Thanks for all the reviews. However I feel I must clear some things up. First of all I believe that some readers may have 'over imagined' the whole fiasco between Rachel and Quinn's fight. The way I saw the scene in my head wasn't at all as dramatic as it appeared to be. Rachel did not pummel Quinn to her near extinction nor did she try to murder/ kill her. In my mind simply this was just a fight. Sorry if this offended anyone.
Sunday: 8:54pm
Location: Hospital
Five figures were silently waiting inside Quinn's room. Jimmy and Donnie were pacing back and forth across the room with concerned looks plastered across their faces. Mandy sat in one of the chairs by Quinn's side; her blue eyes were heavily trained on the other girl sitting halfway across the room. Rachel was staring down at the ground with a stoic expression. Her small hands were gripped together in a tight grip. No words were uttered; the only sounds that could be heard were the two pairs of sneakers shuffling back and forth. With an uneasy sigh Cooper slowly approached the small diva and knelt down in front of her. His green eyes briefly scanned the girl's face.
"Here, this will help with the swelling." Cooper spoke.
Brown eyes slowly shifted up and met with large green eyes. Looking into his eyes the small girl could see the many feelings that circulated in the depths of them. She could easily read all of the emotions that were displayed across his features and that caused something within her to stir. She could see the pain, worry, love, and the confusion that flooded through their contact. And seeing this made her feel even worse. Her stomach clenched tightly as the rise of bile hit the back of her throat. Without even knowing it she could feel a burning sensation tingle at the edge of her eyes. A heavy weight continued to pile onto her chest. No breath, no air. Regardless of the size of the room, she felt it was slowly closing in on her. Everything seemed to be getting smaller as more time went on. She could no longer stand to look him in the face any longer. Without little hesitation, she dropped her gaze from him. That's when she finally noticed that in his large hand he held a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. With a small nod Rachel gently grabbed the bag of ice and touched it to her left eye. The ice cold sensation burned her skin with a fury that pushed back all the impending thoughts and feelings. She winced silently as she pulled the small bag of ice away and closed her eyes.
Cooper nodded with a weak smile before standing back up and walking back over to Quinn's side. Rachel bit down on her lower lip, eyes still closed. But the image of a bruised up Quinn blurred her vision. With that, she swiftly opened her eyes and glanced over to the sleeping blonde on the bed. Her brows lifted up with concern. Large and angry bruises/cuts covered her beautiful face. Her left eye was so swollen she probably wouldn't be able to see out of it anytime soon. Luckily she hadn't done any major damage. Nothing was broken. But looking at her in this condition made her feel sick. And that sliced into her stomach with a rough pain. Her eyes drifted over to the sitting red head. Those blue eyes were still glaring at her from the distance. Yepp, she was pretty sure that everyone in this room hated her. But she couldn't blame them. They didn't know the full story. All they knew was that some girl from Quinn's past came in and beat the shit out of her. She was the villain. After a few agonizing seconds of silent torture from the girl, Rachel drew her gaze once more back to the floor and closed her eyes. At that moment the blonde began to stir. Immediately Jimmy, Donnie, and Mandy rushed over to their friend. One bloodshot hazel eye popped open and found three faces hovering over her.
"QUINN!" Donnie sighed with relief.
"She's awake!" Jimmy drew out with a large smile.
"Are you okay? Do you need anything? Water?" Mandy asked with wide blue eyes.
"Do you need towels? Are you hungry cause I could totally run down to the taco bell down the street and get you something." Jimmy jumped in.
Donnie snapped his fingers and pointed to the blonde. "Clothes. I can totally get you some clothes."
Quinn let out a small and rough chuckle from inside her throat. Cooper casually walked over to her side. "I think she needs air guys. So take it easy and back off a little and let her breathe." Cooper replied with a cheesy smile.
"OMG! You are totally right! You know smothering her like that isn't good." Donnie replied with anxiousness.
The trio of friends quickly backed away from the blonde to give her some space. You could tell they were obviously on edge. When a large space opened up that's when a large bloodshot hazel eye found Rachel Berry standing quietly in the back of the room. Her face was casted down towards the floor with her arms wrapped securely around her waist. With a weary breath, Quinn looked around the room at her friends and uncle.
"Guys would you give me a few minutes to speak with Rachel. Alone." Quinn managed to get out.
Immediately Mandy jumped in with an angry scowl. "Hell no! I'm not leaving you alone with her. After what she did to you…"
A small smile tugged at the corner of the blonde's lip. Somehow this all seemed familiar. "I promise it's going to be okay. Rachel isn't going to do that again now are you Rachel?" Quinn asked with pointed look. All eyes shifted to the girl in the back of the room. Rachel silently shook her head.
"See, it's fine." Quinn replied.
Jimmy and Donnie gave each other a questioning look. But after another glance at the blonde they both gave a small shrug and quietly walked out of the room. Cooper and Mandy however eyed Rachel expectantly. "If you tough her again, I'll give you another black eye for the other one. It's looking a little lonely." Mandy growled before storming out of the room.
Cooper gave Rachel a small half smile before glancing one last time at Quinn. Without another word he took his leave, leaving Rachel and Quinn alone. The silence was eerie and deafening. Rachel was avoiding the other girl with every notion in her body. The blonde watched as the diva self consciously began to fold into herself.
"Rachel." Quinn called out in a low tone.
The other girl didn't respond.
"Rachel." Quinn tried again with a little more force.
"You pushed me." A small and tiny voice spoke from across the room.
"Rachel, look at me." Quinn responded.
At that, brown eyes shifted upward towards the bed. A large scowl fell across the brunette's face as she studied the large cuts and bruises across Quinn's face. On instinct her feet slowly carried her to the foot of the hospital bed. A red hazel eye watched the girl and her every movement. Both of the girls were silent as they each studied each other. When they finally made eye contact, it surprised them both at the weird sensation that began to stir within themselves. It was both frightening yet completely foreign. And it confused the shit out of both of them so they pushed it aside. Again Rachel began making her way to the side of the bed, breaking the eye contact. She quietly took a seat in the chair by her bed.
Up close the diva could clearly see all the damage she'd done. A very small part of her was enthralled in the fact that she had finally gotten what she wanted. She had finally gotten her revenge, but at what cost? Were all these feelings of guilt worth the pain that she's caused? She didn't know. All she knew was that looking at the broken blonde on the bed made her feel disgusted with herself. And that small part of self hatred she kept hidden in the back of her mind slowly began to surface. Once again the small brunette looked away from the blonde when she could no longer stand to face her.
"Rachel. I'm not mad at you. I asked for this, remember?"
The brunette shook her head firmly and shifted her gaze across the room avoiding the blonde. Rachel clenched her jaw tightly as she dug her finger nails into the arm rest of her chair. She didn't respond. It was starting to agitate the bruised up blonde on the bed.
"You didn't do anything wrong." Quinn sighed with frustration.
Rachel stared off to the side. "I shouldn't have done that." She whispered to herself. "I'm not that type of person. Why did I do that?"
Quinn watched as the diva continued to torment herself. "Why did I do that? WHY? What the fuck is wrong with me?"Rachel continued to spew out.
"Rachel nothing is wrong with you." Quinn replied back with a soft tone.
Immediately that brought the diva back to reality. Those brown eyes quickly heated up like a flaming sword. "Don't you realize what you've done?" Rachel asked as she silently shook her head. She brought her small hands to her face and rubbed it with frustration. Confusion was all that was running through Quinn's head. Nope, she definitely did not understand what was going on in the diva's head. But that didn't seem to faze the other girl.
"You have no idea, how much I HATE myself right now." Rachel growled out in a low tone.
"Rachel-
"No! Don't say another word. Because if you do, I will fucking lose it." The small diva hissed.
Quinn released a loud huff as she slowly lifted herself up the bed into a sitting position. "Rachel, I asked for this! I'm the one that –
"You shouldn't have pushed me like that!" Rachel retorted out loudly while bursting up from her seat. "Don't you understand that there are always consequences for one's actions? What would have happened if I didn't stop? What then Quinn? Did you even think about how this would've affected me?" she paused and angrily ran her hands through her hair.
Quinn pinched her torn lips and casted her gaze away from Rachel. "I thought this was what you wanted. You said you wanted to see me in pain, to make me feel everything that you did, to cause the pain and see me broken."
"You think this was what I wanted?"
"OF COURSE THIS WAS WHAT YOU WANTED! THIS WAS ALL YOU'VE EVER WANTED. IF IT WASN'T THEN YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE RIGHT NOW. NEITHER OF US WOULD BE. BUT HERE WE ARE…. YOU WANTED THIS. AND I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU'VE WANTED THIS. I'VE SEEN IT IN YOUR EYES. I SAW IT THAT DAY YOU SAW ME AT THE CAFÉ AND WHEN YOU CHASED ME DOWN AT MY HOUSE!"
"YOU WERE RUNNING AWAY FROM ME? WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?" Rachel spewed out.
The blood was quickly rushing to Quinn's head. A feeling of dizziness consumed her weak body. Her heart was hammering like a beating drum. It was so rough that it shook her entire body. With a frustrated sigh the blonde closed her eye and shook her head. Why did they always have to fight? Why couldn't they just let things be? What were they fighting so hard for? Now that was the real question. Was there an answer for it? No. But this whole thing was getting nowhere, once again.
Rachel huffed out a frustrated groan as she began pacing across the room. Her eyes were everywhere but at the blonde. Every nerve she had was on end. So many emotions were flooding into her and she didn't know what to do with them. She felt overwhelmed, frustrated and angry. Her rapid breathing was causing a chaotic mess within herself. "What you did, was totally uncalled for, which alludes to the fact that you still haven't changed. You are still selfish, careless, and completely ignorant to anyone's feelings other than yourself…
Quinn cut Rachel off with these soft and gentle words. "I did this for you Rachel. Despite how things went down tonight I'm still glad this happened. You and I both know that I deserved this. But most importantly, you needed this Rachel. You needed this just as much as I did. Because in that moment when you were slamming your fist into my face I never felt freer than I did in my entire life. And I know you felt it too even if you don't want to admit it. And I personally believe that the only reason why you're arguing with me now is because there's nothing left. We no longer have those barriers or that built up anger left to hide behind. And that scares you because after tonight, everything is going to change."
Rachel's pacing had halted a few feet away from the bed. Her eyes were wide as they stared at the girl on the bed. A large lump had attached to the back of her throat. Without even knowing it small warm wet tears slowly glided down the smaller girls face. In that instant, Quinn made eye contact with her. All the emotions running through her could be seen through her eyes. And she in turn could see and feel everything that the blonde was going through because she was feeling it too. The feelings that broadcasted between them became so intense that it felt like at any moment something was about to rip open her chest from the inside. She wanted to explode, to release everything that was pouring out of her. And if she didn't look away in the next few seconds she would.
But in that moment Quinn broke the connection and looked away from her. Rachel's ever beating heart stammered out of control as she too looked away from the blonde. The diva took this moment to quickly wipe at the remaining tears that fell down her face. Her brown eyes immediately attached to the wall beside her. Sucking in deep breaths to calm her heart, she closed her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. Once she started clearing all the junk of emotions there was one that stood out. And that was relief. At that thought her shoulders relaxed and all the tension in her body fled from her. All she could feel was an undeniable feeling of freedom. And that made her heart swell. Now there was only one thing left to do.
Rachel turned her attention back to the blonde. Quinn was looking at something far across the room with a pondering look. The small diva quietly brushed her hair back away from her face and licked her lips. "Quinn."
At this the blonde's bloodshot eye swiftly shot over to the brunette. Rachel flushed slightly underneath the gaze of Quinn. She felt completely naked at this moment. There really was no more hiding anymore. A slight shiver trickled across her body at the thought. After this, everything's going to change. And that scared the ever living shit out of her.
"I…..Forgive you." Rachel responded with a soft tone.
A small tear escaped from Quinn's eye and rolled down her heavily bruised face. The blonde quickly lowered her head and closed her eye. Rachel could see the blonde bite down on her lower lip as the tension in the other girl's shoulder disappeared. It was as if a heavy load had been lifted. A few seconds she heard a soft voice from the girl. "Thank you Rachel."
A small smile broke out across Rachel's face as she slowly took small but tentative steps towards the blonde. Again she sat back down in the chair. Quinn reopened her eye and looked over at the diva. They exchanged a brief smile before they both looked away shyly.
"What happens next?" Rachel asked with a tired voice.
Quinn blew out a long and exhausted breath. "Life I guess."
"I meant with us."
The blonde gave a small chuckle before leaning back into her bed and casting a gaze up towards the ceiling. "Absolutely nothing. Now we can finally move on."
"Did you really mean what you said about never seeing each other again?" Rachel asked.
"Yes. That is, if that's what you want." Quinn replied.
Rachel ponders and chews this over in her head. "I don't know Quinn. After everything, I feel like I need a break. A good and nice long… break."
Quinn slowly nodded her head and glanced over at the other girl. For some reason at the pit of her stomach a small pang shot through her body. Deep down she had this strange feeling…
A small and easy smile graced the blonde's torn lips. "I completely understand how you feel. And I agree."
Rachel quietly shook her head as she casted a quick glance at Quinn. With a shallow breath she closed her eyes and slowly nodded. She slowly lifted herself onto her feet. The ex-cheerio watched as the diva got out of her chair and made her way to the door. A small hand gripped the door handle with a gentle grasp. She paused. Hazel eyes stared at the diva's back with a foreign feeling. It was a feeling that made her ache. This was goodbye. After this, she would never see this girl again. No more slushies. No more lies. No more pain. No more Rachel Berry. Brown eyes shifted one last time to the bruised up girl on the bed.
"I'll see you soon." Rachel whispered in a low voice.
That's a lie….. Quinn smiled softly. "Yeah, see ya later."
Rachel let out a bright smile. With a small wave of her hand she opened the door and left. Quinn stared after the door as silence filled the empty room. Quinn's breathing stopped as the emptiness of the room began to soak in. Should I have said something else? Should I have stopped her? But why would I stop her? (I don't know…. You tell me?) I'm never going to see her again am I? (I don't know.) I thought….. (Thought what?) Maybe we could be friends? (With Rachel?) Yes. (Did you honestly believe she would stay? And be your friend?) I don't know…. (Do you?) Honestly no. Me and Rachel Berry friends? No. (Then… what?) I just guess its just…. I'm going to miss her. (Me too)
"Goodbye Rachel Berry." Quinn whispered.
Within seconds the door quickly busted open as Mandy, Cooper and her other friends loudly walked into the room.
"I swear, I was gonna beat her little fridget ass! To have the fuckin nerve! She's soo fucking lucky I didn't grab her by her perfect hair and drag her ass down the hallway." Mandy stated.
"Girl, you need to chill." Donnie replied with a long sigh.
"Let's all settle down. The important thing is that Quinn is alright." Cooper stated.
Quinn let out a soft chuckle as she watched the four of them continue to argue. This was her life now. Her crazy friends, and loving family. This is all I've ever wanted.
Sunday 2:45pm
Bright rays of sunlight glimmered through the large branches of the oak tree. At the base of the tree was Quinn Fabray. The mess of blonde hair was splayed across the luscious green grass of the front yard. White ear buds protruded from her ears as music softly played out. Her long arms folded across the front of her white sundress. A smile met her lips as she continued listening to her iPod. Long dark eye lashes swept up against her closed eyes. Dark purple bruises and small scrapes covered the sides of her creamy smooth face. The swelling in her eye had gone down but not by much. Within a few more days the size should reduce tremendously. Cooper made sure she always had an ice pack with her wherever she went. Her dark red lips pinched together in a slow manner as the melody of The Blowers Daughter by Damien Rice flooded into her ears.
And so it is
The shorter story
No love, no glory
No hero in her sky
A swift breeze blew through her blonde hair pulling her into a lazy haze. Images from her life in Lima blasted through her mind at full speed. She could feel all the pain, and the hurt that she caused. She could see the horrible things she had done. Her old life. The images in her mind quickly shifted to the night she left and finally ended to where she was now. Thinking back on it, everything seemed like a distant memory. None of it seemed real. Hell, she wouldn't even believe it herself if she hadn't lived through it. Then a vague image popped into her head. One she was not expecting. The image of Rachel Berry.
I can't take my eyes off of you
I can't take my eyes off you
I can't take my eyes off of you
Her brows furrowed together as her mind focused on the image of Rachel in her head. Immediately her palms began to moisten. In her mind she saw the small diva smiling and laughing at her with large bright brown eyes. At the image her breathing stopped. The sunlight was shining down around Rachel as the wind blew through her hair. A small tingling sensation hit her eyes. She's…. She's beautiful. The brunette seemed to be dancing in a field of sunflowers. In depths of her mind, Quinn knew she shouldn't be thinking about this. She shouldn't. But as the blonde continued staring into those eyes of the diva in her mind she couldn't help herself. She couldn't pull her mind away from her. Rice's voice continued to sway the blonde. Towards the end of the song her body slowly started drifting away. A soft sigh escaped from Quinn's lips as she slowly floated off to sleep.
At that moment a small four door red sedan pulled up to the house. The figure in the car glanced at the house with hesitant eyes. After a few seconds of staring at the house the figure finally took notice of the sleeping blonde in the front yard. A small smile appeared on her face at the sight. Biting her lower lip the girl reached for the car door handle but paused halfway. The girl glanced back over to the sleeping blonde. With an easy sigh she shook her head and turned the car back on. Taking another calming breath, Rachel Berry slowly pulled away from the house.
A small chuckle escaped the back of her throat. "What the hell was I thinking?" she mumbled under her breath.
Been a while right? Did ya miss me? Did ya? Send me some love!