A/N: Sleepover at the Berry's! I was excited to write this and hope you enjoy reading it. And this is officially the longest chapter so far.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any music, TV shows or movies mentioned. I also don't own 'Wicked' (or the Gershwin Theatre) or the card game euchre.
Chapter 11: Realize
Quinn drove to Rachel's house after school elated to find Rachel waiting in the driveway for her when she stepped out of her car. Quinn's smile hadn't faded since she and Rachel finished their song (even though Quinn wrote and composed it, she'd always consider it hers and Rachel's song) which elicited a unanimous vote for the solo performance at Sectional's next month. She happily locked arms with Rachel as the two leisurely walked to the house.
They beat Rachel's dads home since there was no play rehearsal this afternoon. They made themselves at home, immediately making their way to the kitchen. Quinn's eyes instantly locked on a beautiful vase sitting in the windowsill. It caught her attention because inside were half wilted stargazer lilies. She smiled to herself knowing that every day Rachel was pleasantly reminded of Quinn (or she at least hoped that was the case.) After fixing a snack they retired to the living room. They sat on the floor in front of the couch. Rachel sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, Quinn sat nearby and propped her legs across Rachel's.
They discussed favorite music, favorite birthdays, first childhood memory, first pet's name, the name they would call a band if they had one, what devices they wish they could have invented, favorite food, worst date ever, and everything in between. They never grew bored talking with each other because they still had so much to learn.
"I assure you my tastes extend beyond musicals and such!" Rachel argued when Quinn refused to accept that her favorite movie was not 'Funny Girl' but rather 'The Notebook.' "I am a hopeless romantic and, I don't know but dying together after growing old together, how can that not be my favorite movie?"
Quinn took a mental note about Rachel's professed romanticism and ran a list of possible grand gestures through her head. Meanwhile, she still had to name her favorite movie and she was a little reluctant to do so.
"And don't think this argument gets you off the hook, you still haven't answered yours." Rachel stated petulantly.
"Fine, 'Willow' okay."
"Really? Never saw it."
Quinn looked scandalized. Then she got a bit excited, she was pleased to share her favorite movie with Rachel. "Next time you come over, we are watching it!"
"Why didn't you want to admit that was your favorite?"
"I thought you were going to tease me. It's just, all those old movies I used to watch with my sister growing up. I was never happier and I like to remember how that feels sometimes."
"Quinn that is nothing to be ashamed of. Unless, you still watch 'Barney' or something."
"I assure you I do not." Quinn said, rolling her eyes. She chewed on her toast as she thought about her next question. "Ok, I got it. Theme song for your life?"
Rachel considered her answer as she took a sip of her milk (not water, she wasn't thirsty for water) before Quinn replied. "Santana's would be 'S&M'"
Rachel spit out her mouthful of milk and started laughing hysterically. "I was totally thinking 'The Lady is a tramp.'"
"Ooh that's good too. And Puck's would be 'I'm too sexy.'"
"Or sexy beast."
"Great now I have horrible images of Santana in leather with a whip and Puck, well, enjoying it." Rachel mentioned eliciting a strange look from Quinn.
They were silent for a moment. Quinn kept sneaking glances at Rachel. Finally, she turned all of her attention on her and asked another question. "Have you ever kissed a girl?"
Rachel straightened. "No, though I don't think I would be opposed to it." She dared to look at Quinn whose face remained unchanged. "Have you?"
"Yes." She watched Rachel take in the information. "Santana a few times, and Brittany."
"Would you again?"
"With them? No." Quinn studied Rachel, she couldn't figure out what emotions were passing through those brown orbs. "But someone else, probably."
Rachel nodded and audibly swallowed. She opened her mouth to answer but Michael walked through the door announcing his presence.
"I was hoping that was your car in the driveway, blondie." He announced cheerfully as he walked further into the room. He leaned down and platted the top of her head before dipping down and kissing the top of his daughter's.
"Good afternoon Dad and you knew it would be Quinn. You were the one who told me to invite her for dinner." She chastised. Quinn was only a little upset that it was Michael's idea rather than Rachel's to have her over for dinner. She hoped that it was Rachel's idea to have her stay the night.
"Right, how could I have forgotten?" He playfully replied before stage whispering, "I thought I'd be proactive and invite you before Rachel could invite that boyfriend of hers."
In that moment, Quinn would swear up and down that Michael Berry was an absolute genius.
"Dad! Finn wouldn't have come over any way; he's got an away game." Rachel stated matter of factly.
Quinn felt a ping of something in her chest. Did Rachel wish it was Finn who was here instead? Quinn must have been lost in her head longer than she thought; she hadn't even noticed Michael excusing himself to start dinner.
"Quinn I hope you don't mind I sort of used you as an excuse with my dad."
She did? When did she do that? How long was she off in her own little world and oops, she was doing it again. Quinn tuned back into Rachel in time to hear her say. "You see, Finn and I are fighting and I don't want Dad to know the extent of it because he doesn't really like Finn and if things do work out it'd be awkward."
"What are you fighting about? It's not still Puck is it?"
"You remember when you told me that I don't belong here and that Finn's destined to run Burt's shop?"
Quinn winced, but nodded.
"You were reminding me that I should focus on my dreams and not some boy, and that is why I told your mom you inspired me. Because you kind of did. In New York, Kurt asked me that if I had to choose between my dream and Finn, what would I do? I told him that it'd be my dream because that was my love."
Quinn listened intently. Would Rachel always choose her dreams over love?
"I told Finn when we got back that I wasn't going to let anything stand in my way and that when we graduate; I was going to New York. No matter what. We agreed to date, just for the year. He promised he wouldn't hold me back."
"He'll always hold you back Rachel, you are so much better than him. Better than everyone in this town."
"Thank you for saying that. However, when Kurt and I spoke with Miss Pillsbury at the beginning of the school year she informed us that Julliard did not have an adequate theatre department and told us to look around elsewhere. There is one that Kurt and I have been looking into, but the truth is there are really great schools around here."
Quinn swallowed hard. Not sure if she was happy Rachel might be staying in Ohio or disappointed that the girl wasn't getting out of Lima.
"Finn is mad at me because he found out I was considering staying and that I never discussed things with him. He thinks that I am pushing him away."
"Are you?"
"Maybe? I think I am outgrowing him."
Quinn's heart caught in her throat. If Rachel dumped Finn and stayed near Lima…
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said. But you confuse me."
Quinn frowned; she didn't like to see that frustrated look grace Rachel's delicate features. "How do I confuse you?"
"You say that my forgiving people is the best part of me, but you also say that I deserve better than how I've been treated."
"Rachel, you forgive when a person is truly sorry and works to make it up to you. You forgive when someone so obviously changes and wants to be a better person. Not when they use your constant forgiveness as an excuse to walk all over you."
Rachel digested what Quinn was telling her. She remained silent for several minutes. "Quinn. I forgive you. I know I've said it and I've always meant it. But if I'm going to be working on me, if I am going to be protecting myself then I want to make sure I surround myself with people who make my life better not worse."
Quinn smiled; she made Rachel's life better. Rachel chose to surround herself with someone like Quinn. "Rachel, you won't have to do it alone, protect yourself I mean. You have me, and for sure Puck."
Rachel smiled in gratitude before frowning again. "But Quinn, by your reasoning I don't think I'm ready to be around Shelby. She has been good to you and Puck, but for me, I just need time."
Quinn wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders, pulling her as close as possible but with the awkward way they were sitting with Quinn's legs still draped over Rachel's, it proved to be difficult.
"Take all the time you need Rachel."
"And the rest of the club; the gifts were a nice gesture and I appreciate their efforts. But I choose to hold out for real remorse as opposed to them buying their forgiveness. Is that selfish?"
"Rachel, I know in the past I've said the complete opposite, but you are the least selfish person I know." She kisses the girl's brown locks, noticing the intoxicating aroma. What was that smell? "You are quite conceited and sometimes pigheaded, but not really selfish. You want what's best for the team, and as luck would have it that is usually you."
Quinn tried to be light hearted, but she was also being serious and Rachel knew and understood it.
"I guess there are things I could work on too, then. Since I think it's unfair that you are the only one doing the growing and changing."
"Oh, baby. You're done growing." She feels Rachel's breath on the shell of her ear when she huffs in response. The contact of Rachel's breath to her skin shot electricity throughout her body and resulted in a pleasurable pressure settling in the pit of her stomach. Or perhaps just a bit lower, though she doesn't want to consider the implications of that.
They were locked in a wordless embrace, breathing each other in for several rapturous minutes before they heard footsteps just inside the front door. They broke apart so rapidly that they were sprawled apart on the floor in an equally compromising position when Jeremiah Berry entered the room. The girls immediately flushed as they shyly greeted him. He looked at both girls quizzically before deciding it best not to ask.
"If it isn't the eternally beautiful, Quinn!"
"Hello, Mr…Jeremiah, sir." Quinn flushed.
"Rachel, sweetheart." He smiled lovingly at his daughter.
"Daddy!" Rachel beamed.
Jeremiah chuckled as he kissed both girls on the tops of their heads and went to greet his husband. Quinn waited for him to disappear in the kitchen before addressing Rachel.
"I don't know why but he intimidates me!" She whispered.
"Daddy wouldn't hurt a fly. It's Dad you'd have to worry about. He hasn't liked anyone I brought home, with the exception of Noah."
"Little did he know, huh?"
"Right!" Rachel chuckled at the absurdity of it.
"Seriously Rachel, your track record is abysmal. Noah, Jesse and Finn. If I were your dad, I'd be wary of who you brought home too."
"He seems to like you just fine."
Quinn did not discount the fact that Rachel made references to her being a suitor twice. Maybe she did have a chance.
After the best dinner Quinn ever had, (and don't ask her what it was because it was vegan and she'd probably not want to know) she and the Berry's decided to play a card game. The Berry men wanted to teach Quinn to play euchre because they could never get Finn to play with them and you needed four people to play it. But the more complicated the rules became, the more Quinn assumed that they tried teaching Finn; he just didn't get it.
Quinn understood the game however, so much so that she and her partner, Jeremiah, were beating Rachel and Michael three games to none. Rachel, as Quinn could have predicted, was quite the sore loser, however, she was also crafty in her attempts to win by distracting Quinn in oh so many ways. Whether it was the way she chewed on her lower lip in concentration when it was her turn to play. Or when Quinn went to grab the cards for her turn to deal and their fingers briefly touched. A touch so simple (and seemingly innocent) should not cause your entire body to shiver or the place of contact to pleasantly burn. And now, Rachel was shuffling the cards in a really fancy way. And by fancy, Quinn was referring to the way her fingers stroked the cards. She had to bite her own lip just to stop a moan from escaping her mouth. Rachel did not have man hands at all, they were delicate and her fingers seemed surprisingly long…
It was these very distractions that had Quinn's team trailing this game eight to two. She had to get her mind in this game; they had to win because this was Quinn's opportunity to make a good impression on Rachel's dads. But when Rachel's team won this most recent game and Rachel threw her arms in the air, did a little dance in her chair and sloppily threw her arms around Quinn in a show of what she called "good sportsmanship" by consoling the losers, Quinn no longer cared that she had wanted to win. She had a dopey grin on her face when Michael's gaze caught hers. She pulled back from Rachel guiltily.
"So, Quinn." Michael cleared his throat and Quinn realized what Rachel meant by him being the intimidating one. "Rachel is keeping secrets from us."
Both Quinn and Rachel's eyes went wide. They shared a frantic look as Jeremiah chuckles. "Hon, I think you just terrified her." He says playfully poking Quinn in an attempt to evoke some sort of reaction.
"Dad, I can explain…" Rachel attempted but Michael wouldn't allow it. "Rachel, honey, you had a chance all week and refused to answer, so now it's Quinn's turn."
If possible Quinn's eyes got wider and her mouth got dry. She didn't know how to lie, sure she did often enough but they were the worst lies ever told. 'Finn, I'm pregnant because we were in a hot tub together and you couldn't control yourself even while chanting mailman!' or 'Hey Sam, I never cheated on you I just gave Finn mouth to mouth because he choked on a jawbreaker' and how about 'No mom, I'm not pregnant I just ate a really big lunch.' Yes, Quinn was the worst liar ever! She and Rachel were doomed.
"So, you're not telling either huh?" Michael finished.
Did Quinn just zone out again? She really needed to learn to control her thoughts. She looked over at Rachel who had an amused expression on her face. Amused is better than furious, right?
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to accept that Rachel has a secret admirer because I fail to believe that Finn gave you those flowers." Michael finished.
Flowers? They were just trying to find out who gave Rachel the lilies? Wait. Why didn't Rachel tell them they came from her? Was she ashamed of it?
Before her thoughts could run rampant, Rachel placed her hand on Quinn's thigh. Quinn looked at Rachel who flashed her an adoring smile. That was obviously not what being ashamed looked like.
"Finn didn't give them to me, Quinn did. I would have told you but you never asked. How was I to know you were bothered so much by not knowing?" Rachel replied calmly. Her hand still firmly on Quinn's thigh.
"Quinn? The flowers are beautiful, was there a purpose?" Michael asked pointedly. Yup, he was definitely the more terrifying of the two. And how did that happen, when she was over last week he was quite pleasant? What changed? Then Quinn remembered Rachel's hand on her thigh and realized that Rachel's parents saw Quinn as a suitor now, even if Rachel didn't…yet. That brought a light smile to her face; they see me as a threat to Rachel's virtue.
Suddenly the soft, airy smile morphed into a dark smirk. Stealing Rachel's virtue, now that was a thought…
When she reluctantly pulled her mind out of the gutter that it seemed to be permanently attracted to, she surveyed the faces around her. Michael's remained skeptical, Jeremiah's encouraging, and Rachel's was dancing between amusement and concern. Quinn just found her cute.
"I brought her the flowers on the day of her first play rehearsal. I wanted to show my support."
Michael's skepticism vanished to be replaced with…acceptance. "How thoughtful. And what has that Finn Hudson gotten you lately?"
"A box of chocolates that I can't eat because they're dairy. But he was happy to take them off my hands if I wasn't going to use them." Rachel deadpanned.
Quinn snorted. Jeremiah followed suit. Michael looked sternly at his daughter trying to gage whether or not she was joking. Rachel couldn't hold the straight face and broke into a grin. "Dad, you really expect the worst in him, don't you?"
Quinn's smirk dropped of her face and her heart constricted.
Then Rachel sighed. "You know what; I wish he bought me chocolates that I couldn't eat. At least it'd mean he spent time thinking of me."
"Getting you something you can't use wouldn't be thinking of you Rachel." Quinn snapped. She wanted to throw Rachel's hand off her thigh as emphasis of her irritation but she'd miss the contact too much.
Michael took that as a sign to clear the cards off the table and the men headed into the living room. Quinn refused to look at Rachel for several moments. Rachel took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Quinn, you're right. I shouldn't make people into what they're not. I can expect better of them but I can demand it."
Quinn finally met her eyes. "I think I should break up with him." Quinn didn't breathe; she didn't do anything but stare into Rachel's eyes searching for conviction within that statement. When she realized the girl was being honest, she let herself breathe again.
They remained silent for several more minutes. "Quinn?"
Quinn looked up at Rachel but didn't verbally acknowledge her.
"Do you think maybe…" Rachel looked worried about something, so Quinn put her hand over Rachel's, pressing them both firmly against her own thigh. "Could we stop talking about all things heavy, dark and depressing for the night and just vow to enjoy each other's company?"
Quinn grinned and her eyes lit up. Rachel never thought she looked more beautiful than she did that moment. "Of course, Rach, I'd love that."
The girls stayed in the kitchen chatting briefly. Quinn offered to be Rachel's campaign manager for Class President (any excuse to spend extra time with the girl) and they discussed their Halloween plans (The entire glee club wanted to participate in Beth's trick or treat adventure, so they were going to make a night out of it).
Rachel and Quinn joined the Berry men in the living room; they were finishing watching a cheesy action flick. The men were sitting on the couch, so the girls didn't think twice about squeezing into the reclining chair together. They employed every excuse they could think of to be constantly touching each other. Whether it was their fingers brushing while reaching for popcorn, or cuddling to share the blanket, they remained almost tethered together. Rather than attempting to watch the movie, the girls shared hushed giggles and whispered exchanges.
When the horrible B movie ended, Michael turned to the girls and cleared his throat to gain their attention. The girls looked up at him, still giggling. "Well, since you two didn't seem too interested in what we were watching, why don't you pick out the next one?"
Rachel snuggled further into Quinn, who reached her arm around her allowing her to become impossibly close. "Why don't you just pick the next one, Dad, I am far too comfortable to move?"
Quinn giggled in response, "Anything you pick is fine with us."
Jeremiah stood up and walked to the cabinet that was the home of their extensive DVD collection. He opened it wide, and addressed Quinn. "Why don't you just name something, and I'll put it in for us?" He supplied, amused at the girls' obvious disinterest.
Quinn looked at Rachel, then back at the man addressing her. "Do you guys have 'Willow'?"
Michael raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but Rachel refuses to watch it because there is no singing."
Rachel grumbled against Quinn's neck, immediately sending a shiver down Quinn's spine when she felt Rachel's lips twitch across her skin. Quinn replied nearly breathless, "Trust me; she'll watch it this time." Then she turned to Rachel and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry; there is some romance in it." Before she straightened herself back up, she allowed her own lips to ghost the shell of Rachel's ear. The visible shiver she elicited in Rachel brought a swell of pride deep within her chest and a smirk of contentment to her face.
Quinn reclined their chair and the girls arranged themselves into comfortable positions. As the movie progressed, Rachel found herself resting her head across Quinn's stomach. She was drawing patterns on Quinn's upper thigh with her fingertips. Quinn's hand found its way to Rachel's hip, tugging her gently toward her. As she did so, Rachel's shirt rode up a bit exposing Quinn's fingertips to Rachel's flawlessly smooth skin. She starting producing patterns of her own on Rachel's deliciously exposed stomach. And she might have (she's not positive) given Rachel goosebumps when she wrote the phrase 'Quinn was here.'
Toward the end of the movie, Rachel's hand found its way dangerously higher up Quinn's thigh as Quinn's fingertips worked their way up Rachel's side exposing more and more skin. Quinn couldn't help being conscious of the ache developing between her legs, and being aware of just how close Rachel's hand was to that ache. She bit her lip and adjusted herself in an attempt to be able to clench her legs together just a little. Only in doing so, she accidently grazed the underside of Rachel's bra clad breast with her fingertips. She bit back a moan that nearly erupted at the thought that she just unwittingly got some "under the shirt over the bra" action and she didn't even go on a date with the girl…yet.
Rachel was aware of Quinn's hand, and a part of her wished it was deliberate, though she knew that Quinn's hand slipped while she was repositioning herself and trying to get comfortable. She wondered if she were squishing Quinn, and debated on whether or not to give the girl some space. The more selfish side of her won out, because she was far too content to move. She loved the feel of Quinn next to her, and she swore she felt Quinn trace the words 'Quinn was here' on her skin. Quinn wasn't aware of it, but when she wrote those words on Rachel's side, she was also writing them in Rachel's heart.
When the movie ended, neither girl made a move to extract themselves from their chair. Rachel's dads shut off the movie, whispered "goodnight" to the girls and retreated to their bedroom. After several moments of comfortable silence, Quinn asked "So, what'd you think of the movie?"
Rachel reluctantly pulled herself up and away from Quinn, wanting to be able to look the girl in the eye. "I loved it Quinn! It was rather romantic at times, and quite entertaining. I can see why you enjoy it so much, and I thank you for allowing me to share the experience with you."
Quinn smiled in response, hoping that the "experience" included her accidently fondling her. Because if she enjoyed that, then…
After changing into their pajamas, if you could call what Rachel wore to bed that, the girls made themselves comfortable in Rachel's bedroom. (Rachel donned a pair of blue boyshorts that made the skirts she wore to school seem modest. And she had the audacity to pair that with a white tank top that hugged her in all the right places and left nothing to the imagination. Quinn had the decency to wear a pair of pajama pants that had the word 'cheer' on her butt and a fitted tee that read "WMHS.")
Rachel's room was far from what Quinn was expecting. It was rather modest. Her walls were not bright and gaudy, just a subtle yellow. There were no gold stars plastered around the room, and there was only one Broadway inspired poster. The poster was from 'Wicked,' and beside it there was a photograph of Rachel and Kurt standing on a stage Quinn had never seen before. She pointed to the photo. "Where was this?"
Rachel stood behind her, leaning in insufferably close, causing Quinn to stop breathing. "That was in New York, Kurt and I snuck in to the Gershwin Theater. You know, where they do Wicked. And one of the ushers, or something, caught us but instead of kicking us out he allowed us to go on stage and sing a song. He took this picture for us."
Quinn turned to face Rachel; they were standing so close they could share a breath. Which was good because Quinn needed one. She inhaled deeply, taking in everything that was Rachel, before slowly exhaling. "What song did you guys sing?"
"'For Good'" Rachel replied without hesitation. Quinn nodded and smiled "I wish I had been there. To see you on a real Broadway stage for the first time."
"It was amazing. But Quinn, don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to see me on a Broadway stage. That may have been the first, but it wasn't real, and it certainly won't be the last."
They stood so close, if either of them leaned in; they could have brushed their lips together without effort. And with a little exertion…
"Well, we should be getting to bed." Rachel interrupted.
Quinn shook off the disappointment, if only she had the guts to make a move. On the up side, however, she'd be spending the entire night in Rachel's bed. With Rachel. "Ok, what side's yours?"
As they climbed into bed, instinctually finding each other halfway, Quinn's arms embraced Rachel protectively pulling Rachel to her. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Goodnight, Rachel, I had the most amazing day."
Rachel smiled, though she knew Quinn couldn't see it. "Quinn, you are quite the charmer."
"Ooh, was that my compliment of the day!" Quinn exclaimed excitedly.
"Yes, and I've been waiting all afternoon to give it to you."
Quinn giggled.
"Goodnight, Quinn. I also had a lovely time."
Rachel's internal clock woke her up at 6:00. When she felt Quinn's arms wrapped tightly around her, she decided that her morning workout routine no longer took precedence. She snuggled further into Quinn's embrace, firmly pushing her back against Quinn's front. Reflexively, Quinn's grip tightened and she let out a pleasurable sigh that caused Rachel's body to heat immeasurably. She fell back to sleep several minutes later.
When Quinn woke up, her eyes remained closed as she simply focused on the breathtaking feeling of holding Rachel. What she wouldn't give to wake up this way every morning. She pulled Rachel even closer, before nuzzling her head into the Rachel's neck. She breathed her in. She tried deciphering the smell; vanilla mixed with what was that…berries? She was feeling brave all of a sudden and placed delicate yet opened mouth kisses on Rachel's exposed shoulder. Then she moved up and placed a few more kisses on Rachel's neck causing the girl to stir in her sleep and when Rachel released a moan, Quinn could hardly contain herself. She placed one kiss along Rachel's jawline before ghosting her lips up to Rachel's ear.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." She huskily whispered in her ear. Pulling away, Quinn's lips still tingled with the sensation of having touched Rachel's skin. She hungrily licked her lips longing for the taste of Rachel.
"But I don't want to get up." Rachel pouted, causing Quinn's heart to melt.
"I didn't say we had to get out of bed, just that you needed to wake up." Quinn flirted shamelessly.
Rachel immediately turned to face her, mischievous grin in place. They stared each other down for several seconds. "Then what do you propose we do?" Rachel flirted back.
Before Quinn could answer, there was a loud knock on Rachel's bedroom door. "Rachel, honey. You girls gotta get up, it's nearly noon."
"We're on our way, Daddy!" Rachel sprang out of bed. She could not have slept in this late! She looked at the clock which revealed it to be 11:47. She shook her head in disbelief. "I've never slept in this late in my life." She looked at Quinn conspiratorially, and stage whispered. "Even after my party last year when I was hung-over, I woke up at 10:30."
Quinn grinned, remembering that night. Rachel was really drunk, it was almost adorable. She grudgingly climbed out of bed as well.
After sharing lunch with the Berry men, who were watching them closely the entire time, Rachel walked Quinn to her car.
"Compliment of the day, Miss Fabray, is that you make me feel safe. You're a very protective and nurturing person."
Was that a compliment, really? Quinn didn't want Rachel to think that. Well of course she wanted that, but she also wanted to ravish the girl's perfect body and there was nothing remotely nurturing about that!
"And your arms are my new favorite place to be, I never slept so well in my life." Rachel added when Quinn didn't reply.
Quinn smirked at Rachel's amended statement. That was a much better compliment. However, it didn't mean she knew how to respond to it.
Rachel leaned in toward Quinn, hugging her snugly. Before pulling away, she placed a kiss softly on Quinn's cheek. The kiss was so close to the edge of Quinn's mouth, that their lips actually grazed each other. She pulled back, told her she'd talk to her soon, and bounded back to the house. She was inside before Quinn even registered what happened. Without thought, she raised her hand to the place Rachel's lips just were as a smile crept its way on her face.
"I like Rachel." Quinn was pacing around Santana's living room while the Latina watched her with her eyebrow raised dangerously high, and a dark smirk adorning her lips. Brittany clapped excitedly. Quinn didn't notice either of them; instead she thought maybe she'd reiterate her dilemma. "Rachel Berry. You know, a girl who happens to have a boyfriend that she 'thinks' she should break up with."
"If she's gonna break up with him, Q, I don't see the problem." Santana replied.
"S, even if she does break up with the idiot, doesn't mean she likes me that way."
"Are you blind?"
"What do you mean?"
"That girl's got a bad. And it's a good thing too, cuz she's completely tolerable now." Santana mentioned as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Quinn stopped pacing and looked intently at her friends. "Then I have to do something."
"You should sing to her!" Brittany replied instantly.
Quinn considered it. "I can't believe you're supportive of this, it'd be me and Berry. And you haven't even reacted to the part about me liking a girl."
"Please, Q." Santana rolled her eyes. "You being into Berry is old news."
Quinn stared at her friend incredulously before shifting her gaze to Brittany who was nodded emphatically.
"You used to draw pornographic pictures of her in the bathroom. And you stalk her myspace page even though you stopped posting insults; you ogle her during all of her performances, and you were even going to give her your nose!" For affect, Santana used her fingers to list off each example.
Realization overtook Quinn as she slowly took a seat on the couch between her two best friends. Brittany patted her head trying to make her feel better, then cheerfully replied, "You also wrote a song about her."
Quinn nearly got whiplash as she quickly faced Brittany. "Was I so completely obvious?"
Brittany happily nodded causing Quinn to groan.
"Don't worry. I think Rachel may be even further in the closet than you were." Santana said bitingly.
"What am I going to do?" Quinn slumped back in her seat.
"I'm telling you, you should sing to her!" Brittany emphasized.
"I have to find the perfect song for us, then. I can't serenade her with something generic. I don't want there to be any doubt that she has other options, and doesn't have to settle with Finn fucking Hudson." Quinn hissed.
Santana studied her. "You'd do that? Sing to her in front of the whole glee club?" Santana chanced a glance at Brittany who suddenly seemed sad. "You'd come out that way?"
"Yes, I would." Quinn answered with certainty. "For Rachel, I would."
Monday was Halloween, and all the gleeks were excited about hanging out tonight. Everyone was already in their seats when Mr. Shue walked into the choir room.
"Good afternoon, guys. How was everyone's weekend?" He asked and he seemed genuinely interested.
Everyone mumbled "fine" or "not long enough."
"Mr. Shue. I have a piece I'd like to perform." Santana announced already making her way to the front of the room. "This song is for Brittany."
As soon as the music started, Brittany bounced excitedly in her seat. Quinn smiled at Santana in encouragement before stealing a longing look at Rachel. Rachel was sitting next to Finn, who had his arm around her lazily. Santana's silky voice cut through the room.
If you just realize what I just realized
Then we'd be perfect for each other and we'll never find another
Just realize what I just realized
We'd never have to wonder if we missed out on each other now
A/N: I never wrote anything like this before, so I hope you guys go easy on me :)
How many of you guessed it was Santana that would come out? Hope you approve!
Next chapter Quinn sings to Rachel, I promise.
Realize by Colbie Caillat