"But it's out there yeah I said it
And in a way I don't regret it
'Cause I won't sit back and let us slip away
I'm tired of the eggshells we've been walking on
We've been here for far too long."

Centered around Bad Reputation.

It was a Tuesday when things started to go downhill. A few weeks had passed since skating, and we were fine. Better than fine, actually. Quinn had come to terms with the fact that Jesse was going to be around for a bit longer, though I could tell she didn't like it. I still felt that he would make a great friend, if we could just ease out of dating and into friendship. My prediction was right, of course, but it wouldn't happen for quite a few years.

Back to Tuesday. I had been spending more time with Quinn over the weeks, leaving Jesse to become irritated. So when he requested I join him for lunch, I decided it was best if I did it. The fact that it was Tuesday, the day I usually spent having lunch with Quinn in the auditorium, didn't hit me until that afternoon when she left me at school to walk home.

She was sprawled out on the couch watching Harry Potter when I got home. Well, she was probably watching it at the beginning; I found her sound asleep. Either that, or she was really good at acting like she was sleeping. It was probably the former though because she was tired all the time.

"Quinn," I whispered, sitting down on the little bit of space she had left on the sofa. Her face scrunched up for a second but otherwise she remained the same. She was awake. "Quinn, I know you're awake." Nothing. "I don't see why you're so angry with me. I forget one thing and you completely shut me out. That's hardly fair. Please just say something."

"Go away I'm sleeping," she mumbled irritably, rolling over to bury her face into the side of the couch.

"No you're not."

"You're right. I'm not. Anymore." She sat up, giving me a glare that didn't exactly phase me anymore.

"Either way, I want to apologize for the lapse in my memory earlier. I should've been there and-" She held up a hand to stop me. She was smiling so I considered that a good sign.

"Rach, I left school before lunch because I wasn't feeling well. I've been passed out right here the entire time."

Well this was certainly a change in events. "But I thought you left me to walk home because you were mad."

"Oh, I did plan on going back to pick you up, but I guess I completely slept through that. Sorry. Didn't you even notice I was missing for half of our classes and glee?"

I was completely off the hook. "I guess I forgot to check."

"Are you the one who needs to rest? You seem to be forgetting an awful lot of things today," she teased, pecking me on the cheek before jumping up. "How about I bake some cookies to make up for you having to walk the excruciatingly long walk home?"

"You're very playful for someone who came home sick, which you should've texted me to let me know, by the way," I stated, following her into the kitchen.

"If I had texted you, you would've skipped school to take care of me, and if you weren't there then who would I get the notes I missed from? So cookies? Or cupcakes? I learned how to make cupcakes in Home Ec the other day. Oh, and I can do brownies!"

I laughed, because she was acting like an excited little kid and it was better than I could've hoped for. "You can make all of these vegan?"

"Yeah. Our textbook has vegan substitutes for everything in the back."

"Well, I would love to learn how to make cupcakes," I grinned.

She grinned back at me. "Cupcakes it is."

The reason she didn't think anything of me missing from my afternoon classes was because I actually was in them. I was in school all day, including glee, and I did leave her at school on purpose. I had wanted to be mad at her, but when I heard the pleading in her voice as I pretended to sleep, I couldn't. So I played it off.

It was only one missed lunch, and she had proven time and time again that she cared for me and not Jesse. I could let it slide.

Then it happened again.

The next week, Rachel didn't show up for lunch again. I waited for ten minutes, but I knew after two that it was useless; Rachel was never late. It really upset me that she wouldn't at least just text me that she couldn't make it, but I didn't want to fight with her again. I was done with fighting.

So I decided to sort of get back at her instead of ignoring her or yelling at her. I left the auditorium to spend the rest of my lunch in the library, an idea already forming in my mind that would not only spite Rachel, but maybe even gain me a little popularity.

Thus the Glist was born.

The second I saw the Glist, I immediately assumed it was Noah. Only he would rank me at the very bottom just because I didn't put out and then put Quinn at the top. Except he confessed to not doing it when I confronted him in glee, which left me stumped.

"Quinn, who do you think is behind the Glist?" I questioned as we walked to her car after glee rehearsal.

"Oh I don't know," she replied, checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was following us. She normally did this every time we walked together and I was so used to it by then that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Why are you at the top, though? You don't think the person behind it knows about us, do you?" It was something that had worried me ever since finding out Noah wasn't the culprit behind it.

She snorted. "I doubt that. Otherwise why would you be at the very bottom?"

"Good point. You're probably top because of the fact you cheated on Finn and are having Noah's child," I reasoned.

"Mmhm," she distractedly agreed, getting in the car.

"But can you believe I'm at the bottom? I mean, Matt's higher than me! I helped Finn cheat on you! I should at least be higher than Matt!" I cried, letting out some of my frustration.

"Did anyone else even know about that?"

"Well, not really."

"There you have it."

I sighed. She was right. "So what are your plans for the afternoon?"

"I have to start my paper for Chemistry."

"You haven't started it yet? I just had Jesse proofread mine when we went out for lunch today." She noticeably stiffened at the mention of Jesse, or at least that's what I thought it was about at the time.

"No."

"Well this isn't like you. I'll be happy to look over it after you finish, except I can't until I get back from my dance class with Jesse. Though it's not like you'll be through before then, right?" I laughed, trying to ease the tension that was suddenly suffocating.

"See you later, Rach," she said upon reaching my house. She practically ran out of the car and started walking down the street. Weird.

The next day, I was frantically working on my Chemistry paper in the library during my lunch period, having not had the chance to do much of it the day before. I couldn't be falsely cheery for the entire afternoon. Especially since Rachel hadn't even realized that she skipped our lunch together.

She realized it very quickly though. I was halfway through the paper when I heard her.

"Why exactly aren't you in the auditorium?" she asked.

"Berry, this is a library. You have to be quiet," I reminded her, trying to focus on my paper and not the girl behind me.

"Answer my question."

"No one told me we were having a glee rehearsal during lunch today," I stated.

"Don't play dumb, Quinn. It doesn't suit you. It's Tuesday and you were supposed to meet me there twenty minutes ago, half of which I excused due to your lack of ever being punctual."

I almost laughed. "It's Wednesday."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is," added someone else. I whipped my head around to find Gabrielle, who just happened to be shelving books nearby.

"Get lost," I snarled at her.

"I kind of can't. I'm acting librarian for this period while the real one is out to lunch. And it wouldn't matter if I did. I could still hear your conversation at the other end of the library. You two are loud," she explained. This didn't make my glare at her lessen any.

"Gabrielle, please," Rachel begged. "Give me some time to talk to Quinn."

"Anything for you, Rach," Gabrielle shot Rachel a dazzling smile before disappearing down another aisle, and I swear in that moment I hated her more than Jesse.

"God she's annoying," I complained to nobody in particular.

"You just don't like her because she likes me," she replied, sitting down in the chair beside me. "But I'm not here to talk about her."

"Then what are you here for?"

"It's Wednesday and I stood you up for the second time in a row. Quinn I-"

"It doesn't matter." I tried pushing her away. She was going to apologize and look all sad and then I would feel guilty for the Glist.

"Yes it does."

"No, it doesn't," I insisted. "Now will you please leave me to finish my paper? It's due by the end of school and I'm only halfway done."

She sighed, standing up. "I really am sorry, Quinn."

My gut twisted, but I didn't say anything to her as she made her way back out of the library.

The period was almost over when she came rushing back in, even angrier than before.

"What exactly did you do yesterday while I had lunch off campus with Jesse?" she questioned.

"Oh, you know, the usual," I shrugged, not daring to face her.

"Quinn Fabray you're lying," she accused.

I turned around at this. "You can't prove that."

"You wrote the Glist!" Shit.

"You can't prove that either."

"I can't believe you!" she cried before storming out. Though it was far from over. She just didn't want to cause a scene in public.

I was going to be in a heap of trouble when I got home.

Quinn has always been good at schemes, just like me. It's how she not only got on the Cheerios, but impressed Sue Sylvester enough to make her captain. I usually just laughed about these when she told me them later, but not once had I been on the receiving end. Until then.

I was so furious at her. Why couldn't she just confront me like she normally did? She didn't have to go to all the trouble of hurting my feelings! I mean, I knew her feelings were probably hurt, but that didn't mean mine had to be as well just because I forgot one little thing!

If that was the way she wanted to play, then so be it. I set up filming schedules throughout the week with not only Jesse, but Puck and Finn as well. If Quinn asked, I would just say I was on a date. Not that I really expected her to ask. I wasn't going to be the one to break our silence, and I always had to be that person, so I knew we would stay silent.

She ended up answering the door when Jesse came over that afternoon, having been doing homework at the dining room table to avoid me. I made it down the stairs in enough time to witness her slamming the door in his face before quickly gathering her things and retreating to the basement.

"Sorry about that," I said, opening the door back up to let him in. "Quinn's…"

"Not in a very good mood?" he supplied.

"I guess you could say that. Shall we get started on my video?"

Ugh I hated Jesse St James. At that point in my life, I pretty much hated the world. No one in it liked me, so why should I like it?

This is what I thought about instead of doing my homework while I brooded in the basement. Every once in a while, the faint sound of Rachel's laugh would reach me and my stomach would twist a little tighter. Why did she like that asshole of a guy? Because if she would ditch our lunch date for one with him, then she obviously liked him. A lot more than me, it seemed like. Why would she even like me? I was nothing but a screwup, destined to be stuck in this town forever because I had a teen pregnancy.

I ended up sleeping downstairs that night, not bothering to get up to eat or anything. I couldn't be bothered to, not to mention the fact that I didn't want to run into Jesse again. There just wasn't a way I could handle seeing his smug little face without breaking it.

Rachel was gone by the time I finally forced myself to get up. Her dads told me she walked, which was stupid because she would just end up hurting her vocal chords from the cold air. I could've driven her.

That afternoon, the unthinkable happened. I was on my way to the kitchen to get a snack when the doorbell rang. Thinking it was probably Jesse, I rushed to get it, hoping to get in a good hit before Rachel got downstairs. So when I opened the door and found Puck, my jaw dropped.

"Woah, Baby Mama, your fuck buddy is Berry? Didn't see this one coming," he stated walking in past my frozen form.

"I… I'm not staying with Manhands, I'm just here to work on our lame Chemistry project," I stammered, wondering where my keys were so I could escape. I couldn't just hide in the basement like I had the day before. Why was he at Rachel's?

"Right… Chemistry… I'm sure you two are working on Chemistry," he waggled his eyebrows at me and I honestly had no idea what girls saw in him.

"Yeah… Well, I'm leaving now. Berry's upstairs."

"Why not stick around? Threesomes are fun."

"With you? And Berry? As if." Dammit where were my keys!

"Oh, already got someone in mind? Or already participated in one with Santana and Brittany?"

"What happened to the sweet Puck that took me to Waffle House?" I questioned angrily.

"Babe, he's still here. Chill out. I'm just playing with you."

"Did I hear the doorbell?" I heard Rachel call from upstairs. Luckily, I located my keys on the living room coffee table at that exact moment. I was out before I could even hear why he was there.

"What's her deal?" Noah questioned, gesturing to Quinn as she escaped out the front door.

I sighed. "She just doesn't like me very much, I guess."

"Still, she doesn't have to be a complete bitch and just run out without even saying goodbye or something."

"That's Quinn."

"You know, she's the love of my life and all that mushy shit, but she is such a bitch."

"I know how you feel," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. Follow me upstairs to my bedroom and we can get started."

Later on, he would ask me if I thought he made the Glist, and I would have to bend the truth so as not to get Quinn in trouble. Even when we were angry we looked out for each other. He would then go on to try and kiss me, which I just couldn't allow. Not only was he supposed to be "dating Quinn" but I was dating Jesse and I knew adding another guy into the mix would only make matters worse.

So we strictly recorded the video, and all the while Quinn was stuck in the back of my mind. I had no idea where she was, and she had seemed pretty depressed and angry lately. She could end up doing something stupid.

I hoped she wouldn't.

Brittany's house ended up being my refuge that night. I just couldn't go back and chance facing Puck again. Though it meant I had to put up with Brittany's questions.

"Did you and Rachel have a fight?" was the first thing she asked when I entered her room.

"Yes," I answered, sitting down on the bed with her.

"When San and I fight, she always runs away too. But then she comes back and says she's sorry and we have lady kisses. You should go see Rachel."

"No, I can't. Puck's at her house," I patiently explained.

"Why?" she asked, confused.

"I don't know, I guess she likes him more than me."

"If she did then San would go after her like she did with you. But she hasn't so Rachel still loves you."

Brittany was pulling me out of my depression. "You really think so, B?"

"But you need to watch out for Mr Schue's son."

"You mean Jesse?" I corrected her.

She nodded. "He doesn't look at Rachel with nice eyes."

"What do you mean nice eyes?"

"Like, he looks at her like he wants to hurt her. You look at her with nice eyes because they're filled with love and rainbows and stuff, like San's when she looks at me."

For a second, I just stared at her, contemplating what she said. "You know, I don't think everyone gives you enough credit. You're really smart."

"I try," she smiled. "Now before we cuddle up for sleep, do you think you can help me hide Lord Tubbington's cigars?"

Quinn didn't even come home the next day. I guess she assumed that Finn would be over, which he was, and she didn't want to chance meeting him.

My fathers started asking about her disappearance, asking if we had had yet another fight. I couldn't just lie to them, so I told them yes, we were currently fighting. They both sighed and went back about their business. I could tell they were holding back, waiting to talk about me when I was gone, so I left them to do just that.

Maybe I had overreacted about the Glist. Maybe she had overreacted about me forgetting about lunch. Maybe we both just needed to calm down and apologize.

It wasn't until the premiere of my video on Friday that things started getting better.

As I sat in the choir room, watching a very bad music video of "Run Joey Run" during my lunch period with the rest of the glee club, I couldn't help but be happy. This was why they were all at her house. She wasn't trying to anger me, unless this video was supposed to anger me when it only made me laugh. She was trying to show off her "bad side" to me, and all it was doing was making me laugh and probably costing her her boyfriend.

I would have to congratulate her later on a job well done.

Though before I could get to her, Mr Schue got to me. He knew I made the Glist. And in a moment of pity, he didn't rat me out to Figgins. I had never really liked him before, but after that and the pep talk he gave me, he was actually tolerable to me for the moment.

A text came from Rachel shortly after my meeting with Mr Schue as I was walking down the empty hallway to my locker.

Jesse broke up with me.

Talking to me again?

I thought you'd want to know, seeing as you loathe him.

Thanks for the good news, then.

Can we stop fighting?

I would really like that.

Then turn around.

I was halfway to my car, fully ready to skip out on glee. I whipped around, and there she was, holding her phone. Any other time, I might've found it creepy that she had followed me while texting me, but I had missed her too much to care. I practically ran into her arms.

"Never again, okay?" she stated as she buried her face into my neck.

"Right."

Wrong.

Song: Eggshells by Hawk Nelson

A/N: Little bit of fighting, but it was necessary because of the Glist. There'll be a small amount of angst in the Dream On chapter, but other than that it won't be too bad until we hit Funk, which is what I'm writing right now. Though it's gotten very hard to find the time to write, what with work and musical rehearsal and papers due and midterms coming up. I am trying to have the end of season one up by May. Speaking of the end of season one, since someone asked, I'm not going to just jump straight into season two. There will be a chapter of the months after regionals, and maybe a summer chapter between sophomore and junior year if I'm feeling up to writing pure fluff.

So I think that's all I have to say. Thoughts? Predictions? Comments?