TITLE: I Am Because We Are

WORD COUNT: 15,649

WORLD: Glee AU.

SUMMARY: (Punk!Quinn/Gothic!Rachel) Quinn has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but all she knows is that she wants to get out of Ohio. Then Rachel comes into her life and helps Quinn in more ways than one.

RATING: T for language and drug use.

CHARACTERS INVOLVED: Quinn, Rachel, the Skanks, Ms. Pillsbury, Judy, Hiram, and Leroy.

A/N: Excuse all mistakes and typos, this is unbeta-ed.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Glee.


Quinn rounded the backside of the metal bleachers and joined the rest of The Skanks. Mack was laying down, taking up one whole bench, while Sheila was leaning up against a metal beam, lighting Ronnie's cigarette. They didn't bother greeting her as she lifted up Mack's feet and moved them so she could sit down, earning her a annoyed groan from the girl. Immediately she dug in her pocket for her own carton of cigarettes and lighter, needing to unwind after her last class.

She knew that she should really kick the habit, not particularly enjoying it, but she wanted to fit in with the Skanks...so she smoked. Without them, she'd have no one. Her Father had left them, but that was no great loss. Her Mother was practically absent, her best friend being the whiskey that she not-so-well-hid under her bed and in the dressers. And Quinn had ruined her reputation when she stupidly let McKinley's sex shark Noah Puckerman into her pants, taking her virginity and got pregnant.

When Quinn was just an innocent little girl, she never would have dreamed that she would be where she was today. She still had major issues with regretting giving up her baby, and in dealing with that she went home one day and dyed her hair bright pink and started dressing in dark, ripped clothing. The Skanks were all over her by the end of the first day, curious about her sudden transformation. She vented all of her anger and they welcomed her into their group, it was surprising to Quinn.

Being a social outcast wasn't really all it was cracked up to be, though. People still stared at her and whispered when her back was turned, but the student body also feared her, as they should. Her posse was pretty well known for cornering girls in the bathroom and giving them swirlies, or demanding their lunch money so they could buy smokes or drugs. Another thing Quinn didn't particularly like about the Skanks lifestyle, but she'd do anything at this point, just so she wouldn't have to be so alone.

Though Quinn thought she should be used to that feeling by now. When she was younger, she wasn't exactly the most popular girl in school. In fact, she was the pariah. Even below the boy who ate glue and stuck crayons up his nose. She was overweight, had big-framed glasses, and dorky pigtails. Always picked last in gym class, and sat alone in the cafeteria. How she wished she could just become invisible when the kids got more ruthless and nicknamed her Lucy Caboosey.

It wasn't until she met bright-eyed Brittany Pierce at Cheerleading camp the summer before freshman year of high school. By then, she'd lost weight, gotten contacts, and had a nose job...but Brittany was one of the people who didn't care about looks. She saw into the soul of a person, somehow, and deemed Quinn good enough to be her friend. Brittany had someone to stand up for her when people called her dumb, and Quinn got the companionship she'd always wanted.

It was a friendship made in heaven, until Brittany met Santana. They were still friends, but not as close, Brittany spending all her free time with the girl she had goo-goo eyes for. It made Quinn happy that this Santana girl looked out for Brittany and returned the feelings that the blonde had developed, but Quinn found herself alone in her room most days, just like it had been most of her life. That was, until she made the Cheerios. Coach, as crazy as she was, kept her busy.

Cheerleading took her mind off things, and allowed her to spend a little more time with Brittany. With Quinn as the captain only halfway into freshman year, the school bowed at her feet. Even though most of her friends were fake friends, it was better than nothing. She even had the captain of the football team chasing after her. Though she didn't exactly like him, because frankly, he was quite dumb and had an obsession with her boobs, she dated him because it was another thing to up her status.

Head Bitch of McKinley High. She liked the sound of it. But her popularity came at a price. The jocks and cheerleaders have a ritual of sorts, throwing ice cold slushies at the school losers. They made her throw one, as an initiation of sorts. Quinn will never forget how horrible she felt when she nailed Sugar Motta with a blueberry flavored slushie, just before first period. They targeted her because she insulted people, Aspergers or not, and sung all the time, even though she sucked.

But Quinn hid her emotions until she could be alone, and cried, praying for forgiveness, promising she'd never throw another slushie again. And she didn't, but to keep her place at the school, she ordered others to do the dirty work. Each time, she went home and prayed that God would forgive her for doing such terrible things, but she had to survive. High school was like a jungle, it's safer to be at the top of the food chain than at the bottom. Or else she'd be the one with corn syrup in her hair.

Only one year left in this hellhole, then to where, she didn't know. She had no plans, soon she'd have no friends. She'd be stuck. Forever a Lima Loser. Maybe this was her Fate all along though. But who in their right mind would hire a girl that looked like a jolly rancher that fell into an ashtray? No one, that's who. Her future plans before this weren't even her own, they were her Father's. Get married to Finn after graduation and work on getting a realtor's license. Sounded dull. And a bit like torture.

She could barely stand Finn on a good day, and if she had to marry him...she'd of probably killed herself before that happened. That boy still had a one-track mind: boobs. Actually scratch that, a two-track mind, he was obsessed with her butt too, just depended on the position that they were in when she had to make out with him. If she was on her back, he go for her chest every ten seconds, and if she was on top of him, he'd, not so stealthy move his hand from her hip to her ass.

Quinn was more than relieved when Finn broke up with her when he found out that Puck was really the Father of her child. She didn't have to pretend anymore, but other aspects of her life got worse. Kicked out of her own home by her Father, having to live with Puck and his bossy Mother and sister. It wasn't so bad, though. It was much better than living on the streets. Puck even got a job to pay hospital bills, not wanting to be like his own deadbeat Father that he hadn't seen in years.

When things didn't look like they could get worse, they did. She was kicked off the Cheerios when Coach found out about the pregnancy, so she was literally and figuratively tossed off the top of the social pyramid. She was the subject of gossip for about a week before everyone seemed to forget about her altogether. Well, almost almost, she was slushied at least once a week for about a month before Puck found out what was going on and put a stop to it. He was a jock, so they listened.

After Quinn gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, Beth, who Puck had named, was given up for adoption. She'd agreed to an open adoption, so she would receive letters and pictures as Beth grew up. She could even be in Beth's life when she was ready, but that was two years ago, and still, she wasn't ready to face the child's face that she had given up. It wasn't until it was time for the nurse to take Beth out of her hands, that Quinn regretted wanting to get rid of her in the first place.

Quinn knew that she wasn't ready to be a Mother at sixteen, but the connection that she'd made with her baby in those nine months was so much stronger than she had thought. There was no way that she could get Beth back now, Shelby, the woman who adopted her, was a great Mother to her. The best Quinn could have ever picked. She even moved closer so that when Quinn was ready, she could see Beth easily. But that was all for nothing so far. It scared her. What if Beth wouldn't like her?

She was as content as she could be with the letters and pictures she receives every month. And keeps the only picture of her and Beth in her wallet. One day she would gather up the courage and see her beautiful, blonde daughter in person. After graduation, maybe. Then at least her hair would be back to blonde, her clothes would be normal again, and she wouldn't have to pretend not to care about anything just to have friends to survive high school.

But then she'd have no one again. the Skanks weren't the best, but at least she knew they always had her back if she needed it. Once she changed back, they wouldn't want her anymore, so what was going to happen? She needed to think about her future, what she wanted to do, where she wanted to go. Her Father's plan for her was destroyed, and not that she wanted to have it back, but at least it was something. Quinn wasn't particularly good at anything that pointed her in the right direction.

Maybe a trip to Ms. Pillsbury was needed. The woman was completely clueless about a lot of things, but she'd seen her help other student with college applications, so why not give it a try? Though she'd have to be careful about it. Wouldn't want the Skanks to find out that she actually does care about her future to some degree. She actually felt bad for them. Mack had been held back twice, Sheila, three times, and Ronnie once. Thank God, Quinn kept her grades up.

"Earth to Quinn!" Mack said as she nudged the blonde's leg with her foot.

"Huh?"

"We asked you, twice, if you were going to Ricky's party with us tonight?"

Quinn had forgotten that was tonight. "Oh, yeah."

"Cool. Want me to come pick you up?"

"Sure."

"Be ready by eight." Mack replied, ending the conversation with Quinn and continued talking to Ronnie and Sheila.

When the school day ended, Quinn hid out in the bathroom for twenty minutes to let the rush of bodies in the halls dissipate before coming out and heading to the Counselor's Office. She could see into the room from down the main hall, and since no one was there, she hurried in and closed the blinds, earning her an eyebrow raise from the redhead sitting behind her desk, who was pumping sanitizer into her hand from a rather large bottle.

"I need your help." Quinn stated when she turned back around.

"Uh oh." Ms. Pillsbury's face fell. "Are you pregnant again?"

"What? No!" Quinn scrunched her face up, hating that was the first thing that the counselor thought what wrong. "I...I don't know what I'm going to do after graduation, and I need your help to figure it out. I hate Lima. I hate Ohio. I just want to get out of here and start a new life, but there's nothing I'm good at, so I have no clue where to apply or anything."

"Alright, Quinn, settle down. Of course I'll help you." She smiled, retrieving a notepad from the left side of her desk and a pen from the right. "Now, you must have some idea of what you'd like to do?"

"Not at all. It's pretty pathetic, actually" Quinn said, feeling vulnerable. "Ever since I can remember, my Father always dictated everything I did in my life, and now that he's gone, I'm back in control of my future. But...it's like everything is spiraling out of control. I have no idea what to do because without someone constantly telling me what to do...I don't know who I really am or what I like. I just know that I want to get out of Ohio. I'm not going to be a Lima Loser."

It was uncomfortable for Quinn to be so open like that with someone, but if she didn't tell Ms. Pillsbury what she was really feeling, she wouldn't understand, and therefore probably would be less helpful.

"Okay. Might I suggest that you join some clubs that sound interesting to you? If you like it, stick with it. If not, try something different. It will at least give you a better idea, which will give me a better idea and it'll be easier to help you."

"Oh..." Quinn sighed.

"What is it, Quinn?"

"If the Skanks find out that I'm joining clubs, they'll have my hyde." She thought aloud.

"Maybe they aren't the best people to be friends with then, if they don't support you..."

Quinn looked up at Ms. Pillsbury. "They're the only friends I have."

Quinn headed home after she promised Ms. Pillsbury that she would think about her suggestion about looking for some clubs to join. She'd maybe check a few out, but didn't know if she'd have the courage to actually join any. It'd be hard to keep it from the Skanks. But Ms. Pillsbury also said that she would look at different colleges and present them to Quinn to see if anything interested her. She had her doubts, but it wouldn't hurt to try. So they'd meet again at the end of the week after school.

Dragging herself up the stairs of her home was becoming more and more difficult. She really had to stop smoking, and when she did, she'd never touch one again. Being out of breath from climbing less than twenty steps at her age was just plain ridiculous, especially since just two years ago she could run around the track for hours. As soon as her bedroom door was closed, she dropped her bag on the floor with a heavy thud, and sat down on the edge of her bed to catch her breath.

Thinking about the party to come, she groaned. Quinn really wasn't in the partying mood, but if she didn't go, the Skanks would want to know why...and she really didn't have a viable excuse, especially when she said she would go at lunch. Why they wanted her with them at all times was kind of weird, but she didn't dare say anything about it. They gave her enough crap for not trying more drugs at the parties. The only thing she'd tried was marijuana, and boy did Mack get a kick out of that.

Too keep them happy, she did a joint at the beginning of the parties, so that it would ware off by the time she needed to drive home. Since Mack was driving there tonight, Quinn knew that she'd have to drive on the way back, then walk the rest of the way to her house, because Mack was not one to hold back at parties. They were all pretty surprised that she was still alive with all the drugs she's done, and does on a regular basis. Even more surprising that she still looks as good as she does.

Quinn's stomach rumbling brought her out of her thoughts. When she joined the Skanks, she found out that they don't eat during lunch period. Most the time they did what they usually did...hang out and smoke under the bleachers. But when they needed money for various things, that's when they'd corner some girl in the bathroom and take her lunch money. This made Quinn have to wait and eat until she got home...but downstairs seemed like such a chore when she had trouble getting up here.

Food could wait another ten minutes, now she needed to shower. With non-scented shampoo of course. The Skanks had a thing for being perpetually dirty, which really grossed out Quinn. The second day she had started hanging out with them, they turned up their noses because she ''reeked of soap''. That night she switched to non-scented shampoo and conditioner. As long as her body was clean, Quinn was satisfied. Her clothes were another story. She put up with the scent of smoke and alcohol.

When she first joined their little group, they'd taken her shopping for more Skank-like clothes. Anything black, ripped, or denim. It wasn't so bad, Quinn actually kind of liked dressing in the clothes. She felt more like herself, not an innocent, pretty, blonde in a babydoll dress like she'd always been, thanks to her Father. Though this particular style wasn't exactly her either, but it was still more her than she'd ever been allowed to be. Though she'd prefer if she could wash them more often, she made do.

Quinn welcomed the hot water that ran over her tired body, washing away the grime of her day, along with a little bit of pink hair dye swirling down the drain. It was progressively getting lighter, and she'd have to redo it again soon. The first time, she was surprised that when she asked Tina Cohen-Chang to help her, that she agreed. They'd never been friends, but they'd been paired up for a few class projects, and Tina had been goth once and knew more about hair dye than Quinn did.

Even though Tina had grown out of her goth phase, she was still happy to help Quinn, never dying someone's whole head of hair one color before, she was excited. Quinn was thankful that she was able to pull off pink, especially because she hadn't been able to decide what color to get at the store. She had finally just closed her eyes and grabbed one, and pink was the winner. Mrs. Puckerman had been shocked to see her the first time she came home after she'd gotten her hair done.

Almost having a heart attack because she thought that Quinn was a teenage delinquent burglar. Thankfully before she pulled out the bat from the closet, Quinn had made her realize who it was. Puck hadn't looked shocked when he saw her. He just narrowed his eyes, frowning before shaking his head slightly from side to side. His once baby momma was really going off the rails, and he had no idea how to get her back on track. Finally, Mrs. Puckerman couldn't take it anymore.

Quinn had the baby a while back, so she wasn't inclined to house a punk who would just be getting into trouble. So she kicked Quinn out, much to Puck's opposition. He'd fought to try and have her stay, but by the time the arguing match with his Mother was over, Quinn had packed her bags and left. She wandered the streets that night, not knowing where the Hell she was going, but somehow ended up in the driveway of which house she used to call home. It was worth a shot.

Russell was gone and Judy had reached out to her a few times before, but Quinn had declined, still angry at her Mother for letting her be kicked out in the first place. That night she put her pride aside and rang the doorbell. Her key no longer worked because Russell had had the locks changed as soon as she left. Judy answered the door in her light blue nightgown, frown on her face, ready to yell at the person who'd dare ring her doorbell at this time a night, but stopped.

When she saw it was Quinn, she didn't hesitate to launch herself forward and wrap her arms around her daughter. She'd finally come home, and as long as she was there, Judy looked the other way when it came to what Quinn did with her physical appearance. She'd been living at home since then, though her relationship with Judy hadn't improved much. She still drank, but most the time, Quinn wasn't home to witness it. And when she was home, her door was shut and music was loud.

The only time they really spoke was in the morning, when Judy made Quinn eat something for breakfast, and late at night when Quinn would come home and Judy would make sure that her daughter was alright, then wish her a good night. Quinn had mixed feelings about their whole situation. The teenager in Quinn was happy that her Mother kept her distance and let her do things that she'd never have gotten to do if Russell was still there. But on the other hand, the mature part of Quinn was furious.

Furious that her Mother either couldn't see how unhappy she was, or that she did see and didn't do anything about it. Mothers were supposed to take care of their children, protect them from dangerous situations, not allow them to go off to God knows where and do God knows what with God knows who. Judy knew who the Skanks were, but had only seen Mack in person a few times when she'd come by and pick up Quinn for a night of partying, much like tonight.

Stepping out of the shower, Quinn dried off, shaking her short hair out and rubbing it with a towel. After dressing and blow-drying her hair, she finally gather up the energy and headed downstairs and made herself a sandwich. And hour later, she was watching TV in the living room when Judy came home from work, passing by Quinn without a greeting and into the kitchen. She flipped through the channels as she waited for eight o'clock to roll around, hitting the buttons a little harder than necessary.

"Will you be home tonight?" Judy asked, coming into the living room.

"No. Mack's coming to get me at eight."

And that was it. Judy left the room without another word, and on the inside, Quinn screamed. Judy could make her stay if she'd just say so. But she didn't. Quinn didn't know why everyday she still had a sliver of hope in her that tried to convince her that her Mother would change. Quinn also thought often about finding all the booze in the house and dumping them down the drain. Her Mother had a problem and she didn't know what else to do to get to her stop. But every day she never did do it.

Turning off the TV, Quinn lugged herself up the stairs once again, needing to get as far away from her Mother as possible. She closed her door with more force than necessary, then turned on her CD player and let the loud music thump around her. Deciding to get her homework out of the way, she busied herself with algebra equations, a book report on To Kill A Mockingbird, and a one-sided Spanish worksheet. By the time she was done, it was seven thirty, and Mack would be coming soon.

Tossing her work back in the backpack, she took off her black Converse and replaced them with knee-high black boots with four shiny silver buckles along the front, and grabbed a matching leather jacket off a hanger. For the last touches, she applied eyeliner and eye shadow, tied her hair into a tiny ponytail, and checked her pockets to make sure she had everything. Her house keys were in her left jacket pocket, and cigarettes in the right. One last look in the mirror and Mack pulled up.

"Get your ass out here, Q!" Mack yelled from the car.

Quinn locked up the house and took her time walking to the car, just to irritate the girl. At times, it was funny to mess with Mack. But Quinn never dared to with Sheila or Ronnie. They were three times the size of her. Mack on the other hand, was the most laid back of the group, able to take a joke, and play with her. If she wasn't a Skank and didn't do drugs, Quinn would probably be actual friends with her, or more, since Mack has shown interest in her quite a few times.

Come to think of it, that's probably why she lets Quinn get by with so much. And she was more than happy to use that at her advantage. But Quinn really did care about the girl, and was the only one that ever helped her when she'd taken too much of whatever it was, and was out of it. Quinn couldn't count the amount of times that she'd taken an unconscious Mack home and stayed with her, holding her hand and petting her hair until she knew that the girl was going to be okay.

Quinn didn't know who would look out for her once she wasn't there to take care of her. Sheila and Ronnie didn't seem to worry, not taking Mack's drug problem seriously. The chances of the girl changing was the probability of Hell freezing over, so there wasn't much that Quinn could really do. Mack's Mother was worse than hers. Literally drunk twenty-four-seven. In and out of jail. It's highly likely what Mack will become like her sooner of later, if she doesn't die from an overdose first.

Opening the door to Mack's beaten up, black, '67 Chevy Camero, she was welcome with a wall of smoke and the smell of whiskey. She resisted the urge to cough and shut the door behind her. The ride to Ricky's house was comfortable silence between the two girls as Mack's radio pumped out various rap songs that Quinn didn't know the words to. The house was on the edge of town in a neighborhood that wasn't the best. Filled with criminals, but of the few times that Quinn's been there, no problems came up.

"Give me the keys." Quinn said after Mack pulled up the driveway and parked in the tall grass.

"Yes, Ma'am." She replied, tossing the jingling keys into Quinn's waiting hand.

Stuffing them in her pocket, she followed Mack up the porch stairs, and without knocking, let them in to the run down house. A strong wave of cigarette smoke mixed with pot smoke met them and encased them as they crossed the threshold. Quinn closed the door behind them and worked their way through the crowded living room and into the kitchen. There, Ronnie was getting a beer, talking to some really slimy-looking guy in a stained wife beater, basketball shorts, and no shoes.

Looking around more, Quinn found Sheila in the adjoining dining room, passing a joint back and forth with Ricky. Mack bumped her arm and passed her a red cup, taking it, she joined Sheila and Ricky, taking a seat next to Roxy, another usual at the parties they go to. The music wasn't as loud there, mostly being blocked by half a wall and the constant flow of people from the living room into the kitchen to get drinks. Quinn was a few sips into hers when Roxanne offered her a joint.

Quinn took it without question and sucked the smoke into her lungs, then handed it back. Socializing wasn't something that Quinn did at these parties unless someone came up to her and talked, so she stayed with the Skanks. Every once in a while a new face would come up to her and offer her another drink or an invitation to the upstairs bedroom, but she turned them down. Quinn never took drinks from anyone but Mack, and she sure didn't sleep around with these dirty people.

Though the rest of them didn't have the same concern. Everywhere you looked, there was people making out or practically having sex against a wall or on the sofa in front of everyone. Though it was normal, so no one thought much of it, or much less cared. Drugs did weird things to people, other than fuck them up on the insides. They'd do things they wouldn't normally do, not giving a fuck. What a way to contract something you really don't want, or take something you really didn't mean to.

Frankly, it was always a rather boring scene since they always did the same things, just at different locations. Quinn was bored out of her mind and tired of people watching, until one girl caught her eye. She hadn't seen her walk in the kitchen, but saw her as she stood there, next to the fridge, talking to Gary...or Gerry, and taking a sip from a red cup. She was a short, tan girl with bright blue streaks in her hair. She must either be knew, or just hadn't come to the same parties that Quinn was at.

Either way, Quinn was intrigued. But from the way the girl awkwardly stood there, attempting to maintain eye contact with one of the less gross guys there, Quinn could tell by her body language and the look on her face, that she was out of her element. It wasn't long before the girl set her empty red cup down and exited the kitchen, quicker than need be. Curious, Quinn got up and made her way through the house, back out into the living room, seeing the girl head up the stairs, she followed.

The girl ended up in the last room down the hallway, which was the guest bedroom. The first time Quinn was here, she found the guest bedroom and was able to relax for a while without all the smoke from downstairs making her even more light-headed. When she peeked in the bedroom, the girl was leaning on the window frame. The window was mostly all the way open, and the wind from outside was coming in and gently tossing her hair around her face.

"Hey." Quinn said, leaning against the door frame.

The girl stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. "Hi." She replied without turning around.

"Are you feeling okay?"

The girl turned this time to glance at Quinn. "Yeah, it just was getting too hot down there for me."

"Mm."

Quinn then pushed off the door frame and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her and locking it, making the girl at the window whip all the way around this time, with wide eyes.

"What are you doing? I'll have you know I am armed with a rape whistle!"

Quinn couldn't help but laugh. "Calm down, I was just giving us some privacy...I kinda of want to hide out for a bit."

The girl narrowed her eyes at Quinn, who then flopped on the bed. "What are you hiding from?"

Boy, that was a loaded question. "Everything."

The girl rolled her eyes and walked closer. "It's impossible to hide from everything forever."

Ain't that the truth. "What about you, what are you hiding from?"

The girl laid down on the other side of the bed. "Who says I'm hiding from anything?" She replied, quieter.

"No offense, but you really don't look like you belong here, Miss, 'I Have A Rape Whistle'." Quinn giggled.

"Hmph! Rape whistles save young women's life every day. And what do you mean I don't look like I belong here?"

Quinn rolled her head sideways to look at the girl. "Just because you dress the part, doesn't mean you actually belong."

"Speaking from experience?"

Quinn signed. "You could say that."

"Well, you do a good job at acting like you fit in."

Rubbing her eyes, she nodded slightly. "Do whatcha gotta do to survive."

Quinn and the girl laid in silence after that, only the music from downstairs and their breaths filled the room. Despite the situation, it was actually quite peaceful, and Quinn found herself being lulled by the noises. She might had passed out for a while, for how long, she didn't really know. She should probably start wearing a watch. But when the music changed from R&B to rock, Quinn looked over at the other girl, who was still laying next to her, staring up at the ceiling. Reaching over, Quinn gently grabbed the girl's tan arm and rose it to an angle she could see in the dim light. Her watch said that it was just past eleven.

"Somewhere you need to be?" The girl asked, from beside her.

"No, but I should check on my friend. Make sure she isn't unconscious on the bathroom floor...or something worse."

Quinn reluctantly got up and headed downstairs, looking for Mack. Five minutes into searching, she found her on the back porch, unconscious, with a needle still in her arm. Quinn cursed and gently pulled it out of her skin and untied the tourniquet on her arm above the injection area and tapped the girl's cheeks. Mack was out cold, which didn't help Quinn. At least if she was conscious, she could possibly get some answers of what all she took out of her, but now, it was guesswork.

When in doubt, Quinn always took Mack home. At parties like this, if Quinn hadn't of come sooner, one of the slimy guys would not think twice about taking advantage of an unconscious girl. Gathering Mack in her arms, Quinn walked down the back porch steps and around the side of the house. She'd probably get chigger bites from walking through all the tall grass, but that didn't matter. She just needed to get Mack home and into her bed, and hope, yet again, that she'd be okay.

"Is she going to be okay?" The girl from the bedroom asked from beside her.

"I don't know yet." Quinn grunted out.

Mack wasn't the lightest, and her inability to take deep breaths was proving to get harder and harder to carry her and not drop her on the ground.

"Get the car keys out of my pocket, will ya?"

The girl did, even unlocking the car and opening the back seat so Quinn could lay Mack down. And just as a precaution, wrapped the middle seat belt around her and buckled it so she wouldn't slide out off the seat on the way home.

"Should we take her to the hospital?"

Quinn shook her head. "She'd kill me if I did that. I tried once before, but she refuses. She's usually fine in a few hours...I just need to get her home."

"Usually? This is a regular occurrence for her?"

"Unfortunately."

The girl frowned. "And you're left to care for her?"

"See anyone else that cares?" Quinn gestured around. "No. Some people may have your back any other time, but when everyone's doing drugs, the only thing people care about is getting high. Not where your friends are, or if they're alive."

"But your different."

Quinn straightened up and scratched the top of her head. "I'm not her real friend, but I do care for her. This is just another thing I have to do. If something happened to her the one time I didn't help, I'd feel guilty for the rest of my life. Hell, she would probably died a few months back if she didn't have me watching over her. It's fucking stressful, is what it is." Quinn breathed heavy for a few seconds, realizing that she'd not only shared personal information with a stranger, that she'd finally released some of the weight off of her chest that she carries every day. "Sorry."

"It's okay. We all need someone to listen to our problems every once in a while."

Quinn nodded, then remembered Mack in the back seat. "I have to take her home..." Opening the driver side door, she got in without saying goodbye to the girl, in fear of embarrassing herself more than she already had, when suddenly the passenger door opened.

"What are you doing?"

The girl turned to her and buckled the seat belt. "Being me, for the first time in a long time. I need to see that she's safe, and so are you, or else I'll never get it off my conscious if something happens."

Quinn's lips curled upwards into a little smile and put the keys into the ignition. "I'm Quinn."

"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Rachel. Rachel Berry."

Twenty minutes later, Quinn laid Mack down on her bed as Rachel shut the girl's bedroom door and climbed on the bed next to Mack. Quinn opened the drawers on her bedside table, looking for the familiar bottle that was buried in the mess. Under a pair of boxers, she found what she was looking for and took the cap off, setting it on top of the table. Next she found a clean syringe in the bathroom, taking it out of the package and filled it to the right amount with the clear liquid, then injected it into Mack's arm.

"What's that?" Rachel asked.

"Naloxone. It counters the effects of an overdose." Quinn explained.

"Oh...isn't that stuff only available at hospitals?"

"Probably. Her cousin works at the hospital downtown and steals this stuff for her. Though I don't think she's ever administered it herself before. The first time I was with her and was afraid that she OD-ed, that's when I told her I was going to take her to the hospital. She was somewhat coherent then, and after she told me not to, explained to me in simple terms how to do this. Been doing it ever since."

Rachel frowned. "That's no way to live."

Quinn nodded and brushed Mack's brunette hair back. "I just wish she'd realize it."

Throwing the needle away and putting the bottle back away in the drawer, Quinn wiped a thin layer of sweat that had collected on her forehead off, and joined Rachel on the bed. All they could do now, was wait. Mack usually woke up a few hours after Quinn would give her the shot, that's when she knew the girl would be okay to leave and head home to her own house to get some sleep. That was something that she was in desperate need of. She hadn't been sleeping well since she gave up Beth.

"Why are you this way?" Rachel asked as Quinn got situated, leaning against the headboard. "I mean, you're obviously not like everyone at the party, so why do you hang out at them?"

"Because of a series of unfortunate events, known as my life."

Rachel scoffed. "I'm sure everyone can say that about their lives at some point."

Quinn debated on opening up to Rachel. She didn't know the girl but what, a few hours, and she already wanted to know why Quinn was the way she is. Yet there was just something about this girl that she hasn't ever seen in anyone, other than Brittany. Her eyes were big, brown orbs that reflected her genuine concern, and Quinn couldn't really seem to resist. If anything, Rachel made her want to get everything out and off her chest in some hope that she may feel some semblance of relief.

"I had a hard time last year." The blonde started. "I went from being the most popular girl in school to the lowest loser."

Rachel frowned. "What happened?"

Quinn averted her eyes, focusing on the rise and fall of Mack's stomach before speaking again. "One night a guy friend got me drunk on wine coolers and pushed me to have sex with him. I felt fat that day and he made me feel pretty, so I let him. Not only did I cheat on my then boyfriend, but I got pregnant because he didn't use protection like I told him to. The school new I slept with my boyfriend's best friend before they knew I was pregnant, and even though I was called a slut, that didn't exactly hurt my reputation as hard as I thought it would. Most the other cheerleaders slept around, so it wasn't as big of a deal, but still...at the time I was President of the Celibacy Club. After that I started to really consider my options about what I could do about the baby. I thought about getting an abortion, but on my way to the operation, I realized that I couldn't go through with it. My other options were to either keep it, or give her away for adoption. I was young and so scared, I decided on adoption. When I started showing, I was kicked off the squad, my parents found out, and they kicked me out." Reliving the past in her head, Quinn felt the tears collecting in her eyes, but did her best to push them away so they wouldn't fall. "I ended up staying with the baby's Father, but it didn't make anything better. His Mother hated me just as much as the rest of the school when they found out. Name calling, slushies thrown in my face...all the things I reluctantly did to fit in was now being turned on me. After I gave my baby up, I kind of lost it because I regretted it immediately, even though I knew it was the right decision. On a whim I decided to change my appearance. I dyed my hair pink and acted like I didn't care what people thought, though I really did. The first day back to school, the Skanks, pretty much a group of girls that smoke most the day and don't give a shit about anything, came up to me, impressed with my transformation, and wanted me to join them. Since I had no one else, I did. Being with them gives me protection from the bullies, as long as I stay loyal to them, and that means coming to parties with them. So that's why I'm like this. I have to be to survive high school."

There was a few moments of silence after Quinn finished her story, that she was afraid she'd scared Rachel away. So much information was shared in such a relatively short story, or recap, really, of her last year. It was a lot to take in, and Quinn still wasn't looking in Rachel's direction, so she had no indication of what the girl may be thinking and it was nerve-racking. When Rachel finally spoke up, Quinn was visibly relieved at the soft and understanding tone of her voice.

"People can be really cruel."

"Yeah. Thankfully this is my Senior year. I'd say that Graduation day can't come soon enough, but I still need time to figure out what the fuck I'm doing afterward. I have no plan, or even a clue as to what I want to be or do. Why does like have to be so annoyingly difficult?"

Rachel let out a breathy chuckle. "Because it's life. It isn't supposed to be easy."

So everyone says. But hasn't Quinn suffered enough in her life? Why can't she just catch one break? One. That's all she's ever wanted. However, whining about it doesn't do any good, so she pushes that to the back of her mind and finally looks at Rachel, who's resting against the off white wall, staring at nothing it seems. Quinn wanted to know more about her, especially now since she's pretty much barred her soul to her already, but also because she genuinely wants to know Rachel's story.

"So, what about you? Why are you like this?"

Rachel blinked and her eyes flashed over to Quinn before she looked away again and shrugged. "We're sort of similar, actually. Minus the pregnancy, that is. Ever since I can remember, I've been bullied. Whether it be because of my looks, my wardrobe, having two Dads, or just that I was overly-confident in myself. Plus as a child, I admit I was pretty bossy, and no one wanted to be around the one who had to have everything planned out and ordering everyone else around. By the time high school cam around, it had gotten much worse than kids teasing. It got to the point where I could barely handle it. So, I accepted that I was an outsider, but toughened myself up in an attempt to discourage people from tormenting me. I did some things I'm not proud of, like bully the other kids that had been just like me. I even stole some things to prove myself. I was ashamed, but it seemed to work. I kept up the bad girl act and people left me alone in fear that I would retaliate. It wasn't long before I was getting invited to these kinds of parties. I'd never been invited to anything ever before, certainly not a party of any kind, so I came. I learned very quickly that they were mostly drug and alcohol parties, and at first it made me really uncomfortable, but over time I've begun to get used to it. Even tried pot, which the old me would have never done. Guess we can even surprise ourselves."

Quinn knew exactly what Rachel was talking about. She'd pretty much gone through the same thing, and it was nice to know that she wasn't alone in pretending for survival. She and Rachel really did have so much more in common than she would have guessed. While Quinn thought about everything Rachel said, and trying to picture what she may have been like before, Rachel's eyes were closed now, thinking about everything Quinn's been through, including the difficulty of having a baby so young.

Rachel came to the conclusion that Quinn was a very strong girl, even though she knew if she said that out loud to the girl, the comment would be shot down immediately. But just because she had changed her appearance and the people she hung out with, didn't make her weak. There are a lot of people that do through far less and can't handle it, and then do

"What's her name?" Rachel asked, breaking the silence.

Quinn frowned. "Who's name?"

"Your daughter's, if you don't mind me asking."

Quinn smiled, thinking about her beautiful little girl, but that pride was soon was replaced by a wave of sadness. "Beth."

Rachel nodded. "I like it. What does she look like?"

Quinn cast her eyes down. "Well, when she was born, she had my blonde hair and green eyes, but Puck's button nose. She was beautiful." Quinn cleared her throat. "I haven't seen her in person since, but the photos that I get in the mail, she's becoming more and more of a little me. Would you like to see a picture of her?" Quinn asked.

Rachel nodded quickly, then crawled closer, up the bed toward Quinn. The blonde rose her hips off the bed and dug her wallet out of her pants, flipping it open and handing it over to Rachel. She took it in her hand carefully, almost as if it was made of glass, and turned it around so it was right-side up. The picture had been taken by Puck, just moments after they had cleaned Beth off and handed her to Quinn so she could hold her for a minute before they had to take her away.

"She's...perfect."

Quinn agreed. "I think so. It's strange, really. Two screw-ups like me and Puck made such a..." Quinn tried to find the right words. "...perfectly perfect little human."

Rachel giggled and handed Quinn her wallet back. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

"Well, I haven't really had many moments to be a proud Mamma, so I'll take any change I get." She teased.

Mack finally woke up a little after two o'clock in the morning. Quinn made sure she'd be okay before her and Rachel left, getting her a glass of water and tucking her in. With a goodbye kiss on the forehead, the girls left the house. Rachel and Quinn didn't live too far away, and it was a nice night out. Walking side by side, Quinn shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, thinking about her night. Never had she expected she'd meet a girl like Rachel and they'd shared such personal things, but she was beyond glad that they had found each other.

"Do you love her?" Rachel asked suddenly.

"W-what?"

"Mack. I mean, I know you said you care about her, but...do you love her?"

Quinn was sort of at a loss for words, not expecting that question. "Oh, um..."

"Sorry, it's none of my business." Rachel looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"What makes you ask that?"

Rachel breathed out slowly. "Just...how you were with her. Gentle, affectionate."

"I care about her, obviously, but, I mean...I don't love her love her. At most, she's a friend, even though I know she likes me, I won't let myself go there."

"How come?"

"Because, if I let myself and then something happened to her..." Quinn trailed off. "I don't know really what I'd do. I have a hard enough time now."

Rachel nodded, understanding.

"Maybe if she quit drugs, but I know that's not going to happen. Besides, she only likes me because of how I act now. She despised me when I was a cheerleader. I want someone that takes me for me...even when I don't know who I am."

Turns out, Rachel's house was only a few streets over from Quinn's. Instead of heading up the driveway, Rachel strode across the green grass and to the side of the house where Quinn could see a window open.

"Thanks for sticking with me this whole time, you really didn't have to waste your night stuck in a room with me and an unconscious Mack."

"It was the right thing to do, and you're not so bad to hang out with." She teased.

Quinn didn't really know how to respond to that. She wanted to ask Rachel if they could hang out sometime, but she didn't want to be presumptuous. Just because she voluntarily stayed and talked with her the past few hours didn't mean that she all of a sudden wanted to be friends, so Quinn stayed silent. The only thing to be heard was some leaves rustling in the wind, and a dog barking in the distance. But they couldn't stand there in silence forever, so Quinn spoke up before it go awkward.

"So , um...I-I guess I'll see you around?"

"Definitely." Rachel replied with a smile, then leaned forward and pecked Quinn on the cheek. "Goodnight."

Quinn's heart sped up, feeling warm lips on her cool cheek. Rachel was something else...and an excellent tree climber. Quinn watched as she made her way up the tree with ease, and disappear for a moment after she climbed in the window. Rachel reappeared seconds later, poking her head out and waved goodbye. Quinn returned the wave with a smile and walked back to her house with a tired smile on her face. The night had taken an unexpected turn, and Quinn was really glad that she had decided to follow the girl up into the bedroom earlier that evening.

The next day, Quinn dragged her feet as she entered McKinley. She hadn't gotten in bed until about three in the morning. Her Mother had been passed out on the sofa, but it's not like she'd get into trouble if she had caught her sneaking in. Getting only a few hours of sleep, she was wiped out and couldn't wait to get back home to take a nap. Or she could just sleep through her classes. She was smart, she just needed the book and she could figure out the material in no time.

"Hey, Quinn?" Mack said, making Quinn turn around. "Thanks...again. For last night."

The girl not looking her best. Her tan skin was pale, there were dark circles under her eyes, and not to mention that her hair was even in more disarray than usual, even though it looked like she had taken a shower. She really should have been at home, recuperating from last night, but no, here she was in the middle of the hall, looking like the walking dead. But by the look on her face, she was embarrassed. For what, though? Quinn had always taken care of her since she joined the Skanks.

"You're welcome." Quinn replied with a small smile.

Mack nodded as she stood there awkwardly for a few more seconds. Heart-to-hearts weren't really her thing. Well, talking wasn't really her thing, but she had a soft spot for Quinn and she was always truly thankful that she helped her. She walked away then, leaving Quinn alone again. She hadn't seen Sheila or Ronnie since she left them at the table the night before, but guessed they were probably sleeping in their cars like they usually did after a party night. They had the right idea.

By the time lunch period came around, Quinn was seriously thinking about skipping the rest of the day to get some shut eye, when she heard singing coming from the auditorium. It was muffled by the heavy doors, but from what she could hear, it sounded lovely. When she opened the stage door, the soft chords of the piano were wafting by, and were soon accompanied by the voice again. Quinn waited until the end of the song to step forward and see who was making such hypnotic music, and when she rounded a curtain, saw the blue streaks instantly, which popped under the bright lights.

"That was...wow." Quinn said.

Rachel turned at the familiar voice and smiled, though her eyes were downcast as if she was caught doing something that she wasn't supposed to be doing. "Thank you."

Quinn then let her bag fall to the floor as she joined the brunette on the piano bench, it creaking quietly as she sat down. "Didn't expect to see you here of all places."

"Here as in McKinley, or here as in the auditorium?"

"Uh...both?"

Rachel giggled. "I recently moved here, today is my first day and it's been a bit overwhelming, so I came in here to get away from the madness."

"So, you sing?"

"Yeah. I used to so much more, but not much since I...changed. However, thanks to some things you said last night, I am going to work on being more me again. And the school's play is having auditions soon, so I thought, 'why not?'"

"Well, from what I heard, you'll no doubt get whatever part you go after." Quinn assured her. "What is the play, anyway?"

"Thank you, and it's West Side Story. I'm thinking about going out for Maria, she's the female lead."

"Gonna have to get rid of those blue streaks, though." Quinn pointed out, fingering a strand of blue hair.

"Easy. They're just extensions. I don't have the guts that you do, actually dying your hair."

"I guess I'm an all or nothing kind of girl."

Rachel nodded. "I like that."

Over the next week, instead of spending her lunch with the Skanks, Quinn would meet Rachel in the auditorium and listen her sing a song or two, and after they would talk. At first, the Skanks weren't too happy that Quinn missed their usual meeting times, but when they found out that she was hanging out with Rachel, the new girl who dressed goth, and seemed to hate the world like they did, they were more lenient and even tried to get Quinn to recruit her into the Skanks.

Like she had said before, even if Rachel looked the part, she kind of stuck out like a sore thumb, at least to the blonde. She wasn't hardcore and Quinn didn't want her to get involved with them. Besides, they wouldn't want her to join once she got the part in the play anyway. Of course, then they would start to care about Quinn hanging out with another singing loser. Until then, she spent as much time as she could with the girl. Quinn felt no need to pretend while she was around, and that was a great feeling.

Rachel was very opinionated herself, and every once in a while would go into some long rants that would probably annoy some people, but Quinn just thought it was cute. When she wasn't with the Skanks or Rachel, Quinn was secretly looking into the school clubs, just like Ms. Pillsbury suggested. Most were obviously not her: The Renaissance Club, Badminton Club, Mathletes, Chess Club, Newspaper, Writer's Club, ROTC, Black Student Union...the list went on and on.

However, by some miracle, there were a select few that Quinn considered giving a try: Art Club and Drama Club. Quinn used to take an art class every summer when she was in elementary school and enjoyed it, and with Drama Club, she could be a stagehand, or even try her hand at acting. Quinn thought that maybe by playing other people, she'd get a better idea of who she wasn't so she'd know more about who she actually was. Or maybe it all was just a terrible idea.

One day, Rachel asked Quinn to sing Tonight with her, so she could feel the emotion in the song better while singing with another person. It took some convincing, but with some begging and bribing with a home-cooked meal of her choice, Quinn agreed, even though she'd never sung anything out of the privacy of her own room. And it really didn't help that she had to sing the guy part. She first tried singing in a lower voice, which she failed at completely. But when Rachel told her to sing in her natural tone, she wasn't bad, and they sounded quite nice together.

"Quinn, you're actually a good singer. Occasionally sharp, but that's because you lack training."

"I think there was a compliment in there somewhere..."

Suddenly, Rachel's eyes went wide and a large smile spread across her face. "Quinn, I just had the most amazing idea. You should try out for the musical!"

Quinn stared at her for about five seconds before busting out laughing...until she realized that Rachel was serious. "Really?"

"Yes! And it would look great on a college application."

That made Quinn consider it. When she did start applying to...wherever, it never hurt to have things like that listed. However, the bad side would be that she'd most certainly get kicked out of the Skanks, and she'd be left to fend for herself again. Though what she would be loosing seemed worth it, as long as she had Rachel, a real friend who cared about her. But she didn't know about getting up in front of an entire auditorium full of people and singing, especially with her lack of experience.

But Rachel flashed those big brown eyes at her, and it was useless to even attempt to resist. The power that Rachel held over her was different, but at the same time, she liked it. She liked her, that was obvious. Though Quinn had done nothing about it. Maybe it was because they'd just met a few weeks ago, or the fact that the blonde didn't want to do anything that could possibly put Rachel off. She needed her, not only as a friend, but to keep her sane.

"Fine." Quinn said, faking exasperation.

"Yay! We have to work right away, auditions are coming up soon!"

And so they did. For the next two weeks, any free moment either of them had, they would get together and rehearse until their throats were practically raw. And the night before their auditions, Rachel completed her promise to cook Quinn the home made meal, and she also met her two Dads, Hiram and Leroy. The girls could tell that they were apprehensive when they first saw Quinn and her pink hair, face nose piercing, and all black attire, but they soon found out that she was a big softy.

Quinn didn't feel the need to hide around the men, Rachel made her feel comfortable, and they got to know the girl that Rachel had been telling them about. Hiram and Leroy fell in love with Quinn, and were overjoyed that someone had broken the hardness of Rachel that had been present for too long. She was smiling and laughing again, and even though she still dressed like she was a troublemaker, they knew their little girl was coming back to them slowly but surely.

Leroy even let out a squeal of excitement when Rachel told them about the West Side Story auditions the next day. After dinner, Quinn let Rachel die her hair back to honey blonde, and traded her Skank clothing for one of Rachel's oversized night shirts and sweats. It felt good to shed that part of her, and frankly, she didn't realize how much she had missed her blonde hair. Not to mention, being able to use copious amounts of various scented hair products. She felt cleaner than she had her whole life.

When Quinn got home, Judy was actually lucid and watching TV in the living room, sprawled out of the couch. She had to do a double-take when Quinn came into the room, not quite believing that she was awake. The Quinn she had known her entire life seemed to be back, or at least, starting to return to the girl that she knew, and happiness filled inside her. Quinn took the opportunity to talk to her Mother while she was as sober as she'd seen in a long time, telling her about the audition tomorrow.

Judy, a bit tipsy, had a near duplicate reaction of Leroy's. She had never pegged her daughter to try out for anything like that, but she was behind it as long as Quinn stayed the way she was, and promised that she would be there, completely sober, on opening night. Quinn didn't know what to say. Even thought she was highly skeptical about her Mother's sudden pledge of sobriety, even for one night, she couldn't help but be even more excited for the coming day.

The next morning, feeling refreshed and confident, Quinn walked down the halls of McKinley with her head held high. She got stares and whispers, but she couldn't care less. She was Quinn Fabray, and nothing would bring her down, not today. But it didn't take long for the Skanks to find out about her reverse transformation, and the end of second period, they found her at her locker, slamming it shut in front of her face. She turned and was met with an angry-looking Ronnie and Sheila.

Mack stood behind them, but she didn't look angry. In fact, she look scared for Quinn, her eyes flashing between Sheila and Ronnie. The blonde had no idea what they would do other than kick her out of the group, and frankly, it wouldn't take much effort for just one of them to snap her in two. Quinn suddenly wished that she knew martial arts so she wouldn't have to worry about that, but sadly, she had no fighting experience and they'd squash her like a bug so easily.

"What the Hell, Fabray?" Shelia spoke first.

"Yeah, what the fuck?" Ronnie joined in. "You're clothes are so bright they're hurting my eyes, and you smell like you frolicked in a meadow."

Quinn took a deep breath, holding on tightly to her Science book, needing something to ground her. "I'm sorry, girls, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm not cut out to be a Skank after all."

Ronnie stepped closer, getting into Quinn face and poking her shoulder with her chubby index finger. "Nobody quits the Skanks."

Quinn grinded her teeth to keep them from chattering with fear. She was afraid now, but they were in the middle of a school hallway, and even though they could get away with a heck of a lot of things in this school, beating people up in the middle of the day wasn't one of them. So it was just a matter of time now. Sheila looked like she was killing Quinn in her mind. Something gruesome like setting fire to her, or throwing her off a tall building and watching her body splatter when she finally hit the ground.

"After school. Four o'clock. Behind the dumpsters." Shelia ordered, then walked away, Ronnie following her close behind.

Mack stayed back a few seconds, looking at Quinn with an expression that she couldn't really place, then turned away and caught up with the other two girls who were making their way down the hall and toward the exit. Quinn finally released the breath that she hadn't realized that she was holding and slumped against her locker. Her audition was right after school, so she doubted that she'd make it to the parking lot in time. She had to go...or else they hunt her down and hurt her worse.

She kept quiet about her run in with the Skanks to Rachel. The girl didn't need to worry about her, especially when she was already stressed about the audition, even though she had no reason to be. Rachel was the best singer she'd ever heard, there was no chance in Hell that someone would beat her out for the part of Maria. Quinn, on the other hand, had every reason to be nervous. It was her first audition for anything, if you didn't include cheerleading.

Even though she wasn't going out for a big role, it was still something that she didn't want to fail at. Because if she could get a measly role, there was no way she could ever get a starring role in anything in the future. When the final bell of the day rang, dismissing all the students, Quinn went straight to the auditorium. The play director, a Junior she knew as 'Artie the Cripple', the Spanish teacher, Mr. Schuester, and the football coach, Beiste. It was a weird panel...that's for sure.

She sat in the back as more student arrived and went backstage or sat in the audience, looking over the audition paper. It listed the character in order of importance. The part she was going out for, didn't even have a name. It was just one of the two female they wanted to be in the Jets group, because they had a shortage of guys that sighed up, wanting to be in the musical. She had lines and a singing part, but it was a group thing. That would make Quinn more relieved if she, indeed, got the part.

Some surprising faces that tried out were Finn Hudson, her ex and football Captain, Noah Puckerman, her baby daddy, and the dancing Asian, whose name was Mike Chang. She'd never even heard him speak before, but when he opened his mouth to sing "Cool", it was like it was made for his smooth voice. The only girls who were popular and tried out, were Santana and Brittany. She hadn't talked to them in forever, not since she had joined the Skanks, but it was good to see them.

Brittany was trying out for the other female Jet, and Santana went for Anita, which she was actually perfect for. When they called Quinn's name, she rushed down the stairs with shaking hands, stumbling on one step, getting a laugh from a few people. When the music started, she tried her best to forget that she was singing for three people to judge her, and pictured Rachel instead. She knew she was backstage somewhere, but hoped that she would know that she was singing for her.

As Rachel sat at the vanity putting some blush on, Quinn's voice wafted backstage, making her smile. The brunette fought the urge to go stand in the wings and watch her friend, not wanting to distract her or make her nervous. So she stayed glued to her vanity, but listened to every note that poured out of the blonde, feeling proud that Quinn had even followed through and didn't chicken out. She was changing, even if she didn't realize it yet or not, and Rachel couldn't be more proud.

When Quinn finished the song, she was confident once again, happy about not messing up on the note that she'd tried so hard to overcome in her and Rachel's practice sessions. The auditorium wasn't silent for long, it filled with the clapping from not only the three judges, but from a few people still in the audience and backstage. Quinn blushed under the hot lights and stepped forward so that she could see more than their silhouettes. Mr. Schuester was the first to speak.

"Wow, Quinn, I had no idea you could sing!" He praised.

"Neither did I." She mutter to herself.

"Agreed." Artie interjected. "I felt your emotions during the whole song, it was powerful."

"Listening to your voice is like watching a sunset from the roof of a farmhouse." Beiste said with a smile on her face.

Quinn couldn't help but smile too. "Thank you."

"What role were you going for, Quinn?" Mr. Schuester asked.

"One of the female Jets."

"Really?" He frowned.

"Have you thought about Maria as a possibility? You definitely have the voice." Artie spoke again.

"Uh, no. This is my first time doing something like this, and I'd rather start small."

"Okay, if you're sure..."

"I am. Female Jet #2 is perfect for me." She nodded, trying to get them to go along with her.

"Well, thank you for coming in, Quinn." Mr. Schuester wrapped up. "Casting decisions should be up by tomorrow afternoon."

And with that, Quinn scurried off the stage and found Rachel sitting at one of the vanity stations.

"I'm confident that I'll get Female Jet #2." She said with a smile.

"You were fantastic." Rachel turned in her seat and looked up at her. "They were right, you could be Maria if you wanted, but instead you choose Female Jet #2."

Quinn shrugged. "I don't want to be Maria. Besides, you want to play her."

"Are you just saying that you don't want her part because I want it?"

"No." Quinn frowned, sitting next to Rachel. "Maria is too big of a part for me to handle my first time around. And besides, you were made to play her. So even if I did want to, I still wouldn't, because your my friend and the much better choice."

"Rachel Berry." Artie called over the microphone.

"Now, that's you." Quinn said, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her up. "Blow their fucking socks off."

Rachel could help but smile at that. "Language, Q."

"You're right. Blow their mother fucking socks off their fucking feet. And tomorrow after you get the part officially, we're going to fucking celebrate like it's nineteen-ninety-nine."

Before Rachel could do or say anything about that round of inappropriate language, Quinn gave her a little shove and a slap on the butt as she headed towards the stage. And the brunette did exactly what Quinn had said she would. She blew the socks off everyone in the auditorium, and Quinn beamed with pride from backstage. The judges praised her and practically guaranteed her that she would be Maria. When Rachel walked off stage and met Quinn again, she left into her best friends arms.

"See? What'd I tell you?"

By the time they were ready to leave, it was nearing five o'clock. Quinn had missed her "appointment" with the Skanks, but she knew they would most likely still be out there, waiting for her, because she had to come out sometime. With the promise to call Rachel later, they separated at the front entrance of the school when Hiram came to pick her up. With a wave to both of them, Quinn took a deep breath and walked around to the side parking lot to where the dumpsters were.

Sure enough, Sheila, Ronnie, and Mack were there waiting for her. Sheila was leaning against the building with her arms crossed, looking more annoyed than Quinn had ever seen her. Ronnie was lounging on some wooden crates as she tapped her foot against the asphalt, and Mack was pacing back and forth in front of both of them, only stopping when they heard Quinn approach. Her hands clenched into fists, her nails were digging into her skin, and her breath was shaky.

"You're late, Blondie." Sheila announced loudly, pushing off the building.

Ronnie stood up slowly and stood next to Sheila. "And we don't like to wait."

"Sorry to inconvenience you." Quinn replied.

Ronnie chuckled. "You're going to be more than sorry when we're done with you."

Shelia nodded with a smirk as she cracked her knuckles. "I actually thought that you were one of us, Q."

Suddenly, Sheila's fist connected with Quinn's jaw, knocking her off balance and sending her to the ground. She landed hard on the asphalt, scratching her palms when she tried to catch herself. She didn't have time to get her bearings before there was a kick to her stomach. She looked up through her hair and say Ronnie standing over her. Another kick, this time harder and a much greater sting, made her wince and start to cough. It had knocked the wind out of her and would definitely leave a bruise.

Sheila gritted her teeth and would her leg back, kicking Quinn in the back with a thud. The blonde let out a long groan, but it was just the beginning. Soon the kicks grew harder and more frequent. It didn't seem like they were taking turns anymore, just kicking when and where they could, Ronnie from the front and Sheila from the back. At some point, Quinn's hands had gone up to protect her face and head, leaving her ribs unprotected. She didn't know how much time had gone by.

It felt like an eternity, before her body stopped jerking from the poundings. Her whole body burned and throbbed...and she was sure that she was bleeding in a few places. She laid there until a hand grabbed her arm and force it away form her head. With blurry vision, she saw that it was Sheila, who was now leaning down more to her and gripping her face by her chin.

"Let this be a lesson to you, Blondie. You don't fuck with the Skanks."

Shelia then would her hand back and punched Quinn's face again, this time knocking her out with a grunt. "I'm out." She said, walking away, rubbing her knuckles.

Ronnie walked away with one last look to Quinn's unconscious body, then headed for her car. Mack waited for them to walk out of site before she rushed over to Quinn, brushing back her blonde hair and revealing her bruised face and bloody lip. Her heart pounding, Mack didn't know exactly what to do. Should she take Quinn to her house, or to Mack's? Fishing out Quinn's phone for her back pocket, she looked at all of her contacts. Minus the Skanks number's that were still in it, there weren't many.

Seeing Rachel's name, she clicked on it, finding her address under her phone number and decided to take her there. Rachel would be able to take care of Quinn better than Mack could. So, putting the phone away, Mack picked the blonde up and carried her to her car. It took about fifteen minute to get to Rachel's house, and Mack hadn't thought of what exactly to tell Rachel, other than the truth and hope for the best. So she left Quinn in the car momentarily, and walked up the sidewalk to the house.

After ringing the doorbell twice, Rachel opened the door, confused as to why Mack was standing on the other side.

"If you're looking for Quinn, she isn't here." Rachel said quickly.

Mack shook her head. "No...that's not it. Um, Quinn's in my car. The girls...they hurt her bad and I didn't know where else to take her."

Rachel froze where she stood for a few moments, replaying Mack's words in her head, making sure she had heard the girl correctly. But, 'The girls hurt her real bad',wasn't really something you'd mishear though, so as soon as she straightened it out in her head, she raced off across the lawn and to the car, whipping the passenger side door open to find Quinn slumped down in the seat, beaten and unconscious. The flood gates opened then, and Rachel was pummeled with emotions.

First and foremost, worry for Quinn. Second, anger toward the Skanks. And Third, gratitude that Mack had brought her here in the first place. Unbuckling the seat belt, she started to reach for Quinn, but then realized she was probably too weak to even attempt picking her up. Moving out of the way, she gestured for Mack to get her, which she didn't without hesitation, and followed Rachel into the house and up the flight of stairs to her room, and sat her on the bed.

Rachel immediately went into the bathroom to get a washcloth, wetted it down with warm water, and cleaned the blood off Quinn's face. The cut on her lip was closed off by dry blood, so it wasn't still bleeding. Moving on to inspect the rest of her body, Rachel saw that Quinn's hands were scraped, so she cleaned them too, hoping Quinn hadn't gotten an infection from all the dirt and debris. It wasn't until Rachel started carefully pulling Quinn's clothes off, that she realized how bad it was.

Quinn's torso was completely bruised, her ribs looking the worst. Pulling her pants off, the bruises grew more sparse and there were none to be found below her knees. There were a few open cuts, so she cleaned and bandaged them before she remembered that Mack was still in the room with her, though off to the side so she wasn't in the way. Needing to have words with her, Rachel grabbed the leather-clad girl and pulled her downstairs with her.

"What the Hell happened?" Rachel asked as calmly as she could.

Mack looked everywhere but Rachel's eyes. "She quit the group, so they beat her up."

"And you did nothing to stop them?"

"If I did something, they do the same to me."

Rachel shook her head, not quite believing what she was hearing. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She huffed. "That girl took care of you for how long? Staying with you every time you took too many drugs, sitting with you for hours until you'd wake up to make sure you were okay, and you can't stand up for her one fucking time?"

Mack looked like she was near tears. "I know. I'm a coward."

"Damn right, you are. You'd probably be dead if it weren't for her, and this is how you repay her!"

"I know you're right. I'm a horrible person for not helping her, I didn't deserve Quinn to help me all those times." Mack agreed.

"I think you should leave." Rachel said after a moment. "And stay away from her from now on."

The girl nodded and started to head for the door, but then turned around. "Can I...I know I don't deserve it, but can I just say goodbye...and that I'm sorry."

Rachel wanted to say 'no', but somehow, she still managed to feel a tad sorry for the girl, so she nodded. "Make it quick."

With that, Rachel turned and headed into the kitchen to fix a few bags of ice for Quinn's bruises, and Mack headed back up the stairs. She knew from the first day that Sheila told them that they should recruit the newly punk Quinn Fabray, that she wouldn't last long. She never particularly hated Quinn when she was the head cheerleader, but she was much better off being popular than in the hands of the Skanks. Mack had done her best to look after her at times, and Quinn had gone out of her way to look after her.

Sitting on the bed carefully, she looked down at the broken girl. Mack wished the circumstances had been different. Maybe if she wasn't such a fuck-up and a coward, she may have actually had a chance with Quinn. But she failed her, and it was time to say goodbye for good. In the quite room, Quinn's ragged breathing sounded loud, and Mack wanted nothing more than to make her better. Raising her hand to Quinn's head, she gently pushed her hair back, letting it run through her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Q." Mack whispered.

"Mmm." Quinn groaned in response.

The girl froze, not knowing exactly what to do. Should she stay or should she run out of the room as fast as she could? Taking too long to make her decision, Quinn opened her eyes, and found the girl within a few seconds.

"Where am I?" Quinn asked confused, her vision a bit blurry.

"At Rachel's house. I didn't know where else to take you, and I knew she would take care of you."

Quinn still looked confused as she stared at the ceiling, putting the pieces back together in her head.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Quinn turned her head back toward the girl. "I got my ass beat." She huffed out a small laugh. "And it hurt like shit."

Mack signed with relief that her memory was intact, then swallowed hard as she repeated herself. "I'm sorry. For not doing anything to get them to stop."

Quinn reached up, ignoring the burning in her muscles, grabbing Mack's hand that was still entwined in her hair, and bringing it down to rest on Quinn's stomach. Both of her hands were now encasing the tan girls'. Quinn needed the connection, not only to ground her, but to do her best to reassure Mack that she was, and would be, okay. Though Mack's eyes were on their hands, Quinn's were watching the range of emotions that played out on the tan girl's face over a matter of seconds.

"Would you have been with me...if things were different?" Mack blurted out.

Quinn didn't have to think about the answer, because she already knew. "Probably."

Mack nodded, her eyes were now filling with tears. "I wish things were different." She whispered as a tear ran down her face, which she wiped away angrily, like it had betrayed her. "But you deserve much better than me."

"Mack, you deserve happiness just as much as anyone else. I want you to find a great girl that you can be your true self with, and won't judge you for the mistakes you've make. But first and foremost, you need to stop going down the road you've been on for so long, because if you don't, you're going to kill yourself before you can find that girl. And I'm not going to be there to help you."

Mack knew that Quinn was right. Painfully right. She's been needing to turn her life around for quite some time now, she just never realized how badly it needed to be done until the events of today unfolded.

"Also, I want us to be friends. Real friends. Because I care about you, and I'll always be a phone call away if you need to talk about anything."

"You're too good to me, Q. You should be wanting to get rid of me as fast as you can."

"Never."

A few minutes later, Mack departed with soft hug and a promise to keep in touch once Rachel had cooled off some. Quinn knew that she was only so furious with Mack because she cared about her, and that warmed her heart, but she needed to be a part of Mack's life. They were more alike than anyone knew, and Quinn didn't blame Mack for anything. In reality, they had saved each other many times. It wasn't easy to understand their relationship to anyone who wasn't them, but that was okay.

"Um, she's awake now." Mack said as she opened the front door, seeing Rachel approach. "You're good for her, Rachel. Just don't break her heart, she's been through enough."

Rachel was stunned for a few seconds, not knowing anyone knew about her feelings toward the blonde, but she nodded and waited until the front door was shut until she climbed the stairs up to her room. Quinn had smiled when Rachel came into the room, arms full. First she had Quinn take some Aspirin, then she secured multiple ice packs around Quinn's body that she wrapped with stretchy cloth that had been in their First Aid kit downstairs. Once Quinn was settled, she let out a breath of relief.

Rachel's Dad's had come home not too long after Mack left. After telling them what happened while trying to keep them calm, Hiram checked to make sure Quinn's ribs weren't broken, and praised Rachel's job of wrapping the ice packs up. By the end of the night, it had been decided that no charges would be pressed against the Skanks, as per Quinn's request, and that she would miss a few days of school to take time to recover while she stayed at their house.

Quinn had left a message on her Mother's answering machine, giving her pretty much no details of what happened to her, only that she'd been staying over at Rachel's house for a few days. Her Mother never called her back, and Quinn was okay with that, not wanting Judy to ask questions that she didn't want to answer. So as the days went by, Leroy stayed home and took care of Quinn, and Rachel would bring home Quinn's homework and do it together.

They slept in the same bed, which made both girls happy. Quinn relished in Rachel's warmth as they cuddled, trying to get a good nights sleep. Being close to her made Quinn forget about the pain for a while. On her first day back at school, she was still sore as can be, limping down the halls at a slow pace. By the looks on people's faces, she figured that the entire McKinley population knew about her fallout with the Skanks, if not, her blonde hair and improved clothing tipped them off.

Rachel still kept up her image though, protecting Quinn against anyone who'd dare say something or try to come near her. And by the afternoon, her blue highlights were taken out and both were in the auditorium for play rehearsal. Since Quinn didn't have a big part, Mr. Schue had suggested that she take it easy and help the behind the scenes crew. As the sets were built, Quinn and a few other girls would paint them. And when it came to her scenes, she go and do them as best as she could.

A month later, Quinn was all healed up and opening night was just a few hours away. Rachel had been silent all day, resting her voice for her big debut, which amused Quinn, but went along with it. Hiram and Leroy could barely contain themselves as they waited for the moment when Rachel would take the stage. It was Quinn they had to thank. If it wasn't for her, Rachel may have never taken the stage again. She had brought her to life again without even trying, and that said something.

As the curtain pulled back, the show began. She danced, she sang, she watched from the wings as Rachel killed every song. It was like a dream, watching everything unfold. All the weeks of hard work and practice that not only the two of them, but everyone put into the show. She even hugged Santana after she nailed America, making the audience go wild. Quinn hoped to try again at a friendship with Brittany, and even Santana. Hell, she believed anything was possible now.

The rest of the show went off without a hitch, and the audience seemed to love it. As the whole cast went out on the stage for a bow, everyone in the room was on their feet clapping and cheering. It got Quinn's heart pounding, and even though she only got a little taste of performing with this experience, it made her want it again and again. The bright, hot light bearing down on her and the loud sound of applause, there was nothing else like it. Had she found her calling? Maybe. Only time would tell.

As the line of students walked off stage, Quinn waited in the wings for Rachel to appear. When she did, there was no hesitation when she jumped into Quinn's open arms, squealing and laughing as the blonde spun them around. When then initial excitement wore off, they realized how close their faces were. Still holding Rachel in the air, eyes at the same level, green on brown, Quinn never wanted to let go. As Rachel's hands gripped at Quinn's neck, she took as risk and leaned down, kissing the blonde.

Rachel's hot lips on hers felt so good, she was sure that they'd melt her. She'd been thinking about telling Rachel how she felt for a few weeks now, but it looks like the girl had beaten her to it, and Quinn didn't mind one bit. They ignore the few hoots and hollers they got from the rest of the cast as they enjoyed each other. Quinn never thought it would feel so good. It made her insides warm and her skin tingle. When Rachel finally pulled back, all they could do was smile at each other.

If you had told Quinn at the beginning of the year that she would have met the girl of her dreams, leave the Skanks, and join the school musical, she would have laughed in your face. It she hadn't met Rachel, she would probably be heading to another drug party right now with Mack. Instead, she had something so much better than she could ever have imagined. A chance at a pretty damn good looking future.

The End.