Quinn took her time walking to class - why rush? No one would sit in her seat, she was pretty sure, even after having been gone for so long. She had a reputation. She formed an icicle with one hand and spun it around in her fingers as she walked - until she crashed heavily into a girl she'd never seen before, dropping the icicle and hearing it shatter impressively on the floor. "What the hell?" she asked loudly. "Do you mind watching where you're going?"
Rachel was busy looking at her schedule, still trying to figure out where all of her classes were and at what times. Most of the students were smart enough to leave her alone at this point, the few who weren't had been easily manipulated into doing embarrassing things. Unfortunately, her powers didn't allow her to pay attention to two things at once and she felt herself collide with another person.
"Sorry. I'm still trying to figure out where everything is around here and I wasn't paying attention," she looked up into the face of her victim, catching hazel eyes for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know where English is, would you? I'd greatly appreciate the help." The brunette smiled, trying to be friendly with the girl. She was a new face. Rachel would consider her very strikingly beautiful, if had the time to pay attention to those things.
She'd greatly appreciate the help? Seriously? Quinn scoffed - who talked like that? She gave the girl a once-over. She was pretty, even if her fashion sense left a great deal to be desired - the combat boots alone were a crime.
Quinn gave her a too-bright smile that anyone who knew her would have recognized as completely fake. "Absolutely!" she nodded enthusiastically. "I know exactly where it is." Then she stepped around the girl and began to walk away. Maybe the brunette was trying to make friends, but Quinn wasn't in the market.
Turning after the girl, Rachel continued alongside the blonde down the hall. "Are you going to show me? That is very kind. Everyone else here has been most...difficult. It's nice to see that someone here is kind enough to help," she said, following along. Bumping into the taller girl had been an accident and at first, she'd been worried it would be another conflict she'd have to physically solve. Thankfully, the blonde seemed to be different and was willing to help a new student.
"I'm Rachel Berry. It is a pleasure to meet you," she turned her gaze to her companion and offered a grin.
What planet was this girl from? Quinn shook her head dubiously, giving her another quick look to check whether she'd suffered some obvious cranial trauma - maybe she needed to go and see Puck? - but seeing no signs of it. "Quinn Fabray," she introduced herself all the same, wanting to make sure the girl knew who she was, so she could stay out of her way in the future.
"Oh," she put on a daffy smile, "did you want me to show you? I'm so sorry, I just thought you were asking if I knew where it was! Like a test or something!" She stopped and took Rachel's schedule. "You're in 2-15 for English," she noted, "you're in the right spot in the hall, but you need to be upstairs. Just go that way," she pointed over Rachel's shoulder, using her other hand to create a thin coating of ice on the floor behind her feet, "and up the stairs at the end of the hall." She waited for the girl to turn around, smirking inside as she waited for the inevitable.
A quick nod was Rachel's acknowledgement of Quinn's introduction. Obviously, the girl beside her wasn't big on talking. No one at the school seemed to be very forthcoming. She figured she should just be happy to be getting any help at all. The brunette almost groaned at the blonde's response. Of course, it would just be too good to be true if one thing had gone right for her, wouldn't it?
Rachel narrowed her eyes at Quinn's answer. "Thanks for the help," she sighed, figuring she could ask a teacher on the way since she no longer trusted Quinn. Rachel had really thought that maybe this place would be different than the normal schools she had been in as a child. Nothing was different. How was she supposed to place her trust in Dr. Schuester when it was like she was stepping back into her past all over again? She could see her father, broken and bleeding. She saw the boys, chests ripped open. A mass of blood and carnage.
Shaking her head of the visions, the brunette turned to leave. As her foot touched the icy surface, she felt her world unbalance. Only her quick reflexes and years of training allowed her to tuck and roll out of the fall gracefully. Rachel turned back to Quinn, eyes cold and jaw locked. "You really shouldn't have done that..." she said, locking her gaze with the blonde and entering the girl's mind. 'How about I delve inside and rip you apart?' she grated against the inside of the blonde's mind before flinging her against nearby lockers.
Releasing her opponent without causing too much damage, Rachel turned to head towards the stairs fixing anyone in her way with an icy glare.
Quinn had never experienced anything like what the little brunette did to her. It was like someone had pulled her skull open and stuck a live wire inside, and she was almost grateful for the purely physical pain when she crashed into the lockers - it told her she could still feel, that her mind and body were still connected. She took a deep breath, trying to recover her senses, and lashed out with every ounce of power she could to create a solid wall of ice that blocked Rachel's path and took up the width of the hallway.
"Jesus Christ!" she shouted, wincing as she all but felt her father's hand on her for taking his name in vain. "What the hell?" she stalked toward Rachel with murder in her eyes. "I was just teasing you a little, new girl - whatever the hell you just did to my head, there was no call for it." She took a breath, still feeling a little bit dizzy.
And people ask why I'm such a bitch, she thought. When people did things like that, how could she be anything but? Sooner or later, just like her parents, everyone resorted to violence. Better to just not be involved with anyone. But in Rachel's case, it was too late to not get involved - so she went with her other option instead. "You're new here," she growled, "and so I'm going to let you walk away. But you threaten me again? I'd think about what it feels like for your heart to stop. Because I'll freeze it in your chest."
Quinn turned away, letting the frozen wall collapse in a splash of water. There were tears in her eyes that she didn't really understand, and she wasn't about to show weakness now.
Stepping back as a wall of ice rose in front of her, Rachel kept up a mask of indifference. She didn't even turn to acknowledge Quinn. "You should learn not to pick on other people for no reason just because you believe you might be stronger or better than them. In this world, it could easily get you killed," she said, her voice projecting against the ice. She'd already learned that lesson the hard way, as her scars would attest.
"You assume that I fear you, Quinn Fabray. I've seen and done things that would haunt you for the rest of your life. Whatever you think you know, is nothing compared to what's really outside these walls," she gave a cursory glance backwards and stepped through the puddle as the ice melted in front of her, heading upstairs to find an instructor to help her to class.
"You have no idea what I know," Quinn muttered, but the girl had already vanished up the stairs. Rachel's disruption of her mind seemed to be bringing all sort of negative memories to the surface, and all she could seem to think of was being locked in her tiny closet, being beaten, having the only good thing she'd ever made taken away from her. She shook her head, trying to dispel the memory. "No idea," she muttered again, gathering her things and glaring at any of the other students who dared to look her way.
She changed her mind halfway to class and decided to return to her room instead. She knew Doctor Schuester would be angry with her for missing class already, but she didn't know if she could stop from crying much longer and she wasn't about to do that in front of other people.