Sam saw it till the moment both their heads disappeared out of the doorway, with Biff's arms wrapped protectively around Quinn's frame, before he stumbled onto a nearby seat. The dizziness hit him at full force just at that moment and he clutched at his head with a low moan under his breath, his palms pressing against his cheeks as they covered his eyes with darkness.

With his face buried in his hands, Sam heard footsteps approach him just as Puck's voice asked. "Y'okay, dude?"

He nodded at his query, not willing to leave his face out open for everyone to see. His eyes peeked out of the opening between his fingers and looked at his best friend briefly, gesturing at the space beside him with a nod.

Puck understood the message and took a seat next to him. The man waited a few minutes for Sam to straighten up before clearing his throat once.

"You know her? Biff's girl, I mean."

Sam stiffened and finally lifted his eyes to meet his, squaring his shoulders as he nodded yet another time. He felt hot tears threatening at the corners of his eyes and blinked his eyes quickly to keep them from spilling out.

"Thought so," Puck allowed a sigh out of his throat.

"Both of you stared at each other like those people in chick movies. Man, you're lucky Biff's too concerned with his girl to bother about those murderous glares you've been shooting their way."

His eyebrows raised at his statement. Had he really been looking at her that way earlier like Puck said?

He had only known he was completely caught off guard when she suddenly appeared before his eyes and together with the alcohol in his system still fresh, the pain had stung at his heart even more than before.

Could it been the reason she got so sick and left? He thought worriedly before he caught himself.

If anyone should be sick, I'd have more reason than her. He snorted to himself, shaking his head clear of his nonsensical thoughts. It's Quinn Fabray who left me six years after all. Packing her bags and fleeing Ohio for NYC.

"Oh," he mumbled in response and snapped his jaw shut, an indication of his reluctance to offer more than that.

Puck sensed his mood and sucked in a deep breath, before trying again. "Her name's… Quinn, right? It sounded darn familiar, huh."

By the way his voice trail off, Sam knew Puck had made the connections and probably remembered her name from the many times he had shared his most vulnerable period with the man.

"Maybe you had a fling with her once. She is pretty and your type, after all," he said, not falling for his bait.

"Dude!" Puck's voice raised in alarm and looked around for a while after punching him in the shoulders.

"Don't let Anna hear that. Shit. You know how sensitive this issue is around me."

Sam chuckled, for seemingly the first time since he laid eyes on her once more. The curls of his lips faded into a tight line once more when memories of her wormed their way back into his mind.

"Whatever. I'm getting another drink. You coming?" Sam asked, pushing off the seat to stand up in the direction of the bar counter.

"Sam," he heard Puck's voice grow serious; his efforts to bait Sam out for information had seemed to clear out his mind completely.

"Enough."

He turned around and saw the man, mimicking the same tightness of his own lips on his face. Puck stood up with him and pushed him gently out the other way, so that both of them were facing the direction of the door.

"I get it if you don't wanna talk about it and I'll leave you alone for now," he murmured.

"But you better get your sorry ass back home and get some rest before I see you on Monday."

Sam started to protest but Puck held up his index finger to stop him as he continued speaking. "Leave when I'm still talking nice, Evans."

He stopped midway and sighed in defeat, raising both his hands in surrender as he conceded to Puck's demands. He know Puck had his interest at heart and he regretted the words about a drink as soon as they were out of his mouth. Another couple of drinks and who knew what he was capable of doing next.

"C'mon," Puck cracked a small smile when he saw Sam listening to him as he led the blonde out of the restaurant and into the walkway.

"Thanks," Sam looked at him gratefully and hugged him goodbye, before getting into a cab Puck stopped and disappeared along with it into the busy lights of New York City.

He woke up next day with the worst hangover he had in years, his world still spinning around him as he struggled to get up.

He staggered on his way to the bathroom and managed to clean himself up, before once more, the dreams haunting him for the past six years flashed by in his mind.

She was always in those dreams. They had appeared in his sleep restlessly for the past six years, haunting his sleep and causing him to wake up with sweat trailing down his forehead. Even though they had slowly died off a few weeks ago, last night marked their reappearance once again in his head, with the addition of Biff this time round.

Quinn.

Last night's meeting was too much for him to handle and he could not properly process the information inside his brain anyway. Thinking about it now, why was she in New York?

He remembered that six years ago, New York was everything he could talk about with her. He had wanted to leave Ohio and start a new life with her, out of their small town where nothing big would happen and right into the hearts of New York City. She had always encouraged him and told him never to stop believing in his dreams, but he could always see it in her eyes that she had never shared the same mindset about leaving with him.

"I like it here in Ohio," she would say, her voice soft, every time he brought up her going to New York with him.

"New York is nice, but this is my home. I don't want to leave Ohio."

Or so she said until he saw her in a restaurant right in the heart of New York last night.

He had known about her leaving Ohio a week after she had cut off contact with him. An acquaintance had let slip of the knowledge to him accidentally after he had gone around looking for Quinn, but she only knew she left their town and had no idea where she was headed. He begged her to tell him more, knowing she knew more than she let on, but she had refused him the knowledge and even gone to the extent of avoiding him when she met him on the streets.

Questions burned in his mind as he pondered over the night before. He left his bathroom and took a seat in his living room, turning on his television. Not that he wanted to watch anything on at the moment, he had only wanted some noise to clear his mind. Tranquility did no help for his aching headache.

Why did you leave Ohio?

Were you running away from something, possibly... could it be me you're running away from?

What did I do to deserve this treatment from you?

Why are you in New York?

Why out of all places, you chose the city you knew was the one thing I've dreamt of?

Did you come here knowing that?

Or did you forget all we've been through already?

Or did you want to show off your glamorous life without me in it?

How Quinn Fabray thrives after dumping Sam Evans like a hot potato?

And why are you with Biff when you said no to me?

He kept thinking, over and over, until his mind ran exhausted of the answers that could never been answered by him. No one could, actually. All except...

Only one way to find out. He made up his mind with resolve.

Ask her myself.

"What?" Puck asked in disbelief as his voice rang loud across the store, making every one in the store to look in their direction in confusion.

"Shut up," Sam shushed him and pulled him away from the crowd.

"Must you talk so loudly?"

"But…" Puck narrowed his eyes at him, a faint smile ghosting over his lips. "Wait a minute... Didn't you say you dunno her?"

"Ugh," Sam threw his hands up in frustration.

He came in work the following Monday and headed straight to Puck's department, hoping to find out more about Biff. The other man played it coy and refused to answer most of his queries, other than an occasional yes or no. Sam finally had enough and came to the point straight – Quinn Fabray. What did Puck know about his friend's girl?

"Fine, fine," Sam groaned and looked away before mumbling lowly so that only both of them could hear.

"She's her, okay?"

"No, shit," Puck folded his arms across his chest and leaned against a nearby wall with a smug smile plastered across his features, proud of the confession he forced out of Sam's throat.

"When Biff said her name, man I thought this chick's name ring a bell. I heard it before… somewhere… Until I saw you two," he gestured to Sam and the air with his index finger. "Freeze when your eyes met. Man, it just clicked!"

Sam bit his lower lip in when he caught his manager looking their way, not at all pleased that they were chatting in a corner with a huge crowd scattered across their store.

"Eyes on us," he mumbled under his breath, interrupting Puck as he shot pointed looks towards their manager.

Puck ignored his words and continued looking wistfully away from the manager's direction, completely lost in his thoughts.

"Just tell me. What do you know?" Sam hissed in a low breath, after sending an apologetic bow in the manager's way.

Puck sighed and uncrossed his arms, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Seeing how you acted the other night made me worried, man. So I called Biff the next day and talked, y'know." Puck started.

"He thought I was worried about her leaving the party early and apologized like mad. I acted I care," he shrugged to himself. "I didn't really, but who can really explain a bud calling him out of nowhere asking 'bout his girl?"

He glanced downwards and seeing Sam tap his feet in a quick rhythm, a sure indication of the blonde's annoyance, before getting back to the point again.

"So, anyway. He said they met like two years ago? In Canada or whatever for vacation I guess. They started dating like a month or so later and he got her a job here. And that's why she's in New York."

Sam had raised his eyebrows while Puck was speaking, surprised that the man had gone out of his way to help him out even when he had not asked for it yet. When he finished, he caught Sam's look and quirked a brow at him questioningly.

"What?" He repeated his word from earlier.

"Nothing," Sam shook his head with a grateful smile, not expecting Puck to be already one step ahead of him. He rested his palm on his shoulders, squeezing them slightly.

"Thanks, man."

Puck offered a wide grin at his words, making the blonde prompt him for his smugness.

"You'd thank me again when you know what I did."

"What do you mean?"

"I got her number for you."

At his words, Sam stepped back a couple of steps in complete surprise, momentarily caught off his feet. Puck continued mumbling something along the lines of the favor being nothing much and did not want Sam to mind his nosiness, along with a few shrugs in the process. Sam paid no attention, in awe of the man.

With his best friend's continual surprises being sprung on him all day, especially things he never knew Puck had it in him to do, Sam had seen the man in a new light. Touched, he forgot his jaws were agape as he felt a sudden loss for words.

"Puck…"

The man shoved a piece of paper in his hand and closed it with a firm clasp.

"Here," he said. "I'll give you a moment to process. You can thank me later."

He stared at his hand as the man walked back to his department after mumbling that he should get back to work.

The words never registered in his mind, nor did he move from his spot until a few minutes later. He did not even care how Puck got the numbers inside his hand, or how he had risked his own long time friendship with Biff to get him those very numbers. All he cared about was the numbers that were weighing heavily in his hand in that very moment.

Puck had got him another step closer.

Quinn. Quinn Fabray.