AN: Sam and Quinn's confrontation! This is quite long. Dun, dun, dundun.

I do not own Glee, the characters or anything. I just want to share our love for Quick.

Quinn didn't have to tell him to hurry. The smallest sign of distress already had him worrying - it wasn't that he was a worrier, but he just, well, he just worried about Quinn. From what he'd grown to know about her, she was one of, like, the most independent strongest girls he knew. So when she was upset, something really had to be wrong. He worried that it had to do with her dad. Maybe they'd finally talked like her mom had been trying to convince her to do, and maybe the conversation hadn't gone over very well.

It was cold, so he took the car, feeling unnaturally tense on his drive over. Sam didn't like feeling worried or wound up like this. He was an easy going guy and just didn't handle stress very well. But Quinn obviously needed him, so he was just going to suck it up.

He parked in the street and shoved his keys in his pocket on his walk up to the door. Not knowing whether or not a fight between her and her family had just erupted, he opted to text her with a short, "I'm here," rather than knocking. He didn't want to get her in trouble if he wasn't supposed to be there.

Quinn had been completely on edge since Puck had left her house. Everything he said was running through her head at about a million miles a minute. Not to mention Sam. Poor Sam. Quinn really did care about him. Did she love him? She wasn't exactly sure. There were definitely strong feelings there, but she still wasn't sure if it was love. Quinn knew love was a big thing, that's why Puck's words had stuck with her. For someone like Noah Puckerman, love was an even bigger thing than to most people. And it quite honestly scared Quinn.

Stretched out across her bed, Quinn desperately waited for Sam to get to her house. Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision but all she wanted right now was to throw herself in his arms and cry like a baby. Feeling her phone vibrate, Quinn instantly jumped to read it, and seeing it was Sam, she smiled. Running down the stairs, Quinn pulled open her front door.

It took all than less of a second for Quinn to throw her arms around Sam in a hug. She didn't know what to say, and she didn't even care how cold she was. She just knew she needed to be in his arms right now.

Sam was taken aback by the sudden feeling of Quinn in his arms, before she'd even said hello, but he hugged her back anyway. One hand immediately slipped up to softly weave through her hair and hold her against his chest - his chest which was unbearably clenched, since it wasn't often Quinn got so emotional.

"Do you want to stay here?" he asked, glancing over the top of her head, feeling unsure. If she was upset due to anything that went on inside that house, it probably wasn't anywhere she should be, right? "We can go for a drive or — park somewhere, if you want?"

Quinn could already feel herself getting choked up, and she knew that would just make matters worse. If she turned into a balling mess, Sam was going to know for sure something was up. She knew she had to tell him, she wasn't stupid. She just didn't know how. Hearing his question, she swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled back to look at him. "We can stay here. My dad took my mom out to dinner, and they haven't come back yet."

Trying to keep her cool, Quinn laced her fingers with Sam's, and led him into the house. She shut the door behind them and let out a sigh. She could do this, she just had to keep herself from bursting into tears. Without saying another word, Quinn started up the stairs, pulling Sam behind her. Once inside her room, she hugged Sam again, feeling the need to be in his arms yet again.

Feeling steadily more worried by the second, Sam allowed himself to be led upstairs. He didn't want to try to guess what was wrong, because he knew he would find out soon enough. He had a kind of wild imagination, and if he let it get away from him, he'd start getting crazy ideas. But as they walked up, he wondered that maybe it didn't have to do with her family. Like .. did people fight and then go out to dinner? Or maybe Quinn was upset because her parents were going to dinner in the first place. If his dad cheated on his mom, he wouldn't exactly think it was a good idea for them to, uh, go on a date or something.

When they were in his room, and she was in his arms again, he said, "You're starting to scare me a bit." It wasn't accusing, just .. worried. "Are you alright?" It was a stupid question, but, well, Sam wasn't good at not asking stupid questions sometimes.

Quinn didn't know what to say. She didn't know exactly how she felt. Feeling tears spring to her eyes, Quinn pulled back from Sam's hug and sat down on her bed. She let her hand fall between her hands. "No, yes. I don't know." She spoke fast, quite possibly faster than she had ever spoken. She just couldn't help it. Quinn was the furthest thing from an emotional person. Well, except for the 9 months that she was carrying Beth. She put a mask, didn't let most people see how she felt. It was the easiest way not to get hurt.

Yet here she was, on her bed, a crying mess. She knew she was freaking out Sam. And every second that ticked by was a second closer to her having to actually tell him. He was going to hate her, she knew that. And it completely killed her inside. "I-I'm sorry. I know I'm freaking you out. I don't mean too."

Sam sat down right beside her, not exactly sure what to do with her crying. It wasn't that he was afraid of girls crying on him or anything. He just always felt so useless, because he wasn't the best with words. Before he'd given her the promise ring, he'd had to write out what he was going to say and practice it a million times. But here, he was put on the spot, and he desperately wanted to make her feel better, but he didn't know what to do.

One hand slid across her back, an attempt at comforting her. "Hey," he said quietly. "Don't apologize, okay? I'm just worried. But whatever it is is going to be fine, so just tell me what's up."

"No, no Sam it's not going to be fine." She didn't mean to snap at Sam, it wasn't his fault. He had done absolutely nothing in this situation. She had been the one to screw up. To make matters worse, this was the second time this had happened. Both times with Puck. Granted this time wasn't as bad, he had kissed her. She didn't even kiss him back. But she still felt just as horrible as the first time. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. It's not your fault." Quinn looked at him and shook her head.

Standing from her bed, Quinn looked down at him and felt like crying even more. "I need to tell you something. And I need you to hear me out before you jump to decisions or anything, okay?" She knew now she would freak him out even more, and she felt horrible. But there wasn't much else she could say. She had to be honest with him.

Before he .. made any decisions?

So this was about him. The realization hit him and he hoped that there was some other explanation, but there didn't seem to be one. Was she breaking up with him or something? But she had asked him to hear her out, so he cleared his throat a little, a nervous tick, and said, "Okay.."

Quinn took a deep breath, this was going to be a lot harder than she thought. "Okay, so the night before Britt's party, I was at Puck's house. I honestly went over there to see his little sister, Anna. She missed me and I honestly missed her. Well, when I got there, he offered me some hot cocoa. And we kind of got into a mini food fight - sugar, coca, eggs. Harmless. So, he let me shower and he showered. And he kind of came out..naked." She took another deep breath, knowing she was probably going into a lot more detail than needed.

"It was only for a quick second, I swear it was a total accident. And before we were leaving..he uh, he kissed me." Quinn paused for a moment, not being able to look at Sam. "I'm sorry, I never meant for it to happen. I'm really sorry, but..there's more." Another sigh left her mouth as she shook her head. "So, earlier Puck came over. We agreed to hang out, you know as friends. He was keeping me company because you know, I hate being home alone. And well.."

She couldn't do, no she had too. Quinn ran her fingers through her hair and kept her eyes glued to the floor. "And we were joking around, about him being mad at me. And he kissed me again. I didn't kiss him back. I swear. But a lot, and I mean a lot of shit was said. Feelings were expressed. And he kind of asked me to give him a second chance.." Quinn didn't know what else to say, what else she could say. She sat down on her bed next to Sam. "I am so sorry."

The moment she said, "Puck," he knew this was going to end badly. Like, he wanted to trust her, but when the name came out of her mouth, his gut wrenched a little and he just had a feeling.

A feeling which was completely and totally justified, it turned out after Quinn told her story. He kept wanting to interrupt, but he'd promised that he'd hear her out, and Sam kept his word. It was hard, though. Just letting her tell the story. About how they'd hung out. Had a food fight. Kissed. And she hadn't told him? And then, even after that, she hung out with Puck again? As if he wouldn't try anything.

There were a million things he wanted to say, because there were a million things he was feeling. He knew he should be mad at her, like, immediately. In all the movies, didn't the guy immediately start yelling and getting pissed? But not Sam. He just felt this sinking feeling. Hurt. He was hurt. Just that awful feeling of having your trust completely betrayed. Embarrassed.

He wanted to say, "Why'd you let him come back after that?"
He wanted to ask, "Why didn't you tell me the first time?"
He wanted to ask, "Why didn't you stop him?"
He wanted to ask, "What kind of shit was said?" even though he already had a feeling about that one.

But what she said last hit him the hardest and he was silenced for a really long moment. When he finally spoke, it was only to ask a single question, despite all he wanted to know. He needed to know this one the most.

"Are you .. going to give him one?"

His reaction definitely shocked her. He didn't yell, he didn't scream. He didn't do anything of the things she had been expecting after her last slip up, and how Finn had reacted. His question though caused just about all the air to leave her lungs. How could she answer him? It would break his heart. And she couldn't do that.

Quinn took another deep breath, and looked up at her ceiling. "I told him..I couldn't answer him. And I needed time to think." Now she expected it. The yelling, the screaming, the telling her she was a whore. It was everything she expected, and actually deserved it.

Sam was a great guy. Sam had never given her a reason to cheat on her, well neither had Finn. God, what the hell was wrong with her? Looking back at Sam, Quinn tried to keep her tears from falling. She had no right crying. "Sam, I am so sorry. Yell at me, scream at me, I don't care..I totally deserve it. Just please say something."

His stomach sunk. If he had felt gutted before, Sam now felt completely without a stomach to call his own.

Oh.

That was all he could think. She wasn't just calling him over here to tell him that she and Puck had kissed. There was more. There was a lot more. Of course there was more. God, he was stupid for not thinking it a possibility. Quinn had told him about her past. He didn't even really care about how she'd cheated on Finn. People grew from their mistakes. Well, uh, apparently not, but — the thing he felt so stupid for overlooking was not considering her going back to Puck a possibility. After everything they'd been through together, shouldn't he have?

But still, he'd naively hoped for a certain answer to his question. He wanted her to kiss him and tell him that no, of course she wasn't going to. She'd just had to tell him because she felt guilty for kissing him, but of course she chose him. Then things would be okay. He would've been a little hurt, but it'd be okay and they'd work through it.

But that wasn't her answer.

She needed to think about it.

She needed to think about it.

He stood up, not because he had intentions of storming out, but because he couldn't be sitting anymore. Sam wasn't an innately angry guy. He was always calm, laid back, even non-confrontational. His fight with Karofsky had been the first time he lost his temper in a really long time.

And even through everything that Quinn was doing to him and making him feel, he still didn't want to upset her more.

God, was he a girl or what?

One thing he was sure of, though, was that no matter her apologizing, he wasn't going to say, "It's okay," like he wanted to, just so she wouldn't cry. Because it wasn't okay. At all.

Instead he just shoved his hands in his sweatshirt pockets, and said, "Well .. That's not something I can help you think about."

He knew he should be saying more, even yelling at her like she was suggesting, but he just shook his head. "I'm not going to yell at you, Quinn." He said her name tenderly despite himself, like he always did, but there was obvious hurt there. He sighed again, almost ashamed of how calm he was being. He wanted to yell.

But he couldn't. Not at Quinn. It was Quinn. He never wanted to yell at her, no matter what. He took a step toward the door and didn't look at her when he said, "I guess just let me know when you decide, I guess."

That was it? No, that couldn't be it.

There was such a huge part of her that wanted to simply run over to him and throw her arms around him. Hug him as hard as she could, kiss him and tell him that she was wrong. Everything about having to think about it was wrong. But there was still that small part of her that told her to think about it.

Her and Puck had history. Hell, they had a baby. Even if they had given Beth up. Quinn had feeling for Puck. Strong feelings that just didn't go away with the blink of an eye.

But then there was Sam. This pretty much perfect guy who had done nothing at all wrong to her. He looked passed her past. He trusted her enough to not judge her for her mistakes and still ask her to be his girlfriend. He had even said at one point he was going to want to marry her.

It was official, she felt like the worst person alive.

Despite her better judgment, Quinn stood from her bed and walked over to Sam. She placed her hand on his arm gently, knowing he probably didn't want her even near him. "Sam, Sam. I am so sorry. I know. I'm a horrible person."

She knew she wasn't making anything better, she was just making herself look pathetic. This time it was Quinn's stomach that clenched, only it was in guilt. How could she really be doing this to Sam?

"D-Do you hate me?" It was totally the wrong time to ask, but she had to know. She had to know if he was going to hate her for the rest of their lives. Quinn just needed to know, despite her having no right to even ask. Not after what she had just told him. Not after what she was putting him through.

Quinn expected a yes. It was another thing she deserved. Just like the yelling and screaming that he hadn't given her. Which, a part of her was still waiting for. But the lack of it just proved to her how much Sam wasn't like the other guys.

Despite being pretty determined not to show how hurt he was, he still moved away from her touch. With her touching him, he knew he would start saying things that he didn't mean. Like that it was okay. So he took another step back with a shake of his head. "Can you stop apologizing?" he said, for the first time sounding a little frustrated. But his frustration was without much conviction at all.

What about the first time? he wanted to ask her. Was she sorry then?

But that was just an attack. He wanted to believe that she had been, but had been too afraid to tell him, but more than that, he didn't want to know for fear that the answer wouldn't be what he wanted.

At her question, he sighed, finally bringing his eyes to meet hers. "Quinn, you honestly think I could hate you?" he said with a hollow laugh that lacked all real humor. "If I could hate you, dealing with this would probably be a lot easier, you know?"

He wanted to reach out to her, but controlled the urge. "I'm going to go," he said. Part of him really, really wanted to stay, to talk until they had come to the decision together to move through this. But then .. he knew he had to think, too. Even if Quinn decided to stay with him, would it even be worth it? He had a sinking feeling that told him that the answer was no. Her feelings for Puck wouldn't just vanish. He sighed again. "Just .. give me a call when you've sorted things out, and we'll talk then, alright?"

A very soft, yet quite sigh of relief left her lips. He didn't hate her. That meant a lot more to hear than she thought it would. Quinn wanted to stop him, beg him to stay with her, and not leave her alone with her thoughts. It was probably the worst thing for her right now. But again, what right did she have to ask that.

She knew she was hurting him, she was hurting herself. Quinn just nodded slightly. "Okay." There wasn't much else she could say. Everything that could have been said would probably just make him, and her feel worse.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I really do care about you. I hate what I'm doing to you.

Basically all clichés, but they rang with such truth in her heart. Quinn knew her feelings for Puck, she was sure of those. But this was definitely making her question her feelings for Sam. They were a lot stronger than she had believed they were, and that slightly scared her.

"I'll call you, okay?" Quinn didn't bother to walk him out, she knew he probably didn't want to be around her at all right now. She just let him leave, and went back to the millions of thought running through her head.

"Yeah, okay," he said dully, and left the room with a last look at her. That was a stupid idea, because then, the image of her, standing there hurt and guilty and alone, made him feel guilty. He knew logically that he didn't have a reason to be guilty, because he was the one getting hurt here. But that hurt didn't make his feelings for Quinn disappear, and he hated being the cause of her pain.

Only when he was in the privacy of his own car did Sam let the anger he wanted to feel out. He hit the dash with both fists, a sound of frustration leaving him in a grunt. But then, he had no choice but to drive home.

THAT WAS,
A hell of a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I guess I have a lot more thinking to do than I thought. Heading to bed, and trying to sort this all out. (Sam, I'm so sorry.)
-posted by: Quinn

Puck texts Quinn:
Just to let you know.. I'll always be here for you. I'll respect your decision, whatever it may be. I'll stick around even if you don't pick me. I love you, Q.
-Puck

Quinn texted back:
Well thank you, Puck. I'll let you and Sam know when I've finally decided, but seriously thank you.
-Q.

Quinn's decision on the next chapter!