Preview: Inferno [Rachel/Quinn, PG-13]
Title: Inferno
Author: smcthegreat (Sara)
Rating: PG-13 for cursing
Pairing: Rachel/Quinn
Word Count: Unfinished - 19,000 words to date.
Note: This snippet takes place during the infamous egging scene in Season 1. Also, thanks to gleek23 for being super mod and helping me with the posting access.
Rachel slammed her locker shut and took a deep breath. I can do this. I am strong and able to overcome any obstacle. What would Barbra do? Her oft-repeated inspirational mantra was failing her this morning, just as it had failed the entire week. Still, she was a creature of habit, and even if it wasn't making her feel any better, there was some comfort in simply repeating the words to herself over and over again.
The breakfast table found her fathers commenting on her lack of appetite and the fact that not a one single song had been heard from her in days. She'd tearfully confessed that the boy she'd liked had dumped her and her fathers had been properly comforting and supportive but Rachel still felt angry and hurt over Jesse's callous treatment. Coupled with Shelby's rejection and the confusion stemming from her recent interactions with Quinn and Rachel was reeling, barely able to function, let alone at the levels she normally interacted with her peers.
The day passed in a blur with her unable to name any particular event, except for the lunch bell. Rachel figured that while she wasn't hungry, it was important for a future star to keep her body strong and healthy. She headed down the stairs towards the cafeteria when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. A quick perusal of the caller ID showed one of the people responsible for her funk.
Her better sense screaming at her not to answer the phone, she flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Meet me out in the parking lot."
The line went dead and against reason and logic, her heart surged with hope. Maybe Jesse had come to his senses and was about to make a grand, romantic gesture to try and win her back. Her lips curved in a small smile and she practically skipped outside.
Sunlight streamed over the concrete, highlighting the blue of Jesse's jacket as he waved to her and she took off towards him in a run. Quick steps closed the distance between them and Rachel let her eyes roam over his wavy hair, his dancing eyes and mouth curved into a grin. It was just like in the movies. Now, she was sure, he'd drop to one knee and beg forgiveness and break into song about what she meant to him, how he was lost without her, that he loved...
Splat.
The egg struck the back of her head and at first Rachel was too stunned to do anything. Jesse's smile had fallen and he was looking at her with an unreadable expression.
Splat.
Another egg landed and Rachel was surrounded by blue jackets hurling eggs and taunts her way. She reflexively covered her face as she was pelted, unable to do anything other than stand there. Her vision blurred into a haze of tears until she felt Jesse move towards her and she looked up to see him staring at her, hand poised to deliver the final blow.
"Do it. Break it like you broke my heart." Rachel lifted her chin defiantly, unwilling to let Vocal Adrenaline see her falter.
"I loved you," Jesse murmured before smashing the last egg on Rachel's forehead.
Yolk running down her face, Rachel bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She willed her face to remain impassive, desperately trying to hold her tears in check until the last Range Rover left the parking lot. She was left standing alone, surrounded by the shattered remnants of her dreams and the life force of a dozen baby chickens. She allowed her tears to flow freely, grimacing as she felt them mingle with the runny egg yolk now drying on her skin. A flash of movement caught the corner of her eye and she turned, hoping against hope no one else witnessed her utter humiliation. Rachel sighed and started trudging back inside. Thankfully, she'd never gotten out of the habit of keeping an extra set of clothes in her locker. She only hoped she could sneak in and get cleaned up before anyone saw her.
"Berry? What the hell?"
Of course. Rachel gritted her teeth. "Not now, Santana."
"What happened to you, Treasure Trail? You have a run-in with a hen house?" Santana smirked as she took in the sight of Rachel dripping with something yellow and slimy.
"No. Just Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel wiped her eyes and kept walking doggedly towards her locker. She felt a hand on her arm, stopping her.
"Whoa. Hold up. Are you serious? This isn't one of your diva ploys for attention?"
Rachel jerked her arm free. "No, Santana. While I'm all for getting into one's character, I had nothing to do with this. Jesse..." Rachel's voice broke. "He called me out to the parking lot and then they appeared out of nowhere and now I'm covered in eggs and oh God..."
Santana watched in horror as Rachel Berry, covered in egg, proceeded to sob hysterically at the top of her lungs. "Okay, okay. Stop crying. Jesus." Santana hissed and gestured awkwardly. "Just...get cleaned up. Don't cry. We'll figure out what to do next."
Santana didn't wait for a response and gingerly grabbed Rachel's arm, quickly steering her towards the lockers. She was jerked out of her thoughts by Rachel's tugging on her hand.
"God, Grabby, what do you want?" Santana snapped.
"We're here."
"Oh. Well, hurry up. I don't have all day." Santana huffed and crossed her arms.
"Why are you being nice to me, Santana? You can't stand me." Rachel sniffled and opened her locker to grab her emergency kit of extra clothes, face wash and shampoo.
"I still can't stand you, Berry. You're a freak, but," Santana paused, considering her next words. "You're our freak. And the only person who gets to kick your ass around here is me. Or someone of my choosing. So just get your shit and let's go."
Rachel blinked for a moment before bursting into laughter. "I guess that's Santana speak for 'I care about you' so I'll just go with it." She closed her locker and started heading towards the girl's bathroom. She turned to see Santana gaping at her. "Close your mouth Santana, this isn't date night."
Santana closed her mouth and glared at Rachel before catching up to her. "Shut up, RuPaul and move your ass."
Rachel grinned and despite her life falling apart around her, her heart being broken, and her penance to be paid to the innocent souls of those baby chicks, Rachel couldn't deny she felt just the tiniest bit better.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Freshly showered and changed, Rachel sat surrounded by the Glee club, recounting her tale of woe to mostly sympathetic listeners. Santana, in an effort to show just how much she didn't care about Rachel, was busy whispering and giggling with Brittany. The melodramatic part of Rachel's brain squealed in delight when Puck stood up and called for the boys to visit retaliation on Jesse.
Her hopes were dashed when Mr. Schue entered the room and vetoed the idea of revenge. Rachel rolled her eyes at his idea of having another music face-off with Vocal Adrenaline on Friday until she heard his plan to show the rival choir just what they were up against.
The group huddled together and started brainstorming ideas on songs and choreography when Kurt spoke up. "Wait, where's Quinn?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shelby Corcoran stood in the overly large wardrobe closest and rifled through the racks of clothes, discarding costumes to consider for Vocal Adrenaline’s number at Regionals.
“We need to talk.”
Shelby whirled to face the speaker. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I guess I’ll have to allocate some funds from our budget for security. You kids have got to stop sneaking in here.” She turned back to face the rack of clothes.
Quinn stepped forward and continued on as if Shelby hadn’t spoken. “You know, being pregnant and all, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, trying to decide about my options. I even stumbled across how surrogates work. I understand it’s normal for contracts to be signed, legal documents prohibiting the surrogate from contacting the child until they’re of age. I also understand that the consequences can be pretty daunting if the terms are violated.”
Shelby continued shifting outfits forward or backwards, seemingly disinterested.
Quinn paused in front of the worktable where various fabrics lay strewn and ran a finger over a bolt of fuchsia colored silk. “As far as I know, Rachel’s fathers have no idea that you and Rachel have met. I wonder how they’d take that bit of news?”
Shelby’s hand froze on the pin striped pants she was about to shift to the discard pile and she turned her head slightly towards Quinn. “Are you threatening me?”
Quinn smiled sweetly. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Though I have some strong suspicions about just how convenient it all seems that out of nowhere, Rachel finds out who you are and simply has to seek you out. I bet her Dads would be interested to find out about that as well.”
Shelby sighed, exasperation clear in her tone. “So far, all I'm hearing is nothing but a waste of my time. So why don't you run along back to school now, okay? I'm busy." Shelby gestured towards the door and turned her attention fully back towards the clothes rack.
Quinn continued, her tone casual, as if she were discussing the weather. "One of the bad things about living in a small town, rumors pop up, spread like disease and soon everyone knows about your business. It'd be awful having something like that happen to Vocal Adrenaline's director right before a big competition."
"Playing hardball, are we?" Shelby laughed, a short, grating sound. "Don't even try it, honey. I'm better at this game than you are."
I'll show you who's calling the shots here, bitch. Quinn’s smile fell and her eyes bored a hole into Shelby’s back. “You know, having Vocal Adrenaline perform with Jesse at the forefront to break our morale was a good tactic. I think even Sue Sylvester would’ve been proud. Having Vocal Adrenaline egg Rachel, however, was not only genius but also the height of cruelty.”
Shelby stiffened, hand poised above a sequined shirt. “What are you talking about?”
Quinn scoffed. “Please. You and I both know, even if the others haven’t pieced it together yet, Vocal Adrenaline doesn’t scratch their ass without your knowledge and consent.”
Shelby turned to face Quinn, eyes intent. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Ms. Corcoran,” Quinn drawled. “You set Rachel up. You had Jesse call her out to the parking lot and the rest of your stupid minions threw eggs at her. But what was really perfect was you having Jesse smash the very last egg on Rachel’s forehead.”
Quinn watched with no small satisfaction as Shelby’s face grew pale and drawn. “What? Oh my God.”
“Don’t,” Quinn hissed. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know a thing about it. Even if it hasn’t occurred to Rachel yet, it will. How do you think that’s going to make her feel when it does? How could you do that her?”
Shelby shook her head. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I would never...” She trailed off. “You honestly think I’d hurt my own daughter that way?”
“I think you have no problem hurting Rachel whatsoever, Shelby," Quinn sneered. "I saw her after you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with her. I saw her the last few days still trying to come to grips with that fact.”
Quinn’s voice rose in volume. “I saw her in the parking lot as the boy she cared for smashed egg on her face and left her there. I saw her break down and cry after they’d left. Oh no,” Quinn smiled nastily. “I think you’re just fine hurting Rachel. Anything to guarantee a win at Regionals.”
“That’s not true. Sure, I had the kids go and perform but that’s it. I never said anything about Rachel being targeted.” Shelby's voice shook.
Quinn smirked. “Maybe you aren’t as in control as you thought then. Because your boy St. James is going to catch a serious beat down once the rest of the Glee club finds out what happened.”
Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “This cannot be happening. Fine. I will deal with my kids today at practice. As for you," She jabbed at finger towards Quinn. “Tell your hooligan teammates they’d better not lay a finger on any member of Vocal Adrenaline or I will press charges this time.”
"I don’t really think you’re in a position to dictate anything, do you?" Quinn shook her head in disgust. "How can you even act like you're the victim after what your rejects did to Rachel? How can you call her your daughter when you had no problem abandoning her last week when she wasn't what you wanted her to be? You aren't a mother, not even animals treat their young this way."
"That is enough." Shelby crossed the room to stand in front of Quinn. "Who do you think you are? You break into my prop room, threaten me and then presume to scold me on how I interact with my own daughter?"
“You know who I am? I'm someone who cares about Rachel enough to call you on your bullshit. You and your mouth breathers better stay away from Rachel and the rest of the Glee club as well. Stop trying to sabotage us and take the ass kicking coming your way at Regionals with a bit of grace, if you're able to find any.” Quinn headed towards the door, an inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Rachel murmuring approval at her well executed storm out.
Shelby's laughter, soft and subdued, rang out. "Well if that isn't the height of irony..."
"What?" Quinn stopped and turned.
"Isn't it ironic how all of this is coming from the girl who used to torment Rachel daily? The same girl who wasn't above throwing slushies in her face. The very same girl who is responsible for making my daughter's life miserable is here, now, attempting to lecture me on proper behavior. Oh yes," Shelby sneered. "I know exactly who you are, Quinn Fabray. I've known since Rachel was in 6th grade and sang at the Homecoming Parade and you and your group of friends called her names and booed her off the stage."
Quinn paled and took a step back. "Th-that was a long time ago. Things are different now."
Shelby stepped forward, closing the distance between them, eyes hard and voice cold. "Are they? Maybe all of this is a set up for Rachel. Maybe it's some cruel prank you're playing to try and humiliate her again."
Shelby gripped Quinn's arm firmly. "You listen to me, little girl. Maybe you really have changed and this is really out of the kindness of your reformed Cheerio heart but," her hand tightened, "if it's not and this is your way of hurting my daughter, I'll be paying you a visit. Do we understand each other?"
Quinn jerked her arm from Shelby's grasp and shot her a glare before walking out the door, head held high, desperately trying not to think about why she was suddenly unsure which of them was the bad guy.
Author: smcthegreat (Sara)
Rating: PG-13 for cursing
Pairing: Rachel/Quinn
Word Count: Unfinished - 19,000 words to date.
Note: This snippet takes place during the infamous egging scene in Season 1. Also, thanks to gleek23 for being super mod and helping me with the posting access.
Rachel slammed her locker shut and took a deep breath. I can do this. I am strong and able to overcome any obstacle. What would Barbra do? Her oft-repeated inspirational mantra was failing her this morning, just as it had failed the entire week. Still, she was a creature of habit, and even if it wasn't making her feel any better, there was some comfort in simply repeating the words to herself over and over again.
The breakfast table found her fathers commenting on her lack of appetite and the fact that not a one single song had been heard from her in days. She'd tearfully confessed that the boy she'd liked had dumped her and her fathers had been properly comforting and supportive but Rachel still felt angry and hurt over Jesse's callous treatment. Coupled with Shelby's rejection and the confusion stemming from her recent interactions with Quinn and Rachel was reeling, barely able to function, let alone at the levels she normally interacted with her peers.
The day passed in a blur with her unable to name any particular event, except for the lunch bell. Rachel figured that while she wasn't hungry, it was important for a future star to keep her body strong and healthy. She headed down the stairs towards the cafeteria when her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. A quick perusal of the caller ID showed one of the people responsible for her funk.
Her better sense screaming at her not to answer the phone, she flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Meet me out in the parking lot."
The line went dead and against reason and logic, her heart surged with hope. Maybe Jesse had come to his senses and was about to make a grand, romantic gesture to try and win her back. Her lips curved in a small smile and she practically skipped outside.
Sunlight streamed over the concrete, highlighting the blue of Jesse's jacket as he waved to her and she took off towards him in a run. Quick steps closed the distance between them and Rachel let her eyes roam over his wavy hair, his dancing eyes and mouth curved into a grin. It was just like in the movies. Now, she was sure, he'd drop to one knee and beg forgiveness and break into song about what she meant to him, how he was lost without her, that he loved...
Splat.
The egg struck the back of her head and at first Rachel was too stunned to do anything. Jesse's smile had fallen and he was looking at her with an unreadable expression.
Splat.
Another egg landed and Rachel was surrounded by blue jackets hurling eggs and taunts her way. She reflexively covered her face as she was pelted, unable to do anything other than stand there. Her vision blurred into a haze of tears until she felt Jesse move towards her and she looked up to see him staring at her, hand poised to deliver the final blow.
"Do it. Break it like you broke my heart." Rachel lifted her chin defiantly, unwilling to let Vocal Adrenaline see her falter.
"I loved you," Jesse murmured before smashing the last egg on Rachel's forehead.
Yolk running down her face, Rachel bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She willed her face to remain impassive, desperately trying to hold her tears in check until the last Range Rover left the parking lot. She was left standing alone, surrounded by the shattered remnants of her dreams and the life force of a dozen baby chickens. She allowed her tears to flow freely, grimacing as she felt them mingle with the runny egg yolk now drying on her skin. A flash of movement caught the corner of her eye and she turned, hoping against hope no one else witnessed her utter humiliation. Rachel sighed and started trudging back inside. Thankfully, she'd never gotten out of the habit of keeping an extra set of clothes in her locker. She only hoped she could sneak in and get cleaned up before anyone saw her.
"Berry? What the hell?"
Of course. Rachel gritted her teeth. "Not now, Santana."
"What happened to you, Treasure Trail? You have a run-in with a hen house?" Santana smirked as she took in the sight of Rachel dripping with something yellow and slimy.
"No. Just Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel wiped her eyes and kept walking doggedly towards her locker. She felt a hand on her arm, stopping her.
"Whoa. Hold up. Are you serious? This isn't one of your diva ploys for attention?"
Rachel jerked her arm free. "No, Santana. While I'm all for getting into one's character, I had nothing to do with this. Jesse..." Rachel's voice broke. "He called me out to the parking lot and then they appeared out of nowhere and now I'm covered in eggs and oh God..."
Santana watched in horror as Rachel Berry, covered in egg, proceeded to sob hysterically at the top of her lungs. "Okay, okay. Stop crying. Jesus." Santana hissed and gestured awkwardly. "Just...get cleaned up. Don't cry. We'll figure out what to do next."
Santana didn't wait for a response and gingerly grabbed Rachel's arm, quickly steering her towards the lockers. She was jerked out of her thoughts by Rachel's tugging on her hand.
"God, Grabby, what do you want?" Santana snapped.
"We're here."
"Oh. Well, hurry up. I don't have all day." Santana huffed and crossed her arms.
"Why are you being nice to me, Santana? You can't stand me." Rachel sniffled and opened her locker to grab her emergency kit of extra clothes, face wash and shampoo.
"I still can't stand you, Berry. You're a freak, but," Santana paused, considering her next words. "You're our freak. And the only person who gets to kick your ass around here is me. Or someone of my choosing. So just get your shit and let's go."
Rachel blinked for a moment before bursting into laughter. "I guess that's Santana speak for 'I care about you' so I'll just go with it." She closed her locker and started heading towards the girl's bathroom. She turned to see Santana gaping at her. "Close your mouth Santana, this isn't date night."
Santana closed her mouth and glared at Rachel before catching up to her. "Shut up, RuPaul and move your ass."
Rachel grinned and despite her life falling apart around her, her heart being broken, and her penance to be paid to the innocent souls of those baby chicks, Rachel couldn't deny she felt just the tiniest bit better.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Freshly showered and changed, Rachel sat surrounded by the Glee club, recounting her tale of woe to mostly sympathetic listeners. Santana, in an effort to show just how much she didn't care about Rachel, was busy whispering and giggling with Brittany. The melodramatic part of Rachel's brain squealed in delight when Puck stood up and called for the boys to visit retaliation on Jesse.
Her hopes were dashed when Mr. Schue entered the room and vetoed the idea of revenge. Rachel rolled her eyes at his idea of having another music face-off with Vocal Adrenaline on Friday until she heard his plan to show the rival choir just what they were up against.
The group huddled together and started brainstorming ideas on songs and choreography when Kurt spoke up. "Wait, where's Quinn?"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shelby Corcoran stood in the overly large wardrobe closest and rifled through the racks of clothes, discarding costumes to consider for Vocal Adrenaline’s number at Regionals.
“We need to talk.”
Shelby whirled to face the speaker. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I guess I’ll have to allocate some funds from our budget for security. You kids have got to stop sneaking in here.” She turned back to face the rack of clothes.
Quinn stepped forward and continued on as if Shelby hadn’t spoken. “You know, being pregnant and all, I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, trying to decide about my options. I even stumbled across how surrogates work. I understand it’s normal for contracts to be signed, legal documents prohibiting the surrogate from contacting the child until they’re of age. I also understand that the consequences can be pretty daunting if the terms are violated.”
Shelby continued shifting outfits forward or backwards, seemingly disinterested.
Quinn paused in front of the worktable where various fabrics lay strewn and ran a finger over a bolt of fuchsia colored silk. “As far as I know, Rachel’s fathers have no idea that you and Rachel have met. I wonder how they’d take that bit of news?”
Shelby’s hand froze on the pin striped pants she was about to shift to the discard pile and she turned her head slightly towards Quinn. “Are you threatening me?”
Quinn smiled sweetly. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Though I have some strong suspicions about just how convenient it all seems that out of nowhere, Rachel finds out who you are and simply has to seek you out. I bet her Dads would be interested to find out about that as well.”
Shelby sighed, exasperation clear in her tone. “So far, all I'm hearing is nothing but a waste of my time. So why don't you run along back to school now, okay? I'm busy." Shelby gestured towards the door and turned her attention fully back towards the clothes rack.
Quinn continued, her tone casual, as if she were discussing the weather. "One of the bad things about living in a small town, rumors pop up, spread like disease and soon everyone knows about your business. It'd be awful having something like that happen to Vocal Adrenaline's director right before a big competition."
"Playing hardball, are we?" Shelby laughed, a short, grating sound. "Don't even try it, honey. I'm better at this game than you are."
I'll show you who's calling the shots here, bitch. Quinn’s smile fell and her eyes bored a hole into Shelby’s back. “You know, having Vocal Adrenaline perform with Jesse at the forefront to break our morale was a good tactic. I think even Sue Sylvester would’ve been proud. Having Vocal Adrenaline egg Rachel, however, was not only genius but also the height of cruelty.”
Shelby stiffened, hand poised above a sequined shirt. “What are you talking about?”
Quinn scoffed. “Please. You and I both know, even if the others haven’t pieced it together yet, Vocal Adrenaline doesn’t scratch their ass without your knowledge and consent.”
Shelby turned to face Quinn, eyes intent. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Ms. Corcoran,” Quinn drawled. “You set Rachel up. You had Jesse call her out to the parking lot and the rest of your stupid minions threw eggs at her. But what was really perfect was you having Jesse smash the very last egg on Rachel’s forehead.”
Quinn watched with no small satisfaction as Shelby’s face grew pale and drawn. “What? Oh my God.”
“Don’t,” Quinn hissed. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know a thing about it. Even if it hasn’t occurred to Rachel yet, it will. How do you think that’s going to make her feel when it does? How could you do that her?”
Shelby shook her head. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I would never...” She trailed off. “You honestly think I’d hurt my own daughter that way?”
“I think you have no problem hurting Rachel whatsoever, Shelby," Quinn sneered. "I saw her after you made it clear you wanted nothing to do with her. I saw her the last few days still trying to come to grips with that fact.”
Quinn’s voice rose in volume. “I saw her in the parking lot as the boy she cared for smashed egg on her face and left her there. I saw her break down and cry after they’d left. Oh no,” Quinn smiled nastily. “I think you’re just fine hurting Rachel. Anything to guarantee a win at Regionals.”
“That’s not true. Sure, I had the kids go and perform but that’s it. I never said anything about Rachel being targeted.” Shelby's voice shook.
Quinn smirked. “Maybe you aren’t as in control as you thought then. Because your boy St. James is going to catch a serious beat down once the rest of the Glee club finds out what happened.”
Shelby pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. “This cannot be happening. Fine. I will deal with my kids today at practice. As for you," She jabbed at finger towards Quinn. “Tell your hooligan teammates they’d better not lay a finger on any member of Vocal Adrenaline or I will press charges this time.”
"I don’t really think you’re in a position to dictate anything, do you?" Quinn shook her head in disgust. "How can you even act like you're the victim after what your rejects did to Rachel? How can you call her your daughter when you had no problem abandoning her last week when she wasn't what you wanted her to be? You aren't a mother, not even animals treat their young this way."
"That is enough." Shelby crossed the room to stand in front of Quinn. "Who do you think you are? You break into my prop room, threaten me and then presume to scold me on how I interact with my own daughter?"
“You know who I am? I'm someone who cares about Rachel enough to call you on your bullshit. You and your mouth breathers better stay away from Rachel and the rest of the Glee club as well. Stop trying to sabotage us and take the ass kicking coming your way at Regionals with a bit of grace, if you're able to find any.” Quinn headed towards the door, an inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Rachel murmuring approval at her well executed storm out.
Shelby's laughter, soft and subdued, rang out. "Well if that isn't the height of irony..."
"What?" Quinn stopped and turned.
"Isn't it ironic how all of this is coming from the girl who used to torment Rachel daily? The same girl who wasn't above throwing slushies in her face. The very same girl who is responsible for making my daughter's life miserable is here, now, attempting to lecture me on proper behavior. Oh yes," Shelby sneered. "I know exactly who you are, Quinn Fabray. I've known since Rachel was in 6th grade and sang at the Homecoming Parade and you and your group of friends called her names and booed her off the stage."
Quinn paled and took a step back. "Th-that was a long time ago. Things are different now."
Shelby stepped forward, closing the distance between them, eyes hard and voice cold. "Are they? Maybe all of this is a set up for Rachel. Maybe it's some cruel prank you're playing to try and humiliate her again."
Shelby gripped Quinn's arm firmly. "You listen to me, little girl. Maybe you really have changed and this is really out of the kindness of your reformed Cheerio heart but," her hand tightened, "if it's not and this is your way of hurting my daughter, I'll be paying you a visit. Do we understand each other?"
Quinn jerked her arm from Shelby's grasp and shot her a glare before walking out the door, head held high, desperately trying not to think about why she was suddenly unsure which of them was the bad guy.