A/N: Special thanks to FreshKicks for their review, you made me smile :)

Chapter 7

"You have to be kidding me," Phoenix deadpans.

"I'm serious!" Quinn exclaims, shaking her head at Phoenix's ridiculousness.

Phoenix and Quinn had spent almost two hours simply talking to each other about anything and everything. It felt like they had been friends for the longest time and it was sincerely easy for them to interact. Predictably, considering how headstrong they both were, they often ended up opposing each other's views but it only made the entire discussion more interesting.

"There's no way I'm letting you take a cab home, especially when you have an awesome friend right here to take you back," Phoenix says, gesturing to herself for emphasis.

"It's not even late at night Phoenix. It's one in the afternoon. You don't have to baby me, I can take care of myself," Quinn reasons, but Phoenix instantly picks up on the innuendo in her words, something she was sure even Quinn hadn't realized.

"I'm not saying that you can't take care of yourself or protect yourself," Phoenix says gently, "I'm just saying, that sometimes, you should let someone else do it for you."

Quinn's eyes bore into Phoenix's, the latter's words striking a cord in her heart.

"Okay," Quinn says simply, taking Phoenix by surprise.

"Okay?"

"Yes."

"Well, that was easy," Phoenix grins, making Quinn laugh, "Do you want to leave now? Your mom wanted you home by two, right?"

"Yeah, there are some people who work with daddy that are coming home with their families, so the picture perfect family needs to be present," Quinn says bitterly.

"Hey, it can't be all bad," Phoenix frowns.

"Oh, but it is. The men think that they are the greatest people in the world, the women keep gossiping and fake laughter can be heard everywhere and god forbid any of the children come because then it's a matchmaking session," Quinn explains, watching Phoenix as the latter gets up from the couch to dig around the hall closet, pulling out two helmets.

"Sounds super fun," Phoenix teases, making Quinn stick her tongue out at the redhead.

For someone as feminine and sophisticated as Quinn, she could sure be quite the child sometimes.

"Don't be mean to me Winters," Quinn deadpans, making Phoenix laugh.

"Aye aye captain," Phoenix winks, "You're okay riding on a motorcycle right?"

"As long as you don't kill me," Quinn laughs.

"Couldn't do that even if I wanted to," Phoenix grins, grabbing her keys, "I can get your clothes to school on Monday if you want?"

"That'd be nice," Quinn smiles.

"Let's go then?" Phoenix asks and Quinn nods, grabbing the jacket Phoenix lent to her as they left the apartment.

Quinn may have known Phoenix for only a day, but she knew that she could trust this girl with her life. And honestly, as she stepped out of the redhead's apartment, it felt like she was leaving home to go somewhere she didn't belong, as opposed to the other way around.

"I have to say, that was a rush. And you didn't even kill me," Quinn grins, shaking her hair out as she pulled the helmet off her head.

Phoenix laughs, removing her helmet too and placing it on top of the seat.

"I told you I wasn't going to kill you," Phoenix says, running a hand through her messy hair, "You're sure you're going to be okay right? Do you want me to stay over or something?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Quinn says, smiling at the redhead's concern, "I'm not planning on telling anyone anything yet, either way," the blonde shrugs.

"Well, not to rush you or anything, but talking to Brittany and Santana will be a good place to start," Phoenix offers.

"Speaking of Brittany," Quinn starts, cleverly taking the attention off herself, a playful smirk on her face, "You seemed infatuated with her yesterday. What's that all about?"

Phoenix instantly turns a bright shade of pink, her pale skin making her embarrassment increasingly evident. The redhead felt her heart spike at the direct mention of her feelings towards the blonde in question, but she couldn't deny that Brittany had certainly made her feel something that she hadn't in a very long time.

"Well," Phoenix blushes, "Brittany's crazy attractive, you can't blame me for faltering and acting like an absolute idiot around her," Phoenix downplays, waving Quinn off with a flick off her hand.

"You weren't that bad," Quinn laughs, "And that isn't the worst reaction towards any of the three of us."

"Do I even want to know?"

"Nope, no you don't," Quinn grins, making Phoenix smile.

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to push you to tell me either," Phoenix laughs.

"Good call," Quinn chuckles.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Phoenix says carefully.

"Sure," Quinn replies, a small smile on her face at the redhead's unsure demeanour.

"What were you doing on those streets last night?"

"Oh. Well, I was...running. I just needed to clear my head. I couldn't stop. And when the guy came, I just...froze, I guess. I wanted to scream and fight but I just couldn't move. Not instantly at least," Quinn explains softly, hazel eyes downcast, "Luckily for me, you were there. You got away with a cut on your cheek, imagine the battle scars I would get away with when I started retaliating," Quinn jokes.

"God, you have to stop thanking me! I'd do it again if I had to," Phoenix winks.

"That means a lot," Quinn smiles, "Anyway, I have to head inside now."

"Okay. Call me if you need anything, alright? Doesn't matter what time."

"I will," Quinn smiles, "Meet you outside school on Monday?"

"Yes, you will," Phoenix smiles, taking the helmet Quinn had briefly borrowed and locking it against her motorcycle.

Quinn quickly moves forward when Phoenix is done and before the latter even realizes it, Quinn has her arms wrapped right around the redhead, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Thank you. Again. For last night and this morning. Everything."

"You're welcome. I was at the right place at the right time. Besides, that's what friends are for," Phoenix says, a small smile dancing her lips.

"Right," Quinn nods, grinning at the redhead, who mounts her motorcycle and wears her helmet, revving the engine before looking back at the blonde.

"It was nice meeting you, Quinn Fabray."

"It was nice meeting you too, Phoenix Winters," Quinn smiles, watching Phoenix ride away until she was out of sight before she sighed and turned to look at her house.

Time to face the music.

"Where were you?"

Quinn sighs, shutting the door before turning around to face her father, a frown on her face.

"I slept over at a friend's house," Quinn answers evasively.

"It didn't strike you to tell us where you were?" Russell Fabray looks into his daughter's eyes like he's searching for something, trying to intimidate her, but Quinn holds her ground.

"I forgot. My mistake," Quinn says, her tone neutral, unwavering under her father's stare.

"Do not let it happen again," Russell says firmly, "The guests will be here in an hour or so, be presentable."

"Yes daddy," Quinn says softly, before going to her room, ignoring the frown on her father's face.

She locks the door behind her and falls heavily onto her bed, pulling a pillow on top of her face. She lets out a heavy sigh, squeezing her eyes shut.

She just wished that things could be easy. That they could be normal, for once.

Quinn just lays there for a while, before the shrill ringing of her phone causes her to jolt up, the pillow falling next to her feet. She scrambles to remove her phone from her pocket, looking at it in confusion.

Santana.

"San?" Quinn says when she picks up the phone, unsure as to why her friend would be calling her out of nowhere on a Saturday afternoon.

"Quinn."

The blonde's chest clenches at the broken and upset tone in Santana's voice, immediately fearing the worst. It was very, very rare that Santana Lopez would put her tough act down and when it did happen, it was always something serious.

"Santana, what's wrong? Where are you?"

"I'm at home b-but Brittany and I had a f-fight."

Quinn falls back onto the bed on her back at Santana's words, sighing in relief.

"S, it's just a fight. It's unusual, but you've fought before," Quinn reasons.

"I k-know, but this time is worse. She's not even t-talking to me."

"She's probably just angry and upset right now. Give her time," Quinn says, "What did you do anyway?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"Santana."

"We just...I can't give her...I'm...I don't want to talk about it."

"San, come on. I can't help you unless you talk to me," Quinn sighs.

"I can't! I'm not there yet…I'm not ready."

"I'm assuming that is the very reason Brittany's pissed with you," Quinn says, taking Santana's silence as an affirmation, "Santana….whatever it is, you can talk to me about it, okay? I'm here for you. Always."

"Quinn, I'm...I have to go, I'll see on Monday."

"Santana, just talk to me. I could help."

"I'm sorry Q, I can't. Not yet."

There was a click before the call cut off and the blonde sighed, tossing her phone aside and covering her face with her hands, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips.

Was calm and normalcy that ridiculous to wish for?

Thank you all for all the reviews and PM's and follows! I'm glad you're liking this story so far!

Who are you guys rooting for? Quinn and Phoenix? Brittany and Phoenix? Brittana? Quinntana?

PS: My twitter is also sanquittany, so if you have questions about updates or anything, let me know there.

Let me know if you liked this chapter!