"Sweet Caroline…" my phone sang. I picked it up. "What do you want, Berry?"

Shut up. I just never bothered to change it after we broke up. Besides, when that much crazy is coming at you, it helps to have a warning.

"Hello to you, too, Noah!"

"Seriously, you never call me. What's up?"

"Since Finn found out about you and Quinn, she hasn't had a steady place to stay. Mrs. Hudson said she could remain there, but Quinn is apparently uncomfortable doing so. As her pregnancy continues, a stable environment will be crucial to Quinn's well-being."

"Look, Berry, she barely talks to me. How am I supposed to convince her to move in?"

"You want her to move in? What did your mother say?" Rachel waited for me to answer, but I was kinda embarrassed. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"No. I want to tell her, but my mom can be rough about this stuff." Like saying I'm a Nazi for dating shiksas.

"Of course. You need moral support. Say no more, Noah. We'll be there in five minutes."

"We? Who is WE, Berry?" But she'd already hung up. Great. "We" could mean anything from Rachel and Quinn to the whole glee club. You never knew with her.

Exactly five minutes later, Rachel rang my doorbell. Standing behind her were her dads. My mom was psyched to see them. She knows Rachel's dads from Temple. Mom spent the first few minutes raving over Rachel's solo at Sectionals. "Weeping! I was weeping in the audience. And to think, you used to go out with my Noah!" She gave me a dirty look as she said "used to."

"Thank you, Mrs. Puckerman. I'm glad you were moved to tears by my performance. That is one of the highest complements a performer can receive. However, we are here today because we need to discuss a serious matter."

"Oh, God, she's pregnant," Mom said.

"Yes," Rachel said, not getting which "she" my mom meant. "And now we're exploring our options."

"He'll marry you, of course! Won't you, Noah? Thank God you're Jewish. Oh, my son's going to marry a smart, beautiful Jew!"

"What?" Rachel's dads said, shocked.

"WHAT?" Rachel yelped.

"Mom," I groaned, "Rachel is not pregnant." I could tell from the look on Mom's face that she was picturing the white dress and the huppah in her head. "We never even had sex! Rachel isn't pregnant. Quinn is!"

"Finn's girlfriend? I already knew that."

"Yeah, but…the baby? It isn't Finn's. It's mine."

"Oh, Noah!" She started to scream at me and I just tuned her out. I was mainly focusing on trying not to cry in front of Rachel and her dads.

"MS. PUCKERMAN!" Rachel exclaimed, using her impressive pipes. "I apologize for interrupting, but from my interactions with Noah, I can assure you: he is quite contrite and is handling his mistake as responsibly as possible. Recriminations are not constructive at this point."

Wow. I can't believe Berry is standing up to my mom. From the look on Mom's face, she can't believe it, either.

Rachel's black dad cleared his throat. (Man, I need to learn their first names.) "Mrs. Puckerman, I don't blame you for being upset. I know how distraught we would be if Rachel were in a similar situation. But now Quinn finds herself without a set place to live. We are going to offer Quinn a room at our house. However, Puck expressed to Rachel that he would like to make a similar offer." And I now understand why Berry talks the way she does. "That's when he admitted that he had not yet told you the truth and wanted our assistance to do so."

Is that honestly what Rachel thinks happened?

Mom sighed. "Her parents really kicked her out? Who does that to their baby?" Okay, I guess that means Mom isn't kicking me out. "Do you love her, Noah?"

"I thought I was in love with her, but…she keeps saying I'm a loser. How do you love someone who sees you like that?" That definitely didn't win any points with my mom for Quinn. I didn't mean to say it, but I'm so sick of lying.

"If you feel that way, why would you want her to live here?" she asked.

"Because I'm still responsible for them. I still care about her. You don't walk out on people. You just don't do that." My voice broke when I said it, like I was back in freakin' junior high.

And then mom surprised me. She hugged me. "Oh, Noah. Some people do, but you don't. Thank God."

"So, can Quinn live here?"

"She can if she wants to. But she gets your room and you sleep on the couch."

"Fine."

Rachel tried calling Quinn again, still getting no answer, so Rachel dialed Brittany. "Hello, Brittany. It's Rachel Berry. How are you? Mmm-hmm. And how is Quinn? She hasn't been answering her cell phone. Oh, that's too bad. Brittany, is Quinn moving in with you permanently? Well, no, I don't mean after graduation. How do your parents feel about that?" Berry was silent, listening to Brittany's response. "Well, that's just it: Quinn does have other options. We'd like to come by and discuss it with her, if she's up to it. Would you mind asking her?" Berry waited again. "Good. We'll see you in five to ten minutes. Goodbye."

"Her father shut off her cell phone. Brittany assures me Quinn is open to our visit."

Yeah, well, I heard Berry's side of that phone conversation. Quinn had no idea who "we" were. I sympathized with Quinn's position, 'cause I was there half an hour ago. And half an hour from now, Quinn and my baby might be living under my roof…or Berry's. Weird. Either way, I'm going to keep trying. I'll show her that I'm no loser. I take care of my responsibilities. I take care of my friends. I might not be in love with her, but I could be her friend.

I know I haven't been the best friend to people in the past, but I want to be. I want to be a better…everything. God, now I sound like Berry.

I just want everything so much, she'd told me the day we broke up on the bleachers.

I knew what she meant then, but every day since I've understood it even more. It's like that time I fell in the deep end when I was little. I kept sinking under the water, but every time, no one saw it. I just kept fighting to get my head up to scream. I was sure I was a gonner when the lifeguard finally noticed and pulled me out.

I just hope St. Finn's song is right, because I could really use some help in this. All I need is for someone to see me and pull me out of the deep end. I keep trying, hoping I just might get what I need. I felt a tiny hand squeeze mine, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Are you ready for this?" Rachel asked.

AN- Want to know what happens next? Please review.