Chapter 6

Wynonna forgot what it was like to have a friend. And while she decided that it was premature to call Quinn her friend, their late night conversations, jokes about the staff, and warm smiles during Group Therapy told a different story. They spent all of their time together, while they were silent or not.

They could laugh at almost anything. Even after a few weeks, they already seemed to have their own language. They could just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. There was an unexplainable closeness between them that neither could decipher.

Quinn's comfort made Wynonna not hate everything (and that was a big deal). They didn't tell each other about their pasts, but that didn't seem to matter. They knew all they needed to know about each other.

During Group Therapy on a very rainy Saturday, Quinn was called out of the room. She gave Wynonna a reassuring smile before she left the circle, but the brunette had a bad feeling.

Quinn didn't return to the group. It wasn't until Wynonna went back to her room when she saw her 'friend' again. The room was darker than normal (due to the weather), but Wynonna didn't need to see Quinn to know that something was wrong. She heard the blonde let out a small sob. The brunette wasn't really sure what to do. She wasn't used to helping someone feel better.

But even though she was clueless, she sat down next to Quinn, letting her know that she was there for her. If she needed to talk, if she needed to- hug.

Quinn remained still. She sniffled and wiped her eyes before whispering, "My parents told me that I needed to try harder. That I was wasting too much of their money staying here. That I needed to be better faster."

Wynonna felt a surge of anger and the desire to hurt someone (specifically Quinn's parents). For the past three years, she had pushed back every violent thought that came into her mind. But this was different. She wanted to protect Quinn. She wanted to protect her… friend?

"I feel you tensing up next to me, Wyn. It's fine. I'm fine. I mean, I could start faking it. I don't want my parents-"

"Your parents put you here, Q," Wynonna interrupted fiercely and grabbed the blonde's hand. "They shouldn't complain about the money when it's their fault you're in here. They chose not to believe you."

"They didn't exactly have a choice," Quinn whispered.

Wynonna didn't understand what that could possibly mean. "What do you mean?"

Quinn didn't reply. She only pushed her sleeves up and showed Wynonna the deep cuts that marked her skin. Even in the dark, the brunette could see the scars that etched her skin.

Wynonna couldn't help but stare. She hated that Quinn had done such a thing. She hated that Quinn wanted to hurt herself.

"They told me to do it, 'Nonna," Quinn murmured, her voice so quiet, the other could barely hear. "The demons made me do things. Things I didn't want to do."

Dolls could tell things were tense when the group entered the police station. He couldn't find the reason until he saw the stranger. The stranger that seemed to be attached to Wynonna by the hip. Immediately, he became suspicious. It wasn't like Wynonna to have a random friend.

When Wynonna noticed Dolls' and Jeremy's confused glances at her friend, she announced, "Guys, this is Waverly and Nicole's child from the future! She's here to help us save the world!"

Jeremy gasped and Dolls glared at her, not believing her for a second. He knew exactly what she was doing (and he was positively annoyed).

"OMG, you're a WayHaught baby?" Jeremy asked, running up to the blonde. "I always imagined you would have red hair."

"She's joking," Dolls stated emotionlessly and watched as Jeremy frowned with disappointment. He then turned to Wynonna and asked the question that she knew was coming. "Who is she, Earp?"

Wynonna smiled awkwardly and answered, "Well, er, this is Quinn. She's an old friend of mine, I guess you could say. And she has the symbol of the Cult of Bulshar on her neck. And when I touched it, my fingers got burned. It hurt like a motherf-"

"Haught?" Dolls interrupted, looking at Nicole with a confused and agitated stare.

She gave him this embarrassed and pitiful look and admitted, "I had to tell them. I recognized the symbol. Wynonna asked for he-"

"What gives, Dolls?" Wynonna interrupted, tired of other people talking in what sounded like code. "What's with the secret keeping? That's my thing!" Wynonna complained and put her hands on her hips.

"I only had a few files," Dolls told her. "There's not much in there. And Haught…"

"I told him to keep it to himself," Nicole told the team, looking guilty and worried. "I didn't— I got this gut feeling about it. But that doesn't matter right now. Earp was right. We need to help Quinn. That should be our priority."

Nicole tried to ignore everyone's concerned glances at her, but they accepted her command.

"Do you mind touching her neck again?" Jeremy asked Wynonna.

"Sure, Chetri. I just love burning myself. It's my second favorite thing after getting tortured. Good times," Wynonna replied sarcastically.

"Just touch her neck, Earp," Dolls ordered, looking done with everyone's shit.

Wynonna put her hands up in defense and said, "Alright, alright! Fine! Okay, Q. You ready for this?"

Quinn grinned at her and replied, "Never been more ready, Wy."

The Heir snorted and put her hand on the blonde's neck, causing her skin to sear with pain at just the slightest touch. She flinched it away and watched the other's reactions to the glowing symbol branded on her neck.

"Can I touch it?" Jeremy asked, fascinated by the mark.

"Go for it, dude," Quinn told him.

Jeremy lightly brushed his fingertips on her neck and made a small squeak sound as he squeezed his eyes tight, preparing himself for the pain. But it didn't come. He let out a happy chuckle and announced, "My fingers feel great!"

"So it's just Wynonna that makes the symbol go all wacky," Waverly noted. "Why? Did this happen when you guys were kids?"

Wynonna and Quinn looked at each other and shook their heads.

"It wasn't like I was touching her neck all the time," Wynonna snarked. "But not that I recall."

"You guys were friends when you guys were kids? That's so adorbs!" Jeremy exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly. "Were you guys in High School or something together?"

"Not quite," Quinn answered, knowing that Wynonna wouldn't have wanted to explain. "When we met, Wyn was fifteen and I had just turned seventeen. We were roommates in an Institution. It seemed like fate that we met, both being from Purgatory and both seeing demons. Or, in her case, Revenants."

Dolls' eyes stared into Quinn's. He already became skeptical. "She told you about the Revenants?"

"She is right here, Dolls," Wynonna almost hissed. "And yes I did. She had her fair share of demon-y experiences. I trusted her. I trust her, Dolls. And she came to me for help. And that's just what I'm going to do. With or without your help."

Dolls narrowed his eyes at the Heir and crossed his arms. He admired Wynonna's stubbornness and loyalty. But he also knew how dangerous it was for her. He eased up and even gave her a short smirk.

"Don't be so dramatic, Earp," Xavier told his friend. "Of course I'll help. That's what we do. It's what I hired you to do."

"Woah, he's your boss, Wyn?" Quinn asked, entertained by the whole interaction between the two of them.

"Unfortunately," Wynonna muttered. "Alright, Q. Tell the team-o about the creepy crawlers that do really bad things."

Quinn nodded and took a deep breath. She had a whole group to listen to her. She had an audience that would help her (and possibly believe her). It was stressful, but also gave her a bit of pride. Finally, she had people that would listen to her.