TRANSLATION

On the first morning back from winter break, Brittany roamed the halls donning her Bully Whips uniform. Santana had called everyone to a team meeting last night at the Lima Bean, and after addressing everyone by their secret code names, it was ordered that they would all start off the second semester as Whips. It was super hot when Santana acted all in charge like that. She was like Kim Possible which would totally make Brittany Ron Stoppable and Lord Tubbington Rufus. Anyway, since Brittany was the best Whip they had (No seriously. She was really awesome at this.), it didn't take her all that long to find Jacob Ben Israel being cornered into some lockers.

"You shouldn't do that." Brittany approached the jock from behind.

"What?" Azimio snapped, turning around. His distraction with Brittany's sudden appearance gave Jacob the opportunity to dart away.

Brittany shrugged. "Like you're all big and beefy, and I really think you should use those powers for good. You can be a hero. Or like maybe you can advertise for McDonalds or something. You have plenty of options, and at least the good guys get to wear awesome costumes."

"What in the hell?" He looked on incredulous before clearing his head. "Okay, hold up. There ain't one, capable black superhero out there. And don't give me none of that Blade stuff because everyone knows vampires aren't black."

"Well what about Batman?"

"No, that's some rich, white fool who's got too much time on his hands."

"But bats are black."

"He ain't really a bat."

"Then why is he called Batman?"

"Because he's some fool who dresses like a bat."

"But if he dresses like a bat, then isn't he really a bat? Just like Spiderman's really a spider."

"No, he really is part spider."

"Well then Batman must be part bat."

"No, Batman's super lame and doesn't have any powers."

"If he doesn't have any powers, then how is he a superhero?"

"Because he's got a bunch of gadgets."

"Then would Inspector Gadget be a superhero?"

"Who? The only Inspector Gadget I know is from a little, old movie called Inspect Her Gadget, but I don't think we're talking about the same thing. Because that Inspector Gadget sure as hell wasn't even a person. Although, I think the girl in that movie would view it as being a hero."

Across the hall and down toward the drinking fountain, Santana stood watching this exchange while trying to hold in her laugh. Brittany facing off against this school's bullies should have its own show. While the rest of the Bully Whips used force and intimidation (aside from Mercedes who was only involved to spend time with her boyfriend), Brittany tended to get into everyday conversations with the bullies which usually resulted in nothing but confusing them.

"What is Brittany doing?" Quinn approached her.

"Putting the rest of the Whips to shame. She's actually really amazing at this."

"She's Brittany. You think her making black cherry Kool-Aid is amazing."

"It's better than everyone else's." She defended.

"Sure it is."

Santana bit down her newest retort in order to ask Quinn something. "Hey, you're a loser who's good at math and stuff, right?" She finally turned away from Brittany's distant conversation.

"By good at math, if you mean someone who gets by, sure. Why?"

"Because I was thinking maybe you and Karofsky can help Brittany pass her class. You can relax. She's only in Algebra II."

"Why not just have Karofsky do it? I'm not even that good at math."

"You're at the level you should be and actually understand it unlike myself. Besides, you know how to tutor Brittany. You've done it before."

"Which, if you remember correctly, was a disaster."

"No it wasn't."

"Really? Because the last time I checked, she still thinks To Kill a Mockingbird was about an actual bird."

Santana put on her best bitch-face. "Look, B needs to pass the rest of her classes this year and then get through summer school otherwise she won't graduate. I'm already trying to get her through Social Studies. Mike and Tina are taking on the challenge of her English and Lit classes. Artie's dealing with Physics. The least you can do is help Dave get her to pass Algebra." She lowered her hostility level. "Brittany can't be held back. If she gets her diploma a few months late, then fine. But I'm not going to OSU at Lima for a year just to wait for her to catch up."

"Fine. I'll help him, but he could easily do it by himself."

"Good. Glad to know you're such a helpful friend." Santana smirked spitefully and turned back around to face Brittany's direction again.

Quinn sighed before looking for a good change in subject. "So if you're making future plans, then I take it the relationship is going well?"

"Yeah, and well, better than some others." She elbowed the blonde and nodded over to what had caught her eye. It happened to be Rachel frozen in her steps a few feet away from Finn and his locker. "I give it five seconds before we see the Berry-pine-away show." She snickered and checked on Quinn's lack of reaction. Santana rolled her eyes with a scoff. "Right, I forgot. You two are all buddy-buddy now."

"We're not buddy-buddy. We're…friends. Besides, the mess that is Rachel and Finn is none of our business."

"Whatever. You're boring me, and B's done with the meathead. Maybe she'll be up for a little welcome back celebration via the astronomy room."

"I thought you two were glee-girlfriends."

"Rules are meant to be broken." Santana shrugged confidently before strutting over toward Brittany.

Quinn watched as the girlfriends whispered something to each other and then scurried off. They were ridiculous. She turned back to glance over at the now moving Rachel Berry. Quinn had no idea what she was up to. She just hoped Santana's theory wasn't correct. This is perhaps why she watched Rachel and Finn's interaction as well. It wasn't like she was spying or anything. She couldn't even hear what they were saying. And yeah.

"Hi." Rachel greeted her ex-boyfriend. They hadn't spoken since he was over at her house last week, and understandably, that really wasn't how she wanted to leave things between them.

"Hey." He offered his half-smile before it fell from his face. "You're not like going to try and seduce me again or something because I'd rather it not happen here in the hall and-"

"I just wanted to apologize."

Finn frowned. Weren't the dumpers always the ones to apologize in these situations? "Apologize? For what?"

"Well, for not respecting your need for space and trying to, as you put it, seduce you. I was hurt and confused, and I'm sorry."

"Yeah, don't worry about it. Just like, I don't know, don't do it again or something."

"No. I've decided to do what I can in this situation, and from now on, I'll be focusing primarily on glee and myself."

"Good. That's really, really…good, Rach."

Rachel took a step forward so she could continue the conversation quietly. "I know this year's been tough on you with losing your lead spot in glee and the football team not doing well. And I know that you feel like you're trapped here, but I just want you to know that I still believe in you. Look, maybe you're right. Maybe it's not possible for you to come with me to New York, but that doesn't mean you'll only ever amount to Lima, Ohio. Staying here doesn't need to be definite, and if you try hard enough next year, you can transfer out to somewhere of your choosing. Just don't, don't give up on yourself, Finn."

"I won't." He shook his head before putting that half-smile back on his face. "Thanks. That um, that means a lot coming from you. The believing in me thing. I'll see you in glee?"

"Yeah." She nodded, and he touched her shoulder before walking away, presumably to class.

Rachel turned from the row of lockers and caught sight of Quinn across the hall. The blonde looked down, seemingly embarrassed, before sending Rachel a small wave. Though confused, Rachel returned it and headed over to where Quinn stood. She briefly wondered if her friendship with Quinn would ever be like her other friendships in life. Regardless of the progress they continue to make, a fragility seems to remain. Everything they said or did in each other's presence was thought-out, as if not to step over any lines or set each other off. It was odd really because they hadn't exactly had any arguments or confrontations for quite some time now, but there still seemed to be a silent agreement between them on what were safe topics of discussion.

Perhaps if they were more comfortable around each other, then the remaining days of their winter break would have been better. Jesse, as promised, continued to bring Quinn by for movies, lunches, and just general merriment within the Berry home. Granted, Rachel was still dealing with a breakup and wasn't her usually perky though pleasant self, but it still could have been better. Lapses in conversation between the two girls were filled by Jesse, and Jesse is never someone who should be given an extended period of free speech. Rachel enjoyed Quinn's company, greatly so, but this needed to change. And Rachel was more than prepared to amend this situation to her liking.

"I wasn't spying," was the first thing out of Quinn's mouth. She proceeded to look around the hallway awkwardly. Rachel had no idea what to do with this.

"Oh. Well there wasn't much to spy on anyway." They began walking down the hall. "How are you enjoying your first day back?"

"We've been in school for about ten minutes."

"Ten minutes can be a long time. And today is going to be a busy day." It was true. They were starting Regionals prep today which meant Jesse would be a Nazi over the next couple of weeks. "Do you think Jesse will be make glee entirely unbearable or just slightly intolerable by most standards?"

"I don't know, and honestly Jesse's possible problems with glee are the least of my concerns."

Rachel snapped her head to the left. "Is there something else we should be worried about?"

"No." Quinn quickly calmed. "I just need to talk to Miss Pillsbury to see if he can even apply to the same schools I'm applying to."

"I'm glad to see that you've expelled your previous fears."

"I haven't really, but it's different now, you know? I'll have someone with me."

"Yes. I feel more secure knowing that despite Finn not being able to join us, I'll still have Kurt and Blaine with me." She nodded and after a small pause continued. "Though, of course if necessary, I've been prepared since early childhood to follow my dreams outside of Lima on my own."

Quinn laughed lightly. "I could never do that."

"Yes you could." Rachel earned a small falter in Quinn's step.

The conversation didn't go any further as they were interrupted by the familiar sound of slushie hitting face. Sure enough a few yards ahead of them Kurt and Blaine were stained with colors. The two jocks who threw the cups gained the attention of the hall since this was the first attack of the semester. However, before anything else could take place, Karofsky was stepping in between the four boys.

Random Jock One glared up at Karofsky. "This has nothing to do with you and your freakin' Whips."

"Yeah, well I'll make it my problem." He warned. Random Jock One shook his head in disdain before dropping his plastic cup and walking away with Random Jock Two. Karofsky turned back around. "And you. What the hell is wrong with you two? How many times do I have to tell you not to go anywhere by yourselves?"

Kurt continued to wipe off his face. "Well maybe my boyfriend and I don't want to have a third party with us at all times."

"Yeah and look at what happens when you don't."

"I'll take my chances."

"Until when? You get the crap kicked out of you?" He challenged. "Football's over, and they've got nothing else to do."

"And their lack of a hobby has to be our problem?"

"Guys, stop fighting." Blaine interrupted them and faced his boyfriend. "Kurt, maybe he's right. Maybe it'd be safer to walk with a Bully Whip."

"And don't we get a say in this?" Kurt protested. "It's our lives."

"Yeah, whatever." Karofsky regained their attention. "Let's just go get you some towels."

"We can at least clean ourselves off."

"Like hell. I'm sure there's someone who would just love to give you both swirlies. Now let's go." Karofsky led them both away from the scene.

Rachel sighed as now she would have to make sure her friends were both okay later. Well at least Karofsky still seemed to be on New Directions' side. "Do you think Dave will rejoin glee?"

Quinn frowned as they began walking again. "Did he even quit?"

"He left the play."

"Yeah but there's a difference between going on stage in front of the student body and singing in front of competition audiences that have no affiliation with our school."

"I suppose." They walked a few feet in silence before Rachel continued on. "Maybe I should look into getting a Bully Whip. My own personal Whip to escort me to my classes. You know, last year when Finn broke up with me, the attacks increased almost immediately, and since I no longer have him as a shield, I should probably get one. What do you think?"

"I think you should do what you think is best."

"Well maybe I'll just use you." Rachel laughed, jokingly. "Despite no longer being a cheerio and having glee as your club of choice, you're never a target. What's your secret, Quinn Fabray?"

"Actually, I don't think people really notice me anymore. Last year when I quit the Cheerios, I was still Sam's girlfriend and then Finn's girlfriend. Now I'm no one."

Rachel mulled that statement over momentarily. "Do you ever miss it? Being popular?"

"Sometimes." She answered halfheartedly. "When you're popular, you can pretty much get away with anything, and no one will ever really call you out on your behavior because people tend to flock to you."

"They want what you have."

"Exactly. Being popular provided me with the validation I was always desperately seeking."

"You said sometimes. So what changed?"

Quinn shrugged as they stopped just outside of the door to her class. "I found a friend. And I've never really had one of those before."

Rachel could appreciate that. Her voice tended to cause separation between people. "It's lonely at the top."

"It's lonely everywhere." Quinn replied softly.

"Well I for one am happy to have put those time periods behind us."

Quinn searched for some humor. "So um, do you need me to walk you to class or…"

"I think I'll manage, thank you very much." Rachel lifted her chin.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I'll see you later."

As it turned out, Karofsky was in the choir room for their glee meeting later that afternoon. This ended up being the best part of the meeting because as soon a Jesse opened his mouth to address them, every one of them knew that it was going to be a long afternoon.

"Welcome back. I'm garnering no pleasure from seeing any of your faces." Jesse greeted his glee club. "Over the weekend, the information on this year's Regionals was released by the Ohio Show Choir Committee. This year, show choirs are to perform a medley. Frankly, I don't care about that at this second because, more importantly, they informed me of who we shall be facing. It looks like Aural Intensity will once again make their pointless appearance, and because there was no unexplainable ties this year, McKinley High and Carmel High are once again to be considered in the same region. Now what does this mean to you? Nothing, I presume. What does it mean to me? So very much. And since that I care about very few of you, your opinions and desires are meaningless to me. Regionals just became as important as Nationals will be. I will not lose to my former team, and this means the medley will have to be perfect. Any suggestions?"

"So by medley, do you mean it will be like our Journey set list during our first year?" Finn questioned him.

"Yes, only good." He explained. "It has to be a medley. And by the judge's varying definition, it needs to be a collection of songs that are somehow joined together. As in same artist, same genre, same era, et cetera. I don't really think it matters to them, actually."

Rachel grinned proudly. "We should do a medley of artists that best represent my talent."

"No, we should do an ode to Liza." Kurt disagreed.

"We should totally do Disney songs." Brittany earned some frowns.

Mercedes just shook her head. "Na-uh, I'm thinking Motown."

"A medley of Jewish, musical icons." Puck jumped in.

"We could always go with the Beatles." Tina shrugged.

Artie looked over his shoulder to send a grin to his ex. "I've always wanted to do a Beatles mash-up."

"They're not Jewish, but I'm down." Puck nodded along with some other members.

"Great idea." Mike leaned over in his seat to give his girlfriend a small kiss.

Sam smiled. "We should sing 'Yellow Submarine' and then maybe go into other yellow songs like 'Mellow Yellow' by Donovan."

"Okay, I see I shouldn't have asked for your input." Jesse sighed. "Clearly none of you are at all creative."

"Wait, what am I missing? Since when are the Beatles ever a bad choice?" Blaine chuckled.

"Our job is to come up with a medley, and you all want to go with the most obvious band there is. Why don't we just stick signs on our back that say 'No Originality'? Actually, maybe we should just make that our club's new name because after all this time we're somehow still just a glee club."

"Can you do something?" Sam leaned forward in his chair to quietly whisper at Quinn in the row below him. "This is gonna turn to absolute crap in about three seconds."

Quinn rolled her eyes at having to get involved before grabbing her friend's attention. "Jesse?"

"What?"

"Did you have any suggestions?"

"If I had any ideas, do you really think I'd be asking them for advice?" He paused and looked back over the rest of the club. "Oh, right. No offense."

"Well if you want our help, then maybe you shouldn't be such an ass about it."

"Quinn, this is Vocal Adrenaline."

"Right. Which means you know them better than anybody. So what do you think they're going to do for Regionals?"

"That's just it. I couldn't say. Back when I was their star, I was versatile and could do anything that was asked of me. Now their star is a dwarf like Asian that seemingly can't do anything but wave her diminutive arms around. Not to mention they've begun stealing ideas from amateurs such as yourselves. I'm honestly abashed at how far their program has fallen since my departing. Clearly I'm one of a kind who's entirely irreplaceable."

Finn frowned. "Um, well if they're building everything around that Sunshine chick again, then awesome, female vocalists are out, right?"

"Okay, that's sexist." Santana glared at him from a few chairs over. Finn didn't understand this point. "Look, we couldn't beat Vocal Adrenaline last year and they were using the troll doll. I hate to say it, like more than anything, but we need to fight fire with fire. Which means Rachel is going to have to sing something." She finished before facing Brittany. "Oh God, now my mouth tastes like vomit."

"Santana, while I appreciate your support and completely agree with your assessment of myself and my importance, I think Finn may be right. Though, only partially." Rachel informed. "If they're using Sunshine as we're assuming they will, then artists such as Celine Dion are out. Jesse, you said the difference between Vocal Adrenaline now and that of your era is versatility. We should use that to our advantage. Since founding, New Directions has been able to take on every form of music available. Mr. Schuester even mistakenly got us to do disco once."

"So if this Vocal-whatever-thing is doing powerhouse ballads, then what's wrong with us doing the Beatles?" Karofsky interrupted them.

Jesse addressed him. "Did you miss the part about how it would be obvious to the judges?"

"No, but that's what I'm not getting. I know that I'm new to this show choir thing compared to the rest of you, but the judges we had at Sectionals consisted of a newsman, a has-been college basketball player, and the Argonne's hotel manager. That's a bunch of random people who would probably enjoy hearing the Beatles. I mean, everyone likes the Beatles."

"He has a point." Quinn agreed and readdressed Jesse. "Who are the judges anyway?"

"Three nobodies."

"See." Artie smiled. "Then we can do the Beatles."

"Except Miss Sylvester tried this sort of thing last year to no avail." Rachel reminded. "Despite not knowing anything about show choir, the judges usually manage to pick the best performers. It has nothing to do with their own taste."

"So then we're just not going to sing songs belonging to the greatest band ever then?" Blaine asked, emphatically.

"That's debatable."

"Whatever." Lauren ignored Blaine's problem as well. "I've always preferred John Lennon's solo work anyway."

Blaine looked back to Jesse. "So out of curiosity, what are we doing in its place?"

Jesse, however, was still busy focusing on Lauren's latest statement. "You prefer John Lennon's solo career with Yoko Ono, which defies the definition of solo, over the Beatles? That's like preferring ketchup over tomatoes. Both great, sure, but one couldn't even exist without the other."

"Yeah, well sometimes ketchup is better." She excused. "Tomatoes have a way with ruining the texture of a sandwich."

Jesse opened his mouth to reply before shutting it once again. This action was repeated a few more times until he just calmly placed his hands onto his hips. "In that case, I'm going to prove a point, the point of course being that I'm right and Lauren is wrong, and we're going to spend the day coming up with a Beatles medley." He glared at Lauren's absolute absurdity once more and spun before heading to the bookshelves in order to pull out some sheet music.

Lauren waited to make sure Jesse was distracted before leaning over to Puck. "I can't believe that worked."

The rest of rehearsals moved to the auditorium and set the tone for the entire week. Jesse had cut their free days, and it was absolutely brutal. Even though they didn't have songs to sing until day two, Jesse had been developing trial choreography over the last few weeks so they spent the first day committing to that. Then the second day it was all thrown out anyway to accommodate the songs of Jesse's choosing. That didn't mean it got any easier, though. Jesse was ordering them around like a mad man. And worst of all, they had to go back to extending their already excruciating pre-rehearsal workout routine. They complained. They bargained. They whined like children. Jesse, of course, ignored all of this.

As a perfectionist and a born-and-bred winner, Jesse wanted New Directionless to win it all this year. But Jesse was someone who also wanted to win every argument and mundane activities like pin the tail on the donkey. He was a natural competitor, and New Directions was his team. However, winning Regionals and beating Vocal Adrenaline was more than that. It was now the top priority. Realistically, if he looked at this without any emotional attachment, Regionals were going to be as easy as Sectionals were for them. Based on his own dealings with them, Jesse knew that Aural Intensity was never something to worry about. And as for Vocal Adrenaline, well, they have fallen considerably since he left them. And luckily, since they never let anyone quit their program, they were still depending on the little ball of Sunshine to get them back to Nationals. But since that he was looking at this with an emotional stance, he was treating this as life and death. If Jesse were to beat Vocal Adrenaline and prove that he was better than them, then it would give him some vindication after the mistakes he made back at UCLA.

The longer he worked with it, the more workable the Beatles seemed. It was obvious but it was also recognizable, and that allowed Jesse to have his own take on the numbers. The judges will appreciate his creative take on such classics. Not caring about any unhappiness within New Directions, Jesse had chosen to go with both the best vocalists and those who were a good fit for the song. Kurt was awarded the opening number. It would be simple and he would lead the boys in "Yesterday" while Sam played the guitar. (This would show the judges that they were actually musicians.) They would also close it out in a simple performance with Artie and Rachel leading the most obvious Beatles' song of all: "Let It Be." They weren't actually going to do anything special with this number. They were just going to wow the judges with their two best singers. Not doing anything will show the utmost confidence, and by now, New Directions should be a representation of its leader. The problem was proving to be the middle number.

It was a mash-up. It was upbeat. It was complicated. Jesse guaranteed that this was the highest degree of difficulty New Directions had yet to face or probably will face. The mash-up was between Blaine leading "I Am the Walrus" and Rachel leading "Eleanor Rigby." What made it work was Jesse's musical arrangement. The middle mash-up was going to be all strings. This, of course, meant they had to go out and find an orchestra, but he was on it. What made it complicated, on the other hand, was Jesse's choreography. That was how they were going to have to best Vocal Adrenaline. Sadly, because it was so complex compared to what they were used to, it took until about week three of practicing the routines for New Directions to get it down. He wasn't actually going to get that mad at them over it, though. They were much better now than they were at the beginning of the year and he respected that this wouldn't necessarily be easy for anyone to learn quickly. Plus, as a giant bonus, there didn't seem to be too many personal problems being brought into the choir room with them at the moment.

The Rachel and Finn breakup had yet to prove to be a problem. They both seemed to be taking to the breakup rather well all things considered. Of course, it probably helped that Finn avoided all things Rachel. He removed all possible openings for any infatuation Rachel may have leftover. As a result, Rachel kept to her word and focused on herself and glee. If Jesse was havening a difficulty with the numbers or if something just wasn't working, Rachel would be the one to help work him through it. Truthfully, having actual friends around her made this breakup exceptionally easier to deal with compared to her previous two. Or well three. Maybe four. Could she count Noah? Whatever, the point was talking glee with Jesse or arguing about their future plans with Kurt and Blaine or trying to make her friendship with Quinn normal or just being around Sam and Mercedes made everything okay. And Rachel was glad that Finn seemed to be fairing just as well.

Finn took the breakup in stride and instead tried to focus on other things and began looking for distractions everywhere. Basketball was the first one. As center and team captain, he pretended to take an extra interest in the team's success and sometimes would stay after practice to talk plays over with Coach Beiste. Coach was awesome and everything, but he really didn't care that much. The team sucked so that distraction wasn't the best one he had. Since he did actually care about glee, he decided to go to Mike and Tina for some extended dance lessons. This was a good choice to make, and he did seem to be getting a little better. Still, when this got pretty boring too, he split his time between hanging out with Kurt or the rest of the guys. This unintentionally gave him his best distraction yet. Apparently, the bullying of New Directions (or at least a couple of its members) was getting worse. So needing something to do, Finn went to Santana and asked if he could join the Bully Whips. It took about a class period of begging her, but she finally agreed. Finn wasn't really sure why Santana didn't want him to join at first. Everyone at McKinley loved him. He'd be like good for business or something like that.

Actually, the increase in bullying was one of the few outside problems New Directions was having. It had been happening ever since winter break ended, and according to Karofsky, it was because the jocks didn't have anything to do. Which was true. Most of them were too fat for basketball. Not to mention too dumb. They were the kind of people who played football and hockey because they didn't understand the concept of not body checking someone. They all had one-tracked zombie like minds. This wasn't the only reason, though. No one had said anything out of common courtesy, but it was clear that a lot of this was happening because of Karofsky. He basically had a giant target on his back because his former friends hated that he traded sides. And now since they no longer had to rely on Karofsky for football, they finally had the clear opportunity to go after him for being a traitor. In Jesse's opinion, it was all very Shakespearian. If Shakespeare's plays took place with the backdrop of a college girls' sorority.

The only other problem that New Directions seemed to be facing over the last couple of weeks was the plans for everyone's future. This tended to cause some tension between several sets of people. For instance, Puck still wasn't exactly thrilled that Lauren was bailing all the way to Oklahoma to wrestle. Sam and Mercedes were figuring out ways to make their relationship work after high school when Sam most likely will not be attending college. Santana was still putting all her energy into Brittany and was failing to keep a steady focus on her own plans. Everyone had something to worry about. Quinn had twofold. Because Jesse was Jesse, Quinn had to solely be the one to care about his options. After talking to Miss Pillsbury a couple of weeks ago, Quinn learned that Jesse still had the opportunity to attend the schools she was looking into if they allowed him to. He would have to repeat his freshman year and would be under an academic probation for an extended period of time, but if the university allowed it, he could apply. So Quinn was making sure to contact several admission boards.

Jesse was grateful for this, he was. He just happened to be truly busy. Besides, Quinn wanted to be doing this. She needed to make sure Jesse could go with her for that much needed security, and the world was still very happy about these developments. The proverbial stick that had been removed from Quinn's behind had yet to return. Jesse was marking days off on the calendar. Surely this had to be some sort of a record. Quinn never found a reason to be happy on a lasting basis. Therefore, this recent change was something that needed to be recorded. Quinn was happy. About something that wasn't a kitten. There were moments where she would smile about something, and Jesse still couldn't believe she had lost another weight. And a big one on top of it. Progress was nice. Of course, there were still some things he was keeping a concerned eye on. Like any possible backtracking that may still take place or her still-existing denial or her constant interactions with Rachel.

At one time their interactions entertained him. Then they went on to confuse him and then amuse him, but now they were becoming ridiculous. The last three weeks had made them both unbearable for him to be around. Since compared to Quinn Rachel was entirely normal, she was still fine to spend time with when Quinn was elsewhere. But together, no. Rachel had spent the last few weeks trying to knock down the great wall of awkwardness, but to reiterate, Quinn was not a normal human being. So Rachel hadn't exactly had all that much success. Still, it wasn't exactly like Quinn was running away from any of Rachel's encounters. This is where the absurdity came in for Jesse. Like today during lunch. Rachel trying to get Quinn's opinion on vegan Challah, and Quinn placating her with an actual answer was just unacceptable. It was then Jesse requested a meeting with his abnormal friend.

Quinn had tried to come up with a logical reason on why Jesse had requested a meeting at the Lima Bean but continued to come up empty. Jesse wasn't one who just asked for meetings without a reason. They obviously hung out together plenty, but as Quinn has come to learn, meetings were different. Meetings were usually "therapy" sessions, and they usually resulted in headaches for her.

"It's a lovely day out isn't it?" Jesse asked once they sat down after purchasing their coffee and finding a small table.

Quinn looked out the window. It was late January which meant nothing but slush. This comment only made her more cautious of what they were doing here. "I guess."

"Well I'm glad you agree, but I'm not one to diddle-daddle. And honestly, Quinn, I think at this point I deserve a medal for my overall patience this year. Unfortunately for you, I've momentarily run out." He apologized. "This is a conversation I feel we've had to have now for quite some time."

"A conversation about what?" She asked tightly.

"About you. And Rachel. And you and Rachel." He began simply.

Looking back on this moment later, Quinn will recognize it as one of those rare times in life when you actually know what's going to occur before it does. She heard Jesse's words before he even started saying them. This is perhaps why she was able to keep her emotions relatively in check despite her burning anger and increased pulse.

"I appreciate that this is normally the sort of thing that requires some type of delicacy to it, but by nature I'm rather blunt. Please don't drink anything right now." He reached across the table to softly lower the hand holding her cup. "Quinn, have you ever considered the very real possibility that you might be gay? Because it would explain so much." He shook his head slightly. It was all very patronizing. "Now I know that this may be confusing for you so I've brought some reading material along." He leaned over to the spare stool at their table and reached into his bag before pulling out a few magazines. "We have Seventeen and Teen Voices and some pamphlets I got from Miss Pillsbury. That was actually an amusing though somewhat unnerving meeting I had with her. She had the nerve to assume I was asking for myself. I can understand her inexperience thus jumping straight into the common stereotypes within our society, but still. One just shouldn't be so flagrant and make these assumptions."

Quinn tried really hard not to point out that he was basically doing the exact same thing. "I'm sorry, but you asked me to get coffee today because you think," she leaned forward on the table and lowered her voice, "you think that I'm gay?"

"Has this possibility really never occurred to you before now?"

"No."

"Oh Quinn, I thought you were more intuitive than that. I'm disappointed. Despite the fact that you tend to sell yourself short, you usually have great self-awareness."

Quinn sat back again. She shook her head, looking away from him. This bordered on being an out-of-body experience. "I can't believe we're having this conversation."

"Why? You know I'm not one to shy away from any topic."

She looked back to him. "No, I mean…what is…how…Where is your basis even coming from? I mean, do you even hear how ridiculous this sounds?"

"Ridiculous? I'll have you know that this isn't some random conclusion I've come to, and that I've actually been reluctant to come to it." He defended. "I find that I have a rather strong basis and plenty of proof to support it further."

"Really?"

"Yes. For one, you and I shared absolutely no romantic chemistry which has never actually happened to me before with a woman, and until you came along, I didn't think that was even possible. I mean, age usually isn't even a restriction for me." He bragged before getting back on track. "Now, let's recap over your other relationships, shall we? Based on just what you've told me and what I've been unfortunate enough to witness, it's very hard to make a solid case in order to prove your feelings for any of your previous love interests. I mean there's Finn. From what I can tell, he was nothing but a safety net. Both for your high school popularity and reputation and the security for the depressing future you were creating for yourself. I won't delve into Sam because, honestly, sometimes I forget he even happened. Instead, I'll move on to the penis."

She glanced over the tables closest to them. "Can you please stop talking?" Jesse just ignored her.

"Puckerman's the most interesting one in my opinion. It's just odd that you date these other respectable boys for months at a time, yet you succumb to McKinley's resident whore while drunk and suffering from a—what did you call it?" He tried to remember. "A vulnerable day? And that's the only time you've ever had sexual relations. But who knows. Maybe it's just a Jewish thing. Because see, then there's Rachel Berry."

Quinn pursed her lips. This should be good. "What about Rachel?"

"Well just that she exists and is someone you should probably never play poker with. I'm not too sure how that game works, but it's my understanding that it's not a game in which you want to reveal too much. She's really what gives you away, Quinn."

"Let me get this straight-"

"Odd choice of words."

Quinn took a deep breath to stabilize her growing anger. "Not only do you think that I'm gay, but you also think that I have feelings for Rachel?"

"Yes. Now I know you might be worried about how this will affect me. Two close friends such as ourselves both enamored with the same girl. It's very late nineties, WB, but you should know, Quinn, that I hold no animosity or jealousy for you. And my friendship will be going nowhere. Regardless of what the future holds, I've had feelings for her longer which means I win." He frowned. "Unless of course your hidden, repressed longing has existed longer than I anticipated. Then that would mean I'd come in second. Of course if we count Finn, then I'd be in third. Although, I don't really find any of this fair considering you two have known her longer than I have. Really, if I had known Rachel as long as the two of you have, then I definitely-"

"Jesse!"

"Hmm?"

Quinn glared. "You called me here for coffee so you could try and tell me that I'm gay. Not that I agree with you on any level, but when you do something like that, you don't just go off on a random tangent."

"I'm sorry, Quinn. Was that inconsiderate of me?" She tilted her head to the side, giving him a look. He sighed. "Have you really never thought of this before? It's me here, Quinn. You can be honest."

"No. I don't really find myself questioning my sexuality all that often." She snapped.

"Never? But you're in high school and in show choir and the past stigma that seemed to go along with being gay is fading in the younger generations of our society. We can thank Hollywood for this."

"Jesse, I am not gay."

"Really? Because you seem to be slightly defensive against the accusation."

"Yes, because you called me here for nothing, and your condescending tone is never, ever enjoyable. Plus, you haven't dropped this yet after I've already told you that I'm. Not. Gay."

"Fine, fine. You're not gay." He waited a beat. "Maybe bisexual. You obviously have feelings for another female."

"Oh dear God." She rubbed her forehead.

Jesse ignored her and just carried on with his own vision. "You know, for the longest time I had no idea what it was. At first it was clear that you hated her, and then it was clear that you anything but hated her which is where the confusion came in. I mean why be so passionate and obstinate about someone you claim to want nothing to do with yet obviously have some type of consistent focus on? I mean, I wanted to overlook it because it's just so cliché that it's lost somewhere between being sad and boring. The bully who pulls the girl's pigtails on the playground. Never once has that happened in real life. But it's the only thing that fits. Understandable, though. You're already emotionally stunted so I'm sure your feelings would be hard to process. Especially when things are always so underlying and-"

"Okay, that's enough." She interrupted harshly. "Jesse, I'm not gay, and I certainly don't have feelings for Rachel Berry."

"Did I touch on a nerve?"

"I'm going home now because this is seriously becoming annoying."

"You don't want your pamphlets?" He asked innocently.

"Ugh." Quinn stood and ripped heat coat off the back of her chair before storming away from the table.

Jesse just nodded over at the table next to them. Quinn's brash actions seemed to have gained the attention of the older couple. "Kids today. Always with the attitude."