Quinn has always been aware of her intelligence.

As a kid, she didn't have many friends, or any at all, so she sought solace in books. She read and read and read, escaping into fantasy worlds of talking animals, magic, wizards, adventures, anything and everything that took her out of her reality. That way, she didn't need friends: her books were her friends.

Instead of telling her parents about her friends from school, Quinn, then Lucy, told her parents about the new books she was reading at the time. Her mom half-listened, offering remarks here and there between sips of wine, while her dad drowned her out and drowned himself in scotch, but it was enough for her. For Lucy.

By third grade, she was reading at a sixth grade level. Her teachers constantly struggled to find reading material for her that was at the appropriate level yet didn't contain mature content, especially with the knowledge that her last name was Fabray. (The Fabrays were a significant benefactor of the private school that she attended, and they were not afraid to make their views known.)

With her advanced reading skills came a growing capacity (and love) for learning. In her later years of elementary and then middle school, she was a sponge for knowledge. She soaked up any and every piece of information she could, and she loved it. The kids at school called her names and teased her, her parents either didn't notice or didn't care, her sister, Frannie, shook her head fondly at her kid sister's passion for learning, but her teachers loved her enthusiasm. And it was enough for Lucy.

When she moved and started high school, she was nervous. She had lost the glasses, acne, and baby fat, gone blonde, and gotten a nose job, but it was still high school. So she–Quinn, not Lucy–threw herself into her studies, joined the Cheerios and Celibacy Club as was expected of her, and that was that. As the years went on, her interests shifted, but she never lost her passion for learning, for knowledge.

All things considered, it came as no surprise to her that she would end up graduating as valedictorian. (She and Mike were neck and neck, but the B he had gotten in AP English junior year to her A was what edged her out.) Honestly, it has always been a secret dream of Quinn's, a wish in the back of her mind that she's never dared to say aloud.

Now, it's her reality, and Quinn is conflicted. She's happy, scared, thrilled, nervous, content, anxious. Because with being valedictorian comes giving the senior speech at her graduation ceremony.

William McKinley High School, Class of 2012, to be addressed by none other than Quinn Fabray. It's almost funny, really. She's sure there's not a single person in the graduating class that doesn't know who she is, but she's not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Quinn once said that a bad reputation is better than no reputation at all; she's starting to reconsider.

Whether it is from being (former) head cheerleader, the pretty, popular girl who got knocked up sophomore year, the girl who dyed her hair pink and joined the Skanks at the beginning of senior year, or the girl who for God knows what reason joined the Glee club, everyone in her grade knows her.

Or at least they think they do. Because, despite what they may think, Quinn has depths to her that no one knows.

This speech is her opportunity to lay it all out there. Leave her peers with the full truth about herself, leaving nothing to their imaginations. But, in order to do that, Quinn's gonna have to find some courage. Fast.

And probably tell some people first.

She talks to Santana first. They've had their ups and downs, but she truly is her best friend, and there's no one that would better understand than her.

They're sitting in Quinn's car after Cheerios practice while Brittany is changing in the locker room. Quinn waited after school and offered to drive her and Brittany back to Quinn's house, so they could hang out.

"You're valedictorian?" Santana says. "Shit, Q, congrats. Knew your smart ass would do it."

Then, Quinn tells her.

Santana's eyes grow wide. Quinn bites her lip nervously and drops her gaze for a moment. When she looks back up, Santana's eyes are glistening. She says nothing, just leans over the console and wraps Quinn in the tightest hug she's ever felt from her. Quinn hugs her back, suddenly equally emotional.

She feels wetness on her neck and knows that Santana is crying. Quinn releases tears of her own, exhaling deeply into Santana's shoulder.

She realizes that she's never actually said the words out loud before.

Santana pulls away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, and laughs a little bit. "Well that took you long enough."

Quinn laughs through her tears.

She tells Brittany when she gets to the car, and Brittany gives her a knowing smile, tight hug, and tells Quinn that she's proud of her.

It's small, and, yet, somehow it's everything she needs.

She talks to Sam next.

It's a few days later. This time, she's sitting on the bleachers during lunch. There's a heavy breeze whipping around them, and Quinn keeps laughing at Sam's frustration as his hair gets messed up from the wind.

"Valedictorian?" Sam asks. "You nerd."

He ruffles her hair, and Quinn shoves his hand away and smacks his chest with a grin on her face. Sam grins back, and Quinn knows he's the best guy she's ever met.

So she tells him.

His eyebrows raise, jaw dropping. He recovers quickly, wraps an arm around her shoulders, and tugs her into his side. She leans in, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Makes sense." He says cheekily. "Does this mean we can talk about girls now?"

Quinn gasps. She almost smacks him again. Instead she just shakes her head into his shoulder and exhales deeply, letting herself relax in the comfort of his embrace.

It's the third time she's said it out loud, to someone, and it feels like it's getting easier each time.

Sam raises his fist for a fist bump, and Quinn easily returns the gesture. She's lucky to have such great friends, the luckiest girl in the world.

"I'm serious, Quinn."

Then, she talks to Mercedes.

It's the next day, and they are sitting on Quinn's bed while her mom is cooking dinner for the three of them downstairs.

"Damn you and your smart ass." Mercedes laughs. "That's huge."

They certainly aren't as close as they were when they lived together, but Quinn trusts Mercedes with everything she has.

And that's why she tells her, the fourth time she's spoken the words out loud.

"Oh, wow." Mercedes whispers. "I definitely should have seen that coming."

Quinn furrows her eyebrows, and Mercedes explains, "Girl, you have no idea how often your pregnant, hormonal ass talked about Rachel. It was constant, and I chalked it up to the fact that you just really hated her, but even I knew that didn't make sense."

Blushing, Quinn just rolls her eyes. She explains her thoughts and plans for her speech, and Mercedes is genuinely taken aback.

Judy calls out that food is ready, and dinner that night is a relatively silent affair, The conversation stays mostly between Mercedes and her mom as Judy inquires about Mercedes' plans for after high school.

After dinner, Quinn walks Mercedes to the door, and Mercedes eyes her knowingly. "Have you told her yet?"

Quinn's expression says it all.

Finally, she talks to her mom.

They are sitting at the dining room table, two days after she told Mercedes, and Quinn is getting awful flashbacks to the last time she gave her parents important news about herself. This time, Russell isn't here, and Judy is nearly two years sober, and Quinn has never been more content with her relationship with her mom. However, this conversation could very easily change that.

"Valedictorian? Quinnie, that's incredible!" Judy praises. "Does that mean you're going to be giving a speech?"

Yes, she confirms.

"Do you know what you're going to talk about?"

Yes, she confirms again. Quinn takes a deep breath and observes the pride shining in her mom's eyes. Her mom is proud of her. Her mom loves her.

Quinn tells her. It's the fifth time she's said the words, and it's certainly the hardest.

Judy inhales sharply. "Oh, Quinnie."

Quinn is as stoic as a rock. She won't cry, especially if this turns out badly. But then Judy gets up, brings her daughter into a tight embrace, tells her she loves her, and the floodgates open up.

Quinn's eyes swell up with moisture, and she cries into her mom, and Judy cries right back with her. They cry together, for the mistakes they've made, for the time they've lost, for the wedge that was driven between them that they've been trying to remove for the past two years. It has been hard work, the hardest, and they cry for that, too.

She can't remember the last time she hugged her mom.

When they pull back, both of their faces are drenched with tears, and they laugh at each other for their dramatics. Judy tucks a strand of hair behind her daughter's ear, looking into her hazel eyes that so perfectly resemble her own.

"I love you, Quinnie." She says slowly, meaningfully. "And I am so proud to be your mother, and this doesn't change anything."

Quinn cries again, and her mom is there to wipe her tears, and, really, it's all she's ever wanted.

On the day of graduation, Quinn is freaking out a little bit.

Her speech is complete and ready to go (and has been for weeks). Words come easy to her. When she had her English teacher proofread her speech, she had no criticisms.

"It's perfect. Really, Quinn, everyone is going to love it." Mrs. Haverford told her. "And, you know, I know you're set on studying drama at Yale, but please tell me you'll be taking some writing courses too. You have too much talent to let that go to waste. Just some food for thought. Think about it, at least. For me."

Quinn promised and thanked her for all she'd done for her.

Now, she's here, waiting in line to walk into the gymnasium to officially graduate from high school and get out of this town.

But, first, Rachel apparently wants to talk to her. She walks up to Quinn, a bright grin on her face.

"How exciting is this?" Rachel asks, and her enthusiasm is almost contagious. Almost. Quinn is far too nervous to be excited right now.

"We're graduating. It's pretty exciting." She replies.

Rachel looks at her for a moment. "Would you mind… This might sound stupid, but I was wondering if you, maybe, would want to take a picture with me?"

Quinn nods. "Of course, Rach."

Rachel blushes and pulls her phone out from under her gown. She hands it to someone nearby and asks them to take the picture of the two of them.

Rachel comes to stand next to Quinn, and Quinn takes the initiative to wrap her arm around Rachel's back. Her hand settles comfortably at her waist, just above her hip, and Rachel returns the gesture, her hand resting gently on Quinn's back. They lean into each other, and Quinn can't help but notice just how perfectly they fit together. She's smiling at the camera, all too aware of how close they are and how their bodies are touching in so many ways, sending sparks through Quinn.

After what feels like ages, their pictures are finally done, and Rachel shows Quinn the results off of her phone. They're perfect.

"Send those to me, please." Quinn says. She already knows which one she's gonna set as her new phone background.

"You know, Quinn," Rachel begins, and Quinn's heart speeds up nervously. "I really am so glad that we became friends. Our past has been… tumultuous, to say the least, but I'm so glad to call you my friend now. What I said at prom? I meant it."

Ah, yes, prom. When Rachel told her that becoming her friend was one of her greatest accomplishments in all of high school, well, Quinn nearly fainted.

"I should be saying that to you, Rachel. If you hadn't seen through me and forgiven me for treating you so horribly, we'd never be where we are today." Quinn explains. "And I know that I'll never be able to fully explain why I acted the way I did, but… I'm hoping that some of what I say today will explain some of it."

Well, that certainly wasn't what she was expecting to come out of her mouth. Bold, Fabray, bold.

"Right! Your speech! I can't wait to hear it!" Rachel squeals giddily. "I'll be sitting in the front row eagerly. Consider me your biggest fan today!"

"The front row?" She asks.

Rachel nods. "Yes! I was asked to sing the National Anthem. I'll be sitting in the front with you, so it's a quicker transition to when I go to perform. I think we might be able to sit next to each other, actually."

"Oh, cool!"

Not cool. Not cool at all. Not only will Quinn be sitting directly next to Rachel while she's trying to mentally prepare herself to give this speech, but she'll also be seeing Rachel sitting directly in front of her while she's giving the speech, and she'll be returning to her seat directly next to Rachel when her speech is over. Rachel is going to be sitting right in front of her when she—

Nope, not cool.

"Are you nervous?" Rachel asks.

"Are you?" Quinn deflects.

"A little bit if I'm being honest." She admits. "This performance really doesn't hold much significance, but it may be the last time some of the people here ever see me."

Quinn smiles. "Yeah, I get that. I want to leave a good lasting impression."

"Exactly! But I know your speech will be great." Rachel says confidently. "You're going to be amazing, Quinn. You always are."

"I hope so."

Quinn gives her a tight-lipped smile. She hears the introductory fanfare blaring from the gym, signalling the start of the ceremony, and finds her spot back in line. Rachel takes her spot directly behind her, and Quinn can feel her gaze searing into the back of her head.

They walk into the gym, and Quinn immediately seeks out her mom and Sam in the bleachers. Her mom has the proudest grin on her face, a hand on her heart; Sam sits next to her, fist-pumping the air, before pointing at Rachel making obscene gestures. Quinn laughs and shakes her head. Her eyes fly over to Shelby and Beth, sitting just a few feet away. She walks past her English teacher who gives her a big thumb's up.

Everyone important in her life is here today. Here to witness possibly one of the biggest risks Quinn will ever take in life.

She takes her seat and watches Rachel walk up to the front of the gym to sing the National Anthem. As she sings, Quinn falls for her all over again. Her confidence is mesmerizing. Her voice is angelic. She captures the attention of everyone in the room, and when she holds out that final note, the audience bursts into applause. Rachel curtsies awkwardly and comes to sit next to Quinn in the front row of the student body.

Quinn leans into her. "You were amazing, but I don't think I need to tell you that."

Rachel grabs her hand and squeezes it gently as a sign of thanks. Quinn squeezes back and turns her attention to Principal Figgins giving opening remarks. Rachel makes no move to let go of her hand, so Quinn doesn't either.

Their hands stay clasped until Brittany, as senior class president, introduces Quinn as valedictorian and invites her up to the stage. She looks to Rachel, who offers her an encouraging smile and a last squeeze to her hand before she releases it.

Quinn stands shakily. Her legs carry her forward, up the steps to the stage, and then she's standing in front of hundreds of people. Maybe even a thousand or two, she can't really tell for sure. She looks down at the paper on the podium, covered top to bottom in words. Words that she wrote, that came from her brain and spilled all over the paper. Her heart, her soul, her words, bared for the world to see.

Looking out into the crowd, she locks eyes with Rachel, and her deep brown eyes anchor her. She can do this. All she has to do is read.

Quinn takes a deep breath and begins. "As I stand before you all, here, today, you're probably all wondering which version of me you're going to get today. For those of you that don't know me, my name is Quinn Fabray, and I've reinvented myself more times in the past four years than our school has won football games. Which really isn't saying much, but, believe me, it's quite the feat to accomplish."

She's encouraged by quiet laughter from the audience, so she continues, "I've been a quiet girl, a mean girl, and a popular girl. I've been a cheerleader, the Celibacy Club president, the pregnant girl, a Glee club member, a Skank. I've cut and dyed my hair, twice, and, throughout all of this, I've still never really been able to find myself."

She gestures out to the crowd in front of her. "And I'm sure we've all felt this, at one point or another. In fact, I know we all have. We are constantly striving to find ourselves. To find where our true passions lie, what our true desires in life are, who we want to be in the grand scheme of the world. So we try on different faces. We join different clubs, different sports, different activities. We try on different looks to see what fits, what makes us feel seen."

"And there's theories behind this, too. It's the fifth stage in psychosocial development, according to psychologists. It's called Identity versus Role Confusion, the idea that, desperate to find our true identity and sense of self, we try on different roles to see which one fits. The catch is that we could get stuck here."

Quinn pauses. She looks into the sea of people sitting before her, the countless young adults who need to hear this the most. And she continues.

"If we don't successfully find ourselves in this stage of life, we could get stuck here and never advance to the next stages. We could miss out on such wonderful things that are waiting for us: long lasting friendships, meaningful relationships. Memories, experiences, moments. Intimacy, both romantic and platonic. Love." She says, looking everywhere but the front row. "But, there's another catch: in order to get out of this stage, we have to take risks."

"We have to take risks in order to find ourselves and then tell the world who we are, no matter how scary it may be. Deep down, we all have wishes, desires, secrets we're too scared to admit to the world. It takes courage. It takes sacrifice. It takes guts to bare our souls for the world to see. But as we grow, as we progress from teenagers in high school to young adults battling the real world, we will be forced to learn to do this."

"We will be forced to declare ourselves to the world. The real world, the one outside of high school that we have longed to live in for so long, is officially in front of us. And we're going to need a hell of a lot of courage to get through it."

Heart racing, Quinn lets out a shaky breath. She finds Santana nodding at her in the crowd. She sees Mercedes giving her a sly thumb's up. She sees Sam's boyish grin and her mom's proud expression. She sees Rachel looking expectantly up at her.

"So, here, today, I want to let you all know the newest iteration of Quinn Fabray. Not because I want to make this all about me, but because I want to take this step in my journey, in hopes that it may give someone the courage to take a step in their journey as well."

Quinn pauses. She thinks of the future ahead of her, and the people in front of her, and knows that she's making the right decision.

She sees Rachel, and she knows she can do this.

So she tells them.

"I'm Quinn Fabray, I'm eighteen, I will be attending Yale in the fall," She states proudly, "And I'm gay."

The room goes silent. Her declaration hangs in the air, heavy, like a blanket draped over the entire gymnasium. She can't bear to look anywhere else except directly at Santana, and the girl nods at her to go on, so she does.

"This is something I've struggled with throughout my journey to find my own identity, and, frankly, I'm very nervous right now to have admitted that." Quinn reveals. "But I took that risk, and I hope something I've said today has resonated with you and inspired you to do the same. The risks we take in finding ourselves and baring ourselves to the world can often be the scariest, yet most rewarding, actions we ever take. I hope that maybe, someday soon, you all will find your final evolution, your final version of yourself, the one that you are the proudest of and most confident in, and I hope that you'll have the courage to share it with the world. I know I have, and, already, it has been rewarding. Thank you, McKinley High Class of 2012, and, well, we did it. Congratulations."

It's silent for a moment. Quinn finally tears her eyes away from Santana's to look around the room. Suddenly, the crowds roar with applause. Thunderous claps and cheers fill the room, and, slowly, people rise to their feet.

A standing ovation. Rachel would be so jealous.

But Quinn just smiles.

It's the sixth time she's said it, out loud, this time in front of a huge crowd of people. And she stands up straighter, holds her head high, and feels the weight fall from her shoulders.

She exhales, and nothing has ever felt better.