Chapter 29

Things could be worse. She could be dead. She could have some incurable disease. She could wake up with a rabid hyena gnawing on her leg. There were a ton of things that could be worse than waking up alone after practically devouring your roommate and best friend the night before. There are definitely worse things…except at the moment, this whole waking up in bed alone monumentally sucked.

Quinn surveyed the room for any sign of her tiny diva. Her tiny diva. That had a nice ring to it. Now if only she could make it official. That is what comes next. They both acknowledged, albeit drunkenly acknowledged but acknowledged nonetheless, that they were interested and attracted to each other. Both girls had admitted to wanting to kiss the other for quite some time. There had been many signs of more than just that. It wasn't just a physical attraction. They had actual feelings for each other. So naturally, the next step is to take the next step and make their relationship exactly that, a relationship. Time to go to the next level and make it official. From roommates to best friends to girlfriends. A likely and natural progression for two girls who happen to be interested in other girls.

However, this whole waking up alone thing wasn't working too well in their favor. Hadn't Rachel said she wanted to get some sleep and discuss it the next day? It's the next day. It's time to discuss what this means, except the brunette is no where to be found. Maybe she just stepped out to the bathroom. Maybe she was making Quinn breakfast in bed….or maybe she's totally freaked out. Maybe she has no idea how to take it to the next level or if she even wants it to go that far. They are best friends. They have a great relationship as is. Quinn did give her an early out. She had to open her big mouth and say they could pretend it never happened. What if that's what Rachel wants?

But Rachel said she didn't want that. She didn't want to pretend nothing was happening between them. She wanted to talk about it. She wanted them to have something more, something better than a drunken hookup. She had cuddled all night. They went to sleep spooning. She let Rachel be the big spoon damn it! That meant something. They were supposed to talk about it. They wanted something more…didn't they?

What if Rachel had only said all of that stuff because she realized she wasn't into Quinn? What if she made that up to protect their friendship when the reality is she was trying to find a way to let Quinn down gently? Weren't all the signs pointing to yes? Hadn't they had far too many close calls? Haven't they been flirting for months? Did the blonde really read it all wrong? Is that why Rachel wasn't in bed with her now? Was Rachel really just not interested?

"Breakfast is ready," Brittany chirped from the doorway, startling Quinn.

"I'll be right there. Thanks, B," Quinn replied.

The dancer bounced happily down the hall, leaving Quinn alone once more.

"And so it starts," Quinn muttered, kicking off the covers and trying to make herself presentable.

Earlier that morning, Rachel woke up. It was still dark outside and she had the beginnings of a pounding headache, just an inkling of the coming hangover. She groaned and snuggled further into her pillow. That's when she realized she wasn't alone. Quinn was still wrapped in her arms. The blonde was sleeping peacefully, even breathes puffing out over still slightly swollen lips from their frantic kisses. The corners of Rachel's mouth lifted up in a slight smile at the thought.

Then came the doubts, this was her best friend. Actually, Quinn was her first real, true friend ever. To mess that up? What would happen if they started something and it ended badly? Then again, what happened if they never started anything at all? Was it worth the risk? Love only happens so often. Friends come and go. But on the opposite end, relationships come and go but your friends stick with you through it all. So which applied to Quinn? Was she the friend to last forever? Or she was the relationship worth the risk? How did could one ever really know?

Rachel had always been the type to go for whatever she wanted. She wanted to be a star so she set up and made Mr. Shuester start up the glee club again. She single-handedly took them to Sectionals, Regionals, and finally Nationals. She sang the solo that won McKinley the National title. She was a star. Even if she hadn't been popular at her high school, nobody could ever say Rachel Berry wasn't a star.

She wanted Broadway. Her mother did it. That presented a tiny problem, a minor setback in the grand scheme of things. Initially, she thought she'd get right into Julliard, start auditioning, star in an off-Broadway show, then it would move to Broadway. From there, she'd obviously win her Tony. Once again, nobody could say that Rachel Berry wasn't a star.

She'd always been incredibly motivated and driven. She never let anyone or any circumstance stand in her way. So what was different about this? Was she really running scared of something for the first time in her life? It certainly seemed that way. They would take a tiny step forward in their relationship then Rachel would take them eighteen steps back.

The same thing could be said for her song writing. Random thought. But still, it applies. She used to let it all flow down on the paper. The melodies would just flow from her head. The music in her mind never failed her. First the melody. Then the words would come so easily. Every thought, every feeling poured out with ease creating song after song after song. But now, since Quinn entered her life, it seemed like she couldn't make sense of anything. She was so preoccupied with Quinn and trying to figure out what everything means. Too preoccupied or so it seems. Nothing flowed right anymore. The melodies were interrupted by the sound of Quinn's voice flowing in her brain instead. The words seemed to get stuck. Words, lyrics, paused mid-thought to make way for replaying actual conversations between herself and Quinn.

Time for a mini-freak out again. It can't be healthy to rely on someone this much. It can't be good to think about someone so much. Quinn occupied all of her thoughts. She needed to get a grip. She needed to figure out what was really going on between them so she could get a piece of herself back. Sort out one problem to move on to the next. Putting everything back together piece by piece. It seemed that Quinn was her biggest problem or biggest influence is maybe a better term. If she could find a place for Quinn and move on from that issue, then she could write again.

Or maybe she could stop censoring herself. Maybe if she let herself write about her feelings for the other girl then she could sort it out. Kill two birds with one stone or something. Let Quinn be her muse. Instead of letting her voice interrupt the melody, maybe she just needed to accept how much the other girl meant to her and let her influence the melody instead. Was it really that simple? Be honest with herself and Quinn and everything else would fall into place?

It certainly couldn't hurt to try. Quinn was worth the risk. She had to be.

With that thought, Rachel slowly pealed herself away from the warmth of her bed and her human pillow. She quietly snuck out of the room and went downstairs to make breakfast. A little food and a little coffee to help her get her head on straight. She and Quinn were going to have a very serious and very important conversation. It was time Rachel started acting like herself and going after the things she wanted. Time to be Rachel freaking Berry again.

"You get some?" Puck asked from his spot on the couch.

Rachel smirked as she watched the boy untangle himself from Mercedes. Somehow the two had ended up on the couch bed together. For a boy who was too badass for a relationship, it seemed he hadn't minded cuddling up with Mercedes all night. Rachel raised her eyebrow and Puck actually blushed.

"Did you?" Rachel countered.

"Shut up," Puck mumbled.

"I'll take that as a no…but I think you're okay with that. You like her," Rachel teased.

Puck rolled his eyes and climbed out of the bed. He stretched and followed Rachel toward the kitchen so they wouldn't wake up the rest of the group. Finn was passed out on the floor hugging a couch cushion as his pillow. The giant was sprawled out over most of that side of the room, drooling a little on his makeshift pillow. Kurt and Blaine were snuggled tightly in a recliner. Blaine was mainly in the recliner with Kurt resting mostly on top of him, head tucked snugly under Blaine's chin. The dark haired boy had his arms wrapped comfortably around his boyfriend. Mercedes had shifted to the center of the couch bed after Puck got up. She stretched across the mattress. She moved around as if searching for Puck's body. The mohawked boy watched her with a small grin on his face when a frown appeared on hers in her sleep. Rachel studied him carefully, watching the boy mentally debate if he should just crawl back in bed with the other girl or continue on into the kitchen. He finally shook his head as Mercedes got settled and cuddled his pillow. Rachel grinned at him while the boy rolled his eyes before he followed her the rest of the way into the kitchen.

"So is that a new development or is there something you would like to explain to me about this past semester?" Rachel smirked.

"Shut up," Puck replied.

"That's not an answer. I want details, Puckerman."

"Not until you give me all the dirty details about you and Q," Puck laughed.

"Touche."

"So you admit there are dirty details?" Puck wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up, Noah," Rachel countered.

"That's not an answer. I want details, Berry," Puck parroted.

The two moved comfortably around each other while making breakfast. Puck easily started the eggs and bacon. Rachel threw a tiny fit about the bacon saying that it was unfair to prepare that in her house and if he was a good Jew, he wouldn't eat it. Puck said it wasn't for him, but they would never hear the end of it if Santana and Quinn didn't get their bacon fix, especially Quinn. Rachel accepted defeat as soon as he mentioned Quinn's love of bacon. Rachel knew she would tolerate bacon if it meant Quinn's happiness. Yet another sign that she should fess up and just tell the blonde how she felt.

"So you're seriously not gonna tell me what went down between you and Q?" Puck asked while Rachel flipped a vegan pancake on the stove.

"Whatever happened or didn't happen between Quinn and I is exactly that, it's between Quinn and I," Rachel replied.

"Come on, Rach. Don't be like that. Give me just a few details. Was it hot? I know it was totally hot. Girl on girl is always hot. So was she good? I bet she was freak. Hell, I bet you're a freak when you're with a chick."

"Don't be crude, Noah."

"Just admit it. You guys totally did it. I'm not asking for majorly horny details or anything. I know you won't tell me that much, even though you totally should. But at least admit that you guys got it on. You gotta give me that much,' Puck begged.

Rachel rolled her eyes and focused on her pancakes.

"Smells like bacon. I can't believe the smurf caved," Santana called out as she entered the room.

"Hell yeah. Breakfast," Finn grunted lumbering into the room behind the Latina and Brittany.

"Smells good," Brittany grinned happily, her hand firmly encased in Santana's.

"Feed us," Santana ordered, pulling Brittany into her lap at the kitchen table.

"You don't get to come into my kitchen and just demand to be fed," Rachel retorted.

"Don't cook for an army if you're not planning on feeding them. They'll shoot you," Santana glared.

Rachel sighed and went back to the pancakes.

"Wow. I didn't expect the full B&B service. Bed and Breakfast," Blaine teased, entering the room.

Kurt flounced in right behind Blaine, "we slept in a recliner. That's technically not a bed for a bed and breakfast."

Mercedes plowed past him with a roll of her eyes and plopped down at the table, "Cheer up, Kurt. You know there was no way I was gonna let you have that bed. Don't be sassy about getting a free breakfast."

"Sassy? Pot meet kettle. You're both full of sass," Kurt laughed.

"I am hungover as shit," Santana groaned.

A chorus of agreement erupted.

"Good morning," Quinn smiled.

Rachel turned to greet her quickly. The brunette wasn't paying attention so focused on Quinn's entrance. Rachel let out a high-pitched squeak when she burnt her hand on the handle of the frying pan.

"Shit. Are you okay?" Quinn asked, practically sprinting across the room to drag Rachel's hand under the cold water of the sink.

Rachel nodded while Quinn fretted over her and took care of her hand. Their eyes met for the first time that morning and both girls blushed fiercely.

"Totally got it on," Puck chuckled under his breath.

Rachel glared at him while Quinn blushed even harder.

"So good time last night?" Santana asked with a smirk.

"Great. One of the best," Finn answered.

Everyone else was focused on the two girls at the sink. Rachel could feel her face heating even more as Quinn blushed all the way to her ears.

"What about you, Mercedes?" Kurt asked, taking the attention off the two girls.

Mercedes sucked in a quick breath while Puck grinned proudly.

"What about you, Kurt?" Mercedes countered.

"Fantastic," Kurt smiled, grabbing Blaine's hand as the two took their seats at the huge kitchen table.

"I had a great night," Puck smiled, solely at Mercedes.

The diva blushed and nodded her head, "Me too. One of the best New Year's yet."

"Good," Puck replied.

"I had fun," Brittany chirped.

"Damn right you did, B. We had ourselves a great night. I'm surprised you can even move after last night," Santana winked.

"S, don't be silly. You know I'm very flexible," Brittany smiled and kissed the Latina on the cheek.

"Damn right, you are."

"What about you, Rach? Did you have fun?" Finn asked, almost shyly.

Rachel turned to look at him, not expecting the question. She wasn't sure what he meant. Did he think she had sex with Quinn? However, when she looked at the boy, he appeared almost nervous. Shy, nervous Finn meant one thing. He was asking because he was there. Did he ruin her night? Or was she okay with him coming around again?

"I did. I had fun with everybody," Rachel smiled.

Finn blushed when she smiled at him. Quinn narrowed her eyes at the exchanged. Blushing, shy Finn meant one thing to Quinn. He still loved Rachel. If a competition is what Finn wanted, a competition is exactly what he'd get. She wouldn't back off Rachel easily just because Finn wanted to start hanging out again. Rachel was gay. Quinn was a girl. No competition. She would make sure Finn knew that.

Quinn stepped closer to Rachel and wrapped her arm loosely around the brunette's waist, turning her back to the sink slightly. Rachel flushed and leaned into Quinn just a little.

"How's your hand now?" Quinn asked softly.

"I think it's okay," Rachel answered, pulling her hand out from under the running water.

Quinn inspected it closely, cradling it in her hand. She locked eyes with Rachel again and both blushed once more.

Santana fought back her laughter at the blushing pair.

"So last night was…fun? You had a good night?" Quinn asked, quietly.

"I did," Rachel smiled gently. "I really did."

"Good. Me too," Quinn husked into her ear, before softly brushing her lips against Rachel's cheek.

"Okay, you two totally had sex," Santana blurted.

Quinn paled as she turned to face the Latina. She stepped away from Rachel just a little, but still enough that the brunette noticed.

"We didn't…that's not…we…just shut up," Quinn grunted, looking almost sick.

"Jesus, Q. Chill out. It's not a big deal."

Finn, however, stared at Rachel closely. He bit the inside of his cheek and seemed upset as well. Quinn was torn, watching him. Part of her wanted to stake her claim on Rachel right there and then. The other part knew the two girls still needed to talk. And then another part of her wanted to run screaming in the other direction. Was she really ready for all of this? Finn turned his gaze to her and narrowed his eyes. He's throwing down the gauntlet. He wants her. Quinn narrowed her eyes back at him, not quite full on glaring but definitely noting that the gauntlet had been thrown and she accepted his challenge.

"We didn't sleep together," Rachel groaned in embarrassment. "I mean technically speaking we did sleep together. But Quinn and I have shared a bed many times. We are roommates after all. It would be unnatural if we hadn't had slumber parties and such at some point. She is staying in my home. So we did sleep together. We didn't engage in activities."

"Seriously, Berry? Activities?" Santana laughed at the tiny girl's flustered rambling.

Rachel shrugged helplessly.

"Sex. You guys had sex," Puck snorted.

"We didn't! Not that it's any of your concern. We merely kissed. Heatedly and frequently. But we just kissed. There may have been some minor groping involved. I lost my shirt. But we didn't have intercourse," Rachel ranted.

"Yeah, details," Puck practically sang.

"No! I just…yes, that's more information than you needed to know. But we didn't. I mean I may have wanted certain things and I had urged but…I was topless and…not that it matters…I just…we…I should really shut up."

Quinn had buried her face in her hands but her ears were beat red even though the rest of the room couldn't see her face during Rachel's over-share.

"No please continue," Puck teased.

"Yeah. Please do," Santana chortled.

"Please don't. You're gonna give my girl, Q, a coronary," Mercedes pleaded.

Finn huffed and crossed his arms, pouting like a petulant child. Kurt and Blaine looked amused but refused to comment. Puck looked incredibly smug. Mercedes looked sympathetic. Santana looked pleased with herself. Brittany looked…confused but happy.

"Anyway, breakfast is ready," Rachel announced.

Puck helped her set up all the food on the table as everyone started to dig in. Quinn still hadn't moved and kept her face in her hands. Rachel smiled uneasily at Puck, who nudged her gently then nodded his head to the other room. Rachel gently pried Quinn's hands from her face and silently led her into the living room.

"I'm really sorry. Sometimes, I have no control over my mouth when I'm nervous. I tend to ramble and make a fool of myself. I didn't mean to also make a fool of you. We didn't even get to discuss anything and I just outted us to everyone. I don't even know if there is an us or if you want an us and I just opened my big mouth and let it all pour out. I'm so incredibly, unbelievably, immensely sorry," Rachel spouted off quickly.

Quinn smiled at her gently, but still looked slightly ill. The blonde took Rachel's hands into her own.

"It's okay. I mean that was definitely an over-share. You really need to learn to control your mouth…but it's okay. I'm not mad. A little freaked yes, but definitely not mad," Quinn replied.

"You're not angry with me?"

Quinn shook her head.

"I should tell you, I really didn't want to leave you this morning. You looked so beautiful and waking up with you in my arms…I like you, Quinn. I really, really like you," Rachel confessed softly.

Quinn grinned," I like you, too, Rach."

"Yeah?"

"Are you kidding me? We've been dancing around each other for weeks if not months," Quinn laughed.

"I don't know how to do this," Rachel admitted.

"I don't either."

"I've never actually had a girlfriend," the brunette sighed.

"I definitely haven't either."

"But I don't think we can ignore this anymore…this thing…these feelings."

"I definitely can't do that anymore," Quinn nodded.

"So…" Rachel trailed off.

"So you like me."

"I like you," Rachel echoed.

"And I like you."

"And you like me," Rachel grinned.

"So…." Quinn trailed off this time.

Rachel stepped away from her and sat down on the side of the couch bed. Quinn stood for a moment watching the girl. Eventually, she went and sat down next to Rachel. They sat in silence. Rachel placed her hand over Quinn's on the mattress in between them. Quinn flipped her hand over and laced their fingers together. Both girls felt their heartbeats pick up in pace.

"I'm going to be really honest right now. I'm completely and utterly terrified," Rachel spoke up softly.

"Why?'

"Because…because you're my best friend. Sometimes it feels like you're my only real friend. I've never trusted anyone as much as I trust you. I feel like I can tell you anything and even more than that, I want to tell you everything. And I want to know everything. I want to know what you're doing when you're not right next to me. I want to know what you're thinking, what you're feeling. I…I'm terrified because I've never felt this much for anybody before. And maybe that's because you're my best friend. Maybe that part is natural. Maybe I'm supposed to feel so much for you…but it's scary because you're my best friend and I want you to be more. I want you hold your hand whenever I feel like it. I want to take you out on dates. I want to kiss you whenever I feel like it and I'm pretty sure that's not how you're supposed to feel about your best friend."

"I want to kiss you, too," Quinn replied, barely above a whisper.

"Last night I…I didn't want to stop…you're…God, I am terrible at this. I'm trying so hard to find the right words and I have no idea what I'm doing or what I'm saying. Half the time, I don't even know what I'm feeling. It's like there's this part of me that really wants to be with you and then there's this even bigger part of me that is completely scared out of my mind because I'm afraid I'll mess this up. I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you and this could change everything. This could really screw us up. If we back out now, there's still…we're still friends. You're still my best friend. But if we go into this completely and if something…if I let myself love you and it goes wrong…I'm not sure I can handle that. Not after everything that's already happened. Not after Shelby and high school and Santana and Finn and…those are my demons, not yours. I don't know why I keep letting them stand in the way but…I'm scared, Quinn," Rachel explained.

Quinn squeezed her fingers against Rachel's before pulling the brunette's hand to her heart.

"I'm scared too. You're my best friend. I really don't want to mess that up. I've never had a friend like you. I've never felt this way for a girl…for anybody really. This is all really new and when I stop and think about my parents and all of the things that could go wrong. I freak out all the time. I keep pushing forward because I'm afraid if I stop, I'll never get there. I'll never be okay with who I am. And I want to be. I want to be me. I want to love whoever I love. I told you I'm not okay with labeling who I am but maybe that is just because I'm scared. My parents? They will freak out. Every day is this battle inside myself and most days I don't even acknowledge it because if I do I'm afraid I'll talk myself out of it. There are so many ways I could make this easier by just ignoring everything I feel…but I can't do that. I can't, Rachel. And I'm scared and I don't want to mess this up. I can't lose you, either…but I can't go back. I have to keep pushing forward…and I want to push forward with you," Quinn smiled anxiously.

"Me too. I want that, too."

"What if we take this super slow? What if we stay best friends? We don't have to call this anything. We can just feel it out. Slowly. We'll hang out like we always do. We can go to the movies. We can have dinner. We don't have to call it dating, per say. We can just spend time together, like always…but if you want to kiss me…or if I want to kiss you…we could…we could slowly start taking certain…things I guess…to the next level. We don't have to call it a name or label the relationship…but we could feel out the situation and see if it's what we both really want…see if it's worth risking the friendship…because I really don't want to mess this up. I really don't want to lose you ever…but I can't pretend I don't feel things for you."

"So like secretly dating without dating?"

"So like we test the waters and nobody else needs to know. It's not their business. It's ours. And if we feel that it's time to label what we feel. Or if we decide that…I don't know…maybe I don't want to call you just my best friend anymore but we've both decided that I should call you my girlfriend…then we can tell everybody else…but until then, maybe we just keep it between us."

"We still hang out like we used to?" Rachel asked.

Quinn nodded.

"We still act exactly like we used to?" the brunette questioned.

Quinn nodded again.

"But if I want to kiss you…I can?" Rachel further questioned, leaning in closer

Quinn smiled and nodded again.

"So if I wanted to kiss you now…I can?" Rachel leaned in a little closer.

"Please do," Quinn whispered against Rachel's lips

Rachel brushed her lips against Quinn's softly. Both took a moment just savoring the feel of the other girl's lips against their own. Rachel pulled away gently.

"So we'll go slow," Rachel stated.

"We'll go slow," Quinn replied.

"I'm good with that," Rachel grinned.

"Me too."

Rachel stood up, pulling Quinn with her, "now let's get back in the kitchen and get some breakfast before they think we're out here having sex on the couch bed."

Quinn groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Come on. You're gonna help me learn to keep my mouth shut," Rachel giggled.

"I can think of one way to keep your mouth shut. Okay, not necessarily shut but certainly put it to other uses," Quinn smirked.

"Somehow I don't think that would keep us on the down-low very much," Rachel laughed.

"The down-low? Well imagine that, Rachel Berry Queen of Verbosity and Using Excessively Long Words has learned normal slang," the blonde teased.

"Very funny, Quinn. If you must know, the term is sesquipedalian, meaning having many syllables or characterized by the use of long words," Rachel replied with a grin.

"Smarty pants."

"Just because I prefer not to sound like an ignoramus or some sort of dullard does not mean I am a smarty pants."

"Now you're just trying to sound like a smarty pant using ignoramus and dullard," Quinn laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with having an impressive and expansive vocabulary."

"Right and down-low is part of your impressive and expansive vocabulary," Quinn chuckled.

"Oh shut up," Rachel giggled in response.

"You gonna make me," Quinn winked.

"Again, I have to remind you that such measures would not be conducive to keeping us on the down-low."

"Again with the down-low. Stop it, Rach. Your vocabulary is just turning me on," Quinn teased.

"I hate you," Rachel glared as they entered the kitchen.

"You really don't though."

Rachel rolled her eyes and smiled despite herself.

"I see Q didn't kill you for spilling the beans on your little hump fest," Santana laughed as they re-entered the kitchen.

"I don't believe I ever mentioned anything about humping," Rachel blushed.

"But you totally did," Puck smirked.

Mercedes smacked him quickly.

"Ow. What the hell, Mama?"

"Leave them alone, Puck."

"Yeah whatever. You're just lucky I like you and stuff or else I'd never let up about getting all the details," Puck replied.

"You like me?" Mercedes grinned.

Puck blushed a little, "You gonna make a big deal about it or…I mean I thought…we could like go a movie or something…sometime…maybe…I don't know."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"So what about you, two? You guys like dating now?" Santana asked, the two girls loading up their plates with vegan pancakes or the eggs and bacon for the blonde.

"Quinn and I are best friends. A drunken makeout between two friends is exactly that. There's no use making a fuss over a New Year's…adventure if you will…we are perfectly fine with what happened and we remain best friends," Rachel answered.

"What the hell kind of answer is that? I asked if you were together, not if you weren't best friends. Nobody doubted that part. I just want to know if I'm gonna have to start knocking on your door all the time to avoid seeing you two getting it on."

"We were drunk. Things happen. Let's just leave it at that," Quinn replied.

"Hell no. We're not leaving it at that. You can't just make out and pretend like it's nothing," Santana retorted.

"Why do you care? That's between Quinn and Rachel. They're friends. Sorry they're not gonna go on double dates with you and Britt," Finn interrupted.

"Listen here, Finnocence," Santana started.

"Stop it! Just stop!" Rachel shouted.

"Oh dear," Kurt muttered under his breath.

"Quinn is my best friend. As she said, we were drunk. Things happen. Let's move on. Neither one of us is ready to have a relationship. Neither one of us wants to screw up our friendship. She is my best friend. I am her best friend. We kissed. That's it. We're not dating. We're not making big plans. We're best friends. It's not a big deal," Rachel clarified.

"Not a big- this is bullshit, Berry. Somehow, I know you're behind this. You're running scared like you always do and this is bullshit," Santana snapped.

"S, please," Brittany calmed.

"Fine. It's not my business. Whatever. You two wanna pretend there's nothing going on? That's cool. You did it all damn semester. Don't expect me to just sit around and watch you guys dance around each other. I've got my own life. I got my own business. Q, remember what we talked about," Santana shrugged it off.

"Santana, I don't think-," Quinn started.

"What? What did you two talk about?" Rachel asked.

"Doesn't matter, Berry. That's between me and Q. Everything else is fine and dandy. We're all friends here," Santana plastered on a fake smile.

"I'm not really sure what's going on," Finn said slowly.

"Santana is very invested in what goes on between Rachel and Quinn, apparently," Kurt informed.

"Whatev. I was just looking for a twosome to hang with me and Britts. Doesn't matter. Berry gets on my nerves anyway. So looks like Wheezy and Puckhead are doubling with me and my Britts when we get back to school. No skin off my back. Again, not my business," Santana threw her hands up, as if admitting defeat.

"I'm still not sure what's going on," Finn muttered.

"Nothing, Frankenteen. Don't worry your big head about it. It's done. It's a new year. We're all having fun. We're all hungover. We're gonna finish this breakfast and it's gonna be a great year," Santana smiled, too sweetly.

"She frightens me when she smiles like that," Rachel whispered to Quinn.

"Yeah, she's not taking this at all like I thought she would."

"Who knows what goes on in her head. It's a scary place in there," Rachel giggled.

"Maybe we should tell her. She's been trying to push us together for a while now. I think she takes it as some personal defeat or something," Quinn shrugged.

"If we tell Santana, we might as well tell everybody."

Quinn nodded and sighed.

Santana had apparently moved on and was back to bacon and feeding Brittany intermittently between quick kisses exchanged with the dancer. She looked over at the other two girls. She tried to silently communicate with Quinn, asking with her eyes if the blonde was okay. Quinn smiled. Then Santana turned to Rachel and glared at her first. The smaller brunette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Then Santana rolled her eyes before silently asking if the brunette was okay, too. Rachel smiled in return. The Latina looked back and forth between the two, rolled her eyes again and shook her head. Santana would never understand those two and why they couldn't just admit what was so glaringly obvious to everyone but Finn. The girls loved each other. They just needed to fess up in Santana's opinion.

AN: Okay so I have officially thrown out my original storyline. The plan I came up with went out the window when I sat down to write this chapter. I found a little coffee shop and started writing. I don't know if it was the music or the chai latte but somehow I scrapped my entire original plan and decided to finally put the girls together. Okay, so maybe they're not officially dating but I started writing and this is what came out. I hope you all are happy. There's still a long road ahead. I'm starting fresh with this chapter and just flying by the seat of my pants essentially. My own personal and professional life is taking off and I don't know if that's what's changing this story but if it is so be it. Bare with me. I have no idea how this is gonna end up at this point. But I've got a few ideas. Most of it is now a mystery lol. But I couldn't really keep them apart anymore or else I felt like I'd just be recycling angsty feelings from like 8 chapters ago or something. I can't guarantee it will all be sunshine and rainbows from here on out, but I at least wanted to give the girls room to explore what their relationship could be instead of dragging out the process of them getting together and then diving right into it and ending the story when they became a couple (like I originally planned on doing). Hopefully this will be a little more interesting. Tomorrow I may very well hate this chapter and the corner I've now backed myself into...but hey, that's the fun of posting as I go and being cracked out on chai lattes and no sleep! Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! As always thank you and come again!