"You have got to be kidding me, Berry. There's no way I'm singing this song with you."

"Don't be such a snob Quinn. It's a good song."

"It's a love song!"

"Well maybe if you had bothered to show up for any of my planned rehearsals this week then you would have had a say in it. But you decided to ditch them and now we have an hour to rehearse before we're due to perform in Glee club."

Quinn crossed her arms, glaring across the piano at the short brunette she had been partnered up with against her will for this duet project. "I am not singing a love song with you. Everybody will think we're lesbians. In case you haven't noticed, I'm straight."

Rachel's eyes softened and she moved around the piano towards Quinn. "You need to worry less about your reputation. Glee club knows you're…straight." She paused, looked away, then composed herself and returned her gaze to Quinn. "And if other people hear about it and assume things, who cares? They're not worth your time, Quinn. You're better than all of them."

Now Quinn was the one to look away, her arms still crossed as some unreadable emotion crossed over her face. Finally she shook her head and looked back at Rachel. "I-…you're wrong, Rachel. You're better than all of them. And you're going to get out of this town and…and take New York by storm. But I'm not. I'm stuck here and this…this is all I have. I can't lose this just because you want to sing some song that, while you may think it's amazing, will only start rumors and cause problems."

Rachel was quiet for a long time, unusual for her, as she studied Quinn. "We have about forty-five minutes. What do you have in mind?"

After about twenty minutes of discussion, and scrolling through Rachel's iPod, Quinn came across a song from yet another musical. This one, however, caught her eye thanks to the title.

"What about this one?" She asked, turning the iPod towards Rachel, who was flicking through sheet music.

"Who Will Love Me As I Am? It's a great song Quinn, but not entirely appropriate for us. I mean, it's sung by two Siamese twins who-"

"Appropriate? Rachel, you once sang a love song with our teacher and you just tried to sing one with me. I hardly think appropriate is a problem with you."

Rachel paused, taken aback. "Right. Well, I…I don't know if it will work with your voice though." She was thrown off my Quinn's sudden take-charge attitude, given she seemed to not care at all when they first received this assignment.

Quinn, however, had been struck by the song's title. And, while she may refuse to let herself truly think about love and the reasons she wasn't sure she would ever find it, a song might help. Especially if she was the only one who…really knew what she meant when she was singing.

"Look, let's just give it a try, all right? Just once? If it's no good I'll let you choose, all right?"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, still surprised. "All right, fine. Sure." She agreed slowly. She flipped through the pages in front of her until she found the sheet music for the song. "Let's give this a try then."

Half an hour later Glee was starting and, while Rachel still didn't think it was perfect, they had settled on that duet. Rachel still wasn't sure why she had agreed. Maybe she just hadn't wanted to argue, maybe it was something about the lyrics and the way she felt about the song. Or maybe it was that look in Quinn's eyes when she asked to sing the song.

The two girls took their places at the front of the room. Rachel glanced over at Quinn as the music began to play, then looked away from her as she began to sing.

"Like a fish plucked from the ocean
Tossed into a foreign stream
Always knew that I was different
Often fled into a dream
I ignored the raging current
Right against the tide I swam
But I floated with the question
Who will love me as I am?"

Quinn picked up the next verse. Rachel still wasn't sure how well suited her voice was for the song, but Quinn had been determined. So, with a few adjustments, they made it work. And maybe it was worth it, because Quinn's voice was beautiful as it sang the words.

"Like an odd exotic creature
On display inside a zoo
Hearing children asking questions
Makes me ask some questions too
Could we bend the laws of nature?
Could a lion love a lamb?
Who could see beyond this surface?
Who will love me as I am?"

Maybe they were changing the song's meaning, but that didn't make the pain in Quinn's eyes any less real. She only caught a glimpse, though, before Quinn looked away from her. Maybe she didn't want Rachel reading everything her gaze held.

"Who will ever call to say I love you?
Send me flowers or a telegram?
Who could proudly stand beside me?
Who will love me as I am?"

Rachel turned away from Quinn, losing herself in the words of the song, but Quinn wouldn't let herself steal a glance. She couldn't. She hadn't wanted to sing with Rachel in the first place, to worried about what she might let show. There was a reason she hadn't sung with her—willingly—since their duet last year. It was…dangerous.

They finished the song and took their seats to the sound of applause.

Whatever, Quinn told herself. At least she was done with Rachel for good now.