A/N: Thanks for the kind words thus far, I hope these next two chapters don't disappoint.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any music mentioned.

Chapter 4: Secrets

Quinn tried to talk to Rachel in the morning but she wasn't by her locker like she usually was. Quinn searched the choir room and the auditorium with no sign of the girl. Briefly, Quinn worried that Rachel wouldn't show up today just so she wouldn't have to go with her to Shelby's. She tried to shake her head free of the thought but the longer she went without seeing Rachel, the more her fears seemed to be valid.

Quinn finally caught sight of Rachel at lunch and sighed with relief. She was beginning to get an upset stomach as her nerves set in. What would Shelby have done if she and Puck showed up without Rachel? Hopefully she never had to find out. She walked over to the table currently occupied by her fellow gleeks (without Mercedes).

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence." Santana announced sarcastically.

"Hey Q!" Brittany beamed from the other side of Santana. "We are all glad you are back in glee, and that you shower."

Quinn smiled politely, greeting the rest of the table as she sat beside Puck and across from Rachel and Finn. Since re-joining glee, she has managed to keep mostly to herself (with the exception of Puck, and recently Rachel). Quinn made sure to make eye contact with Rachel, though neither said a word to each other the entire lunch period. Rachel got up to leave before the bell rang, so Quinn never got to talk to her. She was going to follow her out, but was stopped when Mike spoke up.

"We're all glad you get to see Beth today."

Quinn was shocked into silence. Mike of all people brought it up. She scanned the table, searching her friends' faces.

"Ya. With your whole punk rock look you sported at the beginning of the school year, we were worried you wouldn't come back to glee." Tina said quietly, drawing Quinn's attention from Mike.

"Rachel told us you'd be back, that you needed us as much as we needed you and that if we were patient you'd come back to us." Kurt added.

"Rachel said that?"

"Ya, the dwarf was worried about you but she wasn't the only one." Santana tried to appear bored, but Quinn understood what she meant.

"Then when Puck said you were going to see Beth today, well, it all sort of clicked. You know? You were just really sad." Brittany finished.

Quinn looked around at all her friends. Rachel was right, they rallied around each other and they really cared. They were her family. She couldn't hold back her smile; she loved these guys.

"Thank you." She refused to let herself tear up.

"Oh, come on. That's what friends are for, to help each other through the hard times." Puck smiled as he pulled her in for a one armed hug. "And we've all had our fair share of those."

The bell rang, pulling Quinn from her thoughts. Her friends all scurried out of the lunch room. As she went to stand, she realized she was not alone at the table.

"She's glad you guys are friends. That's all she ever wanted." Finn waited to speak until Quinn was looking directly at him. "She just had to wait for you to come around." He finished with a smile.

"She doesn't make it easy sometimes." Quinn couldn't help it, she thought back to all the times recently that she reached out to Rachel and Rachel shot her down.

Finn chuckles at that. "Don't I know it." He got up to leave, but stopped and faced her again. "She always tried, even when you didn't make it easy on her. I mean like with the corsage, and well." He shut his mouth quickly and his eyes went wide.

"Wait, what now?" Quinn listened intently as Finn implied that she not give up on Rachel, but was caught off guard by his slip-up. Finn tried to hurry away but she was right behind him. "Finn, what did you mean? Finn. Look at me!"

He stopped immediately. Sure he was no longer dating her, but 'Scary Quinn' would always terrify him. He turned to face her, slowly.

"Look, please don't tell her I told you." He looked at her as he pleaded with her. "She told me what corsage to get you, the sash and everything. She said you deserved to have a perfect night."

Quinn just stared at him. What was there to say?

"I know it didn't end up being perfect, with me getting kicked out and you losing Prom Queen."

"And slapping Rachel." Quinn regretted speaking even before she saw the look of rage cross Finn's face.

"You what?"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"She…um, she…didn't tell you?"

"No, she didn't tell me!" He stormed off. Quinn continued to follow.

"Finn wait! I need to explain." She begged him to listen but he disappeared in the crowd and she couldn't catch up with him.

Quinn decided to find Rachel; she needed to do some damage control. She saw Rachel walk towards her on her way to class, and grabbed her arm pulling her into the closest bathroom.

"Quinn what is your problem?" Rachel hissed as she pulled her arm out of Quinn's grasp.

"I may have let it slip to Finn about my slapping you at Prom." She whispered, in case they weren't alone in the bathroom.

"You may have? Quinn how does something like that slip out?"

"We were arguing about…" Quinn trailed off, she could expose another secret or she could just try to fix things herself. "I'm truly sorry Rachel; I thought you would have told him. Thank you for protecting me, but…"

"It wasn't about protecting you, Quinn. It was a private moment that happened and I didn't think it had to be announced to everyone. You see, I can keep a secret." Rachel replied with a hint of irritation in her voice.

"I appreciate it, for whatever reason. You could have used it to further humiliate me, or to break me and Finn up. But you didn't."

"Contrary to popular belief, I never hated you Quinn."

"I never hated you either." Quinn saw the incredulous look Rachel gave her and decided to amend her statement. "Ok, I did. But you did try to steal my boyfriend from me when I was pregnant."

"That was not my finest hour." Rachel admitted reluctantly.

"And sending Sunshine to a crack house?" Quinn smirked.

"Former crack house. It was abandoned." Rachel pouted.

"Abandoned just means it was probably a meth house instead."

"Quinn!" Rachel stomped her foot, but she also looked remorseful. "Sunshine and I made up, you know. At Nationals."

Both were silent for awhile, before Rachel interrupted the quiet. "I've done things I'm not proud of, and I know you have as well. But as long as we make things right, I mean, if we learn from our mistakes…."

Quinn allows Rachel to trail off. She knows what she's trying to say. She forgives Quinn for everything. And Quinn, well Quinn never really hated Rachel. She just didn't like her very much, at all.

"I'll sort things out with Finn. See you in glee." Rachel announced as she silently left Quinn standing alone in the bathroom. Quinn smiled, that was the closest thing to a goodbye she'd probably ever get from Rachel and she wasn't going to complain.

A/N Next chapters the big one!

Secrets by OneRepublic