Just a quick thanks for all the favourites etc. It means a lot that people actually want to read this! This chapter is very heavy on the dialogue, its how i prefer to write, so lots of back and forth between the characters here.
All italics represent the time when future Rachel is being interviewed and regular font is high school Rachel
Chapter Two
"You don't belong here Rachel, and you can't hate me for helping to send you on your way."
That was the moment Rachel had been waiting for, the raw emotion that Finn had told her she needed. And of course it would be Quinn Fabray that gave it to her, pulled those emotions from her once again. She felt the sharp sting of tears, the stabbing of Finn's betrayal coursing through her body. Looking back on that moment years later, after the drama between Rachel, Finn and the blonde was long forgotten, Rachel would always question Quinn's motives that day. Was she just the high school bitch who had the boy Rachel loved or was she truly a friend in disguise who didn't know any other way to stop Rachel throwing away her future?
"So this popular girl was the stereotypical high school nemesis?" asked Barbara in a way that made Rachel think the woman had had one of her own many years before.
"At the time that's precisely what I had thought. The boy I was in love with, who was my first true love, had chosen to be with someone else. I was a teenager getting her heart broken for the first time." reminisced the Broadway legend.
"And the fact that is was Quinn? Did that have any effect on your emotions at the time?"
"It didn't matter to me that he had chosen Quinn, it really didn't. I think it would have burned just as deeply with any other person because I was in love with Finn and he hadn't returned that love enough to choose me. Most teenagers have that, I guess?"
"I suppose, but not every teenager could have taken those emotions and turned them into something like you did, could they?"
"It did lead to me writing my first song. Well what I class as my first song. Apparently my ode to my headband has kind of a cult status at McKinley these days." The women share a knowing laugh, having seen the many youtube renditions. "The song helped our Glee Club beat the competition, but after all was said and done I had a song and a shattered heart. I didn't really feel like much of a winner that day."
"It must have been gratifying when that song and the album of the same name went to number one years later?"
"Oh definitely and I've always been grateful to Quinn for that, for pulling that out of me."
"So lets go back to this confrontation. In the book it seems to be one of a few major turning points in your relationship. Other than the song," the woman pauses and turns to camera "Get It Right, for the few of you viewers who may have lived under a rock for the past few decades." Another laugh resounds around the studio, putting the brunette even more at ease. "What else did you come away with from what you call in the book "the piano scene"?"
"Well it wasn't until weeks later that I actually remembered the rest of what Quinn had shouted through her tears at me as we stood by the piano. We were at our prom and for reasons I'll not get into right now, its in the book, we were in the middle of another confrontation in the bathroom."
"You two certainly had your fair share of verbal sparring matches back then."
"Well this one actually involved a slap as well as our verbal back and forth. Luckily I appreciated the dramatic effect in had on the moment. Quinn was absolutely beside herself with regret, of course, but I reassured her it was fine. That was the moment I remembered how she was essentially setting herself up to live her life as a Lima Loser. And if I thought anyone deserved to get out of that town more than me, it was Quinn Fabray. And me being Miss Rachel Berry, I just had to tell her so…"
"You're a pretty girl Quinn, the prettiest girl I've ever met. But you're a lot more than that."
Quinn had immediately started spilling the tears she had been trying to hold in, cascades of hurt streaming down her beautiful face that Rachel couldn't bear to look at. Taking the tissue from Quinn's hand, she cautiously edged forward, closer to the other girl than she had ever been before and wiped the tears away.
"You don't know that Rachel. You're the one destined for the bright lights a world away from Lima, not me." the blonde muttered, not lifting her eyes from the ground. Fresh tears quickly replaced the ones that had been wiped away and Rachel stepped back.
"Quinn Fabray! There are more ways to get out of this town than to head to Broadway. You're a smart girl Quinn. You've made a few bad decisions, that's what teenagers are meant to do, to learn and grow into responsible young adults."
"That sounds like something a shrink would say."
"My shrink did tell me that. I make a point to note and memorise the most important details of our meetings for future reference. He always says he's the one meant to be taking notes and its almost like I'm reverse-shrinking him?" A small smile appears across pale lips before slipping away again, almost unnoticed by the brunette.
"You have had to grow up so fast and you deserve to get out of this town just as much as I do. You deserve bigger dreams than marrying a guy you don't really love and settling. You are worth so much more than that. You and I are worth way more than what Finn could offer."
"I don't deserve anything Rachel and I'm certainly not worth anything to anyone in this town." Rachel caught a glimpse of Quinn's eyes as the blonde pulled her head up, seeing the truth in them, that Quinn really believed these things she was saying about herself.
"Where is this coming from? You are a strong young woman Quinn," that earns her a scoff, " and that sounds more like something your father would say." She realises her mistake quickly. Rachel had never actually met Russell Fabray so when Quinn's questioning gaze shot to her she knew what was being asked of her. "Finn might have mentioned a few instances where your father was less than polite to you. For the record, I think Finn should have stood up for you and I told him so quite bluntly. Plus your mom kicked your dad out right?"
"She did" she said quietly, nodding. Drawing in a deep breathe, she continued. "He comes over to the house a lot, they're trying to work things out. I try to stay out of the house but I've got to shower and eat sometime, you know? Who would have thought a kid wouldn't want their parents to get back together right?" The dry laugh that follows the statement doesn't fool Rachel.
"He hasn't hit you again has he, because…" She is quickly cut off.
"WHAT? No, of course he hasn't. Why would you even think that?" Quinn is flustered, her eyes darting around the bathroom to check that no one has overheard even though she knows that the are the room's only occupants. "And what do you mean "again"? My father would never lay a hand on me."
"You don't have to lie to me Quinn." She reached out, taking one of the pale hands in her own, surprised when the blonde didn't pull away. "Finn saw him slap you Quinn, through the window when he was on his way to your house once. He said you just stood there, didn't react, like you were use to being hit. He also said you dad would call you worthless and a disappointment to the family."
The fight that had so quickly sprang up as Quinn defended her father's reputation sank away even more rapidly. "He still says all that stuff when my mom leaves the room. Only now he has a point. I am a disappointment to him. Pregnant at sixteen? Homeless?"
"You were homeless because he made you homeless Quinn. The only person who is a disappointment in that scenario is him. He should have stepped up and acted like your father. You should tell your mom how you're feeling, that he hasn't changed."
"If I tell my mom, she'll kick me out again. She chose his side when he kicked me out the first time, she'll do it again." The girl sounded defeated and broken and all Rachel could think to do was squeeze the hand she held in her own. "Its better if I just accept how things are until I can move into my own place. I just really need a place to stay right now. Its never going to be my home like it was before but at least I know I have a roof over my head every night. it's the best I can hope for right now Rachel."
Rachel was about to protest. Quite profusely, she would add. But Quinn finally looked up at her with those sad watery hazel eyes that pleaded with her to stop.
"I'm really tired Rachel, this day, month, hell the last year and a half has been awful and I really just want to go get into my bed and forget about my life for a few hours."
"Okay Quinn, okay. Would you like me to drive you maybe? Its not like either of has a date anymore." She asked hopefully, not at all happy with the idea of leaving Quinn and her thoughts alone tonight.
"That would be nice Berry, maybe you could stay and watch a movie?" She smiled slightly at Rachel's nod, making their way out of the bathroom. "Just no Funny Girl or Hello Dolly."
"Okay Quinn, you can choose" she replied, leading the blonde out into the car park.
"And maybe I'll talk to my mom tomorrow" she added as an afterthought, hoping Rachel would allow her to downplay this moment.
"How about West Side Story? I've always felt I was destined for the role of Maria" the brunette said as they approached her car, letting Quinn's comment go.
"Sure you are Berry. Just be quiet when we get to the house, just until we get to my room. I don't want to wake him if he's stayed over." Rachel nodded and let the subject go.
"We spent the whole night watching musicals wrapped up together in Quinn's bed, Funny Girl included I might add, and when I left the next morning it was with a small hug and a whispered thanks in my ear and a "good luck" whispered back."
"So this one pivotal night really gave you an insight into her mindset at the time?"
"Exactly. I went home and did a lot of research on the matter. I was very prone to googling everything back then. Children from abusive backgrounds often find targets to lash out at outside of the family home. I had been that for Quinn and now that I knew the reasons behind it I only wanted to help more."
A sadness washed over Rachel's eyes as she remembered the times all those years ago when Quinn looked angry and lost, the times when bruises were explained away by Cheerio's routines and insults doled out to mask any truth.
"So the two of you have had this giant emotional step in your friendship, how quickly did that bond solidify?"
"Well it didn't at the time. Quinn showed up to school on Monday with her hair pulled across her face and the same broken look she had wore in the bathroom at prom. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't even look me in the eyes. If Rachel Berry has a reputation for stubborness, I had nothing on this girl!"
"So regression on her part?"
"Certainly. Later that week, during dance rehearsals I caught the remnants of a black eye as her hair flew out during a spin and I knew exactly what had happened during her talk with her parents."
"There was no talk of a police charge against her father or getting out of the house?"
"Quinn wouldn't even admit she was hurt, let alone that it was her father that had done it. She put up her walls to everyone around her. Try as I might to help, I was shut out along with the rest of New Directions. Eventually, after our return from Nationals in New York, Brittany confessed to me that…"
"That's world renowned choreography and dancer Brittany Pierce, for those of you at home."
"Yes, of course. Retired from dancing now. She runs an exceptional dance academy in New York these days. She had confessed to me that Quinn had essentially had an emotional breakdown in our hotel room in New York, begging for happiness, someone to love her, to care."
"That must have been very hard to hear, considering what you knew about her home life."
"Yes it was, even more so that I had been too wrapped up in my whirlwind romance with Finn again to even notice. That only multiplied when Santana"
"Santana Lopez, blues singing legend for…"
"Those of you at home" Rachel re-interrupted with a smile. "Certainly were a talented bunch weren't we? Santana informed my that Russell had moved back into the family home shortly after prom and Quinn had been told to play ball or get the hell out."
"So here you have this girl that you so desperately want to help, who you know is in an emotionally and sometimes physically abusive environment shutting out your help. How do you overcome those barriers?"
"Well if there is one thing that the teenage Rachel Berry knew, it was how to persevere. I had the briefest flicker of what our relationship could be like on prom night and I was damn well going to fight for it. Fight for Quinn. Because no one ever had before, not once. And Quinn deserved someone to do that for her." She pauses briefly, catching her breath. "Everyone deserves that. Come senior year, I was resolutely set on the idea of being that person for her."
"And everything went smoothly from there, easy as that?" asked the woman chuckling, knowing fine well it hadn't.
"Of course it didn't. This was real life, things couldn't just be resolved in a two hour movie or by us singing some song to each other."
"So no forty five minute emotional transformation such as on television." Barbara stated.
"Absolutely not. Quinn disappeared that summer. She showed up for senior year with pink hair, piercings, a tattoo and a questionable hygiene routine. Thankfully, Rachel Berry thrives on a challenge. First stop? The cancer sticks. I had to protect that tremulous alto after all."
"We have to take a short break, join us after these advertisements for more from the entertainment legend Rachel Berry."