Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: Half of this story is already written so there will be pretty regular updates. Thanks for reading and please review!


Quinn sighed as she watched the lush countryside whiz past her window. She hadn't been told much about where they were taking her, just that it was safe and far away from the monsters who had exterminated her family. She pushed the lingering sadness out of her mind just as she always did when she thought of her home. No, not home, she reminded herself. It wouldn't be ever again. Earth was home now.

She sighed and turned away from the window to study the man behind the wheel. The government agent that had relocated her introduced him as Russell Fabray. His wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was Judy. They had seemed pleasant enough at the initial meeting. A bit stiff, maybe, by human standards. The man's eyes kept flicking up to the rearview mirror to "spy" warily on his new charge. They were uncomfortable with her presence, she was certain. She had been able to smell the apprehension and slight hint of fear emanating from them before she was even within earshot of the argument they were having with the director of Intergalactic Relations regarding the length of her stay at their residence.

When they had agreed to be emergency host parents for an Interplanetary student, they had assumed they would be placed with a less…animalistic … adolescent. And really, Quinn did have some very human characteristics. She had two arms, two legs, a head of blonde hair, pale skin, and spoke fluent English (along with almost every other language known to man). In fact, if her furry ears, sharp incisors, and tail were overlooked, she would likely be mistaken as human. She was humanoid, yes, but human she was not. This was made apparent by her aforementioned appearance, several feline behaviors engrained in her genes, and the fact that she could easily take down a full grown human male if push came to shove.

She was drawn from her reverie by a city limits sign on the side of the highway. Lima, Ohio. She had been told that there were a few others like her here. Well, not exactly like her. As far as she knew, she was the last of her kind. And anyway, it was rare for a fellow Felindaen to visit Earth. It was nothing against the current inhabitants of the planet, per say. It was a somewhat humiliating experience to reside where one's closest cousin was a domesticated pet. She heaved a sigh when the luxury vehicle pulled up in front of a brick suburban home. It was larger than most of the other houses she had seen in the modest city, however it was nothing compared to the sprawling open air canopy bungalows that she had been raised in.

Russell opened the car door for her with a poorly concealed grimace at the sight of her ears perking up. Her tail twitched in annoyance as she slid from her seat and grabbed her bag to follow the couple into the house, wishing with every step that she could just go back to a home that no longer existed.

"This will be your room."

Quinn barely managed to restrain herself from turning up her nose at the pale pink walls, the lace curtains, the traditional mahogany furniture, and the admittedly soft looking queen sized bed in the middle of the room complete with floral comforter. She reminded herself firmly that she was now homeless and orphaned. She had no place to judge her new human housemates, even if she was technically a more advanced life form (on the brink of extinction or not).

She nodded slowly to the older woman.

"It's very… nice. Thank you."

"The bathroom is right through here." Judy paused as she gestured to the doorway, unsure. "Unless you would prefer… other accommodations…"

Quinn bit her tongue, irritation boiling close to the surface.

"I am not a housecat. I can use the toilet, thank you."

The older woman's eyes widened at the curt response and the teenager sighed guiltily.

"I apologize for my tone. It's been a long day. I hope you'll understand if I retire for the evening. Can we please discuss the terms of my stay tomorrow?"

The woman nodded quickly, seemingly relieved that she didn't have to make awkward conversation with the alien youth any longer.

"Of course. Our room is downstairs off the den if you need anything."

Quinn nodded absently, sitting down on the edge of the bed and staring at her hands in her lap. When she heard the door close she flopped back on the soft surface, arching her back to stretch her tense muscles. She sat back up and retrieved the duffle bag that held the few belongings and clothes she had left, and some items given her by the agency. She pulled out her bathroom items and a pair of sleep clothes and headed into the other room.

She cringed as she stepped into the warm spray. Being Felindaen, she naturally harbored a strong aversion to water, however, there were not any other more appealing options at the moment and she was desperate to bathe after a long day of traveling. She reached for the shampoo and let herself think of her family. She was more upset by the loss of culture her planet sustained than the death of her family in particular. Her people were known to be a cold and impersonal species and though family loyalty ran deep, her parents and older sister were far too busy with business affairs to offer her much company as she grew up. She shook herself from her thoughts and shampooed her long golden mane.

Steam poured from the shower as she gingerly stepped onto the bathmat and rolled her once tense shoulder muscles. She shook her hair causing water droplets to spray in all directions before toweling off and dressing for bed. She yawned widely before curling up on top of the comforter and dozing off into a mercifully dreamless sleep.


Judy Fabray carefully pushed open the door to the guest bedroom and felt her heart melt a little at the sight that met her. There on the still made bed lay her new house guest, curled tightly into a ball with her golden bottle brush tail acting as a makeshift pillow. The expression on the teenager's face was so serene that Judy hated to wake her, but it was nearing noon she didn't want the girl to sleep her day away. She carefully approached the girl not knowing how to wake her without frightening her. She and her husband hadn't been told much about the teenager's people. She was quite embarrassed that the extent of her knowledge concerning the girl on her guest bed was so limited. She sighed as she reached the bedside and hesitantly reached her hand out to push unruly blonde hair away from the extraterrestrial's face.

She jerked her hand back in surprise when two tufted ears perked up and hazel eyes shot open. The girl sat up so quickly, Judy was surprised she wasn't dizzy.

"Good morning. I didn't mean to scare you."

Quinn relaxed once she recognized the blonde woman standing before her. She soothed down her tail which had puffed out at her start.

"I tend to be easily startled."

"That's quite alright, dear. Now why don't you get ready and you can come down and join us for lunch."

Lunch had been thoroughly awkward. Quinn was tired of her new guardians watching her like she was going to pull an ion gun out of her pocket at any moment and annihilate them. Especially Russell. The scent of his distrust poisoned the air around him and she found herself wanting to retreat back to her room just to be rid of the sickening stench. Judy was easier to deal with. The woman had a nurturing nature that was comforting to the distraught teen and seemed to be genuinely interested in getting her accustomed to her new home.


Quinn was lounging on her bed reading a novel she had found on Judy's shelf in the den when said woman pushed open the door after knocking softly.

"Quinn, I invited some girls from our church over. They're in your class at school. I thought you might want to meet some kids your age before you start Monday."

The blonde nodded hesitantly before setting the book aside.

"That would be… nice. Thank you."

She smiled on the outside, but on the inside she was panicking. Sure, she knew almost everything there was to know about Earth culture and the people that lived in it. She had watched a few popular films and listened to music, she knew what they wore, she even knew their slang and some of their curse words. She was nothing in her research if not thorough. However, she had yet to meet human adolescent. She rationalized that they couldn't be that much different than the teenagers on her own planet. Except for the fact that she was likely more intellectually advanced than any human on Earth. And the fact that she was from another freaking planet.

She trembled in trepidation when the doorbell finally rang. She was sitting on the couch with her hands folded neatly in her lap, ignoring Russell's disapproving sighs as he read the Lima Gazette in his leather arm chair. Judy, who was fussing with the centerpiece on the coffee table, gave her an indulgent smile as she rushed to the door, her heels clacking loudly against the marble flooring. Quinn's ears perked up and swiveled to best hear what was going on in the atrium. She heard two unfamiliar voices speaking quietly with her guardian. She caught something about someone being "different" and she gritted her teeth when she realized Mrs. Fabray was referring to her.

Her ears shot back in irritation and she crossed her arms in annoyance, growling low in her throat while Russell followed her movements nervously. He moved to grip his water glass and she rolled her eyes at the thought that throwing a glass of water at her would prevent an attack. Nevertheless, she smoothed down the skirt of her yellow sun dress and relaxed against the back of the couch, sighing when his attention went back to his newspaper.

"Quinn, would you come in here, please?"

The girl entered the front room hesitantly, her tail itching to tuck itself between her knees in submission. However, she held her head high, voided her face of any emotion, and forced her tail to hang slack, swaying behind her as she moved. She was the very picture of indifference, but she knew if anyone were to look closely enough, they would see the apprehension swimming in her golden eyes.

"The girls are on the front porch. I thought I'd let you young people introduce yourselves. You don't want an old lady like me hanging around."

Quinn gave a half-hearted smile at the woman's good natured tittering before she cautiously pushed open the storm door and ventured into the warm, humid air.

"Holy shit, when the Judes told us you were different, we thought she meant you were socially impaired or something, not a zoo animal."

Previously erect ears shot back in anger and golden eyes narrowed as Quinn turned to face the two unfamiliar girls sitting on the white front porch swing. One had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a faraway expression fixed on her features. Her companion, who had spoken so rudely to her, looked to be of Latina lineage, had dark hair and a devious smirk gracing her exotic features. Both were clad in matching red, white and black skintight tops paired with unnecessarily skimpy skirts and had their hair in high ponytails.

Quinn fixed the latter with her best glare.

"Excuse me?"

The other blonde placed her hand on the Latina's thigh where pleats had fallen away to reveal smooth tanned skin and caressed the area soothingly.

"San, be nice. Mrs. Fabray said she was new and had no friends. Don't make her sad."

"Yeah, I can see why. Just look at her. People'll think she's a fucking furry."

Though she wasn't sure what a "furry" was, Quinn felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and her tail bristled, beginning to twitch back and forth as she attempted to reign in her irritation. Her nails were already beginning to lengthen into claws and she knew her pupils were likely narrowed into thin slits.

"Down kitty."

She literally had to restrain herself from hissing at the dark-haired girl as her… baser instincts began to take hold. Her ears lay flat against her head and she couldn't stop the low growl from rumbling from her throat as her tail twitched faster. She could deal with Russell's silent scrutiny and Judy's hovering, but if this was what all human teenagers were like, she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that she didn't have to meet another one for the rest of her time on Earth.

"I don't have to deal with this. I'm going back inside."

She had to get away from the porch and its occupants before someone got hurt, and it wasn't going to be her. She turned on her heel and began to stalk towards the front door when a hand caught her wrist. She whirled around, her blonde mane fanning out, and drew her hand back, claws unsheathed and ready to strike, when she her eyes met cool blue instead of the smoldering mocha she had been expecting. She hesitantly lowered her arm and retracted her claws, but remained tense under the blonde's touch.

"Don't mind San. She always acts that way around new people." The taller girl's brows furrowed. "Actually, she acts that way around everyone. Well, except for me. But that's probably because I have sexytimes with her every night."

Quinn looked at the now blushing brunette with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, really now?"

The Latina only crossed her arms and scowled.

"At least I can actually have sex without worrying about coughing up a hairball."

Quinn was once again fighting the urge to rip the still sitting girl's face off, when the blue eyed girl stuck her hand out.

"I'm Brittany. Mrs. Fabray said you were Quinn. We should be friends!"

Quinn eyed the outstretched hand dubiously, but seeing the bright and hopeful expression on Brittany's face, she couldn't do anything but take the hand in hers and shake it carefully.

"It's… good to meet you Brittany."

She was shocked to find that she actually meant her words and even more shocked to suddenly be enveloped by warm arms and squeezed too tight as the taller girl squealed happily in her ear, seemingly content in her efforts to break the sound barrier.

"San! San! Come meet our new best friend!"

To Quinn's complete surprise, the girl in question finally left her seat on the porch swing and swaggered over to her girlfriend(?) and the young alien.

"The name's Lopez. Santana Lopez." The Felindae imitated the painfully human gesture of sticking out her hand for the brunette to shake and bristled when the other girl only scoffed and buffed her nails on her top. "Cool your tits, Q-tip. You don't have six of them, do you?" Seeing the girl's scandalized look, she rolled her eyes. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to join the cheerleading squad; Coach wants you for the stunts. Something about you always landing on your feet or some shit. You're going to walk with us to class and sit with us at lunch. Then you're going to join glee club because for some reason B loves those singing losers. You can sing right?"

"I guess-"

"Good enough. We'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:30. See you mañana, Fluffy!"