Quinn marched into school, her usual scowl painted on her face. She wasn't angry, but looking like she was cleared the halls. Making her way was much easier when everybody feared her.
She wasn't exactly happy, wither. Quinn had continued to ponder the meaning of Rachel's Christmas list. She needed to come up with a way to end things with Finn for good. She could tamper with the past and make it so that Finn never lived in Lima. But what would that do? Would the new Rachel be depressed for never having a friend like Finn?
Quinn shook away the thoughts as she reached her locker. All of this was too much to bear.
Winter break had been lovely. Quinn and Rachel spent a lot of time together, and Rachel loved it. She felt as though they had grown apart a little bit in the fall, but if they did, it was fixed now. They were closer than ever.
Still, she couldn't shake some strange feeling deep inside her. She wanted things to be good with Quinn, she really did, but Rachel had a feeling it wouldn't be for long…
Finn was a man on a mission. He had almost two months to think about his feelings for Rachel, and his mind was finally clear. He loved her. More than anyone he had ever loved before. And he was planning to make her love him.
"Hey, Rachel," he whispered, making her jump as she made her way down the hall.
"Oh," she sighed. "Hi Finn. You scared me. How was your Winter break?"
"Good," Finn said vaguely. "I did a lot of thinking."
"About the day of Jesus' birth?" she teased, knowing it wasn't the answer.
"No," he said plainly. "About you."
Rachel froze, and no matter how hard she tried, she could stop herself from blushing. "W-What about me?" she stammered.
"I like you, Rachel," Finn said, leaning towards her. "Don't you like me?"
Rachel swallowed, trying to keep the answer from coming out of her mouth. iYes./i She avoided answering by snatching her first period books out of her locker and ducking under his arm.
"I can't be a couple with you," she said exasperatedly, trying to lose him.
Unfortunately, Finn had much longer legs than Rachel, and her kept up easily. "I'm not just some guy you can blow off," he stated. Rachel knew the words stated the truth.
Quinn got the feeling Rachel was close by and looked up from the books in her locker. Just as she thought, Rachel was coming her way, Finn at her heels. Quinn frowned at the sight of him.
"I can't be a couple with you," Rachel sighed.
"I'm not just some guy you can blow off, Finn said, sounding extremely arrogant.
Rachel rolled her eyes. She and Finn passed without a single glance at Quinn.
The blonde stared in disbelief at the two. Rachel was slipping from her grasp even more than she thought. Quinn could only think of one thing to do before sending Finn to his grave for good.
"Hello?"
"Hi, is this Jesse?"
Quinn and Jesse St. James had an interesting relationship ever since her sophomore year. The entire New Directions hated him for being a member of Vocal Adrenaline, but the two of them remained close, even after he graduated and went to college.
"Yeah."
"It's Quinn. I have a problem, and I need your help."
It was more then difficult for Quinn to explain her situation to Jesse without sounding like a lunatic. She didn't think he would react well to her announcing she could rewind time, and undo the past. It was hard enough coming out. She didn't want to have to explain her talent on top of that.
So she said she had a way to keep Rachel from Finn. A way to make her forget she ever liked him in the first place. Her "secret weapon," as she called it.
"What would this 'secret weapon' be, Quinn?" Jesse asked, keeping his voice low. The patrons of the Lima Bean buzzed around them, apparently oblivious of the two teenagers' serious conversation. "You aren't using dangerous drugs on Rachel, are you?"
"No!" Quinn said, offended. "It's nothing like that!"
Jesse frowned at her over his coffee. "Then what is it?"
Quinn sighed. "I'd love to tell you, but you wouldn't believe me."
Jesse shrugged. "So how exactly does this secret weapon work, anyway?"
"I can change Rachel's past and memory, if you will," Quinn said. She made it sound like it iwasn't/i exactly what was happening. "When I do it, Rachel forgets her feelings for Finn, at least for a little while."
"And this Rachel isn't the one you fell in love with," Jesse guessed.
"Exactly."
"Well, I can't say I understand what you claim you can do," Jesse began, "but I'll respect it. It sounds like an enviable talent at first, but I think you know better." Quinn nodded. "The truth hurts, Quinn, but it has to be told. You can't change who somebody is without destroying who they were."
"So does that mean I'm just going to have to watch Finn steal my girlfriend away from me?" Quinn asked, hurt.
"Not exactly," Jesse replied. "But you will have to work for her."
"I'll do anything to keep her," Quinn stated. "Tell me."
Jesse eyed her desperate expression for a moment. Then he continued. "Keep her the old fashioned way. Not everybody can do whatever it is you do, so play it like them. Don't make anymore changes. You can erase the past, but you can't change the future. Rachel's crush on Finn is inevitable, but you can stop it if you try."
Quinn frowned. It would be hard, she knew it. But if what Jesse said was right, and there was a way to have Rachel alive and by her side forever, it had to be worth it.
TBC