He had asked for friendship. He knew from the beginning that she was in a relationship with Mike. It seemed like he was intent on making things difficult in her life. Quinn was mad that Puck had stormed off in a huff for something that hadn't mattered at all to her. However, she understood how it had been a big deal to him. Puck had thought he was doing something so great - which he had been - only to find out that her boyfriend had already done the same thing, but since his parents were more fortunate, he had bought her a more expensive version.
Still, he had asked for friendship and Quinn was determined to let Puck know that he couldn't enter agreements like that and then back out of them. It was December 29th and Quinn was driving over to Puck's house so she could tell him what the second part of the present was herself. It wasn't a present she could exactly return and it wouldn't work without Puck. She knew that he would want it but he was simply too stubborn. He hadn't called her or texted her so Quinn realized that she would have to make the first move. She parked on the street across from his family's house and got out of the car. Quinn walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Of course things couldn't be easy though as it wasn't Puck who answered the door but his mother. Quinn had gotten to know the woman when she had been living in her house and they weren't on the best of terms to say the least. Mrs. Puckerman thought that Quinn was a cheap tramp who had ruined her son's life while Quinn thought that she was a bitter judging old woman. The dirty looks, snide comments, and snide comments were not missed when Quinn had moved out of the Puckerman house and into Mercedes'.
Quinn tried her hardest to be nice however and smiled at the woman. "Hello Mrs. Puckerman, is Noah there?" She asked politely.
A frown and an eye roll was given back in return. "I thought you two were done and over with."
Quinn nodded. "We are, but we're still friends and I need to speak to him. It's important. May I?"
Quinn was determined to be polite even though thetas woman was being anything but. She had never done anything wrong to deserve this treatment but she had gotten used to it over the months of sharing a roof with Puck's mom. Quinn had always hoped that Puck would have said something to his mother about the way she was treating the mother of his child but he never wanted to get in the middle of anything. Quinn may have been carrying his child but his mom was cooking him meals and doing his laundry. He had felt it was best not to rock any boats.
Mrs. Puckerman sighed and closed the door. Quinn didn't know if she had just slammed the door in her face and dismissed her or if she was going to get her son. She counted to ten in her head. The door didn't open. She counted once again and still the door didn't open. She was about to turn around and go back other car when the door started opening. Her heart rose as she saw Puck on the other side. She smiled and calmed herself down.
"Hey." She whispered.
He nodded at her and leaned against the side of the door, not saying a word to her. He looked her in the eyes, with his eyes looking darker than usual. Quinn noticed just how cold it was, being winter in Ohio so she decided not to slow things down anymore.
"I know that you probably don't want to talk to me right now but I'm not going to let your stupid pride or mine ruin this. I have another present to give you and I don't care if you don't want it because I'm giving it to you."
Puck still wasn't saying anything. His arms were crossed and he was staring at Quinn, but he wasn't talking. Quinn sighed. She hated how stubborn and difficult he could be.
"It's not something like a CD or an X-Box though. It's something I have to tell you. If I tell you I need you to promise me that you won't argue or say it isn't enough. I need you to just accept it."
Quinn half-expected Puck to not say anything again and act like a complete toddler but she was pleasantly surprised when he nodded and said, "Fine. I promise." It wasn't much but at least he was talking and agreeing to her terms. It was a start, and at the moment it was enough for Quinn to be happy with.
"After she sent the pictures I called Shelby and talked to her. I told her before that I only wanted e-mails but after you wanted to be friends and… well I know you got Leizel to give you a hand job for me Puck, I decided that I had to do something for you."
Puck smirked at Quinn and leaned in to say, "I didn't need a reason to get a hand job from anyone Quinn."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyways, I called Shelby and even though I think that it's going to hurt so much - at least for me, I know that it means a lot to you so we've come to an agreement so that we can visit Beth each year on her birthday."
Quinn waited to see the look on Puck's face when the news sunk in. His expression was blank at first but then she saw a smile, a genuine smile creep up unto his face. His eyes brightened and they grew wider. Quinn smiled back, so happy at the expression on Puck's face and knowing that she had put it there. She waited for him to say something. She couldn't wait for him to get his excitement out into words.
"I didn't think we were ever going to see her again," He told her, his words coming out fast like a child who was overly excited, "I can't believe… thank you. Thanks Quinn."
"You're welcome." She laughed at the sheer joy the situation was bringing to her. She was so happy to have made Puck delighted, especially after she had seen the disappointment on his face only days earlier, that she was excited more than ever tot ell him that there was even more good news.
"Shelby is also moving in a few days. After New Years, and she was going to have her family help her move her stuff but I offered us to help. If you want to then we can move her stuff and see Beth then as well."
This time Puck didn't speak right away. He stared at Quinn in disbelief and with his jaw practically on the floor. He then moved closer towards her and wrapped her in a huge hug. He tightened his grip around her as he whispered in her hair, "You are seriously the awesomest person ever Quinn. Thank you so much."
Quinn wrapped her arms around Puck as well. She mumbled into his shoulder, "It's no problem at all. I'm excited as well."
After another minute Puck let go of Quinn and leaned back against the door frame. "What day is it?"
"January 3rd. She gave me the address for her old house and the new house. She wants us to meet her at the old one at noon. I was wondering if you wanted to drive there together."
Puck nodded. "Yeah that'd be nice. I could pick you up at eleven-thirty… or is that too soon?"
Quinn shook her head. "No her house is around a half hour away. It'll be really nice. But maybe wash your car before we go. I saw it in the driveway and I don't want our daughter thinking that you spread mud over your car for fun or anything."
Puck laughed. "She won't even be seven months old Quinn. I'm sure she won't notice how crappy my car is."
"But Shelby will." Quinn pointed out. She knew that the woman would never judge them or look down upon the pair as they had blessed her with the best gift anyone could ever have done, but Quinn still wanted to give off a good impression. She had originally wanted to take her car as it was much cleaner than Puck's, but she knew he liked to drive and she wasn't going to make waves once he had offered. She had enough tact to simply agree and get over the situation. Still, having a clean car wasn't much to ask from the boy.
Puck sighed but relented and agreed to go through the car wash the day before in order to get his car squeaky clean. His tone then turned serious. "Does Mike know about all of this?"
Quinn knew that the conversation was going to be brought up but she had honestly crossed her fingers that Puck would somehow have forgotten about her boyfriend of almost four months. She had prepared her answer ahead of time however so that there would be no awkwardness or stupid ramblings coming out of her mouth. "He doesn't know yet but it doesn't mean I'm not going to tell him. I just wasn't going to get into it if you were going to end up saying no anyways. Now that you want to do it I'll tell Mike." She was positive that it sounded fake and rehearsed but Puck somehow seemed to let it pass.
Puck looked at her and furrowed his eyebrows. "So things are good with Mike?"
Quinn smiled and nodded. "They are."
"How long has it been?"
Quinn pretended to be searching for the correct number of months throughout her head. After the appropriate amount of seconds she said, "Four months on January 10th."
Puck nodded. Quinn hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions. It was extremely awkward to talk about your current boyfriend with your ex boyfriend. She still missed the times she had with Puck but Quinn was happy with Mike and cared about him a greta deal. He was good for her and she loved being in a relationship with him. She didn't want anything messing it up but she also didn't want to shove her happiness in her ex's face.
Luckily for her, Puck noticed Quinn's red cheeks and shivering arms and forgot all about Mike. "It's cold, you should get going. I'll call or text you before I leave to pick you up."
Quinn grinned. "Sounds good. See you then." She turned around and walked through the snow to her car. Quinn drove home and was happy that she was in a happy, committed relationship, friends with her ex who had meant more than she could ever imagine to her, and that she was soon going to see her daughter. She was deathly scared for the pain she knew she would feel when it was time to part but she was also too excited to care too much. This was her daughter. The one person she would give up everything for. She had done everything to make sure that she had been born healthy and Quinn knew that her heart would melt as soon as she laid her eyes upon her once again. She was just glad that Puck would be there as well. Seeing Beth was something she knew she would never be able to do on her own.
Soon it was New Year's Eve. Quinn had hung out with Mike the day before but had not told him of her plan for seeing Beth with Puck. There was just never a good opportunity. They were having too much light-hearted fun for Quinn to ruin it with a serious conversation. Quinn had planned on telling him before it actually happened as she knew that she would be in big trouble if she did it and then Mike found out that she had hid it from him. She just didn't know when exactly. She was hoping that the moment would simply present itself to her.
Anyways it was New Year's Eve and Mike had told Quinn that they had to go to a massive party that one of the football players was having. His parents had apparently gone on vacation during the winter break and had left their son alone in a big empty house with plenty of food money that he had instead spent on booze with a fake I.D. It was going to be an epic party and Mike insisted they go. Quinn loved a good party and loved even more a chance to show off her perfect relationship in front of all of her peers to impress them so she was definitely in. They were taking a taxi to the guy's house because both were planning on drinking. Mike had gotten a drive to Quinn's house from his dad and the taxi was picking them up from there.
Mike had walked up the stairs to her bedroom when he laid eyes on Quinn. She was wearing a skin tight red mini dress with a white short sleeve cardigan as the party was casual but still all the girls were getting dressed up since it was New Years Eve and all. Mike whistled once he saw his girlfriend and walked up to Quinn putting his hands on her hips.
"Quinn you are seriously the hottest girl on the entire planet." He said with his face inches in front of hers.
Quinn smiled and bit her lip. "I bet you've said that to all of your girlfriends."
Mike smirked and shook his head. "I've been saving that one for the right girl. It's not my fault that you're so hot I think I should be wearing oven mitts right now."
Quinn laughed and leaned in closer to Mike to kiss him on the lips. She had meant for the kiss to be short and sweet but mike started intensifying it fast. Quinn mentally rolled her eyes. She had a feeling when she decided to add sex to the relationship that it would change things. Gone were the days when she could sit around and only give Mike a peck on the cheek. The days since they had sex for the first time he had taken every opportunity to try and do it again. Every kiss was becoming open-mouthed. Laying on each other's bed could never be innocent anymore. It wasn't that Quinn minded so much, it was fun for the most part. She simply noticed the difference in the relationship and wondered if she was going to mind it later on down the line. She also didn't want to make everything too sexual. It was nice to just have a chaste kiss once in a while. Not everything had to be sexy and passionate. She knew that Mike wasn't a complete horn dog but he was a teenage boy which meant sex was on his mind almost every second. They hadn't done it since the first night but Quinn was thinking that his expectations were high for that night as it was the end of 2010. Quinn didn't see the hype in all of it but knew that others found it inevitable to have sex on New Year's.
Quinn pulled away from the embrace. "I still need to finish getting ready."
Mike sighed but dropped his arms from around her and sat on her bed as Quinn finished straightening her hair and perfecting the smokey eye look. She was determined to be the hottest girl at the party. It wasn't something that needed much preparation but Quinn needed to ensure that she would be the hottest. Santana had texted Quinn earlier saying that she was planning on wearing a black leather mini skirt and a dark black lace shirt with a neon bra under it. It was clear that she was going to have competition but Quinn thought that her slutty look was also classy whereas Santana's was going to be slutty and trashy. Either way Santana was going to be trying to hook up with as many boys as she could in the one night. It had become a tradition for her every New Year's Eve. Brittany was apparently joining her on the mission this year and at the end of the night they would reward the boys with seeing them making out with each other as the clock stroked twelve. Lord knows what Britney was going to wear. Quinn wouldn't have been surprised if she showed up in a bikini even though it was the middle of winter and in Ohio. The girl was without the doubt the dullest tool in the shed. Still she was nice to Quinn when she wasn't doing Santana's dirty work so the head cheerleader didn't talk too much smack about her.
Quinn brushed out her hair and added volumizing spray to her blonde locks as she asked her boyfriend, "How wasted are you planning on getting tonight?"
Mike shrugged his shoulders. "It's New Year's babe so I don't know. Not too wasted. I'm hoping on remembering tonight." He winked at her and Quinn couldn't help but giggle. She shook her head. "How are you so sure that we're even going to sleep with each other?"
Mike pretended to look shocked. "We're going to sleep together? Why did no one ever inform me of this?"
Quinn rolled her eyes and put in her diamond stud earrings. Mike continued on with his act. "I mean if you really want to I guess I could manage it but… it'd just be nice to get some notice when you're hot for this next time." He motioned down to his body and Quinn stuck her finger down her throat, pretending to gag.
"Let's just see how tonight goes Michael and then we'll decide about later tonight." She walked over to the bed and wrapped her arms around Mike's neck as she sat on his lap. She gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. "But if you get too wasted then I probably won't feel up to it."
Mike smirked. "Don't worry. I just imposed a three beer limit on myself. It's all good Quinn."
At that moment Quinn's cell phone rang. Mike sighed as she got off of her lap to answer the call. She pressed the little green phone button on her cell and put it up to her ear. "Hey Mercedes."
"Girl what are you doing tonight?" Mercedes asked with excitement in her voice.
"Mike and I are going to some party," Quinn replied, "It's supposed to be insane. I'm kind of remembering how much I used to love these types of parties."
Mercedes started whispering inaudibly to whoever was with her. Quinn tried to listen in but couldn't make out anything that her friend was saying. Mercedes turned her attention back to Quinn. "I guess I should have asked earlier. Dwayne and I are hanging out with Tina, Artie, Sam, and Kurt at my house tonight. We were wondering if you wanted to come over and bring Mike. Us losers were just going to watch the concerts and specials going on in New York. Order some pizzas, maybe start a karaoke revolution, but I'm guessing that you and the boyfriend aren't up for missing the party of the century."
Quinn rolled her eyes. Lately Mercedes had been pushing the subject of popularity on Quinn. She kept insisting that Quinn could never hang out because she was too cool to know be associated with her old friends when the facts were that Quinn's schedule was not as free as it once had been and Mercedes kept asking her to hang out last minute. Quinn thought that Mercedes was definitely thinking that she wanted to ditch her and Kurt but it wasn't true at all. It was actually insulting to be told that time and time again. Quinn was a good friend to those who were truly her friends. She didn't want to deal with Mercedes doubting her or constantly being sassy.
Quinn tried to make her response lighthearted so that Mercedes wouldn't take it as personally as Quinn knew she would otherwise. "I think that Mike might kill me if we miss this party Mercedes. It's all he's been talking about for days. Thanks for inviting us though. We totally need to hang out soon girl. Maybe Mike and Dwayne can join us and we can double date!"
"Maybe," Mercedes said solemnly, "But I miss hanging out just me, you and Kurt. Isn't there some Facebook group about hating friends who get a boyfriend and forget all about their other friends."
Quinn clicked her tongue. "Mercedes you know that isn't true. We hang out all the time at Glee Club and at lunch. We always hang out at least once a mont hogging to the mall or the movies. Chill out. I'm not ditching you."
"I just feel like we're drifting apart and I don't want to lose you Quinn," Mercedes confessed, "But we can talk about that later. It's New Year's. I didn't mean to depress you. Have a good time at the party."
Quinn smiled. At least Mercedes was accepting things and wasn't purposely trying to make her life miserable. Quinn desperately wanted to have a talk with her girlfriend however to sort things out. "Have a good time with everyone! I'll text you tomorrow."
Quinn hung up the phone and looked back at Mike who was twiddling his thumbs. "Bored?" She asked.
He shrugged. "Listening in on girl drama isn't the most exciting thing to do."
Quinn put a hand on her hip. "Mercedes keeps saying that I'm ditching her. It's easy to hang out with Kurt because he's on Cheerio's so there's so many days after school and at meets on weekends that we can gossip and hang out together but Mercedes quit so it's harder. She acts like I gave up my friendship with her for you. It's stupid. I'm not doing it on purpose. I'm just busy."
Mike nodded. "Don't let it get you down babe. We're going to live it up tonight! Worry about the girl crap tomorrow. Mercedes probably just needs to have a girl day with you to feel special and then she'll go back to normal."
Quinn didn't know if her boyfriend was right but accepting what he was saying was the only way for her to be able to put the situation out of her mind and to have a fun night. She made herself believe it. She would text Mercedes the next day asking her to choose a day for them to get manicures and pedicures together. They would then watch the latest chick flick but before they would splurge on a carb filled dinner. It would be the perfect girl's day and Mercedes would have to realize that Quinn was committed to their friendship just as much as she was.
The taxi came and Quinn and Mike gave their driver to the address of the football player's house. It took about twelve minutes to get there even though it would usually only take five or six minutes. Their driver liked to be very careful while driving which meant driving slower than anyone would expect from an elderly person.
Mike and Quinn got out of the car and walked into the house. They had arrived around an hour after the party had officially began (that being 9:00) so the party was in full swing. Underage drinking and multiple hookups were seen in every direction. Mike took Quinn's hand and led her to the kitchen where all of the alcohol was being kept. Quinn had never seen so much beer, coolers, vodka, etc. at a house party before. She realized that Mike hadn't been lying when he said that his teammate had used all of the food money his parents had left him on booze. Mike took a beer out of an ice bucket and Quinn took a Bacardi Breezer. It was only five percent alcohol so she knew she wouldn't get drunk off of it.
They walked back downstairs to the basement where rounds of beer pong were being played. Matt walked up to the couple. "Dude," He said to Mike, "We need to play! Two of those asshole hockey players keep talking mad shit about the football team! We need to wipe the floor with them!"
Mike fist bumped Matt's hand and turned to Quinn. "You want to watch or do you just want to meet up later?"
Quinn frowned. "I'm not a big spectator of beer pong. I'll come back down here in a half an hour or so." She kissed her boyfriend on the lips and waited around with him until it was his turn to play. While they were waiting they talked with Matt and Shelley, one of Quinn's fellow Cheerio's. Matt was flirting with her and she was hanging on to her arm. It was easy to predict who Matt was planning on kissing when the clock struck twelve.
When it was time for Mike and Matt to face off against the hockey players Quinn walked upstairs to see what else was going on during the party. She asked Shelley if she wanted to come with her, it always seemed cooler to have someone with you and not be a loner, but Shelley decline saying that she wanted to see Matt play and winked at her friend. Though Quinn didn't want to be alone she definitely understood.
She stood straight and confidently walked up the stairs. She saw Finn hanging out sans Rachel for what seemed like the first time since they had started dating again. He was in the living room cheering on Paul, a fellow football player as he chugged down a beer. Quinn smiled at how goofy her ex-boyfriend looked and walked over towards him.
"You getting in on the action anytime soon?" She asked Finn as she looked at Paul licking his lips after finishing his beer in less than forty seconds and back at the beer that Finn was holding in his own hand.
Finn smiled and lifted his beer can. "Just depends how drunk I am after this one."
Quinn smirked. Finn had never been big on drinking, sure he had a couple beers during parties but he wasn't the guy getting so drunk that he ended up streaking by the end of the night. However on special occasions he was known to go all out and get as drunk as the best of them.
"And where's Rachel tonight?" Quinn asked while trying to sound as causal as possible an dehiring her obvious disdain for the obnoxious Barbara Streisand wannabe.
Finn shrugged. "She doesn't really fit in here, you know? She didn't want to come."
Quinn raised an eyebrow. Rachel never missed an opportunity to be without Finn. She insisted on constantly being paired with him when Glee Club called for duets and Quinn had never seen Finn at a party without Rachel so far. He either brought her with him or they went somewhere else like dinner and a movie instead. Quinn found it strange that she didn't want to spend New Year's Eve with Finn.
"Where is she then?"
Finn furrowed his brow, obviously trying to remember whatever Rachel had told him previously. "Someplace with Tina. Shakespeare in the park? Or Broadway Karaoke night? It was something like that."
Quinn shook her head. "Tina's went to Mercedes's house tonight."
Finn took his cell phone out of his pocket and fumbled his fingers as he tried to find a text message. He turned his phone around so Quinn could see the message. Those parties aren't really my scene Finn and I was planning on going to a Broadway Karaoke night with Tina instead. Happy New Year's baby, I'll see you tomorrow 3
"See," Finn told her, "She's out singing all of those songs she makes me pretend to listen to. I was kind of pissed though cause now I don't have anyone to kiss at midnight and she already texted me saying I couldn't replace her."
Quinn accepted that she was wrong once she saw the text message and giggled. "Well that majorly sucks. Isn't it supposed to be lucky or something to kiss at midnight?"
Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, maybe… but I'm just in it for the tongue action."
At that moment Paul came up from behind Finn and put his hands on his shoulders. "Dude you're missing the party! Stop the chit chat and start chugging!"
The crowd around Finn started to chant 'Chug, Chug, Chug' and Quinn smiled and waved him off. "Go on! Your audience is awaiting you!"
Finn laughed and told Quinn that he would catch up with her later. Quinn then made her way out of the living room to the kitchen. She had finished her first drink and took a second one. A couple of girls that Quinn was friendly with were there so she started talking with them. They were discussing how slutty Santana was dressed so Quinn had no trouble jumping right into the conversation. Her total make out count so far was five guys, and the night was still young. Britney had apparently made out with three guys and one girl. As they continued to discuss the skanky actions of the duo, a volleyball player Isla, who had dated Karofsky and been particularly rude to her when she was pregnant pranced up to the group.
"You might want to keep a better eye on your man Quinnie." She sneered.
Quinn immediately wanted to smack the catty girl. Not only had she used the most snotty tone she could have mustered to speak to her but she had also called her Quinnie. That name was reserved only for her parents to call her, and even then she could barely tolerate it. Quinn didn't know where Isla got off talking to her like that, especially since Quinn's position at the top of the school was established but she had talked to her the same way she had when Quinn was nothing but a pregnant outcast.
Quinn gave her a dirty look as she turned away from the group of catty girls she had been talking about to focus her attention on the single catty girl in front of her. "Excuse me?"
Isla gave her a smug smile. "Mike is downstairs grinding with one of my volleyball girls. Seriously grinding. Like it looks like they're trying to make a baby of their own to match your bastard child kind of dancing. I thought you two were the new Cory and Topanga but I guess not."
Quinn wanted to run downstairs and see if what Isla was talking about but she knew that she had to play it cool. She had to be confident and not doubt that her boyfriend was nothing but completely faithful to her. She also wanted to grab Isla's hair and pull it out of her fake head for mentioning her baby but she managed to control herself. She couldn't let anyone see Isla get to her so she cooly waved the volleyball player away. "Go start trouble somewhere else Isla. Maybe your New Year's resolution should be to not start shit constantly."
The girls that Quinn had been talking about laughed as Isla walked away in a huff. Quinn laughed it off as well but looked toward the basement staircase wondering what the appropriate amount of time was to wait until she hurried downstairs to make sure that Mike wasn't being an idiot. She chatted with the girls for five more minutes, talking about cool the volleyball girls that they were when really they were all butch wannabes, until she told them that she was going to meet up with Mike.
"Worried about what Isla said?" One of the girls asked with a wink.
Quinn giggled and rolled her eyes. "Not even. See you girls a little later."
Quinn then tried her best not to run downstairs to the basement. She might have had a spring in her step, but she was definitely not running. Quinn would never be that desperate. When she got to the bottom of the steps she looked around to find Mike. She finally saw him laying down on the coach in the back of the room drinking a beer. Beside him was Matt and Shelley making out, and beside them was Olivia, a volleyball player. Quinn's heart started racing. Maybe Isla had been right and Mike had been grinding and it was olivia he had been doing it with. Quinn cursed herself for not going downstairs earlier. She walked over to Mike.
"What happened to the three beer limit?" She asked him with her hand on her hip and her tone without a drop of playfulness in it.
Mike smiled at his girlfriend. "It's the last one - I swear. And I didn't have much during beer pong. Me and Matt wiped the floor with those douchebags!" Matt without distracting himself from Shelley lifted up his hand to give his best friend a high five. Mike did as such.
Quinn motioned with her finger for him to stand up. He did so and she took Mike's hand and led him over to an empty corner of the room where they could get as much privacy as was possible.
"Were you dancing with anyone before I came down? Like grinding, getting down and dirty dancing?"
"What," Mike yelled confused, "Quinn come on - what are you talking about?"
Quinn rolled her eyes. "Were you dancing with any girl before I came down Michael?"
Mike rolled his eyes and immediately got into a huff. "Quinn come on! Don't be paranoid! You're my girl and that's it! Let's just chill tonight alright?" He put his hands on Quinn's hips and pulled her in closer towards him.
Quinn shrugged Mike's hands off of her as she crossed her arms across her chest. She wasn't sure what to believe. Mike had never given her a reason to doubt him, and Isla wasn't exactly the most trustworthy girl she had known but Quinn couldn't help her paranoia set in. She sighed and realized that it wasn't worth getting in an argument over, especially since Isla seemed to have just been trying to start trouble as soon as Quinn's life was back on track.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, "I'm just stupid. Isla told me you were and… I'm sorry okay? Can we just pretend I never asked?"
Mike pretended to think about it for a second and then laugh it off. He pulled Quinn into a hug. "Yeah I'll forgive you babe, but just learn to trust me okay? I'm not trying to mess this up."
Quinn nodded and stood on her tip-toes so that she could kiss Mike on the lips. She then held his hand and walked upstairs with him so they could be where the party was really at. The basement seemed to be where beer pong, making out, and grinding was happening exclusively. Quinn led him to the living room where Finn had been chugging beer previously. He was now hanging out with a bunch of his friends. Puck being one of them. He nodded in her direction when he saw her entering the room. Quinn smiled at him and whispered to Mike, "How long after midnight do you want to stay at this party?"
Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Well is the taxi making one stop when we go home or two?"
Quinn smiled. "I was thinking only one."
Mike grinned and checked his watch. It was 11:34. "I say we stay until like 12:30 and then head on back to your house."
Quinn nodded and said it sounded like a good plan. After midnight the party would still be on but she didn't feel like being there anymore. Parties caused too much drama and she had been through too much of it for one night. She would rather go home and have fun with Mike then stay at the party and have more girls like Isla try and cause trouble within her relationship.
Mike sat down on the chair across from the other football players and Cheerio's. Quinn sat on his lap and they listened in on the conversation that was debating the best way to get free beer. Puck was insisting that it was to stand behind parking lots and look depressed until old cougars came along while one of the Cheerio's Dawna was saying that offering to make out with another girl always did the trick. Quinn laughed along with the group and realized how lucky she was. If she had kept Beth, no matter how much she loved her, she would never be able to sit around and just talk about underage drinking with her 'friends'. She would always be preoccupied with being a mom and never being able to have fun and be laid-back. She looked at Puck who was still throughly engaged in the conversation. She smiled because she knew that though he had wanted to keep Beth terribly, he wasn't prepared to be a father. It also was good that he also had the opportunity to have fun and be a teenager as well. In the end they had done what was best for Beth and Quinn was happy that not only did it give Beth what she deserved, but it also was the best thing to do for both her and Puck.
Quinn turned her attention back to Mike who was showing his obliviousness by announcing to the group that he didn't even have a fake ID so that he could buy the beer himself. Quinn giggled at her boyfriend's confession along with the rest of the group.
Puck announced, "If you need one I got a guy who could make you one."
Mike looked at his girlfriend's ex and nodded. "Yeah that'd be good. Just text me his number or whatever."
Puck agreed and Quinn took Mike's hand and held it. Though she was glad that her and Puck were now comfortable enough to be in the same room together, she wasn't sure if she could be comfortable with her boyfriend and her ex being friendly, even if they had been friends before her and Mike started dating. As soon as that happened, Puck and Mike's friendship seemed to disappear and until tonight Quinn had not seen them interacting with each other much at all.
About ten minutes later the entire party was regulated to the living room where the big screen TV was turned on and the countdown to Midnight was getting closer and closer. People were finishing off drinks and scurrying the room trying to make sure that they had secured someone to kiss when the clock struck twelve. Quinn was thankful that she had Mike and didn't have to worry about finding anyone, even though she knew she only had to look in a man's direction to land someone to kiss. She tried not to make it noticeable when she peeked over to Puck to see who he was going to kiss. She cringed when she saw that he had Olivia wrapped in his arms. Even if she had now known that Olivia hadn't been grinding with Mike she still felt some sort of hostility towards the girl and seeing Quinn seeing her with her ex didn't help matters.
Brittany and Santana were holding pinkies as they waited to reward the boys around them by kissing each other at midnight. Santana had upped her make out count to fourteen boys by the end of the night while Britney had made out with eight boys and three girls. Quinn was surprised that Matt was one of Santana's make out partners considering how hard he had tried to stay away from her for months and had finally managed to have her forget about him. However, he did have a lot to drink and alcohol has a tendency to change a person's opinions.
There was one minute left in the year of 2010. The teenagers yelled as they counted down each second. Quinn's heart was racing, it seemed like such a significant moment. 2010 had caused her more drama then she could ever have possible imagined. She had been pregnant, changed into a social outcast, moved homes multiple times, gave birth, had to give up her baby, went through a whirlwind romance only to have her heart broken, and had to build her popularity from the ground up. It seemed like as the year ended it would mean a new beginning for Quinn. She would no longer face the fears of being a loner or being alone. She wouldn't have to deal with terrible stress. She would be a normal teenage girl who was happy with her boyfriend, on good terms with her ex, and having more friends than she could count. 2011 would be an amazing year. Quinn was sure of it.
The crowd was getting more excited and their voices became louder as they started counting down from ten seconds. "TEN… NINE… EIGHT… SEVEN… SIX… FIVE…. FOUR… THREE… TWO… ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Quinn wrapped her hands around Mike's neck as he leaned down to kiss her. She let the kiss become more intense than she would normally in public. Quinn smiled and opened her eyes to make sure that all of the other couples were also still engaging in their kisses. Thankfully they were so Quinn didn't feel the need to worry that everyone was watching them as she let the kiss turn into a french kiss. After a minute they parted from the kiss and Quinn saw that the attention was squarely on Santana and Brittany who were now laying not the floor as they made out. Quinn rolled her eyes. Those girls were as desperate for attention as they came.
The party started breaking up in the living room as people wen toff to do their own thing again. Quinn was grabbed by Shelley and asked if she could ask her a question. Quinn looked at Mike and he told her to go and that he would be downstairs in the basement, watching the next pairing of people to go head to head in beer pong. Quinn nodded and followed Shelley to one of the bathrooms, which seemed to be the only place to get privacy, something Shelley insisted was needed. They closed the door and Quinn asked what was up. Shelley was swaying to and fro as she had a little too much to drink that night.
"You know him more than I do… is Matt a good guy or a jerk? Cause I really want to hook up with him tonight but if he's some player then I just don't want to. You know?"
Quinn nodded. "He's a nice guy. It's up to you if you want to do it when you're drunk. All I know is that he's always been a good guy."
Shelley grinned like she had spent the night with a clothes hanger in her mouth. She thanked Quinn and opened the bathroom door where she then stumbled off to find Matt. Quinn giggled and took out her cell phone from her clutch. She texted Mercedes so the girl knew they were still on good terms. Hey girl! Tell everyone I say Happy New Year's! Hope you're all having fun! :)
Quinn was about to put the cell phone back when it buzzed. Mercedes had answered fast. Happy New Years to you too! Girl's day soon?
Quinn replied: For sure, I'll text you details when I'm a little more sober :P She then put the phone back into her purse and started walking in the direction of the basement stairs. As she was doing so she felt someone tap her shoulder from behind. She turned around to see Puck standing in front of her.
She smiled at him, a benefit of being friends with him now, and yelled, "Happy New Year," over the noise of the rest of the party. Puck returned her sentiments and motioned to the corner of the room as he wanted to talk to her. She nodded and they walked off to an empty corner with no drunk partygoers or other unnecessary noises.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier," Puck explained, "But every time I saw you, you were with Mike and I didn't know if you had told him yet. I just wanted to make sure that we were still on for Monday?"
Quinn nodded her head. "Of course, yeah. But… I haven't exactly told Mike yet. There just hasn't been a good moment."
Puck looked at her and raised his eyebrow. "Would he be jealous?"
Quinn laughed, trying to make sure that Puck thought that the idea was completely ridiculous even though she herself had though about it on occasion. "No, but it's not something you just announce. We never talk about Beth or me being pregnant. It'd be the first time and it just needs to be the right moment."
Puck took a strand of her hair and placed it behind her hair. "Sorry, it was bothering me."
Quinn giggled and without thinking took a step closer towards her ex. "It's alright. I had almost forgot that you could actually be sweet at times."
He scoffed. "Don't let that get around. It's taken a lot of throwing losers in dumpsters for everyone to start fearing me again."
Quinn and Puck gazed into each other's eyes and for a moment they weren't exes. She wasn't dating Mike and he hadn't called her names that hurt so much. They hadn't been explosive with each other. They were just two people that cared deeply for each other, that were looking into the other's eyes. Quinn felt an electricity, a spark, and she knew that Puck had to be feeling it as well. It was strong… but at the same time it was too strong. Quinn had to snap out of it and avert her gaze. It was hard though, and it took her a second try to actually shift her head to look down at her feet. Both of the pair smiled uncomfortably.
Puck was the one to break the silence. "I'll call you before I leave to pick you up. And uh… I'm kind of drunk and Olivia keeps waving me over so I think I should leave before I say something stupid or mean and ruin everything."
Quinn watched Puck walk past her and over to Olivia who bit her lip seductively as he reached her. Quinn saw them walk off together, with Puck's arm wrapped around her waist and Quinn shook her head. She had to bring herself back to reality. Watching them any longer would just make her angry or jealous and she shouldn't be. Puck was her friend and Mike was her boyfriend. Quinn turned around to walk downstairs to the basement but saw that Mike was waiting for her a couple of feet away with a frown plastered on his face. Quinn was confused and walked up to him to investigate what was going on.
"What's that look for?" She asked.
Mike pointed to where she had just been standing. "You fucking say I was grinding with some random chick when you didn't even see anything but you can go and have eye sex with your ex?"
Quinn put her face in her hands and cursed herself. So much for a year without drama. It hadn't taken much time for that to change at all. She lifted her head back up and gave her best puppy dog face to her boyfriend. "That was nothing Mike. We were just talking… I promise. Why don't you call the taxi and we can go back to my house?"
Mike shook his head. He wasn't going to let Quinn get away that easy. "I just don't like you guys talking so much. It pisses me off." Quinn knew that alcohol was definitely affecting her usually laid-back boyfriend.
"You're jealous." She teased.
"Hell yeah," He replied, "Can you blame me? You guys have fucking history and it sucks seeing you making gaga eyes at him. Can you just lay off of it a bit? I don't go around talking to Mai constantly."
Quinn thought about what Mike was saying. On the one hand she didn't like him telling her who to talk to, or rather who not to. On the other hand she did understand where he was coming from. If she saw Mike staring at Mai the way she had just stared at Puck she would have gotten jealous as well. She figured that maybe she would have to wait bait longer to tell him of the plan to see Beth. She decided to cease the fighting and give in to Mike's wishes. At least until he was sober and in his right mind again.
"Fine, I won't talk to him. Can you just go call the taxi cab?"
Mike nodded and left to walk outside and call. It was too noisy to even consider calling inside of the house. Quinn waited inside as it was freezing outside and she was in a mini dress after all. She made small talk with the people around her until Mike came in and told her that the cab was outside waiting for them.
The ride to Quinn's house was mostly silent. They both sat far apart with their arms crossed around their chests. The pair were both still going over what had happened at the party just moments before. Quinn sighed. This was not how she wanted her New Year's to be like. This wasn't how she wanted her relationship to be. She had loved it for being easy and comfortable but all it seemed like now was drama. She knew that she had to smooth things over.
"We're going to my house to have sex but we're angry with each other. Does that sound as messed up to you as well?"
Mike turned to face her and smirked. "Not really. I've heard that hate sex is pretty hot."
Quinn put her serious face on. "I don't hate you."
Mike shifted closer to Quinn and put his hand on the side of her face. "I'm kidding. I don't hate you Quinn. I could never. Not even when we're fighting or if we break up. It's impossible." He was whispering and using it as an excuse to get as close to her face as possible.
Quinn bit her lip and looked deep into Mike's dark brown eyes. "Promise?"
He nodded and sealed his vow with a chaste kiss on her lips. Quinn smiled against his lips that their argument was over with and they were no longer fighting. This was they way she liked things. Simple and without any type of dramatics to it.
The taxi cab parked in front of the Fabray house. The couple paid their driver and walked out to the front door. Quinn's mother was at a get together with her friends and wasn't due back until one-thirty. Though she would be back while they were still there, Ms. Fabray was not one to check on Quinn on that time. Especially when she didn't even know if she would be home or not. They made their way upstairs to her bedroom, entwined with each other and collapsed on her bed as they kissed.
After the sex was over Mike put his arm around Quinn and they both lay on their backs looking up at the ceiling. Quinn turned her head upwards and planted a kiss on Mike's cheek.
Mike smiled. "I'm not going to say that I love you… mostly cause that'd freak you out and it's too soon… but I like you Quinn… so much."
Quinn grinned and giggled out of sheer happiness. "I get it. I kind of adore you Mike."
He stroked her arm. "I don't want to fight anymore. I want to make this work because I'm honestly falling for you and I don't want anything to get messed up. Let's just be honest with each other from now on. Let's cut the crap and we should be good."
Quinn thought about it. It made sense but something was pressing on her. He said that they should be honest with each other, and she didn't want to be a nagging girlfriend but she had to ask just one more time. It was the only thing that would make her sleep well.
"Do you mean it… complete honesty?"
Mike tightened his grip around Quinn. "Of course babe."
Quinn turned to her side so she could see his facial reaction as she asked, "Were you grinding with Olivia tonight when I was upstairs?"
Mike closed his eyes and sighed. It wasn't a good sign. Quinn could feel the tears forming in her eyes as she realized that Isla had been telling the truth. "Okay I was… but I was drunk and it didn't mean a thing. It was stupid. Sorry."
Quinn felt her stomach rope and her heart sink. It was at that moment she realized how much Mike meant to her. She wouldn't get this upset if he was just another guy. She cared for him and he had hurt her. It wasn't official cheating, but it seemed as good as. Especially considering how dirty Isla had described the dancing previously. Quinn wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt her. She spoke up with the first thing that popped into her head.
"On Monday Puck and I are going to see Beth." She said it in a monotone and looked him in the eye as she said it with her poker face on. She saw his face drop and felt his arm move so that it was no longer around her.
Mike sat up. "You said you weren't going to talk to him anymore."
Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "Whoops. You said that you hadn't danced with anyone tonight."
Mike shook his head. "No, I danced with some girl and felt fucking guilty about it. I was man enough to admit it. Were you even going to tell me about what you were lying about?"
Quinn nodded. "I've been trying but there's never a good time! Plus we're seeing our daughter! It's kind of a huge deal! You basically cheated! Big difference Michael!"
Mike stood up from the bed and put his boxers back on. He fumbled around looking for the rest of his clothes that had been tossed on the ground in the heat of the moment.
Quinn wrapped the bed sheet tightly around her as she noticed her nakedness and cared about it more than ever. "He also bought me a record player for Christmas."
"Why the hell are you telling me that?" Mike yelled at her as he pulled his shirt over his head.
Quinn felt tears running down her cheeks. "I don't know! You're so damned mad at me for something you shouldn't be so maybe if I just tell you everything you'll end up having something that actually should make you angry!"
Quinn didn't know what was coming over her. She was insanely frustrated that Mike had lied to her and then had the audacity to be mad at her for visiting her child with Puck. He was the father after all! it was expected that he would come. Mike was being delusional and Quinn couldn't understand why. She just wanted some of his anger to be justified and though she didn't think she had done anything to make it so, she was trying. She knew it was idiotic but the whole fight seemed stupid to her.
Mike was fully dressed and was standing at the foot of the bed, facing Quinn. "So you guys are secret friends or some shit? Sneaking around behind my back?"
Quinn crawled forward to be closer to Mike as she made sure that the sheet was still securely around her. "It's not like that! There just never was a good time to tell you! We haven't done anything! We're trying not to hate each other and be friendly. I thought you'd understand. I'm sorry I didn't tell you!"
Mike put his hand up and turned around to leave. "I need to be alone. I need to think about things."
Quinn's bottom lip quivered. "Mike," She whispered, "Are you breaking up with me?"
That would be the worst. She was finally the Queen Bee and she was going to be dumped? It wouldn't sit well with anyone and she would be ridiculed for it. Quinn crossed her fingers that Mike wouldn't be hasty and would reconsider what he was saying.
"No," He replied as she silently thanked God, "At least not yet. I just need a few days… to be alone. I'll call you."
Quinn nodded, not wanting to start another fight in case she jinxed things and let Mike walk out of her bedroom and out of her house. She cried at the ridiculousness of things and whimpered as she drifted off to sleep. This wasn't how the new year was supposed to be like. A fight with her boyfriend on the first day of 2011 was too terrible to be true. Quinn was furious that Mike had acted like he was the only one with a right to be mad. He had practically cheated on her but she was the one left looking like the bad guy.
The next two days Quinn spent mostly at home, in a tangled mess of self-pitying and depression. She didn't want to lose Mike. Even if she was mad at what he had done she wanted him to forgive her so that they could move past things. He meant a lot to her. Quinn said many prayers that he would let this all past. It wasn't like she had done anything terrible. Sure, she had been keeping secrets from him, but she had the intention of telling him. The right moment just never presented itself until it was too late. On the Sunday Quinn had managed to get out of the house to hang out with Shelley, Brittany, and Santana at the mall as the girls described their New Year's hookups. Quinn kept silent on the subject and didn't dare mention her fight with Mike. It would just make everything a million times worse to have the whole school know her relationship problems, as they sure would once the gossipers had spread it around. Quinn simply told them that Mike and her had fun once they had left the party and kept it at that. Quinn also made plans with Mercedes to hang out on Tuesday. They were going to get their nails done, go to lunch, and watch a chick flick at the movie theatre. It was just what they needed to catch up and reconnect. Both were excited for the girl's day.
On Monday Quinn woke up early so that she could make sure she looked perfect. She knew that a lot of pictures would for sure be taken and she wanted to look impeccable in them. She would only have so many pictures with Beth and she needed to look her best in them. Not that it even mattered. The day was all about seeing her daughter that she had given up not even seven months ago. Quinn was extremely excited to see Beth. She wondered if she was speaking yet, or if she was able to walk around. She wanted to know everything about her, and spend as much time with her as was possible. However, though Quinn was looking forward to seeing her daughter, she was also deathly afraid. She wasn't scared of visiting Beth, but of leaving her. She could still remember the huge amount of pain that had came with giving Beth up to Shelby and could only imagine that the pain would be as hurtful this time. Quinn couldn't understand how Puck was so ready to accept the pain, but she admired him for it.
Quinn picked out her outfit carefully. She chose a light blue cotton tank dress that fell just below the knee and had a high collar. She paired it with a long grey cardigan that had seen much wear during her pregnancy days as it was meant to be loose and turned out to be one of the only things that could still fit her until the middle of her third trimester. She accessorized and wore simple blue ballet flats that matched the colour of her dress. She let her fall naturally, with loose curls and applied her make up lightly. She looked at herself i the mirror and saw the natural but piercing beauty she had always been proud of. She hoped that if nothing else, Beth would at least appreciate her and Puck for blessing her with good looks.
Quinn ate a light breakfast. She didn't want to go to Shelby's on an empty stomach but she was still extremely nervous and her stomach was in knots. She ate one piece of toast and drank a glass of apple juice. She then waited around trying to fill her time until Puck came to pick her up. She responded to text messages, went through websites on the internet, and watched some TV. There was a rerun of America's Best Dance Crew on and Quinn started to feel sad. Mike and her had watched the show a ton together with Mike trying to recreate some of the tougher moves to impress Quinn during the commercials. He would even teach Quinn how to do some of the easier moves. Quinn prayed that soon Mike would come to his senses, forgive her for whatever she did that was eating him up inside, and they could go back to being the happy couple that they used to be at one point.
Quinn heard her cell phone buzzing which signalled to her that she had a text message. She looked and saw that it was from Puck. The message said: I'm leaving now. Be there in five.
Quinn wrote back: Alright, see you then. and put her phone in her purse. Her stomach was full of butterflies at this point and her heart was beating harder than it ever had in her life. It was coming so soon. She was going to see her daughter in less than an hour! It was unbelievable and Quinn had at one point never thought that the sort of thing would ever happen.
Quinn had told her mother about the plans to visit Beth and although Ms. Fabray didn't think it was necessarily a good idea, she said that she was going to support Quinn in what she wanted to do. So although she thought that it would just cause a bunch of hurt, Ms. Fabray wanted Quinn to feel comfortable in her decisions. She knew that she had been wrong when she had taken her husband's side over her own daughter's when Quinn had been kicked out and Ms. Fabray was not going to make the same mistake twice.
The doorbell rang, Quinn turned off the Tv with the remote control and walked over to the front hallway. She opened the door and saw Puck waiting on the other side. She smiled, said jello, and grabbed her purse telling him she was ready to go.
"That's a change." He said as he smirked at her.
Quinn raised her eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"In the summer," He reminded her, "You always took forever to get ready. I'd be outside in my car and you'd be wasting time putting on all of that eye goop."
Quinn rolled her eyes. "It's called mascara Puck."
They walked out to his car and started out on the car drive to Shelby's old apartment. They were to meet her there where they would say hello to Beth, help move furniture into the moving vans and then drive to Shelby's new house where they would keep Beth preoccupied while Shelby and some of her family members and friends helped set up and unpack the things they had just moved.
The car ride started off silent, neither of the pair knowing what to say to the other. Quinn especially after all she had went through with Mike just two days prior. After ten minutes however the silence became unberable for the both of them. Quinn decided to be the first to initiate conversation.
"Are you nervous?"
Puck kept his eyes on the road as he replied, "Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I want to see her."
Quinn nodded. "I'm scared." She whispered it, not wanting him to know how weak she was with this matter even though she knew he was the only one that wouldn't care at all.
As she expected, he didn't make fun of her or patronize her. Puck simply nodded and told her that he was scared as well. "I am too... but it's okay. Once we see her it'll be worth it."
Quinn looked out of the side of her window at the trees and farmalnd they were passing by. There wasn't much else in Lima, which was what bummed Quinn out at lot. She felt destined to live an unfurfilliong life because of where she was born. She had been determined to break out of it, go to college in another state, get a good job, and have a successful life. She still wanted that, but it seemed that after having Beth her goals were more skewed towards famly life than her career and material objects.
"Do you really believe that?" She asked sullenly.
"Yeah." Puck said it assuredly, trying to convince Quinn to feel the same way.
Quinn sighed. "I just want to see that she's okay. Like, I know that Shelby's taking care of her well and all but I just need to see it for myself. I need to see her smiling and laughing and then I'll feel a lot better about it all."
Puck turned the street corner and asked, "She looked really happy in the pictures, didn't she?"
Quinn nodded her head. "She did, but I just need to see it up close, you know? It's going to be super hard when it's time to leave."
Quinn had been wondering since she had arranged the meeting how she would cope when it was time to leave. She knew that she would be crying buckets full of tears but she didn't know how she would ever stop. At first Quinn had thought that maybe Mike would be able to come over and comfort her but it was clear that was out of the question. After her fight with Mike, Quinn had considered asking Puck to stay with her for the night as it might help her calm down but she knew it was a bad idea. If Mike ever found out about it their relationship would officially be over for sure, but Quinn hadn't heard from him for two days so she wasn't even sure if their relationship was still alive. She hadn't heard anything to contrary though so she was keeping her hopes up. In the end she didn't want to hurt Mike anymore, or be a hypocrite after she had gotten mad at him for grinding, so she knew that it wasn't possible for Puck to stay over. Still, Quinn needed to find a way to cope after Puck and her left Shelby and Beth. Maybe she could talk to her mom, or call Mercedes. She wasn't exactly sure at the moment.
Puck seemed to be thinking as well. His brows were furrowed and he was biting on the inside of his cheek. "Afterwards we could go out or something. Like for dinner, and we could talk about it. If you want..."
Quinn smiled at Puck. He could be such an asshole at times, but he always amanged to make her heart melt with his sweet sentiments. She thought about it and decided that dinner was innocent enough to agree to. "I'd like that." She told Puck.
The conversation quickly drifted off into the light, fluffy topics of Glee Club, Cheerio's, the football team's new record of winning 2 games, and Rachel Berry being quite possibly the most annoying human being on the face of the planet. When Puck drove into the pakring lot of Shelby's apartment Quinn's heart started racing at the speed of light. Her daughter was only a few flight of stairs away from her. Puck parked his truck and they started walking towards the front doors.
Before they opened the front doors, Quinn turned towards Puck. "Slap me, or kick me in the shins if I start freaking out and acting like a fool up there."
Puck nodded and gulped. "Same goes for you to me. If I start spazzing out or I look like I want to kidnap her... just knee me in the nuts or something."
Quinn laughed and the pair opened the doors and walked up the flights of stairs to the fourth floor where Shelby and Beth lived. Quinn had insisted they take the stairs because she still needed time to prepare herself. Puck told her that a few extra minutes probably wouldn't do her any good but Quinn insisted and he wasn't going to argue with her over it.
They finally made their way to Shelby's apartment and stood in front of the door. Both Puck and Quinn took a second to collect their thoughts, and then Puck knocked twice on the hard wood of the door.
In about fifteen seconds they heard a familair female voice say, "Coming! Just one second!" They heard heels on the floorboard coming closer to the door. They saw the doorknob turn and the door open. Shelby was on the other side, her hair up in a ponytail, and looking tired but as pretty as ever.
"Oh I'm so glad to see you two," She cried giving each Puck and Quinn a warm hug, "Come in! Come in!"
Puck and Quinn walked into a mostly empty apartment with taped up boxes scattered around what used to be the living room. Quinn wondered where Beth was as she was nowhere to be seen or heard. Her head immediately started coming up with the worst possible situations and she was worried. She tried to play it cool though, knowing that Shelby ewas a good woman and that Beth was safe. She could even be in the next room sleeping for all Quinn knew.
"I'm sorry that it's such a mess around here. I wanted the boxes to be all neat and organzied but I ended just packing and leaving the boxes wherever they were. It's been so chaotic the past few days."
Quinn nodded. "Don't worry. We're teenagers, we've definitely seen worse messes before."
Shelby giggled and smiled at the couple sweetly. "It really is so nice to see you two. You guys have made me the happiest person in the world. Beth is just the cutest, sweetest, most amazing baby I could have ever wished for. I can't thank you enough."
Quinn was about to open her mouth to say that they were just happy to have given their daughter up to someone as good as Shelby but Puck's curiousity and paranoia got to it before her.
"Where is she?" He asked, the worry clearly present in his voice. Quinn would have thought it cute if she hadn't also been embarassed from it.
Shelby's smile dropped. "Oh I should have called and told you, but it just happened an hour ago. I wanted her to be here when you two came but she was so antsy. She doesn't like the apartment being so empty. My mother took her to the new house so she could play in the backyard. I was thinking that you two could take some of the boxes in your car, and then when we got to the new house you could play with Beth and keep her occupied while me and everyone else unpack."
Quinn was instantly at ease and she could tell that Puck felt the same way. He was actually seeming to be very happy with the new plan. Quinn, without thinking, took his hand and squeezed it. She continued holding his hand and told Shelby, "That sounds lovely."
Shelby was walking around the house, picking up the last remains of baby bottles, notepads, pens and stuffing them into her purse. "I'll give you her diaper bag with all of her toys and bottles when we get there. She's going to love it, and don't worry, she's very friendly with starngers."
Quinn didn't think that the woman had meant any wrong by it, but referring to Puck and herself as strangers, instead of the birth parents of the little baby girl put Quinn off a tad. She realized that they hadn't spent any time with Beth since the day she was born, btu strangers seemed like the wrong word to describe them as.
Puck and Quinn helped Shelby to bring the packed boxes downstairs and put them in the trunks of both Shelby's and Puck's vehicles. Shelby gave them the directions to the new house and they both got into the opposite cars to drive off. Quinn and Puck were excited. They wee finally going to get to see their little baby girl Beth.
Author's Note (Please Read :D) :
I hope you have all enjoyed the latest chapter! I'm sorry for the long wait between chapters but I just got back on Friday from my vacation and I've been writing like crazy for the past three days trying to get this chapter finished! Hopefully the wait for a chapter will never be that long again!
Thank you all so much for those who have read, reviewed, or added me or this story to their alerts or favourites! I appreciate it so much and it honestly means so much to me! You guys are the absolute best! It was such a treat to come home from vacation to so many e-mails telling me that someone had reviewed the story or added it to their favourites! :)
This chapter was really fun to write and I am so excited to start writing the next chapter! I think it'll be the best yet, with tons of Puck/Quinn/Beth moments.
Writers take a lot of time and care to write stories so if you have the time I would appreciate any review that you can give of this story. It could be one word, one sentence, or a whole paragraph! I appreciate any feedback that my readers can give. :) It always brightens up my day no matter how long or how short and it's a great motivator for finishing the next chapter quicker! :)
Thank you for reading once again!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!