Ch 1

Quinn really hated Mondays.

Back when she was cheerio captain and queen of the social scene, she hated Mondays, too. It meant that the fun of the weekend, cheering and having girls' days with her friends, was over and she'd have to deal with the cretins that called themselves high schoolers for another five days before she got a break. Now, she hated Mondays for an entirely different reason. It meant being subjected to the whispers and glares of the other students who had watched her fall from grace with relish for eight hours every day for a whole week, in addition to struggling to pay attention in class when one of the most important people in her life was ignoring her.

Quinn really, really hated Mondays.

She tried to get through the school day with as little fuss as possible: getting the right books for class at her locker and then going straight to homeroom, then going to class, then eating in the auditorium during lunch so no one would bother her, and then more class. She had perfected the routine and performed it with such efficiency that even Ms. Sylvester would be proud.

This Monday had started off like any of the other recent Mondays; Ms. Pillsbury had dropped her off at school around eight o'clock, which was when Ms. Pillsbury liked to get into her office (although Quinn had a sneaking suspicion that is was more likely that the guidance counselor felt compelled to be in school by eight on the dot – after moving in with her, Quinn had seen Ms. Pillsbury's immaculately clean apartment), and she had walked to her locker to get her books for her first few classes. Although Artie had told her that a lot of the jocks had backed off on slushie facials because she was pregnant, she really didn't want to risk having to deal with corn syrup staining her clothes. As a plus, she managed to avoid Jacob Ben-Israel. She had thought he was obnoxious before, and then during sectionals he went to a whole new level of geek.

The kids that passed by her locker early in the morning weren't the vicious ones; they tended to either be underclassmen or even lower in the high school hierarchical system than she was, so they left her alone, aside from the occasional sympathetic glance. She really didn't mind those, because that was the least of her worries.

What she did mind was Rachel Berry's eager face getting closer and closer to hers as the overly talkative brunette walked up to her locker.

"Good morning, Quinn!" Rachel exclaimed, holding out a plate of cookies. Even though Quinn kind of hated Rachel's guts right now, she knew a lot of her anger was really her own fault because of lying to Finn. And besides, the smell wafting from the cookies was delicious. Quinn was pretty sure she was salivating.

Quinn stood at her locker, waiting expectantly for whatever Rachel wanted to say. It was probably something along the lines of Quinn, I know you're busy right now, well, with the… er… well, with the baby on the way, but I want you to know that you should stay dedicated to Glee, and I hope you'll still be at practice today or some other drivel of the sort.

What Rachel actually said was entirely different.

"I heard you need a place to stay for a while."

-

Rachel had made sure to leave the house early that morning because she knew from several days' worth of stalking and manipulation that Quinn liked to get to school early and avoid as much time in the hallways as possible. And if Rachel was going to do Quinn a favor (or really, grovel for forgiveness) then she should probably try to not embarrass the blonde mother-to-be. So the night before, she had baked her famous cookies and had prepared a speech to persuade Quinn to let her help somehow.

Like, with notecards and everything.

Despite this, it was still incredibly hard to talk to Quinn when she had finally caught her at her locker.

How do you apologize for ruining a girl's life?

"I heard you need a place to stay for a while."

Rachel had no idea where that came from, to be perfectly honest. It was the truth, admittedly, but not what she had wanted to start off with. But then, it was much closer to the heart of her proposal, was it not?

Quinn said nothing, opting to arch a perfectly formed eyebrow instead.

Rachel couldn't help but notice the slight flush in her cheeks, though. She wondered if Quinn was uncomfortable discussing her living arrangements.

"I'm sorry. That was a little rude of me. I'm just new at being friends and – what I'm trying to say is – here. Take these cookies. They're for you."

-

Quinn might despise Rachel Berry, but those cookies looked amazing. And if she was perfectly honest with herself, the girl was trying, wasn't she? If the situation was reversed, Quinn would have been all up on Finn without a second thought as to the ex-girlfriend. Rachel at least deserved her attention.

"Thanks so much," she said, taking the tray of baked goods and placing it gingerly on the shelf in her locker. There was an awkward pause, as Quinn had no idea what to say and Rachel couldn't hide behind her cookie peace offering any longer. Quinn cleared her throat nervously, and Rachel dragged her gaze from the floor to her face. "You, um, wanted to talk to me?"

"Oh, yes! How rude of me to stare into space. Well, what I had wanted to let you know before is that in light of your current adversity – "

"Rachel, I'd appreciate it if you could talk like a normal high schooler for once. I don't always know what you're saying," Quinn interrupted, although lacking her usual bite.

Rachel reddened slightly, and then regained her composure. She paused, took out some index cards (and Quinn had to suppress a snicker or two, because really? Note cards?) and promptly threw them away.

"I can't use those anymore," she said by way of explanation.

Quinn laughed, though not unkindly, and Rachel smiled.

"What I wanted to tell you was that as a fellow member of Glee club, all of the members are willing to help you and support you with any decisions you continue to make from here on out, regarding your pregnancy or otherwise. We don't really judge here. Except for Kurt, but that's just on fashion sense and you pass his inspection, so really you have no problem. And you really have a beautiful voice and it would be a shame to see it go to waste." Quinn thought she had stopped, but Rachel had merely paused to catch her breath.

Rachel continued, but Quinn didn't hear a word the other girl said. At that moment, Finn walked down the hall by her locker, and Quinn felt her heart shatter into a million little pieces.

Despite the attraction she felt for Puck that had culminated in their making a baby, Quinn truly loved Finn, and living without him in her life was devastating.

It took all of her self-control not to reach out and grab his arm, to beg and plead for his forgiveness as she had tried so many times before, to make him see that he was the only boy she'd ever love. As she contemplated what the consequences of her actions, Finn happened to glance over at her, and they caught each other's gaze. What she saw filled her with shame.

Oh, there was anger and disgust in his eyes. There was no doubt about that. But she also saw deep sorrow, and even fear. And she knew it was all her fault.

Because, honestly, who gets drunk off wine coolers on a weeknight? And since when did feeling fat make it okay to sleep with your boyfriend's best friend? In her selfish desire to feel wanted she had betrayed possibly the best person she'd ever known. And she could never take that back.

Rachel, surprisingly, broke her out of her thoughts, by briefly touching her arm. The brunette's face was as somber and heartbroken as hers was.

"I just want to let you know that even though I can't take back what I did, I wish with all my might that I could. I was completely selfish and I hurt you and Finn and Noah. I'm so, so sorry," she said, possibly on the verge of tears. Despite the frustration Quinn felt with her situation, she actually understood, and didn't totally hate Rachel.

"It's fine," she said, swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to smile through her tears. "I wouldn't have done any differently. And he deserved to know. I shouldn't have lied."

They stood in silence for a moment, thinking about what could have been.

"I just… I want you to know that if you ever need somewhere to stay for a while, I'm always available. I genuinely want to be friends with you, Quinn. I've seen you stand up for Glee and I know you can be a good person. And I have a guest bedroom that's practically pristine. And my dads would totally understand; they feel that they should never judge someone by life choices, and they've drilled that into me since I was old enough to understand what life choices were. So just… think about it, I guess. And I'll see you later, at Glee." Having reached the conclusion of her speech, Rachel backed away and started walking down the hallway and toward her first class.

"Hey," Quinn called out. Rachel turned around, surprised. "Thank you."

Something had changed, but to Quinn, it was welcome. She never thought Manhands would be the one to help her out, but she wasn't complaining. And if Quinn was honest with herself, she could use a friend right now.

They could both use a friend.

-

a/n: so this is my first Glee fic, as well as my first fic in quite a while, so i really hope everything was up to par. It's a little slow now, but the rest of the crew will show up soon.

and i'm not really sure why those cookies were such a focal point haha. Maybe cause Quinn's got those pregnancy hormones? haha

i would love it if you'd review! thanks for reading :)