Duck…Duck…OUCH!

A/N: This is a continuation of the one-shot entitled Duck…Duck…SIGH. This is from Quinn/Lucy's POV of recess that day. This is written in very much the same manner but it's a little lengthier due to Rachel's verbosity, and since Quinn/Lucy is such an avid reader I increased her vocabulary as well. Oh and the kids are in the 3rd grade.

Also as always I in no way, shape or form claim any ownership to Glee or its characters they all belong to RIB.

'I can't believe these teachers, making me play such a cruel game, with all these mean kids.'

A shy mousy haired girl sat trembling from her spot on the gymnasium floor, due to a bad weather day the students of McKinley Elementary were having recess in-doors that day, which unfortunately for Lucy meant supervised play, and that meant instead of finding someplace quiet to read far away from the other students, the teachers decided it would be good to mix up the play groups. Now instead of traveling through the looking glass, or finding her way to the Emerald City, or fighting side by side with Aslan to save Narnia, she was forced to endure injury and humiliation at the hands of her peers.

The worst part was she had that beautiful brunette with the lovely doe eyes that was always trying to talk to her was in her group, and even though she seemed really sweet and sincere, Lucy knew the girl was popular and friends with two of the biggest bullies in school. So there was no way that she wasn't being set up for humiliation. Not that Rachel, who was probably the prettiest girl in the school, if not the whole world, needed to try very hard to accomplish that. Lucy seemed to lose all powers of speech and any semblance of confidence when the tiny little girl flashed that delicate smile her way.

Whatever…it wasn't like Lucy was really needed friends or especially wanted to talk to Rachel or anything, she was perfectly fine being independent…even if the tiny girl always seemed happy to see her and was really smart…and sounded like the heavenly choir when she sang…and had a smile that would warm even the White Witch's cold heart…and smelled like an orchard in spring…and had the biggest eyes ever…and okay so Lucy REALLY liked Rachel and desperately wanted to be her friend, but that didn't matter because an amazing girl like Rachel could never and would never want to be friends with a mousy haired four-eyed bookworm without it being a trick.

Part of Lucy really didn't believe that though, Rachel may have been popular like her friends, but she was never cruel or even anything but polite to the other kids at their school and she went out of her way every day by trying to talk to Lucy and she even seemed excited to do it! Which the shy girl found confusing, because it wasn't like Lucy ever said anything back to her, she'd just turn red, stutter, and run away! And even though that would always made Rachel look sad, the next day the tiny girl would try to befriend her all over again, Lucy didn't get it. Why would Rachel even want to talk to a weirdo like her when she had friends like Santana and Puck? It wasn't that Lucy didn't sometimes wish that Rachel was her friend, especially every time the little brunette gave her a soft smile (that she never gave anyone else), really it wasn't; it's just that nobody else ever bothered to get close to her before without wanting to hurt her in some way, so she was very wary about it.

'Speaking of…ouch! This is why I didn't want to play this horrible game, almost no one ever tags me and when they do, they always hit so hard.'

Just as Lucy was going to run off and hide under the bleachers to cry in private, because the supervising teachers sure didn't give a darn, someone with a death wish tripped Azimio Adams while he was taunting Lucy by running backwards around the other kids. The whole circle sucked in a deep breath and it was as if the entire gym stopped moving, except for Rachel who was too busy vibrating with fury over the fallen boy to notice how Lucy was staring at her in awe, seriously it was like she was channeling Santana's alter ego Snix or something. Of course the bully was too busy being stupid to notice the danger he was in before for he shot off the floor to pummel the loser who tripped him. He spun around with a snarl and…stopped. Stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped thinking, heck even his heart stopped beating for a moment that seemed to go on forever. Never before had Azimio ever seen anyone besides Santana 'Snix' Lopez look so frightening.

"AZIMIO! HOW DARE YOU STRIKE LUCY LIKE THAT! YOU APOLOGIZE RIGHT NOW!"

Okay that was ear shattering and more than a little terrifying, but Azimio had a rep to protect and shoved the little diva in retaliation. "Who gonna make me huh? You dwarf?!" The bulky boy then quickly looked around to make sure that Puck and Santana hadn't heard him pushing around their friend.

Rachel shot him a deceptively saccharine grin that was in conflict with the evil glint in her eyes.

'Okay that's a scary smile...'

"Have it you way Azimio." The large boy dropped to his knees and before anyone could tell how in the heck it happened, Rachel popped him in solidly in the eye before shoving him down to the ground. "That's what you get for putting your hands on a girl! And if you ever pick on my friend Lucy again next time I'll get Santana and Noah to help me and this will feel like a tickle fight in comparison! Come on Lucy!" The mousy haired girl was gently but quickly let away from where the pathetic bully lay sobbing in a crumpled heap, before dainty fingers softly brushed where she had been so forcefully tagged. "Oh Lucy, are you all right? Azimio is such a brute wait till I tell Tana and Noah about this! I can't believe he would strike you like that! Normally I'm against violence and I constantly have to get on Noah and Tana about their bullying behavior but nobody can hurt my friends without serious repercussions." Gentle hands pulled the nerdy girl's head down before the softest kiss brushed against the small bump that had formed there.

"You really want to be my friend?" Lucy was so happy she felt like crying, not only did the most beautiful girl in school just beat up one of her biggest tormentors for her, she seemed to be really concerned that she was hurt. "Why? I'm just an ugly weirdo who reads too much, I'm not pretty enough to be friends with a girl like you."

Another soft smile and pretty blush were the shy girl's answer before the tiny brunette raised up on her tip toes to give her cheek a gentle kiss. "I think you're a very pretty girl Lucy. The prettiest girl I ever met, but you're also a lot more than that. You're smart and honest and sweet, and I would love to be your friend, maybe we could even read together some time?"

Lucy's brain was so fried from that innocent kiss; she could only breathe out a dreamy "Sure…" in response.

The brunette squeaked in joy and grasped the besotted girl's hands between her own, "Really? After school would you like to come over to my house and read together? Or maybe we can watch movies together! I have every musical ever made even the ones that were just filmed for PBS. Or we could do both! In fact I insist because if you're going to be my guest it would be very rude of me not to engage in your favorite activities as well. What book are you reading right now?"

"Through the Looking Glass."

"I love that book! The metaphors are simply wonderful, and the world that Mr. Carroll creates is so vibrant and clever and his prose is positively lyrical!"

As Lucy stared down at their joined hands with a goofy grin on her face, the bouncy brunette was practically vibrating with excitement as she babbled on and on about her favorite things and how when Lucy comes over to play at her house after school she would be introduced to the resplendent wonder that was Barbra Streisand. Looking into big brown eyes that warmed her like a cup of tea on a blustery day, Lucy was reminded of a song she overheard the tiny girl singing the other day at recess, it only takes a moment…or something like that, whatever the lyrics were exploring Wonderland would just have to wait for another day, because Lucy was going to be busy saying Hello to Dolly.

The End.