"Finn was wrong about you…"
It came out of nowhere. They'd just finished running another June and Johnny duet. They'd ended up face to face, both of them beaming.
"What?" Quinn blinked.
"Oh it's nothing…" Rory immediately regretted opening his mouth. "Nothing…"
Quinn frowned, "What did Finn say?" She snapped demandingly.
"Nothing," Rory claimed. "He might have mentioned you were a bit high strung, but I actually think that you're quite sweet."
"I appreciate the compliment," She said, but she was still scowling. "Anything else…? Have you heard anything else about me? I bet a lot of people talk about me."
"Not that I know of," Rory said innocently. "But then again, Finn's the only one who talks to me."
With that, Quinn relaxed a little bit. "That's not true. I talk to you."
"That you do…" Rory smirked.
Quinn went back to the boom box to start the song again. Before she could, Rory stopped her. "Quinn, I hope you know that I'd never judge you."
Quinn blinked and turned to look at him again. Something told her that he was lying about not knowing anything. "Okay…"
"I'm just really glad you're my duet partner."
Still, it was nice to have someone who didn't view her as solely a basket case; who seemed genuinely nice enough to treat her decently. She could get used to having Rory around. "Me too…"
"Have you ever heard of the Golden rule?" Quinn opened with in therapy the next day. "Something about treating people how you want to be treated."
"Of course I have," Doctor Jessup replied. "It's the oldest one in the book."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Well, I think its horse crap."
"A strong sentiment to start a session on…" Doctor Jessup nodded. "But nevertheless, you've managed to intrigue me."
"Finn Hudson," Quinn chewed, "He think he can just go around acting like I'm the bad guy. He sees things as he wants to…I never did anything to him, but somehow he still feels the need to talk about me behind my back."
The doctor was incredulous. "You never did anything to him…?" She blinked. "What about when you cheated on him and lied for months about the paternity of the child."
"He's not allowed just put that in the past when it's convenient for him and remember it when he feels like being pissed off. He got back together with me! We spent almost three months together!"
Doctor Jessup paused momentarily. "What happened to Puck after Beth was born? Where was he last year when all this stuff happened with Finn and Sam?"
Quinn laughed out loud. "Well, he spent fourteen days in Juvie…and then he started spending all his time with this rhinoceros-of-a-girl and didn't really talk to anyone else."
"So you would say that you and Puck pretty much ignored each other for the entirety of the school year?"
"It's not like we had much to say…"
"Was it too painful to speak to him?"
Quinn shrugged. "Not really. Hey, I thought we were talking about Finn."
"We are," The therapist stated matter-of-factly. "Quinn, I believe that you thought giving Beth up for adoption wasn't just a solution for your problems, but that it would make them go away completely."
"That's ridiculous…"
"So you don't agree that to some extent, you spent your junior year trying to rewrite history?"
The words hit Quinn hard. They sounded so familiar.
"Don't try to rewrite history! Finn chose me over you!" Rachel had barked at her one afternoon. She hadn't understood what she'd meant until now.
"Are you saying I should've given up my entire life just because I forgot to use a condom?" Quinn asked defensively. "I had a chance to have everything back."
"That's the problem: you and Finn were both trying to erase your mistake. He wanted to forget how it felt to be betrayed and rejected by you, and you wanted to pretend that you'd never let him go. It's not possible to change the past, Quinn. You can learn and grow from it, but you can't alter it. You have to live with the choices you make."
"Do you want to go run the song a few times before we go home?" Rory asked her eagerly after glee club the next afternoon.
"I can't," Quinn said, her eyes glued on someone across the room. "There's something I have to do."
She grabbed her shoulder-bag and followed Puck as he went out the door.
"Hey," She caught up to him and got his attention.
"What's up…?" He said solemnly. Every time they talked, it got more and more apparent that he only put up with her to be nice. It made her extremely self-conscious. She just wanted him to like her…she wanted him to be proud of her.
"I want to tell you a secret," She told him nervously. "I haven't told anyone, but I was thinking about it, and I realized I really want you to know."
"Oh god, who got you pregnant this time…?"
"What?" Her face contorted. "No one…"
"Are you a lesbian? Did Berry finally profess her love?"
"What…?" This one shocked her. "No. Puck, I wanted to tell you that I've been seeing a therapist."
He looked surprised; unsure of how to react. "Oh…"
"She's great. She's been making me do a lot of thinking."
"Did your mom finally realize you needed help?" He asked, only mildly offensively.
Quinn shook her head. "No, I did this on my own."
Puck cocked his head, confused. "I guess that's good."
Quinn hesitated. She wasn't sure if she could go through with what she had to say next, but she decided to just go for it. "She says I should bring you with me next time…"
Puck raised his eyebrows. "Why?"
"She wants to focus on Beth in this session." She said timidly. She wasn't sure how she felt about it either.
Puck shrugged nonchalantly. "I'll be there."