Authors note: You wanted another chapter, so you got another chapter Please enjoy. I love all your reviews, keep them coming!

XX

Rachel's eyes slowly fluttered open and she sighed heavily. Hesitantly easing into consciousness, she rolled over and frowned at her Funny Girl poster, which was hanging proudly on her bright pink wall. She had, had the strangest dream last night. Quinn Fabray had actually complimented her, and not only that, she had driven her home. Slowly getting to her feet, she quietly padded across the fluffy carpet floor and peered out of her window.

Hmm, that's funny. She couldn't even remember driving home yesterday, let alone parking ten metres away from where she usually did. Unless of course …but no. No, she must have been on auto-pilot, or maybe somebody spiked her. Either explanation would make more sense, than Quinn bringing her home. It was just ridiculous. Deciding that what she really needed was a strong cup of coffee to wake her up, Rachel quickly showered and dressed, applied a light touch of makeup and on her way out, made sure to strip her pillowcase and toss it in her wash pile by the door. Something she did more out of habit than anything else. She was tired of always seeing black smudges on her pillows when she woke up. She was tired of her father's pitying, yet half-hearted glances when they discovered that she had cried herself to sleep yet again. But most of all, she was just tired.

She was tired of having to try so hard, of having no friends, of giving and receiving nothing in return. Rachel wasn't stupid, she knew she wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but she thought the Glee club of all people would understand. She always gave her all, in every performance, yet she was met with criticism and whining. Whether it was Mr Schue giving somebody a completely inappropriate solo, even though she had been working on it for months, or Mercedes yelling that it was her turn to shine, even though she would rather go shopping with Kurt than actually practice her ballad. Was it such a bad thing if she had the spotlight for once in her life? After all, what else did she have?

She just wanted to be taken care of, to have an ally. For somebody to hold her in their arms and just be content, no hidden agenda, no plans to use it as a stepping stone to sex. Which Finn and Puck had attempted on more than one occasion. They were never happy to just be with her, she always felt as if she needed to give them something in order to deserve their attention.

Reaching the kitchen, she had a quick breakfast and made her way to the front door, grabbing her backpack as she went. Swinging the heavy door shut behind her, Rachel slowly made her way towards the car, pausing at the door in order to locate her keys, which were buried deep inside her coat pocket. Eventually locating them, she unlocked the car and got in. On her way, her mind continuously drifted back to her "dream". It had felt so real. But Rachel knew Quinn and the girl was every inch the cliché that Kurt was. The blonde, bitchy head cheerleader, who loathed people like Rachel on sight because, that's just the way it was. It simply wasn't in her nature to be all nice and fluffy and …

Flowery. She had come to a stop at a red light, when the intoxicating fragrance had hovered towards her. Swirling everywhere so that she almost couldn't breathe, she could almost feel it circling her head. Her heart picked and she struggled to control her breathing as realization hit her like a brick wall. They may have had their differences, but Rachel had never hated Quinn. On the contrary, the brunette was sort of mildly fascinated by the girl. Her intelligence, her beauty, her voice. And when Rachel Berry was intrigued by someone, she paid attention to them. Not stalking or anything like that, she simply studied them more than she normally would. It was one of her favourite pastimes, watching people.

And watched she did. She watched their habits, their little quirks, what perfume they happened to wear.

If Rachel wasn't very much mistaken, which let's face it she rarely was, then that was none other than Quinn Fabray's perfume.

And that meant …

A car honked somewhere behind her, but Rachel barely heard it. Staring incredulously at the passenger seat, her hand tightened on the steering wheel.

"It wasn't a dream."