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June 24, 2011
The hand rails were twined with blue, red and white ribbon and silver stars were plastered all along the walls of the Lima Mall. America the Beautiful played from stereos in almost every store as the mall began its annual "Independence Day is Just Around the Corner!" sale. Quinn rolled her eyes as she passed a man in a Statue of Liberty costume handing out flyers.
Her mother had sent her to the mall to pick up Fourth of July t-shirts from the Every Holiday store. Her mother's small group was planning on wearing the same holiday shirt to their party at the local country club.
Every Holiday was packed with people trying to get fireworks, clothing, and decorative paper plates before the sale went away. Quinn thought it a little ridiculous considering Fourth of July was more than a week away still.
She squeezed her way through two teenage boys fighting over the last pack of roman candles and made her way to the rack at the back corner of the store. The ex-blonde grabbed a few mediums of a white top with a jeweled United States flag on the front and stepped up to the counter, handed the cashier her credit card, grabbed it back and walked out of the store.
She was rummaging through her purse when Quinn notice Rachel and Puck walking out of Claire's together. Rachel was talking to Puck animatedly, waving her arms, while Puck half-smiled, actually looking seemingly interested in whatever the singer was saying.
That is... odd, Quinn thought.
The boy reached across Rachel to grab the bag out of her hand and tossed it over his shoulder before the diva skipped ahead a little bit before turning back around to him, beaming.
Seriously, what... Quinn was bewildered. She had never actually seen them interact outside of Glee. Granted, she did know, from Finn, that the quarterback and Rachel broke up last year because Rachel had made out with Puck. So maybe they do hang out outside Glee.
Suddenly, Puck caught Quinn's eye. The boy nodded Rachel's attention over to the ex-cheerio and Rachel spun around to face Quinn's direction, her smile never leaving her face. Quinn waved and hesitantly picked up her feet to head over to the pair.
The small brunette wrapped her arms around Quinn, tangling one of her hands in the pink hair. Quinn's hands automatically wrapped around the smaller girl's waist as they embraced. She received a whiff of lavender right before she stumbled away from Rachel.
"Hey Rachel, Puck."
"Q," the boy acknowledged.
The three teenagers stood there, right in front of Claire's, as the awkward tension refused to dissipate. Puck scratched the back of his head, looking back in forth between the two girls and Rachel wrung her hands before breaking the silence.
"So Quinn, what are you doing here at the mall?"
"Well, you know, shopping," Quinn answered, not particularly engaged in the attempted small talk. "Mom wanted me to pick up some things for Fourth of July, so..."
Quinn caught Puck's eyes shifting towards Rachel, clearly trying to get her attention so the two could leave, but Rachel hadn't noticed.
"What are you two doing here?" Quinn asked, pointing between the boy and girl. "You know... together?"
"Oh!" Rachel exclaimed. "Noah's sister's birthday is in a couple of days and he enlisted my help to find a birthday present for her.
Noah shrugged. "I have no idea what to get an eleven-year-old girl."
"And Finn knows you two are here...?" Quinn questioned. There was no way Finn's jealous nature would allow this without flying off the handle.
Rachel nodded. "Yes, don't worry about that. Noah is actually taking me back to his house after this and Finn is coming over. They are planning on having a Call of Duty marathon. I'm supposed to learn the basics of the game. Oh, I have an idea!" Rachel had jumped up and down and Quinn fleetingly thought that she looking kind of cute. "You should come with us! It would be much better with you there so I am not the only girl."
Quinn raised her eyebrows at the girl. There was no way she was going to spend the rest of the day with her ex-boyfriend and his present girlfriend and the guy who got her pregnant. "Thanks, Berry, but I have to get these back to my mom just in case, you know, I got the wrong shirt or something. But uh, thanks, for the invitation."
Rachel's smile dropped a little. "That's alright. But you owe me a girl's night, Quinn. What are you doing this Wednesday?"
The ex-cheerleader racked her brain but was unable to come up with an excuse in time.
"Come to karaoke night with my parents," Rachel reached for Quinn's hands. She tried to ignore how warm the brunette's hands were. "It's actually really fun and just all around Berry crazy which, admit it, you secretly like the craziness. Please?"
Quinn opened and closed her mouth a couple times, each time trying to say no until finally - "Ok."
Rachel's smiled widened. "Thank you, Quinn. I'll text you and give you the details, alright?"
Quinn nodded. "See you, soon Rachel. Bye, Puck."
"See you Quinn," Puck said and the two turned around to exit the mall, slinging his arm around the smaller girl's shoulders as she was talking of "beating the metaphorical crap out of you two boys at this game."
It was only once they were out of ear shot that Quinn realized she was going to half to spend the entire night with Berry household, with singing and probably dancing.
Damn.
June 29, 2011
Quinn appeared on the front porch of the Berry's house promptly at 7:30 p.m. Rachel had texted her earlier and told her to wear blue jeans and a simple top so Quinn opted for dark, ripped jeans and a white and black tank top - there weren't many other colors she could now wear that would go well with her hair.
She still had no idea what karaoke night entailed; Rachel refused to give details because she wanted it to be a "fun" surprise.
Rachel opened the front door with her ever present smile. "Hey, Quinn! Come in."
Quinn's jaw dropped when she took in what the brunette was wearing. She had on brown cowboy boots with light jeans tucked into them, a large brown belt buckle with a star as a buckle, and a white and light blue flannel with the buttons open to reveal a white cami underneath. On top of her head was a brown cowboy hat.
Quinn stepped in the door, eyes never leaving Rachel's figure. "Hi, Rachel - what are you wearing?"
Rachel laughed. "It's my cowgirl outfit. Speaking of which -" Rachel reached inside the closet by the door and pulled out a faded black cowboy hat and put it on top of Quinn's head "- you're going to need that."
"Whoa, hold on. I thought we are karaoking tonight."
"Don't worry, we are. Just... trust me, Quinn. You're going to fit in better if you wear that hat. Oh, hello daddy!"
A Jewish man with glasses walked towards the front door and a tall, muscular African-American man trailed behind him. They, too, were dressed up in cowboy gear.
The Jewish man kissed Quinn's cheek causing her to blush. "Hello, Quinn. I'm Hiram, and this here is my husband Leroy."
The dark man shook Quinn's hand and then stepped back to link hands with his husband. Quinn smiled at both of them. "Good evening, sirs. Nice to meet you both."
Leroy smiled back. "Ok, girls, let's get in the car. First one there chooses driving music." On his way out he smacked Hiram on the backside, making Quinn's eyes widen in surprise. She then felt Rachel loop her arm with hers.
"Let's go."
Half an hour later, Quinn and the Berrys pulled into a gravel parking lot in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the parking lot was a building Quinn could only describe as being something she's seen in Sweet Home Alabama. It in the shape of a barn, but twice as big as one and a big neon sign in the front that said "Howdy's Food & Mic." Country music was blaring from the inside loud enough to hear from the outside.
"This is not happening," Quinn groaned.
Once they walked into Howdy's, Quinn immediately knew that the Berrys come here regularly. One, they didn't wait for a hostess to seat them but walked to a table near stage where karaoke took place, and two, the bartender Katelyn knew Hiram's and Leroy's names and vise versa.
As Quinn sat next to Rachel, listening to an old man butchering "Living on a Prayer," she noticed that Hiram and Leroy never unclasped their hands. Quinn nervously glanced around, expected stink eyed glances of a homophobic slurs. Instead, she just saw people chatted at their tables or listening to the karaoke.
She opened the menu and folded her hands in her lap, feeling a bit more comfortable. "What is good here?" she asked Rachel.
"You're going to want to ask dad or daddy that question. They eat meat."
Rights as she was about to ask, the waitress came to the table with four glasses of water. After setting them down on the table, she began spouting out the orders which seemed memorized.
"Hey, everyone. Hiram, you still want the chicken fried steak? Check. Leroy, prime rib, rare? Gotcha. And my darling, the walnut and fruit salad? Good, the strawberries are very good today. And oh! You all brought a guest. What would you like?"
Quinn hadn't had a chance to thoroughly look through the whole menu so she looked at the two men for help. Leroy noticed.
"Quinn will take the Barbeque Chicken, I think. How does that sound?"
The ex-cheerleader shrugged. "Sure," she said and handed over her menu before the waitress walked away. "So, uh, you all come here a lot?"
"Every Wednesday," Hiram told her. "It's a way that Rachel gets to sing in front of more people. According to her, the more experiences and practice she has in different venues, the better chance she has at succeeding in her Broadway career."
"Hey!" interjected Rachel. "It's true! Many Broadway actors and actresses sing at bars and clubs on the weekends. Anyway," she continued, turning towards Quinn. "I made Finn come here once and I think it freaked him out a little. Granted, I made him dress up in full cowboy attire and I'm pretty sure that shook his self-confidence a bit; I let you off the hook."
Quinn chuckled. "I don't think I would have agreed to come if you had told me to appear in costume."
"You so would have Fabray," the brunette smirked just as the man singing on stage ended his song.
A small, bald man grabbed a microphone and stepped up on stage. "Hello everyone! I hope you are having a great evening. And that is going to continue because the night has finally begun because Miss Rachel Berry is finally in attendance!"
Quinn was confused as the restaurant actually burst into cheers and claps. Rachel was blushing, as if this was the first time it happened. Quinn couldn't help but smile at her.
"Rachel Berry," the commentator said. "Are you ready?"
The brunette got up and grinned at Quinn before taking the small stage. "Hey everyone! I brought my friend Quinn, and she is in Glee Club with me. Now, I want you all to help me with something. I want her to come up here on stage with me and sing a duet. So, on three, please incessantly irritate her until she gives in a sings with me."
Quinn's eyes widened in panic and she clutched onto the table. Leroy laughed and patted her back in sympathy. "You might as well do it, Quinn. Otherwise, she will get the restraint riled up."
Quinn shook her head at Rachel. "No."
"One," Rachel began.
"No, Rachel!"
"Two."
"I can't!"
"Three!"
She continued to shout at Rachel, despite the attendees' chanting of "Quinn! Quinn! Quinn!" over and over again. Rachel remained on staged, arms crossed, tapping her foot while still grinning straight at the ex-cheerleader. She finally sighed and jumped up on stage.
Rachel grabbed one of her hands. "Thank you Quinn! Everyone, give a big clap for her!"
The restaurant burst into another round of clapping. The Berry men continued to laugh.
Quinn buried her face in her empty hand. "I cannot believe you were able to do that."
Rachel leaned in close. "When I want, I can have the full attention and cooperation of a room. My personality and charisma is captivating, as you should already know."
The singer's face was close enough to Quinn's that Quinn could feel the smaller girl's breath on her. Quinn's eyes unexpectedly shifted down to Rachel's lips which were just right there...
"You ready for this, Fabray?"
Quinn's eyes were brought back up to her eyes. "Bring it, Berry."
The beginning measures of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" began and Quinn couldn't help it when the corner of her mouth turned up into a smile as Rachel shook her finger at Quinn as she began the lyrics.
"I come home in the morning light,
My mother says "When you gonna live your life right?"
Oh, mother, dear,
We're not the fortunate ones,
And girls,
They wanna have fu-un.
Oh, girls,
Just wanna have fun."
Rachel, still holding one of Quinn's hands, began jumping up and down. Quinn laughed and tugged Rachel back towards her as she began her verse.
"The phone rings in the middle of the night,
My father yells "What you gonna do with your life?"
Oh, daddy, dear,
You know you're still number one,
But girls,
They wanna have fu-un,
Oh, girls, just wanna have
That's all they really want...
Some fun..."
Quinn, despite her efforts not to enjoy this, couldn't help it. As the customer's clapped along with the beat, she lifted her free hand in the air and danced a moment to herself, eyes closed, and her hand tightened in Rachel's as the brunette sung into the next verse.
"When the working day is done,
Oh, girls,
They wanna have fu-un,
Oh, girls,
Just wanna have fun...
Girls,
They want,
Wanna have fun.
Girls,
Wanna have fun."
Quinn reached for Rachel's other hand and brought it up to her chest and brought the rest of Rachel's body close. The brunette quirked one of her eyebrows and Quinn grinned before stepping back, leaving room to twirl Rachel. Rachel squealed and Quinn took that as her cue to sing her part.
"Some boys take a beautiful girl,
And hide her away from the rest of the world.
I wanna be the one to walk in the sun.
Oh, girls,
They wanna have fu-un.
Oh, girls,
Just wanna have
That's all they really want...
Some fun..."
Rachel brought Quinn back to her, this time to twirl Quinn. She spun once before stopping and latching her extra hand onto Rachel's shoulder. Without meaning to, Quinn had put them into a slow dance embrace. Rachel leaned forward, beaming, before quickly stepping away to start the chorus, which Quinn also began to sing.
"Girls just wanna have fu-un...
They just wanna,
They just wanna...
They just wanna,
They just wanna...
Oh...
They just wanna...
They just wanna have fun...
Girls just wanna have fu-un..."
Quinn and Rachel were now jumping up and down and singing into each other's faces. The ex-cheerleader couldn't remember the last time she was able to just let go, to just have this one moment of uninhibited freedom.
Quinn also couldn't help but notice the way the smaller girl's fingers were laced perfectly with hers. Or how when Rachel is singing just for fun, and not for a competition, that her face lights up so much more.
Her breathing picked up, as did her pulse. Quinn's palms were now getting a bit sweaty, and she couldn't bring herself to tear eye gaze away from Rachel. Rachel didn't notice however, as her eyes were closed while singing the last few bars of the song.
They were no longer dancing or jumping, just standing on the stage as they finished the last part.
"They just wanna,
They just wanna...
When the working day is done..."
Rachel opened her eyes and in doing so, they bore right into Quinn's. The ex-cheerleader's breath caught in chest as those chocolate eyes peered into hazel.
The brunette brought Quinn in close and into a hug. Quinn closed her eyes, arms automatically wrapping around the tiny girl's waist again.
"Thank you, Quinn," whispered Rachel. "I told you you would have fun, didn't I?"
Quinn let go and nodded before retreating down the steps to head towards the table, hands slightly shaking. Leroy gave Quinn a look that she could only describe as curiosity. She tried to ignore it and kept her attention on Rachel who was now sitting on a stool singing. The atmosphere shifted and the lights even dimmed as the singer's voice filled the building.
"I thought I saw a man brought to life
He was warm
He came around and he was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well you couldn't be that man I adored."
Quinn rested her chin on one hand and fixed her eyes on the girl on stage. She was now swaying back and forth on the stool with her eyes closed. Quinn wasn't even really paying attention to whatever the diva was singing - just the girl.
Rachel looked peaceful with the way the corners of her lips twitched into a smile, despite trying to stay in a melancholy mood for the song. Her whole face was lit up and Quinn couldn't look away and so she stared captivated, not caring that she could hear her heart thumping or tat her fingers were twitching at her side.
"I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor"
Leroy cleared his throat loudly, making Quinn jolt out of her trance. She locked eyes with Leroy who clearly had noticed her staring at Rachel. She stood up straight, trying not to be intimidated by the large man. "Thank you, Leroy, for inviting me. It's been fun."
"It's our pleasure, Quinn," he said. "You are welcome any time you wish."
Hiram dug into his chicken fried steak and Quinn sat uncomfortably, not knowing how to make small talk.
Quinn spotted a glint of gold around Leroy's neck and her eyes followed the gold chain down to a gold cross which hung from it. The sight made Quinn grasp her own cross necklace. She peered at Rachel again and shame and guilt washed over her, for a reason she could not pinpoint, so Quinn just clutched her cross even harder.
Leroy observed the girl gripping a cross necklace. "You religious?"
Her attention was snapped back to the big man. "Yes, sir. Well, I mean, I try to be, anyway."
He smiled and brought his necklace out into better lighting. "Me, too."
"But - how -" she struggled, trying to formulate a question, but didn't know how to without offending the man. Her father had beating into her mind for years that the men like the Berrys were going to Hell and there was no hope for them; heck, he even slapped that into her.
Leroy caught onto what she was trying to say. "How do I, as a gay man, have faith as a Christian?"
The ex-cheerleader gulped and then nodded.
"Illusion never changed
Into something real
I'm wide awake
And I can see
The perfect sky is torn"
Leroy was silent for a minute, his finger caressing his glass as he thought. Finally, he spoke.
"It's complicated. I love God and -" his eyes zeroed back onto Rachel who was still swaying on the stool before returning back to the conversation at hand, "- He loves me, too. Quinn, to Him I'm not Leroy; a gay man. I'm just Leroy. I can tell you more, sometime, but I really don't think this is a good venue for this type of conversation."
The man stole one of his husband's french fries before relaxing back into his chair to finish watching his daughter's performance.
Quinn's fingers continued to clutch her cross as Rachel's voice became muddled as thoughts, memories, and images of hand holding, chocolate eyes, Russell Fabray, and a cross all blurred in her mind.
To Him, I'm not Leroy; a gay man. I'm just Leroy. But what did that even mean?
She has never been able to be just Quinn. Her whole life had been designed by label. It had to be Quinn the Cheerleader, or Quinn the Christian, or Quinn the Pregnant Teenager or Quinn the Disappointment, or, even worse, Quinn Fabray.
She had spent years trying to live up to people's standards: her church, her father, her mother, Sue, the school, and for some man who is an outcast in Lima to tell her that being himself is ok -
How does that even work?
Quinn was jerked out of her thoughts when her ears filled with clapping. She quickly stood up with Leroy, Hiram and the rest of the restaurant as Rachel did a small bow, her face beaming.
She jumped off the stage and hopped back down next to Quinn. "So, how was I?"
Wonderful, splendid and magnificent!" Hiram declared dramatically and Quinn definitely knew he was the one Rachel got her flare from.
Leroy just shook his head at his husband with a small smile before answering Rachel. "You did great, honey."
"What'd you think, Quinn?" asked Rachel curiously.
Although she had missed out on the second half of the song, Quinn remembered back to the first verse and chorus, when she watched Rachel singing with such peace that her face seemed to glow and Quinn could only reply with one word.
"Perfect."