A/N: Again, thanks to everyone who reviews this story, your comments make it worth writing! Also, thanks to everyone who reads this story, even if you don't review ;) I appreciate your silent encouragement too!
Monday during school, Rachel didn't make any effort to break the social standards that currently bound Quinn and herself. Rachel wasn't going to jeopardize their precarious situation with a touch or an out of character word or even a wrong look. She knew where she stood, hopefully only for the time being, and she was okay with that. Quinn's words from their picnic resonated with Rachel all day. …no matter how I act in public, I really like you. Every time she thought about their date, she smiled to herself. Every time she thought about the kisses her and Quinn had shared, a pleasant shiver ran up her back.
Rachel caught herself fanaticizing during math class, which she did often, but usually she fanaticized about her acceptance speech at the Tony Awards. Today, she spent most of math class fanaticizing about Quinn Fabray, the girl who seemed to consume all of Rachel's thoughts lately.
Quinn couldn't wait for Glee Club after school. The world she lived in at school suffocated her. She hated the role she played in the school's social hierarchy. She hated the fact that when she saw Rachel in the hallway, they couldn't make eye contact. And all Quinn wanted to do was look at Rachel and smile genuinely, and have Rachel smile back. It seemed like such a simple want, but it was actually incredibly complex and virtually impossible.
Rachel got to the Glee rehearsal room first. She chose a spot on the second row in the middle. She hoped Quinn would sit next to her, but anywhere Quinn sat in the room would be near enough for Rachel.
The Glee kids began to file in to the rehearsal room, some tried to talk to Rachel, but Rachel's head was in another world. She was too focused on waiting for Quinn to walk through that door.
And when Quinn did walk through the door, Rachel's heart skipped a beat. They made eye contact for the first time that day, and both girls blushed and smiled shyly. Quinn sat down next to Santana, two seats over from Rachel.
"You're blushing," whispered Santana.
"I am?" asked Quinn, ducking her head in hopes that no one else would notice.
"God, Q, get a grip," said Santana, amused.
"Shut up," whispered Quinn through gritted teeth.
Before Santana could tease Quinn any more, Mr. Shue walked into the room, blabbering on about one thing or another. Quinn couldn't concentrate on anything besides the rosy color now gracing her face.
Rachel also wasn't paying attention to Mr. Shue, she was too busy trying not to turn her head ever so slightly to the side to look at Quinn out of the corner of her eye. So when Rachel heard her name called a few minutes later, she could only say, "Huh?"
"You're being paired with Quinn for this next assignment," said Mr. Shue, confused that Rachel hadn't been paying attention.
"Oh. Okay," said Rachel. On the outside, Rachel showed indifference at the pairing. On the inside, Rachel was absolutely giddy.
Quinn was just as giddy on the inside. Santana nudged Quinn's side knowingly. Quinn rolled her eyes at the Latina and tried to maintain her outward HBIC expression.
"Alright, everyone get to it! You perform on Friday," said Mr. Shue.
Glee club broke into pairs to begin working on their assignment. Quinn shifted seats so she was sitting next to Rachel.
"Hey," Quinn said, still blushing slightly.
"Hey," responded Rachel.
"How was your day?" asked Quinn.
"It was okay. But it's just gotten infinitely better."
"Same here," Quinn said shyly.
"So, um, I hate to admit it, but I wasn't paying any attention. Do you have any idea what we're supposed to be doing?"
"None. I wasn't paying attention either," smiled Quinn. Lauren and Mike were sitting near Quinn and Rachel, working on their assignment. Quinn interrupted them, "So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?"
"Figgen's is having an assembly on bullying, and he wants Glee Club to perform, so Shue is having us work in pairs to come up with a few songs to sing," said Lauren.
"And these pairs are getting us to work with people we wouldn't usually work with," added Mike.
"Okay, cool. Thanks," said Quinn. She turned back to Rachel. "Hence you and I working together."
"Little do they know…" Rachel trailed off, sly smile on her face.
"Yeah… So, ideas?"
"Well, I think Firework is an obvious choice for the whole group, but I'm not sure for just the two of us."
"What about 'Born This Way'?" offered Quinn.
"Also a bit obvious, and it might work better for the group. I absolutely love that song, but I don't know if it would work in a duet."
"True," Quinn thought for a moment, and then she had it. The perfect song. "I got it." Quinn pulled out her iPod and scrolled through it before finding the song. She gave Rachel one of the earbuds and kept the other for herself. The girls began listening to the song. A huge smile grew on Rachel's face.
"Perfect. Quinn, it's perfect!" Rachel exclaimed, a little too loudly. Some of the Glee kids turned to look at Rachel. Quinn rolled her eyes and gave them her death glare. They soon returned to whatever they were doing.
"Okay, so now that we have the perfect song, where do you want to go to practice?" asked Quinn.
"Well, we could go over to my place. My dads won't be home until late tonight," said Rachel.
"Yeah, sure," Quinn said.
Once Quinn and Rachel were in the safety of Quinn's car heading to Rachel's house, they could finally relax. Quinn took Rachel's hand in her own while she drove.
"So, how was your Sunday?" asked Rachel.
"It was fine. Got homework done. Oh, I ran into Kurt at that coffee shop downtown while I was working on my homework."
"That's nice. How's he doing? I should really give him a call sometime," said Rachel.
"He's good. I, um, I sort of told him about me."
"What?" Rachel exclaimed.
"Yeah, I asked him how he knew he was…"
"Gay."
"Yeah, and kind of said that I might like girls…"
"Quinn, wow. That must have taken a lot of courage. I'm really proud of you," beamed Rachel.
Quinn blushed, "Thanks."
"Speaking of Kurt, this assignment really infuriates me. I mean, how many months after Kurt leaves because of bullying, and we finally get an assembly to deal with all this. Seems like odd timing to me," said Rachel.
"Me too, now that you mention it. I mean, it's always good to talk about this stuff, but I haven't heard of an incident of bullying in weeks."
"Yeah, I haven't gotten a slushie in months," said Rachel. Quinn cringed at her statement. Even though Rachel said it lightheartedly, Quinn was still reminded that at one point she had been the one to slushie the shorter brunette she was now holding hands with. It broke her heart a little to remember the person she used to be.
"Everything okay?" asked Rachel, sensing Quinn had started to think about something darker than what they had been talking about. Quinn nodded and stroked Rachel's hand with her thumb.
Rachel savored their contact. She had forgotten how good it felt to be around Quinn. She silently thanked whatever forces were at work when Mr. Shue paired them for the Glee assignment. She welcomed anything that would get her and Quinn to spend more time together.
Quinn was still fixated on the slushie comment when she pulled into Rachel's drive way. They made their way into Rachel's house and set up camp in the living room. Rachel took Quinn's iPod and hooked it up to the stereo system so they could listen to the song they chose.
As Rachel was flitting about, gathering drinks, printing out lyrics, Quinn sat in the living room, thinking. When Rachel came back with everything they would need for their afternoon of work, she noticed Quinn's odd behavior.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Rachel. Quinn met Rachel's eyes and shook her head. Rachel came and sat next to Quinn, placing a comforting hand on hers.
"I'm sorry," said Quinn.
"What for?" asked Rachel.
"Everything. I've been so horrible to you Rachel. Ever since I can remember, I've always treated you horribly, and I feel terrible about it. I'm trying to change, but I can't do that if I still remember everything I did to you. I used to be the bully…" rambled Quinn.
Rachel turned Quinn's head so her hazel eyes met Rachel's deep brown eyes. She planted a soft, sweet kiss on Quinn's lips before pulling back and resting her forehead against Quinn's.
"I forgive you," whispered Rachel.
"But Rachel…" protested Quinn.
"Shh… It's in the past. I don't want to remember those days any more than you do. So let's just focus on these days," Rachel rubbed her nose against Quinn's. "Do you like me?"
"What?"
"Do you like me?" Rachel asked again.
"Yes," Quinn said simply.
"Then that's all that matters," Rachel said, catching Quinn's lips for another kiss. "And I like you too."
Quinn pulled back and smiled at Rachel. She was in awe. How could one girl get under her skin so much in such a short amount of time? And how could that girl be someone she had so loathed in years past?
"Now, let's get to practicing. This is going to be perfect."
Yes, Quinn thought as she watched Rachel get up and start the music. This is going be perfect.