"Guys…! That was great!" Mr. Shuester shouted, clapping.
Quinn and Rory beamed as they stood in front of the rest of the choir, having preformed their duet successfully.
"And since you two were the only couple to actually complete the assignment, I have no choice but to reward you the grand prize."
"Not fair!" Rachel Berry shouted. "We practiced inclusion! Isn't that what Glee club is about?"
"Nice try, Rachel," Mr. Shuester sighed. "But Quinn and Rory are going to breadsticks this year."
Everyone clapped cooperatively, and Rory gave Quinn an adorable wink. He leaned toward her and spoke into her ear, whispering the words "Reigning champion".
"Our second date in a week," Rory smiled at her across the booth the following evening. "We might just get sick of each other one of these days."
"Impossible," Quinn beamed. "What do you think you're going to order?"
"Well, I think we should get different things, and you can try some of mine and I can try some of yours."
Quinn chuckled. "You mean, like, feed each other?"
"I don't know…" Rory blushed. "Not necessarily."
"God, that's, just too cute."
"How is it cute?" Rory asked. "It's practical. It allows us to broaden our exposure."
"Stop," She interrupted it. "You're cute. Don't argue with me."
"Oh I see what this is," Rory leaned back, crossing his arms playfully. "This is our first fight."
"And I'm winning," Quinn shrugged. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "I really think it would be a better idea to order one big plate of spaghetti. We'll think we're sucking up separate noodles, but we'll really be sucking separate ends of the same noodle."
Rory leaned forward as well. "Oh, I see what you're trying to do, Quinn Fabray."
"Do you?" She said softly.
He nodded, inching forward a bit more. Soon their lips were touching, and Quinn was wondering if kissing him was even okay. It had to be. It's not like kissing was dating.
"You don't need an excuse to do that," He told her sweetly. "You can just…"
She didn't let him finish. She instead leaned further forward and placed a hand on the back of his neck, going in for a deeper, more passionate kiss.
Suddenly, their waitress interrupted them, clearing her throat as she approached the table. The teenagers flew apart embarrassedly.
"Do you two need a minute?" She asked them, smiling wickedly.
"No." Quinn ran a hand over her hair quickly and took a deep breath. "I'll have the lobster ravioli."
Rory nodded approvingly. "And I'll have the spaghetti." He winked again as they handed the waitress their menus. Quinn felt her cheeks turn hot.
"Wow," She shook her head, grazing her temple with her finger tips. "That was so wrong. I don't know what came over me."
Rory laughed. "I'm sure it wasn't the first time she's seem something like that. You said this was a hot date spot, right?"
Quinn wasn't sure. "I can't just go make out with guys in public places! I've always liked to think I had a little more class than that."
"Quinn, come on, it wasn't that bad."
"It was bad," She insisted, looking over to the salt and pepper shakers and fidgeting with them. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
His face started to fall. "Wait a second," He frowned. "Are you sorry that you kissed me like that or sorry that it happened in public?"
Quinn looked back at him, a pained expression on her face.
"Oh…" That was the only answer Rory needed. "I see then…"
"Rory, no…" She said urgently, her voice quiet. "It's just that I really meant it when I said I wanted to make any rash decisions. I wanted to be mature and figure out how I was feeling, but now I'm thinking with all the wrong parts of me,"
She could tell that the younger boy's mind sort of went into the gutter there. His eyes got a strange twinkle in them as they shifted back and forth. "What part of you are you thinking with, Quinn?" He asked awkwardly.
Quinn closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose, rubbing her temple again. "Oh god…." She said uncomfortably. "It's not like that. This is so much more than, like, sexual attraction if that's what you're implying…"
"I don't know what I'm implying. What are you implying?" Rory couldn't contain his amusement. It was adorable. Quinn couldn't help but start to smile.
"I'm trying to be serious!" She pleaded. "I really don't know what to do here."
Rory finally calmed down a bit. Thinking hard, he breathed out, letting his lips flap slightly as he did. "Well," Quinn could tell he was finally searching for a solution. He was great. "Well…" Unfortunately he was coming up empty. "Well, I don't know. I'd really like to kiss you again and I don't see any harm to it."
Quinn felt hopeless. "But, you see, if I kiss you consistently, than it's almost like you're my boyfriend," She told him. "I've tried breeds of casual dating that included the physical stuff and it lead to a proposal of marriage!"
"Well if it makes you feel better, then I promise not to marry you," Rory replied.
"I'm supposed to cherish my time with you," Quinn said confidently. "That's all I'm supposed to do. But it's almost as if knowing I'm not allowed to date you makes me want the security more."
"Hey," Rory reached over the table, holding his palms up until she slipped her hands into them. "Quinn, I'm really into you. I'm not going anywhere. Honestly, I couldn't go after another girl right now if I tried."
"Don't say that. It makes it harder," She blinked, her voice straining.
He tightened his hold on her hands, rubbing little circles around her knuckles with his thumbs. She looked down at their hands together. It was terrifying.
"Why do you care about what you're supposed to do?" Rory asked. "If you like me, you should be with me. Be my girlfriend, Quinn. I really think it's a swell idea."
Quinn stared at his face. He was so young; so innocent; so sure. There was nothing she could do but trust him. She was loosing all resistance.
"Rory…" She could barely speak.
"All that's left now is yes or no," He said to her.
And then she lost control. She started nodding. "Yes…" She said. She pulled her hand out of his grip and started stroking the back of his head. "Let's just go for it."
And then they kissed again, and continued to kiss until the waitress brought them their orders.