A/N: Ack. I've become completely obsessed with the Quinn/Will pairing... so I've written another fic in this category...will have some ideas for my Rachel/Puck fic soon, I swear? ;) In this story, Sam and Quinn never dated. As always, if you like, please review. It is appreciated. All spelling/puncuation errors are mine.
Quinn Fabray smiled as she opened the text message she had just received. It was from Mercedes, just some gibberish about how she missed her, and wondering where she had been. The two had become unlikely friends since she had stayed with her briefly during her pregnancy in high school. Their friendship had gone from casual to serious very quickly. She now trusted Mercedes more than anyone, and trusted her with all of her secrets. Except one. It's not that Quinn thought her friend would react badly (in all reality, she would probably be super excited), it was just that...she wasn't quite sure how to go about it. How exactly does one tell their best friend that, 'hey, by the way, the reason you haven't seen me all summer is because I've been holed up with Mr. Schuester in his apartment because I love him and he loves me, and we're going to be together whatever it takes?'
Will snuggled up closer to her from behind, placing a kiss on her shoulder. She smiled and leaned back into him, still not quite able to believe that she was really here. With him. She had never actually thought that it would happen for them. As she lay there with Will, who was drifting in and out of sleep, she allowed herself to think back as to how she had finally ended up with the man of her dreams.
She had realized that she had feelings for her Spanish teacher and Glee mentor shortly after returning to school after the birth and the giving up of her baby. She wasn't anything like she used to be. For one, her personality was competely different. She wasn't that cold, sarcastic bitchy cheerleader anymore. That demeanor had disappeared the moment she had held Beth so briefly in her arms, after bringing her into the world, only to watch her be taken away. Without a doubt, something had broken inside her that day. Before actually giving birth to Beth, she had been sure that her and Puck would make things work, that they would have a relationship together, and end up married. Sure, the sex they had had that created Beth wasn't out of love, but somewhere along the way, they had fallen in love. That notion crashed and burned, though, once she realized that she couldn't even look at Puck without thinking of Beth. And although he wouldn't admit it because he didn't want to hurt her, she knew that Puck hated her for giving up their baby. That, and he wasn't very appreciative of her post-baby body, which pissed her off to no end. After all she had been though, she wasn't in any hurry to starve herself and lose the weight she had gained. Not only did that seem like too much work, but this extra weight she was carrying was all she had left of her baby, who she missed so much.
The only two people who had spoken to her that first day she had returned to McKinley High were Mercedes and Mr. Schuester. Even Coach Sylvester hadn't even taken the time to insult her with one of her stinging wisecracks, which was a much harder blow to take than if she had actually said something. Not being acknowledged was worse than anything anyone could have said to her. She wanted to turn around and walk out of the doors of the school, but Mercedes hadn't let her. She had hooked Quinn's arm through hers, told her that she was here for her, and that she wasn't going anywhere. This was when it dawned on Quinn that this was what friendship, true friendship, was. Nobody had ever been so caring towards her in her life. Sure, eyebrows had raised when they had walked into Glee club together arm in arm. She heard Santana make a quip to Rachel about how she must be a lesbian now. Without any warning, she had burst into tears. Not sure whether it was the statement itself, or the fact that it had come from the girl who she had thought was one of her best friends, or if it was just all the crazy emotions of the day finally kicking in, she just bawled. At precisely the same time, she heard Mercedes and Mr Schuester go off on Santana and the majority of the rest of the Glee Club, as they were all laughing at her. Mr Schuester was so angry at how inconsiderate they were all being that he canceled Glee for the week, ignoring Rachel's whiny, keening pleas for him not to do so. Then, he promptly told them to all get out, holding Quinn and Mercedes back.
After he had closed the door behind them, he turned and looked the unlikely pair of friends. "First, Quinn, are you okay?"
She nodded, feeling stupid as her tears subsided
His eyes searched her, looking for any sign she might be lying before turning his gaze to Mercedes. "And you, Mercedes. I'm proud of you. You've been a better friend to Quinn in one day than most people ever have in their entire lives."
Mercedes smiled, blushing a bit at the praise. She glanced at Quinn. "I've got to run, girl. My mom is expecting me home. You wanna come over?"
Quinn pondered, then shook her head, smiling so her friend wouldn't be offended. "No, but thank you." She squeezed her hand. "I'll probably take you up on that offer tomorrow though."
The other girl nodded, smiled, and pulled Quinn close into a hug before exiting the room, humming the latest Kanye song under her breath.
The blonde teenager, wanting to get home so she could do her crying in privacy, headed for the door as well, but she was stopped by Mr. Schuester when he placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Quinn? Are you sure you're okay? You know, you can talk to me if you want. I don't know how much help I would be, but I'm willing to listen." He smiled at her, and she was bewildered when that smile made her knees go weak.
"I'm okay, Mr. Schue. It's just been a hard day. And I miss my baby." She sighed, smiling through the new tears that were welling up in her eyes. "You didn't really have to cancel Glee for a whole week. It's the only part of my day that I enjoy."
"Noted. I wasn't really planning on cancelling it the whole week. I just wanted them to see how serious I was. We are a team, and that means not turning your back on one of your fellow members." He closed his eyes, looking disgusted. "I can't believe that they treated you like that."
"I can. I actually kind of deserve it. I mean, I used to be quite awful to them."
He grabbed her hands before he fully realized what he had done, then dropped them. She thankedc her lucky stars that he couldn't tell that her heart had sped up just from the couple of seconds his skin had been touching hers. "No, Quinn, you don't deserve this. You haven't been awful to them since you've joined Glee."
She looked guilty. That's not true. I'm still pretty mean to Rachel on a regular basis."
"That's understandable. She's annoying as hell."
Quinn gasped, then giggled. "Mr Schue!" she exclaimed in amused disbelief.
"Shh," he said, looking embarrassed that he had let this piece of information slip. "Please keep that between us."
'Between us'. She liked the sound of that. "No problem." She bent down and picked up her bag. "See you tomorrow," she said, wondering what it would feel like to be held in his arms.
"Yeah, Quinn. See you tomorrow. Remember, today was the worst. It will only get better from here," he said encouragingly, glad that her back was towards him, so she couldn't see the longing in his eyes as he watched her walk away.
Quinn was certain that her reaction to her teacher's smile and touch was just leftover pregnancy hormones. But when she found herself still getting butterflies in her stomach whenever he was around almost a year later, she knew that her feelings were real. Not only that, but she was a teenager, who hadn't partook in any sexual activities since she became pregnant with Beth, so, a single glance from him was all it took to make her aroused. This was when she decided to stop looking at him. Quinn was under the assumption that her secret was safe, but, of all people, Rachel noticed.
"You have it bad for Mr. Schue," the obnoxious brunette accused."
"Whatever, man hands. Don't you have something better to do than make shit up?" It was the coldest and bitchiest she had been since returning to school, and it worked, because Rachel neither brought the issue up again, or mentioned it to anyone.
As much as she had wanted to make a move on him while she was still in high school, she hadn't allowed herself. For one, she had been scared. For God's sake, she was one of his students, and he was always so preoccupied with that looney Miss Pillsbury that she was fairly certain that he never would have noticed her anyway. So, she kept her feelings for him quiet, never saying a word, never doing anything that would have made it obvious to anyone. As much as she had wanted to be around him, she had done the opposite, and avoided him completely. It was just easier if she didn't look at him. That way she couldn't get lost in his eyes. And she wouldn't get X-rated images of him running his hands all over her body if she didn't watch him play the piano with his quick and nimble fingers.
It was the day before graduation when she decided that she had to make her feelings known. If she waited until after graduation, she would lose her nerve. So, she had quietly made her way to Mr Schuester's (she was still thought of him as her teacher at that point, although when she was alone, fantasizing about them being together, she always thought of him as Will) office. She hadn't even been sure that he would be there, but she saw faint light peeking out from the crack under the door, so she had knocked. She could hear the shuffling of papers before his footsteps approached the door. She forced herself to meet his eyes when he opened the door, which was harder than she thought it would be as she had gotten so used to not looking at him over the past few years.
"Quinn?" She could hear the questioning tone of his voice. She knew he had noticed her ignoring of him, but wasn't at all aware that he thought that it was his fault for grabbing her hands that one day.
"Hi, Mr. Schue. Can we talk?" her heart was pounding so loud in her chest that she could barely hear herself speak. She hoped that he couldn't hear it.
"Yeah, sure. C'mon in." Will wasn't going to pretend that he wasn't confused, because he was. The blonde beauty in front of him hadn't spoken to him in almost two years. What in the world had made her finally want to speak to him? Well, apparently he was going to find out. He motioned for her to take a seat. Once she was seated, he stared at her for several moments. "Well, what's on your mind?"
She took a deep shuddering breath, and looked like she was near tears. He wanted to take her hand and hold it in his. Why couldn't he? She was an adult, and she was hours away from graduating. How much trouble could he get in? The only thing that stopped him was the fact that he didn't know if she would be okay with that. So, he folded his hands in his lap, and waited for her to speak. "I'm sure you've noticed that I've been ignoring you for a long time."
He chuckled nervously. "Yeah."
"I just wanted you to know that there's a reason for it, and it's not your fault."
He swallowed. "Quinn, I never meant to freak you out by grabbing your hands that one day. I'm sorry. I should have apologized sooner. It was out of line."
She stared at him blankly. "What?"
He suddenly felt silly. "Er, isn't that why you have been acting the way you have?"
She laughed, and he couldn't help but smile. Not only did she have an infectious laugh, but it made him happy to see her happy. "Oh, my God!" She giggled some more. "I avoided you because you grabbed my hands, but not because I was offended." She noticed his quizzical look he was giving her. "Mr. Schue, you're going to freak, but I've been in love with you since that one day in the choir room. The day when you grabbed my hands." She dared to peek up at him, looking more vulnerable than he had ever seen her.
"In love with me? I'm sure you're mistaken. A crush, maybe, but Quinn, you're not in love with me. You don't even really know me." Not exactly what he had wanted to say, but he wasn't going to tell her that he had had his eye on her since before she had even joined Glee. He was sure that that would have a rather creepy effect.
"Don't tell me I'm not in love with you. I've not been in love enough times to tell the difference. Just tell me, do you feel the same? Or could you ever feel the same?" When he didn't reply, she blinked back tears. "I love you, but if you want me to leave, I'll go. I'm not going to stalk you. I'm no Rachel Berry."
Like an idiot, Will didn't, couldn't say anything. He could only sit there, looking like he was trying to catch flies with his open mouth. Could she truly know what she was talking about? Could she really love him. "Is that why you never dated anybody after Beth?"
Quinn looked suprised that that was the question he had chosed to ask, but she was a good sport, and answered it, after making a show of rolling her eyes. "Yeah." She inwardly groaned. She should have never came here. This was getting her nowhere. She stood up. "I should go. This isn't going like I imagined it would."
Before she could walk away, he was standing in front of her. "Don't go," he whispered.
"Mr. Schue-"
He brushed a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, feeling her body tremble at his touch. "It's going to be kind of hard to love you if you keep on calling me Mr. Schue. How about you call me Will?" He grinned, watching her face go from shock, to joy, to brief disbelief, and then return to joy.
Quinn tried to smile, but it was rather wobbly, because she was seconds away from bursting into happy tears. She nodded. "I'll call you anything you want."
Will grabbed her hands, and she let out a barely audible gasp, but he heard it. He was having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that his touch had such an obvious effect on her. "Is this not okay?"
She tightened her grip on his hands, so he couldn't pull them away. "It's perfect. You're perfect." She stared at him for several long moments, the love she had for him written all over her face. "Kiss me, please?"
He brought her hand to his lips, brushing it lightly, before he let it go. Leaning forward, he wrapped his fingers in her golden locks and lowered his face to hers, capturing her lips with his. It was a sweet, innocent kiss until he heard her moan softly. His heart quickened, and if he didn't create some space between them fast, she would feel the evidence of his arousal. He stepped back, although it was difficult. He had gotten a small taste of her, but it wasn't enough. He wanted to taste every inch of her. At his leisure. Something they certainly couldn't do here, in his office at school. Definitely not.
"You didn't have to stop, Mr-. I mean, Will." she was looking at him like she wanted to rip his clothes off, her voice all breathy.
"Yes, I did. God, believe me, I didn't want to, but we need to stop. I don't want it to happen like this. I don't want it to happen at all, yet."
"You're telling me you don't want to have sex with me?" She sounded like she didn't believe him, and it killed him. Every other guy she had even been with had only been with her for sex. He wasn't about to treat her like that.
"I will eventually want to, Quinn. You're...beautiful, breathtaking. But I'm not going to want to have sex with you until I make love to you. And I'm not going to want to do that until we are ready." He kissed the unsure look off her face. "I'm going to treat you right, Quinn. I'm going to love you, I'm going to be here for you, whether you need me or not. So, please, if you're having any doubts, let me know right now. Because once you're in my life for sure, I'm not going to be able to let you go."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
Will had had to force her out of his office that night, assuring her that she would be an official graduate of McKinley High in just hours, and that they had plenty of time after that to be together. She had nodded, agreeing, but hadn't left until she had kissed him some more, leaving him lightheaded, and harder than he had been in years. It would have been painful, if he wasn't so happy.
The next day, Will watched, misty-eyed with pride, as the students who had been such a large part of his life the past few years graduate. He would have loved to have been able to say that he focused on all of them with equal attention, but that would have been a lie. He kept his gaze on Quinn throughout the majority of the ceremony, feeling kind of sad that, with the exception of Mercedes, the Glee clubbers had never quite welcomed her back fully. He knew it was their loss, though, and that he couldn't do anything about it, so he pushed that sadness away, focusing on his students.
Immediately following the ceremony, Quinn had found him, where he was waiting for her (his office). "I can't stay long, Will, because Mercedes wants me to go to Breadstix with her and Kurt for a celebratory dinner. I would rather be with you, but she's my best friend, and now that we aren't going to be going to school together anymore, I'm probably not going to see her very often." She paused. "Wait, Will, why don't you come with us?"
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Wouldn't that be weird?"
She shook her head, smiling. "No, they both adore you."
Will sighed. "Thanks, Quinn, but I'm gonna have to pass it up this time."
She stared at him, reading him like a book. "You're nervous of what they'll think, aren't you? Are you ashamed of me?" She was half joking, half not.
He ran a hand through his curly hair. "Of course I'm not ashamed of you, but I am nervous what they would think. It's only been a day, we still don't really know each other, Quinn. I think we need to get to know each other better before we go public."
Quinn nodded. "I understand." She took his face in her hands and kissed his cheek. "I'm know I'll have a good time, but I'll be thinking of you."
A/N: This was meant to be a oneshot, but it is getting out of hand, and I actually can't write anymore at the moment, as I have to get the kiddos and myself ready to go grocery shopping. If there is enough interest in this, though, I'll write a second part. Also, please review. This is a new ship for me to be writing, and I would like to know how I'm doing. Thank you. :)