Tension filled the room, and the moment Quinn had been thinking about since she had stepped off the plane in New York was the moment she wished wasn't happening.

"Quinn?" Rachel said faintly

"Rachel, hi" the blond responed, looking surprised and feeling nervous

"I..um... thought your reading went very well, you did a great job"

"Thanks, it was nice of you to stop by" Quinn was being as polite as possible, not wanting to take the conversation any deeper. It would have to be Rachel to set the pace and tone of this meeting.

"Are you in New York for long? Maybe we can get together when you aren't busy and talk?" Rachel asked

"I'm leaving tonight." NOW she wants to talk Quinn thought to herself "but don't worry you can write me a letter instead, that would be easier for you wouldn't it?" her tone became bitter

Rachel looked shot down, she should have expected Quinn to be angry about how she left things "I'm sorry Quinn..."

"It's fine. I get it. It wasn't neccesary to come here to say that. I'm sorry things didn't work out Rachel, I'm sorry you didn't want to try, I'm very sorry you couldn't say it to me in person, and I'm VERY sorry that you wasted your time coming here just to throw it in my face again." Quinn kept her tone and voice steady, resisting the urge to yell.

The brunette just looked hurt, she thought Quinn would at least hear her out, she only wanted to make things right with her. "That isn't why I came here, Quinn" she started but was cut off again by the blond.

"Rachel, I wish you all the best with your new show and your new boyfriend, and maybe I'll see you in another five years at the next reunion" and with that Quinn was walking away, leaving the brunette standing there on the verge of tears.

She just stood there for a minute What do I do now? Rachel's mind was racing She didn't even let me finish a sentence! So she went after her. Running to catch up to Quinn, she grabbed her arm and turned her around when she had caught up. Quinn looked surprised, glancing from where Rachel's hand was on her arm, to the determined look on the brunette's face.

"Now wait just a minute, I was not done" Rachel said with conviction "I didn't come her to throw anything in your face. I came here to apologize, and to tell you I miss you" she sighed deeply knowing this next part was going to be hard to say "I was wrong to just leave a note for you. I was scared that if I had to look into your eyes and say it, I wouldn't be able to. That isn't an excuse, I know that, but damn it Quinn what I said in my letter wasn't wrong, and you know it."

Quinn opened her mouth to reply but was sharply cut off "I'm not done yet" Rachel said

"Well I am" Quinn spoke up, removed her arm from Rachel "I already told you I get it, I understand, it's too painful to keep hearing you say that we can't work. I was willing to at least TRY to get past the distance and differences, I would have done anything." Quinn had tears forming in her eyes, the hurt that had been building up since she last saw Rachel was finally surfacing and it was getting hard to control. Her voice was raised as she continued "Did you think you could just show up here, say you're sorry, and what? I would just forgive you and we would be the best of friends? pen pals? friends with benefits while I was in town and convenient for you?" She knew the last part wasn't true but it felt good at the time.

"How dare you!" Rachel's voice was shaking with hurt and anger "I came here to tell you that I haven't been able to sleep because thoughts of you keep me up at night, that regret has been eating at me everyday since I left Lima. I came here to tell you that... you know what, forget it. This was a mistake." Rachel had had enough and didn't want to continue this massive fight in the middle of a busy bookstore. "I'm sorry that I made you hate me so much" she said in a whisper, and made her way out of the store.

Quinn wanted nothing more than to stop her and apologize for what she had said but something was keeping her in place. She wasn't sure if it was pride, resentment, or if it was the lingering thought that what her and Rachel had couldn't be fixed.