Author's note: ooooops...i think i wrote too much. but i think you'll enjoy the ah...fruits of my efforts, if you will. (did i really just say that. i'm bad at suggesting that possible sexual endeavors occur in this chapter. edit: THANK YOU REVIEWER YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE: a few years get added on before said endeavors. writing about sexual anything in regards to middle schoolers is uber sketch. so. anyway...)

...

It was the third day of eighth grade, and she could've sworn Quinn had just smiled at her. It was gone in an instant though, and it was an instant too short for Rachel to figure out whether it had actually happened or not.

Rachel and Tucker had finally broken things off. Upon Tucker's move to the high school, the star couple had decided it would be best to simply remain friends rather than test their relationship long distance. The split had been amicable, to say the least. Rachel was pretty sure she'd seen Tucker skip away from her house the day the ended their relationship.

In all honesty, she was almost positive he was gay. A distinct lack of interest in intimate affairs with her, a sufficient amount of fan-girling about Patrick Dempsey, and the way he looked at one of the other leads in the school musical had slowly but surely given him away. Most of their dates ended in closed lip kisses that lasted mere seconds before Tucker would hug her and then leave.

Rachel might have been offended if she hadn't been so pleased with the arrangement. It wasn't hard to fake liking someone else when they became your new best friend. What you did behind closed doors no one had to know about but the two of you.

Which honestly, wasn't much.

When Quinn disappeared around the corner, Rachel groaned and turned to bang her head against the nearest locker. Now people were staring. Great.

If only she knew Quinn didn't like her. If only the head cheerleader had held down a boyfriend for more than five seconds so Rachel knew she truly had gotten over her or didn't like girls. If only she could stop thinking about the blond for more than five minutes once in a while.

If only she weren't so ridiculously gorgeous.

"SHUT UP!" Rachel burst out at herself, and now people had actually stopped in the hallway and were giving her questioning looks. Oh lord.

Trying to push the thoughts away, Rachel straightened her skirt, rearranged her books and in complete Rachel Berry form exited the hallway, head held high. Maybe today would be the day. Maybe today she would forget about Quinn Fabray.

...

Two years later, not much had changed. Rachel had failed miserably in forgetting about Quinn…and Quinn had done anything but forget about Rachel. Needless to say, the last year in particular had been absolutely miserable for Quinn.

Why? Because Rachel Berry had finally started to grow a modest figure. And by modest, Quinn really meant simply gorgeous.

Surprisingly, it seemed Rachel was uncomfortable with her new look. Shy, almost. Nothing even remotely revealing was ever worn to school, and of the few times Quinn saw Rachel around town the most shocking article of clothing she had on was a v-neck. Quinn was also pretty sure that when Rachel caught sight of her she had blushed, and she most definitely had zipped her hoodie up higher.

Lord. She was living in a nightmare. A nightmare of sideways glances, strange longings, and a far too adult looking Rachel.

Quinn was reading a magazine and dozing off at the pool one afternoon in the summer before sophomore year when she spotted a short, dark haired girl stand up from her chair and head towards the water. For a second she thought it might be Rachel before smirking and shaking her head.

Rachel would never be caught dead wearing that.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Quinn decided couldn't pass up the chance to steal a peak at what seemed to be a very attractive brunette, however.

Except wait.

Oh holy – woah.

She was headed towards Quinn, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the blonde was there. Or that she was gaping full-out in Rachel's direction. Or that she had drawn the attention of at least three other people (males, however…Quinn almost growled at the though of anyone else looking at her that way.) on her trip from one end of the pool to the other.

Rachel Berry was…well, to channel Puck, mother fucking hot as hell.

The white stars that covered her red two-piece stood out in the hot sun, and Quinn literally couldn't take her eyes away. Before she knew what she was doing, she had dropped her magazine and standing up directly in Rachel's path.

Rachel almost tripped over herself as she stopped suddenly at Quinn's appearance.

"Oh. Hello, Quinn," Rachel stuttered. Stuttered? Since when did Rachel Berry stutter?

"Um…hi," Quinn mentally berated herself for not pulling it together. It was Rachel. Rachel Berry. The girl she'd known since she was six years old. Who cares if she was wearing a bikini? Seriously. Who. Even. Cared.

"How's…your summer going?" Rachel asked hesitantly, as if she weren't sure whether she wanted to keep talking to Quinn or not.

"It's…it's good. You know. Sunny. And stuff…" Quinn mumbled. WHAT? Sunny? Of all the adjectives in the entire world, that one probably made the least sense.

And since when did Quinn start making such dramatic statements while rambling to herself in her head?

It might've been the fact that Quinn was trying not to blush, or the way the light glared off the water, or even how the sun shone on Rachel's hair just so, but Quinn didn't see the little boy run past them and slam into Rachel as he went by until it was too late. Way too late for her to consider moving out of the way as Rachel yelped and then fell towards her, smashing into Quinn with such force that Quinn was almost glad they had the water behind them to catch them as they fell.

Almost.

Quinn hit the water first, going in backwards with Rachel falling into her as they went down. Spluttering, Quinn surfaced and grasped for the side of the pool to steady herself. Rachel came up choking and as disoriented as she was, Quinn immediately grabbed her former best friend's arm and helped her over to the side where Rachel clung to Quinn as she tried to stop coughing.

When she could finally breathe again, their close proximity immediately became apparent. Rachel had her arms around Quinn who was holding her close with one arm while supporting them against the wall with the other.

Her legs had also somehow wrapped themselves around Quinn's left leg that was facing away from the wall.

And for the first time in her life, when Quinn actually registered how Rachel's body felt against her, she was incredibly, unquestionably turned on.

Shit.

"Uhhhh…" was the sound that came out of Quinn's mouth when she realized how hot she suddenly was. Rachel seemed to realize what had happened at that point and instantly pulled away. Quinn also registered for the first time what true frustration felt like as Rachel's body lost contact with hers.

"I'm so, so sorry," Rachel protested furiously, moving even farther away from Quinn before reaching the ladder and climbing it as quickly as possible.

"Rachel…" Quinn whispered softly to herself, trying to regain control of what was going on in her head. How badly she wanted to feel like she just had a few seconds ago. How she had never felt like that for anyone before. How much she missed Rachel's presence in her life in general. How ridiculous it was that falling into a pool had been what made her finally have to recognize that.

Which was when she finally registered that Rachel was practically running towards her towel, a very distraught look on her face.

No. Not this time.

"Rachel!" Quinn belted, hoisting herself up onto the side of the pool, ignoring the fact that half the population of the pool was staring at her for the third time in the last ten minutes.

Rachel spared her a glance backwards before pulling her short on, slamming her feet into her shoes and taking off.

"Shit," Quinn hissed. Clothes. Where were her clothes?

Forget it. Clothes were not important right now.

...Quinn didn't miss the irony of that statement.

She managed to spot her shoes, which she grabbed and then walked as quickly as possibly across the slippery poolside to get to the split in the fence where Rachel had disappeared.

The brunette had just gotten to the edge of the street when Quinn managed to finally catch sight of her.

"RACHEL BERRY, DO NOT MOVE," Quinn yelled and Rachel jumped, spinning around as Quinn came sprinting towards her.

"What Quinn, what do you want?" Rachel cried in frustration, and it was only then that Quinn realized she had started to cry.

"Come with me," Quinn demanded, dropping her shoes on the ground and stepping into them.

Rachel looked like she was about to protest but when Quinn's hand fell into hers, she seemed to lose all her fight and Quinn swiftly pulled her down the sidewalk towards her house.

...

"Where are we going?" Rachel demanded for the third time as Quinn struggled through some particularly dense branches. They were in the very small amount of woods behind Quinn's house, Quinn fervently yanking at brush and branches before she lost her nerve completely.

"I said, you'll see!" Quinn replied as she gave up moving a particular obnoxious branch and simply snapped it in half. "Okay. We're here."

Rachel huffed and stepped over the final branches Quinn held down for her before looking around.

Oh. Here.

It was a warm summer afternoon, and the sun shown down through the leaves in patches. The grass in the tiny clearing was barely big enough for two people to lie down in, but Rachel finally realized where they were.

"I completely forgot about this," she said, her voice hushed as she looked around. There on the ground were a few forgotten tea cups, along with some small rocks stacked up in an arrangement behind Quinn on the ground. She and Quinn had come here in kindergarten to hide sometimes when they didn't want Rachel to go home after a playdate. Their parents would all pretend they couldn't find them, even though it was easy to catch a glimpse of two girls through the thin trees hiding the patch for view.

"I didn't," Quinn was quiet as Rachel's eyes came back to rest on Quinn. She finally looked up and her heart broke all over again when she saw the disappointment in Rachel's eyes. "I told you I'd never forget."

Rachel's eyes softened ever so slightly, and Quinn suddenly became very aware that she was in only a bathing suit while Rachel had managed to pull on a very uncharacteristic tank top and a pair of gym shorts even in her haste to leave the pool.

Quinn blushed when Rachel caught her staring and looked down at her toes, biting her lip in embarrassment. This had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she didn't know what in the world to do. Why had she brought them here? Because after all this time, she wanted Rachel to herself again. Because she thought this spot would…what?

This time it was Rachel who stepped forward, moving so that her bare toes were touching Quinn's. Quinn's head shot up when she realized what was happening, her eyes widening in surprise. Rachel didn't miss the look over fear that graced quickly over Quinn's features before disappearing, despite Quinn's effort to contain it.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked, and Quinn realized she had stopped breathing.

"Yes?" she whispered, not daring to take her eyes away from Rachel's.

"Do you love me?"

Without hesitation, Quinn nodded gently.

The kiss Rachel planted on her lips was so faint that Quinn wasn't sure it had happened. When she opened her eyes however, the look in Rachel's eyes told her it most definitely had.

So she kissed Rachel for the second time in her life, as sure of it this time as she had been the first.

Kissing Rachel wasn't anything like kissing boys. Kissing boys felt kinda alright.

But kissing Rachel? Kissing Rachel felt like her entire world had been turned upside down.

By the way Rachel gasped as Quinn's tongue suddenly entered her mouth, it was pretty clear she felt the same way.

When Quinn reached for her hips, Rachel didn't hesitate before moving as close to the blonde as physically possible. And when it registered that Quinn was against her wearing…well, not much, Rachel almost moaned.

Almost.

Until Quinn moved from Rachel's mouth to a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. There was definite moaning after that. It was only when Quinn started to pull Rachel's shirt off that she froze.

"Wait," Rachel panicked, pulling away.

"What?" Quinn asked, breathing heavily and trying to keep herself from attacking Rachel.

"I'm not…I'm just wearing a bathing suit," Rachel mumbled.

Quinn looked confused. "Um. Hello. Look at me."

"No but, I mean…I'm not pretty like you," Rachel whispered this time, looking down at the ground.

Quinn's jaw almost hit the floor. "What? Rachel. You're…you're really hot."

Rachel's head snapped up so fast Quinn thought she had pulled something. "Me? No."

"Yes," Quinn said, blushing slightly before regaining her confidence and stepping into Rachel's space again. Taking a hold of the sides of Rachel's shirt, she smiled back at Rachel's shocked look. "Yes. Very hot."

Rachel's look turned again to one of embarrassment as Quinn pulled gently but firmly until the shirt was up over Rachel's head and then onto the ground. Despite her reluctance Quinn had also started kissing her again, though, and all coherent thoughts were starting to fly out the window.

"Can I…" Quinn's breathing was heavy as she pulled away slightly to ask the question. Rachel opened her eyes to see Quinn's hand hovering over one star covered breast.

"Um…" Rachel was nervous, but to be honest…she really, really wanted to feel Quinn's hand on her. All for her. "Okay."

A few seconds later, coherent thought was so far gone it was like it had never existed at all.

...

i'm working on being able to write smut. not there yet though. HOPE THIS IS SORT OF SATISFYING...review and let me know? :D