Authors Note: Many things are revealed in this chapter. We finally meet the Berry dads, we get some insight on Rachel and Quinn and even reunite with another character and find out more about him. Drama is bound to start and smut is bound to get better and I can't wait to write it! Read and Review but most of all enjoy :D
Chapter 11
The last thing Rachel expected to find when she got home was her parents. They were never home and when they were they never looked nearly as angry as they did then. She placed her purse tentatively on the counter when she walked into her kitchen and stared at her dad's confused. "What are you two doing home? I thought you were on a business trip." Rachel cast a quick glance over the complementary suits they were wearing.
"We were a very important business trip when we got a call from Principal Figgins." Hiram said bitterly.
"Hiram, relax," Leroy said, looking at him in warning before turning to his daughter. "Yes, he called and told us something which concerned us."
"Concerned you?" Rachel laughed. "When have you ever been concerned about me?"
"This!" Hiram cried turning to his husband. "This is what I've been trying to tell you! Young lady you've been lashing out and skipping school! No Berry would ever do such a reckless thing."
"A Berry? Since when am I considered a Berry when the two who are supposed to influence me and teach me how to be one aren't even around!"
"I told you we shouldn't leave her home alone so much, Hiram," Leroy said, turning away from Rachel for a moment. "It's our fault she's acting this way."
"No it's not," Hiram shook his head while he flattened an invisible crease in his suit. "We don't control her behavior, she does, and she has to start taking responsibility for it."
"Stop!" Rachel screeched. Her dads paused in their side conversation for a moment, astounded by her outburst. "Stop talking about me like I'm not here! You always do that! You pretend I'm not there like I'm some child when really I am talking responsibility for myself because neither of you have been around to do it yourself! Papa is right, it is your fault. Both of your faults but you know what? There's nothing you can do about it now because I've grown accustomed to it and so have you guys. I don't understand what you're problem is."
"Our problem?" Hiram repeated, pointing to himself. "You're the one who has been skipping school, not turning in homework, and Coach Sylvester said the last round off back tuck you did lost a foot and a half in air. What is your problem?"
"Maybe its boys," Leroy whispered and Rachel began to fume, once again her Papa was talking about her like she wasn't there, and now he was bringing in a topic that was mighty fragile at the moment. "Sweetheart you know you can talk to us. Is it Finn? What did he do now?"
"Nothing!" Rachel crossed her arms harshly, avoiding her parents. "I'm not dating Finn anymore."
"Shame, I liked Finn." Hiram said dryly.
"You never even met him, remember? 'We're too busy'. 'Maybe next time.'" Rachel mocked. "That's all I heard for the past four three years that we were dating. You guys only ever check it to make sure I'm alive. I'm glad you have the courtesy to put money in my account every night but sometimes I don't need a thousand dollars for a new outfit." Sometimes I just need my dad's. But Rachel didn't say that, she'd been trying to convince herself for years that she didn't need them just like it seemed they didn't need her around.
"Why weren't you at school today?" Hiram asked. "Where have you been?"
"What do you even care? Neither of you care!"
"Of course we care-"
"Just spit it out Rachel," Hiram cut him off. "Don't bother Leroy. Just get to the point. The faster she tells us the faster we can get going. We still might be able to catch a flight and make it back in time for the 7 a.m. meeting."
"See what I mean! All Dad cares about is getting to his meeting, and same with you Papa!" Rachel was furious now; she couldn't stand to be in the same room with them any longer. "I'm done with this conversation, go." She grabbed her stuff from where she had set it when she walked in and turned her backs on her dads. "Go to your meeting, I'll see you when you guys get back." Rachel didn't wait to be dismissed; she quickly exited the kitchen and ran up the stairs even though she could hear her Papa calling after her.
"Let her go Leroy," She heard her dad say as she closed the door to her bedroom slightly. "We'll deal with her when we get back."
"We can't just leave her alone," Her papa tried to reason.
"You saw her, she wants to be alone. There's nothing we can do but let her cool off. When we get back she'll have forgotten all about this and everything will be fine." That was the last thing Rachel heard because she blocked out her parents, only hearing the faint click of the door a few moments later.
There was no way Rachel would forget about it. There was no way things were going to be fine. They never where when they were gone, but her dads would never realize that, like she had so many years ago. They didn't care about her. She'd accepted that but they were blind to it.
~~beat~~
Quinn raised her hand up in the air slightly to alert the barkeep for another beer as she tilted back the one she already had. She set it down, sliding it out of her as another took its place and wiped her mouth as classy as she could. "Thanks," Quinn muttered, tipping the bottle toward the barkeep before taking a tentative sip.
Quinn pulled out a cigarette and lit it, letting the smoke mix with the smell of beer in the air. She swiveled in her stool to scan the room but found nothing of interest. Louis's Pool Hall wasn't the most quality place around but it was one of the few bars that were near Lima and from what Blaine had told her they didn't card, especially if you were a girl. Quinn had already had to fight off and tell two or three guys to get lost. She was pretty easy but she had her own standards and they didn't usually rise to 30-year-old perverts.
However Quinn only shrugged, she knew what to expect at places like the such she was in, but one thing she didn't expect to see was a certain pyramid-topper sitting a few down and around from her. "Hey Ben," Quinn called down the bar. Ben, the barkeep turned and walked over to her questionably. "What are you doing serving Rah-Rah-Rachel Berry?"
"Who?" Ben furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He followed Quinn gaze and made a small Oh noise when he saw who she was talking about. "Oh the skirt, she said she knew Anderson. Hell, lots of girls come in here saying they know Blaine but she didn't look like the typical. She also looked like she needed a drink. I don't ask questions, I just provide."
Ben shrugged and Quinn nodded in reply before he walked away to pour someone else a drink. Rachel hadn't noticed Quinn yet and she used it to her advantage. Rachel was sitting in a classic-bar style and she probably didn't even know it. Her back was slightly hunched and her finger grazed the neck of the bottle she had before tipping it back. Quinn had to make sure she didn't chuckle to loudly when the brunette squeezed her eyes shut from the drink.
It was obvious Rachel was there to drown her sorrows and Quinn couldn't help but know automatically what the problem was. On one hand Quinn was a bit upset that she had lost the bet, (though it was invalid due to Puckerman) but on the other she was proud of Blaine. He always knew how to deliver and it gave Quinn a sick satisfaction to know that the cheerleader was hurting because of what had obviously happened between her and Blaine. It must've happened recently too because Rachel's eyes were still puffy from crying and he hadn't called Quinn yet to brag. The bastard probably passed out.
Quinn smirked and tapped her cigarette to release some ashes before she stood and moved down. Rachel looked up at her when she took a seat and scoffed. "I should've known you'd be lurking around such a low place like this."
"So why are you here?" Quinn questioned, though she knew the answer. "You're daddies' liquor just too fancy for you?"
Quinn didn't notice Rachel's grip tighten around the bottle. "Fuck you Fabray."
"Bad language for such a pristine girl like yourself. What could possibly be wrong in your life that you've degraded yourself to this place and drink and wallow in your pity?" Quinn inhaled smoke and let it seep past her lips as they curled back into a cruel smirk. She enjoyed taunting Rachel every chance she could and it was rare that something new came up she could use. Sometimes even Quinn got tired of her own insults, embarrassed by how repetitive they had become over the years.
"Like I would tell you," Rachel snapped, setting her beer down. She turned suddenly to face Quinn, a hard look in her eyes. "Don't you have beds to be in, people to screw? People don't call you Quickie Quinn for no reason."
"I could ask you the same thing; did Anderson put it in you yet?" Quinn crushed the cigarette butt. "I don't see what other reason you could be here for."
"This has nothing to do with Blaine." Rachel scoffed and rolled her eyes, picking the bottle back up. "You don't know anything. Why don't you learn to stay out of people's lives Fabray?
Quinn's smirk dropped and her eyes narrowed suddenly. She reached over and snatched the beer out of Rachel's hand, throwing it to the ground. It smashed with a loud noise but no one seemed to notice in the crowded bar and those who did, didn't look back after a first glance. Rachel stared shocked at the ground before looking back at Quinn. "I should learn how to stay out of people's lives? That should be you!" Quinn was off of her stool now, hovering over the small brunette still sitting.
"What the fuck is you're problem?" Rachel spat, looking at her bewildered by the sudden behavior.
"My problem? My problem is you think you fucking deserve everything. My problem is everything you've ever had in your life was hand-delivered to you on a silver platter and when one fucking thing goes bad you believe it's the end of the world and what do you do? You come here to drown in your problems like the attention-seeking-whore you are!"
"I am not an attention-seeking-whore." Rachel had to strain out the words to contain some type of control of the situation.
"You're right; you're just a whore aren't you? Puckerman and now Anderson, maybe I should start calling you Busy Berry by the way you're racking them into your bed now."
"You know nothing!" Rachel shrieked, slipping off her stool now and taking a stand against the girl who was openly yelling at her. "This has nothing to do with Noah and it definitely has nothing to do with Blaine so just shut up and go back to whatever is waiting for you at home!"
"You know what I've got waiting for me at home Berry? Nothing. Absolutely nothing because of you." Quinn shoved Rachel a step back before the girl could respond. "Not a father, not a family, not a brother!"
"Not a mother either huh?" Rachel said, keeping her balance, but now a crowd was forming as people in the bar noticed the brawl going on and if she knew one thing about bars is they never let a fight go un-watched. Especially if it's girl-vs-girl. "Because you know what, she and her fucking drunk ass are to blame for Kurt and Burt moving out, not me. It's too late for your mom to start taking responsibility and I hate to say it but it's obvious it's too late for you to. I mean look at you Quinn. No wonder people have to think twice when they hear you and Kurt are related. You're a mess and he's taking the high road in life, I mean he's going to his dream college in the fall for goodness sakes! Where will you end up going? Either a half-way house or a brothel!"
Perhaps it was the wrong thing to say. No, it wasn't the wrong thing to say but it wasn't definitely the wrong place and the wrong time. Rachel regretted the instant the words left her mouth, not because she cared about Quinn or her feelings, but because she cared about herself and in that moment Rachel was afraid Quinn would do some serious damage. It seemed as if her pink hair darkened to red with anger and Rachel narrowly missed the lunge Quinn attempted.
That's when the chanting started.
Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight.
All Rachel had on her side was reflexes, because she had no idea how to fight, but those seemed to fail her when she felt Quinn's fist connect with her face and she fell onto the floor. Rachel felt a sharp pain in her upper arm but it fled her mind when Quinn's weight pressed down on her.
Quinn was furious and she wanted to do everything possible to hurt the brunette she had pinned. She let out a shriek though when her short hair was pulled and she lost her balance, falling on the floor beside Rachel. She felt fingernails on her face and a knee collide with her rib painfully and Quinn had to gasp to relieve it even the tiniest bit. She was about to land another punch, even more brutal than the last, when Rachel was lifted off of her.
"Cut it out!" Quinn heard someone yell and she looked up to see it was Ben that was holding Rachel back, even though she wasn't resisting. The cheerleader was just panting in the barkeepers arms, looking down at Quinn with disgust as blood dripped down her arm.
Quinn felt someone from behind bend down to try and help her up but she shoved them away, getting to her feet herself. She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and felt a bit of her own blood soak her skin. It was just a split lip but still it irritated her to no end knowing Rachel got a shot at her and ended up on top before it was broken up.
"I think it's time both you ladies get going home," Ben said, stepping between them so neither would lash out again. "I can call you both cabs-"
"I'm fine," Rachel snapped as harshly as she could, keeping the dead-lock gaze she had with Quinn intact.
Quinn didn't even bother responding to the cab-offer; instead she spit on the floor in front of Rachel and stormed out. She shoved past the crowd and ignored the calls from the guys who tried to grab at her as she made her way to the side exit. Quinn slid around the back and couldn't pull out a cigarette fast enough. The first inhale felt like heaven and nearly all thoughts of Rachel slipped her mind. At least they almost did until someone voiced a reminder.
"Hey sexy," A drawl came from a few feet away and Quinn looked up to see a drunken man in his late-20's walking toward her.
"Get lost," Quinn warned, tapping her cigarette and turning her back to him.
"I saw you in there. I was betting on you. I think you would've roughed her up, make her look pretty bad after it all."
Quinn scoffed and began to walk toward the front of the bar, not liking the vibe she got off the guy. "Not nearly as bad as you'll look if you don't fucking walk away from me."
"Well considering you're doing the walking away," Quinn gasped when she felt his hand clasp onto her arm tightly, so hard it hurt and she knew it would bruise. "I might have to rough you up. Do you like it like that? Rough and fast?" His mouth was pressed against her ear now, just as closely as he had her body to his, and his breath was super uncomfortable against her skin. "I heard what you're friend called you. Quickie Quinn? Hmm what a hot name,"
"She isn't my friend," Quinn said through clenched teeth, "Now get off of me!"
She managed to press the end of her light into the guys arm and he released her with a small yelp of pain. He glared down at the burn before glaring back at her. "You're going to pay for that you little slut."
"I don't think so."
Quinn turned around at the third voice and almost smiled when she saw who it was. The man stepped between her and the drunk and crossed his arms that actually proved to be quite intimidating. "I think you should leave. Right now."
"Yeah?" The drunk asked the stranger. "What are you going to do if I don't?"
Quinn couldn't see his face but she knew the stranger was smirking, and so did she when he reached behind his back to pull out the pistol she knew he carried everywhere. "I'll shoot you're mother-fucking brains out now leave."
"Whoa!" The drunk said, holding his hands up. "I'm going man, no need for the arsenal." Yet the stranger didn't put down his gun, not until the guy was gone. The drunk stumbled away from the dangerous pair of two, occasionally looking over his shoulder. He almost fell flat on his face when someone exited the bar almost running into him.
Quinn's body tensed when she recognized the fragile thin frame and Rachel's seemed to as well when the two made eye-contact. The brunette maneuvered herself quickly around the man and fled the bar. He didn't even bother going after her, afraid that he might get a bullet in his back. Quinn only relaxed a bit when they were both gone and the gun was put back in its proper place.
"You didn't have to do that Logan," Quinn said, brushing her arm gently, already feeling the bruise starting to form. "What are you doing here anyways? I thought you would be with Anderson."
Logan shrugged. "We didn't have a reunion like I thought we would."
"What? You need a place to stay?" Quinn asked.
"If you could help a guy out," Logan smiled. "It's the least you could do Fabray. I didn't tell him you were the one who rat him out."
"Rat him out?" Quinn laughed. "I did him a favor. If he didn't want to see you, that's his fault. I would've thought he'd like to y'know. Even after everything, you're still one of his friends."
"Not anymore I'm not. Doesn't matter, I'll be leaving town in a while. So do you have a place for me to crash or what?"
Quinn nodded, "Yeah follow me," She led Logan toward the front of the bar about to walk back inside when he stopped her. "What?"
"You've got a nice lip there Fabray," He commented. "Who did it to you?"
"That bitch that walked by here no less than a few minutes ago." She sneered, nodding in the direction Rachel had disappeared off into. "Rachel Berry, I told you about her."
Logan's eyes sparkled in interest suddenly. "The one Anderson's trying to get into bed."
"Yeah that's the one. I think he might've succeeded though; she definitely had that after-sex look about her and usually I don't listen to stuff she says but she mentioned something inside tonight that seemed off. She was in there upset about something and I figured it was Anderson, you know the typical reaction of a fuck-and-dump but she said it had nothing to do with him."
"Maybe she was lying," Logan suggested.
"Maybe… whatever, if he slept with her no doubt I'll never hear the end of it."
"Or maybe it was more than his usual routine," Logan said, more to himself then to Quinn. "Maybe he actually likes her."
Quinn laughed loudly. "Good joke, come on, I've got someone who can take you in until you leave."
"On second thought, maybe I'll be sticking around for a while. Would that be alright?" Logan looked at Quinn for approval.
"I don't see why not, but why the hell would you want to stick around Lima any longer than you need to?"
Logan smirked. "No reason."