Rachel's fingers skimmed across the ivory keys, the room silent around her. The school had long since emptied, Glee club ending ten minutes ago. Everyone else had bolted, ready to kick off their weekends with Puck's latest bash to celebrate the spring weather. Yet she didn't rush off, Hell she had been quiet for the majority of practice, only singing when she needed to. She had sat away from the rest of the group, keeping her head down and pushed in her latest book, the last one Quinn had given her.

She swallowed, settling herself on the bench and played a couple notes, losing herself in her thoughts. The blonde was hot and cold, night and day. One minute she was lovey dovey, holding her hand and carrying her books, kissing her on the cheek as she dropped Rachel off for class. The next, she'd be distant, scared someone would finally say something, and avoid the brunette like she was the plague. Today had been one of those days, the blonde going as far to break off whatever they were doing.

A quiet sob broke free and the tears pooled in her brilliant chocolate eyes. She closed them, shaking her head and took a steadying breath. Her life was spiraling out of orbit, something she had never expected. Her fathers announced the news last night: they were getting a divorce. The news had felt like a punch to the chest, leaving her speechless. All she had done was excuse herself and went up to her room, locking the door behind her and turned her music all the way up to deafening volumes. Even with her noise proofed walls, Rachel was sure that her neighbors and her fathers had heard the sad songs. Yet they didn't complain, the elderly woman next door going as far as to give her a sad smile on their way to their respective cars this morning. All that had done was crack Rachel's heart a bit more, more so than coming down to an empty house this morning and finding a note from her daddy. Her dad, Leroy, had already went to work and Hiram, daddy, was moving out that weekend to an apartment closer to the hospital.

It left a hollow hole in her heart, one that was further broken by Quinn's announcement. Senior year was supposed to be amazing, the best year of all. Instead, it was turning into a hellish nightmare that Rachel was praying was just a dream that she'd wake up from. At this point, she'd take the yelling than the quiet that had engulfed the household. She'd take keeping her relationship with the gorgeous blonde a secret, so long as she had her to talk to still. She'd take her father's smiling at her again, coming to her performances and cheering her on, instead of feeling like she was the reason for the fights, for the leaving, for the imminent divorce. Not to mention, Glee was going down the drain. No one seemed to care, no one seemed to notice her silence today, hadn't noticed she hadn't dressed up, rather sticking to a pair of simple jeans and a t-shirt. Hadn't done her hair, throwing it up in a ponytail with her bangs out instead.

The tears fell once again and this time, she didn't swallow the sob that fell from her lips. Her head fell into her hands, the hot tears wetting her palms. Her cries echoed around her, reverberating back and washing over her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Yo, Quinn wait up." The blonde turned, frowning at Sam as he jogged up.

He stopped, shifting his backpack higher up and she cocked an eyebrow at his concerned expression.

"Yes Sam?"

"What was wrong with Rachel today?"

The name struck a chord in the blonde and she put an impassive look on, shrugging. "Maybe she was having a bad day. You know how Berry gets." The words burned her throat, her tongue begging to roll one of their nicknames off.

Sam's eyebrows rose and he shook his head. "What is wrong with you? She's your girlfriend."

"She's not my anything." The blonde hissed, quickly looking around the barren halls.

"Seriously Quinn? Anyone with eyes can tell you're in love with her and she's in love with you. You guys are more obvious than Santana and Brittany before they came out. And that's saying something." He deadpanned.

Quinn swallowed and sighed, tugging him into a side hall. "Why do you care?"

"Because she looked really upset. She's never quiet, she always wants to talk and sing. But today she just sat there, reading and ignoring the rest of us. She wasn't even wearing a skirt or one of her animal sweaters."

"Since when are you so observant of her?"

"Since we became friends. I tried to talk to her but she had her earbuds in and didn't look like she wanted me to be the one talking to her." He looked meaningfully at his other best friend.

Quinn sighed, leaning back against the wall and adjusted her purse. She looked up to the ceiling, inhaling deeply as the ache filled her chest. Her mind was all over the place, questioning everything about hers and Rachel's relationship. The only thing she did know, was that she wanted Rachel in her life. She ran a hand over her cheek and blew out, glancing at Sam.

"I do love her."

"No shit. What're you doing here then? Go find her and see what's wrong."

She looked down at her shoes, lip trembling slightly. "I know what's wrong." She whispered thickly.

She looked up at Sam with glimmering eyes, the trembling getting worse. "I broke up with her this morning… I… I let my insecurities get the better of me…Fuck!" Her fist flew back, slamming into the lockers with a loud bang that made the boy jump.

"You need to fix this. She was in the auditorium when we left. Maybe she's still there."

Quinn nodded, wiping her eyes and took a steadying breath. Sam pulled her into a tight hug, "Don't overthink this. Love is love, you don't choose who you fall for. Fuck what other people think, you've got the Gleeks behind you."

He pulled away, patting her shoulder, and headed back down the hall.

Quinn took one last deep breath and followed after him, backtracking to the auditorium. Her footfalls echoed, wedges clicking against the linoleum in a steady beat.

She had fucked up, she knew it. She had been thinking about it all day, since the words left her mouth and she saw the look on the brunette's face. It was betrayal, anger, and despair. Like she had just told her that someone died. Quinn had turned away after, to hide the tears that had brimmed in her own eyes and promptly strode down the hall. She had seen Rachel in her classes and at the Glee table. The girl had this far-away look in her eyes, like she wasn't actually there with the rest of them. It had tugged at her heart, gripping it like a vice and Quinn had just shoved it away. Rachel wasn't going to take her back, she knew that. But, she had to try.

The blonde stopped at the doors and pulled one open, stepping into the dimly lit room. The room was completely empty and she swore, whirling back around and dashing from the auditorium. She pulled out her phone and dialed Rachel's number as she reached her car, unlocking it. It rang then went to voicemail. She tried again and again, the same routine. Quinn swore, slamming her hand against the wheel and leaning her head against it. She stayed there for a moment, her phone's ringtone breaking the silence that engulfed her.

Her hand snapped out, grabbing the device and hit the accept button.

"Rachel?"

"Nope, you've got the Puckasaurus. You still comin'? Everyone else is here, even Rach showed up."

"Rachel's at your house?"

There was some talking, what sounded like Rachel's voice, then Puck was back and the blonde growled. "Puck?"

"She was. She just headed out, said she had to go take care of some stuff at home. You coming or not?"

"Not." Quinn disconnected the call and peeled out of the lot, her brain trained on one thing: Rachel.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The door slammed behind the brunette as she stepped into the house, looking around. Not a peep came and she sighed, dropping her backpack by the door and headed farther in. She peeked into the kitchen, finding nothing. Dad's office, nothing. Her father's bedroom, no one. Several things were missing however, including her Daddy's laptop, the picture of her and him from his nightstand, and his suitcase. Glinting on his nightstand, was his wedding ring. Rachel slid down the doorframe, pulling her knees to her chest and buried her face in them. She ignored her phone as it vibrated in her pocket again and again, she ignored when the doorbell rang.

She did shove herself to her feet, when the knocking started. The brunette growled as she swiped her hands across her eyes, no doubt smearing what little make-up she did have on, and threw the door open. Rachel glared at the blonde that stood on her porch, white skirt shifting in the wind, and pleading look on her face.

"Rachel…"

She held up a hand, silencing the blonde. "What're you doing here Quinn? I thought you made it perfectly clear that you no longer wanted anything to do with me this morning. And this, showing up at my house, is not how you show that." Her voice trembled slightly and Quinn swallowed.

"I… I'm sorry."

Rachel scoffed, crossing her arms. Quinn looked down at her feet, biting her lip.

"I am. I… I let my insecurities get the best of me and made a rash decision that I shouldn't have done. I regretted it as soon as the words were out of my mouth and… I'm sorry…"

Rachel shook her head, sighing quietly. "You apologizing doesn't change anything. How am I supposed to trust you now? How am I supposed to know that you mean it?"

"I don't know."

They fell into silence after that, both looking anywhere but the other person, mostly down at their feet. Finally, Rachel looked up, anger in her brown orbs. "Well. If you don't have anything else to say, then goodbye Quinn. See you on Monday in Glee."

Quinn turned away, heavy sigh falling and walked down the path. Rachel turned away from the door and stormed down to the basement, where the piano was. She sat down heavily on the plush seat and flipped the key cover up, removing the velvet pad that sat ontop the grand pianos ivory keys.

Quinn got in her car and started the engine, blinking away tears and drove off.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Yeah ma… No it's not a huge party, just the gleeks… Yeah I'll find her.. Alright yeah bye."

Puck hung up, tossing his cigarette into the damp lawn and a ran a hand down his face. He shoved the back door open and stepped back inside, immediately hearing the chatter of the other gleeks. He walked through the kitchen, grabbing a beer as he went and stepped into the living room. He searched the crowd, noticing his jewbabe hadn't come back as she promised. His frown deepened.

"Ay, any of you hear from Jewbabe?" All heads turned to him and shook, Santana scowling as the surprisingly quiet blonde next to her downed another shot.

"Shit." He muttered, pulling his phone back out and dialed the girl.

It went straight to voicemail and he scowled, shoving the device back into his pocket and fell back on the other couch next to Sam.

"Why? You missing the dwarf? Wanna get your mack on with her, see how crazy Berry is between the sheets?" Santana smirked, wiggling her eyebrows and he glared at her.

Next to the Latina, Quinn tensed, her hand clenching around the glass in her hand that she slammed back on the table. "Would you knock it off with the fucking nicknames Santana? It's getting old."

"She speaks. Last I heard, you broke it off with the Hobbit." Her immaculate eyebrow raised at her best friend, who turned back to the tequila bottle and poured another shot, knocking it back.

"You what? Oh shit…" Puck shook his head, running his hands through his Mohawk and leaned back.

"Why? Who'd you just get off the phone with?" Artie asked, somewhat curious why the usual manwhore was getting this worked up.

"My ma. She just left dinner with Hiram. Guess him and Leroy are splitting up."

Everyone quieted then, Quinn dropping the glass in her hand and her head snapped to Puck. "What?"

He nodded, taking a long drink. "Yeah. He told ma that him and Lee have been fighting too much and it's draining the both of them and they think it's taking a toll on Rachel. Hiram's moving out this weekend and Leroy is keeping the house with Rach."

They lapsed into a brief silence, only broken by Puck's phone ringing. The boy yanked it free and lifted it to his ear. "My Jewish Princess, where the hell are you? Yeah I know, watch my language… What?... Yeah, I mean sure yeah I'll be right over." He hung up and shrugged at the group, standing and stretching.

"What was that?" Quinn asked, eyes narrowed.

He glanced at her and shrugged again. "She wants me to come over. Said she needs my help with something."

"Whoa wait, hold up. You're ditching us, to hang with Manhands? The hell Puckerman?"

"What'd I say about those damn nicknames?" Quinn yelled, whirling on Santana.

"Both of you, shut the hell up. And everyone, get outta my house. I gotta go see if Jewbabe is okay." Puck sent them all vicious glares, particularly vicious ones to the two fighting former Cheerios, strode out the door, and slammed it behind him.

Quinn sent Santana one last look before following after him, the rest falling in line.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The weekend came and went, with not a peep from the tiny diva. Everyone tried to get ahold of her, even Santana after getting puppy dog eyes from Brittany, yet nothing. The only one who seemed mildly in the loop was Puck and he wasn't giving up anything. Quinn called, texted, Facebook messaged, even slid into Rachel's DM's on Twitter, and got nothing. So, the blonde laid in bed, did homework, sulked, and planned out how she was going to beg the girl for forgiveness. So, what better way than listening to songs on repeat and trying to figure out which one fit best.

Walking into the school Monday morning, Quinn looked like hell. Heavy bags hung under her eyes, eyes that were bloodshot and puffy from another night of crying and hating herself. She strode to her locker without looking at anyone, gathered her things, and headed to the choir room for their Monday morning meeting. The room was quiet when she walked in, hushed murmurs racing between members and Santana cocked an eyebrow at her.

The blonde sat down quietly, Santana's eyes on her. "You look like absolute shit."

"Thanks S."

"Seriously, the hell is up with you? Finally realizing you fucked up big by dumping the Hobbit?"

"What?"

Santana rolled her eyes and scoffed. "C'mon Q, you're in love with her. You fucked up major and now you gotta get your girl back. You're talkin' to the girl that fucked up with her girl too and guess what, I managed to get her back." Santana wrapped an arm around Brittany's chair and smiled at the other blonde before turning back to the dumbfounded Quinn.

"For real? You think we didn't know? Anyone with eyes can see you two are so in love its disgusting. You just gotta pull your head outta your ass and realize we got your back, even if the other assholes in this school don't."

Quinn looked down, her head reeling. They were right, she was in love with Rachel. She had known that before the two had even gotten together. But, she hadn't realized everyone knew it. She swallowed and looked up when the door open. Rachel and Puck walked in and her heart sank. The girl she loved looked like hell, even if she was covering it up. Bags hung under her eyes and her eyes were slightly puffy, with makeup adorning them. She nodded at her friend and he sat down in his seat next to Finn, Rachel going to sit off in the corner.

Quinn's eyes followed after her, analyzing Rachel. She had on a simple black dress and oddly, Puck had on slacks and a button down, with a tie and overcoat and everything. Little kitten heels sat on Rachel's feet, the dress falling just above the knee and showing the slightest bit of cleavage, her hair falling in soft waves and brushed to one side. Quinn's stomach turned, dread filling her stomach.

"Alright guys, today-."

"Mr. Schue?" Rachel cut in, her voice quieter, more timid.

The teacher stopped, blinking and looked over at the diva. "Yes Rachel?"

"Noah and I prepared a song that I'd really like to perform… If that'd be okay?" All eyes widened at the addition at the end and Mr. Schue slowly nodded, processing the newfound timidness in the usually brash girl.

"Sure. Go ahead you guys." She nodded, sending him a small smile and stood.

Puck followed and gathered his guitar as the band came in, all dressed like the delinquent. Rachel sat down at the piano, softly running her hands over the keys and turned the mic to be just a tiny bit from her lips. The dread filled Quinn and she swallowed, leaning forward. Rachel looked up at the boys and nodded, then began.

I need some time just deliver the things that I need for now

Everything that I feels like a warm deep calm casting over me

And it's taking me to somewhere new

Quinn's heart fell into her stomach, her hands clenching as she listened to Rachel play, watched her eyes close and give way into the music.

If you believe that everything's alright

You won't be all alone tonight

And I'd be blessed by the light of your company,

Slowly lifting me to somewhere new

The boys joined in playing softly, Rachel's eyes slowly opening. The rest of the club sat in shock at the beauty and song choice, a song that not many of them knew or even thought Rachel would know. Quinn looked down, knowing the lines that were coming next.

Oh can you tell, I haven't slept very well

Since the last time that we spoke, you said

"Please understand if I see you again don't even say hello."

Please

Rachel's voice cracked softly at the plea and her eyes slammed shut once again as she pushed on. Tears threatened to brim and she shoved them back down, taking a calming breath in the pause that the boys played on.

What a night it is, when you live like this

And you're coming up beneath the clouds,

Don't let me down

All the love's still there I just don't know what to do with it now

Rachel reopened her eyes and turned to Quinn's as she sang, the blonde cupping a hand over her mouth to muffle a sob that bubbled up. Every eye in the room turned to the blonde, most widening slightly.

You know, I still can't believe we both did some things

I don't even wanna think about

Just say you love me and I'll say "I'm sorry,

I don't want anybody else to feel this way"

No, no, no

Oh can you tell, I haven't slept very well

Since the last time that we spoke, I said

"Please understand I've been drinking again, and all I do is hope"

The singer paused, swallowing and belted out the next lines. Quinn shook her head and shivered, hands gripping her skirt.

Please... stay

Everyone in the room was shook as she belted out the lines, so much hurt and sadness behind them that was thick was unshed tears. It ached all their hearts at the pain that she was going through and with quick glances to the girl she was singing to, they could tell she was feeling it too.

Please stay

I'll admit I was wrong about everything

Cause I'm high and I don't wanna come down

All the fun that we had on your mother's couch,

I don't even wanna think about

Rachel's head shook as she sang the lines, blinking away the memories that passed through her mind.

I'm not strong enough for the both of us

What was I supposed to do

The brunette looked Quinn dead in the eye, almost as a plea and the blonde couldn't take it. She broke down, the tears sliding silently down her face, as were Rachel's.

You know I love you

Whoa-oh

Please just stay

Puck joined in, echoing Rachel's words as the girl sang out the last line, the words echoing in the ears of everyone in the small room.

Stay

Stay

They continued playing the instrumental for a bit longer then faded out, Rachel swallowing and not daring to look up from the keys. Applause rang out and she finally looked up, blinking away the pool of hot salt water in her eyes.

"Rachel, that was phenomenal!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, jumping from his spot and walking over to his student.

She stood and gave him a small smile then glanced at Quinn. The blonde was near catatonic, the tears having stopped and dried on her face, a blank stare ahead with her hands cupped over her mouth. Santana was rubbing her shoulder and whispering something, which the blonde slowly shook her head to and stood.

"Quinn?" Mr. Schue asked, watching as the blonde rushed out of the room.

Rachel's heart clenched and she looked at her teacher. "Excuse me."

With that, she rushed off after Quinn, the door banging shut behind her. She looked left and right, the faint sound of another door shutting down the hall catching her attention. She quickly walked to it, shoving open the bathroom door and stepped in. Quinn was hunched over the farthest sink, hands gripping the porcelain tub like it was a lifeline with her head bowed. The door clicked shut behind Rachel and the blonde looked up, spotted Rachel, and quickly looked away.

"Quinn?" She asked quietly, stepping closer to the love of her life.

The blonde swallowed hard and wiped her eyes before turning to Rachel.

"You were beautiful singing that." She murmured, skillfully avoiding eye contact with the chocolate orbs she would lose herself in.

"Quinn…"

"I deserved it. I've been shitty to you. Horrible really, the constant back and forth with what I want…" Quinn took a breath, "The only thing I really know is that I love you. I hate the looks that people send us, I hate how I've treated you for years, I hate this fucking town. I…"

Rachel stepped forward, wrapping her tanned fingers around the other girl's wrist. Quinn looked back up, her breath catching at how close Rachel was to her. There was barely a space between them, their hot breaths mixing together.

"I love you. I don't want to lose you. But you have to choose Quinn, do you want me or do you want the approval of this stupid town? Because, I want you and I need you but I won't put myself through the constant up and downs anymore."

Quinn nodded, searching Rachel's eyes. All they held now was love, though guarded love. The blonde shifted her jaw and kissed the brunette hard. Rachel's eyes widened for a brief second before she relaxed, Quinn's hands slipping to her waist and Rachel's to the others neck. They pulled away the slightest bit, their lips grazing.

"I love you. I choose you." She murmured.