Author's Note: Thank you, y'all are really amazing with those reviews. Here's a new chapter and I hope you still like it even if it took this long.

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CHAPTER 7

Change Me

The news about her re-instatement as Captain of the winningest high school Lacrosse team in Ohio quickly spread around McKinley. Apparently, Jackie (their Goalie) Tweeted about it last night and the next thing Quinn knew, the adoring stares and the dreamy looks were back.

Not that they were ever gone.

It's just that Quinn knew the difference between the look that was just plainly because she's hot and the look that was caused by her status. Desperation was suddenly in those eyes that followed her as she walked down the hallway. She loved it. She kinda missed this.

She remembered the first time the entire school noticed her. It was way back in freshman year when she came home with the National High School Athletics Association (NHSAA) Most Valuable Player Award and Rookie of the Year award for Women's Lacrosse. The McKinley High Swaggers brought the National title home that year after a decade of drought and everyone knew her significance since then.

The Swaggers went home from Delaware defeating the Cape Henlopen Vikings via 13-6. The Vikings ruled the NHSAA Women's Lacrosse for five straight years. Nine of McKinley's goals were of Quinn's.

It changed the way the food chain functioned. Suddenly, the Swaggers were already in the same line with the Cheerios and the Titans.

Quinn never understood why Titans were in that level, though. They haven't won a single game in years and that included even the exhibition games. They were that bad. The Cheerios, despite their ridiculous cereal-sounding team name, deserved to be on the top spot. They have won the National Cheerleading Competition for four straight years, two of which came under Santana's reign.

Unfortunately, when Quinn parted with the Swaggers last year, the farthest they made in the NHSAA Women's Lacrosse was in the Final Four Round. It lessened the hype for the Swaggers but they didn't fall either. The Chess Team was still the lowest, followed by, well, the Glee Club.

She flashed her smile like she used to do and she could swear some girls died when she winked at them. Clad in her red McKinley High hoodie and a simple pair of jeans, she walked down the halls of McKinley like a boss.

"Hey, Quinn," someone from the Cheerios greeted her.

What was her name again?

"Hey," she greeted plainly and the other girl didn't expect Quinn greeting her back. She died inside.

A guy from the football team came up to him and smiled, "Hey Q, I heard you're back in the Swaggers."

"True, now get out of the way," she said smilingly.

The guy should have been offended but the fact that Quinn actually acknowledged him was already enough to brag about for the entire day.

She reached her locker and started taking out the books she'll need for the second and third period. She could still feel the attention on her but she's used to it and she loved it.

"Hey, Quinn. Looking good," Quinn knew that voice. Natalie.

She closed her locker and smiled at Natalie. She was wearing her Cheerios outfit and man, that skirt never seemed that short before. She was sure that Natalie was trying to seduce her again and with that skirt, it might actually work.

"You, too, Nat. Wow," she said as she smiled.

Natalie blushed for some reason as she shrugged her shoulders, "I figured I could show some more skin."

Quinn chuckled, "I wonder where the hell is the rest of that skirt."

Natalie laughed as she playfully poked Quinn's arm, "You still have it in you."

Quinn just smiled. Frankly, she was walking on cloud nine. She really loved the attention she's getting, especially when girls actually try to be noticed. She never got the hang of it but man, she can never complain about how crazy the girls of McKinley were for her.

Natalie leaned on the lockers as Quinn faced her resting her hand against the lockers just beside Natalie's head as her free hand softly played with a little of Natalie's hair.

Definitely flirting.

She should be avoiding Natalie, she has a girlfriend but she can't help it. Aside from Santana, Natalie's the hottest girl in school and sometimes, she just can't help but fall into the trap. This is the reason why she never settled for anything serious with anyone. She's easily tempted and she could not keep her hands to herself.

For a moment there, she forgot she actually had a girlfriend. No one could blame her though, even she had a girlfriend before, she still flirted with people non-stop.

She talked to Natalie in such close proximity that she could actually kiss her. People around them were murmuring. Some were taking photos, wanting to take a proof that Quinn had actually dumped the Glee girl.

Quinn was acting like a hot bachelor while the Glee girl was just standing at the other side of the hallway watching the scene unfold in front of her.

"Oh man, same old Quinn," Puck said as he approached Rachel.

Rachel didn't answer. It hurt her to some degree but she could not complain. Everyone she knew warned her about this. Quinn will never change, even for Rachel Berry.

"You can stop staring now, Rach. It'd hurt much less," Puck said nervously and totally clueless about how Rachel was taking this. Sometimes, he was thankful about how Rachel was so vocal about her thoughts because he didn't need to be bothered about it; but right now, Rachel was silent. And it scared him.

Rachel just sighed but kept on watching Quinn.

She saw Quinn share a laugh with Natalie. They were still in that compromising position. Rachel's eyes grew wide when she saw Quinn slap the butt of a Cheerio that just passed by.

Her nerves!

The girl should have been offended but no, the girl wasn't offended at all. She didn't even frown. She giggled. She freaking giggled when Quinn slapped her butt!

"That was hot," Puck said.

"Noah."

"I'm sorry. Come on, Rachel. Let's grab some ice cream."

"Do you know a place with vegan ones?"

"Yeah but it's downtown. You want to skip class?"

Rachel sighed. She took one look at Quinn before nodding, "Yeah. She wants war. I'll give her war. Come on."

#####

It was time for the Swaggers' afternoon training.

Quinn was starting to warm up for their drills but her mind was wandering off elsewhere.

She hasn't seen Rachel today; not on first period, not on second period, not even in lunch. She wouldn't pickup or return her calls.

Quinn wasn't used to Rachel ignoring her because well, no one ever really ignores her.

Before their drills started, Quinn took her phone out and sent a text to Santana.

Text me if you've seen her.

Then, she punched a text to Rachel which, for some reason, made her heart beat faster.

Is there something wrong? Talk to me. - Qute

She tried using her mushy nickname hoping it would make Rachel reply but unfortunately, it didn't.

She went to drills hoping she would see Rachel at Glee later. The diva never missed Glee. She's the "Glee Girl" after all.

#####

The time for Glee came and Quinn could swear she had never been excited seeing someone than she was at that time.

She could finally see Rachel.

Honestly, this thought scared her.

She reached the choir room and to her surprise, Rachel wasn't there. Everyone was already seated except for Puck and Rachel and this is the part she actually started to worry.

She silently took her seat next to Rachel's usual as Mr. Schue started with his ramblings.

"Has anyone seen Rachel today?" Mr. Schue asked.

Everyone exchanged looks of confusion until they all ended up looking at Quinn.

Quinn shrugged, "I haven't seen her."

"That's weird," Artie said.

Then, just like that Rachel and Puck came in laughing hysterically at something no one has a clue about.

"Sorry we're late, Mr. Schue."

Mr. Schue nodded, "We were just looking for you."

Quinn looked at Rachel and waited for her sit next to her but the diva didn't. She took one of the seats on top of the risers and Puck sat next to him.

Something swirled inside her stomach and she never felt this before.

Is she... jealous?

She didn't know but the feeling of seeing Rachel having fun with someone else actually hurt.

"Where have you been, Rachel?" Kurt asked. "I didn't see you in class today, not in any of our classes, actually."

Rachel just smiled, "I skipped school today."

This made Quinn raise an eyebrow.

"Puck took me downtown. I had so much fun."

Quinn just looked at Rachel and again, that feeling was back. She sighed heavily. She wasn't sure about how to deal with this.

"Are you okay, Rachel?" Mr. Schue asked.

"Yes, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

#####

After Glee, Rachel went straight to her locker to stuff the rest of her things hoping she'd escape Quinn's pending confrontation.

She saw the way Quinn was looking at her and it broke her apart. She knew Quinn was worrying about her for the entire day but she couldn't talk to her because she's mad. Not at Quinn but herself.

"Rachel?"

Rachel knew that voice – only she never heard it in that low and defeated tone.

She closed her locker to face Quinn.

"Hello, Quinn."

Silence.

None of them knew where to proceed from there.

"We -" Quinn sighed. Rachel was giving her the cold shoulder and she didn't know why.

She didn't know why but it hurt.

"We haven't spent time together today," she said.

"I'm sorry, Quinn but I have been busy today. We'll catch up tomorrow or some other day," Rachel said trying to avoid Quinn's curious stare. She didn't know if the sad look of Quinn's face was one of the blonde's many ways of getting people. But she swore to herself she'll never fall for it.

"Rach, are we okay?"

Rachel had to close her eyes. She wouldn't fall for it. No. "Yes, we're okay. Why wouldn't we be?"

"You didn't return my calls today and you also didn't tell me you're actually skipping class. I'm... I'm just not used to that."

"The decision to skip class was sudden. I'm sorry for my lack of effort to tell you about it."

"I'm sorry," Quinn said without even knowing why she's saying sorry.

Rachel turned to Quinn and looked at her. Really, if Quinn was just acting to be this smitten and sorry puppy, she was pulling it off majorly. "For what?"

"I don't know. I know you're avoiding me. I must have done something wrong but I don't know what but still I'm sorry."

"How could you be sorry about something you don't even know what?"

"I don't know. I just didn't mean to hurt you or something."

"You're acting so much like Finn right now," Rachel said. She didn't mean to make it sound so bitter but it came out like that.

Quinn just looked at her.

"I have to go home now."

"I'll drive you."

"No. I want to go home by myself."

"But..."

"Quinn, please. I need space."

"Space?" Quinn walked backwards giving a space between her and Rachel. "There you have it. Space."

Rachel chuckled bitterly, "Very funny."

"Tell me what's going on, Rachel!" now, she's yelling.

"What's wrong? Have you forgotten how flirty and cool you were this morning, huh? And you're wondering why I didn't tell you about skipping class?"

"I -"

The realization hit her.

"Puck and I didn't spend a fun time downtown, Quinn. I was crying the whole day because it hurt so much seeing you that way with other people."

Quinn just looked at Rachel who looked like she was about to cry.

"I always believed that they were wrong about you but I'm starting to believe them."

Quinn just bit her lower lip because hearing that from Rachel actually sucked.

"I don't know what's wrong with you and you're obsession for girlfriends but if you don't know, I hate the feeling of being cheated on. I hate the feeling of having to share you with everyone else and if you're not used to that, think about it because I couldn't do this with you if you're not going to help me."

"Why are you so mad at me?"

"Oh, I'm not mad at you," Rachel said as her tears fell. "I'm mad at myself for actually believing you'd change."

Rachel was gone in an instant and Quinn was left shocked.

She didn't know how to react because she'd never been here before, in this kind of situation.

"You really pushed the buttons this morning, Q," Puck said as he appeared from the corner. He had been there all the while because Rachel told him to watch out for her so she won't break in front of Quinn. He just decided not to meddle when couple started talking.

Quinn sighed as she gently bumped her head on the lockers, "Damn it."

"She likes you a lot that's why she's acting that way."

"I kind of... like her, too. I just didn't know she was watching."

Puck chuckled as he held Quinn away from the lockers to keep her from hurting herself. "You shouldn't have done that in the first place. If you want to flirt with everybody else go ahead, just don't do it while you're in a relationship with Rachel. That's not cool."

Quinn shrugged, "It comes out naturally."

"She actually cares about you. She likes you not for your popularity or your royal hotness. She's kinda nuts," Puck said smilingly. His phone beeped and he checked it only to see a message from Rachel.

"See?" he said as he showed Rachel's message to Quinn.

Make sure she's home safe. She didn't bring her car.

Quinn smiled.

If she'd be honest, Rachel's done a great job taking care of her for the short time they'd been together. She's so far the best girlfriend she had and she's not gonna lie about that.

"I was such a jerk."

"Totally. You have a good thing with Rachel, Quinn. Don't waste it."

Quinn sighed as she nodded, "Yeah. I better get going."

She said as she started running out of the school.

"Where are you going? I need to make sure you're home safe!" Puck yelled.

"At Rachel's."

"What happened to space?"

"What happened to not wasting the good thing?"

Puck just smiled.

Looks like Quinn Fabray was growing a heart.

#####

"Rachel!" she called from outside the Berry residence."Talk to me, please."

Quinn had been lightly throwing small stones at the window of Rachel's bedroom. She didn't know but she just needed to talk to her.

To say honestly, the thought of losing Rachel scared her.

It is the first time she actually felt scared of losing someone. It was supposed to be easy. Her relationship with Rachel was just because of a bet, it was supposed to be staged and scripted. She's supposed to hate every second of it because Santana said that Rachel was the most annoying girl in all of Ohio, probably the world but Quinn didn't hate it. If anything, she liked it.

She liked Rachel.

Quinn wasn't good with words but at least for once, she'll try to be.

"Go home, Quinn!" Rachel yelled from inside the house. Her dads were at the living room silently listening to Quinn's pleading.

"Rachel, just talk to her," Leroy said a little worried about Quinn because the sun had long set and the night was getting colder.

"I won't," Rachel said stubbornly.

Leroy and Hiram just exchanged looks.

"Rachel, I am not going home until you talked to me! I mean it," they heard Quinn say.

"Do you think she means it?" Hiram teased.

"She doesn't. She'll go home eventually," Rachel said as she kissed her dads and made her way to her room. Just as when she was about to sleep, she heard an engine set off from the front of their house. She knew it was Quinn giving up and not actually meaning what she just said earlier.

It hurt a little to know that Quinn gave up on trying to talk to her but this day had been bad enough that she just wanted to sleep through it and wait for a better tomorrow.

#####

In the middle of the night, Rachel woke up in sudden need for water. It was weird for her because her sleep never gets interrupted that much.

She checked her clock on top of her nightstand and realized that it was only four am.

She made her way downstairs and noticed that the TV in the living room was still on. She checked and saw Leroy watching a vintage NBA game.

"Dad? Why aren't you asleep?"

"It's four am, Rachel."

"It's just four am," Rachel said in confusion. Her Dad always loved sleeping on time.

"My conscience could not get me to sleep with a teenage girl outside of my house, sitting on my lawn for six hours already."

Rachel's eyes grew wide, "Wha –"

Leroy just shrugged and motioned for Rachel to peek through the window.

Rachel did and indeed, Quinn was sitting on their lawn with her feet drawn close to her chest as she rested her head on top of her knee. She was still on her red McKinley hoodie and she could still see Quinn shivering into the cold.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"She never left. I told her to come in but she wouldn't. She said she doesn't deserve us treating her nicely. That kid is something."

Rachel sighed heavily as she ran upstairs and came back down with a blanket in her hands. She went straight outside of the house swinging the door open.

"Quinn! What do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

Rachel's voice – despite the music through her earphones – startled Quinn. She looked up and when she saw Rachel walking towards her, she quickly stood and removed the earphone off her ears.

"Rachel."

"Quinn, are you trying to kill yourself?" Rachel yelled as she draped the blanket around Quinn's shoulders. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I wasn't going home until you talked to me."

"You actually meant it."

Quinn just blinked and nodded. She knew this is where the speech thing should start.

"Go home, Quinn."

"Rachel, just talk to me."

"What do you want Quinn? I said I wanted space."

"What is space supposed to mean, Rachel?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Look, Rach. I am sorry for talking to you at four in the morning. I know how much you hate having your beauty rest interrupted but I need to talk to you because I can't endure an entire night of not trying to apologize to you."

"You don't even know what you are apologizing for."

"I'm sorry for not knowing how real relationships work, Rach."

Rachel took a deep breath and tried to hold her tears. She had never seen Quinn this sincere and it melted her heart.

"I have never had a real relationship before and you know that. I never had a girl or a boy who wanted their parents to meet me. I never had a girl who made relationship calendars. I never had a girl who sang love songs while looking into my eyes and I am sorry because this is all new to me. I don't know how relationships work but believe me if I tell you that I have enjoyed every minute of my relationship with you."

Quinn didn't know where she's getting all the guts to say what she just said but she was sure that they weren't lies.

"Honestly, I could break up with you right now and get someone else in a snap of a finger but I won't do that because I like you."

There. She said it.

"I like how you make me feel everyday. I like how you take care of me because no one ever made an effort before. I never liked anyone in my life, Rachel. You're the first girl in my life that I liked and forgive me for always messing things up because this is the first time I felt so much about somebody."

Rachel's tears fell.

"Oh God, please don't cry."

"Quinn..." Rachel didn't know what to say.

"Change me," Quinn said in a shaky voice. Her voice broke partly because it was freezing but mainly because she was feeling too much emotion.

Quinn went down on her knees as she took Rachel's hand. She looked up and met the diva's teary eyes, "I want you to change me, Rachel. Teach me how this relationship thing works because I don't want to lose you."

Despite her tears, Rachel smiled.

"You make me want to be a person, Rachel. Don't give up on me."

Rachel broke into sobs as she pulled Quinn up and hugged her for dear life.

"Why are you crying?" Quinn asked as she hugged Rachel back.

"I'm just so happy."

"Shouldn't you be smiling?"

"Stop acting like Finn."

"Isn't it charming?"

"Not on you."

Quinn just smiled as she squeezed Rachel tighter. She looked up and saw Leroy and Hiram in the doorway watching the exchange.

"Are we okay now?"

"We can say that."

Quinn pulled away and looked at Rachel, "I missed you."

Rachel just as smiled as she kissed Quinn gently, "I missed you, too."

"Are you going to take me with you the next time you're skipping class?"

Rachel's eyes grew wide because, hello, her fathers were just behind them listening.

"I am not skipping class ever again and don't you dare say that out loud again."

Quinn chuckled, "God, Rach. I was so worried about you."

"At least you know how to worry about your girlfriend. That's a start."

Quinn smiled sadly, "Yeah."

Rachel snaked her arms around Quinn's neck, "Hey, don't feel bad. I'll teach you how this works."

Quinn pecked her girlfriend's lips.

"Let's get you inside now."

"I'm so sleepy."

They walked towards the door and Rachel saw her fathers with a playful smile on their faces, "Open door policy."

Rachel instantly looked at Quinn and laughed at how the girl was blushing.

"Oh my God, I wasn't planning on getting her laid tonight!"

"They're just teasing you."

"But not really."

"You can trust me on that. I could be a jerk but I respect Rachel in that aspect."

The Berry men smiled. If there's one thing they really admired about Quinn, it's her courtesy.

"Don't you ever do that again, Quinn. I appreciate the drama but staying out until four in the morning is not safe."

As she and Rachel ascended the stairs, Quinn teased, "Dad, Daddy, are you sure about the open door policy?"

Rachel smacked her on the head.

"Ow."

They shared a laugh and for a moment there, Quinn felt as if she could fly, like everything was okay; like everything was perfect. Does this how 'liking' someone felt like?

Because if this is it, Quinn was sure she loves every second of it.

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Thoughts?

Do you think I should write longer chapters?