A week had gone by before Rachel heard from Quinn. It was an excruciatingly long week plagued with many questions, many sleepless nights and many attempts at dialing Quinn's number only to chicken out at the last second and hang up. She found it hard to believe she was even in this predicament. Had her life really become such a clichéd story of teenage angst? It was a "West Side Story" kind of week for her iPod. Teenagers in love who simply couldn't get their shit together, kept apart by social standings and racism. Sure, it wasn't exactly parallel to her current situation, but it made for some serious melodrama, especially when she would belt out along with "Somewhere."

Yes, things with Quinn weren't quite as dramatic as Tony and Maria's epic love story, but she was in the mood to be depressed. And she felt like practicing the high notes in "I Have a Love." After Quinn stormed out of her room, Rachel had contemplated going after her, but her brain and her heart were, once again, locked in a never-ending battle. Her brain won that time. So, she played the waiting game. And she sulked. And she worked out by running or jumping on the elliptical. And she sang. She tried to keep as much of her schedule intact as she could in order to keep her mind off of the ever-capricious Quinn Fabray.

Indeed, it was a long week for Rachel, but it ended with a knock on her bedroom door and Quinn standing in the doorway.

"Hey."

It seemed the blonde always knew exactly what to say to completely melt Rachel's worn out heart. Apparently, a simple "hey" was all it took today. She wanted to be angry, or at least appear that way, so she hid her smile and kept her face as stoic as possible.

"Hi." Rachel took a seat in her desk chair. "How did you get in here?"

"The front door was unlocked. I tried knocking, but no one answered."

"Breaking and entering. Do you make it a habit of walking into people's houses uninvited just because they don't answer the door?"

"Only people who are worth getting arrested for."

Quinn's shy smile slowly started to melt the hard exterior Rachel was trying to maintain.

"What do you want, Quinn?"

Quinn lingered in the doorway. "I should have called. I should have called the day after I ran out. Actually, if I'm being completely honest, I shouldn't have left here at all."

Rachel nodded, waiting for more. She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms.

Quinn took this as a sign to continue her groveling. "By now, I think I've made it clear to you that I'm not the easiest person to get to know. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for running out like that."

Rachel stood up, walked over to her bed and sat down on the foot of the bed. She looked up at Quinn, who was still in the doorway.

"Come in."

Quinn took a few steps until she was full in the room, but she kept her distance. Rachel could sense her apprehension.

"You know, there's something really dysfunctional about us," informed Rachel. "It seems like we can't have a single conversation without one of us apologizing for something."

Quinn shrugged and grinned. "Keeps things interesting, though. Right?"

"Interesting, yes. And complicated. And confusing." Rachel patted the area next to her on the bed.

Quinn accepted the invitation and sat down next to her. They both stared forward. Rachel wondered who would give in first. She felt somewhat victorious when it was Quinn.

The blonde sighed heavily. "I'm ready."

Rachel looked at her curiously. "Ready for what?"

Quinn nervously bit her lower lip. "You want to know more about me? I'm ready. Ask me anything and I promise I'll be honest with you. I owe you at least that much after the way I've treated you."

"And you won't run away?"

"I won't run away."

Rachel's heart raced faster as she watched Quinn place her hand over her own between them on the bed. Her palms immediately felt sweaty, like right before she was about to perform. The material of her blanket felt like it was thousand degrees. Could Quinn feel it, too? She didn't dare move her hand from that position. Quinn's hand felt amazing on hers and after the hell she had been through this week, she was going to indulge in anything Quinn was willing to give her, however small.

"We really don't have to do this," insisted Rachel.

"Yes, we do. It's time."

Rachel looked around the room, stalling for time. Why couldn't she think of anything right now? Her mind was filled with questions over the past week, but most of them contained the words bitch, wretched and hurtful. She wasn't about to pose any of those to Quinn right now.

"Start with something simple," suggested Quinn.

Rachel nodded. "Um…what's your favorite animal?"

Quinn smiled at the question. "I like manatees."

"Manatees? Why?"

"I don't know. I just think they're cute."

"Okay." Rachel started to feel a bit more at ease now that the first question was out of the way. Her hand was still on fire, though. In the best way possible.

"Who is your favorite Sex and the City character?"

"Samantha. She's honest and loyal." Quinn nudged Rachel's shoulder. "Saving the deep questions for later, huh?"

"Just trying to go easy on you. "What's it like being famous?"

"Ah. So now we get to the meatier stuff." Quinn thought for a moment. "It's everything. It's every emotion you could possibly feel. It's liberating and fun and overwhelming and challenging and exciting and boring and scary and lonely. That's the best way I can describe it. I've felt all of those things at one point or another."

"I know what it's like to feel all those things at the same time. Maybe not in the same capacity as you, but I get it. I know it can be scary and lonely, but I can't wait to be famous. I can't wait for people to hear me sing on Broadway. I know it sounds conceited, but that's really how I feel."

Quinn chuckled and moved her fingers over Rachel's hand. "It does sound a bit conceited, but you're talking to a girl who once walked out of an interview because her publicist insisted the lighting looked terrible. So I can't really judge you there. Besides, I already knew that about you."

"You did?"

"Yes. I'm not the only one whose reputation precedes her. I know all about the Diva of the glee club."

"How did you know?"

"I listen. I hear things. People talk."

Rachel smiled and turned her hand upward to interlock her fingers with Quinn's. The sensation sent chills up her spine. It was amazing how holding hands with the blonde could be so intoxicating.

"So all those conflicting feelings you have…is that why you don't let people in? Are you afraid of feeling another uncontrollable emotion?"

Quinn's eyes went wide. "Wow. That's a rather astute observation. I guess I've never really thought about it like that. But yeah. That sounds about right." Silence fell upon them as Rachel waited for Quinn to continue. "Have you ever heard of Ectopia Cordis?"

Rachel shook her head.

"I didn't know what it was either until I got cast on the show. And even then, I had to look it up." Quinn ran her index finger along Rachel's index finger as she continued. "You know why the show was called Outside Hearts?"

"Because all the characters live outside the fictional town of Hearts, Montana." Her eyes were fixated on Quinn's face, hanging on to every word she said.

"Well, that was one of the reasons. But the show's creator - his son was born with Ectopia Cordis, which means he was born with his heart outside of his body. It's a very, very rare condition. He survived, which is amazing. And a few years later, when the show got picked up, the creator wanted to honor his son. So he called it Outside Hearts."

Rachel was completely enthralled. "Wow."

"Yeah. And I got to meet this kid. Andrew. He was four years old when I first met him and he's just such great kid. It's hard to believe he was ever that sick. One thing I noticed about this was that he completely trusted everyone he came into contact with. The first time I met him, he gave me a huge hug. Then he ran off and hugged the script supervisor. Then he said 'hi' to the other co-stars and not once did he ever shy away or show any fear around anyone. Even though we were all complete strangers to him."

Quinn closed her eyes and took a moment before she continued.

"And it made me think. From the moment this kid was born, he had no choice but to trust every single person he came into contact with. The doctors, the nurses, the specialists. They all poked and prodded him and operated on him several times and he just had to trust them. His first few months of life were spent with complete strangers who wanted nothing more than to help him. And I realized that, in that sense, he was lucky. One of the luckiest people on the planet, because he learned from birth to trust people. To see the good in them. To know that the world is not out to hurt him."

Rachel gave Quinn's hand a slight squeeze to let her know she was listening intently to every word. Quinn sighed, shook her head and continued.

"The rest of us are raised to be cynical and not trust anyone but your family and maybe a close friend or two. Especially working in the entertainment industry. And here this kid was, giving hugs to strangers. He was born with an innate sense of trust. And sometimes I think that if I was that vulnerable and exposed as a baby, maybe I wouldn't have such a hard time trusting people. Maybe I…wouldn't run when a kind, beautiful girl asks me a simple question."

Quinn was tearing up by this point. Rachel couldn't believe how poignant her words were. And in that moment, she understood completely. The enigma surrounding Quinn was slowly starting to fade. Rachel gripped her hand tighter as a tear fell down Quinn's face. She leaned over and stopped the tear with her lips by placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. She remained there for a moment, tasting the salt of Quinn's tear and soaking in the feel of her skin on her lips. Her lips trailed along her cheek toward her mouth as she felt Quinn slowly turn her head to face Rachel. Their lips softly grazed each other as Rachel brought her other hand up to Quinn's cheek, trying to catch another tear before it fell. Rachel pressed harder and deepened the kiss, wanting so badly to take away some of Quinn's anguish. She could swear she felt her lips aching for more the moment Quinn broke contact and gently pulled away. She didn't go far, though. Quinn's forehead rested against Rachel's as she smiled sweetly at her.

"Thank you."

Rachel nodded and turned to face forward. This next question might prove too difficult to ask if she had to look directly at her. She absentmindedly ran her fingernail over her knee as she tried to form the words in her head.

"So…have you always liked girls?"

Quinn cleared her throat and adjusted her position on the bed. She let go of Rachel's hand, leaned her palms on the bed on either side of her and leaned back.

"I had a feeling that one was coming."

Rachel could feel her face turning bright red and anxiously waited for her response.

"The truth is, I know what I've been for a very long time. Since I was a kid, actually. But I never really acted on it until a few years ago. During the second season of the show."

Rachel noticed a change in Quinn's breathing. It was short and rapid. She put her hand on the blonde's thigh to comfort her.

"What happened?"

"Oh wow. We're really gonna do this, aren't we?"

"Only if you're comfortable," assured Rachel.

"Well, without going into too much detail…I fell in love. She was one of my co-stars. It all kind of happened really fast, but once it did happen, we were inseparable. She was beautiful. She was my first love, my first…everything. This went on for over a year. Whenever we went on hiatus, it was torture. And we hid it from everybody. No one knew." Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "That is until one of the producers caught us. We had been so careful and so discreet and one day, we just got sloppy and too smug for our own good. I forgot to lock the door to the makeup room. It was the first and only time I forgot to lock the door. We were brought in to see the executive producer who proceeded to call our parents. We were told that it was in the best interest of the show that we no longer continue seeing each other. How would it look to everyone knowing that Quinn Fabray was fucking her female co-star? And my parents…I had never heard so much yelling in my life. They berated me and told me if I cared at all about my career, I would stop this at once. I told them I didn't want to stop. I couldn't. So they refused to let me renew my contract for the next season and I was written out of the show."

"Oh my god, Quinn. I…who…which co-star was it?"

Rachel watched as Quinn's hands tightened around the blanket on the bed.

Quinn shook her head. "After the day we got caught, she begged me to never tell anyone. I swore to her I wouldn't. I told her I'd do anything for her. And that included leaving the show. When I went to go find her and tell her I didn't care who knew about us and that I quit the show so I could be with her, she acted…different. Cold. Like she didn't care. She told me I made a huge mistake by quitting and that our relationship was just a little experiment that got out of hand. She told me that if I ever told anyone about us, she'd deny it and claim that I continually hit on her and tried to seduce her. She made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with me anymore."

"And you're still protecting her?"

Quinn shrugged. "It's best that no one outside of the producers and our parents ever found out. The tabloids would have gone nuts. And my career would be over. We were waiting to see if anyone would leak the story. Every day, I searched gossip sites and magazines for any word of it. My parents did, too. They didn't want to have to deal with their daughter's potential tarnished reputation."

"And that's why your parents moved you out here? To avoid scandal?"

Quinn nodded. "And I think to make sure that I stayed away from her. Though, she made that decision for me." Quinn stood up and walked over to Rachel's dresser, examining the contents splayed across it. She picked up a biography on Patti LuPone and nervously thumbed through it. "You're the only person I've ever told about that, by the way."

Rachel sat there in shock and awe. She could see the sadness in Quinn's eyes and couldn't believe how much she was willing to reveal to her. She knew this was difficult for her. She knew Quinn had a near-impenetrable brick wall around her, but she never knew why until now. Wanting desperately to change the subject in order to keep Quinn from shedding anymore tears, Rachel moved on to her next question.

"Do you like me?"

The question was barely above a whisper, but it got Quinn's attention. She put the book down and continued perusing the contents of Rachel's dresser.

"I think that's painfully obvious."

Rachel couldn't hide the joy she found in that answer. She beamed brightly and her insides felt as though they were doing to explode with giddiness.

"Why do you like me?"

Quinn grinned as she turned to face Rachel. "Reasons."

"Reasons?"

"Are you satisfied with the questions I've answered so far?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't we save this one for another time." Quinn walked back over to the bed and leaned over Rachel, resting her hands on each side of the brunette. She was face to face with Rachel. "It's my turn to ask you a question."

"Okay." Rachel was hoping the question was 'wanna make out?'

"And you won't judge me?"

"No."

Quinn brought her face even closer to Rachel's. "I'm exhausted. I would love more than anything to just lie here. With you."

Rachel's breath caught in her throat. "You would?"

Quinn nodded. "I know it's an odd request, but can I just hold you for a while?"

Rachel yielded to her request and scooted back on the bed. She lay down on her left side and immediate felt her entire body get warmer the moment Quinn lay down beside her and wrapped her arms around her. It was exciting and intense, but also somewhat strange. As much as she wanted to, she had a difficult time fully relaxing her body into Quinn's embrace. She could feel Quinn's breath on her neck and the continuing silence between them only made her feel more ill at ease.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

"This is weird."

Quinn chuckled. "Yeah. It is. Definitely not what I expected. You want me to stop?"

Never.

"No." As weird as Rachel felt, she certainly didn't want to risk losing physical contact with Quinn.

"Relax." Quinn ran her hand down the length of Rachel's arm.

"I'm trying. This is just…different."

"Have you ever let anyone just hold you?"

"Not since I was a baby."

"Try to relax."

Quinn squeezed Rachel tighter. Goose bumps started to form on Rachel's skin when Quinn placed a kiss on her neck. Then another. And another. It felt incredible. Rachel moved her head to expose more of her neck for Quinn to explore until finally, she let go. Her entire body went limp. Quinn's somehow knew exactly how to control Rachel simply with her lips. If the acting thing didn't pan out, she knew Quinn could make it as a lip charmer. Is a lip charmer even a thing? Well, it should be. And Quinn Fabray would revolutionize it.

"See? That wasn't so hard," stated Quinn, sounding quite proud of herself.

"You're very persuasive."

"It's one of my many talents."

Rachel didn't know how much time had passed, but she enjoyed every moment of being held by Quinn. She didn't even concern herself with the fact that she heard her dads come home a few minutes ago. They knew not to bother her during her evening vocal exercises. Damn it. She forgot about her vocal exercises. Oh well. She would just have to make up for it tomorrow. Right now, she was enjoying the silence. She was enjoying Quinn's stomach and chest heaving into her back with every breath she took. She was enjoying the fact that all Quinn Fabray wanted to do was hold her.

Quinn placed another kiss on her neck and whispered, "I kinda like you."

As resistant as Rachel was when Quinn first stood in her doorway earlier today, she found herself officially falling for her. There was no going back now. Those three words sent her over the edge. There was absolutely nothing to cling to except Quinn, who apparently grabbed on to Rachel and fell right along with her. And in that moment, Rachel understood. After a life of constantly being told what to do, but also having the freedom to come and go as she pleased, Quinn was conflicted. She spent most of her life playing different characters, phantoms of herself. Nothing was real for her, not even the clandestine relationship with her co-star. It disappeared completely from Quinn's grasp, so now she needed something tangible to hold on to. She needed to feel something real in her arms. And Rachel was it. She needed Rachel to be real, so Rachel resolved then and there to always be the thing that Quinn needed to hold on to. Anything to keep her grounded. Anything to keep her from running away again.

That's how it went for the rest of their winter break. Quinn would come over and reveal just a little bit more about herself like her favorite food, places to travel and favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Rachel kept the questions light for the most part. She could only imagine how emotionally draining it was for Quinn to reveal so many things to her at once. After the light-hearted question and answer portion was over, they would proceed to lie on the bed the same way every night, with Quinn holding Rachel in her arms. It was their routine and neither of them questioned it.

Apparently, neither did Rachel's dads. They had asked Rachel about the blonde girl that would leave their house every night at midnight and Rachel informed them that she's a new girl in school and she's just trying to make her feel welcomed.

"Honey, that's all very nice and good, but do you ever plan on introducing her to us?" asked her dad one morning at breakfast.

"Sure. At some point. I just don't want her to feel overwhelmed."

"I'm sure she's used to feeling overwhelmed. Especially when being hounded by the paparazzi," her daddy countered.

This caught Rachel off guard. "I…uh….how did you know?"

"Oh please, honey. This is a small town. Word gets around. Besides, you've made me watch that show so many times, her face it pretty much burned on my brain. She was easy to recognize. Even if it was just the back of her head making a beeline for the door."

Rachel should have known better than to keep her celebrity…friend…a secret from her dads. She would have had better luck secretly harboring a wanted fugitive than a girl who was on the cover of multiple celebrity magazines.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

The blonde's humming response reverberated against Rachel's neck, sending shivers down her spine. She added that to the list of things she'd like to feel again.

"My dads want to meet you."

She felt Quinn's lips against her neck curl up into a smile.

"Soon. Okay?"

"Okay," replied Rachel as she turned her head to meet Quinn's eyes. It was the last day of vacation. School started up again tomorrow and Rachel wanted desperately to ask exactly how they were going to handle the school situation, but Quinn never seemed interested in discussing it.

"So…school starts again tomorrow.'

"Don't remind me," said Quinn. "I'll be counting down the days until May."

"Why's that?"

In lieu of a response, Quinn leaned in and kissed Rachel. Her lips travelled the length of Rachel's lower lip. Rachel's entire face tingled when Quinn's tongue dipped in between her lips, begging for access. Rachel opened her mouth and she was immediately steeped in euphoria the moment their tongues met. Rachel moved her entire body until she was on her back with Quinn, once again, hovering over her. Rachel's breath quivered as she pondered that ongoing question: how does Quinn Fabray do this to her?

Rachel's breath became more pronounced with every maneuver of Quinn's tongue. Quinn pulled away from her mouth and gently kissed her collarbone. Rachel felt her lips make their way down to her chest. Quinn moved the collar of her scoop-neck shirt to gain more access to the exposed skin underneath. When she reached Rachel's bra, she traced her fingers along the upper part of it. Rachel was met with pleading hazel green eyes. All she did was nod her head and Quinn immediately pulled the bra down and kissed around the top part of her breast. Rachel's head fell back and hit the pillow hard. Her fists pulled tight as Quinn's hand gently latched on to her other breast. It was too much for Rachel and, at the same time, it was not enough. She wanted everything off. Her shirt, her bra, all of Quinn's clothes. She wanted it all off. Because even though Quinn's hand felt amazing, there were simply too many layers between Quinn's fingertips and the sensitive skin beneath Rachel's bra. Stupid clothes. Why are they a thing? They're nothing but hindrances.

Quinn pulled the right side of Rachel's bra down just a little more. Rachel didn't look, but she knew. She felt her nipple harden the second the cold air hit it. She was exposed. She was shaking. She was anxious. She anticipating Quinn's next move. With her eyes closed, she felt Quinn's lips on hers once more.

"You're shaking."

Rachel nodded.

"It's okay." Quinn panted as she kissed her forehead. "I can stop."

Rachel looked at her, unsure of what to do.

"Do you want me to stop?" asked Quinn.

Rachel shook her head and choked out a simple, "No."

Quinn smiled knowingly and made her way back down to Rachel's breast. She paused only a moment before making her move. The second Rachel felt Quinn's mouth on her breast, snaking her tongue teasingly across her nipple, she arched back and covered her eyes with her hand because it was just too much. It was all too much. With her tongue, Quinn took another pass at Rachel's erect nipple and the brunette moaned and started to writhe beneath her. She felt a familiar wetness begin to pool between her trembling legs. The more aggressive Quinn's tongue got, the wetter Rachel became.

"Oh god," moaned Rachel.

"Oh god, indeed," replied Quinn as she made her way over to Rachel's other aching breast.

She tugged the bra down even further and Rachel was slowly losing her mind. The moment Quinn took the left one in her mouth, Rachel squealed with a mixture of ecstasy and longing. She felt dizzy, intoxicated. She arched her back even more when Quinn's tongue ran rampant over her nipple, flicking and sucking it in the process. Quinn's other hand came up as she took Rachel's over nipple between her fingers and moaned with delight in the process. Rachel could feel everything everywhere. Nerves shot through her entire body and it was only amplified by the fact that Quinn was taking such pleasure in touching her.

Rachel arched her chest up further into Quinn's mouth, begging for more. Quinn's mouth was her new drug and she wanted it everywhere. She felt another flick of Quinn's tongue and thought she was going to explode at the very action. If Quinn had kept going, Rachel was convinced she probably would have. But her breasts immediately felt lonely when Quinn pulled her mouth away, pulled the collar of the shirt back up and made her way back up to Rachel. The blonde held her once more and nuzzled into her neck.

"You're beautiful, Rachel."

And Rachel smiled. As riled up as she was, Quinn managed to help her heart rate get back to normal with those simple words. And with the mess of blonde hair in her face, she inhaled the lavender scent. It was the last thing she remembered before falling asleep.