Hello! Wow, thanks so much for all the awesome reviews. I've never really written fic for a show that was still on the air haha, so it was amazing to get such a rush of feedback, and alerts, and etc. They were all so great! Now, on with the show.

Chapter Two: Species Interaction

The next day, with her books held tightly against her chest, Rachel took a deep breath before entering the school. She needed to be prepared. To successfully reach the level of preparation needed to face the day in front of her, but it seemed nearly impossible. Entering the school, she walked at a pace that was even faster than her normal pace, and it wasn't because she was trying to avoid yet another slushie to the face. No, a slushie to the face would be just fine with her, if it meant that she'd be able to skip all of first period.

All night she had laid in her bed, staring up the at the stars that glowed on her ceiling, panicking internally. It was what she had done all day; from the moment she had realized that what Ms. Pillsbury had first insinuated about her was in fact true, which made it possibly impossible to make it through the rest of the day. More than once, she had considered going to the school nurse and feigning a severe illness, but she had resisted. That was, until glee class.

She and Finn had walked into the choir room, arm and arm as usual, except she wasn't doing her usual doting over her extremely tall boyfriend. Her eyes immediately landed on Quinn, who was sitting with the other two Cheerios in the front row. Not their usual choice. The three of them were laughing about what she assumed to be some kind of crude joke, since that seemed to always be what was coming out of their mouths, especially when they were all together. Suddenly her hands felt a little clammy, and she was sure that the room temperature was slowly rising. When Quinn looked at them as they took there seats, Rachel's heart began to beat rapidly.

"Oh no. No no no." But of course, Finn sat down on the front row, leaving only one chair open. The one right next to Quinn. The blonde had already gone back to talking to Brittany and Santana, but it didn't make Rachel any less nervous. "Okay, I can do this," she thought, quietly taking a few deep breaths, and trying not to glance over at the blonde beside her. Finn had begun to talk to Puck about the woes of not being on the football team anymore, something she typically would have taken a moment to appreciate, because she had always worried about the teenage boy leaving her for someone a bit more popular. A Cheerio someone. She now found that too be painfully ironic.

When Mr. Schuester walked in, last as usual, the room quieted. Quinn opened the notebook in her lap and began to doodle, as the man tried to impress upon them yet another genre of music none of them listened to, except for Rachel of course, but she wasn't paying attention to the man either. Her fight to keep her eyes forward was slowly waning. She sat up straighter, looking around the room to see if anyone was watching her, knowing it wasn't likely but taking the necessary precaution before she gave in entirely, looking at the blonde out the corner of her eyes.

She noted the way Quinn was biting her bottom lip as she focused on whatever she was drawing, the way her slender neck bent slightly, obviously giving away the fact that she wasn't paying attention at all. Her slender shoulders were slightly hunched, the smooth skin of her arms calling out to Rachel-she had to wring her hands together in her lap to fight the temptation. Then her eyes landed somewhere unexpected, or more unexpected. She found herself watching the rising and falling of Quinn's breasts.

"Huh," she thought, having never really stared at another girls breasts, not even Santana's despite her curiosity in terms of whether they looked real or not. Now, she understood why Finn had such a hard time keeping his hands away from such areas. She began to wring her hands more aggressively.

"Is there a reason you're staring, Berry?" Quinn asked, turning her head to look directly at the brunette.

Suddenly, feigning sickness was no longer an issue; she began to overheat, her eyes wide, heart beating hard against her chest. She was sure she was about to vomit, too. Her hand shot into the air as she looked to Mr. Schue. "Nurse!"

So, the following day, as she tried her best not to break out into a full on jog, she prayed that she wouldn't see Quinn until it was absolutely necessary. Unfortunately for her, the encounter was soon approaching, because they had the same first period class on this day. However, seeing that the class had more students, and therefore more chairs, she was sure that she'd be able to select a seat on the opposite side of the room as Quinn.

Cautiously looking around, just in case the blonde was near, she stumbled slightly after bumping into the back of someone. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't-"

"What the fu-" Santana stopped, eyes widening when she turned around to see who had bumped into her, of all people. "Berry?" Her revelation from the night before came rushing back to her, having been pushed aside once she realized what it meant to have had a 'deaf' moment herself with Brittany.

The cheerleader looked more appalled to see her than usual, and Rachel was sure she was about to get insults thrown in her direction. "Santana, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching-"

"Whatever, Berry," she interjected, raising her hand to silence the girl. She pursed her lips, looking the shorter girl in the eyes through her own slanted eyes, trying to see if she could catch rather or not the diva had bumped into her on purpose to feel her up. But Rachel looked terrified, as usual, and not in a Jacob Ben Israel pervy kind of way. "Just watch where you're going."

"Uh, okay. Yes, yes I will watch where I'm going from this point on, and-" The Latina simply walked away from her, leaving her confused, and relieved at the same time. "That was odd," she mumbled, but she sure wasn't going to question it. She considered it a blessing, and perhaps a preview on how smoothly her day would go. Continuing on her way, more determined than ever to get a see no where near Quinn Fabray, she saw Dave Karofsky shove Kurt into the lockers as he passed. She offered her fellow glee clubber a sympathetic smile, which he returned before walking off.

When she arrived at her class, she held her books against her chest tightly once again, before peering in. Instantly, her jaw dropped. Everyone was already in class. For once in her life, she was the last one to arrive to a class (other than glee, because everyone was late to that class at least once), and not only that—The only seat left open in the room was right next to the person she was hoping to avoid at all costs. She cursed the school for not putting actual desks in every class, and was set on filing a complaint with Figgins. No room that wasn't a lab of some sort should have had tables for two. She considered asking someone if they wouldn't mind trading their seat for a seat next to the head Cherrio, but her popularity status deterred her. Sure, someone in the class did possibly want to sit next to Quinn, but they weren't going to exchange anything with the likes of her, despite the opportunity.

Determined to not walk over to the blonde without at least appearing to be her normal self, she stood up straighter, held her head up high, and then made her way over to the table. She stood next to the chair beside Quinn, who was doodling in a spiral once again, clearing her throat before speaking. "Hello, Quinn." Happy that the blonde didn't look up at her, because then she would have lost her composure, she ignored the fact that she didn't even get a polite response. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

"What are you going to do, sit on the floor if I say no? Because if you are, I may have to decline."

Rachel frowned. Yep, she was definitely talking to the old Quinn Fabray. "Perhaps what comes out of her mouth will make me less attracted to her," she mused. "Well, if you're going to-"

"Just sit down, Berry," she said, still focusing on her doodling. "Try not to stare at my tits today."

She found herself choking on nothing, and before she could defend herself, or lie like she was really thinking of doing, the teacher began to write on the board.

"Today," the woman began, as she continued to write on the board, "we're going to discuss the project that I'll be assigning. You'll be working with a partner, and before any of you even ask, no you cannot choose your partner. I hope you all sat next to someone you like, because that is who you'll be working with over the next two weeks."

Now, Rachel was really panicking, and she was sure the universe hated her. There was no way that she could possibly work with Quinn.

"You should probably get started tonight," the teacher said, taking her seat. "It's a project with multiple parts, so the sooner you start, the better."

Quinn looked over at Rachel, who's eyes were wide in panic. She sighed. "Great."

Santana did not panic. Panicking was for people like Rachel Berry, who didn't have the guts to do anything other than sing and talk about herself for hours. "God, what if she tries to sing to me in glee?" she thought for a moment, as she walked down the hall. Really, she had hoped to avoid the shorter brunette until it was absolutely necessary, along with a certain blonde. And, it wasn't because she was panicking; no, she didn't panic. She just wasn't so sure what to do with what had happened the night before.

"So I was thinking," Puck said walking up beside her. "Maybe you and the Puckasaurus could get together after school."

She huffed, rolling her eyes. "Not a chance." There was no way she was going to spend all afternoon with Puck, even if she had thought of testing the waters with a male sexual partner, just to make sure she could still appreciate one. A teenage boy, she figured, wouldn't really help answer that question. "Beat it Puckerman."

"Come on, you know you want to," he smiled, trying to put an arm around the Cheerio, but she pushed it away. "What's up with you? Usually, your hands are all over this."

Santana was about to tell him what a lie that was. Sure, they had sex on pretty much a regular basis, but in no way were hands usually all of her him. It was totally the other way around, but she didn't get the time to protest because at the far end of the hall Brittany had turned into her line of sight. She quickly moved to put her back against the end of a row of lockers, pushing herself against the wall, so she wouldn't be seen.

Puck looked at her, frowning. She glared at him. "Say something, I dare you to," she warned. He just shrugged and walked away, to her relief. Now, to the average person her actions may have seemed a little on the panicking side, but to her it was just a quick attempt to continue avoiding her best friend for just a little while longer. She had planned to be a bit late to glee and everything, Mr. Schue was late all the time, so why not her?

"Hey San."

Of course, Brittany had walked directly up to her somehow. She was sure she hadn't been spotted. But she didn't freak out, or try to run for it. "Hey," she said, removing herself from the corner. Her eyes went into their usual squint, lips slightly pursed, attitude in her stance. Okay, so maybe that was a slightly more aggressive stance than she usually had when it was just her and the blonde, but whatever.

"So, do you want to walk to glee with me?" Brittany asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. After Santana's outburst about Rachel's supposed crush on her, she had tried to tell her best friend that she really didn't think that was it, because Rachel had said that she never went deaf when Santana was around, but her best friend hadn't believed her. Saying something about the diva being to embarrassed to fess up just like that. So, now she was actually a little excited to see just how uncomfortable the two would be around one another. Santana was never uncomfortable, it was like a once in a life time opportunity.

She couldn't exactly say, "No, I was going to be late so I could avoid you for a few more minutes," so she nodded, instead. "Sure." The blonde held her pinky out expectantly, still smiling down at her, and Santana gulped. Her whole demeanor changed, all of a sudden she was nervous. She looked down at the floor, her eyes shifting from left to right, knowing that Brittany was still staring at her from above, her pinky still being offered. Finally, she just gave in, and linked it with her own.

"Let's go, we don't want to be late," Brittany said, leading the way. It was strange, usually Santana was the one who initiated their walks down the hall, but she was okay with doing it herself for once. She was sure the Latina was merely dragging her feet, trying to avoid all that was Rachel Berry. "It'll be fine, San," she assured.

But she wasn't so convinced. With their pinkies linked, she began to wonder what it would be like if their fingers were intertwined, palm pressed against palm. And that's what she had been afraid of all morning; the wanting more. After they had had sex the night before, she had laid on her back staring up at the ceiling, with Brittany's head on her shoulder and arm draped across her midriff, thinking about how different it had felt. It wasn't like they hadn't done it plenty of times, Brittany was pretty much just as much of a regular as Puck was, but something had felt weird. Her confidence hadn't been up to her usual standard. She hadn't necessarily fumbled around aimlessly either, but there was no animal like rush. No sassy sexiness. And when it was all over, she actually contemplated staying, and not in a best friend sleep over kind of way, but in a I could stay here forever kind of way.

Of course, she had slipped out immediately after that thought, leaving the sleeping blonde. Now, as she glanced up at her as they entered the choir room, she knew everything had changed. They took the two seats open on the top row, their pinkies coming undone. Ironically enough, Mr. Schue was already in the room, going through a few of the music he had made copies of for their next assignment.

Rachel and Finn walked in, and Santana shifted uncomfortably. "Not only is Berry a freak, she's a total masochist," she whispered, loud enough for Brittany to hear. How was it that a girl that she tortured on pretty much a daily basis had a crush on her?

"I don't think that's a mask," Brittany said, frowning as she stared at the diva. "Do you think it's like that creepy Goosebumps book you read me last Halloween, where the mask was stuck to her face and she didn't know what to do?" she asked, a little scared, therefore unable to appreciate her best friends uncomfortableness.

Boring that book from her older brother had totally paid off that night, Brittany had practically tried to mold herself to Santana's side. Scary movies didn't do much for the blonde, but for some reason hearing someone read a book from the horror section freaked her out. "She likes people that hurt her, Brittany."

"Oh." She paused. "Is that normal?"

"Not at all," Santana answered. She watched as Rachel and Finn went to sit down, and was surprised when the diva didn't even try to sneak a peak in her direction. "Hmm," she said, watching as the couple began to talk about something between themselves. Then she looked to Quinn as the fellow Cheerio entered the room. She was heading for the chair in the row below them, walking up the stairs, and that's when Santana caught something she didn't expect to see. Rachel had started to ignore whatever Finn was saying to her, and instead was trying to discretely watch Quinn walk up the few steps to the row. "Oh my God, Berry just checked out Fabray's ass."

"What?" Quinn exclaimed, catching what Santana said. She turned on her heels, just as Rachel turned away. "Berry, you better not have just-"

"Okay, everyone take your seats," Mr. Schuester said, straightening the papers in his hand on the piano. "Today we're going to be talking about—Yes, Rachel?" he sighed, seeing her hand go into the air.

"I'm afraid I'm not feeling so well," she said, nervously.

"I bet she isn't, she just got caught in the act," Santana laughed. She found that the truth that had just unfolded brightened her day, and distracted her from the blonde sitting beside her. This was something she could work with; new ammo as it seemed.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, but you seemed fine a second ago when you were talking to Finn about whatever romantic dinner he was trying to plan, so I can't let you go to the nurse," the man said, frustrated with the fact that Rachel never seemed to try to ask questions after he was done talking. "Plus, this is a rehearsal, as in after school so the nurse has already left for the day."

She blushed slightly, as a few of the glee clubbers chuckled. Really, she could have just left then, but missing yet another day of glee didn't seem like the right thing to do. She had her future career on Broadway to consider, and not getting enough practice only hurt a star in the end. What made things even worse was the fact that later that night Quinn was coming to her to start their school project. She looked at Quinn over her shoulder, and was surprised when the blonde pointed towards the front of the class without even looking at her.

"I swear to God, Berry..." the Cheerio said, not too loud but loud enough, as Mr. Schue began to write something on the white board.

Rachel turned abruptly. "Right."

TBC

A/N I swear these chapters will be getting longer, but it's a busy week with all my friends back in town from school, so I can only offer a little here and there. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Oh and sorry for any typos, I'm totally in a rush today.