Certainly those words hadn't come out of Quinn's mouth. Rachel must have been hearing things 'cause Quinn would never say those words to her.
"Excuse me?" Rachel turned around and walked closer to Quinn. She had been walking ahead of Quinn down the empty hallway while walking to Glee.
"Do you want to hang out with me?" Rachel still looked at her like Quinn had grown an extra head.
"Why?" Rachel asked scared. Quinn had only just started coming around to being nice to her after she told Finn that Puck was the father of Quinn's baby.
"You're the only one in the school who doesn't treat me like a defect." Rachel started to feel her resolve fall when she saw the sincerity in Quinn's eyes.
"Pregnancy even if it's a teen pregnancy shouldn't be a reason to treat you differently." Rachel explained.
"Tell that to my parents." Quinn said sadly.
Rachel looked at her with sympathetic eyes and said, "Ok, what did you have in mind that we would do?" Quinn smiled a reserved smile; she would smile fully when Rachel was gone.
"Do you want to get some food after Glee or we could go to a movie?" Rachel nodded.
"We could do both." Quinn felt a tension in her stomach loosen. They started walking next to each other silently until after a few steps Rachel said, "I'm surprised you don't want to go shopping."
"Shopping depresses me right now." Quinn answered and Rachel dropped it. They arrived to the choir room and split; Rachel to the right to sit next to Finn and Quinn to the left to sit next to Santana and Brittany, but not before sharing a smile. Everyone in the room noticed and Mercedes and Kurt started whispering, Santana handed Brittany money, Puck, Matt and Mike high fived and Finn, Tina and Artie looked from Quinn to Rachel before shrugging and looking at Shue entering the room. Glee went like it normally did except Quinn seemed distracted and the more Quinn got distracted the more Rachel worried. Rachel hoped it was nothing serious, but what she didn't know was that Rachel's choice of short skirt was the cause for Quinn's wandering mind.
After the fourth time of Quinn falling over her feet Shue looked at her and said, "Let's take a break."
Quinn walked over to the piano where Mr. Shue had sat down and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Shue. I don't know why I'm so out of it today."
"It's okay, Quinn just try to concentrate please."
"Yes, Mr. Shue." Quinn walked out of the room to get a drink and ended up bumping into the girl that kept distracting her.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked and Quinn's eyes fell to her lips.
She shook her head and said, "I'll be fine. I just need to get a drink of water."
"Do you want someone to go with you?" Rachel was asking so sweetly it almost made her say yes.
"No, I'm gonna be okay. I just need a minute alone."
"Ok."
Rachel looked sad so Quinn said, "We're still on for after right?"
Rachel perked up and she answered, "Yup."
"Ok." Quinn smiled feeling butterfly's flutter in her stomach. She tried to ignore her stomach as she got a drink and told herself repeatedly not to look at Rachel. Glee passed without anymore interruptions and at the end Quinn silently congratulated herself as she walked toward her car with Rachel. They were silent in the car before the blonde started the car, neither girl knowing what to say.
"Are you hungry now or did you just want to go to the movies?" Quinn asked quietly and Rachel turned to her with a little smile.
"We could go see what's playing then figure out what we want to see." They didn't talk until Quinn stopped her car in front of the theatre.
"See anything you like?" Rachel asked looking at the list of movies playing.
"Not really, do you?" the brunette shook her head.
"Are you hungry?" she added looking at Quinn again and the blonde nodded in response.
"The baby always wants something." Once they decided where to eat silence fell upon them and they didn't speak until they had ordered and were seated. Quinn knew that if she got Rachel talking she wouldn't have to and the silence would end so she opened with a subject she knew Rachel could talk about.
"Mr. Shue's assignment for Glee seems weird, huh?" As she predicted Rachel went into one of her rants about Mr. Shue, her ideas and how others weren't contributing to Glee club. Normally, Quinn would be annoyed by not being able to get in a word and having to hear them talk about the same subject for twenty minutes, but with Rachel she loved hearing her talk and paying attention to the way her lips moved and how if she smiled in a certain way a dimple appeared on the right side of her face underneath her lip.
"I'm sorry I'm doing all the talking, Quinn. Did you want to say something?" The shorter girl asked pulling Quinn away from thinking about the way her nose crinkled when she said Puck's name.
"No, I like listening to you." She said before she realized how weird it sounded.
"Ok." Rachel replied before taking a sip of her water. She didn't immediately start talking and Quinn wondered if Rachel had nothing to say until she noticed the scar on Rachel's forehead was more prominent meaning she was thinking. Quinn opened her mouth to ask, but Rachel spoke first.
"Is there another reason for hanging out with me?"
"Besides wanting to?" Quinn asked and Rachel nodded.
"It just seems weird that you torment me for years then all of a sudden you want to be around me." Quinn sighed she knew Rachel wouldn't let it drop so she decided honesty was best.
"Ever since I found out I was pregnant I've started noticing things around me, things I've never noticed before like how idiotic Finn really is or how close Brittany and Santana really are, but most of all I've noticed you. I've noticed how strong you are when you get slushied specifically how your voice is better than anyone else's I've ever heard and other little things." Rachel smiled and Quinn could see a light in her eyes.
"Little things like what?" Quinn looked at the table as she blushed.
"I noticed you have five smiles." Rachel's smiled widened.
"I do?"
Quinn blushed deeper and her stomach jumped before she continued, "Yeah, you have one when you sing, one you have when you're trying to be strong, one you give people when they're annoying you and you're just being polite, one that's playful and one when you just walk through the halls and don't really notice who's looking at you. That one's my favorite 'cause it's so genuine and sweet." Rachel met Quinn's eyes and both girls felt their bodies tingle.
"Does that make this a date?"
"Do you want it to be?" The older girl asked as a response.
Rachel put on her playful smile and said, "I asked you first."
"Well, my answer depends on your answer so I need you to answer first."
Quinn's smiled matched the other girls and they stared at each other in silence until Rachel finally said, "That was a lot of answers in that sentence." Quinn thought about complaining, but instead just nodded with a chuckle.
"Yeah. Was that your avoidance of the question?" she added and Rachel just smiled at her. "Fine, we can just leave them unanswered." The ex-cheerio replied dramatically. Seconds passed as she looked around the restaurant.
"Ok." Quinn met Rachel's eyes as the singer continued, "I've noticed a lot of things about you too. I notice that you're really smart despite not wanting anyone to know. I notice that you always carry "the Notebook" with you in your backpack, but I've never seen you read it. I notice your eyes kind of gloss over when Finn is talking to you. I also notice how much you touch your stomach and for some reason it always makes me smile." Rachel opened her mouth to continue but Quinn stuck her hand in the air.
"Is that a yes?"
"I was getting to that Ms. Impatient." Quinn indicated for her to continue and Quinn played sighed before talking. "I noticed everything about you. More than I noticed things about Finn so yes I want this to be a date because I like you a lot and I want you to like me too."
Quinn felt the urge to cry something the baby caused her to do often and replied, "I do like you." Both girls smiled like idiots until they stood up and walked out of the restaurant.
"So, what now?" Quinn asked as she turned on the car.
"Are you talking about this date or us in general?" Rachel asked quietly.
"The rest of the date, but we cold talk about both."
"My dad's aren't home if you want to go to my house and we can talk in private."
"Ok, but if any other person said that to me I'd think all they wanted was to get in my pants." Quinn replied not meeting Rachel's eyes.
"I assure you Quinn I want more than that." Quinn didn't see the honesty in Rachel's eyes, but her tone revealed everything. They got to Rachel's dark home a few minutes later and both girls got out of the car silently letting their thoughts run.
"Do you want to stay down here or do you want to go to my room?" Rachel asked when they walked in.
"I want to see your room." Quinn replied smiling at Rachel's sweetness.
"Ok, but if any other person said that to me I'd think all they wanted was to get in my pants." Rachel said mimicking what Quinn had said earlier. Quinn took a step closer to Rachel so she could whisper in her ear.
"I assure you Rachel I want more than that." Quinn felt Rachel shudder and smirked as she stepped to the side to let Rachel lead the way. Rachel paused outside her door and looked at Quinn.
"It might be messy, but it's my room." She said opening the door.
"You do everything dramatically don't you?" Quinn asked before stepping inside to see yellow walls covered in everything that explained Rachel. Quinn took in the room with a smile.
"I like it." She said and Rachel smiled with her. They sat on Rachel's bed with Quinn on Rachel's right. When Rachel's hand lightly touched hers Quinn started to get nervous and before she realized what she was doing she stood and walked to the opposite end of the room.
"I'm sorry Rachel. I've never done this before and I'm kinda nervous." She said quietly looking at a picture of Rachel with her dad's standing next to a Wicked poster.
"It's okay, Quinn, we can go as fast or as slow as you want." Quinn turned around and looked at Rachel.
"I've never liked someone as much as I like you." Rachel looked confused.
"What about Finn?" Quinn sat next to Rachel again.
"I liked him to start, but the only reason I'm still dating him is for my parents and being pregnant with his baby. I only like him as a friend." Rachel nodded.
"After the initial cuteness wears off he's kind of an idiot, to put it bluntly."
"If she wasn't so good for Santana I'd say Brittany should date him. They'd be slow together." Rachel laughed with Quinn until Quinn added, "I love your laugh." Rachel immediately calmed her laugh and looked Quinn in the eyes. It wasn't until Quinn was millimeters from her face did she notice the glint in the blonde's eyes, but before she could comment Quinn had lightly placed her lips on Rachel's. Soft kips on her made Rachel's whole body tingle. Finn's or Puck's kisses never felt like this and she knew whatever she felt for Quinn was stronger than anything she'd ever felt for anybody. When Quinn pulled away Rachel found it hard to form comprehensive thoughts. Luckily she didn't need to because Quinn pulled her in for another kiss. The kiss progressed faster and soon their tongues were fighting for dominance. They broke apart because of air and silence fell around them.
"Not that I mind, but you just said you were nervous to hold my hand and then you kiss me. Twice." Rachel said quietly trying not to scare Quinn away.
"I couldn't help it. You looked cute."
The brunette's stomach jumped and she asked, "What would you do if I kissed you?"
Quinn giggled adorably and replied, "I'd kiss you back. I'm not feeling so nervous anymore. We just can't go too fast." Rachel stood up and walked over so she was hovering over Quinn.
"Like I said we'll go at your speed. Just push me away if you get nervous again." In a response Quinn pulled her in for a kiss.
"You have to be in control don't you?" Rachel asked teasingly and Quinn shook her head.
"I just like kissing you." Following Quinn's example she didn't answer and pulled Quinn in for a fierce kiss. They broke apart twenty minutes later by the sound of the doorbell.
"They can come back." Rachel said pulling Quinn in again.
"Rach, you should get it. I can wait." Quinn replied when they heard it ring again.
"Ok, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."
"I won't" Rachel left Quinn alone with her thoughts and in only a few moments she knew that this was exactly what she wanted and that she needed to talk to Finn.
"Quinn?" she heard Rachel's voice pulling her out of her plan.
"Yeah?"
"Finn's at the door and wants to talk to you." Quinn looked at her confused.
"Did he say why?"
"No, but he kinda sounds angry." Quinn gulped and stood up but before she left she placed a quick peck on Rachel's lips.
"For luck." She explained and walked out of the room and down the stairs. "Hey, Finn."
"Quinn, I'm going to ask you something and I need you to be honest, ok?" he said trying to be calm, but she could tell he was shaking with anger.
"Ok." She replied scared.
"Are you really pregnant with my kid?"
Quinn slowly shook her head and asked, "Who told you?"
"Does it matter? Is Puck the father?" Quinn nodded and looked at the floor ashamed.
"I'm sorry Finn I should have been honest with you, but you would have made a better father than Puck." Finn let out a sarcastic laugh.
"I've packed your stuff. It's in my car. I'll put it on the front porch." He left without another word. She didn't cry until she heard the door slam and shortly after she felt a hand on her shoulder. She collapsed into the short girls arms and cried until she didn't have anymore tears.
"How much did you hear?" she asked quietly.
"All of it."
Quinn pulled away and looked at Rachel to say, "I'd understand if you never want to see me again."
"Just explain to me what happened." They sat on the couch and Quinn explained the night Puck got her drunk and took her virginity.
"I didn't even like him; I was just confused and hurt about you and Finn and he made me feel better."
Their eyes locked and Rachel asked, "Would you like to stay here?"
"You still want to be around me after I just admitted I cheated on Finn?" Quinn asked incredulous.
"Yeah I trust you that we'll be different and I like you too much to throw that away." Quinn kissed Rachel causing both girls to smile.
"I'd love to stay, but will your dad's be okay with it?" Rachel scoffed.
"They won't care as long as we sleep in separate rooms." Quinn laughed and felt her whole body relax into Rachel's gentle embrace. "Now, come on let's get your stuff off the porch." Quinn held Rachel's hand as they walked out the front door to find a small bag of Quinn's clothes. And as they walked back up to Rachel's room Quinn let her hand fall out of Rachel's and stopped mid step.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't deserve you." Rachel smiled and stepped closer to Quinn.
"I don't ever want to hear you say that again, Quinn. You made a mistake and I can tell you feel guilty about it so I'm making the choice to be with you because I want to and if anything I don't deserve you." Quinn felt the tears spring to her eyes.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, you were the head of the Cheerios and I'm just the annoying girl from Glee." Quinn blushed and looked at the ground until she heard Rachel call herself annoying.
"I'll make you a deal. I won't say I won't insult myself you don't insult yourself because Rachel you're amazing and I . . ." Quinn paused before she continued, but Rachel looked at her expectantly.
"You what Quinn?"
Quinn sighed before she said the three words she'd said many times but never meant, "I love you." Rachel's smiled the widest and brightest Quinn has ever seen and Quinn smiled trying to match her new girlfriends.
For the past six months Quinn had hoped to hear so many things said to her, "I'm sorry" from her father, "I forgive you" from Finn, but nothing amounted to hearing Rachel say, "I love you too." She knew that she would always have those words in her head whenever she needed them and her whole body felt warm at the thought.
