Author's note: This is for Kooliokatz's contest thing, the prompt was this quote: "Stars can't shine without darkness."

Quinn wasn't doing so well. A lot of crap had happened in the last few months, and she was tired. Her parents had gotten divorced 5 months ago. Her grandfather passed away 3 months ago. And just a month and a half ago, Quinn's best friend, Tami, had killed herself. Quinn was spiraling away from everyone and life in general. She couldn't sleep due to nightmares, and she had to remind herself to eat--she was never hungry. Suicidal thoughts plagued her mind, but then she wanted to smack herself for thinking of such things.

Before Tami's death, she had convinced Quinn to sign up for the talent show. Tami was going to read poetry, and Quinn was going to sing. But now Tami was gone, and Quinn had no motivation, no reason to perform.

-

"Quinn, you agreed to this. You made a commitment, you need to honor it." Quinn's mother was lecturing Quinn at breakfast. The talent show was that night, and Quinn really was up to performing. The song she had written to perform was all about friendship, and now that Tami was gone it just seemed pointless. Why sing it if Tami couldn't hear?

-

"Quinn, this is a good experience! At least give it a go. It's okay if you're not good, trying is what counts." Quinn rolled her eyes at her father. He too thought she should perform. Why couldn't they understand that Quinn was still mourning? She needed peace and quiet, and as little stress as possible. But her parents couldn't understand. They had both planned on coming, which was a surprise since they usually tried to stay as far away from each other as possible.

Quinn was stressed--which she hated. She knew she should perform. Her parents might actually get along for once, and they were counting on her to do this. If she didn't perform, the talent show would have an extra time-slot. Everyone was counting on her to do this. But she didn't want to. At all. Performing would mean resurfacing all the Tami memories that she had tried so hard to bury. Every day Quinn was getting more used to Tami being gone, but this would send the sadness flooding back.

-

"Quinn, you need to eat. I know you're stressed, but you don't want to faint onstage." Quinn stared at the burrito on her plate. Her mom smiled at her. "I'm so glad you chose to perform." I'm not, thought Quinn. But people were counting on her, so she was going to suck it up and do it. She picked at the burrito. She had no appetite, she was too nervous about the night ahead. Just then she realized: I haven't practiced singing this in ages! I hardly remember the lyrics! She put the barely eaten burrito back on the plate, then rushed upstairs.

Quinn opened the sheet of lyrics. She was going to read them before she practiced, to remind her brain.

Oh, you're my best friend

you know I'll love you 'til the end

and all the memories of you and me

dancing, writing, laughing, singing~

we'll split the last cookie, half for half

t, you know I'll have your back

The tears fell like lightning bolts, fast, painful, and full of feeling. And this was only the first verse. The rest would be even more intense, and Quinn wasn't sure if she could handle it. Her breathing quickened, her hands shook, and her head throbbed. She started seeing spots, and she could tell she was going to pass out. She choked out another sob, then everything faded to black.

When she woke up, she read the lyrics the whole way through without having a panic attack. She cried a little, and then practiced. After practicing until she was pretty solid, she went downstairs and devoured her cold burrito. Her mom drove her to school, and they went in the gym where the talent show was taking place.

Everything was set up, the lighting and sound was prepared. Quinn saw her dad in the audience, and her parents seemed to be having a friendly conversation. Soon, the show started. It went by fast, performance after performance seeming only to take minutes. Before she knew it, it was her turn. Quinn felt like throwing up. She felt like crying, like ditching and going home. But she was pushed on stage by sweaty hands, and soon she was in front of the microphone.

"Ready?" whispered the guy who was in charge of the music. Quinn felt her heart beating, it was so loud, like a drum that could hypnotize even the strongest minds. Her palms were sweaty, her knees shook. She swallowed hard, then nodded to the sound guy. The music started, and she was singing. She was belting and screaming and pleading and reminiscing. Her heart, mind, and soul were all overcome with emotion and passion. The song stopped. Quinn was shaking, and she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't receive a standing ovation, but she was applauded. Quinn knew most of it was polite applause but it was something.

After the talent show finished, Quinn was met with a tearful hug from her mother, and a congratulatory hug and gift from her father. The gift was a chunky, flashy bracelet that Quinn knew she would never wear, but she thanked him sincerely.

Quinn and her mother were about to leave, when a girl with messy red hair walked over to them.

"Quinn? Some of us are getting together for an after party, would you like to join us?" Quinn was taken aback, she didn't even know this girl's name.

"Um, I don't know you..." she said.

"Yeah, but you have a beautiful voice, and I asked the others, and they said it was okay," blurted the red-head. Quinn looked at her mother, who shrugged and told Quinn she could go if she liked.

"Okay," said Quinn.

-

The red-head, who was named Casey, lead Quinn into a house. There were 8 other teens beside Casey, and snacks and refreshments. Quinn surveyed the scene, trying to learn about the other teens just by looking at them. Casey, who had chattered the whole way to the house, had told her the names of the others.

The first person Quinn laid eyes on was a boy named Jack. The first thing she noticed about him was his huge grin. He was talking and joking with a few others. As she looked more closely, she noticed the black circles under his eyes and the scars on his wrists. He was wearing a t-shirt, which was surprising; most of the people Quinn met who cut or used to wore long sleeves to hide the scars.

As Quinn looked around the rest of the room, she saw some other interesting people. A girl named Claire sat in a corner, reading a book. A girl named Jenna had purple hair, she had performed in a comedy skit in the talent show. Riley, a boy with fluffy brown hair frowned at everything and kept eating candy.

"Guys, this is Quinn, the amazing singer!" announced Casey, and everyone applauded and clapped Quinn on the back. They told her that they thought she did amazing. Soon, they were playing a game of truth or dare, and Quinn was spilling all of her darkest secrets. The others in the room listened, then laughed at her embarrassing moments, or comforted her about her worst fears.

Quinn looked around the room and thought: These are my people. This is where I belong.