hovered around the room as the lady finished off Charlie's admission, it looked like she didn't have to ask her anymore questions. Charlie made her way around the room, glancing through the sports photos that had a thin layer of dust on them already, her finger swiped the frame in one gentle brush and blew off the light grey that had collected. Walking across her gaze shifted to some photos of old graduating classes, teachers and students that she'd never know and would never hear of. She wondered what they were doing now, where they were and whether they'd succeeded all they wanted to. Did they feel that they wasted their childhood, did they have a childhood to waste. Her eyes flickered to a more than familiar face, this frame was different though. It stood in a tall glass cabinet that had no dust to wipe and had no faces to discover, this face she knew very well, because it was just like her own. With trophies crowning the other shelves and a small light in the corner illuminating the spectacle there was a photo frame that you just couldn't miss. In the middle of a group of girls and a fairly old and odd looking woman in a tracksuit stood Quinn Fabray. Centre, in charge, in the spotlight. Strong. Glorious. Infinite. What happened to you, Quinnie.
"Charlotte?" the now almost familiar voice of the ginger woman sliced the silence and she quickly turned to face her with a nod. Accepting the leaflets and her class schedule as well as her locker number she was set off into the wild western shore that was the corridors of McKinley, without a single choice. Man up little lion man. And she was out of the door with no hesitation.
Arguably most of the Fabray family thought it was Quinn who was the better dancer, but that didn't mean that Charlie had two left feet. They went to the same ballet classes, participated in the same gymnastic groups, and though Quinn went on to be a cheerleader, Charlie had climbed enough trees to definitely perfect her hand eye co-ordination. Which probably didn't explain the impact that was faced with only moments after leaving the small office. She glanced around her and within a second took in the scene, her books were scattered lightly around her but more importantly there was a petite brunette on her backside opposite her. Yes, it had only been a few moments, but Charlie's mind must have been too busy to have watched where she was going. Without hesitation she ignored her belongings and jumped straight up to help the girl off the ground, offering an instant friendly hand to the stranger in the red cashmere sweater.
"God I'm so sorry, I really should watch where I'm going – are you ok?" before she could inject another frantic word the brunette tilted her head up to look at her, and Charlie was met with deepest brown eyes she'd ever encountered. She got the same feeling she used to get when she was a little girl. The kind of sensation in her stomach that emerged when there was a park to adventure in or a great tree to climb or a new place that she'd never been in. She wanted to discover it, to roam and know all about it, to learn and to wander and to be infatuated by the sheer beauty of it. She hadn't got that feeling in a while, but it hit her like a truck in those girls eyes. She slipped her hand into Charlie's graciously and propped herself up, a similar expression of both apology and slight nervousness too. She began chattering in the same tone as Charlie about how it was her fault and not the other girls and how this always happens when she's rushing for class, but then she stopped. Immediately too, as if someone had slapped her right across the face. She seemed almost lost for words and then her eyes widened with wonder, she took in every inch of Charlie's face in a silent awe.
"You must be Charlotte!" she finally said in a tone of bewildered excitement, quickly dropping to collect all of their belongings and returning to hand Charlie's over to her, she smiled thankfully in return and then nodded to her almost rhetorical question.
"Yeah I am, but you can call me Charlie" she replied without even thinking, it had begun to be an almost slogan, she was so used to saying it that it was almost subconscious. She stopped for a moment tucking in her books into her bag "Are you a friend of Quinn's?"
"We're in the same glee club and I have maths with her, I'm Rachel" the girl's lips curled into a sweet smile of explanation, even though it didn't entirely answer Charlie's question she really didn't mind. Nor did she have a clue what glee club meant, which would be yet another mystery about her sister she'd have to find out. Charlie felt a little guilty for having stopped Rachel in her tracks since she'd seemed in such a rush, but on the other hand Rachel didn't seem to mind. She felt like she'd known Rachel all her life, or perhaps a good amount of it, even though that was a ridiculous feeling considering she hardly knew anything about the girl. Even so, she felt unexplainably comfortable around her. Some people just fit. Just like that, their personalities, their flow of conversation, their aura just work together. Charlie and Rachel were a perfect example of this. They were strangers who knew each other better than they did themselves. "How about I show you around sometime? I actually signed up to be on the welcoming committee but we haven't exactly had plenty of new students.."
"Sure, I'd love that" Charlie beamed back at her and Rachel's heart lifted slightly. Charlie hadn't decided whether she'd accepted to be polite, or because she genuinely wanted to know her way around, or because she wanted to spend more time with Rachel and get to know her. Maybe it was all three of them, but deep down it was the latter that tipped the scale. "Thank you" she added and Rachel's expression shone brighter. "Anyways I really am sorry for bumping into you, I don't want to make you late for class, which reminds me I probably shouldn't be late for my first one either"
"I'm so sorry about that, but I'm glad you did" she hesitated as the words came out, it was clear in her expression that they didn't come out right and she paused to try and rephrase, a light raspberry blush glowing on her cheeks "not that we fell but that we met of course" she quickly added, Charlie chuckled lightly and nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad we met too" she said with a glint of her hazel eyes and with that walked slowly away as she headed to her locker, just as she was about to turn a corner she heard that voice call out her name.
"Charlie – want to have lunch together?" the hall was almost empty now and even though they stood a good ten metres apart Rachel hardly had to shout. Turning on her heal Charlie looked back at her with those eyes Rachel found so familiar but at the same time completely intoxicatingly unknown.
"It's a date" she said with one last smile before she headed away. Was it in that sense? Maybe. Who knew. It was one big adventure. And Charlie loved adventures.