A/N: A credit to those of you who messaged me about the about face in Quinn's behavior...you've been paying attention. Ten points! ;) You have earned your fellow readers and yourselves a chapter sooner than I intended in Quinn's POV! :)

Halcyon (Ellie Goulding)

"How are things with Santana?"

"Good...I think that she is finally getting over Britt. We even called her this morning and I invited her for the summer."

"Wow...you don't think that it's too soon?"

"Look...if they are going to get back together, its going to happen and there is nothing that I can do to stop it, whether it's tomorrow, next month...or three years down the road. Frankly...I would like to know. I love her but I just can't afford to be strung along."

"And she's okay with you inviting Britt?"

"Sure...actually...I'm not sure."

"Don't get discouraged, baby mama...maybe San will be down for a threesome."

"Doubt it...and I'm definitely not."

"Don't knock it before you try it."

"There are just moments in life when you realize what you will and won't stand for and sharing what's mine...is not something that I stand for and as evidenced by the fight that I have gotten in with San over you...I think she feels the same way."

"If you say so."

Looking back on my afternoon and where it went wrong...running into Puck on the way home was probably the driving force behind everything going belly up.

Inviting Britt had been innocent on my part and if I had realized how much it would bother Santana...I never would have done it.

But trying to joke about a threesome was definitely a mistake.

My mistake.

Joking around with her was something that I always did...but I guess I underestimated how serious that conversation was for her.

I could easily sit here and be pissed about her hitting me but looking back on it...I had it coming.

She was being serious...talking to me like her girlfriend and I responded like Puckerman.

She couldn't see past her hurt and lashed out.

And when she recoiled and stormed away, I didn't do anything to stop her.

So now I sit here in this room feeling guilty.

I stood to my feet, resolved to fix things when I heard her scream.

My blood ran cold.

Suddenly, I was planning how to castrate Puck and where to stash his body...he had gotten under my skin and now I pushed her too far.

What now?

Seeing Santana curled up on the floor angrily scratching at her arm and clenching her eyes closed made my stomach turn inside out.

Fuck!

I walked past her and drenched a rag in cool water before kneeling beside her.

"San?" I whispered as I began to softly wipe the scratches on her arm.

"I'm sorry." She croaked as she laid flat on her back looking up at me. "I'm so fucking sorry."

I had forgotten about my cheek until she reached up and grazed her fingers over my flesh.

Flinching would have made this worse so I bit back a whimper and continued to clean the long scratches on her arm.

"Don't apologize...I should be the one apologizing. I messed with your head when you were being serious. I messed up."

Her eyes went wide with realization...and suddenly her temper was back as she bit into her fist.

I was pressing hard on her arm now and climbing over her.

"Get off!" She yelled.

"San please...I said something stupid while you were vulnerable...please stop fighting...stop blaming yourself."

I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

She was reading my face now and I tried my best to stay open.

After a long moment she sighed in frustration.

"Get off, Q." She said quieter this time.

"I'm sorry." I said again and then I watched her deflate as she pulled her arm from me.

She covered her face and took deep breaths as I straddled her hips.

She was counting now.

"San?"

"Get the fuck off me!"

I didn't want her to be pissed anymore than she already was and so reluctantly, I climbed off her.

Now what?

I was like a statue.

Seeing Santana looking so defeated...because of me...because of my stupidity made me reevaluate the way that I approached this relationship.

She was my woman not my friend.

She was a woman not a stupid boy.

I couldn't treat her like I treated other people who I had dated in the past.

Manipulation was something I could do deaf, mute, and blind.

And now it was coming back to bite me.

That's what that "joking" had been about.

I had turned Puck's words into a test and it backfired.

Now that I had confessed, I was forced to watch as she moved around me in a daze.

Where I manipulate...Santana calculates and that had always scared the shit out of me.

There is no feeling worse than knowing you fucked up and not knowing where you stand with her.

Sitting there watching as she cleaned up the mess that she made, I felt stuck and alone.

A whole hour I watched as she moved around the house.

She made dinner...she ate in silence and then she showered.

I even had to suffer through her watching two reality shows in Spanish.

But I would wait for her to be ready...in the meantime...I didn't want her to be alone.

Twisted, right?

I was dozing off on the sofa when I finally felt something cool touch my face.

Half asleep, I forgot not to flinch.

She had hit me harder than any other time in the past and knowing my skin, I had a bruise.

"Regardless of the circumstance...I shouldn't have hit you. It won't happen again."

I opened my eyes and looked at her cool expression as she held the cold pack to my face.

Should I speak?

How was I supposed to act?

"I'm sorry." I finally croaked out.

She took my hand and brought it up so that I could hold the ice pack.

"Keep that there until it feels numb and then take it off until your skin feels hot and then put it back on."

She stood to her feet and that's when I noticed that she had her jacket on.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have a meeting. Don't wait up...it could be awhile?"

She began to head out the door but then I jumped to my feet.

"A meeting?" I said as I followed her to the door.

"Don't harass me, Q. I need to be away from you right now...just respect my space...like I respect yours."

She went to push the door open but I stepped in front of her.

Her eyes burned through me.

"Are we over?" I asked as I brought my hand to her arm.

"When I get back...we can talk about that...about everything. No joking or manipulating. Just talking. Right now though...I need time. Please?"

There was a slight whine to her voice and so I nodded and stepped back, opening the door in the process.

"All you had to do was ask." I whispered.

She walked off without sparing me a glance.

This was bad.

Please God...help me make this better?

Please?

A/N: Happy is coming...I have two chapters to deliver and believe me...I will! :)