The Promise (Faberry)

Chapter 17, Part 1

Colorful neon lights mixed with the blackness of the night and then passed by in a haze as Rachel looked out of the bus window. Her head rested against the cool glass and her eyes didn't leave the buildings and people coming into sight and leaving it a second after.

Quinn was sitting right next to her, her head resting on Rachel's shoulder. She had fallen asleep as soon as they had taken the bus. Rachel hadn't asked and Quinn didn't offer it, but somehow it had been clear Rachel would stay with Quinn tonight.

Through the window she could see the portion of neon getting smaller, the crowds of people transforming into pairs and individuals, and the buildings becoming lower. They were getting close to Quinn's neighborhood.

Rachel looked at the illuminated windows which were stamped into each building lining the streets. She thought about how behind each of those windows people were living. People with their own concerns, hopes, dreams. With their own stories. Maybe they had way harder things to deal with than herself. Rachel suddenly felt insignificant and stupid for her inability to get her life back on track.

It wasn't even as if something horrible had happened that had changed her life irreversibly. She herself had been the main issue and she herself had to be the key to resolve it. If only she finally found the strength to do it.

A tear ran down Rachel's cheek and she wiped it away brusquely. She didn't even know why she was crying. Was there even anything she knew at all?

In that moment Quinn shifted her hand, which was holding Rachel's, and clutched it tighter. Rachel turned, carefully to not wake her girlfriend, and let her eyes wander over her blonde hair, her long eyelashes, the almost invisible freckles around her nose, and her lips, which were slightly parted as she slept. Her chest moved up and down with every breath. The movement was almost unnoticeable.

She looked more than beautiful. Rachel rummaged her mind for the right word to describe her, but the English language didn't seem to contain a word that came even close to what she wanted to express. Maybe no language in the world could do that. Expressing how she felt about Quinn. What she meant to Rachel. Well, maybe there was one. Quinn meant everything.

The same moment the bus rode over a small bump in the road and shook Quinn awake from her nap, Rachel suddenly felt terribly afraid. Her eyes met a surprised Quinn's and while the blonde was probably thinking about how far they had gotten already, Rachel's mind was filled with one thought that slowly started gnawing at the feelings of happiness and hope she had felt before. 'What if I mess it all up again?'

What if she lost Quinn? What if she wasn't good enough to maintain this relationship? How did she even deserve her? While the carousel of thoughts was turning inside her mind and got faster with every spin, Quinn rubbed her head and checked the display for the next station.

"Rachel? Are you alright?" She asked when Rachel hadn't been very responsive to her remarking that they had to get off after two more stations.

"What?" Rachel replied taken aback since she had just been pulled out of the carousel whose velocity had evolved to that of a tornado. "I'm fine, I was just thinking that I didn't bring a toothbrush."

"Don't worry," Quinn said and smiled. "I bought one for you."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded. "I'm expecting you to be around my place more often from now on." She tilted her head and her smiled changed into a grin. "Preferably without clothes."

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed and playfully hit her arm. A second later she leaned forward and brought her lips near Quinn's ear. "If you're lucky, you might see me without clothes tonight."