Author's Note: I just want to thank you all for the response that this story has gotten so far. It's my most reviewed story on , and I really appreciate everyone's kind words. Also, I want to apologize for how long this update took. University has been busy, and I haven't had much time to pump out anything past little smutty one-shots. Hope the update is worth the wait. R&R please!

Although it had happened amongst a fair bit of heartbreak, Rachel was excited to have figured out how she felt about Quinn Fabray. The feeling of being in love with someone, that little fluttery sensation that she got in the pit of her stomach just thinking about the other girl was something she hadn't felt in a long time, not since she had first met Finn in Glee club practice at the beginning of sophomore year. And while her flame with Finn had died out, she had a good feeling about everything with Quinn. After all, she'd had sex with Quinn a few times now, and there was obviously something there. While she hadn't been privy to the blonde's tirade in the choir room after she had fainted, she had certainly heard about it and she had been told that the ferocity likened the fallout that she'd had earlier on in the year with a certain enhanced Latina by the name of Santana Lopez.

That had to mean something, right? Even if Quinn wanted to pass it off as her being a good friend, that still didn't explain why she had awoken to the blonde hovering over her in the nurse's office, the epitome of concern. Rachel knew that she had a tendency to embellish things in her head sometimes, she didn't deny it, but even in this instance, the signs were far too clear for her to have made them up. After all, people took pod shots at Brittany every single day of her life for being somewhat dim-witted, and Quinn never ferociously attacked them like she was a wild animal trying to kill its prey. That had to mean something.

So, it was with the highest of hopes that Rachel walked through the halls of McKinley High. Her error from a few nights prior still weighed heavily on her mind, and she knew that she would have to tell Quinn about it eventually, but today was not the day. Today was the day for a different sort of confession, though Rachel knew that she had to wait for the right moment. She would have prepared a speech, but she felt like a profession of love was supposed to come from the heart and there was no way that she could make such an epic reveal of her feelings if she had written them down on note cards and dutifully memorized them the night before. That would kind of ruin everything, and what if something unexpected happened, like Quinn being so overjoyed that she kissed her mid-speech? Then she'd have to mentally debate about whether or not breaking the kiss and resuming the speech was more appropriate, or if she should make out with Quinn against a locker. She would rather just let her instincts guide her than her paranoia.

All in all, she had high hopes for this day.

Something else that would probably seem rather unusual to most was that Rachel had decided not to pounce on Quinn and tell her the good news right away. She was planning on waiting until the moment seemed right, when they crossed each other in the halls or maybe sat together after lunch, or maybe even after Glee club. She was just going to take things as they came, and if the opportunity presented itself, then she would deal with it.

And said opportunity did present itself at the end of third period, when the familiar squishing sound of someone leaning against a locker pulled her out of her happy bubble. "Hey you," Quinn smiled, crossing one leg over the other as she stared at her with an amused smirk. "Feeling better?"

"Hey yourself," Rachel replied, beaming one of her hundred-watt smiles that could probably be blinding, given the right circumstances. "I'm feeling much better. I really should thank you for your help the other day. I wasn't in the best of mindsets when I woke up. I was scared and you were there for me."

"It's no problem, that's what you do for a friend, right?" the blonde smiled, waving at a fellow Cheerio who was passing by in the halls. "Well, anyways, I just wanted to check and make sure that you were okay, and I'm glad that you-"

"I was hoping to talk to you about something," Rachel pressed, hoping to keep the blonde's attention on her. This was the moment, she could feel it.

"Oh, sure. What did you want to talk to me about?" Quinn replied, shifting her notebooks in her arms slightly.

"Well, I was hoping that we could discuss it somewhere more private than in the halls, actually. The choir room, maybe?" Rachel suggested, since it was across the hall and currently free, and they could close the door and shut out the rest of the world. It would be them, just the two of them. That was very romantic.

"Alright, sure," Quinn nodded, looking a little confused, though she did follow the brunette into the room, shutting the door behind her. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'm not really sure what's the best way to go about this," the diva sighed, chewing on her lip as she played with the hem of her skirt nervously, averting her eyes from the blonde momentarily. "We've had some fun times lately, right? We've grown closer and established a friendship, which means the world to me. I never thought that I could possibly be friends with someone like you – not because I thought that you weren't a good person, but we were from entirely different social echelons. I, well, am at the bottom, but you, you're at the top. Where you rightfully belong. Watching the way you move about the school with such utter confidence is… inspiring…"

"Thanks… I think," Quinn replied, chewing on her bottom lip as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. It was clear that she didn't know where this was going and she was looking more than a little uncomfortable. Better get on with it, Rachel.

"Anyways," Rachel continued, "we've grown rather close in the last little while, and I've come to the conclusion that you're actually rather amazing. More than amazing, really. The level of intimacy that we've shared… that's something that I haven't really shared with anyone else and I'm glad that I've explored that side of myself with you. And I feel like lately, my feelings have begun to change and I… Quinn Fabray, I'm in love with you."

There, she had said it. Rachel felt much better. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she breathed a sigh of relief, it suddenly occurred to her that Quinn was being very silent and her perfect, porcelain skin looked a little paler to her than usual.

"This is insane," Quinn finally replied, shaking her head.

"I know. While your relative state of speechlessness is really quite endearing, I must say that your reaction is not what-"

"Not that kind of insane," the blonde clarified, straightening up a little bit as she seemed to regain her composure.

"Oh…" Rachel mumbled, looking down at her shoes.

"Rachel, we're friends, but that's all we are. Friends. I know that we've been doing some things that seem a little non-friend like, but I did them because we were having fun and I was curious. That's all it was. I like boys. I like Sam. I – I'm not gay," she stammered, looking like she just wanted to make a break for the door and never look back.

"I never said that you were gay, Quinn. I assume that you're not because I would like to think that you weren't stringing Finn, Puck, and Sam along to hide your latent homosexuality. The correct term for someone who does things with boys and girls is bisexual," Rachel whispered, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned her head away from Quinn.

"Rachel… please. Look, we can still be friends. I'll forget that we ever had this little conversation and it'll be fine. We can go back to being like we were before," Quinn promised, shifting her books again in her arms, a nervous habit she had picked up over the years.

"No, we can't," Rachel replied. "I can't. I can't just be friends with you, Quinn. I'm not sure if you blocked this out, but I love you. I can't just un-fall in love with you because you want to be friends."

"Well, I can't love you. I don't love girls. I'm not gay or bisexual or whatever the hell else! I'm straight, and I'm sorry that that disappoints you," the blonde whispered, sniffling as she made a break for the door, even if Rachel wasn't going to stop her.

All Rachel really wanted in that moment was just to be alone with her tears. She thought that Quinn was going to be different. She thought that they were going to be different, but the truth was that it didn't matter, boy or girl, only one thing was truly universal; love sucked.