Happiness is such a strange feeling, Quinn mused, while she waited for Mr. Schuester to arrive so Glee Club could start. Especially when you know that it's never going to last.

She'd been living with Ryan for just over two weeks now and she could honestly say that she had never been happier in her whole life.

Ryan absolutely doted on her, caring for her in a way that nobody ever had before. He cooked for her, made her snacks to take to school every day -making sure that she was eating all the right foods that the baby books he'd been reading suggested for a healthy pregnancy- and always complied when she asked him to rub her aching feet or back at the end of a long day at school.

She loved spending time with him whether it was watching him rehearse new songs on the stage in the Berry's basement or curling up together to watch old movies on the couch. Even doing such mundane and domestic things as doing dishes or going shopping for groceries or maternity clothes was enjoyable when she was with him and not just because he bought her everything she wanted either.

He was going to be an amazing husband to some lucky girl one day, Quinn just wished that it could be her. She wasn't an idiot, she knew that their relationship had an expiry date; one that would coincide with the birth of their daughter. She knew that Ryan would never want to be with her after she gave their baby away and she was okay with that.

She could live with that as long as it meant that he'd be free to pursue his lifelong dream, that there'd be nothing holding him back from New York and Broadway, which had been his one true love long before Quinn had entered the picture.

So she was determined to enjoy their relationship while it lasted and just hoped that in the future, when he'd achieved that all that he wanted to achieve, all that he was destined to achieve, he'd be able to look back and remember her fondly.

"Where's Ryan?" Kurt asked, dumping a pile of old yearbooks on top of the piano and startling Quinn out of her rather depressing internal musings.

"He's not here yet," she said as she reluctantly joined the rest of the group that had gathered around the instrument. The last time she'd seen her boyfriend he'd been rushing off to the library to try and find a way to overturn Figgins' decision to leave the glee club out of this years edition of the Thunderclap.

"Perfect. Glee club stands on a delicate precipice," Kurt went on to say. "We have all felt the cold humiliation of a Slushie to the face. But as of right now our relative anonymity as a club shields us from more severe persecution - swirlies, patriotic wedgies."

Quinn would've liked to know what Kurt was smoking if he thought that the glee club was in anyway anonymous. After they had performed Push It in front of the entire student body they had become the fourth most recognized club in the school -ranking behind only the hockey and football teams and the Cheerios- and for all the wrong reasons.

"What's a patriotic wedgie?" asked Mercedes.

Quinn rolled her eyes as Finn jumped in, quick to explain that it was when they hoisted you up the flag pole by your undies. He'd know, it was only a few months ago when he was leading the football team in giving one to Artie every other week.

"Strangely, it did make me feel more American," Artie added.

"Based on my investigation," Kurt continued. "I am of the opinion that a yearbook photo would only fuel the flames of anti-Glee club terror. I've done a little library research," he breathlessly informed them and opened up one of the yearbooks to the glee clubs section.

"Peter Geller," he said, pointing to a boy who's face had been entirely scratched out in the group photo. "Glee club, second tenor, 1998. He can be seen here with both a drawn on Hitler moustache and a rice paddy hat. Shortly after the yearbook came out, Mr. Geller had a nervous breakdown. He's now the homeless man who sleeps in front of the public library."

"Patches?" Quinn exclaimed. At first she thought that Kurt had been being entirely too overdramatic about this whole yearbook thing but now she was starting to think that he might have a point.

"Patches," he confirmed, solemnly.

"He barks at my mom," Brittany revealed.

"Exhibit B, Tawny Peterson. Glee club class of 2000. Seen here in her photo with a cartoon knife stuck in her head in a macabre tableau that in four years would prove eerily prescient. I think I speak for all of us when I say that not having to pose for a yearbook photo might be a blessing in disguise. I suggest not fighting Figgins' ruling."

Quinn was torn, she knew how much the yearbook photo meant to Ryan but she wasn't particularly relishing the idea of either of their pictures being vandalized.

"Oh, hey guys," Mr. Schue greeted them as he walked into the choir room, sending Kurt scrambling to try and cover up what they'd been doing. "Ah, looking at old Thunderclaps?"

"It was really unsettling."

"And totally unfair," Mr. Schue agreed, completely oblivious to the fear in Artie's voice.

"Hey, can I borrow one of these? You know what? This year's Thunderclap is going to have a Glee Club photo with every one of your smiling faces," he promised them all. "You have my word on it."

Fantastic.

#

"You know, now that I've joined the Zombie Survival Club, I'm officially the most involved student in this school," Ryan proudly informed Quinn as they made their way to their seats in the choir room.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Zombie Survival Club?"

"Well, I like to be prepared for any eventuality." And he'd like to be able to do his very best to protect Quinn and their unborn child in the event of a zombie apocalypse. "So this afternoon the Black Student Union and Muslim Students Club are having our pictures done so I'll be running a little late, do you want to wait for me or get a ride home with Santana and Brittany?"

"Wait, you're in the Muslim Students Club? I thought you were Jewish." The Black Student Union, Quinn could understand, but Muslim students club? She was under the impression that Jews and Muslims were kind of mortal enemies.

"I am."

"So why-"

Quinn was quickly cut off by their teachers overly enthusiastic voice. "Hey, guys, great news! Glee Club gets a photo in the Thunderclap!"

Quinn's shoulders slumped in disappointment and it seemed like everyone else felt the same way. Everyone but Ryan, who was so happy that he was practically bouncing in his seat next to her.

"It's going to show everyone at the school that Glee club is on it's way up. When we win Regionals those 'Claps are going to be collectors items."

Obviously he's been huffing the same fumes of delusion as Kurt,Quinn thought with a frown.

"All of your classmates are going to be begging for your autographs."

At this, Ryan perked up even more, if that were possible. All the hours he'd spent practicing his signature would finally pay off!

"But I had to compromise to do it. Um, we only get a quarter page in back, which means we have to pick two teams captains to appear in the photo. So tomorrow we're gonna put it to a vote. Exciting, huh? All right!" Mr. Schue concluded punctuating his words with a ridiculous fist pump.

Well, there really was only one way that this was going to end.

#

The bell rang and they all sat in impatient silence until Mercedes finally broke it. "Well, we're all here, I guess we should vote."

Ryan took that as his cue to jump to his feet and address the club. "With your permission, I have prepared a few words," he said with a big smile, ready to give the speech that he had spent over three hours writing even though Quinn had assured him that it was entirely unnecessary.

"I nominate Ryan," Mercedes said flatly and Kurt quickly seconded her motion. Ryan grinned, he could hardly believe this was happening, he obviously needed to listen to Quinn's advice more often.

"All right, let's vote up in this piece," Puck said as he started handing out slips of paper. "I gotta go to the gym and load up the guns of Puckerone for the football picture."

Quinn wrinkled her nose up in disgust and latched onto Ryan's -far superior, in her opinion- arm as he retook his seat beside her.

They all quickly scrawled Ryan's name down on their slips of paper and deposited them in the hat of fate that Mr. Schue passed around. Then they waited anxiously as Mr. Schuester took the hat into his office to count the votes in private.

Needless to say, it was probably the fastest vote count in history, even though Mr. Schuester counted the votes three times just to make sure.

"Looks like everyone voted for Ryan," Mr. Schue announced, not sounding very pleased. "Including Ryan."

"Congratulations, baby," Quinn said and kissed her proudly beaming boyfriend's cheek.

"But we need two captains guys."

"Why two?" Finn spoke up. "We're fine with having Berry represent us in the Thunderclap by himself." And if that meant that Berry's newfound and completely undeserved popularity would take a hit and he'd find himself being hoisted up the school flagpole by his underpants every day then so be it. That was the least he deserved in Finn's opinion.

Kurt immediately backed him up. "We'd actually prefer it."

#

"You wanted to see me Mr. Schue?" Ryan asked as he apprehensively entered the choir room. He wouldn't be surprised if the teacher had called him there to strip his captaincy from him and give it to Finn Hudson instead.

"Oh, hey there, Ryan," Mr. Schue's unusually cheerful tone gave Ryan pause. Now he was even more concerned that something weird was going on. "Sit down."

Ryan eyed him suspiciously as he made his way towards the seat by the piano.

"So how's the new captaincy going?"

"I think that my unanimous election gave me a very strong mandate to shake things up."

"Great, well, I have a job for you Captain."

Ryan raised an eyebrow, he'd learned from watching Quinn that a well timed eyebrow raise could be very intimidating.

It certainly seemed to have the intended effect on Schuester, who chuckled nervously and started rubbing the back of his neck.

"We need a co-captain."

Ryan's eyes narrowed at him. "If this is some feeble attempt to get me to split my captaincy with Finn Hudson-"

"No, no," Will said, placatingly. "It doesn't have to be Finn. You just have so many great ideas, there's no reason you shouldn't have some help pushing them through."

"I could use a trusty lieutenant," Ryan said thoughtfully. "I do have over sixty five proposals."

Will's eyes widened as his heart filled with dread. Oh god, he'd created a monster. "So...can I count on you?"

"I'm on it."

#

That night, Quinn was laying on Ryan's bed reading a book while classical music played through the headphones that she had pressed against her swollen belly.

It was Ryan's idea. He said that when his birth mother was pregnant with him, his fathers would play Vivaldi into her womb and that's why he turned out to be so smart and talented. Quinn wanted that for their baby; she wanted their daughter to be the smartest, prettiest, most talented child of her generation.

She looked up from her book when Ryan entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

Quinn set her copy of Breakfast at Tiffany'saside and sat up. "You look pleased with yourself," she observed, noticing the semi-manic gleam in his eyes.

"I am," he confirmed, taking her hands in his. "Quinn, I have a proposal for you."

Holy crap, is he going to ask me to marry him? Quinn thought, gaping at him. Shouldn't I be freaking out about this?

"Quinn Fabray, will you do me the honor..."

Oh my god!

"...of being my glee club co-captain?"

Wait, that's it?Quinn couldn't help feeling oddly disappointed. "You want me to captain the glee club?"

Ryan nodded, looking beyond pleased with himself. "It's the obvious solution. Given your time as captain of the Cheerios, you have experience and clearly excellent leadership skills and it goes without saying that we work well together."

"And we'd have our picture in the yearbook," Quinn continued apprehensively.

"Yes. And I don't know if you've realized this but, given our contrasting features, we make a very aesthetically pleasing couple," he boasted before doubt took over. He released her hands and pulled back. "Unless you don't want to have your picture taken with me."

"No, it's not that," Quinn said, stroking her fingers through his silky dark hair. "It's just that people are going to draw on them."

"So?"

Quinn sighed, he just didn't get it. "So Kurt showed us some old yearbooks where the glee club's pictures had been vandalized and this one girl ended up being murdered and they drew a rice paddy hat on this other guy's head and now he's Patches!"

Ryan looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Who's Patches?"

"He's the crazy homeless guy that hangs around outside the library and barks at people. I just don't want to end up like them, Ryan." She already had enough problems to deal with.

"I see. Well, firstly I'd like to point out that this Patches' misfortune probably had a lot more to do with an underlying mental illness than having his yearbook pictures defiled by juvenile delinquents. And secondly did Kurt happen to mention what happened to the all other members in the glee picture?"

"No."

"So isn't it entirely likely that they all went on to lead happy and successful lives?"

"Okay, I get your point. But...I..." Quinn trailed off, frowning, unsure of how to put her feelings into words to make Ryan understand.

"You what?" Ryan prompted gently.

"Last year, I would have been one of those juvenile delinquents vandalizing the glee club's picture," she admitted with no small amount of shame. "And now..."

"Well I like to think that you've shown a tremendous amount of personal growth."

Quinn smiled weakly. "Does it count if it's forced? I mean, if this-" She gestured to her growing belly. "-hadn't happened, I'd still be doing it. But now I'll just be one of the losers getting the buck teeth and Hitler moustache treatment." Registering what she'd just said, Quinn cringed. "Sorry. No offence."

Ryan just shrugged. "Why would I be offended? I really don't care what people do to my picture in their yearbooks and I don't care if other people call me a loser because I know that I'm not." He brought his hands up to cup her cheeks. "And you're not either. Quinn, you are so much better than you know."

He made it all sound so simple. So easy. But for Quinn it was anything but.

She chuckled bitterly and looked away. Pregnant at sixteen, disowned by her family, destined to be stuck in Lima for the rest of her life; she was the very definition of a loser.

"Quinn," Ryan said softly, sensing his girlfriend's internal struggle. "You can't let yourself be defined by what other people might think of you. Being in Glee club makes you happy. You should see yourself when we're performing, you look so happy and free and you love it, I know you do. You shouldn't let what other people might think of you make you feel ashamed of something that you love."

She closed her eyes and exhaled heavily. He was right, she knew that he was right. "Okay."

"Okay you'll be in the yearbook picture with me?"

"Yes, I'll be in the yearbook picture with you, on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"That I get to choose our outfits." If they were going to do this, Quinn wanted to make sure that they looked their absolute best, so that when the cool kids came across the picture in their yearbooks, they might just stop for a second and think 'Hey, cute couple!' before defacing it.

"Done."

A/N: If you have any questions or want more information about this story, the link to my tumblr is in my profile.