"Noah, what the Hell was that?"

Not exactly what I want to hear when I just finished a smoking-hot rendition of Van Halen's 'Hot For Teacher'. One that was so on fire, it would be sure to finally catch Shelby's eye. She couldn't deny that my bad boy image was a turn-on, and I'd already proven that I could be a responsible father. She'd be mine in no time.

So why was Rachel stomping after me like I'd kicked her puppy?

"What the Hell was what, Berry? A hot performance?" I ask, hands on my hips. "You know you and Anderson aren't the only ones who can get solos around here."

"It's not the performance, Noah. You know classic rock suits your voice quite nicely. It's what you were hoping to gain from this performance. Hot for Teacher? Could you be more transparent? Why are you trying to seduce my mo- Shelby?"

I shrug, tossing her the classic Puckerman smirk. "Your mom's a MILF, Berry. And for your information, I kissed her. And while she's been…hesitant to accept my advances, I think this song clinched it."

"And what about Quinn?" she demands. "I thought the two of you were becoming close again? You loved her once, Noah. Or have you forgotten?"

"What about Quinn?" I echo, my voice getting quieter. "You and I both know that's not the Quinn I fell in love with. That's some broken shell of Quinn Fabray. You know she's actually trying to get me to help her make Shelby look bad? All so we can have full custody of Beth. Why couldn't she have wanted this a year ago? I fucking offered her everything. A house, furniture, the chance to be a family. And she pushed it all away. She pushed me away."

This is all fucked up. What right did Rachel have to ask about any of this? She and I were barely even friends any more, and just cause she was banging my best friend didn't make her my friend. So I start to walk away.

But she stops me. For a tiny person she's pretty good at getting in the way. Sighing angrily, I look down at her. "Something else, Berry?"

"She loves you."

"Who, Shelby? Not yet, but she's getting there."

"No, you idiot. Quinn."

Now that shit's just funny. Quinn, loving me? Nah, she never did. It was always Sam and Finn. She never gave a damn about me. And yet something inside me insists on asking, "How can you tell?"

"I have eyes, Noah. Haven't you ever seen the way she looks at you? The way her face lights up every time you perform? I know you were too busy looking at Shelby during this performance, but if you had taken the time to look at Quinn you would have seen a mixture of sadness and arousal. She loves you, and she probably always has. And she wants what you promised her all that time ago. A family. With you and your daughter. And now to see you trying to have that with somebody else? It has to hurt."

"But she can't just take back custody of Beth. We signed papers, Shelby is legally her mom now."

"Make her see that. Make her see that the two of you can be happy, and in love, and a part of Beth's life without having full custody of her. If you two were to get married, wouldn't you want Beth to be a part of your children's' lives?"

"Quinn doesn't think about that shit. Not with me. She wanted that with Finn and Sam. The safe bets."

Rachel sighed, shifting her weight a bit as she gave me a look that could only mean she thought I was talking out my ass. "Finn and Sam may be the safe bets, but I think we both know who truly holds her heart, Noah. Quinn has never looked at anybody the way she looks at you. Surely you see that."

And with that, she turns on her heel (in typical Berry fashion) and walks to her next class, leaving me with a dropped jaw and a Hell of a lot to think about.