I know, I know. I have no excuses. It has taken me forever to upload and it's been killing me, one day at a time. Trust me. The thing is, between work and several projects I have taken on, along with -what people seem to refer to as 'writer's block'- I didn't have the chance to upload. And whenever I had time to sit down and write, although I had a bunch of ideas, I just couldn't put them into words. I believe I'm out of it. And Hopefully, you will like this chapter/come back.

As always, I do NOT own Glee or any of its characters. But I do own my mistakes and pray for them to be few, 'cause I edited this chapter while slightly drunk.

Thank you all for reading this story. I sincerely hope you like it and review it, as your feedback means the world to me. :D


~ Chapter 11 - Dirty Ginger And Other Roots ~

"OhmyGod! OhmyGod!" breathed Rachel as she hid inside the crook of Quinn's neck.

The blonde's heart swelled up at the singer's intimacy and she couldn't help but worry whether her faster heartbeat was something that Rachel could pick up on.

"You okay there?" she asked, her voice tinted with slight concern.

"I cannot believe you did this."

"ME?!" asked Quinn incredulously. "How's this my fault?"

"It was you who suggested I watch this god-awful movie!" spat the brunette, adding a playful jab at the blonde's right rib before she returned her hands to their previous place; her eyes.

Quinn glanced at the screen of her laptop where the protagonist's best friend was getting eaten by sight-impaired, flesh-eating, human-like monsters.

"All right, I'll admit it's kind of gory" she said as she pulled back to see Rachel hesitantly lower her hands, thus no more shielding herself from the monstrosities that have been happening on screen for a while.

Quinn was finding the diva more adorable by the minute.

"Kind of?" asked Rachel, now fully looking at the laptop screen on Quinn's bed. "Quinn, that woman swam in, literally, a pool of blood!"

The blonde chuckled, earning a death stare from the diva.

"Literally, it was a pool of corn syrup." she quipped.

"And those things. The chewing sounds that they made. Ugh…" Rachel was now staring at the titles scrolling down the screen. "All that blood…" she added with a grimace.

Although Quinn had enjoyed having Rachel close to her – she had this satisfactory feeling that she was protecting the brunette – she was now feeling a little guilty. Not only had Rachel not enjoyed the movie, but she had also been scarred for eternity, as the diva had previously stated.

"Okay" she said as she turned off her computer. "Maybe it wasn't the greatest choice for your first scary movie."

The brunette just blankly stared at her. Ya think?!

"In my defense, I told you it was fierce and that you shouldn't watch it alone, though." added the blonde, scratching the back of her head.

"You did do that." answered Rachel. "All right, maybe it's partly your fault then." She added, failing to hide the teasing smirk that was forming on her lips.

Quinn noticed it right away and, smiling, she tugged on the brunette's hand to bring her closer.

Rachel, of course, obliged.

"Maybe, next time we'll watch something…" she paused, searching for the right choice of words as the small diva was settling on her lap "…less bloody."

Rachel softly shook her head as she brought her hands up Quinn's collar, clenching them around a fistful of the blonde's T-shirt.

"Nuh-uh." She said, her dark eyes finding hazel.

Quinn was mesmerized by the brunette's inviting look. She had, very much to her pleasure, found out that the smaller girl was a very sexual person – unlike what her perception of the singer was during the early years of High School – and she had been enjoying every touch, look and, all in all, sensory overload Rachel was giving her since they first slept together.

"Nuh-uh?" she questioned.

"Nuh-uh." repeated Rachel in a whisper. She crawled up the blonde's body, bringing their clad centers incredibly close, thus causing an almost inaudible moan to escape Quinn's lips. "Next time, I'm sticking to musicals. I'm not going to go through that ever again."

Quinn chuckled softly.

"I know that when you go back to New York, you're going to watch – I dunno – maybe a dozen of musicals just to get rid of the images of that movie that are currently infesting your mind, Rach, but…" the blonde paused sliding the palms of her hands up the brunette's thighs "…I have taken on the role of introducing you to the horror genre and I'm not giving up that easily." She added smirking.

Rachel laughed lightly and couldn't help but blush a little bit at the realization that Quinn knew her that well. She had already made a list of the musical marathon she was going to hold with Kurt once back in the Big Apple. She was going to start and end it with 'Funny Girl' and throw in some 'My Fair Lady', 'Singing in the Rain', 'Wizard of Oz' and 'West Side Story' in the middle.

"So what do you suggest we watch next time? Although, I must tell you, Quinn, I'm inclined to believe I'm not going to agree." teased the brunette, her cheeks now tinted with the lightest hue of red as she felt the blonde softly grip her sides.

"I think you are." answered Quinn feeling sure of herself. "You, Ms. Berry, are a sucker for the classics, so I'm simply going to introduce you to Mr. Norman Bates, Mr. Michael Myers and probably Mr. Hannibal Lecter."

"Okay, I'm not certain about the first two but I know the third name you mentioned is definitely not one of an actor." said Rachel, now feeling a little concerned about what kind of movies her friend was going to make her watch next time.

Quinn laughed out loud. The brunette's adorableness was taking over her brain. And then, without even giving herself a chance to reconsider, she leaned up and closed her lips around Rachel's.

The kiss was small and simple. A sweet lock of lips. The intimacy that laced it, though, made both of their hearts swell.

The blonde broke the kiss and looked up catching Rachel's chocolate eyes. "Don't google the names I just mentioned."

The brunette pulled back, once again surprised by how accurate the blonde's predictions were.

"Am I that predictable?" she voiced her thoughts. Except for her parents she had never met another person who was spot-on when it came to her.

Quinn smiled and softly ran her thumbs on Rachel's stomach.

"No, you're not. Especially considering our…status…I wouldn't describe you as a predictable person; Quite the opposite, in fact."

The small girl nodded, knowing exactly what the blonde meant. Being friends with benefits with Quinn Fabray was not something that people would call typical of her.

"Touché…" she offered before adding "You just surprised me with how dead-on you were before, with the googling of the names and the impending musical marathon and all."

Quinn gave her a lopsided smile and shrugged. "I don't know. I just pay attention, I guess."

She suddenly wasn't sure if that was intentional or a slip of the tongue.

Rachel took advantage of the fact that Quinn was looking down and goggled her eyes, taken aback by the sweet comment the blonde had just made. She had had people pay attention to her before. Sure, it took Finn approximately a year to do so. It took a makeover for Brody to pay attention (the boy had shown interest before but not nearly as much as he did afterwards). And, surely, obsessive/stalker Jacob didn't exactly count. And Jesse had plotted against her, so it was mandatory for him to pay attention.

But it wasn't for Quinn.

The brunette brought her fingers under Quinn's chin and kissed the blonde soundly.

Warm lips found soft ones, lightly grazing against each other, warm breaths mingled creating an intoxicating concoction shooting from the girls' brains straight to their core.

Rachel clenched her fist harder around Quinn's top before she softly and without realizing ground her center on the blonde's, the touch earning moan from the both of them. Quinn gripped harder on the diva's sides, suddenly wanting more.

Much more.

She raised her hand and grabbed Rachel by the back of her neck, bringing her closer. She kissed the girl on top hard, her lips colliding with their counterparts'. Taking advantage of Rachel's open-mouthed moan she darted her tongue inside, deepening the kiss, claiming the brunette's mouth. Their hot muscles were now dwelling for dominance, their heart rates severely picking up and, soon enough, their skin felt like it was on fire.

Rachel's chest burnt. How had she come to this? How was she straddling Quinn, kissing the life out of her? When had she become this free, chance-taking person that had developed a no-strings attached relationship with her high school friend and former nemesis?

Those were good questions that echoed in the very back of her mind. However, they weren't even remotely worthy of her concern right now, especially when Quinn's thumb was rubbing circles on the side of her neck. When Quinn's sizzling tongue was sliding on her lips.

Their kiss had evolved from that gentle, tentative lock of lips to this scorching dwell. It tasted of need and desperation.

Rachel, still fisting the blonde's T-shirt, almost tore it to pieces when she pulled hard on it, wanting to close any kind of distance with Quinn. She wrapped her hands around the blonde's neck and moaned into their kiss.

Quinn lowered her hands and started pulling up Rachel's top. But, unfortunately, her sensual reverie came to an abrupt end when her cellphone's ringtone started blaring.

"Goddamnit!" she muttered under her breath.

Rachel gave her a sweet peck on her lips and let out a sigh.

"You're a popular girl, Quinn. You're bound to have a lot of phone calls." quipped the brunette, feeling a little angry at whoever was lady-cockblocking her for the second time today.

The blonde's phone had rung several times, signaling either calls or text messages. Quinn had let Rachel know about the different kind of options they had on how and with whom they were invited to spend their Saturday night at Yale. The most prevailing option being a party held at a pub nearby; they had been invited by Quinn's closest friends there, Jamie.

Rachel didn't know anything other than that about Jamie and she was looking forward to getting to know the people that the blonde was associated with now. The ex-cheerleader was definitely not the same person she used to be – much like she wasn't either – and the brunette was admittedly curious to see what kind of friends Quinn had made there.

She slid off Quinn, bemoaning the loss of contact, giving the blonde space to reach for her phone and answer it.

"Hey J!" said the blonde, greeting the caller.

Quite clingy this Jamie guy, Rachel thought. This is the fifth time he's called today.

"I dunno, probably. Yeah. What time is it now?" said Quinn quickly glancing at the time on the screen of her phone. It was 7 pm. They had stayed in talking and watching 'The Descent' in the afternoon, after their breakfast and talk at the café.

"Nothing, just hanging." the blonde added nonchalantly.

A little more than that, thought the brunette, guessing Jamie had just asked what they were doing and feeling a little hurt that Quinn hadn't told the truth to her friend. 'Just hanging.' Pfft.

Rachel shook her head and rolled her eyes at her own ludicrous thoughts.

What did you expect, Rachel? How would she respond to her friend on the phone. 'Hey, I was just shoving my tongue in Rachel's mouth and we were hoping of having sex, because that's what we do now. We have sex; no strings attached and all that.

Rachel laughed at her inner monologue – or rather dialogue, earning a strange look by Quinn.

Or maybe she didn't want to tell the truth about what we were doing, because she and Jamie are more than friends!

The wheels in her brain were spinning out of control. Soon enough, though, she realized she was being ridiculous and rid herself of her silly thoughts. It wasn't proper for Quinn to share their intimate moments with anyone and that was something admirable and surely not worthy of question by the brunette.

"Okay, bye. See you." offered the blonde before hanging up her phone. "That was Jamie." She informed the brunette, turning to look at her.

"Mmhm." Rachel nodded.

"Do you wanna go to this thing I told you about? The party at 'Dirty Ginger's'?" inquired the blonde.

"Sure! Why not?" replied Rachel excited.

"I was promised it's going to be fun. Plus, you're going to meet some of my friends here. But only if you want to." rushed Quinn.

She was looking forward to having Rachel meet her Yalie friends, but she wasn't sure the brunette shared the feeling.

"Relax, Quinn. I do want to go there and I do want to meet your friends." Rachel assured, calming the blonde's nerves.

"Okay."

"Okay." offered Rachel sending a soft smile Quinn's way. "Now, should we start getting ready?" she asked standing up, her voice filled with excitement.

Quinn got off the bed, feeling a mixture of enthusiasm and nervousness kick in. "Sure. That's a good idea."

"Great!" Rachel clapped her hands. "Now, what to wear? What…to…wear?" she muttered, tapping her finger pensively on her bottom lip, ignorant of the mischievous thoughts and dirty responses that were reeling inside the blonde's mind.


Strolling down the street to Dirty Ginger's Rachel caught herself falling behind every now and then, allowing Quinn to walk in front of her, thus giving her the chance to steal an appreciative glance on the blonde's butt.

She couldn't help but wonder how crude she was being, but checking Quinn out once again, she quickly forgave herself.

The girl did have a sinfully nice butt.

The former cheerleader was wearing a black leather jacket, but beneath it there was a tight-fitting dark blue dress, which was beautifully contrasting her light complexion and blonde hair. Jesse's words echoed faintly in Rachel's mind.

The ghost of Grace Kelly.

The brunette found herself getting jealous of Jesse and his more than accurate description of the girl.

She should be the one coming up with it.

Should?

Quinn turned to look at the seemingly distracted diva and sent a smile her way.

"You okay there?" she questioned.

Rachel shook her head, sobering up from her haze.

"Yeah, yeah. How far is this place?" she diverted.

That didn't slip past her companion.

"It's just up ahead." replied the blonde motioning forward with her head to her friend.

Rachel nodded and not a minute later they were opening the door to Dirty Ginger's.

The place was filled with people – most likely Yalies, of course. Rock n' Roll music was blaring through the speakers, almost covering the patrons' voices talking to each other. There were two large windows on each side of the door, overlooking the busy Saturday night New Haven street and the walls were decorated with hundreds of pictures, in various shapes and sizes, of what seemed like patrons of the place having fun in the very establishment.

It was not a place which Rachel was accustomed to, but it was warm and welcoming and it seemed like a bar that she could definitely feel comfortable in.

Struggling to get though the sea of people, it was a matter of seconds before Rachel lost sight of Quinn. It was inevitable, really.

Bodies were crashing onto hers, different kinds of conversations were reaching her ears and not one familiar person around her. Except for Quinn, who she had no sight of.

That's when panic kicked in.

She had never been a fan of crowds. She has always felt safe in familiar places. Her room, her house, in the company of her loving parents or close friends and oddly enough, at school. Even though it was at times the most unwelcoming place that could ever exist, she had always found comfort, home one could venture, in the Glee club or the auditorium. But whenever she found herself in new places, or even worse, crowded places, she could feel her own heart palpitate in her mouth, an ominous feeling of an impending bad situation, fill her senses. She had most likely had what people and psychologists refer to as panic attacks once or twice thus far, but she had never bothered to check it. She was certain, that would induce more panic.

Strangers' bodies were bumping on to hers and she started feeling light-headed. Her heartbeat was considerably faster. She needed to get out of there immediately.

She started pushing back the people inhabiting the pub, a sudden need of oxygen hitting her hard, when a hand grabbed her shoulder, immediately relaxing her. Turning around she saw a pair of hazel orbs, tinted with slight concern look at her.

"You okay? I lost you." shouted the blonde in order for Rachel to hear, barely covering the noise of the chatter of the people around them.

The singer suddenly felt calmer. She just nodded.

Quinn struggled to get closer to the small girl and managed to grab her hand.

"Come on. I see Jamie in the back with a reserved booth. It's not as crowded as it is here." She reassured, almost as if she could tell what was going through Rachel's mind.

The brunette followed her friend, feeling herself relax more and more. Maybe it was the promise that it wasn't going to be as crowded where they were to sit. Maybe it was Quinn holding her hand.

She didn't know.

A couple of shoves to the patrons around her and a few worried looks from the blonde later, they reached a more secluded area of the pub and headed for a booth, currently used by a girl and a couple of guys.

"Hey there!" exclaimed the blonde, her greeting directed to the occupants of the booth.

"Quinn!" yelled a tall, handsome young man standing up; his companion followed suit.

That's probably Jamie, Rachel presumed.

"Ryan, hey!" Quinn responded.

Or not.

"Hey, 'bout time you two showed up!" came the girl's reply. She was a tall, tan brunette; dressed in tight jeans and a rather fitting top complimenting her slim body and ample breasts, she was, without a doubt, one of the most attractive girls in the place.

"Hey girls!" greeted the third guy gesturing a hello to the girls.

"Everybody, this is Rachel!" sounded Quinn. "This is Ryan, Thomas and Jamie!" she added motioning with her hand to the guys and the brunette respectively.

Jamie is a girl?

Deciding not to let her surprise show, Rachel smiled her famous mega-watt smile and greeted. "Hey everyone, nice to meet you!"

Nice to meet you too's sounded from everyone's lips and soon they all sat down in the booth.

Jamie is a girl?

'This place is packed! What happened?" asked Quinn, her question addressed to Jamie.

"I dunno! I guess the invitation was extended to lots of people and…this…happened!" she replied gesturing to the rest of the establishment. "I know it's not to your liking but we found this booth, at least."

"Nuh, nuh, it's okay!" came Quinn's reply.

The blonde leaned in and whispered in Rachel's ear. "I'm not exactly a fan of crowded places, that's why she said that." She explained.

"That's all right." retorted the brunette, feeling relieved that Quinn shared her aversion of crowds. "I'm sure you noticed I'm not either."

The blonde looked at her, her gaze burning holes in Rachel's mind. Nothing was said, nothing was uttered. Just a small, reassuring squeeze of the brunette's hand and the message was conveyed.

I know.

I got you.

Don't worry.

They seemed to have been having a staring contest because Jamie's hand was suddenly blocking their sight of each other.

"Earth to Quinn and Rachel! You with us, guys?"

Quinn shook her head, coming back to reality.

"Yeah, yeah."

"I said, do you wanna go somewhere else?" inquired the gorgeous brunette.

Quinn looked at Rachel who shook her head and answered "No, it's okay. So how have you guys been?" she asked, interested in her friends.

It was not that she hadn't seen them for a while or anything. It was just that she was sort of nervous. This was the first time her Yalie friends met any of her older ones. And the first friend that they were meeting was Rachel, of all people. Her old enemy, who she became friends with later, in senior year of High School; Rachel, who she was currently having an open relationship with.

On the other hand, she didn't think Santana was a better option.

Ryan and Thomas filled her in on their latest endeavors, including a stray puppy and a trip to the vet's, while Jamie was listening to her friend's story and not so discretely looking at Rachel.

It didn't go unnoticed by Quinn. Nor Rachel, although she seemed invested in Ryan and Thomas's colorful story.

"So, what's her deal?" wondered Jamie, whispering in the blonde's ear.

"What do you mean?" Quinn questioned as kindly as she could.

"Whoa, I didn't mean anything, Q. Just, who is she? I know you know her from High School and stuff, but is she like your best friend?"

Quinn glanced briefly at the brunette, who was now engaged in a conversation about animal mistreatment with the guys.

"I wouldn't describe her as my best friend – Santana and Brittany are – but she is a very close friend of mine. We've gone through a lot." Quinn offered sincerely.

"I see." said Jamie. "She seems nice."

"She is." assured the blonde looking at the singer, feeling she should add a bunch of adjectives to that description.

Hot. Smart.

Her eyes roamed on Rachel's attire, enjoying the free view of her luscious figure provided by the revealing little black dress the brunette was wearing.

Intoxicating.

"Close friends, huh?" asked her Yalie brunette friend with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yeah." replied the blonde, not even bothering to sound convincing.

A couple of hours had passed and Rachel was starting to feel tired. She had made small talk with Quinn's friends – especially Ryan and Thomas. Shortly after engaging in a conversation with them she had found out they were a couple. And a cute one indeed. Her mind had travelled back to her best friend back in New York and how sad she felt seeing him go through all the pain when he broke up with Blaine.

Maybe they would get past their problems and get back together soon, she hoped.

She had talked to Jamie, as well. The Yalie was quite smart, confident and rather astonishing.

If Rachel was being honest with herself, she wasn't a fan of the girl.

She had everything she had always envied in other girls.

Of course, Rachel knew she was smart. But she never thought of herself as a confident person; quite the opposite in fact. How could she, really? Except for a little while after Kurt's makeover, she had always been the dork with the weird dresses and the argyle. Everyone, even her sad count of boyfriends in the past, had put an emphasis on it.

During the last few months, though, she had tasted what seemed like routine to girls like Jamie. Or Quinn.

She had been hit on in bars and cafés, or at school. She had been checked out walking down the NY streets. By both guys and girls.

She had been given the chance to see what it's like to be wanted just by just herr looks.

And she had enjoyed every minute of it.

And now, here she was, sitting in a booth at a pub in New Haven, being chatted up by Quinn's two gay friends, while the blonde was engaged in a conversation with her friend Jamie by the bar. The tall brunette was now touching Quinn's forearm, moving slightly closer to her.

A pang of jealousy shot through Rachel.

Who is this person?

Quinn gave a small smile to Jamie and stole a brief glance at her company's booth, before turning to pass the bartender a couple of bills.

Moments later she showed up with Jamie, both holding shots in their hands.

"What are those?" inquired Rachel, already dreading the answer.

Quinn looked at her and smiled sheepishly, but as she opened her mouth to offer a reply, Jamie cut her off.

"These, lovely Rachel, are tequila shots. Surely, you're familiar with them." she said, her voice hued with sarcasm, that didn't go unnoticed.

The smaller brunette smiled and licked the front of her teeth.

"I am. Thank you, Jamie."

Quinn was watching the interaction confused.

Ryan stepped up and started passing the shots to everyone. "Babe, I would never betray you, but if tequila was a guy, I would definitely cheat on you with him."

Thomas just stared at him.

"Good to know, honey." He muttered, unable to think anything better to respond with.

Rachel brought the shot near her nose to smell the liquor, immediately grimacing. She didn't think anyone was watching.

She was wrong.

Seeing Quinn chuckle, she felt her cheeks flush.

"Just one shot." promised Quinn, as she knew what was going through the brunette's mind.

Somehow, the blonde's promise was not quite as reassuring as she thought it would be.

And she was right.

Four more rounds of tequila shots and two rounds of Jagerbombs later, she and Quinn were stumbling through the door to the latter's dorm room.

"You promised it was going to be one shot!" mumbled Rachel as she started taking her clothes off the moment she stepped foot inside the room.

Quinn, who had drank the exact amount of alcohol as the brunette but wasn't as intoxicated as Rachel seemed to be, chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Rach. I didn't order the rest of them." she offered, providing an excuse.

The tipsy diva seemed to be surprised.

"You're right." she said. "You're forgiven then."

Quinn couldn't help but laugh at her companion's antics.

"Jamie is not forgiven, though, I'll have you know!"

The blonde was taken slightly aback.

"She's not?" she asked.

"Nope!"

"Why, Rach?"

"She…she…she just isn't!" was Rachel's weak reply as she seemed to be struggling to get out of her dress.

Quinn rushed to help the girl out of her clothes, successfully earning a swooning look from the brunette.

Rachel just stared into Quinn's eyes and just when the latter was about to close the distance between them, the smaller girl stated, "I'm sleepy."

The blonde smiled at her adoringly and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"Let's get you into bed, then."

The singer, excited at her friend's suggestion, let out a small squeal and pecked Quinn's lips before she rushed to get under the covers in the blonde's bed.

Quinn, silently laughing at Rachel's rather drunken and quite adorable behavior, changed out of her clothes and followed the brunette in bed.

Settling under the duvet and reveling in the warmth created by it and the proximity of Rachel's body, she caught herself feeling something that she hadn't felt in a long time. She had been feeling it all along but the realization had just dawned on her.

She felt content.

She felt full.

Rachel crawled closer to the blonde and pecked her once again on the lips.

"Goodnight, Quinn." she said sweetly, and it was a matter of seconds before Quinn detected the even pattern of her breathing, letting her know Rachel was fast asleep.

"Goodnight, Rach." she offered back and soon enough she followed the other girl into the land of dreams.


Lots to come for these two. And a new chapter is to be expected by Monday or Tuesday (work's been killing me). Please, R & R :)