Promise
Title: Promise
Fandom: Glee
Written: December, 2009
Rating: PG
Words: 1200
Summary: Will isn't sure how this all happened. All he knows is that a sobbing Quinn Fabray is in his arms and all he can do is stroke her hair and whisper soothingly, "It's okay..."
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Will isn't quite sure how all of this happened. All he knows is that a sobbing Quinn Fabray is currently in his arms and all he can do is stroke her hair and whisper soothingly, "It's okay."
So let's rewind to the end of Glee practice and try to figure all of this out, shall we?
Will had been telling the kids about ballads again, explaining that he really felt they had been going somewhere. He was proud of all of them for the progress they made in that area, proud that they all had taken such initiative, especially when he was informed that they wanted to sing a ballad to Finn and Quinn. He told them to get back with their old partners and pick new songs, ones that mirrored how they were feeling now.
"There is a song for everything," Will reminded them, then he dismissed them.
He should have known something was wrong during the entirety of Glee practice. Quinn had been staring almost unblinkingly at him the entire time, glassy eyes sometimes spilling over with tears. She blew her nose quietly a total of six times, leaving the soiled tissues under her chair, presumably to pick them up later.
Will wasn't a guidance counselor by any means and he had no idea whether he should ask Quinn if she would like to be excused or just ignore the situation entirely. In the end, he chose the latter, although he did look at her a bit more often than usual, silently willing her to understand that he did not understand.
Even so, he was still surprised when Quinn hung back, and not to collect her tissues. She told Puck quietly to go on without her and Finn's icy stare that usually shook her to her core didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. Will tried not to watch her, tried to occupy himself with collecting his sheet music and putting it in its proper folder, but the next thing he knows, she's standing right in front of him, worrying her lower lip with her teeth and tears threatening to spill over her eyes again.
"Quinn," he says, voice soft and caring.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Schuester," she says as preamble. "I-I didn't mean to distract you during Glee practice…"
He cuts her off, "No, no apologies," he reaches out and lightly taps the bottom of her chin with his index finger, as if to say, 'Perk up, it's okay.' The ghost of a smile flickers across her lips, so he asks, "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"
"Yes, actually," Quinn's voice sounds reluctant and he knows that she really doesn't want to tell him whatever it is she has resigned herself to tell him.
"Sit down," he offers, gesturing to the row of seats the rest of the club had just vacated. She turns, blonde hair swishing out behind her, and perches herself neatly in the chair nearest. She folds her hands in her lap, but he notices that the thumb on top begins rubbing against her other thumb, looking just like a nervous twitch.
Will grabs the back of another chair and turns it around, so he is sitting with the back of the chair in front of him, legs spread on either side and arms resting lazily on the back. He isn't quite sure why he does this, because he stopped sitting like this when he was in third grade. He can't say that it is to save his posture, because he stoops over just as much as he would have if the chair had been turned the other way.
But when he notices how close the two are sitting and how, had his hands also been in his lap, he could have easily taken her hand, Will understands. It is as if he is putting a barrier between himself and his students, reminding himself that there must be some sort of wall between them. He is their educator, and he has to act as such regardless of how emotionally invested he might be in helping them.
"Mr. Schuester," Quinn's voice calls him back from his musings, and he is immediately focused on the girl in front of him, "I spoke to…" she pauses, obviously nervous and unsure of how to continue, "Terri today."
"Oh," Will isn't quite sure what he is supposed to say to this. Of course he knows all about the deal Quinn and Terri had going on behind his back, but Quinn is still hesitant to mention it. Her teeth are at her bottom lip again and, forgetting the barrier for a moment, Will reaches out to take her hand, prompting, "And?"
She squeezes the offered hand, turning tearstained cheeks up to look at him. His breath catches in his chest; never has he seen a student look so upset.
"I told her I didn't want to give her the baby," Quinn's voice shook. "My little girl shouldn't have to grow up with-without a dad there to love her."
"I take it that didn't go over well," Will's grip on Quinn's hand tightened as well. Quinn let out a small laugh and she seemed to choke on it as she started crying.
It is then that Will stands up, swinging his chair around with his foot and dragging it closer to the girl, arm finding its way around her shoulders. She seems to crumple into his embrace, head coming to rest on his shoulder and one of her arms hugging him closer. His other hand strokes her hair, and he finds himself whispering a mantra of, "It's okay…. It's okay…"
Which one of them he is whispering to he doesn't know, but he does know that both of them need this right now. His cheek finds its way to the top of her head, and he sighs deeply, feeling her racking sobs against his body as he does so. They make quite the contrast, male teacher to female student, but right now they are just two kindred spirits who sat back and watched their lives get fucked up.
And suddenly Quinn is telling him everything, about how she had just had a big lunch, how her Cheerios uniform suddenly felt small in all the wrong places, how she had taken the bottle Puck offered without even reading the label. Her voice shook and begged him to understand but all he could do was hold her tighter as her tears leaked through his shirt.
"Everything's going to be okay," he repeated, speaking directly into her blonde locks.
"What am I supposed to do when she comes?" Quinn asked the question he couldn't answer. "My parents won't talk to me, I can't raise a baby with Puck - I just can't! - and I can't raise her on my own, and now that you and Terri…"
And he understands. She doesn't understand the situation between the two of them, so it only makes sense to call Terri by her first name. She's trying to not upset him while begging him for help at the same time.
Women really can multitask, Will muses for a few seconds before squeezing Quinn tightly for another few seconds.
"I can't tell you what to do, Quinn," he says honestly. "This is one decision you'll have to decide for yourself. If you let someone else choose, you'll regret it later."
Quinn lifts her head, fixing him with a watery gaze.
"Promise?"
"I promise," he nods slightly, answering her watery gaze with a tear of his own.
Fandom: Glee
Written: December, 2009
Rating: PG
Words: 1200
Summary: Will isn't sure how this all happened. All he knows is that a sobbing Quinn Fabray is in his arms and all he can do is stroke her hair and whisper soothingly, "It's okay..."
------
Will isn't quite sure how all of this happened. All he knows is that a sobbing Quinn Fabray is currently in his arms and all he can do is stroke her hair and whisper soothingly, "It's okay."
So let's rewind to the end of Glee practice and try to figure all of this out, shall we?
Will had been telling the kids about ballads again, explaining that he really felt they had been going somewhere. He was proud of all of them for the progress they made in that area, proud that they all had taken such initiative, especially when he was informed that they wanted to sing a ballad to Finn and Quinn. He told them to get back with their old partners and pick new songs, ones that mirrored how they were feeling now.
"There is a song for everything," Will reminded them, then he dismissed them.
He should have known something was wrong during the entirety of Glee practice. Quinn had been staring almost unblinkingly at him the entire time, glassy eyes sometimes spilling over with tears. She blew her nose quietly a total of six times, leaving the soiled tissues under her chair, presumably to pick them up later.
Will wasn't a guidance counselor by any means and he had no idea whether he should ask Quinn if she would like to be excused or just ignore the situation entirely. In the end, he chose the latter, although he did look at her a bit more often than usual, silently willing her to understand that he did not understand.
Even so, he was still surprised when Quinn hung back, and not to collect her tissues. She told Puck quietly to go on without her and Finn's icy stare that usually shook her to her core didn't seem to faze her in the slightest. Will tried not to watch her, tried to occupy himself with collecting his sheet music and putting it in its proper folder, but the next thing he knows, she's standing right in front of him, worrying her lower lip with her teeth and tears threatening to spill over her eyes again.
"Quinn," he says, voice soft and caring.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Schuester," she says as preamble. "I-I didn't mean to distract you during Glee practice…"
He cuts her off, "No, no apologies," he reaches out and lightly taps the bottom of her chin with his index finger, as if to say, 'Perk up, it's okay.' The ghost of a smile flickers across her lips, so he asks, "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"
"Yes, actually," Quinn's voice sounds reluctant and he knows that she really doesn't want to tell him whatever it is she has resigned herself to tell him.
"Sit down," he offers, gesturing to the row of seats the rest of the club had just vacated. She turns, blonde hair swishing out behind her, and perches herself neatly in the chair nearest. She folds her hands in her lap, but he notices that the thumb on top begins rubbing against her other thumb, looking just like a nervous twitch.
Will grabs the back of another chair and turns it around, so he is sitting with the back of the chair in front of him, legs spread on either side and arms resting lazily on the back. He isn't quite sure why he does this, because he stopped sitting like this when he was in third grade. He can't say that it is to save his posture, because he stoops over just as much as he would have if the chair had been turned the other way.
But when he notices how close the two are sitting and how, had his hands also been in his lap, he could have easily taken her hand, Will understands. It is as if he is putting a barrier between himself and his students, reminding himself that there must be some sort of wall between them. He is their educator, and he has to act as such regardless of how emotionally invested he might be in helping them.
"Mr. Schuester," Quinn's voice calls him back from his musings, and he is immediately focused on the girl in front of him, "I spoke to…" she pauses, obviously nervous and unsure of how to continue, "Terri today."
"Oh," Will isn't quite sure what he is supposed to say to this. Of course he knows all about the deal Quinn and Terri had going on behind his back, but Quinn is still hesitant to mention it. Her teeth are at her bottom lip again and, forgetting the barrier for a moment, Will reaches out to take her hand, prompting, "And?"
She squeezes the offered hand, turning tearstained cheeks up to look at him. His breath catches in his chest; never has he seen a student look so upset.
"I told her I didn't want to give her the baby," Quinn's voice shook. "My little girl shouldn't have to grow up with-without a dad there to love her."
"I take it that didn't go over well," Will's grip on Quinn's hand tightened as well. Quinn let out a small laugh and she seemed to choke on it as she started crying.
It is then that Will stands up, swinging his chair around with his foot and dragging it closer to the girl, arm finding its way around her shoulders. She seems to crumple into his embrace, head coming to rest on his shoulder and one of her arms hugging him closer. His other hand strokes her hair, and he finds himself whispering a mantra of, "It's okay…. It's okay…"
Which one of them he is whispering to he doesn't know, but he does know that both of them need this right now. His cheek finds its way to the top of her head, and he sighs deeply, feeling her racking sobs against his body as he does so. They make quite the contrast, male teacher to female student, but right now they are just two kindred spirits who sat back and watched their lives get fucked up.
And suddenly Quinn is telling him everything, about how she had just had a big lunch, how her Cheerios uniform suddenly felt small in all the wrong places, how she had taken the bottle Puck offered without even reading the label. Her voice shook and begged him to understand but all he could do was hold her tighter as her tears leaked through his shirt.
"Everything's going to be okay," he repeated, speaking directly into her blonde locks.
"What am I supposed to do when she comes?" Quinn asked the question he couldn't answer. "My parents won't talk to me, I can't raise a baby with Puck - I just can't! - and I can't raise her on my own, and now that you and Terri…"
And he understands. She doesn't understand the situation between the two of them, so it only makes sense to call Terri by her first name. She's trying to not upset him while begging him for help at the same time.
Women really can multitask, Will muses for a few seconds before squeezing Quinn tightly for another few seconds.
"I can't tell you what to do, Quinn," he says honestly. "This is one decision you'll have to decide for yourself. If you let someone else choose, you'll regret it later."
Quinn lifts her head, fixing him with a watery gaze.
"Promise?"
"I promise," he nods slightly, answering her watery gaze with a tear of his own.