A/N: This chapter made me kind of emotional. For some reason, I'm finding myself getting more and more invested in this pairing. This story, this world, although it is enchanting, is exhausting. I hope the rapid updating isn't sending anyone for a tailspin. I'm happy to read all the reviews and I'm glad that this is well-received. As a storyteller, it is important to me to bring other people into the worlds I create. Thanks again for your kind words. Please, keep sharing your opinions, keep asking questions, because each and every comment helps me develop this into so much more than a random, weird dream I had. With that, please enjoy. I look forward to your reviews.

A/N (Part Two): I was listening to my Mumford & Sons Pandora station when I was writing this, and their song "White Blank Page" really inspired me for this one. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't heard it, and if you'd like, you might give it a listen while reading the reunion scene.

I barely had time to focus; my vision was still blurry, my limbs and arms felt numb, unused, and I remembered that I had been in and out of sleep, held inside some state Marcus called Cryogenesis for a month. I had been away from my world, my reality, for a month, and now I had to return to the world I had been building.

I felt like what I had experienced before in the white room had been a dream, just like the others. However, the lucid feeling of my memory was the only piece that made me positive that it wasn't. That had been my reality, once. Before I could remember, I had been caged, an experiment. I had been prodded, monitored, and subjected to testing. I felt like the wires were snipped, and I was finally free.

Thanks to Marcus. Even though I didn't completely understand him, I couldn't help but trust him and be grateful to him for my freedom. Although I never would have known the difference between this life and my last, I couldn't bring myself to think about what I would be like if I hadn't been created for a different purpose. If I hadn't been given a precious, sweet taste of humanity, and what it was like to walk among normal people.

I would be different. I would be a mindless automaton, subjected to orders and chaos and destruction. There would be no humanity in me, nothing for anyone to even begin to love.

I started the engine of my car and began to drive back down the deserted road, feeling my body shift with excitement, knowing that soon, I would be back amongst people and civilization, two things I had grown to respect and love, even if I didn't fully understand it. I thought back to the subject of love, what it was, and what it could mean. Especially what it could mean for me. If I hadn't been made differently, there would be nothing that existed other than a soldier and a weapon. There would be no redeeming factor, nothing for someone like Rachel to care for. And not a shred left of me to care for Rachel.

With her, I could find freedom. Apparently, it was meant to be. It was my place to stay at her side, even though I hadn't figured out what that entailed. I watched the road and kept driving, counting the hours and the miles in my head. I wished for Lima, longed for those quiet streets and friendly smiles.

I watched the road, keeping my eyes on the middle, even though there weren't many other cars. I watched the road, and my mind shifted, and suddenly, I saw Rachel's smile in my head. I tried to remember the last time I saw it, and found myself envisioning lunchtime. I remembered how our conversations had always been so easy, so natural, as if we had been speaking to one another our entire lives. I understood when I joined humanity that there was a natural lull to conversations, that it took time to cultivate a pattern of trust and mutual understanding, but a friendship was a work in progress. It never just happened.

I remembered how even from the beginning, Rachel liked to hold my hand. She liked to feel me touching her, pressed against her, she liked to revel in our closeness. I always tried to figure out the cause behind this, and the motivations that fueled her desire to keep me close, but had no reasonable solutions. Even though I felt that I understood Rachel Berry, there was still enough of her that was gray, neutral, and mysterious, and the fact that I wasn't able to puzzle it out intrigued me and made me want to search deeper.

I wanted to learn every nuance, every smile, and examine their differences.

I wanted to pull her apart and see the gears, then know their movements as well as I knew my own.

I wanted to understand more of her emotions that what I could target and feel. Even though if I tried hard enough, I could isolate her emotions, I wanted to know them as a human, not as someone who had a special ability. I wanted to know Rachel in the same way she was learning me, by careful consideration, observation, and time spent together.

My heart felt heavy, and I felt the pain of knowing that I had been away from her for an entire month wash over me like crashing waves on a helpless shore. The questions came, filtering through my mind in rapid succession.

Did she still miss me?

Did she spend time at my apartment, missing our closeness and friendship?

Had she been doing well in school?

My hand clenched against the steering wheel, and I gritted my teeth. I felt nervous about what I had the potential of facing when I returned. Rachel had confided in me that her experiences at school were rarely pleasant, that she was bullied and ridiculed on a semi-regular basis, at the least. With me gone, I figured that she could have been a target again. I remembered the dumpster, how lonely and embarrassing it felt to be tossed inside with the garbage. I never wanted Rachel to be subjected to that again, although I knew she had already survived it more times than any one person should have to. She had paid her dues, and those cruel humans just kept collecting more than she had. It sickened me.

When I got back, there would be changes.

When I got back, everything would be different.

The roads narrowed, and I turned onto the next road, maneuvering onto the highway. I saw the sign as it whizzed by, and felt the lightness from before in my chest.

-Lima, 104 Miles-

I did the math in my head, scheduling my arrival. I looked at the clock on my dashboard and made a quick decision to head straight to McKinley. I remembered the request Rachel had asked of me, and couldn't keep the smile off of my face.

If she wanted something so simple, I could arrange to give it to her. I knew that for many humans, love was a complex, terrifying thing that was so out of reach, so far from possibility, and for me, it just seemed like something that wasn't necessary to thrive or to exist. It seemed like it would interfere with my larger plans, but as I got to thinking about what Rachel had confided in me, the secrets she shared, I realized that her heart was on the line. She, as a human, was likely terrified by the complexities of love, yet she was so willing to extend the potential to someone, me, as I was leaving her, no less. She wasn't afraid to hope, to dream, to feel, and to tell me those feelings.

In me, she kept her secrets. And it was in that moment, when she looked into my eyes and I saw the glimmer of hope and trust along an unspeakable brightness, that I decided that if she'd let me, I'd be around to carry her secrets and her terrifying complexities forever.

Perhaps that was my purpose.

What a beautiful thing, to ease the burdens of life from someone as remarkable as Rachel Berry.

I did not believe in a higher power, for all I knew, one did not exist. There was no proof of anything being able to determine destiny or write stories for each of us that were fortunate enough to play the game of life. I went against the grain, a man-made concoction of chemicals and steam... a true Creation, not human, not biological flesh and blood, but synthetic strength. However, if any being, biological or synthetic could be blessed, I felt that my name would be on the list.

The miles faded, becoming numbers in my rear-view mirror.

My smile, however, did not fade. It refused.

I had missed Rachel, and had been missing her for so long, that it seemed like it would be forever until I saw her smile again or heard her voice speaking pure emotion into my ear. I still hadn't heard her sing.

But as the miles ticked away, one after another after another, I decided that if she was my purpose and forever was my future, missing her was worth it.

Because if I had my way, I'd never have to miss her again.

It was three o'clock when I pulled into the parking lot of McKinley High School. Tomorrow, I would have Quinn create a lie as to why I had been absent for a month, and I would work meticulously on reclaiming my place. I would take the good with the bad, I would live the ups and downs as any other human would. I would blend in. I would learn them, be like them, and be someone deserving of the human condition.

But for now, I had only one goal: fulfill Rachel's request.

What a perfect moment, I thought, to give her what she had been waiting for. I wondered if she had been waiting, agonizing over the day I would return. Every morning, did she wake up and wonder if that day would be the one?

I could not recall thoughts from my slumber, and did not know if my brain was even active enough to form thoughts during Cryogenesis, but something deep down within me, on a primal level, where Quinn was seated, I knew that even if my mind hadn't been able to form thoughts, I had missed her with every part of me.

Even if she did not feel the same, I felt it for both of us.

The bell rang, and set my ears aflame. My body developed a tremor, excitement flooding my veins like quick-release poison, and I watched the double doors in the front of the school with a trained eye. A crowd of students erupted from the doors, scattering to every part of the commons, along the lawn, same as always. My eyes scanned each and every figure, waiting for the one that would set the final stage of her well-laid plans into motion.

I saw red jackets, and recognized Karofsky and Azimio in the crowd. For a moment, I considered ducking, laying low, in case they spotted me. A girl in a red uniform followed them, and a flash of yellow caught my eye. Santana and Brittany were headed to Santana's car, pinkies linked as always. I knew they could ruin my plans, set me off track, push me off course, but I was more than them. I knew what I was now, and even though I would not use my abilities in a negative way, Quinn still could and would. However, even with that knowledge, I did not feel out of control. I did not feel fear. I did not feel monstrous or concerned.

I felt powerful, but not as though I had obliterating power, even though I did.

I felt strong, but not enough to be destructive, although it wasn't outside my realm of possibilities.

I felt safe, and like I could be safe.

Now, I felt like all that was left was to find the life I wanted and take it.

Santana, Karofsky, and Azimio could try to destroy me and bring me down, but I would fight harder. Any firepower they threw my way, I'd find enough in me to turn it against them.

They wouldn't blemish my existence.

I wouldn't let them.

I held my head high and continued to scan the crowd.

I felt my jaw clench subconsciously when I spotted Finn in the midst of the crowd. He clutched his backpack strap over one shoulder, one hand wrapped around it as he strutted with his adopted, casual air of indifference. He thought this would give him the world. He thought he deserved the world. My eyes narrowed to slits. I knew otherwise.

I took a deep, cleansing breath when I felt Quinn stir. I relaxed, concentrating on each and every tense muscle in my body and forcing them to recoil, to calm. It wouldn't do to have her screeching in my head and detracting from the intense focus I needed.

But where was Rachel?

I allowed my eyes to follow Finn again when the original discomfort had ceased, and saw him smiling. It was a dopey, leering smile, but as I looked closer, I saw that it was attributed to laughter. My eyes shifted lower, and I saw Rachel walking at his side, gesturing animatedly with her hands and laughing along with him.

I felt the plastic of my steering wheel crack every so slightly within my hands, and recoiled immediately. It wouldn't do to break things. I examined my steering wheel, and saw the crack; it was a hairline fracture, at best, but there was no denying what it was, and what it meant.

Jealousy. Something I never thought I'd feel, but now that I had experienced it, I understood the potency and insanity very well. I gritted my teeth and tried to steady my breathing, but this time, there was no relief to be had. It held me tight, its dance partner in a series of dangerous, elaborate motions.

I exited my car, feeling my feet beat the earth underneath me with a furious pace. I walked toward Rachel and Finn, fire in my heart and determination in my eyes. I was going to keep my end of the bargain, whether she liked it or not. My ferocity scared me for a moment, as I had never felt this type of emotional surge before. I had never felt this out of control.

I was never supposed to allow myself, this part of me, to get this out of control. But I couldn't help it.

The earth turned to grass, which turned to pavement, and suddenly, I was within arm's length from Rachel, standing just behind her. I closed my eyes, held onto my hopes, and found my voice amongst the emotion and uncertainty that was keeping a tight grip on my composure.

"Rachel!" I called. I could hear the difference in my voice. It was strangled, longing, reaching out to her from a distance that my touch could not. I watched her freeze, her feet still like she had been rooted to her spot.

I watched Finn stop when he noticed that Rachel was no longer moving. He took a few steps back, and said something to her that I couldn't hear. I expected her to turn, but she didn't. Not immediately.

I stood in my place, and the crowd moved around me, allowing for my pause.

I tried to call her name again, but on my second attempt, no sound came out. I clenched my fists, feeling my nails dig into my palms painfully.

A horrifying thought hit me.

Had I been gone too long?

Was I too late?

Then, she turned, and I was faced with dark eyes that had haunted me for days and miles. The breeze kicked up around her, causing her ribbons of silky brown hair to fly around her, framing her and adding to her natural beauty. She saw me, and I watched her lips contort into a gentle, almost imperceptible tease of a smile. Her eyes closed, and her head tilted upward toward the sky, and then she lowered her head, opened her eyes, and found me again.

She was breathtaking. I stayed where I was until I realized that she wasn't moving, and since I wasn't, either, we weren't making progress. I caught a hint of defiance in her eye, and knew that she was testing me. Challenging me and pushing me, wanting to see how much I remembered, and just how far I would go for her.

I would walk through fire for her.

I would tear the heavens apart.

I moved forward until I was back within her immediate presence. I felt my entire body sigh, head to toe, expelling any agony and distance and insecurity.

I looked down into those eyes, and we both smiled at the same time.

"I've had this dream so many times," Rachel whispered. "Please tell me that this is finally happening for real."

"You're not dreaming, Rachel," I insisted, savoring how good it felt to say her name after all this time.

"You remembered what I asked for, don't you?" Rachel asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I remember it as if you asked me yesterday," I confessed. "I'm quite certain that you never left my mind."

Rachel sighed, and unconsciously licked her lips.

"So then here we are," she said, and I could tell she was nervous. I reached down, searching blindly for her hand, and when I found it and held it within my own, I no longer felt a burn. I felt warmth, her warmth, but not a trace of unwanted heat.

I leaned in, but before I could touch my lips to her, I felt myself ripped away by a bear-like hand. Angry eyes stared at me, and a jaw clenched.

"You stay away from her!" Finn yelled, giving me a rough shove that nearly knocked me off my feet.

I felt Quinn wake, heard the low snarling. I felt her power, and swallowed it down.

"Finn, you don't want to do this," I said, speaking calmly.

"I want you to get the fuck away from Rachel, freak," Finn replied.

"I'm not going anywhere."

He smirked, and Rachel stood still.

"I'm pretty sure you already did that," Finn growled. "Do you know what it did to her, when you left? I don't know what the fuck was going on between you two, or why you had to walk away, but she's been hurting, and it's all your fault."

I looked to Rachel, my eyes searching hers. She looked away.

"Rachel," I said softly. "You knew I was coming back... didn't you?"

"I thought it would be sooner. I thought I could wait longer, but then a week became two, and it's been months with no word, and I started to lose hope," Rachel admitted. I felt the pain, the burning pain from before, latch onto my heart. I felt my knees quiver, like I was preparing to fall. I wouldn't let myself. I would retain my composure.

I paused. Months?

"How long have I been gone?"

Rachel's eyes searched mine.

"I turned 17 last month. I blew out my candles, and wished that you'd come back to wish me happy birthday, and you didn't," Rachel explained softly. "It's odd, because you came here exactly one month after my 16th birthday, and that year, I wished for someone to change my life. To come along and make my life something different... something special. I think I wished for you."

"So I've been gone..." I started, then paused. I felt my stomach churn. There was no way.

Marcus said I had been gone a month.

One month.

Four weeks.

Thirty days.

That was no longer my reality.

I felt my body blaze, catch fire, even though everything appeared normal. Inside, I was raging. I was lost, swimming in a sea of emotions that were too much for me to handle. But I had to let them out. I had to let them out somehow.

"You've been gone nearly a year, Quinn," Rachel said softly, and I heard her voice choke up as she said the words, giving them life. "I thought you were never coming back."

"I don't trust her, Rach," Finn said, taking a step closer to Rachel. "Let's just go, okay? You don't need this."

I saw him reach for her hand, and every muscle in my body tensed for a moment, waiting for the contact.

Rachel shrugged him off slightly, but offered him a placating smile. I felt relief wash over me, and watched her closely. I examined her, raking my eyes over her, looking for changes. It didn't look like a year had passed us by, and certainly didn't feel like it. The sunlight shifted, and a flicker of metal, a shine from around her neck caught my eye. I followed it to a chain around her neck, and held my breath.

That hadn't been there before.

I clutched to my instincts and took a step forward. I watched Finn move to meet me, to block my path. Rachel looked at him and shook her head, and he took a step back, although his eyes bore into me, like he was daring me to do anything negative. As if I would hurt her.

Stupid, pathetic human boy. I'd rather die than hurt Rachel.

"What is that around your neck?" I asked. Rachel blinked once, hard, then tilted her head to the side. I moved forward again, and reached for the delicate chain before she could stop me. I pulled up, removing the charm from where it was nestled snugly underneath her shirt. She gasped quietly, possibly because of how close I was, perhaps because of the fact that my fingertips brushed just underneath her collarbone when I pulled on the chain. My eyes darted over the necklace quickly, stopping when I saw what was on the end.

A key. My key.

"You kept this," I stated. "It's been almost a year, but you still kept this."

"Rachel, what is that?" Finn asked.

"Quiet, Finn," Rachel snapped at the tall boy. Then, her kind eyes turned to me. "Of course I kept it. It was my last piece of you."

I lowered my voice, knowing that people could possibly hear. However, I still spoke secret words in mixed company, so it startled me how little I seemed to truly care about things such as safety when my situation, my place with Rachel, was dangling precariously in the balance. Hanging on by a chain. A thread. Kept together by a key and a promise.

"Do you still... go?"

"Yes," Rachel said quietly, almost like she didn't want to admit it to me, or possibly even to herself.

"How often?" I pressed. I knew it was forceful, I knew Rachel was delicate, but there was something greater in me, greater things at stake, and I had to know. I had to.

"Quinn, do you really have to-" Rachel asked, and I caught the blush on her cheeks.

"Yes," I said, caressing the chain gently and keeping my eyes locked on hers. I touched that chain in ways that I could not bring myself to touch her. Not yet, despite how much I wanted to. That, also, came as a surprise. How much I wanted. How I wanted, and how I could want.

It was mind-blowing.

"I used to go every day," Rachel started. "But, I've been incredibly involved with Glee Club on top of my rigorous academic schedule. But I spend weekends there most of the time, and sometimes I'll go after school or late at night when I can sneak out of my house."

"Why?" I asked.

I knew the answer. I thought I did, but I had to hear her say it.

"You said... if I needed to feel close," Rachel said, emotions choking her up again as she tried to speak and keep the intensity of our eye contact at the same time.

"I never went that far away," I replied, dropping the chain gently and following it back down against her tanned skin. "Physically, yes, I was far, but my mind never left you."

"It felt like you were a thousand miles away," Rachel sighed.

"But now I'm right here," I said, my presence and voice strong for the first time since I stepped out of the car. I felt invincible. I stepped closer, breathing the same air as her, and took both of her hands in mine. "Right here."

Her eyes lowered, and I caught them gazing at my lips before faltering and finding me again. I caught the tears, wanting to ease her pain before they could fall this time. I wanted to ensure that she knew I wasn't leaving again, I wanted to cement it into her so she and I both could wear our devotion like a brand.

I needed her.

I wanted her.

It was more than I could handle, but at the same time, it was everything I wanted. With my answers came clarity, and although I hated that it took a year for me to come back to this place, to her, to us... I knew that it was entirely necessary.

"Rachel," Finn whined. "You can't just let her..."

"Shut up, Finn," I growled, shooting him an eyeful of razor-sharp daggers before gripping at Rachel's waist and pulling her in close. I rested my hands on the gentle slope of her hips, wanting to touch more, feel more, but couldn't bring myself to take things that far. I felt her ribcage expand, then contract with her staggered breathing, and again, she licked her lips.

"Quinn Fabray, what are you doing to me?" she breathed.

I leaned in and touched my lips to hers, and felt a surge of electricity pass through us. This time, I was more prepared for the contact of her skin to mine, and savored the feel of her plush lips pressing against mine. I released the breath I was holding against her lips and stroked her hips with my thumbs as she circled my neck with her arms. I could feel people watching. I could hear them whispering around us, but my cares were passed away when one of those delicate hands moved up, tangling themselves in the hairs at the base of my neck.

She made a little keening sound, and it lit my body on fire. Then, I felt a hot dampness splash against my cheek, and felt her body shake and sag in my arms. I pulled back instantly, recoiling, and searched her face, noting that the wetness was from tears that were now falling freely. Instinctively, I moved to wipe them away, and lowered my lips to kiss the paths they left. I tasted salt and the smoothness of her skin, and breathed her scent deep into my lungs, sparking the memories and keeping them safe, promising that I would never go without this again.

"Rachel," I whispered, continuing to gingerly wipe away her tears. I couldn't stand the pain. I'd cut myself open, leave myself bare, leave myself to the wolves if it meant sparing her an ounce of heartache. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"This isn't hurt, Quinn," Rachel assured me. "This is joy."

Joy?

How could tears equal joy?

I felt my face contort, and I fought to rationalize until I was broken free by quiet, soothing laughter. It warmed my insides, and her hands covered mine softly. Her fingertips traced the backs of my hands, and she looked up at me through long, perfect eyelashes.

"You're confused. It's okay," Rachel soothed. "Sometimes, people cry for good reasons as well as bad ones. I'm not sad, I promise. I've never been happier, really."

"I don't like when you cry," I whispered. She nodded, then leaned forward, allowing me to support her weight in my arms. I caught her easily, even though she didn't weigh much, not much at all; she was light as a feather. She shifted in my arms, sighed, then turned her head to the crook of my neck. I could feel her breath wash against my neck, could feel the words she expelled against me in gentle, staccato rhythms. It lulled me, soothed my soul, and kept me centered, completely tuned to her and our little universe.

"You've gotten stronger," she commented. "What were you doing?"

I paused.

Stronger?

I tilted my head to the side. I had more questions, I had more insecurities, but I did not want to dwell on them. I wanted to build my universe around Rachel and never know anything else. I never wanted to look back. I never, ever wished to return to the white room and the endless walls and the Cryogenesis tanks. I never wanted to be treated like an experiment or a Supersoldier again. I just wanted to be human.

I just wanted to be hers.

The answers could wait.

"Another time, okay?" I asked, hoping that she'd be more apt to let the questions settle between us, instead of pressing like I did. "I just want to enjoy being back home with you."

"I'm supposed to go straight home after school," Rachel said quietly. "Lots of homework. But, unless you don't want company, I could call my dads and explain the situation... I'm sure your apartment is as good a place as mine to do homework. As long as you promise not to be distracting."

She smiled, and this time, it was different. There were quiet embers behind the gaze, and a darkness in her eyes. It sent a shiver up my spine and caused my heart to start racing.

Quinn whispered in my ear, and I felt myself blush all over. Rachel grinned knowingly, and laced our fingers together.

"Rach, wait!" Finn called, jogging after us. His face spoke volumes, all of them expressing shock and disappointment.

"Finn, please don't make this difficult," Rachel asked.

"I just don't understand why you'd choose her, after all we've been through. After all she's done," Finn said, hanging his head. "I helped you when she was gone. I helped pick up the pieces, and I don't know, I guess I thought that once you stopped being sad, maybe we'd be able to try again."

"Except my heart never belonged to you," Rachel said quietly. "I'm sorry, but I can't give my heart away when I know it belongs somewhere else."

"I love you, though," Finn tried.

I bristled.

Love? He wasn't supposed to love her.

I tightened my grip on her hand, and she must have sensed the fire in me, because she soothed my skin with her thumb and made a quiet shushing sound.

I calmed down, like she held all the keys to me. Like she was the puppeteer, and I was her creation.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said again. I shook my head, signaling to her that she didn't need to keep apologizing. He was pressuring, making her hurt, and it made me want to demolish him.

"Rachel, please," Finn said emphatically. "I'm trying to fight for you here."

"I never asked you to fight for me," Rachel replied.

"She said no, Finn," I chimed in. His eyes turned to me, and Rachel stiffened.

"Stay out of this," he leered. I dropped Rachel's hand, just like before, and stood next to him, toe to toe with giants, knowing that I had the advantage. This time, I had the control.

"She doesn't want you," I tried again.

"If you're so sure of that, you won't mind letting me figure that out for myself," Finn said. I raised an eyebrow and fought the urge to growl. That was Quinn, not me, and I had to stay in control. I had to keep afloat, or the consequences would ruin everything. They would take me from Rachel, and maybe even put her in danger, and I wouldn't, I couldn't have that.

"She said no," I said forcefully. "Did you forget what I said last time, before I left? It still stands, and I wasn't kidding. I'm the last person you want to piss off, Finn Hudson, believe me."

He sneered, and a slow smile twisted his normally vacant, benign features into something darker.

"I'm not afraid of you," Finn said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "And as to Rachel, she'll see what she wants one day. She'll realize that she's supposed to be with me. I'll wait."

Before I could stop it, my hand shot forward and landed straight in the middle of his chest. I felt my blood boiling, heating up, and stared directly into Finn's face. He looked at me curiously, but did not remove my hand. I thought for a moment that he probably couldn't move it. That he was trapped, subjected to my mercy, and I still hadn't decided whether to show him any.

"Leave her alone," I said again. "This is your very last warning."

My palm continued to get hot, and I watched his face contort into something else, a pained, pathetic expression. His breath grew short, and I could feel his heart struggling to beat, as if the conditions were becoming painfully unpleasant. He gasped, fought for air, and struggled. His face darkened to a glowing maroon, but I still did not move my hand.

"Please," he gasped. "Hurts. Please. Stop."

When I registered the last word, I removed my hand, and watched as he stumbled backward, clutching his jacket and his chest. There were no visible marks, which would keep me safe. He looked at me one last time, then glanced helplessly at Rachel, who was looking on with uncertainty. He opened his mouth to speak, and I grabbed Rachel's hand, tugging her quickly to the parking lot, where I was parked.

"Let's go before he decides to make even more of a scene," I suggested. "You can call your dads when we get to my car."

"Okay, but Quinn, what did you-" she began to ask, but I silenced her with a gentle squeeze.

"Later, okay?" I asked, begging with my eyes. "Can't we talk about this later?"

She nodded, and followed me.

As she followed, I got the feeling that she would follow me anywhere.

That she wasn't going anywhere.

That she was mine, for keeps.

I had felt power before. I had power bleeding into my veins, governing my every movement, but she made it all seem watered-down and useless.

She jumped into my passenger seat and fixed me with a brilliant smile before reaching for her phone to make her call.

I felt another rush of emotion that sent me spinning sideways.

For humans, that was power. It was a different kind than what I held naturally, what had been given to me, but I was convinced that there was nothing greater.

I looked at her one more time, then smiled to myself. I started the engine.

There was no greater thing in the universe.