After way too much to drink, you all made your way back to the high school. It was locked of course, but none of you really wanted to go in. You just wanted to look at it. You all stood in the middle of the football field. You know some of them were reliving their glory days while the rest of you were just reminiscing because you're in the midst of your glory days.

"This is pretty weird huh?" Sam asks and loops his arm around your shoulders.

You smile and lean into him, "Yeah. It seems like a lifetime ago."

"It was," he looks out over the field and lets out a sigh, "Except my abs. They're forever."

You laugh and slap him in his abs that are apparently still there.

"Hate to be a downer you guys I have got to pee," Tina announces. Everyone laughs and tells her that they'll see her and Artie tomorrow at the wedding.

Someone finds a stray football and the guys start throwing it around. The girls gather on the sidelines. Mercedes shakes her head, "They're ridiculous."

"Where'd Rachel go?" Brittany asks looking around. You spot her walking up behind her with a large red bag.

She grins, "So the Cheerios storage shed was open and…" she trails off and opens the bag. Brittany's the first one to grab two pompoms and start cheering. Mercedes, Santana, Lauren, and Mike's girlfriend grab some as well. "C'mon Quinnie Quinn, Quinn," Rachel bounces her shoulders, "You know you want to."

You shake your head, "Coach Sylvester will-"

"What is she going to do to you now?" Rachel rolls her eyes, "She can yell at you, but you can walk away." She drops the bag and grabs two pompoms and rubs them against your face before pulling away and yelling out toward the field, "Go Mike! Woo!"

You look down at the pompoms and shake your head again, content to just watch the girls mess around. That part of you is dead and buried and you're okay with it. You didn't like who you were and you would like to keep your distance from that girl.

After a while, you move to sit on the bleachers and it isn't long before Santana follows you. She leans back on the row behind you and asks, "So how was the drive?"

"It was okay," you smile, watching Rachel attempt to cartwheel and keep her skirt covering her at the same time. You tilt your head, "We did get freaked out and stay at in a motel last night though."

Santana nods, "That drive at night gives me the creeps too."

"How's it working out with your new addition?" you turn to her.

She sighs and rests her head on the bleachers behind her. She's exasperated, but in such an endearing way that you don't mind. She lulls her head to look at you, "That cat is a worse cockblock than Brittany's little sister was in high school. Every time we start fooling around that cat jumps up on the bed and ruins everything. She has like a radar for that shit."

When she cracks a smile, you feel that it's okay to laugh. "Well next time you need some alone time, I'd be happy to kitten sit for you."

"Thanks Q," she pushes herself off of the bleachers, "We better get back to her parents' house to make sure that Binx didn't pee on the carpet."

"You named her Binx?" you ask. That name seems vaguely familiar to you, but you don't know from where.

"You remember that goldfish that Britt had in first grade?" Santana asks and you nod. How can you not? Brittany sobbed for a week when none other than Lord Tubbington ate poor Binx the fish when Brittany left them in the floor of her room to play together while she was at school.

"So you left Lord Tubbington alone with Binx number two?" you ask, leaning back in the bleachers.

Santana stands still for a beat before turning around and sprinting toward her car, "Brittany!" The blonde dropped her pompoms and sprinted after Santana. You start laughing your ass off which causes everyone to look at you.

When you see that Rachel is looking at you with her hands on her hips, you tilt your head, "I didn't do anything. Why do you always blame me?"

"When Santana Lopez goes running away from you, what am I supposed to think?" she asks. You can tell she's trying to be stern, but there's a playful twinkle in her eye. You stick your tongue out at her and she mirrors you before you both start laughing. Mercedes says something and steals her attention.

"Madam Fabray," Kurt smiles at you while she walks up to you. He offers you his arm and says, "Walk with me."

You happily loop your arm through his and start walking with him around the track, out of earshot of all the guys.

"So you and Rachel?" he asks after you've walked past the second turn.

You blink once before looking at him, "How did you know?"

"No matter what Santana says I've had the best gaydar in this county since pre-k," he smiles and you patting your hand that resting on his upper arm, "And you two are doing some hardcore flirting all over the place. Everyone else is a little confused, but 'roommates' is Lima-speak for secret lover."

"Well there's no secret loving going on between us," you rest your head on his shoulder as you continue to walk. You're surprised at how relieved you feel knowing that someone else knows, "Believe me."

He smiles kindly at you with his wise eyes. You always wondered how the least likely people at McKinley turned out to be the most mature. Kurt always gave sage advice that was always spot on even if you didn't know it. "So there's something going on?"

You nod, "Definitely." You catch his eyes and add, "There's something there that's terrifying and confusing and exciting for both of us."

"So all that tension between you in high school was sexual?" he chuckles at his question.

You inhale through your nose and blow out through your mouth, "On my end? Yes. She told me that she has developed feelings for me the day after that video of us singing was shot."

"I can't say I blame her," he says as you turn around the third corner. "The chemistry between you two is palpable."

You get a little excited at his statement. You knew that when you two performed together that it was something special, but you had no idea that other people could see it too. "Really?"

"Yes," he nods with a confident smirk. You round the last turn, coming back to the group that is gathered by the bleachers. The pompoms have disappeared and most of them look like they're saying goodnight. Rachel stands on her toes to hug Sam and her calf muscles flex capturing your attention. Your eyes can't help, but linger and slowly trail up her legs until they get to the bottom of her deliciously short skirt.

"Have you told your mother?" he asks, seemingly out of nowhere.

You stop dead and look up at him, "What?"

He surveys your face and adds, "If you weren't so busy oogling Rachel, you would have heard my brilliant segue from your obvious chemistry to your mother. Which bring me back to, have you told her? I've met Judy Fabray on many occasions and even I'm not sure how that will go down."

You bit your bottom lips and look from the track back up to Kurt, "I guess I should do that huh?"

"You should," he nods, "Better from you than from someone else. People follow Rachel around with cameras. One shot of you holding hands in Central Park and the whole world will know."

"But someone else is easier for me," you shrug, then smile with what you think is a brilliant idea, "You could do it."

He vigorously shakes his head, "I am not facing Judy Fabray alone."

"I could do it by telegram," you offer, restarting your walk to the dwindling group of your friends.

"Although I applaud your effort at reviving that lost form of communication, face to face works best," he puts his arms around you shoulders, "I suggest you do so before Rachel very publicly and in front of a bunch of cameras, jumps your bones."

You look at her and see her looking back at you. There's a suggestive look on her face that makes you tingly all over. She shoots you a wink before turning back to Blaine who started singing a song which of course she joins in.

You sigh because Kurt's right. He's always right. You hate when he's always right. You're surprised at how easy the decision comes to you. Especially after seeing Rachel, "Fine. I'll do it tonight."

Of course once again you turn into the courage-less lion when you walk into you mom's house after dropping Rachel off at her dads'. You're glad that your sister is still there, watching TV with your mom.

You take a deep breath at the front door and count to ten before striding inside. You walk up to them and plant yourself on the coffee table facing both of them. Your sister senses something big so she mutes the TV.

Suddenly, you feel like you're in high school again. Scared and pregnant, about to tell you mom that you've just done something to disappoint her beyond anything she could ever imagine. A lump in your throat begins to form and your chest feels likes it's closing in on itself. You can see you father standing behind the couch and yelling at you and you can see that look in your mom's eyes. The disappointment. Suddenly, you feel dread fill your whole body. You change your mind right then, but apparently no one got the message to your mouth, which is already spilling the beans. You don't even hear yourself say it. But you can feel your mouth making the words, "Mom…I'm…in love with Rachel."

Her face falls and remains that way. She just stares at you. Her face hasn't moved and you can feel your heart slamming in every direction. Your mouth is still moving, but all you hear in your noise is a deep whirling sound, "Mom? Please say something."

You see your sister turn to your mom out of the corner of your eye. Her reaction is the same reaction it usually is. Wait until mom does something and then do the same thing.

Speaking of your mom, she starts shaking her head, but her eyes aren't on you. They're on the wall behind you. You see tears accumulate in her eyes and they finally meet yours. Then you see it. The disappointment. It stabs you right in the heart. You can't stop the tears trickling down your face. You can't look at it anymore. So you run out the door of the house. You get in your car ignoring your sister's calls to keep you inside.

You flashback to high school again. That same look of disappointment in your mother's eyes when you told her you were pregnant. The same solo walk of shame to your car. The same crushing feeling in your chest when you sit down in the driver's seat and start sobbing.

You know you're crying too hard to drive so you get out of your car and start walking. You walk down the street then take a left. Then you take a right and another right and then a left and soon you completely lose track of where you are.

That was a stupid idea. Stupid Kurt and his stupid ideas. Stupid Rachel with her big brown eyes and perfect smile making you fall in love with her. You kick a rock that bounces along the sidewalk before falling into someone's yard. Stupid. It was a stupid idea and now you've lost your second parent…again. You knew this was going to happen. You just knew it.

Somehow you find yourself standing in front of the church that the wedding is behind held out tomorrow. It's huge with large wooden doors that remind you of the one Santana took you to. You look around and pull open the heavy door. There's no one inside and you can see that it's already been decorated. There are flowers all over the place and white lines draped on the ends of the pews. It makes it feel less like the one in New York, but when you look up at the stained glass window, you feel a small sense of comfort. This isn't the one you went to when you lived here, but you always admired it from afar.

You make your way to one of the pews in the middle of the church and sit down. Your tears dry up as you stare at the ornate, intricate stained glass window. You wish you would have come here when you were pregnant. Instead you drove, sobbing to Finn's house. You can't go find Kurt because he's most likely staying with Finn or Burt and Carol and that's a whole level of awkward you're not sure you'd ever be ready for. Rachel's house doesn't seem like any better of an option. Her dads will be there and be all supportive and you just need some time. This is better. Much better.

"Hey Quinn. What are you doing here?" The voice startles you but when Mr. Schue sits down next to you relax against the back of the creaking wooden seat.

"I um, I'm hiding from..." You mumble out the end.

He leans back in the pew next to you, "What was that?"

"My mom and my sister," you state with a sigh." And Rachel's dads."

He chuckles, "Why would you do that? They're all very nice."

"It's a long, long story and this..." You gesture to the church, "reminds me of the one in New York."

"You're living in New York? Are you still friends with Santana? I talked to her Thursday night when Emma and I ran into her at a restaurant where she was celebrating some sort of family anniversary," he asks, turning to you. He gets excited and you're thankful for the distraction.

"Yeah," you nod, "I've always stayed in touch with Santana but I've recently moved to New York."

"What about Finn? I thought you two got married. That's where we sent your invitation, to your house here." He looks confused and rubs his chin.

You slowly nod and move your eyes back to the windows, "We were."

"Oh…" he looks down and then back up at you, "I'm sorry." You watch him and find a lack of disappointment in his eyes. There's just sympathy. You don't want any of that either so you look back toward the front of the church.

"It's...okay," you tell him and yourself. "I'm happier now. In New York...with Rachel."

He pats your shoulders, "I'm glad you two are friends now."

You chuckle. That's pretty funny to you. He looks even more confused so you take a deep breath and start explaining. You've told three people tonight, what's another one? "Remember how I was horrible to her in high school?" You wait for him to nod before going on, "And you know how little boys pull a girl's hair to show that they like them?" It takes a second but you can see recognition in his eyes.

"Oh," he nods, "Well that certainly explains a lot." He nods again and looks at you, "Are you okay? Is that what you're here about?" He vaguely gestures to the front of the church.

"Sorta," you look back at him and his understanding, caring face. You take a deep breath, "I told her about it. I told my mom I was in love with Rachel and…" you start to choke up, "She had that same look on her face when I told her I was pregnant." You don't know what came over you and you start sobbing, "It's not-." You can't finish the sentence.

He pulls you into his arms and you lean into him, letting the flow of tears go. After a while you pull away and wipe your face, embarrassed, "I'm sorry. You shouldn't be thinking about this. Your wedding is tomorrow."

"The reason Emma and I are getting married is because of you guys," he loosens his arms, giving you an out if you want to take it, "I always have time for my kids."

You smile through your tears. "You're the best Mr. Schue. You're pretty much the only reason that I stayed in high school."

"You thought about dropping out?" he asks. You know that it's the first he's heard of it and the only other person that really knows is Frannie.

You nod, "I got pregnant at sixteen. I was disgraced. My parents had kicked me out," you expel a breath that you've been holding back for years, "I didn't know what I was going to do. Dropping out seemed like the only way to not have that look of pity or disgust thrown my way everyday. But you kept telling us that we could be great. That we could do whatever we set our minds to. You saved me. You and Rachel," You shake your head, "And that stupid song."

"What song?" he prods rubbing your shoulder in a fatherly fashion. You suddenly realize that he's been your only father figure since you were sixteen.

You bow your head with a sad smile, "It's stupid. I cry every time Rachel sings it. 'Keep Holding On'."

He nods, "I seem to remember you crying the first time she sang that as well."

You chuckle, "I was doomed from the start. That short little diva was always my weakness." You lean back in the pew and look up at the stained glass. "Anyway, thanks for listening Mr. Schue. I feel a lot better."

He smiles at you, "No problem. You know you can always come to me with any problems you have."

You push off of the pew and stand up, exhausted from this long, long….super long day. "And if you ever need a house in New York City, you know who to call."

He stands up and hugs you before walking you out the door. He offers you a ride, but you shake your head. You need to walk and clear your mind before facing your mother again. At the very least you have to get your stuff out of your old room so you can slink over to the Berry house….your thoughts come to a halt when you look up and see the Berry house looking right back at you. Your subconscious is really starting to bug you with its church seeking, Rachel needing attitude.

You stand there and stare at it for a while. There are figures moving inside against the lights of the living room. You can see Steve and Eliot talking to each other and then to someone who is out of your visual range. Then they both disappear. You let out a sigh and start walking again toward your mom's house.

The front door of the house slams, stopping you mid-step and Rachel runs outside, keys in hand toward the pair of parked cars in the driveway. She stops dead when she sees you. Instead of making her way to the car, she turns and runs to you, throwing her arms around you. "Quinn, where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."

"We?" you ask, confused.

"Your mom called and told my daddy what happened," she pulls away and looks you in the eye, "You can't come out to your mom and run away before she has a chance to respond."

You can still see the look in your mother's eye and your own eyes start to water, "But she…that look…"

"It's a lot to process," Rachel reaches up and carefully wipes away the first tear the slides down your cheek, "You didn't give her any time to process." Rachel's hand slides into yours and she pulls you inside. When Steve and Eliot see you, they look relieved and Eliot pulls out his phone.

Rachel continues guiding you up to her room where she sits you on the bed. Your knees are touching and she holds both of your hands in her own. "Quinn honey, I don't want you to take this the wrong way and I say this with all the love it the world, but when you get scared you shut down. You run off and don't give anyone the chance to tell you otherwise. You've always been so guarded and I feel ridiculously privileged to be occasionally let behind your wall," her fingertips stroke the skin over your heart. She holds your eyes and you can feel tears welling up in them. "You keep things inside when you don't need to. You can talk to me. You should know by now that I won't judge you."

You bow your head and watch your tears fall onto the fabric of your dress. "I'm sorry."

She scoots closer to you and cradles your head against her chest, "Don't be sorry. I know, in small parts, that you've been through some horrible things that no one should have to endure. I know that you've done amazing things with your life Quinn and I'm so proud of who you've become." She gingerly kisses your forehead, "Again, I am always, always here to listen if you want to open up to me and share your pain."

You shake your head, "I don't-" you hiccup, "Not-"

"Quinn," you murmurs into your ear and it immediately calms you down, "That's part of loving someone. You've helped me through some of my pain. I'm slowly learning that my voice does not define who I am. At night after I've had a nightmare, which is always about the same thing, you assure me that no matter what I'll be okay and now I know that I would be okay. You sacrifice sleep among other things to make sure I'm okay. Let me make sure you're okay. You know how one-sided I feel this relationship is. Now that our feelings are out there, let me help you."

You rest your head on her shoulder and close your eyes, feeling the tears slip from your cheeks onto her neck, "I knew I shouldn't have come back."

She softly chuckles and slips her arms around your waist, "This was a lot for one night. We'll have many more and there will be more tears, but it'll get better. I promise."

"Pinkie promise?" you hold out your pinkie.

She immediately takes it and nods, "Pinkie promise."

There's a knock on the doorframe and Steve's large frame fills up the space, "Quinn? You mom is here. We'll all be in the living room when you're ready."

"Thanks," you force a smile at him.

He nods and disappears.

"Ready?" Rachel asks you. She stands and offers you her hands.

You take them, feeling a little better that this time you have allies. You know that all of the Berrys are behind you especially the youngest one so you lead the way down the stairs. As soon as you can see the living room, you can see your mom and your sister sitting on the loveseat, perpendicular to Steve and Eliot who are on the couch. You can't see his face, but Eliot is shaking his head and his shoulders are bouncing like he's laughing. When a smile breaks out on your mom's face you feel that this will go okay. You can't believe that you freaked out like you did…well you can, but wished that you hadn't.

You and Rachel take a seat next to Eliot and Steve on the side of the couch closest to your mom. She smiles softly at you and takes a deep breath, "You ran off before I could answer."

"I know," you quietly reply, looking at her shoes. You feel embarrassed, but still terrified.

"Quinnie," your mom leans forward and takes your hand, "I realized a long time ago that I love all of my children no matter what. You just walked into the house and said it and then left while I was still trying to process what you just said."

"But you looked disappointed," you sniffle and slowly blink spilling more tears on your cheeks. You had a reason for running off. And it was a good reason. At least it seemed like one at the time.

You hear your mom take a deep breath. She's struggling for something to say. So your sister steps in, "You know mom has this crazy idea that we'll have that perfect life with the hunky husband and little cottage house with two kids and a puppy. It's her own way of saying that she wants the best for us and in Lima that's about as good as it gets. But outside of this town, what's best for you is what makes you happy. She was just shocked." Your sister waits for you to look at her before adding, "And believe me, as much as mom is a total fangirl for Rachel, she will be cheering harder for you two than anyone else."

Everyone lets out a laugh and Rachel places her hand on your free arm. When the laughter dies down, all eyes settle on your and your mom again.

"I think your sister summed it up pretty well," your mom nodded, "I don't know much outside Lima, but I know that the world is bigger and more open outside of here. I just want you to be happy Quinn."

You swallow and meet your mom's eyes. You know she means it and it takes all the weight off of your shoulders, "Thanks Mom."

Your sister interjects, "So are you to actually together or is this one of those a-ha I'm in love with my best friend, but she's straight things?"

You look to Rachel. You have no idea how to explain this. You can see the wheels in her brain smoking as she quickly assembles the perfect words. She glances at you with a small smile before talking to your mother and sister, "We are not together…officially. I have developed feelings for Quinn which I am trying to sort through because she wants me to be one hundred percent sure if we embark on a romantic relationship. I completely understand her hesitation and will respect her wishes." She pauses and her eyes find your mom's, "I assure you that I have absolutely nothing, but the purest of intensions with your daughter. I, like you, want her happy. Above all else, she's my best friend and I protect my friends. Not that she needs it." She shoots a smile to you before she continues, "Quinn's fierce and fiery and she can take care of herself, but now she has someone who can help."

Your mom seems to be at a loss for words, as does everyone else in the living room. So your sister leans into your mom and let's out a dreamy sigh, pressing her hand to her chest, "Mom, I think I'm in love with her too." Leave it to your sister to be the comic relief.

You turn to Rachel and see her looking back with sincerity in her eyes. You just want to kiss her at that moment, but you know it's a bad time. You're fine with just squeezing her hand to let her know you appreciate what she said. She smiles and squeezes back.

When you turn back to your mom, she looks thoughtful and when her eyes settle on Rachel, you get nervous again. She clears her throat and waits for Rachel to look at her before asking, "So if you two do decide to…date, would you be open about your relationship with her? Publicly? You're somewhat of a celebrity and there are people who are very interested in the details of your personal life?"

You're a little stunned at that question. The way she asked makes you think that she's being protective of you. You smile a little and then consider the question. You never really thought about it before. You don't really consider her to be famous. To you she's Rachel Berry, the girl from high school who likes to cuddle when she watches movies and sings in her sleep.

Eliot and Steve seem as eager to hear the answer as you, your mom and your sister are. You're all leaning toward Rachel, waiting for her answer. You can see that she's going through a list of different answers. You two have never discussed the media because they've never been a problem. She dated David for six months and that's five months longer than it takes for the media to lose interest. Rachel Berry with a new date, a new girl date would certainly be news worthy.

She puts on a smile that you know isn't entirely real and answers, "I guess if we do start dating then we'll cross that bridge when we get there." When she sees that your mom isn't all that pleased with her answer she adds, "It's something that I'd have to discuss with Quinn because it would affect her as much as it would affect me."

You glance at your mom to find that she seems a little more satisfied with the answer. You feel that this conversation needs to end so you exaggerate a yawn and rub your eyes, "I'm exhausted. C'mon mom let's get out of here and let them get some rest."

She and your sister readily agree. The Berrys walk you out of the house and Rachel walks all three of you to the car, making sure to give your sister and your mom hugs before taking your hand and swinging it in between you. The thoughtful look in your eyes makes you nervous, but when she sees you looking she lets out a wide smile and you automatically melt.

"Do you want to meet for breakfast tomorrow?" she asks, "So we can discuss some issues that were brought up tonight?"

You nod. You don't really want to talk about it. You sort of want to ignore any and all issues for the rest of your life. But you know that this is Rachel and she is always a proponent of talking it out. "Call me when you wake up and I'll come get you."

She runs her teeth across her bottom lip and lets go of your hand to lock her arms around your neck. You slip your arms around her waist and hold on tight, closing your eyes and surrendering to her completely. She's so warm and fits perfectly in your arms.

"If you need anything tonight, call me, okay?" she whispers in your ear. When you don't immediately answer, she pulls away and looks you in the eyes, "Quinn, promise me."

You choke up a little bit at her words and you roll your eyes at yourself, taking back one of your hands to wipe a few rebellious tears off of your face, "Promise."

Her eyes are sad when they see the tears in your eyes. "I hate it when you cry."

"I don't like it much either," you smile, trying to get her to do the same.

She's fighting it, but a smile wins it's way onto her perfect lips. Her eyes flicker to the car that is currently housing your sister and your mom, "They're waiting for you so I guess I have to let you go." She presses your bodies together one last time before disengaging completely, "Goodnight Quinn."

You sniffle, but give her a genuine smile, "Goodnight Rach." You take her in one last time before making your way to the car and getting in. She stands on the sidewalk and watching your car pull away. She's still standing there when you turn the corner and houses come between her and the car.

Tonight was an insane ride for you that your mom, sister, and the Berrys were all involuntarily drug through. You feel bad for causing so much trouble. You wished that you could blame it on the alcohol consumed today at the bar, but you know you were sober before you even left the high school. You have nothing to blame it on but your own emotional…stuff.

As soon as you get back to the Fabray house you say goodnight to your mom and your sister before heading upstairs to your room. You have a feeling tomorrow is going to be as draining as today was.