1,701From the author: Hello everyone. This story spans ten years and jumps back and forth between two parallel time lines. The headings are important, so please read them so to not be lost in your own shoes. :) Enjoy. The story will eventually work towards mature, so I'm starting it there and leaving it.
Prologue
Present Day
She figured something as dainty and lacy as this would feel a bit lighter in her hands. Instead, it felt like she held her future and her past all rolled into one huge ball of mass sent through a steam roller, a printing press, and then off to the calligrapher.
It was claustrophobic just looking at it.
Quinn Fabray; it was nice, pretty and so whimsically written across the envelope. The pen shook in her hand as she stared down at the name. She knew what was next: address, address 2, city, state, and then zip.
And then post office.
She gulped down her fear of what she imagined would be longest walk of her life: car to post office box. Her feet would feel leaded, just as her fingers did now. She never imagined this moment would come.
"I still can't believe you're inviting her," said the voice behind Rachel. It was always there. It was always questioning, wondering, doubting. It never helped. Even though Rachel felt no actual doubt, those questions and those wonderings and those doubts always planted thoughts in her head. She hated those thoughts. They drove her mad.
"She's- she's my best friend, Janey," Rachel countered. "Of course I'm inviting her."
"No, she's your high school sweetheart turned ex. And this is our wedding. Don't play the best friend card on me. Puck is your best friend, not Quinn. Quinn is your ex. And you haven't spoken in a year."
"Semantics."
"Important semantics," Janey chuckled and slid onto the bench next to Rachel. Their kitchen table flooded with invitations, envelopes, direction napkins, and more. "Why do you want her there anyway? Honestly, not Rachel-Berry-Justificationally."
Rachel turned her head to the shiny ginger squished up beside her. Bright blue eyes sparkled back at her and the deep auburn hair flooded around her pale shoulders. She was striking as ever. Rachel smiled.
"Justificationally is not a word, J. And honestly honestly?"
"Yes, spare no horrid details, please."
"I just miss her."
"Well she was practically your childhood. I mean all of high school, right? It's okay to miss her."
"And college."
"Right, and college."
"And technically my first year of Broadway even though it was also my last year of college. It's like I have two separate lives in memory: one where she was around and one where, where she wasn't. I feel like two people almost," Rachel muttered with a frustrated frown. Janey smirked and slid closer to the brunette who'd officially stolen her heart a year ago.
"And what happened the second year of Broadway, huh? Tell me that story," she snickered and placed a kiss on Rachel's cheek. The brunette couldn't help but shiver away a giggle.
"This headcase ginger took over my life."
"Headcase!"
"Mhm," she whispered and found the girl's lips for a sweet peck. When Rachel pulled back, with all intentions set on finishing their wedding invitations, Janey stretched forward and took her lips back. She reached down slowly, pulled the papers out of Rachel's hands and then slid herself into the brunette's lap.
"You can finish these later," she purred and wrapped her arms fully around her fiancée. Rachel moaned into the kiss and let her mind stray to Janey, kissing her fully. The dancer extended those long, lean legs around her and Rachel found herself no longer having to force her mind to "stray" to her fiancée. She could do this. Janey Jansen was delicious and marrying her. She could definitely do this.
"Mmm," Rachel whimpered into the girl. "Quinn who?"
"That's my girl."