AN: So for those of you who were expecting everything to by nice and smoothly after Rachel confessed her love for Quinn while under the effects of the truth serum, I am sorry to disappoint. There's still one thing that needs to be resolved and there's twist coming up in this chapter.

Quinn should have been happy and she was, in a way. The split second after Rachel had told her that she was really in love with her, relief had washed over Quinn. But her guilt quickly resurfaced after her mind registered the fact that she had wasted so much time. And she still had to take into consideration that Rachel's actions were still being influenced by her love spell. Unfortunately, her spell book did little to offer any explanation on how certain circumstances would affect the effects of the spell.

But Quinn took comfort in knowing that if she had continued on with her original plan of being nice to Rachel then their current relationship status would have been inevitable. If anything, her spell had only sped up the process which was a nice way to make up for lost time. She dried off Rachel's face while Rachel did the same for her. She kissed her softly once more before getting up and helping Rachel to her feet. They walked off to class together with their fingers interlaced.

When they got there Quinn escorted Rachel to her seat and then took her own beside Brittany. The moment she sat down Brittany's arms were around her. The taller blonde squealed as she squeezed her. "Oh, the two of you are so cute together!" Quinn looked ahead of her, and based off the way Rachel shrank in her seat, she could tell that she had heard. Quinn couldn't help but smile even though she was a bit embarrassed herself.

Later on in the afternoon they found themselves spending more time together. Quinn liked it better that way. Contrary to popular belief, she never really liked being the spotlight; too much pressure. Everyone's eyes were always on you and there was always someone waiting for you to mess up. Rachel was more suited for things like that, being as melodramatic as she was. Quinn preferred her peace and quiet and had only put up with rigors of being popular so she could get Rachel's attention, if only in negative way.

She hated knowing that things could have been so much better if she had just had the guts back then to admit her feelings for Rachel, but there was no point in worrying about that. Things weren't great, but they were getting there and Quinn was determined to do everything in her power to assure that everything went perfectly. As they walked hand in hand through the park she paid special attention to her girlfriend.

Quinn watched carefully to determine what ill effects the love spell may have caused. There was already one thing about Rachel's behavior that had been worrying Quinn, but she had seen her act in a similar fashion when she had been with Finn. She'd just have to keep an eye out. Quinn kept up conversation as they walked together. They talked about a lot, from the past to the present and even the future. And Quinn learned some things about Rachel that she hadn't known before.

Like the fact that she had a collection of Care Bears or how she was curious about what it would be like to have a tattoo. Rachel even admitted to being the one who had picked out Quinn's corsage from Junior Prom. That was something that Quinn had already known about of course, but she hadn't comprehended what it had meant until Rachel explained it to her. Quinn found herself falling more in love with Rachel. She would have kissed her right there if not for all the people around them.

Instead she had to settle for squeezing her hand and a whispered, "I love you." Rachel whispered the words back and they left the park to find somewhere a little more private. The sun was beginning to set and Quinn had an idea. She tugged Rachel off in a seemingly random direction and received little protest. Rachel struggled to catch up as Quinn excitedly sped up ahead of her.

"Where are we going Quinn?" she asked.

Quinn stopped which allowed Rachel to get up beside her. She turned around and considered answering. She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered her options. It was hard for her to concentrate because the confused look on Rachel's face was so cute. Eventually she decided what she wanted to say. "It's a secret." Rachel didn't look too pleased and she pouted, but nonetheless she allowed Quinn to continue to lead the way.

She didn't complain or pester Quinn any further, but it was obvious that she was curious. Quinn had the urge to tell her but she didn't want to ruin things. She continued to escort Rachel along the way, walking down familiar streets that she hadn't been down in so long. It was dark now. The timing was practically perfect. Quinn could only that she proved to be lucky enough to get a clear sky. The pair ventured off towards the outskirts of town where they found a grassy hill that had a nice big tree on top.

Rachel's brows furrowed together but she was slowly piecing things together. Quinn brought her up to the peak of the hill. Above them were hundreds of thousands of stars, shimmering in the night sky. Rachel gasped as she looked up. "I used to come up here all the time," Quinn told her.

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah," Quinn agreed, her eyes never leaving Rachel's form. They sat down at the base of the tree and cuddled up close so they could keep warm. Quinn hadn't really put any thought about the cold, but she with Rachel snuggled up beside her she didn't mind. She absentmindedly combed her fingers through silky brown locks. "You're going to be a star just like that someday."

"I don't need to."

Quinn's hand froze. Her heart stopped. She looked down at the girl in her arms and did her best to not lose her calm. "What?" she asked, just the slightest bit of panic in her voice. Rachel didn't seem to notice, but that fact didn't help Quinn very much.

"I said that I don't need to be a star," Rachel repeated as she rested her head on Quinn's shoulder. She took hold of Quinn's free hand and interlaced their fingers. "As long as I have you I don't need anything else."

"But- but, what about Broadway?" Quinn began to panic. Rachel noticed.

She got up and looked down at herself disappointedly. "I'm sorry," she apologized meekly. "I just want to make you happy." Her words sounded so honest that Quinn could have believed that she was still under the effects of the truth serum. And for all Quinn knew Rachel just might have been; she never did get a chance to test out how long it would work. She placed a hand under Rachel's chin and lifted her head up so that their eyes would meet. The concern she felt was evident in her hazel eyes and Rachel was able to give a small smile.

"Well, I'd be happy to see you on Broadway."

"Okay." Rachel closed in once more, this time positioning herself so that she was settled in Quinn's lap. She laid her head back, her ear pressed up against Quinn's chest. Rachel could hear the beating of her girlfriend's heart. Quinn engulfed the smaller girl in her arms. She held her close as she breathed deeply through her nose. She knew that the girl that she was holding was still the girl that she had fallen in love with, but she also knew that she was different and it was her own fault. Quinn had been able to avert a crisis, but the question was for how long.

That night she read through her spell book once more. There had to be something that could help her. First she had gone through the chapter regarding counterspells. She had read through it before and had found nothing of any relevance but there was no harm in checking once more. Quinn carefully went through every page, but just as before there was nothing. Everything in the chapter revolved around things to be used to counter spells and jinxes while in battle or to cure the adverse effects of 'harmful' magic.

Quinn let out a bitter laugh. It was funny, in a sad way, that whoever had created her spell book didn't have the foresight to see how a love spell could be 'harmful' in some way. She was about to continued searching through her spell book when she realized that the solution to her problem was possibly within reach. It was a bit of a longshot, but the best option she had available to her. Quinn's mind was set. She would try to find out about the origins of her spell book.

The following afternoon she excused herself from Rachel's company in favor of visiting the bookstore which she had purchased her spell book from. Rachel had been disappointed but she didn't complain. Quinn was both relieved and worried about that. But she knew that if she succeeded in her mission then everything would be okay. She stroked over the cashier. "Hi," she said, offering him a wave.

"Hey," he greeted in turn. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Actually there is." Quinn pulled her spell book out from her bag and presented it to him. "I bought this here the other day and I've just been really fascinated by it, and I would really like to know more about it." He nodded in understanding.

"May I?" he asked, extending his hand out for the book. Carefully Quinn passed it along. He flipped it open and instantly his lips curved into a smile. "Oh yeah, I remember this," he exclaimed as she flipped through the pages. "I bunch of us read through this all the time," he told her. "Some of us even tried casting some spells."

"Really?"

"Why not? I mean, haven't you? Too bad magic isn't real," he sighed.

"Yeah, yeah. Too bad." Quinn let out a weak chuckle.

"So, what was it that you wanted to know?" the cashier asked while handing her back the book.

"Well, I was curious as to where this book came from. It looks so real."

"It does, doesn't it?" he agreed. "But there's not much to say about where it came from. All I know is that it was donated here a while back."

"Donated? By who?"

The cashier laughed good-heartedly at her curiosity. "Can't say off the top of my head," he explained. "We do keep records about these kinds of things, but it's exactly policy to be giving away personal information," he told her with a shrug.

"Oh, of course." Quinn's shoulders fell in defeat. "Thank you anyway."

She turned to leave but stopped once she heard the cashier sigh and call out, "Wait." Quinn spun back around. "I suppose that giving you a name won't do any harm. Just give a sec to check our records."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said as he began making his way towards the back. "Really though, don't mention it. I could get in trouble." Quinn laughed and made a gesture of sealing her lips closed. The cashier disappeared into the back of the store and was gone for a few moments. Quinn waited patiently, and after a few minutes the door opened and the he was back. He took his place back behind the counter. "So, I looked up and it appears that the book you have was donated by a Shelby Corcoran."

"Thank you so much. That is so…" Words were lost on Quinn as she fully processed what had just been told to her. Shelby. Shelby Corcoran was the previous owner of her spell book. But if she used to own the spell book did that mean… and if she was then how would she react after finding out that Quinn had…

Quinn suddenly felt sick. "Are you okay? Is everything all right?"

"Um, yes," her answer came out in a squeak. "Everything is fine. Thank you for your help."

Quinn promptly left the store and headed for her car. She took a moment to calm herself before admitting that her only course of action was to find Shelby and ask for her help. But she also knew that doing so would likely result in… bad things, very bad things. Quinn really hoped that Rachel's mom wasn't actually a witch.