Fic: Settle the Score (9/?)
Title: Settle the Score (9/?)
Author: cellochick92
Rating: R, for language and mature content
Word Count: 960
Warning: Account/discussion of abuse.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine =(
Summary: For xrainingsorrowx ’s prompt over at the rq_angst meme. “Quinn abused Rachel for so long, so she feels it's okay if Rachel returns the favor.”
A/N: Thank to mjacton , who is the best beta ever =D Thanks to them, you will soon be getting three updates for the price of one! ;)
______________________________________
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight
Rachel exhaled slowly as she sat on her bed.
She was now 24 hours into life without Quinn, and she had to admit that she wasn’t a fan. No, that was the understatement of the year- going without the blonde and her soft hazel eyes and gentle smile had been like torture.
It certainly didn’t help that she knew she was to blame, and she mentally kicked herself. Kicking just didn’t seem adequate given what she had done, but it was the best she could manage under the circumstances.
After Quinn had quietly agreed that they couldn’t be together any more, Rachel had left fairly quickly. Quinn hadn’t seemed entirely sure of herself, more hesitant than normal, and Rachel hadn’t wanted to push. The last thing she wanted now was to do anything that might make the blonde feel pressured in any way.
She spent the rest of her Friday night in tears. She knew that she had done the best thing, for both of them, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt like hell. Trying to think of ways to distract herself for the remainder of the weekend, Rachel felt like crying all over again when she realized that she would normally spend every minute of it with Quinn. She figured it was karma that her first weekend on her own had to be a long one- the school had given them Monday off for a teacher workday, meaning she had an additional day to fill.
Now, she was stuck. She had spent her entire Saturday lying in bed thinking about what she had done and what was going to happen now. After a full 24 sleepless hours of berating herself and wondering why she was such a monster, she had finally fallen into a fitful sleep. When she woken up this morning, she was surprised to discover that she didn’t particularly want to beat herself up any more.
With her previous pastime eliminated, she was at a loss as to what she should do. Sighing and rubbing her eyes with a fist, she wished that this was something that she could just research and find a quick and definite solution to like she normally would.
Sitting bolt upright, Rachel realized with a start that, while there was no easy solution, she could at least try the research part. Maybe there were people out there who had been through the same thing and had found ways to come back from it. Maybe she wasn’t doomed to spend the rest of her life in self-imposed isolation for fear of hurting someone she loved.
A quick Google search quickly revealed that, while positive outcomes were few and far between, the brunette at least wasn’t alone in her struggles. Scanning various stories, Rachel felt her heart begin to sink as nearly every one ended in pain and hurt for everyone involved. Letting her head fall to the keyboard with a thump, she groaned in frustration. If the only possible outcome was more pain for Quinn, she didn’t want to know.
Letting her mind bounce around for a few minutes, Rachel suddenly sat upright again. The people whose stories she was reading had only been able to create more pain, for both themselves and the people they loved. Maybe, though, if she learned from their mistakes and could figure out what they did wrong she could avoid doing the same thing.
Her energy renewed, the petite singer resumed reading. She spent all day and far into the night reading stories of heartache and pain, betrayal and failing hope. When she eventually collapsed on her bed, she closed her eyes and immediately saw the frightened faces of everyone she had just read about. They were mostly generic, but all of them had some feature of Quinn’s- her hazel eyes, her pale skin, her gentle smile twisted in fear.
Rachel had meticulously recorded all of the mistakes that people had made to make their situations worse, but she had found no clear way to make things better with Quinn. At best, she realized that if she was going to succeed where others had failed, it was going to be a long and hard process. Groaning and turning over to look at her alarm clock, she saw the blinking green numbers slowly change from 4:30 to 4:31. Flipping on to her back, she stared up at her ceiling and wondered for the thousandth time what she should do.
She knew without a doubt that she still wanted some kind of relationship with Quinn. The past two days had proven beyond a doubt that her life without the blonde was miserable, and she didn’t want that misery to be the rest of her life.
Exhaling slowly and trying to relax her tense muscles, she wondered if maybe they could just be friends. Her drooping eyes flew open at the thought. All of the stories she had read had involved couples trying to preserve their relationship as it had been-as romantic partners, and that had ultimately led to their downfall. Maybe if she and Quinn could start again, in a purely platonic relationship, they could make it through.
She knew that she still had countless little details to work through, but the brunette felt immensely better having at least some sort of plan, however far fetched it might be. Curling on her side, she closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, she would talk to Quinn.
Tomorrow, she would start to fix things.
Part Ten
Author: cellochick92
Rating: R, for language and mature content
Word Count: 960
Warning: Account/discussion of abuse.
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine =(
Summary: For xrainingsorrowx ’s prompt over at the rq_angst meme. “Quinn abused Rachel for so long, so she feels it's okay if Rachel returns the favor.”
A/N: Thank to mjacton , who is the best beta ever =D Thanks to them, you will soon be getting three updates for the price of one! ;)
______________________________________
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven Part Eight
Rachel exhaled slowly as she sat on her bed.
She was now 24 hours into life without Quinn, and she had to admit that she wasn’t a fan. No, that was the understatement of the year- going without the blonde and her soft hazel eyes and gentle smile had been like torture.
It certainly didn’t help that she knew she was to blame, and she mentally kicked herself. Kicking just didn’t seem adequate given what she had done, but it was the best she could manage under the circumstances.
After Quinn had quietly agreed that they couldn’t be together any more, Rachel had left fairly quickly. Quinn hadn’t seemed entirely sure of herself, more hesitant than normal, and Rachel hadn’t wanted to push. The last thing she wanted now was to do anything that might make the blonde feel pressured in any way.
She spent the rest of her Friday night in tears. She knew that she had done the best thing, for both of them, but it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt like hell. Trying to think of ways to distract herself for the remainder of the weekend, Rachel felt like crying all over again when she realized that she would normally spend every minute of it with Quinn. She figured it was karma that her first weekend on her own had to be a long one- the school had given them Monday off for a teacher workday, meaning she had an additional day to fill.
Now, she was stuck. She had spent her entire Saturday lying in bed thinking about what she had done and what was going to happen now. After a full 24 sleepless hours of berating herself and wondering why she was such a monster, she had finally fallen into a fitful sleep. When she woken up this morning, she was surprised to discover that she didn’t particularly want to beat herself up any more.
With her previous pastime eliminated, she was at a loss as to what she should do. Sighing and rubbing her eyes with a fist, she wished that this was something that she could just research and find a quick and definite solution to like she normally would.
Sitting bolt upright, Rachel realized with a start that, while there was no easy solution, she could at least try the research part. Maybe there were people out there who had been through the same thing and had found ways to come back from it. Maybe she wasn’t doomed to spend the rest of her life in self-imposed isolation for fear of hurting someone she loved.
A quick Google search quickly revealed that, while positive outcomes were few and far between, the brunette at least wasn’t alone in her struggles. Scanning various stories, Rachel felt her heart begin to sink as nearly every one ended in pain and hurt for everyone involved. Letting her head fall to the keyboard with a thump, she groaned in frustration. If the only possible outcome was more pain for Quinn, she didn’t want to know.
Letting her mind bounce around for a few minutes, Rachel suddenly sat upright again. The people whose stories she was reading had only been able to create more pain, for both themselves and the people they loved. Maybe, though, if she learned from their mistakes and could figure out what they did wrong she could avoid doing the same thing.
Her energy renewed, the petite singer resumed reading. She spent all day and far into the night reading stories of heartache and pain, betrayal and failing hope. When she eventually collapsed on her bed, she closed her eyes and immediately saw the frightened faces of everyone she had just read about. They were mostly generic, but all of them had some feature of Quinn’s- her hazel eyes, her pale skin, her gentle smile twisted in fear.
Rachel had meticulously recorded all of the mistakes that people had made to make their situations worse, but she had found no clear way to make things better with Quinn. At best, she realized that if she was going to succeed where others had failed, it was going to be a long and hard process. Groaning and turning over to look at her alarm clock, she saw the blinking green numbers slowly change from 4:30 to 4:31. Flipping on to her back, she stared up at her ceiling and wondered for the thousandth time what she should do.
She knew without a doubt that she still wanted some kind of relationship with Quinn. The past two days had proven beyond a doubt that her life without the blonde was miserable, and she didn’t want that misery to be the rest of her life.
Exhaling slowly and trying to relax her tense muscles, she wondered if maybe they could just be friends. Her drooping eyes flew open at the thought. All of the stories she had read had involved couples trying to preserve their relationship as it had been-as romantic partners, and that had ultimately led to their downfall. Maybe if she and Quinn could start again, in a purely platonic relationship, they could make it through.
She knew that she still had countless little details to work through, but the brunette felt immensely better having at least some sort of plan, however far fetched it might be. Curling on her side, she closed her eyes.
Tomorrow, she would talk to Quinn.
Tomorrow, she would start to fix things.
Part Ten