Disclaimer: Quinn and Rachel belong to Glee. Everyone else is mine unless stated otherwise.
Quinn's POV. How did she get to San Francisco? Read on!
Flight 317 to San Francisco, now boarding.
This was it.
She was actually doing this.
She was leaving. For good.
And honestly? She was terrified.
Quinn had married young. Straight out of college, just like her mother had done.
She had gone to law school and had even been offered a job at a reputable law firm in New York City. But then she had met Josh and he had convinced her to move to some suburb in Chicago so he could start this computer software business with one of his college buddies.
It's not what Quinn had wanted, but her parents loved him and she wanted to make them happy for once.
So she had left her dream career behind and moved with him, finding work at a small local law firm instead.
Things had started out just fine. They had gotten married in a small church ceremony in town. He had started his business and she played the role of the perfect wife, making sure that she didn't work long hours so that his dinner was on the table when he got home from work.
Every single night.
Just like her parents had taught her to do while growing up.
But as the years went on, she had slowly started becoming miserable.
This was not what she had wanted. This was far for the plan she had set up for herself.
She had set out to become a successful lawyer in the big city, not some small town attorney handling petty cases.
And eventually, her unhappiness had started becoming apparent in her marriage.
They had started fighting. A lot, and all the time.
And the fact that they had been unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a while wasn't helping.
They figured that a baby could help mend the tension in their marriage. But Quinn couldn't even get pregnant, so that plan was down the drain.
They both knew that they had jumped into things too young. Not only that, but they weren't compatible. On a social-economic level, yes. They had both grown up in religious, conservative and successful families. But deep down where it mattered? They had nothing in common.
Quinn was adventurous. She wanted to try new things, travel the world and meet new people.
He didn't want to venture out of their small town and was content running his small, but successful and growing business.
A few years in, she had finally had enough.
This wasn't who she was and she was growing restless.
She was done trying to please her family and living a lie by pretending that she was happy with this man.
So after gathering up the courage to serve him with divorce papers, she had packed up and left.
Left him, left her job, left that boring suburb behind.
For a fresh start.
There were so many places she wanted to visit. To travel to.
But first, she needed to find a place to settle.
And there was one place, on the other side of the country, that she had always wanted to venture out to.
California.
More specifically, San Francisco.
She had heard stories about the amazing city but never had the chance to visit.
But this, this was her chance.
To start her new life somewhere that could fulfill her desires of living something other than the plain, boring life she had in Chicago where all she did was try and please her husband.
But there would be no more of that.
Before handing her husband the divorce papers, she had contacted a law firm in San Francisco and sent them her resume.
It wasn't that much, since she hadn't had the chance to work on any huge cases considering she lived in a quiet part of the city.
But her academic achievements were enough for them to grant her an interview, which she did over Skype.
She didn't think she was qualified enough to get the job, but a week later, she received an email from the firm.
They liked her and had offered her a starting position that started in a month, enough time for her to get herself settled in the city.
That was enough to push her to finally leave her husband.
He had protested, he had yelled. Telling her that she couldn't ruin their perfect suburban couple 'image'.
But she didn't care. As soon as she had gotten news that she had landed the job, she had immediately called a real estate agency in San Francisco and secured an apartment.
It was something small and temporary, with a month to month lease. Just so she could have a place while she got settled into her new job and looked for something more permanent.
Quinn might have been a small town attorney, but she was still a lawyer. And she had more than enough to take care of herself as she waited for her new income to start coming in.
Flight 317 to San Francisco, now boarding.
The voice came over the loud speaker again and she took a deep breath, looking down at her luggage.
She had one large suitcase and a carry on. The rest of her things were supposed to meet her at her apartment in San Francisco in a day or two, and she had one of her lawyer friends on hand to make sure that her husband wouldn't stop that from happening.
After all, he had done everything to stop her from leaving.
Including calling her father for backup.
But that didn't work either. Because it was about time that Quinn Fabray started living her life for herself and try to find her own happiness instead of attempting to please the people around her. She wasn't a teenager anymore and was damn well allowed to make her own beginnings.
So after handing in her boarding pass and flashing the attendant a nervous smile, she made her way onto the plane without looking back.
This part of her life was over and she was ready to begin a new chapter.
2131 miles away.
Four and a half hours later, her plane landed at the San Francisco International Airport.
She was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with sunshine, considering how cold it had been in Chicago when she had left.
This was going to take some getting used to, because the blonde wasn't used to warm weather this time of year.
But she liked it. It was a nice change from the wind and bitter cold.
And could probably help lift her spirits.
Yes, she was happy that she was starting something new after finally having enough courage to leave behind her crumbling marriage, but that didn't mean that she wasn't terrified.
She had flown to the other side of the country, alone. To a city she had never been before, where she knew no one and had no idea how things worked there.
Starting over was scary, even if she had been desperately craving a change.
"You're a big girl, Fabray.", she told herself as she walked to baggage claim, shedding her woolly cardigan on the way.
She certainly hadn't dressed for the warm weather.
"This is what you need to do so you can finally be happy. This is where you need to be.",she reminded herself softly as she grabbed her suitcase when she saw it.
The crowded airport made her feel dizzy and in need of some fresh air. Not to mention the fact that the time difference between San Francisco and Chicago was screwing her up.
It was only almost 6 o'clock here. Whereas back home, it would already be 8.
The two hour difference is something else she had to get used to.
Taking a deep breath, she politely apologized as she weaved through the crowd of people until she was finally outside and sighed in relief, her pale skin tingling under the warm glow of the late afternoon sun.
"This is home now." She said out loud, trying to ingrain it in herself that there was no going back to cold, windy Chicago.
"This is home now." She repeated, thinking that if she said it enough times, she would finally believe that this wasn't all some crazy fantasy or a dream.
She was really going through with this.
Finally, the words began to stick in her mind and a smile started to curve on her lips as she called for a cab.
The driver helped her get her suitcase into the back before she climbed in, surprised when she found that he had the air conditioning on high instead of the heat, like she was accustomed to.
"Where are you headed, ma'am?", the driver asked with a polite smile as he pulled away from the curb in front of the airport.
She rattled off the address of her new apartment and watched him punch it into the car's navigational system.
"Where are you coming from? Must be from out East, judging by that sweater in your hands. Didn't expect the heat,hm?", he chuckled.
Quinn smiled softly, toying with the hem of her blouse.
"Chicago.", she said quietly.
"Hey, I got family out there.",he said with a cheerful grin. "Are you here on business or just visiting?"
Quinn was silent for a moment, staring out the window at everything they were passing by.
It was all so new and she tried to memorize the sights as they flew by, fresh in her mind.
"Moving, actually. Fresh start."
The driver met her gaze in the rear view mirror and smiled softly.
"Well, I think you've come to the right place. This is California. Everyone comes here for a fresh start nowadays. I'm guessing you're not an actress though, since you didn't choose LA.",he chuckled lowly.
Quinn gave him a small smile and shook her head slowly.
"Lawyer, actually. I got offered a job down here, and I've always wanted to see the city. I've heard a lot about it."
"I've been living here for fifteen years. It's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself. And if you're looking for a fresh start like you said, I think you're going to find it here. This might not be LA or New York City, but I've seen lots of magical things happen out here..."
Quinn smiled at that and looked down at her left hand. There was a small indent in the spot where her wedding ring had once been. She had taken it off before leaving Chicago, leaving it on her dresser in her old bedroom for her husband to find and do with it what he wished.
She just knew that she couldn't keep it. It was part of her fresh start. Nothing from her past. And since she was getting divorced, she didn't see the need to have it anymore.
"Yeah, I think I'm in need of something magical...",she murmured softly after a moment.
The rest of the cab ride was spent in silence. The only sound she could hear was the soft music filtering through the car's speakers and the driver humming along to the tune.
It was putting her at ease for some reason.
Twenty minutes later, they were arriving in front of a tall, brick colored apartment building.
Her new building.
"Here you go, ma'am."
Quinn took out her wallet and handed him the money for the cab fare, along with a tip.
The man helped her with her suitcase and set it on the curb for her before looking down at her with a gentle smile.
He was probably in his mid fifties, with wrinkles around his bright blue eyes.
He was the first person she had met in San Francisco, and she was happy for it.
He was kind.
"I don't know if it's just a feeling in my aging bones, but I think you're going to find that something magical, ma'am. I just know it. Good luck, and god bless."
And with that, he was off again.
She watched as the cab drove away and once it was out of view, she let out a soft breath.
She hoped that he was right. That she'd find something magical.
Something that would finally make her happy. The happiness she had been lacking over the past couple of years when she was married and pretending that that was what she wanted out of life.
Licking her lips, she grabbed onto her suitcase and walked into her new apartment building for the first time.
Apartment 7A. Third floor. That's where her new home was.
Well, her new temporary home, while she got settled.
She dug into her small carry on bag for the set of keys that the real estate agent had mailed to her earlier that week.
The keys to her apartment.
She held them tightly in her hand, and as the tip of the key pressed into her palm, it all suddenly felt so much more real.
She looked to her right and noticed the out of order sign on the building's only elevator, so with a deep sigh, she set out to drag her heavy suitcase up the three floors to her apartment.
It took her almost fifteen minutes, and when she was finally on her floor, her arms ached and her forehead was a bit sweaty.
But she reminded herself once again that this was all part of her plan for a fresh start, and that any moment now she would be walking into her new place and everything would be official.
She will have become a resident of San Francisco, California.
With the keys in hand, she rolled her suitcase down the carpeted hall towards apartment 7A.
A minute later, she had turned the lock and opened the door.
She flipped on the light switch before stepping inside, quirking a brow.
The place was small.
Not small in terms of a studio apartment, but it was basically the size of the apartment she had lived in while in college.
She supposed that that was to be expected from these kinds of places, where you had a month to month lease.
It wouldn't be anything spectacular.
Besides, she would only be here for a month or two. Enough time for her to settle into her new job and new life, and find a place suitable for her.
So for the moment being, it would do.
Thankfully, the place already came furnished.
Sort of.
There was a fridge and a stove.
A couch. A TV stand with no TV.
A small kitchen table.
And thankfully, a bed. With what looked like a new mattress on it (thank God), and a dresser.
It wasn't that bad. The place had a certain charm to it. It was clean, and the kitchen had that exposed brick in it that she loved so much.
The living room had a nice view of a park, and her bedroom wasn't on the side closest to the street, which she was thankful for because she hated the thought of being woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of roaring engines.
All in all, she liked it.
"Home sweet home.",she said to herself as she set her iPhone down on her dresser and pulled up a playlist on her Spotify account that was appropriately titled 'New Beginnings'. She pressed play and softly hummed to herself as she unzipped her suitcase and began to unpack her things.
She didn't have much since most of her belongings were still on their way here and would probably only arrive in the next couple of days, so it only took her an hour.
An hour to put all the clothes she had brought with her into her dresser, to set up her toiletries in the bathroom and to put the new sheets she had bought onto the bed.
They were mint green.
Her favorite color.
Her husband had hated that color and wouldn't let her use it to decorate their house.
Ex-Husband, she reminded herself.
"Screw him.", she said out loud.
She could do what she wanted now, which included putting mint green sheets on her bed and singing out loud while she did so.
That was another thing. Singing always irritated him.
God, why was she thinking about him anyway?
That wasn't part of her fresh start plan.
He was a part of her past, which had no place here. And she had left him in Chicago for a reason. He didn't make her happy, and she was here to make herself happy.
She sighed softly and turned up the volume on her music, Sting's 'Brand New Day' filling her apartment and drowning out her thoughts.
By the time her things were to her liking and she flopped down onto her bed, it was 8 o'clock and she realized that she hadn't eaten since the sandwich she had on the plane a couple of hours into her flight.
She didn't have anything in her fridge, obviously. And she didn't feel like grocery shopping at the moment.
So her only option was to go out.
She didn't actually feel like it. She'd much rather spend her evening lounging on the couch, in front of her nonexistent TV and processing the fact that she had actually had the guts to move across the country.
But she knew she had to eat and her stomach was beginning to grumble.
"I could always order in.", she told herself as she got up and picked up her phone, ready to look up some place that delivered decent food.
Go out and explore. You just moved to one of the most exciting cities in the country and you want to stay in? It's a Friday night, you're still young. Do something, Fabray! You're a new woman now!
She could hear her inner voice speaking to her and sighed heavily, slowly putting her phone back down onto her dresser.
She hadn't gone out in years.
Not since her college days, really.
Her husband didn't approve of parties, and the only events they had gone to while they were married were boring business gatherings that left her yawning and aching for something more entertaining, every time.
But now she was free to make her own decisions and if she wanted to go out, she would go out.
It was about damn time that she started having fun again.
"You're right.", she said to herself as she began opening the drawers of her dresser, looking for something she could wear.
Sure she had no idea where to go and knew absolutely no one. But this is how one made friends, right?
She wasn't going to meet anyone holed up in her apartment. She needed to go out, explore the city.
The fun wasn't going to just come to her. She had to go to it.
Which is why forty five minutes later, she was leaving her apartment.
She had taken a shower and gotten dressed in a short, dark blue dress. One she had bought months ago but never had an occasion to wear it to.
Her hair was in loose curls, and she had stuck to minimal makeup, only accentuating her eyes and adding a touch of lip gloss.
She looked good, and she was excited because it had been ages since she had the chance to dress up like this.
She could already feel that happiness meter go up a few notches just at the simple fact that she was finally doing something on a Friday night instead of staying at home and reading, or looking over files for a case.
She was actually going to live a little.
Grabbing her purse, her keys and her phone, she had a wide grin on her face as she left her apartment.
Although as soon as she got outside, it fell a little when she realized that she didn't actually have a car yet to properly do some exploring.
And had no idea how the buses out here worked.
"Okay so maybe I'll stick to walking distance for tonight and do some more exploring when I know how to get around without ending up lost somewhere.",she told herself.
Which is why she now found herself at a bar, five blocks from her apartment.
Paradise City.
That was the name she had read outside in bright lights and on a whim, had decided to go in.
She hadn't actually been in a bar in years, and didn't know if it was a good idea to go to one on her first night in the city.
But for some reason, something had just drawn her to the place.
She didn't know if it was the bright lights outside the establishment, the laughter and music coming from inside or the fact that the sign was advertising a real live performing rock band, but she had walked in without thinking twice.
Besides, a place called Paradise City couldn't be so bad, could it?
It was safe to say that the place was crowded.
Everywhere she turned, there were people.
Some her age, some a bit younger.
Almost all of them had a drink in hand and was swaying along to the music playing on the large speakers, since the band hadn't come on yet.
Quinn gulped lightly as she smoothed down her dress and stepped further into the bar.
She was out of her element. She wasn't used to these kinds of places, and the fact that she was here alone terrified her a little.
She was just relieved that this wasn't some kind of dive bar and that she wasn't totally out of place in her dress.
She was just extremely nervous.
Relax, Fabray. You're the new Quinn now, remember? This is what you wanted. To try new things without being held back by your unfulfilled marriage. You got your wish, now go have some fun.
Her inner voice was right.
She spotted an empty seat at the bar and took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair before she quickly walked towards it so she could claim it before anyone else got to it.
After all, the place was pretty full.
"What can I get you, sweetheart?", she heard a low, purring voice say and looked up to see a dark haired bartender grinning down at her as she wiped down the counter with a rag.
Quinn swallowed lightly and flashed her a shy smile.
What could she get her? That was a good question. Quinn wasn't much of a drinker, after all. Save for the few glasses of wine she had from time to time at home.
"Um...I'll have a...Martini?", she said off the top of her head.
The women in the movies she watched always ordered martinis.
"And an order of fries, please.", she added a second later.
After all, the point of her going out in the first place was because she was hungry and her fridge at home was completely empty.
Save for the strange bag of frozen peas she had found in the freezer...
"Coming right up, gorgeous!", the bartender chirped and Quinn felt herself blush faintly.
It had actually been a while since she had been called gorgeous.
It's not like her looks had faded over the years. She just wasn't used to hearing those kinds of compliments anymore.
After murmuring a soft thank you, she looked down at the time on her phone.
It was a little past 9 o'clock, and the band was only going on at 10.
They were called 'The Bad Beginnings', and Quinn had never heard of them before.
But she was excited, because she hadn't seen a live band play since her college days and this whole thing was making her feel extremely nostalgic.
A few minutes later, her food and drink were set in front of her and Quinn smiled politely at the bartender as she slipped her credit card onto the counter to pay.
She spent the next forty five minutes or so taking it all in while she ate and sipped on her martini.
The fact that she was in a crowded bar, in San Francisco, more than two thousand miles from the place she called home for so many years.
Yeah, she might have felt scared and nervous when she had first gotten to the city.
But now, little by little, she was starting to feel relieved. Relieved that she had gotten away from it all and could finally begin again in a place she knew could fulfill her desires.
When 10 o'clock finally struck, the lights dimmed and Quinn could feel a fluttering of excitement in her stomach because she knew the band was about to start.
She finished her drink and decided to make her way closer to the stage, melding in with the equally excited crowd.
The audience began to cheer as the band walked onto the stage and Quinn couldn't help but clap with them, leaning up onto her toes so she could see properly.
She saw the drummer, then a keyboardist, and what looked like the bass player.
But what really caught her attention, was the lead singer and guitarist.
She didn't know what it was or why it happened, but as she set her eyes on the small brunette, her insides got all warm and her cheeks flushed.
And she couldn't understand why.
She had never felt this feeling before, like her heart was doing jumping jacks in her chest.
And certainly not while looking at another woman.
It was foreign and she tried to push away the feeling as she swallowed hard, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the girl.
In Quinn's mind, she was the most beautiful person she had ever laid eyes on.
Tight leather pants, combat boots, snug band t-shirt, shoulder length messy hair, leather jacket.
It wasn't something that Quinn would have gone for. Ever.
After all, she was used to the slew of preppy looking guys she had dated. The kind with pristine haircuts, pressed khakis and polo shirts.
But this? This was new, and alluring, and she couldn't quite comprehend why that was.
She inhaled sharply, realizing that she had forgotten to breathe for the past minute and a half.
She looked around her as the crowd continued to cheer while the band prepared to start their set.
She was the only one staring like an idiot.
She cleared her throat and looked away, trying to focus on something else.
Anything else.
But as the first opening notes sounded, Quinn heard the most beautiful sound that had ever reached her ears.
The lead singer's voice.
It was like honey and melted chocolate. Smooth and rich. And sexy.
And in an instant, her eyes were glued to her again and she was frozen in place, despite the fact that everyone else around her was happily swaying to the beat of the song they were singing.
What was happening to her? Why the hell was she getting so damn flushed and flustered? What was making her heart beat this loud?
She tried to blame it on the base coming in loudly through the speakers.
This feeling was too new for her to pinpoint. She was used to feeling bored, miserable and dissatisfied.
Now... Now there was a spark.
I guess you're just what I needed...
Those were the words that flowed out of the singer's mouth as their eyes suddenly met and she gasped softly.
For a second, she couldn't hear anything else as she held her gaze. She felt like she could see right into the woman's soul through those deep brown eyes.
I guess you're just what I needed...
Maybe this was what she needed. Maybe this was that something magical that the cab driver had been talking about.
Then just like that, she was swallowed by the sea of people and their gaze was broken as she stumbled back a little, not able to see much of anything anymore.
But she knew one thing for certain; she wasn't leaving Paradise City without getting this girl's name.
xxx
Next chapter, they're going to meet. But how is Quinn going to get our rock singer's attention?
Well you're going to have to tune in to see!
Please be kind and review.
And if you haven't read any of my other work, I have two other fanfics in progress!
Now I need to go to sleep...It's 2h30 am here.
xxx