Paramount Studios- California
Ten years ago
Pulling into the lot was the most heart-pounding experience of her life thus far…well next to waiting for her name to be announced at the Tony's the previous year. Streets lined with palm trees had definitely been a change from the streets lined with Starbucks on every corner and street meat vendors of a multitude of cultures. Hollywood was, with a doubt, vastly different from New York.
New York had been home. Okay, that was a lie. At first, New York had been terrifying and taxing. NYADA wasn't McKinley and Rachel Berry hadn't been the brightest star. She'd been swallowed up in all of the anonymity of New York City. The brightest star in Lima Ohio struggled to even flicker underneath the blinding lights of Times Square and every Broadway Marquette. She'd been scared and lonely. The first two months in New York were horrible.
Then Kurt Hummel came busting in like he owned the damn place. He got some high-end fashion internship and was determined to let nothing hold him back after that NYADA letdown. He had been just the breath of fresh air Rachel had needed to get back out there and show the world why she was born to be on that stage. She quickly left her drab dorm room with her terrifyingly bitchy roommate who had been sleeping with virtually anything with two legs. Seriously, Margery had been horrendous. She thought Quinn Fabray had been frightening, Santana Lopez had been rude, and Noah Puckerman had been a whore. Margery Thembin put her high school existence into an entirely new perspective.
So with a less than sweet goodbye:
"You're moving?" Margery asked.
"Yes. I'm relocating to an apartment in Bushwick with my friend Kurt."
"Whoa, Rachelle. You have a boyfriend?"
"For the millionth time, my name is Rachel. And no. He's my best friend. He's gay."
"Hold up, are you pregnant or something?" Margery inquired with a cocked eyebrow that must have been taught to all bitchy girls in some secret school.
"No! Why on earth would you assume that?" Rachel shrieked.
"Because you cry all the time and everybody in dance has noticed you've put on weight."
Rachel sputtered and fumed for a response while Margery had merely flipped her hair and returned to her Shakespeare anthology.
"I guess this is goodbye. Good luck with your gay…and slimming back down," Margery had commented disinterestedly.
"You are not a very nice person," Rachel glared.
"Tell that to somebody who cares," Margery laughed.
Rachel sent one more glare to the other girl and then stomped all the way to the cab in front of the dormitory that took her to her new home.
It had been a turning point. Living with Kurt had been a dream. She flew to the top of her classes…well every class except dance. Her dance professor had been out to get her. In fact, Rachel was eighty-nine percent certain that it had been her professor who had started the rumor that Rachel had put on weight to begin with. Once again, New York put Rachel's high school existence and Mr. Shue's treatment of her into perspective.
Needless to say, college flew by. Kurt re-applied to NYADA, got accepted, dropped out, and then became a stylist for the rich and even richer in New York. Turns out, her fashionable roommate realized fashion was his true passion and not musical theatre. Rachel had her passion reaffirmed and knew without a doubt she was meant for the Broadway stage.
Rachel had starred in production after production until her one of her shows her senior year- Gracie- had been picked up to be produced off-Broadway. From there it had been a whirlwind in which her career took off. Gracie went to off-Broadway near the end of her fall semester of senior year. She finished her classes throughout the day while performing each night at MCC's theater on Christopher street. Then the show went from off-Broadway to Broadway that following February, landing her at the St. James Theater. Her performance on Broadway ended up counting as her capstone project for her final semester. On top of that, her recognition in the show had led to the audition of a lifetime for her first leading role in a revival of Funny Girl. She auditioned for Funny Girl during the first week of re-blocking Gracie to accommodate the move to the St. James. She thought she had blown the audition only to find out she got the part. She left Gracie after only ten performances on Broadway, just long enough to use it for her capstone credit. Then she immediately began rehearsals for Funny Girl just in time for its April opening. Whirlwind hadn't even truly covered just how hectic her senior year had been.
Thankfully, her final semester at NYADA largely consisted of performance credits. After her earlier successes, she had done as many non-performance classes as possible during summer sessions as recommended by Carmen Tibideaux, who had become her sworn mentor after freshman year. Carmen had predicted that Rachel Berry would join NYADA's elite few to be awarded a job on Broadway before graduation. She hadn't predicted that Rachel would've had two roles on Broadway during her final semester. The school had worked with the performance schedule, though she was no longer able graduate with honors due to some testing requirements that she ultimately had to miss for the productions. Her roles counted as performance credits and she still graduated in May while headlining as Fanny Brice.
In even her wildest dreams, Rachel had never imagined finding her success so quickly. Fanny Brice scored her the Tony that June, exactly three weeks after her graduation from NYADA, making her the school's fastest rising star. The Tony opened up a million new doors; more stage roles, an album, a film remake of Funny Girl (that quickly got scrapped when funding went under and Barbra Streisand put her foot down), and, of course, television offers.
Her first silver screen role had been as a patient on Grey's Anatomy. She'd garnered little attention for the part but the director of that episode happened to know a guy who was shopping around a new show to several different networks. He thought she'd be perfect for this other show. After two dinners and a quick coffee date, Rachel Berry had found out that SING!, a show about a high school glee club eerily familiar to her own experiences, had been picked up by one of the networks and a pilot was being produced. The creator, Mr. Alan Peters, loved Rachel and wanted her to audition for the lead. Turns out, he wrote the role with her in mind. Again, the stars aligned and Rachel Berry had her first television role as a leading lady.
Quinn Fabray had a slightly different story. It was a little less Cinderella and much more trial and error.
Quinn had gone Ivy League just as everyone from Lima knew she would. Yale had been…an experience. It wasn't that she hadn't loved Yale. Its beautiful campus, gorgeous fall, and entire ambiance had been exactly what she needed to escape the many versions of herself that had graced Lima, Ohio. The problem with high school was that Quinn had never really gotten the chance to be herself. Each year she'd gone through another phase, a reincarnation of sorts in terms of character. She'd been the overachieving freshman, the bitchy sophomore Head Cheerleader, the pregnant teenager, the wannabe bitchy junior Head Cheerleader, the humiliated and heartbroken Prom Queen loser, and the Skank; then finally had a brief moment of 'just Quinn' who was happy to be in Glee Club, cheered because she loved it instead of its social powers, and was respected for the getting into Yale. She finally got to be herself. It lasted all of a few hours before she became Quinn the senior class cripple. McKinley High had seen so many different Quinn's it was hard for others to decide which one was the real Quinn. Only a few members of Glee Club seemed to know who Quinn really was and the only one who really pushed for that girl was Rachel Berry. That in turn, added in its own suffocating guilt. When she was with the people who let her be herself, she was always reminded of the terrible versions she'd been at other times and the various ways in which she had tortured them at some point. There was no escaping. No time to simply be content in who she was.
Yale had been a vast change from that. She went into the campus unnoticed. She formed a small circle of friends. She studied English Lit. After realizing that by dating her married professor she was letting yet another man define her existence, she switched majors to Creative Writing half way through her freshman year. She decided she needed to do things for herself and not what was expected of her. She didn't want to be the Stepford wife of a college professor in New Haven. It wasn't until her junior year that she even thought of Drama and Acting. One of her fictional stories, loosely based on her own high school experience- but nobody else needed to know that- ended up being heavily driven by dialogue instead of Quinn's usual description-heavy paragraphs and gut-twisting plot turns. The high school characters were so close to her heart that she found herself focusing more on proving their character through their words and actions rather than lengthy tirades about how one's eyes shined like diamonds but had a nose like a demented bird's beak- all of that usual bullshit she had often spun.
The story had potential according to her professor but seemed to be leaning more towards a play format. One meeting with the playwriting professor led to another with one of his best students which led to another meeting then a coffee date. Suddenly, somehow, Quinn Fabray was practically dating this girl and hadn't even realized it until Jessica Gadd had walked her home and kissed her in front of her dormitory.
It had been an entire self-revelation. Quinn liked Jessica…as in like, like. She was kind of into girls. It hadn't been completely shocking but it had rocked her world all the same. Writing the play together led to a relationship that Quinn hadn't foreseen. Somehow, she ended up acting in the play as well when it was chosen to be one of the spring productions. One of Jessica's friends, Rob, from film school in California had come in to see the show one weekend. Rob loved it and wanted to turn it into a film. With the right spin, Rob thought it could be a satirical commentary of high school and the overzealous nature of teenagers to place all their eggs in one basket and hope for popularity. After much coercing, Jessica convinced Quinn to spend the summer in LA with her and Rob. They shot the independent film over the course of two months in LA before senior year kicked off.
Filming hadn't been what she had expected but Quinn discovered several things. One, she was actually quite good at on-camera acting. Two, Jessica was a two-timing whore. Jessica was bisexual and had decided that her heart actually belonged to Rob. Quinn went back to school in August and promptly forgot everything about filmmaking and her stupid ex-girlfriend. She threw herself into her classes and avoided her old circle of friends that had known about her and Jessica. Yale had suddenly become a place she desperately wanted to escape during that final year.
In March of her senior year, escape came knocking on her door in the guise of opportunity. The film had been picked up for distribution by a larger company associated with MTV and they needed Quinn to come back to LA for two weeks for a couple of reshoots before handing it over to the network. Spring Break coincided with one week of shooting and she decided to skip the other week of classes. It was an opportunity to get away from Jessica who had broken up with Rob over winter break and had been trying to get back into Quinn's good graces again.
Quinn had had enough of the love triangles and on again off again couples between Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson in high school. She wasn't about to ruin the end of her senior year mixing between Rob and Jessica once more. So it had been a relief to see that Rob's friend, Mark, who had been part of the original shoot was leading the project and the reshoots instead. The studio offered to fly Quinn to LA and she took the chance. She crashed with Mark, reshot a couple of scenes for the network, flew back to Yale in April, and then graduated at the end of May.
Upon graduation, Quinn moved out to LA to become Mark's roommate. The two had become best friends while doing the reshoot. The network never aired the film. They bought the rights and then squashed the project. She heard through Mark that Rob had been devastated. Quinn had been ecstatic. Served Rob and Jessica right for two-timing Quinn Fabray.
However, the network loved Quinn and Mark. They wanted Mark to direct a new series called Champs. The pilot had a lot of elements of Quinn's original screenplay but had room for growth as a whole series instead of a one shot…also they were vampires in high school. Quinn hadn't been thrilled about that aspect. The catch, though, had been that the head executives at the network wanted Mark but only if Quinn would star in the series. She'd been skeptical at first. Acting had never been her idea. She fell into acting mainly because of Jessica. The only reason she felt she'd been any good in the film was because she had written the part for herself. Plus, vampires. She really didn't want to be a vampire on the new show. Ultimately though, Mark was her best friend and she felt she owed it to him to at least give it a chance.
Mark convinced her to join the project and then a star was born in the MTV teen drama circuit. Quinn basically played another version of her high school self. She was the popular but secretly emo kind of girl. She was trapped in the restraints of popularity but desperately wanted to be a painter even though it was social suicide. Oh, and she fell in love with a vampire who was considered to be one of the school's outcasts. The show was largely viewed as a pile of shit by critics everywhere. Actually, it was largely viewed as a pile of shit by its own cast and creators as well.
BUT, Quinn Fabray was considered to be the shining point. She had charisma. She could act. Or at least that's what all the critics claimed. In truth, Quinn figured it was all the years of pretending to be somebody else in high school that lent to her craft.
The show was cancelled after two seasons. The first aired as the mid-season replacement in MTV's usual primetime lineup in the winter and the second had been a summer season. It hadn't been much but it had gotten Quinn some recognition and her face in a couple of teen magazines for a few months.
After Champs had been cancelled, Quinn's agent got the call about SING! and knew her client was perfect for the part. Quinn, however, had been incredibly reluctant to audition. She didn't want to continuously be typecast as the popular cheerleader. However, when her actual resume boasted several national cheerleader titles under one Sue Sylvester- who kept appearing despite the fact that Quinn never made it known she had been a Cheerio- it was increasingly difficult to shake that image…especially as a blonde in Hollywood. Once again, Mark talked her into at least auditioning for the role.
She knew the moment she left the office that she had nailed the audition. The character, Samantha "Sam" Ripley, was the Quinn Fabray she wished she could've been in high school. She was popular and considered to be the prettiest girl in school. She was a cheerleader on a national championship squad. She was intelligent. She was nice. Her big character flaw was that she struggled with anorexia.
Anorexia wasn't something that Quinn personally struggled with in high school but she had dealt with her own body issues and witnessed enough of the other Cheerios with eating disorders to have a good basis for playing the role. The most important thing about the role though was that Sam Ripley wielded her powers for good. She was the popular girl who joined the Glee Club because she loved to sing. There was some initial tension between the geeks, or gleeks as they were referred to on the show, and her character. Quickly though, she got accepted into the group and became their champion against the other popular kids who enjoyed Flushies, or what most people called Swirlies.
Quinn loved the script, loved the character, and really wanted to be a part of it…until she saw who had been hired as the top-billed star.
On that first day when Quinn drove on to the Paramount lot, she knew exactly what she was getting into and exactly who she'd be working with. The show was too good to pass up. The chance to work with Rachel Berry again was also too good to pass up. She was a different person. She was at peace with herself. Her character was supposed to become best friends with Rachel's Emily Clayton. It was as if the Lord himself had given Quinn a chance for a redo of her high school experience. She could finally play the Quinn Fabray she always wanted to be…just as Sam Ripley.
"I heard you were involved in this. I confess I even watched your screen test just to be sure it was really you," Rachel called out anxiously as Quinn shut her car door.
They had parked two spots away from each other next to Studio 32.
"Chase Cardell told me you're brilliant to work with…I may have let it slip that I already knew that from past experience," Quinn replied, after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
They'd had five years of no direct contact. Quinn had lost touch with most of the Glee club during her stint at Yale. Champs had been an opportunity for a lot of people to make their way out of the woodwork and offer their support. She'd reconnected with a few people here and there. Rachel Berry had never offered her support. Quinn hadn't really reached out when Rachel won a Tony either though.
"Yes, well I figure we shouldn't let our past make things awkward. You and I were friends once. We can surely be friends again. I, uh, I told the others that we have a history as well. Not our full history but…same high school. Same glee club. I'm sure it's bound to bring about some press. Alan seemed very excited about it. I see no reason why we need to hash out all the details of our past though. We were friends senior year. We were never really that close but we were at least casual friends, acquaintances. I'm more than positive that we will both be professionals about all of this," Rachel smiled stiffly.
"Casual friends? Wow, uh, okay. I mean I wasn't going to proclaim to the world that we used to fight over Finn Hudson but…okay."
"I didn't mean that as callously as it came out. I just meant that we were somewhat friends. We drifted apart. It happens," Rachel amended.
"Well you never used those metro passes," Quinn chuckled, pretending not to be offended.
"As I recall, neither did you."
"I did actually. Santana and I came to that show. The first off-Broadway thing."
"Right. You didn't stay to chat. I guess I forgot," Rachel blushed.
The two continued to walk across the lot toward their studio. It was the first table read and official meeting of the entire cast. Rachel had met everyone previously and had read with most of them in their earlier auditions. She had been the first person cast. Quinn came into the project much later and had only met Chase Cardell who was to play Rachel's love interest and Quinn's neighbor.
"I had to rush afterwards. After your show. My…my friend…she had to have an emergency appendectomy. I wanted to be there. I was sure Santana told you. Santana was supposed to tell you."
"The girlfriend?" Rachel questioned.
Quinn flushed and nodded.
"What about now? Any girlfriends?" Rachel asked with a grin at Quinn's obvious embarrassment.
It was adorable how shy the blonde was acting. Quinn Fabray was rarely shy in high school. If she had been embarrassed, she had just snapped. She was never shy. Rachel was soaking up every second of Quinn's bashfulness.
"No. Not for some time now. I've been…focused. Career can get in the way, I guess," Quinn answered after a moment's hesitation.
There she was- talking about girlfriends with Rachel Berry of all people. It was so surreal. Not at all how Quinn imagined her first day on set.
"What about you? Still taking rounds with Finn Hudson?" Quinn raised an eyebrow just like in her high school days.
Rachel flushed and shook her head.
"Oh God no. Finn is…he's married now, actually. He met her during basic training in his second attempt at the army. They're married in Louisiana, I believe. I think they've moved around from base to base quite a bit. It's hard to keep up. Kurt knows but I stopped asking long ago."
"I see."
An awkward silence settled over them as they reached the doors for the offices adjacent to Studio 32.
"You ah, still keep in contact with any of the glee club?" Rachel asked.
"Some. Not as often as I used to. Distance hasn't been easy. I've kept tabs on some people but it's hard. Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes are probably the easiest to stay in contact with- even then it's…hard to always stay in touch."
"The same could be our story. Distance. Growing up and growing apart. I think that's really all anybody needs to say about everyone from our town."
"Rachel, if you're worried about people picking sides in some high school feud…it won't be like that. I was- I was glad when I found out you were part of this show because honestly I've wanted to apologize for years-," Quinn started.
"Nonsense. No need for apologizes. You and I put our past behind us years ago. We were friends senior year. We were never best friends. I'm sure we're both professionals though. The media can dig up whatever stories they'd like, assuming this show actually gets picked up, but we'll stick to the facts. Regardless of whatever high school drama- that I'm sure everyone goes through- you and I were friends and we went to different colleges, drifted apart, and are now happy to be working together. It's nice to catch up," Rachel informed as if she'd rehearsed that little speech.
"Sure," Quinn replied slowly.
"The others are great, by the way. You'll love them. I hope you're not too nervous or anything. This is going to be fun. They're really nice and really professional."
"Yeah I…I've been slightly anxious. I feel like everybody else has already had the chance to get to know each other and I'm coming into this totally blind," Quinn confessed sheepishly.
"Well you know me. We go way back. So as far as everyone is concerned, I've got your back. You'll be fine. They'll love you. I'm sure of it."
Rachel smiled at her sincerely for the first time. Quinn took a deep breath and nodded. Years and years but Rachel Berry was still the same. Polite and kind. She had Quinn's back in high school even when the blonde didn't want her around. Years later and Rachel still made an offering. Some things never change. Quinn smiled back and was amazed by how much it relaxed her to know that she did know Rachel. She could walk into that room and actually know someone there.
"So have you talked to Santana recently about the big move?" Rachel asked, changing the subject.
"The big move?"
"She's been offered her own agency and a TV show ala House Hunters. One of our crewmembers told me. His wife is an executive producer for Santana's show," Rachel laughed.
"Seriously? I knew she was doing well with real estate in New York but her own show…wow," Quinn laughed.
"She and Brittany are relocating to the west coast. They'll be moving to Beverly Hills in August. I emailed Brittany earlier this week and she confirmed."
"Wow that's…wow. I guess I really can't escape high school. I'm still playing a high school character and will be hanging out with the same people from real high school."
"I think it will be nice," Rachel shrugged.
"Have you talked to Mercedes? She's out here," Quinn pointed out.
Rachel shook her head, "No more than the perfunctory phone call that politeness dictated when I initially moved here. What about you?"
"We've had a on-going dinner thing, once a month….you should come next time."
"Thank you…that would…be great. It would be wonderful to see her. Who knows, maybe eventually when the others get out here, it'll be a whole monthly McKinley reunion."
"I think that sounds nice," Quinn smiled.
They walked into the writer's room for the table read. The rest of the cast was already seated with two chairs open, side by side. One for Quinn and one for Rachel- side by side. There really was no escaping each other in this project. In a way, Quinn felt more at ease with that knowledge.
"Alright, alright. Our final two are here. So let's get this started. I believe most of you are familiar with each other but let's get these introductions out of the way so we can get down to business. As you know, I'm Alan. This is my little labor of love, my child of sorts. Let's all take great care of her. I think we have something truly special here. So whoever wants to go next and then we'll read and see just what it is that we've all found here," Alan grinned, clapping his hands.
Everyone else in the room looked at each other and exchanged smiles. Nobody spoke up. Then one of the other cast members started giggling at the silence which then turned into a chorus of laughter.
"Alright, come on people. Who's next?" Alan laughed.
"I'll go," a handsome young man with a devilish grin spoke up. He was tan and muscular. He had green eyes and short-nearly buzzed off black hair. Typical jock with a bad boy streak.
"I'm Matthew Gilbert. I'm playing Harrison Crawford also known as Fordy," Matt smiled.
"Which is ironic that Forty is played by the oldest guy here," another cast member laughed.
"Oh shut up, man," Matt chuckled, flipping off the other guy. "Why don't you tell us who you are funny guy?"
"I'm Scott Johns. I play Peter Henderson, tech geek extraordinaire and guitar genius," Scott wiggled his eyebrows.
He was wearing suspenders and a bowtie that almost reminded Quinn of Artie. He didn't have glasses like Artie and definitely wasn't in a wheelchair but something in his humor was reminiscent of her high school friend. She would have to call him after all of this was over and check in.
"Artie right?" Rachel asked leaning closer to Quinn's ear to whisper.
The blonde nodded and grinned back at Rachel in amazement.
"I thought the same thing the first time I met him," Rachel giggled softly.
"Okay, I see how it is. You wanna whisper your secrets, high school buds? Why don't you go next? Come on, Berry. Introduce us to your Titan Twin," Scott teased.
"Titan Twin?" Quinn asked.
"William McKinley High Titans, right? I do my research," Scott nodded proudly.
"Oh dear God," Quinn groaned.
"Really, Quinn. You were a Cheerio. You spelled out Titans every Friday night for years," Rachel smirked.
Quinn glared at her playfully. Rachel Berry teasing Quinn Fabray. Easy banter. Things weren't turning out to be nearly as bad as Quinn had feared initially. Who knows maybe she and Rachel could actually be real friends this time around.
"A real cheerleader playing a cheerleader? What are the odds?" Matt winked at her, causing the blonde to flush.
"Introductions. Bonding is nice. Do it on your own time. We need to get through this read-thru so you all can get to dance camp," Alan cut in, chuckling a little.
"I'm Rachel Berry. I will be playing Emily Clayton the overachieving star of the glee club," Rachel grinned.
Quinn shook her head at the other girl's antics. Still the same old Rachel Berry. Proud to be a star. Rachel nodded to her and elbowed her side gently.
"Oh right. I'm Quinn Fabray. I'm Samantha Ripley. I was a cheerleader and I'm still playing a cheerleader," Quinn rolled her eyes with a blush.
"You're the newbie," another guy who looked younger than the rest smiled in her direction. "I'm David Parks. I'm playing Jason Linkler. I am Lucas Barker's half brother and the most fashionable member of our glee club."
Next a beautiful Hispanic girl spoke up, "I'm Courtney Tosado. I'll be playing Alessandra Alberts, your worst nightmare. I'm Sam's number two on the cheerleading squad and your number one tormentor."
"I'm Brooke Thomas. I play Jennie Spencer. I'm also a cheerleader and great comic relief."
"And my BFF," Courtney added in with a mock insulted pout.
"And of course, Alessandra's BFF."
"Not character BFF's. Mine. We're besties," Courtney laughed.
"Besties," Brooke giggled in response as they did some strange high five, secret handshake they had clearly made up already.
"And I'm Chase Cardell. I'm Lucas Barker. And I am the man," Chase joked.
They all laughed and continued to joke around as the four main writers introduced themselves. Then it came time to read the actual script. Quinn had previously only seen the sides from two of her scenes. Rachel and Chase were the only ones to read the entire pilot script. During the read-thru, it became obvious that the show was special. They all had great chemistry and the writing was witty and sharp. It had heart but also was aware of the traps of teen comedies and shows geared toward the 13-19 demographic. Somehow, it pointed out those flaws and then laughed at itself. It was a great script. They all nailed it as if each part had been specifically crafted toward each actor.
By the end of the first day, Quinn had gotten to know the rest of the cast fairly well. They were all very nice and mostly open books. Everybody was honest about their previous work and willing to help each other with this show. Within hours of meeting, they were forming a tight little family.
Dance camp had been a disaster the first day. Courtney, Brooke, Scott, and Quinn were obviously skilled dancers. Rachel, Matthew, and David were dancers but had musical theater dance training and less hip hop and contemporary that their choreographer seemed so keen to use. Chase had little to no dance training. He really struggled at the start of the day but seemed to catch on quickly. Matthew and Scott helped him out a lot. By the end of the day, they had their first routine down. However, at the end of the day, the choreographer scrapped all of that because it was a basic routine and it would never work with the camera angles. He was just testing them.
They all walked out to their cars after a fourteen-hour day, exhausted but excited.
"I didn't know what to expect but I was not expecting that," Scott chuckled, leaning against his car, looking worse for wear.
"It's the first day. It can only get easier as we get used to this schedule," Brooke smiled before yawning.
"I was going to see if anybody wanted to go for dinner. Celebrate our first day, but I think I'm just exhausted," Matthew nodded, slouching next to Scott against the other guy's car.
Everyone else agreed.
"Well David, Courtney, Rachel, and I all live in the same complex. Do you guys just wanna come back to our area? We could make dinner at somebody's apartment. Just hang?" Scott offered.
"I'm in," Chase and Matthew chorused happily.
"Quinn?" Rachel asked.
"I um- I would but I live like forty minutes out and with the traffic…"Quinn trailed off.
"You can crash with me," Rachel suggested, sheepishly.
"Come on, Quinn. Slumber party with your bestie," Courtney teased.
"I thought you and Brooke were besties," Quinn laughed.
"Totes. That's why we're having a slumber party, too. I'm crashing at Courtney's. There's no way in hell I'm driving home if I have to be back on this set at 6:30am tomorrow morning," Brooke groaned.
"Come on, Quinnie. You know you wanna hang with us," Matt teased, dancing around her.
"I thought you were tired. Quit dancing. You're gonna be doing it all day tomorrow," Quinn tried her best to look annoyed but failed miserably when she started laughing.
"Come on. Don't be a party pooper. Crash with Rachel. She wants you to," Chase grinned, slinging an arm around Quinn's back.
Quinn snuck a quick glance at Rachel. The brunette didn't seem annoyed. She genuinely seemed excited at the prospect of having Quinn stay over.
"Look, Quinn, they love you already," Rachel giggled.
"I feel so wanted. It's like I've been part of the group all along," Quinn joked with an eye roll.
"You have! We've been missing our bitchy cheerleader. It just so happens that's you on and off set. It's perfect," Scott chuckled, unlocking his car.
"You're lucky I like you, Scott Johns. Real lucky," Quinn threatened the nerdy looking guy.
"I'm leaving my car here. Let's go Court," Brooke grinned, grabbing the Latina's hand and skipping toward the other car.
Matthew, Scott, and David piled into Scott's car. They honked as they pulled out of the spot.
"Get in that car, Fabray!" Matthew shouted out the window as Scott drove past them.
Courtney and Brooke beeped as they drove by as well. Chase, Quinn, and Rachel were left standing in the parking lot. The boys blasted an old Jay-Z song and continued honking their horn all the way out of the lot. Rachel laughed and shook her head.
"So are we doing this? I could use some dinner and the general consensus is everybody is going to Rachel's house. Apparently, she can cook," Chase wiggled his eyebrows.
"Again? You guys have to do the dishes this time," Rachel giggled and slapped his arm.
"You mean take out the trash afterwards? I'm sure Court's already called up Joe's and ordered the usual for all of us. We wouldn't want another Rachel Berry culinary disaster on our hands," Chase laughed.
"Perhaps my culinary skills leave a little something to be desired but I wouldn't call my previous attempts completely disastrous," Rachel rolled her eyes.
"I would," Chase winked at Quinn.
Something stirred inside the blonde watching Rachel flirt with their costar. Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she had spent one too many nights by herself in her apartment. Was she really jealous that Rachel was closer with the rest of the cast than she was? Hadn't she grown out of that behavior since high school?
"Yeah. I'm in. I'm staying with you tonight," Quinn replied suddenly, grabbing Rachel's arm and dragging her towards the car.
Quinn would just have to try harder to become friends with everyone. Maybe there was still a little part of her that craved popularity. Maybe Rachel Berry just brought that side out in her. She needed to show Rachel that she was worthy of being friends with. She needed to prove to everyone that she could fit in with all of them.
"Seriously? A slumber party with the Quinn Fabray? I'm not sure you understand how much my inner high schooler is flipping out right now. The captain of the Cheerios is staying over at my house," Rachel teased, unlocking the car.
"I'll meet you all there. I'm gonna swing by and pick up Cameron," Chase waved, hopping into his car.
"Who's Cameron?" Quinn asked once they were safe inside Rachel's car.
"Hmm?"
Rachel was fiddling with the stereo, skipping through XM stations. Quinn stared at her profile for a moment. She didn't really look old but she did seem more mature. Quinn fought the urge to flip down the visor and check her own appearance in the mirror. Did she look more mature? Did she just look old? Did Rachel think she looked different?
"Cameron?" Quinn questioned again.
"Oh. Cam is Chase's girlfriend. She's super sweet. You'll love her."
Quinn nodded, suddenly feeling as if she could breathe again. She needed to get her head on straight. She needed to stop worrying about who liked Rachel more, stop worrying about if Chase was interested in Rachel. She needed to stop worrying about her own appearance. This wasn't high school. She didn't need to compete with Rachel in any way. Old habits die hard in some ways. She needed to let that go.
"So Chase has a girlfriend. What about everybody else?" Quinn questioned after a few moments of driving in silence listening to some Adult Contemporary station Rachel landed on.
"Well I believe that David is gay. He just graduated from high school like a year ago or something. I have no idea if he's involved or not. It seems odd to pry since we're not that close and he's so much younger," Rachel explained.
"How long have you been hanging with all of them?"
"As soon as Scott found out that four of us live in the same complex it's been kind of a love fest. Scott lives in the building diagonally across the courtyard from mine. If he stands on his balcony and I stand on mine we can wave to each other and perform obscene gestures as so many of them enjoy doing," Rachel laughed at the memory.
"They're a great bunch," Quinn sighed.
"As far as everybody else. I believe that Brooke has a boyfriend. Courtney seems to enjoy Matt's company- as if that won't get complicated. As far as I can tell they're not serious though. Chase has Cameron. Scott is single but I'm pretty sure he's been casually flirting with one of our neighbors. She seems very into the geeky musical guy type. He used to be in a boyband if you can believe that. I think that Ben who plays our teacher is married to another actress. I believe she's Canadian but I haven't met her yet. I, myself, am currently...complicated…and that leaves just you."
"And I'm single."
"Are we ever going to talk about that?" Rachel asked with a grin.
"I-um…talk about what?" Quinn muttered with a flush, knowing that Rachel was hinting at Quinn's sexuality.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as offensive or that I'm prying. You're entitled to your privacy. I realize we're not particularly close but we will be working together and I was hoping that the delicate balance of our friendship meant that we could discuss such things as our romantic statuses. If you're not out- I mean I have no reason to tell the others. I didn't even think about that. I guess I just know from our shared past connections. Santana filled me in. I didn't think that maybe you keep that side of your life private," Rachel backtracked immediately.
"No. It's fine. It's…I'm not like stuck in the closet. I'm pretty open about it. It's just a little weird to talk about it…with you," Quinn admitted, still blushing.
"I really don't mean to pry into your personal life in a way that our friendship doesn't truly allow. I'm sure you understand that it is slightly shocking for all of us who knew you way back when. I probably could've eased us into this conversation a little better but- we used to fight over Finn Hudson. I have to admit I was initially quite taken aback," Rachel gasped, overdramatically as usual.
Quinn laughed and shook her head. Despite being slightly uncomfortable with the subject material and her current company, she was totally comfortable listening to a typical Rachel Berry Ramble. She decided to give the girl a break.
"I don't know what to say. I had so many ideas about what I wanted in life and what I thought my life would be. You know better than most how much my life constantly changed. I was up and down and up and…everything I thought I knew inevitably turned out to be wrong. This was just another one of those things."
"But how?" Rachel questioned before she could stop herself.
"I don't know, Berry! I'm gay! Big deal," Quinn snapped.
Snapped. Old habits die hard. They sat in silence as Rachel pulled into her apartment complex. She looked a little embarrassed at her own inability to not pry into Quinn's sexuality. She hadn't wanted to start an argument in the first day.
"I'm sorry I pushed," Rachel sighed.
Quinn, for her part, looked completely remorseful instantly. For whatever reason, she couldn't drop high school. She couldn't let go of her behavior in the past. She fought the urge to check the mirror again just to see if she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing a Cheerios uniform. She shook her head of the mental image. She needed to let it go. She needed to stop being irrational. If she was hoping for a second chance to make amends with Rachel, snapping into her high school self wasn't going to help.
"I didn't- I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just…I don't know how it happened. I never really thought about it but then I met Jess and one thing became another and now I know. I don't know how I didn't see it before. The celibacy club? Dating dumb jock after dumb jock who I really didn't care about but used for popularity? The whole drunken thing with Puck just screams…I didn't know. Then one day I knew. Same as the rest of my life. I didn't know what I wanted until one day I did. Yale. Acting. All of it," Quinn explained as they sat in Rachel's car.
"I understand. I'm sorry I pressed you. I was shocked initially and…this is the first I've seen you. I guess my questioning wasn't exactly sensitive considering I don't even know your story or how open you really are. I guess I haven't grown up nearly as much as I had hoped."
"It's alright. You're like the one person who knew me then and knows me now. There's been a pretty solid divide between the two. You're allowed to have questions. When S and B come out here, it'll be different…they had a lot of questions at first. I just have to remind myself that when combining my worlds, I have a lot of answering I need to do. I've been used to people just accepting it when they find out. It's different with people from my past. You have this totally different version of me stuck in your head. I know part of that girl is still me but most of her has changed."
The two sat in silence until it was interrupted by Matt, Scott, and David dancing across the parking lot with grocery bags. Both girls laughed. Rachel reached across the center consol and grabbed Quinn's hand.
"I am really glad we get to work together. I hope that we can rebuild our friendship stronger than before. I am incredibly happy to share all of this with you. It's amazing how much I've missed you and didn't even realize it until today," Rachel squeezed Quinn's hand before letting go and grabbing her keys from the ignition.
"Me too, Rachel. I hope that we can be better friends. I hope that I can be a better person in your life."
Both girls climbed out of the car. Matt handed his bag to David and skipped over to Rachel, picking her up and slinging her over his shoulder.
"Give me your keys, Berry. We party at your place," Matt shouted, taking off with a screaming Rachel pounding on his back.
"Put me down this instance you Neanderthal! I mean it! Matthew Gilbert, unhand me! You caveman! Put. Woman. Down," Rachel ranted.
That night started the beginning of it all. Weekly dinners, watch parties, birthday parties, and just getting together for the sake of hanging out. The cast bonded quickly and became inseparable. As the show gained popularity and their lives changed, they all bonded together even more because they shared the experiences together. They were a part of something special. Quinn and Rachel became friends and became a part of something special together.