Never again (Quinntana)

Chapter 23 - Jealousy?

"Have you seen the new girl?"

"I can't believe how good she is."

"Yeah, right?"

"Well, she did fall."

"Are you kidding? She fell after two hours of training! I wouldn't have even lasted half that time!"

Quinn had become the talk of the school overnight. Girls who had seen her almost worshipped her already, and people who hadn't had heard an elaborate and bettered recap of her performance.

Almost instantly, the school split into two: those with Quinn, and those against her. The split wasn't official, yet everybody could sense it. And somehow along these lines, the split reached the cheerleading team as well, morphing into "Santana's team" and "Quinn's team". Santana's team was loyal to its captain, while Quinn's team believed that Quinn had more potential for captain.

The truth was that the two girls were as talented as one another. Quinn's team had simply jumped on the occasion to question Santana's credibility.

Except that Quinn had no ambition of becoming captain, especially not if it meant evicting Santana.

All that mess had left the team in a worse place than that it was already in. Santana didn't have the tools to mend the gaps between her teammates, nor did she really have the energy to care.

Quinn had seemingly become her nemesis, so Santana avoided her even more than she did before.

Quinn had taken the hint. She had looked for friends, and had found some in Finn and Tiffany. High school friends, you'd call them. She didn't really know anything about them, they didn't really know anything about her, yet they hung out together all the time.

After a week, Quinn had already blent in. Which had incidentally meant living a world apart from Santana.

Sometimes she would observe her former best friend from the corner of her eye. She would steal glances at Santana eating with Brittany, far, far away from the other cheerleaders, or discreetly admire the way the Latina led the team, her instructions sharp and clear through her flawless tumbling.

*****

"One, two, three, four! Tiffany, straighten your arms!" Santana backflipped, then resumed counting: "Two, three, four!" She followed the routine, all the while counting and watching her team for flaws.

"Five, six, seven-" Quinn, the new flyer, got thrown in the air, her body the shape of an arrow; a full second passed before Quinn reached her peak. Her body adopted a perfect horizonal position as she started to fall. The others caught her easily, put her down on the floor gently, a look of renewed respect in their eyes.

"One, two, three, four!" The routine ended quickly after that, and Santana initiated the first self-congratulating clap, shortly followed by the rest of the team.

When the claps and their echo died out, Santana gathered the team for their usual cry. All the girls huddled in a messy circle, their hands on top of one another's in the middle. "Great session, girls. Especially you, Quinn." Santana managed to nod towards Quinn without looking directly at her. A prowess, Quinn thought bitterly.

Santana's voice sounded again. "On the count of three: One, two, three-"

"Go, cheerios!" The rest of the teamed joined their rallying cry, and disbanded right afterwards, leaving for the showers.

Santana caught up with Brittany in the crowd, and waited until they were relatively alone.

"Hey, Brit-Brit." Santana's eyes sparkled. Brittany pulled Santana into a spontaneous hug. Santana didn't react, but, when Brittany released her, she noticed the smile tugging at her friend's lips.

"Hey, San!"

"Hey!" Santana giggled at Brittany's enthusiasm. "Still up for dinner today?"

"Yes, of course! Should we take a shower before?"

Santana sniffed the air, then giggled. Again.

"We probably should, yeah."

Brittany giggled in return. She rarely saw Santana act so freely, like she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders. The sight made Brittany's stomach flutter. 

The two girls left for the showers, their hands brushing as they walked. They didn't seem to mind.

Neither of them had paid much attention to the silent figure packing her things at the back of the gym. Quinn hadn't been eavesdropping, but the resonance in the gymnasium made it hard not to listen. She'd heard enough to understand Santana and Brittany were going out for dinner. And that thought, for some reason, ignited a raging fire in her belly. Quinn shook her head, and finished packing her things.

I don't even know what I'm feeling right now. What the heck, Quinn?

She slung her bag over her shoulder, and decided to skip the shower and head home directly. She hated listening to her "team" bash Santana in the changing rooms, trying to please her. Especially since Santana was actually a great captain.

Quinn huffed. Idiots.

She walked out of the gym and tried ignoring the annoying feeling nagging at her. Yet every time she thought she'd managed to, an image popped up in her head again. Santana in Brittany's arms, Santana and Brittany walking together, their hands brushing. Santana's giggle echoed in her mind as well, and Quinn swore under her breath.

She took off into a run, the realization dawning upon her.

You're jealous, Quinn.

A.N.

Hello again! Hope you're all well!

To be honest, I am very proud of myself for posting this week. I had a ton of work to do, work that I kept procrastinating, but somehow I still managed to get that chapter done, and it feels great :)

Anyways, enough with the self-congratulations!

Who would you rather have as a captain? Quinn or Santana? I feel like Santana would know how to lead people better than Quinn... Tell me your opinion in the comments!

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to @Maria110830 ! Thank you for your votes and your comments <3