What a lovely response I got for the first chapter. Keep it coming please :) Reposting this because update alerts were not working when I posted it the first time.
Leaving Beth behind had thrown Quinn through a loop. Although she knew that her daughter was in very capable hands, she still felt like she'd lost one of her limbs. Thirteen years of no more than a couple days separation, in a small town like Lima, did that to a mother.
The ecstatic teenager had been excited to go and spend the summer with her aunt Frannie, police officer uncle in-law, and cousins, in West Virginia, whilst her mother battled it out on TV for half a million big ones, as she'd put it.
But Quinn was already feeling the pangs of separation.
Despite the undercurrent of melancholy that crackled about the golden flecks of her eyes, a smile fell over Quinn's cheeks, not only because she had an amazing daughter, but because if there was ever a time for her to take drastic measures, in order to rectify their money troubles, it was now, whilst he was serving time in a Mexican prison.
He'd be out in two years.
Unaware of the darkness that had suddenly cast its hand over her expression, Quinn glared out over the balcony that protruded from her hotel room, where she was stood in the moon's glow.
By his release date, she intended to be long gone, and as sure as her love for her daughter ran deep, she was going to be long gone. Free from the lacking opportunities that plagued the small boring city of Lima, Ohio. Free from a life of just managing to scrape by.
Free from his grasp; she'd hire bodyguards if pushed to - buy a house with a state of the art security system, because she'd be able to, if all went to plan.
America was an enormous place. The world was an enormous place. And it was even bigger when one had money.
Following that thought, Quinn considered the eleven other houseguests that she'd be meeting soon. She thought about how they'd better be ready, because if not, she was going to chew them up and spit them out...
"Good evening, America. I'm Julie Chen. Welcome to another summer of lies, twists, and grueling competition. Tonight, twelve regular people will enter the Big Brother house and battle it out for half a million dollars." The beautiful Asian host span away from the main camera, and turned on her heel to face the house, a mischievous smile on her lips. "Good evening houseguests," she said.
With suitcases in hand, the twelve houseguests stood on the glass steps before Julie. Though they all acknowledged her greeting with eager response, they couldn't help but allow their eyes to wander over one another; some curious, others sizing up the competition. Some eyeing a potential showmance suitor, like Noah and Sam, for instance. Others anxious, like Tina.
And then there was Rachel, who was completely transfixed upon the elegant golden-haired woman beside her - the one who was wearing the pretty, knee-length, floral dress and white heels.
"Hey, I'm Quinn," the woman suddenly spoke, watching from the corner of her amused eye.
Rachel felt her face flush hot at the realization that this... Quinn had most likely been aware of her slack-jawed gaze all along. The fact that... Quinn could make her feel chagrin, or anything at all, didn't sit too well with the ambitious brunette, who had promised herself that she was going to do away with emotions, because this - Big Brother - was a job. Nothing more.
Nothing less.
So she simply didn't respond, instead choosing to smooth her eyebrow over with her fingertip, because now that Julie had begun to speak to them, she'd grown more aware of the cameramen that were poised at almost every turn.
At the lack of response, Quinn frowned for a moment and returned her full attention to Julie.
"Look around, because the people surrounding you will be your competition for the summer," Julie put out there. "I will instruct you to enter the house in sets of four. The first four who will be granted access to the house are: Finn, Noah, Tina, and Emma."
Finn fumbled with his suitcase, hiked it up from where it was sat on the ground, and pushed the front door to the Big Brother house open, swiftly disappearing inside, followed by the other three whose names had been called.
Santana stood there and watched the houseguests enter the house, one by one. Under normal circumstances, she would have been pissed that she wasn't going to get first pick of the beds. But heavier things weighed on her mind...
Knowing that the first twist of the summer rested, solely, on her and Brittany's shoulders, was weighing heavy on her mind.
As Julie then instructed Artie, Sam, Rachel, and Quinn to enter the house, Santana glanced into that of her wife's knowing yet encouraging blue eyes.
The two women knew what this was going to take, and whilst Santana supposed that it felt good to be in on something that the other houseguests were not privy to, she knew that not being able to kiss and hold her wife until further on in the game, was going to take its toll.
She just hoped that the payoff would be worth it...
"And finally, Will, Jacob, Brittany and Santana; you're free to enter the house," Julie said, waving the four houseguests off as they carted their suitcases past the intimidating front door.
For a moment there was sheer chaos, as the second and third sets of houseguests darted for the bedrooms - some, such as Brittany and Artie, even jumping over the circular red sofa, like excited children let loose.
"I already called dibs on the double bed in the corner!" Noah announced, jumping on it with a turbulent bounce.
"I hate you already," Santana grumbled as she made her way to a single.
Brittany giggled and flung her suitcase onto the bed beside Santana's. She would always find her wife's cantankerous grumbling, for the most part, adorable. "And... sold to the blonde in the back row," the tall dancer announced once she'd gotten close enough to her bed to touch it.
With much more poise, Will claimed the bed beside the single that was occupied by the quiet redhead. Emma, if he remembered correctly.
From the doorway, Jacob eyed his new roommates. Although he was smiling kindly as he claimed the only remaining bed, he was observing everyone very closely, so that he'd have more chance of figuring out this year's first twist should it involve any of them. He knew the game, and he was here to play it.
"I hope the other bedroom's not better than ours," Santana thought aloud. She'd wanted say whisper her petty fear to Brittany, but it would've looked suspicious and she knew it.
"I've already been in there. It sucks," Noah chimed in, now kicked back on his bed eyeing Santana like he wanted to do obscene things to her, with his dick.
She looked at him.
He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
She glared. "Am I gonna have to keep my eye on you? I am, aren't I chump?"
Noah bobbed his tongue out at the annoyed exotic beauty, rapidly flickering it up and down in a gesture that was crude enough to make even Brittany kind of mad.
"I don't know your name sir, but wind your tongue back in before I kick your ass," the blonde said, and with a sickly sweet smile that teetered on eerie.
Noah wound his tongue in and held his hands up in a claim of innocence. Last thing he wanted was to piss these people off on the first night, and then be on the first plane back to his shitty life come eviction night. "See? Tongue's gone," he teased, before sealing his lips.
"Thank you," Brittany quipped, good mood restored.
Unable to take the ridiculousness of her fellow houseguests any longer, Emma lowered her gaze and chuckled a quiet lady-like chuckle into her palm.
"I don't know your name either, but thanks for getting the idiot to shut up," Santana tossed her wife's way, as casually as she could.
Brittany just shrugged.
"Come on guys," Will stepped in with an authoritative clap of the hands. "We don't even know each other's names yet and you're already getting into it. Let's go and get the others, pop open the champagne, and introduce ourselves to one another on the sofas," he encouraged, hating that it was so natural for him to step into the mediating father role...
The six houseguests in the other room were settling in much the same way.
Rachel had already had to tell the tall, oafish, pale guy to watch his mouth, after he'd declared, under his breath, that Sam and Artie were fags for joking about sharing the double bed at the far end of the room.
Quinn was already over sharing her sleeping space with these people - the loud brunette, the Ken doll with the wide mouth, the tactless homophobic oaf, the mute girl, and the hip geek. The hazel-eyed blonde knew that her thoughts were a tad harsh, but it was better that they be that way. She couldn't ever let herself forget that these people were not her friends. They, along with the houseguests in the other room, were trying to stop her from getting out of shitty little Lima, Ohio.
No matter what, she couldn't allow herself to forget that.
"Shall we make our way to the sofas?" she asked, loud enough to silence the chit-chat in the room. "The others are probably already there."
Rachel shoved her suitcase under her single, and then glanced up at the blonde. She tried not to fall victim to the woman's ridiculously unfair levels of beauty, but it was... quite the challenge. "Sure, I'll go and open the champagne," she answered, since nobody else seemed like they were going to.
"I'll help. You're not gonna be able to pop the cork with those girly arms," Finn chuckled, to which everybody deadpanned.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and took off out of the room.
Both Rachel and Tina rolled their eyes once he was gone. But then followed into the lounge a moment later. Tina, because she really needed some alcohol flowing through her veins, right now. Rachel, because it was time to start forging false friendships for the furtherment of her game.
When Quinn followed out after them, Sam glanced at Artie and blurted, "dude, that is one beautiful blonde!"
"It is indeed," Artie co-signed, staring dreamily at the spot where Quinn had last stood.
Shortly after, all houseguests had gathered on the sofa. The champagne had flowed like anything, and now they were on the second bottle.
Once everybody had a glass in hand, Will stood up and gave the host of unfamiliar faces a smile. "I guess I'll start off the introductions," he began.
Noah chose that moment to toss the entirety of his champagne to the back of his throat, before gulping it down rather loudly.
"We'll just wait for this young gentleman to get his throat in check," Will quipped, earning himself a few laughs, including Noah's.
"Come on. We want to know your name, city of residence, occupation, and how many women you've slept with," Noah retorted.
"Seconded," Artie chimed from behind a throaty chortle.
Hard as she tried, Quinn couldn't stop her cheeks from riding up to accommodate her flurrying laughter. The muscular guy with the mohawk had been saying inappropriate things to everybody, and she thought that it was absolutely hilarious.
Will rolled his eyes at the juvenile talk. Perhaps if he just ignored it...
"My name's Will. I'm forty-four, married, and I run the Glee Club at St. Donatair's Private School in Boston, Massachusetts. I'll look forward to a summer spent in your company."
Rachel's ears had piqued at the mention of the Glee Club. Maybe she would have somebody to bore with her passion for musicals after all.
"Who's up next? Which way are we going?" Finn asked, in that deer-in-the headlights fashion that he seemed to have perfected.
"Clockwise," Emma gently piped up, feeling the need to cater to her mild OCD. "We should go... clockwise."
Finn nodded and stood up, ruffling his hair in a brief moment of awkwardness. "I'm Finn, from Green Bay, Wisconsin. I'm twenty-seven, and I work in a rug factory."
He couldn't wait to sit back down, and neither could most of the other houseguests. Wait for him to sit back down, that was.
Santana stood next. "What's up? I'm Santana. I'm twenty-eight, I'm from New York, and I'm a primary school teacher." She smiled for the lie that the houseguests seemed to have bought - that she was this harmless teacher, instead of the smart and ruthless lawyer that she truly was.
Jacob slid his glasses back onto his face after wiping them on his shirt. Then he stood, glass of champagne still in hand. "Greetings everyone." He paused to swallow, playing up his nerves. Playing up the helpless nerd stereotype, in the hopes that some of his fellow houseguests would pity him, and subsequently develop the beginnings of an emotional connection with him. "Excuse my slight anxiety. It must be the stunning women in the room."
Tina blushed, as did Emma. But the women that Jacob had truly been referring to, such as Quinn and Brittany, merely smiled.
"You've got game. I'll give you that," Artie laughed.
"So anyway, I'm Jacob Ben Israel. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, I'm twenty-four, and I'm a graphic designer."
"Graphic designers are hot," Brittany blurted, oblivious to the confused stares that she received as a result.
Jacob tilted his glass at her in a silent toast of sorts.
Soon after, the tall toned blonde sprang to her feet. "'Sup guys. I'm Brittany, I'm fifty-six in soul years, I live in New York, and I teach dance classes. Boom, I'm out."
Jacob was pretty sure that he'd just fallen in love.
On the other side of the sofa, Rachel wasn't quite sure why she'd taken such a liking to the jovial, if not a little strange at times, blonde. But she had.
Sam winked at Brittany as she sat back down, and then he took his stand. "I'm Sam. I live in California, I'm twenty-three, and I surf all day, most days. Oh, and I'm looking for love. That's… it," he declared, swiftly sitting back down.
The next introduction fell upon Tina, who was dreading potentially stuttering. She downed the last of her champagne, and slowly stood. "Hi... I'm Tina, from Chicago." She took a moment to just breathe, before continuing. "I'm twenty-five, and I work from home."
"You need to need to hook me up with a stay at home job when we leave here," Noah said, grinning.
Tina's cheeks flared with heat. "Sure thing."
Without needing to be prompted, Quinn smoothed down her dress and stood. "Hey. I'm Quinn. I'm from Lima, Ohio, I'm twenty-eight, and... I work in data entry."
"Are you kidding me?" Noah frowned, sitting up from where he'd been lounging. "With a face and a body like that, you should be walking runways."
"He's totally right," Sam agreed.
Quinn considered the two men's input, and then responded with a polite, "thanks," before retrieving her spot on the sofa… though their comments were nothing that she hadn't heard before.
As her butt hit the comfortable cushioned material, her eyes met with the doe-eyed brunette that she'd tried to befriend when they'd been stood just outside of the house. There was something very... deep and intriguing about her, Quinn would readily admit that. But she didn't quite know whether or not she disliked her yet.
She guessed that only time would tell...
The redhead of the group then stood. "Hello." She gave the host of faces a quick jovial wave. "I'm Emma. I'm twenty-nine, I'm from Greenwich, Connecticut, and I run a nursery."
And I smile too much, and speak too softly, and will skin you whilst you sleep, Santana thought upon the brief quiet.
"Evening everyone. My name is Rachel. I also live in New York," she announced, tilting her head towards the houseguests that had already revealed themselves to be her fellow New Yorkers. "I'm twenty-six, and I work in theatre."
Quinn nodded the information in, not quite sure why she felt as though Rachel had been directing it at her. It wasn't like the woman had looked at her at all during her speech.
Noah took centre stage just moments later. He ran his hand through his mohawk. "My name's Noah, but I mostly just go by Puck. I'm twenty-five, I'm from Colorado, and I own my own construction company. I can't wait to get to know some of you hotties," he teased, hoping to come off as genuine, despite the lies that he'd told about his age and occupation.
Little did he know…
A red flag had instantly shot up in Rachel's head, because there was no way that this guy was only twenty-five. But she'd let him keep purporting to be. She was fine with lies, just as long as she could spot them.
The last of the introductions had fallen to Artie, who stood up and rubbed his palms on his tight Bape jeans. "Hi. My name's Artie. I guess I'm the baby of the house, being twenty and all."
There was a collective, 'awwww,' which made the young man chuckle to himself. "I live in Washington, DC, and I'm trying to become a paediatric physiotherapist."
"I hear you," Santana praised the boy's ambition.
"That's fantastic," Will also commented, giving the twenty-year-old boy a thumbs up.
Finn gulped, wondering why everybody was congratulating Artie when it had sounded like he'd just said that he was trying to become a pedophile physiotherapist. People were strange...
Out of nowhere, the flat screen television up on the wall, above the big homely fireplace, flickered on, and footage of what was going on just outside of the house filtered in.
All heads jaunted towards the TV, which was now showing clear footage of Julie Chen as she stood on the other side of their front door.
"Hello again, houseguests," Julie began, with that knowing smirk. "Congratulations on getting settled within the house, I see that you've been getting acquainted. But as you know, with Big Brother, you must… expect the unexpected."
The mood in the lounge transformed, immediately, at the sound of those words. Gone were the previous pleasantries. Present were the spikes in heartbeat.
This was it. The game had begun.
"The Head Of Household competition will be held shortly, wherein first Head Of Household will be crowned. But I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't let you know that all... is not what it seems."
Rachel's eyes found Quinn in that moment, and the blonde stared back, though neither knew why they'd locked themselves into such eye contact.
Across from them, Brittany looked at her wife, who briefly returned the glance.
It took Noah's comedic, "shit just got real," to snap everyone out of their sudden wariness.
"For now, you should all get changed into competition attire, and head out to the back garden, where you will find the instructions for your first HOH competition. That's it for now," Julie reported, with a small wave. "Enjoy your night, houseguests."
The twist will be revealed, to its full extent, in the next chapter :D
Ps:
To the guest reviewer, May: Houseguests sometimes lie about their age and or occupation so as to appear less threatening to the other houseguests. It takes smarts and perseverance to become a lawyer, and they are known for being smart, ruthless and duplicitous. Santana doesn't want the houseguests thinking that she is any of those things. She wants them to feel like she's a harmless school teacher, and not a threat so that she won't be targeted by the house.
Same goes for the age thing. The longer you have lived, the more experience you have in life. Also, Puck wanted to appear younger and more attractive to the ladies lol.