FANFICTION : QUINN/RACHEL : "HOUSE MADE OF PAPER" : PROLOGUE PART V : PG
Title: House Made Of Paper
Pairing: Quinn/Rachel (Eventual)
Characters: Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez, Brittany, Tina Cohen-Chang, Mercedes Jones, Alex Kelly, Finn Hudson, Noah Puckerman, Mike Chang, Matt Rutherford, Artie Abrams, Kurt Hummel, Will Schuester, Sue Sylvester, Emma Pillsbury.
Fandom: Glee
Author: Amie
Twitter: HERE
Spoilers: Up to 1x13
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Glee, they belong in Ryan Murphy's toy box, no do I own any establishment that may appear in this fic. They might exist for real, because I try to be factually accurate, but they're not mine.
Word Count: 1,405 (this part) 8,522 (total)
Rating: PG for now, but will eventually become R or NC-17
Summary: AU. As the joy of winning at Sectionals passes, Quinn is abruptly sent away to live with her Grandparents in Los Angeles. Her parents can no longer deal with the embarrassment they feel regarding their Daughter and her pregnancy. Quinn gives birth in LA, and when it is time for her to return to Lima, she has changed more dramatically than any of her old classmates could ever imagine.
Author's Note: This is a fusion of Canon and AU. But it will become completely AU after the prologue. The prologue serves as a back story of sorts, an inside look into the mind of Quinn Fabray. I was attempting to incorporate parts of the show into it,show some more depth and write my own interpretations of Quinn's feelings in that moment. Also, it takes creative liberties with things we actually saw on the show, by entwining them together with my own little scenes. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it. Please do let me know :) Also, the prologue is revealing itself to me as being quite lengthy, so it will be cut into parts. For example, this is the Prologue - Part IV. I will stop my rambling now. Fic title is taken from the amazing Ellie Goulding song, "Under The Sheets" (Which I wish Dianna would sing on the show). This is un-betaed, so all mistakes are mine. If you see anything glaring, please shout at me. Shout out to my homies; gleek23, who puts up with my incessant whining at all hours, jackson_nash for being my number one bbcakes dork partner. And also to mrtoulouse for... well she knows why :D
Author's Note II: I didn't expect the prologue to be as long as it is becoming, she won't actually be heading to LA for a while. So the Volume One fanmix is irrelevant for now. I might make a Prologue fanmix soon, but to be honest, it would probably consist of like, bubblegum pop or something, and I don't know anything about all that crap. Also, chapter title is from the song "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri.
Author's Note III: I am extremely aware that I suck. I haven't updated this in so long. I'm ashamed. I hope people are still interested in reading. I have no excuses other than real life has been stressing me out, and my normally reluctant muse has decided to take an impromptu vacation to god knows where. I'm posting this part in hopes of luring it back home, so please, if you find it - probably wasted and in tatters - please kindly return the little fucker back to me. Stat.
House Made of Paper - Prologue - Part V
...You're gonna catch a cold, from the ice inside your soul.
Quinn hadn’t realised how emotionally draining being in the glee club would be, every morning she would wake up more fatigued than the last, despite retiring to bed earlier than usual the night before. The days were rapidly transitioning into weeks, and every attempt to eradicate the group resulted in failure. It didn’t matter what strategic fractures she injected into the structure of their relationships, her schemes only brought them closer together.
Firstly, she had attacked the foundation of the club; Rachel Berry. Santana and Quinn had accosted the shorter girl in the hallway before practice one day. It was pathetic, how susceptible the brunette became after a few choice words from the two cheerleaders. Quinn had plastered on an agonizingly fake smile, swallowed her loathing for the shorter girl and spoke in a polite and friendly manner. Santana and Quinn informed Rachel that as long as Mr Schuester was in control of choreographing the routines, their chances of placing at Sectionals were less than nil.
Rachel, always so diligent in her pitiful attempts at appeasing the group responsible for her social torment, was more than willing to listen. Pandering to the girl’s selfish need for success and intensely competitive attitude, Quinn easily manipulated Rachel into doing her, and by proxy Coach Sylvester’s bidding. Whilst Santana finished laying the groundwork in Rachel’s mind, the blonde glanced over the shorter brunette’s shoulder. Karofsky was failing to stealthily approach them, clumsily stumbling over his own feet and knocking into a few lockers whilst trying not to spill the slushie in his hands. Quinn threw him a stern glare which sent the hockey player hurrying back the way he came, but not before the cheerleader saw a look of utter confusion settle on his features.
She mentally reminded herself to find Dave later in the day and explain to him why he had wasted the perfect opportunity to humiliate Rachel, and that she would allow him to throw two of the iced beverages on the glee diva the following day to make up for it.
With her mission completed, Quinn threw one last cheerful smile at Rachel before heading into the practice room with a smirking Santana.
She had watched with a face conveying none of the happiness she felt inside as Rachel hesitantly interrupted the adolescent dance steps which Mr Schuester had them running through. The brunette was uncharacteristically kind, suggesting that Will may not be their best option for Sectionals. When the teacher’s face fell slightly, she was quick to reassure him of his vocal talents, stating that she merely thought it would be wiser to employ the help of an experienced professional for the dance numbers.
Mr Schuester tried to reason with Rachel, and Quinn could see the resolve breaking down in the girl’s deplorable brown eyes. So she delivered a few well aimed barbs at the teacher’s insecurities, and smiled contentedly as everything fell into place.
The next day, Rachel breezed into the choir room and declared that Mr Schuester would not be attending that afternoon’s practice. She announced her plans to visit Carmel High School instead, in an attempt to recruit the help of the team’s choreographer, Dakota Stanley. Quinn sat back in her chair, feeling more relaxed than she had in weeks as she watched Rachel and Finn squabble over the decision of hiring a new instructor.
When Rachel stormed out followed by Finn, their voices still raised, Quinn discreetly high fived Santana before they also left the room and headed to Coach Sylvester’s office. The blonde ignored her friend’s incessant babbling regarding Brittany and Matt’s relationship, and the way the Latina’s voice lowered into a growl whilst she complained that Brittany hardly ever had time to hang out alone with her anymore. Quinn chose not to mention that both Brittany and Santana seemed unwilling to include her in their plans recently either, she was too tired to risk Santana feeling guilty and wanting to spend more time together.
When they entered the coach’s domain, the two Cheerios immediately took their assigned seats and listened intently to what their leader had to say. Surprisingly, after being assured that Dakota Stanley would hinder and not assist, Sue praised both girls and sent them back out into the field where they were to leave further emotional land mines in the remaining gleeks paths.
As soon as the girls had re-entered the hallway, Puck appeared in front of them out of the crowd. Quinn’s stomach clenched tightly and she grimaced, feeling as though the gastric acid licking viciously at her insides was a reminder from God that he was aware of her sinning, and would be punishing her accordingly. Santana pulled her boyfriend in for a kiss and Quinn had to fight the urge to run to the bathroom, she felt dizzy as if she was about to pass out or vomit. She chalked it up to the fact that she’d skipped lunch to meet with Coach Sylvester and because as Puck kissed Santana, he was running his fingers through the ends of her blonde ponytail over his girlfriend’s shoulder.
Quinn excused herself abruptly; shoving Puck’s groping hand away from her hair and resisting the urge to punch him in the face when she noticed his smirk against the Latina’s lips. On her way to the bathroom she had passed Mercedes Jones, a girl so far off of her radar that Quinn hadn’t even known she existed until she had actually joined the glee club. It seemed that Quinn suffered from a severe case of tunnel vision when it came to watching the gleeks perform, she was so enraged at Rachel and Finn’s blatant behaviour that her eyes hadn’t given the other members more than a seconds glance.
Mercedes was boisterous, perfectly capable of matching Rachel Berry’s diva persona. But at that moment she was unusually subdued, leaning against her locker and sighing as coupled up students passed her with interlocked fingers. Quinn grunted in disgust as she saw the girl staring at Puck and Santana with pitiful eyes full of genuine longing. Another bout of nausea hit her and she had to place a hand on a nearby wall to steady herself for a moment. When she felt stable enough to stand, her attention was once again called to Mercedes, who was now joined by Kurt Hummel.
Quinn listened intently, one hand subconsciously massaging her abdomen as the overdressed fashionista went on a diatribe overflowing with adolescent woe and insecurity. Kurt noticed her standing against the lockers opposite, and announced that he got through the day knowing that he was far superior to those around him. He sniffed impolitely at Quinn as she turned and walked back in the direction she had come from, then took Mercedes by the arm and led her down the hall. Quinn had noticed the sparkle that lit up in the other girl’s eyes as she’d listened to what her friend was saying, and suddenly the maelstrom in her stomach dissipated and was replaced by the serene waves of complete confidence.
Santana had thankfully disconnected herself from Puck, so the blonde beckoned her over with a wave of her hand. They were mentally in tune with each other enough from years of friendship, that Quinn had brought her right hand woman up to speed with a few whispered words. Together they approached the still grinning gleek, linking their arms with hers once Kurt had stridden away. Quinn was continuously surprised by how moronically the members of the glee club wholeheartedly fell for her schemes. With no more than 18 words the cheerleaders successfully had Mercedes believing that Kurt, the most obviously flamboyant homosexual that Quinn had even seen, was romantically attracted to her.
Coach Sylvester thought it would be wise for her three Cheerios to accompany Rachel and the others to Carmel High School, to observe and guarantee that nothing went wrong with their carefully constructed plans. Quinn was vocally reluctant, declaring to Sue that she wasn’t sure she could be trusted not to decapitate the infuriating brunette if left in her company away from school grounds.
Sue had actually chuckled, reassuring the blonde that she had tact and self control reminiscent of a highly ranked sniper she had casually dated whilst serving in Panama. Then she had filled and signed three slips to excuse the girls from afternoon cheer practice and directed them to leave her office.
To be continued.