AN: Happy April Fool's Day! I'd like to prank you guys, but I'm not mean like that (most of the time)

AN2: I'm sorry for late updates. Real life, oh how you eat up my time. I'm sure there are some problems with the logistics of this chapter and I apologize for that now, and how that it doesn't put any of you off too much. But anyway the show must go on. Or as Finn would say "The show has to go all over the place" As always I own nothing.

Dear Agony

Stepping in through the doorway for only the second time made Quinn feel lightheaded, the weight of everything hadn't completely sunk in yet. She was out of Lima, really out of Lima. She was in her new apartment, a "graduation present" her mother had called it. Quinn knew there was something more to it, but she wasn't about to look a gift like an entire years rent in the mouth. Not to mention that she would need an apartment if she would have any chance of Rachel living with her, not that that really mattered any more.

She dragged her things inside and plopped herself down on the sofa. Now was not the time for negative thoughts. Not when she was lying down on a comfortable sofa. She was out on her own, had a nice place, she would soon start attending one of the top schools in the country. In short her future looked bright. And the best part about it was that she would no longer feel congested within Lima. Almost everything about that place made her sick to her stomach, especially her mother. That's not to say Quinn didn't love her mother, but she always though feelings like that should feel natural and not forced.

Things between Quinn and her mom had been, to be completely honest, silent since she had let Quinn back into the house. They would have those clichéd talks during dinner time where Judy would ask the simple "How was school?" and Quinn would typically brush it off with an equally simple "School's been good." It wasn't anything more or less than Quinn had expected, but even then she felt the need to get closer to her mother. With that thought in mind she finally decided to come out to her. Suffice to say, Judy wasn't exactly thrilled at the news, even if it meant her youngest daughter wouldn't be getting pregnant again anytime soon (or maybe even ever). Soon after that Quinn found herself in New Haven with her mother outside and apartment complex.

She glanced at her mom curiously. "Mom, what are we doing here?" Judy made no attempt to answer her and instead just dragged her inside. There was only one reasonable answer Quinn could think of but still. Quinn forced to run up the stairs at a frantic pace. They stop ascending when they reach the fourth floor. Judy pulls Quinn aside, then down the hall. They stop in front of a door. Apartment 4F. Quinn looks at the door and then at her mother. "Mom?" Judy bites her lower lips. A habit her daughter adopted. She reaches into her purse and brings out a set of keys.

"I know it's a little late, but here's your graduation present." Quinn stares at her mother, open-mouthed. "Well are you going to open it?" she asks, jingling the keys in front of her daughter. Quinn grabs the keys an inserts it in the doorknob. She gives her mom one last look and lets out an appreciative squeak. The door swings open to reveal a decent sized living room.

The walls were cover with floral wallpaper. Light pinks and greens surrounding them. Quinn approached the couch and jumped into it. Soft, incredibly so. It would definitely be useful after exhausting days. She got up and continued to explore. Further in to the left she found a small kitchen area with an equally small dining table.

On the opposite end of the apartment was her bedroom. She opened the door and was caught slightly off-guard. There were two beds. Both were fairly spacious. The walls were plain white, that made need something later, but it didn't look too bad. She scanned the room. It was fairly empty, although that would be remedied soon. There work desk here, a nightstand there and there was a bookshelf next to, what she already claimed as her bed. A smile crept upon her face. She walked over to the closet. Nice size. It was almost perfect. The bathroom was next. She closed her eyes and opened the door. There was shower in front of her, but her attention was elsewhere. Beside it was a very large bathtub. Quinn may have whimpered slightly.

She went back to the living room and collapsed onto the couch next to her mom. "So what do you think?" The smile on Quinn's lips was unlike any other that Judy had seen before. It made her feel a bit bad. Suddenly without warning Quinn wrapped her arms around her mother.

"I love it! It's perfect." Her arms squeeze Judy harder. "It's perfect," she says again as she pulls away. "And I'm sure Rachel will love it too." There's a change in her mother's facial features. But Quinn doesn't notice. She's far too absorbed in the idea of having her own place. Her own place with Rachel. Quinn gets up. She begins to walk around the place muttering things about where the brunette's belongings could go.

Judy follows her tentatively. "So, you're really serious about having this girl live with you?" Quinn now notices the animosity in her mother's voice. But she doesn't want to fight, especially not now. Quinn's twirls around on her feet, light and graceful like a ballerina.

"Of course, she's my best friend. It just makes sense." She turns on heel. "If she lives with me at least she'll be closer to Broadway than if she just stays in Lima," she says with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So that's what this is all about? Helping out a friend?" Quinn's come completely down from her high. She attempt to keep face. Quinn turns on heel once more.

"Yes. Why?" She asks, her tone harsher than intended.

"Well, it's just that you've been spending a lot of time with this girl and-"

"Rachel! Use her name."

"You've been spending a lot of time with Rachel," her mother repeated. They were both doing their best to keep calm. "And I'm just concerned that you may have…" she paused clearly in thought.

"Yes, mom. Okay? I like her, happy?"

Judy is taken aback by her daughter's abruptness but at least she's found her voice. "And you're sure about this?" Quinn scoffs. What else can she do?

"Yes! We've discussed this, and I know you don't approve but-" her body is shaking. She wills herself to stop. Quinn takes breath, and then another. "Can't you just accept it?"

"I do, Quinnie, I do." Judy pleads. "But does it really have to be her?" Quinn gives her the mother her signature glare. The one she would use when she was Head Bitch. "Just think about it, sweetheart. You've said that she loves Finn, yes?" Quinn reluctantly nods. "She's with him, and let's say that they do break up. Would she really be worth it?"

"Yes." Quinn speaks without a second thought. "She's worth it."

"But, why?" Quinn stared at her, flabbergasted. "You have so much going for you right now." Her daughter settled herself to lean against the wall "I don't want to see you risk that on some high school crush." Quinn's anger rises. She balled her hands into fists. Her nails would certainly pierce into her skin if they weren't so short. "She's just so… so…"

"So what, mom? Broken?" Her voice was soft and severe. And maybe that made it worse for her mother. "I know that, but so was I. And she was there for me. No one else." She motioned to all around her. "So no, it's not just some high school crush."

There's a knock on the door. Quinn swings her feet off the couch. She goes to the door and opens it. Outside there's a young girl. The girl looks to be about the same age as Quinn, and was only an inch or two shorter. She has green eyes and blonde hair that falls down to her shoulders. Her hands are buried in the back pockets of her tight blue jeans. She's wearing a pair of red Converse sneakers and a matching red polo. "Hi," she says with a small wave, before returning her hand to her back pocket.

"Hello."

"I couldn't help but notice you moving in, and I just wanted to be the first one to welcome you," the girl extends a hand. "I'm Samantha the way, Samantha Barnes," she adds with a beaming smile. Quinn happily accepts her hand.

"Quinn, Quinn Fabray."

"Well, Quinn Fabray, what brings you to New Haven?"

"Yale." There was bit of cockiness in her voice. The never ending compliments from the people of Lima had certainly stroked her ego.

"Really? I'm going there too." Her smile widened to reveal her perfectly white teeth. "I've just moved in with my cousin about a month ago. Maybe we'll have classes together." They hear a buzzing. Samantha makes a sound of annoyance and then pulls out her phone. She checks her texts and lets out a huff. "That was my cousin. I guess I gotta go. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure." The shorter blonde left and Quinn closed the door. She began to unpack, making sure to make a mental note to try out her bathtub later. She organized her clothes, books, notebooks (both the ones she wrote in and the ones she drew in). Her bags were empting fairly quickly. But that wasn't much of a surprise since she was forced pack lighter after her fight with Rachel.

There was only one thing left she had to find a place for. It was small box with a light green ribbon and a picture from her junior prom. She may not have won Prom Queen, unlike her senior year, but the night proved to be far more memorable in the long run and far less painful. While Quinn still wanted to win Prom Queen, it alone was no consolation when she had to watch Rachel dancing happily with Finn. Although she knew it could have been worse. Like if Finn won Prom King. Yeah, that would definitely be worse. To have to dance with him. Smell her scent on him. All the while knowing that she would always be his.

Or at least that's what she used to think. Quinn promised herself not to build any false hope. Just because she and Rachel had a moment at their junior prom didn't mean anything. But then she learned of her corsage.

Quinn was fiddling with her hair while in her bed. Twirling it around her finger she let out a sigh. She and Brittany were working on a presentation for school. And while Quinn loved Brittany, at times it could prove difficult to work with her. It wasn't at all because Brittany wasn't smart because Britt was pretty bright. Only her genius revolved around topics not taught in school. And so she would tend to get distracted when working on projects.

"Q, my head hurts."

Just like this.

"Well maybe we should take a break," Quinn replied with a smile. Brittany would probably the second hardest person for Quinn to say no to. She'd always have those puppy dog eyes when she asked for things. She didn't think Brittany did it on purpose, but it did annoy her at times. "I'll go downstairs and get us some snacks, okay?"

"Do you have gummy bears?" Brittany asks eagerly.

"I'll go check." Quinn runs downstairs and bursts into the kitchen. She searches through the cabinets and finds that there are in fact gummy bears. Brittany would want most of those though so Quinn continued her search. Chips, no. Chocolate bar, no. Trail mix, that would do. She bound back upstairs. Quinn opened the door to her room. She found Brittany wrapping the ribbon around her wrist. The taller blonde stopped her actions as she heard Quinn enter.

"Hey Q, do you find any gummy bears?" Quinn tossed her the small package. "Yea, thanks." She opened it and popped an orange bear into her mouth. "This is from your corsage isn't it?" she asked between chews. Quinn answered with a yes. "Did you keep it because of Rachel?"

"I'm not sure. I- Wait, what do you mean?" Brittany made a confused looking face.

"I'm just asking if you kept it because of Rachel." She began massaging her temple. "What else would I mean? It was Rachel's idea, and I know you like her." Quinn opened her mouth to speak which only resulted in her sputtering incoherently. "It's okay Q, no one else knows. Santana won't believe me," she finished glumly.

It was then that Quinn began to hope. A stupid mistake maybe.

AN: Reviews welcome. And Thank You.