Thanks for the positive reviews! Good to know I've pleased all of you. Unfortunately the time has come. I think there will only be two more chapters including this one. Maybe three depending if I want to add a sappy chapter to top things off.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE
Rachel woke up the next morning in an empty house. She frowned at the silence, hoping to start her day off with the love of her life. The night before, though sad, was life changing. She had a realization, one that she can't come back from. Quinn is the girl for her. In some ways, Rachel always knew, but the curiosity behind Finn brought her down. Maybe she was curious about him because she was afraid to love someone as quickly as she had fallen for Quinn. But no matter the reasons or the excuses, she was here now. Happy. Happy isn't a feeling, it's a destination. And she was finally there. The car was parked, the bags were unpacked, and she had reached happy. Rachel berry could finally let the tension in her shoulders go and be happy.
She stood from the couch and walked over to the kitchen where she saw a note. "I assumed you watched the home video? I have a way with words, don't I? I would have woken you, but you looked too precious. I went to the airport. A friend of mine just came to town. Should be back at 2, possibly sooner." Rachel smiled at note, quickly folding it and setting it aside.
She looked at the time, it was 12. Which was probably enough time to end things with Finn.
Rachel ran upstairs, got showered, changed, and did her hair and make up. By 12:44 she was out the door and in the car.
By 12:44, Quinn was standing at the gates in the airport, holding a cheesy sign that read 'Puckerman.' That was right. None other than the father of her baby, partial High School sweetheart, and dearest friend is back in Lima Ohio.
In no time, his plane had landed and she saw the boy walking out of the doors, and towards her. He had a goofy smile on his face, his Mohawk shaven with the slightest stubble resting handsomely on his face.
"Well well, look who the cat dragged in." Quinn said once he was in talking distance. She dropped the sign and ran up to him, pulling puck into a tight hug.
He chuckled into her shoulder, briefly lifting her off the ground. "I missed you, Fabray." Puck said, setting her down. "You look great, but that's no surprise. How are you? I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I was really busy with my band."
Quinn shook her head, grabbing one of his bags and began walking out. "Don't worry, I completely understand. You called, you wrote, and you prayed. You did more than enough. But you're here now, and that's all that matters." She said, happily stepping closer to him once he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"So you never answered my question. How are you?" Puck asked again, putting his luggage in the trunk of the taxi.
Quinn sighed and chuckled. "4 months ago, I was a wreck. 3 months ago, I was confident. 2 months ago, I was sure. Last month I was heart broken. Today, I'm hopeful." She said briefly. The confused look on her friends face made her laugh. "The journey with Rachel has been impossible. We started off okay. Slowly we became friends, then we started dating, and kissing and getting comfortable with each other. Then we got into this huge fight, which led her into Finns arms." Quinn continued as she sat in the cab, puck sliding close to her. "She told me she was confused, and asked for a divorce. And with awful advice from my so called best friend, I gave it to her. But now we're at the point where I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I feel like now I can tease her, flirt with her, and stand up for myself all at the same time. I'm just... Trying to think positively. Because if I let myself think, even for a second, that she loves Finn more, I might break." Quinn said honestly, eyeing puck through watery tears.
He shook his head and pulled her in close. "There's no way. Be confident, have faith in you two, and never give up. You're Quinn and Rachel. If anyone is going to make it, it's you two." Puck smiled and kissed her forehead.
Quinn smiled and giggled. "When did you get soft?"
"California does that to a person."
Rachel stood outside of Finns apartment door. She eyed the number for a while debating if she should just go. But then she figured, she owed him the truth. So, nervously, she knocked three times.
After 2 long minutes of waiting, Finn finally answered with a surprised smile. "Rachel! Hi, come in." He said, opening the door for the girl to step inside.
"Okay.." Rachel mumbled, stepping inside. She looked around, pretending to be impressed. "Nice place."
"Rach.. It's an apartment. Only temporary." He told her, chuckling. Finn walked over to Rachel and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asked, noticing her mood shift from earlier in the week.
Rachel shook her head, and exhaled loudly. "I..." She started. "I was confused Finn." Rachel looked up to meet his gaze. "From the time I woke up, up until a few hours ago, I was confused. Not sure who I was, and who I was supposed to be. I broke my wife's heart so I could test the waters with you. I hurt her, just to be selfish."
"But it was worth it, right?" He asked, smiling.
Rachel sighed and shook her head. "I can see why I loved you, Finn. But now that I know Quinn, and I know what it's like with her, I can't go back. I can see how easy it is to love her. And I can't keep hurting her like this. It's not fair to her, and frankly, leading you on isn't fair to you either."
Finn dropped his hand from her shoulder and scratched his head. "So what are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?"
Rachel chuckled lightly and shook her head. "I can't break up with someone I was never fully committed to." She said, sighing sadly. "It'll always be Quinn. I was just lying to myself earlier." Rachel walked over to the door, and opened it. "I'm sorry Finn." She added before walking out.
Once Rachel closed the door behind her, she exhaled loudly. That felt great. Finally, she had everything off of her chest. She had officially made up her mind, and was set to go win Quinn back.
When Rachel got home, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. It's been about a month since the last time she kissed Quinn. And now she could, and she wouldn't stop herself from being with the blonde completely.
Rachel walked up to the doorstep and took a deep breath in before turning the door to walk inside. What she saw made her excited grin turn into an envious scowl.
She saw a man, with a buzzed hair cut, cuddling close with her wife on the couch. Quinn looked happy, much happier than Rachel had seen her. The blonde was laughing loudly, a glass of wine on the coffee table I'm front of them.
"Well this is cozy." She said, slamming the door shut behind her to announce her presence.
Puck and Quinn both looked up and immediately sat up in the couch, moving away from each other. "Oh hey babe, this is the friend I went to pick up from the airport." Quinn said, standing up and walking over to Rachel. "This is Puck. We went to high school together. All three of us."
Puck stood up and offered his hand. "Hi Rachel." He said civilly.
Rachel eyed his hand and scoffed. She eventually took it, shaking it slowly. Rachel turned her head to eye Quinn as she whispered, "can I talk to you alone?"
Quinn shot her eyebrows up and nodded. "Puck, I'm sorry, I need to discuss something with Rachel. I'll give you a call while you're still in town, and we'll catch up." She said, hugging him goodbye.
"I understand." Puck said, walking to the door. "Bye Rachel, great seeing you again."
Rachel waved to him, and the second he was gone, she crossed her arms. "That little date wasnt enough catching up?" She asked, clearly jealous as she moved to pick up the glass of wine.
"What?" Quinn asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"When you said you were picking up a friend, i thought it would be a female friend."
Quinn chuckled. "Rachel, you're logic doesn't make sense! I'm a lesbian, remember? Not only that, but I'm /your/ lesbian. Why do you feel safer with me having a female friend home alone with me, rather than puck?"
"Isn't Puck the douchebag that knocked you up?" She asked, crossing her arms.
Quinn clenched her jaw and looked down as she nodded. "Right... But that was also before I discovered who I was. Why are we even talking about this? You have no right to be jealous!" She yelled.
Rachel laughed before walking off into the kitchen to put the wine away. "Who said anything about me being jealous?" She denied.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because you're acting like a clingy girlfriend, or making assumptions, or bringing up past mistakes."
"So you admit that he was a mistake?" Rachel asked, facing her expectantly.
Quinn furrowed her eyebrows and threw her head in her hands. "I can't believe we're even having this discussion Rachel! You're dating Finn, are you not? So why the hell do you think it's fair for you to be jealous, when I have to bit my tongue every time you come home from a date?"
"That's different!" Rachel yelled.
"Yeah, and why's that?"
Rachel sighed and stopped pacing the kitchen as she tugged at her hair. "Because I'm not dating him in spite of you, or to get back at you."
Quinn shook her head and scoffed. "I'm not dating puck! Holly shit, you're so sensitive! I deserve to have someone around that I can talk to."
"You can't talk to me?"
"I could, until you demanded a divorce and started dating some other guy!" She yelled, kicking the lower cabinet.
Rachel sighed, she couldn't tell Quinn now. Not only was it too late, but she was too stubborn. "I'm not dating him."
Quinn chuckled as she nodded. "Right, my bad. You're 'testing the waters'" she mocked, making her voice sound nothing like Rachel's.
Rachel clenched her jaw. "I can't believe you." She whispered. "You said you understood where I was coming from. That you wouldn't give up! That you would fight for me!"
"Isn't that exactly what I've been doing?" Quinn asked, storming over to her. "Telling you I love you almost every chance I get, cooking for you, sharing stories, home videos, staying faithful? I haven't given up Rachel. But if you want me to, say the word and I'm gone. Because I can't keep living like this." Quinn said, their lips inches from each other.
Rachel inhaled sharply and eyed Quinn's lips. "You're so willing to just give up?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Quinn yelled, stepping back. "I can't keep doing this. These games. The pushing and pulling, the mixed signals, the glances, the flirting, the fighting. I'm too old to waste my life being unhappy. I'm tired Rachel."
"So you're unhappy with me?"
"No... I'm just unhappy." Quinn confessed, crossing her arms. "And puck coming over today... That was the most fun I've had in months. And you had to show up and turn it into something it's not. If anyone should be yelling jealous threats, it's me." Quinn said.
Eventually, the two girls fell into silence. Rachel knew Quinn was right, but she'd never say so. Quinn knew she was being harsh, but she'd never say so. Their fights always went like this. One girl ended up saying one thing too much, and it would explode. And it was usually always Quinn.
"Where were you today? When puck and I got here, you were gone." Quinn questioned.
"I.." Rachel started, eyeing her. "I went to see Finn."
Quinn scoffed, and nodded as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "Yeah? And how did that go?"
Rachel eyed her, wanting to kiss off every tear and finally make love to her. But she couldn't. "It went great. We have another date tonight." She lied.
Quinn eyed the clock. It was around 4. "Then I guess you should go. Don't want to be late." She said, clenching her jaw.
Rachel scoffed and nodded. She grabbed her purse on the kitchen table and stormed out in heavy, loud tears.
The second the door slammed, Quinn took the wine glasses that were in her hand and threw them on the ground. "Fuck!" She yelled, eventually the yelling turning into quiet sobs. She couldn't remember the last time she felt happy. The last time she felt like life had actually been going well. She just wanted this game to be over.
Rachel drove over to Finns, wiping her tears as she sobbed loudly. She parked in the parking lot and eyed herself in her rear view mirror. Rachel wiped her tears and waited for the swelling and redness to go down. Once it did, she hopped out of her car and stormed over to his room.
She knocked eagerly on his door, impatiently looking around.
Finn opened and arched his eyebrows. "Rachel? What are-"
He got cut off by Rachel stepped forward to attach her lips with his. This was their first kiss, and Rachel was surprised by how bad it made her feel. Her eyed fluttered shut as the kiss continued and she felt herself gasp.
Because in the blink of an eye...
"Being apart of something special makes you special, right?"
"You know you can kiss me if you want to."
"I would have tortured you if the roles were reversed"
"I know everyone expects us to be enemies and be in competition but I don't hate you"
"I couldn't tell if I was just sad or thirsty."
"You gotta trust me when I say you're the hottest guy in school."
"Quinn really is very pretty."
"You don't belong here Rachel. You can't hate me for helping to send you on your way."
"You're a very pretty girl Quinn, the prettiest girl I ever met, but you're more than that."
"I miss seeing you in the choir room."
"We're kind of friends, huh?"
"On my way."
"Do you have any idea what you mean to me?"
"He's gone, Quinn. Finn, he's gone."
"Would you maybe want to go out with me?"
"I love you"
"Yes baby, yes. I will marry you."
... She remembered.