I closed my eyes and sucked in a long cooling breath. My heart was hammering wildly. Every nerve in my body was on fire. For a moment I couldn't breathe. When I finally opened my eyes I slowly turned my head to look at her. Brown locked with hazel. In the depth of those chocolate moon's I could see it. Fear. She knew what was about to come.

"Why did you kiss me tonight?"

"Breathe The Pressure"

A gust of wind howled across the parking lot of the shady motel. Trees danced a slow rhythm, leaning back and forth with excitement. The large pale moon was grinning down from up above in victory. Rain continued to hail down with unrelenting force. Lightening scattered across the midnight sky. Thunder pounded down with an angry fist. Large droplets of water quickly drizzled down through the ceiling of the small motel room, falling into the rather large puddle on the carpet floor. A strong musky odor breezed through the room. On the floor a small hairy spider started making its way toward the foot of the bed. But neither girl took notice. Instead they were consumed in their own world. Layers and layers of tension quietly burned through them. Rachel silently withdrew herself to the edge of the bed with her back to the blonde. Her shoulders were as tense as a brick wall. Her big brown eyes locked on the article on the wall. But she wasn't paying any attention to it. She was lost. A shaky breath flew from her lips. Her hands gripped tightly to the mattress. She knew it was only a matter of time until it was brought up. But what was she really expecting? That the blonde would forget? No. She couldn't. And neither could she if the roles were reversed. What am I going to say? What the hell am I supposed to do? How do I even…. Explain this? Just tell her the truth…. It was just a moment. My emotions were high and all over the place. I didn't mean to do it! I made a mistake! I wasn't thinking clearly.

Was it really a mistake?

It has to be.

Why?

Because it's Quinn Fabray…

Behind the brunette, Quinn was eyeing the wall ahead of her. She was breathing heavily, trying to gain as much oxygen as she could to tame down her wildly beating heart. It did nothing to help her nerves. She was waiting for an answer. An answer that could possibly change everything. Or maybe nothing at all. The agonizing seconds ticked by like hours. The room felt smaller now and more compressed than before. Her hands restlessly wrestled with each other. She doesn't want to be here anymore. She wants to leave. I could make it through this storm. Anything would be better than this. Fuck I shouldn't have said anything. I should've just played it off. Forgotten it. What the hell was I thinking?

You were thinking that Rachel fucking Berry kissed you. And you deserve to know why she did it. Did you really want to spend the next few hours wondering why? Or rather the next few years of your life without having an answer? Well….what if it's nothing? What if I'm making this whole thing into a huge situation that's not even there? It happens! People kiss each other all the time. Random strangers…. And all that stuff.

It was obviously a mistake.

Rachel temporarily lost her mind for a few seconds!

A HUGE mistake!

But….. what if it wasn't?

Rachel finally managed to shift through her thoughts. She was ready. Or at least she hoped she was. "I-I'm sorry about that. I don't know what came over me." She started off. The brunette could feel eyes burning into her spine. A silent shiver ran down her arms at the sensation. She closed her eyes and swallowed down the rising bile at the back of her throat."There was so much going on. And I- My mind couldn't process anything. And it's like one moment I was on stage singing my heart out and the next you were right in front of me…. A-and I…." she trailed off. Words were failing her now. The brunette started panicking. FUCK….. Why couldn't I just say what's in my head?

Quinn held her breath. Her eyes were blazing into the back of the brunette. The smaller girl looked like she was struggling. The blonde watched her with unwavering eyes. She didn't know what to do. Her hands wanted to reach out and touch her. Calm her. But considering what was happening now she couldn't do that. It would probably just set the other girl off. So with great reservation she clamped her hands together and stayed silent.

Rachel blew out another long breath. She ran her hands through her hair before bending forward, her eyes focused on the ground. With a soft voice she finally spoke up again. "I didn't mean to do that. I was just so happy and grateful for what you did for me. But I wasn't thinking at all and..."

Quinn slowly nodded her head in understanding. It was exactly what she thought it was. She was just emotional.

"It didn't mean anything to me."

A loud weight dropped to the pit of Quinn's stomach.

"It was a mistake." Flew from Rachel's lips. It was too much…

Quinn shook her head and closed her eyes. She ran a shaky hand through her hair before slowly rising up from the bed. Her body faced the door as she crossed her arms across her chest. Somewhere deep down there was an ache she didn't know was there. And it was loud. And it hurt. A lot. She didn't know why it did. She didn't have an answer, but she felt disappointed. And most of all a little foolish. The blonde slowly began pulling herself back together. She didn't mean it. It was a mistake. A small amount of relief swelled in her chest at the thought. Imagine if she had said something else. Goodness that would've been a disaster waiting to happen. Hahaha fuck. As if Rachel Berry and I would ever… Yeah, there's just no way we'd…. no. Fuck no. Me and Rachel Berry? No. No way.

"Why did you?" Rachel asked in a low tone.

Quinn opened her eyes and turned around. Her face was a puzzle of confusion. Rachel still had her back to her but she could see that the diva was now standing. "I didn't kiss you." Quinn replied in a low raspy tone.

The brunette slowly nodded before turning herself around to meet the blonde. Her face was a mask. But her eyes told the story of the war raging on inside of her. Quinn gulped down the dry desert that was lodged in her throat. Her face was heating up and her heart was starting back up again. Brown eyes gazed back at her with the intensity of the sun. It was so strong that it nearly left the blonde breathless. She couldn't help but stare back. "But you almost did. You came back after me. Why?"

Quinn's mouth fell open. She didn't expect this at all. Now it was her turn to panic. Her mind quickly went through different scenarios on what to say. But none of them seemed to work out in the end. The blonde rubbed at the back of her neck and tore her eyes away from the girl before her. Why did she do that? The scary realization: Because I wanted to kiss you back… The ex-cheerleader sucked in a deep breath. "I don't know." came the lie.

Their eyes met. And Rachel instantly knew it was a lie. Quinn quickly broke the contact for fear of being found out. But it was too late. "You don't know." Rachel repeated in a soft voice.

"No." Quinn whispered out to the air.

The diva knew she was lying. She could feel it. She could see it. A part of her wanted to sit the blonde down and extract the truth. All of it. But then there was the other part, the part that didn't want to know the truth. Why? Because it scared the living shit out of her. But could she live with not knowing the truth?

Yes

I wouldn't know what to do if it were any other way.

She couldn't risk it. Neither of them could. So for once, they both dropped it and let it go. A flash of lightening streaked through the curtain of the window followed by thunder. The lights in the room started flickering. Rachel's eyes widened as she looked at the light above her. A slight chill ran through her veins. And then they were suddenly thrown into darkness.

"Oh shit." Rachel blurted out.

Quinn stood rooted to her spot. Her hands balled down to her sides. She was breathing hard. Her eyes were wide and trying to focus through the darkness but she couldn't see a thing. Fear was creeping through her spine. Suddenly loud heavy foot falls were heard from outside. Quinn quickly spun around. Her heart was racing. The footsteps continued getting louder. Instinctively the blonde slowly started backing up. In the darkness something warm touched her arm. A body. Rachel's.

"Omg…. Were gonna die!" Quinn whispered out in a frantic voice.

"No were not." Rachel replied in a firm tone.

"Yes! We're going to get fucking murdered in this SLEAZY ass motel where that hooker died." The blonde stated with a shaky voice. "What about Yale? Gosh, Duke, and Cooper! They're going to be so mad.."

At that moment Rachel reached out and grabbed Quinn's hand. Immediately the other girl went silent. A shadow passed by the window. And then the footsteps stopped. Outside their door.

Thunder rattled the room. Out of nowhere a loud bang erupted from the bathroom. Both girls shrieked and spun around to face the bathroom. They both clasped onto each other tightly. Lightning flashed illuminating the room for a few seconds. Both of the girl's eyed the bathroom.

"What the hell is going on?" Quinn rushed out.

"Shhh…" Rachel whispered. "Come on!"

Rachel tugged the girl toward the bathroom. Quinn started pulling away. "Ahhh hell no! I'm not going in there! A noise just came from there!"

"We need to check!" Rachel insisted.

Quinn latched back onto Rachel who was slowly moving towards the bathroom. Rachel quickly dug out her phone from her pocket and flashed it from the doorway of the room. On the floor was an old yellow dirty mop that had fallen. Relief swelled in the girl's chest. Until….

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Someone was pounding on the door. Loudly. Quinn screamed. Rachel buried her nails into the blonde's wrist. The knocking grew louder and more intense. "Were gonna die!" Quinn cried out.

"JUST GO AWAY!" Rachel shouted. "W-WERE CALLING THE POLICE!"

Just then the knocking quickly stopped. Both girls held their breath as they eyed the front door. The shadow at the window moved away. "Hey it's Bobby from the front desk. Yall okay?" the voice asked from outside the door.

"Bobby?" Quinn asked in a low voice.

"The fat guy at the front desk." Rachel whispered back.

"Oh…." Quinn blew out with a huge sigh of relief.

Rachel and Quinn drew a long exasperated breath. "Were fine!" they both replied.

"Alright girls, you got any problems just let me know." And then the footsteps quickly disappeared.

Location: Nameless diner on the outskirts of Jackson Ohio

Time: 2:07 am

The strong smell of coffee and food circulated through the small diner. Not many people were here at this type of morning. There were only two people here. One was a man at the counter wearing a long dark trench coat. His glasses hung off the tip of his nose. He was an old man of the age of 60. A small toxic cigarette dangled from his lips as he leaned over his empty plate, a warm steaming cup of coffee by his side. He was reading the morning paper and looked peaceful in his own world. At the other end of the diner was a teenage girl. Her face was pressed into her hands in a stressful type of way. It looked like she had been here for a while considering the dozens of cups at her table. Beside the girl was a large duffle bag. Probably full of clothes from what Quinn observed. She must have run away from home.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rachel asked with a heavy tone.

Quinn peeled her eyes away from the girl and back to Rachel. A small smile tugged at her face at the concerned look in the brunette's face. It was different than the usual looks she received from her. Most of them were usually full of anger or frustration. But this felt nice. Different. Like a fresh breath of air. It reminded her of the time they were in the hospital when they both finally broke down their walls. They had been so raw and emotional but at the same time vulnerable.

After a while Rachel lifted a brow and cracked a small smile. "What?" Rachel asked in shy tone unlike herself.

Quinn felt her face burn as she peeled her eyes away from the girl and down at the table. She shrugged her shoulders before glancing back up at the other girl. Rachel's face tinted with a small pink hue as she continued eyeing the blonde. "So you're concerned about me now Berry?" Quinn asked in a warm gentle tone.

Rachel quickly withdrew a small piece of hair from her face. Her eyes lighting up like a small camp fire. "No, of course not. That's why I totally didn't ask." She replied sarcastically.

Quinn chuckled in a soft manner before tossing Rachel a small bashful look and then quickly looking away. Rachel continued staring at the other girl. Something was different about the blonde. But she couldn't tell what. For the past couple of days since she took off from Lima she had gotten to see another side to the girl. One she had never seen before. She had gotten an all exclusive pass into the life of Quinn Fabray. THE QUINN FABRAY. The girl who had ruled McKinley like a vengeful queen. The girl who tortured and consumed on people's misery. The girl who was currently consuming her life in a number of ways. Yet, she wasn't that girl anymore.

She's a girl who is afraid of ghosts and likes photography and art. She's a girl who hates creepy motel rooms and loves dancing alone in her bedroom. She snores like a loud grizzly bear and hates being woken up in the morning. Rachel couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all. During her freshman year she had wanted nothing more than to befriend the girl before her. Back then, she knew there had to be a 'real Quinn' beneath that cheerleader composure. But as the years passed her hopes for the blonde were sliced, stabbed, slushied, and ripped away until there really wasn't anything left to believe in. But now sitting here across from her and witnessing what she thought was never possible. It was like hope being rekindled back to life.

She's just a girl….. She's just a normal human being….. Who has made mistakes and is now trying to make up for what she did. Just a girl, who has feelings, who feels…..

"How are you holding up?" Quinn asked, slowly taking a sip of her coffee.

Rachel smiled and quickly looked down at the table. "Concerned about me Fabray?" she asked in a teasing manner.

Quinn smiled warmly before placing her cup back down. She eyed the diva softly. "Yes, I am." The blonde replied.

Brown eyes quickly shot up to hazel. The smile on her face quickly fading off. She hadn't expected that. The diva eyed the blonde trying to see some sort of deception hidden behind those hazels. But shockingly she didn't. The blonde was being serious. Rachel's heart started racing. She swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Why?" Rachel managed to get out.

The ex cheerleader's smile grew wider than before. "We've been through a lot these past couple of days. I just wanted to make sure I didn't….. like freak you out or….uhh… you know make you go running for the hills or something."

Rachel silently narrowed her eyes in confusion. "And why would you care if I went running for the hills?"

"Because I want to be your friend."

The diva's mouth fell open with shock. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers. Everything in her mind went completely blank. Quinn watched as all the blood drained from the smaller girl. She looked like she was struggling to breathe. Immediately the blonde reached out and grabbed the diva's hand. Rachel tore her eyes away from the blonde and down at their hands. It startled the girl at how well their hands melded into one another. After a few more seconds of watching their hands she brought her gaze back up to the blonde who was staring at her with this undeniable warmth. It was a look the blonde had never given her before. And it made her heart swell up like a large balloon. Small tears threatened to come out.

"A-are you being serious right now?" Rachel asked in a low shaky voice.

Quinn rubbed the brunette's hand with her thumb in a soothing manner. "Yes" came the reply.

"Why?" Rachel quickly blurted out. "I-I've been nothing but awful towards you. And I sent you to the hospital and I've threatened you and I've yelled and you must think I'm the worst person in the world. Because I'm immature, overdramatic, and sometimes I can get over the…"

"That's not how I see you." Quinn interrupted in a low tone.

Rachel stopped her ranting and paused. "How do you see me?" she asked breathlessly.

Quinn cracked a shy smile before pulling her gaze off to the side. Rachel watched as the blonde bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair. Fascination worked its way onto the diva's face at the way Quinn was reacting. What was going on in her mind?

"You're a girl who's been through a lot. And through it all you've become strong and even more passionate. You're not afraid of getting what you want. You work hard. You're talented…" The blonde paused before bringing her eyes down to her lap. A large smile lit up her face. "You whip cream security guards and sing to old men on the top of bars. And you….. you- helped cheer me up at the motel. I mean you even went as far as removing those foul sheets from the bed."

Rachel started laughing. Quinn smiled, finally bringing her eyes back to the brunette. "What's not to like about you Rachel?" At those words something clicked in the blonde's head and her smile fell. Rachel didn't notice as she was still processing the other girl's words. Quinn slowly withdrew her hand from the brunette. "Do you really want to be my friend?" Rachel asked with the brightest smile.

Quinn swallowed. Her heart heavy with realization. "If you'd have me." She replied in a raspy voice.

"Yes!" Rachel replied, bouncing a little in her seat.

The blonde gave her a large smile. But deep inside her chest, loomed this dark feeling. A feeling that gave her chills and completely terrified her. It was a feeling of doom. And- was it heartache?

By the time they had finally made it to Quinn's house it was nearly 4 in the morning. The girl's entered the Cooper house with exhaustion. Darkness surrounded them as they both headed for the living room. Quinn flicked on the light and the entire room lit up. Rachel stopped at the entry way of the room. She watched as the blonde trudged around the room collecting all the papers from the coffee table. The diva smiled softy at the way the other girl moved. Quinn tossed Rachel a look. The brunette quickly looked away shyly. The blonde couldn't help but smile and shake her head. They had been playing that game for the past few hours since they left the diner.

"I should get going." Rachel finally spoke.

Quinn looked up and narrowed her red tired eyes at the girl. "What do you mean?"

"It's time that I headed back to Lima."

Immediately the blonde shook her head. "No. It's late. And you're exhausted. I can't allow you to drive in this condition. I couldn't bear the thought if something happened to you."

Rachel smiled warmly at the taller girl before casting her gaze down at her feet. "Okay."

Suddenly warm arms wrapped around her. The brunette quickly looked up. But the blonde's face was behind her left shoulder. Rachel's eyes widened with shock. Quinn Fabray was hugging her. Something deep inside melted. Slowly the girl wrapped her arms the blonde's back. She was warm. And she smelled good. Like lemons…. This feels…. right.

"Goodnight Rachel."

No words could form from the diva's mouth. When Quinn pulled away Rachel stood stock still. The blonde headed for the couch and grabbed the blanket and pillow from the back.

"Could you get the light?" Quinn asked as she plopped onto the sofa.

Rachel nodded wordlessly before flicking off the light. She slowly headed for the stairs before tossing one final glance back at the living room couch. She couldn't really see anything because it was too dark. A low sigh slipped from her lips as she made her way upstairs to Quinn's room. As soon as she shut the door she was suddenly filled with an endless amount of energy. She started pacing around the room trying to calm her racing heart. A large smile cracked her face.

"Quinn Fabray is my friend."

The diva yelped with glee and spun around wildly. She didn't know why she was so happy about this. But she was. There was no denying it. Somewhere deep down she knew she should've been a little more skeptical, maybe even a little cautious. But with Quinn nothing ever came out right.

Rachel glanced at the clock. There was no way she'd be sleeping at all. She was too energized and pumped. So she began packing her bag all while humming 'Anything could happen' by Ellie Goulding. As she reached for her brush on the dresser she took notice of a picture. The diva quickly stopped what she was doing and picked it up. Brown eyes locked on the picture in her hand.

In the picture Quinn was sitting in a field of grass, completely barefoot. She was wearing a red and yellow sundress. In the background the sun was setting, illuminating her entire frame. Her hair was down and flowing through the wind. However the blonde's attention wasn't toward the camera but at something off to the side. Her face was tilted back like she was laughing at the funniest thing in the world. A small tan finger lightly brushed around the frame of the picture, admiring it with great appreciation. She fell in love with the picture.

After a few more minutes the brunette quietly set the picture back down on the dresser. Then she went back to packing up her things, occasionally eyeing the picture every once in a while. When she finally had everything with her she headed for the door. Once she was there she paused and glanced back at the picture. She really fucking wanted it. Her mind kept going back and forth. But after about a minute of thinking it over she finally made up her mind. Rachel walked back to the dresser and grabbed the picture, quickly stuffing it into her bag. Then she headed out the door with her bag in tow and quietly slipped downstairs. Hopefully Quinn wouldn't be too mad at her for taking it and for leaving. Before she headed for the front door she casted one final look at the living room. Loud snoring lazily streamed from the room. Rachel smiled warmly before cracking the door open.

"Goodbye Quinn. Until next time, my friend."

Can you smell it? The drama waiting to be unfolded. Hahaha You didn't think it was going to be that easy now did you? Silly kids, tricks are for kids. Love it or hate it? Let me know! Cause I'm just getting started ;)