Hello again! Hopefully this longer chapter makes up for the last short one. I've been looking forward to this one for a while, and after this things get even better! So excited! For now, enjoy one more friend intervention…

And every day this act we act gets more and more absurd.
And all my fears just sit inside me, screaming to be heard.
I know they won't, though, not a single word.

Rachel headed to the choir room for free period again, where she suspected Artie and Tina would be. When she entered, she found that she was correct, and the two greeted her warmly. She was surprised, though, when Kurt and Mercedes came over and began asking her opinion on the pieces they were thinking of singing that week. This was a stunning turnaround from their usual treatment of her, but she took it in stride and gave her honest opinion.

Halfway through the period, she excused herself to a practice room, citing a need to practice her own piece. That was a lie, as she had yet to find a song, which was quite disheartening given her knowledge of music. She sat down at the piano and plinked a few keys, hoping some inspiration would come to her. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Rachel feared that it was Puck, who would not have had a hard time hunting her down. A quick glance showed that instead of Puck, Quinn was standing at the door. She opened it a crack and stuck her head in.

"Hi, Rachel, can I talk to you for a second?"

"I am willing to help you with your song choice, Quinn, but at the moment I'm doing a little work of my own." Quinn smiled.

"This isn't about Glee." She stepped in and closed the door behind her. "It's about Puck." At Rachel's apprehensive look, she laughed and took a seat next to her. "I'm a little proud of how nervous you look, but I promise, I'm not here to attack you or anything." She glanced down at her stomach. "Besides, anything beyond slow movement makes her kick me in the bladder." Finally, Rachel cracked a smile. "So, I don't know exactly what happened, but I wanted you to know that I'd like to help if I can."

"Why?" The loquacious Rachel Berry was almost speechless.

"I've known Puck since we were in elementary school. We were never really friends, but everyone kind of knew each other. My pseudo-friendship with him only came from dating Finn. But you know Lima, it's a tiny place, and everyone knew about Mr. Puckerman taking off. When I started getting to know him, it was easy to see that he put up this front of being a badass bully, but one day when my dad came to pick me up from practice, he dropped his walls for a second and I saw it, that other guy that he kept hidden so often. I didn't really care at the time, I was more concerned about keeping my queen bee status." She laughed. "Then this little one happened and once or twice, I saw it again, that look in his eye or a real smile. Around the time you did the "Run, Joey, Run" video, he started to get that look a lot more. He talked more and was more passionate about things, especially those things that concerned you, and when he started ranting about Finn wrapping his freakishly long arms around you, I knew something had to be done." She paused, smiling wistfully. "He reminded me of Finn when we first started dating. Things got screwed up pretty fast, most of which was my fault, but it was pretty good for a while… and with everything you've both been through, I figured you two deserved a break." Rachel sat there for a moment, thinking everything through.

"I wish we'd talked before now." She finally said. "I have a feeling that we'd have a lot to say, and that a lot of it would surprise you and I alike. In regards to Noah, however, I don't really know what to say."

"I heard Santana and Jesse talking right before everything happened. I guess I was naïve and thought that they had moved on and were targeting someone else. I wish I had said something."

"You couldn't have known… and as much as you could have done, this whole situation revealed a lot about Noah and me." Quinn got a determined look on her face.

"We have fifteen minutes before the period ends, so let's go. Unload." Rachel hesitated, wondering if she should open up this easily to someone who, twenty minutes ago, she assumed hated her. It would be nice to talk about it though.

"Santana kissed him and he didn't push her away. He just kissed her back. I ran, he chased, I'm sure you've seen the video. At my house we fought and I brought up his issues concerning his father and a fear of abandonment, he brought up my fear of betrayal and my subsequent lack of attachment to people. I asked him why he didn't push Santana away and he couldn't answer me, he just kept saying 'I don't know'."

"Well, that was more complicated than I was expecting from Puck, but he has advanced since becoming attached to you, so I guess we can oddly enough consider this progress." Rachel laughed at Quinn's humor.

"I guess I just want to figure out my issues first before trying to go back into any relationship, be it one with Noah or not."

"Well, the Cheerios alone are enough to make you nervous, so I can see where you're coming from. At the same time, and please don't get angry with me, remember that this is the first real relationship that Puck has been in, and he doesn't have the same brain capacity you have. The fact that he was willing to run after you is impressive." Rachel nodded.

"He talked to me this morning and let me know that he was not present at school yesterday because he got drunk after our fight."

"That's so cute… in a completely irresponsible way." Quinn covered quickly and Rachel laughed. "So, I have an idea, and I'm guessing you're not gonna be a huge fan, but go with it. Would you like to hang out after school?" It was then that Rachel thought about how strange of a week she was having. Right as she was confronted with her issues about friends, she began to make some.

"I… wouldn't be opposed to it." Quinn smiled and clapped her hands.

"Good. Are you also not opposed to being totally girly? Because I could use a day like that. Puck is…well… Puck and his sister is going through a tomboy phase." Well, Rachel thought, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Sure."

A few hours later, Rachel was shocked at how happy she was feeling. She and Quinn had gone and gotten smoothies after school, then had walked around the mall for a bit, before going back to Rachel's house to watch movies. Her fathers were shocked that the girl that Rachel had frequently mentioned as disliking her was now sitting in their family room, but from the laughter they were hearing, they chose joy over concern.

Quinn had let the heavy topics go for a while, but when their movie ended, she decided it was time to face them again.

"So, what do you feel you need to work through? You said you wanted to confront your issues."

"Well, I guess I've already been working through one already. I haven't really made friends before due to my fear of duplicity. But, over the past few days, Artie and Tina were quite nice to me, and you've been so kind as well, and I've barely felt the urge to close myself off that I usually feel."

"Barely?" Rachel giggled.

"I'll admit, the mall had me ready to make a run for it." She sighed. "One of my other concerns is that it took Noah asking me about my feelings and then haphazardly tossing them at me to finally see the fears I had been repressing. A part of me is worried that I don't know who I am as well as I've always assumed I did. I'm questioning my behaviors and my thoughts. And lastly, I'm scared to trust him. I told him before we started going out how nervous I was, given that Jesse had just trampled on my heart, right after Finn had trampled on my heart." Rachel stopped, shook her head, and laughed a bit.

"What just happened?"

"I figured out my song." She said, beaming.

"That's a start." The girls talked for a little while longer before Rachel drove Quinn back to Puck's house. As they sat in the driveway, Quinn turned to Rachel one last time. "Take this weekend, sing your song, do what you have to… I'll make sure Puck backs off and gives you time to think. I'm a little biased, but I think that you two should get back together because you're good for each other. Yes, things ended up a bit catastrophic this time, but who else in your life would help you discover yourself like this? Maybe you should see this as a blessing and an opportunity." Quinn left it at that and headed inside, leaving a very thoughtful Rachel Berry behind her.

I can't give up now.
'Cause I've never been alone.
I could never be alone.

I like friendly!Quinn! She's fun to write, and while the writers had her become friends with Mercedes on the show, I think that her and Rachel could be really good friends. I'm going on vacation for the next week, but I intend to hit the ground running when I return. I originally had no plans to include the Glee performances besides Puck's, but this story has a mind of its own. Coming up in the next chapter, it's Monday again, Tina will be performing in Glee, and someone gets slushied!