Title: Heaven
Pairings: Faberrittana.
Summary: When they were still children, it used to be Q, R, S and B. But now that they are in high school, they are known as The Unholy Trinity and Rachel Berry. Rachel, feeling abandoned by her best friends, tried to move on with a positive outlook. The Unholy Trinity, fed up with the guilt and the ache of missing Rachel, finally decided to mend their broken friendship with the girl. Separated by their differences, will they be able to get back how they used to be? What if the Unholy Trinity wanted more than just friendship from Rachel?
Disclaimer: Glee is not mine.
Author's Note: I suck…I know. I'm sorry. I also did some changes on the previous chapter. Nothing major though.
R.I.P. Cory Monteith. I was never a fan but damn...that's just tragic. My heart goes out to all his friends, family and especially Lea. I hope she will continue to stay strong in the midst of this tragedy. I can't even imagine what she's going through right now.
And before you read through, just want to let you know that Finn is still a jerk on this story. And I don't have anything against Cory. He can't help it for being stuck with Finn Hudson's character.
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Chapter 14
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"Oh my god! R-Rachel!" Brittany exclaimed, her eyes wide, forcefully pushing Santana away from her which caused the Latina to stumble against Quinn. Quinn and Santana whipped their heads towards the door and their mouths fell open when they saw Rachel standing there.
The four girls stood silently as they stared at each other, each wearing the same shocked expression on their faces, the atmosphere growing thick with tension.
"Rachel..." Quinn started, breaking the silence. She cautiously took a step forward, raising her arm as if trying to reach out to Rachel.
Rachel took one step back.
"We can explain..." Quinn continued as she took another step towards the diva.
Two steps back.
"Please, Rachel..." the blonde's voice shook with desperation and panic as Rachel continued to back away from them.
And the next thing Rachel knew, she was out of the room.
"Shit! Rachel! Wait!" Quinn called after the tiny brunette and ran after her.
"Fuck," Santana muttered under her breath and started to look for her clothes. Brittany had just put on her clothes when she grabbed Quinn's shirt and quickly followed the shorter blonde who just ran out of the room half naked.
Santana was right behind the two blondes when she noticed Rachel's jacket lying around. She quickly grabbed a hold of it before running after her girlfriends.
Rachel dodged unconscious bodies in the living room as she sprinted towards the door and out of the house. Once outside, she half walked, half jogged towards her bike without looking back. She reached for her keys but found her jeans pocket empty. She palmed her forehead when she realized that it was probably on her jacket which she obviously wasn't wearing right now.
"Shit."
"Rachel!"
Rachel jumped when she felt a hand grabbed her arm and twirled her around. Her jaw dropped for the second time in the span of fifteen minutes as she was met with a sight of a still shirtless Quinn, her jeans slightly open.
"Rachel, please. Just hear us out. We ca—"
"Quinn! Are you insane? Are you planning on giving everyone a show?" Rachel reprimanded, her protective side showing as if she didn't just witness her three former best friends making out a few minutes ago. Without thinking, she quickly wrapped her arms around the blonde in an attempt to cover her almost bare torso when she noticed two men stopped by to blatantly ogle the blonde as if she's some piece of meat. Rachel threw them a glare to which the men backed away and turned in shame.
Quinn to let the diva drag her inside, now painfully aware that she did, in fact, just went out of the Puckerman's yard half-naked. However, that didn't stop her from feeling her heart melt from being wrapped around Rachel's arms.
As soon as they entered the house, they came face to face with Brittany, followed by Santana and the tension was back.
Rachel quickly let go of Quinn as if she just got burned, ignoring the pout that the blonde sent her way. Quinn probably didn't even realize she was doing it as she took the shirt from Brittany and put it on.
Rachel wished she didn't have to wake up so early in the morning. She wished she was hung over instead because she would definitely prefer to suffer under a major headache than be in this situation right now. Being in the same room as them, just standing there, was really awkward. She trained her eyes down, unable to meet the trio's eyes. She did notice her jacket on the Latina's hands, taking this opportunity to break the silence before they could venture on a conversation that Rachel wasn't sure she was ready for.
"Santana, can I please have my jacket?" Rachel asked as casually as she could, braving to meet the other brunette's eyes.
"No."
Rachel was taken aback at the sudden, but not rude, simple answer that she got. Her mouth opened but no words came out. She pressed her lips on a thin line, her brows furrowed and crossed her arms over her chest, "And why the hell not? It's mine!" She finished with a stomp.
Santana only shrugged, and to make her point, she slung the jacket over her shoulder.
Annoyed, Rachel huffed, narrowing her eyes at the Latina who defiantly stared back at her.
"Rachel," Brittany began, reaching for Rachel's hand only to draw back when she realized what she was doing. Instead, she settled on wringing her hands together, "I think we need to talk about this."
"Talk about what?" Rachel responded too quickly and winced internally when she realized it.
Yeah. Go play dumb Rachel. Maybe they would leave you alone.
"You know what," Santana replied, her voice quiet and uncertain.
"No, I really don't."
That's it Rachel. You're doing really well.
Santana groaned and rolled her eyes, "Are you really going to make me say it?"
"S," Quinn hissed, throwing the Latina a stern look as if to say 'be nice'.
Ignoring her two girlfriends, Brittany focused on the tiny diva, "Rachel, about earlier—"
"Is really none of my business, Brittany," Rachel interrupted, mentally patting her back for keeping her voice even and maintaining a poker face despite freaking out internally. She would reserve the freaking out part once she was home and locked up in her own room.
"You don't have to explain anything to me. If you're worried about me telling anyone, well, don't. It's not like anyone would believe me anyway. It's your words against mine," Rachel shrugged, trying to be as nonchalant as she could.
It wasn't her business. She shouldn't care. Then why won't the sinking feeling in her stomach go away? The girls were probably just worried she would open her mouth so they ran after her. Quinn had the most to lose since. No wonder she was the first to get to her.
With that in mind, the uneasy feeling in her stomach grew and her heart felt like it was being squeezed. Suddenly, it felt so hard to breathe and she tried to subtly take long, deep breaths without alerting the girls.
After a few seconds of silence—Rachel wondered if the trio felt half of the discomfort she was feeling now because the silence was just killing her—realizing that the girls wouldn't respond, she ceased the opportunity to step in front of Santana, causing the Latina to jump slightly.
Santana pictured all of the possible scenarios that could happen when Rachel found out about their relationship. She pictured Rachel screaming at them, accusing them, freaking out and sometimes, when she felt like being crazy since it's just what if's anyway, she even envisioned that they would suddenly profess their love for the diva and they would all be riding rainbow unicorns across the sky—okay, that was just so Brittany-ish. Not that she had any problem with that.
But this, this scenario wasn't one of them and it caught her off guard. And from the lack of response, she could tell Quinn and Brittany was just as surprised, if not confused. This scene where Rachel looked calm was just so wrong in so many levels.
Sure. Rachel ran away from them and for a moment, she thought one of her what if's was coming true and the tiny brunette would freak out. But what if Rachel ran away because she was just embarrassed? Or felt uncomfortable?
Santana was so lost in her thought that the sudden presence of the girl occupying all parts of her brain right now startled her, invading her personal space. Their eyes met for a brief second and Santana's breath hitched involuntarily. There was just something in Rachel's eyes that was so intense she couldn't seem to look away. Before she could react, the jacket over her shoulder was gone and Rachel was already starting for the door.
"Well," Rachel broke the silence as she hastily put her jacket on, her heart still beating wildly for the short staring contest she had with the other brunette. She didn't mean to do that. Like what her dads told her, her eyes never lie. If only people would look closer, they would see even her soul through it.
Unfortunately, other than her dads, these three girls were just as good as reading her through her eyes.
"I better go now," Rachel continued as she turned for the door, exiting the house without looking back. She could hear Quinn's muffled voice calling her name but she kept walking until she reached her bike. She couldn't wait to get out of that place.
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Brittany held on to Quinn's arm, halting her from running after the starlet, "Quinn, I think it's best if we give her some time."
"No, no, no. Something's not right," Quinn violently shook her head, doing her best to free herself from Brittany's tight grip.
"I think she's in shock, Q. Best if we let her be for now," Santana said quietly, still staring at the door that the diva had disappeared to. She now knew what she saw in those chocolate doe eyes. It was the same hurt she saw the day they broke Rachel for the first time.
Quinn stopped struggling and let herself be engulfed in the warm embrace of her blonde girlfriend. She leaned her forehead on Brittany's shoulder, her eyes shut tightly. How could they be so careless? How could they act like teenage boys when Rachel was just ten feet away from them? God. They were so stupid. Everything they had done to hide their relationship all gone to waste because they couldn't keep their hands to themselves. This wasn't how Quinn wanted for the diva to find out about them—not when everything were so delicate between them. They hadn't even proven themselves yet. She was scared to think about how this would affect their plans of making amends with Rachel.
True, the tiny diva wasn't as receptive with their approach and yes, there was still some hesitation and for someone who has a petite stature, Rachel sure had her walls built as high as the Excalibur. But really, who could blame her, right?
Brittany looked back and forth between Quinn and Santana. They had been standing by the door for a few minutes now since Rachel fled the scene. None of them had moved an inch yet. She looked up at the wall clock and groaned inside. It was only 7am and she couldn't believe how much drama had already happened. The three of them were shocked about the turn of events. Quinn wasn't crying but Brittany preferred if she was. Silent Quinn only meant that she was so lost in her thoughts and probably kicking herself for what happened. Santana was uncharacteristically quiet as well. There was a frown on her face and Brittany believed that her Latina girlfriend was probably trying to find out what the hell just happened.
If Brittany was being honest, though she didn't like how Rachel found out about them, she was somewhat relieved that it was already out in the open—for Rachel at least. Unlike her two girlfriends, she wanted to be completely open and honest with Rachel if they were to indulge with another 'friendship' with her.
Rachel deserved to know.
And now that Rachel did, Brittany was still quite anxious about the outcome of all these. She had her fingers crossed though. Because despite Rachel's unexpected indifference, she knew the tiny brunette was just holding back. The outburst was yet to come and she hoped that they could be prepared enough to face it.
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Rachel appreciated the gust of wind that was touching her face. It was a breath of fresh air, exactly what she needed right now. She should feel guilty for forgetting her helmet at Puck's but she had always enjoyed her ride more if she wasn't wearing the darn thing despite the lack of safety. Plus, there's just no way she was getting back inside that house with the girls. Being in the same space as them had made her feel claustrophobic. She had to get away. She just hoped she wouldn't get caught for not wearing a helmet. Her dads would totally flip.
Instead of going straight home, she decided to go to her favorite spot on the north side of town. It was an overlooking cliff where she had a view of the city. She discovered it by accident one time while she was taking a ride with her bike last year and she would always find herself there when she wanted a quiet place to think.
Rachel carefully parked her bike under a big tree. She sat down, her back on the tree trunk, one knee bent where she rested her elbow. The ride going to that place had calmed her a bit. She wasn't as freaked out as she was twenty minutes ago. No, wait. She didn't freak out. That just sounded wrong for some reason. She was more like...surprised. Shocked. Gobsmacked. Like, 'Holy shit. Never in a million years did I see that one coming' surprise. Her world was suddenly turned upside down, inside out (and just about every life-changing idioms there was) in a matter of minutes.
It felt so unreal. She didn't know if she should laugh her ass off at how ironic the situation was because here she was, openly gay and yet, she didn't—never had girlfriend. Or burst into tears because her former best friends, who she thought was straight since forever and she had secretly liked, had turned out to be closeted lesbians. And the worst part? They seemed, from what Rachel witnessed, to be gay for each other. There was no better time than now that she wished she had a gaydar.
Cruel. Just cruel. Fate was probably having a field day right now.
She wasn't really sure what to feel. There was bitterness and jealousy and hurt. Because, what the hell? She had been ridiculed and bullied and humiliated for being who she was. She lost her best friends because they thought being around her would bring them down before they got the chance to be on top. And now? Rachel couldn't believe she was dumped for going 'against the norms' only to find out that the girls and her had been floating in the same boat all this time. And yet, they had everything while she was left to fend for herself. How was that fair?
Though there was no confirmation what it was she really saw in Puck's bathroom, though based on how the girls reacted afterwards, Rachel was pretty sure there was something there. Her instinct said so. She wasn't that naive. She just wasn't sure if she's ready to know whatever that 'something' was. Thinking about it was one thing; hearing about it directly from the girls was a whole different story.
Rachel shook her head. It was ridiculous how much it was affecting her right now. She could practically hear her heart thudding against her chest with all the pent up emotions that were suddenly resurfacing from the sudden onslaught of negative thoughts in her brain. For the past two years, she tried to hold back her feelings because she didn't want the girls to see her pain. She didn't want them to see her cry. She wanted to let them know that she could be strong and was able to stand on her own feet. She refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing her crack and fight back because fighting back would only give them more reasons to taunt her, making things worse.
She wanted to stop caring. She really did. It was beginning to mess with her mind and remembered things that she tried so hard to bury in the deepest part of her brain. She couldn't forget but she really didn't want to think about it either.
Deciding to let her neurons take a rest, she stood up, mounted her bike and began the ride home.
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Practice was once again torture for the Cheerios. Quinn and Santana did nothing but bark orders and threw insults from left to right. Even Brittany was getting frustrated teaching the freshmen their new routine. By the end of practice, the girls were either passed out or bawling their eyes out. Coach Sylvester was actually impressed.
After taking showers, the girls changed in to civilian clothes, exit the school, got in to Quinn's Audi and began the silent ride going to the Secret House where the cheerleaders and jocks and most of the popular kids hangout every Saturday. It was an old, huge house which had been passed down from one Head Bitch to another, with the 'supervision' of Sue Sylvester. Other than McKinley High, this was one other place where the Unholy Trinity was considered royalty. The house had a swimming pool, a game room, a pool table, wall climbing and other activities. The back of the house was near the woods where the girls would run for hours—under Sylvester's order—after their monthly mandatory sleepover.
The twenty minute car ride was filled with silence. The trio hadn't spoken much to each other since they left Puck's house, lost with their own thoughts. Quinn was still shocked and worried and frustrated with herself for being too careless and losing control over the situation. Santana kept on replaying in her mind the look on Rachel's eyes when their eyes met. Brittany was trying to make sense of everything that was happening and how they could broach the issue without her girlfriends exploding. This was, by far, the greatest challenge they had to face other than the time when they were still struggling in accepting their feelings for each other. This wasn't how Rachel was supposed to find out. Rachel freaking out was better than the calm Rachel they had encountered this morning. Now they had no idea what was going on in Rachel's head and it was quite unsettling.
Quinn parked the car on her designated spot in front of the house. The trio stepped out and walked straight towards a big, brown, old door that creaked once they opened it. Eyes turned to them and like how they walked on the halls of McKinley, they kept their heads up, eyes straight as they made their way on the spiral stairs leading to the rooms. Only to be stopped by Finn.
"Quinn."
"What did I tell you about going near me?" Quinn sneered but didn't wait for a reply as she shoved him out of the way.
"Oh come on, Quinn!" Finn whined as he grabbed the blonde's arm, "Stop acting like the stuck up bi—person," he hesitated when Quinn gave her the look.
"Get your filthy paws off her, you oaf!" Santana pushed Finn on his chest hard causing him to lose his grip on Quinn. She stood in front of Quinn in defense mode, Brittany right beside her.
"She didn't want anything to do with you anymore, Hudson. She made that clear last night," Brittany said calmly, but her voice cold, "I'm sure you aren't that dumb to not get it."
Finn scoffed, "It's funny hearing that from you, Pierce. You aren't that smart either."
"Watch it, Finn. You do not want a repeat of last night because I would be more than happy to do it again," Quinn threatened, her voice dangerously low.
There was a long pause as the other occupants of the room moved their eyes back and forth between the Cheerios and the quarterback as they silently glaring at each other.
"Whatever," Finn muttered, flailing his arms before walking away to his previous position on the couch with his teammates.
Santana rolled her eyes, "Idiot," she muttered under her breath. The two blondes were already walking away when she turned to everyone in the room, "What are you people still staring at? Move along. Nothing to see here," before following her two girlfriends upstairs.
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"Oh my God! What happened here?" Rachel shrieked as she entered her room. Her clothes were thrown everywhere and there were a couple of trash bags on the floor.
"Oh, you're home," came a muffled voice behind the diva.
Rachel jumped in surprise, alert, clenching her fists in impulse and ready to defend herself against whoever that had entered and trashed her room. She relaxed when Alex's head popped out of her closet, "Alexandra! What the hell did you do to my room?"
Alex rolled her eyes and moved her head back in the closet, "It's fine, Rach. Relax. I have your dads' permission."
"My dads? But this is my room! And that's my closet! And these are my clothes!" Rachel actually stomped her foot, looking at her friend incredulously.
"Mmhh," Alex responded as if she didn't hear anything, "How was the party?"
Rachel straightened, remembering what happened that morning. Suddenly, Alex raiding her wardrobe wasn't such a big deal anymore. With a heavy sigh, she dragged her feet towards the bed and sprawled on it, ignoring her cluttered clothes.
Sensing the sullen mood of her friend, Alex chuckled, "Yeah. I know. Finn is such a douchebag. And I haven't even met him yet. I don't think I ever want to. Like, at all. I never thought I'd say this—and I would totally deny it if anybody asked—but I'm just glad the girls got to you before anything bad happened. What was he thinking doing that to you, anyway?"
Alex waited for the diva's response but she was met with silence, "Rach?" she moved away from the closet to check if her friend had fallen asleep only to be met with a confused brunette.
"What are you talking about?"
Alex raised an amused eyebrow, "Nobody told you?"
"Told me about what?"
"Oh boy," Alex chuckled.
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The girls stayed on their own private place in the house. It was a big room that looked almost like an office. There was a desk on the far side where an iMac was sitting at the top. There was a wide leather couch somewhere in the middle and a lazy boy just beside it. A 55" LED television was screwed on the wall with DVD set and speakers. There was a movie playing but none of them were paying attention. Quinn was on the mini balcony with a faraway look in her eyes. Santana was slumped on the lazy boy, pretending to be busy with her phone while Brittany was sprawled on the couch with her eyes closed.
They used to enjoy all the perks of being at the top. But lately, all of it seemed so insignificant and just...boring.
The silence was broken when Quinn roughly pulled the sliding door open from the balcony and entered the room, startling her girlfriends.
"Q, what's up?" Santana stood up when she noticed the look on Quinn's face. It was a mixed of surprised, anxiety and confusion.
"Rachel," Quinn whispered as if she's afraid to say the diva's name, "She's here."
"What?" Brittany sat up from the couch, suddenly alert, "Rachel's here? Why?"
"I don't know," Quinn shrugged.
"Do you think she's here to…talk? About...you know," suddenly the idea of talking about it made Santana nervous.
Before any of them could say anything, a loud crashing sound was heard followed by people yelling. The trio looked at each other, their eyes wide, before hurrying off downstairs.
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"Aahhh!"
"Get off him, Berry!"
"Hey! Let go of her!"
"What the hell, Puckerman!"
"Come on guys! Knock it off! Ooff!"
"What the hell is going on here?!" Quinn yelled from upstairs as the three of them watched the chaos that was happening in the living room. Her jaw dropped when she noticed Rachel straddling Finn on the ground, delivering punches from left to right, Finn shielding his face with both arms. Puck was wrestling with Karofsky while Azimio was trying to pull them apart. Sam was clutching a bleeding nose while the rest of the jocks had their phones out and filming the riot. The other Cheerios were all huddled in one corner, their eyes wide and fearful.
"Hey! Break it up! Stop!" Brittany yelled as she ran downstairs, followed by Santana and Quinn.
"Somebody do something! Damn it!" Santana grabbed the jock that was nearest to her by the collar, "Why aren't you doing anything?!"
"I-I..."
"Stop them!" Santana screamed on his face before throwing him in the middle of the ruckus, "You too! And you!" she proceeded to point and glare at the jocks that were just standing there like an idiot, "Fucking pussies! Stop standing there and do something!"
After much effort and reluctance and struggle, Puck and Rachel was standing on one side, lips cut and bruises on their faces, their arms crossed over their chests. On the other side were Finn, Sam, Karofsky and the rest of the jocks. In the middle, acting as buffer, was the Unholy Trinity.
"Okay. What the fuck happened?" Santana asked, glancing between the two sides.
"Freaking Berry just came here and attacked me!"
"You deserve it for what you did to me last night, you jerk!"
"You're fine, right? What are you so mad for?"
"The only reason I'm 'fine' is because somebody stopped you! The fact that you drugged me was enough reason to beat you up! Huh. What's the matter, Hudson? Too chicken to handle me when I'm conscious?" Rachel scoffed.
"Shut up, freak!"
"Oohh! Is that the best you've got? Was that supposed to hurt me?" Rachel taunted and readied herself when Finn began to launch himself towards her.
"Stop it!" Brittany extended her arms on her side, her palms touching Finn's and Rachel's chest as she tried to stop them from getting on each other's throats again, "Everybody just calm down!"
"Don't touch me!" Finn snapped, slapping Brittany's hand away from him with force that the tall blonde winced.
"Hey dude! That's my girlfriend!" Sam pushed the quarterback from the side. Finn pushed him back and before it started another riot, Quinn stood in the middle of them while Brittany pulled Sam back.
"Seriously, guys, knock it off!" Quinn scowled at them, "Before I decided to report this to Coach! Once she finds out about this, I'm pretty sure your fat asses won't be able to step foot in this house again. Ever. And as much as I love that idea, she wouldn't be happy to know that we let it happen which means, she'll get our asses too. And believe me, you don't what that to happen. Got it?" She looked at each of the jocks, her HBIC mode on. The jocks silently nodded, not able to meet the Head Cheerio's eyes.
"Good," Santana took over, "Just to make things clear, this never happened. Rachel was never here and I don't care what crappy stories you'll make up about what happened to you, but it definitely didn't happen here. Q, Britt and I certainly don't want to hear anything about this in school or anywhere else. Do. you. understand?"
There were a couple of nods and 'yeses' from the crowd.
"Well then, why the hell are you still standing there? Go! Get off our faces! Shoo!"
The crowd dispersed and returned to their previous positions except for Puck who remained standing beside Rachel.
"You good, Jewbabe?"
"I'm good, Noah. Thanks."
"Anytime."
"Everything you said isn't really applicable to me, you know," Rachel said flatly, darting her eyes to the girls before starting her way towards the door.
"Rachel, wait."
Rachel turned over her shoulder to look at Quinn. She didn't say a word though, just stared at the girls with expectant eyes.
"Umm...maybe we should get that cleaned up. We have first aid kit upstairs," Quinn said hesitantly, her voice turning soft from the cold, stern one just moments ago as she pertain on Rachel's injuries.
Rachel shook her head and with a voice void of any emotion, "It's fine Quinn. I think Finn needs that first aid kit more than I do. Besides, I'm used to caring for my injuries alone. Thanks for the concern though. And I'm sorry for causing trouble here," she turned around and opened the door. Before she stepped out, she stopped and without looking back, "And...thank you...for last night," with that, Rachel was out the door and on to her bike.
The trio watched with tightness in their hearts as Rachel walked away from them. For the second time that day.