I do not own Glee.
Rachel found Quinn in the hallway, by the Science lab. She was sitting on the floor, between the lockers, with her head on her knees. Rachel could tell she was crying, and she sat down beside her and put her arms around Quinn's shoulders. She didn't know what to say to her. She'd been on both sides of this story before and it felt horrible either way. Quinn looked up at her with tear filled eyes.
"I didn't think it would hurt this much. I didn't even think I liked him." She wiped away her tears angrily. "Why can things never work out for me?" Rachel just squeezed her tighter, she was totally out of her league here. She wished Mercedes would walk by. "What do I do, Rachel?"
Rachel knew no matter what she said, Quinn wouldn't listen. She needed to figure it out on her own. "Well, whenever I need to think, I sing it out." Quinn looked at her skeptically. Rachel knew she was about to roll her eyes and brush her off. "No, really. I've got the perfect song! Meet me in the auditorium in ten minutes!" Rachel patted Quinn's shoulder and helped her up. "And if that doesn't work, we'll meet Mercedes and Kurt for ice cream and they'll know what to do."
Quinn smiled. It was either that or cry more. And she was tired of crying over boys. "Ok. I'll see you there." She walked away, trying to figure out when her life had gotten to the point that she was taking advice from Rachel Berry...and actually feeling better about things.
*Glee*
Quinn walked in to the empty auditorium. She really didn't think this was going to work, but she didn't really have anything to lose. Rachel was waiting for her onstage, with the jazz band. She handed Quinn some sheets of paper pointed her toward the microphone.
"I'll be right down there!" She pointed to a seat at the back of the auditorium. "It works better when you don't worry about your audience!" And she walked off the stage.
"Whenever you're ready, I guess." Quinn said, shrugging at the jazz band.
someone once told me
that you have to choose
what you win or lose
you can't have everything
don't you take chances
you might feel the pain
don't you love in vain
cause love won't set you free
I could stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
so unhappy but safe as could be
Quinn thought Rachel was right. This was the perfect song for her. Every day was a struggle for her. Did she make the right choice or the safe choice? Sam was certainly the safe choice, or he had been anyway. But he wasn't what she wanted. He wasn't what she needed. She'd messed up so badly last year. She just didn't trust herself to make the right decisions anymore. She was too afraid of getting hurt again.
so what if it hurts me
so what if I break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
don't care about other pain in front of me
cause I'm just tryna be happy, yea
just wanna be happy, yea
She wasn't singing because she was mad about Sam anymore. She wasn't singing because she was embarassed about getting cheated on or about cheating or about any of her past relationships. She let the music pour through her, she was singing for herself. More than anything she wanted to be happy. Really happy.
holding on tightly
just cant let it go
just tryna play my roll
slowly disappear, oooh
well all these tears
they feel like they're the same
just different faces, different names
get me outta here
well I can stand by the side
and watch this life pass me by
pass me by
Sam was walking by the auditorium when he heard her singing. He stood in the door. She looked beautiful on the stage. The lights made her sparkle, her voice caught him in the gut. He could see the tears on her face, he felt horrible. He'd never meant to hurt her really. Just, she never acted like she felt anything. She was never mad, never sad, never anything but calm, she was just there. Hearing the emotion pouring through her now, he guessed he'd succeeded in breaking through her walls. He turned to go back down the hall, he felt like he shouldn't be listening.
so what if it hurts me
so what if I break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
don't care about other pain in front of me
cause I'm just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy
oooh
so any turns that I cant see
I'll count a stranger on this road
but don't say victim
dont say anything
Puck and Finn were looking for Rachel, when they stopped by the auditorium doors. They expected Rachel to be on the stage when they walked through the doors, both of them were shocked to see Quinn. Puck felt guilty. He'd never wanted to be the one to tell her. Finn saw Rachel and started over to her. Puck just nodded and mumbled something about heading out to his truck. It killed him to see Quinn in pain, especially when it was his fault.
so what if it hurts me
so what if I break down
so what if this world just throws me off the edge
my feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
don't care about all the pain in front of me
cause I'm just tryna be happy
just wanna be happy
Rachel and Finn clapped when she finished the song. She stood on the stage with her head down, trying to regain her composure. For whatever reason, singing it out had actually worked. She met Rachel in the middle of the aisle and hugged her.
"Thanks, Rachel." She said it genuinely. She knew what she needed to do. She was going to stop trying to mold herself into the person she's always told she should be and find out who she really was.
*Glee*
That Sunday, she sat in her den, eating popcorn with Mercedes and Rachel and pretending to watch a scary movie. She was laughing at the details of Mercedes first date the night before. He'd taken her bowling and Mercedes was a terrible bowler so it made for a great story. The girls spent the whole afternoon together, and when they left, Quinn realized she'd really had a great time with them. She hadn't thought about how weird it was to be with Rachel or what Santana would have said about her eating three slices of pizza. She'd just had fun. She'd left Sam's ring in his locker for him to find on Monday and she wasn't sad anymore. For the first time in a really long time, she felt ok.
A/N: The song is Happy by Leona Lewis