Chapter 10 – Whatever Happened to Saturday Night

"Hallelujah," Jack said, grabbing his books off his desk.

"At least it'll give me a chance to catch up," Quinn said.

Their professor had announced that he wasn't going to be there on Wednesday, so class was cancelled. For Quinn, it couldn't have come at a better time. She hadn't gotten as much done over the weekend as she hoped, and it would give her plenty of time to go over Jack's notes before the next class.

"Let me guess," Jack said. "By 'catch up' you mean read ahead."

"Not exactly," Quinn replied.

"Right," Jack said, sounding unconvinced. "Hey, it looks like your boyfriend is waiting on you again."

"He's not my boyfriend," Quinn mumbled as she looked toward the door.

"Does he know that?" Jack asked.

"He's going to," Quinn said, giving Brandon a smile.

"You're dumping him?" Jack asked.

"Can you really dump someone you've only gone on two dates with?" Quinn asked.

Quinn had made up her mind the night before that she was going to tell Brandon she really wasn't interested. There was nothing wrong with him, but she just didn't feel a connection with him. They had very little in common, and she wasn't going to date someone just because they were there. She'd done that far too many times in high school and had learned her lesson. If she was going to be in a relationship, she wanted it to be with someone she really wanted.

Jack shrugged. "I guess we'll find out, won't we?"

"I'll see you Monday," Quinn said, making sure she had everything in her bag. "And thank you for letting me borrow your notes."

"What are class friends for?" Jack asked. "Plus, I plan on getting sick very soon, so I'm going to need to borrow yours."

Quinn laughed. "I guess that's fair."

"See ya," Jack said, nudging her with his shoulder before he headed toward the door.

Quinn sighed to herself as she looked at Brandon again. He looked so happy to see her and she didn't want to hurt him, but she knew it was necessary. Considering they'd only been on two dates, though, she hoped she didn't hurt him too badly. It wasn't as if they were even in a relationship; she had made sure to keep things casual.

"Hey," Brandon said as she walked toward him. "I see you're feeling better."

"Yeah," Quinn replied.

"So, since we didn't get to go on our date Saturday, I was wondering if we could have lunch?" Brandon asked.

"Actually, I already ate," Quinn replied.

"Oh, well, coffee?" he asked.

"Can we talk?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Brandon asked.

"Probably not," Quinn replied, figuring it was better to just be straightforward. "You're a great guy, but I'm not interested in being in a relationship right now. I just want to concentrate on school, and—"

"Is it because of the other guy?" Brandon interrupted.

"What?" Quinn asked, frowning.

"That guy I always see you talking to," Brandon said, motioning toward the room she'd just come out of.

"Jack?" Quinn asked, almost laughing at the thought. "No, it has nothing to do with him."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Jack's gay," Quinn said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Brandon shook his head. "Fine. Do whatever you want to do."

Brandon hiked his backpack up more on shoulder and turned, walking toward the stairs. Quinn raised her eyebrow at the action, not expecting him to storm off. It was the exact same thing her first serious boyfriend had done except he'd kicked a chair on the way out. It wasn't exactly the most mature reaction and it made her happy she'd done it sooner rather than later.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked from the other side of the door, knocking lightly on it.

"Yeah?" Quinn asked.

"Is it alright if I come in?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Quinn replied.

"I apologize for the interruption," Rachel said, opening the door just enough to stick her head in. "I was wondering if you were hungry. I'm going to order some food from the Japanese restaurant down the street; would you like anything from there?"

"No thanks," Quinn replied.

Rachel nodded. "If you change your mind, let me know."

Rachel closed the door and Quinn looked back down at her notebook. She was almost done copying Jack's notes, but it had taken her a lot longer than she'd expected. He had terrible handwriting and it had taken her a while to decipher some of it. Other parts, she couldn't figure out at all and she had to take pictures of it to send to him so he could translate for her.

Quinn copied the last, half page without a lot of trouble until she hit the final few lines. He'd obviously been hurrying to copy the last bit before leaving the class, so his writing had gotten even sloppier. Rather than spend ten minutes trying to figure out what it said, she grabbed her phone and took a picture of it, texting it to him with a message asking if he was a doctor in another life. As soon as the message was sent, she threw her phone back down on the bed and closed the notebook.

Quinn laid back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She still had a few things to do, but she was finally almost caught up on everything. Or more accurately, she was finally ahead again with most of her assignments. Jack may tease her about it, but things like an unexpected illness were exactly why she did it. She hated the stress of falling behind and would rather stay ahead rather than trying to play catch-up. She'd learned that lesson the hard way her freshman year, having to pull several all-nighters during finals weeks, and she wasn't going to have to do it again.

After a few minutes, she sat up and glanced at the door for a moment before sighing and standing up. She walked over to the door and opened in, walking toward the kitchen, where Rachel was standing, eyebrows furrowed as she looked over a takeout menu.

"Oh, good," Rachel said when she looked up and saw Quinn walking toward her. "Which sounds better, quinoa sushi rolls or noodles with garlic, kale, and shitake mushrooms?"

"The noodles," Quinn replied.

"That's what I was leaning toward as well," Rachel said. "Well, I guess it's settled. Are you still sure you wouldn't like anything."

"Actually, that's why I came in here," Quinn replied.

"Oh," Rachel said, smiling. "Well, here you are, then."

"Thanks," Quinn replied, taking the menu from her.

"What made you change your mind?" Rachel asked after a few moments.

Quinn shrugged. "I think I want the chicken hibachi dinner."

"I'll place the order," Rachel said, giving Quinn a smile as she handed the menu back.

Rachel passed by Quinn, walking into the living room, where she called the restaurant. Quinn watched her as she did so, sighing to herself. She avoided Rachel's question because she wasn't entirely sure why she changed her mind. She could eat, but she wasn't that hungry, and she knew most of the dish was probably going to end up as leftovers.

"They said it should be here in an hour," Rachel said, looking over at her. "Do you—do you need to study?"

"I'm a little tired of studying, actually," Quinn replied.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Rachel asked. "Or maybe a television show? I overheard someone in one of my classes talking about some show called Orphan Black, and it sounded interesting. Apparently the lead actress plays multiple roles on the show."

"It doesn't matter to me," Quinn replied.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "Because we can do something else if you would like. Or if you don't want to do anything at all, we can do that, too."

"The show's fine," Quinn replied.

"Okay," Rachel said, smiling.

Quinn walked over to the living room and took a seat on the couch while Rachel looked around the living room. Quinn watched her for a while before asking, "What are you looking for?"

"The remote control," Rachel said, lifting up one of the pillows on the love seat.

Quinn leaned forward and pulled the remote out from under a magazine on the coffee table. "Are you talking about this one?"

"Yes," Rachel said, ducking her head as she put a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you."

Rachel walked to the couch and sat down, shifting around for a moment before turning the television on. Quinn watched her out of the corner of her eye, wondering why Rachel seemed so antsy. Just when Quinn would finally think Rachel was settled, she would begin moving around again

"Are you okay?" Quinn finally asked.

"What?" Rachel asked. "Oh, yes, I'm fine."

Quinn's eyebrow rose; she definitely didn't believe her, but she didn't care enough to try to get it out of Rachel. Thankfully, Rachel finally settled after another minute or two, just as the first episode began to start.

"Hello," Rachel said when she walked through the door.

"Hey," Quinn replied, reaching for the remote, and hitting pause.

"How was your day?" Rachel asked as she began unbuttoning her coat.

"Fine." Quinn shrugged. "You're home late."

"I thought I would make use of one of the studios while it was free," Rachel replied. "As much as I prefer practicing here, sometimes an actual dance studio is better."

Quinn hummed; she definitely wished Rachel would always rehearse at the school. Even if she no longer wanted to throttle Rachel all the time, it was nice to have a quiet apartment. And it was never very quiet when Rachel was around. Not unless the brunette was asleep or doing yoga.

"What are you watching?" Rachel asked when she walked into the living room.

"Some movie I found on Amazon," Quinn replied.

"Oh," Rachel replied. "After you're done with it, would you like to watch the next episode of Orphan Black?"

"Actually, why don't we just watch it now?" Quinn said.

Rachel frowned and asked, "You don't want to finish your movie?"

"Not really," Quinn said, shaking her head. "It's kind of terrible."

"Well, if you're sure," Rachel replied. "Let me make some popcorn and then I'll be ready."

Quinn nodded and went back to the menu before throwing the remote on the couch cushion. The movie wasn't very good and she would definitely rather watch the show. She was actually just waiting for Rachel to get home so they could continue with it. She'd thought about watching it without Rachel, but they'd started it together, so she figured she should probably wait even though she was very tempted to watch the next episode.

"Would you like any popcorn?" Rachel asked from the kitchen.

"No, thanks," Quinn replied.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked. "I bought some caramel popcorn the other day. I was thinking about fixing it, but there's far too much for me to eat it alone, and I really don't want to waste it."

"Well, if you're going to fix it—"

"Great!" Rachel said, turning, and reaching for the box on the top shelf.

"What would you have done if I still said I didn't want any?" Quinn wondered.

"I would have tried to convince you otherwise," Rachel said, looking over her shoulder, and smiling at Quinn.

Quinn shook her head at Rachel and then stood, walking toward the kitchen. Rachel put the bag of popcorn in the microwave and set it for two minutes before turning and resting her elbows on the island.

"I'm surprised you didn't have any plans for the evening," Rachel remarked.

"Why?" Quinn asked.

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know. You just seem like the type of person who would rather spend their Friday evening out. I mean, you have friends, and I thought maybe you would rather be out with them."

"I didn't really feel like going anywhere tonight," Quinn replied.

"You're not feeling ill again, are you?" Rachel asked.

"No," Quinn replied. "There's no need to bring out the disinfectant again."

"You can't blame me for wanting to stay healthy," Rachel said. "A simple cold can wreak havoc on my voice, and my voice is my livelihood."

Quinn rolled her eyes; only Rachel could be so dramatic about getting a cold. It wasn't as if it would stop her from ever singing again or anything. In fact, Quinn thought it may do her some good. Maybe she could relax for a few days instead of constantly rehearsing.

"May I ask why you just rolled your eyes at me?" Rachel asked, putting her hands on her hip.

"Because you're a little ridiculous," Quinn replied.

Rachel huffed. "I resent that."

"Of course you do," Quinn replied. "Your popcorn's going to burn."

"What?" Rachel asked, frowning. "Oh!"

Rachel turned and quickly stopped the microwave, pulling the bag out. As soon as it was in her hands, though, Rachel quickly threw it onto the counter, causing Quinn to laugh.

"I'm glad my pain amuses you," Rachel remarked. "I could have first degree burns for all you know."

"Something tells me you don't," Quinn said, shaking her head.

"You never know," Rachel replied, opening the cabinet, and pulling out a large glass bowl.

"Have you always been this dramatic?" Quinn asked.

Rachel glanced at her as she pulled the bag of popcorn toward her but didn't say anything. Not verbally, anyway; her face, on the other hand, said a lot. Quinn had obviously struck a nerve with Rachel, and she wondered if the brunette was going to eventually answer her or if she was going to remain tight-lipped.

"I thought we could share out of the same bowl, so we don't have to dirty a second one," Rachel said after a while.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Quinn asked.

Rachel paused for a few moments and then said, "No,"

"No, you're not going to answer or no, you haven't always been so dramatic?" Quinn wondered.

"The latter," Rachel replied. "You know, if we don't begin eating this popcorn soon, it's going to get cold."

"I thought it just gave you first degree burns," Quinn commented, raising her eyebrow at Rachel.

"As you said, I was just being dramatic," Rachel replied. "Now, can we please just watch the television show?"

Quinn gave a light shrug and said, "Sure."

"Quinn!" Rachel said, jumping slightly when Quinn closed her bedroom door. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here?" Quinn said, furrowing her brows in confusion.

"I know; I just—I thought you were going out with that guy tonight," Rachel replied. "What's his name? Brent?"

"Brandon," Quinn said. "We were supposed to, but I told him I wasn't really interested in a relationship right now."

"Does that mean you just want to keep things casual with him or that you're not going to see him at all?" Rachel asked.

"Well, considering he stormed off and hasn't spoken to me since, even if I had wanted to keep casually seeing him, I don't think it would've happened," Quinn replied.

"So, things between you two are over?" Rachel said.

"Yeah," Quinn replied.

Rachel nodded and then asked, "Is there a reason you're not interested in being in a relationship at the moment."

"I'm not necessarily uninterested in a relationship," Quinn said, shrugging. "I just didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him I wasn't interested in a relationship with him."

"Oh," Rachel replied.

Quinn expected her to say more than just 'oh'—she obviously wanted to—but a moment later, she turned away and walked toward the piano. Quinn's eyebrow rose as she watched Rachel, who picked some sheet music up from the piano bench and intently looked at it. After a few seconds, Quinn shook her head. She didn't really understand Rachel; sometimes she wouldn't stop asking questions, but at other times, she would obviously want to ask something but wouldn't.

"Is Brittany coming over tonight?" Rachel asked just as Quinn turned to walk back into her room.

"Not that I know of," Quinn said, shrugging as she turned back to look at Rachel.

Rachel nodded and then looked back down at the sheet music. "So, do you have plans for tonight?"

"No," Quinn replied.

"Really?" Rachel asked, looking over at her.

Quinn didn't know why Rachel sounded so surprised. It wasn't like she had much of a social life. Other than Brittany, she really didn't have that many friends. She had a few friends from class, but she rarely saw any of them outside of the classroom. Jack was the one exception; they didn't spend a lot of time together, but they would occasionally go somewhere together.

"I know we've already spent two nights this week watching Orphan Black, but would you be interested in watching the second season?" Rachel asked.

"I should've known that's what you were getting at," Quinn said, shaking her head.

"Oh, well, we don't have to," Rachel quickly replied.

"I didn't say no," Quinn said.

"So, you're saying yes?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged and said, "I really don't have anything better to do."

She had some studying to do for a quiz on Monday, but it could wait. She really just needed to look over her notes to refresh herself, which wouldn't take too long.

Rachel smiled. "I'll get it ready."

Quinn shook her head as Rachel briskly walked into the living room. This was the third night that week that she was going to spend the evening with Rachel, and she wasn't really sure how that managed to happen. Her only explanation was that her interest in watching the show outweighed Rachel's annoyance. Or maybe it was because Rachel was so wrapped up in the show that she barely spoke during it, making it easier to be around her. Whatever the reason, she'd probably spent more time with Rachel that week than the whole rest of the time she'd lived there.

"I was thinking of ordering a pizza tonight," Rachel said, glancing over her shoulder as Quinn began walking toward the living room. "I don't know if you've eaten recently or if you're okay with having pizza tonight, but if you are, we could split one."

"That's fine," Quinn said, shrugging.

"In that case, maybe we can watch an episode or two before I place the order?" Rachel replied. "Unless you're hungry right now."

"Not really," Quinn said.

"Perfect," Rachel replied, smiling at her.

Quinn couldn't help but sigh as she sat down. She didn't really know how, but they'd seemed to have developed a routine. Nearly every weekend they would end up watching something together and ordering takeout. She wasn't really sure when it started, but she blamed Rachel for it. Rachel had a bad habit of showing up anytime Quinn was watching a movie. She also wasn't really sure when she'd stopped being annoyed by it.

She glanced over at Rachel, who still had a slight smile on her face, and then forward at the TV again, shaking her head at herself. She was young, attractive, and she lived in New York City, a place where she could do just about anything, yet she somehow found herself spending Saturday night in the apartment with Rachel.

"Hey," Quinn said, bringing her phone to her ear.

"Hi," Brittany replied. "I found your dark brown boots in the closet."

"Okay," Quinn said, frowning slightly.

"If you wanna come and get them, you can," Brittany replied.

"Well, since I didn't even know I was missing them, I can just get them when we see each other," Quinn said.

"Okay," Brittany replied. "I'll bring them Thursday. So, what are you doing?"

"Not much," Quinn said, sitting down on her bed, and looking around. "I was thinking about rearranging my room."

"Are you allowed to do that?" Brittany asked.

"Probably not," Quinn said, smiling to herself.

She figured it was somewhere in the roommate agreement, but she really didn't feel like looking through it. She supposed she could go ask Rachel, but it felt weird asking permission to move a few pieces of furniture around. She'd really intended on moving the dresser Rachel had put into the room a long time ago, but she'd been afraid it was against Rachel's rules. Now, she didn't really care; at most, she figured Rachel would just ask her to move it back. She was no longer worried that Rachel was going to make her move if she didn't follow every single rule.

"Speaking of Rachel," Brittany said.

"What about her?" Quinn asked when Brittany didn't say anything else.

"How are things going?" Brittany asked.

"Okay, I guess," Quinn said, shrugging.

"Okay?" Brittany asked.

"What?" Quinn asked when Brittany paused again.

"It's just that this is the first time you haven't complained about her," Brittany replied. "You didn't even complain about her when we had lunch the other day. I don't think you've ever gone a week without doing that."

"So?" Quinn asked, wondering what Brittany was getting at.

"I was just wondering if you two are friends now?" Brittany asked.

"No," Quinn replied. "I'm not friends with her."

"Oh," Brittany said, sounding disappointed.

Quinn didn't know why Brittany was so eager for her and Rachel to become friends. Just because they lived in the same apartment, it didn't mean there had to be anything more than that. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to live with Rachel forever; even if she wanted to, there was a six month maximum.

"So, what did you end up doing this weekend?" Brittany asked.

"I, um—I studied," Quinn replied.

"All weekend?" Brittany asked.

"No," Quinn said.

"Well, then, what else did you do?" Brittany asked.

Quinn sighed and then said, "Rachel and I watched a TV show together."

"Really?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean we're friends," Quinn replied before Brittany could say anything else.

"But you're kind of getting along better, right?" Brittany asked.

"I guess," Quinn replied just as there was a knock at her door. "I'll be out there in a minute."

"What?" Brittany asked.

"Sorry, I was talking to—Rachel," Quinn said, pausing as she wondered whether or not she felt like telling Brittany. "I told her we could watch the rest of that show we watched last night."

"Oh, okay," Brittany replied. "Tell her I say hi."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Quinn said.

"Quinn," Brittany said just as she was about to end the call.

"Yeah?" Quinn asked.

"I'm really happy you and Rachel are friends," Brittany replied.

"We're not—" Quinn huffed when Brittany hung up, cutting off her denial.

Quinn shook her head and she threw her phone down on the bed and ran her hand through her hair. Sometimes she really didn't understand Brittany. It was as if she was in her own little world, believing what she wanted to believe, and ignoring any evidence to the contrary. Quinn knew she hated conflict and wanted everyone to get along, especially those she cared about, but she was eventually going to have to learn that it wasn't always going to happen. Quinn and Santana were probably never going to be friends again, and she and Rachel were never going to become friends in the first place. Just because she could actually tolerate spending a few hours with Rachel, it didn't mean they were going to suddenly become best friends.

Quinn stood up and walked toward her door, leaving her phone where she'd tossed it. She knew her mom would probably be calling any time and she really didn't feel like dealing with her at the moment. Talking with Brittany had already agitated her enough, so talking with either of her parents was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Is everything alright?" Rachel asked the moment Quinn walked out of her room.

"Fine," Quinn replied.

"Are you sure?" Rachel asked, furrowing her brows as she looked at Quinn. "You look like something is bothering you."

"I said I'm fine," Quinn said a little more harshly than she'd intended it to sound.

"Okay," Rachel replied. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's perfectly alright, but I would at least request that you don't lie to me. I can tell when something is bothering you, Quinn. I just want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk to someone."

Rachel gave her a small smile and then walked over to the couch, sitting down in the middle of it. For a moment, Quinn thought about just going back into her room, but then she shook her head and walked over to join Rachel on the couch.