A/N: Sorry I haven't written in a while. I've been really busy, and working on my other fics. I decided to come back to this one, but it's sort of a short chapter. Hopefully, I'll be inspired later this week.
Quinn got caught up in it, and even kissed the younger boy back for a moment. He was so gentle; the lightness of his arms around her back. They were around her to make her feel safe, not to prove to himself that he had her. It was different than any other kiss she'd experienced. But still, something felt wrong.
She pulled herself out of it, looking away with a frown on her face. He kept his arms around her. "What's the matter? Was that terribly bad?"
She had to chuckle. He was just too cute. "I shouldn't be kissing you," She told him.
"And why's that?" Rory asked.
She finally pushed him away, walking toward the chair she'd left her bag on. "Look, Rory. You're adorable, but you're what, fifteen?"
"In my country it's considered good luck to date a younger man," He told her, his eyebrows moving encouraging.
Quinn laughed out loud. "No it's not! You just made that up!"
"Yes, I did," Rory admitted dejectedly. "But I still think it would be a good idea to give me a chance. You do think I'm adorable."
"Rory, there are some things I'm dealing with right now," Quinn admitted. "I can't just go around kissing boys because they're nice to me."
"So, you think I'm nice too…"
Quinn laughed again. "Goodbye, Rory. I'll see you tomorrow."
She moved toward the door, a weight of sadness falling upon her chest. She felt a lot worse about rejecting him than she expected to.
"I want you to be honest with me," Quinn told Doctor Jessup. "I really want your opinion: do you think I could be in a relationship right now?"
Doctor Jessup paused for only a second. "That depends, why do you want to be in a relationship, and with whom?"
Quinn's face contorted guiltily. "I kissed someone today. A sophomore… well…he kissed me."
"Oh…?" The doctor was intrigued.
"And he's cute and sweet, and he's exactly the type of guy I always thought I wanted, but every time I've thought that in the past, the guy eventually didn't seem like enough for me."
"Well, I definitely think that it's healthy that you've recognized a pattern,"
"Well…good…" Quinn said. Healthy was good.
"I would just sit back and ask yourself how you really feel about this boy," Doctor Jessup told her. "Do you really like him? Or do you just think you like him because you've gone a while without liking anyone, and see him as an option."
Quinn paused. She really didn't know the answer, so she decided to change the subject. "Did I tell you about Gary yet?"
"No you didn't. Who's Gary?" Doctor Jessup reached for her note pad. Quinn hated it when she did that.
"He was the last guy I dated…if you could call it dating…"
"Did you sleep with him?"
Quinn blinked. She was too embarrassed to answer that. "He was about forty. I kept bumping into him at the coffee house, he was a total caffeine addict, and he kept hitting on me. Finally, I decided to go for it. He was one of those guys that just never grew up. All he did was skateboard and play video games. I guess what I'm saying is that I thought it meant a lot that I was hanging out with an older man, but now, like, there's Rory. He's two years younger than me and I feel like he has so much to offer. I feel like I could learn from him, and that intrigues me."
"Here's the thing, Quinn," Doctor Jessup said gently. "You tend to create caricatures of people and situations. It sounds like you don't know this boy very well, and are turning him into what you think you need before you get the chance to get to know him. If you like him, that's wonderful. but please don't rush into things."
Quinn nodded, a heavy weight on her chest. Even though she had asked, she had been expecting an answer that she wanted to hear. She had realized that she wanted to try things out with Rory. There had to be some sort of way to compromise.
Quinn marched up to Rory's locker the next day, a speech prepared in her head.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking." She told him. He grinned instantly, intrigued. "I think we should go out. I don't want to kiss you or date you or anything like that just yet. I want to spend time with you; a chaste, old fashioned courtship."
Rory raised a single eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
"I think I might like you," She told him. "But I'm not ready to make the decision for real just yet. The thing is, I don't want to make it when it's too late. What do you think? Should you help me speed along the process?"
Rory grinned. "Absolutely," He said. "Anything for you, Quinn Fabray."