Author's Note: This story takes place during season three. It does include SOME of the spoilers/rumors that have been mentioned for season three already, however the majority is my take on those spoilers/rumors and what I would like to see happen.
Senior year. It was the time that every student looked forward to. The year to rule the school. For Quinn Fabray, it was the start of the final page in this chapter of her life. To say that high school had been a journey in discovering whom she was and just an adventure in itself would be an understatement. High school had been a huge part of her life, and not just that it would make up a little over a quarter of her life so far. But the events that she had went through in the past three years had been life changing, and as she looked at herself in her bedroom mirror, checking to make sure that she looked presentable for the first day of school, she was under no assumptions that senior year would be any different. She took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. It was as though she was mentally preparing herself for another school year at William McKinley High School. Preparing herself to take whatever was thrown her way.
She was entering her senior year with her head held high. Junior year had ended on a low for her. She was now single. She had been dating football jock Finn Hudson, but they had broken up towards the end of the year. She wasn't completely helpless nor did she need to depend on a man for her well-being. But she did want to be loved. She wanted someone to love her. It didn't have to be a boyfriend. She just wanted someone in her life that she knew would love her. She had confided that to two of her closest friends. She had let her guard down and cried in front of them, telling them she just wanted someone to love her. She had broken up in a relationship twice that year, and her relationship with her parents was far from stable. She had felt alone, and was thankful for the comfort that her friends had given her in that moment. Although she might not show it, her friends were her rock, especially the ones she had made through Glee club. The New Directions was where she felt she most belonged.
Quinn had spent the summer with her mother, Judy. They had traveled, taking cruises and relaxing at the beach. Quinn did enjoy the chance to be able to relax, clear her mind, and just pamper herself. She had went shopping, getting several new outfits to wear for the start of school and matching accessories, and she had a nice sun-kissed tan. But despite spending all that time with her mother, she didn't feel that their relationship had taken a huge leap. She couldn't shake the thoughts about how her mother hadn't done anything to change the situation when Quinn had been kicked out. She had moved back home after the baby had been born and given up for adoption. It was just Quinn and her mother now. And while they had mended their relationship somewhat, it wasn't where Quinn wanted it to be. Even during the summer months, Quinn felt distanced. She did her own thing on the trips, and her mother did her own thing. There wasn't that mother and daughter relationship she had always wanted and hoped that she could have.
With her purse slung over her shoulder and a new folder and notebook in her arms, Quinn took one final look at herself in the mirror, nodding to herself, ready to start a new year.
Across the town, Puck had already pressed the snooze button on his alarm clock three times. He was still laying in bed, his face smushed into his pillow. It was the first day of school, so what? Puck had chosen to spend his last night of freedom out. He hadn't done anything huge or worth talking about, he had just stayed out late. Now he was tired, and had 15 minutes until he needed to be walking out the door. As he laid there, he thought about when he was younger and his mom would make sure his clothes were picked out the night before the first day of school and his backpack was full and ready by the door. He chuckled. Now, he had no idea what he was going to wear and he thought he had some school supplies? Ah well, he was sure he could find a notebook and pencil somewhere.
He groaned as he slid out of bed, sulking over to his closet. His eyes were still partially closed, but he managed to find a pair of jeans and a shirt to wear. The bright red letters on the clock shone in his eyes when he glanced at the clock. At this time during the summer months, he still had another four hours of sleep left. His summer had been just a regular summer in his eyes. He had worked some, usually working in the afternoon and evening hours, then if he had plans, he did those after work. But regardless, he ended up staying up late and then sleeping away the morning. This whole getting up early for school thing was something he'd have to get used to again.
He had started off his summer being in a relationship, but ended the summer as a single man. He had been dating Lauren Zizes, but had broken up with her in July. It had been a mutual break up. They both weren't feeling like the relationship was going to work out and felt that maybe it would be better to remain just as friends. Lauren had accused him of seeming distracted, an accusation that Puck really couldn't respond to because he didn't know how he felt. But now? He was thinking that maybe it was better that he was single. His life was far from simple, and maybe a commitment wasn't going to work out. Not that he had a reputation for making a commitment. That hadn't bothered him at one point, but then during his sophomore year, he had tried to make it with someone he loved. But….it hadn't worked out. Junior year was spent bouncing back and forth between committed and not. He knew that now, he needed to figure out what he was going to do with himself.
With a notebook he had found in the basement tucked under his arm, and an unsharpened pencil in his pocket, he quickly walked outside, yawning. "Here I come, McKinley," he smirked to himself, "It's Puckerman's game now."