Chapter 21: Winter dance part I
Chapter song: "Do You Love Me?" – The Contours
Time: November

Because of Thanksgiving, Quinn's car was still at the work shop, so her mother had to drive her. Judy Fabray stopped her car in front of Rachel's house. It was Friday afternoon and the dance was only a few hours away.

"Okay honey, do you have everything?"

"Yeah, I think so," Quinn said as she looked out through the windshield at the big house in front of her where she could already hear music flow out from the first floor.

"Sounds like your friends are already having plenty of fun,"

"Relax mom, we are not going to drink anything. It's just us girls."

"Okay, I trust you. I'm a little sad I won't get to see you in your dress though," Judy said as she stroke her daughter's cheek.

"There'll be plenty of pictures taken, don't worry. Plus you saw it when I tried it on in Paris."

"I know, but I'd still…" her mother looked a bit anxious for a moment, but then smiled again. "Never mind. Have fun tonight, sweetie."

"Will do. Bye mom." Quinn kissed her mother on the cheek and opened the car door.

"Remember to tell Gus that he has to have you home at midnight,"

"He knows, mom, you've told him a billion times." She stepped out of the car, but before she could close the door behind her, her mother yelled:

"Oh, and Quinnie, be sure to have your picture taken with Gus as well!"

"Bye mother." Quinn closed the door behind her, at walked up the little path towards Rachel's house.

As expected, all the glee girls were bustling around Rachel's room in a thick fog consisting of perfume and hairspray. They had Santana's ipod plugged in, so loud r'n'b-music was filling the room as well.

When Quinn walked in, Mercedes was dancing on Rachel's bed, shaking her behind to the rhythm, Anna was sitting on the same bed trying to paint her toenails (which turned out to be difficult as Mercedes was shaking the entire thing), Tina was curling her hair in front of the mirror and Brittany was applying blood red lipstick to Santana's lips. Nobody seemed to notice Quinn, so she just sat down beside Tina in front of the bedroom mirror and pulled out her ponytail to comb her hair.

Rachel was in the bathroom. She had just put on her dress and though it did fit very well, she still felt uncomfortable.

I can't do this, she thought. They'll laugh at me. Okay, maybe they won't laugh at me, but they'll pity me. I'm not going to do this. I can't let them see me in this; I can't let Finn see me-… She then looked at her reflection in the mirror. Wait, what was it he said?

"I could wear a sack of potatoes, and he still wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of me," she mumbled standing in front of the bathroom mirror. She then brightened up and took a second look down herself.

I can do this, she smiled and turned around to exit the bathroom.

The first to notice Rachel was Quinn.

"Oh, Rach," she exclaimed as she stepped over to the shorter girl. "You look stunning."

By then, all the other girls were also looking at Rachel

"Damn girl!" (Mercedes)

"You look really pretty," (Anna)

"Berry's got back!" (Santana)

"I told you it was perfect." (Tina)

"I-it's not too much?" Rachel asked as she swayed a bit, making the skirt swing back and forth.

"NO!" All the other girls yelled in unison.

"I'd better go change now," Quinn said, grabbing her bag and entering Rachel's bathroom. Just as she'd closed the door behind her, there was a loud knock.

"Hurry up, tubbers, I need to brush my teeth before we go," Santana yelled from the other side of the door.

"What you need is to wash your mouth out with soap, but…" Quinn whispered, and then continued somewhat louder "… I'll be quick."

She stripped down to her underwear and pulled out the dress from her bag. She held it up in front of her before lightly sniffing at it. Smells like Paris, she thought, as she put it on. It had to be buttoned up in the back, so she exited the bathroom, clutching the dress to her breasts, so it wouldn't fall down.

"Can someone button me up?" She asked and stepped over to Brittany who as usual looked the least busy. She felt a pair of cool hands on her warm back, as the ditzy blonde made the bodice sit tighter around her torso. Afterwards she stepped over in front the mirror, and the other girls quickly gathered around her.

"Oh Quinn, that's beautiful!" Tina exclaimed as she ran a hand down the side of the gown. "Where did you get that dress?"

"St. Germain," Quinn replied. When the other girls all shrugged, she continued "A shopping area in Paris."

"You look so grown up," Rachel said, smiling at Quinn's mirror reflection.

"Yeah, you could easily pass to be 21," Anna agreed, standing behind Quinn.

"Guess we know who's buying the booze for the after party," Santana yelled from the bathroom. She'd quickly stuck her head out to check out Quinn's dress, but had just as quickly decided that her own reflection was far more interesting.

"I'm not going to the after party," Quinn yelled back.

"What? Why not?" The other girls wanted to know.

"Well, my mother is having some trust issues these days, so I can't come waddling in at 4 in the morning, smelling like a bar. Besides, when I asked Gus, he didn't really want to go to the after party and he's my ride home… and even if he weren't, I wouldn't really feel like going without him."

"Oh come on, Quinnie, it'll be fun!" Santana said, stepping out of the bathroom.

"Yeah, for you guys, 'cause you will all be trading saliva with your respective dates at that time." Quinn snarked.

The other girls all laughed and continued preparing themselves, as Quinn stayed in front of the bedroom mirror, grabbing the curling iron from her bag.

It's like I'm missing something, she thought as she regarded herself. I've forgotten something. She then put the curling iron down and reached up to remove her Eiffel tower necklace. As soon as it had come off, she realized what she had forgotten.

"Pearls," she whispered as her eyes widened.

"What?" Tina asked, standing next to Quinn.

"The pearls, oh my god, I've completely forgotten to buy a pearl necklace."

"What are you talking about?" Tina repeated as Mercedes approached them upon seeing Quinn's frightened eyes.

"This dress needs a pearl necklace; I knew it as soon as I bought it. I've been meaning to buy a pearl necklace, but when I went to the mall the last time, I-…" I ran into Sam and ended up eating ice cream with him, but I can't tell that to Mercedes, Quinn mused. "…I forgot about it."

"Why didn't you come with us and Rachel on Wednesday?" Tina asked.

"I'd forgotten I needed it," Quinn said, thinking I'd forgotten because I was so busy worrying about Sam.

"Look, maybe Rachel has some." Mercedes suggested.

"Has what?" Rachel asked, stepping over to the three girls.

"Do you have a pearl necklace?" Quinn asked. "I need a pearl necklace to go with this dress."

"Well yeah," Rachel said, opening a drawer. "But only fake ones," She showed the blonde her pearls.

They were all oversized and very Rachel Berry, Quinn thought and internally laughed humorlessly.

"I-it's okay," Quinn said trying to sound optimistic. "I did bring my pearl earrings."

"And you still look drop dead gorgeous," Tina said, putting her hands on Quinn's shoulders.

"Yeah, and boys never notice our bling anyway," Mercedes grinned.

The three other girls laughed, but Quinn just smiled. "I know, I just… I just wanted the look to come together," she said as she put on her pearl earrings and continued curling her hair.

I can't believe I've been so busy with Sam that I forgot to buy that stupid necklace, Quinn mused. And for what? He's not even my boyfriend and I haven't spoken to him in weeks because of that night in front of Gus' house. He was a douche though. Okay, technically he did have a point, but still. He shouldn't be talking to me like that. He's not allowed to care for me. Quinn unconsciously raised her chin a bit, as she looked herself in the mirror, standing with the curling iron. …but do I really mind him caring for me?

The girls were barely done getting ready before they heard Rachel's dad yell "Picture time!"

Suddenly the loud music was drowned out by squealing as each glee club girl tried to find her shoe, her lipstick, her earring, her hair clip, her mind.

"Girls, you need to get down here now, before the limo comes!" Her dad yelled again, and the squealing became even louder, though mixed with laughter.

A few minutes later, the party came skipping down the stairs, still squealing and laughing, and placed themselves against the white wall. They had an individual picture taken, then a picture with Santana and Brittany, one with Rachel, Tina, Anna, Mercedes and Quinn, one with Brittany, Anna and Tina, a few extra shots of Rachel alone (since it were her dads), a picture of Santana, Brittany and Quinn, a picture of Rachel, Quinn and Mercedes – Quinn in the middle, thinking this will be the picture of the girl who got knocked up at 16 and her two best friends whom are currently dating her two ex-boyfriends – and at last a group shot of all seven girls.

As soon as the last picture had been taken, they all fell together, laughing and chatting loudly, touching each other's dresses and admiring each other's hair. Then they heard a loud honking-noise, and Rachel immediately chirped "The limo is here!"

They said goodbye to Rachel's dads and giggling went out in the limo. Although they didn't drive off right away, as four of the girls had forgotten something semi important and was forced to run back. The last one was Rachel, who had forgotten to kiss her dads goodbye in the entire disturbance, and as soon as she was back in the vehicle, they drove away.

They had ordered a bucket of virgin magharitas along with the limo, so as they approached McKinley High for their last winter dance, they toasted in the green drinks.

"To all the talented young people of the New Directions…" Rachel began

"… and all the not so talented nobodies…" Santana continued.

"… and all the idiotic bullies…" Tina said.

"… and all the helpless teachers…" Quinn grinned.

"… and all us bimbo cheerleaders…" Anna murmured.

"… and to the Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, Jane Addams Academy, Aural Intensity, Haverbrook and, uh…" Mercedes said

"… and to us, right?" Brittany asked.

"Yes, Brittany, to us." Rachel smiled. "To the future,"

And thus, they all drank.

…

Sam was standing at the punch bowl, adjusting his cream coloured tie when Finn approached him.

"You look nervous," he grinned, clapping the blonde guy on the shoulder.

"I kinda am, actually. I'm standing her alone in a way too white suit. Aren't they supposed to be here by now?" Sam asked anxiously.

"Nah, you know how girls are." Finn said. "Think about how long it takes for one girl to get out of the door… now multiply that by seven."

"Actually by eight," Mike said as he came over to them. "Tina counts for two; she's in a league of her own, you seriously wouldn't believe it!"

"Then you've obviously never taken Rachel on date," Finn laughed.

"Mercedes isn't that bad," Sam interjected. "She doesn't even ask me if I think she looks beautiful, she just struts down the street like she owns it." He smiled to himself, thinking about his girlfriend's swag.

"I hear she's going to look fabulous tonight," Finn said. When Sam gave him a confused look, he continued: "She showed Kurt her dress yesterday and according to him, it was fabulous."

"Great," Sam smiled, not really knowing what to think, as Kurt's sense of fashion wasn't that obvious to him.

"By the way, why isn't Kurt coming tonight?" Mike asked.

"The Dalton Academy is throwing their annual Christmas party tonight and I think he misses some of his old friends, so he went there instead." Finn answered.

The two other boys were nodding when they spotted Gus wheeling Artie around a few yards away. Finn called them over.

"Damn, Sam, what are you wearing?" Artie cried when they got nearer.

"Opposites attract, remember?" Sam grinned, spinning around. "Mercedes is wearing black tonight."

"That is politically incorrect, no?" Gus asked chuckling.

All the guys laughed with him, except for Sam, who annoyed asked the French boy what kind of opposite he was supposed to be.

"Nothing," Gus shrugged. "Quinn have already her dress, so we do not dress up. We just dance and have fun." He smiled a little triumphantly at Sam, knowing the blonde's history with Quinn.

"You got lucky, man. Tina bought me this," Mike said, holding up his American flag-tie, "and told me it would go perfectly with her dress, so I'm kind of dreading what she'll show up in."

"A tie isn't so bad," Artie said. "Anna wanted me to dress up as Quasimodo so she could be Esmeralda."

Once again the boys all laughed.

"So what did you decide to dress up as?" Sam asked wonderingly as the boy in the wheel chair was wearing a perfectly normal tuxedo.

"Nothing. We agreed that our difference in height would be enough as opposites," Artie shrugged.

"Same with me and Rachel," Finn said. "Except, you know, the other way around."

They were laughing again when Puck approached them, Maya by his side, though they immediately stopped upon seeing Puck's outfit.

He was wearing a regular black tux, like all the other guys except for Sam, but at the end of the sleeves, Puck was wearing gloves. Gloves with fur. Not only that, but on top of his head was a headband with long brown ears attached to it. To top it all, Puck's nose was painted black with what one could only assume was eyeliner. If it wasn't because Maya was looking rather cute in a small black dress, a cat ears-headband and eyeliner-whiskers on her cheeks, somebody would have beaten the mohawk'ed guy up right away.

"So, where're your dates?" Puck asked, trying to sound intimidating.

"Uh, they're probably on their way. T-they're all going together in a limo," Finn stuttered, trying to contain his laugh. The other guys were simply staring at Puck in disbelief and moro.

"'Kay, well, I'll see you around." Puck said as he turned around.

"Nice tail," Mike mumbled and then all the guys loudly burst into laughing. Puck turned around and gave them a death stare, before Maya pulled him away from them.

"Christ, he looks stupid," Sam said, as he wiped his laughter-tears away.

"And that's coming from one of the Bee Gees," Artie yelled, and they all laughed again. This time so much that Finn fell over.

"God, I'm so glad we're all dating seniors," Finn said. "Senior girls would never force their boyfriends to show up in a dog costume."

"Plus, they're ten times prettier," Artie murmured, as he pointed towards the door where the glee club girls had just entered.

Brittany and Santana were in the front, Santana wearing a blood red gown with matching horns on a headband on her head, while Brittany was sporting a baby blue puffy dress and white angel wings.
Behind them were Anna and Tina, then Rachel and Mercedes and in the very back came Quinn.

The boys immediately all dropped their jaws at the sight of their girlfriends looking stunning and began walking towards them. Santana quickly pulled Brittany towards the dance floor, to avoid being in the middle of the clash of the couples. Mike rolled Artie over to their girlfriends, Finn went over to Rachel and Mercedes came skipping over to Sam, saying "Man, Sam you like fly in that tux, we are so gonna…"

Sam knew she was saying more, but he wasn't listening. He hugged her, but couldn't keep from looking over her shoulder to what had been stealing his attention as soon as she stepped into the gym: Quinn.

Quinn was wearing a sleeveless midnight blue silky dress with a low boat cut neckline. The wide straps were set broad apart, hanging on the farthest points of her shoulders and the very top of her arms. It was tight fitting right above her hips, emphasizing her thin waist, while the skirt part of the dress was looser, the brim dancing around her knees with each step she took. Her golden hair was formed in soft curls bouncing down her back, some of it pinned up in a casual yet very elegant way, showing off her neck. He watched as the French boy went over to her and hugged her, complimented her and kissed her cheek. She then giggled, so her hair bounced even more and the brim danced wildly. Oh man, Quinn looks…

"… like a goddess," Sam mumbled absent-mindedly.

"What?" Mercedes asked, still standing in his arms.

"Oh, uh, nothing." He swallowed hard. "You look awesome tonight."

"Thanks, so do you." She pulled away and regarded her boyfriend. "You sure you okay?"

"Yeah, just, a little too much punch," he said, trying to pull of his goofy smile.

"Okay, then let's go get our picture taken." She grabbed his hand and they walked over to the photographer.

As they waited in line, Sam looked over his shoulder. He couldn't help himself. Quinn and Gus were headed over to the photographer as well, his arm around her waist, whispering in her ear; her holding her hand in front of her mouth trying to hide away her big smile.

She always does that, Sam mused. But her smile is so sweet.

…

"… and he even wear a tail!" Gus whispered in Quinn's ear.

"Oh dear god," she giggled. "I can't believe she actually got him to dress up as a dog. He's so whipped."

"Whipped? She whip him? How do you know?"

"What?" Quinn blinked confusedly at her date. "Oh, I wasn't… whipped doesn't exactly mean… you know what, never mind, Gus. I'm not going to educate you tonight, 'cause tonight I'm not your tutor."

"C'est vrai, chérie. Tonight you are my beautiful, beautiful date. The most beautiful girl of all proms."

"And apparently I'm here with the biggest charmeur of all time," Quinn smiled, imitating her mother's tone of voice.

At that very moment, she noticed Samcedes further up in the line. They were snickering at each other, caressing each other.

He looks ridiculous in that suit, Quinn thought, as the familiar feeling of jealousy was bubbling in her stomach. Not tonight, she mused. I am not going to let them ruin my last winter dance. She looked back at Gus, who was currently checking her out.

"What?" she asked smilingly.

"You just… you are perfect, you know?" he said as he stroked her cheek.

Quinn's cheeks turned rosy as she casted her eyes downward. Feeling a little uncomfortable by the French guy's impressive compliment, she decided to change the subject.

"I actually had a little crisis earlier on. You see, I really wanted a pearl necklace to wear with this dress, but I'd completely forgotten to buy one. Though I didn't realize this until a few hours ago, so I had to arrive sans collier de perles."

"But, I don't understand," Gus stated as he tugged on his earlobe. "Does it matter if you wear pearls?"

Quinn snorted at her own childish behavior. "Well no, not really."

"Then what is the matter?"

She tugged a loose strand of hair behind her ear, feeling a little embarrassed. "Sometimes a girl just needs her pearls, that's all."

As she said the last sentence, Sam and Mercedes walked past the couple as they had had their picture taken. The two blondes' eyes locked for a split second, before Quinn felt Gus' hand slip into hers.

"C'est bon?" He whispered in her ear.

"Yes," Quinn sighed. The tension between her and her ex-boyfriend was already tiring her, and the evening had barely begun.

…

As soon as the band started to play a slow song, Finn took Rachel's hand and pulled her towards the dance floor. He placed his hands on her back as she placed hers on his chest, having difficulties reaching around his shoulders.

"You look so beautiful tonight, Rach, it's unbelievable."

"Thanks Finn," she smiled. "I was kind of scared I'd be overdressed, but then I sa-"

"-saw Puckerman," Finn finished snickering.

They both laughed and Rachel rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so glad you didn't force me to dress up," Finn murmured.

"Oh, I would never force you to dress up!" Rachel exclaimed.

Finn looked down at his girlfriend, arching an eyebrow, just as she looked up at him.

"Okay, I would force you if I'd had an idea," she admitted.

"I know you would," Finn chuckled.

"Actually, I did kind of have an idea for tonight."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, but…"

"But what? What was it?"

"Well, Tina and Mercedes said that I looked like Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" wearing this…" she said, fidgeting a little with the skirt of her dress.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I wondered where I'd seen that dress before."

"… and since I'd be the beauty tonight, we figured you could be the be-"

"The beast!" Finn finished once again, this time sounding very excited. "You should have told me, that would have been totally awesome."

"No Finn. You may look cute as a zombie, but I'm not attending the winter dance with an animal looking freak, who roars instead of communicating," Rachel said firmly. "It's Maya who does that."

Once again they both laughed at the idea of Puck in ears, paws and tail.

A few yards further away, Gus spun Quinn around and caught her again, swaying back and forth. They were in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by other students.

"You dance like my grandfather," Quinn giggled when she noticed the weird looks some of the footballers were giving them.

"And? I think you like," Gus answered teasingly, as he dipped her.

Quinn couldn't help but laugh and squeal a little. "I do like it in my bedroom, yes, but I didn't know you'd do it in public as well!"

He looked into her eyes with a snicker and held her still for a moment. "Exactly what are we talking about, Quinn?"

She looked confused for a moment, until she realized what she'd just said. "Oh, you dirty dirty pig!"

Laughingly, he pulled her in for an embrace, as they kept on swaying.

The song ended, and the couples who weren't too caught up in their partners, like Quinn and Gus, clapped a bit.

"Want to sit down?" Gus asked, pulling away from her, as a more upbeat song began. When Quinn nodded, he took her hand and led her to a table. "I will get some punch for us," he said as he left her at the big round table.

Quinn felt a little at unease sitting alone at the dance, but luckily Finn and Rachel soon approached her, each with a glass of punch in their hands.

"Hey you two!" She said happily. "Please sit down; I don't want to look like a bench warmer."

The brunettes did as she had said and Finn took her in for a moment.

"You look really pretty, Quinn."

"Thank you. You look really handsome," she replied with a smile. "Are you having fun?"

"I think everyone besides Noah is having fun tonight," Rachel said, glancing towards the Jewish boy standing on the dance floor looking somewhat crestfallen.

"You know, I almost feel bad for him," Quinn began.

"Don't," Finn said. "He wouldn't go through all this if he didn't count on getting lucky tonight."

Rachel slapped her boyfriend on his arm, frowning a bit. Finn was simply shrugging when Gus returned with two glasses of punch.

"Hello!" He exclaimed gladly. "Rachel, you look… très belle!"

"Belle in deed." Finn smiled at his own play on words, regarding his girlfriend.

"Thanks Gus, you and Quinn look so cute together. Like something from a classy old movie." Rachel stated.

"That is all because of Quinn," Gus said, placing a hand on his date's thigh. "A man and his tuxedo is just the frame – the beautiful woman and her dress is the painting."

Quinn blushed heavily and bit down on her lip when the French boy gave her a big grin, still patting her thigh.

"This is so much better than prom," Finn said, nodding his head.

Both Rachel and Quinn looked up at the same time, cringing with widened eyes, remembering what had been going on between the three of them just six months ago.

Feeling the tension at the table, Gus decided to try and save the situation by referring to one of the many things Quinn had told him about the last prom of McKinley High

"Come on dude, nothing beat a cat fight!" He exclaimed with his best American accent.

Quinn, Finn and Rachel were very quiet for a couple of seconds, before all bursting into laughter and eventually Gus joined in, relieved that that awkward conversation had been more or less avoided.

"Cheers," Rachel bellowed, raising her glass of punch. "For putting the past behind us and enjoying our senior year together."

"Together," Finn agreed.

"Together," Quinn said softly.

Gus smiled and raised his glass as well, and the four students then clanged their drinks together, making the slightly sticky liquid run down the sides of their glasses.

Meanwhile on the dance floor, Sam was doing the cabbage patch around his girlfriend when the band started to play a slow song. He then put his arms around her waist, and she put her hands on his bag.

"You look so awesome tonight, 'Cedes," Sam said. "I think you're the coolest girl I know."

"Thanks, but you're the one who's brave enough to show up looking like a cream puff." Mercedes answered.

"A cream puff? Gee, thanks, I feel so much better now."

"Well you should. You're the best looking cream puff I've ever seen," Mercedes said, as she pressed her lips onto Sam's. "You don't taste like one though."

"What do I taste like?" Sam asked tentatively but with a definite smile upon his lips.

"Pineapple, orange and…" Mercedes licked her lips quizzingly. "… mango, I think."

They looked at each other for a moment, before both stating simultaneously "The punch." Then they both chuckled and kissed each other again.

"Speaking of punch," Sam began, as he pulled away.

"Yeah?"

"You know, I was kinda nervous before you girls arrived."

"Nervous?"

"Well, I was excited to see what you would look like tonight," but I ended up focusing on Quinn. Stupid, Sam. "And I felt a little off in this suit, so I think I swallowed like five or six glasses of punch."

"Geez, Sam, no wonder you taste so fruity!"

"Anyways, I sort of need to pay a visit to the men's room after drinking all that…"

"Sure, I'll be out here," Mercedes giggled.

Sam gave her a big smile and went away.

On his way to the bathroom, he saw Finn, Rachel, Quinn and Gus sitting at a table away from the dance floor.

I don't get it. She's Finn's ex-girlfriend as well. How the hell can he be so casual around her? And with all the drama that went on between the two of them and Rachel – now they're friends?

Sam snapped out of his thoughts, as he realized he'd been staring at them. Let it go. I need to be happy that there's no more drama in the glee club. And I have Mercedes. I shouldn't even be looking in the others' direction when a girl like her is waiting for me on the dance floor.

He approached the door do the bathroom, but couldn't help but look at his ex-girlfriend's direction one last time. But Quinn does look amazing tonight.

When he returned to the dance floor around a quarter of an hour later (the line to the toilet had been awfully long with all the nervous punch-filled teenage boys), the band was playing a more upbeat song, and he quickly spotted Mercedes dancing wildly with Tina. Guess I'm not needed there, he thought amusedly and went over to the punch bowl.

I shouldn't be too concerned with this suit, he mused as he grabbed the ladle of the punch bowl. It could just be a superhero costume. That's not impossible. I'll be an awesome all white superhero. He scooped up some punch and lifted the ladle from the bowl. There must be at least one superhero dressed in all white. Someone cool. He lifted his glass to translocate the liquid from the ladle to his glass. Wait, I can only think of one and that's Storm. And she's not a superhero, she's a super heroine. That's why I feel so off tonight, I'm dressed like a freaking heroine.

Then Sam felt something cool hit his thigh. He looked down and realized that he'd been so caught up in his thoughts, that he had spilled the punch onto his otherwise squeaky clean suit. There now was a large pink spot on his right upper leg.

Embarrassedly, he looked up to see if anyone had noticed. He immediately saw a pair of hazel orbs eyeing him from a few yards away. He then noticed the smile that was forming on her pink lips, though she quickly turned her head to look at Finn, pretending she had been smiling at something the brunette boy had said.

She's laughing at me now? She has completely ignored me for weeks and now she's laughing at me? Sam mused incredulously, not noticing the smile escaping his own lips. I'm standing here alone with this pink shit on my shitty white suit and she's laughing at me?

"That's not cool." Sam heard a hoarse voice behind him. He turned around to face Mike Chang.

"What?"

"That's not cool. You've got to stop staring at her like that. It's not cool staring at another girl like that when you're with Mercedes." The Asian boy's eyes travelled downward. "What the hell happened on your leg?"

"M-my leg?" Sam asked a bit confused. He'd been caught off guards, not knowing another person had noticed he'd been looking at Quinn. "Oh, that… um, punch."

"Man that sucks," Mike exhaled. "It looks like a virgin version of "Superbad"."

Sam chuckled at the reference, yet Mike stayed serious.

"Seriously dude. You've got to stop looking at her," he said.

Sam just stared at the floor feeling embarrassed.

"You should just leave her alone. Tina said something about Quinn being pissed at you anyways. What was that all about?"

"I-it was nothing," Sam quickly said, thinking about her giving him the silent treatment since that night in front of his house. "I just told her what I thought about her and that Gus-guy being all over each other all the time."

"All over each other? What are you talking about. I don't even think they're dating."

"Oh come on, you know Quinn. You really think she'd let a boy touch her like that if they weren't dating?"

Sam tilted his head in the direction, where Gus was currently sitting with an arm draped around Quinn's waist, rubbing her rib cage and probably even getting a little side boob as well, he thought. Mike followed his eyes and then he sighed heavily.

"Sam," he said, grabbing the blonde boy's neck. "I'll tell you this for the last time." He then twisted his fingers and thus turning Sam's head towards the dance floor. "This is what you need to be looking at. Not some skinny blonde getting cozy with a European, but this." He pointed to where Mercedes was grinningly dancing around with Tina. "You need to look at your lovely lady right there. Look at her. Look at her having fun, look at her dancing. And best of all? She's all yours. She'd never cheat on you, she'd never lie to you; she's just there, waiting for you."

Sam nodded in agreement.

A slow song started and Mike tugged at Sam's sleeve.

"Come on," he said. Let's show our lovely ladies how much we appreciate them. They went onto the dance floor and grabbed their respective girlfriends.

Mercedes gave Sam a big smile when he approached her, and he liked the feeling of having her resting in his arms. Yet as they swayed around, he still felt the urge to look at his ex-girlfriend; see what she was doing. He spotted Quinn only a few feet away. She was resting in Gus' arms the same way Mercedes was resting in his.

I know Mike is right, Sam wondered. Quinn cheated on me and she lied to me, and Mercedes would never do that… He noticed how Quinn had closed her eyes, a comfortable smile playing on her lips, as she snuggled a bit into the French boy's arms. But then why do I still feel so drawn to her?

...

Thank you for reading!
If the sweet fuzzywuzzy123 is still reading this fic: this is why Quinn was looking at a necklace in Chapter 15. The necklace will also play a part in the next chapter.
I'm afraid this was all I had time to write today in my lunch break. I was typing very fast and very hard I think, since my colleagues all looked at me like I was crazy. Now it's late in my country and I need my sleep. I promise that I'll write the second part in my lunch break tomorrow!