Author's Notes: You get this chapter early because Mike Ownby is very invested in this fic, and very zealous in making sure it comes back to me ASAP fully Americanized and beta-ed.

She kind of regrets the seven AM call time because Marley literally hops into the passenger seat of her car, ungodly cheerful for the time of day.

"Good morning!"

"Mmph," replies Quinn. She's no stranger to early rising, being a veteran of Sue Sylvester's Navy SEAL-approved fitness regimes, but she is most definitely not a morning person.

Marley holds out a brown paper bag and a Thermos flask.

"What's that?" asks Quinn, squinting at the offerings.

"Bacon-and-egg sandwiches and coffee. Mom made us breakfast. I know your itinerary said we'd be stopping at a drive-through, but she was really excited about our trip."

"That's not set in stone," replies Quinn, sheepishly accepting the food and coffee. Good lord, there's even a smiley face sticker holding the bag closed. "Thank your mom for me."

Marley climbs out and waves at her house – and Millie Rose waves back from the front door.

"That's it?"

"We have a schedule," replies Marley, clambering back into the passenger seat and buckling her seatbelt.

Quinn narrows her eyes at Marley as she tries to figure out if she's being sarcastic. Finding no trace, she sighs. "Your mom's right there, I'm sure we can spare a couple minutes to thank her."

"It's fine – " begins Marley, but then cuts herself off when Quinn awkwardly sets the things on the dashboard and gets out of the car.

Quinn starts up the walk, Marley behind her; Marley's mom meets her halfway. "Good morning, Mrs Rose," she says, offering her hand to the older woman, "thank you for breakfast."

"No trouble at all, dear." Quinn's hand is clasped between both of Millie's and heartily shaken. "It's Millie, a'right? I don't want to hear such formality from any of Marley's friends."

She smiles and nods, hoping it isn't as stiff as she feels.

"Mooooom."

"Bless the child, I'm embarrassin' her." Millie chuckles and releases Quinn, after a last pat to her hand. "You gals have fun! Stay safe, love you!"

"I love you too, Mom," says Marley, kissing the older woman's cheek while Quinn stands around awkwardly. Watching them interact makes her uncomfortable as they're the polar opposite of her and her own mother.

Once they're back in the car, Quinn is quick to unscrew the Thermos. She inhales the aroma deeply and sighs.

"I hope you like it," says Marley anxiously. "I made what you ordered at the Lima Bean the other day."

"You made it?"

"Mom loves her coffee so we splurged on a good espresso machine."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," says Quinn diplomatically. As far as she can remember, Marley isn't a coffee fan and she wonders how she's going to be able to make a good cup of coffee. Quinn clears her throat and changes the subject. "Okay, a few ground rules."

Marley snaps to attention. "Ma'am," she says, suddenly serious.

The sudden change in attitude makes Quinn giggle involuntarily. "I'm not the most talkative person, so we're probably gonna have a lot of music on."

"Fine by me," says Marley happily. "I'm not that chatty too, honestly."

"Oh. Good." A little more tension bleeds out of Quinn's shoulders. "Next. We'll take turns driving."

Marley stares at her. "Wasn't that taken for granted when I signed up?"

"So you wouldn't mind if I woke you from a nice nap to take the wheel?"

Marley looks offended. "You wouldn't be so cruel." Her expression wavers. "Would you?"

Quinn laughs. "Ex-Head Cheerio. I literally wrote the textbook on being cruel. I learned from the best."

Marley gives an exaggerated shudder. It's so dramatic, it makes Quinn laugh, quite undermining her effort to keep her stone-cold Head Cheerio face intact.

"Go on. Put on some music," she says instead. "Shotgun passenger DJs."

The drive to Cedar Point is relatively smooth with little traffic considering it's the first week of summer vacation. Per her rules, they don't talk much and Quinn's secretly relieved; she and Marley are still acquaintances, and she doesn't feel comfortable enough to fill the silence with small (and inane, in her opinion) talk.

Marley lets out a whoop when the sign for Cedar Point comes into view, and Quinn arches an eyebrow.

"Sorry," says Marley. "I'm just really, really excited. As I'm sure you can tell."

She isn't exaggerating. Out of the corner of Quinn's eye, it does appear as though she's vibrating in her seat. "I'm glad you're excited." Quinn pulls into a parking space. "Santana picked this because she's a huge kid at heart."

"Personally, I think no one should ever be too grown up for roller coasters," says Marley gravely. She proves her point when she actually skips a little as they walk to the park gates, and Quinn snorts in disbelief. She'd pegged Marley as being mature and reserved when they'd talked at the Lima Bean based on the books and music they'd talked about; it seems like she's passed judgment too soon.

Santana, afraid that she wouldn't be able to ride all the coasters in one day, had talked Quinn into agreeing to buy Fast Lane passes for them both. She'd even used her allowance to buy the passes in advance; a decision that proved lucky for Quinn and Marley now.

"So, what now?" asks Quinn politely.

"Can we go on that?" Marley points at something called the Blue Streak.

Quinn eyes it appraisingly. The track is considerably smaller and shorter than the other rides in the vicinity, plus it's less crowded. However, there's just one problem…

… Quinn's never been on a roller coaster before.

Torn between nervousness and an obligation to compromise for the sake of having a pleasant holiday, Quinn makes a 'hmm' noise. "I don't know," she demurs, unwilling to refuse outright. She'll have to explain that she hasn't actually been on a coaster before, and Quinn feels it would be awkward to reveal it to Marley.

She doesn't want Marley feeling sorry for her, or worse: accommodating her. It's their trip, not her trip, and Quinn thinks that it'll ruin the entire thing if Marley were to defer to her.

It's a stupid concern, really. Nevertheless, Quinn keeps her mouth shut.

Marley studies her for a long moment. "... Okay," she says at length.

Quinn is surprised, to say the least. "Okay?"

"Okay," repeats Marley, giving Quinn a small smile. "I mean, this is our vacation. We can do anything we like. And if you don't wanna go on the coaster, then we won't go on the coaster."

"You could always go on it yourself. I could wait for you here."

"Where's the fun in that?" asks Marley, looking horrified. "There are plenty of awesome rides that aren't coasters here, we can always go on those." Marley points at a sign. "There's a pirate ship over there. Do you wanna go?"

Quinn knows how pirate ship rides work in theory. It has less range of motion than the Blue Streak – she winces internally when the cars race past, screams trailing in its wake. It's not as fast or precarious. She can work with that. "Uh, sure."

"Great!" Marley walks ahead, stopping every now and then to check if Quinn's following, which she is – albeit with much less excitement. "Pirate ships are classic and underrated rides, Quinn."

The ride is much less crowded than the Blue Streak, so within five minutes they're already boarding the ship.

"Where do you wanna sit?" asks Marley, looking up and down the rows of seats eagerly.

"Whichever is least nausea-inducing," answers Quinn dryly. "I'd like to keep that nice breakfast down, thanks."

Marley pouts – actually pouts, which Quinn finds is ridiculous for someone their age. Nevertheless, Marley directs them to the bench towards the middle of the ship and scoots along the polished plastic seat, joining a bunch of excited children. "Is this okay?"

"Yeah."

Before she knows it, they're off. Marley shrieks along with the children, much to Quinn's surprise; her initial impression of Marley is all but gone at this point. She isn't sure what means for the rest of their trip.

"Oh my god," says Marley after the ride ends. "That was so much fun. Where to next?"

"Um."Quinn spots a park map nearby and walks towards it. Quinn squints at the list of rides, aware of Marley hovering near her elbow. "This looks interesting," she says, pointing at something called Monster.

"That looks really fun, you're right."

Quinn smiles, pleased by the validation. "Okay, let's go."

Marley beams and heads off. Quinn follows her, pulling out her phone to text Santana as she goes.

Cedar point is awesome thanks for ur passes

Santana's reply is almost instantaneous.

fuck u fabray

Quinn smirks.

"What's up?" asks Marley as Quinn tucks her phone back into her pocket.

"Nothing. Just thanking Santana for buying us these passes," says Quinn innocently.

"Oh. Please pass on my thanks to her as well. Seriously, these passes are awesome."

"Yeah," says Quinn, as her phone vibrates constantly in her back pocket. Quinn is quite certain she won't be able to wipe the smug smirk off her face for a week at least.

"Oh my god."

Now that they're here, Monster looks a lot less small and a lot more like its namesake. Quinn feels tiny next to this gigantic metal thing that's whipping people around. Even as she watches, a teenager on the ride flies towards her and away again, looking distinctly green.

Quinn gulps.

Meanwhile, Marley looks like she's about to vibrate out of her skin with excitement. "This looks awesome!" she exclaims, looking left and right for the entrance.

"Uhm."

"Quinn?"

Quinn blinks and glances at Marley. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You don't look that okay to me…"

"I'm fine," says Quinn. It comes out as a squeak; Quinn clears her throat and repeats herself. "Let's go."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure." And she leads the way towards the queue. The ride is slowing down, coming to the end of its cycle. There are a number of people in front, so they have another ride to wait before it's their turn.

Marley is still watching her intently. Quinn is uncomfortable under her scrutiny; she's used to ignoring Rachel when she's doing what she calls her mind-reading trick when she's trying to get Quinn to talk to her, but she barely knows Marley.

"When's the last time you went to an amusement park?"

"Huh?" Caught off-guard by the sudden question, Quinn's train of thought gets scrambled.

"I remember going to the state fair when I was in middle school in Texas," continues Marley. "I went on the mechanical bull."

"They let you on the mechanical bull?"

Marley laughs. "It was one of those junior bulls. Smaller than the regular ones, I think. Texas is weird that way."

Quinn gives a snort of laughter despite herself. "That explains it."

"They didn't have many things. A ferris wheel, a carousel, the usual fair rides. I guess I thought the bull was one of the more interesting things, even if I kept falling off."

"The first time I went to the state fair was because my parents forced Frannie – my older sister – to take me," says Quinn, then mentally kicks herself after. "I'm sorry, you probably don't wanna hear this. It's not a nice story."

Marley gives her an incredulous look that seems to say "you must be kidding me". "No, I would love to hear this story," she says. "Go on."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Frannie was a high school sophomore back then. Brad Gilchrist, the football team's quarterback and the most popular guy at school, had just asked her out to the fair. She was determined to boost her popularity so she talked our parents into letting her go." Quinn laughs bitterly. "She didn't tell them it was a date, of course, so they agreed on the condition that she bring me."

Marley nods seriously.

"She parked me on a bench somewhere with cotton candy and made me swear not to run off or she'd tell our parents about the stash of junk food I had under my bed."

"And then? What happened?"

Quinn just laughs. "I ran off. I was nine and that was the first time I'd ever been to the fair, for God's sake. I got hopelessly lost, Frannie had a panic attack when she tried to check on me and I wasn't there, she had to keep Brad occupied while she tried to find me… it was a mess. Eventually, someone found me in the petting zoo. Frannie was furious. She called our parents and got them to take me home." Quinn shrugs a shoulder. "In the end, she got out of babysitting me and was still able to date Brad. And she told on me as further punishment for running off. I wasn't allowed to go to any more fairs until sophomore year when Finn brought me to one at Columbus. He wasn't a fan of coasters, though."

Marley is silent after Quinn finishes her story; so silent that Quinn becomes increasingly self-conscious. "That was," begins Marley slowly, "wow. I don't know what to say about your sister, though I'm sure it won't be very nice. I'm sorry that happened to you."

"It's okay."

The attendant opens the gate in front of them and people start to shuffle forward. Quinn's stomach lurches.

"Looks like it's our turn," says Marley. She leads the way to the closest virulently orange pod and climbs in first.

Quinn hesitates a moment before climbing in after Marley.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Quinn takes a deep breath. This can't be any worse than Sue Sylvester's homemade high-G centrifuge machine – now that was a nightmare. This is a ride that's meant to be fun. She grips the safety bar in front of her tightly.

The ride starts. They start to spin, going higher and higher with each revolution. Quinn's world is reduced to blurred colors and sounds, with Marley's excited shrieks in her ear the entire time.

Eventually, it slows. Quinn leans back in her seat. "Oh my god," she says.

"That was so much fun," laughs Marley, sounding out-of-breath beside her. "Though I am so glad we haven't had lunch yet."

Quinn snorts against her will. Adrenaline still runs through her veins. "Seconded."

Although she'd only agreed to Cedar Point because of Santana, Quinn's glad that it's the first stop of their trip; there's no chance for talking with all the activities and noise, and whatever small talk they squeeze in while waiting in lines is easy.

"Where do you wanna go next?" asks Marley after they tumble out of yet another thrill ride (some sort of giant swing, Quinn's brains are still too scrambled to recall).

"I need a breather," says Quinn.

"Okay. How about the train ride?" Marley points at the sign. "Coal locomotives and a tour of Lake Erie. How cool is that?"

Off the top of her head, Quinn can probably recite at least fifty things she thinks is cooler than that, but the excitement on Marley's face makes Quinn feel guilty for even thinking of saying no. "Okay," says Quinn. She even lets Marley pick a car close to the front.

She isn't prepared for the ride itself. She's mildly amused when Marley produces her phone and starts Googling the railroad. "Quinn, this engine is named Myron," says Marley. "So cool."

"Not Thomas?"

Marley pulls a mock-annoyed face at her. "Ha ha," she says.

The whistle blows, making them both jump. Slowly, the train chugs forward along the tracks.

Quinn relishes this opportunity for some quiet time. She admires the view as they move through the park.

"Today's been so much fun."

"I'm glad," replies Quinn.

"I'm probably embarrassing myself revealing what a dork I am, but I spent an hour on the Cedar Point website browsing through all the rides I wanted to go on last night," confesses Marley.

"Really?"

"Really. This is the first proper amusement park I've been to."

"I've never been on a roller coaster before," admits Quinn. She honestly doesn't know how that slipped out, but it did, and Quinn steels herself for the reaction.

Much to her relief, Marley doesn't react the way Quinn thought she would. "You haven't? Is there any reason why not?"

"Not particularly. It's just never come up. I've only been to the fair a couple of times on dates. All the boys wanted to do was to eat and play the carnival games." Finn was more interested in food, Puck just wanted to show off at the rifle range. Both boys were keen on the ferris wheel for the privacy to make out.

"Oh." Marley smiles. "That's not that bad."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were afraid of heights. But that couldn't have been the case 'cause you were okay with the thrill rides earlier."

Quinn winces. "I blame Sue Sylvester and her twisted idea of what constitutes a cheerleader training programme."

"It's that bad?"

"You don't know the half of it," says Quinn, and then frowns, distracted by what she sees out of the corner of her eye. "What the hell is that?"

"Boneville," says Marley happily. They watch – Marley excitedly, Quinn with barely suppressed horror – as the attraction plays out with scenes of American frontier life.

Once they chug past, Quinn shakes her head. This won't be one of the things she'll be telling Santana about. "That was so tacky."

"The tackiest," agrees Marley, "but so much fun."

Much to her surprise, Quinn finds herself agreeing.

"Sorry, what were we talking about earlier? Before we got distracted?" says Marley.

"Huh?"

Marley scrunches up her brow in concentration. "Roller coasters. Yeah. We were talking about – the Cheerios." Her eyes suddenly go wide. "Wait, you're telling me those stories Brittany told me about Cheerios practice weren't just Brittany being Brittany? They're actually true?"

"What did she tell you?"

"Something about a survival camp?"

Quinn winces. "Oh, that. The summer before junior year, Sue drove the entire team out to the middle of Kendrick Woods at midnight, gave each of us a Bowie knife and a compass, and told us that she'd see us back at McKinley for the first day of training when school started."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was." Together with Brittany and Santana, it had taken the three of them two weeks to hike out of the woods and hitchhike back to Lima. "Anyway, that's not the main reason I'm okay with thrill rides. It's because of Sue's homemade high-G machine."

Marley starts to laugh. "She's insane."

"That's an understatement."

After the train pulls into the station with a last belch of smoke, Marley stands up. "We should go up front!"

"Why?"

"To take a photo with Myron!"

Quinn blinks. "Myron?"

"The engine, silly." Marley leads the way to the front where a blue overall-clad engineer is standing in the cabin. Much to Quinn's surprise, she strikes up a conversation with the man and hands him her camera.

"C'mon," says Marley, linking her arm with Quinn's. "Tom's gonna help us get a picture with Myron."

Quinn, too befuddled to resist, goes along with it. She smiles obediently as Tom snaps a few photos, and then Marley includes him in a selfie photo.

"Should we leave soon?" asks Marley, still scrolling through the photos in her digital camera. "It's getting late."

"What?" Quinn checks her phone. Marley's right; it's approaching evening. They haven't yet checked into their motel for the night. Quinn had planned on having an early night since they'll have a full day in Cleveland tomorrow.

Most of Quinn wants to agree. And yet…

"One last ride," she says, surprising herself. "Let's go on the Blue Streak."

"What?" Marley stops walking and stares.

"The last ride should be the most memorable, right?" says Quinn. "Go out with a bang and all. We should hurry up before I change my mind."

Marley just laughs and nods. "Yes, ma'am."

They reach the ride in under ten minutes, and the smiling ride attendant steps forward to give them the pre-ride safety briefing. Marley looks as if she's about to burst with excitement. "You ready, ladies?" he asks.

"Yeah!"

The cars pull up in front of them. Quinn eyes the boxy carts dubiously. "Does this look safe to you?" she asks, nodding at the single safety rail.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," says Marley. She grabs Quinn's hand – much to Quinn's surprise – and pulls her towards the back of the car.

"Don't you wanna sit in front?" Quinn barely gets out the words, too surprised by the physical contact and the force of Marley's enthusiasm.

"Quinn, all true roller coaster fans never sit in front. The back is the best place to sit. I looked it up on a coaster enthusiast blog." Quinn follows Marley as she clambers into the car; she's barely in her seat when the safety bar comes down over her lap. Quinn grunts.

"Why?"

"The first big drop is the best part of the ride," says Marley brightly. She has both hands on the front of the cart, fingers drumming an excited rhythm. "The rest of the train has already dropped by the time we get there, meaning we go down faster 'cause of the weight of the front. Plus, if you lift your knees just before we go down, you feel like you're freefalling."

Quinn wrinkles her nose. Her brain processes the math and physics but she still doesn't like what Marley's saying. "Oh."

Marley frowns. "Are you okay? We can get off if you want."

"You're joking, right?" The ride attendant comes over to test their safety bar. "We're already here. I don't think we could get off if we wanted to."

"We could if you don't want to ride," replies Marley firmly. "You don't have to force yourself." Her eyes follow the attendant, ready to flag him down at any moment.

Quinn opens her mouth – and closes it again. She's changed her mind; she can't do this, she wants off this rickety, ominous-sounding thing, but she also hasn't the heart to disappoint Marley. "I'm fine."

Her companion gets this determined look on her face. "You're sure?"

"Yes," says Quinn. She presses her lips together tightly.

The attendant retreats to the switchboard and flashes them a thumbs-up. He presses a button, and the entire thing jumps forward.

"Oh my God," Quinn mutters through gritted teeth. The train clatters and creaks ominously as it heads around the bend. "Is this made out of wood?"

"Yes," comes the answer from Quinn's left. Perhaps it's her imagination going into overdrive by the imminent adrenaline rush, but Marley sounds sheepish. "This is Cedar Point's oldest coaster."

"Great. Just great." Quinn flinches as the coaster approaches the hill. Loud clanking and grinding fills the air as the gears catch.

"Are you okay?" Marley yells.

"No!" yells back Quinn. She fights the urge to scream, at least until they're moving faster. By then, everyone will be screaming too. "Oh God." Quinn focuses on the people in front of her and not at their surroundings, which are getting smaller and smaller by the second.

By this time, they're halfway up the hill. Marley bursts into excited giggles as a pointed hut comes into view.

Quinn vows to make it out alive so she can force Santana into becoming her slave for the entirety of their college years for daring to suggest Cedar Point. "Oh. My. Fucking – "

The words are forced back into her when the coaster speeds up dramatically, and her stomach flies up into her throat. Quinn shrieks as the wind roars in her ears. Her entire body is shuddering and vibrating, the cart around them threatening to break apart, the pressure on her thighs the only thing stopping her from a violent and gory death.

She has a brief reprieve when the coaster stops jiggling up and down and veers to the left. Quinn hears Marley squealing excitedly beside her. "I – " starts Quinn, and stops when she notices the series of hills ahead of them.

Quinn stays quiet for the rest of the ride, grimly holding on to the cart. It's slowing down considerably, and she mentally pats herself on the back for keeping the contents of her stomach down.

Marley laughs uproariously when the coaster finally slows to a crawl. "That was so awesome!" she exclaims, pushing hair out of her eyes.

Quinn blinks. Now that her world has slowed to a normal pace, she realizes that Marley is holding her hand – and she's clinging back tightly.

Marley notices her staring. "Sorry!" She lets go of Quinn's hand, smiling sheepishly. "You looked pretty freaked out back there. It was an impulse thing."

"No, it's okay." Quinn clears her throat. The ride is suddenly taking way too long to get them back to the station. "You just caught me off-guard for a moment back there; I don't even remember you grabbing my hand."

"Just before the first big drop." Marley grins at her sheepishly.

"Ah."

The attendant releases the safety bar once they've come to a complete stop. Quinn sighs in relief, flexing her thighs. She has never been so glad for solid ground again, and she was a flyer in the Cheerios. She clambers out of the cart and collects her things from the locker.

"That… wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," says Quinn.

Marley pumps her fist in the air. "Yesss," she exclaims. "You've been converted!"

"That was just one small coaster!"

"Baby steps!"

They're both giggling like demons now. Quinn feels floaty and elated, proud of herself for deciding to take the plunge – metaphorically.

"You wanna go again?"

Quinn glances at Marley, who has a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Why not?"

Quinn's glad Marley hadn't objected to the small motel Quinn and Santana had booked. It was only for the night, Quinn had reasoned, and they'd be asleep for most of it anyway.

Most importantly, it was close by to Cedar Point meaning that she didn't have to worry about being too tired to drive after a long day. "Looks like the place," says Quinn, checking the map on her phone and the reservations for good measure.

"Mecca Motel," Marley reads off the sign, then glances at Quinn.

"Santana thought it was hilarious," she mutters. She neglects to mention she also thought it funny at the time. "And it was cheap."

Marley shrugs. "As long as the beds are comfy, I'm not complaining," she says, getting out of the car to fetch her bags from the trunk. She hands Quinn's things to her.

Quinn presents her reservation at the front desk, collecting a pair of keys. She holds one out to Marley, who stares at it in confusion.

"We're staying in the same room, aren't we?" she asks. "Why do I need another key?"

"It's just motel policy. In case one of us forgets our key and gets locked out."

Perhaps Quinn sounds more irritable than she thinks she did, but Marley does sheepishly take the key from her and tucks it in the pocket of her jean shorts. They stay silent until the elevator delivers them to their floor and Quinn unlocks the door with her key.

"Oh, fuck."

Marley's eyebrows go all the way up. Quinn doesn't notice, staring straight at the middle of the room.

"They gave us one bed?" Marley glances at Quinn. "Was it intentional?"

"I – no!" Quinn shakes her head, mildly outraged by what she thinks Marley is implying. "It clearly says two singles in the reservation. Those idiots. Can you hang on while I go down and get our room changed?"

"I can go down," offers Marley. "You look tired."

"I'm fine. And I'm pretty sure you're as tired as I am." Quinn can feel her good mood evaporating like water in a desert. "Besides, I'd like to give them a piece of my mind."

Marley giggles suddenly, surprising Quinn. "Is this one of the occasions the Head Bitch is useful?"

"Regretfully so." Sadly, Quinn picks up her suitcase and duffle bag. She's pissed that her sleep is further delayed and she has to go through the process of hauling all her baggage up and down again.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

Marley clasps her hands together. "Okay, this is gonna sound like a really weird question, but… if it had been you and Santana here, would you guys have asked for a room change?"

"No," answers Quinn, slightly bemused. "Santana and I have seen each other naked in the locker rooms for years. There have been too many violations of privacy for either of us to care about sharing a bed, especially after a long day."

"Oh."

Quinn grasps what Marley's driving at. "You're okay with sharing a bed?"

"Well – to be honest, I wouldn't normally – no offence, but we barely know each other – but it's been a long day." Marley casts a long look at the numerous pillows piled at the head of the bed – easily a king size. "And I don't wanna lug all my things up and down. We'll be out of here in the morning anyway."

"None taken," she sighs. Marley's argument is simply her inner voice speaking aloud; Quinn finds herself caving. "You're sure it's okay?"

"Only if you're okay with it," comes Marley's hurried reply. She opens her eyes wide, clearly hoping Quinn will be.

Quinn makes a face. Truthfully, she couldn't care less whether she's sharing a bed with Sue Sylvester if it means she's getting a good night's rest as soon as possible. Compounded by the fact that Marley isn't Sue (or Santana or Rachel, for that matter), Quinn sees no reason to make it weirder than it has to be.

"Okay, then," she says, letting go of her things and flopping on the bed. Quinn bounces a little when Marley joins her.

"Yes!"

Quinn closes her eyes, relishing the comfort of the bed and storing up strength to go unpack her things when she hears a growl.

"Was that your stomach?"

"Yes," says Marley sheepishly.

"... do you wanna go get something to eat?"

Marley had been the one to ask for food recommendations from the front desk – a wise decision, Quinn thinks, since she's still likely to blast them over their earlier error. In any case, Quinn's hoping his suggestion of a 24-hour diner not far from here turns out to be good. It sounds like it's within their budget.

"I'm so hungry," sighs Marley.

Quinn arches an eyebrow. "Even after the hot dog and chili cheese fries you had for lunch?"

Marley grins sheepishly. "We don't have much money, so I eat dinners at home most of the time. Usually it's leftovers from school lunches. Junk food that Mom won't make is a real treat for me."

Quinn thinks back to her childhood of elaborate home cooking and adolescence of Cheerio diets. Although she can't really relate, she does sympathize with Marley. "You've got enough money on you, right?"

"It's fine. You don't have to worry about that, I can take care of my own expenses."

She has to pay attention to the road, but Quinn can't help but feel that the mood has changed for the worse. Luckily she spots the turn-off for the diner and pulls into the lot.

The inside is fairly packed for the time of night – presumably visitors drawn to Sandusky for the summer holidays. Quinn gets them seated at a small booth near the back. Marley has yet to say a word through all of it – with the exception of giving her order to the waitress when she comes.

Quinn feels bad. She knows Marley made an effort to accommodate her today. She also knows that something she said is responsible for this sudden change in mood – something that, frankly, she hadn't been expecting from Marley ordinarily.

She could just weather it out. It's only two weeks. They could fill the silences in the car with music and naps. They could fill their days with everything they've planned for this trip, and then go their separate ways at different colleges, never to talk again.

That was what old Quinn would have done. But this Quinn – the Quinn who's actually friends with Santana and Brittany and Rachel Berry – is different.

"Marley?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," starts Quinn. Apologies are something she's still not used to, so she starts slow. "I didn't mean to imply that you wouldn't be able to pay your share of this trip – I mean, you wouldn't have agreed to come if you couldn't. You're doing me this huge favor by pinch-hitting for Santana so I can still go on this trip, and I'm not being fair to you at all."

Marley listens, expression neutral, to all of this. When Quinn finally comes to an awkward halt, Marley's gaze lifts to Quinn's. She smiles.

"Apology accepted," she says. "I'm sorry, too. I hear worse things tons of times; mostly, I just let it run off my back. I wasn't being fair to you either, but somehow it hurt more coming from you."

Quinn's face heats up. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

The waitress saves the rest of their conversation by choosing that moment to appear with their drinks. Quinn inhales the fragrant steam of her herbal tea, arching an eyebrow at the milkshake sitting in front of Marley.

"Like I said, indulgence time," says Marley without a trace of self-consciousness.

Quinn shakes her head. "That looks amazing." She's determined to keep the rest of their night as light-hearted as possible, and make the first day of their trip a success. It's an omen of sorts for the entire two weeks.

"You want some?"

"Maybe another day."

Marley just laughs at her.

It's late by the time they pay the bill and pile back into the car. "Let me drive," says Marley.

"You sure?"

"You've been driving all day. You could use a break, and I could use the short practice in case we end up in a ditch tomorrow when it's my turn at the wheel."

Quinn wrinkles her nose. If she was the superstitious sort, she'd be touching wood. "Don't jinx us. Here, you can drive. Do you know the way back?"

"Yeah, definitely. Even if I didn't, that's what the GPS is for."

She gives an involuntary snort of laughter. "I trust you to get us back to the motel. I wanna spend the night in a real bed and not a sidewalk."

"Funny, Fabray. Have some faith in me. I was the only kid in Wichita Falls to ace their driving test on the first try."

"You say that as though it's a big achievement," says Quinn, giggling.

"Well, it is!"

Quinn shakes her head. She's completely at ease with Marley now for some reason; perhaps it's the sugar high from Marley's milkshake (she'd somehow managed to coax Quinn into having half), or the warmth in her belly from their second dinner. It's possibly the Fall Out Boy now blasting from their car stereo through Marley's phone. "You know, before tonight, I didn't think it would be possible for someone to get drunk on sugar."

"Careful there. I have the keys and therefore all the power. I could make you walk back to Mecca."

"No!"

"Yes!" Marley finishes her adjustments of the seat and side mirrors.

"You're not that much taller than me," grumbles Quinn.

"No, but I don't understand why you like to drive like you're in a clown car." Marley turns the key in the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot. "God, I can't wait for a shower and bed. Dibs on the bathroom first."

"I drove most of today. My dibs go without saying."

"No, they don't."

They continue to squabble good-naturedly until they get back to the motel.

Once they get inside, Marley turns to Quinn and says: "Rock-paper-scissors."

"What?"

"We'll settle the bathroom issue with a duel, best of three," says Marley. She makes a show of pretending to roll up imaginary sleeves. "Winner goes first, then we'll alternate for the rest of the trip."

Quinn, who had been planning on letting Marley go first, agrees; she couldn't care less who wins and this method seems to amuse Marley tremendously.

Marley wins even though Quinn put up a fight; a gracious winner, she promises to make it quick as she disappears inside the bathroom.

Quinn pulls out her phone to find a missed call from Rachel. She calls back.

"Quinn!"

"Hey, Rach." As fun as the day was, nothing matches the quiet rush of ease when she hears Rachel's familiar voice. "Sorry I missed your call. What's up?"

"Nothing in particular. I suppose you were occupied earlier, but I wanted to ask how did the first day of your road trip go." Rachel's voice dips a little. "Is Marley with you? Are we able to talk privately?"

"She's using the bathroom," replies Quinn. She rolls her eyes even though Rachel can't see her. "Why – have you discovered her serial killer body dump?"

"Oh God, I'm sure I'll have nightmares about that tonight. Thank you for that, Quinn Fabray. No, I just wanted to ask if things are good. I can always go to wherever you are if Marley doesn't work out."

"Aren't you at voice camp now, Rachel?"

"I can always fake a vocal cord lesion. I did some research on the symptoms; it would be an excellent exercise of my acting skills, not to mention an interesting anecdote to tell at college."

Quinn shakes her head. "Please don't. Thank you for offering, it means a lot to me that you're being so… invested in my well-being, but seriously, no." She pauses to consider her next words. "Marley and I… things are going pretty well. Great, even. We had a fun day at Cedar Point – we went on nearly all the thrill rides and even a roller coaster."

"I hope you didn't scream," says Rachel very seriously.

"I wouldn't dare risk injuring my voice," answers Quinn sarcastically.

"Good," says Rachel without a trace of sarcasm. "It's never too late to take proper care of one's voice, I always say."

"We just came back from a second dinner," says Quinn, ignoring Rachel. "I lost the rock-paper-scissors battle for who gets the bathroom first." She decides to omit the details of their sleeping arrangements because she doesn't have the energy or inclination to read into that, and anyway she doesn't trust Rachel with keeping it a secret from Santana. "We head to Cleveland tomorrow morning."

"That sounds like a promising start," exclaims Rachel. "I'm glad you had fun today, Quinn."

"Thanks, Rach." She feels like she's talking to her mom or a therapist. It seems to happen frequently when Rachel is involved, so Quinn doesn't read too much into it.

"Sadly, I need to go now. We're starting tomorrow bright and early and I need my rest if I'm to outperform each and every one of these summer stock cast members."

Quinn laughs indulgently. "You'll knock 'em dead, Rach. Go sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Quinn!"

Quinn spends a slightly longer time than necessary in the bathroom because she's uncertain what's going to happen next. The abstract idea of her sharing a bed with someone she barely knows had seemed fine up until this actual moment where it's happening.

Quinn steels herself. "It's only for one night," she says, and then exits the bathroom.

Marley is lounging on the side farthest from the bathroom with her phone. She has on a Hello Kitty T-shirt and flannel pants.

"I like your PJs," says Quinn very seriously. Perhaps Rachel has rubbed off on her more than she thought, if she's acquired the other girl's sense of humor.

"Thanks." Marley picks at her shirt sheepishly. "Mom went online shopping for the first time and wanted to surprise me with a gift. She did – she bought the wrong design. I wanted a Batman shirt."

"Now there's a bigger surprise." Quinn climbs under the covers, relieved at how the conversation went. "I'm sorry but I'm gonna sleep now. I'm exhausted after today and we've got a pretty busy day tomorrow. Tell me about that tomorrow?"

"No, you're right. I was just waiting up for you. I didn't think it would be fun for you to come out and tiptoe around the room in the dark, trying to be quiet." Marley suppresses a massive yawn with difficulty as she speaks. "I'm gonna turn off the lights now. Good night, Quinn."

"Good night," she answers, burrowing under the covers. She barely has time to set the alarm on her phone before she collapses onto the bed and falls asleep.

End Notes: The diner they go to is Dianna's Deli and Restaurant (no joke).