Fic: I'm Still Waiting For the Rain to Fall - 3/? (R/Q, PG)
Title: I’m Still Waiting For the Rain to Fall (3/?)
Author: an_an0maly
Summary: ...pour real life down on me...
Pairing: Eventual Rachel/Quinn
Rating: PG to NC-17
Word Count: 2,629 / 23,000+
Spoilers: I would like to say that spoilers would probably be from the Pilot to Sectionals. After that, there might be a few smatterings of references to events in the Back 9, but other than that, mainly just references to the first 13 episodes.
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters unfortunately. Title belongs to Evanescence's 'Good Enough'.
Betas: grdnofevrythng for final touches in grammar, tenses, spelling etc. and gleek23 for fleshing this out with me almost on a daily basis. *hugs to both of you*.
Music: Music that appears in this part: I Want it That Way ~ Backstreet Boys, Everybody (Backstreet's Back) ~ Backstreet Boys, No Scrubs ~ TLC, Unpretty ~ TLC, Who Do You Think You Are? ~ Spice Girls, Girlfriend Feat. Nelly ~ 'Nsync, Back To You ~ John Mayer, Great Indoors ~ John Mayer and No Such Thing ~ John Mayer.
Thank you to everyone who has been leaving feedback. You guys have been great! Thank you! :D
Previous Parts: Prologue | I | II |
Part Three:
~*~*~
New Directions were rushing around backstage making sure make up, hair and costumes were in place. This year’s Invitational had a twist thanks to Rachel’s insistence that it have a focus. This year, Rachel had encouraged Mr. Schuester to go with a theme of hits from boy bands and/or girl groups. New Directions decided to split into two groups and represent the ‘iconic’ groups, the Spice Girls and ‘Nsync. Vocal Adrenaline had wowed the audience with their renditions of I Want it That Way and Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) from The Backstreet Boys. Jane Addams Academy had taken the TLC route of No Scrubs and Unpretty while Perry High School had chosen to revive The Jackson Five and Elida High School took on Destiny’s Child.
Rachel looked around at her teammates and took a deep breath. They had a few minutes before they were needed on stage for their numbers and she just needed a few seconds to herself. She was sure her parents were out in the audience and she knew her father wasn’t going to be impressed with the fact she was mainly singing back up this evening.
Rachel turned away from the rest of the group to make her way over to one of the mirrors under the guise of fixing her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to shift her focus back to their upcoming performance. She would deal with her father later.
Brittany watched Rachel leave the group and turned toward Santana and Quinn who were eyeing their dresses, making sure the sequins were in place. “Did you know Mr. Berry is really mean?” She asked suddenly.
Santana and Quinn shared a look. Brittany saw it and crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “I’m serious. Have you met them? I had to take them to their seats. He wasn’t very nice.”
Brittany smiled warmly as she spotted Rachel’s dads walking through the entrance. “Mr. and Mr. Berry! I can show you to some seats if you like?”
“Thank you... Brittany? Or Quinn?” Rachel’s taller father asked, still not quite sure of all the names of the students in glee with their daughter.
“Brittany,” she replied with a grin before waving them to follow her down one of the aisles.
“I hope this doesn’t take too long.” Brittany heard Rachel’s shorter, glasses-wearing dad grumble.
“Levi, please. This is important to her. You know this.” Rachel’s tall dad said in a hushed tone.
Levi sighed. “I hope she practised the piano this afternoon because there won’t be time for that before we start work on the next video when we get home.”
“Do you mean her MySpace videos?” Brittany asked interrupting the pair, curiosity getting the better of her.
Levi looked at Brittany and practically growled. “Of course.”
Brittany quickly ushered them into a row and fled back to the front doors.
“So she has pushy parents, who doesn’t? Come on, we need to go.” Santana said before dragging Brittany by the hand toward the stage. Quinn began to follow her friends before something made her stop and look back at Rachel. The small brunette was smoothing down her dress and taking deep breaths. Quinn could see her muttering to herself while staring into the mirror. “Berry!” She called out, grabbing the girl’s attention.
Rachel’s head whipped around, grin in place. “Is it time?” She asked with excitement.
Quinn wasn’t sure if Rachel was faking her enthusiasm or if it really was genuine. Quinn just nodded her head before turning away and heading toward the stage, Rachel following a few steps behind.
Their performances went off without a hitch. The girls performed the Spice Girls’ hit Who Do You Think You Are? They had opted to wear classy white and silver sequence costumes. Mercedes had vehemently refused to even entertain the idea of wearing a short dress like Quinn, Santana and Rachel and so she had been fitted with a white form-fitting pair of pants and a silver sequence top that still allowed her to sparkle up on stage.
Tina had chosen dress pants as well, but had made some minor alterations allowing for large gaping holes in various places on each leg. She wore a matching waist coat with silver sequence lining the collar.
The girls had agreed that Brittany’s long, model-like legs would only be appreciated if appropriately displayed in sheer, skin-tight leggings. Brittany had no objection and Santana couldn’t keep her eyes off Brittany.
Rachel had ensured they practiced their routine any chance they could and had even bought DVDs of the Spice Girls’ live performances in order to learn the entire routine. The only issue that arose from the numerous viewings was Rachel deciding that some parts weren’t uniform enough and so they’d added their own choreography.
When they excitedly walked off stage at the end of their number, the boys high-fived them in congratulations. Puck even managed a slap to Santana’s backside before she turned around and punched him in the arm. Quinn managed to slap him upside the head as she hurried by and Rachel could only reach high enough to slap him on the other arm, hard.
The girls hurried to the side of the stage to watch the boys’ performance. They grinned as they watched them line up on the darkened stage. As soon as the band began to play the opening beats the girls grinned and cheered for their teammates. Artie wheeled to the front of the stage, as he began to rap the opening lines to ‘Nsync’s Girlfriend featuring Nelly. When Puck jumped in to take over, he swivelled his hips and winked at the crowd, some of the female students of opposing schools and their mothers cheered and catcalled.
Santana rolled her eyes and Quinn shook her head. It was so painfully obvious how she’d fallen into his bed almost two years ago.
Finn took lead on the song while Mike and Matt wowed the audience with their remarkable dancing skills. Rachel had never felt more proud of New Directions than in that moment. Well, besides winning Sectionals the year before. There had been, by some miracle, an uncharacteristic tie between their team and Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals which had allowed them to compete at Nationals. Neither team could have predicted the loss to an Oklahoma-based glee club, The Okie-Okles. This year though, Rachel was certain it would be different. Failure was not an option.
~*~*~
As the auditorium began emptying out, Mr. Schuester signalled for the glee club to gather together at the front of the stage. He offered multiple congratulations’ and slapped some of the guys on the back. His grin was spread wide across his face.
“You guys were phenomenal!” He gushed, his hands running through his curls. He couldn’t contain his excitement which was made rather obvious by the repetitive bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. “The theme was a great idea, Rach!” He acknowledged with a big grin. He clapped his hands together as Brittany sidled up to Rachel and gave her a side hug. Rachel grinned and blushed but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell them that she had been right again.
Just as Rachel opened her mouth to gloat, Puck quickly jumped in. “Who’s up for pizza? I’m starving!” And with that he swung an arm over Santana’s shoulder and grinned. With a look of complete and utter disgust Santana violently shrugged off his arm and marched over to Brittany and Rachel where she crossed her arms and glared at Puck. “Ew.”
“I could eat.” Finn added with big goofy grin, gaining everyone’s attention. He slid his hands in his pockets and looked around at the rest of the group who began agreeing loudly. Mike and Matt shared a fist-bump, while Artie and Tina grinned at each other. Kurt began discussing the merits of cheesy crusts verse thin crusts while Mercedes refused to consider any pizza without extra cheese.
The group quickly dispersed in order to locate parents and guardians to inform them of the change in the evening’s plans. Quinn hung back as she watched her friends disperse. She’d been living back under her parents’ roof for the better part of a year now and although they had allowed her back into their house and her bedroom, their relationship mainly consisted of a ‘we ignore you, you ignore us’ policy.
Quinn crossed her arms as she searched the auditorium for some of her teammates. About halfway up the aisle she was standing in, Quinn spotted Rachel and her dads talking. Heatedly, it seemed.
Quinn knew she shouldn’t be interested in the exchange between Rachel and her parents, but she just couldn’t fight off the intense curiosity that was creeping up her spine. From her position she could distinctly make out Rachel’s ramrod straight back and her arms crossed over her chest. She stood firmly, her chest puffed out, ready for battle. The sight was a familiar one. In fact, Rachel usually looked like this every Glee practice, right before she’d engage either Mr. Schue or one of the unlucky glee club members in a battle of vocabulary and opinion.
Deciding to use an excuse of just “squeezing past”, Quinn began to slowly make her way up the aisle, making sure to keep her gaze averted from Rachel and her dads so as not to draw attention. As she slowly approached the small family, harsh words began to float toward her ears.
“ - have a schedule to follow!” Levi explained his tone low and steady.
Rachel raised her chin slightly. “I can miss one night of MySpace Videos.”
Levi exhaled loudly through his nose. “Rachel, don’t push me on this. I thought you were dedicated to your future.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Rachel shift slightly. “I am dedicated to my future as a Broadway star. But I also think it’s healthy to intersperse work with some downtime.”
“What do you think this invitational was all about?” Levi asked as he waved the perfectly folded, peach-colored program back and forth, as if to prove his point.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at her father. “Glee might seem like a passing fancy to you, but I take it very seriously.”
Quinn held back a smirk. Glee was certainly not a ‘passing fancy’ for one Rachel Berry. Everyone at McKinley High could attest to that.
“Rach, how about you go on ahead with your friends? Your father and I will head home. Just be back home by 11:30. It is a school night.” Rachel’s taller father said interrupting the pair, glancing around them before placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder to calm her down.
“Jay! Stop coddling her. If she wants any real future, sacrifices need to be made.” Levi argued, his hand on his hip.
James Berry sighed and averted his gaze from his husband. “Do you think you could get a lift home?” He asked Rachel as he ignored Levi’s scoff and subsequent slap of the program against his thigh.
Quinn had unfortunately timed her appearance to coincide with James’ question.
Rachel saw Quinn approaching out of the corner of her eye. She knew she’d have to face the consequences of her actions later this evening, but she needed this. She needed to spend some time with her teammates and her schedule had already been interrupted by the invitational and it only seemed logical that any other interruptions would be limited to just this evening.
“Quinn can take me home.” Rachel immediately announced causing Quinn to stumble.
Quinn straightened up and quickly smoothed out her dress before turning almost sheepishly toward the Berry’s. “Um...” Articulate, much?
Levi Berry eyed the blonde with a hint of dislike.
Rachel took a few steps to her right, stopping at Quinn’s side. She glanced at Quinn who met her gaze head on. Quinn couldn’t be entirely certain, but it definitely looked like Rachel was begging her for something.
“Quinn will drive me home.” Rachel announced to the small group again. She turned to gently wrap her hand around Quinn’s unsuspecting arm to storm away. All Quinn could do was follow behind the short brunette. As they passed Rachel’s father, he reached out and grabbed hold of Rachel’s arm.
“We’ll discuss this later.”
This time, Quinn quickly identified the emotion flashing intently across Rachel’s gaze. Fear.
~*~*~
At exactly 11:10pm, Quinn and Rachel left their friends laughing and joking at Fat Jack’s Pizza. The entire ride to the Berry household was filled with an awkward and tense silence. John Mayer’s 2001 Room For Squares album played through Quinn’s car stereo and Quinn couldn’t help but tap her fingers to the beat of Back To You.
“Leave the light on, I’ll never give up on you, leave the light on, for me too, for me too...”
When Quinn pulled up to the curb outside Rachel’s house, the song was coming to a close and the time read 11:23pm on the dashboard. Quinn turned the engine off, the stereo still powered up and playing. Quinn looked past Rachel’s quiet form and out the window to see the porch light on. From what she’d heard and seen earlier that evening, Quinn could just imagine Mr. Berry standing in the hallway, arms crossed, checking the time every ten to fifteen seconds.
“So...” Quinn said as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Rachel just sat quietly in the passenger seat. She didn’t even make a move to unbuckle her seatbelt.
Quinn had never experienced such a quiet and motionless Rachel Berry. She wasn’t quite sure what to do about it either. “It’s uh... We’re here,” she said stating the obvious. Quinn mentally rolled her eyes at her unusual lack of tact.
“I still have five and a half minutes.” Rachel responded immediately, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.
Quinn dropped her hands from the steering wheel. She really didn’t know how to deal with a petulant Rachel. She also never thought she’d be in a position where Rachel’s emotional state would be of her concern. “Do you want to talk about it?” Quinn asked regretting the words as soon as she spoke them.
Rachel snapped her head to the left. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she immediately responded, her brow furrowed in obvious confusion at Quinn’s question.
Quinn just nodded her head and looked out the windshield. If Rachel didn’t want to talk about it, she sure as hell wasn’t going to invite any more drama into her life.
The clock now read 11:25pm and the girls just sat in silence as John Mayer began crooning about the great indoors.
“This was a good album.” Rachel suddenly commented.
Quinn just nodded her head in agreement. “Mhm.”
“I particularly like the message the artist is attempting to convey in the track, No Such Thing.” Rachel continued on. “It’s important that today’s youth realize their potential and don’t allow the pressure from parents or peers lead them astray.”
Quinn gave Rachel a side-long glance and replied uncertainly. “Yeah... sure.” Was this Rachel’s way of talking about her emotions? It would be typical that Rachel Berry could only talk in terms of messages in music.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes just staring out the windshield into the cold, dark night.
At exactly 11:29, Rachel sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt. She reached for the door handle and began to climb out of Quinn’s car. Just before closing the door behind her, she leaned down and muttered a quick ‘thanks’.
Quinn sat watching Rachel Berry hurry up the walkway toward her front door. She only started the engine when she saw Rachel slip through the small crack between the door and the entryway.
TBC...
Author: an_an0maly
Summary: ...pour real life down on me...
Pairing: Eventual Rachel/Quinn
Rating: PG to NC-17
Word Count: 2,629 / 23,000+
Spoilers: I would like to say that spoilers would probably be from the Pilot to Sectionals. After that, there might be a few smatterings of references to events in the Back 9, but other than that, mainly just references to the first 13 episodes.
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters unfortunately. Title belongs to Evanescence's 'Good Enough'.
Betas: grdnofevrythng for final touches in grammar, tenses, spelling etc. and gleek23 for fleshing this out with me almost on a daily basis. *hugs to both of you*.
Music: Music that appears in this part: I Want it That Way ~ Backstreet Boys, Everybody (Backstreet's Back) ~ Backstreet Boys, No Scrubs ~ TLC, Unpretty ~ TLC, Who Do You Think You Are? ~ Spice Girls, Girlfriend Feat. Nelly ~ 'Nsync, Back To You ~ John Mayer, Great Indoors ~ John Mayer and No Such Thing ~ John Mayer.
Thank you to everyone who has been leaving feedback. You guys have been great! Thank you! :D
Previous Parts: Prologue | I | II |
Part Three:
~*~*~
New Directions were rushing around backstage making sure make up, hair and costumes were in place. This year’s Invitational had a twist thanks to Rachel’s insistence that it have a focus. This year, Rachel had encouraged Mr. Schuester to go with a theme of hits from boy bands and/or girl groups. New Directions decided to split into two groups and represent the ‘iconic’ groups, the Spice Girls and ‘Nsync. Vocal Adrenaline had wowed the audience with their renditions of I Want it That Way and Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) from The Backstreet Boys. Jane Addams Academy had taken the TLC route of No Scrubs and Unpretty while Perry High School had chosen to revive The Jackson Five and Elida High School took on Destiny’s Child.
Rachel looked around at her teammates and took a deep breath. They had a few minutes before they were needed on stage for their numbers and she just needed a few seconds to herself. She was sure her parents were out in the audience and she knew her father wasn’t going to be impressed with the fact she was mainly singing back up this evening.
Rachel turned away from the rest of the group to make her way over to one of the mirrors under the guise of fixing her hair. She closed her eyes and tried to shift her focus back to their upcoming performance. She would deal with her father later.
Brittany watched Rachel leave the group and turned toward Santana and Quinn who were eyeing their dresses, making sure the sequins were in place. “Did you know Mr. Berry is really mean?” She asked suddenly.
Santana and Quinn shared a look. Brittany saw it and crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. “I’m serious. Have you met them? I had to take them to their seats. He wasn’t very nice.”
Brittany smiled warmly as she spotted Rachel’s dads walking through the entrance. “Mr. and Mr. Berry! I can show you to some seats if you like?”
“Thank you... Brittany? Or Quinn?” Rachel’s taller father asked, still not quite sure of all the names of the students in glee with their daughter.
“Brittany,” she replied with a grin before waving them to follow her down one of the aisles.
“I hope this doesn’t take too long.” Brittany heard Rachel’s shorter, glasses-wearing dad grumble.
“Levi, please. This is important to her. You know this.” Rachel’s tall dad said in a hushed tone.
Levi sighed. “I hope she practised the piano this afternoon because there won’t be time for that before we start work on the next video when we get home.”
“Do you mean her MySpace videos?” Brittany asked interrupting the pair, curiosity getting the better of her.
Levi looked at Brittany and practically growled. “Of course.”
Brittany quickly ushered them into a row and fled back to the front doors.
“So she has pushy parents, who doesn’t? Come on, we need to go.” Santana said before dragging Brittany by the hand toward the stage. Quinn began to follow her friends before something made her stop and look back at Rachel. The small brunette was smoothing down her dress and taking deep breaths. Quinn could see her muttering to herself while staring into the mirror. “Berry!” She called out, grabbing the girl’s attention.
Rachel’s head whipped around, grin in place. “Is it time?” She asked with excitement.
Quinn wasn’t sure if Rachel was faking her enthusiasm or if it really was genuine. Quinn just nodded her head before turning away and heading toward the stage, Rachel following a few steps behind.
Their performances went off without a hitch. The girls performed the Spice Girls’ hit Who Do You Think You Are? They had opted to wear classy white and silver sequence costumes. Mercedes had vehemently refused to even entertain the idea of wearing a short dress like Quinn, Santana and Rachel and so she had been fitted with a white form-fitting pair of pants and a silver sequence top that still allowed her to sparkle up on stage.
Tina had chosen dress pants as well, but had made some minor alterations allowing for large gaping holes in various places on each leg. She wore a matching waist coat with silver sequence lining the collar.
The girls had agreed that Brittany’s long, model-like legs would only be appreciated if appropriately displayed in sheer, skin-tight leggings. Brittany had no objection and Santana couldn’t keep her eyes off Brittany.
Rachel had ensured they practiced their routine any chance they could and had even bought DVDs of the Spice Girls’ live performances in order to learn the entire routine. The only issue that arose from the numerous viewings was Rachel deciding that some parts weren’t uniform enough and so they’d added their own choreography.
When they excitedly walked off stage at the end of their number, the boys high-fived them in congratulations. Puck even managed a slap to Santana’s backside before she turned around and punched him in the arm. Quinn managed to slap him upside the head as she hurried by and Rachel could only reach high enough to slap him on the other arm, hard.
The girls hurried to the side of the stage to watch the boys’ performance. They grinned as they watched them line up on the darkened stage. As soon as the band began to play the opening beats the girls grinned and cheered for their teammates. Artie wheeled to the front of the stage, as he began to rap the opening lines to ‘Nsync’s Girlfriend featuring Nelly. When Puck jumped in to take over, he swivelled his hips and winked at the crowd, some of the female students of opposing schools and their mothers cheered and catcalled.
Santana rolled her eyes and Quinn shook her head. It was so painfully obvious how she’d fallen into his bed almost two years ago.
Finn took lead on the song while Mike and Matt wowed the audience with their remarkable dancing skills. Rachel had never felt more proud of New Directions than in that moment. Well, besides winning Sectionals the year before. There had been, by some miracle, an uncharacteristic tie between their team and Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals which had allowed them to compete at Nationals. Neither team could have predicted the loss to an Oklahoma-based glee club, The Okie-Okles. This year though, Rachel was certain it would be different. Failure was not an option.
~*~*~
As the auditorium began emptying out, Mr. Schuester signalled for the glee club to gather together at the front of the stage. He offered multiple congratulations’ and slapped some of the guys on the back. His grin was spread wide across his face.
“You guys were phenomenal!” He gushed, his hands running through his curls. He couldn’t contain his excitement which was made rather obvious by the repetitive bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. “The theme was a great idea, Rach!” He acknowledged with a big grin. He clapped his hands together as Brittany sidled up to Rachel and gave her a side hug. Rachel grinned and blushed but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell them that she had been right again.
Just as Rachel opened her mouth to gloat, Puck quickly jumped in. “Who’s up for pizza? I’m starving!” And with that he swung an arm over Santana’s shoulder and grinned. With a look of complete and utter disgust Santana violently shrugged off his arm and marched over to Brittany and Rachel where she crossed her arms and glared at Puck. “Ew.”
“I could eat.” Finn added with big goofy grin, gaining everyone’s attention. He slid his hands in his pockets and looked around at the rest of the group who began agreeing loudly. Mike and Matt shared a fist-bump, while Artie and Tina grinned at each other. Kurt began discussing the merits of cheesy crusts verse thin crusts while Mercedes refused to consider any pizza without extra cheese.
The group quickly dispersed in order to locate parents and guardians to inform them of the change in the evening’s plans. Quinn hung back as she watched her friends disperse. She’d been living back under her parents’ roof for the better part of a year now and although they had allowed her back into their house and her bedroom, their relationship mainly consisted of a ‘we ignore you, you ignore us’ policy.
Quinn crossed her arms as she searched the auditorium for some of her teammates. About halfway up the aisle she was standing in, Quinn spotted Rachel and her dads talking. Heatedly, it seemed.
Quinn knew she shouldn’t be interested in the exchange between Rachel and her parents, but she just couldn’t fight off the intense curiosity that was creeping up her spine. From her position she could distinctly make out Rachel’s ramrod straight back and her arms crossed over her chest. She stood firmly, her chest puffed out, ready for battle. The sight was a familiar one. In fact, Rachel usually looked like this every Glee practice, right before she’d engage either Mr. Schue or one of the unlucky glee club members in a battle of vocabulary and opinion.
Deciding to use an excuse of just “squeezing past”, Quinn began to slowly make her way up the aisle, making sure to keep her gaze averted from Rachel and her dads so as not to draw attention. As she slowly approached the small family, harsh words began to float toward her ears.
“ - have a schedule to follow!” Levi explained his tone low and steady.
Rachel raised her chin slightly. “I can miss one night of MySpace Videos.”
Levi exhaled loudly through his nose. “Rachel, don’t push me on this. I thought you were dedicated to your future.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn saw Rachel shift slightly. “I am dedicated to my future as a Broadway star. But I also think it’s healthy to intersperse work with some downtime.”
“What do you think this invitational was all about?” Levi asked as he waved the perfectly folded, peach-colored program back and forth, as if to prove his point.
Rachel narrowed her eyes at her father. “Glee might seem like a passing fancy to you, but I take it very seriously.”
Quinn held back a smirk. Glee was certainly not a ‘passing fancy’ for one Rachel Berry. Everyone at McKinley High could attest to that.
“Rach, how about you go on ahead with your friends? Your father and I will head home. Just be back home by 11:30. It is a school night.” Rachel’s taller father said interrupting the pair, glancing around them before placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder to calm her down.
“Jay! Stop coddling her. If she wants any real future, sacrifices need to be made.” Levi argued, his hand on his hip.
James Berry sighed and averted his gaze from his husband. “Do you think you could get a lift home?” He asked Rachel as he ignored Levi’s scoff and subsequent slap of the program against his thigh.
Quinn had unfortunately timed her appearance to coincide with James’ question.
Rachel saw Quinn approaching out of the corner of her eye. She knew she’d have to face the consequences of her actions later this evening, but she needed this. She needed to spend some time with her teammates and her schedule had already been interrupted by the invitational and it only seemed logical that any other interruptions would be limited to just this evening.
“Quinn can take me home.” Rachel immediately announced causing Quinn to stumble.
Quinn straightened up and quickly smoothed out her dress before turning almost sheepishly toward the Berry’s. “Um...” Articulate, much?
Levi Berry eyed the blonde with a hint of dislike.
Rachel took a few steps to her right, stopping at Quinn’s side. She glanced at Quinn who met her gaze head on. Quinn couldn’t be entirely certain, but it definitely looked like Rachel was begging her for something.
“Quinn will drive me home.” Rachel announced to the small group again. She turned to gently wrap her hand around Quinn’s unsuspecting arm to storm away. All Quinn could do was follow behind the short brunette. As they passed Rachel’s father, he reached out and grabbed hold of Rachel’s arm.
“We’ll discuss this later.”
This time, Quinn quickly identified the emotion flashing intently across Rachel’s gaze. Fear.
~*~*~
At exactly 11:10pm, Quinn and Rachel left their friends laughing and joking at Fat Jack’s Pizza. The entire ride to the Berry household was filled with an awkward and tense silence. John Mayer’s 2001 Room For Squares album played through Quinn’s car stereo and Quinn couldn’t help but tap her fingers to the beat of Back To You.
“Leave the light on, I’ll never give up on you, leave the light on, for me too, for me too...”
When Quinn pulled up to the curb outside Rachel’s house, the song was coming to a close and the time read 11:23pm on the dashboard. Quinn turned the engine off, the stereo still powered up and playing. Quinn looked past Rachel’s quiet form and out the window to see the porch light on. From what she’d heard and seen earlier that evening, Quinn could just imagine Mr. Berry standing in the hallway, arms crossed, checking the time every ten to fifteen seconds.
“So...” Quinn said as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
Rachel just sat quietly in the passenger seat. She didn’t even make a move to unbuckle her seatbelt.
Quinn had never experienced such a quiet and motionless Rachel Berry. She wasn’t quite sure what to do about it either. “It’s uh... We’re here,” she said stating the obvious. Quinn mentally rolled her eyes at her unusual lack of tact.
“I still have five and a half minutes.” Rachel responded immediately, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest.
Quinn dropped her hands from the steering wheel. She really didn’t know how to deal with a petulant Rachel. She also never thought she’d be in a position where Rachel’s emotional state would be of her concern. “Do you want to talk about it?” Quinn asked regretting the words as soon as she spoke them.
Rachel snapped her head to the left. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she immediately responded, her brow furrowed in obvious confusion at Quinn’s question.
Quinn just nodded her head and looked out the windshield. If Rachel didn’t want to talk about it, she sure as hell wasn’t going to invite any more drama into her life.
The clock now read 11:25pm and the girls just sat in silence as John Mayer began crooning about the great indoors.
“This was a good album.” Rachel suddenly commented.
Quinn just nodded her head in agreement. “Mhm.”
“I particularly like the message the artist is attempting to convey in the track, No Such Thing.” Rachel continued on. “It’s important that today’s youth realize their potential and don’t allow the pressure from parents or peers lead them astray.”
Quinn gave Rachel a side-long glance and replied uncertainly. “Yeah... sure.” Was this Rachel’s way of talking about her emotions? It would be typical that Rachel Berry could only talk in terms of messages in music.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes just staring out the windshield into the cold, dark night.
At exactly 11:29, Rachel sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt. She reached for the door handle and began to climb out of Quinn’s car. Just before closing the door behind her, she leaned down and muttered a quick ‘thanks’.
Quinn sat watching Rachel Berry hurry up the walkway toward her front door. She only started the engine when she saw Rachel slip through the small crack between the door and the entryway.
TBC...