A/N: Cross posted to LJ. Enjoy!

So tell me what am I to do right now?
Light it up, light it up and hope it don't burn out…

Puck glared at her.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Go fix it!"

Rachel scoffed at him, not sure she was hearing right. "Are you kidding me, Puck? Why do I need to fix anything? She was awful to me for so long…I don't owe her anything. If she can't handle a taste of her own medicine, maybe she should have thought of that before being such a terrible person."

Uncrossing his arms, Puck sighed. "Rachel, you know that's not fair…"

"Oh, isn't it?" She huffed, not sure why he was taking the blonde's side.

"No, it's isn't," he said firmly. "You know as well as I do that she's a completely different person now than she was a year ago. She's…well, she basically did a 180. She's…I dunno, Rach, she's sensitive or some sappy shit like that."

This time the snort that escaped Rachel drew a glare from the librarian. "Noah Puckerman, please tell me that you didn't actually just describe Quinn Fabray as sensitive. She is like the queen of ice, as evidenced by her behavior in the past!"

Puck crossed his arms again, unsure why the little diva was so set on thinking the worst of Quinn. "Uh huh. Well, if the hundreds of times I've seen her trying to apologize to you are any indication, her ice is now a puddle in the hallway. Why don't you just give her a chance?"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel searched for the words she needed to express her frustration. "Noah, she's just not the type of person I want to be friends with. She's arrogant, self-centered, bitchy, and completely dependent on what other people think of her. I mean, she's not especially talented, though I'll admit she does try, and she's not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed."

Frowning, Puck ran a hand over his mohawk slowly, trying not to snap at the brunette. Watching him, Rachel cringed internally. She had a feeling that she might have finally pushed just a bit too far, and she waited to see what he was going to do. After a moment of tense silence, he quietly asked, "Rachel, do you have any idea what you're talking about?"

Looking at him in confusion, the brunette mumbled, "I do pride myself on being up to date on the latest goings-on..."

Cutting her off, Puck said tersely, "You think she's arrogant? God, Rach, look in the mirror. Do you know what she went through at home? I'll tell you, since you obviously have no fucking clue. She got screamed at every time she showed her face, and it was always about never being good enough. How do you think you would feel if the people who were supposed to love you did nothing but tell you how worthless you were?"

Looking down at the table, Rachel shrugged uneasily. Without waiting for a response, Puck continued.

"You think she's self-centered? She mentors other teens over at the homeless shelter and gives them someone to talk to. She knows what it's like to be alone in the world, without anybody who cares about you. Sure, she had me and Finn, but we were too worried about our little pissing contest to notice how fucked up her life got. It's gotta be painful for her to relive that, but she does, because she doesn't want anyone else to have to go through that alone. Do you know what it's like, Rachel, to be alone like that?"

Fiddling with a string on the hem of her shirt, Rachel reluctantly shook her head. No matter how awful school was, she knew that she always had a safe haven to go home to, and dads who would love her and listen to her and help her with whatever she needed.

"As for the talent thing- that's bullshit and you know it. Not all of us have parents who care enough to get their kid singing lessons every damn day of the week. I'd like to see where you would be today if you had to just go it alone."

Picking at a nail, Rachel squirmed in her seat. She knew she would still be good, but…it wouldn't be the same.

"You don't think she's smart, Rachel? Jesus, she's taking all AP classes and getting A's in all of them, and she's holding down a job working nights and weekends, and she has an apartment of her own. How the fuck would she be able to manage even a sliver of that if she wasn't smart? It's a good thing she's smart, too. If she was 'completely dependent on other people' like you seem to think, do you realize what she would see herself as?"

Hesitantly looking up to meet Puck's eyes, Rachel waited for the blow she knew was about to come.

"If she went off what you seem to think, she would be pretty fucking pathetic, and that's just wrong. She is an amazing person, but you just can't seem to get over your own preconceived notions long enough to see that. She's never going to be good enough, is she?" He scoffed, knowing he was being a bit harsh but knowing that Rachel needed to hear this.

"She tries so hard to be good enough for you, and every time you just shoot her down and leave her lying there in the dirt. If it was anyone, anyone else you would be falling all over yourself to forgive them and give them a second chance. I'm sick and tired of you and your excuses about why Quinn is too far below you to deserve to be treated decently. You need to get up off your ass and go fix this, right now."

Staring at Puck for a minute, Rachel finally cleared her throat, and mumbled, "I didn't…I mean, I didn't know that. Any of that…about her."

Sighing, Puck nodded. "I know. But that doesn't exactly make it any better, does it?"

Glancing up at him, Rachel sighed. "When did you get so protective of her, hmm?"

Blushing slightly, he shrugged defensively. "I'm not, really…it's just…I don't like to see her hurting. And that? What you said? It hurt her. She doesn't deserve any more hurt in her life, ya know?"

Blinking, Rachel murmured, "You can be really sweet sometimes, you know that?" Not giving him time to deny it, she continued, "I have to say, though, I don't think it's appropriate for you to be saying 'Jesus' as an exclamation like that…"

Rolling his eyes and cutting off her rant, Puck nodded. "Sure. Whatever, Berry."

Standing, Rachel glanced around. Seeing her darting eyes, he nodded towards the hall. "She ran out there. Now, go fix this, and do it right. If you screw this up, I swear I'll sic Santana on you."

Nodding hurriedly, Rachel headed for the hall. Looking around, she tried to decide where she would go if she was upset. Heading for the closest bathroom, she paused at the door and felt her heart clench at the muffled sobs coming through the door. Hesitating for a split second, she made her decision and pushed the door open.

The moment her eyes landed on Quinn, the brunette regretted every rejection and every off-handed comment she had ever made. The blonde was sitting, knees curled up to her chest, tears streaming down her face.

She looked absolutely shocked to see the brunette, and Rachel locked the door behind her and then knelt in front of the other girl. As Quinn seemed to realize that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, Rachel could practically see the walls being thrown up to protect what was left of her battered heart.

Reaching out tentatively, the singer let a hand come to rest lightly on Quinn's knee. "I'm….sorry." she couldn't seem to find any other words to express just how much she wished she could take some of her insults back, and lapsed into silence.

A ghost of a smile raced across Quinn's face before it was buried, and she murmured, "Rachel Berry rendered speechless. Never thought I'd see the day."

Lifting a shoulder and letting it fall, Rachel replied softly, "Never say never, I guess. But Quinn, I-"

The blonde cut her off with a shake of her head. "Don't worry about it. People think it all the time, you just said it out loud." The sad smile that accompanied her words made Rachel's heart ache, and she scooted closer.

"That doesn't make it ok. I just- I didn't know."

Arching an eyebrow at the brunette, Quinn found her curiosity piqued and asked, "Didn't know what?"

Looking down at the suddenly interesting tiles of the bathroom floor, Rachel murmured, "Anything. I didn't know what you do, or what you've done, or what other people have done to you…I didn't know you, and I'm sorry for never giving you a chance."

Watching Rachel, Quinn asked quietly, "Who told you?"

Glancing up, Rachel muttered, "Noah."

Letting her head fall back against the wall, Quinn sighed. "I should have known. That damn chivalrous streak of his always come through at the most inconvenient times…"

Looking over at Rachel, Quinn smiled sadly. "You don't have to pretend to suddenly like me or anything, you know. It's ok, really. I'm pretty used to never being quite good enough these days."

The soft resignation in the blonde's voice felt like a physical blow to Rachel's heart, and she shook her head vehemently. Reaching out hesitantly, she grasped one of Quinn's hands in her own and tugged to get the girl's attention.

"Listen to me, Quinn. You are more than good enough. I'm the one who's not good enough. I've treated you horribly for absolutely no reason instead of just giving you a chance. I just- never, ever think that you aren't good enough. Please."

Surprised at the sudden emotion in Rachel's voice, Quinn just stared mutely at her. Trying to fill the silence, the brunette rambled on, "I mean, sure you were awful to me-" here Quinn winced, "-but really, I've just been holding that against you when it's so obvious you've changed. You're clearly an amazing person, and you do amazing things, and I never bothered to find out because I was so determined to give as good as I got, and-"

She cut off suddenly as she noticed the slow tears rolling down Quinn's face once more. "Oh, Quinn," she murmured, weighing the options in her mind before just giving in and slowly gathering the blonde to her in a gentle hug. Quinn buried her face in the crook of Rachel's neck and let the tears come as the brunette ran soothing fingers through her hair.

It didn't matter that she was sitting on the floor of a bathroom. It didn't matter that her face was tear-stained and her chest hurt from holding the sobs in. It didn't matter that she was on her own at 17 and didn't have much in the way of a family.

All that mattered, in that moment, was the feel of Rachel's arms around her and her gentle fingers tracing patterns on her back. All that mattered was the sweet smell of the brunette's skin and the soft lilt of her voice as she murmured soothing things to Quinn.

All that really mattered was that, for the first time in her life, Quinn felt like she might be good enough.