Disclaimer: I do not own any character of Glee. Ugh, this is so obvious, I hate these things.

Arms. Quinn was too squeamish to be a doctor, but she wish she could understand what made that specific body part so powerful. Particularly, she wished she could dissect everything about Noah Puckerman that made him so irresistible to her. If he wanted her, he could just wrap her against him and she would instantly crumble. Even as her head rested on his chest, she felt content just listening to him breathe, his hands comfortably on her bare back.A couple of weeks after their reunion they found themselves in a pattern: Puck would pick the perfect time to just just 'run into' Quinn near Columbia after she had class by making sure Sam would be out. She would remind him that she was seeing someone but Puck would just insist that he wanted to have a friendly cup of coffee. The thing is they would only have coffee, post-coitus. Their meetings crossed over from night to day. It was cutting into her time in every aspect, notably with Jeff. Although their relationship was open, Quinn telling him she had to be shared by her high-school ex, was not. If Jeff saw her so much as talking to another male student, he would shut it down. She was covertly dodging Jeff's attempts to see her to be with Puck and it was becoming exhausting. They were almost found out when Jeff followed her out of class, but luckily another student needed his help with a paper.

"Puck..." She muttered while lying across from him. His eyes were closed but she could feel he was awake. Puck's eyes fluttered open and he made a sleepy smile, pulling Quinn closer to him. "No."

"We're in bed together already, do you really think you can still play hard to get?" Puck whispered into her ear, while his hand slid down her hip.

"Puck, I-I don't think I can do this anymore. Whatever this is." Puck stopped and gave Quinn a serious look.

"I told you, I don't care about whoever you're seeing." Puck shadowed his lips over Quinn's before she backed away.

"But I do." Frustrated, Puck abruptly sat up in the bed and ripped the covers off of his naked form. He began to angrily clean his room by picking up all of Quinn's clothes. "What are you doing?" Suddenly, he tossed the messy pile at the incredulous Quinn.

"Get out." Puck said, simply.

"Are you serious?"

"Are you? You claim you care so much about this dude you're seeing, but you have no problem crawling back into bed with me. No fucking problem at all, but you're still trying to make me the bad guy in all of this?"

Quinn sucked her teeth and slowly slid off the covers before coolly saying "This was a mistake, so I'm not trying to make you anything." The words hurt Puck a little but he knew they were coming from a place of guilt. He had her in his grip and he wasn't going to let her go, not when they were so close to being...something. He shook his head and pulled her flush to him. Their skin pricked, sending bolts of electricity from one another.

"Face it, Fabray. We were made for each other, that's why we can't stay away..." Puck used his hand to cup her face while giving her an enveloping kiss. His tongue teased the tip of hers, gaining pressure. She almost buckled, but let her head get in the way.

"I can't! I..."Puck nuzzled and nipped at her neck while she was trying to talk. "Jeff is important to me."

"So? Doesn't mean that he's right for you." Slowly, they fell back onto the messy bed. Puck laid on top of Quinn, protecting her body like it was a crown jewel. "Why don't you just end things?"

"It's not that simple." Puck petted Quinn's blond hair and tilted his head.

"Why not?"

"He's...my professor." Puck's eyes squinted as if to ask Quinn if she was serious. She nodded, embarrassed.

"Ew."

"Puck-"

"Ewwww." Puck stressed as he thought about what the guy looked like. "But, professors are old and wrinkly and bald and they wear those jackets with the patches on them like hobos! Also, you're a law student! You're breaking the law-"

"Jeff is not bald nor wrinkly by any means." Quinn rolled from underneath him, annoyed. She sat up and stared outside of the window, watching the first snow of the season. Puck walked around the bed to sit on the edge of the bed with her. "And there's no laws against this, Puck. No university policy."

"But, I don't understand. You're smart, Quinn. You're one of the smartest people I know. You shouldn't have to jerk-off some skeeve for a good grade-"

"Fuck you, Puck." Quinn made a dry laugh. "I earn every grade I get."

"Then...I still don't understand. He's still old." Quinn shrugged and gave a sad smile.

"He was sweet and so intelligent. It was like I was just hoping for some of his intellectual knowledge would rub off on me. I had never been infatuated with anyone before, I think. It was...scary and exciting at the same time."

"Not even me?" Puck pouted. Quinn giggled and pinched Puck's cheek.

"With you? I don't know. I liked you enough but I didn't think I could ever love you. I never saw you for more than 'like'." Puck's eyes became dark and serious, then without warning he pounced on top of Quinn, attacking her neck with kisses and licks. He sucked on her bottom lip while his fingers sneakily put themselves in Quinn's mound. He covered her moan with his mouth, before speaking.

"Well, open those pretty eyes."

The rest of the night, Puck pulled out all of the tricks of the trade until he finally got Quinn to say that she'd leave Jeff. She agreed with enthusiasm over and over again as he pounded her g-spot, making her throw out all reason he knew but he was still going to hold her to the promise.


Mercedes harshly breathed as she realized that she was getting closer to the NYU cafe where James was waiting and the fact that the snow was dampening her new weave. She had gone over what she wanted to say many times with Tina over the phone until she nodded off to sleep and all Mercedes could hear was light snoring. But no matter how many times she practiced, she never thought she could be prepared enough for this. So, taking cue from Quinn she decided to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. James may feel the way she does and might actually want a romantic relationship. Pro. Or, he may get freaked out and never speak to her again. Con. She reached the foggy window of the cafe and James was patiently waiting, writing more lyrics on his iPhone. He looks so cute in his beanie, Mercedes thought. Con. But so does Sam. Sam looks fucking great in beanies. Pro/Con (This could be good or bad because depending on how this went, she could see Sam in beanies all the time or never again). She shook the snowflakes and nerves off and entered the warm cafe. She tapped James' shoulder and he turned around flashing a toothed smile. With haste, he grabbed her into a tight hug, swaying her back and forth. If James didn't want to be in her life anymore after tonight, she would miss these hugs. Con.

"'Cedebaby! Where have you been?" James said, finally releasing her and putting the palms of his hands on her face. Con. "You found someone else?" Mercedes made an uncomfortable laugh and sat in the seat across from him. He didn't shave again, James always looked better without a shave. Con.

"James, stop." Mercedes rolled her eyes with a smile.

"So, what's up? I haven't seen you since my birthday." James took a sip of his coffee and licked his lips.

"Well..." Tina helped her say the simple, overused phrase but it couldn't come out now. It exploded in her brain like fireworks. I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU.

"Cede...?"

"I LOVE YOU!...Oh my God. That just came out, like projectile vomit. I mean, "I love you!" Wow...but I do-I mean, I love you. And, God-I just love you and for some damn reason I can't stop saying it. It's like...for years I just-I just had all of these feelings and thoughts about us and...I love you." Mercedes stopped her rant as soon as she saw James' jaw drop to the table. James was frozen in time, not even blinking. Mercedes waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his nearly catatonic state. He shook his head and made a heavy blink. His silence was the answer to everything. Con. "You know, you can say something at any time..."

"I'm sorry, Cede, that's just...a lot to swallow." James scratched his beard. "You really do love me?" Mercedes bashfully nodded her head, all out of words. "Wow, Cedebaby, you know I love you but-" He grabbed for her hand across the table. The fateful 'but'. She knew where this was going, so Mercedes shooed his hand away.

"No, no, I know. Just forget I said anything-"

"No, Mercedes." James said earnestly, causing her to look at him. "I love you too. I love you a lot. You're smart, funny and beautiful. When I'm stressed your someone I run to and maybe if I wasn't so much of a pussy I would have made a move earlier but, now...you're like my sister. You are one of the most important relationships in my life and I don't want to ruin that. I want you to always be my best friend, okay?" Mercedes didn't know how to feel in this moment. A)James admitted to being attracted to her, B) He wanted to ask her out but didn't C) She had just been rejected. Whirlwind of emotion. "Besides, I thought you were with that white dude?"

"Sam." Mercedes corrected. Mercedes looked down at her hands and realized that A) Sam really likes her B) She hasn't gotten laid in months and from James' party she could tell that he could put it the fuck down, and C) She really liked Sam. All pro's. Mercedes did love James, that was true but it was more than possible that she was just mistaking their familial love as real love. They had their connection as friends, not soul-mates. She was just lonely, seeing as how everyone in her life had someone but her. Mercedes always knew that James didn't feel the same way about her; she was just imagining things that didn't exist.

"Whatever. So what's the deal?" James said.

"Well, nothing's official yet. In fact, he wanted me to talk to you. He could sense that I felt something for you, I guess and wanted me to explore it before diving into a relationship with him."

"Oh." James' said before sipping his coffee again. "He sounds alright."

"He is. Better than alright." Mercedes smiled to herself, which got James smiling too.

"Well, what are you sitting here talking to me for? Get it, girl!" James made a girly accent, while gyrating in his seat preteding he was doing the 'uh-oh' made famous by Beyonce. Mercedes laughed heartily, throwing some napkins at him.

"Stop!" James stood up as Mercedes did, pulling her in for another hug. James danced with Mercedes again, rocking her back and forth.

"I love you, Mercedes." He whispered sincerely, bringing soft tears to Mercedes eyes.

"I love you too, James." James reassuringly rubbed Mercedes' back and gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving, saying that he, Sam and Mercedes should all meet up for coffee one day. Mercedes told him she'd like that. Mercedes walked by herself on the sidewalk and checked her iPhone for messages. All of them were basically questions from Kurt, Tina and Quinn about how everything went. She was more than eager to answer, but she had to make one important text first.

Hey. I want to see you.

Mercedes.

Within seconds a reply came.

Name the time and place.

Sam.

A/N: Alright, alright ya'll. Now, in the next chapter, Sam and Mercedes will ahem 'initiate' their relationship. But I don't fancy myself very good at smut so I cannot predict how hot it'll be. Also, things are about to get a whole lot darker for Quick. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Until we meet again.