Quinn sings the opening lines to Cherish while reading as she waits for Glee to start. The song has been stuck in her head ever since the God Squad performed it at Sugar's Valentine's Day party. She smiles at the memory; happy that her best friends have finally reached the point where they aren't afraid of showing their love in public. She knows what a big step it was for Santana, and she's so proud of her, although she'd never say it out loud because the other girl would just call her an emotional mess and ask if she's pregnant again. She keeps humming the chorus as she feels someone sit beside her.
"You're still on that song? Jesus, Q, it's been like two weeks. Turn on the radio or something." Santana says as she grabs Quinn's book and flips through it before tossing it back. Quinn catches it and puts it underneath her seat.
"You didn't seem to mind it too much when you were making out with your girlfriend." Quinn states as she smirks at the Cheerio. Santana blushes a little before putting her HBIC look back on and fires back.
"Yeah well, if you had a girlfriend as sexy as Brittany you'd wanna get your mack on with her, too. So shut it, Fabray."
Quinn laughs and shakes her head, glad her and Santana have gotten back to the point where they can tease the hell out of each other. She's missed this friendship, and it's even better without all the drama of fighting for the top spot in the school. They've both come so far from the bitches they were at the beginning of high school and sometimes it still shocks Quinn. Santana notices the change in Quinn's mood and shoots her a questioning look.
Quinn gives her a light smile, "I was just thinking about how far we've come, how much we've grown since freshmen year." As soon as these words leave her mouth, one of the biggest reasons for her transformation walks through the door. Rachel Berry. The girl who wouldn't give up on her, who pushed Quinn to think bigger than Lima, who gave Quinn the confidence to chase her dreams even after years of torment and ridicule from the blonde ex-cheerleader. Rachel spots her and sends her a wave, which Quinn responds to with a smile. She doesn't understand why Rachel was there to help her all these years after the way she treated her, but she's going to repay the favor and stop Rachel from ruining her life. And the biggest mistake Rachel could make has just followed her into the choir room, grabbing her hand as they make their way to the front row of seats. Watching the couple hold hands, cuddle, and kiss as the rest of the group files in fills Quinn with resolve. She knows it's up to her to stop Rachel from marrying Finn; after all this time, they know each other better than anyone else, maybe better than they know themselves. She has to convince Rachel that she's making a mistake, that she's about to do something she'll regret her whole life. Quinn lets out a sigh because she knows how stubborn the singer can be, but knows she'll do everything she can to help her friend realize this marriage won't make it in New York.
"You better get your shit together there Q, before it's too late." Quinn turns her head sharply at Santana; she had almost forgotten the cheerleader was beside her as she got lost in her thoughts.
"What do you mean?" Santana doesn't answer, but looks at Rachel and then back at Quinn. It's in that moment Quinn realizes all her attempts to hide her feelings for Rachel have been futile. All the name calling, the pornographic pictures, the slushies, the angry confrontations in the hallway were for nothing. Just as they failed to convince her that she didn't care about Rachel, they didn't convince Santana either. Quinn opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, and then closes it once more before slumping down in her seat.
In a rare show of affection (for someone other than Brittany), Santana grabs Quinn's hand and forces her to look up. All Quinn sees is acceptance. And maybe a little regret. "Just tell her. I almost waited too late with Britt. Yeah, it worked out in the end but what if she was still with Artie? It would have killed me. Don't make the same mistake I did. Learn from it." Santana squeezes Quinn's hand before releasing it. "She feels the same, too, you know." Santana adds before turning to her girlfriend, who just arrived. Quinn watches the happy couple for a minute, before turning to the front to look at Rachel.
She knows what she has to do.
She has to tell Rachel that she loves her.
It might destroy their friendship, it might push Rachel even further into Finn's arms.
But maybe, just maybe Santana's right.
Maybe Rachel feels the same.
And Quinn can convince Rachel to choose her.
"Cherish is the word I use to describe, all the feelings that I have hiding here for you inside" Quinn sings under her breath, hope filling her for the first time all year; hope that she might get her happily-ever-after ending.