Thank you for reading and reviewing! I apologize ahead of time if there are a lot of mistakes, I'm loopy but I wanted to get this out tonight. Forgive me. I suppose I should mention that there are spoilers for the Original Song episode. I used one of the songs Rachel sings. Hope you enjoy!

Part 2/2

She really didn't know what she had been thinking when she drove to Rachel's house on Saturday night. But that was the least of her problems because that really wasn't a big deal. She could have showed up and just claimed that she was bored.

But she had to go and kiss her. She had to kiss her a lot, like to the point of where her cover could have been blown.

Good thing she fed Rachel that practice line. That was quick thinking on her part, Rachel would be none the wiser.

The problem with the entire thing was that she actually wanted to kiss her again, and then some more. It was all she thought about. The images of Rachel on the bed below her were etched into her mind for eternity, she saw them everywhere. When she closed her eyes, while she was sitting in church, when she was at brunch with her mother, while she was doing her homework, when she was watching Friends before dinner, while she was taking a cold shower before bed, and even in her dreams she saw Rachel. She could feel the brunette's smooth skin beneath her, she could smell her citrus shampoo after the rain brought it back to life, she could feel her damp hair beneath her fingertips, she could taste the remnants of lemon tea under her lips, and if she looked in the mirror she could see the small red nail marks Rachel left on her back. Not to mention the temporary scars on her neck. She shivered each time she glanced at them in her bathroom mirror.

She was hyper aware of everything Rachel. But how could she not be when everything about Rachel was enticing to her? She found the spot on her side that made her squirm in laughter, she found herself smiling with Rachel every time she'd purposely squeeze it. She didn't jump off her when she heard the front door open after her dads came home, she didn't even let up when they knocked on the bedroom door to make sure Rachel had survived a night alone. She simply traced her lips to the brunette's neck and continued her assault. Rachel didn't stop her. No, she threw her neck back to give Quinn better access.

She knew that she shouldn't have nestled her leg between Rachel's, and she most certainly shouldn't have growled that they both remove their wet clothes. But they were uncomfortable and in the way.

The serious wakeup call to the entire thing was that she was this close to breaking her celibacy vow for a second time. And maybe Rachel was too.

God, she wanted to so bad.

Pardon her French, but Quinn was royally fucked.

She already had taken a cold shower that morning before school and she didn't know how much longer she could last being in public and around the brunette. She had no idea what it meant but she stopped caring the second Rachel beamed at her from her locker.

"How was the rest of your weekend, Quinn?" she asked once the girl got closer.

"Good."

Torturous.

"Cute scarf, Berry."

Quinn wasn't sure how she managed to miss Santana sauntering towards them but she was momentarily blinded, she supposed.

"How was your weekend?" Santana asked innocently but her version of innocent came out as seductive.

She only walked up because she wanted to make it clear that she wasn't giving up on her efforts of obtaining Rachel. It was all a game to her, and her text message Sunday afternoon of game on, Fabray pretty much solidified that.

"Why do you even care?" Quinn found herself unable to contain her anger around the girl when it came to Rachel.

"It's April and she's wearing a scarf," Santana turned her eyes to meet Rachel's before she reached out and pulled the scarf away from Rachel's neck.

The blonde winced as she caught sight of the bruising.

"Jesus Q, you throw golf balls at her neck all night?"

"Shut up."

"Berry, if I'd known you were such a freak, I'd have taken you that day in the choir room."

Rachel blushed and ducked her head in embarrassment, "Um thanks?"

Hazel eyes snapped towards Rachel's at her obvious bashfulness. The satisfied smile on Santana's lips was practically purring and she didn't like the effect it was having on the brunette. She was Quinn's. Well, technically speaking? She wasn't sure but she was still contractually obligated to be in a fake relationship with Berry.

"Rach, ready to go to class?"

Rachel bit her lip and nodded before closing her locker. She wrapped the scarf around her neck again and waited for Quinn to finish her silent staring contest with Santana.

The two girls walked away with Quinn's hand on the brunette's elbow.

"Do you not have cover up?" the blonde hissed lowly as they avoided the curious eyes of their peers in the hallway.

Rachel laughed humorlessly, "Trust me, I used cover up."

"How easily do you bruise?"

"My dad has called me Peach since I was a toddler."

Of course. She had to mark the one girl that could be bruised by the wind.

"Could have told me."

Rachel peered up at her, "Would it have stopped you?"

Was Berry flirting with her?

Chills.

Quinn shook her head, "Whatever, just- just be careful around Santana. She's determined now."

"I'm a big girl, Quinn. I can take care of myself."

She pursed her lips and nodded, "Right. I'll see you at glee."

By the end of the day, everyone knew about Rachel's camouflaged looking neck and where she got it from. Quinn glared at anyone that attempted to open their mouth and Rachel was thankful. Not only did the glee club know but just about the entire school knew as well, and that changed everything.

The only part of the plan that was still in working order was the fact that Santana was pursuing her left and right. She really didn't care about Finn anymore, especially after he'd made quite the scene in glee that day.

"You guys just love to hurt me!"

"Oh shut up already, Beanstalk," Santana shot back at him, "Just 'cause you don't know how to satisfy a woman doesn't mean you need to get your panties in a twist over this. Berry likes what she likes," she threw a taunting smile and blew her a kiss from across the room.

Rachel felt Quinn shift closer from the chair next to her.

"Can we please get back on track here?" the blonde pleaded with the glee instructor.

Puckerman nodded arrogantly with a smirk, "Yeah, the faster we finish this, the faster Quinn can go home and mount Berry."

Rachel scoffed as she turned around to reprimand him but found Lauren bumping his fist.

"Good one, babe."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she turned around in her chair, utterly ticked off that they were making such a joke of it.

"Enough guys, Quinn's right. We need to gear up for Regionals, any song ideas?"

"We're doing an original song," Quinn stated and Rachel shot her a confused look.

"What are you doing?" she leaned over and whispered.

Quinn put her hand on the girl's thigh to still her, "It's our best shot at winning. Rachel's an incredible songwriter and we deserve to lose if we don't utilize her talents."

"Everyone voted and we already decided—"

"Vote again."

Rachel watched intently as Schuester let out a defeated sigh.

"All those in favor?"

The brunette watched with pride beating in sync with her heart as Quinn glared at every single one of the members until they raised their hands.

She turned back to the teacher, "There. Problem solved," she spoke too sweet to be genuine.

"Okay, I guess we're doing an original song then... Rachel?"

"I'm already on it, Mr. Schuester," she beamed before standing up and turning to the rest of her peers, "I'd like to thank all of you for having faith in me."

"Like we had a choice," Santana muttered under her breath.

Quinn was livid.

She was having serious sex dreams about Rachel Berry that kept her up half the night, and she neglected to do her English essay questions which the teacher happened to choose that day to collect. Not only that but as she walked towards her locker before lunch, she saw Santana leaning against the locker that was normally reserved for Quinn's shoulder.

She had to stop getting so jealous over the littlest things when it came to Santana. It was exactly what the girl wanted from her.

Easier said than done.

She threw her books in her locker and slammed the metal door closed before walking up to the pair. She entirely ignored Santana and stepped in between them to give Rachel a lingering kiss. Catcalls be damned. She would show Santana.

Quinn kissed her until she felt the girl leave their presence and pulled back slightly before punctuating their innocent make-out with a chaste peck.

"What was that?" Rachel asked, covering her lips with her hand as she spoke to Quinn.

"Everyone already thinks something is going on, we want to make it believable right?"

Rachel nodded slowly, and Quinn hoped that the girl couldn't see right through her motives. Just like at the bowling alley, or in the middle of the rain, she just couldn't help herself.

The blonde was losing her grip on reality, and fast. She had no idea what her end game was anymore. She went from wanting Sam back, to wanting Santana to be humiliated, to wanting Santana to know she couldn't touch Rachel, to just wanting Rachel. She wasn't even sure if her actions fell within the objectives of their drawn out game plan.

She smiled as she saw Rachel finally drop her hand away from her mouth and let a smile cross her features.

"Walk me to lunch?"

Quinn nodded before shutting the brunette's locker for her.

Her momentary giddiness came to an abrupt end when she realized she had to leave Rachel's side so she could sit at her own lunch table.

Santana was smiling sweetly from across the table.

"Desperate much?"

It was safe to say that Quinn would sit with Rachel the following day.

Rachel was dizzy from the run around. She felt like she was in a heated tug-of-war match except she was the rope in the situation. Quinn was being all too obvious with her jealousy whenever Santana made an appearance.

And Santana was relentless.

And so was Quinn.

Rachel would be lying if she said that she didn't love the attention she was getting. As far as the rest of the school was concerned, they were a real couple. They acted like they were dating, they laughed with each other, held hands, and even shared the occasional kiss in the hallway between classes.

It was almost too good to be true but there was one thing Rachel noticed that the other kids would never realize. The only time Quinn would do those things was when Santana was within a 50 foot radius.

Rachel had come to terms with the fact that she was crushing on Quinn. It was impossible not to. Not only was she attractive but she was protective. And not in a Finn-possessive cover up your body insecure kind of way but in a I'd simply die if something bad happened to you kind of way. She started showing up randomly outside of Rachel's classrooms to walk her to her next class.

The brunette glanced down at their intertwined hands and frowned.

Two things were wrong and it took Rachel nearly 5 class periods to realize it.

They never intertwined their fingers, always cupped. It was innocent and not too intimate.

And maybe the biggest indication that Quinn was completely losing her grip on reality was that Santana hadn't even been in school that day. They were putting on a show for nothing.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?"

"We're holding hands," Rachel pointed out unnecessary.

Quinn peered down at the brunette with a confused smile, "Yeah?"

"Santana skipped today."

The smile dropped from the blonde's face and Rachel bit her lip not to react.

The blonde cleared her throat and faced forward, "I'm sure someone will let her know."

Rachel nodded and while she wanted to push the subject, she let it drop and went back to smiling softly to herself.

Crap.

Quinn was being entirely too touchy with Rachel recently and most of the time her excuses didn't even make sense. It's not like Santana would ever find out that Quinn kissed Rachel on the cheek in the bathroom before glee every day, or that she went to the brunette's house the night before to help her write the original song.

More importantly, when was she going to stop using Santana as a scapegoat?

She was actually kind of thankful that Santana was non-stop pursuing the brunette because it gave her a reason to never let Rachel out of her sight. But Rachel was starting to catch on and the blonde knew it was only a matter of time before she called her out on it.

"When are we going to move onto the next stage of our plan?" Rachel asked from her spot on Quinn's bed.

What plan?

The blonde shook her head, "What's the next stage of our plan again?"

"When I give into Santana's seducing."

Quinn felt her mouth go dry while her heart dropped into her stomach.

"I think the longer we keep you from her, the better," it didn't even make sense anymore, "so we can crush her." the blonde added.

Rachel nodded slowly and Quinn felt guilty that the girl still didn't know Santana was more than willing to make out with her. And the figurative—sometimes literal—arm that Quinn had around Rachel's lower back was probably only increasing the want. The blonde was digging her own grave. It wouldn't be long before the plan was over and Santana would win.

Quinn tried to forget the fact that at the end of the day, Rachel was using her for something.

"It's getting harder and harder to resist her," Rachel said softly, almost shyly.

Quinn stood up from her desk chair and dragged her bare feet across the dark carpet until she was close enough to lay on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

Rachel shrugged and turned away from the blonde, "I don't know, it's Santana, she's quite persuasive when she wants to be."

"What has she been saying?" Quinn spoke slowly so her emotions wouldn't be too obvious.

"Just stuff…" she trailed off much to the blonde's dismay.

That was the one downside. Both Rachel and Santana had the same free period at the end of the day while Quinn was stuck in her math class on the third floor. There was no way to know what the two were up to or even if they were together during that time. Rachel never talked about it and it was clear that she wasn't going to delve into the details regarding her and Santana's conversations.

Quinn hated it.

"I do love the attention."

The blonde swallowed thickly and inched closer to the brunette that was sitting Indian style on the bed.

Her voice dropped, "What about the attention I give you?"

Rachel's eyes scanned the blonde's hopeful expression before settling on the girl's lips. She laughed softly to herself before glancing away.

"What about it? It's only for show."

No, it's not, the blonde wanted to scream but she settled for pressing her lips together to form a pout as Rachel played with her hands.

Quinn swallowed again and tried to move closer. Rachel felt her getting closer and turned to look at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Quinn replied through a whisper as her lips grazed Rachel's.

Her eyes slid shut as she felt Rachel respond and one of her hands went up to cup the brunette's cheek.

Except she lost her balance and knocked into the brunette, causing her to fall backwards. Rachel threw her arms around the blonde's neck and pulled her down with her.

Quinn laughed into her mouth but continued to kiss her as if she wasn't acknowledging the fact that she was falling for Rachel Berry.

Rachel huffed as she mindlessly played with the cap of her water bottle. Quinn was driving her nuts.

"Why don't you want to go to the movie with me?" Rachel asked.

"Because Rachel, I don't want to see that movie."

"Well, why not?"

"Because it looks stupid."

"I want you to take me on a date."

Quinn froze, "A date?"

"Is that so much to ask?"

"Kind of," Quinn shrugged

"Is it not convenient for you, or something?" Rachel fired back.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're jealous of Santana, admit it."

The blonde scoffed, "I'm absolutely not jealous of Santana."

"You're threatened by her and you only show affection towards me when she's around."

Quinn's eyebrows shot up to her hair line before her eyes narrowed at the fuming brunette, "Can we not talk about this right now?" she glanced at the slack jawed glee kids who were sitting at the lunch table with them.

"I think this is the perfect time," Rachel argued, "Why isn't this a good time for you?"

Quinn leaned forward with a low hiss, "Because we are in the middle of a crowded cafeteria, that's why."

"Fine. You stay here with your crowded cafeteria," Rachel replied as she stood up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Quinn reached across to try and grab her hand before she completely backed away from the table.

"I'm going to the auditorium to sing."

Quinn began to stand from the table as well to join her and figure out why the brunette was lashing out on her.

Though, she had a pretty good idea.

"Don't follow me," Rachel glared at her before executing the classic Berry storm out.

Quinn sat back down and ran a hand through her hair before she banged her head against the top of the table a few times.

"Quinn, you okay?"

"I'm fine." The blonde snapped and no one bothered her the rest of the period.

Quinn was tired.

She barely slept the night before.

It was also literally exhausting trying to keep her emotions in check when it came to the brunette that had been ignoring her for over 24 hours.

Her texts were met with one-word responses, her phone call attempts went to voice mail after 2 rings, and Rachel sat on the opposite side of the choir room the day before.

Rachel seemed to accept whatever apology Quinn threw at her but she wasn't acting like she accepted it.

She was being cordial and Quinn hated it.

"So what are you doing this Saturday?" Santana asked, too casual to not have something up her sleeve.

Quinn shut her locker and whirled around to greet the girl, "Hanging out with Rachel."

Quinn was determined to win the brunette back over once they had time to actually discuss why Rachel was so upset with her the day before.

Santana's eyes sparkled mischievously, "Before or after my date with her?"

"Excuse me?"

Quinn really wasn't in the mood for Santana's stupid games.

"Oh, she didn't tell you? That's weird. I'm taking Berry out on Saturday."

Quinn saw red as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth to keep from screaming. She knew Santana enjoyed the reactions she could pull out of the blonde.

Santana liked to play chess with her. Backing her into corners, forcing her to play the obvious move, luring her to exactly where she wanted her. Quinn refused to let her win.

"What are you doing with her? We both know you're not really interested," Quinn replied, attempting to remain as calm as possible.

Santana shrugged before inspecting her nails, "I like a challenge and she's certainly been playing enough hard to get with me."

Quinn scoffed, "She won't touch you."

Santana tilted her head in contemplation for a few seconds, "She seemed pretty excited about it."

Quinn rolled her eyes, "She's excited for just about everything."

"Wonder why she didn't tell you then."

"I haven't seen her since lunch."

Rachel had assured her that she didn't need any help walking to class and they parted ways after spending a nearly silent lunch period in the café. Quinn was the only one that was talking.

Santana smirked evilly, "I asked her yesterday."

Check mate.

Quinn had absolutely nothing.

"Face it, Fabray, she's clearly over this scheme with you. That little fight you had in the cafeteria clearly should tell you something. She wants stability and a relationship, she's not going to waste her time with your denial."

She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and she was just about at full capacity, "Did she tell you that?"

"More or less."

"It's not like you could give her stability," Her insults sounded pathetic without the usual bite to them.

She just sounded like someone who'd lost everything in their life.

"She seems to enjoy our daily talks, she's probably in the auditorium right now setting up one of her lame picnics for us."

"You're lying."

Santana pushed off the locker and smiled before nodding down the hallway, "See for yourself."

Quinn shook her head, "I trust her."

"Why? What has she ever done to make you trust her? She told Finn about Beth, she lies and schemes until she gets her way. Run Joey Run fiasco 2010? You think she wasn't getting something out of you and Sam winning that duets competition? Oh, and what's she doing right now? Using you. Great girl you've got there, Q. I doubt I'll feel any guilt when I take her innocence."

"Just, stop talking."

"I mean, seriously? I tried to warn you, Q. She's not going to stop until she gets what she wants," Santana leaned forward, "And she wantz to get her mack on with me."

Quinn slammed the side of her fist against the locker, "I said, shut up."

If Santana had been startled by Quinn's sudden outburst, she didn't show it, "Ask her what she's doing on Saturday."

She hated that Santana was right.

Rachel was unfolding a red blanket from a small picnic basket by the time Quinn was able to get to the auditorium. Math class be damned.

She ignored the betrayal settling into her chest and decided to remain calm.

"Hey, so I was thinking," Quinn started as she sat at the piano bench, "What are you doing Saturday night? I thought we could see that movie you were talking about."

"I thought you said it looked stupid," Rachel reminded her bitterly.

"Yeah but, I could probably manage to sit through it, and you really wanted to go."

Rachel sighed and shook her head, "It's quite alright Quinn, I wouldn't want to subject you to the torture of spending time with me."

"But I want to," Quinn pleaded.

"I'm actually busy Saturday night."

Quinn smiled as she ran a finger over the ivory keys, she knew that Santana was wrong about the brunette. She wasn't keeping things from her or sneaking around behind her back. She probably just forgot to mention it.

"Oh?"

Rachel turned to look at her and drew her bottom lip between her teeth, "My dads are taking me to Cleveland on Saturday."

Her smile vanished.

"Cleveland?" she continued after Rachel nodded hesitantly, "W-Well what about when you get home?"

"Actually, I think they got us a hotel room so…"

Quinn nodded before backing away from the piano, "Oh. Okay, yeah of course."

"But we can do something next Saturday, if you really want?"

She had no idea what the brunette had just said to her. She just wanted to get the hell out of that auditorium.

"Um, sure. I've got to get to class now."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yup, fine."

Quinn continued to back away, her mouth opening and closing. Rachel studied her some more.

"Is there something you want to say to me?"

Quinn shook her head no before turning and disappearing to the side of the stage.

Quinn was being absolutely paranoid regarding the situation with Rachel and Santana.

So they were hanging out, and so what if Rachel had blatantly lied to her about it?

The blonde had nothing to worry about.

Yeah, right.

Rachel and Santana were having picnics? And going out on dates?

She glanced at the grandfather clock in her living room for maybe the twentieth time in the past 5 minutes and threw her head back with a huff.

She would absolutely not get into her car and drive over to Rachel's to wait for her to get home. She wouldn't do it.

She could drive by, though. Yeah, she could run to the store and take the back way. Perfect.

Without another thought Quinn rushed out of her front door and to her car. She parked three houses away from the Berrys and began walking towards the house.

So much for driving by, she thought miserably.

No one answered the doorbell but it didn't stop her from ringing it 5 more times to make sure. She glanced out to the darkened street and decided to sit on the porch swing while she waited.

She was sure that Rachel had lied to her about going to Cleveland, but she just wanted to know why. Why would she keep the blonde out of the loop? They were partners-in-crime and Rachel was keeping stuff from her.

Rachel seemed to act indifferently towards her after their small fight the other day but what did the brunette expect from her? To come out and tell her that she liked her? Convince her that the plan was pointless because Quinn ended up falling for the brunette along the way? It's not like they could be an actual couple.

But why?

They were already pretending. In fact, the entire school had seen them kiss multiple times and Quinn hadn't even realized that the student body believed she was gay. Technically nothing would change between them.

Was it that easy?

Of course it was. She'd tell Rachel that she wanted to be with her, for real, and pray that it was enough. She'd deal with Santana's seducing once she made Rachel hers.

She let a slow smile spread on her face as she casually swayed back and forth on the porch swing.

She could kiss Rachel whenever she wanted and wouldn't feel guilty about it, she could give her money when she wanted a water from the vending machine, she could sit through dumb movies with her because she wanted to and not because she felt she had a point to prove.

She didn't want Rachel to enjoy the attention she got from Santana, she wanted to be enough for the brunette. Finn didn't deserve Rachel, especially after he kissed the blonde while knowing Rachel still loved him. Santana just wanted to break her in and make Quinn squirm.

Quinn would fight for her.

Quinn awoke to the feel of someone shaking her shoulder. Her eyesight blurry for a few seconds before the cloudiness faded and she was met with Rachel's concerned face.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asked softly, "I told you I was going to Cleveland."

"You lied to me," Quinn replied sans an accusatory tone.

She was too tired for it.

She also didn't want to start the conversation out on a bad foot.

Rachel diverted her attention away from the blonde guiltily, "It doesn't explain why you're here."

Quinn picked herself up and rubbed her eyes, she had no idea how long she'd been passed out for.

"I needed to talk to you," Quinn answered through a yawn.

"You could have texted me. Do you know how dangerous it is to fall asleep on a front porch? Anyone could have come up and abducted you."

Quinn ignored her irrational fears, "Why did you lie to me?"

Rachel played with her bottom lip with her teeth for at least a minute before letting her eyes meet Quinn's, "If you knew I was lying, why didn't you stop me?"

"The way you've been looking at Santana recently, do you—" Quinn stopped speaking to gather her thoughts before peering up at the brunette, "Do you like her?"

"Quinn—" Rachel sighed out.

"Because she's just doing it to make me jealous," Quinn added quickly, "You're just another notch to her."

"Maybe she actually likes me," Rachel reasoned.

Quinn shook her head; she knew that her friend didn't.

"No, she's known about our motives since the beginning, she's only doing this to teach us a lesson."

"You're crazy," Rachel laughed and looked away before she felt Quinn tug her hand.

"Don't you get it? She knows how I feel about you so she's torturing me."

"What are you trying to say?

"I like you, Rachel. I have no idea how it happened," the blonde replied softly, unsure if the sentence had even been spoken.

She thought about repeating it, louder this time, more confident, but she wasn't sure she could. It was hard enough saying it the first time.

Rachel stared at Quinn for an eternity before a shy smile spread across her lips.

"I know you do," she answered simply.

Surely Quinn was still asleep, "You do?"

The brunette laughed softly and ran her fingers through blonde hair, "Of course, I do. I've been waiting for you to finally admit it."

"How did you know?"

"No offense Quinn, but those practice kisses were a little too real."

"Does that mean you- you like me too?"

Quinn felt like an idiot for sounding so hopeful and pathetic.

"Berry. Are we doing this or what?"

Quinn's eyes glanced around the brunette's body to find a barely dressed Santana in the front doorway. Hazel eyes snapped to wide brunette ones.

"Quinn, it's not like that," Rachel began quickly.

"Oh, it's not? Because it seems like you were about to give in to Santana."

"Jealous much?" Santana shot back from across the porch.

The blonde laughed humorlessly. Now she really felt like an idiot.

That was the last time she put herself out there like that.

"I'm out of here," Quinn began as she sat up further.

"Please don't leave, I really can explain."

Quinn stood and the brunette stood with her, blocking her path to the steps.

The blonde glared at the Latina before moving back to find a pleading Rachel.

"Did you kiss her?" Quinn asked firmly, slowly.

She had to annunciate each word in order not to break down in front of both of them. She only did it when she was on the verge of tears.

"Yep, sure did."

"No."

She didn't know who to believe but if she was going with their recent track records, it was easier to believe Santana.

Santana hasn't actually lied to her once this entire time.

"I'm leaving."

"Quinn!" Rachel called out desperately.

"Have a nice night together," Quinn threw over her shoulder as she flew down the steps and to her car.

She made it to the end of the walkway before she felt a sob rake through her body.

It wasn't supposed to hurt that bad.

Rachel began to move towards the steps in order to follow after the hurt blonde but she felt fingers wrap around her upper arm.

"Leave her," Santana said lowly, "She'll come to her senses and admit her feelings."

Rachel whirled around, "She did admit them, just before you came outside!"

"What?" Santana's voice cracked, "What do you mean she admitted it?"

"She just told me that she liked me, and now she thinks that something is actually going on between me and you."

Rachel wasn't sure who to be more mad at, Santana for following instructions or herself for giving them to her in the first place.

"Well how was I supposed to know?"

"You just had to come outside at that moment?"

Santana backed up at the accusatory tone, there was no way that it was her fault, "This was your stupid idea!"

"Whatever, I need to figure out a way to talk to her."

"Just go over to her house!"

Rachel looked out to the darkened street and knew that it was useless to try and talk to the blonde right away, she'd never listen to her, "I need to sleep on all of this."

"Suit yourself, but don't forget about your half of the bargain," she called as Rachel kicked her front door closed.

Santana could get the clothes she shed at a later time.

Or Rachel could just burn them.

Rachel didn't understand how everything got so out of control. It was a simple and well thought out plan. No one was supposed to get hurt.

She didn't even know where to place the blame. It surely wasn't her fault, was it? No, it was a ridiculous notion that she refused to entertain. It was nobody's fault. Well, maybe it was her fault.

She also didn't know where to even begin as she sat down at her white painted desk with the intentions of debriefing and dissecting the game plan to see where it all went wrong.

The hurt look on Quinn's face was too much to bear.

Quinn was never supposed to get hurt.

Her scheme with the blonde had been working beautifully but then Quinn had to go and kiss her, and Rachel just couldn't let it be. She couldn't just enjoy the benefits of concocting a plan with the blonde, she had to go and concoct another plan.

It didn't take long for Rachel to realize that the only one that could help her get Quinn to admit her feelings was one Santana Lopez.

It didn't take long to convince her either.

"She kissed you…again?" Santana asked while she was straightening up her bedroom.

Rachel had arrived at her house nearly thirty minutes prior but it took at least twenty minutes of begging before Santana let her in. It had been two hours since Quinn mumbled excuses to her about why she had to leave so quickly after waking up. Rachel knew that if the blonde stayed, they'd end up kissing the entire morning.

Rachel sighed and unzipped her jacket to reveal her hickey covered neck.

"Holy shit," she breathed out as she tried to touch the bruises, "She mauled you."

Rachel zipped up her jacket all the way again and sat back down on Santana's computer chair, "Will you help me?"

"Depends…do you actually like her?"

Without a doubt.

"I can't seem to stop thinking about her. I know I get lovesick quite easily but the only reason I'm still going through with this plan is so that I can continue to get closer to her."

It had only taken two minutes for Rachel to come clean about her original intentions. Why she wanted to actually kiss Santana, and why she'd got Quinn to help.

She gave herself a small pat on the back when Santana had told her she was impressed with the entire thing.

"Q needs someone like you."

"What do you mean?"

Santana threw some more clothes in her hamper before turning to Berry, "I may be a bitch but I still care about her."

"Could have fooled me," Rachel muttered under her breath.

Just how did Santana care about Quinn? They'd been nothing but frienemies. They treated each other like that distant cousin that everyone hated but they had to invite to the family holiday parties.

"I have trouble expressing my feelings."

"You gave her mono and then stole her boyfriend."

The brunette couldn't help but stand up for Quinn. It was true. Santana was a bitch.

"I have a lot of trouble expressing my feelings."

Rachel eyed her curiously, she considered it a small victory that Santana was admitting it, and to her no less, "You know she hates you, right?"

She shrugged, "I deserve it."

"So will you help me?"

Santana seemed to consider it for a moment before plopping down on her bed, "What would I have to do?"

"Seduce me."

"You're serious?"

"We both know the only reason she's clinging to me is because she's threatened by you."

The girl tilted her head back and forth indecisively before nodding, "That makes sense."

"So by relentlessly hitting on me, you'll drive her to the point of admitting her feelings, and we all win!" Rachel clapped for emphasis.

"What makes you think that she actually likes you? Are you sure that she's not just really into the stupid plan you two cooked up?"

Rachel unzipped her jacket again and pointed to her neck, "Does this look like it was done by someone that was only pretending?"

Santana winced again as she saw the girl's neck, "I mean, I've never seen her mark one of her boyfriends like that."

"Exactly."

Rachel ignored the stirring in her lower stomach. She couldn't think about how good it felt to know that Quinn wanted to claim her like that. Especially when she hadn't done it to anyone else. It was unprofessional to fantasize about the object of her desires while she was amidst a business transaction.

"So let me get this straight, you want me to heavily pursue you until Quinn admits she actually likes you for real?"

Rachel nodded, "Precisely."

"Fine."

"Wonderful."

She really didn't think it would be hard to lure Santana into her plan. She'd been able to do it when she needed backup singers for her award worthy Run Joey Run music video. She also knew that Santana couldn't pass up the chance to mess with her oldest and dearest friend.

"But you have to help me get Brittany."

"Brittany?"

"Did I stutter? Yes, Brittany."

"You're with Sam and she's with Artie."

Santana threw her head back and actually chuckled, "Sam's a joke and Artie whines all the time. If you want my help, you'll find a way to get us back together."

"Have you tried asking her?"

"She won't even get her cuddle on anymore. She's all about feelings and stuff."

So clearly that's a no.

"And that's a bad thing because…?"

"Didn't I just tell you that I have trouble expressing them?"

Rachel huffed and shook her head, "Fine, I'll figure out a way."

"Wow, you'll stop at nothing," Santana smirked, "You must really like Q."

The brunette rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't be making a deal with the Devil herself if I didn't."

"Good one."

"Tomorrow morning come up to my locker while the two of us are talking," Rachel demanded.

Santana probably didn't take to kindly to Rachel's orders but maybe she realized the singer was her only lifeline if she wanted Brittany back.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know," Rachel gestured wildly, "Improvise."

"Fine, now get out of my house."

The arrangement she made with Santana had been working way better than she had originally anticipated.

Quinn kissed her in school, she held her hand, she sat next to her in glee, she walked her to class, and she never let the brunette out of her sight. Rachel was on cloud 9, her body felt like it was on fire every time Quinn was near her. Which was practically every available second.

Every encounter with Santana was carefully calculated, timed just right so that Quinn would see just enough to make her jealous. It was exactly what Quinn and Rachel did in the beginning to make Santana jealous and quite frankly, Rachel was surprised Quinn didn't catch on. Like Rachel would ever blush from something Santana would say, or plan a picnic for them in the auditorium.

Santana seemed to enjoy pushing Quinn's buttons and the brunette often had to scold her for upsetting the blonde so many times.

Don't be so mean to her, Rachel would text her after Quinn would kiss her on the cheek before one of her classes.

Bite me, Santana would text back within seconds.

Naturally, they planned just about everything.

The fight in the cafeteria, and the distance Rachel kept from Quinn following it.

Rachel's lie about going to Cleveland.

She's on her way, set up the lame ass picnic

Santana had done her job and told Quinn about the date and when Rachel lied she was expecting Quinn to call her on it.

But she didn't.

She just stood wide-eyed like someone had stolen all her presents on Christmas morning.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Rachel asked carefully, she could tell the blonde was seconds away from professing her undying love and putting an end to the entire charade.

It was tiring having to pretend to like Santana.

But Quinn said nothing.

So she was subjected to actually spending the night with Santana to keep up appearances. Her battery nearly went dead from checking her phone for text messages from Quinn.

That was the night they were going to go all or nothing. Rachel was prepared to kiss Santana if it meant Quinn would finally face the truth.

In Rachel's mind, it made perfect sense.

But Quinn put it in perspective real quick for her.

"What do you mean it was all fake?"

Quinn could only avoid the brunette for two days. Rachel finally caught up with her after their glee rehearsal for Regionals in the auditorium. They were standing across from the piano almost exactly how they were when this entire thing started.

"I went to Santana and made her pursue me," Rachel explained.

It felt so good to finally say those words out loud to someone of importance.

Her practice runs in the mirror didn't go so well and she hoped that Quinn was more forgiving than Rachel's reflection.

She was an actress, obviously she had given herself every scenario that could possible play out once Quinn learned the truth.

"Why?"

"So you'd come to your senses," Rachel told her as if it was the simplest concept in the world.

"So you used someone else to get what you wanted?"

She catches on rather quickly, Rachel mused.

"Exactly."

"What is the matter with you?"

Rachel took a step back, unsure of how to proceed, "I'm not sure I—"

"You can't just scheme and make all these grand plans to mess with people's emotions," Quinn told her seriously.

Rachel wasn't sure why.

"It was the only way."

Looking back on it, there were probably thousands of other ways but none of them felt like making an appearance at the time Operation Quest for Quinn was birthed.

"So you had Santana purposely make me jealous?"

Rachel didn't love the incredulity dripping from Quinn's tone.

How did she not see it coming?

"It worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point," Quinn dodged.

"Of course it is."

"You don't even see your fault here, you tricked me."

"It was fine when we were doing it to Santana," Rachel countered easily.

The blonde huffed, "That was different."

"How?"

"It just was."

"So, what? You're back to denying everything again?"

She was expecting the run-around with Quinn, it was text book.

She wouldn't cross over so easily.

"I belong with Sam and you belong with Finn."

"You can't even say it without flinching," the brunette pointed out.

Quinn changed lanes to avoid Rachel calling her out again, "How long has Santana been doing this on purpose?"

"I presume the whole time," she started, finding Quinn silently agreeing with her, "But I went to her after you slept over."

"Jesus, Rachel!"

"I get it okay? I mess up everything I touch, I get too excited and it falls to pieces. Jesse used me, Puckerman was nothing but trouble, and Finn walked all over me. You made me feel special, like I was finally good enough."

Quinn's features softened significantly, "You are good enough."

The brunette shook her head, "I don't make the best choices but at least I know what I want."

"And what is it you want?"

"You. Was that not obvious?"

"Look Rachel—"

"Save it, Quinn. Just know that I'm not afraid to go after the things I want. I told you my inability to accept defeat would be my own demise. I'll just take you down with me if I have to."

The blonde straightened her posture at the challenge, "Is this you telling me that you're not giving up?"

"You'll come to your senses eventually."

"And if I don't?"

Rachel shrugged but kept her chin up, regardless of how bad her lower lip was quivering, "You're not who I thought you were."

Rachel had to admit that she was a little peeved when Quinn didn't chase after her. That was the performance of a lifetime. Her ability to cry on cue had never really come in handy before but she delivered an Emmy worthy performance. Turning away to hide her tears before storming out of the auditorium? It was heartbreaking.

Quinn didn't follow her out but she pushed that thought aside as she happily skipped down the hallway and out to her car.

Some people may believe she was bi-polar. Rachel just tended to believe she was easily swayed.

She couldn't help but be a tad bit excited about all the new inspiration she had for a new original song that she could belt out at Regionals the upcoming weekend.

There were few things she knew.

Quinn was a fool.

She was also a fool for Rachel.

She wouldn't apologize for being the way she was, Quinn knew of her crazy when she signed up for the first plan nearly a month ago. Quinn probably secretly loved it that Rachel stopped at nothing until she got what she wanted. They really weren't that different, it was just easier for Rachel to express it.

Her eyes scanned over the notebook page of the possible ways to obtain Santana that she listed at the beginning of everything. The last one spoke volumes.

Serenade.

Quinn wouldn't know what hit her.

The blonde should have known Rachel was up to something when she walked into glee the day before Regionals and announced she had a new song to sing.

"But Regionals is tomorrow," Schuester reminded her, "We don't have time to learn a whole new song and choreography."

Lies.

They'd done it at their first sectionals in only twenty minutes but that was neither here nor there.

"It won't be necessary, it's a solo performance," she beamed, "At best, you'll just need to sway behind me."

"OH hell no," Mercedes raged from her chair, "Who gave you the right?"

"You can't just throw a curveball at us like this, Rach," Finn began to argue.

"Everyone shut up," Santana barked as she stood up and joined Rachel center stage. Well, center choir room.

Rachel's eyes glanced to see Quinn gritting her teeth and she hid her smile.

She really didn't love watching Quinn suffer but if she was still being a moron about her feelings for brunette then she could use a wakeup call or two.

"Berry and I are doing the song and you can all suck it."

"Are you serious?" Quinn fumed from her seat, hazel eyes cutting into Rachel's.

"You got a problem with that, Princess?" Santana crossed her arms, "You had your shot."

Rachel put a calming hand on Santana's arm before facing the rest of the group. Quinn scoffed and looked away.

"We're asking you to trust us," Rachel started softly but was cut off.

"And why should we trust either of you?" Quinn found herself too upset to keep quiet.

"Because we both have a reason to sing."

The Warblers certainly were on their game, although their duet was questionable, but New Directions couldn't dwell on that. They were called backstage and they'd be going on in a few short minutes.

Santana threw around orders to the members of the club as they struggled with how the performance was supposed to go.

"What don't you understand? Just stand there and look pretty."

Rachel could tell that Santana was seconds away from exploding, Finn was mostly the one giving her trouble.

"What are you doing?"

Rachel snapped her attention away from the group as she heard Quinn's voice behind her.

"Getting ready to perform," Rachel answered through a heavy breath.

"No, what are you doing? A new song? With Santana? If you're trying to make me jealous—"

"I'm not."

Quinn stopped and looked at her curiously, "So what are you doing?"

"I messed up and I'm sorry for hurting you," Rachel couldn't have meant it more if she tried.

She took a step closer to Quinn and found it to be a good sign when the blonde didn't pull away.

Rachel boldly leaned closer and placed a kiss on the blonde's lips, "So sorry for hurting you," she breathed into her slightly opened mouth.

She pulled back before she completely lost control of her emotions. She needed to save some of it for her performance.

But she didn't think she'd have any trouble expressing everything through the song.

The announcer passed by them on his way to the curtain and told them they had 30 seconds until show time.

Rachel smiled softly before swiping the pad of her thumb across Quinn's wet lip, "Listen carefully, because I mean every word."

Quinn took her spot next to Brittany and closed her eyes before the curtain rose to reveal the eager crowd. She was seconds away from running off stage and taking the first bus back to Lima. She couldn't handle Rachel's honesty. And now she had to perform in front of all these people? Even though they'd been there before, it was still scary as hell.

The spotlight hit Rachel and the piano began as she surveyed the crowd.

"What have I done? I wish I could run away from this ship going under."

Quinn did as she was told and listened carefully to the words that Rachel was singing.

"What can you do when your good isn't good enough? And all that you touch tumbles down?"

Her breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes to soothe the stinging of tears.

"'Cause my best intentions keep making a mess of things, I just want to fix it somehow."

Rachel was baring her soul.

"How many times will it take for me to get it right?"

She was baring her soul to Quinn.

The entire audience was captivated and silent as they watched Rachel belt her heart out with Santana harmonizing in the background.

"I'll send out a wish, yeah, I'll send up a prayer, and finally someone will see how much I care."

The crowd exploded with applause as Rachel triumphantly hit her high note with ease and the blonde's eyes slid shut once again.

She could get through it. They still had another song to sing.

She couldn't be breaking down on the stage halfway through their performance.

But did she ever want to.

They took Regionals with barely an effort.

The two other schools didn't even compare.

There was something different about their victory, though. Sure, it felt amazing, but Quinn knew it was for another reason entirely.

"Hey," the blonde leaned against the side of the seat in front of Rachel on the school bus.

"Hello Quinn."

"Mind if I join you?"

Rachel shook her head and moved over to make room for the blonde.

"Why aren't you up at the front of the bus singing with everyone else?"

"I don't feel much like singing," Rachel glanced out her window to avoid Quinn's frown.

Rachel was in the very last three person seat on the bus. The closest person was 10 rows ahead of her.

Quinn took a deep breath, "You scare me."

Rachel's face dropped as she turned her head to find out why.

Quinn's light laughter floated between them, "In a good way."

Rachel stayed silent and looked down at her knees.

"You just singlehandedly won us Regionals," the blonde reminded her with a nudge, "You should be smiling."

Quinn was starting to panic, Rachel was rarely silent.

"I liked your song," the blonde tried again.

The brunette finally reacted by rolling her eyes, "Yeah 'cause it won us Regionals."

"That's not true. Win or lose, I still would have loved it."

The blonde reached down to grab Rachel's hand and ran a thumb over her knuckles.

"Why do I scare you?"

Quinn blushed and looked down at their hands, "You make me feel things."

"I don't mean to," Rachel found herself replying.

Why she was attempting to make excuses, Quinn wasn't sure. It wasn't a bad thing.

"I'm not mad at you," Quinn started, "You just helped me to admit what I was too afraid to think about."

"This conversation seems eerily familiar."

Quinn laughed softly and clasped their hands together, "You make me think too much, Berry."

Rachel's smile was wide and for the first time since everything had happened, Quinn felt like everything was going to be fine.

"One day you'll thank me," the brunette mimicked the words she spoke to Quinn in the bathroom the first time they really talked.

Quinn leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the brunette's temple before resting her head on Rachel's shoulder.

"Thank you."

Quinn had been searching for Santana all day.

Go figure. The one time Quinn actually wanted to see her, she was nowhere to be found.

She finally caught up with her before lunch.

"You were right," Quinn said softly as she gently placed her salad bowl on the table and took a seat across from the girl, "About my denial."

Santana allowed a victorious smirk to settle on her features, "So you and Berry made nice?"

"Yeah," Quinn replied as she poured some dressing on her salad, "She was really understanding about everything."

Santana popped a Wheat Thin into her mouth and nodded before her confused eyes fell back to Quinn, "Wait, understanding? About what?"

"About staying friends."

"Are you shitting me? After everything that's happened, you only want to be her friend?"

"We had a long talk on the bus ride home from Regionals and I realized so much, I'm not ready for all of Rachel's crazy and she's not really ready for all of my baggage," Quinn told her honestly.

"What are you talking about? You two are a match made in psycho heaven."

"Maybe, but I don't know," Quinn shrugged, "You guys definitely helped me come out of my shell so I could accept who I truly am. I'm thankful and all, but…"

"But?"

"I guess Rachel was just a temporary fascination," Quinn replied, unable to explain it, "I got a new friend out of it at least…in fact, she's helping me with something."

"What?"

"I guess I've always been attracted to girls, and there was one in particular but I never knew what it was."

"Who?"

Rachel was still reeling from their win at Regionals. After settling everything with Quinn she was finally able to enjoy it.

It was magnificent!

She felt like the queen of the school and she briefly wondered if that's what Quinn Fabray felt like every day.

Speak of the blonde.

Rachel smiled to herself as she watched Quinn and Brittany idly chat by the latter's locker. The brunette was proud of Quinn for finally accepting who she was and if she had a part in that, she was surely satisfied.

Rachel couldn't wait to hear about how her encounter with Brittany went. Quinn would surely gush about how smooth she'd been while roping the girl to accompany her for dinner later that night. Quinn was suave and confident when she wanted to be, there wasn't a doubt in Rachel's mind that Quinn wouldn't be able to wrap the girl around her finger.

When Fabray wasn't breaking people's hearts, she was charming them.

Rachel smiled to herself as she shut her locker in order to take off for the celebratory jam-session in the choir room.

"What the hell is Fabray doing over there with Brittany?"

Rachel threw her hand to her chest, Santana startled her.

The brunette glanced back over her shoulder to find the two blondes still speaking and turned to study Santana's cold glare in their direction.

"Talking, I presume."

"That wasn't the deal, Berry. I helped you get Quinn and you were supposed to help me get Brittany."

"Well it appears that I don't have Quinn so technically I'm not longer contractually obligated to you."

Santana seized the girls arm as she tried to move past her, "That's not how this works."

"What do you want me to do? Clearly Quinn knows what she wants."

"Quinn had feelings for you. What the hell happened?"

Rachel pulled her arm from Santana's grasp, "She had feelings, obviously misplaced ones. We're better off as friends, anyway."

"What happened to all that possessiveness over you the past month?"

"You said it yourself, she's threatened by you. I'm sure she would have done the same with Jacob Ben Israel if you were pursuing him."

Santana shivered, "Gross."

"Are we done here?"

"What am I supposed to do?" Santana's eyes scanned Rachel's face, "Are you telling me that Quinn actually liked Brittany all along?"

Rachel's heart sank for the girl, "I'm sorry."

"She's supposed to be with me," her voice cracked in vulnerability.

Rachel placed a soothing hand on the girl's shoulder, "Have you tried telling her that?"

"It's too late now."

Rachel had never seen the girl look so dejected and sad. She knew from being in the glee club with the girl for over a year that she was just as big of a crier as Rachel was, but she'd rarely experienced it first hand.

"Look, Santana, I know that Quinn's going to ask her to dinner tonight, but maybe you still have a chance. You know Brittany's just waiting for you to admit your feelings, you're still her number one."

"What do I say? I love you, Brittany? I want to be with you?"

"That's a start," Rachel smiled softly, "Just talk to her."

"What about Quinn?"

Rachel smirked, "When has that stopped you before?"

The brunette watched with slight amusement as Santana found her confidence and let a small smile grace her lips.

"Never."

Rachel turned around and leaned her shoulder against her locker to see how everything played out.

Quinn put up a fight, naturally. And Rachel smiled to herself, silently hoping that the girl would never change.

The blonde huffed and walked away from Santana and Brittany. She made her way down the hallway and stopped in front of Rachel with a pout on her lips.

Rachel smiled, "I wouldn't be too torn up about it. Those two belong together."

"But—"

Rachel silenced her with a finger and pointed down the hallway to show Quinn the two hugging lovingly.

"There are plenty of other girls out there for you," Rachel reminded her while pushing off the locker.

"Only one of them matters," Quinn said before dropping her hand to the small of Rachel's back in order to guide her down the hallway.

Rachel ducked her head bashfully and continued to walk in stride with her girlfriend, "I know how much you had your heart set on torturing Santana."

"It was like all I thought about," the blonde continued to whine.

Rachel cleared her throat.

"Besides you of course," Quinn smiled with one of her dazzling bright smiles before dipping down to catch Rachel's lips in a lingering but off balanced kiss.

"We make a good team, don't you think?" Rachel smiled up at the blonde and found her eyes fluttering closed as she placed another kiss to her forehead.

"What with my ruthless demeanor and your determination to succeed?" Quinn laughed along, repeating the words Rachel used when they first agreed to work together.

"I succeeded, didn't I? I got you, and I got those two together finally."

"And you won us Regionals," Quinn reminded her for about the fortieth time since they won.

Rachel didn't mind.

"What do you say we meddle in other people's relationships?"

"No, Rachel. Let them work out their problems on their own, we don't need to interfere."

"But I just know that Miss Pillsbury loves Mr. Shue. And Blaine and Kurt's sexual tension is exhausting, not to mention Mercedes' lack of boyfriend. Artie will need help looking for a new girlfriend, perhaps him and Mercedes would be compatible. Their voices go well together, don't you agree?"

Quinn pulled the girl tighter against her body as they continued to walk down the empty hallway, "Rach?"

"Yes, Quinn?"

"Let's make a deal."

"Oh!" Rachel's bounced excitedly, "I love making deals."

"Let's just enjoy each other and not worry about everyone else. No more scheming, okay?"

Rachel frowned and shook her head, "Oh, I can't possibly make that deal. Well, I certainly intend to enjoy you but my life has almost been defined by my brilliant plans."

"Fine," Quinn sighed, "No more scheming for at least three months?"

"Two."

Quinn eagerly jumped on it, "Deal."

Rachel smiled before reaching up to seal it with a kiss, "Deal."