There's Always Tomorrow Chapter 1

Here is the prequel to Beautiful When You Don't Try. Chapter one. I tried to stick with the same overall vibe of the verse, but without making it see too strange to have a Quinn/Adrianne pairing. Don't worry all you Faberry lovers. Rachel will be a prominent character, just not by being there physically.

The first chapter so its mainly about how they meet. The chapter that will be posted on Thursday gets more settled. And next Tuesday even more so. My goal for this prequel is to have you all go back and read BWYDT afterwards, and kind of hate Quinn during the beginning instead of Adrianne. I know that sounds horrible, but it will round out the whole story much nicer. You'll understand both sides of the story with this one, not just Quinn's.

As for the basic warnings. I do not own the character of Quinn nor anyone from her back story. It's rated 'M' for mature for later chapters. Femslash. Don't like, don't read. ...I think that about covers it all. Again, feel free to leave me comments or send me an email to let me know what you are thinking about it.

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Quinn leaned against the bottom row of desks in her psychology class. Her lips were pursed in annoyance, her foot tapping, and her hazel eyes rolled up to the ceiling. All while she reminded herself that she had set a goal to learn to be more patient. She needed to learn not to bite people's heads off when they were acting stupid. She needed to not ask them point blank if they were morons. She needed to not stare at them in complete disbelief of their stupidity until they got the picture and walked away in shame and fear. She needed to change that. That behavior wasn't making her happy or proud. And that was why she continued to stand where she had been for the last ten minutes as her professor flirted with two of her class' dumbest female students.

“Are you planing on sleeping with him?” A voice called out and it took Quinn a minute to realize the person was talking to her. She dropped her eyes from the ceiling to the professor’s teaching assistant who was currently grading papers in a seat next to her.

“Excuse me?”

The brunette set her pen down on the tiny desk and pointed to the occupied teacher. “Are you planning on sleeping with him?”

The blonde didn't know how to respond to such a blunt and inappropriate question besides a simple and rather haughty “No.”

“Then you're wasting your time standing here. He wont help you, only give you the run around until he gets what he wants, which is in your pants.”

“Is that how you got your position?” The cutting remark fell out of her mouth before she could even catch herself. Quinn closed her eyes in regret and opened them again to see the assistant reclined back in her seat with an offended but amused smile on her face. “I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated from waiting.”

The girl's emerald green eyes staring back at her were unblinking. “That's alright. But to answer your question, no. I'm not sleeping with him. Not that he didn't give me this position hoping to remedy that fact.” She explained, rolling her eyes. “But anyway, what did you need to know and maybe I can help you out since we both know he isn't going to be available any time soon.”

Quinn was thankful that the girl didn't take severe offense to her crassness and tell her to fuck off, but rather offered to help. She was great at offending people, not so great at making friends. Quinn set her books down and pulled out the printout that outlined what her next paper was to be written on.

“Oh, wait.” The brunette interrupted her, seeing what was in her hand. “Let me guess. You're looking for that one example he left off, right? There's an example for three of the four personality types and you're looking for the fourth.”

“Yeah. How'd you know?”

She laughed lightly and took the paper from Quinn's hand and began to write on it. “That's how he gets them down here.” She remarked, pointing quickly to the two students that were fully enveloped in his flirtation before continuing her notations. “He intentionally leaves things off so that he is approached after class. It gives him prime flirting opportunities.”

“That's just... repulsive.”

“That's male.” The brunette offered. Quinn laughed and turned her attention back to the assistant. “Here. Thoreau. Last semester he was the dick's favorite example after everyone had turned their papers in. If you write on him then you might catch our pervert's attention for the right reasons, not just because you're beautiful.”

Quinn accepted the paper back with an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

The blonde took a few steps away but then stopped, turning back to the assistant. “I know it's not really my place, and especially after I insulted you, but why are you his assistant if you know he's only trying to sleep with you?”

“He may use faulty lesson plans as a tool to get women, but I'm using this position as a tool for my future career.” Quinn arched an eyebrow in curiosity, taking a step closer again, and the assistant dropped her eyes to the desk with a nervous laugh. “I'm studying law. I want to focus on human rights and discrimination. He and his sexist and power abusing ways, are my study subjects. I'm learning about the enemy.” She joked, earning a laugh from Quinn.

“Well, I wish you the best of luck with it.”

She nodded then held out her hand. “I'm Adrianne, by the way.”

“Quinn.” The blonde greeted, accepting her hand and returning her smile.

“Well, Quinn. It was nice to meet you and I maybe I'll see you around. You know, out side of the class.”

Quinn nodded in response and left, thinking maybe she had finally found someone in this entire campus that she could hold a conversation with and not either feel threatened by or want to kill. It didn't take too long before she had a second chance to find out. She had been talked into going to a frat party by her room mate and only agreed to hold up appearances. She had found that while she continued to feed into the things she was 'suppose' to do, it made her less and less happy to do so.

She had run away from her past in Ohio to start a new life but found herself still very much living the one she left. Now, it just had new names and faces. Everyone acted the same. There were the annoying self-centered ones she wanted to strangle, having even less patience for them now than before. There were the popular ones who thought they were better than everyone else and sought her out as friends, only because they saw her as a threat. There were the jocks, only concerned with their reputations and appearance. The intellects who looked down upon everyone else, and more so if they felt threatened by someone who suddenly proved themselves to be either smart, or perhaps even smarter than themselves.

Quinn was already over school but she had nothing else to do, well nothing else that she was 'suppose' to be doing. Her spare time was spent immersed in her photography obsession that had begun to develop towards the end of her freshman year. It started to provide her with some additional income, but even that was starting to grow unappealing. She could feel herself slipping back into a familiar depression that she was hell bent on staying out of. But here she was at the party, shifting through a crowd of people who she felt could barely look past their own needs and desires to see anything else in the world because she was twenty-one and was 'suppose' to enjoy being here. She was no better than them, following societies pre-approved rules, and that realization only depressed her even more.

“You don't look to thrilled to be here.” A familiar voice called in her ear as she found a hiding spot near a door way in the overly crowded house. The pulsing music and screams and cheers were already giving her a headache. She turned around to be met by emerald green eyes and a genuine smile. It was Adrianne.

“Um... Hi. I'm not actually. I would just never hear the end of it from my room mate if I didn't make an appearance.”

“Ah. It's amazing how miserable peer pressure can make us.”

Quinn opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off by a firm hand on her ass. “Hey, Babe. I didn't think you would be here.”

“Get your hands off of me.” She ordered, slapping his hand away as she turned to look up to the tall brunette jock. He threw his hands in the air in surrender.

“My bad. I keep forgetting that's off limits.”

“It's all off limits to you.”

“Everything okay?” Adrianne asked as she now stood behind Quinn, concern in her voice as she moved a little forward just in case she needed to step in between the two. Quinn clearly wasn't impressed with the smug an drunk student and he was all smiles, only fueling the aggravation.

The blonde just stared down the pretty boy as he slowly retreated backwards into the crowd. “Yes. Everything's fine... Jerk.”

“Do you know him or is he just really forward?”

Quinn let out a sigh and ran her hand over her forehead. “Unfortunately, I even dated the ass.”

“You have impeccable taste.”

She couldn't help but laugh and loved how the anger instantly subsided. Adrianne's sense of humor was very much like hers. Smart and quick. She could really see herself making a lasting friendship with the brunette... if she would just let someone in again. “I know, right. Um, so... are you here studying more of the enemy? Because I'm pretty sure you just saw a prime example. I could introduce you two.” She asked, pointing behind her to her ex who was now grinding with two freshmen.

“No. Actually I came looking for some tail.” Quinn dropped her brow but couldn't stop herself from smiling. She knew it was a joke but found it oddly charming. “No, I'm just here because a friend dragged me along as well. Did you want a drink?”

Quinn shook her head, holding up her hand. “No thank you. I don't drink unless there's someone around I can trust.”

Adrianne arched an eyebrow. “Are you a wild one at heart?

“Ha. Not hardly. I'm about as up tight as they come actually.”

“You don't strike me as uptight, maybe just mature enough to be over the childishness that accompanies events such as this.” Adrianne offered, waving her glass around the room of nearly one hundred drunken college students who were either trying to dance to music that was far too loud and only stumbling on the person passed out on the floor, or were too busy to dance because they were trying to get laid.

“I like how you think. It's like you can read my mind.”

“I'm just very perceptive. It's like a sixth sense I come by naturally.” She joked but the statement caught Quinn funny and she found herself smiling. Memories came flooding back to her and she dropped her eyes and furrowed her brow, trying to forget them all over again.

“Actually, I think I might want that drink. Would you mind being my body guard for a little while?”

“Seeing as the friend I came with is now upstairs with... a few people, I would love to. At least I know you're capable of holding a conversation that doesn't involve the words 'dude', 'bombed', 'fucking', or 'I'm going to throw up on you'.”

After getting Quinn her drink, they escaped the noise and headed outside to the cool night's air. They walked until the noise was far enough behind them so they could actually hear each other and then kept going. “I love the cool weather. It reminds me of home.” The blonde stated absently, looking up to what she could see of the night sky through the trees.

“And where's home?”

“Ohio.”

“Illinois for me. What brought you out here?”

Quinn laughed to herself and met her potential new friend's eyes briefly as they continued to walk in a slow pace. “It wasn't Ohio.” She joked, earning an understanding nod from Adrianne. “No, I'm just dabbling in the arts until I decide where exactly I'm wanting to go. I've latched on to photography, but I'm slowly losing interest.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I love it. It's...” She hesitated, meeting Adrianne's eyes and trying to read her interest. She couldn't remember the last time she had held a conversation that wasn't about pop culture or who's dating who. “It's freeing. But lately it's become a bit more of a hassle. I do weddings and birthdays and family reunions, but it's a lot more work than I had imagined it to be and it's not easy to try and do by yourself. I would prefer just to be more freelance but I have to pay my bills too.”

“Well, have you thought about getting a friend to help out?”

Quinn laughed again as they continued to walk to no place in particular. “Do you know how hard it is, not only to get a college student to give up their Saturday, but tell them it's to go to a wedding?”

“Okay... good point. Well, I know we just kind of met, but I'd be willing to help out if you need it. I mean, you aren't doing a wedding every Saturday are you? Because if you are... I don't think I can sacrifice my stellar frat part attendance.” She joked with a warm smile.

“No, it's sporadic, but I wouldn't want to impose. I appreciate the offer though.”

Adrianne grabbed her arm lightly and let it go once the blonde stopped. “It was a serious offer, not one just to be polite. If you need the help, I'll help. I would hate for you to lose interest in a passion just because you're too damn proud to ask for it. So I'm offering it.”

Quinn smiled lightly as she furrowed her brow. “You are a good read.”

“It's a gift. So?”

“So... I guess I'll let you know when the next wedding is.”

“Sweet. Now I have something to pull me away from my books and actually blame for when I fail a test and you didn't have to swallow your pride. I think this friendship will work out just perfectly."