Author's Note: This story is going to be six chapters. It is now finished and just needs edited.

Chapter 2: "Quinn's Addition":

When Joey came to collect Quinn the evening of graduation, he greeted her slightly strange, older sister, ignored the drunk father passed out on the couch, the perpetual ornament of the Morgendorffer living room, and made his way up to Quinn's room.

She was staring at herself in the mirror, hand on her hip, hip swung out to the side. She was examining herself for any visible flaws. Her face was done up, her eyes were red from crying, and her hair was soft, like she'd recently blow dried it. She was in a tank top and underwear, clothes strew around the floor. Joey had walked in on this particular scene enough times to know Quinn was going to take her sweet time getting ready, but her red rimmed eyes let him know she was also in a horrible head space. Joey sat on Quinn's bed, facing toward her.

"I'm getting fat," Quinn said, pinching the tight skin above the waistline of her panties.

"No, you're not. You're beautiful," Joey said. He meant it to come out soft, but it came out vehemently. Either way, it was true. She was beautiful.

"It wasn't a question," she said flatly. Quinn walked over to her closet and started sorting through her clothes aggressively. If something looked offensive to her, she tore it off the hanger and threw it on the floor. She seemed to be finding most of her wardrobe especially offensive tonight.

Joey had been trained well enough in these last few months he and Quinn had been "going steady" to know better than to bring up things that made her sad, or mad, but Joey's brains and common sense weren't always his strong suit.

"I'm sorry your Mom bailed today. That was so not cool."

Quinn was pulling a pair of bedazzled jeans off a hanger when Joey opened his fat, dumb boy mouth. Quinn balled the pants up and threw them hard at the floor. She couldn't cry again. She wouldn't cry again. She'd already done enough of that today. Besides, her mascara wasn't waterproof and she'd literally just touched it up and put on foundation to hide the misstep. More tears were a fashion disaster that had to be avoided at all costs.

Quinn took a deep breath and sighed, "Yeah, me too."

Quinn dug through her closet more calmly this time, in search of an outfit. Joey flipped through the stack of fashion magazines on his girlfriend's nightstand, a low reward attempt at curbing boredom

Quinn settled on a yellow sundress, a sequin purse, and platform sandals. When she began surveying herself in the mirror again at all angles, Joey held up the latest copy of Waif and began to look from Quinn to the open page, then back. "Are you sure this isn't you?" he said, gesturing with his chin to the open magazine. Something that would have normally made Quinn laugh, even feel slightly flattered, just produced a scoff.

"C'mon, let's go," Quinn said, visibly annoyed. She abandoned her own reflection and pulled Joey up off her bed by his arm. She marched out the front door, Joey trailing dumbly behind her.

Kevin Thompson's party was vapid and boring. Quinn stood next to Joey and Stacy the entire party, holding the same plastic cup of "Jungle Juice" and letting it get warm. It wasn't just Kevin's party, as lame as it was, watching the newly graduated varsity team plunge themselves into the swimming pool or watching the cheerleaders do keg stands to impress the basketball team. It was all parties. It was the way Quinn had felt most of her senior year. The things she'd used to find fun were no longer as interesting to her. The fast paced life of being in the spotlight for all of Lawndale High to see, just didn't feel that important anymore. It didn't matter as much. Quinn was happier when she could just be around Stacy and discuss her day.

That and the nasty rumors Sandi, and Tiffany, the never blameless kiss-ass, had spread about Quinn cheating on Joey. The rumors really disenchanted Quinn to the majority of her peers.

After the fashion club had dissolved at the end of Quinn's junior year, the tension between the unintended sides grew. Sandi and Tiffany, Quinn and Stacy. The girls had aligned themselves without meaning to. Quinn and Stacy didn't want any trouble, they just didn't want to deal with all the drama that Tiffany and Standi were so skilled at surrounding themselves with. The rivalry was insidious, then it got mean, then graduated to down right stupid. Sandi's grand finale of viciousness was enacted at the start of Quinn and Joey's relationship.

Sandi and Tiffany started stirrings and whispers that Quinn was cheating on Joey with Jeffy, who was dating Stacy. There were some tears, a lot of drama, and eventually a very embarrassed Sandi. All Sandi had done was further incriminate herself and accelerate Stacy and Jeffy's breakup. The two just had to admit they weren't right for one another and that dating each other just because your best friends were also dating wasn't a good foundation for a relationship. They parted amicably and ended up going to prom together anyway.

The incident Sandi and Tiffany had created, while embarrassing, ensured that Quinn and Stacy would never associate with them again in any positive capacity. It was that interaction that made Quinn realize she was "over it." While she didn't agree with her sister's misanthropic outlook on life, she was certainly beginning to understand it.

"Are you, like, going to finish that?" Stacy innocently asked her best friend, pointing her manicured index finger at Quinn's untouched cup. Quinn handed Stacy her warm drink, catching the reflection of sparkles and glitter on her friend's cherubic face. Stacy's makeup was flawless and she was adorable. Quinn wanted to tell her that, but everytime the words came to her mouth, it just seemed like too much energy and she didn't want to encourage more squealing from her excitable friend.

Joey had his arm around Quinn for most of the night. Not questioning her lack of mingling and imbibing. She was sad. Her mother hadn't bothered to call her or page her. They'd just graduated and nothing would ever be the same again. Joey would be lying if he said he wasn't a little down and nostalgic himself.

Quinn spotted Upchuck across Kevin Thompson's large backyard. He had an arm around Sandi. The resident mean girl was sporting a look of pure disgust. Leave it to skeeze like Upchuck to come to party for a school he didn't even attend anymore. What a creep.

Tiffany was tittering at her best friend's misfortune, and hiding her laughter behind her plastic party cup. Quinn felt a bolt of revulsion shoot down her spine. Sometimes, she thought, for as horrible as Sandi was, Tiffany might be the truly awful one.

She may have disliked her two erstwhile friends, but she couldn't leave Sandi hanging like that, even if it was the last nice thing she would ever do for the pretty nightmare. Quinn whispered something into Joey's ear. Joey said he'd take care of it.

Quinn grabbed Stacy's hand and gently guided her companion to the car, even though Stacy was less concerned with her surroundings and more interested in finishing off the liquor at the bottom of the cup. As Quinn approached Joey's car, she could see her boyfriend looming over Charles Ruttheimer the Third. The geeky ginger waved his hands in front of himself to indicate it was all a giant misunderstanding, then slunk away from the girls. Joey turned on his heels and headed for his car before Sandi or Tiffany had a chance to thank him - or slander him.

Joey had dropped Stacy off at her house and swung himself and Quinn by a drive thru before parking in the lot beside the fast-food restaurant.

Quinn hated "Movie, Burger, Backseat," but she was hungry and Joey had been trying to convince her to let him take her to Chez Pierre sometime this week as a graduation gift, anyway. Quinn could overlook "Burger, backseat" just this once.

"Chez Pierre? Tomorrow?" Joey asked.

"I'll see if I can move some things around," Quinn winked. Her voice was back to her peppy, high-pitched lilt, if only for a moment.

"Well, don't let me stop you," Joey joked.

"Thanks for saving Sandi tonight, by the way."

"No problem. Someone had to do something."

Quinn and Joey cuddled in the backseat for a long while after that. It helped Joey to forget that in a few short months he and Quinn would be going to seperate colleges. That it might put a strain on their relationship. It was a good relationship. Joey didn't want or see the need to give it up. Quinn never said anything about them going their separate ways, never brought it up. Joey didn't know if that was good or bad. It was a conversation he was scared to have.

Quinn's mind was in other places. She looked up at Joey. She almost said something then.

Her beeper went off.

"It's my mom. She's probably wondering where I am," Quinn said, studying the small brick she'd been carrying in her purse. Mom's paying attention to someone other than herself? What a miracle!

"I'll take you home."

When Quinn got home Jake was in his usual spot on the couch and her mother was passed out in her bed, a bottle of sleeping aids on the nightstand next to her. Quinn was expecting a stern talking to or a scathing note left on her door. She would receive neither.

Quinn knocked on Daria's door after surveying her mother's room. Daria's room was empty, with its padded walls and made up, full sized bed. No one had bothered to check if Daria was home? They all just assumed she would be? Quinn slammed the door to her sister's room. She stomped down the hall to her own bedroom. Quinn's patience with her parents' double standards was only growing thinner and thinner.

The next morning, Quinn woke up much earlier than she'd intended to. Wisps of fear and anxiety filled her chest and she took deep breaths until she was able to calm herself down to a state of semi-normal. She'd been waking up like this everyday for the last week and a half. Quinn got up out of bed and crossed her room, still littered with discarded outfits from her tantrum the night before.

She entered the bathroom. Twelve days late. Still late. She did the mental math over and over again in her head, but the numbers came out the same every time.

It just wouldn't do.

Quinn slowly snuck back into her room and picked up her landline. It took a few calls, but she finally got an answer.

"Hello?" asked a tired, yet bubbly voice.

"Stacy, I need a favor."

"Can it wait? I'm, like, kinda hungover."

"St-aa-ceee, now!"

"I'm on my way!" Stacy said, snapping to attention, no questions asked. Like only Stacy would.

Quinn pulled her hair back into a ponytail and threw on a Von Dutch Tee and a track suit. She waited at the top of the steps for Stacy's knock at the door. When the knock came, Quinn raced down the stairs and out the door as fast as she could. Stacy stood in the center of the walkway all denim jacket, platform sandals, and butterfly clips. She looked endearingly annoying and as hungover as she'd sounded on the phone.

The young women piled into Stacy's parents' car, "Where are we going?"

"Drug store. Far enough away from the neighborhood where no one will notice us," Quinn dug through the glove compartment until she found a pair of sunglasses big enough to hide half of her face. Stacy had an equally large pair dangling from her t-shirt, held by one earpiece tucked into the collar.

"Quinn?" Stacy asked, like she was expecting a spicy answer.

"Just drive, please."

On their way down the block, Quinn saw her sister exiting the Lane household, looking disheveled, her jacket pulled close. Daria doing the walk of shame? This would have been a goldmine under any other circumstances. Right now, Quinn would let Daria have her secrets, because she was certainly holding onto her own.

The young women had executed their mission with lightning speed. They were in the drugstore and out in record time. Looking silly, but hopefully unidentifiable in their large sunglasses.

Stacy drove carefully back to the Morgendorffer household, parked far enough away that no one would immediately see her car, not that it mattered, it just felt like the right thing to do in this covert quest. She quietly followed Quinn up to her room. The shower was on as they passed the upstairs bathroom. Jake had still been passed out on the couch.

Stacy said nothing about the angry tornado of clothing surrounding Quinn's room. She laid down on her friends bed and put one of the pillows over her eyes to block out the growing morning sunlight. Stacy was considering napping off the remainder of her hangover, but couldn't quite manage to fall asleep with her friend aggressively pacing the length of the room.

"Do you want me to, like, go in with you?"

"No. Then my sister will know you're here and she'll start asking questions."

"Okay. Just take some deep breaths. You, like, don't even know for sure yet." It had taken Stacy most of senior year to get used to identifying Daria as Quinn's sister and not her weird, brainy cousin.

Quinn looked at her friend one last time for reassurance. She tucked the box into the waistband of her track pants and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Quinn knocked loudly on the door, "Dar-ee-a, hurry up!"

No answer. Quinn waited outside of the bathroom for what felt like hours, her anxiety growing worse with every minute.

Daria opened the door, a wall of steam following her, "All yours."

"You don't have to be sarcastic about it!" Quinn said, slamming the door behind her. She'd never been more grateful that her sister hadn't graced her with a look. Quinn felt so nervous, she was sure she'd looked like a kid who'd gotten caught snooping around in the room with their hidden birthday presents.

Quinn waited what felt like an eternity before she could pee on the stupid stick. Of all the times to have a shy bladder and in such an important moment. She would have been more furious, if she wasn't so afraid.

After she'd finally managed to take the test, she raced back to her room with all the evidence, to include the box and pamphlet she'd stupidly tucked back in her waistband.

Stacy held her friend's hand over the next few minutes. Stacy also held on to the stick, vowing it was for her best friend and that she was going to wash her hands thoroughly and promptly afterwards.

"What're you gonna do if it's positive?"

"I don't know."

"How are you going to tell Joey?"

"I don't know."

"Is this why you didn't drink last night?"

"St-aa-cee!"

"Sorry!"

Quinn took a deep breath. Stacy squeezed her hand. Quinn felt like she was trying to breath underwater. It was hard to get enough air in her lungs. She felt fuzzy, like she was sitting on the edge of a moment, but she wasn't sure if it was her moment or someone else's moment. Wasn't sure if the moment was even real.

"What does it say?"

"It's positive," Stacy said, a nervous look on her face. Quinn snatched the stick out of Stacy's hand.

"Fuck!"

Quinn cried into her pillow. She threw her pillow. She cleaned up her clothes tornado in a fury induced spree. Stacy sat on Quinn's bed, chin resting on her knees as she watched her best friend try to cope with the news.

"You have to tell Joey."

"I know."

"When are you doing out again?"

"He's supposed to take me to Chez Pierre tonight."

"Then you can tell him tonight!" Stacy's suggestion was met with a glare, "Or not?"

Stacy stayed in Quinn's room all day, hungover and trying to help her grieving friend debate the logistics of telling Joey sooner or telling Joey later. The only time Quinn left her room was to answer the front door when Jake couldn't be bothered to do it himself.

"You look awful," Jane told Quinn when she opened the door.

"Nobody asked you!"

"Rough night as Keg Queen?" Jane asked with an air of sardonic humor.

Quinn slammed the front door in Jane's face. She knocked on Daria's door and told her Jane was waiting. Then she marched back to her room where she wouldn't have to take anyone else's bullshit.

The interaction with Jane, as small as it was, pushed Quinn's brewing anger to a full boil. Quinn was enraged, she was furious, and she was going to use it to do the right thing before she got scared and changed her mind again.

She marched up to her landline, dialed the number, and held Stacy's hand for emotional support.

"Joey? Can you pick me up a little early? We need to talk."