…brown eyes that reminded Quinn of her favorite chocolate stared up at her lovely.
"I'm all yours. And you are mine." She moved closer to Quinn, her eyes closing softly as Quinn couldn't help but shut hers too. "Quinn Fabray, I am your shining star—"
"QUINN!" a shrill voice scratched at her ears, waking the blonde from her hazy dream, "YOUR TRYOUTS, GIRL!" Quinn jolted up in bed, her hair a mess and sweat glistening on her skin. "Get up and get ready. You don't want to be late!" She looked over to see Kurt in his workout clothes.
Quinn smoothed her hair, once again forgetting it was no longer long, as she picked her phone up. Six o'clock greeted her. Her hand tightened slightly around her phone as she mumbled to herself about her dream. What the hell was that?
She got up, dressing in her practice gear while acknowledging and bidding Kurt farewell on his day.
"Good luck, Quinn!" He called her on his way out.
The blonde smiled affectionately at the door before taking a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.
The dorm building wasn't buzzing with as much life as the other day, but there were still a few early stragglers wandering about. So getting from point A to point B wasn't any big deal until Quinn noticed the other person on the other side of the door to the outside.
A rush of awkwardness washed over Quinn's body as she rushed to open the door for Rachel. "R-Rachel, hey." The blonde stepped aside for her, waving awkwardly.
"Quinn! What a pleasant surprise." Rachel blushed.
"U-uh, yeah. I-I mean, haah, what brings you here? In the morning?" Quinn cringed at her own stuttering and once she looked over Rachel's outfit, she cringed even more. Those are definitely workout clothes…
"My morning workout regime, of course!" Rachel seemed to beam up at Quinn. "I wake up at five o'clock every morning. Normally, I work the elliptical, but upon seeing the weather today, I decided a run would be most fitting." During Rachel's rambling, she had inched closer to Quinn who still held the door open. "You are dressed in sports attire. Are we off to, I assume soccer tryouts?"
Quinn nodded. "Yeah. Actually, I better head over. I heard being late was a no-go." She gave a shrug with a half smile.
"Oh certainly. Coach Sylvester is, excuse my language, a hardass for punctuality," Rachel reached out and assuringly touched Quinn's forearm that was closest to her, "I wish you good luck. I do hope to run into you later."
Rachel's hand felt warm on Quinn's arm that the very spot sent tingling through her body. That or maybe Rachel shocked her. For certain, though, Quinn's mouth felt dry when she spoke. "Th-Thanks, uh, b-b-bye." She managed out in stutters but made no move to leave first.
Rachel simply giggled to herself—a chime Quinn could get used to—as she withdrew her hand and headed into the building.
What the hell was that Fabray?! Quinn straightened her lips in thought as she allowed the door to shut behind her and began walking. I never stutter, but around her I… God, this girl is something else. I mean, maybe it's because she's popular that I'm like this but that wouldn't make sense because I was her at my old school… Ugh.
She arrived at the field.
Quinn briefly scouted her potential teammates and competitions before taking a deep breath. Her grip on her bag tightened as she released her breath. You got this, Quinn. With confidence, Quinn walked onto the field toward the coach. Along the way she traded nods and single syllable words with others. She passed by a set of benches and dropped her bag off with the rest.
Coach Sylvester—decked out in a vibrant red tracksuit, clipboard in hand and a whistle ready in the other—exhibited discipline and an I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude. "You think this is hard? How 'bout I toss you all into the Atlantic Ocean with one arm tied behind your back, and while I'm at it, get the coast guard to allow hungry sharks to roam while you swim from one end to the other!" She barked.
Quinn flinched at Coach Sylvester's tone, but nevertheless took her chance to speak up. "Coach, I'm Quinn Fabray and I'm here to try out for your team," she said confidently.
Coach Sylvester eyed Quinn's physique from her peripheral vision. "Alright, blondie. Get in there and give me ten laps then join the rest of these losers who—" blowing her whistle, the coach then grabbed her megaphone latched at her waist, yelling— "can't grow a pair! Oh come on Finnept, push those damn giraffe legs. Even Asians' running faster than you without breaking a sweat!"
Quinn glanced over to the group of boys, spotting Finn having difficulties running his laps. She couldn't help but smile to herself. Ha, that is pathetic. I bet I can run laps around him. Although Coach Sylvester no longer had her attention on her, she still nodded before running onto the field.
The blonde breezed by half the boys. By her seventh lap in a mere seven minutes, she realized that none of them even trained in the summer for their spots.
"Look at the litter of you imbeciles. Blondie—who I've never seen before—is passing you all! Show me you want to be here! Pick it up!" Coach Slyvester roared into her megaphone, shaking her head in dissatisfaction.
Once Quinn finished her ten laps, she joined the other boys who were done by the coach; ready for tryouts. She stood by the thin Asian boy while the coach was yelling about earlier.
He looked over at Quinn. "Hey, 'sup! I'm Mike Chang, nice to meet you. And this guy here," he patted the back of a shorter boy who was bent over at the waist, catching his breath— "is Blaine Anderson." He then whispered, "Don't let his bowties confuse you, he's a pretty good defender." He smiled.
Quinn chuckled. "I couldn't tell. I'm Quinn Fabray. I'm a striker— well, hoping to be on this team. Was at my last school." She shook Mike's hand firmly who chortled at her last comment.
"Very cool. I'm most likely helping you out then—I'm a winger!" he proudly said, lightly bumping his fist to his chest.
"Cool. Then I can't wait to play with you..." Quinn's smile twitched at the sudden worry about her manner of speaking. "Man!" she added, hoping Mike didn't notice her moment of hesitation.
If he did, she didn't catch it at the sudden yell of the coach. Looks like I need to get used to this.
"Alright, hurry the hell up Hudson; you're the last one. Show some damn abilities, otherwise why did I choose you as Captain?" Coach yelled into the megaphone.
After about two more minutes the rest of the boys finished, with a trailing Finn joining them. Now they were ready to begin the tryouts.
They started off with the basics; dribbling was first — which consisted of many different variations such as: straight cone dribble or forth and back cone dribble. Quinn exceeded while a few were weeded out. Next came the agility drills, which unsurprisingly eliminated half the boys. With how they ran their laps, Quinn expected it. It really showed who wanted to play and those that thought they could just join for popularity.
When all was done and said, a good two dozen were left standing. Ones that really wanted a position in the team. Quinn included.
"No guarantees if you played last year, you'll still be part of Varsity. You have to work for it like a bunch of chimpanzees fighting for the last banana." Coach Slyvester smirked into the megaphone. Cackling, she then separated the boys into pairs, having them lined up for the next set of agility tests.
Quinn coincidentally ended up with Mike as her partner.
"Um, hey, Mike? Is that like glued to her hand or something?" Quinn asked as they transitioned into harder drills.
Mike laughed with a toothy smile. "Yeah, basically. You'll never see her without her clipboard, whistle, or megaphone. Some say she even sleeps with them. Anyways, yeah, she's a hardass but she has never lost a championship for the school, so…."
Quinn's eyes widened at the new information about her coach to-be. She glanced over at the older woman who was menacingly laughing as she shoved a boy further into the ground, yelling something about how he wasn't trying hard enough with the pushups.
Wow…she's insane.
Tryouts continued into the evening as the number of boys left dwindled down. By that time, Quinn's body was starting to cry in aches. I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow… She rolled her shoulder to ease their tension but paused when she noticed a tall shadow overtake her own.
"Finn." His name left her lips before she could register what exactly to say to him. Then she turned to look up at him.
"Hm. Not bad for a pretty boy. You're lucky you've lasted this long, but you won't make it through the mock game." Quinn tried to catch his eye but Finn shoved past her, not missing her shoulder.
She stumbled into Mike at the sudden action. She really hadn't expected that of him. Quinn brushed her shoulder off with a grimace as she sneered at his attitude. What type of captain treats potential teammates like that? So much for good sportsmanship.
Mike hovered behind her, staring at Finn's back too. "Ouch, how did you get on his bad side already?"
"Not a clue." Quinn shrugged. "The first time I met him he looked constipated. Didn't think his personality would be the same." She chuckled to herself.
Mike grinned. "Oh, yeah, that's his normal expression. But hey! Don't sweat it. I bet he's like that because you're trying for his spot—striker. Always has to hog up the glory…" he trailed off with a not-so subtle roll of his eyes and shake of his head. The two then lined up at the end for the mock game.
So that's the stick up his butt. He's afraid I'm going to take his limelight. Quinn crossed her arms, shaking her head at her thoughts as the line grew shorter. That of course, I am. She smirked to herself before flinching at her name being called along with Mike for team skins.
Without much thought Quinn followed after Mike but stopped when she noticed the lack of shirts on her team. Wait, wait, wait… Quinn shuffled toward Coach Sylvester with two left feet. "Coach, uh, I'm— I can't be skins. I…I have a huge, uuh, rash on my back that's still healing so…so I have to keep it covered." It took all her self-control to not cringe physically at her lame excuse. A rash? Really?
As all her teammates pulled their shirts off, Quinn panicked inwardly as she waited for the coach to answer her. This is going to be a recurring dilemma for me… I need to start thinking about a better excuse. She shifted her eyes back to the coach, blinking fearfully at the older woman.
Coach Sylvester gave Quinn a hard once-over. "Fine, blondie. Keep your shirt, but you're still with skins." Quinn breathed a sigh of relief, joining her team—with a shirt. "Now, Shirt's," Coach Sylvester turned her attention to said team, "you've made the team once; show me you deserve that spot another year. And if a Skin performs better than you, you can kiss your position goodbye, or worse," Coach Sylvester glared at both teams, "be pushed to JV!"
Quinn followed Coach Sylvester off the field with her eyes, skimming over the gathering crowd at the bleachers. Just from the sound of their cheering she knew most of them were girls. Not surprised. Guys without shirts, wowee.
She turned her attention to her shirtless team. A frown almost graced her face but she cooled her expression. Once upon a time I would be like them too, Quinn glanced back at a group of girls cheering with shy gestures, yet strangely I don't feel that rush anymore? Just looking at their naked torsos makes me feel…like I'm looking at my brother at the beach. Quinn cringed at that thought, quickly dismissing it before glancing over to the other team.
They huddled around their towering Captain with nervous actions. A part of her could understand their predicament about being frightful of their spots being taken; she would, too, if she was in their position. Yet, she couldn't lie, seeing them squirmish made her want that striker position even more.
The sounds from the bleacher started to grow louder and more rowdier. It called for Quinn's attention once more from her team. She was pretty sure the crowd had doubled since she last looked. Is that normal?
From the corner of her eye, Quinn spotted Mike joining the rest of the skins in their own huddle to which she quickly followed, taking a spot next to Mike and Blaine. As her team collectively put their thoughts together, Quinn's thoughts wandered.
She had never expected to make quick friends with someone during the tryouts like how quickly she was becoming friends with Mike. Not only did she easily get along with him, she was impressed with his skills as well. Blaine, also, was quickly becoming a person Quinn could see as a friend.
"Hey, Mike." Quinn whispered. "Why are so many students showing up?" To the left of her, Blaine—the unanimous Captain for the skins—talked about strategies.
Mike nodded. "Oh, yeah, the mock game is a pretty huge deal here since McKinley is known for, well, soccer. So a lot of students watch these mock games which, from the lot of us, is dubbed as Mr. Popular. Actually, with that, there's been a pool started after a rumor of Rachel Berry—the hottest girl in school—is single." He made sure to point out Rachel in the second row, who Quinn noticed to be sitting with Mercedes and, apparently, Kurt. "They, many—whatever, think she'll pick her next boyfriend from the team." Mike finished with a shrug.
Quinn quirked a brow looking over at Rachel. That's…a bit ridiculous. Why is everyone invested in her love life? Wait— Quinn glanced back at Mike, "I thought, well… Kurt mentioned she just broke up with her boyfriend this summer? School just started so…" she trailed off in disbelief at how noisy people were.
Mike gave a half-hearted shrug with an uncomfortable frown. "Yeah. It's sad but being popular and the hottest girl in school doesn't shy you away from gossip. Plus, it's been known that Finn has been pining after her since middle school so, yeah." He shook his head just as their team broke and spread out to the field.
Mike began stretching that Quinn mirrored with her own next to him. They face each other. "Well, for Rachel, she kind of has this personality that attracts everyone to her? No matter the gender. It's made her out to be this Ice Queen—everyone calls her—due to all the broken hearts she shattered. Plus one more, now." he shrugged, furthering explaining the ridiculousness of his school.
Quinn thinned her lips in thought. The food chain in this school is sure something… She turned over her shoulder, catching Rachel's eyes. Her heart lightly jumped in her chest when Rachel shyly waved at her. A bit giddy, Quinn smiled and waved back.
Clearing her throat, she turned back to stretching. "Well, I honestly don't care for popularity. I'm just here to play the beautiful game and prove how good I am." When Mike didn't respond, she glanced up to him. "What?" He looked shocked.
"Dude, Rachel Berry—The Rachel Berry—waved at you, man!" His earlier shock washed off and now his dark eyes seemed to shine with interest at her.
The sound of cleats tearing into the grass was Quinn's only warning before Blaine jumped on her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. She stumbled, caught off guard. "Did Rachel Berry just wave at you?" Blaine asked with a pinch of disbelief.
Quinn looked incredibly at Blaine, then Mike who only grinned devilishly at her.
"I can't believe you have the attention of the Ice Queen!" Blaine cackled, patting lightly at her cheek before hopping off of Quinn's back but placing an arm on one of her shoulders.
Mike followed suit and placed a hand on Quinn's unoccupied shoulder. "Quinn, I barely met you today and already you're being selected by the popular crowd?" Mike sighed playfully, "It took me since freshman year to get noticed by Rachel Berry, but that's because I joined both soccer and Glee." He chuckled.
Quinn quirked a brow at that. "Does she have a thing for soccer players?" Both boys shrugged with grins and Quinn rolled her eyes. "I just ran into her a few times and we chatted a bit, that's really it."
Mike smirked. "Right," he elbowed her, winking.
Blaine piped in, "It took me to join Glee, as well. Though Rachel, which I'm the least bit interested in romantically, considers me leading man material so I've been dubbed as amazing in her books." Blaine slapped Quinn's shoulder with a laugh.
Before Quinn recovered and could respond, Coach Sylvester blew her whistle, calling the chosen Captains over.
Blaine and Finn shook hands, with a coin toss in Finn's favor. Choosing to kickoff, the teams scattered to the field in positions. Quinn took a quick glance toward Mike who took the left flank; he sported her a thumbs up with an excited glint in his eyes. His excitement was contagious.
Finn stood dead center, the crowd silent. She felt the atmosphere shift into a competitive nature just as Finn stepped up to the kick off. In just three steps, blessed with his height, he reached the soccer ball and sent it soaring.
No way. He's aiming for the goal there? Quinn watched the ball fly. I will be shocked if he makes it…
Unfortunately for him, the ball shaved right past the net and the crowd grew back to life with boos. Hearing the crowd fueled his small tantrum at the miss which caused him to miss Blaine passing to Mike, thus beginning the real game.
Mike and Sam - who was on skin's as well- took control of the field, creating paths for their teammates to the goal. Puck, as the shirts' goalie, readied himself and watched the two cross. Sam was closest to him to which Puck attempted to stop the pass with a dive but failed, allowing the ball to connect with Mike. Who kept the momentum up passing to Quinn; she scored the first goal of the match.
Puck slammed his fist on the ground in anger, "I'm going to stop you, pretty boy!"
The trio celebrated their goal with surprise to Quinn. I guess when it comes to the game Sam seems actually nice, Quinn grinned.
The ball was then tossed to Finn who readied for the opposing defender and midfielders. Blaine, along with Matt and Karofsky, took a wide angle defense, holding two sides, ready to assist.
Alright, come on Blaine! Let's see what you got. Quinn thought in excitement, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She took up a position in midfield range with Mike.
Blaine, running a light jog, saw an opportunity when Finn glanced down to dribble. He swooped in and popped the ball in the air with a pass from a headshot towards Sam. Sam accepted with a bump of the chest and knee tag, taking off toward the goal with a pass to Mike in the center who was clear of any defenders.
"Damn it! You cheating asshole!" Finn exclaimed. He did not like how the match was progressing one bit.
Meanwhile, the pass to Sam resulted in a flurry of quick motion passes between him and Mike. They were setting up for Quinn. A fake to the left is performed by Mike who passed to his right in a forty-five degree angle, allowing Quinn to kick straight into the left pocket of the goal.
Puck growled in frustration.
Quinn slid along the grass on her shins, her fist raised in celebration. Mike joined her by piling on her in excitement.
Coach Sylvester stood on the sidelines, observing Quinn closely. "I may have found another Captain, hmm…" she rubbed her chin before jotting down on her trusty clipboard.
As the game proceeded strongly, a few individuals in the crowd were attentive to the new blonde dominating the field.
"Woooh! Go Quinn, wooh!" Rachel gushed from the bleachers, standing and clapping excitedly.
"Girl, calm down. I've never seen you this excited about a sweaty boys' game?" Mercedes commented, eyeing another horrible pass between Finn's team. Mercedes shook her head in disappointment with scrunched lips. She decided Rachel was worth her attention more.
"I can not help myself! I am so very excited! Are you not? They actually have amazingly skilled players on the field." She sat down with a breathy huff. Rachel shone Mercedes a bright smile.
"Don't you mean one amazing player, Rachel?" Kurt commented with a sneaky smirk from the seat left of Rachel. His eyes never left a certain black-haired defender on Quinn's team.
Rachel blushed. "Oh shut up, Kurt! I can not help but find Quinn's physique extremely handsome." Despite the blush, Rachel wasn't about to lie about how attractive she found the soccer player. She's human, after all.
Mercedes' and Kurt's eyes widened. They snapped their heads to Rachel immediately, not only because she openly called out to checking out the boys, but something else in specific.
"Wait! Hol' up! Are you talkin' about the new kid? Uhm, Kurt, what's his name again?" Mercedes, for the life of her hadn't caught Quinn's name being spoken. She looked to Kurt.
"Quinn Fabray. Who is my closest friend, by the way. Wait, I thought you finally decided to date Finn? Weren't you saying during the summer that after B-" Kurt received a death glare from Mercedes— "He-who-shall-not-be-named, you were going to settle for Finn?" Kurt and Mercedes sat, awaiting for a response.
Rachel sighed. "Well, honestly, I was going to make him my leading man, but when I ran into Quinn at the school courtyard on Monday, I felt a connection." A small smile bloomed along with a warmth in her chest as she recalled the quaint meeting. "In all honesty, his presence brings about giddiness and nervousness whenever I am in his presence." She shyly looked down at her hands as they fidgeted on her lap.
Mercedes was shocked. She was one of the ones that stayed with Rachel through the whole summer drama; helping Rachel get over her ex and hearing all the nonsense he put her dear friend through. But then right before school starts she hears about Rachel being open to dating Finn Hudson—a huge man child in Mercedes eyes. But, well, Mercedes is always willing to support her friend's choices; right or wrong in her eyes.
On the other hand, Kurt's mindset was different. The vibes I felt from interrupting their little chitty chat makes sense now, ahh. Poor unsuspecting Quinn, clueless of the attention and looks Rachel was giving her. How intriguing! The beginnings of a budding romance~. Kurt placed a hand to his chest in a soft sigh at the thought when suddenly shouting blared from the field. He jumped slightly.
Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Oh, lord…"
"GOAL!" Finn cheered. "TAKE THAT, PRETTY BOY!" Finn jumped and shadow-boxed with a shit-eating grin. As he passed Quinn, he purposely punched Quinn's shoulder who in turn hissed at the pain.
The crowd gasped at the unsportsmanlike conduct from Finn.
"Hey, asshole!" Blaine shouted as he angrily rushed to take on Finn but Mike and Sam were at his side immediately. He flailed his arms and gave kicks toward Finn, attempting to free himself from the arms of his teammates. "That was uncalled for Finnept!"
Kurt sat up straight with a jaw drop. "Wow! Who knew kind, shy Blaine was a bad boy~." He flushed, fanning himself with a silly smile. Rachel and Mercedes laughed at his action.
"Oh lord now we have to cool Kurt down. Honey, would you like a bucket of ice because, girl, I see some heat waves erupting." Mercedes laughed again along with Rachel. Kurt rolled his eyes at the two before turning his attention back to the game. His focus on a certain defender.
Blaine raised his hands, signaling he had calmed down. They let him go and he fixed his hair as he jogged back to defend the left wing. He caught Quinn giving him a thumbs-up along with her mouthing, "I'm alright, thanks."
The next half was a constant battle between Finn Hudson and Quinn Fabray. She had no clue why Finn seemed to have it out for her, but she wasn't about to let him run all over her. So she made sure to prove him wrong. With every twist and turn, every pass and dribble; Quinn's team defended their goal tightly. Quinn, herself, happened to score amazingly along with Mike, one from Sam and even a few surprising ones from Blaine as well.
The game ended in favor of Quinn's team with the leading score of eight to one.
Finn kicked the goal net in frustration and Puck looked defeated at his post.
The crowd of students dispersed in excitement; sporting chants and favorite picks for the upcoming season, except for three teens. They stayed to see the results of the new JV and Varsity teams. As they waited, they could hear comments about the players from the Skins side.
"Wow~! Did you see the way Quinn ran to make that headshot? So sexy!"
"I know! But oh man, who knew Blaine could actually score, too! He's a badass defender, scoring too? Awesome."
"Did you see what Finn did to the new kid? Totally not cool."
"OMG! I think I'm going to ask that blonde one out. He's, like, really dreamy."
Rachel huffed at a group of students that passed the trio. Mercedes and Kurt gave her a look that clearly told her to chill out, for one, and two; Quinn wasn't hers. Yet. Rachel blushed, embarrassed at being read so well.
Coach Sue Sylvester's voice calls their attention.
"Alright! Time to separate the men from the boys. For the Varsity Team," Coach Sylvester looked at her clipboard, "Again, no guarantee you're still in Varsity if you played last year." She looked at all the returners. "Asian, Bowtie, Guppy, Baldie, Gassy," she received a groan from the nicknames, "Muscles, Glasses, Hudson, Pike, Marcus and…" Coach Slyvester looked up from her clipboard to Quinn. "Blondie."
Quinn's heart jumped. I made it… I MADE IT!? Internally Quinn cheered in excitement but outside she was calm and collected. Mike and Blaine, beside her, both gave her shoulders a pat with huge grins.
Coach Sylvester continued. "The rest of you pansies are JV. Morning practices are for Varsity and evening are JV. That's it. I have a headache dealing with you useless monkeys. Get out of here!" Coach Sylvester tucked her clipboard under her arm and headed to the locker rooms where her office was located.
Most of the boys cheered with each other, talking animatedly with their friends; some were disappointed where Coach Sylvester placed them but nevertheless glad they were at least still on a team.
Quinn, Mike and Blaine high-fived each other. Mike and Blaine thankfully kept their spots in Varsity, they were thrilled to have someone else in their little trio, so to speak.
The group as a whole moved to the bleachers for their bags. Mike and Blaine grabbed theirs, heading to the locker rooms. But they quickly realized their new companion wasn't beside them.
"Hey, man! You gonna shower?" Mike called out to the lonesome Quinn.
"Yeah. I don't think you want to be all gross and sweaty." Blaine took a whiff of his shoulder alone and grossed out at his own odor.
Quinn laughed nervously at her new friends. "I, uh… I, well, you see—" Think! Think of something, Quinn—!
"QUINN FABRAY! HON, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE A SOCCER GENIUS?!"
Luckily, Quinn had Kurt to save face.
Kurt ran to his dear friend, giving her a tight embrace. It did not escape him the notice he had of a certain defender. He then scrunched his face in disgust. "Ew! You're all nasty and sweaty!" Kurt released her and began dusting off his jacket of Quinn's grime.
As Quinn took a step back she noticed Rachel and Mercedes, but more so Rachel.
Mike's brow quirked at the sudden appearance of not only the Rachel, but also Mercedes Jones; someone who happens to be the second most popular girl attending McKinley. He leaned over to Blaine though keeping his eyes on Quinn and the others. "I think our new friend has caught the populars' attention."
Blaine nodded to his friend as he curiously observed Kurt gushing about Quinn's playstyle on the field.
Suddenly remembering her teammates, Quinn cuts Kurt's rant. "Hang on, Kurt." Quinn turned to Mike and Blaine, "Hey guys! I'll catch up with you later! It was awesome, uh, playing with ya guys." Quinn awkwardly gave a thumbs up.
Mike chortled. "Yeah, alright! Have fun with the populars'. Catch you later then man!" Mike and a silent Blaine left to the lockers for a shower. Quinn could only watch the two, confused at his choice of words though unbeknownst left with McKinley's three resident divas.
"Quinn! You were simply amazing. Honestly I have never enjoyed watching sports as a pastime, but you truly = had myself jumping out of my seat in anticipation." Rachel gushed with a clap of her hands, taking a spot right in front of Quinn as Mercedes and Kurt stood a bit behind her with knowing smirks.
Mercedes placed her hands on her hips, interjecting, "For real. Girl could not keep still. I'm Mercedes, by the way." She introduced herself, holding a hand out to Quinn who quickly accepted the handshake. Mercedes smirked. "Had to introduce myself since this giddy one won't anytime soon."
Rachel turned to her friend with a pretty roll of her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh please, Mercedes. I was simply complimenting Quinn on his outstanding performance on the field. I truly was going to introduce you, really, no patience at all."
Her two friends giggled at her tiny tantrum.
"That's alright. Really nice to meet you, Mercedes. I guess you already know me." Quinn smiled brightly with a nod toward Kurt. "Thank you Rachel, though I'm not that good." Quinn sheepishly fiddled with her hair at her neck, blushing. "Honestly it was more of the amazing team effort that won us the game." She proudly and genuinely stated.
"Oh, Quinn. You've got to change that attitude if you want to—" Kurt walked over to Quinn's side and whispered— "prove you're better than the boys." He winked.
Quinn's cheeks flushed. "Right… Anyways, I actually made Varsity!" She changed the subject.
"OH MY GOSH!" Kurt and Mercedes cheered while Rachel excitedly clapped.
"That's simply tremendous!"
Quinn grinned widely. "Thanks, thank you! Yeah, I'm really excited. I did what I set out to do and I got where I wanted to be. Feels great, honestly."
Rachel beamed up at Quinn. Her heart was pounding quickly, just as all the other times she was with him or thought of him. Being so close to him… I simply must make him mine. Oh my, that sounded possessive. I mean, at least date, yes.
Mercedes pulled on Rachel's arm, pulling her out of her thoughts and to her side. "Well I hate to be the party pooper, but a girl is starving and this little lady here needs to get some substance in her scrawny body. Seriously, girl, your rabbit food will just not be enough for me. Pizza and tots is the way."
Kurt and Quinn shared a laugh at the comment. Rachel, on the other hand, huffed again with a deep blush. "Well when you are consuming that animal carcass and, dare I say, have a heart attack, you will wish you had consumed a perfectly animal free product. Which is quite healthy and very nutritious for the body!"
"Alright, alright. Damn girl, you and your rants." Mercedes shook her head as she dragged along an annoyed Rachel. "We'll see you both later, unless you want to join. We'll be at Maggie's later." Mercedes back waved the two.
Rachel looked back with a shy grin. She used her free hand to give them a small wave.
Quinn mirrored the wave back to Rachel and responded to Mercedes, "Alright! See you around!"
Kurt smiled knowingly at Quinn. As I thought earlier, I feel a love story about to bloom.