It was a Saturday, and like every Saturday for the past year, Puck came over to Quinn's house with some beer. It wasn't until the past summer that Santana began joining them in their tradition, so Puck began bringing two packs of beer. It was a normal fun time for them after a long week at school.

Puck and Quinn had begun this tradition a little before school had begun last year. They realized that they had a connection that couldn't be broken, something tying them together, even if it was just friendship..The connection was Beth, and it would always be. It was an unspoken promise that they'd always be there for each other. Puck would come over every week just to talk, over time it had become an usual thing and he never stopped coming by.

Quinn and Santana were laying down on her bed with drinks in hand as Puck sat by Quinn's desk putting on some music on her laptop. They were already done with the first pack of beer and it was barely two in the morning.

" So you girls think my threesome fantasy will come true tonight?", Puck winked at them with his grin.

" Keep on dreaming, Puck", Quinn rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her drink.

" Not tonight, boy", Santana simply said. Normally she'd be up for any chance to get any action of some sort, but lately the Latina had been acting quite calm on that aspect.

" Oh come on, I've seen you two making out before, you can't just leave me hanging!", Puck scoffed at them. Quinn put down her drink on the table next to her desk and gave him a look.

" First of all, that was a one time thing, we were too drunk. And second, ew!", she said and threw a pillow at him. It hit his face and he gave her pout as he held the pillow.

" Q, don't act like you didn't enjoy it", Santana winked at her and Quinn looked away quickly, her face turning really red.

" Oh she totally enjoyed it", Puck commented at seeing her reaction. Quinn's face turned even more red as she went back to her drink.

" You both are idiots", she said, hoping they'd drop the subject, which they did.

" Anyways", began Puck, " Q, there was a talk about you in the locker room the other day", he said, getting Quinn and Santana's attention.

" Guys kept saying they got some action from you at last week's party", Puck explained and looked her in the eye, " Is that part of your plan to get back your popularity or what?".

His tone was a bit harsh. It was obvious he was upset, but how could he not be? Quinn was his..friend, and was once his "baby mama", and he could never stop caring about her. He just couldn't. It was Quinn. The first girl he ever had feelings for, and still somewhat does.

" That is so not true. How dare you ask me that", Quinn scoffed, " I wasn't even at that party!"

" It's true, I was that party and know for a fact that Quinn wasn't there", Santana backed her up, taking a long drink from her beer.

" Either way, the rumors are going around and…"

" Well good", Quinn said, looking down at her beer, " A bad reputation is better than no reputation at all", she concluded with a careless shrug. Puck sighed and rolled his eyes.

" She's right. Those sort of rumors benefit her in two ways. Girls feel jealous and threatened by her, and guys want her more. It's perfect", Santana smirked as Quinn nodded in agreement.

" You're nuts, you know", Puck stated, " Both of you", he drank more beer.

" You know it's true, don't act like you don't enjoy your reputation, Puckerman", Quinn snapped at him, the alcohol obviously getting to her.

" Oh I do, Fabray. But at least I'm honest about it. I don't need rumors to assure people that I'm a sex machine!", he smirked and winked her way. Quinn was about to respond but Santana reached out and waved for her to let his comment go.

" Let Quinn do her thing, Puck", Santana said, " We all know she needs it"

" What's that supposed to mean?", Quinn glanced at her.

" Oh you know", Santana began, " Your need to feel like you actually belong somewhere or simply feel wanted"

Quinn really disliked how blunt Santana could be at times, even though she knew it was one of the reasons she trusted and felt comfortable around her. But at the moment, that comment didn't suit too well with her, specially now with so much alcohol in her system.

" Shut up, S", Quinn snapped at her, " At least I am well liked by others, unlike you"

" Hey girls, come on…"

" Hey! I keep it real!", Santana snapped back with a scowl.

" Real? You can't even accept that you have feeling for Britt!", Quinn yelled, immediately regretting it. Santana's eyes were wide, quite shocked at how Quinn would actually use that to hurt her. She began to close her fist but then Puck stood up and pulled Quinn from the bed and kept her away.

" As much as I love a good chick fight, I think we've had enough now", Puck told them both, taking their beer bottles away. Quinn and Santana stayed quiet and just eyed the floor. Quinn felt horrible for having said that. She loved Santana and Brittany, and she knew everything about them, she knew about Santana and how she really felt towards the blonde..she respected it and supported her. Who was she to use her friend's weakness against her?

" You should though, you know", Puck suddenly spoke, grabbing their attention.

" What?", Santana looked at him. He shrugged and looked down at Quinn's bed.

" You like Brittany, so just be real with her, to yourself, and to everyone", he said, knowing he wasn't the best at giving advice.

" I just want to see you happy, S", Quinn then spoke up softly, looking up and giving Santana an apologetic, slight smile. Santana looked at her, knowing she meant it.

" It's not as easy as it used to be, you know", Quinn said, " Everything was easier when it was just the three of us. No boys, no.."

" Feelings?", Santana said and Quinn stayed quiet, " Yeah. I fully agree"

Puck stayed silent during this talk. It was rare to see these girls so vulnerable, he was sure the alcohol might have had something to do with it. Although the fact that they all trusted and understood each other in a way was to blame too.

" Lets be honest here. We know what everything is all about", Puck spoke up and both girls looked to him." I've known you two for the longest time, I know you better than most people do, and I'm not just talking about the hook ups", he pointed out, receiving a scowl from Quinn and Santana rolling her eyes.

" Thing is, Santana is so damn scared of showing who she really is and what her feelings are, so she acts like a badass about it. She could be with and love Brittany, but putting herself out there like that is damn scary for someone like us", Puck told her, their eyes connecting. It was a hard thing to admit that they were in fact similar in many ways.

" And you Quinn, you're a mess", he admitted to the blonde next to him, " You want someone, you want love, you want to be accepted and to fit in…yet you don't let anyone in, you're terrified. It's like you're waiting for something and you're giving everyone hell until you get it. I'm not saying you're bad person, but you've got so much to figure out and.."

" I get it!", Quinn yelled at him and looked away angrily. She hated being called out. She hated anything that made her feel weak. She hated the fact that Puck could look through her like that.

" Alright", he nodded, " Just..keeping it real", he glanced at Santana as he used her same words. After a short silence they all began laughing. Looking at each other as they laughed, they pushed all those haunting thoughts aside.

" Just hand me another beer, Puckerman", Santana said, still laughing. They all took their spots again and grabbed more drinks." Ugh we are so screwed up", Quinn laughed again and began to down her drink with her friends by her side.

It's like you're waiting for something and you're giving everyone hell until you get it

Puck's words kept repeating inside her head. She tried to clear her mind but the image of a certain short brunette kept running through her head. And that did frighten her…It could be just the alcohol, right?

On Monday morning Quinn showed up to school half an hour early. She parked her car and carried her school bag, gym bag, a poster board project, and two other school books that weren't able to fit into her bag. She struggled to balance everything, but even she knew she would end up falling at any second.

" Let me help you"

Quinn squinted her eyes and groaned as she heard Rachel Berry's voice approaching.

" I don't need any help", she said fiercely. Still the shorter girl made her way towards her and took her gym bag and books. Quinn gave her a look and Rachel just simply smiled back. They both began to walk towards the school together, Quinn not looking pleased at all.

" So I just wanted to thank you, Quinn", Rachel began.

" What for?", Quinn looked at her strangely, arching her eyebrow.

" For ending the slushie attacks, of course. It meant a lot to me..and the other Glee club members of course", Rachel said, smiling brightly.

" Whatever. It was just getting old anyways", Quinn shrugged off and continued looking on ahead. Rachel frowned a bit but glanced back at Quinn with a smile as she walked beside her.

" Whatever the reason, Quinn, I still thank you", she assured her. They stopped in front of Quinn's locker and Rachel handed her her belongings as Quinn shoved them inside her locker.

" You know, you should really think about organizing. Seeing as you carry so much with you, some space is necessary in your locker", Rachel observed and Quinn immediately slammed her locker shut.

" My locker is just fine, Berry", she stated and Rachel nodded, putting her hands up in defeat.

" Simply a minor observation", she smiled and Quinn loosened up a bit. There weren't many students around yet since school wouldn't begin until later. In a way, she was forced to have Rachel's company for a while. This made her uncomfortable, though from the look in Rachel's face, the brunette felt delighted about it.

" So it looks like we are stuck with each other for now", Rachel giggled, holding onto her own schoolbooks tightly. Quinn gave her a fake smile and looked away quickly.

" Don't you have your boyfriend to go bother, Berry?", she groaned as she began walking. Rachel walked on along with her.

" Finn doesn't like to wake up so early for school, he's always late in the mornings. I highly blame those video games of his though, he spends all night playing them and loses so much sleep over them", Rachel explained, obviously annoyed by her boyfriend's favorite hobby.

" Hey, you wanted him", Quinn chuckled bitterly.

" I love him of course, though", Rachel said quickly, turning to the blonde with assurance in her eyes.

" Never said you didn't", Quinn pointed out, arching her eyebrow. They both had stopped walking and were face to face now.

" Right, of course, I know- I was just..", Rachel began but stumbled with her words. Quinn laughed at the shorter girl, amused by her nervousness. Rachel was about to defend herself but instead found herself smiling at the taller girl. Quinn noticed her staring and stopped laughing, feeling quite awkward.

" Wh-What are you staring at?", Quinn said, looking down at her questioningly.

" Oh nothing, Quinn, it's just..", Rachel began, " I can't remember the last time I heard you laugh, like that. You usually laugh to be mean towards someone or about something. This was just you laughing, enjoying yourself. It was honest. And I must say, you really do have a pretty laugh, Quinn"

Quinn was taken back by her words. She looked at Rachel, her mouth opening to say something, but she couldn't. She didn't know what to say to her. She had her so confused, yet she couldn't help the smile forming in her lips.

" T-Thank you", she said softly and looked down at the floor, her face turning red. Rachel kept smiling, not leaving her eyes off her. It made Quinn even more nervous.

" Fabray!"

Quinn quickly snapped out of her senses and looked back behind her, and so did Rachel, looking up behind Quinn. Coming from the far end of the hallway came a group of Cheerios towards them. Quinn looked back at Rachel and looked at her with pleading eyes. Quinn didn't even have to say anything, it was Rachel who spoke first.

" I know", she assured her, " I understand. I'll leave now. It was nice talking to you, Quinn", Rachel smiled and with one last look began walking away from her before the Cheerios reached them. Quinn stayed in her place, watching her leave and somewhat missing the smaller girl's presence already.

" So Captain", spoke one of the younger Cheerios, " are we going to have Cheerios practice during lunch like Coach Sylvester said?"

Quinn had heard the girl speak but paid no attention to her. Her attention was on the brunnette girl that now stood by her locker, being greeted by her tall boyfriend that somehow made it to school early today. She watched the couple and began to feel sick to her stomach. She shut her eyes tightly and quickly turned back to her squad.

" Of course we are, you idiot", she scowled at the girl, " So get ready to run extra laps today and for a long practice after school too", she yelled at the girl who then stood quiet for the rest of the time. The other girls stayed quiet too, trying not to get on the captain's bad side.

" Lets go to class now", Quinn muttered, walking past them and the girls following close behind.

Rachel, on the other side of the hallway, took her attention off Finn for a moment and glanced over at Quinn walking away. She watched how quickly Quinn had gone from being somewhat friendly, somehow 'herself', to being the HBIC that everyone knew. Rachel couldn't keep the thought out of her mind then, that she wished she could see more of the Quinn she saw today.

I was planning on updating sooner but I ended up going to LA for Glee 3D Red Carpet Premiere and forgot my laptop at home. But here's this new chapter, hope it's good and you like it. Please review!

Oh and I know it's moving a bit slowly right now, but I promise Quinn and Rachel will be interacting more soon.