A/N: I wanted to write something very different from OGAC during NaNoWriMo this year since I haven't had a break from OGAC since June, and this was one of the short stories I wrote. It's definitely... different.

Quinn Fabray did not want to be there. At all.

She sat in her car for ten minutes, debating whether to go hide out in the library for the two hours. Eventually she decided against this because there was the chance that someone would see her reading, and here she could (hopefully) sit in the back and read in peace.

So that's how she ended up on the front porch of Rachel Berry's house, The Great Gatsby in hand, for the first glee rehearsal of the summer.

Two terse knocks brought a shouted, "I'll be right there!" and seconds later, the owner of the voice. Rachel's face brightened at the sight of Quinn, while Quinn felt her stomach painfully twist into knots. She should've risked the library.

"Quinn!" she cried, pulling the girl into an unexpected hug which just made her stomach feel worse. Rachel came to her senses, probably realizing that Quinn wasn't hugging back and therefore the feelings weren't reciprocated, and quickly broke the embrace. "Come in."

Quinn smoothed down her dress to remove all traces of the hug, and grudgingly followed her inside. She noticed that Rachel was actually decently dressed. That is, if you ignored the fact that her shorts showed even more of her legs than those ugly skirts did. She wanted to comment on it, but she had sworn after having Beth that she would at least try not to be a bitch. So she kept her thoughts to herself and instead decided to ask about the absence of the other glee club members.

"Oh, they just haven't arrived yet. I'm sure they'll show up eventually." She tried smiling, but it was the fake smile she always tried to put on when people were hurting her. Quinn would know; she had seen that smile several times.

"I wouldn't count on Santana and Brittany."

"Why not?"

"It's a day of the week without school. They're either having sex or at Cheerios practice. Or both."

"Is that really all they do?"

"Yes."

"How do you associate with them so much when they're so… active, and you're not?"

"I don't remember signing up for a Q&A session, Berry." She couldn't bring herself to call her Rachel, but she also couldn't go back to the nicknames. She was trying to be a better person, after all.

If she had snapped at anyone else, they would've shut up; not Rachel. "Would you like anything to drink? Or eat? I know we don't have the same dietary needs but I'm sure I can find-"

"I'm good."

"Are you sure? Finn sent over this lovely fruit basket this morning and-"

There was only so much rambling she could take. "You know what? Fine. I'll have some fruit if it'll make you stop talking."

"Okay, it's up in my room because that's where my dad brought it when he found it on our doorstep and I haven't-"

"Lead the way."

Quinn used the steps on the staircase up to Rachel's room as a release of her anger. Each step brought her closer to a sense of calm so she hopefully wouldn't strangle Rachel by the end of the two hours. Though if she was this irritated in five minutes, there wasn't much hope.

Her bedroom was exactly how Quinn expected it to be, what with the Broadway posters and the pink electric guitar. It was just like her, with that strange mixture of child and grandma. The only thing that really stood out from an otherwise perfectly in order room was the absolutely huge fruit basket on her desk. It was no wonder she hadn't taken it downstairs yet; it was half her size and Quinn doubted the girl could lift it.

"What kind do you like?" Rachel asked, gesturing to the basket.

"Anything's fine."

A lightbulb went off in her head. "I'll be right back, we need plates!"

Taking a second look at the basket to try to avoid Rachel going off on a tangent of all of the fruits upon coming back, Quinn noticed there was a card beside the basket on the desk. There was no hesitation as she picked it up, wanting to know what act of stupidity Finn had done that could warrant a present of this size.

But as she read on about his undying love for the girl, she became confused. There was no way he had just gotten this out of love. This was Finn we were talking about, after all. He would have had to sell his Xbox to afford something this lavish, and the only way he would do that was if he royally fucked up. That's when she realized it wasn't his handwriting.

"You know, reading another's mail without her permission is really rude, Quinn." At the sound of her voice, Quinn jumped. She quickly regained her composure and turned to Rachel.

"This isn't Finn's handwriting," she stated, holding up the letter.

"That's absurd, Quinn. Who else would it be from?" Rachel snatched the letter away and began reading it again to prove her wrong.

"I don't know. Santana and I used to put laxatives in the food of our competition, but that was back when I was on the-" The memories hit her like a freight train. She wanted so much to be back on that team, even if it meant walking in on "shower cuddles", as Brittany called them, after practice.

"Well I'm not from a rival cheerleading squad so I think I'm safe." Rachel went to take a bite out of a strawberry she had picked up, but Quinn stopped her.

"Don't eat that," she warned.

Rachel's eyes narrowed. There was only a certain amount of Quinn she could take as well. "You know what I think this is about? I think you're jealous that Finn never got you anything this nice. So you write it off as being some juvenile prank because you just can't stand the thought that someone could love me more than they love you!"

At the sight of Rachel's anger, Quinn's made a reappearance. "That is the farthest thing from the truth. Have you considered the fact that I'm trying to be nice to you? Have you considered I regret what happened between us last year and I'm trying my best to make amends? But I can't if you won't let me."

"Quinn, I didn't-"

"So sure, have some fruit! I'll have some too! But if we die or something else of that nature happens, I will blame you and you will have lost what little tolerance I have for you at the moment." With that, Quinn stole the strawberry from Rachel's hand and took a huge bite. Rachel, not wanting to take back her words, grabbed an apple and took a chunk out of it.

"Well, we're not dead," Rachel commented after a minute.

"You're so frustrating! Do you just try to make people hate you?"

"No, it was just a joke I- Quinn!" She had dropped to the floor out of nowhere. "This isn't funny!" She leant down to examine Quinn, but before she could check for a pulse, she blacked out.

"Yes!" came a cry from the tree outside the room, a huge crash following it as Jacob Ben Israel hit the ground. He scrambled up, pulling his bag from the bushes, ready to commence phase two of Operation: Kidnap Rachel Berry.