Second Chances

Chapter 12

"Rachel, come on, where are we going?" Quinn whined.
Rachel laughed. "I'm not telling," she teased.
Rachel had been driving Quinn through the city for almost twenty minutes and refused to tell her where they were going. After google searching for about an hour, Rachel had found the perfect place.
"Come on Rachel! Just tell me," Quinn begged.
"Now I know why Beth whines so much," Rachel joked, and Quinn playfully punched her in the arm.
They drove for about ten more minutes then Rachel pulled up in front of a small brick restaurant. She opened the car door for Quinn and held her hand as she lead her outside and towards the building.
"Oh Rachel is this..." Quinn's voice trailed off as she stared at the building in awe.
Rachel had found the first, and only Breadstix in New York. Even though they'd had to drive all the way to Brooklyn, it was worth it. Breadstix had been Rachel and Quinn's special place back in high school. Even though they had never been close friends, after every performance in glee club, Quinn and Rachel would always go to Breadstix together. And for that one night they would act like best friends.
Rachel walked them to their table and Quinn was absolutely speechless.
"Rach, this is amazing, I don't even know what to say," She breathed.
Rachel smiled and blushed. "I knew you'd love it. Do you remember when we used to come here back in high school?"
Quinn nodded and blushed, she was surprised Rachel still thought about that. "Yeah. I remember when we came here for the first time and I spilled my drink on you, then when I went home I cried because I was so embarrassed," Quinn admitted shamefully.
Rachel laughed. "You did?"
Quinn nodded again. "Yeah! You're Rachel Berry! You were the most talented person in school! I was mad about that for weeks."
"What? You really thought that much of me?" Rachel asked shyly.
"Why do you think I bullied you so much? It was because I knew I'd never be as good as you," Quinn said and shrugged.
"I thought it was because you loved me," Rachel teased.
"Well that too. But don't say I loved you, that means I used to love you, and I still love you now."
After they ate Rachel took Quinn back to the car. Quinn rested her head against the cool glass window and thanked Rachel for an amazing night. Quinn was under the impression they were going home, so after she thanked Rachel a few times she stayed silent, until she realized they weren't going back to the apartment.
"Rach?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Quinn sighed. She knew she wouldn't get Rachel to talk, so she just played with the radio until she found a song she liked. As much as she was acting annoyed to not know where they were going, she loved not knowing. Normally Quinn hated surprises. Normally surprises were bad. Normally they came from people she didn't trust. But she trusted Rachel. So she decided that she wouldn't worry, because she was safe with Rachel. Quinn had tried to keep pretending like she was annoyed not knowing where she was going, but once the car ride came to an end, she was practically bursting with excitement.
"Rachel where are we?" She asked and squirmed in her seat.
Rachel shook her head and laughed to herself. "Have you never been here before?"
Quinn shook her head.
"Well Quinn, I hope you enjoy your first time at Coney Island," Rachel announced.
Quinn looked out the window with wide eyes, she was mesmerised like a little kid, even though they were only in the parking lot.
Rachel lead Quinn to the boardwalk. They walked side by side and watched the sun set over the beach. Their hands brushed against each other, and Quinn decided to make the move and hold Rachels hand in her own. She felt her heart begin to race when she realized this was the first time she'd ever held hands with another girl in public.
"This is beautiful," Quinn said softly and stopped, they stood by the railing and started at the ocean.
Quinn was mesmerised by the sunset and the birds flying over the sand, but Rachel was to focused on the beautiful girl standing next to her notice. She could go to Coney Island anytime she wanted, but what made it special was that she was there was with Quinn. Rachel squeezed her hand and Quinn turned to her with a bright smile.
Rachel took Quinn to the amusement park and they both had the best time they'd had in a long time. They rode the ferris wheel together, and when they got to the top they screamed and laughed out of fear and excitement. And Quinn admitted she was terrified of heights, but she hardly noticed her fear because she knew she would be okay with Rachel by her side. They didn't ride anymore rides because it was getting late, but they watched everyone else. Then they went back to the boardwalk and ate funnel cake and cotton candy. Rachel grabbed Quinns hand and they ran to the beach and they exploded in fits of laughter when Rachel tripped over a rock and they fell onto their faces in the sand. They took their shoes off and ran through the shallow water and ignored everyone else around them. For a moment, when Quinn was splashing water on Rachel's legs, it felt as if they were the only people on the whole beach. When they eventually got tired they sat in the sand together and Rachel wrapped her arm around Quinn protectively. And for what felt like forever, they talked about everything and anything.
"Why do you want to be a nurse?" Rachel asked and played with the sand between her fingers.
"I like the idea of helping people, I was always so mean, I guess I just want to give back. And I think Beth inspired the idea too. The other day at the hospital, there was this ten year old girl, and she reminded me so much of Beth. She had a sprained ankle, and my boss let me do her medical charts for her. And she seemed really scared because she was going to get a cast, and when I was filling out her information I got to talk to her and make her a little less nervous. As a doctor you don't get to do that. This way, I'm still involved medically, and I get to still be hands on with the patients and in the hospital, but I get to make a connection with the kids I'm working with. It felt so good when I got that girl to smile, I just love the idea of getting to that every day," Quinn said.
Rachel nodded and just listened. Normally she was the one doing the talking, so it felt good to let Quinn talk about herself and her dreams, while she just listened.
"You're going to be an amazing nurse one day," Rachel said confidently.
"I hope so."
"I think I want to go back to Broadway," Rachel decided.
Quinn beamed with pride. "When you become as big as Barbra Streisand, I'm going to be sitting front row telling everyone near me that you're my girlfriend."
Rachel sat up and pulled away from Quinn excitedly. "Quinn! You called me your girlfriend!" She exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, was I rushing things to much?" Quinn asked nervously.
Rachel shook her head. "Not at all! I'm so happy, I can't believe it, You're my girlfriend!" She stammered.
"Good, because I'm sure you're going to be an amazing girlfriend."