Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters.

"Ugh! Stuffing all of these carry-ons on a plane is such a bitch!" Santana groaned as she tried to rearrange the bags.

"What we get for spending a few days and leaving room for our costumes," Kurt sneered, adjusting his duffle to fit Blaine's.

Santana slammed the bin shut before letting out a groan. "Finally!" She crawled into her seat where she was greeted by a kiss from Brittany who sat next to the window. The blonde insisted the three would rearrange seats, claiming to not being able to see the UFOs they might pass if she sat in the aisle. "Just two hours of a flight and we are set."

"This is just so exciting!" Rachel squealed from her seat behind the Unholy Trinity. "Four days in the greatest city in the world!" She was pulled back into her seat by Mercedes after looking away from the magazine Tina showed her.

"Okay, Fanny. We still have two hours so rest your little head. We can look at Broadway when we get there."

Quinn couldn't help but to smile at the brunette's excitement. She closed her book before turning over to the girl. "You do know that we'll have to spend every second enjoying Broadway before we're on lockdown, right?"

Rachel's face fell upon realization. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot! We have to go to Tiffany's at some point before the competition!" She looked over at Kurt who was also in shock. "Kurt, we have to make a run for all the stops before we're locked into the hotel rooms!"

"Way ahead of you. I'll make a map before we land."

"Whoa there, Lady Hummel. No need to have a freaking panic attack about a lock down," Santana snapped. She carefully fixed the neck pillow secured around her neck and began covering her eyes with an eye mask. "We just have to finish those songs and dances and we'll be free to go."

"Easy for you to say, Satan."

Quinn shook her head as the two bickered. "Well we shouldn't panic too much. We just need to relax and spend whatever time we have in the city before lockdown. Name a place and we will go no matter how short the visit." She held her breath when she felt an arm wrap around her.

"You're the best, Quinn!" Rachel squealed," Just tell me anything and I will put it into our schedule!" She was pulled back into her seat again. "No~ Just one more hug, Mercedes~"

"You need to get your seatbelt on ASAP, girl. You can hug her while we're in the air if you don't pass out by then."

Quinn let out the breath she held in, knowing the hug was quite sudden although expected. She felt someone nudge her arm and turned to find a smirk on Santana's face and a knowing smile from Brittany, her blue eyes sparkling from the sudden intimacy. She quietly groaned upon realizing her cheeks were burning, but grateful it went unnoticed by the diva. "Nationals… You promised to wait until after Nationals… Control yourself, Fabray… Admit it all when Nationals are over!"

Rachel spun around in Time Square in excitement. "I'm finally here~" she cheered as she spun. She slowly went to a stop to take in her surroundings. The large advertisements for the various musicals currently on Broadway and various brands. Signs of the stores scattered through the city. Signs of the musicals right on the street they're occupying.

She ran over to the large steps of TKTS where the rest of New Directions were eating some food they bought from the street carts. "Where should we go first? Personally, I would love to go see Wicked, but I doubt our schedule will allow us to go or buy tickets."

"Well we only have about ten minutes before we go back to the hotel, so you better come up with something quick," Tina said, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows.

"Ten minutes?!"

"Only because somebody lost track of his luggage," Mercedes said as she looked at Finn who just stuffed his mouth with a cheesesteak.

The quarterback looked up as he noticed everyone looking at him, confusion on his face. "What…?"

There was a collective groan from the group as Quinn noticed the disappointment on the small diva's face. The city of her dreams and no time to experience it just because they don't have their setlist. She can probably blame Mr. Schue for that given how he insisted on having them sing for Prom a week before Nationals or not providing proper input when brainstorming lyrics. Everyone's sheet music are all pretty much blank at the moment and the diva spent the days before their trip banging her head against her desk to create some form of lyrics. It didn't matter if it was a solo, duet or group number. Rachel just couldn't find herself finding the right lyrics like she did for Regionals. Maybe she needs a little push like last time.

Quinn felt herself knocked out of her train of thought when she was gently pushed on the shoulder. She turned to look at Santana. "Come on, we have to get to the hotel. You can brainstorm ways on flirting with Berry when we get to the room."

Always leave it to Santana to read her mind.

There was a loud moan coming from the Marriott as a group of twelve sat in the double room. "I got nothing!" screeched a petite diva, her voice muffled by the pillow she buried her face into.

"What about my song, Rachel?" Brittany pouted. This received a groan from the group. Out of the fourteen of them, only the taller Cheerio was able to create a set of lyrics with the help of Artie titled "My Cup". It was quite catchy and fun but the message at the beginning suggested a theme that would probably disqualify them from the competition. Tina questioned the idea of the song being about a cup but everyone knew the dark undertones of the lyrics. Santana was at the end of one of the beds trying not to laugh at the lyrics, knowing they were obviously directed to Brittana's relationship outside the club. Everyone else were just mortified upon hearing the tall blonde happily singing it and Artie supporting her. Even Puck was close to throwing his guitar out the window despite agreeing to help them with the instrumentals.

"Okay, this is ridiculous." Quinn got to her feet before putting on her jacket. She took hold of a colorfully striped one before throwing it onto Rachel. "We're getting out of here and enjoying the city."

"We can't. Mr. Schue said we're on lockdown," Mercedes said, remembering the blonde's words on the plane. She found her jacket thrown into her arms by the former head cheerleader.

"Yeah, well I refuse to be on lockdown now." Quinn started to pass everyone their coats and jackets. "We can't sit around in this room to create songs if the only inspirations we have are cups, curtains and comforters. And no, we are not making another song about headbands or whatever we do in beds."

"What will Mr. Schue say?" Blaine inquired, making the blonde smile deviously.

"We're in the greatest city in the world. He's running off doing something to enjoy it. Why can't we?"

The team looked at each other before back at the blonde, smiling at her idea.

"I'm in!" Quinn found herself knocked back a few steps after being tackled into a hug by Rachel. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The diva quickly put on her coat before taking hold of Kurt and Blaine. "Let's go! Broadway awaits!" She dragged them out of the room, making everyone else follow except for the Unholy Trinity.

Quinn spotted Finn who looked at her with confusion as he followed Puck out of the room. Was that a hint of jealousy in his eyes? She shot him an innocent smile before turning to her friends. "Phase 1 of 'Making Rachel Berry Happy' complete," she said with confidence before leaving the room.

Santana and Brittany looked at each other, smiles on their faces before following their leader. They linked pinkies before closing the door behind them.

"Look at these signs! They're so huge!" Rachel squealed as she walked through the streets with Kurt and Blaine. "If only we can attend just one while we're here!"

"We'll make a mental note of that," Blaine said, admiring the signs. "Maybe we can come during the summer so we can go to one every day."

"Ugh. If only," Kurt sighed, knowing it would be almost impossible to schedule a good week for a vacation with any of their families. Burt and Carole aren't as fond of New York as him and Finn has training for the next season. Blaine's parents are always working so they can't chaperone. Rachel's are iffy with Hiram's schedule as a physician and LeRoy working at Ohio State as a professor even during the summer. "Hopefully our applications for NYADA are perfect and we can run all the way here for the summer next year to enjoy the city before classes start."

"I have no doubt that we'll be accepted into NYADA, Kurt! We were born to be on Broadway and there is no way we can't pass. We just have to make a list of all the shows we should be attending."

"Well we do have Quinn to thank for letting us run around to get our inspiration and sight-see."

Blaine noticed a little skip to each of Rachel's steps as they walked. "You know, I'm actually surprised at how Quinn can change her mind so easily. She did remind us that Mr. Schue would put us on lockdown and now she's all up for running around New York."

Rachel turned on her heel to look at the bow-tied singer, walking backwards to continue her stride. "It's the magic of New York, Blaine. I'm sure even the Warblers would want to ditch practice to enjoy the sights."

Blaine's eyebrows raised. "Really?" He looked over at Kurt who simply shrugged, trying to hide the fact that the decision was possibly driven by the blonde's crush on the diva. He looked back at Rachel who slowed her pace to admire more of the signs and the displays when they walked pass some stores. He quickly caught up to her. "Um… Rachel. Can I ask you something real quick?"

"Of course, Blaine. What would you like to know? I'm sure I memorized the map of New York if you want to go somewhere."

"No, it's not that. I'm actually more curious about you and Quinn. You two were pretty distant during that house party after Sectionals, but now you're as close as friends. Kurt told me your history while we were at Dalton so it's pretty strange to see you two become friends. Especially after that whole month of you two avoiding each other."

Rachel took in a deep breath, taken aback of being reminded of their quiet fight after what happened in her bedroom. She felt the heat rising to her cheeks as she remembered Quinn's tongue hitting her cheek during that sudden kiss. She was still unsure what to make of it. The blonde suddenly just poured all of these emotions and secrets to her that day and she was fully aware that it just wouldn't leave the room. Given how it was their first step as being friends, Rachel knew she had to keep it all a secret and not tell anyone including Kurt who was infamous for being McKinley's biggest gossip. She swore that everything that happened in her bedroom wouldn't leave even if it was a shock to her. Telling anyone of that kiss would lead to misinterpretations and may damage the reputation that Quinn just fought back for after the whole pregnancy issue. She couldn't risk it.

But it didn't mean that she wouldn't get her mind off of it. Like Mercedes said, she's always wanted to be a friend with Quinn. She was someone she admired and possibly learn from even if she did receive slushie facials from the blonde during their freshman and sophomore years. She was even willing to put their rivalry over Finn to the side by offering her the guestroom at the Berry household if Puck and Mercedes haven't already taken her in. Just anything to help stop the tension between the two of them so they can end up as friends. Maybe… more.

She stopped, remembering Quinn's confession. She shouldn't even think about thinking of the blonde as more than just friends. She still likes Finn and Quinn is in love with someone else. She has to respect that. Although… she has yet to see the person in school or see the blonde look at anyone in such a longing way between classes. Maybe towards the diva, herself, but most likely because of how they've always wanted to be friends but couldn't because of the social hierarchy at school. Head Cheerio and McKinley's Head Bitch would rather be caught dead than be friends with the co-captain of the glee club, the lowest club at the school filled with losers and misfits. The possibility of the two even thinking of each other as more than just friends would turn the school upside down. She can't risk it. She shouldn't.

"Rachel?"

Blaine was suddenly pulled back, snapping Rachel out of her sudden daze. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be reminded about that fight, Blaine," Kurt chided," It was quite a rough time for her."

"N-no. It's fine, Kurt," Rachel cut in, trying to clear her head. She softly smiled, trying to hide the concern and confusion. "We were just settling some issues we've had with the past. She had a reputation to uphold and being friends with someone like me would just take it away from her. We can only do it now because of glee club."

The former Warbler looked at her, sensing something more than what she is telling him. But seeing how he shouldn't pry, he just nodded. "Okay. I can see that now. I'm just glad that glee club helped bring you two together."

"Yeah… yeah…" Her phone started to ring, making her check to find a few messages. She quickly replied before looking at the two boys. "That was Mercedes. We should probably head back and use what we've gathered to start on those songs." She went in between them before linking arms with the two. "Come on."

The couple looked at each other over her head, both showing some kind of concern of her sudden change in behavior.

Quinn dodged some pillows being thrown at her. After spending about two hours coming up with ideas and lyrics, there was a small scuffle between the girls before they engaged in a pillow fight. Somehow it escalated to a point where the feathers started to fly out of the cases and scatter through the room.

She jumped off the bed and ducked when one flew towards her head, possibly Tina who was thrashing to keep herself safe. From the corner of her eye, she saw Rachel staring at her phone before going to the bathroom with a change of clothes. She quickly threw her pillow towards Brittany who caught it to smack Santana down onto the bed in a fit of laughter, allowing the shorter blonde to sneak to the bathroom door.

There was a small squeak when Rachel emerged from the bathroom in a baby blue dress, her hair pulled up and curled. She tightly held onto the door handle in fear of falling when she saw Quinn in front of her. "Going somewhere, Rachel?" She flinched when she heard her full first name in that classic HBIC tone.

"Just out to dinner, Quinn."

"We have room service coming in soon." She eyed the brunette in front of her, finding her fidgeting and tightly clutching her phone. She let out a sigh before looking at the diva in the eyes. "Finn made a reservation, didn't he?"

Rachel was taken aback by the question before giving a sheepish nod. "It's just a business kind of thing, Quinn… I'm sure it's just that."

"I really have no problem with you going out with him, Rach. Just know we still need to write songs so try not to stay out so late. And don't let him do anything crazy. He's known for that." She found herself pulled into a hug.

"Thank you so much. I'll be back as soon as possible and hopefully we can get a song out of it." She quickly put on her heels before rushing out, quietly closing the door behind her so the others won't notice.

Quinn closed her eyes before letting out a deep sigh. "If only I can tell her now…"

A hand tapped her shoulder, making her turn before being pulled into another hug. It felt more comforting as she felt someone's hand running through her hair. No doubt it was Brittany who noticed her being tense. "Do you want that haircut now?" the taller blonde asked, unwilling to pull away just yet.

"Maybe tomorrow, B… I need to rest for a bit…"

Brittany pulled away before resting her forehead against her leader's, her blue eyes darkening from worry. "You want me to get San?"

Quinn shook her head. "It's fine, Britt. Just having you here is enough." She hugged the girl again. When it came to confrontations, each member of the Unholy Trinity were famous for different types. Brittany was in no doubt one of the most comforting since she can read her friends like the back of her hand and give comfort when needed. Always a hugger, but the way she hugs people when they're down is gentle compared to her usual. Quinn was quite grateful to have someone like Brittany around because she can relax better if things go wrong.

There was a brief moment of silence before the taller blonde turned her head down to look at her friend. "Do you wanna ambush San with pillows?"

Quinn couldn't help but to laugh at how innocently the girl asked her question. "Sure."

Rachel softly smiled as she admired the lights of the city. A walk through Central Park before dinner, an autographed napkin from Patti Lupone securely placed into her purse for safe keeping. She would have had the famous actress sign it for her, but after everything, she asked to have it made out to Kurt. He would have lectured her endlessly if she didn't talk to Patti in the restaurant so she really owes him for mustering up the courage.

She looked over at Finn who was shifting between his heels and toes, trying to avoid eye contact. She recognized the look on his face. "Are you okay, Finn?"

He looked at her, acting as if nothing was wrong. "Hm? Did you say something?"

"You look as if you have to."

"Oh." He dug his hands into his pockets. "I was just thinking. I mean, I'm really glad you agreed to go on this date with me Rachel. A business date, I mean. I kinda want to make it up to you after everything with the whole Quinn situation."

"Oh, it's fine. Really. But I'm glad you're finally accepting our friendship." She smiled at the words, knowing she doesn't want any more tension between the three of them. She found him stand in front of her, making her a little confused. Her eyebrows began to furrow as she could have sworn hearing "Bella Notte" in the background. The culprit may be the New Directions Boys standing behind her.

"Yeah… About that. I know things might be shaky between the three of us. Given how I made out with her after we broke up and we kind of kissed when she was pregnant-"

"Y-you're point, Finn?"

"Uh… yeah. What I wanted to say is… I want to get back together with you. Just forget everything that happened and start over."

Her mouth went slightly agape at this. "I-I don't understand. This is so sudden."

"I know, but since we've taken a break for a few months and we're now in New York, I want to make things right between us. Please."

Rachel looked at the jock, unsure how to respond. She's been chasing him for over a year now but after everything that's happened, she's just not sure anymore. It felt as if her feelings for him are slowly fading away, but they're still there. "I'll have to think about it…"

"Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry, Finn. I just need to think about it." She brushed pass him, hoping to find her way back to the hotel.

Rachel carefully entered the hotel room to find everyone asleep and scattered through the room. Mercedes and Tina shared one of the full beds, Lauren on one of the spares she claimed for herself, and Santana and Brittany were on the couch on top of each other. She noticed Kurt was missing, but probably to join Blaine in the boys' room.

She jumped when the bathroom door opened beside her and turned to find Quinn. She seemed to have just gotten out of the shower and was dressed in a tank top and silky pants. Her hair was a bit damp but still gracefully fell to her shoulders.

"Q-Quinn… Didn't expect you to be awake…"

The blonde simply shrugged before going to the lounge chair where a notepad rested. She picked it up before sitting. "The others called it quits once they found the harmony. I'm stuck on the lyrics and thought it'd be best for your input."

"Well I'm glad you were patient with me and I do hope I may be of use." She tossed her jacket to the side before taking her notepad off the desk. She situated herself on the free bed. "Before I do my nightly routine, I'd like to hear the ideas you've had in mind. The extended time for my routine will help me brainstorm."

"Well it's not much, but Mercedes managed to get some of the sheet music done." She pulled out said sheets from the back of her notes before passing it to the diva, hoping she would be of help. "We had to use some kind of piano app to get it right."

Rachel simply hummed as she skimmed through, twitching her fingers as if to follow the notes scribbled on the paper. Quinn watched and noticed she seemed to have flipped between the sheets, possibly going over them a few times to make sure. She sighed before looking at the brunette, sensing some kind of tension from her. "How did the business date go with Finn?"

Rachel's head shot up albeit too quickly from the shock. She quickly looked back down, carefully scribbling in her notes. "I-it was fine. We walked through some of Central Park and went to Sardi's for dinner. We ran into Patti Lupone there and uh…" She couldn't help but to smile when she recalled the event. "I managed to get her autograph for Kurt. Apparently she was also in glee club in high school and told me to never stop dreaming. That made me really want to come back to New York and go to NYADA and I think Kurt will freak once I tell him."

Quinn couldn't help but to smile, glad the girl was able to experience meeting one of her idols. "Well I'm sure you're going to kill that NYADA audition next year, Rach. They will never know what's coming."

"Thanks, Quinn. It really means a lot for you to say that." She held out the notes to the blonde. "Here. I hope this might be able to jumpstart the song a little more. The nightlife of New York is just beautiful. So many lights and people gathering." She let out a content sigh. "I really wish we can all see it outside of the hotel room."

"Someday, Rachel." Quinn's smile widened as she read the possible lyrics. She looked up at Rachel, suddenly feeling a spark of inspiration. "Tell you what. Why don't you get ready for bed and I'll try to get some more lyrics? The faster we get them done, the faster we'll get the songs and dances done and we'll be set."

"Okay. Just don't push yourself, okay? I'll try to clean up as fast as possible." She leaned closer for a hug before grabbing a set of clothes from her bags and going to the bathroom.

Quinn let out a sigh before looking at the lyrics again. She looked over at Santana and Brittany who hugged each other while they slept, small smiles on their faces as they enjoyed each other's company. She reached for her pen before scribbling in her own notes, putting in as much as possible before her eyes could give out from exhaustion.

Rachel carefully secured the hairtie onto one of her braids as she exited the bathroom. "Sorry for taking so long, Quinn. I was just-" She stopped when she found the blonde curled up in the chair, tightly hugging a pillow that she also rested her head on. Her notepad was on the floor but Rachel noticed a good amount of lyrics written on it. She picked it up along with her own notes before situating herself on the bed, looking over the lyrics. She laid down on her stomach and took hold of her pen before reading, making some adjustments before writing a revised version in her notes. She quietly hummed to herself, trying to find ways to sing the song.

Chapter 9 and New York! I was actually really curious about who could've written "Light Up the World" in the New York episode since Finn wrote "Pretending". The name was never really revealed but given how Rachel was the only one who looked the most dedicated, I thought I could put in some "missing" information into this chapter.

Chapter 10 might be up tomorrow. I just have to reread and revise it because I was stuck in a 5-hour shift at the local pool's concession stand and half of the time was closed due to thunderstorms. Not a lot of business so I pretty much wrote as much as possible. I also noticed that uploading 2 chapters simultaneously tends to have my readers click the "Skip to latest chapter" and go to the second one without knowing the information from the first chapter.

I might have more chapters coming up because I want to take the relationship a little slow even with the big reveal so we'll just see. And please tell me if the girls become too out of character. My mind tends to wander whenever I'm working on different stories and watching shows simultaneously. Thank you and please look forward to the next chapter!