Disclaimer: These characters belong to the creators of Glee, I own nothing. If I did, Faberry would most definitely be a couple.

Authors Note: Broken record time again but thank you all so much for the reviews and story alerts, it really amazes me that people like this story! To SilvaLDN, the week at Kurt's is between July 9th and July 13th, I mentioned it briefly in the first chapter. I'm pretty sure that falls in American high school summer vacation but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :) This chapter is pretty long but I promised Rachel/Finn/Quinn interaction and here it is :) Heading towards the angst now, I mean it can't all be cuteness and fluff! Hope you enjoy and as usual all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 7:

By the time we returned to the house, after deciding to grab something to eat at a restaurant near Central Park, it was nearing nine o'clock. Quinn and I stand hand in hand outside the front door as Kurt rummages around his pockets for the house keys. Quinn's thumb is stroking the back of my hand softly. The gesture is soothing and comfortable, almost as if it's a natural thing for her to do. Blaine stops Kurt from searching anymore, withdrawing his own keys and unlocking the door. Everybody follows them inside but Quinn asks me to stay behind.

"Is everything okay?" I'm curious as to why she stopped me from going inside considering the sun has almost set and it is slowly becoming colder.

"Yeah I just…I wanted to thank you for today." Her smile is warm and genuine and my heart swells at how sweet she is.

"You don't need to thank me, I didn't do anything."

She swings our entwined hands back and forth. "Yes you did, you just don't realise it yet."

My eyebrows furrow at her cryptic statement but when she wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me, I allow myself to get lost in her. Hugs are such simple things that I've always enjoyed, but with Quinn, I enjoy them so much more. My head naturally falls into the crook of her neck and the vanilla scent of her hair fills my nostrils.

I can't get enough of her.

She's like a drug, one that only I can enjoy the benefits of.

I'm growing more and more addicted to her all the time. I always want to have some form of contact with her and when we don't share any, I feel almost empty.

I can't believe that it took me this long to realise that I like her.

Although now that I think about it, I don't think these are new feelings. I think I've liked her for a while.

I think part of me has liked her since our first meeting in the bar but our agreement to not let things get too personal clouded those feelings and as a result, I ignored them. However, her actions so far this week have made those feelings that I buried come to the forefront and I can't ignore them any longer.

I wondered why I got butterflies in my stomach when she touched me, why my heart beat that little bit faster whenever she acted like the doting girlfriend but I should have thought of the principle 'Occam's razor.' Which basically means the simplest answer is usually the correct one and the simplest answer had been staring me in the face.

I liked her.

Quinn releases her hold on me and I take a small step back, although still within touching distance. I look up at the night sky and I can imagine that when the stars are out, it is a really beautiful sight.

"What are you looking at?" Quinn asks as she follows my gaze.

"The sky, it must look really beautiful when all the stars are out."

Quinn grabs my hand. "We'll have to come out a little later, when it's darker so you can see the stars." She smiles at me. "And I know it's my fault we're still out here but do you think we could go in now, it's getting colder." I nod and Quinn leads me into the house, closing the door behind us both.

Everybody has settled down in the living room and my eyes fall on Noah who is leaning against the fireplace talking to Santana. If Noah's here that means Finn is too.

An unsettling feeling stirs in my stomach at the thought.

I'm not worried about seeing him; I'm worried about telling him about Quinn. I'm almost positive that he will be alright but I can't seem to shift this niggling doubt at the back of my mind.

Sure enough, Finn walks down the stairs and I instinctively release Quinn's hand. I can see hurt momentary pass over her face before she follows my eyes and sees Finn. She nods her head slowly in understanding, although I can't help but feel bad about releasing her hand so quickly.

Almost as if I was ashamed of her.

"Hey Rachel," he says and I can tell from his voice that he is a little bit tipsy but still sober enough to be coherent. His eyes fall on Quinn and he holds his hand out to greet her. "You must be Quinn. Sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier. Things were a tad hectic."

Quinn doesn't show any signs of moving so I poke her softly in the hip and she shakes his hand but doesn't say anything.

"I'm Finn," he says unperturbed, either ignoring her frosty reception or failing to notice it.

"I know."

She's being deliberately short with him. I should know. She's been short with me enough times. It's actually a miracle that he got more than a mono-syllabic answer from her.

"Well it's nice to meet you."

I have to give Finn credit; he is trying to be nice to her. He doesn't know that he's facing a losing battle.

Quinn's gaze doesn't leave his and uncomfortably he looks away, bringing his attention to me. "Do you want to go outside and talk?"

"Yeah, that would be nice," I reply and Finn nods, walking towards the patio door. I start to follow him and can sense Quinn following me. I pause and face her. "Quinn, would you mind staying here." It isn't a question; I'm requesting that she stays with everybody else rather than comes with us.

"I told you I wanted to be there when you tell him."

"I know, because you don't trust him," I reply. "But I do and it is something I'd rather tell him on my own rather than flaunt our relationship in his face."

"What if…" She pauses and lowers his voice. "What if he loses his temper? Mercedes told me that he had a habit of doing that in high school. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Could she be any cuter?

"That's really sweet of you Quinn but I'll be fine. He wouldn't dare lose his temper towards me."

She looks like she's about to argue some more before she concedes. "Fine, but I'm going to be at the patio door and if you need me, I'm coming outside," she says. "No arguments Rachel."

I nod and we walk towards the patio door. As promised, Quinn stays inside the house whilst I walk towards Finn who has taken a seat by the edge of the swimming pool, his feet dangling in the water. I give him a quick hug before taking a seat beside him and mimicking his actions. Sitting here has become one of my favourite places to sit, the feel of the cool water against my feet relaxes me and I love the soft ripples my feet make whenever I kick the water. I glance over my shoulder to see Quinn still standing by the patio door, her eyes never leaving Finn.

"Did you have fun sightseeing?"

"Yeah I did, it was nice to do the tourist things. I haven't done them in so long," I practically gush in excitement. "I even went ice-skating."

Finn laughs in surprise. "Ice-skating? I thought you never wanted to do that."

"I didn't but Quinn advised me to do it and I thoroughly enjoyed it," I state happily.

I find it remarkable that when I didn't want to do something with Finn, most times he would leave the subject alone, on the rare occasion he tried to persuade me, I would stay strong and refuse. But with Quinn, I caved straight away when she asked me to ice skate.

"She seems rather stand-offish," he comments idly averting his gaze from mine.

So he had noticed her unfriendly attitude, he just chose to ignore it.

"She's really not," I reply and I'm surprised at how quickly I jump to her defence. "I just don't think you caught her at the right time." I can see he's about to question further but I don't want Quinn to be our first point of topic. I just want to spend some time with him like we used to, back when we were friends. "How about you? Did you have a good drinking session?"

He nods. "Yeah it was fun, Artie and I stayed reasonably sober but Puck just kept drinking. I'm pretty sure he's sobering up now though."

"Yeah I saw him leaning against the fireplace, talking to Santana."

Finn chuckles loudly. "He's probably doing it so he doesn't fall down and you know he likes to ogle Santana whenever he's drunk. When he's had a few, he also seems to think that he'll be able to persuade Santana to let him join her and Brittany in bed."

I have to laugh at his outlandish behaviour, only Noah could try something like that and get away with it. "Does he actually think that she'll say yes?" I ask him. "Santana wouldn't let anybody touch Brittany."

"It's Puck," he explains simply. "He thinks he's god's gift to women and the exception to all the rules."

It's shocking how accurate that statement is.

I clear my throat nervously. "Speaking of Noah, did he tell you anything about me this afternoon?"

"After about an hour he was too drunk to speak in coherent sentences let alone focus long enough to actually tell me something," Finn replies. "Should he have?"

"No," I state quickly.

A silence creeps upon us before Finn exhales heavily. "I meant what I said earlier."

"What did you say?"

"I've really missed you Rachel."

In spite of myself, I smile at the repetition of our earlier conversation. "I've missed you too."

"I came to see you on Broadway the other month," he admits quietly. "You were brilliant. I mean I know I used to watch you perform all the time in Glee Club but seeing you up there on that stage, I was just…I was balled over by your talent. You definitely belong up there."

My eyes widen a little and I blush at his compliment. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I question lightly. "Better yet, why didn't you come and see me backstage? I'd have loved to see you."

Finn smiles softly. "It was a flying visit to New York, I came to see Kurt and I had to get to the airport practically straight after your show. I would have come backstage if I had time." He kicks the water with his feet, splashing me in a playful manner. "Next time I come, I most definitely will come backstage."

"You're coming again?" My voice holds an element of surprise.

"Of course, you were unbelievably fantastic up there," he replies. "I'm so proud that you achieved your dreams Rach." He fiddles with his fingers. "I know back in high school, I nearly stopped you from going…"

I had a feeling this topic of discussion would crop us sooner rather than later.

"Finn…"

He holds his hands up to prevent me from speaking further. "I did. When I first met you, you had dreams of being on Broadway and I admired you so much for that. You knew what you wanted; I envied you for it really. I didn't know what I wanted when we first started dating so I was more than happy to follow you," he states. "But when I figured out that I wanted to run a business, that I wanted to take over Burt's tyre shop, I wanted you to feel that need to follow me. I wanted you to put your dreams on hold for mine and I was just being selfish."

"And I wasn't Finn? You said you were more than happy to follow me and I was happy to let you do that. I should have helped you figure out your dreams rather than just thinking about myself."

"It's who you are," he replies and my eyes widen, unsure whether that was an insult or not. "I mean that as a compliment, you're determined, you don't things get in your way and I love you for that."

I gulp at his use of the word love in the present tense rather than the past but it was probably a mistake.

"It may be who I am, but maybe I should have been somebody better."

He shakes his head. "Looking back, I'm glad you didn't stay with me. Because you belong on that stage Rachel."

I blush and gently shove his shoulder. "You don't know how much it means to me, hearing you say that."

Finn gives me a half smile. "Do you have any regrets?"

Now that's a loaded question.

My dads always told me that you shouldn't have any regrets because if you have regrets you're dwelling on the past when you should be focusing on the present.

If I'm honest with myself, I don't think I do have any regrets. But telling him the truth might hurt his feelings.

"Do you?" I ask, sidestepping his question.

He nods. "I regret that I wasn't supportive."

"You were supportive Finn."

He scoffs loudly. "I would hardly have called me a supportive boyfriend Rachel. If I had been supportive, I wouldn't have tried to stop you from going to New York. If I had been supportive, maybe we could have had a long distance relationship. I mean I know we decided that it would be best to start afresh but I never really wanted that."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I ask in surprise. "When I suggested breaking up, you said that you'd been thinking it too. You said it was for the best. Why would you say that if you wanted to try a long distance relationship?"

"Because I knew you didn't want one."

I sigh sadly. "Finn…"

"No I completely understand," he says. "We had different dreams. You have no idea how many times I've wished that we'd had the same dream. How many times I wished I'd have come to New York with you." He pauses and looks nervous for a second. "Do you think if I'd have come with you, we'd still be together?"

I stare at the water awkwardly. When we were in high school, I couldn't imagine my life without Finn. Whenever I thought of the future, I thought of him but if I look back now, I actually can't imagine him being in my life these last seven years.

"I guess we can never know for sure but honestly, I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"You didn't want to go to New York Finn, if you'd have come, eventually you would have resented me."

"I don't think I could ever resent you," Finn states with a soft smile. "Do you resent me?"

"Why would I?"

"I tried to make you stay in Lima, make you stay with me," he explains.

"I don't think I could ever resent you either Finn."

He smiles widely at me and I can tell my answer has lifted a weight from his shoulders. "You don't understand how happy I am to hear that. I'm still sorry though."

I place my hand over his. "Don't be."

He looks down at my hand and what was supposed to be a comforting gesture, is viewed in his eyes as a flirtatious act. He turns his hand over so it's palm upwards and entwines our fingers. "I really have missed you Rachel. You know, I always think about you. How you are, what you're doing, if you're seeing anybody." His voice drops on the final few words.

"Finn…" I start to remove my hand from his.

"What's going on?"

We both turn our heads at the new voice. Quinn is standing behind us, a frown imprinted on her face, her eyes on our enjoined hands.

I quickly pull my hand away from his and stand up. "Quinn, I told you to wait inside."

She looks at me quickly before returning her gaze to Finn. "And I told you I'd come out if I saw something I didn't like and what do you know."

Finn stands up too, his face filled with confusion. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

Quinn brings her attention back to me. "It's funny that you've been talking to him for nearly half an hour yet you still haven't got around to telling him. Although I must say you looked pretty friendly."

I can't be sure but I think she's jealous. I glance at my watch to see she's right, I hadn't realised how quickly time had flown.

"Rachel, do you want to tell me what's going on? Because I have to admit, I'm really confused." Finn asks, staring at me and ignoring Quinn.

"Yes Rachel, I think that's a great idea. Tell him." Quinn's voice is laced with anger and I do not like it. "Or I will."

"Finn as you already know, this is Quinn." I point out. "But what you don't know is that, she's….she's my girlfriend."

I probably could have done that better.

Finn's face is blank for several minutes and I'm reminded of how Kurt reacted when I introduced Quinn to him as my girlfriend. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, he speaks, "you're gay?"

"I do not like labels Finn, but if you must label me, I would have to say I'm bisexual, not gay."

"Did you know you were gay when you with me?" He asks. "Was everything you just told me a lie?"

I frown at him, did he not just hear what I said. "I've just said I'm not gay Finn, I'm bisexual. But no, when we were together I didn't realise that I had feelings for women too. When we were together, I only looked at you, only wanted you. Everything I just told you was the truth."

"You can't be dating a girl!" He says and his voice is rising slightly. "You're not bisexual." I'm grateful that he used the right term this time. "Has this got something to do with Santana and Brittany?"

My eyes furrow at his comment. "No, why would it?"

"Brittany thinks everybody has the ability to be fluid with their sexuality, that doesn't mean you have to be."

Quinn scoffs loudly beside me at his absurd accusation. "I realised I was bisexual after sleeping with a woman Finn, not because Brittany put the idea into my head. What, do you think I looked at Santana and Brittany one day and thought that looks fun, I think I'm going to start dating women now." He buries his head in his hand and I bring my hand to my forehead in an attempt to calm myself down. "I know this must come as a massive surprise but…"

"And you're dating her?" He asks as his eyes scan Quinn in a disapproving manner.

"Quinn," I state. "I'm dating Quinn and I would prefer it if you referred to her by her name in future. It's courteous if nothing else."

His persona is changing rapidly and Quinn and I can both tell he is getting angrier. "No, this must be some sort of joke. You can't be gay."

"Bisexual." This time it's Quinn who corrects him and frustration laces her voice.

He takes a step closer to me but Quinn steps in between us, blocking him. "I don't think so. That's close enough."

Finn clenches his jaw at Quinn and although I know he would never hurt me, I can't positively say the same thing for Quinn. Instinctively my hand finds hers and I tug her gently back towards me. Finn notices the gesture and if possible, his jaw clenches even tighter.

"I can't even look at you." His voice holds bitterness and he throws his arms into the air in frustration before walking back towards the house.

Quinn turns to face me once he's back inside. "Are you okay?"

I nod slowly even though I don't think I am. Maybe I was just being naïve but I thought he would have taken the news in a better way, I didn't think he'd be that upset by it. One thing I've never wanted to do is hurt Finn and now that I have, my eyes fill with tears.

Quinn notices straight away and pulls me into her, her hand coming to rest on the back of my head, soothing stroking my hair. "Ssh," she whispers the word into my ear trying to lull me into a sense of relaxation. "It'll be okay," she whispers this time whilst I cry softly into her shoulder. I most certainly didn't expect to shed tears over Finn but his reaction had not been what I wanted at all.

I keep expecting Quinn to step away from me but she doesn't let go of her hold on me, if anything she holds me tighter. I don't know how long we stay like that but it occurs to me that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Eventually my tears subside and it surprises me that I'm the first one to break away from the embrace, although Quinn quickly entwines our fingers.

"Do you want to go upstairs?" Quinn asks quietly. I don't answer but I don't need to. She can tell by my facial expression that I do. She cups my face in her hands delicately as if I'm about to break, wiping away the wetness which coats my cheeks. "If you're lucky, I'll even be the big spoon." She smiles widely and I can't help but laugh.

We've been lying on our bed for about twenty minutes now; the only sound that can be heard is our shallow breaths. As soon as I curled up on the bed, Quinn followed suit, her knees tucking in behind mine and her hand comes to rest around my stomach protectively, tugging me impossibly closer to her.

I can't help but wonder what it would be like to fall asleep in her arms, to wake up in her arms.

"I'm sorry for this; I didn't expect to be as upset as I am." I speak for the first time since we'd retreated to our bedroom.

Quinn admonishes me softly, placing a small kiss behind my ear. My eyes involuntarily close at the contact; it's almost as if she knows being kissed in my favourite spot will soothe me. "It's fine."

"I don't understand why I cried though."

"He was your first love," Quinn states. "You always expect the people you love to be there for you, you always expect them to support you no matter what, so when they don't, it hurts all that much more."

As much as I want to see her face when we talk, I'm much too comfortable to move.

"What if he hates me?"

She buries her head into the back of my neck and I feel rather than hear her sigh heavily before I hear her head connect with the pillow. "I'm sure he doesn't and if he does, then he really isn't worth your time."

"He wasn't just my ex-boyfriend Quinn; he used to be my best friend."

"A best friend who you haven't spoken to in seven years. Yeah Rachel, that's some friendship." She sounds frustrated with this conversation. "All I'm saying is, if he can't support you, then he doesn't deserve your friendship. I mean everybody else is just fine with the news."

"I never dated anybody else from our group," I state. "I know you probably don't want to hear about this, hell I'm sure you don't even care but I don't want him to hate me Quinn. Can you at least understand that?"

"Yeah I can." She tells me to roll over and I do as she asks. Her hand settles on my hip as she kisses my forehead "I know what it's like to come out to people and not get a good reaction. And trust me when I say that I've received worse reactions than that." She squeezes my hip gently. "I'm sure when he gets over the initial shock, he'll calm down and everything will be okay. His ego is probably a little bruised but he'll get over it."

"You really think so?"

She nods. "Just give him some time, let him get used to the idea before you talk to him again. I don't want him upsetting you for a second time."

I smile softly at her. "I'm just being silly."

"You're not," she replies. "As much as I wish you weren't, I understand why you are upset. And you have every right to be." She kisses my forehead again and her lips linger there for a few seconds. "Are you okay?"

"I'll survive," I joke before turning serious. "Thank you for this."

She laughs as she lies down properly. "I haven't really done anything Rachel."

"You were there for me when I needed you," I clarify. "What more can I ask for?"

She doesn't respond instead I change my position so my head is against her chest and we fall into a comfortable silence. I can hear her heart beating and in this moment, I feel closer to Quinn than ever before. Ignoring the obvious physical closeness, just being with her, like this makes us closer.

At least in my eyes.

It's almost as if everything between us is natural. Like we've been doing it for years.

The way her fingers trail up and down my arm in a slow, repetitive movement. The way her breathing quickens when I move, almost as if she's worried I'm about to pull away from her. The way her arms tighten around me, just to bring me nearer to her.

These are the moments I enjoy the most with Quinn.

When we're not pretending, when we're not friends with benefits, when we're just us.

Our perfect moment is interrupted by Santana. "I don't want to hear you two at it again tonight!" She shouts the words through our closed door before I hear her own bedroom door slamming shut.

Quinn and I both laugh at her comment. Quinn's fingers trail the hem of my dress, hiking it up ever so slightly. "I think that sounds like a challenge, don't you?"

She rolls us over and kisses my collarbone before placing feather like kisses on my neck.

"Well I've never been known to back down from a challenge," I reply and I can feel her smile into the crook of my neck.

She pulls away ever so slightly, smiling lazily at me before she captures my lips with hers. Her tongue teases my lower lip, pleading for entry which I gladly give. I release a guttural moan as her tongue connects with mine. I notice that for once she doesn't taste like cigarettes. She pins my hands down, holding them in place with her left hand.

Unsurprisingly, she is in control

Her right hand slowly moves up my thigh coming to rest just underneath my dress whilst she returns to kissing my neck. I close my eyes at the feeling of her lips against my neck. She always knows how to send me into a frenzy.

There's a quiet knock at our bedroom door.

"Ignore it," Quinn whispers the words in my ear but I know that it's an order. She sits up so she's straddling my thighs and grabs the hem of her top, throwing it off and onto the floor.

My eyes rake hungrily over her bra-cladded chest and my mouth goes dry at the sight of her toned body.

No matter how many times I see her, I'm still in awe at her beauty every time.

Somebody knocks at our door once more, only this time louder.

My eyes find Quinn's and I can tell she knows that I want to answer it. "Don't even think about it. It's probably just Santana wanting to repeat her earlier statement to our faces." I nod as her voice holds a certain level of authority that I don't want to disagree with. She fists the bottom of my dress and I'm waiting for her to rid me of it. "Take this off."

Her voice is softer than I'm used to and it surprises me.

Normally Quinn has to be in control, it's almost as if she doesn't know how to surrender that control. But now she's letting that slip a little bit. In the past, she's had a tendency to rip my clothes in her frantic haste to remove them but now that haste is non-existent. The look in her eyes tells me that she wants to savour each moment rather than rush.

"Rachel?"

Quinn freezes at the voice and any softness which her face previously contained disappears. "What does he want?"

"How am I supposed to know Quinn, you haven't let me open the door."

Her eyes bore into mine, clearly not amused by my answer and her hold on my hands doesn't loosen. "You're not answering it."

I scoff, fully aware that Finn can probably hear this conversation. I try to get out from underneath her but she doesn't relent. "Quinn, let go of my hands."

"Why?" She questions loudly. "So you can go and talk to him only to have him upset you again. Are you forgetting that not too long ago you were crying because of him?" I can't understand why she is getting so worked up about this.

"For all you know he might have come to apologise," I tell her, her grip on my hands tightens somewhat and coupled with her intense stare, this entire situation is becoming a tad uncomfortable. "Quinn, please."

Any trace of anger disappears from her eyes in an instant at my delicate tone. Instead she looks at me with concern. She releases her hold on my hands immediately and looks completely apologetic although she doesn't voice these apologies. She merely climbs off the bed, grabbing her top from the floor and throwing it on. She glances at me briefly before opening the door, shoving past Finn on her way out.

I know that Quinn has a certain level of issues that we haven't addressed yet and I'm fully aware that her mood can change dramatically in a matter of seconds but seeing her just then was something new. She seemed angry, worried and scared all at the same time and I have no idea why. Any progress we make to become an actual couple, to feeling comfortable with one another seems to be ruined by her erratic behaviour.

Finn coughs awkwardly from the doorway and momentarily I had forgotten he was there. I was too preoccupied thinking about Quinn. I stand and walk over to him, smoothing my dress down in the process. "Is everything okay?" He questions and I can smell alcohol on his breath.

"Honestly I don't really know what's just happened."

"What about you? Are you okay?"

I nod. "Is there something you wanted Finn?"

He scuffs his feet against the carpet. "Do you think we could maybe go for a walk?"

I glance at my alarm clock to see it's nearly midnight. "It's late Finn; can this not wait until tomorrow?"

"It's important Rachel, please."

His eyes are pleading with me and even though I should probably go look for Quinn, I haven't the heart to turn him down. After all, he used to be my best friend and there's a chance that this conversation will erase our earlier one. Besides, it's probably better if Quinn has time to cool off. "Okay, but can we make it quick? After our earlier conversation I don't know how much more disdain I can take from you."

I shut the door behind me and we make our way downstairs towards the living room in silence. Upon entry, he immediately heads towards Kurt and Blaine's liquor cabinet whilst I sit down on the sofa. "Do you want something?"

"No, I'm fine thank you." He shrugs his shoulder and pours himself a drink. "Don't you think you've maybe had enough?"

He downs his whisky in one go, his face grimacing as he swallows the liquid. "I found out just over an hour ago that you have a girlfriend, I think I'm allowed a couple of drinks to take the edge off."

"I didn't think you'd be as upset as you are," I admit. "I mean we haven't been together since we were 18, that was seven years ago Finn. We haven't even spoken since our break up. I thought we were friends."

"We are friends," he replies calmly.

"What you said earlier hurt me Finn. I didn't want to hurt you and I'm sorry if I did but there was no need for you to question my feelings for you."

"I know." He ducks his head down. "It just came as a shock. It put a spanner in the works."

"What do you mean?"

He raises his head and stares at me. "You have no idea how hard you are to get over Rachel."

"Wait…were you under the illusion that this week would bring us back together?" I question and the look on his face gives me my answer.

"I thought maybe I'd have a shot. I mean nobody knew that you were dating anybody and Kurt didn't tell me that you were gay…"

"Bi-sexual," I correct. "Although you really need to stop labelling me," I mutter under my breath, considerably annoyed at his lack of understanding.

"Right, sorry. It's a lot to take in," he replies, giving me his signature dopey expression.

Seven years ago, I'd have melted at that look.

"Finn, you're a great guy and I love you but I'm not in love with you," I tell him. "I haven't been since senior year. And just in case you have any doubts still, I was in love with you when we dated. Even if I had known about my sexuality back then, it wouldn't have changed the fact that I was in love with you."

He sits beside me on the sofa. "I didn't mean to react as badly as I did earlier. I'm sorry."

"Why did you then?"

"I don't know, shock I guess," he suggests. "I'm really sorry, it's just…ever since we broke up, I've always hoped for a second chance with you and I thought that after this week that hope could have become a reality." He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I guess finding out that you had a girlfriend just solidified the fact that we were over and I was never getting you back. I think that's maybe why I reacted as badly as I did, not so much the fact that you had a girlfriend, more the fact that I didn't have a shot."

"Finn…"

He gives me a lop-sided smile. "I guess I was just being stupid. I mean you're a famous Broadway actress, not to mention gorgeous. You can have anybody you want."

I can't help but notice that he called me gorgeous whereas Quinn has called me beautiful.

"That's lovely of you to say Finn…"

"I mean it." His eyes are slightly glazed over and I can tell the alcohol he has previously drunk is beginning to affect him more and more. He shuffles a little closer to me and my breathing quickens with nerves. "I always knew that you could do so much better than me, that you deserved better than me."

"Don't put yourself down Finn."

"It's true…"

"No it's not, when we were together, you have no idea how happy I was Finn, how happy you made me," I explain. "I used to think I didn't deserve you."

"Really?"

I stare at him blankly. "Of course, you were captain of the football team and I was, for lack of a better word, a loser. I used to stare at the Cheerios and wonder why you didn't pick them. I could never understand why you picked me over them."

"Because I loved you," he replies. "You were the love of my life Rachel; nobody else holds a candle to you."

I wish I could say the same.

But I can't.

Finn gives me a small smile before leaning closer to me. I can feel his breath on my lips and his eyes close. I place my hand against his chest as he tries to kiss me, pushing him away more forcefully than I wanted. His eyes open and recognition passes over his face

"Rachel, I'm sorry. I don't know why I just did that."

"I'm going to bed Finn; I think you need to do the same. Go to sleep and sober up. We'll talk again in the morning." He nods submissively and apologises once more.

I walk away from him, heading back upstairs towards mine and Quinn's bedroom. When I enter the room, I call Quinn's name but she doesn't respond. I take a seat on the foot of the bed and wait impatiently for her to return. I tell myself that she's most likely gone for a cigarette or two to calm down but I can't be sure. I tap my fingers against my thighs before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed rather than just sitting and waiting for Quinn like a devoted wife.

I throw my pyjamas on quicker than normal and rid myself of my makeup. I'm fully aware that tonight my evening routine will not be completed. I brush my teeth thoroughly before spitting the toothpaste into the sink.

The bedroom door opens as I leave the bathroom and Quinn's eyes find mine straight away. "Rachel." She breathes out my name like she's been desperate to say it since she left. She walks towards me and winches when she looks down at my wrists to see that they marginally red.

I hadn't even noticed.

"I am so sorry for that." It looks like she's about to cry and her face is filled with worry. "Did I hurt you?"

"No Quinn, you didn't."

"Are you sure?" She fingers my wrist softly. "It's red."

I bring her fingers away from my wrist and entwine them with mine. "Yes I'm sure Quinn, there's no need to get upset about it. I hadn't even noticed until you'd pointed it out."

She sniffs. "I just…I never want to hurt you."

I cup her cheek softly, forcing her to look at me. "Well it's a good job you haven't then." I give her a small smile and she returns it after several minutes. "Can I ask you something?" She nods slowly. "Why were you so adamant that I shouldn't open the door?"

She closes her eyes and breathes heavily, clearly unhappy with the question. "I told you, I didn't want you talking to him. I didn't want him upsetting you again."

"But you said that I should talk to him again."

"Yeah I meant tomorrow or later on in the week, after the dust had settled, I didn't want you to just jump straight out of bed and go talk to him."

"I'm sure the conversation would have still been the same whenever we had it, it was better to get it over and done with. Clear the air so to speak."

She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Must we talk about him?"

"Okay," I concede. "We won't talk about him."

A silence falls over us but unlike earlier, this one isn't comfortable.

It's awkward.

I'm heading towards our bed when Quinn's hoarse voice breaks the silence. "What did he want?"

"I thought you didn't want to talk about him," I reply in a slightly childish manner and Quinn gives me a deathly stare, effectively telling me to answer the question. "It's not important. I don't know why you're letting this situation annoy you so much but clearly anything I tell you is just going to make your mood worse."

"Don't play the martyr Rachel. Tell me."

I sigh heavily. "He apologised for the way he reacted earlier and said that he only reacted the way he did because he thought this week could possible rekindle our old relationship and finding out about you was the final nail in the coffin," I explain and she is listening intently. I deliberate over whether or not I should tell her the next part.

"What aren't you telling me?" She asks. "I could smell alcohol on him as I passed him. He didn't do anything to upset you again, did he?"

Despite seeming angry at the whole situation, when questioning whether or not I'm okay, her voice softens.

"No."

"Come on Rachel, I know there's something you're not telling me," she says. "You can't look me in the eye so I know you're hiding something.

"He…" I look her directly in the eyes, intrigued as to what her reaction will be. "He tried to kiss me."

"He what?" Her voice is steady but somehow, that makes it more threatening.

"Quinn he was drunk, he didn't mean it, he apologised straight away and he'll regret it in the morning."

"I don't care if he was drunk; he had no right to try that." She spins around and heads to the door.

"Where are you going?" I ask worriedly.

"To find Finn, he can't try to kiss you and get away with it."

I run towards the door, overtaking her and slamming it shut when she tries to open it. "Don't even think about it Quinn. There's no need to make this into a big issue."

She steps back and her face scrunches up in thought. "Why don't you want me to go?"

"Because it's late and you'll no doubt wake everybody else up, because there's no need to go, because you'll just make things worse," I respond. "Choose one of the above options."

She's silent for several moments before a flash of curiosity passes over her face. "Did you give him any encouragement?"

My eyes widen at her question. "No of course not! Why would you even think that Quinn?"

Quinn begins to pace. "He was your first boyfriend, your first love so you must still care for him. You saw him today for the first time in years; I wouldn't be surprised if old feelings resurfaced."

"Yes he was my first boyfriend, yes he was my first love and yes I still care for him. But my feelings towards him are strictly platonic, I do not harbour any romantic feelings for Finn, not anymore," I reply, angry at her lack of belief in me. "You have no right to accuse me of that. When you asked me if I wanted to make him jealous, I said no because I don't have feelings for him. If I don't have feelings for him why would I give him encouragement to kiss me?"

"So it's just a coincidence that the second time he comes to talk to you, he tries to kiss you?"

"You are being ridiculous." I shake my head in frustration and walk away from her. "He came to talk to me because he wanted to apologise for the way he reacted earlier. And I have to say that he wouldn't have reacted that way if you hadn't stormed out and made me tell him in the way I did. If you'd have let me do what I wanted, then he probably would have reacted better. But no, you had to come out and act like the big I am."

"Well I am your girlfriend and I didn't like how close you two were getting. You were holding hands Rachel." Her voice is slightly raised and I think Santana and Brittany will be hearing us for a different reason tonight.

"It was meant to be a friendly gesture but he took it the wrong way. I tried to undo it as soon as I realised. And you're only pretending to be my girlfriend Quinn; you're not actually my girlfriend."

As soon as the words leave my mouth I regret them. We'd ignored that fact for the past two days and acted as if what we had was real. Hell only several hours ago I realised I liked her. I would actually be proud to call her my girlfriend; I shouldn't have thrown the fact that what we're doing is just pretend.

Quinn stops pacing at my words. "Oh I get it. When I'm playing the perfect girlfriend in front of everybody else, that's okay. But if I do something you don't like, you make it known that this is all pretend. You certainly know how to put me back in my place Rachel," she says angrily. "Let's not forget that I'm doing you a favour here. I didn't have to come here this week."

"Why did you then?"

"Because you asked me to!" She shouts loudly.

"Maybe I shouldn't have," I shout back at her.

Quinn laughs in a cold manner. "I didn't exactly see people lining up for you."

Her laugh was somewhat callous and although I want to mimic her actions, I can't. That last statement hurt. "I suppose you have people queuing up for you? I don't even know you and I can tell you're fucked up Quinn. It's always one step forwards, two steps backwards with you isn't it? Just when I think we're making progress, you go and lose your temper over something this stupid."

Her eyes darken and they hold ferocity. I have to admit that I'm a little frightened. "You're right, you don't know me! If you did you'd know that I'm not desperate enough to ask somebody to pretend to be my girlfriend," she says harshly.

My face drops and I can feel tears brimming in my eyes. "You know you can criticise Finn all you want but at least he never made me feel pathetic."

I don't know whether it's the way I say it, whether Quinn can hear the hurt in my voice or whether she can see the tears in my eyes but Quinn's face softens at my statement and I can tell she regrets what she just said.

"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry." She's no longer shouting. If anything her voice has dropped several octaves to no more than a whisper.

"Save your breath Quinn," I reply heading towards the bed. "As you so rightly stated, you're doing me a favour but maybe we should just agree to end it because clearly it's not working for either of us. So why don't you just go."

Quinn stays where she is. "I don't want to go. Listen Rachel, I say things I don't mean when I lose my temper. Don't pay any attention to it."

I climb into bed. "Get out Quinn." I roll over to face the bathroom so I can't see her anymore. I don't want her to see how upset I am. She doesn't move for several minutes and I'm not sure if she actually plans to listen to me and leave.

"Rae," she pleads and it's the first time she's called me something so simple yet so intimate at the same time.

"Please just leave me alone." My voice breaks as I speak and I'm sure she can tell that I'm trying hard not to cry even though she can't see me

Only seconds later I hear the door open and close. I glance over my shoulder to make sure that she has left and the tears which have been threatening to fall begin to descend.

Hours ago I accepted that I liked Quinn and I had been thinking that after this week, our relationship might progress into girlfriend territory. I had been too busy thinking about my feelings that I didn't think about Quinn's.

How can we be girlfriends if we don't even truly know one another? We've just had our first fight and even though I told her to leave, I just want her to come back and cuddle with me. I want her to tell me that everything will be okay but I know that's not going to happen.

For all I know, she could take my words to heart and not be here in the morning.

That thought alone seems to make the tears come faster.