Always Look On the Bright Side of Life

by Goldstar94

You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!

Summary: You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!
Author's Note: Originally written for the Musical Fanfiction Challenge (Prompt #4) and the song is 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' from "Spamalot". I kind of played with the meaning of the song and took away the moral of wishing you were someone else or being grateful that you didn't have to walk a mile in someone else's shoes. It's a Finn/Quinn/Rachel story without any cliché love triangle nonsense. Enjoy!
Spoilers: No, thank you.

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

FINN HUDSON

Finn Hudson had never been the brightest student.

His educational decline first started in the third grade, when he was learning multiplication and division. Finn didn't understand why Americans needed just a faster way to add numbers together, which he frequently explained to his teacher when he would do poorly on a "Mad Minute" multiplication worksheet.

He remembered watching commercials for the Sylvan Learning Center on TV, when he was supposed to be doing his homework. Finn's mother was always at work when he returned home from school; therefore, he had no adult supervision to make sure his homework was completed. As he watched the commercials, he was jealous of the children of the screen. Sure, they were complete losers, but their homework was always done and they always looked so damn happy as they ran home from school with a test reading "A++++++".

Finn contemplated saving up his allowance in order to afford tutoring from Sylvan. He could picture himself acing his "Mad Minute" arithmetic worksheet. He would be able to multiply and divide anything he wanted to and, hell, if anything on the quadratic formula came up, he could probably solve that too. His teacher would be astonished at his new-found mathematical knowledge and would respectfully resign as his third grade teacher and let Finn take over the class. Oh, how his peers would idolize him. They would even share their fruit roll-ups with him at lunch! At the end of the day, he would run home and show his mother the sheet displaying his grade of an "A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++". Beat that, suckas at Sylvan! She would probably cry tears of joy.

But then he saw a commercial for a new ultra-blasting, super-soaking water gun and knew it was much more practical for him to save up for that, rather than his education.

As the years progressed and he moved up each grade level, he realized that the material only became harder and harder. Finn was a senior in high school and could barely multiply and divide fractions. Though he had a lackluster performance in the classroom, he shined on the football field. He was swift, agile, and could throw a pigskin like nobody's business. College recruits picked up on his flair and wanted to make sure he was a student at their school. He may have only graduated high school with a 1.6 GPA, but he scored a full-ride football scholarship to Ohio State.

Quinn and Finn stayed together all throughout high school and went to college together. Finn continued playing football and struggling with every class he took, while Quinn majored in Art History. She continued with cheerleading, until she graduated from college, where she respectfully put down her pom-poms. During his senior year of college, after leading his team to many victories including the Rose Bowl, he was drafted by the New York Giants to play professionally.

It was an obvious choice. He happily accepted.

He and Quinn married shortly after college and after he received his first paycheck playing center for the New York Giants, he purchased him and his lovely wife a $3 million dollar loft on Hudson Street in New York. He was earning $3.9 million dollars a year, which was more money then he had seen his entire life. Quinn didn't need to work, since Finn's salary was enough to support the two of them and their lavish lifestyle.

He thought that if he and Quinn did decide to have children, he would make sure to buy them tutoring from Sylvan.

They had a great life, a nice home, and he was doing what he loved. There life was undeniably good, except some aspects were lacking, i.e. their sex life.

After much rejection and tolerance, Finn and Quinn had sex for the first time on the night of their wedding. Though a tad sloppy and awkward due to their inexperience, their first times were both memorable and enjoyable. But the sex didn't stop there. They would have sex five times a day or more during their honeymoon. In the bedroom, in the bathroom, on the kitchen table of their hotel suite, on the beach, in the coat closet of one of the swankiest restaurants on earth; you name it, they probably had sex there.

Finn assumed it would be the same when the honeymoon was over, but not only was the sex not as frequent, it was hardly ever. And though when he did get some it was great- like unbelievably amazing- he was still a man with needs. After the first time, they had opened Pandora's Box of Sex, if you would, and he couldn't get enough. Being the good husband that he was, he put up with his wife and the lack of sex they had. He still had his imagination and access to the internet, and, needless to say, cold showers were often necessary in their marriage.

The night of an NFL party, Finn and Quinn got into a colossal battle. Quinn felt that Finn was not giving her enough attention and that the two of them hardly spent anytime together. Finn's argument was that he had been at training camp all day. He was already late for the event and promptly stormed out of their loft. He made his way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the event was being hosted and though he was fuming, began to cool down after his first beer. After a few more beers, he had completely forgotten about what the fight with his wife was about. He assumed he'd pick her up two dozen red roses and maybe a new diamond necklace on the way home to make it up to her.

After mingling with his teammates and a few presidents of different teams, he sat down on a couch in the middle of the party and sipped his beer. A girl named Justine, who was a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, sat down next to him. She quickly introduced herself and began rambling on about herself. Justine was a 25 year old girl with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Her interests were scrap-booking, Rhine-stoning, and learning to cook. She was clearly very drunk and had begun rambling off random facts about things that didn't matter. "Did you know porcupines can float in water? Or,-"

"Hey, Justine, I'm kind of tired so I think I'm going to head out," Finn said cutting her off, as he got up to leave. He faltered a little from all the drinks he had that night.

"No, stay! Puh-leaseeeee?" She begged, talking like a baby.

With a groan, he sat down next to her and began to tune in and out of her mindless prattle. Finn figured if he was going to sit here and listen to her, he would need more to drink; a lot more.

Finally, Justine took an interest in what Finn had to say. She asked him about what his interests were and if he enjoyed playing for the Giants. She was genuinely intrigued by what he had to say and he began to feel a tad guilty about not listening to what she had to say. He told her about how he and his wife had gotten in a fight before he came here and how their sex life was pretty non-existent. And normally he wouldn't reveal so many details about himself, especially ones so private, to a stranger, but he was a bit tipsy and didn't really care.

"That's terrible! You have a career to focus on and she can't expect you to give up all your time to just focus on her. Plus, your job is very stressful and sometimes you need to come home and unwind and have some-," She leaned in as if she was telling a deep-dark secret and whispered into his ear. "-sex." She said bashfully. He laughed at her immaturity.

"I could not agree more," He said with a chuckle. "Like, I love her and all, but lately it just seems like were trying to follow two different agendas, you know?"

"Completely," She responds, nodding her head stoically. He doubts she gets it. "I think you're too stressed, Finn Hudson, and you're a wonderful guy. I mean, I've known for an hour and if you weren't married, I'd totally run to Vegas with you and elope," He laughs. "I think you deserve something for being such a great guy," Justine's words slur a little. "You deserve to be...," She ponders the right word. "...satisfied."

Her voice is low and husky and suddenly Finn is interested in what she has to say. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," She stands up and straightens out her skimpy black dress that hits perfectly at her thigh, so that it highlights her toned, sun-tanned legs. She reaches a hand out to him and they stand up. He stumbles again and his head feels woozy. She laughs as he regains his composure. Their chests are touching and despite the alcohol on her breath, he notices how sweet she smells. He leans down and kisses her. There's nothing romantic about it, he thinks, as he quickly shoves his tongue into her mouth and her hands grab on to his ass. Their tongues dart in and out of each others mouth and soon there is a huge flash of light as someone takes a picture of them kissing. Finn should be worried. After all, that picture will probably end up on the cover of every magazine there is. But he's too drunk and her mouth is so warm and wet, that he doesn't give a damn. She pulls away and stands up on her tip toes to whisper in his ear, "Come with me,"

Justine takes his hand and they stagger to an empty restroom. Forcefully, she pins him to a wall and unbuttons his pants and pulls them down quickly along with his boxers. She goes down on his erect penis, moving her mouth around him. He knows what he is doing is wrong, but he feels too heavy and tired to object to her touch. He just wants to lie down and go to sleep, but he's waited for something like this to happen for months and he's not about to pass up the offer. He moans in satisfaction, as his head falls backwards and he tangles his hands in her hair. When she's done, she wipes the corners of her mouth and smiles seductively. "Now that I've done something good, I deserve to be satisfied,"

He grabs her and passionately kisses her again, their tongues dancing around each other like they are horny middle schoolers. Finn lifts her up on to a cabinet by the sink and lifts up her dress. She's not wearing any underwear and he just wants to sleep with her so badly, despite his conflicting morals. He enters her awkwardly and begins thrusting at her. She kisses his neck and moans against his flesh. Justine removes the rest of her dress and unbuttons his dress shirt, so that their naked bodies are pressed together in a hot, sweaty mess. He kisses her chest and massages her breasts. Finn can't help but notice how good this feels and though he can't deny his feelings of extreme guilt, he thinks that it's only one time with some girl at a party and it doesn't count. She begins chanting "yes", as her body tenses around him and she climaxes. He comes, too, but suddenly his attention is deferred to the fact he isn't wearing a condom. Finn pulls out of her and she looks confused. "What's wrong?" She asks, panting.

He hands her the black dress on the floor, not looking at her sweaty, naked body. Finn begins to put his boxers and pants back on. "I'm not wearing a condom," Justine's face is panic-stricken. "And I have a wife and I shouldn't be hooking up with random girls in bathrooms." He finishes hurriedly. Finn grabs his shirt and high-tails it out of the museum. It's 3:00 in the morning when he arrives home. He sleeps on the couch that night. He feels sick to his stomach out of guilt and extreme dirtiness even after he's showered. He doesn't want to tarnish his pure and innocent wife by putting his worthless ass in their bed.

He wakes up in the morning with a throbbing head and a foggy memory of what happened the night before. He sees Quinn the kitchen and when she notices that he's awake, she comes over to the couch with a glass of orange juice and a Tylenol. "I thought maybe it had been a rough night," She says, with a small smile.

He feels an intense pang of guilt in his gut, as he takes the juice and pill from his wife; his sweet, beautiful, loving, faithful wife. "Thank you," He says not wanting to look at her.

"Look, I'm sorry about arguing with you last night. You work hard and you shouldn't have to come home and shower me with attention, I guess,"

"It's okay," He's still not looking at her and swallows the pill.

She places a hand on his hand. "How come you didn't come to bed last night?"

"Um..." He mumbles, as he tries to come up with a story. "I-I didn't want to wake you when I came home, so I just crashed on the couch."

She smiles whole-heartedly at him and lifts his chin. Quinn kisses him lightly on the lips. "I don't deserve you," She kisses him one more time, before she leaves.

She doesn't deserve me, he thinks.

He notices his phone is missing that day and assumes he lost it at the party. Finn receives a call on his home line from his cell phone and assumes someone has found it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Finn?"

"Yeah,"

"It's Justine. From the party,"

"Oh, hey. Look, did you find my phone?"

"Yeah. I was calling to see if you wanted me to mail to you or something?"

"I can pick it up from you. I think that would be best. Let me grab a pen and paper to write your address down,"

"Hey, Finn?"

"Yeah?" He answers, his mind not focusing on what she has to say.

"About last night-,"

"Let's not talk about it," He says hastily. "It was just...a mistake."

"Oh," And he tries to pretend that he doesn't hear the hurt in her voice.

"You know what? You can just keep my phone or donate it, whatever. It's really not wise for us to be associating with each other. And you probably shouldn't call here anymore either,"

"Oh,"

"Well, good luck with everything," He adds, before he abruptly hangs up.

For four weeks, things seem like they have hardly changed and he tries not to think about the night he slept with Justine. Quinn is still unaware that Finn cheated on her and the two still rarely have sex. He doesn't ask persistently for it like he used to, because when they do have sex, it never feels right and it's lost the spark it once had. One day while Quinn's at a yoga class in SoHo and Finn's about to leave for practice, his phone rings. It's a number he doesn't recognize. "Hello?"

"Finn?"

"Yes?"

"It's Justine," He shifts uncomfortably. "Look, I know you told me not to call anymore, but I have to tell you something,"

"Okay...,"

She inhales deeply. "I'm pregnant,"

"...Oh," He responds after a lengthy pause. His heart is beating faster and he's sweating a little.

"Yeah. And I don't want you to think you have be involved or anything, but I just thought you should know," And he can tell she's trying to hold back tears.

He's completely shocked right now and cannot think straight or wrap his head around the fact he is going to be a father. "I don't know, Justine. I-I-I mean I have a wife and-,"

"I know and I'm not asking you to leave her or anything...," She says meekly.

"I'll gladly pay child support and help you out financially, but that's all I can do right now," And he feels like a complete jerk off for saying that.

"Okay," There is a twinge of sadness in her voice and maybe even disappointment.

"Well, I have to go now, so if you need anything just call,"

Finn wasn't this type of guy. He didn't cheat on his wife, he didn't turn his back on someone that needed his help, and he wasn't the kind of guy that would leave a child fatherless. But he had become that guy. After his father died, he realized that a part of him was missing and felt cheated out of the experiences that occur between a father and son. Finn didn't want to abandon his unborn child, but he knew he didn't want to hurt Quinn either. He asked himself "What Would Tom Brady Do?" or "What Would Alex Rodriguez Do?"; all athletes that were adulterous assholes, like himself.

That night after practice, he comes home to see Quinn in the kitchen fixing dinner. "Hi, baby," She greets, as she walks over to him and plants a kiss on his lips.

"Can you stop?" He says insensitively, as he walks past her.

She's confused and hurt. "What's the matter?"

He swallows hard and takes a deep breath before he plunges right into what he has to say. "There's something I have to tell you...,"

And God, he wishes he could be anybody but himself right now.

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

QUINN FABRAY

Quinn Fabray knew, from a very young age, she could use her body to get whatever she wanted.

The first time she played "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours," when she was seven years old she realized how mesmerized little Tommy, her next door neighbor who was also the pastor's son, was by her anatomy. They snuck behind a large oak tree in her backyard and they both pulled down their shorts and underwear to reveal what was once concealed by their Gap Kids clothing. The event was somewhat unspectacular because they didn't fool around or anything, but when she saw the little thing dangling in between his legs, she was somewhat let down since her mind was expecting so much more. From a young age she had become consumed with thoughts of the opposite sex and couldn't wait for the day when boys would realize that girls didn't have cooties and would actually want to date. Quinn didn't really quite understand boys, but what she had learned from her mother was that one day she would marry one and produce babies with him. She grew up with one older sister and an older brother and whenever one of them offered to take her to Chuck-E-Cheese, her older siblings would usually meet up with their boyfriend or girlfriend there and would make out for a few hours before taking her home. Quinn remembered being disgusted as they slobbered all over each others faces.

She remembered one day locking herself in her room and ditching her Barbies for Ken dolls and removing all of their doll clothes. She would feel all the bumps of their putty-colored chests that were designed to resemble pecks and abs and explored the back that was supposed to resemble lats and a firm butt. Though it was not necessarily accurate, Quinn had become infatuated with the naked doll and would hide it under her bed and after school sometimes she would feel all the bumps again. Quinn also recalled a time when she crept into her brother's room and dug through his sock drawer and found an issue of "Playboy". The image of the naked lady on the cover initially made her uncomfortable, but as she flipped through the magazine to find more nude ladies in a variety of poses, she became more comfortable with the nudity. She even stripped down to her underwear and tried posing like them. She didn't understand why boys were so fascinated with a woman's body, but she knew her brother liked it and figured others boys would too.

(Oh, by the way, throughout middle school and high school, Quinn and little Tommy started playing a more advanced version of "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours". )

One day in the first grade during lunch, Quinn saw that Robby, a boy who picked his nose and wore Velcro shoes, had a fruit roll-up in his lunch. Quinn's mother refused to buy junk food for the family and Quinn wanted one so badly. She looked over Robby as he began unwrapping the snack. "Hey Robby!" She cooed. "Can I have your fruit roll-up?"

"No way!" He responded, appalled that someone would even ask such a question.

"What if I let you look up my skirt?" She asked, in her sweet and demure little girl voice.

Robby was always the boy in class that every girl avoided. He was the child that came to school and told everyone about sex and was always caught lifting up a sleeping girls dress to see her underwear during nap time. His eyes lit up after hearing Quinn's offer and her once ridiculous question didn't seem so ridiculous anymore. He gulped. "W-w-well," He stammered. "First you have to show me!"

Although she was nervous at first, she quickly thought back to the ladies in the "Playboy" magazine and how she had practiced all those poses in her brother's room, and she discovered a new-found confidence within herself. Quinn rolled up her light denim skirt with flower appliqués and revealed a pair of ruffled pink underwear that had "Monday" written on them. Robby took a prolonged look at her and a few other boys followed his lead. By the end of lunch, not only did she get the fruit roll-up, but also won a Twinkie, a pudding cup, "Gushers", and a "Yoo-hoo!".

The exploitation of her body didn't stop there. In the 8th grade, math became particularly difficult for her as she started learning algebra. A cute boy named Tony was in her class and she cared more about flirting with him then learning about polynomials. When her grades began to slip, she decided she needed a plan. Quinn had finally developed a sturdy relationship with Tony and she wasn't about to throw that away over absolute value and square roots, so she turned to Rupert for guidance. Rupert was the only 7th grader in a class of all 8th and some 9th graders. He was your stereotypical loser, with thick glasses and braces. He had the highest grade in the class and Quinn had hoped he would be able to help her with math. Quinn had asked him if she could come over one day after school to study with him and he gladly accepted her offer. They went up to his bedroom and took out their textbooks. "So, do you want to start with volume or surface area?"

She laughed flirtatiously, despite the fact that what he said was nowhere near comical. "I'm interested in something else," She whispered, trying to sound as seductive as possible.

"Like Pi?" She shook her head and removed his glasses. "I can't see my textbook without my glass-," She put a finger to his lips and went in for a kiss.

This is disgusting, she thought to herself as she continued to kiss Rupert. It was painful for her, as her tongue and lips kept getting caught on the wire in his mouth. When she couldn't take anymore of the kissing, she pulled away and handed him back his glasses, which he quickly put on. "Wow," He said.

She giggled, feigning amusement. "Look," She sighed trying to sound like a damsel-in-distress. "I just don't get any of this, so maybe, if you aren't too busy with your homework, you could do mine?" He nodded with his eyes as wide as half-dollars. "And maybe not just tonight's but tomorrow's, and the night after that," He nodded again as if he had just been placed under hypnosis. "Oh, thanks, Rupert! You're the best-est!" She grabbed her backpack and skipped out of his room. She didn't bother grabbing her algebra textbook. She figured she wouldn't need it anymore.

In her sophomore year of high school, Quinn met Finn Hudson. He had a charming smile that made her swoon and a personality that made her howl when he told a joke. And a body that put all her Ken dolls to shame. She liked him and he liked her, so they started dating. She couldn't help but think that it was meant to be; her the captain of the JV cheer squad and Finn the quarterback of the football team. It was a like a teen movie almost, but better, because she was actually living it rather than a bunch of fictional characters.

Quinn was not the only one who picked up on Finn's handsomeness and charisma. She noticed that whenever they walked together down the hall, girls were always staring at him; especially that loser, Rachel Berry. She felt threatened by all the other girls with their skirts shorter than hers and their skin clearer than hers and their teeth whiter than hers. Quinn knew that they would give it up sexually right away with Finn if given the chance and she figured that if she was going to be different than all those other girls, she was going to make him work for it. The two would make out constantly. She would let him touch her butt and even run his hand up under her shirt so he could touch her breast through her bra. But when things became too hot, she would instantly stop and suggest that maybe they watch reruns of "Saved By the Bell".

She kept Finn wanting more and that's how she kept him all to herself.

They dated throughout high school and even went to college together, where he played football and she majored in Art History. She had no interest in art, but she figured that if things didn't work out with Finn, she could easily find a new, blue-blood boyfriend in one of her classes.

After college, Finn was drafted by the NFL and had asked Quinn to marry him. She knew she was with a good man by the way he showered her with attention and gifts. If that wasn't enough to clench the deal, when he showed her the $20,300 dollar engagement ring he had purchased at Tiffany's the night of their engagement, it was a deal cincher.

While they were married, she didn't need to work since he made enough money to support the two of them. She figured that was good, because her degree was useless when it came to finding a job. He was a good husband in the sense that he took her out to dinner at Masa and Per Se, two of the most exclusive restaurants in New York, every weekend, gladly handed her his credit card and let her go on a spending sprees at Barney's, Saks, and Intermix, took her to whatever destination her heart desired and for how ever long she wanted for when it came to vacations, and was always there at the end of the day to give her a foot massage after a long day of strutting around New York City in her Manolo Blahniks.

However, their relationship had gone downhill, and she realized that not even the most expensive clothes or home could hide it. One early evening he came home from a ten hour practice, before he was about to head out to a NFL event with her. He had just finished buttoning up his dress shirt when she walked into their bathroom and straightened out his collar and tied his tie. He leaned his head down to give his wife a kiss. "You look beautiful, babe," He said, as he took her hand and spun her in a circle to look at her in her dress. She was wearing a Herve Leger Armor Trim Dress that cost upwards of $1,000 dollars and a pair of metallic Jimmy Choo slingbacks. All of which, Finn paid for.

"You clean up nicely, too, Mr. Hudson,"

"Why thank you, Mrs. Hudson," He adds before he kisses her one more time and begins to leave their bathroom.

She grabs his hand and pulls him into another kiss. Quinn teases his bottom lip with her tongue and he smiles against her mouth. She reaches down to his pants and attempts to undo his belt buckle, but he stops her. "Babe, as much I'd love to, we're going to be late," He kisses her forehead and takes her hand to leave. She doesn't budge. "What's the matter?"

"You never want to spend time together," She whines, as she pouts like a spoiled brat.

"What?"

"You're always at practice or a game and when you come back home you're too tired to go out! Or, how about when you have to travel and I don't get to see you for a week?!"

"Well, excuse me for earning a living! But if I didn't do all that stuff, we wouldn't be able to afford this place!" His voice raising with every sentence. "Oh, let me correct myself: I wouldn't be able to afford this place! Maybe you can't grasp how hard I'm working because you don't have a job!"

"Oh, go to hell, asshole!" She yells, as she storms out of the bathroom to their bedroom.

"Fine, go pout on your 1,000 thread-count sheets that I paid for or order some takeout from Masa that will be put on my credit card!"

He slams the door to their loft as he leaves. Quinn feels terrible when he leaves for being so needy and demanding, when all he does is work in order to be able to afford the things that make her happy. She takes off her too-expensive dress and her painfully high shoes and changes into her Juicy Couture sweatpants and camisole. She settles in front of their television with a bowl of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a "He's Just Not That In To You" DVD. She felt awful for treating Finn so badly. He did do a lot for her and she had been unappreciative of all he had done for her. But she was grateful, though she never made a point to show it. She made a vow to reign in her spending habits and take the time to care for her husband as he had done for her over the past few years.

So, she started cooking him dinner every night rather than lugging him around the city to all the restaurant hot spots and giving him back rubs when he got home from football. Their relationship had improved once she realized that she valued her relationship with her husband more than any of materialistic things in her life.

One night he came home from practice, while she was cooking dinner for the two of them. Quinn had gone to kiss him and he acted standoffish. "What the matter?" She asks, genuinely concerned about him.

He seems skittish and he takes her hand and sets her down on the couch, while he sits across from her on the coffee table. "There's something I need to tell you...," He begins, as she shifts uncomfortably on the couch.

Finn tells her about the night of the NFL party, where he slept with Justine. Quinn begins crying and she thinks it's the hardest she's ever cried in her life. She feels like she has been slapped across the face, but knows even that couldn't hurt as much as finding out her husband cheated on her. "You slept with some skank at some party?!"

"I'm really sorry, Quinn," He says truthfully. "It didn't mean anything."

"Why do people think that makes things better?! I mean, you threw away our marriage for someone who meant nothing to you?! God!" She screams, before she buries her head in her hands. Quinn inhales deeply, trying to steady the rapidness of her breath. "It's okay, I guess," She says, calming down. "I mean, it was just one time; it was just a mistake and we can move on from it, right?"

"Well, there's more...," Finn begins.

Quinn is emotionless, as Finn tells her that Justine is pregnant with his baby. He moves to place a hand on top of hers. "Don't touch me," She says through clench teeth and it's almost inaudible. "You do whatever you need to do to make this situation alright with Justine. Send money, send a birthday card for the kid, whatever. But I swear, you will never see this woman or her stupid bastard, as long as were together," And she leaves without his approval or understanding.

Life goes on, and though it's been hell for Finn, they move on or, at least, pretend as though nothing has happened. They still go to events together and whenever Quinn's plastic-like friends ask her how she keeps her marriage so perfect, she simply shrugs and says, "We're just madly in love,".

Finn doesn't know how to make things right with Quinn, since she is feigning as if nothing is wrong, when deep down she wants to breakdown; which she does when she's home alone. She wants to forgive him- she needs to- but he's been tarnished by his unfaithfulness and she can't see pass that. Quinn likes to think that deep down inside of her she still loves him, but when she looks at him, she just can't find those feelings.

So, he buys her things to make it up to her, since it's all he has to give because she doesn't want his love and affection and she clearly has no use for his honesty and faithfulness.

It seems as if every night he goes to Tiffany and Co. to buy her something new. Finn's given her $1.8 million dollar multi-strand necklaces with sapphire and diamond beads in platinum and 18K gold diamond bracelets, and he fears that if she doesn't forgive him soon, he will go bankrupt. And he knows it doesn't matter how much money he spends on her, because he knows she'll never forgive him.

It's been nine months since this entire thing started and Justine is about give birth. Justine keeps calling to tell Finn that the baby is going to be born on April 27th and how she wants to name the baby after him and how the paparazzi and entertainment reporters keep interviewing her about who the baby's daddy is. And he knows how hard it's been for Quinn. She makes it abundantly clear when he offers to take her to Per Se for dinner and she just stares emotionless at the TV with a stiff drink, as TMZ reporters flock towards Justine on the screen. "Why do you watch that garbage on TV?" He asks.

"It's funny that you think our life is garbage, too," She says in a monotone voice, as she takes a swig of her drink.

And that's that.

He comes home on the night of April 26th with a little blue bag from Tiffany's. "I got you gift," He says trying to excite and playing it off like he hasn't done this practically every night in an attempt to earn her mercy.

She turns off the TV, right before Harvey Levin talks about how Justine is about to give birth. "What is it this time?" She says not amused by the game they play.

"Open it,"

And she does. Quinn's face lights up for the first time in months and she legitimately smiles. And, God, how Finn has missed seeing her smile. It's an 18.44 karat internally flawless, round brilliant diamond ring. It's worth about two years salary for him, but he feels it's worth it when he sees her look so alive. "Thank you," She says, as she places a hand on his cheek. And it's the first time in nine months she's touched him in a loving way.

Quinn still doesn't forgive him, even as she stares at the $6 million dollar ring on her finger. She's not as two-dimensional as she may be appear; her forgiveness cannot be bought with expensive jewelry. But she accepts the gifts anyway; they're the only thing in her life that has any value, now that her marriage doesn't.

April 27th, Finn sends flowers to the hospital where Justine is at in Dallas. Blue Orchids. Quinn's favorite.

Quinn goes on a shopping spree that day with Finn's credit card in order to take her mind off of Justine and Finn. She buys Diane von Furstenburg blouses and Alexander McQueen jeans and Chloé riding boots and it's all supposed to make her feel better about today.

But it doesn't.

On May 1st, she's going to lunch at Bottino in Chelsea all by herself. Her friends aren't really interested in her anymore now that her husband's illegitimate son has been born. On the way there, she passes by a newsstand and on the cover of Us, People, OK!, and Life & Style, are pictures of Justine holding her new son, Finn Taylor. Quinn walks over to the newsstand and opens up the issue of Us and flips through to the cover story. She's not only the cover but she has a seven-page spread. She opens People; a five-page spread, plus an interview with Justine's family. OK!: A six -page spread, plus a how-to article on how to capture Justine's fashionable maternity wear look. She grabs every single issue of each magazine that the stand carries and brings them to the cashier. "You want all this, ma'am?" The confused cashier asks.

"Yes," She says definitively, as she slams Finn's American Express down in front of him. She stuffs all 57 magazines in to her Alexander McQueen leather bucket tote. There should have been a total of 60 magazines at the newsstand and she's mortified that other people are reading these magazines.

Quinn enters the empty dining room at Bottino and seats herself at one of the tables. She's grateful to set her two-ton bag down. A girl wearing a white dress shirt and a black tie with brown hair that's pulled high into a ponytail approaches her table. Quinn can't help but think this girl looks familiar. "Hello there and welcome to Bottino. My name is Rachel and I will be your server for the day. May I start you out with something to drink?" She greets robotically, as she pulls out her notepad to scribble in.

"Rachel Berry?" Quinn asks.

"Yes?" The girl answers, a little freaked out by the fact Quinn knows her name.

"It's me! Quinn Hud-," She stops herself. "Fabray? From high school?"

"No way! This is crazy! I barely recognized you! You look so different from the last time I saw you!"

It's true. Ever since the baby-trauma-rama that has taken place, it only seemed appropriate for her to shear her locks. Her hair sits slightly below her chin at an angled bob with side bangs.

Quinn's a little shocked at how happy Rachel is to see her. They were never friends and it's safe to leave it at that.

"How long has it been?" Quinn asks, pleased that Rachel is the first person not to talk to her about her husband and how their marriage is surviving.

"Like six years? We haven't seen each other since the time I flew out to Ohio to see Finn play at school senior year of college,"

"Boy, are things different now," Quinn thinks aloud. "Anyway, what are doing working at a place like this?"

Rachel sighs before telling Quinn about how her dreams of becoming a world-famous performer didn't quite turn out as planned. "Well, I'm sure things will turn around," Quinn says trying to be encouraging.

"I hope so," Rachel adds before going to grab Quinn the glass of wine she requested.

Quinn watched as Rachel walked towards the bar. Rachel made not have had the life she dreamed of, but she was still happy with herself. Quinn had everything she could ever want and was miserable with herself. She thought back to the day when Rachel came to visit Finn at college. When Finn saw Rachel at the game, he was beyond doubt thrilled to see her and he smiled the entire time Rachel was around. Quinn wished she had the effect on him that Rachel did. She couldn't help but wonder, "what if"? What if Rachel had married Finn? Would he have cheated on Rachel? She didn't know the answer, but she did know that Rachel may not have much, but she had the one thing that was missing from Quinn's life: Joy.

Rachel came back with Quinn's beverage and took Quinn's order. As she was leaving, her foot caught on Quinn's bag and all 57 magazines slid out. Rachel looked at the variety of magazines with the exact same headline: "Finn Hudson's Mistress and Illegitimate Son". "Oh my goodness, I can't believe it," Rachel said, as she stared taken aback. She proceeded to pick up a "People" magazine and became fixated on the cover. "I can't believe he- this is-I'm so sorry, Quinn. I can't even imagine how you're feeling. I mean-,"

"You can't," Quinn responded harshly, as she swiftly swiped the magazine out of Rachel's hands. "You have no idea how I'm feeling," Quinn wasn't even sure what she had been feeling this entire time. All she knew was that she felt this huge emptiness in her life and there was always this hollow feeling in her chest that never went away. "Can you just go put in my order?" Quinn asked, as she looked at her empty plate in front of her. Humiliated. That's what she was feeling.

Rachel did what she was told and went away. The manager of the restaurant passed by and saw how troubled Quinn looked. "Miss, is something wrong?"

"No, no, you're waiter just brought up something-," She stopped herself mid-sentence. "I'm fine," She finished.

Quinn watched the manager storm over to Rachel and chastise her for upsetting the client. Quinn wanted to tell him that it wasn't Rachel's fault for her dreadful mood, but she felt no need to remedy the situation.

For the first time in her life and under the strangest circumstances, Quinn wanted to be Rachel.

Rachel may have been wearing shoes from Payless, while Quinn was wearing Christian Loubutins, and Rachel may have been getting an ass chewing from her boss, but Quinn was dealing with her husband's infidelity being plastered across every tabloid on newsstands.

Quinn looked down and saw the ring that Finn got her before Justine gave birth. She watched as the light glinted off the perfect diamond. She thought about Rachel and what $6 million dollars would mean to her and how she was working at a restaurant when she was 28 years old, while Quinn was able to stay home all day, without any financial worries. She thought about her million dollar home and all her jewelry and clothes and how Rachel was probably living in an efficiency and probably didn't own any nice clothes. Granted, Quinn had an unfaithful husband and her personal life was known to the world, but figured the little things in life, such as million dollar jewelry, made up for it.

Suddenly, being Quinn Fabray didn't seem so bad.

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

RACHEL BERRY

Rachel Berry knew she was going to be a star.

Rachel remembered her first dance recital, from when she was six years old. During the middle of her tap routine, the music stopped and all the other beginner tappers looked at one another for guidance. Rachel was not going to let her first dance recital be a disaster, so she raised her hand up in the air and began counting off, "5, 6, 7, 8!". She led her class through their shuffles and flaps and continued counting out loud so her classmates could hear her and keep a beat. When they finished, the audience applauded and whistled and even gave them a standing ovation. All the other six year olds stood there with a deer-in-headlights expression on their face. Rachel, on the other hand, walked to the edge of the stage and curtsied.

It took someone with real star-potential to pull that off, especially at six years old.

Others picked up on her star-potential and that threatened them. That's why no one wanted to be her friend. But she didn't blame them. She wouldn't want to be friends with someone who was better than her, either.

It wasn't just her peers who picked up on this, but as she stood before a panel of judges at her Juilliard audition, they all exchanged looks at each other that clearly read: "She's our gal,".

So, after high school, she packed her bags and headed to the Big Apple. Things were almost too perfect in her life. She had been accepted into her dream college, she was being vocally trained by some of the most highly regarded instructors, and she was well on her way to stardom.

During her senior of college, she had been approached by a Broadway director, who was staging a new Broadway production. Rachel didn't have much acting training, but knew she could cry on cue and had brilliant comedic timing. His name was Albert Barnuman and he had a thick beard and wreaked of cigarette smoke and onions. His new show was called "Dancing on Street Corners". It was a tale of a young girl named Bambi who was a prostitute, who had dreams of being a dancer with the New York City Ballet, like her mother had before she died. It consisted of love songs such as "No Glove, No Love," and uplifting and encouraging numbers like "My Dreams Are Bigger Than His Dick". Rachel was captivated by the script and thought it was a perfect mix of "Spring Awakening", "Billy Elliot", "Rent", and soft porn. She could picture it now winning "Best Musical" at the Tony Awards, with Rachel winning in the category of "Best Leading Actress in a Musical". But that was to be expected. Albert told her that he was the girl he had been searching for all this time to play "Bambi".

She called her dads to tell them the news. Rachel knew her they would supportive and happy for her, unlike her snooty roommate, Adrianna, who scoffed at the idea. "Rach, that's fantastic, but we had a deal. Once you graduated you could go on auditions and participate in shows outside of school,"

"But, daddy, this could be my big break! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to star in a new musical!" She said trying to convince them.

"You need your degree, sweetie. Look at Idina and Kristin; both successful women on Broadway and in film, and they both earned their degrees before working. And what if the show fails? You would have dropped out of college for nothing to work on a time-consuming show. And we cannot afford to pay another $40,000 dollars for when you go back to school if it fails. That's if Juilliard even accept you again,"

"Thank you for the advice, guys, but I can feel it in my bones that this is going to be a huge success. So, I'm going to leave school and work with Albert. And if it fails, which I doubt it will, I will have to face the music,"

So, she dropped out of college her senior year and dedicated one year to the production of "Dancing on Street Corners". The entire thing was sketchy in retrospect, especially when they went to record the original cast's recording of all the songs and Albert brought in a voice recorder and a blank cassette tape. The cast performed ten previews and two shows at the Hudson Theater, a defunct theater located on 44th street, and was given horrible reviews before it was canned.

There were Tony awards and Rachel was never nominated for "Best Actress".

Rachel felt stupid for not listening to her fathers. She had no job, no money, no degree and nothing to show for a year of hard work and eventually embarrassment.

She signed with a talent agency and, luckily, her agent was able to find her work doing commercials and even a part in the ensemble of the revival of "Hair". Rachel didn't know what happened to her. She was going to be a star- she was a star- but somehow it all got lost in translation when she left college. So, she got a job working at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Bottino, a restaurant in Chelsea, New York. She also was able to book gigs singing at weddings and bat mitzvahs, but those jobs were scarce along with the acting jobs and she needed to work in retail and the service industry in order to afford her $800 dollar a month apartment.

One afternoon at Bottino, she ran into Quinn Fabray, while Rachel was waiting on her. She remembered that was the day she learned that Finn had cheated on Quinn. Rachel was truly surprised to learn that Finn would do anything like that, since he always came off as a stand-up kind of guy. She recalled trying to comfort Quinn, but managed to offend her instead. Her manager reprimanded her for disrespecting the customer and after a long day at work, Rachel went home to grab her dirty laundry to take to a Laundromat near her apartment building.

As she stuffed her bath towels into the washing machine, she started thinking about how she wanted to be a world-renowned performer. She wondered if she should give up on the dream. She was 28 years old and it did seem unlikely to for her to be discovered. Rachel snapped out of her thoughts, when a boy that looked about 24 years old asked her if she needed change for the washing machine. "No, but thank you anyway," She responded politely, as she gestured to her Ziploc bag of quarters near her laundry detergent.

"Oh, okay, I was just making sure," He replies. He's sitting on a chair in front of a dryer. He's wearing a vintage AC-DC tee shirt with a black zip hoodie. His jeans are black straight-leg jeans that teeter on the edge of being emo. The knees are a little worn out and so are the edges at the bottom of his pants. His hair is on the longer side and is black. Rachel doesn't get why boys grow their hair out long.

He stands up from his folding chair in front of the dryer and opens the dryer door to feel if his clothes are dry or not. He scratches his head and sighs, before closing the door. "Hey, excuse me?" He asks Rachel.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" She says, feeling slightly creeped out by the boy.

"Well, my clothes aren't dry and the dryer's stopped and I know I just offered you change and all, but I don't have any and do you think I could borrow like four quarters?"

"Sure, yeah," She replies, as she reaches into her plastic bag for a roll of quarters. "Here you go."

"Thanks. I promise I'm not as much of a douche bag as I probably look right now,"

She offers up a weak smile and a small chuckle. "No, no, you're fine,"

"I'm Luke,"

"Rachel,"

"Nice to meet you, Rachel,"

She gives a small smile and goes back to folding her laundry. He goes to his dryer and inserts the coins. Rachel can see out of the corner of her eye that he keeps staring at her and it's making her awfully uncomfortable. "I don't mean to bother you again, but were you on TV? Like in a commercial or something?"

"Yeah, I've done a few commercials," She responds, flattered that someone has recognized her for her work. She figures it's as close as she will get to fame.

"What was it? What was it?" He thinks aloud, as he snaps his fingers obnoxiously. "Oh, it was that herpes medication one. It was great, you were great."

"Thanks,"

"Do you have herpes?" He asks loudly.

A little old lady looks at Rachel repulsed. "No, I don't," Her cheeks are warm and she can't remember a time she's ever been this embarrassed.

"Oh, well, that's good," He sits back down for a minute or so, before he springs back up and walks over to her. "Look, I know I'm probably coming off as a major loser right now, but I wanted to know if you wanted to go out sometime?"

"Um...," She thinks. She hasn't been on a date in almost a year and it's not like any men have asked her out lately. Sure, she's lowering her standards greatly, but she's feeling a tad bit desperate. "Sure, why not?"

"Really?!" And she knows she's made a dumb choice by how surprised he is.

They exchange phone numbers and agree on him picking her up at 8:30 tomorrow night and going to see a movie. The next day, she's off from work and decides to go and buy a new outfit for her date at Forever 21. It's a strapless belted plaid dress and she puts a black cardigan over it. Rachel doesn't want to give Luke any ideas, especially when she's not even sure if she likes him.

It's 8:50 when he picks her up and she tries to hide the fact that she's annoyed at the fact he's 20 minutes late. But he did clean up nicely, compared to what he was wearing yesterday at the Laundromat. He's wearing a short-sleeved yellow button-down shirt and Rachel can't help but think it looks like his mom dressed him. And then it dawns on her, he probably lives with his mother.

They walk down to this pier where the movie theater is and they talk about what they do for a living. He's an artist, a photographer actually, and he also plays in a band. "We're kind of eclectic when it comes to our sound. We've done rock to country to folk to rap," And several disturbing images come to mind when Rachel pictures Luke rapping.

Luke leads her to a bench and they sit down. They've used up all of the "first date topics" they have up their sleeves during their walk over to the theater. They sit there for about five minutes in silence. "Are we going to go in?" Rachel asks.

"I want to, but tickets are like ten bucks and, you know...,"

"Well, we could split it, if you want,"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Hey, do you have ten bucks I could borrow?"

They see "Transformers", which Luke picked, of course. He walks her back to her apartment building and even up to the tenth floor with her. "I had an interesting evening, Luke," Rachel says trying to be polite.

"Yeah, we should totally do this again,"

She doesn't say anything back, because she'd rather get her teeth pulled than go on another date with him. Rachel grabs her key and is about to put it in the door when she stops and asks Luke, "Are you the kind of guy that once I get to know actually turns out to be amazing?"

"Yes," He says matter-of-factly. "Most definitely. Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Never mind. Thanks for tonight," She says quickly, before she opens her apartment door.

Luke begins to walk away and she goes inside her apartment. No more than three minutes later, though, there is a knock at her door and it's Luke. "Hey, this is probably really awkward and I should have done this earlier, but would it be okay if I kissed you?"

Rachel looks down at the ground. She doesn't have the heart to say no, but she really doesn't want to do it. "Sure," She says, regretting it almost instantaneously.

Luke's lips are dry and rough and Rachel thinks that this is what it would be like to kiss a cactus. He goes to put his tongue in her mouth and she pulls away quickly. Wiping his slobber off of her mouth she says, "Good night, Luke," And goes back inside.

Surprisingly enough, Rachel did go on another date with Luke, and even more surprising, the pair date for several months. Rachel's even let Luke move into her pristine Chelsea apartment, which he quickly tarnishes with old comic books and Chinese take-out boxes. She can't say she's particularly excited about moving in with Luke, or even excited about being his girlfriend for that matter. And she knows that she should break up with him, because she's too good for him, but that's partially the reason why they are still together. When they stand next to each other people aren't consumed by Rachel's short-comings, but rather the screw-up next to her. And maybe that's mean, but she doesn't feel guilty about saying it.

One day they go grocery shopping together. He's insistent upon picking up Hot Pockets, while Rachel tries to excite him with some organic strawberries. It's useless, really. It's like dealing with a toddler. Rachel gives in to his nagging, as he loads up their cart with ten boxes of Hot Pockets. He's not concerned about the cost, after all Rachel's going to be stuck with the bill. She can't help but think she feels more like a mother than a girlfriend. Luke runs down the chip aisle and Rachel is so distracted by her boyfriend's immaturity that she bumps into someone with her cart. She apologizes quickly, until she realizes she's just bumped into Finn Hudson. "Finn?"

"Rachel?"

And they embrace and it feels cliché in the tiniest of ways and reminds Rachel of the "Sex and the City" movie, where the women screamed every time they saw each other. They stand in the frozen foods aisle catching each other up on their lives. Of course, Finn leaves out the part about his illegitimate son. "I saw you in that herpes commercial. Nice stuff, Rach!" Finn teases, or perhaps he's being genuine, she thinks. Whatever he's doing, she's turning beat red.

"Yeah, it's not some of my finest work," He smiles at her.

Luke comes back to Rachel with every kind of chip that ends in "-ito" and sticks it in their cart. Rachel quickly introduces Luke and Finn to each other and she prays that Luke will realize that the candy aisle is one over from them and will leave them alone so he doesn't do anything embarrassing. "Oh, you're that football player that cheated on his wife and knocked-up that chick?" Luke asks, not trying to offend Finn.

"Luke!"

"No, its okay, Rachel. If you have to be famous for something!" He says, trying to make a little joke.

She's famous for herpes and he's known for his infidelity. "Luke, can you grab a tub of bleu cheese from the dairy aisle?"

"But I don't like bleu cheese,"

"Just go, please," Luke does what Rachel says, just like an obedient son would do. "Sorry about that," Rachel apologizes turning back to Finn.

"Why are you with him?" Finn asks, as if he's asking "What's time it is?".

"What?" Rachel questions, since she is caught off guard.

"You can do so much better than him,"

Rachel knows this, but she can't say that out loud, so she just looks at the ground and sighs. "I should go," She says and she wheels her cart to where Luke is.

A few weeks later, Rachel is walking to work when she passes by a newsstand. A headline catches her eye and it reads: "Finn Hudson Leaves Wife For Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader". It reminds her of the day when she ran into Quinn at the restaurant and saw all those magazines fall out of her purse. She purchases the magazine, as a reminder. It will remind her how grateful she is to have Luke in her life. And though he may not be perfect, she knows nothing like this will ever happen between them.

And though her life may not be where she thought it would be by now, she's just thankful she's not Quinn.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

Word, homes.