The alarm blared through the apartment early in the morning. Quinn groaned and sank her face into her pillow trying to drown the noise in vain. When she admitted that it wasn't going to work out she rolled into her back and hit the alarm strong enough to silence it and make it drop.

Quinn opened her eyes slowly and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Time to get up and get ready for work. She sighed and made an effort to get out of bed. She wished to be able to just lie in bed all day but that wasn't practical, and she needed the money. She took a quick shower and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She just needed a toast and orange juice to function properly for the day ahead. She wasn't much of a cook in spite of the spacious kitchen.

She couldn't complain about her apartment considering her age and what she earns for living. It was cozy but with enough space to accommodate her necessities. After she finished breakfast, she cleaned it up, got dressed, put on her coat, took her keys and purse and went out the door to go to work.

After graduating from Yale on top of her class with a major in English Literature she had moved to New York. The decision was easy. Writing could be done anywhere. New York was inspiring, the buildings, the people, the views... and, more importantly, she had her friends here. It was better start anew in a place surrounded by those who you love most.

She worked in a small bookstore with a flexible schedule, which was important to her since she dedicated every free moment she had to write. Her novel has been finished for a while though. She had spent almost a year knocking on doors for a chance to publish it, sending her manuscript to publishers and only receiving words of rejection.

She knew that the world she was getting herself into was hard, only a few fortunate people ended up publishing a book these days, but she had faith in her work and she hoped her efforts would be worth it at the end. She dreamed about the day where she would be walking along the street, would look at her side and notice her book in a window display. Just thinking about it gave her goosebumps. She was not going to give up until someone gave her an opportunity.

She arrived at the building promptly as always and smiled to the manager that was already there like every morning.

"Good morning, miss Fabray."

"Good morning, Robert."

His boss was a good man. He was in his mid-forties, tall, dark, and with kind eyes. He wasn't the typical I-can't-stand-this-bastard boss. Since Quinn got the job, Robert has been doing everything in his power to make things easy for her and she couldn't be more grateful for that. New York could be intimidating and cruel sometimes and she was lucky she got a job like this one.

"You're late."

Quinn looked at her watch, and repressed a smile. She had arrived two minutes late. "It won't happen again, sir."

"Good girl. Now get to work. You don't want the boss to be mad at you and fire you, do you?"

"That's the last thing on my mind."

Robert made a gesture with his arm to Quinn, meaning go ahead and do your stuff, and Quinn left her things in a back room, and went to fulfill her duties.

The morning was very calm with only a few costumers and she decided to take a break after a few hours. She checked her phone and saw a new message.

Hi, Quinn! How are you this morning? Can you meet up for lunch? - Rachel

Quinn smiled, and answered immediately.

Yes, of course. I'm taking a break now. Same place as usual?

The answer didn't take much.

You know it. I'll be there in ten.

See you then.

Quinn took her purse after informing her boss of her break time and left the place to go meet Rachel to a nearby place. Her best friend Rachel. Her face lighted up by only thinking about her. Since they left highschool their relationship had only grow more and more each day. The days were Quinn tormented Rachel and they tried to steal boyfriends from each other were over. Now, they told everything to each other, if something good happened to one of them, the other was the first to hear about it, they comforted each other when the time called for it… they were practically inseparable. There was only one little problem called "being in love with your best friend in secret".

Quinn had known that she had feelings for Rachel for a long time. But she had never had the courage to admit it to the brunette. They had made such an effort to get to where they were today that she didn't want to mess up the bond between them. But she had to confess that every day it was proving more difficult to keep silence about her feelings. If you asked her, she would say that she is even surprised that Rachel hasn't figured it out yet considering her behavior around the brunette and her animosity towards each boyfriend that Rachel has had since highschool. She never liked any of them, no matter if they were nice or handsome or seemed perfect.

She couldn't stand the sight of Rachel with someone else; it killed her a little inside every time that a new guy came into Rachel's life. But she just put a smile on her face and tried, (emphasizing the word tried), to act like a best friend would. Santana had been harassing her lately for her to do something about it before it was too late, and Quinn hadn't been able to stop thinking about that option. What if she told the truth? How would Rachel react? Would she slap her? Would she run from Quinn? It was possible that Rachel had feelings for Quinn too? Sometimes she would swear that Rachel looked at her in a not very friendly manner. But who knows? Maybe it was wishful thinking.

Quinn felt a headache coming and forced herself to stop her train of thought. She hadn't even realized that she had arrived to the little café where she and Rachel always meet for lunch and hang out together. She tried to clear her head and walked into a quaint but warm place that definitively was one of her favorites.

She looked around for any signal of the petite brunette but she came out empty. She decided to wait for her instead of order something for herself. She sat down on a table near the back and waited for Rachel's arrival.

Meanwhile she took out a book to pass the time. She was so engrossed that she didn't notice Rachel enter the café and walk towards her table.

"You never give it a rest, don't you?"

Quinn looked up immediately and saw Rachel standing there with her big brown eyes and her perfect smile.

"I'm a nerd, that's what you're always saying to me. I'm just honoring that."

"That's fair," conceded Rachel with a smile and sat down. "I took the liberty to order for both of us since you seemed so lost in your world."

"Oh, thanks. I was waiting for you to do so."

"Always a gentlewoman."

"Only with you," said Quinn without thinking and blushed. Rachel, oblivious, tilted her head with a pensive face.

"What about the girls you have dated?"

"It's not like I have dated a bunch of girls. Besides, none of them were special."

"I second that. They weren't good enough for you."

Quinn didn't respond. She didn't know how to react to that comment. Part of her was happy that Rachel had her in such a high pedestal but another part of her reminded her that Rachel was only been protective and a good friend.

"Well, I'm sure someone will sweep you off your feet soon."

"Yeah..." Quinn murmured looking down. "I guess I'm just waiting for the right person and I don't want to settle for something that is just fine."

"Right. That's not an indirect considering my past, is it?" Rachel asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"What? Of course not."

"Well, you weren't very fond of any of my boyfriends, claiming that I deserved better than them..."

"I just... want the best for you ... let's just leave it alone, okay? I didn't mean anything by that." Quinn tried to end the topic quickly.

"Alright, I believe you, my friend." Rachel let it go and grinned reassuringly at Quinn.

Quinn didn't like to talk about her love life. She had come out to Rachel in college. She was surprised at first but then she just hugged Quinn tightly and said that she was proud of her. In four years, she has had a few flings (physical needs and all that) but in reality they didn't mean anything to her. She had only dated a few women and it never lasted long. They just… weren't enough, they didn't feel right. They were nice, pretty and even smart but there was something missing in all of them. She knew perfectly what it was. She knew that as long as she felt this way about Rachel and not acting on it would be impossible to move on and try to be happy with someone else.

Their names were called to collect their order and Rachel stood up to bringing it to the table.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Quinn took a sip and Rachel did the same. They both smiled at each other knowingly. These drinks were simply the best. And the sandwiches weren't bad at all.

"So... how is everything going with the play? Quinn asked.

"It's going great! I can't wait for opening night. I'm so excited. The cast is fantastic, the crew is efficient, the director is not an idiot... this is going to be big, I can feel it!"

"I'm really happy for you. You deserve it."

After taking the role of Funny Bryce in her first year on NYADA, things for Rachel only got better and better even if the play at the end wasn't all that successful. She was making a big name for herself on Broadway. Now she was playing the role of Maria in West Side Story, one of her dreamed roles. A Tony was waiting for her if everything went according to plan. Everything she had hoped for as a child was coming true. Even more than that. She had friends who cared about her; she had her dads who were very proud of her achievements... She couldn't ask more out of life on this moment.

"How is the book going?"

"Nothing new. Some publishers got to read the manuscript, or they said so, but didn't seem interested so, no positive response for now."

"They are crazy if they don't accept the book. I mean, look at you. You have so much talent. But I have to say... I'm a little disappointed that you don't let me read it first." Rachel pouted.

Quinn laughed a little. "Come on, Rach. I already told you a thousand times. I'm not ready for you to read it, yet, or anyone that I know, for that matter. Please, just be patient. Someday soon, I promise."

"I take your word," she answered seriously. When she was going to add something, her phone started ringing. "Sorry." She looked at the screen and said: "I have to take this." Quinn nodded and Rachel took the call. "Hi! Good, thanks... Yes, that's fine... I can't wait... perfect. See you later." Rachel hung up and threw Quinn and apologetic look. "Sorry about that."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing important, don't worry," she answered evasively. She looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "I think you are taking a too big of a break."

Quinn watched the time and jumped out of her seat. "Shit. I have to run, Rachel." She grabbed her things quickly and put on her coat. "Call you later?"

"Yes, sure."

Quinn gave Rachel a quick hug and ran out of the coffee shop to get back to work and finish her shift. She glanced over her shoulder for a moment and admired Rachel's view with a smile on her lips before quickly continuing her way.