Quinn's frustration was palpable as she forcefully clinked the spoon against her cereal bowl. Her parents exchanged surprised and amused glances in response to their daughter's tantrum.

"And then he said 'cute name' and left, can you believe it?" she exclaimed, recounting the encounter with a mix of disbelief and irritation.

"Honey, it's been almost four years since you saw each other, and you're blonde now, and you use your middle name. It's normal that he didn't recognize you," Judy remarked sympathetically, casting a concerned look at her daughter.

Russel couldn't contain his amusement, wearing a triumphant grin that seemed misplaced, prompting raised eyebrows from both his wife and daughter.

"Dad, why are you smiling like that? You only smile like that when the Bengals win and they lost last week."

"Now that he's back in the picture, does that mean you're going to dump that boyfriend of yours...What was his name again? Rick?" His disapproval of Finn was evident, believing that the Hudson boy was not deserving of his little girl.

Quinn, rolling her eyes, stood abruptly from the table, snatching her cheerleading jacket. "His name is Finn, Dad, and you know it. You should try to get along with him."

"It's not my fault he can't stand a man-to-man talk," her father grumbled. "He literally doesn't know who our president is, for God's sake. He's not even a Christian."

"Yes, he is, Dad," Quinn retorted, rifling through her backpack for car keys and switching on her cell phone to check the time. It was 7:45, and she was running late. She still needed to pick up Santana and Brittany. "Well, I have to go, or else I'll be late. I love you," she called out before walking out the door.

As the door closed behind her, Russel's disapproving commentary resumed. "I'm telling you, Judy, that boy doesn't deserve our daughter." His wife laughed, their domestic routine continuing as they cleared the table.

"Russ, you don't like anyone but Isaac."

"You can't blame me. Even when he was eleven, he was the ideal son-in-law. He bought our daughter flowers every day. Gardenias, Judy, gardenias. Her current boyfriend can't even be bothered to come pick her up. Do you remember the first time we met him? He didn't even look at me when I shook his hand."

"You're a bit of an imposing man, Russ," Judy said, patting her husband's chest as she grabbed her purse and keys. "and you made him call you every time he spoke to you. Quinn's right; you should try to be nicer, no matter how much you don't like him. And also, stop comparing him to Isaac."

"Speaking of which," Russel's tone shifted, a note of seriousness creeping in, "do you think it's true what she said? That he didn't recognize her? She's very insistent that Isaac is faking it."

"They had a fatal car accident, and Isaac was the only survivor. It's common to suffer loss and post-traumatic stress in cases like this. I have friends in New York; I can ask them if they know what Isaac's diagnosis was after the accident."

"She's changed a lot, Judy, and I know it's partially my fault but I don't want anyone to hurt her. She doesn't even talk to us about what she really feels, and she barely talks about anything other than cheerleading or complaining about Glee club or her boyfriend. I don't want us to be the last to find out if something happens to her. I don't want… I don't want a repeat of what happened in Fairbrook."

"Hey," His wife grabbed him by the shoulders, offering reassurance, "that's not going to happen, okay? I talk to Maribel and Whitney from time to time, and they told me we have nothing to worry about."

"Hey, bitch," Santana greeted with a grin, sliding into her blonde friend's vibrant red Audi Q8. "We're swinging by to pick up Britt, right?"

Quinn, behind the wheel, nodded in agreement, restarting the engine. The pair lived close by, just a five-minute drive, making the trip a routine.. The engine purred to a halt in front of the Pierce residence as the missing cheerleader swung open the door.

"Hey, Q," the bubbly blonde chirped. "You can't even imagine the party that went down after the Titans lost. It was epic!"

"True story," the Latina cheerleader exclaimed, laughing from the passenger seat. "While you were on your date at Breadsticks with our lame quarterback, Britt and I crashed the Bulldogs' party."

"We were invited, not crashed," the blue-eyed girl corrected, her head popping up between the front seats.

"Semantics," The dark-haired girl waved her hand dismissively. Turning to Quinn, she continued "Q, remember when I told you they looked ridiculous listening to Taylor Swift? Well, scratch that. At that party, my eyes were blessed."

"What happened at that party?"

"It was one of the best parties we've ever been to. Everyone was so chill, like we stumbled into a parallel universe where the glee club, jocks, and cheerleaders all got along."

Santana added high-fiving Brittany, "Amen to that. If our glee club had guys like Columbus, I'd be the first one in line. You should have come, Fabray, seeing those abs would have changed the way you see life."

"Santana, if I didn't know you, I'd say you've fallen in love."

"God has his favorites; what can I say?" The Latina shrugged, opening her locker and grabbing her books. "Besides, I don't know any guy who can make pink look hot. This guy did."

"What's his name? To send him a bouquet of flowers," Quinn joked as they strolled down the hallway. People instinctively moved aside as the Unholy Trinity passed – nobody wanted to be the target of a slushy.

Brittany pulled out her phone, typed for a moment, and handed it to her. Raising an eyebrow, Quinn accepted the phone, only to be greeted with an Instagram story featuring the guy Santana had been raving about – Isaac.

Isaac fucking Hargrave.

The boy who claimed not to remember her.

The boy who was once her best friend.

She swiped through stories revealing Isaac atop a bar in a white cowboy hat and unbuttoned pink linen shirt while he drank from a bottle of rum and the crowd cheered him on. In the next one, he posed with a blonde boy and another black-haired boy, all sporting silver shield glasses. Quinn's stomach churned when she swiped again – Isaac had his arm around the Columbus cheer captain. The girl giving him a cheek with his hat on her head, and the boy looked visibly flustered.

She gave the phone back to Brittany, her tone clipped. "He looks like your typical frat boy– arrogant, womanizing, and a party animal."

"In fact, he's not at all womanizing or arrogant," Santana defended, hooking her pinky with the taller blonde. "We asked around, and they say he's one of the sweetest kids in the entire school. Sure, he loves to party, but he's a real gentleman, right, Britt? Tell her."

The aforementioned nodded in agreement, pulling out her phone to show a photo. "It's true. He kicked out a guy out of the party who tried to make a pass at stuck with us most of the night and introduced us to his friends, Jayden and Asher. Jayden is the blond one, and Asher is the dark-haired one. They have a music group—Sophie & The Boys."

Isaac strolled down the bustling hallway of Columbus High, his mind consumed by who knows what as he navigated through the sea of students. Suddenly, a weight landed on his back and before he could comprehend what was happening, someone leaped onto him, wrapping themselves around him like a monkey on a tree. With a surprised chuckle, he turned his head to find the source of this ambush.

"Ellie, I thought you had cheerleading practice this afternoon," he chuckled, adjusting to the unexpected load on his back. He continued down the hallway, now with the vivacious girl clinging to him in a piggyback fashion.

"I do. But I'd rather be with the boys and you.I'm tired of listening to my squad plotting how they'll snag a date with you, Ash, and even JayJay. He's my boyfriend, not the entire cheerleading team's boyfriend.."

"Jay is quite the catch. Can't blame them for trying." Isaac teased, his hazel eyes gleaming mischievously, and his curly brown hair bouncing as they walked towards the football field where the cheerleading squad awaited their captain.

"I only share JayJay with you," Gabrielle grumbled, her voice carrying a tinge of playful jealousy, as she gracefully descended from Isaac's broad back. "I swear, sometimes it seems like he's your boyfriend and not mine. He gets sadder when he's away from you than when he's away from me, and he literally lives across the street from us."

He laughed, wrapping his arms around the girl, drawing her close. "Don't worry, Ellie. I don't plan on stealing your boyfriend. He's all yours." He kissed her forehead before releasing her.

"You're mine too, and so is Ash. I don't want any cheap, double-faced whores coming near you," Gabrielle declared, a hint of possessiveness in her tone. She cast a disdainful glance at her cheerleading squad, who sighed in admiration at the boy next to her. "Look at them, they're not even trying to hide it. I hate them."

"Well, Ellie, try not to kill anyone while I'm gone. I have an appointment with Hannah now, but I can come pick you up later if you want."

"Don't worry, Jay is picking me up. See you at home. I love you," she shouted, watching Isaac leave. He turned around, a playful grin playing on his lips, as he formed a heart shape with his hands.

"Me too, Ellie. I love you."

Quinn sighed tiredly as she entered her room, feeling the weight of Sue's brutal comments about the new Columbus cheer captain. Sue had praised the new recruit, making Quinn's position as the McKinley cheer captain feel more challenging than ever.

After a refreshing shower, she lay on her bed, still damp hair hanging loose. She reached for her phone and opened Instagram, hoping for a distraction and maybe engage in a bit of gossip. However, a clumsy move led her to accidentally like a photo on the profile she was checking.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath, hastily unliking the photo. Despite her efforts, she couldn't escape notice.

Notification: ace.h_taylor has requested to follow you.

Another notification popped up on her screen.

Notification: ace.h_taylor sent you a message.

"Spying on me, Fabray?"

Suppressing a snort, she replied, "Don't flatter yourself; it was just a friend who liked your photo."

"Impossible," came the mocking response, dripping with mock certainty. "It was you, Fabray. Did they send the prettiest cheerleader in McKinley to recruit me as your quarterback? Because if so, I'm sorry to disappoint you." The message was accompanied by two laughing emojis and she blushed at the unexpected compliment.

"You're an idiot," she typed, biting her lip as she awaited his reply.

"I may be an idiot, but at least I get my team to score some touchdowns. Still, I'm sorry for offending your boyfriend but, seriously, don't you have anyone better?

Reading the message twice, Quinn wondered how Isaac knew about Finn. "How do you know he's my boyfriend?"

Isaac's response was quick, "I met your best friends at our Homecoming party. Santana couldn't stop complaining about him."

Quinn rolled her eyes, of course it had been Santana. If her father was Finn's number one enemy, her Latina friend was close behind.

"Don't listen to Santana. Finn is pretty nice when you get to know him."

"Nice?" he questioned, "Don't you have a better adjective to describe your boyfriend?"

"You don't even have a girlfriend. Why am I even listening to you on this?"

"How do you know I don't have a girlfriend?" he countered.

"You don't have any photos with her," When Quinn read what she had written and sent she wanted bang her head against the wall.

"So you have been spying on me, Fabray," he accused. "For your information, I don't have a girlfriend, but if I did, I wouldn't show her off on Instagram."

She frowned, "Your girlfriend would be a secret then?"

"No, my girl would never be a secret. My relationship would be private, not a secret, it's not the same, Fabray. I'm okay with people knowing I'm taken, what I don't like is people thinking they can judge my relationship based on a post or an IG story."

Smiling at his response, Quinn glanced away from her phone, her gaze fixed on the crystal gardenia on her bookshelf. She was glad she hadn't gotten rid of it, it was one of the memories of her that she had kept from him. "What's your favorite flower?" she typed impulsively.

"Planning on sending me a bouquet? But to answer your question, my favorite flower is the gardenia."

"Why?" she asked, unable to resist the curiosity. She had always found it curious why Isaac gave her that specific flower when they were kids.

"My father used to give that flower to my mother," Isaac revealed. "The gardenia symbolizes purity and sweetness, but in some cultures, they also represent secret love. My parents' relationship was the purest symbol of love I ever knew, and it's a good memory that I keep of them."

Quinn felt her eyes welling up as she absorbed his words. "Would you give your girlfriend gardenias?" she asked, her emotions getting the better of her.

"If she is the one for me, yes, gardenias are special. Regardless, I would give my girlfriend flowers. Why do you ask? Doesn't nice Finn give you flowers?"

"He's not the flower-giving kind, let's leave it at that," she responded, attempting to downplay the absence of romantic gestures from her current boyfriend.

"What does he do, then? I mean, he's dating the Head Cheerleader, surely he's had to do something to sweep you off your feet."

A wistful smile played on her lips as she considered her response. "He's there for me, supportive, and makes me feel safe."

The message was met with a pause from Isaac, as indicated by the three dots indicating ongoing typing. "Good enough, I guess. So, Fabray, what's your favorite flower?"

"Roses, I suppose. Classic, but they have their charm."

"Why roses?" Isaac inquired, his curiosity evident in the text.

Quinn smiled at the memory, "My favorite childhood fairy tale was Beauty and the Beast. Plus, Belle was always my favorite Disney princess. Smart, independent, and unafraid to be herself."

"Everyone deserves their happy ending, Fabray. Don't settle for less," She couldn't ignore the subtle implication, and a twinge of introspection swept over her.

"Yeah, well, happy endings are for fairy tales, Hargrave."

"Maybe, or maybe not. Why settle? Love is a language and maybe one day, someone will speak it to you in the way you deserve."

Quinn resisted the urge to write 'you already did' as her slender fingers danced lightly over the sleek surface of her phone.

"Someday you'll make a girl very happy, Isaac," she mused, her gaze fixed on the message. A pregnant pause lingered in the air as she wrestled with the decision to send those words. Just as she was about to commit to the action, a familiar ping interrupted the process – another message from Isaac.

"I'm really enjoying talking to you, but they're already calling me for dinner, and I'd prefer not to make my mother angry. God knows what a temper that woman has! Anyway, good night, Fabray. Dream of me—sorry, sweet dreams ;)"

Her laughter bubbled up, a melodic sound echoing in her quiet space. She could almost picture Isaac's mischievous grin as he typed those words, his playful demeanor shining through the text. The apology for the cheeky remark was undoubtedly insincere.

If you only knew I dream of you almost every night, she thought, her gaze drifting from the glowing screen to the framed jersey adorning her bedroom wall. Just as the contemplative moment threatened to envelop her entirely, the distant but insistent voice of her mother pierced through, "COMING, MOM!" Quinn called out.

She approached the door, a heavy sigh escaping her lips as she shut it firmly behind her. The door sealed not only her bedroom but also everything within that reminded her of Isaac, creating a barrier between the intimate space filled with memories and the reality outside.

Isaac entered the dining room with a grin that seemed to have a life of its own. The radiant expression didn't escape the notice of his family members as he took his seat at the dinner table. His father, ever observant, was the first to address the unspoken joy.

"What has you smiling so much?" he inquired, his eyes narrowing in a playful curiosity, as he settled into his chair. Isaac, caught off guard, felt a rush of heat to his cheeks when he realized that not only his father but the entire assembly around the table was now scrutinizing him with expressions ranging from amusement to sly anticipation.

"Sonny, leave the boy alone. It's clear that it's a girl who has him blushing like that," interjected his aunt Bailey, her voice laced with playfulness, causing his embarrassment to deepen even further.

"So there is a girl," his mother exclaimed dramatically, pointing an accusing finger at him, "my baby boy already has a girlfriend." Isaac squirmed, desperately wishing the ground would open up and swallow him whole. "Do we know her?"

"M-Mom, no—I don't have a girlfriend," he stammered, his face hidden in his hands, "Can we please just have dinner?"

"We're going to talk about this after we say grace," Sabrina asserted, casting a stern look at her eldest son. The family bowed their heads, "Thank you God for food, and family, and friends. We remember those who have no food today, and those who have food, but nobody to share it. As you have blessed us, help us be a blessing for others. Amen."

Isaac felt the weight of his mother's accusatory gaze pierce through him like a laser, a signal that the impending interrogation was about to unfold. Sabrina and Mason weren't his biological parents, but having adopted him after his parents' tragic accident, he found it simpler to call them 'dad' and 'mom.' He still remembers the first time he called them, dad and mom, his godmother spent a week crying every time she saw him.

"Soooo, who is this mysterious girl?"

Jayden, seated nearby, interrupted between bites of succulent filet and perfectly seasoned potatoes, "Blonde cheerleader from McKinley, right?" he remarked casually, his blue-gray eyes sparkling with mischief. "Blonde, green eyes. She definitely seemed interested in Isaac."

"Fucking traitor," Isaac muttered, shooting his best friend a disgruntled look. "Mom, don't get your hopes up. She has a boyfriend, in fact, she's the new captain Aunt Sue was talking about."

"Hey, language," Sabrina scolded, her maternal instincts kicking in. He reluctantly apologized, "Is she any good?" she queried, her curiosity now focused on the cheerleader's skills rather than his relationship status.

"You mean cheering?" Isaac clarified, and as his mother nodded, he continued, "Well, they just waved their white pom-poms, so I can't really tell. It was more of a blur than a performance."

"Isaac was sacked during the game," Gabrielle announced, butting into the conversation. Isaac shot his sister an indignant look; it seemed like everyone was against him today.

"That's true," Asher, Gabrielle's twin, chimed in, "but it was because that mohawked asshole made a comment about you, Gaby."

"Language, Ash," Mason scolded his son this time. "What was the comment?"

"I'd rather not repeat it," Isaac replied, his curly brown hair framing his serious expression. His lips tightened into a firm line. "Let's just say JJ, Ash, and I didn't let the comment slide. We tore them up on the field, although we didn't need much, considering the McKinley quarterback's incapability to score."

"Jay, you know I don't like it when you fight," Bailey said, looking disapprovingly at her son, who protested, "Mom, he made a comment about my girlfriend and it was on the field, football is brutal."

""Back to your girl," Alec began, looking at his godson who muttered under his breath 'she's not my girl,' "what's her name?"

"Quinn Fabray," The teenager admitted, a blush creeping up his cheeks. Jayden exchanged meaningful glances with his girlfriend and Asher. Concern etched on their faces, they couldn't help but worry about Isaac developing a soft spot for the girl, especially considering she already had a boyfriend.

"She's a friend, nothing more."