Chapter 2: Bridesmaids

A/N: I'm back! Sorry it's been a while, I was just updating my other story, We Fought for this Land. If you like this, you should try reading that. Puck, Rachel, and Brittany enter the story in this chapter, and Quinn meets Rachel and Finn face-to-face too. Please follow, fav, and REVIEW!

"So let me get this straight," Santana said at work the next day. "The guy calls you, and you think he's gonna propose, but then he up and tells you he's going to marry some Broadway bimbo and he still asks you to come to his wedding even though he knows he broke your heart? What a guy!"

Brittany Pierce, Quinn's other work friend and one of Santana's fashion consultants, shook her head in distaste. "Lord Tubbington thinks that's not a nice thing to do, Quinn," she said. Quinn and Santana looked at each other in confusion. "Lord who?", they asked. Brittany was unfazed. "My cat," she said. "He tells people's fortunes and reads what's going on in my mind, and I'm pretty sure he snoops around in my diary too." Santana rolled her eyes at the child-like blonde, but it was kind of cute at the same time that she loved her cat so much.

Quinn shook her head. "That's the thing, girls! Finn doesn't know that I've loved him as more than a friend for all of this time!" "Hmph! He would have to be clueless not to realize that," Santana said. "It's like, totally obvious that you love him from the way you talk about him, the way you light up when anyone mentions him."

Quinn blushed; she hoped Rachel wouldn't be able to tell that she was in love with Finn or all of her plans would be ruined. "Santana, you're the ultimate schemer and bitchiest person I know -" Santana smiled, thinking that was a compliment. Quinn continued, "-which is why I need to be able to rely on you to help me take Rachel Berry down." "Hell yes!", Santana cried, drawing the attention of other reporters around them.

"And, Britt," Quinn continued. "You're the sweetest person I know, besides maybe Finn, and I need you to help me figure out how to win him over, how to tell him I love him." Brittany nodded. "I'll have to consult Lord Tubbington first, but yeah, probably."

Quinn hugged her friends. "Thanks, guys. I knew I could count on you! Now I just need to ask our boss if I can have a couple of days off for Finn's wedding." She walked away, bumping into Noah "Puck" Puckerman, the resident sports editor and one of her other friends, and falling face first on the floor. She really didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of Puck! He was really good-looking. His coffee spilled all over her as she yelped. "You complete idiot!," Quinn shouted. Her white floral sundress was now completely covered in dark coffee stains. There was no time for her to run home and change before she was due to meet Finn and Rachel at the Plaza Hotel. And her appearance would be key if she wanted to persuade Finn that she was a better choice than Rachel. Not to mention that Quinn didn't want to leave a bad impression on her boss by showing up in stained clothes!

Puck rolled his eyes at Quinn. "I'm sorry," he said sarcastically. "Let me make up for my 'idiotic' actions by helping you up." As he bent down to help her up, she saw him stare down her dress to check out her cleavage. Eww. He was such a pervert, but whatever. It wasn't like she had much for him to look at because she'd always been pretty petite.

"Lookin' hot, babe," Puck said, and he winked at her. Quinn's cheeks flushed at the compliment and her heart began to race. Noah Puckerman, the most infamous, hottest playboy in town had just called her, a goody-two-shoes Yale grad, hot! "You're not too bad yourself," Quinn managed to say. Puck smirked. He could tell the effect that he had on the blonde. "Not too bad? You call these guns 'not too bad'?", he said mock-indignantly and flexed his (amazing) muscles. Quinn's face was now completely red. He was close enough to kiss her now. Oh, Lord, this was awkward. Quinn knew every girl in the building (and some of the guys too) was looking at her enviously. Most of the girls had definitely slept with Puck and wanted to do so again. Quinn knew she was his next project, his next conquest, but she wasn't like Santana or Brittany. She wouldn't give in to a one-night stand. It was against her morals, and she just wasn't really that type to do that anyway.

"Sorry, Puck," Quinn said. "I-I've got to go. I have to get to my best friend's wedding." Puck raised an eyebrow. "Is that the football player who you grew up with and dated in high school and who's going to marry the Broadway babe? But you're still in love with Prince Charming and want to win him back?" "Yeah!", Quinn said, astonished that he remembered anything about her, let alone her friends. Puck shrugged. "I overheard you talking to Brittany and Santana about that. Are you…bringing a date to the wedding?", Puck asked. Oh crap, I completely forgot that I was supposed to bring a date!, Quinn thought. "No!", she said. "What, a girl as pretty as you couldn't find a date?", Puck teased. "No, I forgot, you egghead!", she said.

"Well, if you need a date, I'll go with you!", Puck said nonchalantly. Now it was Quinn's turn to raise her eyebrows. "You're just trying to get in my pants, Puck!", she said scoldingly. "I think the phrase 'getting in your dress' would be more fitting," he said, nodding at her coffee-stained dress. "And yes, that would be a bonus. But really, you're my friend who's in need of a date. I would be happy to go with you since these things with celebrities like NFL quarterbacks and Broadway stars are pretty publicized and you wouldn't want the paparazzi to catch you alone. Imagine the headlines: 'Up-and-coming Journalist Quinn Fabray Attends Football Star's Wedding Alone'! Or 'Desperate, Lonely, or Lesbian: Why Media Darling Quinn Fabray Can't Get a Date!'"

Quinn sighed, knowing that Puck was right. She was somewhat famous, having appeared on channels like CNN and FOX before. She had even been a correspondent for the Winter Olympics the past year, covering figure skating, which she'd done as a young girl. It wouldn't look good for her reputation for her to be single at an event. The malicious tabloids would have a field day with that piece of gossip! And then a brilliant idea popped into her head: it wouldn't be a terrible idea for Puck to be her date to the wedding because it would make Finn jealous and then maybe he could realize his feelings for her! She could hint at the fact that she and Puck were together romantically!

"So, what do you say?", Puck asked, looking at her intensely with his beautiful green eyes. "Yes," Quinn said, getting the feeling that she was on fire as she stared into his eyes. "You can be my date for Finn's wedding."

—

After Quinn talked to her boss, she and Puck hailed a taxi to the plaza. Quinn drew her light pink cardigan tight around her chest in an attempt to cover up the coffee stains, but it wasn't working. She knew Rachel would dress to impress since she'd appeared in one of Santana and Brittany's fashion articles, so she would already be losing to Rachel on that account by looking like a slob, but whatever. Quinn just hoped Finn wouldn't notice or care.

"Need some help with that, Fabray?", Puck asked kindly. Wait…he was actually offering to help? Quinn nodded in astonishment as he grabbed some wet wipes from his pocket. "How do you have those?", she asked. "Oh, I ate at a barbecue place for lunch today and they gave me these. I think they sensed that I was going to spill barbecue sauce all over my hands and my face!", he joked. Quinn started laughing like an idiot. She didn't know Puck could be so funny since most of his jokes were usually dirty jokes at the expense of one of her co-workers.

Puck gently began to wipe the coffee stains from Quinn's chest area, and it felt pretty good until she realized what it meant to him. "You pervert!," she teased. "You just wanted to feel me up, huh? I knew you had ulterior motives!" Puck just smiled at her and wiped the coffee off of the dress's stomach area. She had to admit that he was actually was doing a good job getting the stains off.

The taxi pulled up in front of the luxurious, world-famous Plaza Hotel. "So this is where the other half vacations," Puck joked as they climbed out.. Quinn playfully hit him on the arm. "Come on! You have every privilege in the world, Mr. I-Have-a-Penthouse-Overlooking-Central-Park!"

Puck grew serious. "Yeah, I guess. I just wish my sister and my ma had the same life." "What do you mean?", Quinn asked. She had never spent too much time with Puck because they were both always busy, so she was interested to hear more about his life. "Well, my dad abandoned us when Ma was pregnant with my sister. Ma got pregnant with me when she was pretty young, so she never finished school or anything, and she took a job as a waitress at some diner. We always lived in the worst neighborhoods. I just want them to have a better life than the one they've had so far." Quinn was touched by his story and wordlessly took his hand to comfort him. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea though, for Finn to notice her holding hands with another man when she greeted him!

The "couple" strolled into the elaborately decorated lobby of the Plaza Hotel. "Puck, can you give me five minutes?", Quinn asked, deciding that she didn't want him to be there when she first saw Finn again after all. Puck nodded. "I'll let you greet your sweetheart alone," he said sarcastically and walked away toward Central Park.

Instantly, a man almost as tall as a skyscraper came running at Quinn. "Q!", he called, and she flung herself into his arms. "Finn!", she cried. "You look like you've gotten even taller!" Finn laughed and pulled away slightly. "Can you really believe I'm going to get married in a few days?", he asked excitedly. Quinn smiled at him while fuming on the inside. "No, I can't," she said honestly.

Suddenly, a petite girl hugged Quinn. "Hello, Quinn! I've heard so much about you! Finn talks about you constantly, it's always 'Quinn this' and 'Quinn that' around here! He always shows me all of your articles from the Times! They're phenomenal", she said enthusiastically. "I'm Rachel Berry, the star of Wicked." Quinn smiled at the fact that Finn talked about her all of the time; that gave her some hope that he loved her romantically. "Oh, yeah," Quinn said. "I saw you in Wicked - you were Elphaba, right? You were really, really good!" That was a true statement, even though Quinn was trying to gain Rachel's trust in order to manipulate her. "Oh, I know I was good," Rachel said. "I've been training for the part of Elphaba since I was two years old! I could sing before I could talk!"

Quinn had to hand it to Rachel: the girl was stunning. Though Rachel was not necessarily pretty or beautiful, she had a certain quality about her that made you want to look at her again - Je ne sais quoi, as Quinn's professors at Yale would have called it. Rachel had thick chocolate brown hair with bangs that framed her olive face perfectly. Her eyes were like a warm cup of coffee - they were even coffee-brown in color. The worst part was that Finn and Rachel looked good together - like a perfect couple!

Finn draped his arm around Rachel's thin shoulders, adding salt to Quinn's wound. "Rach? Isn't there something you want to ask Quinn?", he asked his fiancee. "Oh yes!," Rachel said excitedly. "I was going to have my bridesmaid Tina or my other bridesmaid Mercedes be my maid of honor, but then I realized I didn't want to have to choose between them and hurt their feelings or cause drama. So, would you like to be my maid of honor, Quinn?"

Quinn was completely taken aback by that. She definitely hadn't expected Rachel to be this nice; it would've been much easier to take a mean person down. "Umm, that's a really big thing to ask," she said. "Is there anyone you could ask that you've known for more than two minutes?"

Rachel shook her head. "I don't have any siblings or cousins or anything, so not really. Besides, I feel like I've known you for forever, Quinn! As I said, Finn always tells me stories about you, so I feel like I've known you for much longer than two minutes!"

Quinn glanced at Finn. She could tell from the look on his face that he desperately wanted her to do this, to be friends with Rachel. Maybe she could even get Rachel to trust her and she could find some dirt on the girl!

"Yes, I'll do it," she sighed, and Rachel hugged her. "I just knew we were going to be best girlfriends!", she squealed. Quinn patted the brunette awkwardly on the back and turned to Finn. "You're amazing," he told her, and that was all of the confirmation she needed to know she had made the right choice by accepting Rachel's offer.

Only later did it occur to Quinn whether Finn was calling her or Rachel amazing.

A/N: I hope you liked it! Thanks for all of the positive feedback you guys gave me. Please follow, fav, review, and check out my other story.