A/N: Kind of AU. Baby gate never happened. For anyone who is still following my story Underground, I will be updating soon. I promise. I just hit a bit of writer's block and I have been very lazy.
"I think I'm in love again." Quinn told me with a love-struck smile on her face. I sighed silently to myself and hid my frown. We were at our lockers just talking instead of sitting in the cafeteria and gossiping with the rest of the Glee Club.
"That's awesome. Who is it?" I asked trying to sound excited. I dug my nails into my palms to keep myself looking calm on the outside.
"It's Finn Hudson. He so tall and handsome and nice to me." She said with a dreamy smile taking over her face. It bothered me that she just met this guy and she was already so in love with him.
"How do you know you're really in love?" I asked. "How do you know you were really in love with Puck before?" I was genuinely curious how she would answer.
"I-I don't know I guess. All I know is he makes me feel good about myself. And I feel all fluttery inside when I'm near him. That sounds like being in love, right?" She asked me for reassurance.
"Sort of, but when you're in love you want to and need to do anything to keep the person you're in love with happy. It takes tremendous control over your body to not react to theirs. It feels like there's a string tied around your left ring finger and gets pulled, stretched, and tangled when ever you move apart from one another. They're be the last person you think of when you go to sleep, the first you think of when you wake up, and the one you dream of in-between. Your heart beats so hard against your chest you think it'll break out just from hearing their voice. And when they touch you, hug you, kiss you, or caress you, you feel ready to explode into a rainbow." When I finished my mini-speech, I was out of breath and staring at the ground.
"Wow. No offense, but that last part sounded really gay." She replied while looking taken aback.
"I know, but that's what it really feels like." I said sincerely. "Is that what you felt with Puck?"
"No. I don't think it was. It might have been close." She scuffed her shoe against the floor and it made a squeak.
"Is that what you feel with Finn?" I asked with my voice barely above a whisper.
"No, but I think I could. In time, I mean I barely know him, but I know I could fall in love with him. Have you ever been in love?" I nodded. "Is that why you know what it feels like?" I nodded again. "Are you in love with Jesse?"
"No. No I'm not. I hoped for the longest time that I could be, but I still haven't fallen out of love with the other person." I wiped my sleeve at my eyes to get rid of tears that intruded my face.
"Wow. What happened to them?" She asked with awe in her voice. I plopped down on to the ground and sat against the wall. She quickly followed suit. "When did you two meet?"
"A while ago, but I didn't start having feelings for them until eighth grade. When I looked into their eyes, I felt the string wrap around my finger and it pulled on me when ever they walked away from me. It still pulls and sometimes I wish it would stop, but then I would have nothing to live for."
"Hey, do we have any classes together?" Quinn asked as we walked in for our first day of our last year of middle school. I grabbed her schedule and compared ours.
"Yeah we do! At least half of them are together!" I screamed in excitement. I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her into a hug. She put her arms around me too and we jumped up and down in the middle of the hallway, squished together like that. When we pulled back and I looked into her eyes, I had instantly felt something wrap around my finger. At the time I didn't know what it was, but when she walked away to find her locker, I felt it being tugged. A month or two later I knew I was in love with my best friend and there wasn't much I could do about it.
"Wow. We're juniors now. That's quite a while for us being so young."
"I know, but love is love to me. No matter the age, gender, or singing ability. Actually, no. They do have to be able to sing." I said correcting myself.
"You didn't answer my first question. What happened?" I smiled sadly at her concern.
"They don't return my feelings, but that's okay. I get to see them happy and that's all I need to live. Come on. We need to eat something or else you'll pass out at your Cheerios practice. And we can't have that now, can we?"
"Of course not!" She pulled me up with her and we walked to the cafeteria. Before we entered she stopped me. "Just so you know, who ever it is, they're really dumb for not returning your feelings. You're pretty awesome if you ask me." I smiled a real smile. A happy smile.
"You're awesome too Quinn. You're my best friend and I love you."
"I love you too Rachel. Now let's go before the pizza is all gone!" I knew she loved me, just not in the way I loved her. And that's what hurts the most.