Standard Disclaimer, I do not own Glee or any of its characters.
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"Please Quinn?" Finn asks softly.
Quinn closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, reluctant to tell Finn that it's Puck, that it was his best friend. She has already hurt him enough but he was right, he had a right to know, more than anyone.
Quinn turns and faces Finn. "Please understand… I didn't mean for it to happen, I didn't want it to happen. Please believe me."
Finn nods his head in understanding and waits patiently for Quinn to continue.
"It… its Puck."
Finn's eyes widen in shock and he just stands there in a stunned silence for a few seconds, and Quinn doesn't dare move. She is terrified that this new bit of information will do it, will be the straw that breaks the proverbial back and that any forgiveness, any understanding that she and him had just come to will be thrown right out the window.
She is so sick of crying, she just wants to be done with it, but she can't help the tears that begin to fall as Finn's look of shock quickly morph into looks of confusion, hurt and betrayal.
She takes a step forward before stopping herself. "I am so sorry Finn, please believe me, I never… things just…"
Finn looks at her and for a moment he looks completely devastated. "Puck?"
Quinn nods her head in conformation, doing her best to not completely break down in front of him. "I am so sorry, I never meant… I didn't…"
"No Quinn," Finn takes a deep calming breath. "This… this isn't actually about you, not like you're probably thinking anyway… you and I, we've made our peace… or at least I think so. We both hurt each other… and we've both, we… this doesn't change things between us. We've done our apologies and I may need a little longer to process it but… I hope you know that as far as you and I go… we're okay. But… you gotta understand… this, this hurts… this… AARGH!"
BANG
Quinn jumps, startled at the loud bang that resulted from Finn punching a nearby locker. "Damn it, damn it, damn it…" Finn starts to cry as he leans against the dented locker, his fist still planted firmly against it. "He's my best friend… how could he… I don't get it? I… he was… we were…"
Quinn hesitantly steps towards Finn and lightly places her hands over his extended arm. "I'm sorry, I am so so sorry. It was me… this was my fault I…"
Finn's posture loosens and he lets his hand fall to his side. "I need some time to… look I mean it, you and I we've… this isn't about what you did, you and I we've covered that, we've both owned up to our mistakes in how we treated each other. I mean it Quinn, this isn't about you… I guess I just wasn't expecting it to be him."
"Finn…"
"You don't owe me an apology, this is about him, I hurt you and you reacted and we basically royally screwed up what we had… but, I think… or at least I hope that we're still… you know, I may need a little time to process it but we're going to be okay. I needed to know because… I mean when I kissed Rachel, it wasn't just me who hurt you, Rachel did too, and when you… well, it wasn't just you and I needed to know… but damn it… I didn't think it would be him, you know? I really need to think, I'll… I'll see you later." And with that Finn turns and walks away.
"Wait! Finn I know I'm being selfish here and I am so sorry but please don't leave like this, please. I was so scared during all of this that you and I weren't even going to be friends after everything was said and done and then we had this… this moment and I really care about you and I feel like I've just ruined everything, that my entire life has completely fallen apart, and I can't tell you how much it meant to me, means to me, that you wanted to be there for me… have I… God, I know I'm being selfish here, I know you are hurting too, but have I lost that?"
Finn shakes his head no, "No you haven't… but I do need some space, can you give me that, he was my best friend and I need to… to process this."
"I'm sorry Finn, I am so so sorry."
Finn doesn't answer instead he just smiles at her sadly before turning and walking away. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
Quinn feels about three inches tall, she knew she could be a bitch at times and hell she had gone out of her way in the past to try and hurt people, but she had never hurt someone close to her like this before and it was killing her inside. She wanted to chase after him, and apologize over and over again, somehow make this okay, but she couldn't. What could she tell him that hadn't already been said? He asked her for some space, for time to deal with this news and so that is what she would give him.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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Quinn quickly makes her way to Santana's locker where her friends are waiting for her. After talking with Finn, she had made her way to Principal Figgins' office where she was caught up to speed on how things were going to be at school. Basically she was told to not worry about showing up for the rest of the week. They would be informing her teachers of the situation and that tomorrow after school she could get in touch with them and they would have the week's homework for her. They also reassured her that they would be completely and totally compliant with Maribel's demands and that if anybody connected to her parents came by they would not allow them to talk to her and that they would immediately inform Maribel and that if anyone contacted her she was to come to the office immediately.
After the meeting concluded Quinn checked her phone and had received a text from Santana telling her that they were done and waiting by her locker. Maribel had told her to tell Santana to be home by ten, and then she proceeded to give Quinn a hug and kissing her forehead before leaving.
As Quinn turned the corner down the hallway towards Santana's locker Quinn felt a weight lift off her chest as she caught sight of Santana and Brittany, who both look up from their conversation when they hear her approach. They both jog over to meet her and Brittany is the first to reach Quinn and as she does she envelopes Quinn in a hug.
"Yay, I didn't think you were going to show up today!" the blond squeals before pulling back.
"Yeah Querida, I thought you were going to chill at the Berry's place today?"
"Yeah, I was," Quinn says hugging Santana "but your mom stopped by and we talked about some stuff and then I had to go to the police station, so that was fun. Then we went and got my stuff and we just told the school what was going on so I'll be picking up my homework for the week tomorrow and then I'll actually be back to school next week."
"That sucks that you'll be gone all week, but it's kind of a good thing, you don't want to push yourself too hard." Brittany says. "Will you be coming to cheerios or glee club at all this week?"
"Maybe." Quinn says shrugging her shoulders. "I'll need to talk to coach about it, but I can probably make glee club at least."
"And what do you want us to tell them?" Santana asks. "They kept asking about you, Finnept, especially wouldn't drop it, I about kicked him in his stupid face." Santana growls, still angry about what he had done to her best friend.
"San, could you please be nicer to him… he's hurting right now and… he was really sweet today." Quinn says quietly.
Santana raises an eyebrow, silently asking her to expand on that.
"We ran into each other before I met up with you guys, or well, I guess he found me…"
"Are you okay Quinn?" Brittany asks, noticing how affected Quinn seemed to be by the encounter.
"Yeah… well no… maybe, I don't know. But I do know that he was really sweet. He offered to take responsibility, you know be the father. I turned him down, but it was still… it reminded me of why I liked him in the first place and this has been hard on him too. I told him who the father was and… I mean I was his girlfriend and it was his best friend… it's just, it's a tough time for him too. So please San, I know he's not your favorite person but could you please be a little nicer to him, please?"
"Yeah, sure Q." Santana says softly, she reaches over and grasps Quinn's hand and squeezes it affectionately. "I'll be nicer."
"Thanks." Quinn says softly, staring deep in to the rich brown eyes of her friend.
"Speaking of?" Brittany asks, drawing Quinn out of her daze. "What's going to happen with Puck?"
"That right," Santana growls, a deep scowl marring her face, her lips curling in disgust. "When is that bastard getting his?"
Quinn looks down; she can't look at her friends as she says this. "I've… I've talked it over with your mom and… I've decided to not press charges or pursue it… I can't."
"What!?" Both girls exclaim in shock.
"Why not!?" Brittany asks, upset.
"The hell!? You can't let that bastard get away with this, the fuck!?" Santana yells.
"Please stop, please." Quinn says quietly, her voice breaking, and both Santana and Brittany halt as they hear how broken their friend sounds. "I talked… I talked it over with Maribel and… I can't do it… I know what you all want me to do… what she wants me to do… what I should do…" Quinn takes a stuttering breath, forcing herself not to cry. "But it's just too much, I can't do it… I just can't… I can't go after him, my parents and deal with being homeless and pregnant… it's too much. So please I'm begging you both, if you want to help me then please just be here for me, like you have been, and please, please just drop it. I know what he did… but I can't handle it right now… I need to just drop it; there are more important things to deal with right now." As Quinn finishes speaking, she finds one of her hands coming to rest on her belly, encompassing it protectively. She had seen many women do that before and had secretly thought it looked a little silly, but she was surprised by how natural it felt to do so. Quinn then finds herself enveloped in a hug from both sides as Santana and Brittany wrap their arms around her.
"I'll never forgive him; I'll hate him until the day I die." Santana whispers quietly, almost as if Quinn wasn't supposed to hear it, that Santana just needed to get it out there and into the universe. So Quinn doesn't say anything she just wraps her arms around the girl and hugs her back.
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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"So where's Rachel?" Quinn asks as the three girls are heading out to Santana's car.
"She said that she wanted to stay back and practice some more." Santana answers. "I guess she's still in the choir room."
"Well let's go grab her, we can do homework at the Berry's and you guys can fill me in on what's happening."
"Okay." Brittany says happily, as they switch directions and head towards the choir room. Santana grumbles and rolls her eyes, but it's more for show than anything otherwise she would have said something.
As the three of them reach the choir room they see Rachel standing there staring off into space with a troubled look on her face. "You okay Rach?" Brittany asks, skipping up to her friend and placing a hand on her arm.
Rachel jumps, startled but quickly schools her features into pleasantly surprised. "Oh yes, I'm perfectly fine, what can I do for you three?"
"Pack your shit up Berry; we're heading back to your place." Santana says.
"We're going to go do homework and things, and then you guys are going to fill me in on what's up in glee club." Quinn elaborates.
"Oh… I… okay." Rachel sounds unsure.
"You don't have to if you don't want to Rachel, but I would really like it if you were there." Quinn says, trying to reassure the girl.
"Yeah, C'mon Rach, please." Brittany throws in eagerly.
Rachel smiles warmly at them. "Okay, sure, let me just grab my stuff."
"Will your dads be okay with us coming over?" Quinn asks, "I mean, we aren't going to be intruding or anything will we?"
"No, they love to have guests over, if anything they'll probably be a little too… well them." Rachel says a little embarrassed.
"Your dads are great Rachel, and Brittany's and Santana's parents join in all of the time, so don't worry about it. I just wanted to make sure that it was okay to have guests over." Quinn reassures the other girl.
"Oh yeah, no, that won't be as issue trust me, it's just that… well I never have friends over so I'm… never mind, it's stupid."
"You're worried your parents will embarrass you? Well join the club, my dad thinks he's the coolest guy this side of "the Fonz" and my mom isn't any better." Santana throws in, an exasperated smile on her face as she talks about her parents.
"My mom stole my friends for the entire night the first time Quinn slept over, and my dad… well you'll meet him eventually." Brittany says with an eye roll, although like Santana she isn't particularly bothered by how her parents can be either. "That's what parents do, embrace it, love it. We're lucky to have parents that love us as much as they do."
"Yeah, I mean you could have ended up with parents like mine. I wish they would have taken an interest in my life like yours guy's parents did. There are worse ways to be embarrassed by your parents than having them be involved." Quinn says seriously.
Rachel nods her head.
"That doesn't mean you can't complain about them, I've heard some fantastic stories about Santana and Brittany that I've sworn to take to my grave so you know, complain away, just don't forget that you're lucky to have them."
Rachel smiles, feeling better about the possibility of her parents interacting with her new friends.
"And Rachel, I can't do a damn thing to stop my parents from talking, but I swear to God above if you ever repeat anything you hear I will end you, do ya gots me?" Santana scowls.
Rachel smirks. "Sure thing, but can't we go to your house instead, because that sounds like a fantastic opportunity to learn more about my new friend." Rachel says sweetly.
"Nope, not happening, it's your house tonight Berry, and just remember what goes around comes around you hear me."
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xXx-Scene Break-xXx
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Rachel nervously riffled through her drawer, doing her best to gather her resolve to go through with this. She really didn't want to, but Quinn was her friend now and how could she do any less, especially after last night. Still this was about as humiliating and degrading a thing as she had ever experienced.
She takes a deep breath and thinks about how much fun last night was. Even Santana, who she was pretty sure was warming up to her despite some of the snarky comments that were made, they definitely lacked the usual bite that she was used to, was fun to hang out with.
They had gathered in her room and on and around her bed and she had been shocked to see that they were actually going to do their homework. They had said that that was what they were going to do, but they were popular kids and cheerleaders to boot, and she had bought into the stereotype that said that they didn't actually have to work for anything.
She had been worried that she may have put her foot in her mouth and ruined things when she had commented on that, but Quinn and Santana had just rolled their eyes and ignored it in favor of setting things up and Brittany had just leaned over with a smile and said quietly.
"Why do you think we get to have so much fun, it's because we work so hard, Santana and Quinn are both A students and they help me maintain a B and C average in most of my classes."
Rachel was amazed at how meticulous Quinn and Santana were about their homework, they had sticky notes all over in their text books and their notes were extremely well organized. A quick glance at Brittany's notes made her feel a little better because they were as thrown together and as haphazard as her own.
Another surprising thing to her is that they completely and totally focused on the work itself, they picked one subject and then worked on that, and all thoughts and discussions were on that topic. She had thought there would be a little more gossiping at least but both Quinn and Santana stayed focused, switching off between their own work and helping Brittany who struggled in quite a few areas.
"I have really bad dyslexia and the teachers always explain things really weird to me," Brittany explained to Rachel as Quinn went over her math homework for a second time. "I'm learning how to deal with it, but I still need a lot of help so Quinn and Santana always help me out."
It only took them all of about an hour and a half to get everything done and that was when things began to be more like she envisioned them. As soon as the work was done, that was it, they didn't worry about it anymore or think about tomorrow's work they just lounged about and talked. What was especially nice for Rachel was that all three girls worked to keep her included in the conversation. It was really nice to finally feel like she belonged, to have people say that they were her friends and then actually be able to believe them, although she hadn't been completely happy with all of the conversation.
"And then Berry here," Santana jerked her thumb at said girl. "All but threw a tantrum when Mr. Schue gave Tammy-"
"Tina." Brittany corrects absentmindedly as she thumbs through a magazine.
"Right Tina the solo."
"Yeah, not cool Rach." Brittany throws in, only paying half attention to the conversation.
Rachel growled in frustration, trying to defend her actions. "That's because it's Maria from West Side Story, I was born to play that part, and while Tina has a lovely voice, she is in no way ready for such an iconic role."
"Rachel-"Quinn says with a sigh.
"No, I will not apologize for fighting for the parts I want and I would think that as my friends you would all support me!" Rachel says angrily, feeling a little betrayed and about ready to get up and storm out.
"We are your friends and that's why as your friend you are going to listen to what I have to say." Quinn says just as fiercely. "You are talented, like crazy talented, you say you're going to be a star and even when we weren't friends I believed you."
Rachel stops glaring, slightly mollified by Quinn's words.
"However, if you want to be successful, and if you want this club to work then you have to be a better team player."
"Word." Santana throws in, having moved from her spot on the bed and down onto the floor next to Brittany now looking at the same article that Brittany was.
"What- But… I am a team player, I… I care about this club more than anything, I-" Rachel sputters indignantly.
"Then prove it." Quinn interrupts in a challenging manner. "The fact is, there are a lot of talented people in this club and you won't always be the center of attention, but you can always be the star."
"What do you mean?" Rachel asks confused.
"Simple, you say that Tina isn't ready for such an iconic role, then help her. I've told you before, you are the leader, we'll follow you, but we won't be your lackeys. Help Tina; help her be the best performer that she can possibly be. You'll get your solos, you'll get your moment s to preform and to shine but it can't just be you all the time, every time."
After that it was as if the conversation was forgotten, like she hadn't acted… admittedly if only to herself, a little bit spoiled, they just switched topics and they continued to include her and make her feel welcome. And that was why she had to do this, Quinn was her friend, her and Brittany, and maybe even Santana were her first real friends and she had to protect them, had to protect Quinn.
She closes her drawer with the item held tightly in her hand, when a voice causes her to jump and quickly turn while moving to hide her hands behind her back.
"Rachel your dads want to know what you want for breakfast and… what are you hiding behind your back?" Quinn asks, her eyebrow arched in that way that says she demands an answer.
"Nothing, nothing, don't worry about it, it's nothing." Rachel says nervously as Quinn stares at her in a way that says she in unimpressed with the answer.
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A.N. So a little bit shorter chapter this time round, sorry about that. I do want to say this though, one of the things that I absolutely hated about the actual series is that they didn't have Brittany graduate, I hate hate hated that. She was friends with someone who got into Yale for crying out loud, I have a hard time believing that she couldn't have gotten the help she needed to graduate. So spoiler alert, Brittany will be graduating in this fic. Anyway mini rant over, I hope you all liked this chapter and the next one will be up next Friday.