A/N: you know what I hate? when I'm 2000 words in and on a roll, and I accidentally press the backspace button and lose EVERYTHING. I had to take a long break after that just so I wouldn't hurt myself...

Omfg- I accidentally saved the old version of this chapter (with only 2000 words) on top of the 4000 almost 5000 word update... This chapter realllly doesnt want to happen and I actually really loved what I had. I'm so sad. :(

So many songs fit Faberry it's not even funny. Every time I listen to a song, I can either see it from Rachel's or Quinn's POV. I love it - it's a sweet torture. That being said, I hope you know I plan to take this story a lot further, simply because falling in love is a long and complicated journey (and too many songs fit them). This is a warning.

P.S.: the song Rachel's alluding to is I Love You 5 by Nevershoutnever!

-TWiM

Chapter 21 - Little Romance (Ingrid Michaelson)

I turn in her arms and watch her sleep for a few moments before dragging myself out of bed. If I want today to work out as planned, I have to be out of here in twenty minutes. I succeed in getting out of bed and into the bathroom for a quick shower to fully wake up. I smile thinking about her reaction to all I have prepared for today. On my way out, I stop in front of the mirror and leave her the first message: 'I love you 1, Q-tie (get it? Lol)! Have an awesome day.' And even though she can't see, and even though I know it won't make a difference, I kiss my fingers and touch them to the mirror.

Before leaving out the door, I peck her on the temple and move some hair out of her face. She stirs but doesn't wake. I smile and grab my bag on the way out.

It's 6:15 when I reach the breakfast joint on 3rd that I know she loves. I get her favorite and also buy myself a bagel to eat on the way back. By 6:35 I've got the burrito and a card which I bought on my way back to campus.

I'm knocking obnoxiously on her door. This is a minute detail I overlooked; I'm not sure Mary is here, but after a while of my loud knocking I hear her grumble, "Coming!" She opens the door with disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes and narrows them at me.

I give her my best show smile and say, "Good morning, Mary! I'm sorry for waking you but I planned a surprise for your roommate and I was wondering if I could -" Before I finish talking she motions for me to come inside and I see her roll her eyes before dropping back in bed. She pulls the covers over her eyes and soon I hear light snoring.

Remembering that I have to move, I place her breakfast bag on top of her desk. I take out the card and write the third note she'll read: 'I love you 3, sweetie. Meet me for lunch here?' I scribble a map of he place I want her to meet me at in Central Park and mark the place with a heart and a kiss.

"Later, Mary!" I whisper as I leave the room. I try (and fail) to close the door without making a lot of noise, but it slams at the last second. I grimace and hope Mary doesn't remember that when she wakes up again.

I pull out a sticky note pad and write the second note and then stick it on the door: 'I love you 2, baby. I left a paper bag on your desk with your favorite breakfast burrito from that little place on 3rd you love. Xx.' I kiss this one too and hope no one witnessed that.

Knowing that she's about to wake up, I rush out of there because I don't want to run into her and ruin the entire thing.

She texts me as I'm making my way to the gym. This tells me that she's only 20 minutes behind me and that I have to hurry there and leave before we accidentally bump into each other.

Quinn: Good morning, principessa. Best surprises ever. I love you! I'll definitely meet you for lunch. Should I bring anything?

I drop my bag on top of the bench in front of her locker and text her back.

Rach: I love you 4, that's more than I can afford. Don't worry about the food; just bring your sexy self. ;)

Quinn: haha, as long as you promise you'll be there, I'll show up.

Rach: that sounds vaguely familiar.

Quinn: you told me something similar when I mentioned I was glad you showed up at The Lounge when we first met.

Rach: I knew that. I was trying to see if you did.

Quinn: I liked the nickname. Qtie. But only if you keep it between us.

Rach: promise. I'm going to change my contact name right now.

Qtie: sounds good, lol. Do I get another note from you today?

Rach: who knows? ;)

Qtie: YOU DO! Tell me!

Rach: I have class, babe. I'll see you at lunch, kay?

Qtie: Rachel Barbra Berry!

I don't reply after that because I know she's coming. In a hurry, I take out the last message and tape it on her locker with the tickets for an expo she wanted to see at the Guggenheim.

'I love you 5: this may or may not be tickets to that special showing at the Guggenheim you were dying to see. You'll have to skip your Anthropology class to go on this date with me but I checked your syllabus and know you're not covering anything important today.

Please, be prepared for a lot of gushy and corny feelings. And be nice to your cheerleaders today. :)

Rach.

P.S.: make sure you wear clothes that I can get you out of easily after our date. ;)'

Two of her cheerleaders actually come in when I'm adding the P.S. to the message and they greet me with a "Hey, Rach." I greet them back and smile politely. If they're here, that means she'll be getting here within five minutes or so.

"Don't judge me, guys." I warn them before kissing the note with my eyes closed and leaving the locker room. I leave through the back door of the gym, which leads to the football field.

Her next text message comes a little later than I had calculated.

Qtie: You could've warned me that you were planning on embarrassing me in front of my cheerleaders but I loved the note anyway. ;)

Rach: good, I'm glad! Are you being nice to them?

Qtie: I will be, boss! I have to go start practice. See you later.

Rach: Can't wait, Qtie! :D

I really can't wait. I make my way to the market and buy fresh strawberries and grapes. I also get some lemons so I can make Artie's mom's lemonade recipe just because I know how much Quinn loves it. Still here I acquire the cherry pie. Satisfied with my purchases, I make my way to a small store I saw on my way here and hope they have a basket to hold these items. Thankfully, they have a basket which comes with the traditional red and white checkered blanket and five containers and a thermos included. It's the best deal ever and it just made my life that much easier.

I tell myself not to forget the flowers or sandwiches later. Soon enough I'm in the kitchenette at the bottom level of my dormitory, washing and cutting the strawberries, and washing the grapes. It doesn't take long to do that so I take out one of the containers from the basket and drop the strawberries in there. On another container goes the grapes and then both go into the refrigerator. The pie's been in there since I got here but I take it out momentarily just so I can go ahead and cut it into slices and put it in a different container than it came in. That goes back inside and out comes the lemons.

I pay attention to the e-mail Artie sent with the recipe and try to do everything the recipe says. I roll each lemon under my palm, on the counter, before cutting it in two. I make sure to keep the seeds away. I add the exact amount of water it calls for and skip on adding ice until right before serving.

Grinning from ear to ear, satisfied with what I have so far, I go up to my room and drop in bed. I don't want to fall asleep or anything like that, just rest my eyes and body until it's a little before noon and I have to get up again to meet my beautiful girl.

When I wake up, I'm still smiling. Then within the second in which I realize I'm awake, I panick and check the time on my phone weighing down on my belly. It's almost noon, which means I'm running a little late. I just hope Quinn decides to talk to a classmate or professor after her second class of the morning to gain me some time.

Basket in hand (after checking my hair three times on the mirror in my room, and twice while brushing my teeth), I go back downstairs and ice the lemonade, pour it into the thermos, and place everything in the basket.

I might have a skip in my step as I walk to Central Park. On the way, I stop at a deli place which reminds me of Charlie's back at home and get Quinn her favorite - with bacon, cream cheese, and avocado. I order a chicken pesto sandwich for myself and right then and there put them into the containers from the basket. Now the only things missing are the flowers.

I know there's a flower shop nearby, and I check my phone for the time just as Qtie sends me a text which reads "On my way." I can't stop the smile which takes over my face and I even try to bite the inside of my cheeks to keep it from getting so big, but it doesn't work.

Orchids. Beautiful. Just like she is.

I cross the street and find the tree I know she'll be meeting me under. She'll be coming from the South so I set up the picnic on the North side of the tree, hoping that the obnoxiously large tree trunk will keep her from seeing it immediately.

All around me there are couples jogging together with their dogs, or students on the grass reading large books. There's a group farther ahead playing frisbee, and a few girls riding their bikes together. A man sitting on a fountain has a guitar and an open case, and people will pass by, listen in for a minute or two, drop a few bucks and leave. Even with all these activities going on less than 25 feet away, this tree seems pretty secluded. It feels like it's a different spot, special from the rest, divided by invisible glass.

I finish just in time because when I pick up the orchids again (to wait for her), I see her coming in the horizon. The way the sun is on the sky makes it hard for her to see me, but I can see her in the yellow dress and the boots I love. I giggle and hide behind the tree, feeling naughty and giddy and just plain happy. I breathe in deeply and remind myself that she's already mine and there's no reason for me to be worried whether she'll like me or not at the end of the date.

I wait a minute to settle my nerves. I close my eyes for but a second and when I appear from behind the tree she has her back to me. "Hi, girlfriend." I say to call out her attention.

I forget what breathing entails when she turns to face me. I can never get used to her beauty. She's flawless, in every single way. The way the sunlight creates a halo around her head makes her look like an angel. I smile, taking her all in, and she knows I'm checking her out. There are few things more beautiful than Quinn's smile. It makes my heart flutter in its space and I have to remind myself again that this isn't an evaluation. She already likes me. I check her out again because damn, she's gorgeous, and thrust the flowers at her.

"Thank you. What's all this for?" She asks, looking deep into my eyes.

I tell her the truth, "For you. Because you make me happy and that's all I ever want to do for you: make you happy." I think I blush because she has this adorable look on her face. Grabbing her hand, I pull her close, "Come here," I have to taste her lips. I have to feel their softness up against mine. So I do. Because she followed my instructions well, she was waiting for me on the South side of this ridiculously large tree. The trunk makes a shade on the other side, and hides my surprise well. Alongside the shade, the breeze makes today a perfect day for a picnic. "Let's go." I guide us to the other side of the tree and watch as her eyes widen in amazement. "Lemonade instead of sweet tea."

She laughs and I nudge her down to sit next to me. "I'm glad I won't have to make an effort to drink this." I watch her as she finds plastic cups in the basket and pours us each a cup and I silently berate myself for not doing it first. I'm supposed to be serving her and making this all about her, but in my defense, her voice and laughter and eyes and everything were distracting. "Thanks for this." She says and as a reward gives me a kiss on the cheek.

I tell her what I know she needs to hear - an apology. Not because I think she couldn't live without one, or because she demanded one; because it's what she deserves. "I wanted to apologize for not giving you enough credit last week. I should've just trusted you."

"Rachel, I get it now. It's hard but I promised I'd be patient."

I don't think I tell her how much I appreciate her enough. Besides apologizing, that was another reason why I thought of doing this, "I don't know what I did to deserve someone like you."

"You do things like this. I don't know how I'll ever one-up this one."

I scoot closer to her and kiss the back of her hand, sweetly and what I hope feels romantic before asking, "want a sandwich?"

"Yes, please. What did you get me?" Her perfect teeth come out and hold her bottom lip prisoner and so I don't resist the urge to lean forward and use my thumb to liberate it and then my tongue to sooth it. She returns the kiss with a sigh at the end and when I pull away her eyes are still closed, one eyebrow hitched. She laughs, "I bet it's not as delicious as that kiss..." and opens her eyes.

I laugh along with her and hand the sandwich I got her to her and her eyes bulge out, "you should't speak so fast."

"Oh my, you're right. This sandwich rivals your kisses." She looks at me wiith a mischievous glint in her eyes and a playful tone. I push her on the shoulder slightly to admonish her but she holds on to my wrist and gives me another kiss before I can react. "This has bacon so I'm trying to get my quota before eating it."

I pretend to be pondering on the statement she's made and then say, "Smart." We both descend into a fit of giggles. It's only when we've managed to stop laughing and breathe that we start to eat.

"I bought these because even though I wanted to, I couldn't bring myself to endure the smell of raw or cooking bacon."

She looks surprised that I even considered it and then says, "I hadn't expected you to cook - you never do." She's teasing me but it's true. She probably enjoys cooking a lot more than I do. She unwraps hers and takes a bite.

I wrinkle my face at her and say, "You should be glad I don't cook. I'd probably have killed you by now."

She cleans her thumb of some cream cheese by sucking on it lightly, and I try to get my mind off the gutter. She sends me spinning with these simple gestures. Small things that make me hot and has me needing a cold shower. She raises an eyebrow at me, noting my reaction (flushing, coughing awkwardly, and staring pointedly at her -now wet - thumb), and says, "good thing I'm an awesome cook."

For a second I don't understand what she's talking about, but she laughs, snapping me out of it and I apologize between bites, "Sorry, you being so hot is very distracting. And sometimes I feel like a 13 year old boy who just found out how amazing boobs are and he's trying really hard to impress a girl to be able to touch them..." I shake my head and try to explain myself better, "like, I don't know how I managed to get you." She has a smug smile on her face so I throw a grape at her. She opens her mouth but I miss it by yards.

She motions for me to do it again. This time it hits her nose. She groans and rubs the tip of her nose with the palm of her hand and narrows her eyes at me. "Did you do that to get back at me for being so hot?"

I get on my hands and knees and crawl toward her, laughing, and apologize, "Sorry." I kiss the tip of her nose and ask, "Better?"

She nods eagerly, "much."

We eat both sandwiches and most of the fruit, accompanying it with the lemonade. Most of the time we keep the conversation light and flirty. At one point Quinn tells me of a pickup line some guy from her class used on her this morning ("Hey, baby, if you were my homework I'd do ya on the table.") and we laugh until our bellies hurt. I ask her if I had used that, would it have worked, and she said probably not before, but now, definitely. Then I ask her for his name and which class it was, but she refuses to give me the name. I almost mention her wanting Finn's address after she found out he kissed me, but then I decide not to bring that up. Which is probably a good idea.

We're working through the cherry pie when Quinn gets a phone call. She takes out her phone and stares at her screen for a long time with a frown. "Who is it?" I ask.

"I don't know," she says and sets it on top of the blanket, near the pie. "Probably nobody important."

"Pick up," I urge her. It vibrates on the ground, but she doesn't even bother looking at it.

"But I'm hanging out with you. They can leave a message." She grins at me and cleans some of the cherry filling from the side of my mouth and licks it off her thumb, just like she had earlier. By this point, I know she knows what she's doing. I lick my lips and curse myself for getting her the sandwich with the bacon. She's pushing to see how long I'll resist before kissing her senseless even though she just ate pork.

"Okay, fine."

She still has a grin on her face, almost child-like, when she asks, "what time are we going to the museum?" The phone goes silent for a second but then starts ringing again. She moves it aside and we start packing things back into the basket. Her orchids go inside as well and keep the lid from closing all the way.

"In about half an hour or so if we want to go back to campus and leave the basket there," I tell her.

"I'm lying down then." She does so, and the breeze blows her hair for a moment. Then she nudges me and I snuggle close to her. Her phone vibrates once this time and when she checks it, it shows she has a new voicemail.

"Must be important," I remark and I feel her pull me closer. My head rests on her left shoulder and her hand finds my hair to caress it. With her free hand she fumbles for her phone and checks her voicemail.

I stay quiet and busy myself with running my hand up and down her slender neck. She giggles when my lips tickle on her neck lightly and says, "It's Erica."

Who the hell is Erica? My lips stop their movement up her jawline so I can think, and apparently so do my hands because she bumps me with the shoulder under my head and makes eye contact. She smiles reassuringly, so I go back to caressing her neck. I play with the fuzzy, soft hair on her nape and use my nose to tickle that spot on her neck.

Finally the voicemail is over and she moves just a tad bit to be able to put her phone away and look me in the eyes. "Erica, the secretary of the LGBT club. You remember her - she hosted the Coffee House Event." Oh. "She got my number from Kurt. She wants to know if I'm interested in being in a video the LGBT club is putting together to fight against bullying and to let other teens know that it's okay to be gay and that it gets better. She says I'd be real good for it because they want people to see that there isn't a specific look for being gay or lesbian. And I just so happen to be hot, popular, and a cheerleader."

This is starting to sound really exciting actually, "that's real neat! Are you going to do it?"

She shrugs, I feel it beneath me, "I don't see why not. It's kind of awesome, right? I'd feel a lot more useful than for just splits and cheers. Though, I personally think that Santana's story is much better than mine... She said if I knew anyone -"

"Noooo. She's not going to want to do it," I warn her before she gets excited about the idea.

"But, baby, you're always pushing her to move on past what happened. Maybe this would be really good for her."

"Babe. Seriously, no. She'll be so upset if you even bring it up."

She groans and then concedes, "fine. But it would've been great for her."

"Yeah, maybe," I admit. "Okay. How about this. If she comes up to you and tells you about her story, then you can bring up this video."

She chuckles, "that's so not fair. She's never going to do it."

"You never know, she might just surprise you." I make a face at her and then smile. She gets distracted by something on my face. I check with my hand to see if it's food leftover but she just smiles.

Her index finger starts to poke on the spot where my dimple is. I try to keep my smile from growing, but the more she pokes me, the more it grows. "You're so adorable and sexy at the same time."

"Are you really quoting Crazy, Stupid, Love on me?"

With an unperturbed, aloof face she says, "more like paraphrasing, really." We stare at each other and burst into giggles.

"Give me your hand." I demand.

She raises an eyebrow questioningly but doesn't say anything even though I know that she's basically thinking, 'Where the hell are you going to put my hand in public, Berry?' I giggle because I can practically hear her saying my last name in the authoritative tone her voice can get sometimes.

I press her fingers together but open her hand and place it on top of my chest, right above my racing heart. "Do you feel that?" I ask her quietly. Her eyes are trained on our hands, mine holding her in place.

She barely nods. I kiss her cheek, leave a soft peck. Then I move up and leave a lingering kiss on her temple. She closes her eyes at the feeling and I slowly bring my head down so my mouth is level to her ear.

"That's how fast my heart beats for you. That's how fast it's been beating since I woke up this morning. Because every time I think of you, it takes off. And I've been thinking of you since I woke up and you were in my bed. If things stay this way, I'm going to need to go to the hospital and that's soon."

The breeze picks up slightly, and I see her shiver. I don't know if it has to do with the wind or with what I just told her, but she shakes her head and licks her lips, "If that were the case, Berry," she starts and I smirk because it sounds just like it does in my head, "I would've been in the hospital a long time ago. Do you know how many times I've died because of you?"

I brush some of her bangs off her eyes. Who cares about the bacon?

"I still cannot believe we're here."

"Babe, you wanted to come... so I got it done." I wink at her and playfully slap her butt before walking behind her to the other side of the room.

She looks awkwardly around, blushing heavily, and after realizing that no one else cares, she comes to where I am, "how did you manage this again?"

"I told you - I have my ways."

"Tell me," she whines. There's movement behind her and I look, just for a second, distracting her too. When she turns back around to look at me, I'm moving on to the next piece.

She groans and comes closer while I laugh. "Sometimes you're a little annoying."

"It was Mr. Guerra, baby." I inform her. "You know... he's respected in his line of work or whatever." I pull her into my arms and she only resists for a second before wrapping her arms around me.

"I love these dates the best."

I try to hike an eyebrow as well as she does at her statement but I fail badly. I try to ignore it but she giggles and gives me a kiss on the cheek, "which dates?" I want to clarify.

"The dates where you take me to a museum and I get to be surrounded by art with you." Her eyes are pouring out love and joy.

I look at her and smile, "good thing we have lots of other museums to visit."

"Oh, shit."

"You know how turned on I get when you start to speak intelligent things."

"But, oh." Her face contorts in pleasure before she dives back down to my neck, "We're still in the museum. We could so get caught."

I giggle, my eyes trained on the ceiling above us. It's dark where we are, but it wouldn't have mattered because I can't see anything with how much I'm feeling. "Tell me that doesn't make this hotter," I challenge her.

She doesn't stop kissing me as her lips move across my collarbone to my right shoulder, pulling on my shirt roughly down to plant open mouthed kisses. "Yeah, it does." She says, her voice low and drenched in lust.

My hand makes its way up her dress, in her panties and she doesn't try to stop me. My other hand is grabbing her hair viciously, my desire growing when I feel how wet she is for me. Her hips thrust forward. "Did - Did I mention how much I love your hair short like this?" I pull her head up and our fiery gazes meet, burning even in the dark of this secluded spot we found.

She lunges forward, taking my bottom lip between her teeth, and I almost yelp in pain, but it comes off as a moan of pleasure. She smiles against my lips, "yes. Yes, you have."

She's hugging me from behind, arms wrapped right below my breasts. Her head is hidden in the crook of my neck. "I told you people would know."

I laugh, "stop hiding. Nobody can tell. They're not even looking at us." We're standing in front of my personal favorite of the night. She carefully raises her head and looks around, making sure I'm right. "See? Not one person."

I feel her exhale, "You can get quite loud," she says.

"What?" I spin in her arms and she starts to laugh. "I didn't - not this time. I was - I -"

"Oh. Gotcha. So worth it though. You should see your face right now. Red as a beet."

I bring my hands to my cheeks to feel how warm I am. "So mean." I comment, before huffing and falling back into her arms.

She giggles against my neck again and says, "You started it."

"Wait! What did I do this time?" I ask, grabbing her by the hand and directing us to another painting.

She makes an unbelieving sound and says, "you think I don't know you were secretly laughing at my embarrassment?"

I refuse to admit it, maybe just to prolong this silly moment, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You started it!" She hisses in my ear with a laughing bubbly voice. Happy.

"You sound like you're five." I tell her.

She yanks me. Hard. I stop walking and look at her narrowing gorgeous hazel at me. In all seriousness she speaks, "Five and a half."

"So mature," I mumble and stick my tongue out at her.

"Wait. What?" We're walking back to campus, hand-in-hand. I'm on the phone with Kurt because he sent me a text asking if he could call. He's explaining something about Finn. Yes, he's back on the scene. It hasn't even been a full month and Finn's already giving me a headache.

"Rach, he seems pretty down. Said he dropped out of college. He actually wants to move to LA and try the whole acting scene there, but he called me and asked if he could come visit me in NY first."

"So if he wants to come to NY to visit you, he can." I tell him. I shiver because it got a little bit chilly now that it's nighttime. Quinn tries to give me as much privacy as she can while I'm on the phone but there's only so far she can go before it starts to look like we're not together.

Kurt sighs and I can hear him shift in bed, probably running a nervous hand through his hair, "I just wanted to make sure with you... make sure you'd be okay."

"I won't be seeing him. I don't give a fuck if he comes up here, Kurt."

"Well, he'll be here for the play's premiere and he - he'll be in the audience."

I laugh, more like a cackle really, "That'll be fun."

Quinn ventures a look my way and I try to give her a reassuring smile but it comes off more like a grimace. "So you'll be okay?"

"Sure," I promise.

"And what about Quinn?" He asks, concerned for her as well. "Santana was with me and Britt when he called - she looked like she was going to have a heart attack. Actually, thinking about it, maybe you should go speak to her."

"Kurt - I - I know he's your brother and everything, but sometimes he's a fucking idiot."

"I know, babe. I promise I'll do my best to keep him and you away from each other."

"Make sure that you keep him away from Quinn, too. If I hear that he's even in the same room -"

"No worries. I promise."

After that I tell him I have to go. We are in front of Quinn's dorm. She's looking at the ground, wrinkled head and a pensive look in her eyes.

"Don't do that." I say, "don't frown like that." My thumb massages between her eyes and she relaxes. "He's not a threat anymore, remember? He never was." I guarantee her.

"I know, that's not it." She says.

I dip my head just enough so she's forced to look me in the eyes, "what is it then?"

She sighs, "I'm honestly so much more concerned for Santana than for myself."

At this I have to shake my head to clear my thoughts, "well, you know, she can hold her own with him."

"I just think that she's been always resorting to the biting remarks and you know where that got her... If she did the video - she'd have to deal with the feelings."

"Quinn -"

"I know, I shouldn't bring it up, but... maybe you can. Or at least mention the video in passing. Plant the seed, you know? That way she will come to me."

I consider what she's proposing. Okay, so maybe Santana would get pissed for a while, but it's not like she can deny she likes girls any longer. I mean, she's pretty blatant about it and she's dating a girl. But talking about it for everyone to hear? And then having to face the guy who basically forced her out of the closet? On the other hand, she has to deal with these feelings. She has to talk about them. She will have to face him. Maybe being involved in a project where she'll see there are others like her will do her good.

"Okay." I give in. Quinn's eyes dart all over my face for confirmation.

"Okay?"

"Okay!" I shriek. She laughs and picks me up in a hug.

I try to look stern when I tell her, "But if she says no, we drop it, okay?"

She nods, "okay! Oh this will be so great! Let me know as soon as you talk to her because I'll have to call Erica and ask her more details."

Speaking of Erica, "speaking of Erica -" I start.

"Yeah?"

"You think she pretty?" I ask, faking a frown, but really wondering. Because I remember landing eyes on her the day of the event and thinking about how beautiful she was.

She sounds casual and says, "yeah, pretty, whatever. I find her pretty like I find Sam pretty, you know?" Then she touches my cheek softly with the tip of her fingertips, "But I find you beautiful, gorgeous, cute, adorable and sexy." We laugh at the movie reference again and I let it go.

I interlock our fingers, "You up for some more hot sex?" I ask, grinning.

"Am I ever."

Turns out there is no hot sex happening. Because it turns out Mary isn't out tonight. Turns out Mary and Jake broke up. So Quinn and I are sitting on her bed, while Mary's head is buried under a pillow. "Mary," Quinn coaxes softly, "It'll be okay, you know?"

We hear hiccups. It seems like Mary is trying to say something but neither Quinn nor I can figure out what it is. Eventually she gives up and drops the tissue in her hand to the floor. I grimace but decide to let it go.

"Mar... I'm sure Jake's a great guy but there'll be others out there for you." I try to make her feel better.

This seems to make her stop crying. She squirms in bed and then turns, her hands are the only thing not being covered by fabric.

"What do we do?" Quinn asks in my ear, as quietly as she can.

"Maybe we could call everyone and, you know, watch a movie here."

Quinn sighs, "yeah, that sounds good. How about you call everyone and I'll help Mary to wash her face and order the pizza?"

"Kay," I say and drop a peck on her lips before standing up to make the calls out in the hallway.

Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Britt, Mike and Tina, and even Sam Evans and Mercedes (they were with Mike and Tina) show up all about the same time. Quinn and I realize most of our friends are couples and that Mary probably only knows Santana and Britt. After introductions, we all gather round in a circle and start playing some game Sam is trying to teach us with cards.

The pizza arrives soon after, and so we all stop to eat. Mary keeps quiet most of the time, but she's not crying obnoxiously like earlier.

It's in the moment between card-playing and movie-choosing that San and I exchange looks. I can see that she's worried. I get up from Quinn's lap on her chair and walk out the door. There isn't even the need to call Santana because she knows.

"How are you?" I ask her, when she closes the door behind her. I'm sitting on the floor and before she responds, she sits next to me and drops her head on my shoulder. My arm automatically wraps around her.

"Well, you know. Considering I just found out the person I most hate in the world is coming down -"

I tighten my hold, "It wasn't so bad in Lima, you know? He only even acknowledged you because you attacked him first. Maybe if you try to keep from making comments at him, he won't even look your way."

She's thinking. I can tell by the way she frowns, "It's one thing to see him in Lima but I feel like here... this was my sacred place. Away from memories and bad shit from there." I know she's not talking about me but it still hurts a little bit. I try not to make it about me though, but she hastily adds, "Except for you and Kurt, Rach. Seriously."

"I get it. Listen," I take in a deep breath, "You know he'll be at the play for the premiere to watch Kurt, so you don't have to go. I won't be upset or an-" Before I have the change to finish speaking she puts a hand up.

"Don't even think about it, Rachel. I'll be there."

I smile softly. I'm glad she'll still be attending, I just hope things don't get out of hand. "And you'll be okay?"

"I honestly can't tell you that until then, but..." She trails off and shrugs as a response. I get it.

This is my in. "Hey, guess what? Quinn got a call from Erica today."

She purses her lip, clearly trying to remember Erica. I know the feeling. "Who's... Erica?"

I giggle softly, "she's the secretary of the LGBT club. The girl -"

"Oh! Okay, yeah! I know who she is. Hot." She grins. Then she frowns quickly and says, "Damn."

"It's okay, San. Britt won't care. You still have eyes."

"So, what did Erica want?"

"She left a voicemail asking Quinn if she'd be interested in being in a video to help other LGBT teens understand that it gets better and all that good stuff. She wants a variety of girls and boys because the club wants it to show how lesbians and gays don't have a specific 'look,' I guess."

She makes a 'hmm' noise and it kind of surprises me how she's not freaking out yet. "That's awesome. Is Quinn going to do it?"

"I think so, yeah." I say, rubbing my hand up and down her arm.

She's quiet for another moment, "hey, I don't know if I've ever told you this but... Quinn's really good to you. And I'm sorry for not supporting it from the beginning."

I smile and look up, thinking about the hazel-eyed girl with the soft blonde hair on the other side of the wall. "Yeah, I know. And it's okay, you know? You were trying to protect me."

"Just like you probably tried to protect me when Quinn asked you to speak to me about this video, right?"

"How did you know?" I ask, surprised and taken aback.

She laughs quietly, "ah, you know. I have my ways. Also, I can read you really well."

It's still weird how she knows but I admit it anyway, "yeah. So do you think you will do it? Do you feel like you can?"

The small smile she had on her lips dies down. "I think - well, I."

"Hey, you don't have to. It'd just be really good for you." I look her in the eyes and tell her with all the confidence and assurance I can. "Quinn thinks that it'll help you... deal."

"Maybe I should give it a try, you know? Do you think it'll help with all this pent-up anger I still feel, despite of being out?"

I smile, happy that Quinn insisted on this. "Yeah, I really think so."

San and I are still in the hallway talking when everyone else gets out of the room, except for Mary.

"She got a call from Jake," Mike explains.

"She was smiling within ten seconds, so we all decided it was best if we left." Tina adds, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Sam raises a hand at everyone and grabs Mercedes', "I had fun, guys. Thanks for the invite." Mercedes throws everyone a kiss and they leave.

Tina and Mike are next to go.

Quinn is standing idly in front of her door, with her arms crossed and a worried look.

"Why do you look worried?" I ask her and pat the space on the other side of me for her to sit. Britt's snuggling into Santana already, so now there are four girls hugging each other on the floor.

She shrugs, "I worry about my friends a lot sometimes." She points behind her at the door.

I giggle and lift my arm so she can fit in next to me better. I have my two favorite girls under my arms, and Britt is pretty special too. "Can I get a kiss here?" I try to use the arm I have around her to point at my mouth, but it doesn't work. She laughs and gives me the kiss anyway.

Santana growls, "Berry, really?"

"Oh, shut up, Santana. You were just telling me about your unconditional, dying love for Quinn here." I joke.

Quinn perks up and Santana huffs. Britt giggles. "I love her unconditionally." It's probably the longest word I've ever heard Britt say but whatever.

"Do you really now, San?" Quinn asks Santana with a mocking voice. Santana's burning red - out of embarrassment or anger, I can't quite tell yet. Then she looks at Britt and says, "I love you unconditionally too, B."

"Fuck you all," Santana says. I can feel her smile against my shoulder though, so I laugh.

The three of them start laughing, too. Quinn speaks through a loud snort, which only makes me love her more. "I think you guys are all a little bit insane. That's okay, right?"

"I think it's good we're all a little weird. What fun would it be if we weren't?" I say.

"Weird is definitely good, right, baby?" Brittany asks.

"Right, Britt-Britt. I actually really love you girls." She admits and then groans for a long time. "I can't believe I said that!" She's the first to stand and extends a hand at Britt to help her get up. "I'll catch you two later. Quinn, we'll talk about the video sometime this week. I have to walk this one home." She smiles, a little shy, but her eyes are thankful.

I nod at her and blow her a kiss and Quinn salutes her, "See ya."

"You talked to her!" Is the first thing Quinn says when they're out of sight.

I pull her closer, wrapping my other arm around her now that it's free and interlocking my own fingers. Her hand finds it's way across my stomach and rests on my waist. "I did. She actually figured it out without me actually having to spell it out for her."

Quinn gently presses her nose against my cheek and moves it back and forth. I close my eyes, "I like it when you actually do the things I ask."

"Cute," I remark.

She giggles, "do you know what time is it?" She asks through a yawn.

"Probably close to midnight or one now. Want me to walk you back?" I ask.

She laughs, "oh yeah, because I'm so far." She says sarcastically.

I ponder for a while and then suggest, "walk with me then? It's Friday. No classes tomorrow so we can stay all night up... talking." We laugh. "I can text Santana and tell her to crash at Britt's."

"Okay. Let me just make sure Mary's alright. I'll be right back."

She stands and I watch her as she disappears on the other side of the door. I send Santana a text.

Rach: Could I bribe you to stay at Britt's tonight?

San: don't have to ask me twice.

Rach: Good night, San. Love you.

San: night, Rachel. Don't push it (love you too).

I smile and put the phone away. I run a hand through my hair, arm propped up on my bent knee and wait.

Quinn comes back out with her bag and a book, "ready." She says and holds out her hand at me. I hold onto it and let her pull me up and we walk back to mine like that.