Author's Note: Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Rachel's sneakers hit the track in the rhythmic beat that she was becoming used to associating with peace, accomplishment, and tiredness all at once. She hadn't been running with the girls for a week yet, but here she was keeping up with them this morning on the track. They, all three of them in their own ways, had been pushing her because they knew she could do it, and here she was actually keeping up with them. Best of all, Rachel was keeping pace with the three best cheerleaders in the school when not everyone on the squad was.

Rachel glanced back and saw how some of the girls were struggling to keep up with the Five-Step they were running. These were the girls she had been made to be afraid of daily, and they couldn't even keep up with her on the track, somewhere they should have been more at home than she was. It was ironic in its own way.

Brittany reached out beside her and tapped her on the arm, getting Rachel's attention. When she looked over, Brittany just shook her head. 'No looking back at them', she was telling her. It was a warning. This was their world after all. She was just a guest in it. To make them look bad would have dire repercussions for all of them, but mostly for Rachel. She didn't want to start the new school semester by having the entire cheerleading squad angry with her.

Rachel continued her uninterrupted pace around the track. Four laps equaled about a mile, so it was four laps jogging, four laps running flat out. Jog, run, jog, run, jog. Five miles, five steps. To her far right, Santana was yelling at some of the girls, insulting them in the same way that she had Rachel. She had no idea how Santana knew so much personal information about the girls or how she was able to use it against them without feeling bad. Most of the things she was saying made Rachel hurt to hear them.

They were on jogging now and so Rachel did her best to tune Santana out and let her mind wander back to the night before. It had gone on to include more singing (from the rest of the girls at least; Rachel had stayed notoriously quiet after her song for Quinn), first from Santana's cell phone, then from Judy's CD collection. Judy, it turned out, was a county music fan as well as a Broadway aficionado and had a decent singing voice herself. Quinn, and along with her, Judy, lamented the fact that Glee Club didn't do nearly enough county despite the amount of crossover coverage it had gotten in recent years.

Sometime during their singing, talking, and laughing, Judy had shared the fact that Quinn took piano lessons as a child and was quite good. Due to begging from the other three girls, they had then moved their little get-together from the living room to the parlor where the Fabrays had an actual grand piano set up. Just the sight of it brought a shiver to Rachel as grand pianos had a tendency to do. She'd had fantasies, both romantic and otherwise, that looked a lot like this, though without the audience.

Quinn had amazed her, amazed them all with her ability. She started first with a rendition of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" that brought tears to Rachel's eyes, then blew them away with a cover of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire" that made Rachel… uncomfortably warm in… certain places. Talent, especially musically, was such an aphrodisiac for her, and Quinn was already… Quinn. Rachel really needed to get herself under control.

"Quinn, I didn't know you still played," Judy said. "Not that well, anyway."

"I stayed after school a lot last year when I didn't feel like going to Finn's, Puck's, or Mercedes's," Quinn said. "I would stay in the choir room or the auditorium and started playing around for fun."

"But… I stayed all the time after school last year," Rachel said. "Why didn't I ever see you?"

"I would… um… wait a little while after to see which one you went to, then I would go to the other," Quinn said. Rachel didn't want to be hurt by that, but still, it was sad knowing that Quinn would rather have been alone that be near her. "It's nothing personal, Rachel. I just didn't want to be around anyone. Playing piano again was kind of an escape from… everything."

After all the singing and Quinn's piano revelation, they'd decided to watch at least one movie before going to bed. Well, sleep, at least. The original plan had called for Quinn and Rachel to share Quinn's bed while Santana and Brittany took one of the guest bedrooms. Instead, they'd switched it all to air mattresses and couches in the living room so they could all be together. That had taken quite a bit to work out since Rachel said she could just use one of the other guest bedrooms rather than staying in Quinn's room while Quinn said it was fine, that she didn't mind sharing her bed. Also, Judy hadn't seen a reason for Brittany and Santana to have to share a room when there were extra, and no one was going to come right out and say they preferred sleeping together. The compromise had been them all sleeping in the living room which really didn't leave any of them happy.

They had ended up watching Disney's version of Tarzan, because Brittany needed something happy after all the arguing and Santana nearly always sided with Brittany. Plus, Rachel hadn't seen it growing up, calling it a "boy's movie" as she had been fairly dedicated to Disney princesses as a child.

She ended up crying in the first couple of minutes, going "Oh, no, the baby gorilla!" and covering her eyes, only coming back out once Glenn Close had started singing "You'll Be in My Heart". At the end of the movie, Rachel looked over at Quinn in the darkened living room and saw her wiping away a few stray tears with a balled up tissue. She remembered back to when they had watched Finding Nemo, remembered the blonde talking about her issues with her father. Why were Disney movies always bringing people to tears?

Sticking with the Disney theme, they then watched Beauty and the Beast before heading to bed, mostly because it was just the greatest.

At one point in their passing in the hallways as everyone got ready for bed, Santana came up to Rachel and whispered, "So how hot did 'Great Balls of Fire' get you?"

Rachel had blushed and said, "God, I know, right." She looked back and forth to make sure no one was coming, then dropped her voice even more and said, "I shouldn't even be telling you this, but I've always had this fantasy about making out or having sex on top of a grand piano. To see Quinn getting that… worked up, over a song, no less…"

"Yeah, it had me panting, too," Santana smirked. "Me and Britts are going to sneak away for a bit in a minute and 'borrow' one of those guest bedrooms."

"Oh, okay, ew," Rachel said. "I did not need to know that."

"Like you're not wishing you could do the same with your own blonde," Santana said, laughing.

"I… That's not…," Rachel started before sighing. "Be that as it may, I would never tell you about it."

"Hey, we're fam now, puta," Santana said. "If you ever pull the Ice Quinn and don't tell me about, I'm going to be offended. That goes for any lady lovin' you might have going on. Deets, bitch. I needs them."

"Yes, well…"

"Oh, don't act all high and mighty," Santana said. "We already have that position filled. And tell me that me and Britts, the thought of it, the fact that we're going to be in the same house getting all low and grindy… tell me that isn't getting you a little hot and bothered right now."

Rachel flushed and pushed a lock of hair out of her face, biting her lip before saying, "I think Quinn's right. I think you are becoming a bad influence on me."

"I knew it!" Santana said, walking off cackling on her way into the bathroom for her own nightly routine. Before she closed the door, she turned back to Rachel and said, "Don't worry. Britts and me? We're sharers. Just say the word and we'll give you all the fun-filled details."

"I… I… uh…." Rachel had still been stuttering when Santana closed the bathroom door.

Back on the track, back in the present, they were just finishing the Five Step. One of the cheerleaders, a senior named Christy, came over to where the Unholy Trinity and Rachel were cooling down, drinking bottles of water and stretching. Rachel had never talked to her before, but that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that Rachel had never been made fun of by her or had a slushee thrown at her by this girl. She thought it was Cheerio tradition. What was also unusual was the way Christy seemed to be staring at her as she walked up.

"'Sup, Chris," Santana said as the girl approached. Christy was taller than Rachel, about the same height as Quinn or Santana, but lean and muscular, with shoulder length curly brown hair if her ponytail was anything to go by. She had a very friendly smile, but there was something in her eyes, something about the way she looked at Rachel that reminded her of Santana.

"Hey San, B, Captain," Christy said, greeting each of them in turn. She turned to Rachel and smiled, saying, "Hi. Christy Gunderson. I don't believe we've met."

"Oh, hi," Rachel said, doing her big show smile and sticking out her hand for Christy to shake, which she did with a laugh. "I'm Rachel Berry."

"Very nice to meet you, Rachel Berry," Christy said, holding her hand a moment longer than was necessary before letting it go. "That name sounds familiar. Did you have English this past semester with my sister Missy?"

"Missy Gunderson's your sister?" Rachel asked, face falling a little.

"Yeah, unfortunately," Christy said, still smiling what, to Rachel, was a very charming smile. "But I hope you won't hold that against me." She looked Rachel up and down, appraising her, and said, "You're a fantastic runner. I've never seen someone that's not a Cheerio keep up with us so easily. You must have fantastic legs."

"You should see little Suzy here in those skirts she wears," Santana said, earning a blush and slap to the arm from Rachel. "Hey!"

"Well, then it's unfortunate it's so cold out here," Christy said, causing Rachel to blush further.

"I… um… yes," Rachel managed. "I thought it was going to snow. Harder than it did last night, I mean. Because… you know… it's so cold."

"It did snow for a minute there," Christy said, thankfully ignoring Rachel's inability to make a coherent sentence. "It was so beautiful. Though… I guess you're used to seeing beautiful things."

Rachel looked confused for a moment. "What?"

"Well, you do own a mirror, right?" Christy asked, flashing another smile. Moving on, she said, "Snow always makes me think of Julie Andrews singing 'My Favorite Things'."

"I love that song!" Rachel exclaimed. "It's one of my favorites. And Ms. Andrews is just so amazing in The Sound of Music. I'm a big fan of musicals though. And Julie Andrews in general."

"Me, too," Christy said. "On both counts. Who knew, right?"

"Christy, don't you need to go get us set up for practice?" Quinn asked from behind them, in full HBIC mode.

"Nope, the underclassmen are taking care of that, Captain," Christy said.

"Go supervise," Quinn said, voice suddenly icy.

When Christy started to argue, Quinn arched a challenging eyebrow at her, stopping her mid-argument. "Sure thing, Cap," Christy said, forcing a smile. Turning to Rachel, the smile went from forced to genuine. "Rachel Berry, it was a pleasure. I hope you enjoy watching our practice. And I'll make sure to see you around school. I look forward to seeing if Santana's telling the truth about those skirts."

"O-okay," Rachel said, blushing again and smiling back at her.

Once Christy was safely out of earshot, Santana looked at the other three girls and said, "Okay, that bitch just broke my gaydar. I do believe she was flirting with you, Suzy."

"Totes," Brittany said, nodding solemnly.

"What, no," Rachel said, shaking her head. "She was just being… friendly."

"No, no," Santana said. "That girl wants a slice of the Berry pie. I say go for it. Christy's one of the coolest chicks on the squad. And a senior."

"Yeah, but Missy's her sister," Quinn said. "You both remember what Missy said about Rachel, right? About how she should have 'finished the job'? The reason I got in a fight with her?"

"We remember, Q," Santana said. "Hell, me and Britts were there pulling you off the bitch. But that was Missy, not Christy. You've always liked Christy."

"They're family," Quinn said, crossing her arms over her chest. "How different can they really be?"

"As different as you and your dad?" Santana offered.

Quinn glared at her for a minute while Rachel and Brittany just watched from the sidelines. Finally, Quinn said, "I don't care what you do, Berry. Go fuck her for all I care. I'm just trying to watch out for you." And with that she stormed off towards the gym where the rest of the Cheerios were already gathering for practice.

"What's her problem?" Rachel asked as they followed the path Quinn had taken back to the gym.

"Well, Suzy, when you were a little kid," Santana asked, "did you ever have a toy you didn't want to play with, but then someone else wanted to play with it, and you didn't want them to play with it either because it was your toy?"

"No, I never had anyone to share my toys with," Rachel said as they entered the gym. "I would have loved to share my toys with someone."

Santana stopped, putting a hand over her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. "God, Berry… it's like every time you open your mouth it's fucking depressing." She removed her hand and looked at Rachel. "But you get the analogy, right? You're the toy in this little scenario, and our darling Quinnifer doesn't want to share you."

"But… Quinn doesn't want to… play with…" She paused. "Do I actually have to use this analogy?" Rachel asked.

"No, not really," Santana said, smirking. "I just wanted to see if you would say it."

"Ugh!" Rachel said half-disgusted, half-sexually frustrated, the memory of Santana's offer of details flitting about in her head. "I'm going to take a shower. Thank you for letting me use the Cheerios locker room."

"No probs, Rach," Brittany said. She reached out and gave Rachel a hug, pulling back and saying, "And I'll share your toys with you if you want. We can make a playdate."

This got another genuine smile from Rachel as she said, "I would love that, Brittany. Thank you."

Rachel went off towards the locker rooms to shower as Santana and Brittany joined the rest of the Cheerios out on the court. The silence of the locker rooms was nice after talking with Santana and Brittany. It gave her a chance to think, to reflect on everything as she showered.

To be honest, the idea of showering at school had freaked her out. Freshman year, it had been so late in the school year by the time Rachel got the picture that she was able to get out of the rest of her gym classes without failing for the year. Since then, she hadn't been forced to take any physical education classes, so it hadn't been a problem. That and her lack of playing any sports kept her from having to be completely naked in front of anyone at school. She wasn't really even comfortable changing in front of the other girls for Glee, but the feeling of being on stage had been worth the discomfort. Thankfully the Cheerios showers had stalls and lockable doors unlike the locker rooms in the rest of the school.

At least that was something Quinn had made Rachel feel better about. The conversation with her the day before had been relieving. It made her feel less worried to think that whoever had taken the picture had graduated and gone on with their life, taking the picture with them. Also Quinn telling her that the picture had never made the rounds to the Cheerios reassured her. It was just some lone miscreant that had laughed at her, not the entire team. Not Quinn, as Rachel had feared most. Not Santana nor Brittany. Not even Christy.

Thinking of this new Cheerio brought an unbidden smile to Rachel's face. Had she really flirted with Rachel? It was such a foreign idea that Rachel wasn't sure. She couldn't remember another girl ever purposely flirting with her, so it gave her pause as every new situation did. Noah had wooed her in his own juvenile way, buying her a slushee and showing off his muscular arms. Jesse had embarrassed Rachel and backhandedly complimented her in such a way that she felt insecure about herself and gave in to his, for lack of a better term, charms. Finn… Finn had never really pursued her, excluding when he couldn't have her. It was always on Rachel to do the real pursuing in their relationship.

Those few minutes with Christy had been exciting and new, but Rachel couldn't be sure if the Cheerio was actually flirting with her or not. She had called Rachel beautiful, or, well, she had alluded to it, anyway. The idea made Rachel smile to herself there in the shower.

Cutting off the water, Rachel grabbed a towel from the hook and wrapped it securely around herself before unlocking and stepping out of the bathroom stall. There, waiting for her in a very form-fitting Cheerios uniform and holding a towel was Christy.

"Hi, again," she said, handing Rachel the towel. "Santana told me I should come back here and make sure you had plenty of towels."

"I'm sure she did," Rachel mumbled under her breath. To Christy, she said, "I, um… I don't know if that's some kind of… code… or something, but I'm… um… I'm not…"

"Oh, God, I'm sorry," Christy said. "I just assumed with the way you were checking out Quinn that… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. My bad. Seriously. God, I've got to seem like the biggest lesbo stalker now or something. I'll just leave you alone, okay?"

She turned to walk away before Rachel yelled out, "Wait!" Christy turned back to her, and Rachel blushed, saying, "I, uh… I was going to say 'I'm not easy'. If you were coming back here for, y'know, anything besides bringing me a towel. I'm not easy."

"Oh, no, I wasn't," Christy said. "I mean, I wasn't thinking that. I think Santana was just trying to, you know, play matchmaker or something."

"It does seem like it," Rachel said.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Christy asked, "Can I be honest for a second?"

"Please."

"When I was introducing myself out there, I kind of knew who you were already," Christy said. "I used to date Jake in the jazz band last year, and he used to go on about how awesome this little Jewish singer was in Glee Club. He got me turned on to your MySpace videos. You're truly amazing, Rachel. I'm kind of a fan."

"Wow, thank you," Rachel said. "So the whole Julie Andrews thing…?"

"Oh, no, that's all true," Christy said. "I just like your version better."

"Oh," Rachel said, smiling. "Well, I appreciate that even if it does seem ridiculous to compare me to the amazing Ms. Andrews. Still, I'll gladly take the compliment."

"As you should."

Rachel bit her lip, not wanting to ruin this moment, but something Christy had said hit her, and she had to ask, "Was it that obvious that I was staring at Quinn?"

"What? Oh, no," Christy said. "Well, I mean, to me it was, but I was staring at you staring at her. You two aren't, like, together or anything? Are you? Not that it's any of my business if you are, but… are you?"

"No," Rachel said dejectedly. "It's completely one-sided." Realizing what she was saying, Rachel quickly said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. Not when you're being so nice and… flirting? You are flirting, right?"

"I am," Christy said, laughing. "Is it that bad?"

"What? No," Rachel assured her. "I'm just not used to it, I guess."

"That is truly unfortunate, Rachel Berry," Christy said. "And I hope I can make up for that in the near future."

"I, um," Rachel started, then laughed nervously, not sure what to actually say. She was sure she was coming off as stupid out loud as she sounded in her head.

"Can I ask a question, though?" Christy asked, and she was so sweet that Rachel was pretty sure she would have answered anything she said.

"Um, sure, yeah."

"Why did San call you 'Suzy'?"

"Oh, that," Rachel said, covering her face. The towel started to slip as she did, and she hurriedly moved her hands back to the closure of it. "Well, you know Santana has a penchant for stupid nicknames…"

"I do," Christy agreed.

"So, apparently the nickname of the day is Suzy," Rachel said. When Christy still looked confused, she elaborated. "As in 'Suzy Suicide'. It's apparently a song by this early 90's rock band named 'Spread Eagle'. I know. Charming, right? Don't ask me how she knows about them. I'd hate to imagine her just Googling the words 'spread eagle'." Realizing what she'd said, Rachel blushed and smiled, talking quickly to get past it. "Well Santana made us listen to it repeatedly this morning in the car after she downloaded it, and she's been calling me 'Suzy' all morning."

"Well, that's… horrible," Christy said, chuckling. "But totally San. How is anyone ever friends with her?"

"I know, right?" Rachel agreed. They paused again, just kind of looking at each for a moment before Rachel blushed again and ducked her head.

"As much as I would love to continue this conversation," Christy said, "I'm pretty sure I still have Cheerios practice out there. I'd love to be able to text you sometime, though, if that's okay."

"It… it is," Rachel said. "I can give you my number after practice, if you'd like."

"I'd like that very much, thank you," Christy said. As she started to walk away, she stopped and turned back to Rachel, saying, "Santana was right, you know."

"About what?"

Christy's eyes traced every curve of Rachel's body, and she smiled appreciatively. "You do have just the most amazing legs."

"Barbra, here, now!" Sue Sylvester called to Rachel through her megaphone. Rachel had been reading on and off, her book of choice My Passion for Design by Barbra Streisand. It was Ms. Streisand's first book and it was genius! Who knew that along with songstress extraordinaire, award-winning actress, and amazing director, Ms. Streisand would also be a New York Times bestselling author? Rachel had no doubts about it, of course, knowing the woman could do anything she wanted, but still. Though it had only been out a little less than two months, Rachel was already on her third reading of it.

Her reading had only been on and off, though, because Christy Gunderson was proving to be quite the distraction, even from Barbra. Every time she was out on the court, their eyes would lock and Christy would smile at her, and Rachel would lose her train of thought. Rachel wasn't' stupid. She'd seen Bring it On and knew what "cheer sex" was. And right now, Rachel was having the most intense cheer sex ever. It was almost "cheergasmic"… just without the actual ending.

Rachel put her book down and went to where Ms. Sylvester stood in the bleachers, looking out over her Cheerios squad. "You wanted to see me, Ms. Sylvester."

"Indeed," she said, not bothering to look at Rachel. "See, Babs, I don't mind you invading my Cheerios practice since Q explained to me that you're actually quitting Glee Club and no longer pose a threat to my position at this school. Because, let's not kid ourselves here, without you that pathetic little club has no chance of winning anything else this year."

"That's not true," Rachel said, defending the Glee Club, though why, she had no idea. "They were able to make it through Sectionals without me, and I'm sure-"

"Enough, mini-mouth," Ms. Sylvester said. "What part of 'let's not kid ourselves' did you have trouble with? I understand you're Jewish and therefore not a native speaker of the language, but here in America, when someone says 'let's not kid ourselves' it means don't lie to yourself. Or to me. Ever. I've water-boarded enemy combatants for less."

"I'm… sorry?"

"Apology accepted. Now, here's what I need from you because no one gets to sit in on a Cheerios practice for free," Ms. Sylvester said. "My Cheerios practices have been known to put cancer into remission, let alone full out, sneak peek performances like you're about to witness. So what I need you to do is to watch and tell me your thoughts on it, worthless as they may be. My perfect routine seems to be missing something, and I can't seem to figure out what."

Picking up her megaphone, Ms. Sylvester yelled for them to get into positions. It took a few minutes to set everything up, minutes in which she berated the cheerleading squad the entire time for not being immediately ready, but they quickly got everything together.

Rachel stood there beside Ms. Sylvester as they went through the routine: Katy Perry, BMX bikes, blue wigs, flaming hula-hoops, flaming batons, and fireworks on their breasts. It was everything Brittany had made it out to be, a spectacle Rachel hadn't seen outside of a circus tent.

As it came to a finish and they stood there posing, Ms. Sylvester looked over at Rachel and said, "So?"

"Well… I mean, it's amazing, obviously" Rachel said cautiously. "But don't you think it's…"

"Missing a cannon?" Ms. Sylvester interjected. "You know, I was actually considering firing one of my girls out of one."

"What?" Rachel asked horrified. "No! That could seriously injure someone!" Seeing the uncaring look on Ms. Sylvester's face, Rachel quickly put it in terms she could understand. "And it could have grave consequences for you. Best case scenario, they don't let you coach anymore. Worst case, you go to jail for reckless endangerment of children."

"So no cannon?" Ms. Sylvester asked, looking almost sad.

"Definitely not," Rachel said. Looking back out over the Cheerio squad, Rachel asked, "Doesn't it seem a little… garish? A little gaudy?"

"Explain yourself, dwarf-Streisand."

"Well, what was your first cheerleading championship win like?" Rachel asked. "I'm sure you didn't go into it with all these props and flashy distractions, right?"

Ms. Sylvester paused, a thoughtful look on her face. "No," she finally said, smiling. "It was vicious and bloody. I had come so close to winning so many times, and I just wanted my girls to win so badly. I demanded perfection from them, and their routine was perfect." Looking back down at Rachel, she said, "But that's old hat. Judges now want new tricks. Something they haven't seen before."

"I disagree," Rachel said. Seeing the murderous look in the coach's eyes, she added, "Respectfully disagree, of course. If cheerleading competitions are anything like singing competitions, the judges don't want new. They want something they've seen before done in a new way. Done perfectly. Maybe that's what you could give them. Like the same jumps and flips and tosses, just put together in a new way. Something exciting and daring, but without all the unnecessary distractions taking away from how talented they are."

"Hmmm…" Ms. Sylvester stared back out over her Cheerios, then looked back down at Rachel. "You know, I just may have to keep you around, Babs," she said, giving her a brief smile before her face changed back to its general disgruntled look. Going back to her megaphone, Ms. Sylvester said, "Q, Brittany. Here, now. Everyone else take five."

Rachel smiled up at her, but Ms. Sylvester sneered at it. "What do you want, a treat? Go away now." As she walked back to her seat, she heard Ms. Sylvester saying to Quinn and Brittany, "I've just come up with a new idea for a routine. We're going to take some of the things we've done in the past and make them into a new routine. But this time, we're going to do them even more perfectly. We're going to call it 'Sue's Routines 2.0'. On Monday, plan to stay after practice, and bring a pen and a notepad. Or some crayons in your case, B. We'll be watching old videos, getting some ideas."

Rachel went back to her book, sitting down and trying to get back into it when Santana came up the bleachers and plopped down beside her. "So… did you get enough towels?" she asked, devious smile etching her face.

"Yes, thank you," Rachel said, keeping her tone conversational. No harm in letting Santana stew a bit for trying to set her up like that.

The other girl's smile faltered. "And…?

"And what?" Rachel asked, keeping her face and voice calm, though a little confused.

"You tell me what happened, Suzy!" Santana said, pointing a manicured finger in her face. "Q already yelled at me for sending Chris back there, then yelled at her for going. Make it worth our time already."

"She yelled at you?" Rachel asked, looking away from the Latina to find Quinn had made her way back to the center of the basketball court, sat down in the middle, and was surrounded by other Cheerios. Their eyes locked for a moment before Quinn looked away. She was beautiful out there, even as flushed and sweaty as Rachel knew she probably was.

"Yeah," Santana said, once Rachel was looking back at her. "And don't think I haven't seen Christy out there cheer-fucking you to death. So tell me what happened."

"Fine," Rachel said, bookmarking her page. "She went back there and gave me a towel, we talked for a minute, and then I said I'd give her my phone number after practice. That's all."

"Well that's boring," Santana said, standing up. "You didn't even flash her or anything?"

"No!" Rachel said, looking scandalized. "I had my towel firmly tucked."

"Yeah, it sounds like it," Santana said. "But maybe, with a little help, we can get you a good 'untucking'."

"Does everything have to sound so dirty when you say it?" Rachel asked.

"It's a gift," Santana said as she walked off.

Rachel watched as she went back over to where Quinn was and sat down, taking a bottle of water from her. It looked like they argued quietly for a moment while all the other Cheerios watched, then Quinn walked off, clearly angry.

Rachel stared at the retreating blonde all the way to the locker room. She wasn't a toy. She definitely wasn't Quinn's toy. Rachel could have other friends, too. Just because some other girl was showing interest in Rachel was no reason for Quinn to get angry over it. She didn't want her. She wasn't gay. Those had been Quinn's exact words. It was a little hard to misinterpret that. And now she was acting like some kind of jealous lover? It wasn't fair. Quinn couldn't not want Rachel and still be possessive of her.

Rachel's gaze moved on from where Quinn had left to Christy sitting there with some of the senior Cheerios, Missy, and Missy's friend, Meghan. Christy gave her a smile when their eyes met, and Rachel returned it, offering a little wave, too. Christy's smile grew at that enough to attract Missy's attention who sneered at Rachel until Rachel looked away.

Missy aside, Christy seemed… interesting. Rachel had never known anyone so openly okay with their sexuality at this school besides Kurt. Maybe it was the fact that she was a senior and only had one semester left before she graduated. Maybe she was just okay with it in general. Still, Rachel couldn't imagine having someone like Missy be her sister and still turn out normal.

Rachel had English with Missy the previous semester and had come to despise her. Besides the bullying that she seemed to take over from Quinn when the Cheerio captain had given it up, Missy had also been openly rude to the teacher and the rest of their classmates. She seemed to think she was better than everyone else because she wore that Cheerios uniform. It reminded her of Quinn, in a way, or at least the Quinn Rachel had known before the pregnancy had humanized her. Thankfully Missy didn't have Quinn's creativity for torture so her pranks and name-calling had been rather easy to ignore. Even so, she wasn't looking forward to the coming semester if she had any more classes with the girl.

Thinking back to Christy, though, Rachel worried her bottom lip as she tried to read. What did the girl want from her? Sex? A relationship? Just someone to talk to? Honestly it scared Rachel to even think about. No matter how much she had been crushing on Quinn lately, she knew Quinn was safe to like. She knew, deep in her heart, that Quinn would never like her back. There was no chance of anything happening with Quinn, therefore it was all on Rachel's terms. Rachel could easily hug Quinn or talk to her or be infatuated with her without worrying how far to take it, how far it would go.

With Christy, everything was possible, and that scared Rachel more than anything. Maybe they could date. Maybe they could kiss and hold hands and feel each other up and have sex and get into a serious relationship and get engaged and get married and start a life together and buy a house together and have children and grow old together and… and…

Rachel paused, putting her book down and taking a couple of deep breaths to try and regulate whatever her head was doing. Stop, Rachel, she told herself. Just… stop. Talking to the girl didn't automatically mean a relationship. She knew that. It was just, what if it did? What if they did get into a relationship? And, then, what if Rachel attempted suicide again? What would that do to Christy? She couldn't do that to her. No. It was better to not let her in. She'd already let too many people in. Her fathers, Quinn, Brittany, Santana. It was best to just keep Christy away from her so when- if, she reminded herself, not when… if she committed suicide and this time got it right, she wouldn't have to break Christy's heart, too. There were already too many people in her life that she'd be letting down. Why invite anyone else in?

These thoughts raged inside Rachel's head for the next hour and a half, throughout the rest of practice, until finally the girls were going to the locker room for showers. Quinn walked over to where Rachel was sitting and looked at her, started to turn away, paused, then really looked at her again. Without a word, she snatched Rachel's book bag away from her and started going through the pockets until she found the pill bottle she was looking for.

Opening it, she took out one of the antianxiety pills and tried handing it to Rachel. "Here."

"What?" Rachel asked, looking from the hand now holding the pill to Quinn. She wasn't completely sure when Quinn had come over or when she had gotten the pill from her bag. "No, no, I don't… I don't need…"

"Bullshit," she said, taking the book from Rachel's hands. She placed the pill into Rachel's good hand and folded it over it. "Take the pill."

"I'm not your toy!" Rachel yelled at her, causing Quinn to take a step back. "You can't just… just pull me around by my string, and… and…"

"Rachel," Quinn tried again, this time voice softer. "Rachel, please. You're having one of your panic attacks. Please just take the pill, sweetie, okay?"

"I'm not your sweetie!" Rachel yelled again. "I don't… I don't…" Tears started to form in her eyes, and she quietly asked, "I'm broken, aren't I?"

"What? No," Quinn said, reaching down, grabbing the water bottle Rachel had been drinking from, and opening it for her. "You're just… going through some things, and that's okay. Everyone has problems. Me, Santana, you. Everyone. But you're getting better. Compared to how you were a week ago at the mall or running with us. Or even two weeks ago planning your… planning everything. You're getting better. Now, please, Rachel, take the pill, okay?"

Rachel placed the pill in her mouth, took the bottle from Quinn, and drank deeply from it, swallowing the pill and the water. They sat there quietly for a few minutes, Rachel's head leaned against Quinn's shoulder as she cried, looking out over the empty basketball court. Finally the girls started coming back in, heading through the gymnasium towards the exit.

"I'm going to go shower real quick, and then we're all heading back to my house for more movies," Quinn said. "Probably more Disney movies, if I know B. She does like a theme. So think about what you want for lunch. Your choice. If S says anything, just… I don't know. Punch her in the face." This drew a weak laugh from Rachel who nodded and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Staring at her for a moment, Quinn reached out and pressed a palm against the side of her face, gently rubbing at Rachel's cheek with her thumb. "You'll be okay, Rach. I promise."

With that Quinn left, heading towards the locker room. Santana and Brittany came back soon after she left, coming and sitting down beside Rachel. "You okay, Suzy?" Santana asked from her left side. Brittany didn't even bother asking, just reached out and pulled Rachel into a hug.

"I'm…" Rachel started to say 'fine', but stopped. These girls were her friends. If she could be honest with Quinn, she owed them the same courtesy. "No," she said. "But I think I'm slowly getting better."

"Another sad thing?" Brittany asked, letting her go. "Like at the mall?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, sighing and wiping at her eyes again.

"What happened?" Santana asked, bristling beside her. "Did someone, did Quinn, say or do-?"

"No," Rachel said. "It wasn't anyone. I just… got lost in my head, I guess."

"I do that sometimes," Brittany said. "It's a happy place full of rainbows and unicorns and ninja turtles and plants that smell like marshmallows. Sometimes Lord Tubbington comes with me. We go on adventures there together."

Rachel smiled at this while Santana laughed outright. "I'm sure you do, Britts."

Looking over, Rachel saw Christy approaching, Missy and Meghan in tow. Standing, Rachel excused herself and made her way over. As she approached, Christy said something to the other girls and, even though Missy looked disgusted, they hung back.

"Hello there, Rachel Berry," Christy said. "We meet again. And look at you, all fully dressed… unfortunately." As Rachel walked closer, though, Christy looked more and more concerned. "Have you been crying? What's wrong?"

"I have," Rachel said, answering the easier question first. "And… I can't give you my phone number. I can't… I can't be whatever it is you're asking me to be."

Christy again smiled that charming smile and asked, "And what is it you think I'm asking you to be?"

"I don't know," Rachel said. "Your girlfriend? Or… someone you can date, at least? But I can't do that. Any of that. I'm sorry."

"Is it because of Quinn?" She didn't seem upset to Rachel, just curious.

"No, it's because of me," Rachel said, shaking her head. "I tried to kill myself not even two weeks ago, and I… I haven't really even ruled it out. I'm clinically depressed. I'm on medication for it and antianxiety pills, one of which I just had to take because I had a breakdown thinking about our future together. On top of that, I may never be able to use my left hand again." Rachel closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm just… I'm a mess. Broken. You should just leave now while you're ahead."

When Rachel opened her eyes again to look at Christy, the girl seemed to be considering everything she had said. "Okay," she said finally. "You're clearly going through some stuff right now and I respect that. So how about, instead of me getting your phone number and bugging you by being all flirty and sexy, I just give you mine. That way, if ever you feel like you need someone- a friend to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, someone to date, all of the above- you give me a call. No pressure, no worries. If you call me or not, at least I've tried, and I can sleep okay at night knowing that."

Rachel stared at her for a minute, trying to determine if she was joking or not. Eventually she said, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"You're cute and you sing like an angel."

"That's it?"

"Isn't that enough?" Christy smiled again, and, wow, it was just very… charming. Everything about her was. The sexy, curly brown hair that was still damp from her shower, the piercing grayish-blue eyes, the way her jeans hugged her hips. Best of all was the open, warm personality, so different than Quinn's cold, standoffish nature. It was inviting.

Rachel led the way back to where her things were, and Brittany, who had clearly been listening in to the conversation, handed Rachel her phone. She got Christy's number, thanked her, and hugged her for an extra-long moment before Rachel and Brittany said their goodbyes to her.

"I like Christy," Brittany said as soon as she was out the door. "She's one of the best dancers on the team and is always super positive and nice. She's really good with coming up with choreography, too. Not as good as me, but I'm, like, super imaginative. She's too limited in her way of thinking, but she'll get better with experience." When Rachel looked over, surprised at that statement, Brittany explained, "That's what my mom says about her, anyway. We talk a lot."

Rachel thought about that for a moment. "I haven't met your parents yet," she said. "We should hang out at your house sometimes."

"Oh, yay!" Brittany said, bouncing where she was sitting and clapping. "You can meet them and Ashley and Lord Tubbington and, and oh! OH! You have to be on Fondue for Two!"

"I don't actually know what that is," Rachel said nervously. "But everything else sounds fun."

"You've never seen Fondue for Two?" Brittany asked, losing her enthusiasm and sounding a little hurt.

"Well… no," Rachel said. "I'm sorry. I just don't know what it is. I'm sure I'll love it, though."

"It's my web show," Brittany said. "Lord Tubbington and I interview guests on there."

"Oh," Rachel said. "Well, I would love to be on it, then."

"Great," Brittany said, smiling again before she pulled Rachel in for a hug.

After a moment or two she let her go, and Rachel asked, "So where did Santana go?"

"Oh, she had some stuff to take care of," Brittany said. "Very hush-hush, secret agent type stuff."

"Nothing that will get her in trouble, though, right?" Rachel asked, suddenly nervous.

"Only if she gets caught."

After practice, the girls all went to Breadstix because, after what Santana pulled off, Rachel apparently felt like she owed her, something Quinn didn't get at all. It was probably illegal, definitely against school rules, and if caught, Rachel and Santana could probably be expelled for it. Possibly Quinn and Brittany, too, just for knowing about it. Still, it was the best idea Quinn had ever known Santana to come up with, illegality aside, and it solved one of their biggest problems of the upcoming semester.

"Okay," Quinn started once they were sitting at the table with their drinks, waiting on their food. Rachel still seemed giddy by the prospect, bouncing up and down slightly in her seat and looking over the paper. Brittany didn't seem to be interested at all besides being happy for everyone else as she colored the back of her kids menu. She ordered off the adult menu, but the wait staff there knew her and knew she liked to color. According to one of the waitresses, they had some of her pictures hung up in the back. Santana was happily munching on a breadstick and looking pleased with herself. Quinn was just worried about them getting caught.

"Okay," Quinn tried again. "How exactly did you pull this off again?" When Santana started to speak, Quinn cut her off, shaking her head. "Never mind. I don't think I actually want to know. You know you could get expelled, right?"

"If I got caught," Santana said. "Which I didn't. It makes all our lives easier, and no one's the wiser. Lighten up, Cap."

"Yes, Quinn," Rachel said, copying Santana. "Lighten up. This is brilliant. I mean, she should definitely be expelled-"

"Hey!"

"-but still, it's a great idea. I can't believe we haven't thought of this sooner."

"It's because you don't have my brains, Suzy."

"The brains of a deviant?" Quinn asked.

"Bitch, you need to ease up." Santana pointed her breadstick at Quinn. "What were you going to do? Follow Berry through the halls like some kind of Cheerio secret service? Had you even thought of that? You couldn't get out of class early and be late to every class just to do it. And she said her Honors classes were easy. So I just bumped her up to our Advanced Placement track. Thankfully they coordinate the Honors and A.P. classes for situations just like this."

"Situations like this?" Quinn asked sarcastically. "Situations like hacking the school's computers?"

"Details, bitch. Details. Now we have all the same classes together for this semester except for elective, which she now has with B." Turning to Rachel, Santana asked, "And you're sure you're okay with taking art with Britts, Suzy?"

"Oh, yes," Rachel said. "Since I'm no longer going to be in Glee Club, it'll be nice to have another creative outlet to release the artistic soul that drives me. And if Quinn is anything to go by, I have a lot of catching up to do in crayon art projects alone."

"Still not a competition, Rachel," Quinn said, finally smiling, though, thanks to the memory of her My Little Pony coloring page. When she'd left that night Quinn had signed it and taped it to Rachel's mirror where she hoped it still hung.

"Yes, well. I'd still feel better if I could artistically hold my own," Rachel said.

"Here," Brittany said, sliding a crayon across the table towards her. "You have to practice. Just draw on the tablecloth until they can bring you a picture, too."

"Uh… Britts, I don't think these are the kind of tablecloths you can draw on," Santana said.

"Oh," Brittany said, moving her menu to cover up the drawing she had already done on the tablecloth. "We may have a problem, then."