Chapter 20: Potato sacks
Chapter song: "Mash Potato Time" – Dee Dee Sharp
Time: November

I realize I haven't properly explained the rules of a winter dance: all the students attend, but the seniors are the last to arrive. The guys are there first and then the girls arrive (often in limos or party busses – some even in horse carriages). You dance, drink and have fun, and then your date takes you home or to an after-party. Thus Gus being Quinn's dates means that he gets to take her home – that's sort of the idea of winter dances in my country (over here it's always very cold, so the ride home is very cozy and snuggly, if that's a real word).
Oh yeah, as you've probably figured; I'm not American so what I've written about Thanksgiving/shops closing because of Thanksgiving, traditions etc. is based on the limited knowledge I get from watching Hollywood movies ;-)
And I probably should mention: FINCHEL ALERT IN THIS CHAPTER – it has something to do with the storyline in the next chapter.

Over the next few weeks Quinn and Sam completely ignored each other. No more longing stares, brief exchanges of words or awkward tension. They simply denied each other's existence. The glee boys didn't notice anything other than Sam was a little more quiet than usual, but of course the girls all knew something was wrong, even though Quinn refused to talk about it. She was too angry with Sam to forgive him, yet too concerned with Mercedes' feelings to bitch about what he'd said.

So on the last Wednesday of November, Quinn had hurried out to her car after her final class and quickly driven off without wishing her friends a happy Thanksgiving. She should've known that she wouldn't get off that easy.

She hadn't been home for more than half an hour before Rachel called her. Quinn had an idea what the short brunette wanted to talk about, but she picked up anyway. They small-talked for about 15 minutes, until Quinn finally caved in and told Rachel of her unhappy experience with Sam in front of Gus' house.

"…and then I told him to leave me and Gus alone and then I drove off."

"My god," Rachel said, sounding surprised. "I can't believe the two of you are still having lovers' quarrels after being apart for such a long time."

"It wasn't a lovers' quarrel, Rach, it was just Sam being a jackass." Quinn spat. She didn't mean to take it out on her friend, but she was still feeling pissed.

"Well, he kind of has a point, doesn't he?" Rachel asked carefully, afraid of awakening the HBIC in Quinn."

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked rapidly

Too late, Rachel thought. "Sam thinks that you're a good girl, Quinn. So you can't blame him for being a little shocked seeing you standing and making out on the street in the middle of the night with the new guy at school."

"First of all, I am a good girl;" Quinn hissed loudly. "Secondly, Gus and I were only hugging; and thirdly, for the love of God, stop calling Gus 'the new guy'. He may be the newest addition to The New Directions, but he's been here for nearly half a year. By this time last year, Sam and I were doing lots worse things in public then Gus and I do behind closed doors – and you never called him 'the new guy'."

"Look, I wasn't trying to offend Gus. All I'm saying is that Sam has always been the stereotypical protective big brother-kind of guy, right?"

"Right," Quinn agreed a bit more silently this time.

"And fact is that you and Gus have grown very close pretty quickly. Maybe it wouldn't bother Sam so much if you were dating. But driving around with a boy in the middle of the night, making out with a bo-"

Quinn cleared her throat, and Rachel immediately corrected herself:

"-hugging a boy in the middle of the night, a boy who isn't your boyfriend? It sounds a little rebellious."

"You're beginning to sound like my mother," Quinn snorted.

Rachel chose to ignore her snarky comment. "He still cares for you Quinn, and you can't be mad at him for that. Even if he does say it in a stupid way. He's just concerned about you."

"Maybe you're right. But he shouldn't have said those things to me."

"No, but he's a boy and like all boys, he's only a few evolutionary steps away from the gorilla."

Quinn giggled a little.

"No seriously, just look at guys like Karofsky and Azimio. Except for a little less hair, is there really any difference?"

This time, Quinn laughed and Rachel quickly joined in.

"Thanks Rach, that cheered me up."

"No problem. By the way, me and some of the other girls are going to the mall this afternoon and you're welcome to join if you want to."

"I can't, I have to take my car to the workshop, I'm afraid it's broken."

"Can't your mom drive you?"

"No, she's at work."

"Well, Tina's picking me up, and maybe she can pick up you as well."

"That's okay, ignoring Sam is exhausting, so I think I'll just stay at home and relax. Maybe later tonight?"

"Can't, I have date with Finn afterwards."

"Okay, say hello to him from me then."

"I will. Happy thanksgiving, Quinn. I'll see you Friday,"

"Yeah, bye." Quinn answered absentmindedly. She was too busy thinking about what Rachel had said about Sam to think about the winter dance two days ahead.

Shortly after, Tina pulled up in front of Rachel's house, to take her to the mall. They met up with Mercedes when they arrived and began ascending the escalators. Since the winter dance was only two days away and all the stores would be closed the next day because it was Thanksgiving Day, they had to buy their dresses today.

"I can't believe we're out so late," Tina said. "There probably won't be any dresses left."

"There'll be plenty of dresses left," Mercedes assured her. "Don't worry, we'll find the right dresses, we'll buy them, we'll celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow and on Friday, we'll get our groove on at our last winter dance." They were both smiling now, but Rachel wasn't.

"Are you ok?" Tina asked.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine… I'm just a little worried about Quinn."

"Did you find out what's wrong with her?" Tina asked as they entered the dress department in the women's clothing store.

"Uh yeah," Rachel said hesitantly, glancing over Mercedes. "It's nothing serious, I think she's just having a rough at school and then with her mothe-"

"It's Sam, right?" Mercedes asked as she sighed.

Rachel casted her eyes downward, but that was response enough for Mercedes.

"He's been acting weird as well these last couple of weeks. A month ago I practically begged him to stop staring at Quinn, but now it's like he refuses to look at anything but the floor whenever she's around."

Both Tina and Rachel were surprised to hear Mercedes say that. They of course had talked about Sam and Quinn, but they had no idea that Mercedes was aware of the tension between the two as well.

"Y-you asked him to stop looking at Quinn?" Rachel asked cautiously.

"I didn't know what else to do."

They all continued leafing through the party dresses, all feeling the awkward silence.

"Do you think I'm doing the wrong thing?" Mercedes suddenly asked.

The two other girls both looked a little confused, so she continued.

"Dating Sam, do you think I'm doing the wrong thing, like keeping Sam and Quinn apart?" Her voice became very small, as she said the question out loud, that she'd been asking herself for months now.

Tina and Rachel shared a quick look.

"Sam might still be confused about his feelings for Quinn," Tina said. "But there's no doubt he loves you, Mercedes. He's always smiling when you're around and the looks he gives you, they're so affectionate."

"You shouldn't let this bother you so much," Rachel continued. "As it is now, Sam is your boyfriend – your boyfriend who has invited you, and not Quinn, to the winter dance. The two of you may not last until you're 30, since we're still just high schoolers, but don't let that ruin what you have now. Just enjoy the attention he's giving you. You don't owe Quinn to break up with him."

"Okay," Mercedes smiled. "Now, let's go and try on some dresses!"

Mercedes knew exactly what she was looking for, so she was the first to find something fitting. It was a black dress, a little daring, but it suited her well. And as she told the other girls, she just needed the right accessories, and she'd be "ghetto to go."

Tina found a beautiful kimono inspired silk dress in a red fabric with a pattern made with golden threads. She then bought a tie with the American flag upon it, so she and Mike could show off their contradicting inheritance; his tie symbolizing their American childhood and adolescence, her dress symbolizing their Asian genes. It was a little far-stretched, but she didn't really take the theme seriously.

Neither did Rachel, who told them that she'd wear ballet flats instead of heels, so that her and Finn's heights would be the opposite-part. Tina found a yellow dress and showed it to Rachel. The skirt was floor length and the bodice was plastered with small yellow pearls. It was a strapless gown with a sweetheart cut and as it turned out, it fitted Rachel perfectly.

"Guys, I can't wear this," she said, as she stepped out of the fitting room.

"Oh. My. God. Yes, you can Rachel. You can definitely wear that," Mercedes exclaimed, as she gave her shorter friend the elevator look."

Tina just grinned and asked her to turn around.

"I can't show up wearing this; it's just the winter dance, not prom." Rachel said, as she did a twirl.

"Who cares, it's our last winter dance and we're seniors. You look totally awesome Rachel; you cannot not buy that dress." Tina almost yelled.

"A-are you sure?" Rachel said though she still sounded pretty unconvinced.

"YES!" Both girls exclaimed simultaneously.

"Plus," Mercedes continued. "You kind of look like a modern Belle from "Beauty and the Best"."

"Thanks, but please don't tell Finn that. Then he'll just dress up as the beast!"

"Talk about opposites attract," Tina chuckled.

All three of them laughed and finally Rachel nodded.

"Okay, I'll take it."

She went back into the fitting room and 15 minutes later, the three girls strolled out of the store, each with a shopping back containing a dress.

As Tina and Mercedes headed towards the exit, Rachel told them that she had a date with Finn and that he'd meet her there. The three of them said their goodbyes, and shortly after Rachel saw her tall boyfriend walk towards her.

He greeted her, as he bent down to kiss her cheek.

"I just found out that Breadstix closed early today because of Thanksgiving tomorrow," Finn told her.

"That's fine," Rachel said. "We can just dine her."

…

"You know, I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow," Finn stated while chewing on his food.

"Don't be," Rachel said. "My dads already love you and they're looking forward to seeing you. They say that this Thanksgiving will be like a welcome ceremony for you to the family."

Finn chuckled. "They really dig this stuff, huh?"

"Are you crazy, they go totally overboard. That's why I asked you if you'd take me out tonight: my dads get so caught up in their Thanksgiving preparations that the house gets unbearable to be in!"

They both laughed, as Rachel continued "You're sure your mom is okay with you not spending it with her?"

"Oh yeah, she says it's fine. She told me now that I'm 18, I should be able to choose for myself. And since Burt has invited all his brothers and their children to dine with him, Kurt and my mom, I know she won't be lonely. Plus I really want to do this Rachel, spending Thanksgiving with your family, you know, for you."

Rachel reached across the table and took his hand. "Thanks Finn, it means a lot."

They smiled at each other and continued eating their meal.

"Oh, did you get your dress for the winter dance?" Finn asked after a while.

He almost sounds excited, Rachel mused as she grabbed the bag next to her chair. "I did. Not really sure what I think about it, though." She frowned slightly as she grabbed the material and pulled a slip of it out of the big.

It was a part of the bodice she was holding up, and Finn's eyes went a little wide. "Wow, that's uh… shiny."

Rachel's smile faded immediately, as she quickly tugged the dress back in the bag. "I-I know," she said quietly. "It's too much. I think I'm going to return it and find something more… plain."

Finn noticed the change of tone in his girlfriend's voice, but he wasn't sure what the reason was. "Why? I'm sure you'll look really pretty in it. Besides I think the clothing department is closed by now, and it won't be open until Saturday, and by then, well, it'll be too late."

"I can always find something in my closet," Rachel murmured sadly.

"No, don't do that. Come on, you've got a beautiful dress in that bag right there, why would yo-"

"Because Finn, I can't come in a dress like that," Rachel interrupted, her eyes brimmed with tears.

Finn didn't really know anything about dress codes for girls, so he simply shrugged, looking a little confused.

"I don't look like the girls in the magazines. Not even close." She was looking down at her plate, trying to hide her tears from her boyfriend.

"I th-"

"People will laugh at me if I show up in a dress like that. I shouldn't be wearing it; I'll be arriving at the dance with girls like Santana and Brittany and Anna and… and Quinn."

"Rachel!" Finn exclaimed, taking both of her small hands in his. "Stop it. Why are you always this hard on yourself? You know I think you're beautiful. You're much prettier than Anna, Santana and Brittany… and Quinn as well."

"You don't mean that," she mumbled, though a small smile escaped her lips.

"Yes I do, and you know it. Fact is, even if you showed up wearing a potato sack, I still wouldn't be able to take my eyes off of you." He reached up and wiped her tears from her cheeks. "I love you, Rach."

She raised her gaze to meet his eyes and gave him a warm smile. "I love you too."

"You know, if you like me to, I wouldn't mind picking you up on Friday so when can arrive at the dance together."

"No no, this isn't prom. It's an unspoken rule that your date must not see you until at the actual dance."

"I know, but I have kind of seen your dress," he grinned.

"…but not on me, have you now?" she asked teasingly.

"No, I haven't, and I can't wait. I know you'll be the prettiest girl in there and I'm so gonna show you off to all the other dudes!"

She got up from her chair, leaned over the table and gave him a big kiss on the lips. "I can't imagine my life without you," she whispered as she rested her forehead on his.

"You don't have to. I'm right here, Rachel. I always will be."

Thank you for reading!
My gosh, you guys! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am with your reviews. Some of you like Gus, some of you hate him, some of you think I'm stalling, and one of you (bless your soul) likes the slow progress. It's so good to read the different opinions! And please keep 'em coming; the positive comments are so lovely to receive and the less positive ones show that you care about the story - so whatever you write, thank you :)
The next chapter will be the winter dance. I think it's going to be long so I may have to split it up in two parts – please don't hate me for that! I'm not sure though, time will tell.