She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in the same class as Rachel Berry, being a Cheerio had allowed her to coast, but that was over now and she needed a new route out of Lima. No more B+ Quinn. AP chemistry was not her idea of a fun way to spend Friday afternoon but Miss Pilsbury had told her colleges would look favourably on a former cheerleader with an aptitude for the sciences so her she was. She took a seat near the back of the class, not right at the back where her presence would go unnoticed but far enough back to make her look nonchalant. That's when Rachel walked in, all knitwear and mini skirt, and sat right next to her.

"Hey Quinn."

"Oh, hi Berry, I didn't know you were in AP chemistry."

"Oh I take all the AP classes. I have the talent to get into a performing arts school but it never hurts to be fully rounded."

"Of course not."

Quinn rolled her eyes and hoped Rachel didn't notice. The girl was sweet and all, and she'd even been kinda decent to her on occasion, but man did she have an ego.

"So I take it you don't have a lab partner, what with you being new to class."

"I hadn't thought about it."

"Well, we glee kids should stick together, consider me your new lab partner."

Quinn forced a smile.

"Great."

It was only one semester, she could handle a few extra hours of Rachel a week for a semester. How hard could it be?

When Quinn got home her mother was already in the kitchen standing over something on the stove, a glass of gin nestled as always in her left hand. Quinn tried to get past unnoticed, almost making it to the stairs before her mother called out her name. There was no point trying to ignore her now, her mother would just call and call until eventually she came down to talk to her.

"Hi mom"

"Quinnie, how was school? Did you see Finn today?"

Since discovering that Puck had been the one to blame for 'the incident', as her mother referred to it, she had become obsessed with Finn and her getting back together. She obviously saw him as safe. Maybe Quinn did too, safe, non-threatening, sweet Finn.

"I didn't really see him; I was starting all my new AP classes."

"Well next time you do be sure to say Hi from me."

"Sure mom."

Quinn started to head upstairs

"I'm making pasta for dinner so it won't be long, I don't want you having one of your 3 hour phone calls with Santanna."

"I'm just gonna get a started on my homework, I'll be down for dinner."

Quinn headed up to her room and emptied her bag onto her bed. In an attempt to be helpful Rachel had lent her all her notes from the previous AP chem classes she'd taken. She sat at her desk and looked through the folder. The margins were filled with doodled stars and lyrics from show tunes. Rachel was so predictable. Quinn got out a pencil and started to work through Rachel's notes, this was going to be a long semester.

Rachel got home to an empty house as usual. Her dads rarely got home before seven these days. She sat at the kitchen table, put her iPod in the stereo and pressed play. Celine Dion came blasting out of the speakers and she sang along gently as she got her English assignment out of her bag. Staring at the page she thought back to the surprise of finding Quinn in AP chem. She'd always assumed the girl wasn't that bright but with the Cheerios truly behind her maybe the girl was trying to improve herself and that's something Rachel would encourage in anyone. Hopefully once she'd caught up Quinn would be a good lab partner, plus it wouldn't hurt her popularity to be seen around school with the ex-head cheerleader. Realising she wasn't really getting any work done she went upstairs to her room and turned on her laptop. Opening her browser she went straight to her first stop whenever she went online, Afterellen. She wasn't part of the community or anything, she just liked to read the news, see what TV shows or films she should be on the lookout for, read interviews with women she could aspire to be. Not that she wanted to be the lesbian Striesand or anything like that.

There was that word again; it still caught her off guard even when she just thought it. Lesbian. The realisation had been slow, a feeling here, a stray thought there. Until one afternoon she was reading a magazine and she realised she was staring at one of the models and biting her lip, something stirring in the pit of her stomach. Straight girls didn't do that. She had thought back over her life. There was Sarah, her best friend when she was seven who she used to play house with, something that at the time seemed so normal but with hindsight should have been a sign. In her seven year old imagination being married to Sarah was a perfect future. Then at 12 there had been the councillor at music camp, Jen. Jen had been tall and graceful and while at the time Rachel called it admiration she was pretty certain now that it had been a crush. She remembered fondly the palpitations and sweaty palms the older girl had induced just being in the same room as her. So since then there had been Finn and Puck and Jessie. But all they'd ever done was kiss and so much of those relationships had been wrapped up in the desire for acceptance, the need to feel cool. Finn had been sweet and never pushed her to do anything physical though he had been confused as to why she never really wanted him to touch her. She had thought she was just being sensible, now she knew better. She did love him, but as a friend. Puck had been little more than a couple of ill-timed kisses. And Jessie, well as much as she hated to admit it, he was mostly a manifestation of her narcissism. That left her here and now, fully aware and accepting of who she was but terrified for anyone else to know, even her dads. For right now this had to be hers and only hers. Just while she got completely comfortable with it, let it sink into her skin. Anyway, her dads would ask too many questions, try and help too much. But she was in high school in Lima, Ohio, this was not the kind of place you found a high school gay couple, Kurt could testify to that. She would just wait. College wasn't that far off and there she knew she could start afresh as the real authentic her.

"You home honey?" Her dad called from downstairs.

"Yeah dad, just doing some homework." She cleared her browser history and closed the laptop. Always weary of being found out.

"Your papa's making dinner, wanna come down and give him a hand?"

"Be right down dad."

She stood up, straightened her skirt and headed down to her dads, hoping the gay wasn't showing.