Chapter 2

Finn came to school, looking around his locker for Rachel. She said she'd be here.

He spotted Quinn walking down the hall. Even after having a baby, she was still pure perfection.

"Quinn! Quinn! Hey, have you seen Rachel?"

Quinn froze. She was stuck. Completely, utterly, stuck. "Rachel, uhmm, funny story. Rachel's…"

"Hey man." Jesse St. James sauntered up to Fiinn like he was his best friend. Obviously him and Rachel's make-out session pumped up him self-esteem to enormous amounts.

"Dude." Finn backed up and slammed his locker shut. "Don't even talk to me."

Jesse sighed, and took a step back. Quinn realized how tall Finn was at the point. A fair fight wouldn't even be existent. But if they had a sing off, Jesse would win, hands down.

"Listen, I know I've made mistakes."

Finn laughed bitterly. "Dude, mistakes don't even begin to cover what you've done. You egged my girlfriend. Had Mr. Schue not stopped me, you would not exist right now. So please, don't make me ruin your face."

Quinn giggled, and it came out more loudly than it should have. For the first time in…well, ever, she locked eyes with Jesse St. James.

Her. In front of him. The girl he had been dreaming about. She was standing in front of him, laughing her head off.

"Wait, do I know you?"

Finn shook his head. "Quinn, I asked you, have you seen Rachel?"

"She has a meeting with Mr. Schuester about glee club ideas," Jesse answered nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Finn's strong fist comes out of nowhere and pushes Jesse against the locker. Every sound in the hallway is silent. No one dares to talk. Finn has picked his enemy.

"Jesse. We're going to make this either really quick, or really painful." Finn is shouting. His face is red, his muscles tense, sweat starting to form on his brow.

"WHY. DO YOU KNOW. WHERE. MY GIRLFRIEND. IS."

Finn is literally screaming. Jesse shakes out of his iron grasp and straightens out his prep-school vest.

"Please, just, calm down. I saw her walking that way."

Finn still doesn't believe him. And why should he?

"You wouldn't know unless you had talked to Rachel. And you better not have talked to Rachel, or there will be HELL to pay."

Oh, there was a whole lot more than talking going on.

And then she steps in, and practically saves his life.

"He must have overheard me talking to Rachel. We talked for a little bit this morning as she was rushing to Mr. Schuester for a meeting. Please, don't kill him, Finn."

Finn contemplates it for a moment.

"Fine. I won't kill you Jesse. But I will leave you with something to remember."

And before Jesse can even scream, Finn decks him.

He then slowly walks away.

And there is only one thing Quinn can do.

"Oh my God, Jesse. Damn, Finn hit you hard. Are you okay?"

"Wow. You're beautiful. Did you know that?"

And that's when he blacks out.

The first thing he remembers is cold. Cold cutting through his cheekbone.

Aaaand there goes his symmetrical face.

But then he looks up, and he sees her. And it's not a dream. Symmetrical face or not, it's worth it. He's feeling like a total jackass right now.

"Ah! That hurts! Mmm." He tries to clamp down on his jaw, but that hurts too.

Quinn reaches down and soothes his cheek with her hand. He has a strange urging to grab her hand, hold it, twist his fingers in between hers. For some reason, he wants to know how it feels. To step beyond the dream, into this reality. It's unfolding before him, and he likes it. He likes how she takes care of him. He likes how she makes him feel. He likes how he feels right now, if it weren't for the searing pain in his jaw. He thinks she looks perfect, with her blonde hair twisted up into a braid on her left, her Cheerios uniform fit snugly around her. He just wonders and sits there, while she ices up his jaw and she smooths back his hair. He thinks he could want this all. But in the back of his brain, a painful memory, he hears it: him and Rachel's first meeting. Their magnetism, their chemistry, the beauty of their voices. He can't leave it all behind, he just can't.

And the fact that Quinn is leaning on his chest really isn't helping matters much either.