He dropped her off at her house at midnight. Quinn was so happy to get out of his car that she didn't even hesitate before stepping into her childhood home. The place she had run from with such rush when she had been younger; now it was her savior.

"You're here!" Judy Fabray exclaimed.

She was sitting at the heavy oak kitchen table with a bottle of wine and a glass in front of her. Her hair had come out of its tidy bun and her cheeks were pinkish. Quinn guessed that her mother had drunken too much and fallen asleep waiting for her.

"Yes" Quinn said, embracing her mother and breathing in the vapors of alcohol.

Judy had always been a wine drinker but after being left by her husband, it had escalated. Quinn knew that she should help, that she should have helped back then, but she had always been too selfish and absorbed in her own problems.

"How are you, honey? That was an awfully long trip."

"Yeah" Quinn agreed. "The longest ever."
She wanted to take a swig out of the wine bottle, to calm her nerves and make her heart slow down. She lifted it when her mother turned her head and found it empty. No support to be found there.

"You didn't have to wait up for me, mom."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to see you. I don't see you enough."

"Yeah, like you said, it's a long trip."

"You could fly. I bet your daddy still gets those frequent flying points when he travels with his job."

Quinn picked up her suitcase. She didn't want to say that she didn't want anything from her father anymore. Sure, it had been nice of him to pay for the apartment in New Haven, but that was his job, his duty and something he had always planned to do. She was an adult now, she couldn't (and wouldn't) run to daddy for help.

"I have to go home tomorrow" Quinn said instead as she carried her suitcase to her room.

It looked exactly like it had the day she had moved out. It was strangely comforting in her current state of mind.

"Oh, honey. Why?"

"I have to work on Monday. I'll take the bus around noon and be in the city on Monday morning. My shift doesn't start until six so I'm fine."

Judy frowned.

"I thought Puck was driving back with you. It takes much longer with the bus, you know. You have to transfer in four places."

"Believe me, I know. But he isn't going home; he's staying."

Quinn felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. The touch was soft and warm and for the first time in years she was really thankful for her mother. She wouldn't have liked coming home to an empty house.

"How is it with you two?" Judy asked carefully. "Did you have a chance to talk on the road?"

Quinn stepped away from her mother's touch; turning her face away to hide any signs of anything.

"We don't have anything to talk about."

"Alright" Judy whispered gently. "Alright."

"We should go to bed, mom."

"We should."
Judy leaned in again and placed a kiss on Quinn's cheek.

"Sleep tight, honey."

She slipped out of the room and Quinn was alone. She sighed deeply and opened a drawer to find a t-shirt to wear to bed. The one on the top was large on her and of course it was his. She wondered when he had left it here. It smelled of her mother's own detergent so probably ages ago. She kept it on because it was clearly hers now. They divided their things up a year ago and he hadn't fought for this particular t-shirt. He hadn't really fought for anything. She hadn't either. They just grabbed random things and that's how she ended up with the TV but not the remote.

…

In the end of that terrible Fourth of July, she brought him to her house. Her mother was out and it was nearer the pavement where he had mumbled that he had loved her. She helped him off with his clothes, gave him a glass of water and then tucked him into her bed.

"Good night" she whispered although he was already asleep.

In the morning, she woken by the most horrible sound of all time; someone throwing up. Quinn hurried to find Puck with his head down the toilet. She kneeled next to him on the hard tile floor and forced herself not to puke herself.

"Morning" he coughed.

His words echoed strangely against the china toilet before bouncing back to her.

"How are you feeling?"
"As I deserve, I guess."

He got unsteadily to his feet and washed his face in cold water. He looked pale and almost green.

"I don't think I've ever been that drunk before" he muttered.

"Yeah, you were pretty out of it. Do you remember anything?"
She looked away as she said it, giving him a chance to lie if he wanted to. She understood what it was like to be drunk, how things could just slip out and be misunderstood. She got that. She wouldn't judge if he wanted to take it all back. I hate it when we're not together because I'm in love with you.

"I remember Kitty going on about a water bed and some fireworks and that's about it" he said.

She nodded.

"Yeah" she breathed. "I heard some of the water bed talk too."

She handed him a towel to dry his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, like shadows or traces of a fight. She wanted to patch him up and make him whole again. He might not remember being this drunk before, but she did. The night after he had found out that she was pregnant.

"I'm really sorry, Q" he said. "It's not your job to take care of me like I'm some fucking kid."

She shrugged.

"I do a lot of things that's not my job" she smiled.

He had come to her house back then, when they were both sixteen, and kept knocking at her window until she opened it. She remembered the hallow look in his eyes. Fear. She had felt it too and shut the window in his face.

"And that fucking Jesus staring down at me…."

"What?" she asked, realizing that she hadn't been listening to him.

"That fucking picture of Jesus on your wall. It freaks me out."

Quinn snorted.

"Grow up."

"Sure, if you first make me sandwich with peanut butter and cut the crust off."

She rolled her eyes.

"You're confusing me with your mother. Whom I called in the middle of the night, I might add, to tell her why you didn't come home. I guess I'm not her favorite person at the moment."

"'Course you are. She loves you to bits" Puck drawled.

"Shut up. I'll find you a shirt to wear. That one smells worse than your breath."
He made an affronted noise but pulled the blue t-shirt over his head. She took it between the tips of her fingers and stuffed it into the washing machine. Even in this state, he looked amazing with his shirt off. He always had and she always hated that he knew it. She kept her eyes on his face. I hate it when we're not together because I'm in love with you.

"I'll make you a sandwich" she finally caved. "But if you won't eat it with the crust I'm kicking you out."

…

When Quinn arrived to Shelby's house, Puck's car was already in the drive way. Shelby opened and greeted her with a rather stiff hug. Adopting another woman's baby didn't automatically make you close.

"They're in the living room" she said as a 'hello'.

Quinn walked past her. She heard Puck's laugh, loud and jolly, and she thought that it was only Beth that made him laugh like that, like a father. She heard Beth's giggles too, soft and quiet and full of light. They both looked up as she stepped into the room.

"Hi" she said in a strangled voice.

Beth was eight and Quinn was twenty-four and for the first time there was some resemblance between them. Quinn noticed it at once but couldn't pin point what it was.

"Morning" Puck welcomed her.

"Hi" she replied.

Quinn swallowed back something in her throat and kneeled beside them on the soft rug. They were finishing a puzzle, a vast piece full of blue skies and green grass, that covered the entire coffee table.

"I love puzzles" she said quietly, even though she should probably ask Beth a polite question first.

"So does Beth" Puck sighed. "I'm the only one who doesn't get it."
Beth giggled again. Quinn wished she could make her daughter laugh too. She wished she was funnier.

"Did your mom help you with this?" Quinn asked Beth.

Beth looked imploringly at her and then scowled slightly. Quinn looked away. Two minutes in and she had already done something wrong.

"I did, a little bit" Shelby said, walking into the living room and joining them.

"Only a little" Beth repeated because when you're eight it's important to show that you can do things yourself.

"Sorry girls, but I don't get it" Puck drawled, picked up a blue piece and tried to fit it between to green.

Beth giggled again. Quinn exhaled slowly. It was like she forgot between every birthday that this is what it was like, every year. Puck made jokes and Beth laughed and Shelby was proud and Quinn sat quiet and watched them. She wasn't part of it, not really. She didn't have a part to play. Both the mom and the dad parts were already filled.

"It's such a nice day" Shelby said. "Why don't you take Puck and Quinn with you to the park?"
"The park is for babies" Beth told her mother condescendingly.

"What? I love parks" Puck said, feigning horror. "Am I a baby?"

Beth rolled her eyes (Quinn didn't know that eight year old could roll their eyes) but got to her feet, leaving the rest of the puzzle unfinished. Quinn wanted to stay inside and complete it. Puzzles she could understand and solve. You just had to find the right pieces and fit them together. It was life that was hard.

"Can you do a cartwheel, Beth?" Puck asked.

"No" she answered.

"Me neither. Quinn, however, Quinn is the queen of cartwheels. Maybe she can teach us."

Quinn met Puck's eyes. However how pissed she was at him for acting like an idiot yesterday, she was thankful for his attempts to pull her into the conversations. How he only spoke about her good traits in front of Beth and honestly tried to establish some kind of bond between them.

"Can you?" Beth asked.

Quinn took one last look at the puzzle. A picture of reality cut up into small pieces and spread out on the table. She could see some kind of metaphor in that.

"Well, I can't promise I can do anything for Puck… But you won't be hard to teach."

Beth beamed at her and Quinn felt warmth enfold her heart. Life was harder than a puzzle, than a game, but it made you feel so much better when you worked it out.

…

The deal was to only see Beth on her birthday and Puck and Quinn knew that. Shelby had told them that plenty of times and showed statistics on the internet and handed them pamphlets, so yeah, they knew. It would be confusing for Beth to see them too often; before she understood the situation completely. When she did, when she was old enough, she could decide for herself who she wanted to see.

"It can't be confusing if we see her and she doesn't see us, right?" Puck whispered.

"You can hardly be confused with something you don't know" Quinn agreed.

It was august and Quinn liked summer much better now. She liked summer more when it felt like the rest of the year, only warmer. Because she spent every day with him now, laying on a blanket in the park or drinking lemonade on her porch or swimming in someone else's pool that he was lazily cleaning.

"There she is" Puck said so quietly she barely heard him.

Quinn didn't see her at first, there were so many children playing in the garden. And she spotted a girl, climbing a tree, higher and higher until Mrs. Samuel yelled at her to come down. It was the first day that Shelby was back at work after the summer holidays. Beth was looked after one of moms who lived just across from Rachel's house, which gave them perfect opportunity to spy. Rachel's dads didn't mind, all they wanted to talk about was their daughter and a fresh pair of ears was probably a gift.

"She might fall" Quinn mumbled, not taking her eyes off Beth clutching the tree trunk like a koala.

"She won't."

"You don't know that."

"Look; I've climbed every fucking tree in this town. I'm an expert. She's holding tight and looking steady. She could be up there for hours."

There it was; another thing Puck and Beth had in common. Even if it wasn't a contest, Quinn could tell she was losing.

"Rachel told us about this movie you're making" one of Rachel's dads said. "About how you want to interview her."

"Yes" she said, somewhat distracted by the daughter in the tree.

"We just… don't want… you to… pour salt in her wounds" Hiram told her, ever so slowly.

Quinn finally looked away from Mrs. Samuel's garden. She opened her mouth to say that she wasn't pouring salt in Rachel's wounds, that Rachel seemed fine with it. Instead she just nodded; scared of conflict.

"I won't."

"She's a fragile girl" Leroy went on, very seriously.

"She's really not, though" Puck argued. "I mean, she's highly emotional and cries like twice a day, sure. But she's tough and frankly, I think you two have more issues with the Shelby thing than she has."

Quinn kicked his shins under the table, making him jump with pain. Rachel's father both considered him silently. Quinn went back to watching the tree. Mrs. Samuel had given up on Beth and gone inside.

"We feel no guilt for what we did" Leroy said rather sternly. "We wanted a child. That's not a crime."

"I'm not telling you to have guilt or whatever. I'm just saying, don't… I don't know the word. Quinn, a bit of help?"

"He thinks you're projecting your emotions onto her."
"Yeah" Puck said. "Yeah, that's the word. Project."

Silence fell. Beth was alone in the tree; the other kids were playing tag on the lawn. Quinn wondered if Beth was bullied or left out. Or maybe she just liked sitting up there all day. Quinn could empathize with that.

"If you need parents in your documentary, Ms. Fabray" Hiram said finally. "You could interview us. That's what we wanted to tell you."

She looked up in surprise. The conversation had taken a different turn than she had expected.

"Thank you" she said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"And thank you, Noah, for you psych analysis of us" Leroy added tersely.

Puck shrugged.

"Anytime, dudes."

Rachel's fathers went inside to make lunch and left Puck and Quinn alone. Beth was still on her own too. It seemed ridiculous that they couldn't just go up to her.

"You shouldn't have offended them" Quinn said.

"I didn't, believe me, it's fine. We go way back, me and the Berry's, with us being like the only two Jewish families in this town."

"Bet they wanted you to marry Rachel then."

"Nah, they always wanted her to aim higher."

She tilted her head to one side and looked at him. He was still squinting against the sun to watch Beth. The light on his face made him look younger. Or just more handsome. Gone was the gaunt look of the hang-over. The dark circles had melted away. He still hadn't mentioned anything about loving her. She hadn't either.

"Don't sell yourself short" she told him.

"Come on, Q, like your parents didn't say that too? Like yeah, it's really bad you're knocked up but at least it's that nice, white guy's. And then, nope, it's the brownish, Jewish dude with the deadbeat dad and no brains."

She wished she hadn't kicked his leg that hard. She wished that her parents hadn't reacted exactly like that.

…

It took Quinn about an hour to teach Beth how to cartwheel and it was one of the most satisfying things she had done in a long time.

"Point your toes" she shouted. "Beth, point your toes and your legs will automatically become straight."

And Beth pointed her toes, in her baby blue sneakers, towards the equally blue sky and Puck shouted something in glee. Quinn clapped her hands. Even though she had quit cheerleading ages ago, when she mimicked Beth and cartwheeled, it was without breaking a sweat.

"You're better than me" Beth said, stating the facts.

"I've had more practice. This was basically all I did in High School."

"Shelby said you sung too. In a club."

Shelby? Since when did Beth not call Shelby mom? Quinn let it pass because she was leaving in like an hour and didn't want to ruin the mood.

"Yeah" Quinn said. "I sung with a bunch of kids and I cartwheeled on the football field."

"Can you sing?"

"No, not really. Not as well as Puck."

"Well, she sings better than I cartwheel" Puck interjected, placing one of his hands on her shoulder.

She smiled and Beth smiled back, the smile she usually saved for Puck. A real, honest smile that reached her dark eyes and there, there it was, Quinn saw herself in Beth's face in that very moment. Not the smile, the shape of her mouth she had inherited from the Puckerman side, but something else.

"I almost forgot" Quinn said, digging her purse. "I almost forgot to give you this. Happy Birthday, Beth."

She handed the parcel to Beth who held it between her small hands as if it was a white dove, ever so carefully, like she hadn't received a dozen of presents yesterday.

"Yeah" Puck said. "Happy Birthday. Sorry we couldn't be there yesterday."

Quinn had bought the gift because Quinn always bought the gifs. She had half-expected Puck to buy something too, but he evidently hadn't. She felt almost pleased about. And relieved that Karen hadn't been sent out to get something for their daughter.

"Thank you" Beth said softly.

The set of water colors had been expensive and Quinn had wondered if a kid really cared if the paint they drew with had good quality. However in the end, she had collected most of her tip money and bought the nicest set in the store. It had the deepest blue and lightest yellow and the brightest red.

"You're welcome."

There was a though behind it, of course. Quinn had this idea that Shelby would pressure Beth into music. She probably had Puck's genes for it and with a music teacher as your mother, she could only really turn out to be Rachel Berry's nemesis in a few years. Quinn wanted Beth to have options, she could do cheerleading if she wanted to, or be a math geek, or paint. Or all of it.

"Can we try them?"

Quinn nodded.

"Yeah, sure."

They walked the short way back to Shelby's house. It was nice, not as big as Quinn's, but then again, you didn't need much room when there were two of you. Puck and Quinn had spent three years in that one-bedroom-apartment in New Haven.

"Look what they gave me" Beth exclaimed.

Shelby found paper and brushes and filled a jar with water. Beth sat kneeled on the kitchen chair to reach. She drew an ocean with fishes and a boat. Quinn watched her small hands as they gripped the brush ever so carefully. It almost made her cry.

"Did you say thank you, Beth?" Shelby asked.

"I did."
"She did" Quinn confirmed.

"Look, can I talk to you for a bit?" Puck asked Shelby.

They left the kitchen and Quinn knew he was about to ask if he could stick around and spend a bit more time with Beth.

"Can you draw?" Beth asked, just as she asked if Quinn could sing.

It was like she was filling out a mental form. Or maybe she was just curious.

"A little bit. Not as well as I can cartwheel though."

"Maybe I can be a cheerleader too now."
"I bet you could."

Beth leaned forward and accidentally dipped the tips of her hair in green paint. Quinn removed the rubber band from her own hair and began to braid Beth's. For a second, she expected her daughter to flinch or shake her off, but she didn't. She sat calmly and painted a sun and a sky over that blue ocean.

"Quinn" Puck called from the hallway. "Quinn, it's noon. When is your bus leaving?"
"Shit."

…

The summer ended. Puck got his paycheck for barely cleaning pools and bought them a new TV. Quinn signed up for new classes and searched for pregnant girls online. She got invited to some Yale junior gala and brought Puck as her date because he had laughed so hard at the word gala. They got drunk on expensive wine and had to go the restroom during the dean's speech because they couldn't stop giggling.

"They're going to kick you out" Puck hissed, as he bent over in laughter.

"They're not."

Her dress was too tight; it made her feel like couldn't breathe. The dress was her mother's old dress, long and sparkly and gorgeous, but too small and crammed her ribs. Evidently she had gained weight since she wore it last.

"How did Marie Antoinette stand corsets?" she wondered aloud as she tried to catch her breath.

"Who?"

"Queen of France. They cut her head off."

"Maybe corsets weren't her biggest problem then."
"Probably not."

"You know this is the men's restroom, right? Girls aren't supposed to be here."
She shrugged.

"It's fine. No one's going to leave during that boring speech."

"We did."
"We're drunk."

She giggled again, even though it wasn't funny. Her face was hot and red and her eyes glistened with something; maybe happiness.

"Zip me down, will you?" she begged him.

"Are you coming on to me?"
She rolled her eyes at her own reflection.

"I need to breath for five minutes and I can't reach the zipper."
"You could have just asked me out" he teased her.

She thought of those drunken words I hate it when we're not together because I'm in love with you. She was almost drunk enough to confront him about them, but was distracted by his hands on the bare skin of her back and the relief in being able to breathe again.

"Thanks" she exhaled.

"If that gets you off, you should wait for…"

"Shut up" she cut across him.

He winked at her. He was wearing the same suit he always wore to things like this, to prom and graduation and now every time she brought him to events like this. It wasn't a designer suit and she could see it fraying a bit at the seams, but it didn't matter. He looked good in it. Strong. Or maybe that was just wine.

"God, why did I even agree to this?" Puck sighed dramatically.

"Yeah, why did you?" she asked.

She could still feel how cool his fingertips had felt against her hot back. It gave her shivers, just thinking about it.

"You asked" he shrugged.

"You could have said no."

"I didn't want to."

She turned to look at him and he looked at her and she felt like this, this is was the moment to bring those words up. She opened her mouth. And then someone opened the door. She flung around to stand face to face with Henry.

"Whoa" Puck said. "Sorry dude. I'll get the lady out."

"Your dressed is unzipped, Quinn" Henry said in a cold voice.

"It's too tight" Quinn explained because she was drunk and not smart enough to just run.

"You know this guy?" Puck asked.

"You could say that."

She fumbled with her hands behind her back, trying to hold the fabric together to at least shield her bra from view.

"Don't look at me like that" she snapped at Henry and his condescending face. "You had sex with me in worse places than this."

"You're the pervy professor?" Puck asked astonished. "You're much less nerdy than I imagined."

"You two should get out of here" Henry said in his most professor-like voice. "Before someone catches you."

"Someone already did" Quinn commented but she grabbed Puck's hand and pulled him out.

The boring speech was over and people had started mingling. Some turned their heads at them. Quinn didn't care; tomorrow she might, but not now. She held his hand as they ran onto the parking lot. They just kept running. She never wanted to stop. The night was warm and humid and felt like it was made for running in. The only thing louder than their feet against the asphalt was the sound of her heart beating in her chest.

…

"Welcome to Al's, how can I help you?"

"Hi Al, it's Quinn."

"Quinn?"
"Yeah, the waitress who has been working for you for a year."

"The blonde or the one with boobs?"
Quinn sighed.

"The blonde one."

"Right" her boss Al said slowly.

He was in his fifties and the grossest man she had ever met. Her entire job interview had consisted of him staring her breasts and making rude comments about getting her hands dirty.

"I'm supposed to work Monday night, but I'm stuck in my hometown. It's a long story… I can't get hold of Shona or Jessie to take my shift."

"Right" he said again, just a slowly.

Quinn tapped impatiently with her foot against the floor in Beth's bedroom.

"Shona had her baby" Al said finally.

"Oh, that's… great."

"And Jessie quit."

"Really?"
Jessie had going on about quitting for months. She wanted to be on Broadway, not serve fries to drunks at three in morning. Quinn had sympathized but then again, no one who worked at Al's wanted to work there.

"I really need you in."

"I'm sorry but I'm stuck here. The earliest I can be in the city is Tuesday morning."

"Your shift starts on Monday night."
"I know, I know. That's why I'm calling you."

It was a wonder that Al's was still up and running, considering that its manager was a moron.

"You have to get someone new to replace Jessie, right? Just make her take my shift. I'll trade with her later."

"You want time off?"

"No. I'll be there on Tuesday as usual."

He stayed quiet for too long. She sighed.

"I don't know, Blondie. You have to tell me in advance if you want time off…"

"Come on, Al. I've worked non-stop for a year, always taking other people's shifts and never even a sick day."

She listened to him breathing heavily for about a minute and a half.

"I don't know" he began and she snapped.

"Fine. I quit then."
"Wha-"

"Good luck finding someone who'll cover for Shonda every time her husband has fallen asleep at the bar or Paul's gone missing."

"Come on, Blondie…"
"It's Quinn."
And she hung up. She stood panting among Beth's toys for almost five minutes. Quitting the only stable thing in her life probably wasn't the best plan ever. But despite that, it felt wonderful. She rejoined the others in the kitchen. Beth had drawn a heart on Puck's arm, like a tattoo. Like wearing his heart on his sleeve.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Fine" she lied (or didn't. she did feel fine.)

…

Alisha was seventeen and seven months pregnant. She had lovely dark hair that almost brushed against her lower back and too much mascara. Quinn wanted to protect her in some way, but she had no idea how. Puck sat down next to Quinn behind the camera. She wanted to tell him how grateful she was that he was here, but didn't know how to do that either.

"Can you please tell me your name and age?" she asked Alisha gently. "So that we can test if the sound is working."

Alisha sat up straighter on Quinn's couch (she hadn't wanted to do the interview at home in fear of what her father might say) and cleared her throat. She sat poised like a queen, with a collected face and no sign of shame. Quinn admired her.

"My name is Alisha Davies. I'm seventeen."

Quinn nodded. The small microphone she had attached to Alisha's blouse was working. The camera was rolling. They were officially ready.

"When did you find out you were pregnant?" Quinn asked, consulting her notes.

"Four months ago. I was late and you know… It's not brain surgery to count backwards."

The girl spoke without changing her facial expression. Her eyes were fixed on the camera; not moving an inch.

"Since you had unprotected sex?"

"Yes."

"What do you like to do, Alisha?" Quinn asked, discarding all her pre-written questions because she needed to see some kind of real emotion, not for the film but for herself. She wanted to see that Alisha was fine, that she hadn't cracked.

"I like to read" Alisha shrugged.

"What was the last book you read?"

"I can't remember. I don't have time to read anymore. I'm trying to get my GED before the baby comes."

Quinn closed her eyes. It was naïve of her to try to find anything else there. This pregnancy had messed up this girl's entire life. Just like it had for Quinn.

"Who is the baby's father?" she asked instead, steeling herself.

She felt Puck move slightly next to her.

"The guy who used to be my boyfriend. I don't think he wants me to use his name."

"That's fine."

"He broke up with me before I found out I was pregnant. And yeah…"

"He wasn't happy to find out about the pregnancy?"
"No… But neither was I" Alisha said and for the first time real emotion shone through the mask. "I – I wasn't exactly happy myself."

"And how do you feel now?"

Alisha switched her gaze to Quinn. Her eyes were dry and still Quinn got the feeling that she was crying.

"This isn't wasn't life was supposed to be like."

Alisha opened her mouth to add something else but Quinn's phone was vibrating in her pocket. She checked the display; it read ANNA, the name of another girl she had contacted about participating in this film. A girl who had already given up her kid for adoption and therefore an attractive angle.

"I have to take this" she told Alisha. "Give me the three minutes."

"Sure."

"Puck, can you get her some water or something?"
"Sure."
She mouthed thanks and hurried her bedroom to answer Anna's call.

Later, after Alisha had left and Puck had gone for a run, Quinn downloaded the file from the expensive video camera that Yale had loaned her onto her computer. She plugged her headphones in and lay down on her bed to watch the whole thing. This was not the time for editing; she just wanted to see what it all looked like. She watched herself turn on the light and the sound and placing the microphone on Alisha's shirt. She watched Alisha answer her questions while staring fixedly at the camera and therefor, right at Quinn now. She watched herself leave with her phone pressed to her ear. Quinn was just about to skip forward a few minutes when Puck spoke.

"You want water?" he asked, placed close enough to the camera that he didn't need a microphone.

"I'm fine. Did she switch the camera off?"

"Yeah, I think so."
She had averted her eyes now, looking her feet instead. She wore pink converse.

"You don't have to do this, you know" Puck said in a soft voice. "She can find someone else."

"I want to do it."

"Quinn said that your father won't approve."

"He doesn't approve of anything. Not before the pregnancy and especially not now."

Puck got up and brought her water anyway. Quinn thought that this was things she would want to have in the documentary; real emotion. In the future, she would have to employ Puck to work his people person magic before she even entered the room.

"Quinn's dad didn't exactly approve either" he told Alisha and Quinn hated him for telling someone her story. "Kicked her out on the street."

"She had a baby?"

"Yeah. She didn't tell you?"

"No."

Quinn hadn't. Because it wasn't relevant. Documentaries was about being objective.

"Was it your baby?" Alisha asked, looking up from the shoes.

"Yeah" Puck answered.

"You gave her up for adoption?"

"Yeah" he repeated.

"Why? I mean, you stuck together… You could have kept it. You could have been a real family."

Alisha's voice was hard and demanding. She scowled at Puck. Quinn couldn't see his expression; he was behind the camera; but she could picture him trying to cover up the hurt.

"We weren't together then. And we're not together now. And besides, that's not the point. We were just kids."

Alisha picked up the glass of water and emptied it in one gulp. She dried her mouth off with the back of her hand. Quinn thought of that and the pink converse and despite the posture and coldness, Alisha was still a child too.

"What do you mean you're not together? You live here, right?"

"It's complicated. Believe me."

Alisha's scuffed.

"Brandon hasn't spoken to me since he found about the kid. And you stayed with her, even though she doesn't love you. Guess I really picked the wrong guy."

"It's not like that" he argued.

"I'm not a kid. Explain it."

"I don't have to" he said, sounding like a child too.

"I'm about to tell my life story so that your girlfriend can get a good grade" Alisha snapped. "The least you can do is humor me."

Quinn wondered if she should stop looking. They had never intended for her to take part in this conversation. She was eavesdropping but she really needed Puck to explain the situation to her too. I hate it when we're not together because I'm in love with you.

"She goes to school here. I've traveled around between all of my friends. Now I'm here for a little while."

"Where's your suitcase?"

"I unpacked it."

"How long have you stayed with her?"

Puck was quiet and Alisha raised an eyebrow at him. Quinn wondered how desperate she was to talk about anything but herself.

"A while" he said finally.

"And how long have you been in love with her?"

"A while" he replied again.